<![CDATA[Overclock.net - Overclocking.net - Blogs - Retrosexual's Thoughts and Opinions by Retrospekt]]> http://www.overclock.net/blogs/retrospekt/ An overclocking forum devoted to maximizing the performance of graphics cards, CPUs, motherboards, RAM and everything else found inside your computer case. en Wed, 25 Nov 2009 05:09:03 GMT vBulletin 1 http://static.overclock.net/images/oc/misc/rss.jpg <![CDATA[Overclock.net - Overclocking.net - Blogs - Retrosexual's Thoughts and Opinions by Retrospekt]]> http://www.overclock.net/blogs/retrospekt/ A little bit about the Retrosexual http://www.overclock.net/blogs/retrospekt/938-little-bit-about-retrosexual.html Fri, 27 Feb 2009 04:43:33 GMT Yes, I stole Karasu's idea. Blog's are supposed to be a bit more personal, so I think it would be a good idea to post this.

First the basics:
Age: Almost 17
Name: Karl
Height/Weight: 5 foot 10 inches, 160 pounds
Nationality: Polish

I was born in Tarnow, Poland. I lived there for about 4 years, all the while my dad lived in the U.S. to provide for my mother and my 3 siblings. We finally decided to move to Chicago to be with my Dad. I've only been back there once and I love it.

Growing up I was the fat, chubby cheeked, dimple faced cute little kid that EVERYONE loved to pick on. Being the youngest of my siblings was quite an experience, one story which I must leave for a future blog entry.

Started Bi-lingual when I was 5, was out of it in a year and a half speaking perfect English. It was probably because I was so young, but people keep telling me that the speed at which I mastered the language was incredible. I wish I could do that with Spanish...

Right now I'm a Junior in High School. I'm a bit lazy, but get along okay and I should be able to get into a decent school. I aspire to be an engineer, but I might end up settling for Networking. The University of Illinois would be my dream school, but my acceptance is doubtful. Being one of the best engineering schools in the nation, admission requirements are rough.

Being 16, I am obviously trying to enjoy life as much as possible. I look around and all the kids around me, especially those in my AP classes, bust their butts to make it into the college of their choice. I don't really see a problem in this, but I do believe that time for fun should be made. If High School is spent working towards college, and college is spent working towards Med/Law school or a good paying job, and then they must work to keep themselves alive, when will they ever have fun? I take this opportunity while I don't have to be financially independent to enjoy myself.

I consider myself mentally insane. I guess this is sort of a joke I play with my friends, but the meaning of it is much deeper than most people know. I can't describe how I feel, all I know is that the only person that can understand me is my brother(7 years apart). Some days I feel so down and drained of the will to do anything, I just sleep all day. It isn't depression, I know what that feels like. I guess I just have a complicated mind.

I obviously love computers. I started out when I was 13 and saved up cash for my first build. It took a good half a year, and I sold my beloved laptop. Started out with an E4300 @ 3.0ghz and a Gigabyte P965-DS3. I'm still using parts of that system in my system today and couldn't be happier. I am trying to set up my own community computer repair service, mostly based on testimonials and customer advertising. Hopefully it takes off, my girlfriend is sucking my money like a vacuum!

I am also very into music. I try to build on my collection when I have time. I love songs that have meaningful lyrics. Most people these days look for rhythm and beat, and rarely listen to what message a song conveys. On that note, I thought I'd leave you with one of my favorites:

Lateralus by Tool (This song has the famous Fibonacci sequence integrated into it's song. This is a video explaining it. Thanks to tmx for telling me about this.)



The famous Wawel castle in Krakow, Poland. The chapel has a roof made entirely of gold. It was a fantastic place to visit. Image taken from Sacred-Destinations.

That's about it for now.

-Karl ]]> Retrospekt http://www.overclock.net/blogs/retrospekt/938-little-bit-about-retrosexual.html Indigo Children http://www.overclock.net/blogs/retrospekt/923-indigo-children.html Tue, 24 Feb 2009 04:39:53 GMT In the past few weeks I have been confronted with an interesting term. My brother and I made appointments with an "Energy Worker", basically a psychiatrist. She told us about Indigo Children. I'm not sure how many of you are familiar with the term, so for good measure, he is the Wikipedia link. Supposedly Indigo Children are certain humans that are farther advanced in the evolutionary cycle than others. She said that my brother and I portray the qualities that an Indigo Child would have. Some characteristics of an Indigo Child: (Taken from Wikipedia, just because it says it better than I could.)

  • Highly empathetic and intuitive by nature.
  • Can easily detect or are in tune with the thoughts and feelings of others.
  • Have a strong sense of purpose.
  • They are also believed to be prone to depression and sleep disorders such as insomnia, persistent nightmares, and even night terrors.
and a couple more.

I have always been intuitive. Everyone seems to believe I was born intelligent, although I don't know if I believe someone can be born smart. That sparks a whole different issue of "Can a genius be made?".

One of the points that I can say I completely agree with it the second. I have always been able to feel people's emotions and many times, their mental state. I know it sounds weird, almost psychic, but it's not like that. I take notice to thing that most people wouldn't take notice to, and connect that to the mentality of the person. I recently noticed a few odd things about a good friend of mine. He seems to not be able to confide in anyone, no matter how hard he tries. All of his friends have the perception that he is a normal guy and easy to hang out with, but I saw something else in him. I talked to his closest friend about this, and he confirmed that he had some issues in the past with a troubled relationship with his father, having to do with betrayal. It was something that he told me scarred the guy for life, and has ever since not been able to confide in many people. I'm not exactly sure what caused me to have this feeling about him, but I just knew.

The third point, however, I completely disagree with. I have no idea what my purpose is. I don't know why I'm here, I don't know who I'm here for, or what my role in humanity is. I think about this a lot. Although it may sound ignorant, sometimes I wish I was less intelligent. Like the famous quote goes:

"Ignorance is bliss."

The last point is interesting. I have had trouble with sleeping lately. I made a recent post how I am either always tired, or just indifferent. I don't feel a difference when I sleep 3 hours or 9 hours. This doesn't exactly pertain to insomnia or night terrors, but it is definitely something that has affected me. Not many people know what it feels like to never feel well rested.

This is one of the many reasons why I feel most connected with my brother. Although we are 8 years apart in age, I have never been better connected with everyone. Only he knows how I'm feeling when I don't know how to explain it to anyone else. The people I love want so much to know what I'm feeling, but I don't know how to explain it. I feel like they think I'm holding something from them, but I don't mean to.

So that's about it. I'm still not sure whether I believe in this Indigo theory, but it is interesting to think about nonetheless.

-Karl ]]> Retrospekt http://www.overclock.net/blogs/retrospekt/923-indigo-children.html Always Tired http://www.overclock.net/blogs/retrospekt/749-always-tired.html Wed, 10 Dec 2008 05:45:29 GMT In these past few years of High School I haven't thought much of my sleeping habits. I swim miles a day, go to AP classes, and am still growing quite a bit. I have always said this, and my mom also, as a sort of "excuse" for my sleeping habits. Now that I am in my Junior year and thinking a lot more about life, my ambitions, what I want to do with my life, thoughts of my character and even my mental health have started.

This year is possibly the most important of my life. AP classes that will potentially save me thousands of dollars, an ACT score that can get me into the college of my dreams, and upholding relationships that could possibly lead to lifelong companionship. All this, and yet I still find myself sleeping too much. I feel like I do not have control over my sleeping habits. Some people can simply say "I fight it" or "I drink coffee, whatever works". Few people understand what I feel, my brother being an exception. I experience a feeling of tiredness that many times cannot be fought. My ability to concentrate dies out completely, and bed seems to be the only option. Coffee and energy drinks have not worked for a long time, not since junior high. I can drink multiple cups and feel no improvement, often ending up in bed shortly after.

These thoughts about two weeks ago. I had come back from a swim meet and managed to sleep 14 hours overnight. Yes, I was tired. Yes, I did swim the day before very early in the morning. No, I still do not believe this is normal.

A large part of this worry for myself and my health is not all due to the length of my sleeping. I always feel tired. I wake up in the morning, no matter if I slept two hours or eight, I feel the same way. I can go to sleep at four in the morning, wake up two hours later for practice and perform the same that I would perform with a long nights rest. All through the day I seem to trot along, dragging my legs through the hallway and thinking about nothing. I am not exactly a bland person, I don't think so, but I am not energetic enough to express myself in the ways I would like. All this has made me come to this conclusion: I do not remember the last time I felt well rested. I don't know what that feels like.

Many people say that this can be due to depression. I am not depressed, or at least I don't think so. I have a girlfriend, my family is holding strong and we are mostly content with each other, and I have good chances of making it in to the college of my dreams. Others say I need exercise, fresh air, go out more, all of which I do quite often.

I know I should be consulting a doctor about this, I'm pretty sure I am going soon. It's nice to write it out here though.

Thanks for reading.

P.S. I don't think I have any sleeping problems. I never sleep walk, I don't sleep talk, or at least not often, and I don't have any dreams that would keep me at unrest. ]]> Retrospekt http://www.overclock.net/blogs/retrospekt/749-always-tired.html Emo Kids http://www.overclock.net/blogs/retrospekt/298-emo-kids.html Sun, 17 Feb 2008 08:50:58 GMT Why do all these Emo kids seem so fake? They walk around school with chains and black and green clothing. If they're so depressed, why do they always party and laugh? A real depressed person rarely shows it. In fact, in most suicide situations, the family and friends say "I wouldn't have seen it coming." Is it all for attention? ]]> Retrospekt http://www.overclock.net/blogs/retrospekt/298-emo-kids.html Building the best bang for the buck computer http://www.overclock.net/blogs/retrospekt/70-building-best-bang-buck-computer.html Thu, 06 Sep 2007 03:35:28 GMT

Now before I start writing anything, I'd like to post a disclaimer.

Many AMD fan boys will disagree!
I am not an Intel Fanboy!

Now let's get started. In the days of gaming and memory hogging programs, you might notice that your HP is getting a bit sluggish. Many games today require 2gb, and high end video cards are able to render 3d like no other. So you might be asking yourself, what kind of parts would I need to make the best bang for the buck gaming computer? Well here is a couple choices.

Q: What brand CPU is the best choice for gaming or movie/audio editing?

A: Lets face it, It's 2007, we're power hungry, and dual and quad core are on the rise. So what CPU should you get? A Core 2 Duo or a Core 2 Quad. I know I may sound like every other Intel Fan boy when i say "Get a Conroe, it solves all your problems!", but the truth is, they're great CPU's. With the 2mb, or 4mb of cache, you will fly through challenging tasks like no other. Another great quality of the Conroe CPU's is their price. Its unmatchable, especially the lowest end Conroe running at 1.8ghz and costing 120 bucks. There is nothing that can match the performance of these processors to how much you are paying for them.



Q: How much memory do I really need to play games like BF2 and Oblivion?

A: Of course you could pull off playing the games with 1gb, but not with maximum settings. The recommended amount is 2gb of quality DDR2 ram. Personally, I think 4gb is overkill, but many games in the near future have been reported to reccomend 4gb.


Q: What Mainboard(Motherboard) should I buy? Which is best for the money?

A: If a user is not overclocking(Pushing computer elements past their rated speed) then there is an abundant amount of mainboards available. Just make sure to pick one that has a sufficient amount of Sata, IDE and Usb ports for what you need to connect to it.

For an overclocker, the board I suggest the the Gigabyte DS3 line. The quality of these boards is fantastic, and the overclockability is phenomenal. I have read many reviews on Cire 2 and Core quad boards, and this one seems to be the best bang for the buck.


Q: What should I look for in a power supply?

A: The misconception about power supply's is "the more watts, the better."
This is not entirely true. Sure, watts definitely help but the most important part of a power supply is the rated amperage. When looking at amperage, either on the label or the online data sheet, it will say "12v+xx" xx being the number of amperage. For the system that I am constructing here, the recommended amperage would be about 36 or more.


Q: Which video card should I get if I plan on playing graphically tense games?

A: Simple answer, the newest one out. The long answer depends on how much the user is willing to spend. The newest card out at the moment is the 8800 series. The GTS(Lower model) starts at 290 dollars(Depending on memory size), while the GTX(Better version) starts at a whopping $500.00!(Also depending on memory size.) Personally, I would go with the 8800GTS since it will give sufficient performance for all the newest games anway.

Q: What about the smaller components of a PC?

Now that we've gone over the main components, lets talk about the smaller ones. Hard drives should be bought with 7200rpm for fast access speeds. Recommended brands are Western Digital, Hitachi, and Samsung. Cd-roms, floppy drives, and card readers should be bought depending on user reviews, as there is such a big variety of brands that manufacture these items. The case should be aluminum as it dissipates heat very well. For non-overclockers, the stock Conroe heatsink should be perfectly fine. But for overclockers, a heftier heatsink may be needed. I suggest a Big Typhoon, Tuniq Tower, or Thermalright 120.

I hope that this guide has helped you construct a pc that is worth the money.

Please comment on things I could improve. Or you could just comment to be nice. :) ]]> Retrospekt http://www.overclock.net/blogs/retrospekt/70-building-best-bang-buck-computer.html Top 10 reasons why competitive swimming sucks. http://www.overclock.net/blogs/retrospekt/35-top-10-reasons-why-competitive-swimming.html Mon, 03 Sep 2007 18:53:55 GMT

Before I start writing all these reasons why I hate this sport, let me say that I am a competitive swimmer, and these opinions aren't coming out of no where. I swim for my school in the winter swimming program. The season started in late November and ended mid-February. The season was 2 and 1 half months long, and without a doubt those were the hardest 2 and 1 half months of my life. We practiced daily from 3:30p.m. to 6:00p.m. For these 2 and 1 half months I had no life other than school and practice. I usually got home at 6:30, and by then I was so sore and tired I just went to sleep. Although the sport was very boring, tiring, and painful, it got me to the best shape I've ever been. I was able to do tasks that before would be hard or would leave me panting for air. Running was no longer a problem because of the aerobic workout I got daily.

One thing that not many people know about swimming is that it uses literally every muscle in your body. No other sport can do that, and therefore swimming is the most taxing on the body. After swimming for a couple of months, I started to form muscles in places that I didn't know muscles could form. I dropped 20 pounds and got larger biceps. My legs are bigger than ever before, and bigger than most runners I know. In contrast to all these benefits, the sport is terribly painful. No air, bad cramps, and terrible soreness of joints and muscles were some of the downsides. Here are the top 10 reasons why swimming sucks:

1. Jammers/Speedos
Now we've all seen the Baywatch guy running down the beach in his speedo, looking all muscular and happy. Well let me tell you this, speedos are not fun, nor are jammers. For those of you that aren't familiar, jammers are very tight pants that go down to above your knees. To get the least resistance in the water as possible, they need to be very tight, which results in a very squished crotch area.

2. Coach
No matter where you go you will end up having an ignorant coach. The thing that got me most angry was that he pushed us so hard, and in his words "Come on guys, this isn't so hard"
At that moment all I could think of saying was "You get in here and try, baldy!"

3. Cramps
Im swimming your body is constantly pushing water. There is not a moment in a lap that your muscles are relaxed. As a result, cramps are a constant strain. The cramps that I'm talking about aren't your regular chest cramps. These cramps occur in the legs most often. Sometimes you can see muscle in the place where the cramp is bulge out and pulsate.

4. Swimmers Ear
Many times after a practice is over you shower and jump straight in bed, not noticing that you didn't shake the water out of your ear. If this happens a couple of time, you develop what is called swimmers ear. After water sits in your ear for a while, an infection forms. Normally swimmers ear last a couple of weeks(That's a long time!) and will need constant ear drops to heal. For the time that you have it, you cannot get in the water except to shower, and you cannot touch your ear because an instant shot of pain will go to your ear.

5. Swimmer Hair
Most competitive swim pools use a load of chlorine. In fact, last year my school used so much chlorine, they had to flush the pool because swimmers hair was turning yellow and falling out. They use a lot of chlorine because fungus is common in the corners of the pool. No one wants their face in fungus. Anyway, because of the chlorine, the moisture from your hair is completely sucked out and for the rest of the season you will have yellowing hair that is crusty and tends to fall out quite often.

6. Yards
A lap in most pools is 25 yards. Most swimmers can swim 50 yards in 30-36 seconds. Most runners can run that distance in 6 seconds or less. That gives you an idea of how much harder the sport actually is. In our hardest practice, our team did 10,000 yards, in intervals of 4,000 yards, 4,000 yards, and 2,000 yards. That equals up to 400 laps. The only break you get is between sets, and that's just to get a drink.

7. Slow swimmers
Now I wasn't anywhere close to the fastest on the team, but I also wasn't anywhere near slowest. One of the most annoying things in swimming wear ****y slow guys. They would always dive in first, even though they'd always get passed up by the faster ones. Passing someone in the water in a 5 ft wide lane is not easy, and many time I resorted to going under them, but that sometimes ended in me coming up and accidentally head butting them in the stomach.

8. Meets
Meets are what would be a "game" in swimming. 2 teams meet at a pool and send out their swimmers to compete. While your waiting for you event, you constantly have to pee because your suit is still wet from the warm up, and the anticipation kills you. You are also not allowed to eat anything prior to the meet, and can only drink water. Even the day before the meet, you are not allowed to eat meat because digestion is one of the processes in your body that takes a lot of energy out of you, and meat is difficult to digest.

9. Frigid Water
Most places you will go to swim competitively will have very cold water. There might be 3 reasons for this. 1. Their too cheap to buy a heater. 2. The swimmers like it(That never happens) 3. Coach thinks that the cold water will make you work faster.
The 3rd reason is my coaches philosophy. He said if it's cold enough it will make us work hard to warm up. What actually happened is that everyone stood outside of the pool, until coach brought the hose out.

10. Caps
To be further hydro dynamic, coach insisted we wear caps. Despite the fact that they did help, they also squished your head and ears. With a cap on your ears were constantly red, and you could not hear a thing.

Despite the pain I went through in season, I plan on swimming again next year. It is painful, but it will most likely get you to the best shape of your life. ]]> Retrospekt http://www.overclock.net/blogs/retrospekt/35-top-10-reasons-why-competitive-swimming.html Scammers http://www.overclock.net/blogs/retrospekt/32-scammers.html Mon, 03 Sep 2007 17:52:26 GMT I'm sure many of you have seen my "Is it a scam?" thread.

I posted my laptop for sale on many websites, including cragislist(Scammer village). I got probably 12 bogus offers, which were all ridiculous.

Quote:
I will like to proceed with payment asap and will like to handle shipment myself when you must have gotten your cash at hand.I am in no rush to pick up the laptop till funds are clear at the bank.As there are too many scams on internet as regards buying and selling with large bogus account.My mode of payment will be via Electronic Cashier Check drawn on US bank.(Bank Of America).You will probably need a business check paper to print and cash the check today.The business check paper is sold for $20 at any stationery store,staples or at your local office supply outlet.I will add the cost of supplies to your asking price with an extra offer for accepting my mode of payment. The payment will be in excess as i will want you to contact my friend with the excess fund after you must have confirmed and cashed the check.i will wait for your bank to clear the check so you can deduct your own money and send the remaining Funds to my friend via money gram Money Transfer only for his project coming on very soon. I work with an auditing firm and will not have time to mail a check. you can IM on this ID or call me on 9145954296 for more information.Thanks and God Bless,you can get the posting deleted from craiglist
Google the phone number, and you get a scam alert.

I couldn't believe how many fake emails I got, it was incredible. Many of them included:

Quote:
I am buying this laptop for a reverend helping dying children in africa. i am in britain and will pay 1500 dollars for the item plus shipping to africa.(My asking was 550) I want to pay asap, so get back to me with your full name and other info.
Now this is the funniest one. I posted my ad on a website called UsFreeAds. I got an email from 1 guy asking if the item is still available. Well, just look.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Email 1
Hello seller i will like to tell you that i really like this your item and i will like to ask if this item is still available for sale so if it is please do send me more pics of the item and i will like to know your final asking price ok please do get back to me.
Helli.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Email 2
Hello seller i will like to tell you that i really like this your item and i will like to ask if this item is still available for sale so if it is please do send me more pics of the item and i will like to know your final asking price ok please do get back to me.
Helli.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Email 3
Hello seller i will like to tell you that i really like this your item and i will like to ask if this item is still available for sale so if it is please do send me more pics of the item and i will like to know your final asking price ok please do get back to me.
Helli.
Quote:
Originally Posted by My response to Email 3
I'd just like to tell you that you have emailed me about 3 items, but only 1 of which have been mine. You are possibly the worst scammer I have ever witnessed. Screw off.
Retro ]]> Retrospekt http://www.overclock.net/blogs/retrospekt/32-scammers.html Stupid Neighbor http://www.overclock.net/blogs/retrospekt/17-stupid-neighbor.html Mon, 03 Sep 2007 04:42:41 GMT I live in a town home in a suburb of Chicago. It's really nice here and I wouldn't ever want to move. Thing is, we have idiots living above us.

They happen to be Indian, but that's not the point because I don't have a problem with them. The point is that they are so thick-headed, they can't get into their mind that they can't use their garbage disposal without running water at the same time. The wife throws pounds of Indian herbs and food down the sink and grinds it. Not a problem if she used water, because of course that's what a garbage disposal is for.

But there is a problem, they're pipe is connected to our sink pipe. When the food goes down without water it clumps up and gets stuck where the pipe has a curve, which happens to be right under out sink. Our sink has been clogged abuot 5 times in the past month, and 1 of the times I come from school and no one is home, and the kitchen is in 3 inches of water. That was fun.

We're writing a later to the association, maybe they can pound something in their heads. And if not, well then he's going to have some fun cleaning eggs of his shiny new car. ]]> Retrospekt http://www.overclock.net/blogs/retrospekt/17-stupid-neighbor.html The Clutz http://www.overclock.net/blogs/retrospekt/1-clutz.html Mon, 03 Sep 2007 02:23:28 GMT My cousin spilled tea all over my sister's laptop. Figures she'd do something like this, she's the clumsiest person I've ever met. Oh boy... ]]> Retrospekt http://www.overclock.net/blogs/retrospekt/1-clutz.html