Those who I have interacted know well of my well documented trait of squeezing a nickle until the buffalo bleeds (I cleaned that up!). Those same people will also be shocked, possibly to the level of needing medical assistance, that I finally shed the skin of the cheap Slovenian and bought a better computer. After years of building my own, I finally said "What the heck" and bought a new Dell. It's an i7 latest generation (whatever that is) with 32gb of RAM running 64 bit Windows 10 Pro. Since I started using Pro Tools, even my recently purchased used i5 with 16gb of RAM was insufficient once I got past the 2nd plugin.

So, it's only money (Well, it's only credit...) and I am sitting here now getting things configured. Hopefully another CD coming soon.

Good for you Eddie. That should be a nice present to yourself.

Hi Eddie1261, Nice work already so far! - Glad to hear you have decided in acquiring new tools to help with your upcoming albums! We look forward to hearing new content from you!

Congrats on your new computer Eddie,

Realband running any better on it than the old one?



Musiclover

Congratulations. Hope it serves you well and you get a lot of enjoyment from it.


Charlie

Haven't loaded it yet. I had to get rid of all the bloatware first and then I had a long rehearsal tonight. Shows are this weekend and tonight was final run through.

I have a feeling this will work out. It better! I actually spent money!!! I NEVER spend money!

Congrats on finally learning how to turn loose of the dollar bill Eddy, LOL.

Best of luck with the new machine man.

Later,

And haven't slept a wink since!!! LOL!!!

Eddie,

Reads like you bought a nice pc. Is it a desktop, laptop, two-in-one or all-in-one? It seems there is starting to be too much choice in anything you buy today.

I hope you are enjoying your new machine and believe the money to be well spent.

Jim, I bought a tower because of the expansion available. I use a second hard drive for my Pro Tools data files, and I may eventually expand it all the way to the 64gb of RAM the mobo will support. This was show weekend and I was busy with that for literally the last 7 days. Now that hectic, busy week is done for the year and I have my lazy, retired life back so I will pop that drive in tomorrow, get Pro Tools and the license moved over as well as install my PG product on it. That PC will have nothing on it but Chrome and music software on it, and I spent some time removing the bloatware that comes with new PCs. Like they sent me a 90 day trial of McAfee and a 30 day trial of Office 365. My computers connect to the internet through a computer serving as a proxy server, and THAT computer has anti virus software so I don't have to have it on every box. And I won't be writing letters or creating spreadsheets on the music room computer so I have no need for Office. I have Office 13 on the office computer, and a shared drive to move files around my home network of 6 computers. (Plus 3 that are not even plugged into the wall!) My old music computer was an HP with an i5 and 16gb. Fine for most things, but not Pro Tools. I may sell that one off, or donate it to a local facility, maybe the one that offers a safe harbor for abused women. If I go that route I will also offer free tech support on it.

When I get to feeling down, or abused, or disrespected, or anything negative, I stop and think about the blessings I have been given. I was able to retire 16 days after I became eligible for social security. I own a house (well, me and the bank), I drive a nice car (FJ Cruiser), I have some pretty decent music gear (Nord and Ensoniq keyboards, a Les Paul, a vintage HN White [which became King] alto sax), a great dog and in general I live a fairly comfortable life. Those female victims in those shelters do NOT, so maybe I can pay forward a little.

I know you said a lot above, but the FJ Cruiser stood out to me ..

Nice ride

Meet F'n Jay!!

Eddie, six years ago I put together a self-configured fire breather. Liquid-cooled Intel 2570k i5 quad-core CPU, SSD C:/ drive, 16 Gb RAM, 1 Tb 7,200-RPM D:/ drive, DVD burner, USB 2 and USB 3 ports, HDMI graphics card with 2 Gb VRAM, yada yada yada. Still running Win 7 Ultimate.

Remember I said six years ago? It still kicks butt. I can add another 16 gigs of RAM and an i7 processor if needed, but I haven't TO this point.

Ya done good, Eddie. May you kick mucho musical butt yourself, now and for many years to come.

Richard

Similar here Richard. I got my T5400 Dell Precision Workstation as a refurb from Dell in 2008. In the past year I upgraded the RAM to 32 Gig and added a 2nd Intel Xeon Quad Core (now have 8 logical processors). I've kept up to the latest Win10 OS and running an EVGA 970 Video card. This old box has no issues with video or audio at this point. Hoping to get another 5 years on it as the Dual Quad Core Processors are capped at just over 3 GHz. Although processor speeds have tapered off a little in recent years.

Nice FJ - I am thinking that will be my next vehicle... the dogs will love it, I will be able to explore a little more off-road here on Vancouver Island, and I'm hoping it'll tow my motorcycle trailer!


Callie

Callie, it will have to be a used FJ Cruiser, as Toyota retired the FJ Cruise after the 2014 model year.

Hi John,

You're absolutely right! I tend to stick to used vehicles anyway... that way the first dent or scratch has already happened

-Callie

Okay, let me share just a bit about preparing to own an FJ Cruiser. The first thing you have to do is march in to Dr Gannon's office and ask for a really big raise. I mean like, 3 years worth of raises all at once. And that's just for the gas tank, because these engines require 91 octane gas. And they get 16mpg in the city, 18mpg on the highway. Then just for a sample of what the mods will cost you to go offroad and drive around on rocks and stuff (which I do NOT do), pick up your purse, and take out your wallet. Remove five $20 bills from your wallet, and light them on fire. Do that every week for a few months. THAT is the FJ Cruiser modding experience.

As far as the dogs, here is what I did. I removed the back seats (the actual part that you sit on - they are here in my little office) and built a wood platform, which took some engineering because when you fold the seat backs down they do not go flat. Then I found some local guy who sells area rugs out of a van and bought a 5x8 from him. On top of that went a dog bed. Here is that photo. You can see the bed is a few inches wider than the hips of the car.



Then I had to figure out something to keep her out of the front seat. I tried some netting, but my far too smart for her own good dog figured out that if she stepped on the netting it would go flat and she could crawl over it. One time when I went into a store, I left my camera on recording video and got some great footage of my blind dog negotiating her way over some cargo net. So I ended up buying this for $60.



The hoop looking things move left and right like a slide on a trombone (just to keep it musical!) and it stays in place by pressure on the vertical struts. Keeps her back in the doggie area. I can't have her up front because there is enough room for her to fall off the seat into the passenger footwell, and also if that airbag would ever fire it would kill her. So she stays in back.

I'd buy the next one you find, because they quit making them last year. They will become rare soon.

That's a nice setup you did for the dog! I have 2, and they're pretty sneaky - I'd probably have to do the same thing

Hmm.... those fuel costs are definitely more than my '98 Volvo wagon, which is surprisingly efficient for it's age (it's a V70 T5). I may need to reconsider - I have a small commute to work every day, and that would add up quickly!

Thanks for sharing your setup and feedback - I haven't met anyone else that owns one, so you answered a few questions I didn't even know I had!

~Callie

Don't forget Canada uses Imperial gallons and then of course your "mileage" is listed as so many kilometers per litre. Which means you have three conversions to figure out to get the equivalent US mileage. I lived in Calgary for 12 years.

Any way you slice it though a 4X4 SUV is going to have much worse mileage than a Volvo wagon. Something like a Honda Pilot could work for you.

Bob

Hi Bob,

You're absolutely right. I'm hoping it'll be a few more years before the Volvo wagon needs an upgrade anyway - I love that car.

~C

It wasn't a wagon, but I had a Volvo 240-series GL sedan that I bought back in 1983 when I was stationed with the US Army in Germany. It spent the first three years of its life at 140 MPH almost everywhere I went (loved the autobahn). I had it shipped back to the states (which was included in the purchase price - one of the perks the military had at the time), had to slow down quite a bit, and kept it until 1999 with 217,000 miles on it. I donated it to charity - the engine still ran great, it was just that the body was starting to rust out from under it (too many salted streets in the winter). I loved that car as well and was sad to see it go.

John,

Great story! The Volvo line sure does last a while! I'm hoping there are years left in my '98 wagon - I take good care of it, I swear!

...and the seats - so comfy. I don't like sitting in other cars - haven't found anything that compares!

~C

Our office bookkeeper is 66 and has an 84 Volvo wagon with well over 200K on it. Being in SoCal, it has zero rust on it. There are Swedish specialtty shops around here and all she's done is relatively small stuff over the years. I think the most expensive thing was they replaced her turbo with a used one for $500 or something.

I'm the same with old Mercedes. Since around 1990 or so I buy 12-15 year old Benz's with over a 100K in the $5-7,000 range, keep it for 5 years or so, sell it for maybe 2K and find another one privately. Since LA is such a huge market I can find a one owner with good service records if I'm patient. I just bought a 03 CLK500 with 145K on it for $5,500. I like CLK's because the rear seats fold down and I can load all my stuff for gigs. People can't believe I use what looks like a 50K Mercedes coupe as a truck.

This is what my car looks like:

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/mercedes-benz-clk500-road-test

Not bad for cheap, eh? These cars are just like Volvo's or Honda's. They're good for 250K if they've been maintained.

I know we've wandered off topic Eddie but hey, besides music, cars are my other thing. I've been a car guy for years too.

Bob

You guys are lucky! I live in the 'rust belt' NY state.

We had an Oldsmobile that got 300k miles on it. I now have a 97 GMC Safari that only has 135k miles on it but it is getting pretty rusted out and I doubt very much that it will pass inspection next year.

I have never gotten rid of a car due to upkeep. It has always been rust that kills them, even with undercoating. Undercoating is a must here.

I am an old muscle car guy. Don't get me going on my 68 souped up Mustang.

Wow! That car looks brand new!

Hey Mario... what do you think about '68 Mustangs?

Well mine was a 289 with a Holley 650 quad carburetor, 4 on the floor, 411 gears, wide F70 tires, straight duel exhausts with cherry bombs for mufflers (yes it was loud) and 2 main, 2 second and 2 third leaf springs to keep it somewhat from wheel hopping. I could spin the tires in all 4 gears and go from 0 to 60 extremely rapidly (never timed or raced it---ahh legally that is). I could get a max of 6 MPG (9.7 KPM) but what the heck gas was only $0.35 USD per gallon!

It was a fun car!

While I do have an E500 (W211) in the moment, I still love the one I have had before for some 300 000 km.

Here's picture, sorry, but you have to assemble it yourself:
http://www.jigidi.com/created.php?id=EIBROZVC