IDE Cable Off Again

Posted by: Fogduck

IDE Cable Off Again - 27/08/2000 12:59

Ack. The IDE cable has come off my MK2 again...the mode in which it originally arrived. :(

I haven't even subjected it to the environment of my vehicle yet (trusted installer is back next week), just my briefcase and desktop.

I didn't tape or glue or anything when I was instructed by empeg that I could open the unit and re-seat the cable the first time around, but this time, I used a loop of duct-tape (p.s.: not "duck") to affix the free/unused end of the cable to the empty flat of the drive tray.

If people aren't experiencing this when their unit arrived, they will soon shortly after driving around with it.

I guess another reliable fix would be to fasten the free end of the cable to another drive. Too bad it'd have to go back to Cambridge for that.

[wild speculation]

Its a 12GB Toshiba drive in mine, is there any chance that the pins are slightly smaller than spec, causing the IDE connector to seat less tightly?

[/wild speculation]

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MK2 #141, green, 12GB
Posted by: tfabris

Re: IDE Cable Off Again - 27/08/2000 17:23

duct-tape (p.s.: not "duck")

Thank you. So many people say "duck", and it irritates me every time.

Of course, there is now an enterprising company which markets duct tape under the brand name "duck", so I guess it's not technically incorrect any more. It's like saying "scotch tape" when that's a specific brand but you really mean any brand of clear cellophane tape. Or when you say "make me a xerox" when you really couldn't care less which brand of photocopier is used for the process. Or when you order a coke and the waitress says, "is Pepsi OK?"

The last one really boils me. I understand that the waitress has to say it because sometimes you get customers who do really have a preference, but it just irritates me that those customers have to make the ordering process harder for the rest of us.

And the worst part: Sometimes I've tried to get around that problem by ordering a COLA. And the waitresses still ask me if their specific brand is OK. You know, maybe I should start drinking iced tea...

Ah, thanks for letting me get that off my chest. Back to the regularly-scheduled programming...

Sorry to hear about the cable coming loose. I'm sure Rob will see the report here. That is so strange, it really shouldn't do that.

___________
Tony Fabris
Posted by: mcomb

Re: IDE Cable Off Again - 27/08/2000 17:34

Maybe you should cut back on the caffeine all together :-)

How about a nice soothing glass of water? Is Evian OK ;-)

-Mike

Posted by: Ezekiel

Re: IDE Cable Off Again - 27/08/2000 19:29

Anybody want to buy a duct?
A what?...

(I promise not to start MR DUCT...)

just say you weren't paying much attention...
Posted by: xavyer

Re: IDE Cable Off Again - 27/08/2000 20:33

Sheesh! Really Tony, cut back on the caffeine! :)

Posted by: Fogduck

Re: IDE Cable Off Again - 27/08/2000 21:37

Well, for me there is no OTHER stationery tape than 3M Scotch Tape. Ask for it by name. Next time you get a brand new roll, take a DEEP whiff of the sticky-side of the tape. Nothing smells better than a new roll of Scotch Tape. Its like new-car, or new-eletronics, or SOMETHING like that. I don't know if it has any pharmacological effects, but it smells GREAT.

Ever get the thrifty urge to buy the bargain pack of no-name tape when you're picking up the wrapping paper for, say, Christmas? I have a theory about the heightened incidence of abuse, alcoholism, depression, suicide, etc. during the Holidays: at least 1% of THAT statistic is someone who went INSANE trying to use the stuff.

As for specifying a "cola", so many of the restaurant help aren't even familiar with that term as classifying that whole beverage family that you have to specify it twice.

Next worst, is people referring to "fascia" (fay-sha or fash-ya) as facial (fay-shal). I just grin evilly, but inwardly.

And most people will look at you like you're from the moon if you ask for a "facial tissue" instead of a "Kleenex".

Javex...same thing.

Tums...same thing. "Antacid? What the heck is that, boy? In this country, you speak American, boy!"

Saran Wrap, you get the idea. Cellophane wrap? "Huh, whud 'ee say, Cletis?"

- - -

So, my IDE cable is still on, thanks to Duct Tape (TM) -- but its only been a day.


All registered trademarks in this message are the property of their respective holders

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MK2 #141, green, 12GB
Posted by: tfabris

Re: IDE Cable Off Again - 27/08/2000 21:52

Well, for me there is no OTHER stationery tape than 3M Scotch Tape. Ask for it by name.

Hmm. Methinks Fogduck works for the 3M corporation.

Oh, and kudos for using the correct version of "stationery". Seeing as how this off-topic thread started on that foot...

I don't know if it has any pharmacological effects, but it smells GREAT.

Anyone remember the scene in Fast Times at Ridgemont High where the teacher hands out a fresh set of dittoed tests? When he turns around, the entire class is inhaling the fumes off of their quiz papers. This was an exact duplication of my high school classes, not an exaggeration.

(For those born after 1980, a ditto machine was the way schools copied their tests before the photocopier was widely available. It was a chemical process that resulted in papers that, when fresh off the machine, were slightly moist and had a smell reminiscent of nail polish remover. I'm convinced that you could get high if you inhaled enough of the stuff.)

___________
Tony Fabris
Posted by: eternalsun

Re: IDE Cable Off Again - 28/08/2000 12:34

Well, for me there is no OTHER stationery tape than 3M Scotch Tape. Ask for it by name. Next time you get a brand new roll, take a DEEP whiff of the sticky-side of the tape. Nothing smells better than a new roll of Scotch Tape. Its like new-car, or new-eletronics, or SOMETHING like that. I don't know if it has any pharmacological effects, but it smells GREAT.

Sounds like a personal problem.

Calvin

Posted by: bootsy

Re: IDE Cable Off Again - 28/08/2000 12:54

I'm convinced that you could get high if you inhaled enough of the stuff.

Oh man... I remember those days. The crazy carbon transfer, some required hand-cranking. The rumor passed around my school was they were fazed out due to cancer concerns from the chemicals involved.

I still prefer the subtle comfort of a warm photocopy...

Posted by: Fogduck

Re: IDE Cable Off Again - 28/08/2000 15:30

Methinks Fogduck works for the 3M corporation

Well, if this line of 3M car-care products makes me happy, I'll be playing Tony to 3M's empeg.


kudos for using the correct version of "stationery"

...maybe its a Canadian thing. We's perty careful with the King's English.

"I'm Canadian. Basically, I'm just an American without a gun..."


the teacher hands out a fresh set of dittoed tests?

YES!

Maybe we're a little behind the times, but I remember getting still-wet ditto'ed test papers as late as high-school (mid 80s) -- they had that blurry blue/purple hue to them. You only had about 10 seconds before the good stuff evapourated, and you were unlucky if you got the dry top-copy (thats the REAL reason why cool people sat at the back)





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MK2 #141, green, 12GB
Posted by: Roger

Re: IDE Cable Off Again - 29/08/2000 03:24

Or when you order a coke and the waitress says, "is Pepsi OK?"

The last one really boils me. I understand that the waitress has to say it because sometimes you get customers who do really have a preference, but it just irritates me that those customers have to make the ordering process harder for the rest of us.

It's not a customer preference thing. It's a trademark dilution thing. Essentially, if you ask for a Coke, and the restaurant gives you Pepsi, Coke are going to get annoyed. They've invested a fortune in that name, and having it used to describe other, similar, products negates this expenditure on brand-awareness. Pepsi will probably get annoyed as well. I'm sure they've got an inferiority complex about being the "other cola" anyway.

On top of that, if a company doesn't defend their trademarks, they stand the chance of losing them completely. I think it was Hoover, but I could be wrong, that sued someone for using the name, and failed to get any recompense because they'd not been sufficiently conscientious about protecting their trademark.

Which is why a lot of stuff has TM all over it these days.




Roger - not necessarily speaking for empeg
Posted by: rmitz

Re: IDE Cable Off Again - 29/08/2000 06:35

If I say I want a Coke, I want a Coke. Can't stand Pepsi. So I have to disagree with you there. But really, cola should be good enough, however, waitresses aren't really known for thinking...it's not really part of their job description.

Fly me to the moon...
Posted by: ClemsonJeep

Re: IDE Cable Off Again - 29/08/2000 06:45

Or when you order a coke and the waitress says, "is Pepsi OK?"

Well, where I come from (South Carolina.. About an hour from Atlanta - the home of Coca Cola), everything is Coke. If you order a Coke, you could be meaning Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, Mountain Dew, etc. It's all in the inflection you give it, or something. I never could quite figure it out and I lived there for 14 years.

Most people who drink Pepsi can drink Coke. Most people who drink Coke abhor Pepsi (at least from what I noticed). So IMHO its a good thing they ask because if they serve me a Pepsi when I ask for Coke, I'd be pissed. That, and I hate, hate, HATE that devil-child of a spokesperson that Pepsi has. I swear, she is the devil. She has no eyebrows! Can you say "enjoy your 30 seconds of fame?"

Ya'll come back now, ya'hea?

(O|||||O)

Posted by: Henno

Trade Mark (was IDE Cable Off Again) - 29/08/2000 07:44

It's a trademark dilution thing.

Bad Dream: You ask for an empeg and the installer person says "Is Sony OK"

Henno
mk2 6 nr 6
Posted by: Geoff

Re: IDE Cable Off Again - 29/08/2000 08:57

Reminds me of the Bill Hicks 'Waffle Waitress' sketch... "Hey mister, what'cha readin' for?"

Geoff
---- -------
Got one of the first Mark 2 empegs...
Posted by: eternalsun

Re: IDE Cable Off Again - 29/08/2000 12:13

Southerners are strange.

Calvin

Posted by: borislav

Re: IDE Cable Off Again - 29/08/2000 22:08

You know, maybe I should start drinking iced tea...

When I first came to the US (after living in the UK for 3 years) I had quite a problem with the concept of iced tea... I'd order tea and be given something that looks like a bottle of fruit juice and comes out of the freezer. What the fsck?! I eventually figured out that I'm supposed to say "hot tea" but that wasn't working too well either because I was apparently getting the accent horribly wrong and people kept hearing "cold tea". Go figure. These days I just drink hot chocolate when I want hot stuff.

Borislav


Posted by: bonzi

Re: Cola (Was:IDE Cable Off Again) - 30/08/2000 00:02

I hate when they bring me Papsi when I order Coke. They are both vile concotions unsuitable for human use, but they are different vile concotions unsuitable for human use!

Typical scene when yours truly orders a cup of coffe with whipped cream:

YT: A cup of coffe with whipped cream and a large glass of iced plain water, please. The whipped cream is real, isn't it?
Waiter unperturbed so far: Of course!
YT: You sure? How do you make it? You do make it, don't you?
Waiter frowns, then britens: Ah, you mean is it from one of those spay cans? No, sir, we whip it ourselves! Tries to depart
YT: Just a moment. What cream do you use?
Waiter totally confused by now: Well, you know, one of those... waves his hands, describing cream container in the air; this is the crucial point: I like whipped cream made from fresh, just pasteurized cream, as it preserves smell and slightly sour taste of fresh cream; it is sold only in 0.2l containters; sterilized, sweetened and/or vanilla flavoured cream is sold in 1l containers; the waiter's hands describe a larger one...
YT: Machiato, then!



Cheers!

Dragi "Bonzi" Raos
Zagreb, Croatia
Q#5196, MkII#80000376, 18GB green
Posted by: altman

Re: IDE Cable Off Again - 30/08/2000 02:15

We've addressed this problem on later units with a thin line of hot-melt glue (ie, removable) on each HDD connector and a sticky pad to hold the free end of the cable down on single drive systems - it shouldn't happen anymore.

Hugo


Posted by: eternalsun

Re: Cola (Was:IDE Cable Off Again) - 30/08/2000 11:06

Coffee snob!

Calvin :p

Posted by: bonzi

Re: Cola (Was:IDE Cable Off Again) - 30/08/2000 12:01

Coffee snob!

Ah, no, no, whipped cream snob! Not only in coffee, but, say, on a rich chocolate cake (not Sacher, it is too dry), or with fruit salad, or...

Well, perhaps just a bit of coffee snob, too. Besides, it is call good taste (as seen by choice of ICE equipment) ... Let's see: good espresso in all variations (latte - we call in machiato, capuccino, straight), Turkish (or Greek if one orders it in Greece or Cyprus), instant has to be Nestle (stange, nobody's else remotely resembles coffee - Maxwell, Jacobs, you name it) - preferably some of their Colombian mixtures, then those Austrian weak but creamy capuccino-like concotions are also good (classical melange, Schoenbrun - it's with egg...). I do, however, stear clear of filter coffee...

When one orders large (we call it double) coffee in Zagreb, it consists of two teaspoonfulls of medium finely ground coffee, made into perhaps half a teacup of brew by pressurized (to raise the boiling point) water from esspresso machine. When I ordered the same in (otherwise fine) supposedly Italian fast food in New York (excellent cheesecake), I got almost a liter of hot water with probably less that tesponfull of coffee in it. But then, 'when in Rome...'

I will leave cream (sour, whipped and that used for cooking) for another occassion.

(In the case you wondered, I do weight more than 250lb )

Cheers!

Dragi "Bonzi" Raos
Zagreb, Croatia
Q#5196, MkII#80000376, 18GB green
Posted by: tanstaafl.

Re: Cola (Was:IDE Cable Off Again) - 30/08/2000 20:34

(In the case you wondered, I do weight more than 250lb )

Let's see, at about $1.60 USD to the English pound, does that mean you're worth over $400?

tanstaafl.

"There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch"
Posted by: bonzi

Re: Cola (Was:IDE Cable Off Again) - 31/08/2000 00:29

Let's see, at about $1.60 USD to the English pound, does that mean you're worth over $400?



It depends on the current price of lard on global market. ('Hard boiled eggs and carrot sticks?! But, honey, these are all muscles!')

Cheers!

Dragi "Bonzi" Raos
Zagreb, Croatia
Q#5196, MkII#80000376, 18GB green
Posted by: eternalsun

Re: Cola (Was:IDE Cable Off Again) - 31/08/2000 14:18

But hey, I correctly identified a raving coffee snob. So nyah, credit where its due.

espresso over here in the states take on a great many varieties as well, including all the ones you mentioned. I've seen romano, americano, mochas..

On the coffee end, there are frappes, au laits...

I'm not much in favor of whipped cream. I prefer my coffee black and unadulterated. None of that wussy weakling stuff, take it straight back...

Calvin

Posted by: bonzi

Re: Cola (Was:IDE Cable Off Again) - 31/08/2000 23:47

I'm not much in favor of whipped cream. I prefer my coffee black and unadulterated. None of that wussy weakling stuff, take it straight back...

Macho coffee, so to say !

I forgot to say that I usually add some chocolate flakes or powder to my coffee (even if it is not capuccino). My friends often watch in horror and ask whether I was going to break a slice of bread into it as well.

Cheers!

(BTW, this spelling is killing me. I will soon have to spell check my signature, too. )

Dragi "Bonzi" Raos
Zagreb, Croatia
Q#5196, MkII#80000376, 18GB green
Posted by: peter

Re: Cola (Was:IDE Cable Off Again) - 01/09/2000 03:16

I forgot to say that I usually add some chocolate flakes or powder to my coffee (even if it is not capuccino). My friends often watch in horror and ask whether I was going to break a slice of bread into it as well.

There used to be a poncey coffee shop in Sheffield called The Forum where you could get cappuccino with cinnamon on instead of chocolate. That was very nice.

Peter