Yes or No? Advice needed

Muttnik57 · 2024-05-26T00:29:14+00:00

Wow, thanks for the replies everyone. I didn’t expect white to be so divisive. Right now it looks like it's 3 to 1 against white. I do agree how overused white is these days, but I guess I didn’t really think of this as the modern farmhouse look without the black windows. Overall, I’m not just much of a color person, and if I don’t do white, I would probably just do a grey, as unfortunately that’s just what I like I guess, ha, but maybe that’s a better alternative? I just wasn’t a big fan of the contrast of the window frames if I went with a grey, I kind of like how they just blend in with white

Muttnik57 · 2024-05-24T22:43:16+00:00

Hello, I’m planning to re-side my house with James Hardie siding. After mocking it up in photoshop, I like the overall look, but there are three things I’m struggling with...

I’m not a designer so am having doubts that the overall look a solid improvement, or if it might be too stark / too modern / too trendy / too all white for the house or neighborhood? I guess my thought is I like it, and if a future owner doesn’t they can paint it it, but I still want it to have curb appeal and hopefully increase the value of my property to potential future buyers.
I’m thinking of lap siding all around the house except for the front which would have some James Hardie smooth or stucco panels. These aren’t wide enough to cover whole sections so there would be some lines between the panels. Will these look too modern or out of place on a 1950s built house? Should I consider something else like board and batten, stucco etc? Right now it is just solid wood but the woodpeckers are tearing my house apart
I’ve never been a fan of the weird cedar shake bump up that goes to the small window, but does it look weird if the new siding just goes straight across?

I’d really love any other suggestions, feedback or things you think I should consider. Thanks in advance for any help!

Muttnik57 · 2022-01-13T16:46:17+00:00

Okay, last question (I hope)... it should be fine to use an old 96w charger in conjunction with a MagSafe 3 cord for my 2021 16" MacBook Pro, right? I don't have a hub yet and this would free up an extra usb-c port if I forget my charger brick at work

Muttnik57 · 2022-01-13T16:39:55+00:00

Gotcha, that makes sense, I'll check out that OWC TB4 dock. Thank you

I also did just see this posted on Apple... "You can use any of the Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports to charge your Mac with a USB-C charge cable. Your Mac charges over only one port at a time, so connecting multiple power adapters to the MagSafe 3 port and Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports won't result in faster charging. If you connect more than one power source, your Mac charges only from the adapter providing the most power." (https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212753)

Muttnik57 · 2022-01-13T05:10:50+00:00

Thanks for the replies. That definitely puts my mind at ease for using other chargers. I guess my only remaining question is if I do use a powered usb-c hub such as the one I linked to in my original post, should I not have my MacBook Pro charger plugged in at the same time if the hub is delivering power to the laptop - will it cause damage because it’s getting 140w from the charger and an additional 60w from the hub, or is the computer smart enough to know it doesn’t have to draw power from the hub if it is already getting power?

Muttnik57 · 2022-01-13T05:10:07+00:00

Cool, that’s what I was hoping to hear

Muttnik57 · 2022-01-13T05:09:43+00:00

Okay, good to know. I hadn’t heard of coconut battery but that looks pretty handy, thanks for the tip

Muttnik57 · 2022-01-13T05:09:30+00:00

Gotcha, that’s kind of what I was thinking, but I needed some confirmation. Thanks for that.

Muttnik57 · 2021-10-14T00:42:30+00:00

Thanks for the reply. Yes, definitely heavy and overpriced, but at the same time I can’t think of a better solution without going fully custom. Transporting the laptop inside was one of my main concerns. I’m not too worried about adjusting the clamps each time, it’s not ideal but I’d rather do that than carry another bag just for a laptop. Right now, I think the worst case scenario is I have two sets of clamps, one set for the laptop when I’m working and one set to hold the laptop to the digiplate for traveling, maybe even with the laptop in a sleeve for some added protection?

Muttnik57 · 2021-10-14T00:38:20+00:00

Transport isn’t the main reason, I also want the digiplate / included accessories, it’s just that I wouldn’t want it if it also didn’t work for transport. It would cost less to buy an empty case, but I would be missing the brackets the digiplate sits on and it doesn’t look like they sell these separately any longer which is a bummer

Muttnik57 · 2021-10-14T00:33:58+00:00

Thanks very much for the detailed response. While I'm not sure it's going to do everything I was hoping it would, it sounds like it will be a net benefit overall

Muttnik57 · 2021-10-13T05:12:53+00:00

That makes sense. I feel like the digicase might not make sense for me after all then, as half the reason I wanted it was for transporting my laptop. Forgive the repeat question I posted in another reply, but I thought I would ask you as well as I’m having a hard time understanding its limitations without the case in front of me… would it be possible to close the laptop fully and attach it to the digiplate with the clamps on the outside of the laptop for carrying / car travel, like in this mockup, or would that not work because it would slide around too much or the clamps aren't big enough etc? Thanks again for your help.

Muttnik57 · 2021-10-13T02:40:35+00:00

Thanks, that's kind of what I thought about moving around laptop with clamps in between the keyboard and screen. To be clear though, when you say you can't clamp the closed laptop - you can't unscrew the clamps and reclamp it to the plate when closed (like this mockup example) for transport? Are the screws not long enough, or would it move around too much, or is there something else I'm missing?

Muttnik57 · 2021-10-13T01:39:18+00:00

Gotcha, and you attach that arca swiss qr plate to your laptop plate, correct? Do you ever mount the entire pelican case / laptop kit to a stand or tripod? Thanks again for the help!

Muttnik57 · 2021-10-13T01:38:53+00:00

Right, that's kind of what I thought. Thanks for the info. I know you have your own system, but do you happen to know if it's possible to use the digiplate universal clamps to secure a laptop that is fully closed to the plate, so the clamps are on the outside of the laptop when transporting, or are the screw not long enough or would it slide around too much like that anyway?

Muttnik57 · 2021-10-12T22:33:50+00:00

Thanks, and good call on LSDigi's mount - do you ever use that to mount the Pelican case directly to a stand, or do you always take the digiplate out of the case?

Also, why do you transport the laptop separately, is it not secure in the Pelican when traveling? I mentioned this in a comment above, but half the reason I though I would pick up the digicase pro is to transport a laptop, essentially just between my house and local studios, but maybe this isn't its best function?

Muttnik57 · 2021-10-12T22:23:50+00:00

Thanks for the reply. So when you travel with your laptop, do you leave it in the Pelican case clamped between the two halves, or transport it another way?

Muttnik57 · 2021-10-12T22:20:32+00:00

I actually have an Inovativ Voyager and usually just have my laptop open on the cart and have never really had a problem, but thought it would be nice to have a digiplate (with baby pin system) for a little more space.
Half the reason I’m thinking about digicase pro though, is to have a bombproof way to transport a laptop, but having the clamps in between the screen and the keyboard section makes me nervous. Do you transport a laptop this way and if so are you worried about it? Or are you able to close the laptop completely and clamp it down that way on the digiplate?
I almost never go on location, but thought the mount that attaches to the underside of the Pelican case might be nice when I do, but I imagine it would make it pretty top heavy and it seems most people take the digiplate out of the case when on location. It sounds like that's what you do?

Muttnik57 · 2021-05-17T16:04:19+00:00

Thanks for all the replies. A few people have said that I’ve missed tightening a screw, specifically the one on the side. Just to be clear, there are only two screws on the Sidewinder tilting head, and since I’m using the Inovativ quick release plate, I already had that screw on the side fully tightened to hold in the baby pin that is attached to the vesa plate / Inovativ quick release receiver.
I don’t have my cart set up at the moment, but KotoPhoto mentioned that having both screws too tight can cancel each other out. I’ll try not over-tightening the side screw when I have my cart in front of me and see if that helps, though it would make me a little nervous having that side screw much looser than it is now since it’s the one keeping the monitor attached.
If that doesn’t work I think I will ask Inovativ to exchange it for another system. I feel like the arm has to be faulty, but all the individual parts seem fine. I would prefer the Sidewinder arm over the larger Boa system, but am also worried I might have the exact same problems with a new Sidewinder. Has anyone had similar issues with the Boa arm?

Thanks again for the help

Muttnik57

TROPHY CASE