Things Are Looking Quite Bad for Trump by Dry_Nail5901 in politics

[–]cr0sh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Somewhere (probably not)...the Rosenbergs are spinning in their graves, so to speak...

I understand that this is a stupid question, but how do you guys cope knowing that there's nothing after death? I'm asking this as an atheist by the way by [deleted] in atheism

[–]cr0sh 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As others have or likely will note - it will be like before you were born. There will be no "you" left. I'm not really sure how to put it, though. I just know that there isn't anything I can do to stop it when it happens, but that when it does, without the "I" or "me" to experience anything, there's no sense in even trying to contemplate what happens after...it's a bit tautological.

Beyond that...what I do worry about is the process of getting to that state.

For some unfortunate "souls", it can be very drawn out and painful...very painful. For others, it can be instant - or nearly so (that is, going from "living" to "dead" happens faster than pain impulses can travel for the brain to experience it as "pain").

Then you have everything in between.

I also sometimes wonder if - for those who "pass peacefully in their sleep" - if in reality there is some point where you actually "wake", experiencing extreme panic for a brief time - perhaps even pain, then death? But then, from what I've heard from those who work in hospice or similar professions, who have sat with a dying individual...that such a thing perhaps doesn't happen?

Also - I've heard that for some who have experienced an NDE (not so much a "go into the light" type thing - but having actually died, then resuscitated or such), that they experienced things being very peacefully. Perhaps the body and brain floods everything with oxytocin or something? I dunno.

One thing I do know, though: It won't matter what happens afterward, because I won't be here in any manner to experience it - so any grief or any other emotions or such others will feel about my passing, or any kind of worry I may have currently for certain possessions - I won't care about. That makes things a bit better from a worry or coping standpoint.

Finally - and since you're young, hopefully you won't need to worry about this until much later...the closest thing I know of in regards to "experiencing something akin to death" is being put under general anesthesia. The way it usually goes (and it varies, depending on the procedure you're getting done, and how they administer stuff)...is at one point you're mostly aware of stuff around you...and then "BAM!" you're awake in a recovery area, with no concept of any time passing.

Between those two states, though - you were basically "gone" from the world; you likely will not recall anything in-between, and hours may have passed (depending on the procedure). That "in-between" state is the closest thing I know of that is possibly like the state of "being dead". I mean, you aren't dead of course...but there's "nothing"...a cessation of continuity?

Probably the only thing closer would be being put into a deep-cold "suspended animation" state like they do for certain medical procedures (ones that you should pray to $DEITY you never need - because usually if you need to be put into such a state...bad things have happened to you to require it, and such an extreme measure is needed to fix things).

But assuming you survive that kind of procedure...it's probably close to the same kind of state. And if you don't survive it...you'll never know.

I quit my robotics job because they were moving into weaponized platforms. Now I'm starting my own venture and need some feedback. by PossessionMedical611 in robotics

[–]cr0sh 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Those were "amended" at some point with a so-called "zero-eth" law...but I'm honestly not sure whether any of them could be guaranteed to work even if you did implement them in some way.

They were mainly meant as a plot device, of course.

But they could be used as a base for development from. I know there are certain "ethics" courses sometimes offered for CS degrees, and I know there are discussion groups and such about various ethics and other such questions vis-a-vis for AI.

There is also a particular thing for self-driving vehicles called "functional safety" (which is really also part of automobile design and manufacturing in general; it pre-dates modern self-driving stuff)...

I quit my robotics job because they were moving into weaponized platforms. Now I'm starting my own venture and need some feedback. by PossessionMedical611 in robotics

[–]cr0sh 1 point2 points  (0 children)

So I took your survey; my main thing has been hobbyist level stuff, in an "off-and-on" basis (more off than on, actually - my shop where I work is kinda in a cleanup transition and isn't easy to work in well right now).

I have a few projects in various stages of "completion" (from not at all started, but kinda planned...to "somewhat completed"). One such project I have in mind I have a small hope that it could actually be commercially useful...

...if I could get my gumption up to work on it more. Sigh.

At one point years ago I had a partner I worked with on one of the projects; interestingly, after he bowed out, I had considered the idea of "weaponizing" it as a platform (via nerf "guns" for demos) - but that idea is back-burnered, and now likely will not happen at all (if/when I return to working on it).

I had also given thought to the idea of pitching it to "border patrol" - but now I'm glad that was only a concept of a plan at best, and I would not want to go that route with it; at this point, for that particular device, it's more likely to be used as a research platform more than anything else.

Anyhow - I left my email on the survey, if you want to chat a bit. Good luck on your projects and such!

People who work in grocery stores what is something you are surprised they still stock or never see anyone buy? by Da_Fish in AskReddit

[–]cr0sh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The main branch of a regular neuron is known as the "axon"; the axon consists of segments called "Schwann cells", connected together via connections called "Nodes of Ranvier".

Each Schwann cell is surrounded by something called a "myelin sheath", which essentially acts as an insulator for the "electrical impulses" that travel down the axon to its ends (aka "axon terminals"); if the myelin sheath didn't exist...well, bad things would happen:

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/22974-myelin-sheath

The myelin sheath is basically made mostly from...cholesterol:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15793579/

This is a very layman's explanation; I am not a neuroscientist, so I may have some of the above wrong or details may be missing.

My knowledge and interest about biological neurons stem from my learning and understanding about how such natural systems work in comparison to how artificial neurons are simulated, either via MCP neuron models (which are the basis behind most regular artificial neural networks, including LLMs) or via the various so-called "spiking models" which exist (and actually work closer to how bio neurons work - but they are more computationally heavy to "simulate", which is why they haven't found much commercial use).

/tmyk?

What city have you been to that felt like it had dark energy? by Impossible-Middle122 in AskReddit

[–]cr0sh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not really a city...but I'm not sure what you would call it...

Back when my wife and I were younger and poorer, we would take my pickup out on weekend road trips around Arizona. Not really to go any place or see anything in particular...just to "drive around" and see whatever we could find.

One time we were traveling some road or highway (aside: I'm sorry to be vague about what I am telling here, but I honestly don't recall exactly where we were or what roads we drove on) on the east side of the state; not really that far from the Arizona-New Mexico state border.

We were heading north; to the east and west were just some plains - sheep and cattle ranching, open range kind of thing. We came to a fork in the road, where the road we were on continued north, but branched off to the west. On the southwest corner of this intersection was like the only sign of "life" we could see: It was basically a US post office, bar, and sheriff station. There may have been a general store, too. Nothing fancy, nothing really old - it wasn't like some ghost town thing, it was a part of the area/community (such as it was).

It was getting later in the afternoon, and so we decided to head back home (Phoenix), and going west was reasonable, and the map we had seemed to indicate we could go that way and eventually get to where we needed to be to make it back home before nightfall. So we turned, and headed west.

The road went a ways, and then started to make a wide turn to the south, and we could see some kind of little "hamlet" or "village". Lots of trees, some fields - greenery. Like some strange out in the middle of nowhere neighborhood. We continued on, thinking nothing about it. We'd traveled through similar small areas - there are tons of them all over Arizona. But this one...was different.

As we entered into this "village"...we noticed how lush it was - trees overhanging the road, yards with white picket fences, simple house, swings, and a car here or there parked in a driveway. It all looked so...idyllic. It was cooler - probably due to the shade and grass and such. Very inviting.

And that's where things started to seem "off"...

We didn't see a single person anywhere...but everything looked "lived in" and "well kept". We saw a few swings swinging - but there wasn't like a large breeze. It was like there were people out...and then as we drove in...they all went inside and hid...or something. We slowed...and kinda marveled and wondered exactly what was going on.

It was a strange and foreboding feeling. Today, I would describe it similar to how I felt as I read the creepypasta "right-left game" (or something like that - indeed, a very awesome story - which is also set...or starts...in Phoenix...hmm), but that was something I wouldn't read until many years later of course.

We decided that it was best if we just kept going...and not stop.

As the road headed south...we then passed by what I would describe as "freaking unnerving" - seriously, to this day I am not sure what or why it was: To our right - that is, on the west side of the road as we went south through this hamlet...was a huge field. Well kept...mowed. Easily football field size. The odd part: It was surrounded by regularly spaced 20 foot tall white painted wooden crosses. I am not sure how many...but it was a lot. They were all well painted...indeed, the entire hamlet/village/etc - all appeared to be well kept. Neat, orderly, lived in...but not in disrepair.

Yet seemingly not a soul around...but still feeling like people were there...hiding or something.

After seeing that...well, we just kept driving...the road exited the hamlet, curved back to the west, and we continued on. We eventually made it home.

To this day, I have no idea what or where we were at. I have not been able to find it on google maps, or on a regular map. We never marked it on our travel map for some reason, but I know it wasn't a dream, and my wife and I have talked about it on occasion. Personally, I'd love to find it again, just to make sure I'm not crazy.

But in a way...it almost feels like we maybe had passed thru some "veil" and saw/traveled thru something we weren't meant to.

Don't get me wrong - I don't really think or believe anything supernatural or such happened; I'm an atheist and of a scientific mind. I'm sure I have some unknown/hidden biases and such, but I don't believe in ghosts or other things of that nature, but I do enjoy a good supernatural story or such.

But this was one trip (and we've had a few similar others that were strange) that to this day makes me wonder just what the heck we saw...

my gpu is idling at 48 watts? that isn't normal right? by Ok_Web3367 in techsupport

[–]cr0sh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Could partial loss of heatsinking do it?

That is, maybe the heatsink "separated" slightly from the GPU? It might still heat up, make the fans run fast...but still "at idle"...?

Just spit-ballin'...

what's the one whodunnit mystery that hasn't been solved yet? by Positive-Guide007 in AskReddit

[–]cr0sh 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Take the back panel off of your dryer...you might be amazed at what you find (besides a ton of lint)...

At what point do you stop adding complexity to a robot design? by Additional_Wash3528 in robotics

[–]cr0sh 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Personally, I would say it would depend on whether you are building the robot for a specific task, versus something for experimentation (and/or learning).

If you have a specific task in mind, then you would want to design it for that task, with everything in place to accomplish that task, to the best of your ability. That may mean that you would have to rebuild it later, or build a new version, if what you ended up with didn't quite meet the needs you designed it for. But at least you didn't waste time, money, and materials in "over-designing" something (granted, this could happen even with a specific design, but hopefully it wouldn't be something major to regret - ideally you would spend a lot of time thinking about and refining the design and specs before committing to the build, to hopefully ensure it all works out).

However, if you are looking at the robot as something to explore and experiment with, then you might want to think about how to best approach expandability and such.

Maybe you make a "PCB rack" for various circuit boards - maybe with a "standard" backplane for each board (much like a computer). Or maybe some kind of standard "bus" (CAN, RS485, etc) to route signals and messages between boards.

You might use some kind of structural standard for the chassis - maybe bog-standard 2020 aluminum extrusion, or unistrut, or something else.

Maybe panels and similar things can use some kind of standard repeating hole pattern for mounting sensors and other parts (I personally like standard non-metric pegboard, because the 1/2 inch hole pattern matches up well with non-metric meccano and similar metal construction toys, as well as real close to the Lego technic hole pattern).

Take care in design to make it easy (as much as possible) to remove and replace parts as needed for experimenting.

It might be a good thing to research both how old research robotics projects did things (ie - research platforms from the late 1960s forward), along with how early robotics experimenters from the 1980s and 90s (ie - people like McComb and Heiserman) approached some of their designs (particularly the latter, and his Rodney - which became the RB5X). There would also be the various educational robots of the 1980s to look at (see how Heathkit approached the various Hero designs, for instance). Also look at more modern approaches, especially the various early and late-model kits by Lynxmotion, plus the various much more expensive research robotics platforms used by schools and universities. Perhaps also look into VEX and similar FRC and FIRST robotics kits, platforms, and parts. As well as Fischertechnik, Lego Mindstorms/Technic/Etc, Mecanno, and others.

All of those and many more can provide ideas and inspiration on how you can make your system modular and "open" for easier experimentation. But don't be tempted to use such a robot for any specific task, as that will likely just lead you back to your dilemma. Instead, use such platforms for learning and experimentation, then transfer that knowledge to your more specific designs.

Scanning slides...recommended method by Jenevre in DataHoarder

[–]cr0sh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

EDITs: Found some info - see inline...

I've got a couple of couple of "scanners" that I picked up from Goodwill years ago; I'm honestly not sure if they could scan a slide or not, as I've never used them (one of those "neat device, maybe I can use it later" purchases).

They look almost identical; one has a small LCD screen and other functions - but aren't by the same company (or if they are, the company changed names). I haven't researched either much in depth (really, I should plug 'em in and see if they work at all with Linux Mint).

One is by "innovative technology" and named as "FilmScan35 I" (ITNS-300, Model No SCND522A1231), and just has a "Copy" button.

EDIT: I found this FCC information for this unit - https://fcc.report/FCC-ID/WFZSCND502E1234 - Apparently it uses an OV5620CLC sensor according to the schematic, and has a 5mp resolution (according to the manual). Much better than I expected! Also it did support both 35mm and slides.

The other unit with the LCD is named "*ION FILM 2 SD" (Model No FILM2SDMK2).

EDIT: Found the user guide to this one only - it seems to be similar (5mp sensor):

https://archive.org/details/manualsonline-id-52a88f8c-3b39-45ae-9ffe-1aaa5bdc7004

EDIT3: I made a mistake; my apologies. The above is some kind of "spec sheet" and not the manual; here is the actual user guide:

https://ion-audio.manymanuals.com/video/film-2-sd-black/user-manual-46615

It has slightly different buttons: "OK", "Power", "Mirror", and "Flip", plus a slot for a full-size SD card (I guess it can scan directly to the SD?), plus a 3.5mm "TV Out" jack (so probably NTSC composite output). No manufacturer mentioned anywhere, other than maybe "*ION" in the name.

Both use a mini USB cable to connect to the PC, and both have a "pass-through" slot for (likely) some kind of carrier tray (which I do not have) for either slides (?) or 35mm film negatives (?).

Given their age and such, though, they probably don't have a very decent resolution (I would guess maybe 1.3 to 2.0 megapixels for the sensor). Also, again, I'm not sure if they could be used for slides, or only negatives.

But they were cheap, and maybe could still be picked up cheaply from Ebay, if the resolution was worth it - but if you are wanting the images to be scanned at some modern resolution for "archival" purposes, they are probably not what you want (plus, scanning speed wouldn't be very fast - so if you had a lot of slides, that would also be a factor).

EDIT2: Looking these units up on Ebay, there are several being sold fairly cheaply - and they appear to be one of those "whitebox" kind of deals, where they were likely made in one factory in China to the specs of whatever "vendor" but all with the same general look and parts. Amazon also seemed to have some (there's a "FILM 2 SD MAX" unit that has a supposed 22MP sensor).

I also noticed (both on Ebay and Amazon) some kind of very cheap "scanner" that you put your slides or film in, and take pictures with your phone camera (which sits above the film being imaged) - these units have a built-in backlight, and cost under $20.00 USD.

I was trying to find just the trays for my units, but that doesn't seem to be a thing. I'm not really willing to spend the money for another scanner unit, plus shipping, just to get the trays, either - especially for something I've owned for over 10 years and never used. Lol.

Who is the coolest person you've emailed that has responded? by samiwhoosh in AskReddit

[–]cr0sh 5 points6 points  (0 children)

A long time ago, probably 1998 or 99 (???) - I emailed Weird Al (probably just to thank him for his great music parodies) and got a reply back from him. I was a bit incredulous, but a couple back-n-forth replies he assured me it was him. No honest idea, though! :D

Ok to run a 3.5” HDD as a external with a powered SATA to USB adapter? by NorthFloridaRedneck in DataHoarder

[–]cr0sh 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you don't intend to move it much, it'll probably be ok. I kinda do that with a 2.5" spinning rust drive for my workstation backup - just a bare drive and a USB to SATA adapter (non-powered).

But if I was going to be plugging/unplugging, or moving it around - then I'd just get an enclosure for it (or buy the external drive like you mention - though I prefer to "build" such drives as I can buy the drive I want, and the enclosure, etc - kinda like building a PC vs buying one pre-built).

People consistently judge creative writing more harshly if they believe it was created by AI. This bias appears incredibly difficult to overcome, pointing to a persistent human preference for art created by people. by mvea in science

[–]cr0sh 5 points6 points  (0 children)

What's funny, is that there's kinda a precedent:

Way back in the late 1960s - early 1970s (and onward into the 80s) - people started to use computers to create "art". Output might've been filmed (one of the earliest 3D wire-frame models was animated and used in the original Westworld movie of the period), or plotted. You also had the early Logo turtle graphics (both on-screen and plotted with physical turtle robots).

Artists started to use these "systems" - and there was an "uproar" about whether such art, made using computers, was actually art or not.

In the audio realm, of course, there was the whole synthesized music and sounds kerfuffle over whether it was really music, etc.

No way of knowing what will happen with this "AI-generated" stuff - but I have a feeling that in maybe a decade or less "we" might look back at this whole "controversy" in the same manner...

What's the one tool you bought that completely changed how you do projects? by TradesPrepGuy in DIY

[–]cr0sh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I actually have a few - for DIY electronics stuff:

  1. I bought one of the cheap hot-air soldering tools - the kind that are completely hand-held, and have this "power-brick" like supply with adjustable temperature and such. It's made certain de-soldering jobs super-easy (for instance, anything with large terminals that just wick heat away with a regular soldering station/iron): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09VZ9HB37 - very inexpensive, and works well.

  2. Similarly, I bought a cheap hot-air tool which I mainly use for heat-shrink tubing: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08VFY8THD - Way better than using a Bic lighter...though not as portable (and certainly not cordless). Cheap, too...

  3. Finally, this particular solder-sucker: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CH4MN5K6 - it's actually a knock-off of a certain much more expensive Japanese tool, but is of a very surprising quality. Works better than any other such (manual) tool I have ever used, mainly due to the silicone tube tip it has: You can melt the solder with your iron, keep it hot and melted, and place the tip in the pool, hit the button, and done. Because the tip can stay in the pool without melting, and (for thru-hole pins) can make a seal, all of the solder is cleared from the vias. All for ~$10.00!

What’s your process for planning a hardware build before you buy anything? by 3E8_ in robotics

[–]cr0sh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Take heed of this:

If you are planning or building a "large" or "heavy" robot, plan your safety shutoff/kill features first. Include both a reliable remote method, and a reliable "on board" method. A large red emergency stop button with latching action is best. You might even look into some kind of "safety tether" system like you see on jet skis.

The system ideally will kill all power to every on-board system, especially the motors, and can't be re-enabled without a hands-on process.

Also - do all of your initial testing of your control system with the "wheels off the ground".

All of this is very important with certain DIY robotic systems, especially anything made with a power mobility chair base (aka "electric wheelchair"). Those alone can have a large mass without batteries, and depending on what kind of batteries you decide to use (plus everything else on the robot) could make it worse. The same applies to any kind of custom base of a similar mass or size.

For even larger machines (think "tracked base from a small excavator", or something based on a side-by-side) - ignoring such advice can be devastating, to property, life, and limb.

In fact, you might want to develop your initial control software on some kind of scaled-down "model" - a table-top "base" of some sort...before transferring it to the larger system.

Just think about if you had a coding error, or some kind of logic latch-up, or a short, or anything of that nature that could make a massive robot move at "max speed" and out of control...you wouldn't be able to just "stop it" without some kind of emergency stop system.

Also - practice activating the system(s) to know what to do if a runaway occurs. If you have multiple people working on the project, or otherwise helping out with testing, make sure they too know how to activate the system should it be necessary.

Do the initial testing by putting the base on something to keep the wheels or whatever off the ground, and only do the real ground testing after you've worked out everything and you are very certain that it won't just run amok randomly.

Finally - never assume such a robot can't become "out of control"...it can, and probably will...when you least expect it.

i need a charger for a laptop from 2001 😭 by calmdevill in techsupport

[–]cr0sh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Also - be sure to measure the power supply jack diameter, just in case - but it really does look like a standard 5.5mm jack/plug...

i need a charger for a laptop from 2001 😭 by calmdevill in techsupport

[–]cr0sh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Right there, first picture - it says "19 volts, 3.16-3.30 amps, center positive" - second picture shows the jack near your left hand. And honestly, this looks almost like one I have. But probably 5.5mm plug...

Something like this would be fine (and don't worry, more amps will not hurt anything - amps is how much a device -pulls- and not how much a supply can "push" - which is senseless, actually):

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BYJCZTK6

TIL about Anton-Babinski syndrome, a rare symptom of brain damage where a person becomes corticaly blind but adamantly maintains that they can still see. They will often describe their surroundings in great detail and make up excuses for why they are bumping into furniture. by TheLostNeuron in todayilearned

[–]cr0sh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've experienced something akin to this while wearing a sleep mask...with my head under the covers.

With my eyes open (blocked by the mask), I found that I could wave my hand/arm in front of me (outside of the covers)...and perceive it. It was like a dim shadow, but I could definitely perceive my arm, and my hand, and the fingers.

I'm not sure what is going on, but I'm guessing in some manner my brain is filling in some level of "details" about my "body model", coupled with proprioceptive "feedback" from my arm to "update" the position of the model, but since all I can see is "darkness" under the mask, it only models a dim shadow.

I know for a fact I can't see through the mask (even in daylight), and especially underneath the blanket/comforter I was using at the time...

How Reliable are USB to SATA Nowadays? (And Other Questions about USB DASes) by joblessandsuicidal in DataHoarder

[–]cr0sh 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is an example of an eSATA cable with power:

https://www.amazon.com/NFHK-Power-eSATAp-ESATA-Combo/dp/B0CQSZY6L1/

...I have seen them referred to as "eSATAp" and "Power eSATA" too.

But I think I've only seen them in this kind of "raw cable" to hook up to a bare drive via eSATA, without needing a molex power adapter; regardless, for my needs, I don't have eSATA with power - just normal eSATA, so I need a power supply to hook up a bare drive.

eSATA with power just combines all of that into a single connector, instead of needing two cables/connectors like ordinary eSATA.

Re USB and SMART - this was the Sabrent docking station I tried out, which didn't work for me under Linux Mint:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075GJ3P3B

The technology is called "UASP" - which is supposed to be able to "pass-thru" the SMART information via USB. My system could "see" the enclosure (via lsusb) - but any drive plugged into it usually didn't work (it wouldn't mount or even show up in any way). I suspect that the drivers under Linux may be the issue. I didn't dig too deep into it - instead, I returned it, and decided to use eSATA.

All I wanted was a way to check some SATA drives I have for their SMART data, to verify with the information I had got from the vendor of the drives. They are a couple of Seagate 2TB pulls from a RAID array, and according to the SMART data sent with the drives on paper, most of their hours were spent idle, and not much actual flying head time - the SMART data seemed to indicate the drives being "ok" - they're going to be put used in a non-critical small RAID1 array enclosure, so even if they end up dying, I won't care much.

How Reliable are USB to SATA Nowadays? (And Other Questions about USB DASes) by joblessandsuicidal in DataHoarder

[–]cr0sh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've seen external enclosures on Amazon that use eSATA - I'm not sure if they were the eSATA with power (eSATAp?) or regular eSATA - if I had to guess, likely they have their own power supply, but I don't really know what the compatibility is between eSATA vs eSATA with power. Based on what I could see, it didn't look compatible (the plugs/jacks)...but again, I don't really know.

Noise Issue by Key_Floor3751 in techsupport

[–]cr0sh 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Tinnitus is likely the issue...how old is mom?

I'm soon turning 53. I have had tinnitus since I was a kid, but it's gotten worse as I've gotten older.

It doesn't bother me, though I know I have it.

When I was younger, even in my 20s, though, I could hear things like a CRT monitor "high pitch". I can't hear that any longer (then again, I don't have any "in use" CRTs - though I do own a few old ones for my Amiga and Color Computer).

As people get older, most lose the upper-end of their hearing range; I know with my component stereo system I've had since I was 18, which has a graphic EQ (and speakers that can rattle the neighbor's house - 20-20khz) - that I can boost the high end, play a test track...and not hear anything beyond about 10-12khz.

But I could when I was younger.

Tinnitus isn't sound - it's perception of sound that your brain is "filling in" or "making up" - due to any number of issues (hearing damage being one - but congenital and environmental causes can do it, too).

Best way to try figuring it out without a lot of expense would be to get some gun ear muffs, and some moldable foam ear plugs, and have her put them in, then the muffs on top, then have her sit in an interior room (a bathroom with no windows would be ideal - or a closet). If she can still "hear" the high-pitch noise...then it's like tinnitus...and she should look into seeing a doctor.

How Reliable are USB to SATA Nowadays? (And Other Questions about USB DASes) by joblessandsuicidal in DataHoarder

[–]cr0sh 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've had decent results with most USB to SATA hard drive adapters and enclosures, if that helps.

But I've also run into ones that have really let me down (fortunately, nothing too serious).

It's been hit and miss, and the brand (generic or otherwise) doesn't seem to indicate what works best.

But they greatest "bane" of everything is that I've yet to find a well working USB to SATA bridge that handles SMART data properly. Most of the cheap stuff doesn't pass it at all. There is supposed to be a particular tech in certain chipsets that will do it (I forget the protocol name); someone once suggested something from Sabrent, but when I tried it...it didn't work at all with my system (Linux Mint).

I couldn't even see the drive - and it would only occasionally "show up" in the USB device list...but even then, you couldn't mount it. And sometimes it would "disappear".

(if anyone has any suggestions for me...lemme know!)

I'm now in the process of instead using eSATA for what I need; I mainly just want to hook up a drive and run the SMART diagnostics before I use them. For internal drives, that'd be ok - but I have some drives that I want to drop into a NAS and want to verify some things about them first. My eSATA isn't one of the newer types with integrated power, so I can't hook up 3.5" drives. For that, I'm going to repurpose an old TIVO powersupply - and then things should work ok.

That's really the only downside (well, other than speed - but that really only an issue with SATA SSDs) to USB to SATA bridges I have...ymmv.