Art Attack Central

Fixing stuff, myself included…

Upgrading the Processor

Oh no, now what? More geeky stuff?

Well yeah, that’s who I am today. I have a 2009 Mac Pro single quad-core, and I’m going to attempt to replace the processor with a faster 2010 6-core. The dual processor would be much harder to turn into a 12-core machine. Even though I thought I would wait, sell the quad-core and get a dual quad-core, I’ve decided not to.

Why not get the dual quad?

Because the replacement of processors in the dual quad, requires de-lidding the processors. And by the way, both the 4-core and 8-core 2009,  need to be flashed with the 2010 firmware. I’ve done the firmware upgrade, and it went smoothly

Whaaat? De-lidding?

There are varying descriptions of what to use and how to do it, from heat guns to household irons. All methods involve using a razor blade to “gently” open the sides of the metal case covering the cpu before heating it up. The removal of the casing  is called de-lidding. I guess if I had acquired an 8-core to begin with, I would attempt to go for the 12-core. However, after learning about the pitfalls, (many failures) of the dual quad replacement procedure, I’ll be quite content with uping my 4-core to a 6-core.

Old Tricks

I’ll ask right off the bat; what do you mean by “Old Tricks?”

Fooling around with the “underpinnings” of this website, from server to WordPress – Speed of loading, ssh/sftp and other “stuff,” behind the curtain.

I should have known you’d revert back to your “old ways.”

Not so fast, I’m not completely entangled in “nerd-speak.”  Also, I’ve been thinking more about dyeing and death. I searched on Google for, “the science behind life after death, and found some pretty interesting “stuff.”

Ahh, I see more of “what’s behind that curtain?”  Gotcha!

Here’s an URL worth reading.

Do you remember reading all the Carlos Castnada books and Robert Monroe on Astral Projection?

Yes, I remember lots of “stuff.” I remember amazing, mesmerizing  moments of time spread out over my brief lifetime.

So maybe you should talk about those “times.”

I might, but not right now.

Dying and Death

My father “passed away,” about 6 months ago. “Passed away,” is defined in Webster’s as going out of existence. He died. I brought his ashes home from the anatomy board last week.

What? Wait a minute.  You said six months ago. Where were the ashes all this time?

He donated his body to science;  he wasn’t cremated until recently.

Yikes! How do you feel, or what do you think about donating a body to science?

On my way downtown, all I could think about was, “dad in a box.” Then I thought about my mother’s death. Our family on a sailboat, spreading her ashes over the bay. She also donated her body to science. However; since my father was alive when she died, he received her ashes. So I didn’t think about, “mom in a box.” But now… it’s:

tick toc, tick toc mom in a box

tick toc, tick toc dad in a box

tick toc, tick toc…

So are you going to donate your body to science? 

I don’t know about my body. tick toc, tick toc…

What are you going to do with your father’s ashes?

When spring comes, he can swim in the bay with my mother. For now he’s in the box on top of my dresser, and I speak to him when I notice the box.

What if you still need your body after you’re dead?

I don’t know why you ask questions like that. Who knows if we’ll need our bodies after we die? Will there be “anyone home?” Will consciousness, (the I of me) exist somewhere? That nebulous idea of me. Who knows? See, a question like that, only leads to more questions. But, then again isn’t life a question?; we spend a “lifetime” trying to answer.

Oh dear, I sense you are going to start talking about time travel again.

Maybe…