Finished the dual screen and dock setup. One work laptop is STILL a bit dicey with the dual screens and I can 100% confirm it’s a shitty usb-c port.
My original Metabox laptop though… it’s getting onto 6 years old, the dock connects to one screen only but not two. Realised the internal AND external graphics drivers basically haven’t been updated since the laptop was bought, yikes), so I’ve updated those but no dice.
I can sense myself using this to procrastinate on all sorts of other things so… one monitor is better than none. Onwards…
Is it a DisplayLink-based dock, does it need the DisplayLink driver installed (and the utility running) to drive both screens over USB?
Common issue with docks at our hotdesks here at work.
Hmmm, doesn’t look like it is. I installed the DisplayLink driver and have the utility running anyway, but it doesn’t seem to be making much of a difference. I think it might be the USB-C port for this laptop, it might be an older one that can’t support the thoroughput of 2x 1080p monitors at 60Hz for some reason?
E: The dock (Belkin INC014) does support Display Port Alt Mode, and obviously it worked on other laptops, so I’m thinking it’s really this older laptop that’s got an issue.
Damn!
Ah well, like you say, at least one monitor is better than none.
Yeah. I’m spending too much time going down rabbit holes about what the cause is (maybe it’s because the processor doesn’t support DP 1.4? Is it the port? I don’t know!)
Worst case if I need two screens, the laptop itself has a 17" screen so that’s not so bad. Just takes up a heap of space and isn’t at the right height. I don’t do that much work on this laptop atm so I’ll survive. At least the dock generally works, last time I tried using a USB-C dock with this a few years ago nothing worked.
This sounds stupid but do you have to toggle it to dual display on the laptop itself or go through the display settings?
Just display settings. The keyboard button for toggling multiple displays does basically the same thing (choice of extending, duplicating, etc)
I can technically run two external screens by plugging one monitor into the laptop’s HDMI port, but that kind of defeats the point of a port :( don’t think I’ll do it unless I really need to.
Hmm I’m not sure how it really works through the dock to be honest.
What happens when you put it into extending the screen option?
I thought I’d check out the tax return forms just got fun but the ATO website is being smashed at the moment.
Anyway I can’t lodge it till I get the pre fill information uploaded by various places.
Don’t imagine I’m going to get much back this year if last year was anything to go by.
I don’t bother until the very last moment, as I normally have a tax debt.
Getting a lot back means you have overpaid during the year for some reason, if you only get a small return it means that you have had the use of that money earlier instead of giving the govt. an interest free loan.
I should be getting a decent return this year because I paid a fair bit extra into Super, plus a bit for the rebate on health insurance premiums. Unfortunately I have some money invested in EFTs and it always takes a few months for them to put together the final statements so I can’t put in my return and get the money back until that is done. I’m looking forward to the time after I retire and I can have all my investments in a nice simple tax free super fund and not have to worry about all this tax return nonsense.
pasta with tomato and chicken for dins
Yum. I have chicken drums airfried tonight.
Just can’t shake the blues. No idea what’s wrong specifically, just a grey cloud hanging over me.
I think the isolation might be getting to me. I don’t normally speak to a friend more than once or so a fortnight.
That’s a big part of work for me. I miss being around people. I feel alive when I’m around people. I’m getting by on the fumes of an oily rag so going out and doing stuff isn’t really possible.
Just gotta be patient.
/vent
I really relate to this. While I’m off work I’ve somehow turned into someone who goes to the gym everyday (I am so not a natural exerciser), and part of that is just the benefit of being around people. I’m only doing group classes so there’s a bit of a community feel. And I’m throwing myself into some existing volunteer stuff.
The cold weather is not helping.
The intermittently grey weather doesn’t help. I know what you mean about work. I feel a bit disconnected from society without it. The people in this thread have been an essential part of me feeling more connected to people.
we’re here , hugs
Just can’t shake the blues
Drowning in these melancholic hues
Shades of hope ride the rising tide
Adrift but I know it’s gonna be alrightI’m a card-carrying introvert, but prolonged isolation (and lack of purpose) will definitely bring round grey clouds that are hard to shift. Permanent WFH was really shit for me in that regard. I could feel myself sinking a bit before I got my current jobs too, the break was nice at the start but then I started getting a bit loopy…
Really crossing my fingers that something pans out for you very soon mate. It’s been a while 😔
I get it. Vast majority of my social interactions are through work. If it went away, I’d be lost, and I have been in the past. With the tenacity you appear to have, I’m sure it will be over soon and you’ll be looking forward to your solo evenings and weekends with Gibson. Hang in there 💪
Taking a break from a rewatch of The Strain to watch Abigail was doubly hilarious, it’s like watching Fet get nerfed.
Morning cuddles
Today’s dream involved looking at planning applications… but every time I did, they fell apart. Like the drawings of the buildings collapsed on paper or on an aerial image. Or I’d head on site and watch them blow up in front of me. Meanwhile Sufjan Steven’s Eugene has been playing in my head in the dream and while awake. …and he called me Subaru… And now I wanna be near you 🎶
Today’s dream was the big house where I grew up my first six years. It was a big beautiful house divided into large apartments with stained glass and staircases and carved stone. My first memories are from there and they were happy memories of music and the young musicians who lived there
Here’s the dinner report after the husband’s folks came for dinner.
So it mostly went to plan. After dinner and I had cleaned up I sat down to do some needle work but bro was bored and he’d been very sick, just came out of hospital, so I took pity on him. After he insulted me just a little and I pushed back a little I asked him if he reads audiobooks, as that may be an easy way for him to do an interesting activity. He said they always send him to sleep. My radar immediately pinged real loud, I’m always on the alert for when he or others talk about their experience in cults. I went on to explain that the books he was listening to were designed to relax him and even send to him sleep. I explained how the tapes were relaxing, why the makers of the tapes did that and how those books differ to regular audio recordings of regular novels and nonfiction books. I never once used a value judgement or trigger word. I never mentioned the cult nor any people in the cult, I kept it fact based and impersonal. He listened with interest and very intently.
I’m a very good cult deprogrammer.
some weezer, buddy holly https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kemivUKb4f4
Have you seen this yet?
I have seen and will play again 💖
Because I’m old, I remember this from the Windows 95 install CD!
That and ‘Good Times’ by Edie Brickell.
I slept in for forty minutes so why do i feel more tired
This is an old throwback now: Does anyone remember me complaining about some “Mates” Who had kids and made some really distasteful “Jokes” back when we were still struggling ourselves? Something about throwing their baby in the bin or something cause he was frustrating them? Well, got a bit of an update on them.
Drama
They are struggling. Hard. Her mental health is in the bin, and he is pushed for time having taken a job that seems him out of the house from 5am till 6 or 7 pm. Add another kid to the mix and its not going well. he made a joke about “Needing more support”. I laughed cause we also don’t have family around us. But I think it was kind of a hint and I just… fucking no chance. I didn’t say anything, but there is NO way we’re stepping into that mess.
Almost everything that’s going wrong was visible from a mile away before they made the decision. Her mental health is crap cause her family fucking suck, but she does running back to them every time. They threw a dog and another baby on top of the first one who I think has some development issues. The whole thing is a mess and i know it sounds cruel, but there’s no way to help them without them trying to suck you into the vortex of their drama. I’ve made that mistake 2 or 3 times before, I’m not making it a 4th time. If you could just drop off a meal or babysit for a bit to help without hearing how horrible everything is and leaving feeling worse for having done a nice thing…
I feel sorry for them, but at what point do you go “You’ve kind of shot yourself in the foot there, can you please not bleed on my kitchen floor?”
personally I wouldn’t mind whinging, it’s just a coping mechanism
it’s when they are also abusive to me or are angry when offered assistance that i nope out, iow, is it real or is it a game, is it tragedy or a personality disorder
the woman sounds isolated and in need of an ear, would benefit from joining a mom’s group
She sort of expects you to get involved with their shit like bitching about him to you or whatever as if she expects you to fix it? And at first you kind of understand, we all do it to a lesser degree. But after the 8th time of hearing how horrible a situation is that has a really obvious (if uncomfortable) solution it gets tedious as fuck! Yes, life is hard sometimes, but if you never make an effort to fix things it wont get better. A great example is the dog. She’ll go “Oh the dog is so hard to manage” “have you taken him to training yet?” “No, not yet, I’ve just been sooo busy with X” Right… its been 2 years bro. At at certain point this is YOUR fault.
Agreed they need a support network, just dont think we can be it for them.
Not all effort is visible. The biggest effort a person makes is getting to the psychological position where they are able to understand what is happening , understand themselves and start to look for ways to make change.
If they get angry when they are offered help or helped then it’s a game and then I would outright stop. If they are abusive then I would stop.
Playgroups are a lifeline for mums and dads. I still talk to mums who I met through there.
It starts off a couple of hours of babysitting, ends up the whole day because of unforeseeable circumstances. I know a couple who drop their kid off at the in-laws for 4 hours so they can do the “shopping”. Shopping right, yeah sure.
from what I understand getting her out of the house would be an achievement. But man I’d happily take the kids if it meant they could clean the house or something! I’m not one for judging, i’ve got a toddler I know its hard and our place is frequently a mess too. But theirs looks like the start of a hoarders episode. Trouble is their kid doesnt listen to them, so theres no chance I’m looking after a kid that cant/wont listen to me.
Trouble is their kid doesnt listen to them
oh god, that’s because the kid is hearing disrespectful talk and seeing disrespectful behaviour between his parents . 😖
Possibly, or its part of his development issue. its hard to tell. They keep saying they are seeking help with them, but ever time I ask they seem to be waiting for something.
That’s incredibly sad. I hope she gets the help she needs because that’s no way to live.
yeah I hope so. But I dont think theres a diplomatic way to say “Hey I see you guys are struggling, I think maybe applying X Y and Z might help a bit” without being sucked in.
Yep. You’ll either get told EVERYTHING or told to mind your own business.
They seem like the type of couple that don’t think things out enough. Something new becomes something old very fast. Never content.
You’re doing the right thing by staying out of it, as hard as it may be.
You’re doing the right thing by staying out of it, as hard as it may be.
Cheers, I think I was looking for that even if I didnt know it.
Well, you help a mate out. You can’t manage their life for them. You’ve got your own household. Cheers.
Good grief. And here I am, early thirties, stressed I’m falling behind.
Don’t burn yourself to keep others warm. They both need help, but they need to ask the right orgs. The most I would do is point them towards Ask Izzy if they’re struggling financially.
Honestly reckon they just need an adult to come in and go “Right, you do X, You do Y! No not tomorrow, right fucking now!” But good point on burning yourself to keep others warm. We’re managing ok where we are right now, but if we’re being honest having a toddler is tough some days! Rewarding, dont get me wrong! But tough. We’re all running our own race.
Stick to your guns man. Don’t hurt yourself to help others when you’re trying to balance your own life.
Does seem that they’re setting themselves up to fail - and each to have enough material to put the blame on the other. Shit show coming up, so I would suggest distancing yourself - you have enough to cope with with your own responsibilities. They need professional help (and sounds like both need a good kick up the backside too).
There’s a reason why airlines stress that you should put on your own oxygen mask BEFORE putting them on your kids.
It gets to a point when people need to face consequences of their actions and decisions.
You can empathize with them without putting yourself out there to help.
There is plenty on your plate to deal with, without the additional complexity of someone’s problems.
A diplomatic answer is “I’m sorry that’s the situation you’re in, but we currently don’t have the time and capacity to help”. If this person persists and keeps asking ‘why not’, maybe stop talking to them. ‘No’ is a complete sentence.
i think I’m just gonna take some space from them tbh. The mental load of just being with them and seeing the struggle was a lot. Came home and joked with the mrs “I know we’ve got our hands full some times, but maaaan that really puts things in perspective”.
As we get older, we realise that not everyone is a positive addition to your life. Obligations to friends (and family) diminish as you start looking out for yourself and your family.
yeah 100%. Got a full time job of being a dad. Can help others float but not at the risk of being pulled under with them.
So I’m watching a Pattaya 4k walking video on YouTube. Honestly I just find these working girls on the streets in next to nothing quite sad.
Just in case you’re wondering, there is a Tour de France app to look at while you’re watching…
Years ago, someone did a live feed using Google Earth mixed with the coverage and various graphs on screen and it was the best coverage I’ve seen…
The Remuneration Tribunal that determines the wages of Victorian politicians has just released it’s determination. The government which has a policy that govt. sector employees should have wage rises capped at 3% has just been awarded 3.5% raises for themselves.
Of course they have.
With all the other benefits they get as well? What a joke.
Dinner report part 2.
As I wrote below bro has been in hospital and he really is poorly, no denying that, even hypochondriacs get sick. Husband’s mother was there, she’s elderly now, and she was complaining she was so tired from visiting bro in hospital everyday. It’s a 45 min drive there .
I got 🙄 and reminded her the doctors told her to only visit every second day. She was so angry that she couldn’t play victim. I do not care, I don’t think the others did either.
She asked if she could take food home, I gave her the scrapings off her own plate and put them in an old washed take away container. She didn’t get a carry bag either. She doesn’t get meals to take home anymore , not after her slanderous games.
I just do. not. care.
