The guy from Venezuela, some good news... * UPDATED :( *

[sabasgr68]

Yes, I´m still here. I haven´t posted anything in a good time, and thought I´d share some of the latest news.

Not talking about political/economics/social; nothing good and new to share regarding those topics - worse, actually -. So let´s leave it like that.

Thanks to the little savings, to the two or three things I´m doing, and to the help of AGF in any form, somehow we made it to december 2020!

Honest, would have been very different without AGF.

Have not played guitar much lately, and the reason is the good news I mentioned: the job I´ve been doing online took a boost the last 3 months, more or less, so I´ve been making more bucks consistenly; still won´t cover everything, but the good side is that it means the re$erve is going down at a slower pace than before, which is a relieve. It means between 16-18 hours a day - that´s why I´ve been only playing guitar in my head - to make around $220/month, but that´s better than only 100, don´t you think?

I should try to renew my old PC to have a better workflow, thus, a better income. We´ll see...

As for the rest, just like everyone is supposed to: wearing a mask the few times I go out, and all the things we all know. Two family related deceased by C19 - one of the brothers of my SIL´s husband, and a great aunt of my wife, RIP -.

Plans for leaving Venezuela aborted, and I think it was better in the end, or at least for now, for some things that happened later.

I check almost daily here, even if only for 5 minutes.

I´ve been PMing from time to time with Mossman in audio files, as a way to practice my talking and my listening. Everybody welcomed to send audio files! Maybe next time I´ll post an audio thread instead.

This is still the best place on the net. You guys are especial.

I´ll be happy to read/listen about your whereabouts if you´re up to

To keep it short, I´ll leave this here. Un abrazo!

[Milkman]

Good to hear from you @sabasgr68, and I’m glad things are a little better at least.

[sabasgr68]

Good to hear from you @sabasgr68, and I’m glad things are a little better at least.

Thanks, Milkman!

BTW, I enjoy your videos, and I enjoyed the chat with you and your mom. Listened to both of them. Hoping there´s more to come!

[bleys21]

Glad to hear things are better for you, hopefully things keep improving.

A question: I'm sure that with all the folks here, we could find you a better computer; I know at my work, we're donating and recycling machines on a near constant basis. That said, I have no idea how difficult it would be to get it to you. Are there any problems with you receiving things on your end? If not, maybe we can work out something better for you, and send it your way

[nomadh]

If it helps I have a motherboard out of a server. Standard workstation size. A few years old now but still a good performer. I'd have to check the specs. But a nice quad core i7. 8 or 16 gigs. Maybe a motherboard less likely to get stolen on the way? Does that happen?

[OMB]

i7? I don't even have the equiv of an i3. That should be pretty great!

[bleys21]

I figured that with a bunch of us working in IT, we can make something happen But yeah, the big question is whether we can get it to him without it disappearing or whatever.

Sending a motherboard is a good idea, though, especially if he has a reasonable case. A lot lighter, smaller box, cheaper to ship, etc. I'm sure we can dig up an SSD drive somewhere too, I've got drawers of them at work lol

@sabasgr68 let us know what you know about shipping you stuff when you have a chance...

[mickey]

I'd bet DHL could get it to him!
They seem to work miracles compared to other shippers.

[sabasgr68]

Wow... This is turning to a different path, but you got me thinking @bleys21 @nomadh . maybe it´s a doable thing after all. I´m tight with time right now, but I´ll come back later. thanks @bleys21

Thanks to all for the well wishes.

[LightWingStudios]

@sabasgr68 ...REALLY good to hear from you again.

THIS is why the NEW AGF was born.

We are ALL in this together no matter where you are on this mortal coil.

I am humbled by the efforts of everyone who made this possible and who support and post when they can during all this insanity.

God bless all of you and your families as we move into 2021...WE WILL GET THRU THIS AND LIFE WILL GET BETTER!

[sabasgr68]

@sabasgr68 ...REALLY good to hear from you again.

THIS is why the NEW AGF was born.

We are ALL in this together no matter where you are on this mortal coil.

I am humbled by the efforts of everyone who made this possible and who support and post when they can during all this insanity.

God bless all of you and your families as we move into 2021...WE WILL GET THRU THIS AND LIFE WILL GET BETTER!

Oh yes, Patrick. AGF is still home to me.

Blessings back to you!

[sabasgr68]

I figured that with a bunch of us working in IT, we can make something happen But yeah, the big question is whether we can get it to him without it disappearing or whatever.

Sending a motherboard is a good idea, though, especially if he has a reasonable case. A lot lighter, smaller box, cheaper to ship, etc. I'm sure we can dig up an SSD drive somewhere too, I've got drawers of them at work lol

@sabasgr68 let us know what you know about shipping you stuff when you have a chance...

@bleys21 Answering your question: Regular mail, forget it; it´s a gambling game.

Private couriers are the most safe way to send stuff here.

I´ve used a private courier many times in the past - the first time was when I got my guitar amp here with them, about 10 years ago -. They are still working without problems. People have their things sent to them in Miami, and then they ship here. People there in the US who want to send anything to friends and family here use them too.

Now that you proposed this idea, I must say that I have wanted to ask about relatively old PC gear you may have (anybody, I mean), that you don´t use or need, and we could arrange something to get it here. But I never knew how to say it. Anything newer than the configuration I have should work better ( Asrock MB with a 3.0 double core processor; 2GB RAM of the 4 GB max the MB permits, no dedicated GPU).The important thing here would be that it is stuff you´re not using, or have no use for.

@nomadh Damon, that MB you mentioned sounds great. Specs would be great to know.

Shipping a complete case would be around $90; no case would be cheaper to ship, of course. I would cover shipping cost to Venezuela if we´d get to something (it´s the least i could do).

BUT... UPDATE (goodbye good news)

...We were told yesterday that the job ends on december 30th

Unexpected news.

Have to watch my expenses (like we all must). Anyways, in any case, this would be happening next year. Let´s see what it brings. A or B, I should renew it all the same.

Meanwhile, I´m doing all the available tasks I can, so I can get the most on the days that are left.

[tlarson58]

I am sorry to hear this. I just shake my head at the turbulence and uncertainty of your situation.

[bleys21]

@sabasgr68 We're not going to make you pay for shipping! So there! I'm happy to help with shipping costs, parts and whatever else you need so we can get you something much better than what you're using now. I'm sure that's the sentiment of everyone here as well.

Glad to hear there's a way to get stuff to you without it disappearing or never arriving.

Next big question that I always forget, as I'm an IT guy: if we send you a bunch of parts, are you comfortable putting it all together yourself?

[nomadh]

3ghz dual core. May actually be not bad depending on what you were doing. The 2 gb memory sucks as I bet many of us here could of at least got you to 4 gigs for cheap shipping. 4gig max is a hint its older.
I thing to think of is power consumption. Some 2core are very energy efficient and some quad cores are power hungry or at least never drop to a low power idle state.
I wonder if the shipping is much different between just the MBA and MB with case as the case is fairly light in comparison. If someone has a nice pwr sup they could send. Last step would be a HD and an easy way to install windows w lic.
Maybe get you setup for the next job.

[redman]

I have a HP laptop with a fried motherboard 1TB 5400rpm hard drive and 8 gigs of ram I'm happy to throw in the mix. The motherboard is about $140 so I never repaired it. I also can chip in for shipping or whatever is needed.

[andrewsrea]

@sabasgr68 , glad to hear from you and that you continue to face your situation head-on and positive!

As technical as I can come off sometimes. I am a rookie when it comes to computer technical stuff. It sounds like the people here who have chimed in know what they are doing and can help you improve your system!

[bleys21]

I've got an mid-tower case, but no power supply, although those aren't too hard to find. And looking through my drawers, I've got a 240GB SSD drive as well. And I'm sure there's more stuff at work in the junk/donation/recycle pile...

[sabasgr68]

Thanks so much, everybody. You´re doing way too much out of nothing...

@bleys21 Yes, I can put things all together myself, no problem - I like to do it, actually -.

For now, all I can say is Merry Christmas to you all and your family! Hoping you´re enjoying the day...

[Jaymo]

Glad to hear from you and I hope 2021 is a much better year for you.

[bleys21]

Good deal, that makes things easier. We'll figure out what we've got first, then we can go back over the details of how to get it to you...

Thanks so much, everybody. You´re doing way too much out of nothing...

@bleys21 Yes, I can put things all together myself, no problem - I like to do it, actually -.

For now, all I can say is Merry Christmas to you all and your family! Hoping you´re enjoying the day...

[sabasgr68]

Glad to hear from you and I hope 2021 is a much better year for you.

Thanks! Same for you and your family!

[nomadh]

Just another idea. What does it cost to buy something like a quad I7 over there? If it's available near you at a reasonable or even a discount seeing the situation there maybe I just sell mine here and send you the money. I think I got about $90 last time. Also let us know what type of memory in your current pc and if it still has 2 slots for upgrade or if it needs 2x 2gig dimms. Good to keep it as a better backup system or maybe it's worth selling also.

[bleys21]

That's a good idea if he can source stuff locally. Certainly a lot easier to send money, and I'd be more than happy to help out that way as well.

[sabasgr68]

Hi, guys.

Sorry for being somewhat absent, I was really putting all my time to work, since it was about to end on the 30th - as it did -, so I could make the best out of it. Could reach $107, that is not bad for a week of work and little sleep.

We´ll catch up soon, take care!