Novica & Forum Members Tips & Product Reviews Pt 11
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I just replaced a busted pipe that I bought less than too years ago to find out the tankless water heater I bought at the same time is also busted and i bought that at the same time as the pipe that goes with it! I am buying Bosch this time!
We refinanced the house about four years ago. Hubby wanted a 15 year mortgage, refinancing just what we owed. I didn't agree, as the plan was/is to sell the house once he retired. But following the appraisal, we decided to go with a 30 year mortgage and take out enough for new siding… We got new siding, new windows and outside doors, and a new paint job. If we were 20 years younger and planning to staying, we'd still be getting the new roof this year. But we'd also be looking at repairing/replacing the foundation in the near future!
I've only heard about the movie, "Money Pit," but it seems to me, even houses in "good" shape are something of a money pit… if you want to keep them in good shape, anyway.
We just got a new air conditioning system this month, too. We got Lennox, and it was about $5000 LESS than a comparable Trane system. So far it is working well. Our previous Lennox system lasted 20 years without any problems, so we are hoping for similar success this time. A Tornado hit the Lennox plant in Iowa and put a kink in their distribution. I'm not sure it they are back to normal operations yet or not.
We went with Amana. It's what the two men who did our air conditioning have in their homes and they are both in their 60's and been doing a/c work for 40 years. And they were $3000 less than another company for exact same thing. ALWAYS get two quotes!!!!
Dang, we are getting at LEAST an inch to two inches per hour of rain right now!
I can't find the discussion in Commons on the external drives. But Best Buy again has a great price for those who are looking for the WD Easystore, which is what I have used for years (no failures. If anyone can find that blasted thread, please pass this along. It's a good sale.
WD - easystore® 2TB External USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive - Black
Rated 4.7 out of 5 stars with 4006 Reviews
$59.99 On Sale Save $70 Was $129.99
Oh, that sounds pretty good. My house is 15 years mortgage but it's probably be paid off sooner. EverytimeI think of moving though I think of the time & money it's take to replant all the fruit & nut trees & shrubs & I think never mind, I'd rather go on vacation once or twice a year. Plus this area is not crowded compared to most of eastern USA. The house is not much although it's much improved from when I moved in I'd need to hire a professional crew rather than the DIY 'm doing to make it really 'modern nice' which is doable but not with my skills.
I'm getting 5TB Seagates for I think it was about $119 each. One 5TB will hold every single DVD & BR I own with room to spare & the other will old my incredible lazy DAZ 3D/ShareCG/YouTube TV Series/Music Video/Cartoon/Tutorial/Blend content with 3+ TB to spare.
Also for those that haven't checked in a while 1GB 2.5" SSDs can be had for between $150 - $200 now depended on brand name clout hikeups.
Ugh. Is you roof just old or is it weather damage Novica? Maybe have someone look at, cause if its damaged from weather even if its fairly old the insurance company may pay at least part of the cost.
We just paid $11,000 for ONE foundation wall to be rebuilt. That took care of most my retirement money. Thankfully I'm young enough I can build it back up again. 2 months after that the fridge croaked. We went to Lowes and did a 12 month payment plan (also if you or your husband are military or a veteran, both Lowes and Home Depot give a 10% discount on everything in the store on sale or not) Our air conditioner died years ago, we just use window fans now, its just not an expense I can justify, this house is close to being paid off and we are hoping to turn it into a rental and move out to the country. But we don't need air year round either, usually 24 months out of the year. Thank God both of my kids are out of college and have decent jobs.
Revisiting an old favourite: the Lakeside Folly, here with Zelara 8 and the dForce Maiden Princess dress. Second try I started the dforce sequence with Zelara floating in front of the stone and moved her back towards it along the timeline, after the first attempt ended in a minty-fresh green explosion (alas, no screenshot)
Something I found on my LJ (posted in 2011). It's still true, and there was no need for then-me to call out now-me like that!
LOL except your spouse doesn't THINK you do it, they KNOW it from walking into the room at 2am in the morning.
Or in my case, for spouse read 'cats' LOL
Here's a few things from today's sale you may want to take a look at. These prices in this post assume you own Zelara 8, have ANY new release in the cart. (20% and 10% additional.) They are from the Many Faces of Zelara 8 sale page. Do keep in mind as the years go by, I'll be showing less and less of the back catalogs because I only pinpoint things I don't already own. I am also a PC+ member.
Here's what to consider on these- although you might not use the outfit, at these prices there are cute parts of it to kitbash.
Keeper for Genesis 3 Female(s) has adorable two-toned boots. They're form fitting and will go nicely under pants. $4.61 and 79%. For almost 80% off, worth a look! Here's the boots in white/cream in the gallery. Classy.
Lex Outfit for Genesis 3 Female(s) has really cute wedge heels and I think the outfit would actually make a good top for a jacket to go over, plus add leggings, pants, or longer shorts for more family friendly. $4.19 and again 79% (almost 80%)
Badlands Maiden is 79% and it's got nice gloves, and string-type sandals. $4.61 You don't need Zelara for that price, either.
Any of your Ice Hotel items are going 72% off. Bundle is not included, but IIRC when I tested it the items at 72% off were cheaper than the bundle. I didn't pick up the bedroom because I can't imagine anyone ever using it! Prices are $5.86 to about $8 (7.99)
FeiFae goes 72% if you're in to fantasy type characters.
Color Rave Hair Dye- am interested to see if anyone has actually tried it? The promos look stunning, but it gives me pause when there's only one gallery image and I don't like the hair. It looks weird with semi transparent chunks coming out of the side of her head. (Not all hair does right with different shaders.) Didn't see a PDF explaining how this works and the description mentions a mask.
Here's a quick test run of the Color Rave Hair Dye on Aiko 8 with Abigail Hair. Abigail Hair has a lot of material zones, so I went slightly over the top - and it shows one problem with strand modeling for hairs, when a strand goes under/through another strand that's a different colour, but that would be an issue with any shader and colour differentiation.
These are only a few of the colours available. It's possible to get a slightly more harmonious whole LOL
The mask is only for the emissive colouring (second image), and its use is explained in an included guide.
I must've missed the guide, I looked in the ReadMe. Thanks for pointing it out and showing the shader.
@dgvertex Very nice sets, impressive. However, frankly, your description tells nothing. "An interior scene (Iray)" Do the windows open/close? Is that what's meant by win2_1 win2_2 ?
That explains it. They were the ones who put you to sleep. There's NOTHING more relaxing than a purring feline companion. If someone could bottle that feeling and sell it as a night sleep aid, it would sell!
My cats try to push me out of the computer chair or any chair that I have in front of the computer and fuss at me for getting on the computer with the exception of the laptop in the front room
I've confused my cats by rolling away the computer chair while one of them was in it, and pulling up another chair to the computer desk. It kinda breaks their brain.
Mine just change to the chair I pulled up
I've wondered before if the computer or monitor sends out some frequency noise we can't hear, because the cats DO seem drawn to that chair. The minute I'm out of it BAMM! they're in it. Even if they are sleeping elsewhere, they'll get up and get in the chair.
They might, if I get up... (but then I'd just switch chairs again - yes, I am evil)
Don't forget I'm the chairman...
Mine don't wait they just get behind me and push
Yep that's the boss all right
Hey, congrats to @serenenight on her adorable new addition Sparkle! Some really cute pets on that thread. Adopt a shelter pet this weekend for the Clear The Shelter weekend.
most of the time, she is content to sleep in a bed near me while I am at the computer. Somteimes she decides she needs to be on my lap, making it difficult for me to type or reach the mouse, and bringing a new perspective to the old IT staff insult PEBCAK
Some folks I know use "I/O error" (Idiot Operator). PEBCAK is less ambiguous overall, LOL.
Lavish Bathroom Enaria for Genesis 8 Female dForce All That Glitters Outfit (Gen8F) Sleek Ponytail Hair (Gen8/3F)
The Lavish Bathroom is very pretty with brighter lights, but that wasn't the focus of my scene. Just know the water glistens and looks very realistic when you have light shining on it.
Want to have a discussion on the difference between shadows and contrast. To me, shadows darken areas overall, while contrast is what it says- it differentiates the light and dark areas more concisely, with firm cutoffs from one area to the next. It also darkens. If you want to see the difference, I am showing the original render (with tone mapping for crush blacks increased because I wanted a more dramatic outcome) with postwork which mostly focused on contrast. (NOT shadows.) Shadows really just lightened or darkened everything, so contrast worked much better.
Look at her arm on her leg, the nice light line going down her forearm. When I do contrast, I also increase highlights to get that sharper contrast.
So what do you find yourself tweaking more in postwork- shadows, contrast or both? I'm a both. Most of the time, I am going more with shadow adjustment, with a touch of contrast. I tend to use Crush Blacks a lot too.
Open both of these then click back and forth.
Enaria for Genesis 8 Female dForce All That Glitters Outfit (Gen8F) Sleek Ponytail Hair (Gen8/3F)
And one more of Enaria.
Forums are doing that stupid No File Chosen again, when they show up after you Post Comment.
Iray renders shadows too black.
I was taught to avoid using the color black in art school for figures and portraits because things are rarely that color, so I do spend a lot of time trying to take black out of my renders and replace shadows with a more nuanced and less severe color.