@Mike-Amos Place I'm at isn't grounded even though it's a three prong plug. I'm certain. It's not a rental property anymore it's a 100+ year old house.

I think my only option for protection is either a UPS or I found this one outfit that builds non-grounded surge protectors. Called "ZeroSurge." Only problem is their 2-plug version is $263. I called them up today to double check and the man said, yes. No need to be grounded.

https://zerosurge.com/2r-series-v2/

You or Rich think a UPS alone would work?

@Mike-Amos Mike, is your house grounded? Are your outlets grounded?

@Mike-Amos Don't remind me. I probably should have asked the repair guys to pick something else besides a Samsung SSD. Too late I guess.

@Mike-Amos I wondering too if I should have just stuck with a regular HDD. I've had old computers where all of the sudden the computer stopped and I opened the box and the heat sink for the CPU was lying on its side. So put in some new paste and slapped it back on and it started right up.

They're finished. $550 for diagnosis, replace the two SSD's, save whatever data can be saved, and load Windows 10 Pro. By data I mean the contents of Window's documents folder, Quxel, Thea materials, etc.

So back to the old drawing board. Gotta reload programs like Sketchup 2022 and 2024. My trusted old Autocad 2000. That's going to cost around $120 for the Longbow software to allow its use in Windows 10. Bunch of other programs.

Then there's re-configuring Windows 10 all over again to the way I had it. I have a lot of those tweaks in my saved F: drive which is a Western Digital Black. I also have all of my drawings, Sketchup models, D5 stuff on that as well.

I'll find out on Thursday. $50 to bring it back to me. I guess it's all tax deductible.

I think I sparked it by plugging in some stupid old spot light for the backyard. I killed my BIOS with that a few months ago.

Soon we'll be an ancient breed. Like the draftsmen of old.

@Rich-O-Brien

Can I just plug in the extension into the UPS?

Is there a larger power usage?

@Rich-O-Brien Should I get a UPS or a power strip with a better surge protector? Which one actually works? Mine is on this one:

CRST 6-Outlet Metal Heavy Duty Power Strip

Computer died. Well apparently it was my ssd's The operating system and another data drive with Thea Render. They're going to try and save my documents data, the Quixel materials and the Thea materials and models. Luckily I have most of my cad dwgs, a lot of Sketchup and D5 models.

That said I have to reinstall and reconfigure a lot of programs including Windows 10 ugly set-up.I'm using my last computer here and I have a lot of stuff from Sketchup 2021. He said it might have been an electrical spike.

It's going to be a real pain in the ass. It's depressing. I find myself leaning over to find my new box.

One moral of the story: get a UPS and a big cloud account for back-up. Another is, "listen to your doctor."

Speaking of Blender videos or tutorials, Some of them talk a mile a minute.

@Dave-R said in Malibu:

Very nice. I like the zero entry front door. Is it zero entry from the garage?

Thanks Dave. It's a double door into a hallway. Here's the floor plan.

Fixed.

@Rich-O-Brien said in Malibu:

Lovely.

Thanks Rich. I think the driveway swallowed up the 911 though.

Wait! Hold the phone again! That's a Singer Porsche 911. It might distract from an architectural rendering. I think the model is by Luis Lara Osorio,. Not sure. I like the previous more modern version of this house but this is identical to the original house that was burned to the ground during the LA fires.

I almost finished the proverbial doughnut tutorial by Blender Guru. He also runs poliigon for texture thats I used in SU for either Thea Render or D5 Render. Right now I mostly use it for importing models from Blenderkit which about $10/month into D5 Render. Some of them work and others don't. I imagine it's the same with Twinmotion. It's complicated. I also dabbled with Rhino which has a command entry window like Autocad. So far Blender is a sort of utility combining SU, D5 and Blender from time to time.

@Rich-O-Brien said in Wire Wheels 1967 Alfa Romeo:

Someone is liking Blender more and more

Right? I'm on a slow learning curve. Blender is very complicated. Probably the most complicated software I've ever used.

@Mike-Amos said in Wire Wheels 1967 Alfa Romeo:

Can you post the method of opening the doors with the correct alignment please?

Open the Scene menu.

Open Custom Properties

Find Controllers under Custom Properties

Use sliders or enter values as such to open doors.

Doors open.

Let me know if it works.

Doors open!

Model by Luis Lara Osorio.

Hold the phone! Change in plans. He decided to nix the overhangs fire protection since embers end up there and start fires. Also increased the roof pitch. The floor plan stays the same. I left the windows and door in place except for the new entry design. I know some people prefer the 50s ranch look but what the client wants the client gets.

A few houses in the general neighborhood area survived but the rest is burned down and almost looks flattened. A lot of the old house had those wide overhangs. Some with exposed rafter tails. A fire rated soffit board could help. Roof vents are another access point for embers. I assume we'll be seeing a lot of houses being rebuilt without overhangs.

He also said he wasn't an Alfa-Romeo guy.

@jo-ke said in Modelling a tramway:

@Gus-R said in Modelling a tramway:

@jo-ke Great work. How did you crumple up the weather tram above? Was that Midjourney?

the crumple is the scan in sketchfab. Midejourney ist the grass and the fassade of the building

this is the raw render:

Does Midjourney work for straight enhancement of a rendering?

Thanks guys. Does anyone know how to operate the doors? I think it already has a controller in the Blender model but Blender is still Greek to me. Rich? Any idea?