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2 yr. ago

  • The HR department at your company is the company's advocate they are not your advocate.

  • If you haven't already go get Reamde by Neil Stephenson. Slightly similar but less campy vibe - also enjoyed.

  • Streaming videos on my phone using speaker for audio while at the restaurant eating lunch. I figured for sure, everyone would want to get in on that awesome stand-up comedy action or zany talk show that I enjoy with my meal. It turns out that (gasp!) some people even think it's rude...LOL.

  • Here's a hot take - they lose the appeal and the court draws their new districts according to law...sorry, your fascisism has been denied.

  • Double Feature: Ender's Game (2013) and Starship Troopers (1997) - then we serve them a sumptuous shellfish tower to discuss their surrender over dinner.

  • You are wise to be concerned but I think you will not design an "enclosure" that will prevent further damage if it is inside a wood frame house. There is a house near me that burned down because of a single power brick for a tool in the garage.

    Your better approach would be to make it so that power delivery is monitored and regulated automatically. That or manually just unplug after charging.

    Thermal runaway happens on over-discharge or overcharge of the battery pack. Each pack has smart circuits to regulate this but they are designed at scale with a squinty eye at overall product cost...cheapest circuit available gets used even by well-known manufacturers.

    Place power draw monitoring on the delivery circuit and when the draw lowers to maintenance level (batteries have recharged) have the power delivery automatically cut off. This can all be automated with freely available smart home products. You can even get some temperature sensors to monitor for overheat conditions during charging.

  • My only concern about all of this is that Fallon's Ben and Jerry's ice cream flavor is the best one! I can also groove on Colbert's but Fallon's is the best. Don't cancel Fallon's ice cream please!

  • I'm going to be an outlier in my comment here but, for myself (an elderly dude who has done what you just did) I, personally, prefer to hire it done. You paid 2-3 hundred on parts and tools, put in 10+ hours of work and still have not got it working. I have come to appreciate the skill and ability of trades...they do that for a living - let them.

    I'm really good at my chosen trade and I laugh at those that think they can just do my job because the watched a YouTube video about it. I fix their problems every day and charge them no more than someone who didn't fuck it up first because I can appreciate the effort but I don't charge them less because they did part of the work incorrectly.

  • TWA as a very young kid - I kept trying to pronounce it as a word and my dad was giggling and my mom and sister kept shushing me...I did not know why at the time.

  • I've always wondered - how does a "professional amateur athlete" manage to earn a living? I've always assumed that they have parents of means that subsidize their passion to allow them to pursue their goals.

    As an American I can not conceive of a career path that does not immediately provide fruit for labor - yes, I know this is a stunted view point but it is what I have. I would love to know of another way of following my passions without a viable means of support.

    I know that I could absolutely crush a lot of my bucket-list goals if I didn't have to earn along the way.

  • I am not in the tech field but I love coding and learning new languages. I have for the last 25 years. When my actual (blue collar) profession starts feeling drab or boring my mind naturally starts drifting to find some problem to solve or some way of automating things just to keep me happy and engaged.

    Batch scripts on MS/DOS, my first (floppy disk installed) Slackware box. REXX in OS/2. I worked through the animal books and played with Java, Perl, C - actually building tools that work and accomplish things.

    Diving in to a new language or project is like discovering a new author you didn't know about and the hours of joy it will bring me are fantastic and fulfilling. I guess you could say my hobby is learning.

    I wrote a great iOS app to help me with things in my job and I use it all the time which saves me literally hours, making my work happier and more profitable. Best hobby ever and totally cheap too!

  • I’m glad you have someone to lean on - that’s what makes the difference for me. I also don’t do bro - hate sports, don’t like pranks. I don’t have many friends but the ones I have are solid and dependable. I see my best friend less than monthly but we talk several times a day to share work complaints, discuss food or what we’re currently binging on TV.

  • After reading the other replies I went back and re-read your post to check...you don't mention a partner or any significant other. I think you might be focusing too hard inward (bad mood, cynical, walls up) and not focusing outward (cherishing interactions with others, forming or maintaining bonds with others). Perhaps you're feeling lonely?

    I am a grump but my wife won't let me get away with it for long. I am cynical but my friends call me on it because I force myself to share. My work puts me in contact with new people every day and I actively seek an understanding of them and have to let them see who I am in order to be good at my job.

    Another respondent said "put yourself out there". I agree but would also add seek out interactions with others and be a participant not an observer.

  • I wouldn't be overly concerned that the concrete cracked...it does that sometimes. Be concerned if you have heaving/unevenness in the support of your home. As others have said - contact a professional. I would suggest an engineer, not a foundation repair salesman...you get where I'm going with that - the foundation company will always suggest large-scale repairs. An engineer that has no financial dog in the fight will cost a bit but will give an hones opinion.

  • I don't have a problem with this. I was an "essential" employee in the before-times and I muddled through and never had an incident of sickness...I think my masking and sanitation saved me from hazard. I'm not downplaying the whole pandemic - I lost a few very good people because of it (I miss you, Russ).

    The before-times are past...we need to work through the now times and that requires that we are together as people and a part of being present in the now-times is not hiding behind fear. We need to connect and see each others visage to gauge our connections.

    Wear a mask if you have the sniffles (cold/flu), wear a mask if you want to avoid allergens or smoke in the air. Wear a mask if you, like me, are just plain ugly and it makes others more comfortable but do not wear a mask because of covid anymore. That threat is behind us as a people just as the Spanish Flu is behind us as a people, despite it's presence in the world at large.

  • I used to vape on mesh and cable wick. Some people think you need cotton in between but you do not if you know how to set it up right.

    The coil can be wrapped directly on the mesh or cable as long as you build up a layer of non-conductive carbon between them. Back when they were popular most would use a torch on the mesh or cable to get it scorched. Then you wrap coil gently in complete contact (no loose/floppy coils) with the wick.

    The fun part is working out the hot spots by pulsing and actually poking the coil where it tries to short on the wick…it really is an art to get it right.

    Once it’s set up correctly you have a nifty juice conduit straight to the coil - you actually have to tip the atomizer to let the juice flow. It can be an excellent vape but kind of a PITB to get right.

  • I think the easiest point of entry into having a great cup of coffee is to go buy some good beans already ground and get a simple/cheap French press. You will immediately taste the difference from your Keurig swill. Hot water, good coffee and a slow extraction make magic!

    Soon enough you will graduate to wanting a nice grinder to chop up your nice whole-beans so you can have a truly fresh cuppa.

    Personally, I've run the gamut of expensive espresso machines to pour-over and everything in between. I start every day with a fresh grind of dark roast beans into a large French press caraffe that yields 2-3 cups of goodness and I don't think more strenuous methods are worth the effort by comparison.

  • I can’t attest to the accuracy of your hypothesis but I have been thinking a lot about AI lately. I’m eagerly awaiting the day that some genius comes up with an AI post filter that I can tell it to “never show me cats” or “block and downvote all memes”. That will be the day that the internet becomes a peaceful place for me.

    …and dogs rule, btw.