I will never understand people who want "smart" devices. "Smart" = "You are being monitored 24/7, and you've granted even mediocre hackers full unrestricted access to that area of your life."
Wait... I agree with you 100% on something?
This right here (among other reasons) is why I will never get a "smart" device. I had to replace my decade-old flip phone last year, and replaced it with a brand-new flip phone. It calls people and can send and receive text messages. If I didn't need it for work, I'd ditch it and get a land line.
I like my phone, it has Spotify and Hulu on it, plus I can use it with my noise cancelling earmuffs.
I'm going to be putting in maximum effort today to get this job done, not because I'm running behind (I'm actually ahead of schedule) or I really need to get to the next job, I'm doing it because the homeowners are super weird and not in a fun charming way, more of an uncomfortable, abrasive, they don't want me there sort of way.
I'm going to be putting in maximum effort today to get this job done, not because I'm running behind (I'm actually ahead of schedule) or I really need to get to the next job, I'm doing it because the homeowners are super weird and not in a fun charming way, more of an uncomfortable, abrasive, they don't want me there sort of way.HOW DARE YOU BE THERE DOING THE JOB THAT THEY HIRED YOU TO DO!!!!
It's more like they're used to working with the Bruce Co so they expected a half dozen Latinos to put it in over a couple of days, rather than one guy over a week (which is pretty good for one person for a 14x18' patio from start to finish (including excavation).
Homeowner (after complaining for a few minutes about how much the haze is affecting her): So, are you almost done?
Me: Yup, another day or two at the max!
Homeowner: It seems like you've been here awhile!
Me: Yes, that is how craftsmanship works!
Homeowner: Okay, well hopefully you're done soon!
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Sharing a Fridge With Young People:
Our fridge is so overflowing with takeout boxes that almost every single shelf is packed front-to-back with stacked boxes of rotting food. I've decided to do a purge before our road trip.
NobodysHome: Impus Minor, which of these leftovers are yours?
Impus Minor: None of them.
NobodysHome: Impus Major, which of these leftovers are yours?
Impus Major: None of them.
Now we're in the serious "mystery zone", as I know which leftovers are mine and GothBard's, so what the heck?
Ah, well, in 20 minutes GothBard will come to lunch and I'll get final permission to throw out the rest, and our fridge will NOT be growing new life forms while we're away...
Sharing a Fridge With Young People:
Our fridge is so overflowing with takeout boxes that almost every single shelf is packed front-to-back with stacked boxes of rotting food. I've decided to do a purge before our road trip.
NobodysHome: Impus Minor, which of these leftovers are yours?
Impus Minor: None of them.
NobodysHome: Impus Major, which of these leftovers are yours?
Impus Major: None of them.Now we're in the serious "mystery zone", as I know which leftovers are mine and GothBard's, so what the heck?
Ah, well, in 20 minutes GothBard will come to lunch and I'll get final permission to throw out the rest, and our fridge will NOT be growing new life forms while we're away...
F+&~ that, I'd throw it all without even asking and then let them figure it out.
Sharing a Fridge With Young People:
Our fridge is so overflowing with takeout boxes that almost every single shelf is packed front-to-back with stacked boxes of rotting food. I've decided to do a purge before our road trip.
NobodysHome: Impus Minor, which of these leftovers are yours?
Impus Minor: None of them.
NobodysHome: Impus Major, which of these leftovers are yours?
Impus Major: None of them.Now we're in the serious "mystery zone", as I know which leftovers are mine and GothBard's, so what the heck?
Ah, well, in 20 minutes GothBard will come to lunch and I'll get final permission to throw out the rest, and our fridge will NOT be growing new life forms while we're away...
But... But... Think of the possibilities!
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Long live the pierogiblin!
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In other news, I missed out on the job that meant I would have had a job title with three words in it instead of two, a little bit more money, and probably a lot more work, but hey ho. Given the previous experiences of people having to work directly under the big boss, this may have been a lucky escape, though...
I had that at the last job. They wanted to interview me for a job description I wanted, but I didn't want to have there.
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Same old, same old:
Another corporate Windows update this week, and another, "We've helpfully re-enabled your wireless adapter," fiasco. Yep, I found out because I tried to turn on VPN and got spammed with infinite messages that it was connecting, losing connectivity, and re-connecting. Because living in a lath-and-plaster house (aka a giant Faraday cage) isn't conducive to wireless connectivity.
Still grateful to TOZ for the "Ignore" feature in Outlook. Another day, another, "Congratulations to so-and-so for 20 years at Global Megacorporation" and everyone on the entire distribution list having the irrepressible urge to Reply All with congratulations.
Y'know what? I don't need to know that you're congratulating so-and-so. Maybe f*****g consider responding to them alone. Or are you Replying All just so everyone will see what a "nice person" you are?
Nope. Doesn't work. I hate you for your inconsideracy.
I don't know how do you do that. My Windows currently installs any important updates automatically, and yet, my Wi-Fi connection remains turned off, with the option "Turn Back Wi-Fi" set to "Manually"...
It seems that I wouldn't be a good support.
"It works for me"
"GRARRRR!!!"
"Can't replicate your error. Sorry."
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I don't know how do you do that.
I work for Global Megacorporation, so our IT department builds the updates that get pushed to our computers. For whatever reason (probably one too many statements that, "My wireless isn't working!" because the person turned it off), their updates routinely turn wireless back on.
It's exhausting. Don't punish those of us who know what we're doing because of those who don't.
I don't know how do you do that.I work for Global Megacorporation, so our IT department builds the updates that get pushed to our computers. For whatever reason (probably one too many statements that, "My wireless isn't working!" because the person turned it off), their updates routinely turn wireless back on.
It's exhausting. Don't punish those of us who know what we're doing because of those who don't.
Ah, now it comes dangerously close to...
"GRRARRR!"
"Working as intended. Can't help you."
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In other news, I missed out on the job that meant I would have had a job title with three words in it instead of two, a little bit more money, and probably a lot more work, but hey ho. Given the previous experiences of people having to work directly under the big boss, this may have been a lucky escape, though...
I'm sorry you missed out on the job.
Yay! After 10.5 hours, I have power again!
I'm glad you got power back.
Started a new job, it is from the new designer, frankly, it is beneath me but I'm ahead of schedule and want something to do so I'll do it, which is what I told him when I went over it with him.
All good, there's another crew that needs experience building walls so I'll rope them in under the pretense of training them on how to build walls (I'll train them, but it's only because I want to get done faster).
Speaking of windows updates, yesterday, I innocently ticked a small "firmware" update together with regular update and ordered the computer to update and shut down.
Huh? It was supposed to simply shut down...
A completely new version of a restarting screen that I have never seen shows up, with red warning icon to not turn off power and a green progress bar...
Whaaa?
Oh, crap.
It was the first time I have seen windows doing that. Of course my anxiety immediately started to make me worry about sudden, unexpected power outage. Yeah, living with (a very mild, really) anxiety is like that.
Nothing happened, of course, and everything seems to be fine.
I've mentioned that Albany is in the direct flow through the Golden Gate and into the Central Valley, so we have amazing natural air conditioning from the arctic current that flows along our coast.
But yesterday was just stupid (in a wonderful way):
- We had lunch with Shiro in Fremont. When we left his house it was 100˚F.
- My father-in-law called from Oakland asking whether I'd made it to Costco or not because of the heat, as it had hit 90˚F at his house.
I thought he was joking.
We peaked out at 75˚F and didn't realize it was such a hot day for everyone else.
Bay Area life.
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A trap for necromancers and body snatchers.
I've mentioned that Albany is in the direct flow through the Golden Gate and into the Central Valley, so we have amazing natural air conditioning from the arctic current that flows along our coast.
But yesterday was just stupid (in a wonderful way):
- We had lunch with Shiro in Fremont. When we left his house it was 100˚F.
- My father-in-law called from Oakland asking whether I'd made it to Costco or not because of the heat, as it had hit 90˚F at his house.I thought he was joking.
We peaked out at 75˚F and didn't realize it was such a hot day for everyone else.
Bay Area life.
Ok, that's an impressive as the map shows that there is about 4 kilometers between (Northern) Oakland and Albany...
I do see a significant weather difference between my region and the GMs place, but that's over 9 kilometers.
I've mentioned that Albany is in the direct flow through the Golden Gate and into the Central Valley, so we have amazing natural air conditioning from the arctic current that flows along our coast.
But yesterday was just stupid (in a wonderful way):
- We had lunch with Shiro in Fremont. When we left his house it was 100˚F.
- My father-in-law called from Oakland asking whether I'd made it to Costco or not because of the heat, as it had hit 90˚F at his house.I thought he was joking.
We peaked out at 75˚F and didn't realize it was such a hot day for everyone else.
Bay Area life.
Ok, that's an impressive as the map shows that there is about 4 kilometers between (Northern) Oakland and Albany...
I do see a significant weather difference between my region and the GMs place, but that's over 9 kilometers.
That's just the distance between borders. Oakland is a large town. I'd estimate the distance between our houses to be 9-10 kilometers, just like you and your GM.
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"Traditional" Values:
I asked Impus Major to pick me up some hummus. He knows he frequently gets things wrong, so he went for a very generic-sounding hummus: Zacca Traditional Hummus.
It is awful. Truly, inspiringly, amazingly, the worst hummus I've ever had. It has a sour taste to it that builds over time, so after you've had some on a bit of pita you have this horrible sour aftertaste in your mouth. And not a crisp sour like a lemon that's tart and goes away. A slow, lingering sour that sits there for nearly a minute.
I thought, "How can anyone make hummus this bad?"
The ingredients list said it all: Garbonzo beans. Sesame seeds. Olive Oil. Salt. Lemon juice...
Doing well so far...
...citric acid, garlic, serrano peppers.
Ah, yes, that ancient and traditional trade between the peoples of the mountains of Mexico and the ancient peoples of the Middle East.
(1) If you're going to call something "traditional", don't add a nonsense ingredient that completely throws off the flavor balance,
(2) The additional citric acid and serrano pepper explain everyhing: A little bit of heat stimulates your taste buds, then pure citric acid will assail you.
At least now I understand why it's so terrible. But I feel bad having to throw it out. But nobody in the house will eat it; we've all tried and we all hate it.
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Might make acceptable cement for a Lego building you want to make permanent.
Or work well as an 'extreme' intimate lubricant
Or be suitable for provoking a fight with a person from that region.
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The world of dating sites and apps is incredibly varied, confusing, and potentially expensive.
I think instead, I'm just going to wing it on my own.
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Might make acceptable cement for a Lego building you want to make permanent.
Or work well as an 'extreme' intimate lubricant
Or be suitable for provoking a fight with a person from that region.
You probably don't want to include anything spicy or anything with citric acid in your cement if possible, it could hasten the deterioration of any rebar running through the structure.
Also, it might cause the Legos to eventually melt.
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The world of dating sites and apps is incredibly varied, confusing, and potentially expensive.
I think instead, I'm just going to wing it on my own.
That is the experience of the Fake Russian as well: He's doing a lot better going out and talking to people than he is with any of the apps. What a surprise.
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You already got me with "the world of dating is confusing"
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Logistics Manager: Why don't you use the table saw? You can get more accurate cuts up and down with that!
Me: You... You've seen what I do, right?!!
Logistics Manager: Why don't you use the table saw? You can get more accurate cuts up and down with that!
Me: You... You've seen what I do, right?!!
are you freehanding things or cutting curves?
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are you freehanding things or cutting curves?Logistics Manager: Why don't you use the table saw? You can get more accurate cuts up and down with that!
Me: You... You've seen what I do, right?!!
Currently, nothing, about to build a retaining wall.
It's just funny that he thinks he can tell me how to do MY job when I literally helped write the manual on how everyone else should do their job.
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Might make acceptable cement for a Lego building you want to make permanent.
Or work well as an 'extreme' intimate lubricant
Or be suitable for provoking a fight with a person from that region.
You probably don't want to include anything spicy or anything with citric acid in your cement if possible, it could hasten the deterioration of any rebar running through the structure.
Also, it might cause the Legos to eventually melt.
O well. I shall have to shelve plans for the Chipotle and Kumquat Cement Company, in that case.
Back from my second (GMed) session this year. It was continuation of Infinity session I GMed in... February?
It took almost more time for the party to recall who they are and what they were doing than to finish the actual plot.
The party was investigating a politically sensitive issue of a potential illegal AI creation by a son of a prominent party member of the future interstellar Chinese State Empire (one of the seven main powers in the Infinity). Apparently what seemed as an attempt at creating illegal AI was really an accident while creating a perfectly legal lesser AI, and a ploy to insert a money stealing algorithm to it. At the very last moment the party decided to become crocked. They party hacker replaced the algorithm with one of her making, which will allow her to siphon money from a ministerial account in a few month, and then the party will provide the evidence that the minister defrauded party money to the Imperial Court* so the Emperor can blackmail the minister.
*new Chinese Empire is under a nominally dual control of reinstated Imperial Court and the (not Communist anymore) Party, and they struggle for dominance between each other, with Party generally having an upper hand. One of the players is Imperial loyalist so he swayed the rest of the party to get an imperial favor for undermining Party dominance a little bit.
Next week the regular GM is back and the he is gone for four weeks so we will be playing some more then.
I finally found Carbon Pink after encountering it my accident a year or two ago.
Huh. Interesting setting.
The world of dating sites and apps is incredibly varied, confusing, and potentially expensive.
I think instead, I'm just going to wing it on my own.
I've basically given up on all of the above, including winging it on my own. Any tips?
I've basically given up on all of the above, including winging it on my own. Any tips?The world of dating sites and apps is incredibly varied, confusing, and potentially expensive.
I think instead, I'm just going to wing it on my own.
For me, or from me?
Honestly, I haven't been single since 1999 so this is all completely new territory for me.
I figure I have a good job, I'm confident in myself, I'm in pretty good shape, I seem to be at least somewhat attractive, and I have long hair, the rest should just sort of happen.
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Wishing nothing but the best for your both.
So much of this boils down to dumb luck it isn't funny.
Dumb is the keyword here.
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That wasn't a challenge, dammit.
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USians, enjoy your special day, but consider what could have been, remaining part of a pasty/sunburned nation that would happily eat canned toast with whelk paste while throwing street furniture at Frenchmen.
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USians, enjoy your special day, but consider what could have been, remaining part of a pasty/sunburned nation that would happily eat canned toast with whelk paste while throwing street furniture at Frenchmen.
Quiet you fool! I am already trying to convince them to do exactly that.
So, my fellow British citizen, just relax. And let me do the talking!
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As a patio builder I loved the part of the D&D movie where the barbarian lady pries up the brick and uses it to beat the shit out of the execution squad.