And who else here is baffled by "bad dishwasher loaders"?
Dishwashers aren't rocket science. There are thin prongs for plates and wide prongs for bowls, then racks for glasses and something for silverware. Yet one of my friends admitted that whenever she tried to load the dishwasher, her dad would rearrange things and fit in at least 50% more dishes. This morning I got up and was pleasantly surprised to find that someone had loaded the dishwasher. And the sad thing was, it was so neat and organized that I knew that none of my family members had done it.
It's like, "How can you be bad at loading a dishwasher?" The racks are pretty much designed to be fool-proof, yet half the people I know would be hard-pressed to fit 10 plates and 10 bowls into a full-sized dishwasher.
It makes no sense.
EDIT: OK, color me both pleased and sheepish (pleepish?). I asked Impus Major which of his friends had loaded the dishwasher last night, and he admitted he'd done it himself. Boy CAN be taught!
I admit I load the dishwasher poorly.
Who will tell Lisa that we do use cream cheese for cheesecake in Poland from time to time?You are beautiful and wise, but are currently speaking craziness.I have my first ever sernik (Polish cheesecake) in the oven, because American-style cheesecake is gross and anything containing cream cheese should be banned under the provisions of the Geneva Convention.
Nobody. Because Poland does not use cream cheese in cheesecake. Lisamarlene has spoken.
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Nobody.Who will tell Lisa that we do use cream cheese for cheesecake in Poland from time to time?You are beautiful and wise, but are currently speaking craziness.I have my first ever sernik (Polish cheesecake) in the oven, because American-style cheesecake is gross and anything containing cream cheese should be banned under the provisions of the Geneva Convention.
Actually, you might be right. She might be inclined to listen to Nobody...
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Actually, you might be right. She might be inclined to listen to Nobody...Nobody.Who will tell Lisa that we do use cream cheese for cheesecake in Poland from time to time?You are beautiful and wise, but are currently speaking craziness.I have my first ever sernik (Polish cheesecake) in the oven, because American-style cheesecake is gross and anything containing cream cheese should be banned under the provisions of the Geneva Convention.
Of course I do!
NobodysHome is one of the two people on this planet who make me feel like I ought to be riding the short bus, instead of assuming I'm one of the smartest people in the room. I *always* listen to what he has to say.I may not like it, but I listen.
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Of course I do!
NobodysHome is one of the two people on this planet who make me feel like I ought to be riding the short bus, instead of assuming I'm one of the smartest people in the room. I *always* listen to what he has to say.
I may not like it, but I listen.
Greaaaat... now I have to start making s*** up.
"Hey, AI! Tell me about the fall of the French monarchy and how it relates to Paizo's We Be Goblins campaign. And I don't mind hallucinations..."
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Of course I do!
NobodysHome is one of the two people on this planet who make me feel like I ought to be riding the short bus, instead of assuming I'm one of the smartest people in the room. I *always* listen to what he has to say.
I may not like it, but I listen.Greaaaat... now I have to start making s*** up.
"Hey, AI! Tell me about the fall of the French monarchy and how it relates to Paizo's We Be Goblins campaign. And I don't mind hallucinations..."
Just put what i put in the app for travel notes "F%#*ing Dragon". It's short and can apply to anything.
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Of course I do!
NobodysHome is one of the two people on this planet who make me feel like I ought to be riding the short bus, instead of assuming I'm one of the smartest people in the room. I *always* listen to what he has to say.
I may not like it, but I listen.Greaaaat... now I have to start making s*** up.
"Hey, AI! Tell me about the fall of the French monarchy and how it relates to Paizo's We Be Goblins campaign. And I don't mind hallucinations..."
Pretty sure that's the plot of a Terry Pratchett novel...
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Yeah, I think I was just born under a lucky financial star.
We've had about $20,000 in cash outlays in January. About $15,000 was expected (kids' tuition and property tax on our house), but I'm also having to pay all the California fees for dealing with my mother's estate. So as I mentioned, we had to float some of the money and I'm sitting here desperately scrambling to figure out how to make $5,000 appear out of thin air.
And then my brother emails me: One of my mother's non-trust accounts had named beneficiaries, so
(a) I should be receiving my third by the end of February, which is exactly the "$5,000 out of thin air" that I desperately needed, and
(b) the account has enough in it to drop the rest under Washington's $100,000 probate limit so it looks like we no longer have to do probate, either.They say that wealth is 10% planning and 90% luck. I am inclined to agree.
EDIT: I mean, in 1999 I was a college professor, GothBard was working at a biology company, and we were barely making ends meet. The idea of building up savings or retirement was beyond us. Then I quit my horrible job just as the dot boom was "hiring anyone who was breathing" as my new director put it. I was unemployed for 2 weeks before getting picked up by a tech company for a 33% raise. Raw luck. Then I happened to be a perfect fit and got massive raises every year. A combination of luck and work. My parents helped me with a down payment on a house (relatives). I got laid off, lost everything except the house, and then someone from my former tech company saw that I was looking for work and picked me up. Luck/who you know. We still weren't doing great, but as our gaming group grew someone noticed GothBard's imagination and said, "Hey, you'd make a great game developer!" Luck/who you know. And suddenly we had dual tech incomes and it was off to the races. Planning.
Sort of my life... Whenever the financial situation gets tight I get out mainly because of external factors – including but not limited to:
* owning a flat bought out dirt cheap by my parents during late communism, and passed on me when they moved to UK (and before moving out them getting out of worst debts because they finally dealt with inheritance after grandfather's death - selling a flat in another town that in the past was legally non-bindingly promised to me, only to divided between the three actual heirs - my father, his brother, and grandfather's second wife).
* father getting a job in UK because family friend found him one there.
* years later getting 15 thousands from family of the aforementioned second wife, because she wished that the remaining money from that flat went to me and my brother.
* when that money run out and I accumulated too much debt, I was in position to go to UK for three ten months and earn enough not only to pay debts but also to save for a few years (especially after the Queen gave me back the money I accidentally leased to her) because my parents housed and feed me during that time.
* when the money were slowly running out, the (un)employment office gave me a temp job in Aviation Museum where I was grounds keeper for half a year... That job paid peanuts, but also the direct supervisor had minimal expectations of the folks sent from employment office to help. We were paid half the minimum wage, but in practice we did half of a single job each.
* at the time that temp job ended, my mother got her Polish pension, and it was going into paying for the apartment and my living costs.
* after a media magazine with which one of my friends cooperated folded, he and some of his friends - most if not all also happening to be gamers - decided to start their own. When I learned about that I offered to translate for them - it took a while before they actually started publishing, but then they did come to me with occasional jobs. A blatant case of "who you know". The funny thing is that one of the partners is a guy that worked at the Aviation Museum at the same time as I, and we even pushed around an exhibit aircraft when it was repaired.
* when my parents' situation in UK got tighter and mom had to redirect the pension to her own account, I suddenly got a permanent position as the translator chatGPT translation editor because the guys decided they want to try more global approach and need steady supply of English articles – and it goes moderately well, though building savings is obnoxiously slow and what I have saved so far can evaporate in a single emergency.
And my parents supported me with occasional money sent from abroad (an ancient Polish tradition) from time to time until that pension thing.
Well, the "flaky appraiser" syndrome goes both ways.
Payment is due immediately upon the completion of duties.
So, in theory she did the inspection yesterday and I owe her her fee.
But she hasn't been bothered to contact me in any way, shape, or form, even to confirm that she did the inspection at all, so I figure I have no reason to pay her.
Oh, well. Maybe, just maybe, you should try communicating with your clients.
Aaaaaand.... I got caught unmuted on a large-scale Zoom call: Apparently if you have multiple mics attached to your computer, Zoom'll go ahead and grab whichever one isn't muted.
But at least what I was saying was an on-topic critique and I owned it and started a discussion about my reservations.
EDIT: Yeah, checked in with three attendees and I didn't use any obscenities and was just making a solid counterpoint to what the speaker was saying, so I just seemed like a skeptical critic and not a complete jerk.
Zoom is a bane against IT.
My "favorite" moment was when I recognized, "OK, Zoom is using my standing mic," so I muted it as well...
...and Zoom auto-switched to my headphone mic and unmuted it without telling me because it assumed that if I was talking, it had to be because I wanted to be heard on the call.(And yes, I have, "Auto unmute" turned off because I typically do dishes or other housecleaning while on calls.)
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Zoom is a bane against IT.I thought that users were the bane of IT.
why-not-both.gif
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Got a new office chair today, courtesy of my mother. Went with her shopping to get things in case the Texas power grid fails us this weekend with the expected cold and bad weather. Sam's Club actually had a chair out you can test that's back wasn't either as flat as a board or had lumbar support trying to push my back into the next room. So, I got a late Christmas gift. My old chair I got about a year and a half ago used, and the cushions are breaking down. I've been trying to find a chair that I find comfortable for about 5 years now, and that used one was the closest I found to my old Ikea chair I got on a last chance sale back in 2011. This new one looks nothing like it being a "gamer" chair, but the support feels remarkably similar.
Keyboard.
Henry Cat Food.
Gerardo/Raphael Milk
Bank of America always impresses me.
I'm not a customer, but in every customer service dealing I've had with them they've been exemplary. I'm always talking with a human being within 5 minutes of calling, and they always resolve my issue promptly.
So why am I not a customer?
Um... perhaps the most punitive fee structure in the banking industry, horrific interest rates, and apparently a litany of abuses towards their actual customers (they lead the races in customer complaints every single year).
So it seems like doing business with them without being a customer is the way to go.
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One of my nieces posted a thing to the family group chat today, saying "Your baseball name is your grandfather's first name, and the last thing you bought as your last name." Why baseball name? Who knows? Most of the last names were things like "snacks" or "bang" (apparently it's an energy drink" or "coffee". I replied "Well, right now my name would be '[Grandpa's name] Groceries', but if you had asked tomorrow night it would probably be '[Grandpa's name] Arby's-Roast-Beef-Combo-with-Curly-Fries-and-a-Dr-Pepper-with-No-Ice.'" Which is probably a bit long for the back of a jersey.
Anyone else care to share?
Jerry or Reginald Primer. Though I suppose if I used the brand it would actually make sense. Reggie Vallejo does sound like a baseball player.
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Jerry or Reginald Primer. Though I suppose if I used the brand it would actually make sense. Reggie Vallejo does sound like a baseball player.One of my nieces posted a thing to the family group chat today, saying "Your baseball name is your grandfather's first name, and the last thing you bought as your last name." Why baseball name? Who knows? Most of the last names were things like "snacks" or "bang" (apparently it's an energy drink" or "coffee". I replied "Well, right now my name would be '[Grandpa's name] Groceries', but if you had asked tomorrow night it would probably be '[Grandpa's name] Arby's-Roast-Beef-Combo-with-Curly-Fries-and-a-Dr-Pepper-with-No-Ice.'" Which is probably a bit long for the back of a jersey.
Anyone else care to share?
Henry Fancy Feast sounds like a porn star.
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So it seems like doing business with them without being a customer is the way to go.
Checks out. I used them for my first auto loan, through the military program that was guaranteed to provide credit for the purchase. I walked out with a 19.something interesting rate.
A month or two later and I talked to my credit union about a refi, I asked if they could do better and they offered 4.99%
I miss that truck.
So it seems like doing business with them without being a customer is the way to go.Checks out. I used them for my first auto loan, through the military program that was guaranteed to provide credit for the purchase. I walked out with a 19.something interesting rate.
A month or two later and I talked to my credit union about a refi, I asked if they could do better and they offered 4.99%
I miss that truck.
Yeah. Auto loans may be the scummiest racket on the planet. My friends had a phone number one digit off from an auto loan's processing department so they got people's financial paperwork on a regular basis. They routinely saw loan rates in the 24-30% range. Though I hear student loans are a close second.
My "lucky financial star" may be in recession at the moment...
...called BoFA to get my share of the "miracle account" distribution...
...everything went swimmingly...
...and the agent finished with, "And as soon as the other beneficiaries have all filed their paperwork we'll send you your check."
As far as I know, it's been a month and a half and Younger Brother hasn't taken a single action, assuming that Older Brother and I will manage everything so he doesn't have to. Both of us have pinged him and said, "Dude! We can't get this check 'til you call in!" And so far, no response.
*SIGH*. Er, Younger Brother? Since I'm handling all the affairs in California, I actually need that check even if you don't!
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Random musing:
Was, "How do I turn off AI in xxx?" the most-searched term in 2025?
Will is be the most-searched term in 2026?
Yep. In my daily, "Review customer support questions," section of the day...
One of my nieces posted a thing to the family group chat today, saying "Your baseball name is your grandfather's first name, and the last thing you bought as your last name." Why baseball name? Who knows? Most of the last names were things like "snacks" or "bang" (apparently it's an energy drink" or "coffee". I replied "Well, right now my name would be '[Grandpa's name] Groceries', but if you had asked tomorrow night it would probably be '[Grandpa's name] Arby's-Roast-Beef-Combo-with-Curly-Fries-and-a-Dr-Pepper-with-No-Ice.'" Which is probably a bit long for the back of a jersey.
Anyone else care to share?
Douglas 'Root' Ginger.
I find it amusing that I can't for the life of me remember my paternal grandfather's name. My family tends to have kids later: My grandmother had my mother at 33, then my mother had me at 36, then I spawned Impus Major at 34, so our generations are widely-spread. Add my grandfathers being typical for their generation (smoking, drinking, lots of red meat) and they both died in their 70s when I was still pretty young.
I only remember Henry's name because my mother frequently talked about how abusive he was up until his first heart attack and how that mellowed him out quite a bit.
My father's father? I know I met him once. That's about it.
Damn
Similar situation with my fathers father. I mentioned him a few hundred pages back. I met him once. He wept bitterly that he could not see me, he was blind at the time. I would only learn what he did to my father long, long after he was dead. A violent, brutal man.
Lets teach the kids how negative numbers work.
1/3- (2/3+5/7)- 2 1/5
There are THIRTY EIGHT of these questions. Most of them have an insane amount of multiple steps , fractions, decimals, and multiple steps. All of which require your brain power to slog through that takes away from the point you're supposed to be learning.
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Lets teach the kids how negative numbers work.
1/3- (2/3+5/7)- 2 1/5
There are THIRTY EIGHT of these questions. Most of them have an insane amount of multiple steps , fractions, decimals, and multiple steps. All of which require your brain power to slog through that takes away from the point you're supposed to be learning.
Math is evil. We know this.
One might naively think that they would be kind enough to make sure the first bit at least works out to a common denominator, if not (gasp!) a whole number.
Douglas 'Root' Ginger.One of my nieces posted a thing to the family group chat today, saying "Your baseball name is your grandfather's first name, and the last thing you bought as your last name." Why baseball name? Who knows? Most of the last names were things like "snacks" or "bang" (apparently it's an energy drink" or "coffee". I replied "Well, right now my name would be '[Grandpa's name] Groceries', but if you had asked tomorrow night it would probably be '[Grandpa's name] Arby's-Roast-Beef-Combo-with-Curly-Fries-and-a-Dr-Pepper-with-No-Ice.'" Which is probably a bit long for the back of a jersey.
Anyone else care to share?
With slight adjustments - translating, and because we're going to have a room league of our own - I guess that would make me Theo(dora) Apple(s).
(That strikes me as a bit more baseball-y than ladies going with their grandmum's first name, though Anne Apple would make for fun introductions with the near homophone. :) )
Douglas 'Root' Ginger.One of my nieces posted a thing to the family group chat today, saying "Your baseball name is your grandfather's first name, and the last thing you bought as your last name." Why baseball name? Who knows? Most of the last names were things like "snacks" or "bang" (apparently it's an energy drink" or "coffee". I replied "Well, right now my name would be '[Grandpa's name] Groceries', but if you had asked tomorrow night it would probably be '[Grandpa's name] Arby's-Roast-Beef-Combo-with-Curly-Fries-and-a-Dr-Pepper-with-No-Ice.'" Which is probably a bit long for the back of a jersey.
Anyone else care to share?
...
Grandpa Food?
Lets teach the kids how negative numbers work.
1/3- (2/3+5/7)- 2 1/5
There are THIRTY EIGHT of these questions. Most of them have an insane amount of multiple steps , fractions, decimals, and multiple steps. All of which require your brain power to slog through that takes away from the point you're supposed to be learning.
It looks far more like fractions.
You would think that negative numbers would be taught using whole numbers before going into fractions.
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Lets teach the kids how negative numbers work.
1/3- (2/3+5/7)- 2 1/5
There are THIRTY EIGHT of these questions. Most of them have an insane amount of multiple steps , fractions, decimals, and multiple steps. All of which require your brain power to slog through that takes away from the point you're supposed to be learning.
It looks far more like fractions.
You would think that negative numbers would be taught using whole numbers before going into fractions.
I see three different primes as denominators and my immediate thought is, "Whoever wrote this should never be allowed near students."
EDIT: I mean, literally, 3/4 - (1/4+2/3) - 2 1/2 is the exact same problem with a denominator of 12 instead of 105. And yet I still don't know the fundamental concept they're trying to teach with the problem. You're mixing fractions, mixed numbers, grouping, and negative numbers into a single problem in a stupid way. It's not teaching, it's sadism.
EDIT 2: The best teaching exercise I ever experienced was simple: "Go through this 250-page course, and on each slide, identify the teaching point."
If you can't identify the teaching point of a slide, or it has more than one, it's a bad slide.
The same goes for problems: A problem should have one teaching point. The point can be, "Use two techniques at once." It should never be, "Use four techniques at once."
I find it amusing that I can't for the life of me remember my paternal grandfather's name. My family tends to have kids later: My grandmother had my mother at 33, then my mother had me at 36, then I spawned Impus Major at 34, so our generations are widely-spread. Add my grandfathers being typical for their generation (smoking, drinking, lots of red meat) and they both died in their 70s when I was still pretty young.
I only remember Henry's name because my mother frequently talked about how abusive he was up until his first heart attack and how that mellowed him out quite a bit.
My father's father? I know I met him once. That's about it.
I was really close with my grandfather on my mom's side, Jerry. My PopPop was a stern, but very loving man. We lost him to cancer a few years ago. My dad's father was always a bit distant, but kind. I think part of it was his being a doctor and letting that professional detachment seep into his personal life.
Both sets of my grandparents had kids in their early 20s, as did my parents. My daughter was born when I was 29.
One of my nieces posted a thing to the family group chat today, saying "Your baseball name is your grandfather's first name, and the last thing you bought as your last name." Why baseball name? Who knows? Most of the last names were things like "snacks" or "bang" (apparently it's an energy drink" or "coffee". I replied "Well, right now my name would be '[Grandpa's name] Groceries', but if you had asked tomorrow night it would probably be '[Grandpa's name] Arby's-Roast-Beef-Combo-with-Curly-Fries-and-a-Dr-Pepper-with-No-Ice.'" Which is probably a bit long for the back of a jersey.
Anyone else care to share?
Grandpa Impact Hammer.
Thankfully I had to go shopping for work yesterday.
It is currently -17 degrees (or -39 with the windchill) so unfortunately looks like i won't be wearing shorts today.
It is currently -17 degrees (or -39 with the windchill) so unfortunately looks like i won't be wearing shorts today.
I will, if you make it worth my while.
Nobody mentioned cataract surgery soon...
Now Raymond E. Feist writes about having cataract surgery on one eye and waiting for surgery on the other...
Is NobodysHome secretly Raymond E. Feist?!
A daughter was mentioned, but it could be a deception, or maybe we don't know everything about Impuses... Impii... Imps?
Nobody mentioned cataract surgery soon...
Now Raymond E. Feist writes about having cataract surgery on one eye and waiting for surgery on the other...
Is NobodysHome secretly Raymond E. Feist?!
A daughter was mentioned, but it could be a deception, or maybe we don't know everything about Impuses... Impii... Imps?
I genuinely think he looks like this.
The most terrifying thing is that one of the kids (Impus Major?) was trying to get an image for a project, and he Googled something like, "Generic American white male" and the very first picture that came back looked disturbingly like me.
The kids found it hilarious.
EDIT: It's even worse; he wasn't that specific. He put in "Average man". And this looks a lot like I did in my 20s.
And yep.
Tuesday: Older Brother email: Hey, you guys should call Bank of America!
Wednesday: I call BofA. They say, "Yep! Once all three of you have called in we'll just mail you your checks!" I notify brothers via email, including one with a subject of, "<YOUNGER BROTHER>!! DO THIS!!!"
Thursday: Older Brother calls in, and confirms that it's an easy 15-minute call, and Younger Brother should do this.
Friday: Older Brother calls again. They say, "Still can't do anything 'cause we haven't heard from Younger Brother." I text Younger Brother. "Oh, I was ignoring all the emails from you guys 'cause I figured you were handling it."
"Even the one that said, "You! Do this!!"?
"Yeah, I guess that one got past me."
So in the "grand scheme of life" things we only lost two days. But as I mentioned, the clock's ticking on me to avoid paying any interest on the debt I accrued this month, so days matter. And I'm skeptical Younger Brother will call today. It would be typical of him to day, "Oh, I'll wait 'til the weekend. What? They're closed? What kind of bank is closed on weekends? I guess I'll do it Monday!", forget again, have us remind him again, and do it in another week.
Because it's how he rolls.
Hey, you know what else is the bane of IT? Having your position eliminated. Not that it was a surprise. So now I have more time to run games I guess.
Has one or more of higher ups decided that you can be replaced by AI?
:/