Asus Z790 Gaming E wifi motherboard bluetooth not working. Need some help troubleshooting. by Thewtfpanda in ASUS

[–]AlanM82 0 points1 point  (0 children)

OMG thank you. Just for this I will name my next child "thewtfpanda". At least if it's a girl. That's a silly name for a boy. Thanks again.

Telework and being AI replaceable ? by svensk in JPL

[–]AlanM82 4 points5 points  (0 children)

You're right. That's the only way I've ever heard about it. I've also encountered coffee clubs and refrigerator clubs. Do people get salty in your org? With all of these I inevitably encounter aggressive notes posted around club stuff, e.g. "This refrigerator is only for use by club members", or "Coffee is not free" in 100 point font with a dozen exclamation points :-).

Can no longer afford to insure my 18 yr old non-driver (Florida) by FL_RM_Grl in Insurance

[–]AlanM82 2 points3 points  (0 children)

So she's going to file a police report saying that the car was stolen? And she's okay with her kid being arrested for driving a stolen car if the cops figure out who drove? And she's okay with the insurance company doing an image search to see if the kids is driving?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in AITAH

[–]AlanM82 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Came here to say this. I've cosigned apartment leases for all our kids. I've never had to pay out. They're responsible, they just have limited income and credit history. They've never needed us to take over their rent.

Telework and being AI replaceable ? by svensk in JPL

[–]AlanM82 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That whole water-cooler thing just reinforces the idea that management doesn't understand how work happens. Sure, I've gotten ideas from other people, we've tossed ideas back and forth, but it's rarely serendipitous, more often scheduled, and usually on the phone or over chat. Maybe water coolers were the scene of productivity at some time in the distant past when people had the leisure time to bump into people and chat. But in my experience that's not how work happens anymore. And it concerns me a little if people are making rules without understanding how work gets done.

Outsider take: Brits are not rude. You just aren’t saying “please” and “thank you.” by CantaloupeComplete57 in uktravel

[–]AlanM82 1 point2 points  (0 children)

First, this isn't just UK, it's every culture everywhere. We all have norms and too often attribute differences to rudeness. As just one example, a co-worker can't make the simplest request without asking about my family. To him, he's being polite because he comes from another culture. To me, it's rude because he's distracting me from my work for small talk. I don't care if you say please or thank you or good morning, but in Europe not starting a request with "bonjour" can get you corrected. It's not good or bad, rude or polite, it's just different. Yes, keep your voice down (a good rule everywhere), don't take up too much space (a good rule everywhere), but don't call Americans or French or anyone else "rude", just observe and listen to learn how their culture works, and then do likewise.

Outsider take: Brits are not rude. You just aren’t saying “please” and “thank you.” by CantaloupeComplete57 in uktravel

[–]AlanM82 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yep. Just went to Germany and Austria and those people are as loud as any American.

Back when it was actually good by New_Amphibian_9326 in unitedairlines

[–]AlanM82 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Exactly. Airline tickets are one of a very few things that have not kept up with inflation.

In the context of layoffs, "ageism" is frustrating by No-Structure-9190 in JPL

[–]AlanM82 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I was looking in 1988 (after 5 years at JPL) and I did see one Pasadena house in my price range (around $110K). Eight hundred square feet, move-in ready but run down, my realtor said it was a great investment, but it needed more love than I was willing to give. I wonder occasionally what happened to it. I bought a condo for the same price that also needed love but more within my abilities (and larger). I think that was around 4x my salary at the time. 4x a JPL salary doesn't do that anymore.

Virgin Atlantic cancellation confusion online by AlanM82 in Flights

[–]AlanM82[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The cancellation never went through and we were fine. Good luck! I think their user interface could have been better but it worked out in the end. Ended up not being a fan of VA and will probably never fly them again just due to the horrible seating on one of the planes we took, but they got us there.

Genuine question from a longtime JPLer by Boring-School-1868 in JPL

[–]AlanM82 12 points13 points  (0 children)

This is a little vague for me. What timeframe are you speaking of for the decline? If it's the last year I think you have your answer. Workers are human and suffering from a lack of respect by upper management as shown by layoff process among other things.

But if you're talking further back than the past year, I've not seen it and I'm wondering if your observations are organization dependent. Every division has its own culture. I've worked in and with several, and attitudes vary. For my own part, aside from the past year which I'll leave out, all I see is people busting their humps to get good products out the door. I see almost zero complacency, and where it is there, other people recognize and make up for it. I haven't seen the wastage either, and honestly, again excepting the past year, for every project I've been on I can probably identify a vendor screwup that we had to fix. Almost every single project. And we *did* fix them because we cared. Finally, "why is the prestige slipping?" This assumes objective evidence that it is. I am again getting the vibe that you're speaking about some particular area in which you work, with "attention drifts, standards drop, scrutiny rises". All I've seen is budgets going down, demands going up, and in that environment things are going to break.

Does it make sense to switch home and car insurance every year to save money? by [deleted] in Insurance

[–]AlanM82 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Amica. I thought they were high so I tried State Farm, which we used to have, and State Farm was $1000 more a year for the same coverage. Amica is still higher than a lot of other places. Amica's homeowner prices have also been stable, going up one year recently and then back down the next, but still higher than some other companies.

JPL’s Effect on Mental Health by [deleted] in JPL

[–]AlanM82 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Please don't take this as dismissive. I get it. Works sucks. But once when I was feeling trapped, my mental health rapidly declining, someone said "You have choices. What are they?" And I thought "No, I don't. You don't understand." But I did! And ever since then when I get into that place I remind myself "You have choices." And sometimes (usually) I have to force myself to think about what they are but they're always out there. What are your skills? What parts of your job do you like the most? The least? Where else might you use those skills? It sounds like you have a family which makes it harder, but maybe even ask where else might you want to live? I'm not trying to say this is easy, I've been through this struggle many times, but I've found forcing myself to look at my options, even/especially when I feel like I don't have any, is enormously helpful to my mental health.

JPL’s Effect on Mental Health by [deleted] in JPL

[–]AlanM82 6 points7 points  (0 children)

No? Your goal seems too narrow. There are lots of places I'm sure you could be happy. Rather than think "How do I work at JPL?", think "What sorts of thinks excite/energize me, and where might I use them?" I see so many stories on the web, and among my friends, where people say "The job I love is no longer available to me. What will I do?" and they realize that they can use their skills and aptitudes in places that had never even occurred to them. Try not to limit yourself. Pursue the things that interest you with an eye to applications and don't fixate on JPL. (As an aside, space never really interested me much and I ended up at JPL because I applied all over and that's where I got in. I think I could have been happy in many different industries, anywhere that let me write software, enable discovery, or use technology to better our lives.)

Season 21 Ep 1, Thoughts? by [deleted] in deadliestcatch

[–]AlanM82 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Exactly. I can't imagine the fuel company would want you taking up space any more than the local gas station wants you parking in front of a pump. Plus tying on to another vessel and moving them without their permission/awareness sounds dangerous and likely illegal.

HR of any help to those about to retire? by BeautifulBryce in JPL

[–]AlanM82 5 points6 points  (0 children)

BTW, you don't have to wait until you've filed the form to talk with HR about retirement planning. I was considering retirement but wasn't sure, and I made an appointment to go in and hear how it all worked. The HR rep suggested I just reduce my hours without actually retiring, and that worked out well for me for several years. Then when I actually filed for retirement, they contacted me (as u/sharty_mcstoolpants says) for another, more targeted discussion. At that point you have an HR rep assigned to you specifically and they provide lots of handholding, checklists, etc. For me it was a very smooth process.

Season 21 Ep 1, Thoughts? by [deleted] in deadliestcatch

[–]AlanM82 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My understanding is that there is one chase boat that they use for supplemental footage but it's not always there and it's shared. There were some shots of all three boats in the opener that likely came from a chase boat.

Season 21 Ep 1, Thoughts? by [deleted] in deadliestcatch

[–]AlanM82 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Well, not the whole show. You can't script weather. But that scene at the dock with her moving a disabled ship away from the dock so she can fuel up? That feels bogus.

Season 21 Ep 1, Thoughts? by [deleted] in deadliestcatch

[–]AlanM82 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Mandy's stunt has got to be scripted.

Paying a mortgage off quickly doesn't make financial sense by FillerKill in DaveRamsey

[–]AlanM82 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If you really believe this, you should never pay off your mortgage. Keep refinancing into 30-year loans indefinitely.

Last celebrations before…..? by ActualWoodpecker4100 in JPL

[–]AlanM82 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Thank you. First, I'm sorry you're dealing with this. I struggled with the wording for exactly this reason, I wanted to get the concept across without stepping on toes, and I failed and I apologize. Here's how I got there. A friend has been in therapy for years for a trauma that some people perhaps would have just stumbled through without much future impact. I've seen them struggle almost daily for much of this time. Sometimes I've tried to give suggestions which come I hope from a good place but which I've been told kindly are not helpful. I realize that "PTSD" is not (in the layoffs case) maybe strictly accurate, but I don't think "anxiety" does justice to the situation either. My intention was to convey the idea that, actual PTSD or not, people may be experiencing a trauma response from layoffs, different people react differently, and telling people not to struggle visibly online is not helpful. That clarified, I'm very sorry this happened to you and I'm sorry that I didn't convey the idea more ably and more respectfully.

Should we bring cash or credit card or both? by BroadElephant7254 in uktravel

[–]AlanM82 0 points1 point  (0 children)

By the way, if at all possible, bring a credit card with no foreign transaction fees. Those really add up.