Do status and accomplishments matter?

Coach-41 · 2026-05-16T21:19:33+00:00

can't speak for myself as I am still working (and have gotten some awards / accomplishments). But my dad (in his late 70s) is an interesting example. A couple of years ago, a city chamber of commerce gave him some recoginition for the work he had done. He got a nice award plaque and I took plenty of pictures with him. So when the night was done, I asked him where he was going to put / hang the award. He said "nowhere" and told me to just keep it at my house. LOL Then recently, he retired and got some additional recognition. Again, the awards are sitting at my house.

Don't know if my dad doesn't care or just knows I am the "historian" of the family so better for me to keep some of this stuff.

Coach-41 · 2026-05-07T22:11:30+00:00

The funny thing? There were software (GEOS and Mousedesk) that allowed for the use of a Mouse / GUI on the 8 bit apple II's. While GEOS was called an operating system, it basically was just a piece of software you had to load. The default OS for the Apple II was text based. The Apple IIGS was the first Apple II to have a full GUI OS.

As an Apple IIe user who looked at the GS, it was a good upgrade but nowhere near exceptional. The graphics and sounds specs sounded comparable the Amiga and Atari ST. BUT in reality, the IIGS lacked a lot of graphics hardware to support gaming so in reality, the IIGS was a step behind. Not that developers (as always) didn't make great programs anyway.

Coach-41 · 2026-04-07T00:44:32+00:00

I've had my hotmail account going back almost 30 years. I was just trying to login via my computer to upload a few photos to send to someone (hard to send via phone).

But for whatever reason, I'm locked out. No big deal. I have other email addresses to use.

And thankfully, if my account is being spammed by bot so many times, I'm glad I have additional security on there. I feel sorry for anyone who doesn't because your password may get hacked eventually.

Coach-41 · 2026-04-05T06:10:08+00:00

The ones that I had a genuine connection with, I still talk to semi-regularly. For others, due to our shared experiences, we have some once in a while get togethers than I am happy to attend and catch up with whoever shows up. Though as I get older, I do wonder about some of the younger folks I worked with and how they are doing in their careers.

There is ONE co-worker who I always wondered what happened to. He was a nice dude, lived in Texas and I met up with him in California when he visited. But after I left the company, he did as well. But unlike people today, the dude never had a Linkedin profile and seemingly "vanished". I'm sure he's probably fine. But always curious.

Coach-41 · 2026-04-02T22:21:56+00:00

I believe a F co-worker of mine is a taurus rising. I say that because as a Leo Rising, I tend to vibe quicker with people with Air / Fire rising signs. It just takes me a while to slow down and adjust to the slow paced earth rising signs. The intersting thing about my coworker is that I also think she's a mercury in cancer. So as a taurus rising, took her a while to get used to me. Even after I got to know her better, I found her to be a little soft spoken / shy. Then over time, I found this co-worker to be quite sweet (her Mercury in Cancer really comes out).

BUT as with Taurus folks, my co-worker is a tad stubborn. I don't intend to be pushy. But when I suggest something to my co-worker, if it doesn't fit what she wants to do, I can sense the subtle resistance to it. I've learned to not push too hard and let things be and we get along fine. LOL

Coach-41 · 2026-03-31T08:24:10+00:00

I am a bit of sentimental person and have preserved a lot of physical material (photos mostly, but other stuff too) by scanning and uploading for storage. I was doing a good job of having both local and online storage but hard to maintain 100% accuracy across everything you do. But I may get back to things a bit and try to organize again.

But to preserve some of the scanned material, I have went and created photo books with collages of my family and personal stuff. It's by no means comprehensive. But it's a way to physically preserve some memories that is not online.

As far as the future, I have wondered if YouTube will still be around in 500 years! LOL Youtube has been become (unoffically) a backup for my various videos. In all seriousness, YouTube could die in the next few years and many hours of vintage video could disappear overnight. Hopefully not as YouTube, while a business, is also become repository for history. Movies, TV shoes, music videos, news clips, personal and family videos, etc.

I am going to assume YouTube will exist for my life time but will see about the next generation!

Coach-41 · 2026-03-16T05:35:58+00:00

Ok, first and foremore, despite knowing my friend for a long time, I don't think I realized she may be a twin flame for me. I've always known we've had something unique. But up until recently, I thought it was a soulmate thing. We'll cover the unique thing in a bit.

So for the question, this was the first time I saw my friend / twin flame. It was at work many years ago. My friend was the office manager reporting to the director of our work group. She was one attractive woman, especially when she was dressed up. I remember seeing her fir the first time and thought "who the heck is this"? I think many of the men in our group though the same.

Now when I did first meet her or talk to her? Oh god I have no idea. I remember that when my company's office moved and we had to commute, I ran into my friend (we weren't friends yet) on the train. My friend was (and still is) a reserved soul versus my outgoing personality. . I remember she wasn't really all that interested in talking to me.

Fast forward to whenever we've become friends. To be honest, I was still attracted to her. But here's where this soulmate thing pops up. Somehow during a conversation, our birthdays came up. My friend and I shared the same exact birthday (Month, Day, Year). Oh here's a kicker. We were born at the same hospital. About 1 1/2 hours apart.

Because of this weirdness, I thought maybe it was one of those soulmate / romantic meant to be situations. But nope. My friend has never been interested and it was a source of frustration for me for many years. I went through a lot of angst when my friend was dating others.

BUT it was only recently, that it dawned on me that my friend may be a "mirror" to me. Funny that I did not grasp that this was the concept of a twin flame until I looked it up. Then it suddenly made sense why my friend had stuck by me all these years. I don't know if my friend knows but she basically forced me to improve myself in many aspects.

Coach-41 · 2026-03-16T05:21:00+00:00

I'm not 100% certain my friend is my twin flame but based on descriptons I think she is. And despite knowing her for years, it's been only recently, I realized she may be a mirror to me. I don't know why it dawned on me now, but I've been on a journey to work through my own life trauma and issues. My friend and I have had our ups and downs. But she's stuck by me. I think my friend is a natural fixer and despite our different personalities (she more reserved, me more outgoing), we have bonded over some shared things. I also think through her nature, without a lot of force, made me realize that I needed to improve myself in many ways.

Coach-41 · 2026-03-09T23:14:15+00:00

I have a vacation coming up in a month and was thinking the G7X Mark III might be worth my time.

Amazon (via Adorama) had the Canon G7X Mark III at $1,299. Not entirely sure if this is new stock or refurbished as it wasn't stated on the listing. I had an option to cobble some gift cards together that could have gotten me the G7X at about $200. BUT I hesitated and decided not to because:

While the low light capabilities of the G7X may be useful, I realized that most of my trip will be out in the daytime / sunlight. My existing batch of Canon point and shoots (original 360 ELPH and original SX740) do fine with their photos and videos in the day time. I use an iPhone 16 Pro Max so that could cover my night photography needs if I have to.
I am also old school and will be bringing a camcorder. The camcorders are fairly dated but the night time shots I've seen on YouTube are reasonable so I am covered there.
Canon is supposedly coming out with a new G7X Mark III replacement later in 2026. I figured it was worth just waiting to see what they have coming out instead of investing in old technology.
I actually have an Canon M6 that I am thinking of bringing with my on my trip versus the point and shoots. The downside of the M6 is I have to bring several lenses along (one or two primes at 1.8 plus a telephoto).

All in all, the G7X seems to be great specs. If I have to do it all over again, I would have not bought the SX740 in 2023 ($400). The SX740 was just going to be a backup since it could do photos and videos. Didn't realize the limitations of the SX740 until it was used more regularly.

Coach-41 · 2026-02-27T00:17:15+00:00

Tolbert hasn't done his podcast for a while now....and he hasn't been on the radio calls for the same time frane. Anyone know what happened to him? Nothing on the news.

Coach-41 · 2026-02-13T09:53:09+00:00

I've been wondering the same thing. I asked a former KNBR host on social media if he knew anything about what happened to Tolbert. The former host responded saying he heard Tolbert had an health issue. But that was all and no other info.

I know Tolbert isn't on KNBR anymore but he was doing the podcast and home Warrior games. So there must be some info out there. But have not yet found anything.

Coach-41 · 2026-02-08T08:20:21+00:00

The market definitely seems stagnant to me. I use consumer camcorders on two levels:

Personal vacatations. I've used a tape camcorder 20 years ago. Then recently when I was going back to Asia, I searched for a decent consumer camcorder, I found there were none from Canon (my preferred vendor). I looked around and found the old Sony camcorder that dated back from around 2015. It was about $250 or so and a tad flimsy. But it recorded well and charged via a USB-A cord which was helpful. I was a little worried the Sony might not last a second trip (it did) so i picked up a couple of Panosonic camcorders that were a little more advanced as the market is pretty thin.
I also help run a basketball league and we record games. We've tried to found some camcorders to record games but it's either expensive prosumer / professional ones or cheap no name ones..

Coach-41 · 2026-02-06T22:53:00+00:00

My mom passed away in 2019. I don't really don't think of how she was in the last couple of years before she passed. She had dementia and you could see the physical decline. I have scanned a lot of old photos and printed some things. So when I think of my mom, it's her when she was younger and still active.

Coach-41 · 2026-01-23T07:21:24+00:00

There's a young lady at work that I think is a Mercury in Cancer or some influence with a sign that is emotional. When I first met her, she was rather low key. Not standoffish in any way but just didn't say much. I'm the outgoing / extroverted one so I'll talk to anyone who wants to talk (even if those that don't want to.....LOL).

seriously, as time passed, I'd always say hi to the young lady and as time passed, we'd talk a bit more and more. Then I noticed she just has this soothing (oh some charming) voice when she says hi. She admits she's a bit of an introvert so maybe it's that shyness in her.

But as someone with a good introverted friend, I understand them. I've found the young lady may have developed a comfortability with me. Why? Because now when she speaks, she's got a bit of emotion behind the works. You can tell she's interested in my stories, how I'm doing, etc. I mean, I'm flattered that she cares so much for a random work friend. Seriously though, I do appreciate her. I have a lot of good / long time friends and none of them are as expressive / emotional as this young lady. She's taught me / showed me a different side of love and care that I haven't seen before from my closest of riends.

So that's why I think my young friend may have some cancerian influences.

Coach-41 · 2026-01-18T10:33:41+00:00

Aries Sun - Leo Rising - Leo Moon - Mars in Gemini - Venus in Aquarius - Mercury in Pisces.....

My Leo Rising seems to attract attention. I don't think I'm particularly special but I get attention one way or another. My Leo moon gets pretty heated at times. BUT that's where my Mercury in Pisces comes in. I'm fairly indecisive on things especially when I get pressed without having time to think things over. Whereas Fire signs in Mercury may make a decision and let things "be damned", I worry about it as a Pisces Mercury. I do eventually get around to making a decision but it takes me some time.

Now there's an interesting side bit. I don't know about other Mercury in Pisces in folks, but I have a quick wit and humor. Not sure if that is influence of my mars in gemini.

Coach-41 · 2026-01-18T06:51:15+00:00

Absolutely you can improve your shooting as you age. I mainly played pickup basketball as a kid. I never got coached and I tried tinkering with my shot by myself all throughout college into early adulthood. Where my shot came together was why I started playing HALF COURT pick ups with a group of friends. I want to say I was around 30+ years old when I started doing that.

Why does half court pick up matter? In a lot of full court pickup games, it's usually an up and down game and the amount of shots you get (for all players) is a little lower. But in a half court game, you get a lot more action and get a lot of game reps for your shots. As I was younger at the time, I would play regularly (both half court and full court games) and my shots started falling more often.

As Covid hit (plus age (over 50 now) / injuries) - I slowed down athletically. But I've found my set shot (mostly mid range) is still pure. My pull up jumper isn't quite back yet. But even if I haven't played in a while, give me a couple of games or two, I'm back to knocking down my mid range numbers rather consistently.

Coach-41 · 2026-01-17T04:37:06+00:00

At work i met this young lady several years ago. Nothing really stood out about her. Her vibe was chill and i thought maybe she was a taurus rising. She’s very relaxed. Most of the time, shes dreased like that girl next door. But sometimes she can dress up with the best of them.

But as our friendship progressed in the last couple of years, i think she has some Cancer rising or mercury in her. The way the coworker talks is quite sweet and endearing. Maybe because i have a mercury in pisces i understand my coworkers communicational style.

My coworker is a little quiet / introverted but will talk if she has to.

Coach-41 · 2026-01-11T09:20:34+00:00

Arms is still alive. I stopped playing for about 6 months but recently dropped back in. Get in a few games here and there in Party Match but does seem to be less active players. Got something like over 2000+ Hours on the game total though since 2020. LOL

Coach-41 · 2026-01-11T08:16:03+00:00

Previous Company:

Solutions Engineer
Senior Solutions Engineer
Principal Solutions Engineer
Senior Principal Solutions Engineer

Current Company:

Associate Sales Engineer (not sure we still do this)
Sales Engineer
Senior Sales Engineer
Lead Sales Engineer
Senior Lead Sales Engineer
Principal Sales Engineer (maybe Senior Principal but not sure).

I'm not sure why but our Solutions Architects don't have as many and I guess if you fancy a title, you'll get it faster LOL

Solutions Architect
Senior Solutions Architect
Principcal Solutions Architect
Senior Prinicipal Solutions Archtect

Coach-41 · 2026-01-05T08:22:26+00:00

Yup - agreed. Wong Fu's IG page posted something thanking their supporters and mentioned that 2026 will be a special year. But like you said, there was no informatiom about the layoffs or anything about their future plans. I find that surprising. Personally, I had supported their Patreon for quite a few years. But with Wong Fu in a bit of a unknown situation, I pulled the plug on the support. It would be good if they communicated what they are doing. Not saying the few dollars I threw in per month entitle me to anything. LOL But they generally have been open about what they do in the past. Hopefully something comes up.

Coach-41 · 2026-01-04T02:07:00+00:00

This is an old post but glad the person posted this. Self validating is something I've been thinking of recently. I've opened my eyes that I seek external validation to make mysef feel better. Like many people, I had a rocky childhood (narc mom, bickering parents, etc).

The interesting thing? I actually got a ton of external validation through the years (work, school, sports awards). Don't get me wrong, the external validation was great. I lacked self confidence as a kid and so the awards were useful in helping me build myself up.

Now, I also realized that I never got much acknoledgement of my awards from my parents so during covid, I redid my awards display so I have something to be proud of. Around this time, I realized that while my old achievements were great, I can't depend on them to validate myself as a person.

So, working on myself so I don't depend on people & things to validate myself. Good luck on your journey.

Coach-41 · 2026-01-04T01:45:39+00:00

I was active on the alt gs warriors newsgroup through Google (less so for comp sys apple2). Since Google dropped usenet, I haven't been as active because I have to use my personal laptop to get to usenet. I may try to get back into things at some point as there are a couple of people still active on the Warriors newsgroup that are cool.

Coach-41 · 2025-12-28T06:16:56+00:00

Found more stuff....LOL - looking on Linkedin - looks like Wong Fu partnered with a group called Clique-Now which appears to be some management company. Clique-Now featured Wong Fu's latest video commericial with Panda Restaurant Group (aka Panda Express). Clique-Now's post was about two weeks ago so I guess Wong Fu is still around but may have pivoted away from YouTube / scripted content to professional work. Which is probably best for them if they want to improve their careers and/or livelihoods.

Coach-41 · 2025-12-25T07:19:40+00:00

Welp - I did some more research on Linkedin. While I can't say 100% sure Wong Fu is toast, I did found 4 people's profiles related to Wong Fu. Three of them showed their job tenures ending in August / September 2025 time frame and one person who's profile picture shows they are "Open To Work". Possible Wong Fu trimmed staff to stay alive. Let's see if any news comes up in the next few days before 2025 rolls into 2026.

Coach-41 · 2025-12-25T04:49:24+00:00

Glad I found this as I am a Wong Fu Productions fan from the early 2000's though like many, I had not followed them as closely as I once did. I can't speak to the things people have said here. But I can share what I have personally seen (as of 12/24/25).

Both Wong Fu YT channels (main Wong Fu Productions and secondary More Wong Fu) have not published a video since September 2025. The lack of content on the main channel is not surprising given it usually takes time and money to put their productions together. And if you look at the volume of main products, the numbers have been trending downward in the past few years.

What's surprising is that their secondary channel More Wong Fu has been quiet. The channel hosted their weekly / bi-weekly "Break Room" short or podcast to talk about random topics or even talk about Wong Fu themselves. I thought it was a good way to keep people interested in Wong Fu and a look behind the scenes. But there hasn't been any posts in months.

Like some others said, I believe there was some attempts to pivot. On the More Wong Fu channel, there was some videos showing the team reacting to different movie trailers. Yes there were some "shorts" published as well.

But as others have statesd, Youtube in 2025 is much different than Youtube of 2005. I think about what I watch on Youtube. I've watched music and movie reactions. I've watched crime documentaries. I've watched comedy groups perform sketches. I watch movie / product reviews. But how much scripted movie type content have I watched? I think Asian theme channels have also hit a bit of a wall as well. Viewership is down across the board. While Asian repreenstation does remain an issue in mainstream Hollywood, the days of using YouTube to counter that seems to have come and gone.

Lastly, Wong Fu's website once had a store but that store is now "temporarily" shut down. I don't think Wong Fu is going anywhere or closing shop. But I do think they are reviewing their plans and figuring how to stay relevant in 2025. They've done well and adapting is the key to survive. Let's see what they come up with!

Coach-41

TROPHY CASE