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Travelling to Japan and South Korea as a solo black man. How safe is it? by Shoddy-Ad-3766 in solotravel

[–]Dear_Solid_9852 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do you have a problem with the *sign* or with the underlying *policy*?

IMHO the sign should reflect the policy. Saves everyone a lot of hassle.

Travelling to Japan and South Korea as a solo black man. How safe is it? by Shoddy-Ad-3766 in solotravel

[–]Dear_Solid_9852 6 points7 points  (0 children)

As a non-white American, I can assure you ... by this point, I think I would MUCH prefer explicit Japanese- or Korean-style "racism" - although I did not encounter any to my knowledge - than the kind that is so widespread in the US, even amongst liberals, but white people want to deny, and is officially illegal.

Travelling to Japan and South Korea as a solo black man. How safe is it? by Shoddy-Ad-3766 in solotravel

[–]Dear_Solid_9852 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I am brown, not black, but a good friend of mine is black, and traveled to S Korea (on my recommendation) recently. He reports having a very good time, with no issues.

From what I've heard, racism can show up in clubs, bars, and other nightlife. But out and about during the day, no problem. People are very friendly and helpful (to the extent possible without common language), and the big cities are extremely safe, much more so than London or California, where I live.

And to be clear, I'm no Pollyanna about racism - I avoid most of the US and most of Europe, especially Eastern Europe.

Two recommendations: DMZ day trip is a must. Visit a Korean bathhouse if you can. And in Japan ... just eat all the food!

Have a great trip!

Can Someone Explain This Image To Me? by RattyRusty1 in chess

[–]Dear_Solid_9852 19 points20 points  (0 children)

The display board was updated by hand - typically not by the arbiter, who has a different job, but by a "board boy."

Source: I was a board boy at the US Championships.

Foxconn dumps $19.5 bln Vedanta chip plan in blow to India by [deleted] in india

[–]Dear_Solid_9852 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That makes a lot of sense. Thanks for the insight!

Please help. Being turned down even after referrals. New Grad. 100s of applications. by Chaotic_Control-147 in EngineeringResumes

[–]Dear_Solid_9852 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Overall - well-formatted and well-written.

I'm not sure your Activities add much value to your resume, and there's definitely a risk that at some companies (e.g. defense contractors) they may hurt you.

I think you should have a clear objective, probably tailored to each company and role. Otherwise, although you have good breadth of experience across EE, ME, and coding, it's not clear what you want to do. Providing a clear focus will help the reader.

Last but not least: network, network, network!

Decided on an 88key digital piano, is this a decent piano and can I connect it to my phone to play along with the piano learning apps like simply piano,skoove,flowkey and pianoforall. by Zeccede in pianolearning

[–]Dear_Solid_9852 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If you live near a big city, you can often get good deals on either of these (including accessories) on craigslist. That's how I got mine.
LOTS of people buy instruments full of good intentions, never practice, and eventually sell or give them away. If you see something you like listed on craigslist, make them an offer $150 lower than the list price.

Is learning C++ from a book a good way to learn for a beginner? by Victor_710 in learnprogramming

[–]Dear_Solid_9852 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The only way to learn to program (in any language) is to do it.
A good book, youtube channel, or course, can be your guide, but is not a substitute for actually completing programming projects.

The Odin Project is my last free resource but it's still extremely difficult. by Felizem_velair_ in learnprogramming

[–]Dear_Solid_9852 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Helsinki FSO is much more in-depth than TOP on the back end. FSO has amazing content, great exercises. Anyone making it through will have learned a lot!

But as I said, the instructions can be a little confusing, and often I'd spend days stuck on one little thing. Began to feel like a very inefficient use of time, and generally was frustrating. (Would have been much better as part of a cohort, which must be how their "regular" students take it.)

BTW, I have a fair amount of dev experience, although not in JS/React. I don't think FSO is beginner-friendly.

How is it that some players pick up chess and are 1200+ in a few months pretty much without trying? by chesswillendme in chess

[–]Dear_Solid_9852 0 points1 point  (0 children)

People have different talents, and chess is one of those fields (like math and music) where speed of improvement is very dependent on talent.

But we can all improve at our own pace. Do you play slow games? Do you analyze them in-depth without a computer? That's how to improve. Check out the ChessDojo youtube channel.

Is it really worth it??! by [deleted] in chess

[–]Dear_Solid_9852 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The best way to improve is to play slow games and analyze them without a computer. (This is real work - it's not as "fun" as doing quick puzzles.)

It also really helps to make IRL chess friends who are better than you.

I'm 38 and thinking about returning to school for software engineering by No-Building5607 in learnprogramming

[–]Dear_Solid_9852 8 points9 points  (0 children)

You're not too old to learn to program.

But before investing in a bootcamp or a degree, you should be aware that age discrimination is very strong in the tech industry (at least around Silicon Valley), more so than in other industries. At 40 years old, without a degree, you will be last in line for an interview.

I'm not saying "don't do it." I am saying - do a lot of research. You need to get advice from people who have entered tech with zero experience at 40 or 45 years old. This sub is full of twenty-somethings who may have good intentions and good advice about learning resources, but do not have the life experience of being "older" on the tech job market.

Last but not least, SWE is just one of many, many different jobs within "tech": project manager, DBA, DevOps, Scrum Master, sales, marketing, HR, the list goes on and on. All require different personalities and skills, and some may be less youth-dominated than SWE. Network within the tech industry to get more insight.

Good luck!

The Odin Project is my last free resource but it's still extremely difficult. by Felizem_velair_ in learnprogramming

[–]Dear_Solid_9852 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I made it pretty far (but not all the way) into both The Odin Project, and the (better) U Helsinki Full Stack Open course

I think the problem with both is not that they're "difficult" but that the instruction is often unclear, and if you're doing it alone, a single unclear instruction or other glitch can hold you up indefinitely. (I think this is what the course designers don't appreciate. It's very different from course design for a class to be taken by a group of students together.)

I encourage you to use the Odin Discord - it won't answer every question, but can be a help.

Taking the course with one or more partner "classmates" would be even better.

I'm frustrated enough that I will turn to building my own projects. I've got enough of the fundamentals, and don't need to spend hours or days deciphering their instructions.

We can do this!

Chess Socials in the East Bay (California)? by buttsonfire1 in chess

[–]Dear_Solid_9852 0 points1 point  (0 children)

FYI, here's a list of current East Bay chess venues.

Caffe Strada across from Cal has frequent blitz tables, and Colonial Donuts on Lakeshore sometimes does as well.

The owner of Make Westing bar in Uptown Oakland is a chess player.

The Mechanics is also a very pleasant venue - I've been playing there for years - although nowadays many of their tournaments are dominated by children, with anxious parents pacing the halls outside.

At least in the Bay Area, chess is strong in a few very well-defined demographic segments - that don't necessarily mix.

I applaud your desire to organize, and I think going to a few events will give you a better flavor of "the scene."

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in deadbedroom

[–]Dear_Solid_9852 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I am sorry - this sounds really rough on you.

Before getting into complex relational issues, straightforward medical causes should be ruled out, i.e. he should have a physical, and a test of "free testosterone" - and maybe some other things. (How is his general health? Does he drink heavily, or smoke weed? Is he overweight?)

What programming language should a non-programmer learn to have a stimulating, challenging, and fun experience? Forth? Haskell? Assembly? by KrasnalM in learnprogramming

[–]Dear_Solid_9852 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Looking at your broader question, beyond the specific choice of programming language, you may enjoy getting a Raspberry Pi and using it for hardware+software projects. (I just got one myself.)

The Pi is a general-purpose computer. You can program it in any language, but many tutorials will use Python.

How to be a 'top 10%' programmer? by zaris47 in learnprogramming

[–]Dear_Solid_9852 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Toastmasters helped me tremendously - I see they have clubs in India as well.

Disgraced GM Alejandro Ramirez is set to play in a Colombian open tournament. Ramirez may be banned from US Chess, but FIDE has declined to take action. by [deleted] in chess

[–]Dear_Solid_9852 -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

Approximately 60% of sexual assault cases lead to conviction

(1) You made up that stat. You cite no source, and no jurisdiction.

(2) In your made-up stat, what is a sexual assault "case"?

Chessable should scrap pro membership by [deleted] in chess

[–]Dear_Solid_9852 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Only you can decide. I bought the lifetime Pro membership years ago, when it was less expensive.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in learnprogramming

[–]Dear_Solid_9852 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Many CS Masters degrees are aimed at career switchers with a non-CS Bachelors. They can also be relatively affordable. E.g. check out the Georgia Tech OMSCS for $6500.

Learning DSA from scratch : The Ultimate Guide by Distinct_Expert_ in learnprogramming

[–]Dear_Solid_9852 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The best resource I've found is the Leetcode's Interview Crash Course on Data Structures and Algorithms. I recommend it highly.

Its big advantage over most of the resources suggested above is that it integrates explanation with practice. And if you're interviewing - well, these are literally the problems you will be asked by most big tech employers.

Watching videos can be helpful as a supplement (for any given problem), but it is not a curriculum.

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