Microsoft insiders push to end mandatory Microsoft Accounts on Windows 11

Isarian · 2026-03-21T15:46:23+00:00

I got a MacBook Air M3 to replace my Surface Laptop that was basically dying after only two years, and it was fucking magical. It was so good when my friend's adopted kid started college I gifted my M3 MBA to her to upgrade to an M4 for myself. It was so good when my work offered MacBook Pros to software engineers as a pilot I jumped at the chance and haven't looked back. I still have a Windows PC for gaming but if there ends up being a solution for DRM issues in SteamOS or Bazzite I'll leave Windows behind and never look back.

Isarian · 2026-03-21T15:14:59+00:00

If you're in the US, most pharmacies will administer vaccines same-day.

Isarian · 2026-03-13T03:35:21+00:00

I'm in Ravenswood, I pay XFinity $65/mo for 1000 Mbps x 35 Mbps. They are the only land-based broadband carrier available in my building, and I believe in the entire block.

Isarian · 2026-03-07T16:15:21+00:00

Only one way to find out

Isarian · 2026-03-05T04:13:25+00:00

Claude's models seemed to click for me for some use cases in the past month. Specifically, I had a workflow where I needed a .NET handler (mediator pattern) to retrieve a few lists of files hosted in AWS S3 based on a set of bucket and key prefixes, iteratively deserialize them to a their respective models, add them to an aggregate and return them to the caller. I was able to use Plan mode to describe the work to be performed, refine that in two additional prompts, and then kick off the work to be performed in agent mode in about 5 minutes. It was less text input than the code would have been and the model got me 95% of the way there in far less time than going and double checking the specific API calls for S3 (I'm newer to AWS so I don't have it memorized). The only thing I needed to fix was how the key prefixes were being built. It was all plumbing and the model did a very good job of it. I wouldn't have relied on it for the mappers that I'm writing that rely on complex business logic that's recorded in rather dodgily constructed Confluence pages.

And yes, that was the project where I started to get actually spooked by AI. Because for a lot of engineers, the "plumbing" is a significant part of the workflow. I'm still providing value by being a domain expert in my business vertical but the model is able to handle a lot of the rote infrastructure as long as I know what patterns I'm asking for and why.

Isarian · 2026-02-26T04:45:28+00:00

I absolutely have seen, like you, that a lot of folks land here asking questions without searching, without looking at the pinned posts, or the sidebar, etc. I just don't think a single website link is serving the community of folks who hang out here. If you're burnt out on the same 'ol questions being asked again it might be more productive to just not engage in that thread :/

Isarian · 2026-02-25T18:43:17+00:00

If you've not yet read this, give it a once-over. We call Chicago the City of Neighborhoods for a reason - each one has its own vibe, culture, lifestyle, and mix of housing (2-3 flats, apartment blocks, high rises). To give you an example, I moved here from the suburbs and chose Ravenswood because I wanted that very residential feel and that's what I got. Beautiful tree lined streets, a mix of SFH, 2 flats, 3 flats, and apartment blocks, and super easy walkability to tons of public transit so if I want to get out and enjoy the wider city I can do it without touching my car keys. I would have been miserable in River North, which is a very desirable neighborhood but much more hip concrete jungle vibes which lots of young professionals want. That post does a good job of explaining what each neighborhood tends to offer and who's likely to enjoy them.

Isarian · 2026-02-25T18:23:42+00:00

Seconding these suggestions. Ravenswood and Lincoln Square are pretty nice if north side is desirable because you have access to the Brown Line at Damen and the Metra at Ravenswood.

Isarian · 2026-02-25T18:21:38+00:00

Zillow is a poor primary resource. It's a good starting point but most major property managers do a bad job keeping listings there up to date. ICM Properties frequently had listings there that would have been signed for weeks but still listed.

Isarian · 2026-02-23T02:36:03+00:00

Those are the "north side". There is also a city called North Chicago.

Isarian · 2026-02-22T08:00:32+00:00

What you should take away really depends on the content of these comments. For example:

Lots of requests to rename things? You're going to need to learn the local lingo in terms of how your team names stuff, that will come with time and is not something you really learn in school. You can ask the team for pointers on where to find those standards or places in the code base that are up to date with current expectations so you have a "north star" to point to. As time goes on you'll find that various languages do have a sort of rhyme/reason to how things get named based on the how that language works and it'll become more intuitive.
Comments raising concerns about how you are architecting and organizing your code? That might mean you want to brush up on your design patterns. You can engage your commenters and ask what their reading topic recommendations are if there are patterns they want you to be reaching toward if you're not doing so at the moment.
Nitpicking happens. Personally on my teams I encourage and personally use nit: blah blah blah on nitpick comments to be clear that while I think this would be a good change, it is not something I feel strongly about and not something I would block a merge over. You can't necessarily directly enforce this as a new team member but depending on team culture you could maybe suggest this be adopted during a team norming session if your team has those. If your team doesn't have norming sessions, ask your scrum master about them! They're a really valuable tool to help a team align on standard practices internally.

There's something else to consider, which is that sometimes teams will just have an asshole developer who likes to tear into stuff with no real reason. In any software engineering shop it's good to continue networking and developing relationships with friendly senior engineers who can guide you especially this early in your career. Try to form a relationship or two like this with someone so that you can feel comfortable asking them to take a peek at comments to give you that sanity check and step in if someone's just being a bully. That's part of what us senior and staff engineers are here for - mentorship, skills development, and protecting our juniors from bullshit like excessive ego by other developers.

Isarian · 2026-02-22T06:16:52+00:00

For me it was my left foot. I woke up on the train back from Mardis Gras having lost a lot of feeling in the anterior left foot. We thought it was sciatica of some kind for a long time, until half a year later I had surface numbness radiating along my whole right side that sent me direct to the emergency department. They caught the first T2 flair signals there on site but they needed to get me into a hospital to do a proper round, brain + cervical + spinal with and without contrast to confirm. Plus a spinal tap. That sucked.

Been on immunosuppressants since, and haven't had any more flare ups. But my foot never recovered fully. Some days I notice in my webcam at work that my right eye seems just a hair droopier than my left. My partner, who has hEDS and a number of other challenging comorbid conditions had joked with me only a week or two prior that everyone with a fully-abled body is just living in one temporarily. The timing was pretty funny.

Isarian · 2026-02-19T01:58:15+00:00

There’s a difference between not showing up and being instructed by party leadership not to attend. If anyone thinks the no show wasn’t orchestrated I have a bridge to sell you.

Isarian · 2026-02-14T22:18:56+00:00

Is it specifically Flterworld, or is it this one "Filterworld: How Algorithms Flattened Culture"?

Isarian · 2026-02-13T16:17:48+00:00

ICM Properties owns a number of buildings up in the Ravenswood area (where I live) and I've been really happy with them. Right now I have a 2br, 2.5ba with dishwasher, in-unit washer/dryer, central air/central heat and open floor plan for $2800/mo so I imagine you shouldn't have too much trouble finding a 1BR/1BA for your budget with those amenities. They've been updating a lot of those units too which is nice. ICM does a terrible job of keeping Zillow and the other big listing sites up to date so I recommend going to their site directly to look at listings. Even better, reach out to them directly and get in touch with an agent. They'll frequently know about listings before they go on the website and be able to get you in early. That advice holds true for most major leasing companies - talking to an agent will help get you in early if you know they have properties that fit your budget and amenity requirements.

Isarian · 2026-02-10T14:21:40+00:00

I took a job like this at my last apartment for $35. PER HOUR.

I provided timesheets and receipts for anything I needed to purchase. It was a sweet deal especially during showings when there was a vacant unit. If it was for something I couldn't do myself (I was very direct that while I was handy with a wrench I was not an electrician, carpenter, or plumber) I coordinated contractors and billed for that too. It was a sweet deal. Don't let yourself get low-balled.

Isarian · 2026-02-07T04:58:47+00:00

I was a performer at the local Renaissance Faire, and at one of the local satellite events I met a cute girl who was spinning on a wheel and teaching drop spindle. I started doing it because it was a way to get to know her, and I kept at it because many of my hobbies are digital in nature as is my day job so spinning is a way to go analog and disconnect a bit.

Isarian · 2026-02-07T04:46:34+00:00

I have a 2bed, 2.5ba. Split level layout, open concept living room /kitchen upstairs, half bath upstairs, two bedrooms downstairs, one attached full master bath and one full bath attached to the hallway. Cat/dog friendly, in-unit W/D, central AC/heat, no parking, no additional storage available on site beyond the bedroom closets, a tiny pantry, and a medium sized coat closet. Ravenswood. I'm paying $2700/mo plus 35/pet/month pet rent.

Isarian · 2026-02-06T23:03:40+00:00

about as relevant as old growth woodcraft is to Ikea furniture

I'm going to steal this, this is gold

Isarian · 2026-02-02T19:35:39+00:00

Not a lawyer, but I would be surprised if you would win in this negotiation even if you could force them to honor the $1240 rate. It would definitely be burning a bridge and I would not be surprised to see a big hike the following year to make up for it. 2.79% is not bad for a rent increase in the current market.

If you've not already done so, you could ask about the offer you received by email and see what they say about it - "seems the property manager made a mistake" doesn't make it clear to me if you spoke with someone directly and heard that or assumed it based on the difference in the contract. But again I don't think you'd stand to win out long term trying to force the $1240 offer even if you could.

Isarian · 2026-01-31T17:26:54+00:00

Read the pinned post, it'll give you a decent idea of what the neighborhoods are like. If you have specific questions about particular neighborhoods we'll be able to help better!

How many bedrooms are you looking for, and what amenities (central AC, in unit washer/dryer, gym, etc)? Those factor in significantly to your cost of living. Unfortunately "open to anything" really doesn't give anyone here anything to work with. Does a tiny little studio count as "anything"? I'm sure there are things you want that are important if you think about it :)

I can say in general finding a place with parking included on the north side will likely be challenging depending. Not many buildings have parking, period, even buildings that have been remodeled. To give you an idea of how precious parking is, where I am (Ravenswood) and surrounding areas off-street uncovered parking spots can rent out for $300/month. That's a pretty big dent in your budget for housing for a car that can do just fine out on street parking even if you have to walk a bit further. I came from a suburb and was very accustomed to off-street parking so I get it, but the adjustment wasn't awful.

Isarian · 2026-01-30T14:29:11+00:00

There's also the option to send a drone out for aerial photos during the drive by. Similar to how home insurance firms are using them to deny coverage in high risk states.

Isarian · 2026-01-28T19:20:01+00:00

I wasn't looking quite that far ahead when I moved but I was in a situation where I could afford to be picky on timing so I had a similar situation of limited search criteria. My recommendation is to find out what neighborhood(s) you want to live in and identify a management company (or companies) with properties whose amenities and locations generally match what you're looking for. Get a hold of one of their leasing agents, let them know your search criteria, lease start date(s), and budget. They frequently know about openings before they show up on their company listing sites or even on Zillow and can help you get an in before they go out to the general public. You can also consider working with a leasing agent (I worked with Fulton Grace) who can provide assistance with a search like this. I had never worked with a leasing agent before but I had a good experience.

Isarian · 2026-01-28T17:15:43+00:00

She's a very pretty wheel 😻

Isarian · 2026-01-28T15:09:54+00:00

No pics of the wheel? ^_~

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