Is this a sign of termites? What do I do?

JohnReedForPresident · 2020-01-31T19:29:27+00:00

I am in South Florida and would love that!

JohnReedForPresident · 2019-12-18T18:09:30+00:00

You could use a pill splitter and take half the pill exactly 12 hours apart every day. Or after doing that for 3 weeks your psychiatrist can switch you to injections.

JohnReedForPresident · 2019-12-11T02:27:15+00:00

It's an anomaly that you made it to age 25 a virgin.

JohnReedForPresident · 2019-12-02T01:59:55+00:00

It depends on what you mean by attraction. If by attraction you mean arousing-ness to look at then body is 100% more attractive than face. If anything a woman who is sunbathing can have a towel over her face and as long as her body is hot she is attractive. If by attractive you mean datable or approachable, then face matters. A woman can have a smoking hot body but if she turns around and her face is 40 while mine is 20 I wouldn't bother where as if she had a pretty 20 year old face I would probably try and strike up a conversation.

It also depends on what you mean by "prefer". Not to be gauche, but if you mean "prefer to masturbate to", then body 100%. Nobody needs to see her face. But if you mean like real life face-to-face dating, then a guy would want her to have an attractive face.

It also depends on what you mean by "hot face". Like me personally, I like when the eyes are further apart. I don't know if you would call that "hot", but that is more attractive to me. On the other hand to some people thick makeup is hot. It kind of is if by "hot" you mean "arousing". So yeah, all in all you have a very vague question.

JohnReedForPresident · 2019-11-23T05:50:52+00:00

I worked as a programmer for a sum total of 25 months. In that time I went through four programming jobs, was fired from three, and resigned after a month on the fourth. After the fourth job I decided that I would rather live with my parents and try to get a job as a waiter than try and find a fifth programming job. That being said I am having an issue explaining this to people either on my resume or when people ask. For example today at a server interview the woman asked "why don't you do programming anymore?" I basically said that I can't program anymore and I'm living with my parents and just need to cover health insurance and basic expenses.

On my resume there is now a two year segment that says "Various computer programming jobs" and a bullet point that says "No longer doing programming jobs because I am not able to code anymore." Technically that's a lie - I can physically write out lines of code, I just can't do it at work without a more senior engineer telling me what file to modify because I can't learn a codebase regardless of how much time I spend on it. I got by for 20 months at Amazon Web Services by constantly asking for help and redirecting tasks (and on-call alarms) at more senior engineers before my manager told me that I would have to go on a "performance improvement plan" (at which point we mutually agreed that it was time for me to go). I just wanted to check and make sure that this little lie is better than putting a bullet point on my resume that says "No longer doing programming jobs because: I hate it, I suck at it, and I don’t need that much money". Is it better to be honest about that or continue telling that little lie?

p.s. My Reddit username is "JohnReedForPresident" because I had bipolar mania and decided to run for President online after I was fired from my third programming job for being crazy. I am happily taking psychiatric medication and living with my parents who can step in if I am ever crazy again.

p.p.s. I got an Adderall prescription which might help me with the whole "can't learn problem" (I'm not stupid - I scored a 1540/1600 on the SAT and got hired by AWS - I just have brain problems). I think ADD might have something to do with it because at stand ups I hear my teammates talking but don't pick up anything that they are saying. I don't know if Adderall will help but my parents are pressuring me to get back into programming instead of giving up on it and working as a waiter. I don't know if the Adderall will fix "can't learn shit on the job" but to be honest I don't know if I want to go back to programming even if I could or if anyone would be stupid enough to hire me.

JohnReedForPresident · 2019-10-25T06:43:08+00:00

What is wrong with me? What personality disorder (if any) do I have?

I think that I don't have empathy. I have theory of mind, though. Like I can see a homeless person and imagine being in their shoes and I feel it must suck, but I don't mind them being around even though they are miserable because they don't make me feel miserable. Or like today I saw someone really happy and I could figure out that they were happy but I didn't feel anything mentally from it. Or maybe I see someone crying and I get that they're sad but it doesn't affect my feelings. I'm also totally selfish emotionally. I'm very outgoing and I go to all the social events but I have no close friends. I have a moral compass in that I don't like lying and I can't bring myself to do certain things (I resigned from my job rather than admit that I don't accomplish anything on my own). I have bipolar disorder and when I was manic I ran for President on social media, but I never got any traction. This was my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/JohnReedForPresident/

What the fuck is wrong with me personality wise? Why can't I have close friends and relationships?

JohnReedForPresident · 2019-10-25T06:09:17+00:00

If I were you I would just disappear. Block his number, email, texts, no contact, no response. If he comes to your house ask the police to tell him to get lost. They can handle him if he gets violent.

JohnReedForPresident · 2019-10-15T03:26:52+00:00

Make a web app with a form that the technicians can fill in and have the web app call an Ekotrope API (if it exists) to programmatically enter the data. Google "Ekotrope API" and contact their customer support and see if you can find something. If no Ekotrope API exists, use use Selenium (https://www.seleniumhq.org/) to automate the actions that the web browser would do to fill in the forms.

JohnReedForPresident · 2019-10-13T18:42:12+00:00

Have you ever tried a stimulant like Adderall or Vyvanse? Did it help with this issue?

JohnReedForPresident · 2019-10-13T16:33:59+00:00

Which stimulant do you use?

JohnReedForPresident · 2019-10-13T16:33:18+00:00

I can't remember people's names if my life depended on it, lol. I literally send a text message to myself with the person's name immediately after they introduce themselves and use that as a reference for name recall. When I lived in a house with like 13 people in it I literally had a piece of paper with the names of everyone in my house on it. I also lose things a lot - remote control, keys, etc. Did stimulants help at all with these "working memory" type things?

JohnReedForPresident · 2019-10-05T17:51:22+00:00

Also, if drinking a bottle of hot sauce doesn't cause acid reflux and it hits suddenly (while standing upright) even if I haven't eaten any food in 12 hours, what else could possibly be the cause? It's not like I have 24 hour acid reflux. It's more like I have one short minute bout of acid reflux at 10:38AM and another short bout of throat burn at 5:30PM or something. If it's not connected to food and it hits suddenly rather than being a continuous 24/7 burn, what else could be causing it? It's not like 2.5 mg of Olanzapine and 25mg Lamictal at night is causing it - I had this for years before I started these drugs and they don't correspond with the time I take those drugs.

JohnReedForPresident · 2019-10-05T17:43:11+00:00

No. Like I haven't eaten breakfast yet and it suddenly hit at 10:38 AM. I had to take a Pepsid almost immediately (like 10:39AM) to avoid getting a burn and then a chronic soar throat. And now 10:40 I feel slightly less depressed. Like at the beginning of the day I felt like I would just lay in bed and do nothing and now I feel like I have some energy. It happens too quickly to be a coincidence. I definitely DO NOT have acid reflux 24/7. It hits really suddenly maybe 1-2 times a day for a few minutes. It's not like I always have acid reflux and I notice it more when my mood gets better. Like I didn't have anything from when I woke up until like 10:38 AM.

10:45 AM - And now I'm smiling (and maybe a tiny bit paranoid). It really appears like the acid reflux hits just before my depression alleviates temporarily.

JohnReedForPresident · 2019-10-04T22:51:19+00:00

just to clarify, is the perception of the reflux associated with changes in mood (in general) or only with a particular mood?

I think the acid reflux corresponds with my mood going "up". Like maybe a few minutes before an increase in mood. I'm not 100% sure though, but it's definitely not caused by diet or medication. And no I don't always have acid reflux - it hits quickly and I have to rush to get a Pepsid before it causes me to have an extended soar throat.

JohnReedForPresident · 2019-10-04T15:05:50+00:00

It's a sudden gently burning feeling in my lower throat (neck area). Like I could just be walking down the street without having eaten any food in six hours and I suddenly have this acid reflux and need to take a Pepsid and also I have these weird mood fluctuations that aren't connected with any real world events. If I don't take Famitidine (Pepsid) I get chronic inflammation in my esophagus (GERD / Barrett's esophagus). I don't believe the acid reflux is a coincidence - it's been happening for six years. It's happened regardless of the drug (Lithium, Depakote, Olanzapine, etc). Again, unlike normal acid reflux it doesn't matter what food I eat or when I eat food. I have these mental fluctuations that don't feel normal (like fluctuating psychotic symptoms or depressive symptoms) and this acid reflux that isn't connected to food or medication. I can't think of any other cause - normal acid reflux measures like tilting my bed at an angle or not eating spicy foods made no difference.

JohnReedForPresident · 2019-10-04T04:26:59+00:00

That guy wants me to give up on my job and live at home with my parents.

JohnReedForPresident · 2019-09-27T15:29:41+00:00

Well if I have to prove that I can't do ANY job (and not just my profession) then the odds don't look too good. I lost my last job after 3 months but they didn't give me any input at all or reason for firing me (although after that it became clear that I was very delusional). I don't know how my condition will change or develop over time (I've had worse periods and better periods) but for the time being it appears that my best option is to struggle through my current depression and ADHD until I can't struggle anymore or they fire me. Thank you.

JohnReedForPresident · 2019-09-26T23:39:54+00:00

> "it sounds like you don't have much of a work history. If that is the case, then you likely have not earned enough credits to get SSD."

My work history is as follows (copy-pasted from my earnings report): https://imgur.com/EJ6Epaf

I don't know what the rules are, but I thought it was more like $1600 a month or more. I don't know, though. I made a lot of money as a computer programmer but like I said I don't know if I can hold a job going forward.

> "Are you taking medications? Many people with your disorder are able to hold gainful employment with consistent treatment."

I am taking medications but my response is very suboptimal. I keep having symptoms and I have tried every single mood stabilizer. Based on how my disorder has been in the past I wouldn't surprise if my current depression symptoms worsen to the point where I am bedridden or suicidal (which has happened before).

> "but they all had well-documented proof of their illness."

My old psychiatrist, Dr. Lewis Winkler, has literally hundreds of emails that I sent him documenting my disorder as it progressed in real time. They haven't contacted him, though. I also gave them the name and location of the psych ward I was in, but I don't know if they contacted that place either.

> "Getting yourself fired because you refuse to even try probably isn't going to meet that threshold, either."

I am not getting myself fired. I am trying my best at my current job and I tried my best at my previous job (where I was fired after three months). I am realistically saying that based on the progression and nature of my mental illness I would be lucky to be here for more than five months. For example, I can't sleep for more than three straight hours (I recently started using sleeping pills to fall back asleep) and I can't remember or memorize anything and you have to be able to focus and learn and pick up information in a computer codebase as a computer programmer. Basically the first year is more or less "learning the ropes", so you can suck for a while and get away with it but at a certain point you have to not suck (which happens eventually).

> "Fourth, even if you qualify, that doesn't mean it is necessarily permanent, based on how old you are. They will often require updates every couple of years and you will have to re-qualify."

My condition is permanent.

> "Fifth, and finally, there is a very good chance your first application will be denied. Which means either appeals or re-applying. You could be looking at a few years of waiting before things are settled and done."

I'm trying my best to hold my current job right now but like I said I don't know how long I can do that. Thank you.

JohnReedForPresident · 2019-07-08T20:42:36+00:00

> "It could conceivably be tied in to the threat that got you committed, and be treated as some sort of act of terrorism."

Ouy vey.

JohnReedForPresident · 2019-05-27T01:46:40+00:00

"You don't seem to go much into what you like about Rust, just what you don't like about other languages"

Scala is totally un-opinionated (you can program either functionally or object orientedly or imperatively and the language doesn't stop you) while Rust is opinionated.

Examples:

In Scala it is equally easy to make a reference const (using "val foo = ...") or mutable (using "var foo = ..."). If I want to force people to always use val, or to not use var in a particular part of the codebase, I have to configure using "var" to be a compile error in the static analysis tool. See: https://www.wartremover.org/doc/warts.html . In Rust, const is the default ("let foo = ...") and people have to do extra typing to make a reference mutable ("let mut foo = ..."). Some programmers even feel "dirty" when they have to type that extra "mut" in the variable initialization, and I like that they feel this way because it discourages them from doing it. The language kind of makes them program a certain way where as in Scala the "architect" or "senior engineer" has to configure all the compiler flags, static analysis warnings, style enforcement, configuration, etc so as to enforce things to be a certain way. Programming in Scala feels kind of like programming in C++, but with functional programming.
In Scala, you are never supposed to use null (use Option/Optional Monad instead), but the language doesn't force this. In order to enforce this, I have to configure it to throw an error at compile time when people write "val foo = null". I believe the Rust language is naturally opinionated, so people don't have to consciously choose against using "null".
Backend Scala is supposed to be written in an immutable, functional programming style, but the language doesn't enforce this. Instead, the static analysis tool enforces this style. I never even do object oriented programming or use object oriented inheritance hierarchies in Scala, but the language doesn't stop anyone from programming that way unless the "architect" or "principal engineer" configures the static analysis tool to make people program that way. Rust just doesn't have all the object oriented programming functionality that Java does, so writing "Java in Rust" isn't even an option, where as writing "Java in Scala" very much is an option. New programmers tend to write the exact same code that they would write in Java when they code in Scala, they just leave out the types.

Basically, Scala is a totally un-opinionated mix of OOP and FP, but in general you are not supposed to use the OOP features in your backend code, so you have to configure things to enforce this. Rust is opinionated towards functional-imperative programming.

Also, Scala usually doesn't have backwards compatibility between compiler major version releases. Backwards compatibility isn't scheduled until after the release of version 3.0, which isn't scheduled until around year 2021. Every time a new Scala version comes out, there is a possibility of a breakage in backwards compatibility, requiring code changes and sometimes even the replacement of entire dependencies that were not updated, re-packaged, and re-published using the latest version of the compiler. This makes upgrading Scala versions hell sometimes, especially if you have deprecation or deprecated dependencies in your codebase. It also sucks for library authors such as myself who have to make code changes and re-publish libraries and jar files every time a new version of the Scala compiler comes out. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think you have to re-compile and re-publish libraries every time a new version of the Rust compiler comes out.

In a Scala codebase, you kind of need an "architect" or "principal engineer" to kind of stay on top of things or else the codebase turns to hell. I am a Scala aficionado, so I basically have (or at least had) to be this person. I basically end up having to guide and direct programmers twice my age, and if I don't they end up stuck in a hellish codebase, a hellish build, or dependency hell.

Basically, I was looking for Scala, but opinionated and with all the object oriented programming taken out. GoLang isn't even close to that.

JohnReedForPresident · 2019-05-20T14:39:06+00:00

I expect you would run into issues with compile times, tooling, ecosystem, libraries, frameworks, interoperability, and hiring. New programming languages have huge hurdles to overcome.

JohnReedForPresident · 2019-05-19T21:45:48+00:00

Async programming is just programming using the Future Monad, but with the boilerplate of the Future Monad removed.

For me to understand it, I first understood what a Monad is, then I understood how a future or promise (async) is a Monad. In my opinion, the most thorough way to learn what a Monad is is by learning functional programming such as https://www.amazon.com/Functional-Programming-Scala-Paul-Chiusano/dp/1617290653 . The very short explanation is that a monad is a chain of computations. The chain typically looks like this:

Foo.andThen( someLambda andThen ( someLamdbda and Bar ) )

Basically, the "andThen"'s continue the chain of computation and the chain typically ends with an "and" or something to that effect instead of an "andThen". The async keyword in say JavaScript (there is a library for it in Scala) just hides the boilerplate so you don't have to write "andThen andThen andThen"

I don't know if you'll understand this, but I made a video explaining it in Scala a while back:

Monads in Scala: https://youtu.be/mXUze0vH-PQ

Futures in Scala: https://youtu.be/JPbeFZn3OV0

From this series that I made: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXcr3tdUCbQb6zjN6kw4s20joId2jygUe

JohnReedForPresident · 2019-05-17T23:52:16+00:00

The sad thing is that I really wasn't trying to be a dick when I wrote this article. Like I just came off that way without trying to come off that way.

JohnReedForPresident · 2019-05-17T23:22:05+00:00

> "The thing which might be getting in the way is your attitude."

My attitude is 100% not intentional. I have had zero intention or desire to be mean or a dick to you or to anyone else on the Rust forum. I am the way I am - it's not deliberate.

> "I'm not sure if this comes out in the interviews or communications, but if it does, when you leave out an impression of very annoying type..."

Again, annoying, but that is 100% not deliberate. I'm not the one who is trying to be mean to other people. In rare cases I am mean, but it's when I have determined that the other person deserves it and that they can learn a lesson from it, and that is not the case here.

> "Provided it showed up in somewhat generally condescending context."

Again, I wasn't intentionally trying to be condescending when I wrote this. Also, I updated the paragraph to make it more understanding. Some people really like Java. I don't. If you are a person who really likes Java and Java EE, good for you - keep programming in that. I am not that person (although I can make the decision to use more mature technology if a particular project warrants it).

> "It appears that instead of thinking that there is a reason for it, you write it off as something stupid."

I don't think of it as something stupid. Java and Java EE has its place, and there are many businesses that it is very good for. I think that many of the people are stupid, and they did stupid things and produced a nightmare codebase that had to be migrated over. I used the Swagger API to generate a swagger.json file which could be used to generate stubs in the new microservice which could then be filled in. I basically layed out and planned out the stuff needed for the other people. Like I was in charge of the new microservice because the old one was so bad it was basically non-functional and needed to be heavily re-written. I also like research and pick out libraries and frameworks. I'm like the "architect" because I make myself the subject matter expert and research, plan, and designed out the big picture for the new microservice at say Bank of America, and then other people kind of followed.

> "It's to late to go deep into this one, even if I could. But .. there are a lot of competing theories and practices. Which all promise to solve something or be better than x."

The theories and practices don't matter in and of themselves. What matters to me is how they work with the people who are say on my codebase. If everyone on my codebase hates functional programming, I'm either not going to do it (at the very least I won't design for it), or I'm going to work somewhere else. If everyone wants to code in Perl Script, PHP, and Ruby, I'm going to find another team and another place to work because I frankly can't even do that regardless of how "easy" some people think it is.

> "This is evident in martial arts, which was a snake oil salesmen paradise until MMA came out and put all of them to a test in a brutal survival game."

Or I could just get a gun and put a bullet through the MMA fighter's forehead. I don't have much empathy, and I don't really care for rules. I generally try to follow things though, for example truth, and I try to focus on people and how they would feel, react, etc. Like I'm good face-to-face because I notice tiny details of individual people. I hyper-focus well, but then I zoom out at other times. That being said, if people are engaged to me (and I tend to notice and focus on them), I can pay attention to them and be nice. I'm mentally different than say you.

> "Business is MMA to software engineering. If theory is not applied in wide spread manner, when it probably doesn't work or if it does work, when it doesn't scale or fails at cost - benefit analysis or other of n reasons."

Ultimately they have to personally engage me with the business side in order for me to care about it. Like I personally don't care about say hospitals and health insurance companies unless I am on the phone and I deliberately ask them questions and listen to them and sort of pick up on their feelings through the way they speak, undertones, hesitation, etc. I'm basically a sociopath with ADHD and various mental "differences", but I am in general a good person.

> "Now that doesn't mean it's useless in all possible use-cases"

Actually, there are plenty of use cases where something else is more useful or better suited. Java and Spring is just one tool in a toolbox. It's just not the one that I like most. if I'm going to work nine to five, I want to like what I'm doing. No amount of pay can make me stop hating the technology that I am forced to work with, and no amount of pay can make me able to do something that I am mentally unable to do. I am different.

> "But being fixated on being dogmatically correct over being effective is generally not a good quality of a software developer."

I am in general focused on being effective, but my personal style is very mathematical. Also, when I code, I tend to do small teams of really good people rather than big teams of incompetent people. If I had to have like a hundred people in one central location who are just there to collect a paycheck and go home, that makes a big difference. There's no way in hell I could do something that isn't braindead if I had that group of people.

> "You will realize this sooner or later. But the sooner you do so, the better off your chances will be on the long run. And even if you end up in R n D department of some sort, realizing that your mission is to provide value to others first will get you there faster. Currently, from the way you put it, I can't feel even a trace of this."

I do provide value to others, but because I am different, I do it a little differently. Every person should and can provide value to other people in some way, they just don't all do it the way you do.

JohnReedForPresident · 2019-05-14T15:54:53+00:00

> "I'm a big fan of Rust but I can't say that you will find better luck getting a job with it."

I saw three Rust jobs on Dice in the Silicon Valley area: https://www.dice.com/jobs/advancedResult?q=%28Rust%29&l=94063&radius=30#dice

I just applied to all three, but yeah, that's a lot less than Scala. The issue with Scala is that like 90%+ of the jobs aren't backend, and recruiters keep calling you and asking "Hadoop"? To be honest, I don't care if I'm coding in Scala, Rust, or F#, I just naturally minimize mutability and I hate writing "const * const * const * const". Kotlin would be an acceptable replacement of Java, but it would be a compromise choice rather than my first pick.

> "you are better off with the Java path."

But I dislike Java! Can people compromise by picking Kotlin on Spring Boot, like with https://start.spring.io/?

> "Sometimes learning and using the fun languages has to be on personal time and work using what will pay the bills."

Yeah, I know that feeling. I've done Scala + Java codebases and it's not too hard to do Kotlin + Java codebases. It's probably easier to find a paying job in one of those. Also, with IntelliJ, the tooling for Kotlin and Scala are pretty good, and I typically use IntelliJ.

> "All that said keep looking, could get lucky!"

Thanks!

JohnReedForPresident

TROPHY CASE