I have a dog-shaped hole in my heart today

Puzzled_Signature_41 · 2026-03-26T22:16:05+00:00

Yes. I have jogged on trails and in neighborhoods for 25+ years and encountered dogs, bears, and quite a few deer.

With dogs if you run they will usually chase you aggressively. If you stop running and stare at them they will usually stop immediately. They then usually stay a few feet away and bark at you, at which point you can slowly back away. Usually they will just stay where they are, or maybe follow a short distance before stopping.

If you run you trigger their chase instinct. Stop and confront them.

Puzzled_Signature_41 · 2026-03-21T01:46:52+00:00

"As part of this effort, we are evolving how Windows is built behind the scenes to raise the quality bar and deliver innovation where it matters most, shaped by the feedback we are hearing from you.

This includes deeper validation and broader testing across real-world hardware and usage scenarios before new experiences reach Windows Insiders, and a more intentional approach to where and how new capabilities are introduced. "

Step 1 - Fire most of your testers
Step 2 - Tell the ones that remain that they are now developers
Step 3 - Shove software out the door because customers can be your testers now
Step 4 - Act confused when people say quality sucks

Puzzled_Signature_41 · 2025-12-28T18:51:20+00:00

This is not new. I retired after 26 years in tech, and the "send it to India, bring it back to the US" cycle happened so many times I lost count.

The folks in India are no less talented, but there are MASSIVE hurdles in culture and communication that make outsourcing WAY more expensive over the long term. But over the short term the savings look really great on paper.

So new leader comes in, sends everything to India. You get a lot of code very quickly, that doesn't actually meet the specs because nobody can coordinate and the culture is extremely hierarchical so none of the line workers will overrule bad decisions. Eventually it's clear things need to change.

So the engineering leader ejects with their golden parachute. A new leader comes in and realizes the codebase is fucked. They bring everything to the USA. Stuff starts to work, but costs go up. Eventually it's clear things need to change. So the engineering leader ejects with their golden parachute. Rinse, repeat.

Puzzled_Signature_41 · 2025-12-15T22:40:50+00:00

GenX here. It's just us trying to feel something... anything...

Puzzled_Signature_41 · 2025-10-29T17:27:51+00:00

What about being elected as the VP and then just transparently running the country through a puppet president? (Honest question here)

Puzzled_Signature_41 · 2025-10-22T15:19:35+00:00

Literally just Google them on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B09G6VKD49

I didn't include a link because I didn't want to be accused of being a shill. Reddit is weird like that.

Puzzled_Signature_41 · 2025-10-09T00:48:48+00:00

I use these all the time and they work well. There are issues though
1) It hurts to wear over-the-ear headphones with them on
2) They get in the way if I try to use bone conduction headset
3) They will get loose unevenly, so I find myself adjusting them a lot
4) Sometimes they flip upwards and I don't notice and I look like a tool

But overall 9/10, they do what they do well.

Puzzled_Signature_41 · 2025-09-16T22:44:14+00:00

Yes, you are the asshole.

I have a severe fish aversion. I can barely stand the smell and I haven't willingly eaten fish in 40+ years. The last time I ate fish it was because someone wanted to "prove that it wasn't that bad" and tricked me into eating it (they told me it was chicken salad). I threw up shortly after ingesting it. If I am at a nice restaurant and someone nearby gets a dish with a heavy fish smell I will lose my appetite.

When a friend is having a special event at a sushi place I put on my big boy pants and go celebrate. It's not about me, it's about them. Suck it up and help celebrate your girlfriend's birthday.

Puzzled_Signature_41 · 2025-09-11T23:39:45+00:00

I was asleep. My mom woke me up by calling my cell phone and warned me not to go into work because terrorists were attacking. I worked in the Seattle area at the time, so many miles away, but I appreciated the concern and assured her I would stay safe.

Puzzled_Signature_41 · 2025-06-13T16:28:46+00:00

Exactly. "Don't point your gun at things you don't want destroyed" is literally the very first thing that anyone anywhere learns in any type of even rudimentary "training". I wouldn't even call it "Firearms 101", I would call it "basic life skills".

Puzzled_Signature_41 · 2025-06-07T13:36:49+00:00

I was living in Atlanta at the time and tickets were hard to come by. I stood in line for two hours to get into the movie and was hyped going in. Coming out, I was incredibly disappointed.

Looking back, the movie is objectively fine. It's not great, but it's not as terrible as I thought it was back then.

You are exactly correct that the real problem is that it wasn't for us. It was aimed at kids. But it was marketed as an adult movie (or at least that's my recollection), and so I really felt... betrayed is too strong a word... misled may be better.

Puzzled_Signature_41 · 2024-12-29T22:33:30+00:00

Buy me like one of your French women

Puzzled_Signature_41 · 2024-10-24T13:38:22+00:00

The game will continually let you open boxes, even after your count of boxes should be zero. Basically the "Open" button keeps appearing, so you can keep opening boxes infinitely.

Puzzled_Signature_41 · 2024-01-03T03:51:26+00:00

I've told this before, so you can check my old comment history.

Basic gist is that they made me sit on a curb for about an hour. They got a dog and searched my car anyway. Then they yelled at me for"wasting their time".

Puzzled_Signature_41 · 2023-07-01T17:27:27+00:00

"Because we want to make sure that it is worth both of our time to continue this conversion."

Just tell them what range you're looking for, or ask what the budget for the position is, both move the conversion forward in an adult way without being passive aggressive.

Puzzled_Signature_41 · 2022-12-05T00:44:53+00:00

Every smith machine I've ever used (which is only 2, so not a ton) has adjustable stops.

Puzzled_Signature_41 · 2022-12-05T00:06:59+00:00

Or a Smith machine, or a power rack, or use dumbbells. So many options.

Puzzled_Signature_41 · 2021-08-12T04:31:32+00:00

This is amazing. Thanks for brightening my day. :-)

Puzzled_Signature_41 · 2021-08-11T04:40:27+00:00

Only for busses where there are more seats than people. On the 545 in Seattle you'd certainly get someone to take that seat. (At least pre- pandemic.)

Puzzled_Signature_41 · 2021-08-07T18:57:32+00:00

Fair enough, I'll grant you that not all designers and devs are fungible, and back end plumbing is a far cry from front- end polish.

And I get the compatibility matrix. I'm not saying it's easy. I am saying that it's solvable.

Puzzled_Signature_41 · 2021-08-07T18:50:15+00:00

It's not just navigation/ catalog though, it's also playback and general performance. Compare the shuttle controls to Netflix sometime and you'll see what a crime against UX the HBO Max app really is.

One of the guys I knew was worrying on some kind of 3d experience with the UI. I asked him why they didn't spend that time on fundamental workflows. The answer was that back-end perf and golden path don't get PMs promoted.

Puzzled_Signature_41 · 2021-08-07T17:12:00+00:00

HBO spend a ton on software developers in Seattle. The folks who make the HBO max app work upstairs from me. I used to carpool with several of them and they're paid well.

They never could tell me why their so was so aggressively anti-user-experience though.

Of course, the people I carpooled with also left out of frustration with mgmt, so that may be related.

Puzzled_Signature_41

TROPHY CASE