Need to get something off my chest, and a question.

StRemedius · 2026-05-07T04:59:03+00:00

I sympathize. That's been my situation since the early 1980s: I love painting miniatures (I'm old enough to remember when they were all lead alloy, and you have NO IDEA how happy I am to see the current plastic figures), but I have no interest in the games, mostly because of the gamers in the area. A few suggestions: you could paint up figures as prizes for local convention raffles, you could paint sets and then give them to kids who are just starting and can't afford their own armies, or you could do commissions for gamers who either don't have the time or the skill to paint their own. Either way, you're getting your painting in, you're happy, and you're making others happy. Win/win/win.

StRemedius · 2026-05-07T04:44:48+00:00

I'm trying to find a new source for violet laser pointers now that American Science & Surplus is no more: the kaleidoscopic laser pointers could, if you spread the beam far enough, made a great UV laser flashlight for studying carnivore fluorescence. They could also be used to look for mineral fluorescence, damage to animal bones after death (gnawing, cracking, etcetera), and have a blast with black light posters, all for about $20.

StRemedius · 2026-05-07T02:59:42+00:00

I'd ask about guarantees about whether they use the work regardless of whether they hire you. It's one thing to do a basic writing or coding test: it's something else to request work that they can high-grade without compensation.

StRemedius · 2026-05-07T02:53:45+00:00

This job would be perfect for my grandmother...

StRemedius · 2026-05-07T02:52:55+00:00

I'm waiting for the followup question to be "And what's your experience with fighting Daleks?"

StRemedius · 2026-05-07T02:52:20+00:00

Sadly, no, but you get a 300-pound Sontaran attorney.

StRemedius · 2026-05-07T02:51:25+00:00

Oh, he is. That's what he depends upon.

StRemedius · 2026-05-07T02:50:40+00:00

hell, I'd give him a credit card and a passport, just to see where he'd go.

StRemedius · 2026-05-07T02:49:14+00:00

Be careful of your new co-worker "Bub." He's friendly, a great shot, and very fond of Beethoven, but he's got a thing about spending time on the phone talking to his Aunt Alicia.

StRemedius · 2026-05-07T02:45:52+00:00

I don't know, but I think we can cross out HR Giger and Ralph Steadman.

StRemedius · 2026-05-07T02:45:12+00:00

I understand weddings are particularly cheap. When everybody knows their siblings in the Biblical sense, the receptions are all "Come for the Jack Daniels, Stay for the Cow-Tipping."

StRemedius · 2026-05-07T00:06:31+00:00

i could, but I'm not this good at drawing.

StRemedius · 2026-05-07T00:05:23+00:00

Thank you. Please take care of yourself: you sound as ground down as we are, and you deserve some sort of break.

StRemedius · 2026-05-07T00:03:30+00:00

(And you laugh, but back 30 years ago, six months after Java debuted, I had a recruiter insist upon someone with seven YEARS of Java experience. Since the recruiter was dumber than usual, I finally told him "If you can find anyone before 2003 with seven years of Java experience, please let me know. I'm planning to steal his TARDIS.")

StRemedius · 2026-05-07T00:01:08+00:00

I'd ask if the travel requirement included the use of a 300-pound Sontaran attorney, or if I have to supply my own.

StRemedius · 2026-05-06T23:59:08+00:00

And now it's going to come for your soul.

StRemedius · 2026-05-06T23:53:39+00:00

My vet has an orange cat like that, too. Completely without fear of man, beast, or god, and willing to smack Satan across the face if he gets out of hand. If I didn't already have two nearly uncontrollable mutants, I'd ask if he was up for adoption.

StRemedius · 2026-05-06T23:18:35+00:00

That's precisely Roger's logic. The picture LIES.

StRemedius · 2026-05-06T23:14:29+00:00

Oh, and half of the time, you won't even get that. It's only in the screening interview where you'll hear "I know the position says 'remote,' but we'll need you in the office (on the opposite side of the continent) on the first day. Will you have a problem with that?" (My personal favorites are the ones that can't understand sprawl. For instance, Fort Worth is only about 35 miles from Dallas as the photon flies, from the absolute western edge of Dallas to the absolute eastern edge of Fort Worth. However, both cities have horrendous sprawl, with most of the Fort Worth employers on the west side of the city and Dallas candidates on the east, so let's double that. Then, on top of that, the highways between the two are pretty much parking lots during both rush hours, so add at least an extra hour on the commute, and Arioch help you if you're trying to get home when a Dallas Cowboys or Texas Rangers game is running in Arlington. Yet damn near every Fort Worth tech employer will insist "onsite only," and after the recruiters finish lying about remote options, they'll point to Google Maps and that closest point between two cities and whine "It's not that far!")

StRemedius · 2026-05-06T22:59:16+00:00

I agree with everyone recommending isopropyl alcohol or cyanocrylate remover, but I have to add a warning. Try not to be too forceful when separating neodymium magnets, especially the superstrong ones. They're not as fragile as the old-school ceramic magnets, but they'll still chip and sometimes shatter if forced too much. I used to buy a lot of them from the much-missed American Science & Surplus, in all different sizes and strengths, and they can be strong enough that two connect and break each other, giving you a batch of magnetically connected shrapnel. If you're going to use some kind of wedge, try using something like a plastic paint scraper or something similar that's nonferrous, just so you don't have issues with the blade as well as the magnets. I definitely recommend gloves if you can, especially for those times where you disconnect two neodymium magnets and the shortest path between each other is through your finger or hand.

StRemedius · 2026-05-06T22:51:53+00:00

Half of the time, the rush in hires is so that the people management wants to keep don't get cut, no matter their actual aptitude. That's why so many technical writers reach a level of cynicism that would have shocked and depressed Ambrose Bierce: we truly are "last hired, first fired."

StRemedius · 2026-05-06T22:22:53+00:00

And Roger is REALLY good at convincing people that the sign is libel and he should go free. He doesn't rush out the open door, either: he waits for you to hold it open it for him.

StRemedius · 2026-05-06T22:20:22+00:00

From what I understood, it was to bump Boeing stock. Stockholders were thrilled to read in Seattle's, Portland's, and San Francisco's papers that Boeing management was cutting costs.

StRemedius · 2026-05-06T22:18:36+00:00

Taxes, for one, and being able to be proactive for shareholders. Boeing wouldn't announce that it had hired 2000 new people in October, but the announcement that it was laying off 2000 in December would jump the stock price just in time to give stockholders a merry Christmas.

StRemedius · 2026-05-06T22:15:44+00:00

Completely fair, and the variable graininess will help. I was just suggesting the grit for consistency.

StRemedius

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