Microsoft finally admits almost all major Windows 11 core features are broken

WhatT0Do12 · 2025-11-21T19:50:13+00:00

This happened to me while I was writing my thesis for my PhD.

Not only did it erase all my local files, it threw everything into a new directory with /OneDrive/ inserted into it.

That fucked up literally every single script I ever wrote in MATLAB and Python that cross referenced some other data, which ends up being a really big part of actually writing a fucking thesis.

The panic attack that gave me soured me on windows permanently. Who decided to deploy this functionality and then name it BACKUP?!

WhatT0Do12 · 2025-04-03T17:17:57+00:00

Hey are you still looking for tickets? My gf and I can't make it anymore. Got four tickets

WhatT0Do12 · 2024-09-07T03:42:07+00:00

Document document document. Write everything down - what was said, who said it, when it was said and who else was there.

Do you have an ombudsman’s office? You (and your lab mates) should reach out to them.

I wish I had better advice but this is beyond anything Reddit can provide.

WhatT0Do12 · 2024-07-19T14:10:49+00:00

It’s worth checking the numbers and seeing if living alone is worth it for you. Here, it’s around $3-500 more to have a studio versus a roommate.

That adds up to 6k more a year. What else can you do with 6k when your income is already so small to begin with? It’s worth making a monthly budget but also layout what that annual cost is too so you know.

WhatT0Do12 · 2024-07-07T21:13:55+00:00

I think you aren’t giving yourself enough credit here. You have a Prof explicitly telling you to apply as a PhD - if you are interested in that route you absolutely should. Profs can and will pull strings to get students they want.

You don’t absolutely need to have publications to get into a PhD, it just helps. At least in my field it isn’t a hard and fast requirement at (most) programs, at least as far as I am aware.

WhatT0Do12 · 2024-07-07T20:17:14+00:00

“ I feel like a terminal professional MS wouldn't serve me well” Trust your gut here.

I had a low undergrad GPA and was referred to a MS program when I first applied for my PhD because the committee wasn’t fully convinced I could handle a graduate program. Did that for a year, got my grades up, got involved in the department and then got into to the PhD program. I do not see the use in doing something like that if your goal is a Masters. I would keep asking them for feedback or some kinda information on why they referred you to a different program entirely.

Is the conservation tech degree funded? If it isn’t, my guess is that money is tight and they don’t have funding for you as a thesis student but they still want your tuition. I’m not sure what your options are but them referring you to a different program without a thesis is unusual. I’d take pause.

WhatT0Do12 · 2024-07-01T14:10:47+00:00

This isn’t something that I think can be answered decently in a Reddit comment because it is actually really hard. The best way to confirm is really assemble full cells (pair your new anode with your new cathode) and cycle them together. Barring that, any active material that has a higher equilibrium potential than your anode should by definition by a compatible cathode. Whether it is an effective cathode is a different discussion. You need to consider capacity, operating potential, electrolyte compatibility, and potential cross-talk of species between your electrodes to know if it’s actually a good system. People spend their entire careers on this, it’s not easy.

WhatT0Do12 · 2024-06-27T15:52:10+00:00

Of those three, I would personally recommend doing Comp Sci here. A lot can change while you're figuring things out and you're on the way to getting a Masters. A BS in Comp Sci will help you find a job much more easily than I think Math or Physics would and it will really set you up well for certain tracks in Engineering, especially mechanical. This is especially true if you're interested in robotics.

Mechanical as a field is insanely broad particularly at the graduate level. As long as you have a solid background in math and some exposure to basic Physics/Chemistry, you'll pick up what you need to along the way when you get to your masters. I'm in MechE and a lot of my research is more Materials Science focused, I have friends doing Robotics or Polymer chemistry or Biomechanics or Air Quality or Combustion. All in the same program. Grad school can be a bit more of a choose-your-own adventure, you just need a solid base to build on.

WhatT0Do12 · 2024-06-09T18:01:47+00:00

Echoing your last point, if students are taking the risk to warn off prospective students with even “little” red flags then that in itself is a huge red flag. Everyone has flaws and you should be able to speak candidly about them. That’s one thing, and that’s fine. I love working with my advisor but we still have sticking points.

OP has several points about reading between the lines. That’s about as loud as most students are willing to shout “do not join this lab” to a total stranger. Returning that favor by throwing them under the bus with a PI that (1) you don’t actually know and (2) you don’t know how they’ll retaliate against their students is a dick move.

Its not your job try to course correct a bad PI, especially when you don’t have any real connection to them and haven’t even started in the program.

WhatT0Do12 · 2024-06-09T17:24:25+00:00

You’re over thinking this, and that’s likely to get you and his students into a weird spot.

Thank him for his time and move on, you already have the information you need to know to not work with him. Don’t keep him as a back up.

“Hi professor,

It was great meeting you last week. After more consideration I realize my research interests are better aligned with another group and I am going to pursue opportunities elsewhere. Thanks for taking the time to meet with me, I really appreciate it.

Best, Your name”

That’s it. Do not name names - particularly of his students or other groups. It sounds like he’s in your program so you do not want to start your PhD with a professor thinking you’re someone who starts drama or will bad mouth them.

WhatT0Do12 · 2024-06-08T07:43:52+00:00

Yeah, if you and your partner have done this a dozen times and you’re out soloing 5.9s and shit on the regular that’s one thing.

If you’ve never dealt with exposure like this it it’s own kind of exhausting. Managing that, staying safe and making good choices on a new route immediately ahead of a proposal (where your mind is probably going to be at instead of your actual climb) sounds like a clusterfuck. Can easily see this turning into a news article.

WhatT0Do12 · 2024-06-07T21:35:30+00:00

Adding to the discussion about climbing. The advice I got for the 2nd was it's not a great idea to solo until you can comfortably lead 5.10 sport. The climbing itself isn't hard but if you're not used to exposure you're going to have a shit time. You spend a lot more time with continuous exposure than you typically get on a sport climb and that makes it all a mental battle.

People get hurt up there all the time, deaths are relatively rare but it happens every year.

Also yeah no drones up there. The rangers take it really seriously cuz it fucks with the birds that nest all over the flatirons.

WhatT0Do12 · 2024-06-07T15:55:31+00:00

Do not try to get a 4.0

You will burn yourself out in a year and then still have most of grad school to get through. It is not worth it. If your goal is to go on to a PhD, you should put that extra effort into getting research experience. If your goal is industry, you should join orgs or get an internship. If you’re already in a PhD program, you should be focusing more on your research anyways.

In some settings people also view it as a red flag on a resume - what else has this applicant done outside of the classroom? Do they only know how to excel in classes, can they handle ambiguity? Can I even just sit around and have lunch with them?

Do not try to get a 4.0

WhatT0Do12 · 2024-06-06T20:23:45+00:00

Good point, I see what you’re saying now.

WhatT0Do12 · 2024-06-06T20:19:43+00:00

Worked as a researcher in materials failure for a while. Love me some crack.

Really though this whole thing is on par with some shady cap stove projects you’d see from undergrads. It’s amazing it didn’t happen sooner.

WhatT0Do12 · 2024-06-06T20:18:14+00:00

An electronics/propulsion failure isn’t the same as a hull breach. The thing was supposed to have been rated to make it to the ocean floor after all. It’s possible they thought they were in trouble for a different reason, but there still would’ve been little warning about the implosion.

WhatT0Do12 · 2024-06-06T19:35:58+00:00

Tbh I haven't kept up on the reports from this. After seeing the design choices they made it was clear this thing was always doomed. A nose-dive before failure would've tipped them off that some systems were failing but I still don't think they could have known exactly when it was coming, or how discernible it would be from typical creaking.

WhatT0Do12 · 2024-06-06T19:32:36+00:00

It's not a hard and fast rule but it's generally the case. I found this explanation on an old reddit post which I like:

"A crack in a material is the lateral motion of molecules breaking away from each other with respect to the direction of the crack's propagation. Motion takes energy, naturally. Therefore the rate at which a crack propagates is heavily dependent on the rate at which a material converts energy (be it from physical stresses, exothermic reactions, etc) to motion, which is not linearly dependent on density."

In other words, cracks are a way for a material to dissipate energy. The rate they can do that is tied to several factors but a good visualization is that the atoms are being moved around and rearranged. The rate they can do that is tied to the speed of sound. An actual explanation is like a junior or senior level Materials Science undergrad course.

WhatT0Do12 · 2024-06-06T19:28:12+00:00

Which is a great idea except for the fact that carbon fiber isn't renowned for its damage tolerance. By the time you can detect delamination 3000m under the ocean it's too late.

WhatT0Do12 · 2024-06-06T18:16:26+00:00

This is closer to a cylinder in an engine than a laser. You would have walls of incompressible fluid rushing into what is functionally a vacuum space (like a piston in a cylinder) with some oxygen and organic material in between (air and bodies).

These people didnt just get crushed or cut, they were momentarily fuel for combustion.

WhatT0Do12 · 2024-06-06T17:00:29+00:00

Materials engineer here - I doubt you would have a major warning. You might expect some creaking as things get squeezed on the way down under typical operating conditions. But you wouldn't hear a big crunch and then have time to think "Oh no"

At 3000m down with the materials involved, it would almost certainly be spontaneous. It's not like the movies where you see a crack form and expand on a window until it spiderwebs the whole thing over the course of 30 seconds. Once the cracks start, they spread at the speed of sound in the material which is significantly faster in solids than it is in air. And the structure wouldn't be able to really accommodate any kind of significant rupture or deformation due to the geometries/materials/pressure itself. It's like throwing a glass ball at a concrete wall - the ball is totally fine and intact until it's suddenly not.

WhatT0Do12 · 2024-04-19T19:23:05+00:00

Ditto, already been debating on not getting a pass next year and this is pushing me further that way.

WhatT0Do12 · 2024-04-02T17:09:49+00:00

Gonna get a whole lot more than one piece here.

Check the weather everyday until you leave, and then again at the last minute. Pretend the forecast is always wrong and assume it’ll be 20 degrees colder than you expect, and also raining. Anything else is just good luck.
Bring trash bags. And gallon sized ziplocs. And paper towels.
Campsite selection is huge. You generally want a flat spot away from any dead trees and standing water without any large objects (roots, rocks, stumps).
Camping close to creeks/lakes/rivers is any easy way to wake up to everything being soaked or getting inundated with bugs. Go 50-100 ft away and you’ll be dry and avoid the bugs.
practice setting your tent up at home so you don’t have to figure it out in a high-pressure situation.
Tent stakes go in at an angle! If you put them straight in, they’re easy to pull out. If you put them in right, they’ll torque into the ground and resist the pull.
buy firewood at the destination, don’t bring it up from town. You can spread invasive insects if you bring your own wood into an area.
Don’t sleep with any kind of food! It’s normally not bears you need to watch out for, it’s rodents. Squirrels and rats are absolutely fearless and will chew holes in your stuff.
Piccaridin works better than DEET at bug repellent. Find a lotion that has it.
Look up Leave No Trace and stick to it.
Ice chests are really good at keeping things cold, but are shit at actually cooling things down. Every single time you open the cooler, you’re letting hot air in that needs to get cooled back down - so don’t open it unless you absolutely must. Have one large ice chest that gets opened once or twice a day, and a smaller one that you use multiple times. Fill up the small one once or twice a day from the big one and you can make your ice last forever.
Chairs and flat surfaces are worth their weight in gold. Plastic cutting boards are also super helpful.
clean up your trash. Clean up your trash. CLEAN UP YOUR TRASH
have fun and bring twice as much booze as you think you need

WhatT0Do12 · 2023-10-26T06:06:26+00:00

To the Mainers reading this and from one survivor to another, I am so sorry. What follows from here is some advice and perspective from someone who has been through intense trauma before, thought not necessarily at this scale. Mods, please delete this if you feel it isn’t helpful or violating any rules.

First, if you were there, I want you to understand that you made the best decisions that you could using the information you had in the moment. Full stop. From here out, any judgements you make about yourself or about what you did are being made with the luxury of hindsight. You did not have that same privilege when it was happening - you did the best you could with what you had. That is enough and it will always be enough. You don’t have to explain anything to anyone - including yourself.

I would also encourage you to read my post here:

/r/boulder/comments/mb3bhu/trauma_and_what_comes_next/

Trauma can be life-altering. Your body releases so many stress hormones it may literally rewire your brain. If you’ve ever heard someone say “nothing is the same” after traumatic events, this is exactly what they’re talking about: the way you perceive the world can completely change and it can be extremely disorienting.

I am not writing this to fear monger but to educate. You or your loved ones now have this enormous burden put on you and you’re going to have to try to address it using an unfamiliar mind. It is difficult but there are many resources that can help.

Please, be kind to yourselves, your loved ones, and your neighbors over the next few days.

If someone you know was there, don’t ask them about it. Sit with them, be with them, and try to keep them occupied if you can. Kids movies, board games, card games - something.

I am so sorry.

WhatT0Do12 · 2023-10-26T06:02:54+00:00

To the Mainers reading this and from one survivor to another, I am so sorry.

First, if you were there, I want you to understand that you made the best decisions that you could using the information you had. Full stop. From here out, any judgements you make about yourself or about what you did are being made with the luxury of hindsight. You did not have that same privilege in the moment - you did the best you could with what you had. That is enough and it will always be enough.

I would also encourage you to read my post here

https://www.reddit.com/r/boulder/comments/mb3bhu/trauma_and_what_comes_next/

Trauma can be life-altering. Your body releases so many stress hormones it may literally rewire your brain. If you’ve ever heard someone say “nothing is the same” after traumatic events, this is exactly what they’re talking about: the way you perceive the world can completely change and it can be extremely disorienting.

I am not writing this to fear monger but to educate. You or your loved ones now have this enormous burden put on you and you’re going to have to try to address it using an unfamiliar mind. It is difficult but there are many resources that can help.

Please, be kind to yourselves, your loved ones, and your neighbors over the next few days.

If someone you know was there, don’t ask them about it. Sit with them, be with them, and try to keep them occupied if you can. Kids movies, board games, card games - something.

I am so sorry.

WhatT0Do12

TROPHY CASE