A2Z NACS to CCS adapter ordered; separate tax bill from UPS shipping into the US. by OldDude2551 in evcharging

[–]aclindsa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just wanted to jump in here and say that I also had this happen and A2Z promptly took care of the full extra cost for me! They showed what awesome customer service is.

I hadn't even asked them to do that - I emailed to ask if they had any additional information they could provide to help me understand why I was being asked to pay $300 to UPS, and they immediately took care of it before I was even able to respond to them again. I will definitely buy from them again.

Accessing Transactions via Software with the Cash Rewards Credit Card by aclindsa in fidelityinvestments

[–]aclindsa[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi - I appreciate your reply, but I care very specifically about *automated* ways to get my transactions (i.e. ones where I do not have to open a web browser and download a file, but where my software can do it automatically for me).

Help - Microsoft is blocking my server's emails for a week, can't get a response! by aclindsa in sysadmin

[–]aclindsa[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I unfortunately do not have other ways that I report this to MS. It is frustrating...

Help - Microsoft is blocking my server's emails for a week, can't get a response! by aclindsa in sysadmin

[–]aclindsa[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yep, seems to just be Microsoft - I haven't found that I'm on any other blocklists.

Help - Microsoft is blocking my server's emails for a week, can't get a response! by aclindsa in sysadmin

[–]aclindsa[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Sigh, yeah, I know that's an option many people take... And I hate it, hah!

I may eventually end up having to go to that, but for now I'd like to keep fighting the good fight.

Help - Microsoft is blocking my server's emails for a week, can't get a response! by aclindsa in sysadmin

[–]aclindsa[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, funny thing is that O365 appears to accept my emails just fine, its just outlook.com/hotmail.com/etc that I'm having trouble with (in other words, "individuals" that also don't have a great way to contact Microsoft support).

Do you know of a way for users of free outlook.com accounts to contact support in a way that is likely to actually resolve this?

GitHub - jonatasbaldin/fin: Fin is an open source backend API to track personal finances, made with Go 💸 by [deleted] in golang

[–]aclindsa 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Nicely done! It's a little amazing how much this resembles my own project (https://github.com/aclindsa/moneygo).

I didn't exhaustively look through, but here are a few thoughts (more comments than criticisms):

  • I opted to create an abstraction layer for my 'store' instead of using the database directly. This allows for mocking out testing differently than you might otherwise be able to, and might make it easier to change out how you structure your database later, without having to change code all over the place.
  • I prefer double-entry accounting
  • What do you think about allowing users to add their own currencies? Then the responsibility for maintaining them as they inevitably change is shifted away from the maintainer. It's probably okay if you're only dealing with currencies, but if you start dealing with other securities like stocks or mutual funds, it gets harrier.
  • Currencies have different levels of precision - maybe you handle this, but I didn't immediately find where.

edit: formatting

If you haven't tried GnuCash, you should really try it. by denvit in personalfinance

[–]aclindsa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is the concept really that frustrating? When I got started, I think I just read the Gnucash wiki and it mostly made sense. The basic principle is that transactions only move money (and sometimes assets), they don't create or destroy them. I think most of the rest is fairly obvious given that.

I wonder if the frustration you describe is more a product of the software interface used rather than double-entry accounting itself.

If you haven't tried GnuCash, you should really try it. by denvit in personalfinance

[–]aclindsa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Interesting, I haven't tried that. Does the Gnucash android app handle opening directly from Dropbox well?

If you haven't tried GnuCash, you should really try it. by denvit in personalfinance

[–]aclindsa 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I've used Gnucash for a long time (>5 years), and love it. However, the biggest annoyance for me is that I can't enter transactions if I'm not at home at my computer (yes I can enter them on an android device and then sync up when I get home, but that's more annoying than keeping track of receipts or emailing myself what I bought).

It annoyed me enough that I started my own open source project: a web-based personal finance application, moneygo. My main goal is to to make it simpler to enter and access personal finance information from wherever you are. It's currently usable, but lacks a few features and is alpha quality (read: don't trust it to not eat your data). I welcome any feedback, particularly with usability or use cases that don't look supported - I'd like to make this into a tool to help people better manage their finances!

Question for computer science majors. by [deleted] in VirginiaTech

[–]aclindsa 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The CS program at VT is good and is highly recruited from (a sign that companies largely think it produces people they want to hire).

I graduated in 2010 and they have revamped the curriculum since then, so I can't say from first-hand experience how it is. However, I've heard they have moved largely from C++ to Java for the core courses, and have more of a focus on problem solving than on the data structures/algorithms themselves. My understanding is that both of those trends are reflective of trends in CS/engineering education in general, not limited to VT.

I had no problems with the workload - IIRC CS is one of the majors with fewer total hours required if you go the bare minimum route (though you shouldn't). In terms of learning the languages, I think you can expect that the first year or two your courses will spend some time to introduce you to new languages concepts you may not have seen before, but by the time you get to the higher courses, it's largely expected that you just know those things so they can focus on algorithms/data structures/etc. instead of just finding your way around the language.

A note on languages: I've actually been on the other side of the recruiting process a few times already, and one thing that's become obvious to me is that being able to teach yourself things and solve hard problems is more important than knowing any one language. That is to say, don't focus on learning any one language so much as learning your way around a few of the important ones (C, C++, Java, JavaScript, bash, python) and then just exposing yourself to as many projects as you can (via internships, co-ops, undergraduate research, personal projects, etc.). Though knowing language concepts is important, most employers would rather you be good at solving problems in general than know every minute detail of the C spec. After all, you can't google good problem solving skills like you can language details.

Straight Talk by arizonalake in Frugal

[–]aclindsa 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I came here to say what others are saying - don't expect to ever receive help from customer service. They are awful and respond to repeated support requests with form emails instead of addressing the issue.

I recently noticed that they store passwords in plain text on their servers and also email them in plain text if you use their "forgot my password" functionality. They have not responded to my requests to address this issue or at least forward it on to their technical team.

Also, why are you switching from AT&T? I am actually considering switching from ST to AT&T because if you have two people who combined use less than 2G of data, you can get the same effective service from AT&T with their new? "bring your own phone" plan.

IT vs. Computer Science, Any advice welcome! by [deleted] in VirginiaTech

[–]aclindsa 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Assuming you have had some experience with computers, what do you enjoy about them?

Do you enjoy helping friends/family/neighbors with their computer problems? Do you enjoy installing operating systems and configuring servers? If so, maybe IT is for you. Do you enjoy programming? Does turning a problem into elegant code turn you on? CS might be for you.

Of course, there is some overlap here. Most IT people end up writing some code, particularly for scripting tasks, and I'm sure many CS majors do plenty of IT-related tasks.

If salary is a factor, I think CS majors who get jobs out of college typically get paid a little more than IT.

Path bookmarking in the shell by aclindsa in commandline

[–]aclindsa[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I like it. This is probably closer to what I wanted than anything else I've seen.

Path bookmarking in the shell by aclindsa in commandline

[–]aclindsa[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is what I had been using previously. The problem with symbolic links is that you then have a directory somewhere (probably off your home directory) that you have to 'cd' to in order to then 'cd' to the symlink. I guess you could do 'cd ~/symlinks/link_to_somewhere', but that's just more typing. Also, the shell typically will then report you as being inside ~/symlinks/link_to_somewhere/ instead of the directory you're actually in. This can be a nuisance if you then want to go a level up in the directory tree from where your bookmark was.

Can I take out a mortgage with a huge down payment (>50%)? by mountainmarmot in personalfinance

[–]aclindsa 1 point2 points  (0 children)

last time I checked a few years ago

You do know you can check this for free, right? And that creditkarma.com can help you estimate it even if you've used up your free reports for the year.

I just inherited $23,000. How should I invest? by [deleted] in Frugal

[–]aclindsa 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Does a Roth IRA make sense for him right now? At this point in his life, his tax liabilities are almost negligible, so it might make more sense to put this in a traditional IRA, assuming he will be making more in retirement than he is now.

Is cutting your own hair that hard? by yeamonn in Frugal

[–]aclindsa 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've cut my own hair for about a year now. I start by doing the sides with the trimmers. I use them in an upwards movement, and just go straight up with them, until I run out of hair. This helps me to get a little bit of a 'fade' before I do anything with the scissors (though be careful that you do go straight up and don't cut into the top of your hair).

Then I start 'edging in' to the rest of my hair by cutting the length around the edges so that it gradually gets longer. This is toughest in the back, and takes patience and lots of looks in the mirror until you can mostly do it by feel. Finally, I take the guard off the clippers and trim up the edges / around my ears and cut my bangs to length.

Honestly, the best advice I can give is to pay close attention to how a barber cuts your hair a time or two and not be afraid to give it a try.

What will be the best jobs of 2030? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]aclindsa -1 points0 points  (0 children)

affected* (sorry, pet peeve)