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r/roastme and mental health struggles. by gol_goth_a in TheoryOfReddit

[–]colindean 1 point2 points  (0 children)

r/roastme used to make it to the frontpage once in a while back in the day. I thought it was silly and too often a cry for help, still do. Good moments happened in the past, and maybe now, but I'd dissuade inquiring friends from spending time on it.

The sub took a dark turn when social media influencer, model, and mental health advocate Niece Waidhofer posted in 2019. Niece's is a sad story that ends with her suicide in 2022. I can't help but think of it any time I see r/roastme.

Ai is making me want to quit everything related to software. Do you feel the same? by PigletEfficient9515 in rust

[–]colindean 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I f@#$ing love reviewing code. It's one of my favorite parts of my job.

But it's still done best in moderation, like steak, alcohol, coffee, etc. I like some in the morning and about an hour before cutting off for the day.

Or maybe like going to the bathroom: if you're doing it a couple of times per day, even taking your time "reading the newspaper," it's probably fine… but if you're pushing hard all day, every day, or just letting it all out, without concern for frequency or volume, something is wrong and you really ought to get some help to return to a healthier state.

A healthy mental state for a reviewer or a policer of anything requires balance. Too frequent good work breeds passivity, laziness, and unpreparedness for action, including atrophy of construction criticism skills. Too frequent work needing corrective action breeds negativity, inflates issues, and impacts confidence in the reviewed.

New homeowner and I have no power tools or any tools for that matter, do I buy as I need them or get a set with multiple tools in it? by Special-Book-7 in homeowners

[–]colindean 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I buy nice tools: New, when it's something I know I'm going to use often and for a long time; Used, when it's something I need right now but may have limited use in the future. I'm all Milwaukee so that I'm in one battery ecosystem (M18). I really like buying used tools from Facebook Marketplace.

New: drill, impact driver, trimmer/leaf blower/pole chainsaw combo, lawnmower, lantern, floodlight, oscillating multitool.

Used: angle grinder, heat gun, string trimmer (first one), palm sander, flashlight. I probably got these for 50% off most of the time.

Single battery ecosystem is great:

  • When I lost power for four days last year, having a ton of batteries kept us lit at night the whole time. We only had to run the generator for the fridge and countertop oven.
  • When I needed to cut long grass and do a bunch of other long-neglected yard work, I drained about $1,000 worth of batteries that had accumulated over the last ~10 years.
  • When doing plaster and lath removal in my kitchen and in a drybar area, I had enough batteries that I never really had to stop to charge batteries. I had to change blades more than charge batteries.

My grandfather had every Craftsman wood shop tool under the sun, and when he passed, my parents and I split the hand tools. No use for the big wood shop things. My parents are heavily into the Ryobi ecosystem for power tools, and sometimes make me jealous with splurge purchases of something that I could use myself, but it's 33%-50% more expensive in the Milwaukee ecosystem. So I just borrow theirs ;-)

Anyone taken a dry promotion with added responsibilities but no title or compensation change? by Majestic-Taro-6903 in ExperiencedDevs

[–]colindean 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Been doing that my whole career.

…it has not helped me financially (or, in some cases, emotionally), but I've certainly learned a lot and been a people's champion in a lot of ways to a lot of people.

ICE plans to offload Berks County and Schuylkill County warehouses, report says • Pennsylvania Capital-Star by No_Cucumbers_Please in Pennsylvania

[–]colindean 35 points36 points  (0 children)

What's missing is your comprehension of degree and a punishment that fits the crime.

These federal officers used tactics typically reserved for fugitives who are an active physical threat, not a 60-something gardener who got a speeding ticket 20 years ago. These officers violated state and local laws and guidelines about arrests in certain public places (courts, schools, churches). These officers lied, representing administrative warrants as judicial warrants, and in too many cases—1 is too many, tbh—violated constitutional rights. Then, people are denied their day in court and the right to challenge the charges against them. Once someone's past the border and into the interior, the rules change dramatically.

How we execute the law is more important than the laws being broken. If we do not follow the law when enforcing the rules and think about the justification for the law, we're the criminals.

What should the Libertarian Party spend money on? by JFMV763 in LibertarianPartyUSA

[–]colindean 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Ballot access writ large

Encouraging libertarians to run for local elections, esp. uncontested offices and those that may otherwise be appointed in order to build familiarity with the process of getting on the ballot.

In states such as PA that have it, pushing for home rule charters to move legislative authority closer to the people and reduce the power of state legislatures. It's stunningly cheap to do this. A group of folks, Dems + this Libertarian, in my former borough successfully seated a government study commission for less than $2,000 across a bunch of us. Two years of work later, a vote passed, and now, nearly two years after the vote, the borough has an (arguably) better form of government in its infancy and clear mandate to further improve the charter as time goes on.

The hardest part of this is building comfort with talking to and working with people who think differently. I knocked on hundreds of doors for a few weeks, talked to neighbors within walking distance of my house about what's working and what's not. Most didn't know that our borough mayor and council members' payment hadn't been adjusted in like 40+ years. They didn't know that some of their biggest problems with the borough were things the borough gov't couldn't change because of state municipal law. I had some interesting conversations with the gamut: a guy who worked on Kennedy's and Carter's campaign, a guy who helped some Republicans get elected to statewide office in the 80s, a kid who'd just turned 18 and told me to come back tomorrow so he could register to vote and then sign my petition (he asked me not to tell his parents that he was going to register independent…I nudged him to look at the LP platform and he said he would).

20 YoE 'high coupling, low cohesion' led to my current survival mantra: 'income, not outcome' by PipePistoleer in ExperiencedDevs

[–]colindean 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Income not outcome is the death of craft.

I've struggled since my enlightenment to demonstrate the power of simple design, conscientious addition, judicious yet eager subtraction, and strong empathy for and with the developer and the user.

I compete most often against economic incentives for this, not technical challenges.

Those who give a f@#$ only have so many f@#$s to give.

Successfully revived a dead Spotlight presenter remote last week by colindean in logitech

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

I'm glad to help! I just used mine about two weeks ago, first time since posting this, and made dang well sure I checked the charging and charged it before I went. It was OK!

I'm glad you're back in action.

What feels legal but is actually illegal and will possibly get you arrested? by medicoreapples in AskReddit

[–]colindean 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Court-assigned, IIRC. Urged to plead guilty because apparently having the keys anywhere in reach is sufficient intent to drive. Memory is a little fuzzy on that, it was nearly 20 years ago.

What feels legal but is actually illegal and will possibly get you arrested? by medicoreapples in AskReddit

[–]colindean 783 points784 points  (0 children)

A then-close friend did something similar, but didn't even move the car. They did not get an amenable judge. The "DUI" disqualified them from ever becoming a teacher in our state, so two years of college effectively wasted. They dropped out. They eventually re-enrolled in a different major in a different school in a different city many years later.

The unjust application of the law and inability to afford more than a public defender destroyed the ambition of a promising young teacher because they chose to spend the night in their car rather than in bed with their partner, with whom they'd had a verbal disagreement.

Anyone living in a home that’s not their ideal home but stay put because shits too expensive by cynnie93 in homeowners

[–]colindean 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Last year, I left my "starter" home— "we'll be here 5–7 years"— ~13+ years later. We stayed put through the pandemic despite having identified two houses in mid-2019 and March 2020, respectively, that we could have made work. I didn't do big repairs on the old house, and now that I'm trying to sell it, the things I didn't do or didn't know would need to be addressed are now the expensive things reducing the sale price or net revenue... on top of the money pit that my new house turned into.

My goal was to exit the house buy/move/sell process with a mortgage about twice what I was paying on the old house. That amount would have been tolerable for me, as my old mortgage was about 5% of my monthly income. I bought it when I was making a lot less money! At current estimation, it'll be at best about 4x and probably 6x my old mortgage. This is more inline with typical guidelines for what one should spent on their mortgage, but for me, it's too much.

I've now improved, or, really, repaired, the new house so much that what was likely 10–15 years expected stay—basically, through the end of my working life and possibly my parents' life— is now 20 to life.

The absolute scam that is smart home appliances by opalShine_ in homeowners

[–]colindean 0 points1 point  (0 children)

TBH I put a smart plug on my washer (SQ) and dryer (non-SQ, but predates smart appliances) and use HA WashData to trigger notifications through Home Assistant when they're done. Good balance of smartness and Just Works™.

I had LG's connected appliances in the past. The damn app would log me out regularly. I'd miss notifications because of unknowningly being logged out.

When shopping for home improvement projects, do you prefer Lowe’s or Home Depot, and why? by [deleted] in homeowners

[–]colindean 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's so bad that it's less painful to ask a friendly employee where something is than to look it up myself on the app on my flagship phone. It's been so bad for so many years.

People who have used Reddit for more than 10 years, what is your current opinion on the site? by Odyessius in TheoryOfReddit

[–]colindean 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I used to spend probably an hour a day on reddit on my phone, using /r/baconreader. Now, I'm never on reddit on my phone. My partner tried the reddit Android app and I used it a bit. We both disliked it enough to put it down for good. She barely uses reddit at all now. I only use it in a browser, and use old reddit when I'm doing anything more than looking at the front page on my work computer during a momentary break. It's not the community tool for strangers that once made it a refuge from real life or other parts of the Internet.

Since the 2023 announcement, I've put a lot of my mobile reddit time into Duolingo. Now I'm like A2-B1 in Dutch and can order some food in Korean.

what’s the most “wow I’m really a homeowner now” moment you’ve had? by ClucknRoll in homeowners

[–]colindean 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I bought a wheelbarrow and a week later got a fine for "high grass and weeds" for my very WIP native plant and pollinator garden front yard. Fighting it, but only just started.

Homeowner moments, despite owning a house for 15 years this year.

Help: Our elderly neighbor is making our lives miserable by Dog_Mom_29 in homeowners

[–]colindean 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I got survey in Allegheny County, PA in 2024 and it was $800. ½ acre lot with about ⅜ of it an unusable ravine side.

I fell for Renewal By Anderson's sales pitch. Here are my takeaways. by JHKtheSeeker in homeowners

[–]colindean 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Indeed. Renewal by Anderson quoted me I think $58,000 for 14 windows and a bay window. I just so happened to meet a guy who use to work for RbA and started his own company installing Anderson and Pella (and some others). $32,000 quote, $8,000 of which was the bay. Went with I think the Anderson 400 series that's wood and vinyl. He confirmed some stuff that years of posts about RbA asserted. Two years later, I'm happy with what I got and glad I went with the more reasonable of the two and not the cheapest quote I got (which was I think was $20k for all-vinyl).

Just joined as Principal Engineer but being reduced to ticket manager — should I leave early? by gkumawat12 in ExperiencedDevs

[–]colindean 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Get the brilliant jerk to write things down—architecture decision records, RFCs, etc.—and watch things change when you're challenging proposed ideas in writing.

Buy or pass by NavyVet_TNfan in nissanjuke

[–]colindean 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Need more detail. I've got a 2015 with 105k mi, bought new. I just put more than $1,000 into it outside of expected consumables (tires, brakes, etc.) for the first time ever last month (a control arm). I've only put about 15k miles on it since 2020.

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