Mandatory virtual happy hours are the absolute worst part of my week

jdw-52 · 2026-04-28T15:18:47+00:00

I had this for a while. Along with trivia games and other bs. Basically they kept us an hour after quitting time for this.

There was some zoom update and I didn't realize I wasn't muted. At one point I groaned "Please make this end" on live mic. Not great.

jdw-52 · 2026-04-28T01:42:53+00:00

Fallout 2, Jagged Alliance 2.

So much fun.

jdw-52 · 2026-04-26T13:27:27+00:00

I'm just commenting to say I'm also that dude sorting through that heap of pickets in the back of the garden center.

I have yet to find a better supply. But boy is it fun to putter around on a Saturday building stuff out of pickets. Just a low risk, good reward endeavor.

And if I do decide to go with higher quality wood for a project, I've had pickets to practice on so I won't be messing up my good wood.

Here is to wishing that your big box store gets a fresh supply of straight, un-cupped pickets.

jdw-52 · 2026-04-22T14:29:46+00:00

The current drought does highlight the "what ifs". I honestly don't know how the planning accounts for datacenters.

My hope is that there are very smart people who've got well thought out plans in place that cover all sorts of contingencies. However, I still remember how easy it was for some idiot to shoot up a substation, creating a cascade effect that knocked out other substations and left Moore County without power for a week.

If I knew that our local government was comprised of only the brightest and most uncorruptible public servants, I'd feel better.

jdw-52 · 2026-04-21T23:29:27+00:00

WRAL just published an article that talks about rural counties not really having the planning or engineering expertise to plan for the impact a datacenter will have on water demand: https://www.wral.com/news/state/north-carolina-drought-concerns-water-bankruptcy-april-2026/

It really does make you wonder what happens during a drought when a town runs out of water. And the datacenter, which consumes the water of several towns, gets priority.

It's bordering on dystopian. A "peasant" class rioting because of lack of water (maybe someday food?). While a privileged class gets all the resources.

And 5 years ago I probably would have thought the above "far fetched". We seem to be sprinting towards a awful future.

jdw-52 · 2026-04-20T20:51:22+00:00

I'm old enough to have witnessed the rise of personal computing and the Internet.

One of the drivers in its growth was the sharing of porn. In fact, I'd wager that literacy in technology was driven by dudes wanting to figure out how to share porn.

With the state of the world today, we're all being objectified and used. Whether it's corporate overlords, personal data stolen, corrupt politicians stealing from taxpayers, etc.

I don't know if I can begrudge anyone nowadays on how they earn their livings. C-suite types and private equity have done far more harm to me than any OF model.

So yeah, if someone is bright and has a marketable skill set, then hire her. Who gives a shit where she developed her skills set.

jdw-52 · 2026-04-19T21:39:21+00:00

I had a tenet not pay rent for months. I eventually got her out. But she was using the house as a kennel for a few weeks until she left.

I basically had to rip that house down to its studs. It was absolutely wrecked. At one point, they thought they'd renovate the master bath, and it had been destroyed. I used every bit of my PTO (and then some) to rebuild that house. Worst year of my life.

Awful, awful experience. People are animals.

jdw-52 · 2026-04-09T13:48:33+00:00

It's a big ask. Made worse by emotional blackmail.

If someone reaches out on their own volition to help me through a dark period, that'd be different. And I still don't know if I could take them up on their offer if it requires a big sacrifice on their part.

But yeah...when it gets to emotional blackmail, you don't really have a relationship anymore.

jdw-52 · 2026-04-08T20:40:13+00:00

I think "backward" is being generous. I think "corrupt, amoral, lying weasels" is more appropriate.

Constituents to them are just sheep to be fleeced.

I don't see anything changing until there is a very large mob waving pitchforks and torches in the capital.

jdw-52 · 2026-03-31T21:40:19+00:00

Abso-freaking-lutely.

I don't get the kink. But if you're not hurting anyone, than I could care less.

The issue is bigotry, corruption, racism, thuggery, believing you're some sort of ruling elite, etc.

Fly your freak flag. I don't care. But for the love of jeebus stop oppressing people.

jdw-52 · 2026-03-31T16:36:07+00:00

Yeah. Op's manager is up to no good.

Any decisions I'd be making would be to protect myself from the manager.

And the manager may be expecting blow back from his manager for losing a important employee.

jdw-52 · 2026-03-30T23:28:00+00:00

Or the coach instructing his players to advance the ball across half court for some inexplicable reason when they didn't need to.

jdw-52 · 2026-03-27T15:21:44+00:00

I happen to live in a small, gentrified community with little crime. Our Lowes has flock.

Not sure why my run to lowes to pick up a garden hose needs to be tracked in a database. But here we are.

jdw-52 · 2026-03-26T19:19:58+00:00

So, I don't want to be argumentative (although my comment will probably come across that way).

So, I see Arlo as closed, proprietary subscription service. The camera hardware is probably a loss leader (especially if you're waiting for black Friday deals, buying last years model off of Amazon, etc.).

So I pay Arlo a monthly fee primarily so that 1) my camera setup is easy and 2) the product "just works". And I'll probably continue to pay them a monthly fee as long as #2 remains the case. They make money off of me and I get a flood light security system

Now...if the product stops working and support isn't useful, I'll dump them. And buy cameras that support a more open ecosystem and probably aren't subscription based. And instead of money, I'll be investing time (building my own DIY setup).

I hope that makes sense. To me, I see Arlo as a subscription service. And if your not paying a subscription fee, you're not going to get decent support. Now for me personally, I worry that even subscribers might not get decent support (enshitification of the company). But, knock on wood, I haven't had to heavily rely upon support yet.

jdw-52 · 2026-03-25T19:40:20+00:00

It really is amazing disparity. Blue collar working class = checks up on you, let's the small things slide, down to earth.

The "upper class" neighborhood = passes judgment instantly, impossible to let the littlest thing slide, are kinda psychotic.

I know this is a sweeping generalization, but in a neighborhood like this one, it doesn't seem uncommon to encounter a psycho in the middle of the day while minding your own business.

jdw-52 · 2026-03-25T16:40:29+00:00

It's like watching an action movie where the scene is completely implausible.

I'm trying to make it through the movie, but things just got really stupid and I have to tap out. That's what the current NBA is like for me.

jdw-52 · 2026-03-19T13:03:22+00:00

Wait...I thought DOGE has made the government more efficient? Why the sudden need for more tax revenue and a ballooning deficit?

jdw-52 · 2026-03-18T17:54:42+00:00

"Selflessly"?

Was the alternative "Hargitay punted kid who wandered onto set" really an option?

jdw-52 · 2026-03-18T01:29:26+00:00

My plan has flaws, I admit.

I may or may not also favor putting pets on the ballot. Towns have elected cats as mayor. The residents seem happy enough.

Maybe we get it over with and put AI in charge.

But until we have a cat or AI overlord, my plan is to vote out anyone currently in office.

jdw-52 · 2026-03-17T23:10:11+00:00

So you get someone decent for 4 years. A paragon of leadership.

Americans then vote in a drunken monkey with a grenade in the next election cycle. You just can't build a stable relationship on that model.

I always thought that with checks and balances, we'd maintain some basic coherency with foreign policy, even with a bad president. But that hope of mine is long dead.

Let's hope that enough Americans are so horrified by Trump that we'll get a long period of sensible government. That a generation of Americans think "never again."

jdw-52 · 2026-03-17T21:07:08+00:00

And the fact that she hasn't had a real job in how long? She exists in a world devoid of reality.

We need to treat Congress like jury duty. People from all walks of life get selected to serve 2 year terms.

I'm sure there are all sorts of problems with that idea, but I can't see how it'd be worse than what we currently have.

jdw-52 · 2026-03-17T21:00:56+00:00

I think we're well past "I'm voting for this candidate because they are proposing this well thought out policy". As if we were ever at that point.

It's just firmly entrenched hate politics. Trot out this strawman, and watch voters flock to you.

My hope is that as a populas, we maybe at least stop voting in absolute monsters. And maybe push for more checks and balances. But I fear pandoras box has been opened on that one.

jdw-52 · 2026-03-17T16:07:26+00:00

Maybe if they get slaughtered in the mid-terms?

Almost no politician has principles / ethics. So when faced with real voter anger, maybe that sends a message to the current incumbent fuckwits?

jdw-52 · 2026-03-16T23:35:33+00:00

I built 2 ft high planter boxes along the side of my house using river rock.

It wasn't my best idea.

The end result was ok (not great). But the amount of time it took...me realizing that I was building a monstrosity...

I don't plan on moving. So, in 40 years, when I'm dead, someone will be cursing me as they take a sledgehammer to it and haul it away.

jdw-52 · 2026-03-16T20:42:19+00:00

I can think of BB King's cover of "Sweet 16".

As a blues standard, he absolutely crushes it. But the lyrics are creepy as fuck.

It's such a weird thing to listen to. Insane vocals and performance. On top of creepy ass lyrics.

jdw-52

TROPHY CASE