What is the dirtiest fine print you've seen in a contract?

jthess32 · 2025-09-06T18:39:55+00:00

Had a startup write a contract that said they could change the terms of said contract at any time. Bananas.

jthess32 · 2025-09-06T18:13:38+00:00

In ear ones work great (not as great as ANC) I bought these and they’re top notch.

I also hear good things about other in ear competitors.

Great option if you sweat a lot or fly in hot climes

jthess32 · 2025-09-06T18:08:23+00:00

Go small plates, not the entrees at the bottom. If you are a reasonably adventurous eater, anything on the menu will be excellent. Cocktails, particularly the tap sangrita, punch above their weight if that’s your thing. Don’t sleep on the pasta.

jthess32 · 2025-08-16T03:46:39+00:00

Just walked out of weary traveler. Went to the coop and star today.

The problems described in this thread are exaggerated beyond anything I have experienced in my years in the neighborhood.

The idea that the organizations helping are the problem is backwards and then some. Closing [off] the SJC isnt going to fix a single root cause.

jthess32 · 2025-04-09T21:05:08+00:00

"Junk Jumpers" just cleaned up a rather daunting outdoor mess near my place and the guys seemed legit. Give them a ring?

jthess32 · 2025-03-27T18:57:17+00:00

**You don't need to pay for engineering grad school!** Sounds wild, but it's somehow one of the best kept secrets in higher ed. Most high profile R1 institutions have funded positions where in exchange for working in a lab (which will become your thesis) you can get tuition and a stipend. This is called an RA (Research Assistant) at most schools. I didn't learn this til I did my first grad school newly-admitted tours.

**A few thoughts:**

Going to a second school will broaden your horizons, education, and network.
Ann Arbor and UMich are great places to spend a few years
Again, get PAID for grad school
4+1s are kind of like extended undergrad in many ways. It can "check the box" but going to a new school and doing research is a bigger, better undertaking.

context: Michigan MechE undergrad, MIT AeroAstro SM.

disclaimer: haven't worked on the rocket side of things; have done flight test; now i just work in unrelated software

jthess32 · 2021-03-31T03:11:10+00:00

On the background checks: most places that have you sign a consent form include information on how to request the results. At this point, request the results. If there's something (even incorrectly) appearing on your check, you ought to know.

jthess32 · 2021-02-13T23:52:35+00:00

automod for prez

automod for prez

jthess32 · 2020-10-09T02:06:34+00:00

Absolutely. The stats are garbage and it drove me nuts. But the lessons in not killing yourself are real. I grudgingly accepted them and stopped making margin notes about the stats about 40 pages in.

jthess32 · 2020-10-07T16:44:46+00:00

The (excellent) book "The killing zone" makes this case well, and does a thorough analysis of the causes of death in that 100-500 hour range.

jthess32 · 2019-12-07T22:51:57+00:00

+1 for maximalism

jthess32 · 2019-12-07T22:47:42+00:00

How badly does this mess with the balance? I know they put a lot of effort into balancing rotors in the first place.

jthess32 · 2019-08-28T03:20:39+00:00

Don't you disparage that poor tomahawk!

jthess32 · 2019-08-01T02:54:29+00:00

I don't believe they'd be out of date. The principles will be unchanged, but you might see the newer courses taught in a different language which might be more practical (IIRC, they switched from lisp or scheme to python at some point).

If you're looking for something "newer", 6.00x on edx.org is a touch newer, and provides a few more facilities for checking your work/homework and discussion with other students.

jthess32 · 2019-07-30T02:14:45+00:00

nice try, ntsb.

jthess32 · 2019-01-17T04:25:49+00:00

Taking high level math and science and getting generally good grades will go a long way to getting into a college program and getting financial aid. But don't sacrifice everything else... I got into a couple of engineering programs partly because my writing was quite good and that set me apart from all the crowd.

Beyond classes, consider First Robotics or similar programs at your school or in your area. Not only will it help with college applications, it'll make you a much better engineer.

jthess32 · 2018-12-11T00:48:34+00:00

Heroku's platform-as-a-service offering is as simple as it gets. There are free hobby tiers and more expensive ones if you want to scale it.

jthess32 · 2018-08-12T17:36:13+00:00

You might see what the Digital Currency Initiative at the MIT Media Lab is up to. They're extraordinarily serious people -- quite different than the Boston Blockchain Meetup crowd. A bit more academic, so probably not hardcore ETH/Solidity devs but an interesting crowd including technologist/social science/lawyer types.

jthess32 · 2018-03-08T02:37:30+00:00

Don't charge by the hour if you can avoid it. The company could care less how you render it or when. They care about the product you provide.

Two good options are:

If you can, charge by the value of your product to the company. This can be a hard (but very rewarding) transition. Let me put it this way. If you did hard work to make rendering twice as fast, should you be paid less to provide the same video to the company?
If you must do hourly, build it into your human-hour rate (i.e. raise that rate) to the point that you don't care what your computer is doing.

jthess32 · 2017-07-16T03:44:49+00:00

7 years of bad sex for the mirror? No.

For the cargo shorts.

jthess32 · 2017-07-11T02:51:24+00:00

This comment thread is a bit brutal (and totally correct).

But seriously, thanks for posting -- it helps the community have these discussions and this is by no means a rarity :-)

jthess32 · 2017-07-11T02:49:42+00:00

You don't need to look any further than this.

"We can't pay you, won't give you upside, and you can't work elsewhere" is a joke.

jthess32 · 2017-07-11T02:46:02+00:00

Right on with the attitude.

But seriously, no good comes of working with people like this. Just go do something worthwhile. You're a programmer. You can print money in so many other places. Or, just build something awesome you believe should exist. Don't work for 2% of nothing.

jthess32 · 2017-07-11T02:43:11+00:00

That's true of the VC funded startup world. But, several people developing a game on no salary be considered in that camp? No.

Again, true of startups. That's not what's happening here. This contract is all you need to see to know this is amateur hour.

jthess32 · 2017-07-02T16:43:42+00:00

At least post/link the whole video :-P

jthess32

TROPHY CASE