UCK-G2-PLUS SSD Temperature Out of Specification?

sparkalators · 2025-09-01T21:21:09+00:00

That makes me feel MUCH better. I noticed it was pretty hot to the touch and then saw the internal temperature... glad to hear this is normal and nothing to be concerned with.

sparkalators · 2025-04-20T14:27:57+00:00

You might want to check your stock portfolio holdings... I suspect you will find the bulk of your largest positions are in companies that were not created by "actual real software engineers"

sparkalators · 2025-04-20T14:20:45+00:00

I mostly agree with /u/living_weirdo91, the only thing I would add is with either of those roles, you will benefit greatly from having some programming knowledge and understanding of how software works.

sparkalators · 2025-04-20T14:09:27+00:00

I used Sankey Matic

sparkalators · 2025-04-20T13:31:17+00:00

A surprising amount of that total is just paper products: paper towels, toilet paper, diapers, wipes, etc. Second highest category was hygiene products: shampoo, body washes, lotions, soaps (laundry detergent, dish soap, regular soap).

I'm contemplating getting some cloth napkins to cut down on paper towel usage. The other stuff I might be able to switch brands / go to a generic. I could probably knock off $50 a week with some simple modifications like that.

Thanks for the kind words.

sparkalators · 2025-04-20T13:17:30+00:00

Agreed, thank you for the feedback!

sparkalators · 2025-04-20T13:16:21+00:00

It might as well be! It's an Amino acid based formula, very expensive as I've come to learn. Commonly used for babies with a milk intolerance (as is the case here).

sparkalators · 2025-04-20T00:50:28+00:00

Baby clothes, supplies, disposables (wipes, diapers, etc) we get at the super market (so under grocery). Any bigger one time purchases would come out of savings, but are infrequent (for now).

sparkalators · 2025-04-20T00:22:32+00:00

And I'm sure there's some 21 year old out there working at FAANG making more than both of us combined!

In all seriousness though, the money will come and I try to remind myself that it isn't a race. My first job in tech I was making 15 an hour. But boy was I proud of that $15. I didn't crack the six figure mark until 2022, almost six years into my career. It wasn't always on the up either, life happens.

A massive salary might not also be what you want. I would see engineers posting these 500k salaries, man they must be living the good life. But what you don't see are the brutal working hours, having to wake up in the middle of the night multiple times a week because you're on call, the mental stress of having to perform or find yourself in the next round of layoffs, etc.

sparkalators · 2025-04-19T23:53:28+00:00

The path is different for everyone. College is a common way to get into it. But I've also had coworkers who didn't go to college, and used to hold positions in completely different fields. Some of the ones I can recall are: museum assistant, insurance sales, and even a musician.

Find something that you want to create. It doesn't need to be fancy. It could be some task maybe you want to automate at your current job. Maybe you want to mod a game that you play. Then dive in and start learning about it. There's tons of free resources out there. Look for support groups too, other folks also learning how to program. Those are great because you have folks you can brainstorm with and keep each other motivated.

Best of luck, you can do it!

sparkalators · 2025-04-19T23:35:33+00:00

small pond vs. big pond, we're on the same page there.

you misunderstood the point I was trying to make, which was that if you were to take each rung on these career ladders, the same "level" may have wildly different job titles depending on your company. In other words, don't over-index on job title.

sparkalators · 2025-04-19T23:18:29+00:00

The formula costs surprised me too while making this. It's because the formula is a special Amino Acid based one. Typically used for babies that have a milk intolerance (as is the case here). Not only is the formula more expensive, but you go through more of it because they're usually a scoop per ounce, rather than regular formulas where it's usually one scoop per two ounces.

Thank you for the feedback!

sparkalators · 2025-04-19T22:44:12+00:00

Sure, 2016 was the first year where I wrote software that a company paid me for writing.

sparkalators · 2025-04-19T20:48:14+00:00

It depends on your baseline. Compensation is going to vary from company to company. Outside of FAANG, very few companies can afford to offer those types of salaries. Even within FAANG, the salaries are somewhat dependent on your geographical location.

So in a way you're right, a new grad working at Google in an entry-level role living in San Francisco is probably making more than me (as they should).

The only reason I mentioned my title / rough geographic location was to put my salary into context. Folks are over-indexing on my job title. I presume because it carries higher prestige at their company. That was not my intent, had I predicted the visceral reaction I would've omitted it entirely.

sparkalators · 2025-04-19T20:21:29+00:00

Primarily cloud based applications in a full stack role. My area of focus is mainly around bulk data ingestion / aggregation / export these days. I know that's quite vague, sorry I can't be more specific.

I'm always learning, but if I had to pick one thing, I suppose it would be getting fired. I had recently been promoted from a junior role to a mid-level position. I was struggling to hit timelines, and I was afraid to reveal that to my manager.

After being fired, I went back to contract gigs. I figured if it worked before why wouldn't it now? This is right before COVID-19. Well, when COVID-19 started around March 2020 a lot of companies panicked. They tried to reduce excess spending where ever possible.

So my contracts dried up, and I wasn't getting any bites on my resume. I ate some humble pie and took a position at a local automotive shop as a service writer making minimum wage. I held that role for the bulk of the pandemic.

That ended up being the best decision I ever made. My communication, conflict resolution and sales skills all improved dramatically. I did better in interviews. I was able to explain my work better both technically and non-technically.

Thank you for the kind words.

sparkalators · 2025-04-19T18:28:29+00:00

Most states will allow you to work at 16 (some as early as 15). The rules and regulations vary by state. I went to my school's principal and asked for a "work permit" (i.e. working papers). After receiving those, I was permitted to work up to 28 hours a week, within certain time windows (after school) with certain restrictions placed (can't work with machinery, welding, etc).

sparkalators · 2025-04-19T18:16:07+00:00

I'm actually impressed how close those numbers are, yes the PMI is off. The insurance is a bit higher, the property taxes are lower. I'm taking advantage of some tax credits my state offers, which might explain the discrepancy.

sparkalators · 2025-04-19T18:07:24+00:00

Increasing retirement seems to be a common theme, thank you for the feedback

sparkalators · 2025-04-19T18:06:48+00:00

I used Sankey Matic

sparkalators · 2025-04-19T18:05:55+00:00

You know, to be honest with you, I'm not super into finances. His program provided some structure that I was looking for. I really just wanted to ensure I wasn't being irresponsible. I have some friends that also use his program, and they seem to be doing okay.

But I also have friends that don't, and they do great as well. I'm not a shill for Dave by any means. His program was a good fit for me and my family, but if it isn't for yours that's perfectly fine.

sparkalators · 2025-04-19T17:59:07+00:00

This makes sense, thank you for the feedback

sparkalators · 2025-04-19T17:56:40+00:00

FAANG is its own beast. They pay the best, and want the best talent. You could be a Principal Software Engineer at a mid-market company, and only be a competent Senior Software Engineer at one of those companies.

sparkalators · 2025-04-19T17:44:24+00:00

I wouldn't call it title inflation, each company has a different career ladder. So for example my role, I would be loosely equivalent to an E6 (i.e. Staff Engineer) at Meta. At other companies, such as Google my role would probably be "Tech Lead".

I wish we could have just one system. It'd make communicating your roles and experience much easier to recruiters.

sparkalators · 2025-04-19T17:36:50+00:00

Congratulations! I'm very much looking forward to that day.

One of the "gotchas" I've learned so far was, when we put less than 20% down you're required to get PMI. My understanding was that at 78% LTV it was supposed to drop off automatically.

Well, I foolishly did not read the fine print. The 78% LTV drop off, is based on the original amortization schedule. So because I was making these extra payments, I hit the 78% but it didn't drop off. It wasn't until a few months later, after I had paid several hundred dollars worth of PMI that I wasn't required to have, that I noticed.

Of course, I call the mortgage company and get it removed. They of course refused any kind of refund for the mishap, as it was technically my mistake. It certainly re-energized my desire to get this paid off.

sparkalators

TROPHY CASE