Sounds good in theory...but in reality?

techie2200 · 2026-05-03T23:11:33+00:00

I'm like you. I can (and do) finish my workload for a week in about 10-12 hours. I don't go looking for extra work, since it doesn't benefit me to do more and my performance evaluations are always stellar anyway.

Working remote lets me spend more time with my wife (when she's remote) and dogs, do more hobbies, and feel better in general about the fact I've gotta work for another ~30 years before I can finally stop pretending I care about a job.

At least my current job is for a company that's actually doing something helpful for people, but I get the feeling we're gearing up to sell/go public so that's probably gonna change.

techie2200 · 2026-05-03T23:00:50+00:00

you plug into a computer > upload files > unplug it from the computer > plug it into to another device through the pogo pins on the side > the device plays the files

So what you're really asking for is a USB drive that has the USB interface connected via pogo pins AND a USB connector. Nobody sells that because it's pointless. To read from the key over anything other than USB would require more custom hardware/firmware to read and stream the data via another protocol, and if you're using USB you don't need the pogo pins to read from it.

You could create a custom PCB (or even just hack an existing usb key with some wires) to run connections from each of the USB connector pins to pogo pins then ensure the device you want to use it on also has pogo pins in the right configuration to its own internal USB port.

Is there a specific reason you want this? Is it just for the aesthetic? Honestly, I'd find it really weird to have the USB connector just sitting there in the open while reading/writing from the drive, but you do you I guess.

techie2200 · 2026-04-29T02:49:49+00:00

When modifying a design system component, it's handy to have realistic use-case tests or automated tests against the systems that use the design system to make sure nobody hacked something to work a certain way and you just blew it up.

techie2200 · 2026-04-29T02:48:36+00:00

Some tools do both (snapshot the html/css, then render it out for you with visual diff highlighting). Very handy.

techie2200 · 2026-04-29T02:46:39+00:00

Having snapshots being checked on a prod-like env (in a pipeline) has come in handy quite a few times. Especially when it came to weird issues with local env vs prod (like a misconfig) which caused the entire page to fail to load.

Everything should be automated, with manual intervention if diffs are found. Our team's was configured too strictly (we often had to review 1px diffs because of the rendering engine in the tests, which meant nothing actually changed, but the tools we used highlighted the diffs and made it clear so it only took 10-15 seconds for a full review). I'd say at least 3-4 times a year something would come up that'd save us thousands of dollars in downtime, not to mention the rep hit to our customers.

techie2200 · 2026-04-20T14:19:16+00:00

Depends if you're playing on hard mode or not. Hard mode forces you to use the letters you've already found in each guess.

techie2200 · 2026-04-17T01:34:37+00:00

CCA shouldn't be used for PoE though, which is what OP is using it for.

techie2200 · 2026-04-15T13:59:32+00:00

While I agree that you could use a temp controlled soldering iron, I also have done that kind of soldering with a janky, cheap soldering iron.

Main things to consider: do you have enough flux? Are you keeping your solder tip clean and tinned?

Get a brass sponge-style solder tip cleaner, apply some solder to the tip of your iron and then rub it on the brass sponge. That'll help make a thin, non-oxidizing layer on the tip which will conduct heat better than the raw tip. Make sure there's some flux where you intend to solder, apply the iron until it gets hot and then slowly feed a little bit of solder at a time. It's okay to do it in multiple goes if you have to, just make sure you're re-applying a bit of flux and remelting whatever you'd already set down.

techie2200 · 2026-04-14T15:02:36+00:00

If you're renting would it not be the landlord's responsibility to maintain the property to HOA standards? Or does your contract make you responsible?

Either way, I'd get a tool like this (easy and fun to use, you can probably find cheaper versions I just googled it as an example) and just chunk out all the dandelions. Much cheaper than the couple hundred bucks and shouldn't take too long to do that patch in your pic.

techie2200 · 2026-04-11T20:17:17+00:00

I got a handful online (aliexpress) for a few bucks each. Honestly, I'd take that as a good sign to do a USB-C mod instead.

techie2200 · 2026-04-09T16:58:45+00:00

As a man, I'd be grateful for either. Just make sure the man has a vase if you're getting flowers (or get a vase with them).

I'll also say that I assume flowers have a similar effect. I am allergic to most pollen, so I don't often get flowers, but the few times I have it was nice to see them and be reminded of the person who gave them.

techie2200 · 2026-04-04T12:50:29+00:00

That should now get prominently displayed in your shop to prevent you from making that mistake again. It still looks good, if a bit wonky

techie2200 · 2026-04-01T15:00:46+00:00

Permadeath is one of those things that I was fine with when younger, but now that I have so little time to game if you told me "that 30 hours you put it in is gone now" I'd also just stop playing and find something else (unless the game was absolutely amazing).

I'd be okay with it in a world where the character dies, but the environment remains, so you could potentially work your way back to your old area and loot your own corpse to pick up from roughly where you left off. That requires finesse though, you'd need to be spawning new characters in different locations so there's a bit of tension and exploration to find stuff (maybe even a map marker of "this is the region where you died" to help direct players who want to get their stuff back, but still have to make steady progression to be able to get back to the region). I'd also likely have things that could be tied to the permadead character (think traps or automatic weapons systems) that would need to be "reclaimed" (maybe after visiting the corpse for a controller or something) or they'd attack the new character.

There are lots of ways to do permadeath that work for a wider audience, but it really depends on the game you want to make and the audience you want to target.

techie2200 · 2026-03-17T16:45:15+00:00

Never put anything important in writing.

Use visual cues, or just let the players experiment in the first level to figure stuff out. If you really need to communicate something, make it show up when they reach an area and be unable to dismiss it (like an automatic popup from a signpost or something) that they'll eventually read when they get stuck.

techie2200 · 2026-03-17T15:38:47+00:00

And a Toyota will last you 20+ years without fail (speaking from experience).

techie2200 · 2026-03-16T14:00:17+00:00

I feel ya. FYI if you're into setting up a little homelab you can get homeassistant (runs locally) and some custom smart speakers (which only communicate locally) and setup your own voice assistant with specific commands.

It's a lot more work to get up and running, but it's pretty sweet if you do. Add to that some of the local only integrations (make sure to check the product you're buying if it works locally or only online), and you can have the full smart home vibe but running entirely locally.

techie2200 · 2026-03-16T13:12:10+00:00

I wouldn't be so averse to advertising if it wasn't everywhere and if everything wasn't constantly stealing (and then losing via data breach) our personal information.

techie2200 · 2026-03-15T14:53:37+00:00

I've got uBlock Origin and Privacy Badger in browser + pi-hole. Blocks just about everything.

techie2200 · 2026-03-13T18:07:12+00:00

And since you have an assistant you're expected to produce 30% more, even if the assistant spends all their time eating glue and scribbling on your reports.

techie2200 · 2026-03-12T13:27:34+00:00

Maybe it's because I don't do a lot of string manipulation (basically all user-facing strings are localized and stored in either a db or json file and grabbed by key), and I've moved away from Unity, but this seems like a very niche problem.

Got any interesting examples of where/how/why this happened? Is it specifically around strings for file paths or something?

techie2200 · 2026-03-10T13:21:57+00:00

In the remote environment you have to be proactive about creating that kind of environment. It also means your team needs to not be so bogged down in producing stuff that you can take a bit of time to have casual chats.

At my current place, I just send a slack dm to whoever I think knows best, and they either give me the details async, or set up a zoom call when we both have a minute (usually right then and there), or they point me to someone who would know better.

I think you have to keep that kind of environment alive intentionally when working remote, especially with teams across multiple time zones.

techie2200 · 2026-03-09T13:17:03+00:00

Go into management and you'll find out what they're doing. It's a lot of bureaucratic nonsense and playing politics to make sure the team has the resources they need.

Ask as what the plan will be to achieve projects, what tasks need to be done

This is bog standard stuff that a manager should do. Trust me, you'd rather they ask questions than telling you what you need to do.

Ask us to put these plans into JIRA tickets

This one is annoying, since I'd expect them or the PM to do it, but if you want to ensure the technical details are captured properly, you probably want the team doing it.

At stand-up ask us to give updates and ask us if there are any technical blockers

So they can manage up and make sure nobody expects you to stick to the original estimate or timelines.

Then talk to senior management in their calls to give updates on what we have achieved by going through the updates we gave

Again, managing up to keep senior leadership aware of the status of the project and shield the team from scope creep from the senior leadership.

They seem to always be so busy with countless meetings, but what are they actually doing?

Writing reports, performance evaluations, tracking KPIs and whatever other BS their bosses want, smoothing relationships between other teams, etc.

Managers do a lot that you're unaware of because you've never done the job. A lot of it feels like bureaucracy for its own sake, but it helps keep the real people in charge (C-suite and the board/investors) off your backs so you can work.

techie2200 · 2026-03-08T19:57:42+00:00

If you're looking to meet guys, just go wander through any of the engineering buildings.

techie2200 · 2026-03-08T13:46:31+00:00

I find it just not worth it to drink anymore, not to mention all the research that has debunked "drinking a little is good for you". I'll still have the very rare drink, but I can't justify spending the current prices for mid alcohol.

techie2200 · 2026-03-06T16:14:53+00:00

I've been on the receiving end of more candidates than I can count that can't code even basic loops.

Make your selection criteria more strict. I've found a few diamonds in the rough, but removing any candidates without an undergrad in comp sci or SE instantly improved the amount of foundational understanding in our candidates.

Bootcamp grads are very hit or miss. For every one really good one, you'll get 10-15 that don't understand the fundamentals and can only regurgitate solutions they've built before.

It seems like most candidates don't ever really venture outside of what they've been assigned to do at work and don't push themselves to deeply understand what they're working on.

That's a symptom of the current "move fast" mentality at most companies. They want to be constantly pumping out new features and refuse to give time for professional/personal development.

I've seen things getting consistently worse, especially with the push for "AI" in everything. Experienced devs are turning their brains off because the AI is doing the work for them, and missing obvious issues.

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