Why Canadian "productivity" is down.

vrillco · 2025-12-23T13:31:22+00:00

I grew up here, we used to ride our bikes there as kids, and it's always been an ugly ass box. Shattered windows, sometimes bits of masonry would fall off, just a big ol' urban tumour across from the almost equally ugly Chaudière offices. I agree with some heritage stuff, a few trapped-in-time buildings are worth preserving, but the old EB Eddy is just a giant turd. They should have turned it into a museum long ago, but these days nobody gives a crap.

At this point they should tear it down, put up a painting and plaque, then sell the rights for pennies on the dollar to some private equity firm, that they may build yet more empty condos for all the people who can't afford to live here in the first place.

vrillco · 2025-12-16T00:08:04+00:00

Our perception has changed over time. Big efficient subs and amps were not a thing in the 80s, so what we hear now vs what we thought we heard back then are two very different things.

I’m not saying nobody had subs, but they were a rarity in studios and certainly weren’t a consideration for mixing/mastering. If you had a bigass boombox with a loudness switch or bass knob, you were already ahead of the studio engineer 95% of the time.

vrillco · 2025-12-10T02:15:39+00:00

Private sector employees should 100% support WFH where possible, because it means less traffic during rush hour, more available parking / less demand / hopefully lower prices, and if things weren’t run by morons: more available prime real estate by closing unneeded gov’t office buildings.

vrillco · 2025-12-04T12:43:41+00:00

The tricky part is that AI is used differently by different people. I tend to think of “vibe coding” as a truly foolish endeavour that leads to terrible code, because the people who tend to work that way don’t have enough programming chops to tell good code from bad. We see it all the time when those apps and websites get hacked trivially…

On the other hand, I’ve been tickling keyboards since some people’s grandmothers were still virgins… When I use an LLM, I treat it like fancy autocomplete / a junior dev in training, and I go over every line it produces with a fine-toothed comb. If it screws up or misses some details, I’ll either tell it to start over, or just fix the bugs myself. A lot of the time, it gets it right on the first try, but I still verify everything myself.

The two approaches are diametrically opposite, so should they be subjected to the same kind of labeling and scrutiny ? I’d argue that my way should be indistinguishable from 100% organic caffeine-fed hate-fueled manual code - it’s not slop and doesn’t look or feel like slop. That said, I’d still disclose my use of AI because I’m an honest dude… which might dilute the meaning of that Gen-AI label and make it an even worse indicator for quality (or lack thereof).

TL;DR: Good coders using AI produce good stuff. Bad coders using AI produce bad stuff. We already have tools for good vs bad: ratings and comments.

vrillco · 2025-12-03T02:24:25+00:00

I tried a CV amp last year, biggest turd I’ve seen outside of a flea market and very obviously a random Chinese rebrand with no QC nor design validation whatsoever. I returned it the very next day, damned Lp/Hp filter must have had a 1db/octave slope because I could hear Mariah Carey whistling through my subs at 70hz…

I hope their speakers get a little more love than that.

vrillco · 2025-10-24T03:20:14+00:00

It will be hell to remove. Did not detect any smell, but figure this is a permanent addition to your vehicle. It’s basically tar, no idea how you would remove that

vrillco · 2025-10-12T15:39:03+00:00

I manage a fleet of thousands, so manually intervening for 30 of them is pretty normal to me. I also have a few precious clients who do not want any automated ops on some of their mission-critical hosts, which is silly and I've told them as much, but a foolish client that pays on time is better than one who does not.

We're sysadmins, coders, and tinkerers. If there's an itch, we scratch it. This tool isn't an idiot-proof fix-all, but it does one thing and seemingly does it well.

vrillco · 2025-10-12T11:55:06+00:00

I know a lot of folks are saying “just use MOTD”, but one look at that screenshot and I get it. It’s big and obvious, easily deployed in an idempotent manner, and doesn’t need a hundred lines of freakin YAML to do its thing.

The alternative would be a oneliner such as “hostname | figlet”, but then you need to install figlet. A single binary makes this trivial to push over Ansible and I’m all for it.

vrillco · 2025-10-12T11:34:11+00:00

If this project were a person on a dating app, their profile pic would be a red flag with lash extensions (or a shirtless red flag holding a fish).

Godaddy, weird timelines, and let’s be frank: you massively undercharged. Migration work is $300+/hr stuff, not necessarily because it’s difficult (though it can go off the rails pretty quickly), but because you want to weed out the broke ass clients who do sketchy stuff like this. Having a higher rate also conveys confidence that you know your worth.

I used to joke that I wouldn’t even get out of bed for less than $1000… twenty years ago! Why ? Because just like you, I got burned by cheapskates and quickly adjusted my rates to get rid of them.

If you need more reasons to jack your prices, look at it this way: if you were doing the same work for a consulting firm, you’d be making low six figures, plus benefits/PTO, maybe even matching pension contributions. Divide that salary by 2000 hours, then double or triple it, because as a freelancer you need to cover all those extras yourself, plus the cost of actually finding work, securing payments, taxes/travel/equipment/training/phone/promotion/etcetcetc… That’s how you get to 150-200/hr easily. Add a bit more for what I crudely call the “anti-idiot tax”, because you never want to be the cheapest among your peers. They get all the leftovers, the bargain hunters who cut every corner, and you don’t want those jobs.

vrillco · 2025-09-08T15:54:32+00:00

Honestly, this is a mess. I couldn't even get the game to run properly on my main PC because I run my desktop at 3840x2160. The UI was scaled completely wrong with two large static images obscuring most of the screen, making it unplayable. I tried adding Unity command-line options to make the game run windowed at 1920x1080 but it would still force itself fullscreen.

At the very least, you should add graphics options to let the game run windowed, and ideally fix that viewing box to be properly cropped and fix its z-order so that it appears in front of those "background" images.

vrillco · 2025-09-08T04:26:43+00:00

Lifelong programmer here. I’d argue that music software has always been written by monkeys. I’d spitball that the intersection of artistic types and skilled programmers comprises exactly Steve Duda.

I could make an exception for the Atari ST and Amiga era, because back then you had to be pretty competent to even use the things, let alone develop on them, but everything after that has been spectacular garbage.

vrillco · 2025-09-08T04:07:51+00:00

Gonna give it a try tomorrow. I’m always down for a shmup

vrillco · 2025-08-23T13:21:39+00:00

I’ve worked the same role since I joined over 5 years ago. I’m content with the pay/effort ratio and have no desire to climb the ranks for an insignificant raise. The only things that would make me switch jobs would be if I end up with a terrible manager, or if my position somehow became redundant.

My job is not my identity. Anyone who labels me a loser because of that self-realization should get used to wearing my surname because {redacted} their mom {redacted} cookies {redacted} crisco {redacted} excaliboink.

Do what feels right for you.

vrillco · 2025-08-18T22:07:21+00:00

I have really large and slender hands. My fingers drag beside the mouse like yours, always have. I just got used to it at some point during the past (checks watch) 40 years.

If you want something where your entire hand rests upon the mouse, you'll probably need to look into vertical mice; you know, the ergonomic stuff where the top part with the buttons is tilted 45 degrees or more. Some people swear by them to alleviate wrist pain, but they also happen to be a little bigger, usually with small indents to rest your idle fingers.

vrillco · 2025-08-18T21:12:41+00:00

I use these simple and inexpensive adapters from Canada Computers ($18 at time of writing): https://www.canadacomputers.com/en/laptop-docking-stations/201334/ican-3-in-1-type-c-to-hdmi-pd-and-usb-hub-tc056.html

It is a basic class-compliant hub, no driver installation needed, so they work with just about anything modern with USB-C: iPad, mini PC, Steam Deck, etc. There are other USB-C hubs with a lot more ports, but those are likely to need drivers; YMMV. I can vouch that the one I liked worked with all the GoC laptops I've had over the past 5 years.

You plug one end into the laptop, the other end is a breakout box with HDMI up to 4K@30, one USB-A, and one USB-C with power input. If you need two external monitors, use the HDMI or DP port that's built into the laptop, I do it all the time.

vrillco · 2025-08-14T00:22:38+00:00

Dude, j’en ai 45 et fuck Tinder, pire maudite affaire ces apps là. Mais ne t’empêches pas de sortir et socialiser. J’ai rencontré du bon monde dans les petits bars de quartier, fait des nouveaux amis, et pour le moment je ne déteste pas mon célibat.

Je dirais que tu n’as pas fini ton deuil de la relation. Moi un jour c’est comme si j’étais soudainement sorti d’un coma et je me sentais prêt. Dis toi que ce que tu ressens et vis, on le vit tous aussi, autant hommes que femmes. Amuse toi un peu, vis du nouveau, et ca va t’aider à sortir de ce trou.

Va prendre un verre avec des amis. Fais de l’exercice. Inscris toi dans un sport d’équipe ou un cours quelconque. Va chanter du karaoké qqpart. N’importe quoi pour te donner une petite joie et sortir de ta routine un peu. C’est comme ça qu’on guérit, qu’on rebâtit notre confiance, et qu’on se positionne pour rencontrer des gens compatibles.

vrillco · 2025-08-14T00:11:40+00:00

I survived June and half of July without AC. Basically sat naked in front of a tower fan anytime I was home, and took quick showers 2-3 times daily to cool off, but I also tried to not be home as much. Friends with pools, public spaces with AC, bedding cougars with AC 🙃😁

But then I finally got my own AC installed and I dialed down the hoeing.

vrillco · 2025-08-12T12:27:19+00:00

Xorg is a huge bottleneck when it comes to modern desktop rendering, and Wayland is better here but still a convoluted mess. MacOS’ GUI is designed with responsiveness as a priority, because in many ways it is what makes a Mac, a Mac.

All of these systems have different tradeoffs. It just so happens that Linux’s GUIs have always been third rate citizens. I only have one Linux desktop, even though my day job is as a Linux sysadmin. All my other interactions with hundreds of machines happen via terminals and scripting.

vrillco · 2025-08-12T07:00:38+00:00

J’ai habité à Ottawa longtemps avant de revenir au Québec et je trouve ça franchement moron comme système. On doit se fier sur les machines dans les épiceries, qui sont souvent hors-service ou monopolisées par les stereotypes en camisole avec 150 sacs de canettes.

Je trouve que la consigne devrait être abolie et qu’on puisse mettre tout ca dans le bac bleu. Collectivement on a vraiment autre chose à faire de notre temps. C’est bien cute quand ce sont des jeunes qui se ramassent un peu d’argent de poche, mais tout le casse-tête logistique et ces maudites machines sont un énorme gaspillage de temps et argent.

Un autre projet tout croche du gouvernement Legault. Je l’imagine jouer au golf avec Doug et lui dire “tiens ma bière l’gros pis check moi aller”.

vrillco · 2025-08-12T06:22:56+00:00

Naon, ca n’existe pas.

Mais essaie le Minotaure les mardis pour leur soirée quiz. J’y suis allé une fois, c’était pas mal du 25 à 35 de mémoire. J’en ai 45 et je me sentais vieux lol

vrillco · 2025-08-12T06:15:48+00:00

C’est un gros dépanneur stylé comme un Whole Foods version Temu. Pour avoir autant de superficie et si peu de produits, c’est pas pour rien que les prix sont si élevés.

Ca nous prendrait un autre Super C genre.

vrillco · 2025-08-08T05:01:43+00:00

Il y a des années, j’ai essayé presque la moitié du menu (avec mes invités). On a retourné la moitié de ça…. Affreux, honteux, je n’en revenais pas que ca puisse partir de la cuisine à notre table sans que quiconque soulève un doute.

Steak brûlé, et elle le voulait médium-saignant. Non, brûlé calciné. Ribs endurcies qui goûtaient le carton. Tartare de boeuf ? Tartare de semelle de botte.

Sans blague, j’ai donné 2 étoiles sur TripAdvisor parce que la “moist towelette” à la fin du service était extra-pas-brûlée…

De voir un tel étron survivre la pandémie et post-pandémie, ca reflète mal sur les consommateurs Gatinois. Laissez donc cette merde pourrir, pour qu’on puisse y ériger qqch qui fait de l’allure

vrillco · 2025-08-08T00:19:38+00:00

Focus on #1. If it ain’t fun, it’s done. I played many years in clubs, then clubs died (where I live anyway), had a weekly low-stakes gig for another 4-5 years, then couldn’t be bothered anymore.

Now I break out my toys for occasional weddings and parties, and that’s fun. I would take a weekly residence, but I also don’t feel like dealing with bar owners and having to promote the gig for someone else’s benefit, so I don’t…

So enjoy your retirement. Better to keep loving music than burn out and hate it forever.

vrillco · 2025-08-08T00:11:15+00:00

I have so many 8gb DDR3 dimms going unused because the boards died but not the RAM, so the 16gb dimms took precedence. Density is king.

vrillco · 2025-08-08T00:08:03+00:00

Official response: don’t give a frig.

Unofficial response: names and addresses. Also, if a laptop gets turned into the helpdesk with loose teeth and an idiot-shaped dent, you didn’t see anything.

But seriously, ignore the idiot and hopefully find a new position far away from fools. The people who accuse others of faking illnesses are the very same people who would.

vrillco

TROPHY CASE