Random Rants 80: Computer Says No

[Valka D'Ur]

Most of my soda is diet Big 8. It's less sweet than diet Pepsi, cheaper, and local.

You get vanilla-flavored pop?
Pineapple sounds interesting.

Tap water FTW, there's far less awful chemicals (as Mary put it) for one's digestive system to struggle with.

Unless it's the time of year when the tap water is treated with chemicals due to spring runoff making the water taste and smell disgusting.

Yes, I'm one of those terrible people who uses bottled water. But I'm not always somewhere that has tap water available, and no, many restaurants don't give it away free. I also keep it around because there are periodic water shutoffs in the building I live in.

At least the local bottle depots accept water bottles, so I return them for 10 cents each.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

Went to take the dog for a short walk last night and got buzzed by a drone with a mini-floodlight on it. People around here fly their drones somewhat regularly which I'm not a fan of in a residential area due to the privacy concerns, but as I rounded the corner I saw it was actually the local police playing with their new toy. They were flying it at a sufficient height to look into everyone's windows in my building. I'm sure there are legitimate uses for drones but our cops have zero checks on their behavior. It's like when Obama sold decommissioned armored cars to local polices forces and then everyone was surprised when the police began to confront protestors with those vehicles using the same tactics the army used against insurgents. Really, I'm sure the drone, like the wiretap and police helicopter before it, have perfectly legitimate uses for law enforcement. But we need to put standards in place and enforce them before we hand over every new invention to the police. It's bad enough that I have to worry about eavesdropping civilian drone flyers peering into my windows, I shouldn't have to worry about the cops doing the same. Hell, if they were just practicing flying the drone (which is what it appeared they were doing), they could have just as easily gone to a non-residential area to do it.

 

[Takhisis]

Unless it's the time of year when the tap water is treated with chemicals due to spring runoff making the water taste and smell disgusting.

Yes, I'm one of those terrible people who uses bottled water. But I'm not always somewhere that has tap water available, and no, many restaurants don't give it away free. I also keep it around because there are periodic water shutoffs in the building I live in.

At least the local bottle depots accept water bottles, so I return them for 10 cents each.

There's times when they put too much chlorine so there's a quite successful company here that sells filters for one's kitchen tap. That kind of thing might help.

And no, I don't think you're a Terrible Person™ just for bottling water.

Went to take the dog for a short walk last night and got buzzed by a drone with a mini-floodlight on it. People around here fly their drones somewhat regularly which I'm not a fan of in a residential area due to the privacy concerns, but as I rounded the corner I saw it was actually the local police playing with their new toy. They were flying it at a sufficient height to look into everyone's windows in my building. I'm sure there are legitimate uses for drones but our cops have zero checks on their behavior. It's like when Obama sold decommissioned armored cars to local polices forces and then everyone was surprised when the police began to confront protestors with those vehicles using the same tactics the army used against insurgents. Really, I'm sure the drone, like the wiretap and police helicopter before it, have perfectly legitimate uses for law enforcement. But we need to put standards in place and enforce them before we hand over every new invention to the police. It's bad enough that I have to worry about eavesdropping civilian drone flyers peering into my windows, I shouldn't have to worry about the cops doing the same. Hell, if they were just practicing flying the drone (which is what it appeared they were doing), they could have just as easily gone to a non-residential area to do it.

As I posted a few days ago, here (>3 million people, so he has more citizens than a few US states) the incumbent mayorhas unilaterally sneaked a ‘promise’ to install some 10,000 security cameras to ‘combat crime’. The opposition are a bunch who, when they were in power in the district just over the border, decided to ‘combat crime’ by mandating personal ID for anyone on a motorcycle, i.e. everybody having one license registration printed onto a helmet. So if you shared with a friend you couldn't have your own motorcycle because then you'd need two numbers!

The surveillance state is going crazy and we need action.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

As I posted a few days ago, here (>3 million people, so he has more citizens than a few US states) the incumbent mayorhas unilaterally sneaked a ‘promise’ to install some 10,000 security cameras to ‘combat crime’. The opposition are a bunch who, when they were in power in the district just over the border, decided to ‘combat crime’ by mandating personal ID for anyone on a motorcycle, i.e. everybody having one license registration printed onto a helmet. So if you shared with a friend you couldn't have your own motorcycle because then you'd need two numbers!

The surveillance state is going crazy and we need action.

PBS did a series of stories on the growth of Chinese surveillance-state technology exports around the world, with special focus on what's going on in Latin America. It is getting way out of hand and I do believe the US Gov when they say Huawei et al are going to build surveillance backdoors into their 5G technology. Why do I believe this? Because the US has effectively done the same thing per Edward Snowden. There was a recent story I saw on the news where US intelligence agencies were able to quickly verify some communications between foreign agents and my immediate thought was: why the hell isn't anyone wondering how the US was able to do that?

 

[Lohrenswald]

I've got a homeexam (and also another assignment I need to do as well, which makes things just much more worse)
Can't like figure it out, it makes me feel like the whole education or whatever is in jeopardy

I don't even want to look at it, but I have to

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

There was a recent story I saw on the news where US intelligence agencies were able to quickly verify some communications between foreign agents and my immediate thought was: why the hell isn't anyone wondering how the US was able to do that?

Because it was used against the "bad guys"!!! That's why.

The "well, if you have nothing to hide" people are frustrating. There's probably a clever retort involving the size of various body parts, but it's a little immature (and I'd rather not get infracted).

 

[hobbsyoyo]

I have a good friend that I haven't talked to in a few months. I have been meaning to call him for the last month or so and each weekend, I forget about it. Due to the time zone differences between us, the weekend is really the only time a call can work out. Today, I remembered to call him, but I only got his voicemail. I was really looking forward to talking to a friend...

 

[MaryKB]

I'm so soory Hobbs, I can just imagine how frustrating and disappointing that must be for you. Do you think he'll get your message and call you back?

If you really need any sympathetic ears, you know we're always here for you too.

I truly hope everything's going to be okay, I've been thinking and worrying about you a lot lately.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

Thanks. I left him a message and I expect him to call me back next weekend. I've been having some pretty extreme anxiety over my housing and job situation. I came to the verge of tears a couple of separate times last week; it's really getting to me not knowing if I got the job, knowing that I have to move but not knowing where, and feeling like I may have shot myself in the foot by turning down a job a couple weeks back. I don't want to get into the nitty-gritty details, but I couldn't have afforded to live off the job offered without making some serious cuts, and I didn't want to accept it and then end up getting the job that I really did want which I'm still waiting to hear back from. But I may not get that job, and I could have made the cuts necessary to afford the other offer and getting back to work would have been much preferable to continued unemployment. I was just trying to make the best decision based on what I knew at the time - especially since the company that offered the job would not let me sit on the offer any longer than I did (which was a full calendar week). I had to make the call and I made it, but I don't know if it was the right call - and I won't know until this other company gives me an answer.

I was able to book a mover without having a final destination lined up, which helped ease some of the pressure I'm under. And I think I sort of hit rock bottom with my anxiety last week and while I can't say I'm happy, I've more or less made peace with the possibility I'm about to get the worst possible outcome from this whole situation and am trying not to stew on it much more and just march forward as best I can. Regardless of whether or not this company offers me a job, I have to pick an apartment by next weekend at the absolute latest. Where that is depends on whether I get the job and I really hope they don't leave me hanging for another week because then I might have already signed a lease in the wrong area should they end up giving me the job.

Thank you for the well-wishes, it means a lot to me. I'll be fine in the end, I just have to get through this.

 

[Zkribbler]

Today, I remembered to call him, but I only got his voicemail. I was really looking forward to talking to a friend...

Jeez, I was expecting you to say something like an official-sounding voice answered his phone and informed you he had passed away. This ain't nothing. Call him next weekend and enjoy his company.

 

[AdamCrock]

I had a bad dream

 

[MaryKB]

I had a bad dream

Oh no! Would you like to talk about it? I love hearing about dreams, maybe you'll feel better?

Thanks. I left him a message and I expect him to call me back next weekend. I've been having some pretty extreme anxiety over my housing and job situation. I came to the verge of tears a couple of separate times last week; it's really getting to me not knowing if I got the job, knowing that I have to move but not knowing where, and feeling like I may have shot myself in the foot by turning down a job a couple weeks back. I don't want to get into the nitty-gritty details, but I couldn't have afforded to live off the job offered without making some serious cuts, and I didn't want to accept it and then end up getting the job that I really did want which I'm still waiting to hear back from. But I may not get that job, and I could have made the cuts necessary to afford the other offer and getting back to work would have been much preferable to continued unemployment. I was just trying to make the best decision based on what I knew at the time - especially since the company that offered the job would not let me sit on the offer any longer than I did (which was a full calendar week). I had to make the call and I made it, but I don't know if it was the right call - and I won't know until this other company gives me an answer.

I was able to book a mover without having a final destination lined up, which helped ease some of the pressure I'm under. And I think I sort of hit rock bottom with my anxiety last week and while I can't say I'm happy, I've more or less made peace with the possibility I'm about to get the worst possible outcome from this whole situation and am trying not to stew on it much more and just march forward as best I can. Regardless of whether or not this company offers me a job, I have to pick an apartment by next weekend at the absolute latest. Where that is depends on whether I get the job and I really hope they don't leave me hanging for another week because then I might have already signed a lease in the wrong area should they end up giving me the job.

Thank you for the well-wishes, it means a lot to me. I'll be fine in the end, I just have to get through this.

I'm so sorry, I can imagine how much stress that's all causing you. I feel it must be so incredibly scary, not knowing what's going to happen next, or even where you're going to be living. I know what you mean about that doubt going through your mind, but even if you don't get that other job, I'm sure you made the right decision for the long run and I hope you don't second guess yourself too much and cause more suffering - I think if you'd felt that was going to be the right thing for you, then you would've taken it.

I hope one way or another, that company does call you back soon, I think that feeling of being in limbo sometimes is even worse than finding out things didn't go as you wanted. I do hope they pick you though, they'd be foolish to pass up on your talent.

 

[Kyriakos]

I just had a message by a girl that wants (is about) to buy the literary seminar I have online. I always feel very bad when it is about money, although my cut from the overall payments to the seminar is likely not going to exceed 2/9ths or something like that (would have been 1/4rth, but taxation law ruins that). It is just that I feel somewhat - rather not just somewhat - guilty when I am paid. Not entirely sure why, cause everyone working has to be paid.
It isn't that I regard the seminar as worthless either. I mean they did ask a large price for people to take part in it, but I don't think this is why I feel guilty - I still felt so even with the much much smaller per person pay in my non online seminars.

Maybe I am an anarchist at heart Though I suspect it mostly has to do with disliking money due to how it is used to lead to ruin, most of the time*. And that I at least am not impressed by it since - though currently my financial state isn't good - I did have a lot of money growing up.

*I'm sure my parents' paradigmatic "marriage out of interest" didn't help there

 

[AdamCrock]

Oh no! Would you like to talk about it? I love hearing about dreams, maybe you'll feel better?

The details are a bit foggy but I remember that someone was in my bed ! At one time that unindentified person started talking to me and then I woke up. The strangest thing is that for a moment I've watched myself sleeping . It was all very unsettling and I had to calm down a bit right after I woke up.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Small rant: I updated a piece of software. I ran into some problems with the new version and wanted to downgrade. But I had to uninstall it completely, which removed all my user settings. That's not fun.

 

[Synobun]

My server from one day to the next has stopped being able to download and unpack zip files. Nothing's changed so it's a annoying nice problem to have.

 

[AdamCrock]

I commiserate with you Aimee Loosing settings like that ! Trust me I know how it feels. It has to be super annoying. Well maybe not actually as annoying like loosing an entire HD worth of data due to bad sectors - annoying *sigh* - yeah, it happened to me once... but nevermind that Well in hopes to cheer You up a bit I say - at least You didn't loose a save game You've put "n! +" number of hours into , cheer up

 

[cardgame]

Once upon a time I had a clean email inbox

I can't remember how many years ago that was, but I just noticed I'm into 6,000+ unread territory.

 

[Synobun]

Once upon a time I had a clean email inbox

I can't remember how many years ago that was, but I just noticed I'm into 6,000+ unread territory.

I would not be able to handle this.

 

[cardgame]

Good thing I'm made of stern stuff