Random Rants LXIV: Who's Acting Like a Child Now?

[sophie]

Rant: I can't get Rome Total War to work on my new computer. I was able to get it to load fine on my old laptop but I guess my graphics card just doesn't like it.
Ah well, Steam Summer Sale begins tomorrow and I can get Attila Total War then.

Counterrave: After over a decade my dad is finally getting into Rome: Total War and watching him get sucked into the game is nostalgic as all hell.

Obligatory rant(?): For some reason any time it comes up at a party that I study history Dan Carlin invariably comes up and trying to navigate explaining my thoughts on him without insulting the person I'm talking to is ALWAYS super awkward.

 

[The_J]

Ah well, Steam Summer Sale begins tomorrow and I can get Attila Total War then.

Let's hope the price delta is high, harhar .

Rant: Sadly, I've found there's not a single game about modern piracy (the kind at sea) in existence, AFAIK. This must be remedied...

Maybe the designers will delta their customer focus at some point and produce one.

don't kill me, please .

Why would modern day piracy be more interesting than the traditional one?
(besides a delta in warfare technology....)

 

[azzaman333]

I need money badly.

 

[Tee Kay]

I need a job badly. Money just follows from that.

 

[Commodore]

I need a job badly. Money just follows from that.

So go get one. If you are really in need of a job you'll take anything, which means you should be able to get a job within a week.

Once it became clear that my self-employment and unsteady income weren't going to cut it on account of my wife taking maternity leave in a few months, I went out looking for a job and in a week's time I had two interviews and got offered both jobs, but only selected one of them. It's not a job I'm too happy with, but it will hold me over until I find the one I want.

 

[Arakhor]

So go get one. If you are really in need of a job you'll take anything, which means you should be able to get a job within a week.

You'd be surprised, especially in countries with welfare support already built in.

 

[Commodore]

You'd be surprised, especially in countries with welfare support already built in.

Yeah, I realize Tee Kay is in Australia now and I don't know what the job market is like there right now. All I know is there is a hiring boom in the US right now. It seems every business I drive past now has a big "Now Hiring!" sign out front. The jobs being offered aren't all that great, but they are there for anyone who wants to work.

 

[azzaman333]

Yeah, I realize Tee Kay is in Australia now and I don't know what the job market is like there right now. All I know is there is a hiring boom in the US right now. It seems every business I drive past now has a big "Now Hiring!" sign out front. The jobs being offered aren't all that great, but they are there for anyone who wants to work.

It's very fickle right now. If you're looking for a basic entry level job with no qualifications you're undercut by younger people as they're cheaper to employ, while jobs that require qualifications also typically require experience. So while there are some jobs out there it can be very difficult to get one unless you know someone (or know someone who knows someone) who's hiring.

 

[Ajidica]

I need a job badly. Money just follows from that.

It might just be an American thing, but have you tried a staffing agency? After I filled out an application with one I got a temp-to-hire job that while not great, is easy and the pay isn't half bad for an entry level job.

Obligatory rant(?): For some reason any time it comes up at a party that I study history Dan Carlin invariably comes up and trying to navigate explaining my thoughts on him without insulting the person I'm talking to is ALWAYS super awkward.

The only way I think that could be awkward is if you make it awkward. How hard is it to say "I'm not a big fan of his style" and if they press you; you can say a white lie that while he is fine for basic historical overviews you prefer a more academic approach.


Rant: Picked up Attila Total War on steam sale; but currently very angry at SEGA for creating a situation where the DLC to unlock factions ALREADY IN THE GAME costs as much as the game itself.

 

[cardgame]

Staffing agencies are godsend. Job isn't great, but it's a job. Beforehand I applied to like 50 places and nothing. (that doesn't sound like a lot, but for my area... it's almost everything)

 

[Dachs]

holding conversations via text is so freaking stupid and I hate it hate it hate it

 

[Kennigit]

The past two items I have ordered (one amazon at previous address, one ebay at current address) both were marked as "delivered" but were never delivered

it's just frustrating. I know, first world problem, but I just want to be able to order something and, you know, have it actually show up. Amazon was great at just sending a replacement item, but I don't know about this failed USPS delivery.

 

[Zkribbler]

it's just frustrating. I know, first world problem, but I just want to be able to order something and, you know, have it actually show up.

Here in the third world, two of my purchases were listed as "refused" even though they weren't because there was no attempt to deliver. T-Mart even charged me a re-stocking fee. I haven't used T-Mart since.

Kennigit, could the delivery been stolen off your front porch? That sort of thing has happened to a friend of mine in Oregon.

 

[Kennigit]

The USPS tracking number says delivered to the parcel holder, which is not the case. Maybe it is sitting in there and they didn't put the key for the parcel holder in my mailbox.

The first item who knows, I just know I never got it. But with every other package they'd deliver to the front office and stick the notice on your door, but I never got a notice and it wasn't in the front office.

 

[cardgame]

I got a "delivered" check from Amazon last year, they delivered it to some dude the next town over. USPS fail.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

The past two items I have ordered (one amazon at previous address, one ebay at current address) both were marked as "delivered" but were never delivered

it's just frustrating. I know, first world problem, but I just want to be able to order something and, you know, have it actually show up. Amazon was great at just sending a replacement item, but I don't know about this failed USPS delivery.

Sometimes it seems as though when hiring for these companies, if they fail a basic literacy test, they're hired.

Thank goodness I've had honest neighbors who let me know when my small eBay purchases got into their mailbox (I live in a 120-suite apartment building), and there have been times when I either got someone else's mail or a delivery card for someone else in the building. In the former case, I just went over to the suite and slipped the envelope under their door, and in the latter case, I slipped the delivery card under the door, along with a note to explain what happened and that they definitely could make a case for complaining to the supervisor and demanding a re-delivery.

That said, there have been a few times when things have either been held up in customs, lost, or the delivery person just flat-out lied. One of the substitute UPS drivers tried the latter stunt, but the next day the regular driver came by with the package (a bookshelf) and asked if I'd been home the previous day. I told him yes, and he said that's what he thought... since I'm always home when expecting deliveries. So he concluded that his sub had lied about attempting to contact me, and would be reported.


Most Amazon sellers are easy to deal with. Ebay... some are honorable, and others aren't. I let people know that if they give good service, they will have my loyalty and favorable word-of-mouth recommendations.

 

[Commodore]

Staffing agencies are godsend. Job isn't great, but it's a job. Beforehand I applied to like 50 places and nothing. (that doesn't sound like a lot, but for my area... it's almost everything)

My experience with staffing agencies has been different. Every time I went to one in the past, they always told me there wasn't anywhere they could place me. Not that they didn't have jobs available, just none where they felt they could put me.

 

[Takhisis]

‘Hey, I'm good with a gun. Do you have any jobs at a bank?’

 

[Commodore]

‘Hey, I'm good with a gun. Do you have any jobs at a bank?’

Funny you should say that because my current job actually requires me to carry a firearm and handle large sums of money.

 

[Takhisis]

There's a sex advice thread?

If hygro feels the need to point out that someone should interface with a real human, there'd better be.

Well, it is a government job so I'm hoping against hope that my service to the nation may convince them to take mercy on me and overlook my mistakes and hire me anyway. It's a federal job too, so I'm hoping Obama's recent policy emphasis on getting veterans employed will help swing things in my favor as well.

Working for the feds… that changes everything. Then you should volunteer whatever the information is. Otherwise you might be staining your record permanently by lying to the government.

I'm neither good looking or confident so I have work on that, but it is hard.

Confidence is a far better choice. It works even when you're not wearing make-up.

I don't know, it would be kind of boring no matter what perspective you play the game from. If you play as pirates, your little speedboat gets blown up by a modern naval warship patrolling the area. If you play as a naval patrol, you just blow up pirate speedboats that have no way of seriously fighting back. If you play as the merchant vessels being targeted, then you just call the navy for help and watch them blow up the pirate speedboats.

Sounds almost exactly as if you were playing Silent Hunter.