Random Rants LXXII - What is wrong with us?

[Takhisis]

Man, there's a difference between not reading the papers for a couple days to take it easy and becoming wilfully ignorant of what is basically an ongoing disaster.

 

[Synobun]

Man, there's a difference between not reading the papers for a couple days to take it easy and becoming wilfully ignorant of what is basically an ongoing disaster.

Yeah, that's the point.

 

[Gori the Grey]

I lasted through Lent. It was good for me and felt so at the time. Don't know why I couldn't keep it up afterwards.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

Flipping LaTeX. I hate it so much.

To be clear, I don't have any real problems with the software itself, rather the kinds of people who push for it and they way they use it. For those who have never heard of LaTeX, it is a document creation software package that is like if Python and Word had a baby. It's super powerful and can make routine document creation easy and can produce beautiful documents. The problem is that everyone learns Word and by the time they are in a professional setting they have a decade or more of experience under their belt. LaTeX is picking up steam - especially in grad schools - but it is nowhere near Word in popularity. That, plus the steep learning curve, means that it is very hard to adopt it as a document creator organization-wide.

What typically happens is someone or some small group within an organization will get it in their head that they have to use LaTeX. Then they announce they are going to use it and begin implementing it. What they invariably fail to understand is that while switching to LaTeX may be a smart tactical move, it's often a strategic failure.

Had they stopped to have a conversation about what the impacts of rolling out LaTeX would be or how they would go about it, they'd understand the problems it can cause. But, no, the kind of person who pushes for it isn't the kind of person to listen to arguments based on things that don't directly impact them.

So they roll it out, no one can use it and before long they give up and leave a trail of documents that have to then be ported back to Word to be usable.

Worst off, almost all of the reasons they give for switching to LaTeX are really about crappy document writers at their root and not about crappy document writing tools. LaTeX is not going to fix people being stupid and lazy. In fact it can make things worse because stupid and lazy people that are forced to use it are not going to learn it properly and will create a slew of horrible documents that would have been of much higher quality if they stuck to Word in the first place.


Ugh I'm to the point where anytime someone says 'Hey we should use LaTeX!', my immediate thought is, (condescending tone) 'Oh, so you went to grad school. Neat.'

 

[Takhisis]

So the problem isn't really the software but its users. I think i've heard this before.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

I've had a news boycott going on for around 7 to 8 months that has recently been totally demolished. This whole tariff and Hitler-did-nothing-wrong business is way too exposed to avoid. I had limited those I follow and interact with to the most non-political but even they have been quite chatty about it.

Totally their right, of course, but man. I did not miss reading this stuff every day.

Did you hear that Trump is accusing Canadians of smuggling due to high tariffs on shoes?

Somebody needs to explain the difference between tariffs and duties to him. And also mention that the customs agents at the border are already fairly competent at busting people who try to smuggle clothing.

 

[r16]

TLTR, so do you like the viper or not?

hate the Footpad , Falcon is or at least was cool . Back to 87 or 88 , they have assembled the first F-16C in Ankara (from kit-form but whatever) and it will have the maiden flight and the State Channel is covering it alive . So , yours idiotly and a classmate like "escape from class" and descend down to the school's cafetaria . You know , we are grown kids at the time , nothing to climb 4 or 5 stairs up every morning . The hour comes , the TV is on and guess what , Santa Turgut is giving a speech , not a single word related the the plane too boot . It finally arrives , running the engine before the take off roll and , well , the school is up , time to go home . Home is much better a prospect .

yet , ı am known to defend the Electric Jet , not Viper . And the Viper name does not come from the 1970s edition of Battlestar Galactica , but the thing that it was in league with the Cobra , Northrop's name for the early F-5 update / F-17 / F-18 . Will not make you gain points with actual engineer dudes and stuff , who will also really doubt a real F-16 pilot is a Viper-rider , not a Viper Driver .

 

[Synobun]

We have different definitions of fun.

 

[Berzerker]

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-st...er-jailed-in-wifes-murder-plot-back-with-band

murder for hire gets only 2 years (or 6?)?

 

[Zkribbler]

murder for hire gets only 2 years (or 6?)?

I don't understand either. PC 187 says life with the possibility of parole. He did plead guilty, which can get a sentence reduced, as can having no priors...but a reduction down to six?

 

[Lohrenswald]

At university there was like a lot of people "proselytising" about latex

I just write on paper and scan them as images

 

[hobbsyoyo]

At university there was like a lot of people "proselytising" about latex

I just write on paper and scan them as images

Yeah it's becoming popular in universities, particularly within grad schools. Also, somehow these kids got it in their head that if they put LaTeX (complete with the preferred typesetting) on their resume as a skill it will land them jobs from the job tree. I've literally heard people talking about what a great skill it is to have and how it makes them more employable than the plebs that use Word.

Maybe in 20 years when these kids rule the world that will be the case but no one gives a crap about it in industry now.

LPT: If you want a job make sure your PowerPoint and Excel skills are on point before picking up LaTeX. And when you get that job, don't immediately try and break everyone's work flows because of your fetish for LaTeX. It probably won't get you fired but it won't win you many friends and it doesn't help anyone.

To be fair though, if you are gunning for a job in Academia then perhaps LaTeX skills will actually help. But really you should put more effort into the actual writing and data reduction than in the typesetting aspects of your paper anyways.

 

[JohannaK]

What's latex other than a very kinky material to make apparel with?

 

[Synobun]

LaTeX is terrible. A world where it's mandatory is a world I refuse to be a part of.

 

[PhroX]

I remember using something based on LaTeX a bit during university. It was better than Word for putting complicated formulae into documents, but that was about it. And even then, it was much easier to screenshot the formula you'd made in LaTeX and then paste it into your Word document then actually doing anything with the main document in the former.

 

[Synobun]

The leader of our conservative party sent out a rather silly tweet.

https://twitter.com/AndrewScheer/status/1009859998002839552

Why is Justin Trudeau punishing Canadians’ success? According to @FraserInstitute, Canadian families earned an extra 3.3% last year, but taxes were up by 3.1%. Justin Trudeau’s Liberals taxed away 94 cents out of every extra dollar earned. Canadians are missing out.

I hope this man never has anything to do with budgets. Keep him far away.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

The leader of our conservative party sent out a rather silly tweet.

https://twitter.com/AndrewScheer/status/1009859998002839552



I hope this man never has anything to do with budgets. Keep him far away.

If the Reformacons win next year, we'll be toast.

If they lose, I have to wonder if the rumors are true - that he's just a placeholder so Rona Ambrose can make a comeback with some story that she's changed her mind about politics and that after the usual politician-speak about family, she's decided to run for the leadership. I honestly can't see Scheer as PM. I can see Ambrose, though. Even though she wasn't qualified for half the cabinet jobs she had, it's still a resume that would appeal to the party faithful.

And with Jason Kenney intending to turn the "UCP" into the provincial Reformacon party, that's even more incentive for them to get the old Harper gang back in.

I'm dreading next year's elections... provincial and federal in the same year.

 

[Takhisis]

Politicians saying that they're willing to shoulder a burden and sacrifice themselves for you, as if they were used cars salesmen? Perish the thought.

 

[warpus]

Hey everyone who is waiting on new Norway content, the World Cup has taken over my life and I'm really stressed with work

So far I have a white water rafting video that's 35 minutes long. I need to watch it and cut things out, but I don't have time. I am pretty stressed, I will maybe post the longer video first and a summary video later. Or maybe just the long video and an index to various interesting parts? I think that could work but I just don't have time to dedicate to thinking about this right now

I don't want to clutter up that thread with posts like this, so I am writing this here, at the bottom of a thread where nobody will probably read it and remember that I'm behind in my updates.

 

[r16]

edit: post #4400 ! Hell , ı was going to rant about it !

post #4400 and what to write ? Big question ; was kicked out of some forum with a solid 400 . Nothing to query about but it's this idiotic tradition and reminding am still alive can be a rather cruel mockery for some . 400 takes maybe a year and remember what ı have achieved ? Well , out of an isolated case of seeing this stuntwoman (two or so years back) in town people now accuse me of being married to that actress who should be known to at least 10 from thousands and thousands of CFC members . With an "Hollywood" attachment (*) . Cool for r16 ? Of course not . Naturally becomes proof of my perversion or lack of stuff or idiocy . People would have paraded her with a band in attendance , to brag kind of thing . You become not a man when failing to conform - to parades no less ; and no , this is not an admission . People look like people , so what ? Disregarding any connection , too . What happened to the days ı was a simple idiot ?

Spoiler :

some strategic stuff , like Israel ever more ready for war ? To deny critics and the like they have gone to the thing about a former Goverment Minister turning out to be an Iranian spy ! Even if can also be related to Netanyahu family corruption . Would still count if anybody questioned "Where to?" and the answer would be "Traitor!" Readily helped by New Turkey , in its make-believe anti-Semitism , ready to support the "Where to?" question , immediately after clearing it with Washington D.C.

even elections ? Which apparently can not be covered by the regular voting fraud . Presidential race seems set for a second round and Parliamentary one might conceivably mean a hung one . New Turkey happily considered that , allowing the PM to rule by decree . But the thing is A-K-P is not suited to loose an election . Santa Turgut's utterly failed to recover , Santa Süleyman's became a simple stepping stone for the glory of New Turkey . If it becomes a trend , their 40% standart might easily become 14% in the next one ; stemming from the idea that the numbers forty and fourteen sound so close in English . Which means a second elections for that in November or something , and far more glory of New Turkey to be heard , like inevitably . Almost racists might fail loveably in attracting the so called Nationalist vote , leads to the spectacular situation that the leader of the almost racists still considers the PM an American puppet and an enemy of the country and various forms of animals and the like , despite they are allies . 'Cause American experts are like disgusted that their attempt to unify the Turks through the hate of Kurds for the final destruction of the Republic has failed . Thus , if set to happen , the November elections will lead to discover Kurds are totally our brothers . No , of course it didn't happen 4 years back , everything New Turkey does is new and anyone who says it was done before is a liar and a Congregation member .

(*) Those in the know readily change H with a B . One should know his place or what .

TLTR, so do you like the viper or not?

sorry for the second qouting of this but ı don't know as some Lockmart dude is reported -during the delivery of thing numbered 18-0001 NOT to Turkey - that he , too is a fan of F-16 or 18 but the abomination is just super . Barring discovery that this is standart Lockmart PR , which they repeated delivering to the Italians or Japanese or whatever , ı like totally will hold you responsible .