Topic: Blog Thread 4; Live Free or Blog Hard - 'cos we all like blogging (Read 631087 times)

cesium133 · « **Reply #4700 on:** 29 Jan 2015, 15:29 »

Video's not working for me, so I guess I don't know how bad it can get.

There was a 100-car pileup near my hometown when I was a senior in high school. It was Memorial Day weekend, lots of people were returning to DC from Deep Creek Lake, and the mountain was foggy...

Carl-E · « **Reply #4701 on:** 29 Jan 2015, 16:11 »

That was strangely cheering to watch.

I'm such a bad person...

Metope · « **Reply #4702 on:** 29 Jan 2015, 16:30 »

I thought it was horrifying! Anyone knows if everyone were okay there? Hard to tell how fast they were going and how hard the different impacts were, but I hope so.

hedgie · « **Reply #4703 on:** 29 Jan 2015, 18:02 »

Quote from: Carl-E on 29 Jan 2015, 16:11

That was strangely cheering to watch.

I'm such a bad person...

Schadenfreude is the best kind of Freude.

Grognard · « **Reply #4704 on:** 29 Jan 2015, 21:11 »

the video you posted was from the 193 vehicle pileup on I-94, near Battle Creek, Michigan.

A Canadian truck driver was the only fatality.

I've seen the videos, and they are TERRIFYING.

http://www.weather.com/news/news/interstate-94-michigan-pileup

Masterpiece · « **Reply #4705 on:** 29 Jan 2015, 23:33 »

Since the blog thread is overflowing, can I make a new blog thread?

Akima · « **Reply #4706 on:** 30 Jan 2015, 00:24 »

Quote from: Metope on 29 Jan 2015, 16:30

Hard to tell how fast they were going

Much too fast. It really was terrifying to see the vehicles zooming out of the low visibility with no chance to stop at all.

jwhouk · « **Reply #4707 on:** 30 Jan 2015, 04:56 »

There have been worse, and both have been on I-43 in Wisconsin (which runs along the shore of Lake Michigan).

A fog-bank descended from the lake, causing a 10-fatality, 39-injuries and 50-vehicle wreck.

In March 1990, the Tower Drive Bridge that crosses over the mouth of Green Bay at the Fox River, had a similar fog bank issue. 52 vehicles, but only three deaths and 30 injuries, resulted from the incident.

cesium133 · « **Reply #4708 on:** 30 Jan 2015, 05:48 »

This is the one I had mentioned in my earlier post. I had remembered the number of cars being around 100, but according to this article it was 85.

edit -- Since this is the blog thread... nothing's official yet, but it looks like I may be moving to Wisconsin in the spring.

jwhouk · « **Reply #4709 on:** 30 Jan 2015, 07:47 »

Quote from: cesium133 on 30 Jan 2015, 05:48

edit -- Since this is the blog thread... nothing's official yet, but it looks like I may be moving to Wisconsin in the spring.

My condolences.

bainidhe_dub · « **Reply #4710 on:** 30 Jan 2015, 11:47 »

So I feel like since I had a kid, all I talk about is my kid, but jesus, this kid runs my life. He's sick right now, but he didn't have a fever so they gave him shots yesterday anyway, so last like three days have involved a lot of screaming and some puking, and some of each was from my husband. And he managed to leave some laundry in the washer too long and it went sour, but we don't have any vinegar so we can't rewash it, so the washing machine is out of commission and we can't wash the puke-covered pajamas/sheets/changing pad cover/blankets/burp cloths. I was just starting to think of Zach as an actual tiny human, but I was wrong, he's a snot machine that makes noises that hurt my soul.

hedgie · « **Reply #4711 on:** 30 Jan 2015, 14:29 »

Quote from: jwhouk on 30 Jan 2015, 07:47

Quote from: cesium133 on 30 Jan 2015, 05:48

edit -- Since this is the blog thread... nothing's official yet, but it looks like I may be moving to Wisconsin in the spring.

My condolences.

I dunno, Madison seemed decent enough when I was there, even though it was winter.

cesium133 · « **Reply #4712 on:** 30 Jan 2015, 16:29 »

Well, I'd be in Madison, and it seemed decent (though very cold compared to where I am now).

Carl-E · « **Reply #4713 on:** 30 Jan 2015, 20:56 »

Quote from: bainidhe_dub on 30 Jan 2015, 11:47

So I feel like since I had a kid, all I talk about is my kid, but jesus, this kid runs my life. He's sick right now, but he didn't have a fever so they gave him shots yesterday anyway, so last like three days have involved a lot of screaming and some puking, and some of each was from my husband. And he managed to leave some laundry in the washer too long and it went sour, but we don't have any vinegar so we can't rewash it, so the washing machine is out of commission and we can't wash the puke-covered pajamas/sheets/changing pad cover/blankets/burp cloths. I was just starting to think of Zach as an actual tiny human, but I was wrong, he's a snot machine that makes noises that hurt my soul.

I remember those times. It gets better, for a while.

Then they hit puberty.

Grognard · « **Reply #4714 on:** 30 Jan 2015, 21:42 »

it all gets better when you get snotty hugs with grubby hands and a "I wuv you!" from a toddler.

It gets better, it gets awesome...

and then ...

teenager. YIKES.

explicit · « **Reply #4715 on:** 30 Jan 2015, 22:32 »

Quote from: cesium133 on 30 Jan 2015, 16:29

Well, I'd be in Madison, and it seemed decent (though very cold compared to where I am now).

I have a good friend who went to college and lives near Madison. Apparently, it's still Wisconsin, but at least there are more bars.

cesium133 · « **Reply #4716 on:** 31 Jan 2015, 07:34 »

Yes, I did notice there were a lot of bars. The hotel I stayed at when I came into town for the interview was a block from State Street, where practically every building is a bar.

hedgie · « **Reply #4717 on:** 31 Jan 2015, 15:30 »

Well, it *is* a university town.

jwhouk · « **Reply #4718 on:** 31 Jan 2015, 18:38 »

A university that's going to be getting a lot less support from the state in the next biennium.

Sorry, I am not a fan of my home state at the moment, due to an academic dropout from Marquette University.

cesium133 · « **Reply #4719 on:** 31 Jan 2015, 18:40 »

Yeah, I recall seeing a newspaper article while I was there noting that that particular dropout responded to complaints about his cutbacks by saying "it should motivate the faculty to work harder."

jwhouk · « **Reply #4720 on:** 01 Feb 2015, 05:35 »

You're not part of any sort of union, are you? Because if that's the case, I'd suggest you turn around and go back to wherever you came from.

Just in case you don't believe me...

cesium133 · « **Reply #4721 on:** 01 Feb 2015, 06:41 »

Scientific research... union? Yeah, right, like that'd ever happen.

(Okay, some universities do have unionized research staff, but the vast majority don't.)

94ssd · « **Reply #4722 on:** 03 Feb 2015, 06:27 »

This past weekend I delved into the world of playwrighting as a participant in my school's first annual 24-hour play festival. I also was a sound "consultant" (not really a designer because of how minimal the requirements were) for the festival. From 3-10 PM on Saturday, 20 of us sat in a room and wrote. The only requirements were that the play could not be longer than 10 minutes, and the following line had to be inserted:

"Then, next thing you know, we're common law married in the midwest, on a farm, and my pies are winning at the state fair."

I ended up writing two plays (some only wrote one, some wrote three or four). One was a farcical melodrama about a Soviet spy who falls in love with an American woman. The other was a drama about two coal miners. One falls in love with the other and dreams of running away with him, but is rejected, and then dies in an explosion. The other one gets progressively more ill with black lung throughout the play. I was the only one who submitted a play that wasn't a comedy.

The directors arrived at 10, and until midnight deliberated which plays to do. Seven were chosen. Then at midnight actors arrived, the shows were cast, and the rehearsal process began. At 4:30 AM when my alarm went off, I had received a snapchat from a friend of mine (who I later discovered was the assistant director) saying that she was "trying to to do justice" to my play. But I couldn't read what was on the script she was holding, so I just automatically assumed my stupid farce was picked and she was saying that jokingly.

But when I arrived at 5 to begin working on the sound design, I was shocked to discover that it was the coal mining play that was being performed. And the director was adding interpretive movement to it. It was performed with the other plays at 3 PM on Sunday to a surprisingly full house. And it ended up being pretty great, but it was a lot of story to fit into a 12-minute (which is what it ended up being with the choreography added) piece. The playwrighting professor, who I greatly admire, saw it and wants to help me work on making it a full-length play to submit to a regional festival. Definitely didn't think playwrighting would ever be something I'd actually want to do, but I'm willing to give a try.

Thrillho · « **Reply #4723 on:** 03 Feb 2015, 06:55 »

That's one of the most inspiring things I've ever read, and I wish I could've seen your play. Sounds like you try to challenge your writing (or end up in situations in which it's challenged) in a similar way to how I do.

Carl-E · « **Reply #4724 on:** 03 Feb 2015, 09:12 »

Wow. That's fantastic!

--------------------------

Got the estimate on the van. Several hundred dollars. It's going to be a week or so, until we can get some money together, although a forum member made an offer of help I actually accepted.

We're ride sharing with a friend who drives a Nissan Juke that smells like cats.

The course I was going to start this month got delayed by another month because of a paperwork screwup. I want to get going on this! (an associates in accounting, so I can do some bookkeeping locally). Frustration abounds.

Welu · « **Reply #4725 on:** 03 Feb 2015, 09:50 »

That's brilliant, 94!

lepetitfromage · « **Reply #4726 on:** 03 Feb 2015, 12:25 »

Wow! Congrats on the play! That's great

Saturday was my last day working at ShopRite. It was bittersweet...It really was a great place to work and I'm going to miss my coworkers SO much but I'm excited about the opportunities to come. I'm also proud that I managed to pay off 2 big bills, which allowed me to consider resigning in the first place. It'll be a lot easier to make it on one job now that I'm down $300 in expenses each month. Of course, the majority of my student loans are also being deferred at the moment so when those come back into effect it'll be pretty tough to manage. But I'm confident that I can make it work. Right now, I'm most excited about the fact that I have 16 more hours in my week to myself! I've got plans for a ton of projects- home improvement, art, organization, working out, socializing, you name it...

I've already tackled 2 projects that were hanging over my head and made some serious progress with both. I finished 7 of the 10 window films that I wanted to put on our front windows (in this pattern)and I tackled the bathroom closet as well. It was a HUGE mess and now it's only a tiny mess haha. I'll hopefully be finishing that up tonight. Who knows? Maybe I'll have some pictures for the organization thread later if I manage to wrap it up tonight!

pwhodges · « **Reply #4727 on:** 09 Feb 2015, 04:29 »

Someone is using my name and address fraudulently right now. In the past few days I have received: (1) a refusal of a bank loan which I didn't apply for, (2) a request to visit a bank branch to verify my identity in relation to a credit card application I did not make, (3) an actual credit card which I didn't apply for (from the same bank as the earlier refusal).

The presumption, after talking to the banks concerned, is that the perpetrator is hoping to intercept my mail - possibly from my external mailbox - however, they've not done well with that, particularly as the credit card sat in that mailbox for three days while I was away this weekend.

I'm getting a credit report to see if any other applications have been made that I need to forestall.

Masterpiece · « **Reply #4728 on:** 09 Feb 2015, 05:08 »

Shit! Hope everything goes well with that!

Papersatan · « **Reply #4729 on:** 10 Feb 2015, 11:52 »

I didn't get that job I interviewed for, as they decided they wanted the position to be more of a "body in a chair" thing and I oversold my skills. They are talking to me about another position though which I have mixed feelings about. It is only part-time which is good and bad. It means I would have time to keep doing my research, but it will barely cover the bills. The actual work is interesting to me, but it is for our Entrepreneurship Program, which I have been critical of in the past, and I worry that taking this job will make me a part of an effort I don't support, and make it so I can't publicly criticise it. I raised these concerns, and the woman I talked to addressed them well. The team is two people right now, and the one I talked to has views much closer to mine, and says they see the same problems I do. In that regard it could be an opportunity to steer the program in a better direction.

I've decided I want the position, but it has been a difficult choice. Now, they will have to run it through HR and we'll see if all my deliberating even matters.

Carl-E · « **Reply #4730 on:** 10 Feb 2015, 18:42 »

Best of luck with that. Let's hope the part time position becomes, with your influences on improving the program, full time.

Yeah, I know. But it could happen!

BeoPuppy · « **Reply #4731 on:** 11 Feb 2015, 04:06 »

New computer has arrived. If I never make it to these fora then I am an idiot and could not figure internet out and stuff.

Wish me luck.

... well, that worked. Now, to learn what the hell windows 8 is.

Masterpiece · « **Reply #4732 on:** 11 Feb 2015, 05:55 »

Cue all the"Win8 is atrocious" posts

This message is coming from Tapatalk inside my phone!

Thrillho · « **Reply #4733 on:** 11 Feb 2015, 06:24 »

For most people, it is!

BeoPuppy · « **Reply #4734 on:** 11 Feb 2015, 06:47 »

It's ... certainly different. Quirky.

Carl-E · « **Reply #4735 on:** 11 Feb 2015, 06:48 »

I love that the plans are to skip 9 and go right to 10, probably denoted as Windows X...

pwhodges · « **Reply #4736 on:** 11 Feb 2015, 06:50 »

If you were to sit at my Windows 8.1 computers, you'd be hard pushed to tell that they are not running Windows 7.

cesium133 · « **Reply #4737 on:** 11 Feb 2015, 06:53 »

Quote from: Carl-E on 11 Feb 2015, 06:48

I love that the plans are to skip 9 and go right to 10, probably denoted as Windows X...

From what I've read, it seems the reason they skipped 9 is that poorly-written software tended to confuse it for Windows 95/98.

'kay, apparently I was told wrong. I ain't no professional software developer.

BeoPuppy · « **Reply #4738 on:** 11 Feb 2015, 06:53 »

I just ... fail to see the logic in this thing. I also sometimes fail to see the actual clickable things to end a program.

Masterpiece · « **Reply #4739 on:** 11 Feb 2015, 06:55 »

Quote from: cesium133 on 11 Feb 2015, 06:53

Quote from: Carl-E on 11 Feb 2015, 06:48
I love that the plans are to skip 9 and go right to 10, probably denoted as Windows X...
From what I've read, it seems the reason they skipped 9 is that poorly-written software tended to confuse it for Windows 95/98.

Untrue, but whatever.

pwhodges · « **Reply #4740 on:** 11 Feb 2015, 06:56 »

Quote from: BeoPuppy on 11 Feb 2015, 06:53

I just ... fail to see the logic in this thing. I also sometimes fail to see the actual clickable things to end a program.

It's designed for touch screens. If you want "normal" usage, Start8 is your friend (there are free alternatives, but hey, for $5 you get the original and supported version).

BeoPuppy · « **Reply #4741 on:** 11 Feb 2015, 07:03 »

Ah, that's it, no touchy-feely monitor on the desktop.

Thrillho · « **Reply #4742 on:** 11 Feb 2015, 07:12 »

Quote from: Masterpiece on 11 Feb 2015, 06:55

Quote from: cesium133 on 11 Feb 2015, 06:53
Quote from: Carl-E on 11 Feb 2015, 06:48
I love that the plans are to skip 9 and go right to 10, probably denoted as Windows X...
From what I've read, it seems the reason they skipped 9 is that poorly-written software tended to confuse it for Windows 95/98.
Untrue, but whatever.

You could just correct him

Masterpiece · « **Reply #4743 on:** 11 Feb 2015, 07:12 »

Quote from: Masterpiece on 11 Feb 2015, 06:55

Quote from: cesium133 on 11 Feb 2015, 06:53
Quote from: Carl-E on 11 Feb 2015, 06:48
I love that the plans are to skip 9 and go right to 10, probably denoted as Windows X...
From what I've read, it seems the reason they skipped 9 is that poorly-written software tended to confuse it for Windows 95/98.
Untrue, but whatever.

Let me elaborate. If a "poorly written software" asks for the Windows OS version, it will probably use the oldest still supported API call that exists for that task, namely GetVersion.
Thing is, that API call is depreciated and not supposed to be used. But idiots persist and so GetVersion is still supported, it just works differently than expected. Instead of returning the OS you're working on, it will check the Application manifest for supported OS versions and returns the value it finds there. If no application manifest exists, it will return Windows XP. The operating system lies to the application, if necessary, just so the application doesn't do anything stupid (like deciding it can't run because the OS version is too high), because most apps written for lower OS versions work fine for higher OS versions (and if they don't, there's still compatibility modes).

Masterpiece · « **Reply #4744 on:** 11 Feb 2015, 07:13 »

Quote from: Gareth on 11 Feb 2015, 07:12

Quote from: Masterpiece on 11 Feb 2015, 06:55
Quote from: cesium133 on 11 Feb 2015, 06:53
Quote from: Carl-E on 11 Feb 2015, 06:48
I love that the plans are to skip 9 and go right to 10, probably denoted as Windows X...
From what I've read, it seems the reason they skipped 9 is that poorly-written software tended to confuse it for Windows 95/98.
Untrue, but whatever.

You could just correct him

I was gonna, you just ninja'd me.

Thrillho · « **Reply #4745 on:** 11 Feb 2015, 10:08 »

Did you defend Vista when it was out, Masterpiece?

Masterpiece · « **Reply #4746 on:** 11 Feb 2015, 10:10 »

I hated Vista with a burning passion. That was the time of my Apple fanboyism.

pwhodges · « **Reply #4747 on:** 11 Feb 2015, 10:29 »

Further to my identity theft, I received a letter from yet another bank granting "my" £9000 loan today. But when I called them, they told me there was already a fraud investigation flag set on the account. Also, my pension advisor has been told today by one of my pension companies that they need some additional identification from me. These seem to indicate that the database I was put on a couple of days ago is actually having an effect.

Papersatan · « **Reply #4748 on:** 11 Feb 2015, 11:47 »

Quote from: Carl-E on 10 Feb 2015, 18:42

Best of luck with that. Let's hope the part time position becomes, with your influences on improving the program, full time.

Yeah, I know. But it could happen!

I wouldn't actually want this particular job if it were full-time or long term. I think it would be draining, and steer me towards a career I wouldn't be as happy in. That's a tough thing to say when I am unemployed, but I think I have a lot of potential to find a great job in the next few months (giving talks at two major events!), and I wouldn't want to be locked into this position. I'm actually anxious about taking it even part-time, because I worry that I will knock myself out of the running for relevant jobs that want to fill a position in the next few months by being off the market.

Carl-E · « **Reply #4749 on:** 11 Feb 2015, 17:04 »

Ooooh. Yeah. Definitely a deal killer. Unless you can just drop it with no remorse...

THESE FORUMS NOW CLOSED (read only)

Author Topic: Blog Thread 4; Live Free or Blog Hard - 'cos we all like blogging (Read 631087 times)