I can’t help you with that but it brought to mind a funny story. I was at a customer’s house doing some work and she was on a conference call so unable to be attentive. Her robot vac started working the bedrooms and bathroom where her catbox was and that glorious kitty had kicked out a sizable nugget that the robot grabbed and smeared all the way down the carpeted hallway and back.
The dumb motherfucker who did this was just a homicidal twat. There was no “reason” or manifesto that was given, it was just some whack-job wanting to kill lotso-people.
Gun control is a joke in America…I’m sad about that.
I think, based on responses indicating AI influence, that this is a a worthwhile filter/exclude keyword. I have only encountered the word while viewing /all and it is normally in the /garterbelt forum. Perhaps there is a bot a play?
WTF is actually up with these “civil warriors” who abstained? I live in TX and the general vibe is “if someone needs killin’ I’m down to do the deed.” Most people are generally willing to wade in to conflict if it happens upon them. How, TF, did these diaper-wearing sacks of tears manage to get their law enforcement credentials stamped?
If I ran away from my duties at work I would be fired immediately. They trained on their roles extensively - “how to neutralize an armed adversary, how to defuse an armed conflict situation, how to…for fuck’s sake keep a child from being shot by an idiot.” Every one of these cowards are still employed - whaat, the actual fuck, is up with that?!!
I wrote it to automate my workflow - I’m in sales. I enter site details at the customer location and my app crunches the numbers to pre-fill all relevant documents (contract, financing, etc) in PDF form. I also use it as a presentation device to explain service and product details/specs using pictures, videos and PDF documents.
No more paper, no more fiddling around with calculator and rate-cards. I do a little data entry and basically my job is done.
Oops, I’m sorry - I should have mentioned that it’s not on the App Store. It is chock full of company proprietary documents, photos and sales formulae. I wrote it just for myself.
The one I wrote myself to automate tasks at work. It has saved me hundreds of hours of tedium and makes my job so much easier. It only cost me a few weeks of learning (I am not a developer, just a tinkerer) to get it done. It lives happily on my phone and iPad and I use it every day.
The HR department at your company is the company’s advocate they are not your advocate.
If you haven’t already go get Reamde by Neil Stephenson. Slightly similar but less campy vibe - also enjoyed.
Streaming videos on my phone using speaker for audio while at the restaurant eating lunch. I figured for sure, everyone would want to get in on that awesome stand-up comedy action or zany talk show that I enjoy with my meal. It turns out that (gasp!) some people even think it’s rude…LOL.
Devil’s advocate here - as soon as you introduce monetization to the use of a service you have locked in it’s potential as an income stream which will inevitably lead to the downside you are afraid of.
Fediverse services being distributed means no central host has to bear the entire weight. I could probably take on all of the server load that I use if I repurposed my PleX server:
https://twitter.com/sandofsky/status/1592223884107218944
This is not about money, it is about control.
Here’s a hot take - they lose the appeal and the court draws their new districts according to law…sorry, your fascisism has been denied.
Double Feature: Ender’s Game (2013) and Starship Troopers (1997) - then we serve them a sumptuous shellfish tower to discuss their surrender over dinner.
My only concern about all of this is that Fallon’s Ben and Jerry’s ice cream flavor is the best one! I can also groove on Colbert’s but Fallon’s is the best. Don’t cancel Fallon’s ice cream please!
I’m going to be an outlier in my comment here but, for myself (an elderly dude who has done what you just did) I, personally, prefer to hire it done. You paid 2-3 hundred on parts and tools, put in 10+ hours of work and still have not got it working. I have come to appreciate the skill and ability of trades…they do that for a living - let them.
I’m really good at my chosen trade and I laugh at those that think they can just do my job because the watched a YouTube video about it. I fix their problems every day and charge them no more than someone who didn’t fuck it up first because I can appreciate the effort but I don’t charge them less because they did part of the work incorrectly.
TWA as a very young kid - I kept trying to pronounce it as a word and my dad was giggling and my mom and sister kept shushing me…I did not know why at the time.
I am not in the tech field but I love coding and learning new languages. I have for the last 25 years. When my actual (blue collar) profession starts feeling drab or boring my mind naturally starts drifting to find some problem to solve or some way of automating things just to keep me happy and engaged.
Batch scripts on MS/DOS, my first (floppy disk installed) Slackware box. REXX in OS/2. I worked through the animal books and played with Java, Perl, C - actually building tools that work and accomplish things.
Diving in to a new language or project is like discovering a new author you didn’t know about and the hours of joy it will bring me are fantastic and fulfilling. I guess you could say my hobby is learning.
I wrote a great iOS app to help me with things in my job and I use it all the time which saves me literally hours, making my work happier and more profitable. Best hobby ever and totally cheap too!
I’m glad you have someone to lean on - that’s what makes the difference for me. I also don’t do bro - hate sports, don’t like pranks. I don’t have many friends but the ones I have are solid and dependable. I see my best friend less than monthly but we talk several times a day to share work complaints, discuss food or what we’re currently binging on TV.
After reading the other replies I went back and re-read your post to check…you don’t mention a partner or any significant other. I think you might be focusing too hard inward (bad mood, cynical, walls up) and not focusing outward (cherishing interactions with others, forming or maintaining bonds with others). Perhaps you’re feeling lonely?
I am a grump but my wife won’t let me get away with it for long. I am cynical but my friends call me on it because I force myself to share. My work puts me in contact with new people every day and I actively seek an understanding of them and have to let them see who I am in order to be good at my job.
Another respondent said “put yourself out there”. I agree but would also add seek out interactions with others and be a participant not an observer.
I couldn’t find one that made me happy and finally decided to forget physical arming and disarming - I use companion app location (home/away) and automations to arm and disarm. All exterior doors have presence sensors near them and when armed home if presence is detected near a door it can be opened and the alarm is disarmed. I haven’t had an accidental trigger so far.