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cgoddardon Ingo Molnar on what ails the Linux desktop

Ummm yeah they're also OS's for a completely different platform. That makes a pretty big difference.

cgoddardon Ingo Molnar on what ails the Linux desktop

Just because people who are trying to sell you something aren't using it doesn't mean it's dead.

I've been using Ubuntu for 4 years now, and the latest releases are more streamlined and usable than ever. The mainstream distros have come an extremely long way in being more user friendly to non-tech users.

Also I have mobile devices, but still end up using my desktop a whole bunch for two simple reasons: 1. when you actually need to type something of any length a full-size keyboard is wonderful 2. its nice not to have to squint at a smaller screen to see what's going on.

cgoddardon Advice needed: what's a destitute hacker to do?

Thank you this is very helpful.

cgoddardon Advice needed: what's a destitute hacker to do?

Thanks. Didn't mean to send anybody off on a LMGTFY quest but i do appreciate it.

cgoddardon Advice needed: what's a destitute hacker to do?

I'm really just pretty panicked. And although i haven't interviewed tons of places for programming jobs recently, the few that i have either ended up choosing another candidate or just left the position open, which hasn't done much for my self-esteem. :-/

If you have connections and can maybe help if you end up liking me sure I'd like to get together. I'm not the most fun right now given the circumstances but I can do my best. Other than that maybe we can just get together after this personal crisis is over? I'm really not overstating things and don't have much energy for casual get-togethers right now. That's not to say I wouldn't enjoy meeting up at a later date, so don't take this the wrong way! I appreciate the offer of support.

cgoddardon Advice needed: what's a destitute hacker to do?

I don't know where to find them. Can you direct me anywhere? I know basically nothing about this.

cgoddardon Advice needed: what's a destitute hacker to do?

Anxiety is my least worry. I don't want to get caught up in some sort of meta-anxiety about my anxiety. Once I'm done securing a more stable job then I'll see what I can do to fix the anxiety. :-)

cgoddardon Advice needed: what's a destitute hacker to do?

I mean the works alright. It doesn't suck. But work is work, and it's never been a reasonable thing for me to do one thing every possible moment and feel happy and balanced.

Trust me job and money is my biggest worry, and there's not many that are bigger than that. I'll leave the existential stuff until after I have the necessities taken care of.

Good to know the nutrition might not be that bad, at least relatively. ;-)

After reading some other threads on here I'm thinking that I should probably figure out about somewhere in the city to house in so that the car isn't an issue. I live out in the boonies right now, so soup kitchen would be a commute and maybe cost more than the actual food.

cgoddardon Advice needed: what's a destitute hacker to do?

I'm doing it because I can make a living that way. I'm sure that's why most people do their jobs. Not everyone does what they dream of, because society doesn't value all contributions equally, and some not at all.

Helping poor people with odd jobs and cleaning is actually something I'm passionate about, but it's also a good way to be pretty poor and destitute yourself.

cgoddardon Advice needed: what's a destitute hacker to do?

Thanks. I do try and enjoy cheaper things when I can. Nothing too active though, as that's more calories and higher food expenses (kidding, but only slightly ;-) )

cgoddardon Advice needed: what's a destitute hacker to do?

Thanks. Your advice is really helpful. I'll see what I can do about making sure my LinkedIn is up-to-date and such.

Craigslist also sounds like a good possibility too!

I don't think I qualified at any point for unemployment since I resigned, or at least that's my understanding. I'll see what I can do about benefits programs, but a lot seem based on income alone, or need paperwork that takes a while to acquire (record of monthly expenses? not sure what would count as a valid record, or birth certificate, which I don't currently have a copy of). Wish there was someone I could meet with in person to work through these things, but I don't know of any walk-in clinics or anything to help people like this.

cgoddardon Advice needed: what's a destitute hacker to do?

That's maybe a route I could take. I guess I always felt to freelance you had to be really good at selling yourself though, that there was a lot of competition, and I'm probably not the greatest at that.

I do have some pretty marketable skills: a fair amount of experience in PHP, Rails, Javascript, SQL, HTML / CSS.

I'd have no idea how to go about getting the first few clients though.

cgoddardon Advice needed: what's a destitute hacker to do?

I could get good coworker references from about 3-4 coworkers at my last programming job. I had one coworker even recommend me for a job at their current company, but I didn't pass their interview process, though they were only hiring for one position and said they wanted someone that was a perfect fit.

I guess I feel the gap in employment in tech is the bigger problem now (almost a year at this point).

That is reassuring to hear that not every employer is interested in a supervisor reference.

cgoddardon This American Life Retracting "Mr. Daisey & The Apple Factory"

Keep in mind Apple has some of the highest profit margins in the tech industry too. It can afford to make conditions better, but chooses not to, given company awareness of the practices of its overseas suppliers.

cgoddardon The Unwelcome Mat - How Not to Attract Tourists

This article feels completely fitting with the hacker mindset. It's about people having a bad user experience. Trying to fix inconveniences and unpleasant experiences seems right along the same lines as the hacker ethic and entrepreneurial spirit to me. I'm sorry if you disagree.

cgoddardon Paul Graham consistently says ‘um’ ~7 times per minute

This post and all the comments seems a little rude. This isn't a 4h or toastmasters feedback forum. Letting someone know they need to work on their public speaking skills is something better done in private. Whatever they were trying to communicate they were doing their best to communicate it at the time, and it's rude to focus on speech difficulties instead of content. Believe it or not some individuals have neurological conditions that prevent super-clear communication, but it's not a nice thing to point out outside of a venue designed to improve public speaking.

cgoddardon Paul Graham consistently says ‘um’ ~7 times per minute

When trying to improve public speaking skills this is a common thing to work on. It's certainly not easy at the start, but it is something that can improve a lot with practice, even for particularly nervous or fast-speaking individuals.

cgoddardon Paul Graham consistently says ‘um’ ~7 times per minute

Link please?

cgoddardon Solar panel made with ion cannon is cheap enough to challenge fossil fuels

When solar and wind power input is not meeting demand that seems like a good time to spin up the spare fossil fuel generators, at least as a transitional sort of thing. Maybe in the near future excess wind / solar power can be stored as chemical fuel, and burned during peak usage.

An 80% / 90 % cut in fossil fuel usage or higher would be a huge thing though!

cgoddardon It's not a talent shortage, it's a hiring problem

Maybe the problem is what you're looking for? All of these people you're interviewing aren't capable of being trained to do the job? They're just not smart enough for that or something?

cgoddardon Why Anti-Authoritarians are Diagnosed as Mentally Ill

Also the first part of your argument is ad hominem, and doesn't lend any logical support for his critique being invalid.

cgoddardon Why Anti-Authoritarians are Diagnosed as Mentally Ill

I don't see why a mental health worker's critique on the culture and practices of other professionals in the field wouldn't be valid cause for discussion. If someone observes corruption in the field they are working in, is it not valid to raise the issue for discussion before performing a formal survey on how widespread that corruption might be?

What type of evidence exactly would satisfy your requirement?

cgoddardon Why Anti-Authoritarians are Diagnosed as Mentally Ill

Your anecdotal evidence isn't very strong support. If someone had instead stood up in the group and told the manager he was wrong, would you believe the opposite, that not blindly following leadership was the norm?

cgoddardon Why Anti-Authoritarians are Diagnosed as Mentally Ill

What's the same? Not trying to be rude, but what point were you trying to make?

cgoddardon Why Anti-Authoritarians are Diagnosed as Mentally Ill

Maybe the problem isn't with you, but with the things you're being required to do. Maybe ideally it would be better for you to focus on doing the things you're especially good at and enjoy doing, rather than following arbitrary and impersonal directives on what you should do.

That's up to you to decide, but currently you're required to meet expectations in your life that maybe you're just not personally suited for, not out of any disability, but because your strengths are elsewhere, or maybe you're just not interested and would rather learn or focus on something else at that time.

The problem comes in thinking something is wrong with somebody just because they don't conform to expectations or are caused angst and turmoil through their nonconformity. It doesn't matter if it's the sufferer or the society that seeks it out. It is still misguided.

cgoddardon Why Anti-Authoritarians are Diagnosed as Mentally Ill

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deinstitutionalization

Granted letting people fend for themselves on the streets and be poor and destitute through financial marginalization isn't always a lot better.

cgoddardon Reddit: a necessary change in policy

It's not my understanding that there was actual verified child pornography on the site that wasn't being removed when it was discovered. There were photo groups on the site with questionably legal photos of clothed underage children.

I always assumed those Reddit groups were serving as honeypots to nab child pornographers once enough information could be gathered. I'd be really surprised if Reddit didn't have an information sharing deal worked out with the Feds like 4chan did a while back, considering the high visibility of certain groups like r/jailbait and the like.

My only thinking on the reason for this was that the bad publicity generated by the SA campaign was too much for the site. Once CNN picks up the story that your site is hosting child pornography, its probably best to reevaluate.

cgoddardon Dreamliner spells out "787" & Boeing logo over US during test flight

It's much more important to be environmentally conscious with the bigger stuff. One test flight isn't going to make the tiniest dent in worldwide carbon dioxide emissions. It's much more important to advocate for changes on an industry-wide and systemic level, rather than protesting one-off slightly wasteful novelties.

cgoddardon Startup dudes: Cut the sexist crap

It doesn't matter if you took personal offense or not, or even if Rebecca took offense. And i don't think anyone's personally attacking the guy that gave the introduction, because chances are extremely slim he meant to make any objectifying remarks.

But it's something that deserves to be called attention to. It makes some people uncomfortable, maybe not everyone, and does not belong in a professional setting.

Lets say instead the speaker was overweight, and now the person giving the intro, after plenty of appropriate compliments, makes a diet joke, or comments on their weight even in a non-judgmental respect. It is belittling and inappropriate. Commenting on people's physical appearance in a professional setting, not a casual social setting, is objectifying and inappropriate, regardless of if that person is good-natured enough to just laugh it off or not.

cgoddardon Startup dudes: Cut the sexist crap

Even if under certain circumstances it might be okay for that person from another company to say they find you very attractive, it is extremely inappropriate in a professional context and objectifies that person. Now rather than the audience focusing on the speaker's accomplishments and expertise, they are focusing on the speaker's physical appearance when they might not have before.

Sexism in the workplace can be really subtle, and the more that is let slide, the more hostile the environment becomes as a whole. A man or woman should not have to worry about dodging come-ons and propositions from their coworkers because of their physical attractiveness. It is extremely unpleasant and wears on a person over time.

Now if the gentleman giving the introduction was in the right environment, say a bar having drinks with said speaker, it is a lot more appropriate to let it slide that he finds her really attractive. But it is objectifying and belittling when given as an professional introduction to others.

And in what way are discussions about possible sexism in the workplace sexist, besides the fact that some commenters might say some pretty idiotic sexist things as counter-arguments? If this piece was written instead about racist remarks overheard in a professional setting, would you say addressing that racism with a blog post would be racist?