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loydb

625 karma · joined January 14, 2013

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

Computer, gaming and synth nerd. Austin, TX.

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loydb··on On the Unhappiness of Software Developers (2017)
Of the 219 factors causing unhappiness, I'm guessing 218 of them are 'constantly changing requirements' :) The last one is 'nobody refilled the coffee machine.'

edit: speeling

loydb··on Ask HN: Working as a software engineer for 5 years, I've forgotten all CS stuff
There needs to be an entire class devoted to working with Product Managers without killing anyone...
loydb··on Surfing the Gopherspace
He remembers the Old Ways.
loydb··on Ask HN: I realise data science is not for me and feel depressed
Finish that degree. With your math background, it won't be any problem to pick up the algorithm stuff you need to pass a whiteboard.
loydb··on Dwarf Fortress Steam Updates – Release Roadmap
I think Fall 2023 is way more likely than Fall 2022. The game would need to be in a close-to-release beta right now for a shipment 6-7 months from now IMO.
loydb··on Things you notice when you quit the news (2016)
I've done this periodically, I highly recommend it. I hadn't been looking at any news this year (other than pure tech news/game sites), but broke that streak this week to watch and see if Russia starts WW3.
loydb··on Ask HN: Where do you find your sense of purpose working in the private sector?
I work in the security industry. The products I work on help keep hundreds of thousands of people safer in an online world whose threat landscape is expanding daily. That sounds like a marketing sound bite, but it's absolutely true.
loydb··on Ask HN: Did I make a mistake jumping on the homestead bandwagon?
My homesteading fantasies were tempered by a real examination of the amount of hard, hard work and time every day that's required. It sounds like you might be happier with a house on a one acre lot within easy driving distance of a city, where you can grow a kitchen garden and maybe keep some chickens. A tech job can afford you that ability. Good luck.
loydb··on Ask HN: Strategies to land fully remote $250k+ job
So, I would describe that as a dysfunctional sales team. I've worked at everything from a 40-person startup to companies with over 100,000 employees. The sales engineers on the teams have been the ones with their hands dirty throughout the entire deal lifecycle, and the first ones on call in the weeks following going live to bug hunt.
loydb··on Ask HN: Strategies to land fully remote $250k+ job
If you want a base salary that high, move into Product Management or Sales/Sales Engineering. Maybe Data Analytics/Engineering if you're really good at math and find the right company.

Or, as others have said, start your own company.

loydb··on How songwriters felt watching the new Beatles documentary
Stevie Ray talked about learning amazing solos from Hendrix in his dreams, but he could never remember them when he woke up.
loydb··on Ask HN: Who is hiring? (November 2021)
Zimperium | variety of engineering positions | Remote or Dallas | Full Time | https://www.zimperium.com/careers/

We secure mobile. Join us.

loydb··on Online abuse: banning anonymous social media accounts is not the answer
Banning may not be the complete answer, but until we're allowed to shoot them, it will have to do.
loydb··on Ask HN: Recruiters want people who do side projects, yet contracts forbid them?
I just hired a junior UX designer in part because of their really cool side project. It's not something I was asking for or expecting in the job req, but I for sure looked at it when it was on their resume.
loydb··on China urges its people to struggle. Some say no
Jennifer Sherman's book _Those Who Work, Those Who Don't_, is a fascinating (and depressing) exploration of what this means, and the social changes that happen when men (mostly former loggers) can't signal their virtue via this kind of blue-collar work. Check it out.
loydb··on “Great resignation” wave coming for companies
Just lost out on a candidate who was in the 'talking with HR phase'. Their existing company offered a 100% salary bonus to stay for 12 months.

I'll hit them up again in a year :)

loydb··on Stealing Your Private YouTube Videos, One Frame at a Time
Really nice work! And good response from Google.
loydb··on Woman allegedly impersonated prosecutor, dropped charges against herself
This was amazingly well thought out for a meth head.

Points for effort.

loydb··on Amazon turned off customer’s Kindle account, blocking her from her books (2012)
This reminded me I hadn't ripped my Kindle library in awhile. Thanks.
loydb··on Microsoft to permanently close its retail stores
> Microsoft had all the cash in the world to make it happen. But instead, they put Candy Crush in the start menu.

And got rid of Pinball. :(

loydb··on LambdaMOO takes a new direction (1992)
I spent a ton of time on Lambda. Such a cool slice of computer history.
loydb··on An Oregon creamery making vodka from milk
I initially read the headline as 'crematorium' and was intrigued...
loydb··on The US Secret Service mistook a cyberpunk RPG for a hacker's handbook
They also put a quarter-million copies through the crazy expensive (at the time) laser jet printer that I'd just bought a few months prior, paying over $3,000. They kept it for 4 years, 364 days, the longest they could legally hold on to it without charging me with anything.
loydb··on The US Secret Service mistook a cyberpunk RPG for a hacker's handbook
The SJG raid had nothing to do with Sundevil. Totally different crew. The LOD raids (which SJG got caught up in) were driven by an ambitious district attorney from Chicago.
loydb··on The US Secret Service mistook a cyberpunk RPG for a hacker's handbook
> SJG's BBS was swarming with elite hackers.

Untrue. The BBS the hackers all hung out on was the one I ran called the Phoenix Project. There may have been a couple of people who were also gamers that hung out on IO, but they were there for the dice.

Source: Hi, I'm Loyd.

loydb··on The Elite Club That Rules the Diamond World Is Starting to Crack
Moissanite makes a beautiful stone.
loydb··on The Elite Club That Rules the Diamond World Is Starting to Crack
I'm an amateur gem faceter -- if you want something that's actually rare, choose a non-diamond colored stone. A ruby or sapphire is far more rare.

Personally, I advocate for lab created stones. It is flawless, you can get the exact color you want (I have something like 20 different colors of sapphire), and won't break the bank. You can spend your money where it counts -- paying for the skills of the cutter -- rather than on a chunk of rough that has been cut sub-optimally to maximize preserving the weight of the stone rather than the brilliance of the cut.

loydb··on China's housing glut casts pall over the economy
Maggie Shen King's book _An Excess Male_ is a really interesting speculative take on the long-term implications of this phenomenon. Strongly recommend, it's a good read.
loydb··on Ask HN: How do I earn more as a developer?
In the US, you do it by moving to a new company. Every significant double-digit percentage increase I've ever received was by changing jobs.
loydb··on The unlikely resurgence of Dungeons and Dragons
I am still running a campaign that started in 1979, with many of the same players. We can only manage once/month, because getting 8-9 adults together is a scheduling nightmare (thanks Doodle!), but we still love it just as much.
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