totm nov 2023 Thread to discuss negative things in a very general way, just see where it goes y'know?

[kerbiloid]

7 hours ago, cubinator said:

I am stressed out because I have so many things to take care of and I'm not used to failing at important things but I persevere anyway and I know I can make it and it will be ok

But also there might be a mass extinction within my lifetime

Spoiler

 

[Space Nerd]

I have to go to school for a month (7/15~8/16).

[Delay]

Given that I like older technology just as much as new one (I mean, I wish I had a DOS machine in my room), it would not be a surprise that I own a typewriter. Unfortunately I don't use it very often - and why should you in the modern times with computers - so I just now realised that uppercase characters are way too high, or lowercase letters too low. And then the offset seems to depend on the character: it seems that 'M' is higher than 'S' while 'm' and 's' are perfectly fine and on one height.

Guess I'll have to try and fix that tomorrow, if for no other reason than I don't want to have a broken piece of history in my possession.

[Selective Genius]

On 8/5/2019 at 6:19 AM, The_Cat_In_Space said:

You know you're not like anyone else, you can't have normal conversations, you just awkwardly stand there. It feels so degrading. Like you're less than everybody else. You know you can't magically change it, you just feel so hopeless, sad and alone. They're all talking and fooling around while you just stand there staring at the ground.. 

Well, I was in a worse position in school, I could not even keep up with my classmates' conversation. I had no real friends, they only talked to me when they wanted help in maths problems. I was fed up of this! Really fed up!

So, I started looking the speaker in a group in his/her eyes. It was unnerving at first, but soon I could look anyone in the eye without flinching, then I participated in an extempore competition. I was very scared, afraid that I would embarrass myself in front of my friends. But then I realized that I have NO friends... I had no obligation to maintain a social status. In other words, I could be shameless

I had an on-stage melt down, but my Dad cheered for me heartily! It was the first time I had the guts to speak in front of 100s of people. I joined a public speaking club where I met my FIRST friend. He was an introvert like me and we were coached by a senior student. Soon I started gaining confidence and my English became very fluent. And in my country, unfortunately, the worth of a person depends greatly on how well he/she speak English.

Needless to say, I got better at public speaking. The crowning moment was when I was reciting a poem on stage in a inter-school competition. It was a poem about a deity schooling a spoiled prince and threatening him with war and devastation if he does not mend his ways. From what I have been told by others, I sounded like a God (i.e scared the audience) when I recited the deity's lines and a rotten brat when I recited the prince's line. I turned into two different characters, basically. I won the competition and finally one of my shells broke.

I can now actively participate in conversations. Although I still run out of topics to talk about and there's this awkward silence. But it's manageable. The last(and the toughest) shell of the cocoon that I have to break is 'Highbrow flirting', and I will then become a social butterfly!!!

Its okay to be introverted but remember, connections matter in life. If you dont talk to people, you cant establish connections.

TL;DR: Participate in conversations, talk with other introverts. Cast your shame aside, and talk to guys and girls. It will be difficult, and you probably will embarrass yourself in front of those people like I did a lot. But don't be afraid, you have nothing to lose. (Sorry if this sounds harsh.)

[cubinator]

On 8/8/2019 at 1:56 AM, Selective Genius said:

snippy

I have had people comment positively on how I don't shy away from eye contact while talking with them. It's one simple step that can make you seem absolutely more amicable in just a few seconds of conversation.

[XB-70A]

Today, I had my tenth surgical intervention in twenty-seven years of existence     Fortunately, I only got a local anesthesia, but I'm starting to have more than enough of the "butcher's table"...

[StrandedonEarth]

32 minutes ago, XB-70A said:

Today, I had my tenth surgical intervention in twenty-seven years of existence     Fortunately, I only got a local anesthesia, but I'm starting to have more than enough of the "butcher's table"...

Yeah, I'm gonna be scheduling some of those soon, for cataract and carpal tunnel syndrome. 

[Shpaget]

Well, today didn't start of well. I washed something like $150 in my contact lenses down the drain, literally.

I just got off the phone with my optician, and apparently I had them for 9 years, so I suppose it was time to replace them anyway. I just wish it was on my terms. I do have a backup pair, so I can still navigate the world around me.

[TheSaint]

On 8/12/2019 at 4:32 PM, StrandedonEarth said:

Yeah, I'm gonna be scheduling some of those soon, for cataract and carpal tunnel syndrome. 

Oddly enough, I just had my cataract surgery this morning. Took a couple months between the initial consult and the actual surgery, because of various scheduling conflicts. But it's done now, and I'm sitting at home with my taped on eye shield and my fabulous sunglasses.

[Shpaget]

5 hours ago, TheSaint said:

Oddly enough, I just had my cataract surgery this morning. Took a couple months between the initial consult and the actual surgery, because of various scheduling conflicts. But it's done now, and I'm sitting at home with my taped on eye shield and my fabulous sunglasses.

I believe that in this situation you are legally required to talk like a pirate.

[TheSaint]

16 hours ago, Shpaget said:

I believe that in this situation you are legally required to talk like a pirate.

Well, after the first day I am only required to wear the eye shield when I sleep. So now I look less like a pirate and more like I broke up the Beatles.

[razark]

35 minutes ago, TheSaint said:

I broke up the Beatles.

Stay right there.  Torches and pitchforks are being handed out, and the viscous mob will be dispatched shortly.

[StrandedonEarth]

My wife got fired after just four months at the best job she’s had, as a “supervisor”. I put that in quotes because while that was her title, it basically meant extra responsibilities than the other grunts, but she couldn’t, er, wasn’t supposed to correct how her less qualified underlings did their job. Apparently it created a toxic environment and she was supposed to just let them do their thing. Her managers told her that they were the ones hired to micromanage (like WTH? shouldn’t management be looking at the longer view?). Supposedly, if she wasn’t getting the help she wanted from her (less qualified and new to managing) managers, she could take her case to head office. When she did that, she got canned, although her termination may have already been in the works at that point. As it turns out, the place is still toxic with her gone, because the young, less qualified underlings in other areas are badmouthing the older, more experienced and qualified workers  

Ah well, there’s a shortage in that profession in this town. She already has interviews and temp work lined up. She’s also thinking of leaving that industry altogether 

I suppose I should add that this is a new facility for a company that has several other similar facilities . She was hired for that center before it opened. All of the staff there are new to the company, because nobody at head office  wanted to commute to get it up and running properly.

I get the impression that a lot of young adults these days are delicate flowers that think any criticism is toxic. Unless they’re the ones criticizing, of course. 

Edited August 15, 2019 by StrandedonEarth

[TheSaint]

37 minutes ago, StrandedonEarth said:

My wife got fired after just four months at the best job she’s had, as a “supervisor”. I put that in quotes because while that was her title, it basically meant extra responsibilities than the other grunts, but she couldn’t, er, wasn’t supposed to correct how her less qualified underlings did their job. Apparently it created a toxic environment and she was supposed to just let them do their thing. Her managers told her that they were the ones hired to micromanage (like WTH? shouldn’t management be looking at the longer view?). Supposedly, if she wasn’t getting the help she wanted from her (less qualified and new to managing) managers, she could take her case to head office. When she did that, she got canned, although her termination may have already been in the works at that point. As it turns out, the place is still toxic with her gone, because the young, less qualified underlings in other areas are badmouthing the older, more experienced and qualified workers  

Ah well, there’s a shortage in that profession in this town. She already has interviews and temp work lined up. She’s also thinking of leaving that industry altogether 

I suppose I should add that this is a new facility for a company that has several other similar facilities . She was hired for that center before it opened. All of the staff there are new to the company, because nobody at head office  wanted to commute to get it up and running properly.

I get the impression that a lot of young adults these days are delicate flowers that think any criticism is toxic

From the sound of things, she must be really broke up about this turn of events.

[kerbiloid]

57 minutes ago, StrandedonEarth said:

Her managers told her that they were the ones hired to micromanage

Then they are micromanagers.

[StrandedonEarth]

16 minutes ago, TheSaint said:

From the sound of things, she must be really broke up about this turn of events.

I’m going to take that as sarcasm, cuz she’s thinking she’s better off out of there. It’s perplexing this all evolved. 

Im more broken up about it because her pay check was quite nice. Things are gonna be tight again 

[TheSaint]

Just now, StrandedonEarth said:

I’m going to take that as sarcasm, cuz she’s thinking she’s better off out of there. It’s perplexing this all evolved. 

Yes, sarcasm. (I'm actually surprised when people take me seriously on this board....) The one time in my life I was fired from a job I saw it coming a mile away. I already had my office packed and I walked out the door with a smile on my face. So I can relate.

Just now, StrandedonEarth said:

Im more broken up about it because her pay check was quite nice. Things are gonna be tight again 

Nah, don't sweat it. You're a smart guy, you'll sort it out.

[Lisias]

6 hours ago, StrandedonEarth said:

My wife got fired after just four months at the best job she’s had, as a “supervisor”. I put that in quotes because while that was her title, it basically meant extra responsibilities than the other grunts, but she couldn’t, er, wasn’t supposed to correct how her less qualified underlings did their job. Apparently it created a toxic environment and she was supposed to just let them do their thing.

Been there, done that. But I got "lucky", and solved it the only way it works. I quit. She (as me at the time) got into a terribly nasty situation: responsibility without authority. Having some training on PMBOK, I quickly recognized what your wife needed to learnt the hard way and knowing the aftermath in advance, I turned the table and did it at my least inconvenience, not their best convenience.

This is a loose-loose situation, there's nothing your wife could had done that would had prevented this outcome.

On the bright side, your wife did the second best thing about the issue: she stood her ground and got fired by trying to do the right thing. As the word spreads, this eventually will caught the attention of someone that knows the trade.

Once your current job is going down, you need to work thinking on your next one.

 

6 hours ago, StrandedonEarth said:

Her managers told her that they were the ones hired to micromanage (like WTH? shouldn’t management be looking at the longer view?).

Good managers pave the way for their led ones. Bad managers pave the way for themselves. These guys are social climbers, they need to manage every little aspect of the work so they can claim the merit for themselves.

 

6 hours ago, StrandedonEarth said:

Supposedly, if she wasn’t getting the help she wanted from her (less qualified and new to managing) managers, she could take her case to head office. When she did that, she got canned, although her termination may have already been in the works at that point.

She was framed. Bad management uses the feedback process to pinpoint dissidents and punish them. This company is over, you get what you promote - no one will ever try to ask for help about anything on that sheet perforation  again. The message was crystal clear.

On the bad side, once that nice piece of used paper  starts to hit the turbofan, she will be blamed for it for some time. There's not much anyone can do about, as trying to fight this, in my experience, usually lead to worst results. It's better to let them badmouth you on something that you did right (as it eventually will be realized), instead of defending yourself and taking the risk of the offenders looking for something that you may had be done wrongly on the past, and using it instead. And since everybody make mistakes, they will find something.

It's the reason the best line of action when you detect this loose-loose situation is to just leave, the fastest you can.

 

6 hours ago, StrandedonEarth said:

As it turns out, the place is still toxic with her gone, because the young, less qualified underlings in other areas are badmouthing the older, more experienced and qualified workers 

It's the only way they manage to "outperform" the "competition" - by getting rid of them until no one better stands. I will refrain on further commenting on this matter, as Forum rules forbids political discussions here.

In a way or another, the Company will face some really harsh problems in the near future. Boeing style. if by some reason this company works on something that involves Public Safety (transport, mining, construction, etc), find a lawyer and take some precautions on the matter as soon you can. I'm serious - better safe than sorry.

 

6 hours ago, StrandedonEarth said:

Ah well, there’s a shortage in that profession in this town. She already has interviews and temp work lined up. She’s also thinking of leaving that industry altogether 

These situations usually leave a foul taste on the mouth. I got a serious burn-out, took me almost an year to be fully recovered. Of course, money talks and from the professional point of view, it's better to be hired for some time when the bullets start to fly on the previous job on a Witch Hunt. This will shield her, as the current coworkers, by knowing her for some time by then, will be able to detect the badmouthing and the reasons behind it. If they are smart enough (and wants to), they can use it to steal some clients from her former employers by diligently (but discretely) informing the clients that some of the people that were there when things worked fine now work for them. It works. I see this happening all the time.

 

6 hours ago, StrandedonEarth said:

I suppose I should add that this is a new facility for a company that has several other similar facilities . She was hired for that center before it opened. All of the staff there are new to the company, because nobody at head office wanted to commute to get it up and running properly.

And this explains why the youngsters on management needed to get rid of her. She was the one risking getting into higher management as time passes, not them.

 

6 hours ago, StrandedonEarth said:

I get the impression that a lot of young adults these days are delicate flowers that think any criticism is toxic. Unless they’re the ones criticizing, of course. 

It's, really, an impression. The problem is a bit worse. Somehow, we, as a Society, are allowing a cast of people to weaponize social behaviour against other people as a way to get what they want.

It's, effectively, a new cast - as only them are allowed to use such weapons.

Edited August 16, 2019 by Lisias
now I fixed some bad grammars. someday, perhaps? :P

[Geonovast]

< 75% heatsink - IHS contact and two mounting points on only one side of the chip were apparently "Good enough" for Dell in the Pentium 4 era.

[Chel]

Anxiety + needles + assignment due = a complete mess, a person controlled by fear 

[Chel]

Update: Had a nervous breakdown including shaking, swearing, and crying, 

felt like I was going crazy and I just couldn't do it, am now at home still feeling like crap but a little better

[James Kerman]

I'm glad you are feeling a little better, @The_Cat_In_Space. As a youngster I used to suffer from anxiety attacks and can sympathise with the feelings you are experiencing. The best advice I got was that the mind can make things seem much worse than they actually are and when you feel that dreadful sensation coming on, try to breathe normally, remember that you are not alone and remember that whatever is driving your thoughts during this difficult time is usually the worst your mind can make of things.

Edited August 21, 2019 by James Kerman
Grammark

[richfiles]

Recent announcements, combined with both recent and not so recent (but consistent) bad behavior by Take Two make me worry. It drives me crazy that such an awful company like Take Two bought such an amazing game like KSP. I will gladly concede that they've handled KSP well enough in the past couple years, but they still do not have my trust. I've seen how they do things in relation to other games, streamers, and creators, and it always worries me. I hope my fears are entirely unfounded, but it still nags at the back of my mind.

I trust Take Two about as far as I could lob a Saturn V by hand. 

That said, I have some hope in this new team Star Theory. They seem passionate about KSP, and I think they will do a wonderful job... I said this elsewhere, but it bears repeating... I'm exited to see what Star Theory creates... But we can't forget who their publisher is, and who owns (and thus ultimately controls) the game.

My concerns over KSP's future nags at me. This especially sucks, cause it's distracting me, and I should be getting back to work...
I normally build 25 circuit boards a week for my job... I got 85 this week! 
Oof... I really need to get on that! Yikes!

[Geonovast]

10 minutes ago, richfiles said:

I normally build 25 circuit boards a week for my job

Go on....

 

Are we talking mounting components on PCBs, or full-on building with protoboard?

[Delay]

School servers are down, and I need to send an e mail until Saturday. But I won't be home for three days, so I can't access my PC and thus not my e mails.

Why do things have to fail when you need them most?

I wanted to write "I'll be gone for a day or two" as a cheap joke. I guess I still did.