My trigger warning is I’m gonna pull the trigger on whatever shit I want to post and if you don’t want to read it, get off the damn blog.
Woohaa! Now we’re cooking with thermite.
Month: September 2024
Cov
Admittedly, I don’t know that many people but no one I know has had Covid in 8-10 months. No one at work has has, or on the team I run.
If it’s supposed to be ubiquitous, it’s doing a terrible job of showing up anywhere. Covidians are funny. Why do they want us to live in a constant panic state? What’s the point of it?
Cut
Y’all, what the hell is wrong with so many liberals that they support Hamas, who would gladly behead them and dump their body in the Mediterranean, but cannot bring themselves to support Ukraine?
It seems to be a desire for self-harm to a degree that is difficult to comprehend.
I See My Enemies
I wrote the below post because I am shaking my head about people concerned with Ukraine using thermite against the actual enemy as Russia bombs literal orphanages, grocery stores, and hospitals.
We see you.
Therm
Using thermite against the enemy and enemy positions in war is legal and is neither a violation of the Geneva conventions or even of standard military conduct. It is illegal, however, when the Russians use thermite (as they have been) against civilians.
The Ukrainians have been using it exclusively against military targets, mostly for area denial. I would be doing the exact same thing in their place, as distateful as it is. I do not care about distasteful, however. As I would, the Ukrainians care about expelling the enemy from their home. Using thermite is the right thing to do to achieve that goal, and the correct way to use that tool.
l33t
I still fail to understand why I should have to experience a worse user interface for me because other people have low IQ.
Look, I really don’t care. Computers were better when they prevented dumbasses from using them. Yes, I am an elitist. Never denied it. I would, however, be ok with them having a click-and-drool interface while I was allowed an advanced one.
But instead, they took away the powerful UI, put in place the drool-ready interface, and forced me to also use that garbage. Which tells me it’s actually more about restraining me than helping the mentally challenged.
Support
Clients refusing to work with off shore teams.
That’s a bargain not to have to work with offshore teams. I’d do it, too. When VMWare switched from formerly-US-based support to offshore, the quality dropped drastically. When I was running their products at scale back in 2009-2018, until the switch their support was great. Knowledgeable, prompt, reliable and frequently knew more than I did.
In 2016 or so when VMWare began to transition to overseas support, I always knew far more than the person giving me support. In fact, I often had to help the support person do their job.
So I just stopped calling them even though the hosting provider I was working for was paying VMWare $200,000 per year for support alone. Support that was not happening.
In general, any experience I’ve had with an offshore team, no matter from what country (because some people accuse you of racism if you don’t want to work with someone who doesn’t know jack shit), has been terrible. Maybe there is a good one somewhere but I have yet to run across it.
Contingent
NATO would as quickly as practicable destroy the Russian military completely (with conventional weapons) and annihilate Russia’s ability to operate any of their known launch sites and nuclear storage facilities. Might even take Moscow.
China would also probably invade. So let’s hope that Russia does not do that.
Muni
Mystery Munition Appears Under Ukrainian Su-24 Fencer Attack Jet’s Wing.
I do not recognize that or any component of it. It must be something the Ukrainians developed (modified?) on their own. My guess (as the article briefly discusses) is that it some sort of long-range drone cannibalized from other drones.
Interesting stuff happening in that terrible war.
Poll Lax
In an increasingly information-heavy age where news also spreads quickly, polls are self-influencing both directly and indirectly. Most likely, we should just not do them, or not release them publicly if conducted by campaigns.
Stok Up
I had been thinking about that. Russia is basically already a client state of China, even if it does not realize it. I wouldn’t expect an invasion like this to happen — Russia probably would use nukes in that case. But it’s something I’m absolutely certain Chinese leadership has been considering.
The origins of the steam engine.
My job is to watch dreams die. From 2011, still relevant. This was (mostly) Obama’s fault.
Forget Trump’s IVF promises. The GOP’s record shows contempt for fertility care.
Earth just sweltered through the hottest summer in recorded history.
The New Recruitment Challenge: Filtering AI-Crafted Résumés.
‘Silent killer’: Russia boosts grinding Donbas advance with chemical warfare.
Trump Wants to Hide His Attempt to Assassinate Mike Pence from Voters.
The mainstream press is failing America – and people are understandably upset.
We each have a Nazi in us. We need to understand the psychological roots of authoritarianism.
Progressive insurance ditches Texas after rising storm loss costs.
What’s the stupidest/most pointless interview-question you were asked?
Who Role
I think Sydney is a good choice, but even better would be Kristen Bell. She’d be perfect for that role.
To Win
And this is the side that clowns like Ian Welsh want to win. Inexcusable.