Stuff. Not good. Not bad. Just...stuff.

[Spritenaut 32]

I probably shouldn't laugh at  that.  We live in WV.  Apparently, people in my wife's office today were debating whether or not West Virginia should end the current teachers strike by firing all it's teachers and hire "teachers from the Philippines, because other states are doing it."  Um, sure, that couldn't possibly turn out badly.  

Wife works for WVU School of Medicine, which I would think has a fairly low # of idiot rednecks roaming the halls.

I actually kinda want to see the state try that, just to see what would actually happen.  I'd probably be less curious if I had a kid in the public school system, but my youngest goes to private school and is almost ready for college.  Actually, no one that i can think of in my immediate family has attended public school.  I'm part of four generations of catholic school kids.

[Zimbra]

I try to be a good person and respectful of people's boundaries, but somebody just yelled at me on another forum for triggering them by posting a picture of a chubby corgi. 

The internet is just so much sometimes.

[J.T.]

Well, I just received word that I am going to get a phone interview with Ft. Belvoir on Wednesday morning. 

I posted it here instead of the Really Swell News thread because I don't want to jinx myself by being too optimistic.

If I get the job, then I will blabber on profusely in RSN about how the grass looks particularly greener that afternoon.

[JLSigman]

I HATE THE FUCKING TIME CHANGE.

 

that is all

 

Good luck, JT!

[J.T.]

4 minutes ago, JLSigman said:

Good luck, JT!

Thanks, home girl! And much love to my well wishers!

Yeah, I am pretty nervous.  The interview is with US Cyber Command, so that may mean a bump in my clearance so I will have to go under the microscope again for a Top Secret / SCI.  Not the most comfortable thing you can endure.

I also hate the time change.  Very irritable today.

[J.T.]

My interview last Wednesday went pretty well, or at least it felt like it did.  I'm on pins and needles right now waiting to hear the final decision of the hiring board.

[Contentious C]

Every time I find a pair of shoes I enjoy enough to buy again, the company stops fucking making them. Thanks, Clarks. Thanks, Timberland. Stupid assholes.

[Technico Support]

Just a reminder...Toys R Us going out of business sales (thanks, vulture capital firms!) are supposed to start today

 

 

[Red is Dead]

Same for the UK - lets just tsay they dont know how to run administration sales. 15% off things isnt an administration sale if you're going out of business.

 

whack it up to 50% and we'll exchange card details.

[Contentious C]

I finally did something smart for the first time in 2018 - I deleted the Injustice 2 Mobile app. 

This was clearly turning into a second job of sorts, what with how horrendously grindy the game tended to be. Plus they dropped raids into the mix, and, hey, big shock, all the other people involved in that game mode are even worse video game addicts than me and won't. Ever. Shut. Up. about trying to get to the next tier and the next tier and the next tier, instead of simply being happy with good rewards. Had a shitty first fight, and when the group leader decided to A: tell me shit I already know and B: treat me like I'm not already my own worst critic, I decided it was time. It should have been time 6 months ago, when I punched a phone to death. But, I'm an addict.

Seriously, though, fuck that game, fuck all the other games like it that prey upon operant conditioning and perpetually move the goalposts, and do the wise thing, if it's you: get far far away. Unplugging really isn't the worst thing in the world. I didn't even bother telling any of those people goodbye, or to leave in an orderly fashion. I just deleted it all. It's better that way. It isn't worth the bullshit, it isn't worth the money spent on it, it isn't worth the anxiety or rage or any other thing that ends up being the real by-product of this shit.

 

[PetrolCB]

On 3/19/2018 at 5:07 PM, Contentious C said:

Every time I find a pair of shoes I enjoy enough to buy again, the company stops fucking making them. Thanks, Clarks. Thanks, Timberland. Stupid assholes.

That, or they completely ruin the design. I used to love my black Jack Purcell’s back in high school (‘04). When I wanted to get another pair recently, I noticed they’d fucked it all up. They’re thin, unpadded, and the soles are baby blue. 

[Death From Above]

10 hours ago, Contentious C said:

I finally did something smart for the first time in 2018 - I deleted the Injustice 2 Mobile app. 

 

I am not familiar with this game, but this became my experience pretty much with MMO's when I played Star Trek Online.

There are things I miss about it. Being able to fool around in the Star Trek universe was amazing. I loved getting to write backstories for my own characters and having my own ships, and by the end I'd wound up in a cool group of players that were relatively old for gamers, laid back, really into the subject matter, and just generally the right kind of people to play a game like that with. Not being experienced with MMO's I really didn't know how to find a good group for a long time, and I wish I'd found at least that part of it sooner. They were cool people.

But goddamn, it got to the point I was logging on to do *work*, actual work for 2-3 hours beyond just "playing for fun" to advance utterly meaningless goals towards stuff where, like you say, you know they are just going to move the goalposts again anyway. I quit cold turkey for my own sake years ago and have never gone back. It's for the best, at least for me. That sort of game is just not something I should do.

I play a dumb amount of games, but I absolutely will not do "work" to play one anymore. It's not healthy. They are for fun, and if they aren't fun, don't play them.

[OSJ]

Maybe I've missed out on something, maybe I haven't... The closest I've gotten to any type of multi-player gaming was way back in like 1986-87 (had to be before '88 as I recall there being lotsa beer involved and I quit in '88), anyway, Kathy and I and two friends were going to play D & D, as a huge fan of fantasy/horror/sf the game had a great deal of appeal to me, Kathy also loves the genres, but is more about the films than the books, but anyway, she was completely down with the concept as well. 

So we spend all afternoon and the better part of the evening rolling up characters and drinking beer, I realize that over six hours have passed and we seem no closer to actually PLAYING the game than we were when the conversation started at the Storeroom Tavern before moving to our apartment, we are also out of beer and this is making me rather testy as the tavern is right across the street and we have funds for another case of Rainier Ale. But no, Wade insists we must finish setting things up before taking a break... This consumes about another hour when we mercifully break for beer. 

Some time and a few beers later, Wade is still nattering on about the scenario he's going to create (having played before he was naturally appointed dungeon master), I'm trying desperately to ignore him as I've now had my fill of dwarfs, elves, wizards, and warrior-maidens. I realize that it's now after ten o'clock and I have to work the next morning, so we sort of usher Wade and his wife (who's name I can never remember), out into the night still happily droning on about nests of owlbears or some such shit and we arrange to get together the next Saturday to continue. As I drift off to sleep I resolve that anytime I put this much time and creativity into something, it's going to be in prose format that I get paid for. When the following Saturday rolls around we are elsewhere. So much for my gaming experience.

[Contentious C]

D&D seems to be like that. I knew a guy who kept trying to rope me into playing, and even went so far as to buy me the Dungeon Master's Guide as a graduation present, but it holds no appeal for me, either. The extent of its value is that of a jumping-off point; I feel like if I wanted to just see what sort of crazy thing I could come up with, I might dig through the guide a little bit, see what rules and setups intrigue me, and then write up something that goes a whole other direction. 

Then again, I've seen more mileage out of night terrors and fever dreams, so who the Hell need's someone else's rules?

[NikoBaltimore]

On 3/23/2018 at 1:29 PM, Contentious C said:

I finally did something smart for the first time in 2018 - I deleted the Injustice 2 Mobile app. 

This was clearly turning into a second job of sorts, what with how horrendously grindy the game tended to be. Plus they dropped raids into the mix, and, hey, big shock, all the other people involved in that game mode are even worse video game addicts than me and won't. Ever. Shut. Up. about trying to get to the next tier and the next tier and the next tier, instead of simply being happy with good rewards. Had a shitty first fight, and when the group leader decided to A: tell me shit I already know and B: treat me like I'm not already my own worst critic, I decided it was time. It should have been time 6 months ago, when I punched a phone to death. But, I'm an addict.

Seriously, though, fuck that game, fuck all the other games like it that prey upon operant conditioning and perpetually move the goalposts, and do the wise thing, if it's you: get far far away. Unplugging really isn't the worst thing in the world. I didn't even bother telling any of those people goodbye, or to leave in an orderly fashion. I just deleted it all. It's better that way. It isn't worth the bullshit, it isn't worth the money spent on it, it isn't worth the anxiety or rage or any other thing that ends up being the real by-product of this shit.

 

I just got back into Marvel's Contest of Champions and while the gameplay itself is pretty fun I'm not sure how long I can put up with all the stuff needed just to get a worthwhile reward.  Right now I'm in an alliance where doing the basic stuff is fine.  But in the past I was in one where they kept wanting me to do menial stuff and it was too much for me at the time.  The game is still incredibly "grindy" but I'm hoping I fare better the second time around.  I'm just perfectly happy with fucking around on a free game and not worrying about daily quests.  My co-worker on the other hand is obsessed with it and was talking to me about it like it's actual work.  It's cool he has 5* characters and all but I'm not going to obsess over it like he does, it's just not worth it.

[Contentious C]

I think I tried playing CoC for about an hour, and my experience was that it was even worse than Injustice 2 in terms of grind. So take that for what you will. 

[Red is Dead]

So....

 

I've been pretty miserable at work for the past six months. I work as a helpdesk manager for a pharmaceutical company specialising in trial master files (the documentation surrounding drug-testing) and theres been a restructure of the business recently. My line reports retired/moved on within the company and I was promised (by my old director) that they'd be replaced. They brought in a new person....but above me. Then the director was taken by our venture capitalist investors to run a different project somewhere else. And the new people brought in have basically relegated me to be a first line responder. I'm a manager in all but name. 

Made my feelings known to the line manager. Her way of dealing with it was to put me before HR saying they're "worried about my performance and negative outlook" because I was asking valid questions about my role within the company, and when I was going to get an update about my line reports. So they wanted to put me on a performance review. However, they noted that it was a difficult and demeaning process to go through (their words in the letter to me) and gave me the option to leave with a semi golden goodbye as it were. 5k to fuck off. Told them no. It's not about the money, (c) Jessie J, but its about being given the opportunity to prove myself in front of the new management. 

Fast forward again, and they want to remove manager from my job title as I no longer manage anyone. Told them no, due to the fact that I havent received prior word about my situation, have not received adequate response in regards my job role, the reasons why replacements have been taken away from me, and frnakly, the humiliation of being downgraded from a manager to an engineer. They didnt understand why I didnt want to help. Which sort of explains the problem within the company. My ultimate response is that I would get trade unions involved in the issue. They've not provided a response to that.

So...

I WANT OUT. And I may have found it - got a job interview for a service desk manager based in london lined up for tomorrow. preparing like a fucking madman. Want out from here in the worst way - theres no career progression. which is a shame, because I enjoyed doing this job. It allowed me freedoms I didnt otherwise have. But time's up. Time to move up. Time to move on.

So....

yeah. endrant.

[Technico Support]

Shit, good luck @Red is Dead.  Tip for anyone: as soon as your work situation looks like it's heading south, go ahead and polish up that resume and start looking.  Doubly so if HR gets involved and starts playing their little games.  Tip #2: NEVER trust HR.  They are only there for two reasons.  1) to placate the worker bees by making you think you have someone on your side.  2) to protect the company from lawsuits and/or employees who are going to make trouble.  These things go hand in hand.  You go talk to HR about a problem.  They use that info to gauge how much of a problem you are going to be, and then they act accordingly.  Seriously, never go to HR about anything.  Even if you're in the right.  Just leave.

Caveat: unless you're 10000% in the right, have something actionable, and have a good lawyer and lawsuit money.  Then go ahead and sue their asses off.  Aside from that, make like Chris Washington and get out.

[Red is Dead]

Thanks Technico. Appreciate it.

They're re-doing contracts at the moment, all to do with changes in law and changes in holidays. mine has just been voided as my job title will change. unbeknownst to me. no consultation, nothing. 

On the plus side - phone interview went very well and I'm through to the final round next friday at 11am. The interviewer liked my confidence, knowledge, innovation, application and questions I had about the job. Fingers, toes, hairs, lymph nodes crossed, ladies and gents. 

 

[Mike Campbell]

Sounds promising RID, I'm crossing all of the above for you!

[(BP)]

My wife took me to a sensory deprivation float therapy place for date night tonight. I was mostly just familiar with it from The Simpson's. 

It was incredible. I can't remember the last time I've been this relaxed. 

[odessasteps]

7 minutes ago, (BP) said:

My wife took me to a sensory deprivation float therapy place for date night tonight. I was mostly just familiar with it from The Simpson's. 

It was incredible. I can't remember the last time I've been this relaxed. 

Check out Altered States, the early 80s movie that centers around them. 

[(BP)]

4 minutes ago, odessasteps said:

Check out Altered States, the early 80s movie that centers around them. 

I forgot about Altered States! Even when I was in the pool, I was thinking someone should make a horror movie about it. I can personally report no regression to a primal Neanderthal state...yet. 

[Zimbra]

That reminds me that I have a gift certificate for a float place that the wife got me for Christmas.  Maybe I'll try and use that this weekend.

[Red is Dead]

On 29/03/2018 at 11:25 PM, Mike Campbell said:

Sounds promising RID, I'm crossing all of the above for you!

Good way to finish off the weekend - get my first archery medal (>194 points at 20 yards over 3 dozen arrows)

Best way to start a post WM Monday? Getting a call from the company who interviewed me to say I was head and shoulders above the other candidates and they want me to start as soon as I can.

So ultimately this shit fest of a year is about to get a WHOLE lot better. Even if does mean commuting into the big smoke.