Okay, getting political. My new favorite npr program is A1. If you can catch the recording of today's show (5/12/17) Wow, just Wow. Although I do want a t-shirt that says something like Hello it's Country! not your Fing party that is important.
Printable View
Okay, getting political. My new favorite npr program is A1. If you can catch the recording of today's show (5/12/17) Wow, just Wow. Although I do want a t-shirt that says something like Hello it's Country! not your Fing party that is important.
I just tried searching for this. I found a podcast, and a "Friday News Roundup". Is that what I'm looking for? I have a road trip coming up and always looking for things to listen to.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sky King
OMG. I can't believe this thread is still going! Hahahah! :eek: I've been not really using my computer at all these days. And I've been trying to figure out if I can post here from my phone. If anyone knows how I can do that, it would be very helpful. I miss you ladies!
Hi! There's still a few of us here. I can read and post from my phone, though it's a bit of a challenge on a small screen. I just open the browser, to go the forum website and log in. It works pretty much the same as on a pc. I think others install the Tapatalk app and access the forum through that.
Ouch.
Ouch, the dentist is my least favorite way to spend time, ever.
Oh good! I so hate the dentist! Facing orthodontia and who knows what else at the dental torture chamber soon, so I totally feel your pain. I wish they could just knock me out every time I go in. That may be the best thing about my recent oral surgery. IV sedation. <3Quote:
Originally Posted by Muirenn
Glad you're feeling better, Sheila. I've got some dental work on the horizon -- I have a cracked tooth that hurts when I bite something the wrong way. I'm putting off dealing with it as long as possible, though. My dentist is also in no hurry to do anything about it as long as it doesn't hurt too much or too often, since putting in a crown may ultimately cause a need for a root canal.
The link is broken. $6k for a fixie? I'm not one to talk with our bikes though :rolleyes:Quote:
Originally Posted by Muirenn
Found it here http://www.pedalconsumption.com/2017...ah-track-bike/
Too bad about the sale to wallys. Maybe, they, Rapha, needed cash infusion.
Yeah, they need a cash infusion, because their stuff is so expensive, no one is buying it. I am not cheap, but I won't spend that amount of money.
According to an article in the ny times about the sale, Rapha has grown 25-30% annually for the last 11 years. The sale was about changing private equity firms from one with short-term gain ambitions to one that had good bicycle karma (Tom and Steuart Walton) and who are investing for a long-term future, like they have before in the bicycle community.
They do make some nice clothing but are more style-conscious than I need. eta...I doubt you'll see their clothing in walmart :)
Just to show how out of the consumerist culture I am these days, I've never even heard of Rapha! I could google it, but why? :cool:
I've heard that Rapha's stuff is actually nice, good quality. But too rich for my blood.
So, bad day today. I've been expecting layoffs at work. Many of us have been expecting it. Our client's new fiscal year starts soon. The software application we work on is very mature and in need of rewriting, but they haven't decided yet what direction they will go in, or maybe they have decided but are just moving very slowly. We've been in austerity/maintenance mode for a while now, and had a 20% staff cut a year ago. So, today more people were laid off. I've been here for almost 17 years, and some of the people I said goodbye to today have been here for 13, 15, 17 years. I was too busy this afternoon to really think much about it, other than to say goodbye and make sure I had their contact info. Now as I sit here, I feel sick.
Rumor is that we will be forced to take vacation/leave without pay in the next month or so because the funding does not exist to cover the rest of us in the short term. If true, for me this could mean having little or no time to spend with my parents at Thanksgiving and Christmas. I should know more early next week.
So on the one hand I'm glad I still have an income and health insurance, but uncertainty remains, as my programming skills are not up to date and there is no chance of getting good experience with more marketable skills as long as I work here. And I am sad.
So sorry to hear that NY! I hate how we can be so easily discarded.
I am sorry, NY. I hope you make it through this, without too much stress.
Don't write yourself off too quickly - my husband (an EE and embedded systems programmer) says that there are many things, especially in the embedded world - the things you don't see that run factory lines, power generation, etc. that use old programming languages that are in need of upkeep and updating - but the newly minted programmers aren't learning those languages anymore.... he says the newer languages don't require them to learn the inner workings of how data is stored and how to make code efficient - present your mature knowledge as positive point rather than a liability!Quote:
Originally Posted by ny biker
Hi NY biker,
Don't let circumstance dictate your path in your life. If you don't think you have future with current employer, brush up your resume and start practicing for your interview. Think of the questions you may be asked at an interview. How do you want to answer them. Or do you politely decline them. Think of your strengths and weaknesses. Are you willing to relocate, hours you want to keep, salary question. Salary question is always tricky so skirt around it and don't commit to any number. And keep in mind of compensation in your financial math, things like 401k matching or not or pension.
When I was laid off (what an euphemism for YOU'RE FIRED), I was fully expecting it. I was willing to make bets with my co-workers. That was about 8 years ago.
BE PROACTIVE!!
NY, I can relate to what you are dealing with. I went through the same thing at my company (where I'd worked since '85) in the years from 2001-2010, as I watched many friends, colleagues, and even my husband be laid off as the market contracted and the company became mired in financial (and eventually even criminal) struggles. I managed to hang on until I was ready to resign (early retire, but not with any kind of package) in 2010.
Over the years, I had a lot of sadness and survivor's guilt after lasting so long, while so many others (some much more talented than I, but in a more vulnerable part of the company, or a product line that got canceled) were let go. It was hard. I was worried about being laid off many times as rumors swirled. I too worked on a mature product, and my software skills were old-school compared to all the computer sci grads in the '00s, and even the 1990s. Fortunately, our product was high quality, and we had a strong customer base who wanted to retain their investment, so those of us who knew the "old stuff" were spared for a much longer time than some of the newer folks with the more marketable, in-demand skills.
As it turned out, it was good that I left when I did, as 8 months afterwards, my manager and most of my co-workers were finally let go. I was very fortunate to be able to afford to retire and not have to go back to school or figure out how to freshen my skills otherwise to continue working in software development. I have missed my co-workers and the comraderie, but never the work nor the office politics, nor someone else controlling my destiny, in the ensuing 7 years.
I hope you will land on your feet no matter what happens. You do need to prepare for the worst and plan your exit plan whether you get laid off or leave voluntarily at some point. And if you are able to stay there and the situation rights itself, then at least you'll be able to sleep at night knowing you have your ducks in a row. Please keep us posted!
Can someone explain to me the endless need men on forums have of repeating the BS that men are so put upon? "well, you better start with flowers because no matter what, you're wrong", "you'll just have to apologize for being a male and tell her she's right", "we're the only group (white males) left in America that's okay to make fun of". All those tidbits in less than two days on a couple of forums I'm on. Add to that multiple comments on how PC is ruining the country.
All I wanted was to glean some information about RV's. I was a separatist in the late 70's and early 80's, I am very strongly leaning that way again.
Perhaps low self-esteem, lack of emotional intelligence and a more narrow life focus. Personally I prefer helping women with low self-esteem caused by sexual abuse and victimization than dealing with the kind of men with low self-esteem on the net you’re writing about…I'm not on the net much but I do see some of it briefly on one site I post music and photography to. I just put the person on my ignore list so I don’t have to deal with their negativity or read their posts in the future.
Be the light Pax…..:)
I don't include people like that in my circle. Thus, I go on no other forums, except this one! The web seems to give permission for people to say things they wouldn't say face to face.
That said, I also don't like being around women who constantly bash males and make generalizations that sound like, "Well, he's a man, what do you expect?" It was rampant in the teaching profession. They would frequently say things to allude to the fact that my opinion didn't count, because my husband is "nice." Oy.
Most of my practice and the group I run consists of people experiencing trauma from abuse. Mostly women, but a couple of men, too. I can feel deeply for them and work with them, but it does not color my view of society in general.
This only supports my strong belief that is up to mothers of sons to instill feminist values and equality in their children. It amazes me how even younger people fall into traditional roles.
Things have gotten so much worse in recent months, they now have "permission" to be endlessly nasty. So, I walked away, I'll still get information but won't participate. Unfortunately that's how forums die, people read and absorb what they need, but don't contribute, it soon becomes a small echo chamber.
I'll move my energies back to the places I value, feminist/lesbian/women's groups.
Pax, have you tried the women's RV forum? It's not as thorough or active as the big RV forums (irv2 is where I get most of my technical info) but is much friendlier! That said, I am not active on any RV forums, just go to them if I have a specific question or research item.
http://www.womenrv.com/forum/
Emily, yes, I've been a member there for years, thanks! Some very knowledgeable women on that board.
Many belated thanks for your support, ladies. My situation at work has gotten crazier than ever. It's a long story so I'll skip to the end. I work on a big, complex, old internet application. It does not use cutting-edge technology. The bulk of my experience is with a programming language that is pretty much dead. I have tried to transition to working on other parts of the application with more commonly-used programming languages but for the most part have been prevented from doing so, because for some years now I have been the only person on the project who knows the dead language. I spend nights and weekends trying to learn the other languages, but that type of work just doesn't get assigned to me. It's been extremely frustrating.
So now, in the short term, we have funding cuts, which have led to layoffs for some and furloughs for the rest of us. I have to take about two weeks of vacation/sick time before the fiscal year ends on Sept 30. But out of the blue, an opportunity has arisen. The client wants us to work on something new that will be funded in the next fiscal year, and I'm on the team who will work on it. It's not bleeding-edge technology, but it involves more up-to-date things than the old complex application. Most of it will be totally new to me, so there will be numerous learning curves with a fair amount of stress. I was actually quite nervous about it at first. But then I realized -- if I am able to pull it off, I will be in a much more stable position, at this job or in the search for a new one. And if I fail, I'll just be where I am now. So other than some stress and late nights in front of the pc, I don't have much to lose.
On the financial front, things are still not entirely stable here, and it's possible there will be more cuts in the coming months. But at least I have something concrete to work on in the meantime. I'm hopeful, and looking forward to the challenge.
Good attitude, NY. It's an opportunity to learn.
And September is the best month of the year to be on vacation.
That's good news, NY. As you say, worst case scenario, you'll be no worse off than you are now. And usually worst-case scenarios don't come to pass! Chances are you'll gain some new knowledge and confidence and increase your marketability down the road. Good stuff!
I've been following Tesla, the EV vehicle company and its cars. Model 3 is touted as a car for the masses while both model S and X are classed as a luxury cars.
So I got an e-mail "RSVP and schedule a drive". Why not? A gal from Tesla calls and we chat. I say, "I'm not interested in Model S or X but definitely interested in Model 3. And I've already visited a Tesla store a while back". And on...
Today, we showed up. I reiterated, "not interested in Model S or X but only in 3..." No model 3 in sight. no ride in S or X even though I had asked for a driver to take us for a spin so I can get an idea of model 3's ride and interior noise. No ride... No new information on Model 3 except to tell me that options have been bundled so that if I want an upgraded battery to get 300+mile on a charge, it is now bundled with premium interior package with glass roof. cost balloons from $35,000 to $50,000. no brochure on Model 3.
So they wasted 2-1/2 hour of my time because they had no new information they could give me and they already knew that I was well informed on model 3. What was new was the bundling of options.
I'm thinking... $50,000 car is a car for the masses???
Am I missing something here? or has car prices jumped that much? I think when the 1/2 million people who have made reservation finds out that the car they want with the option they want is going to cost $$$, I think many will cancel. Too much hype on "cars for the masses" me think.
Our latest truck, a Nissan Frontier 4x4, isn't top of the line and is considered very old tech. And it still cost almost $30,000, which I think is insane, but that's is still a VERY far cry from 50k.
The base 3 does 220 miles on a full charge, which works well for what our needs would be. With our states growing fast charging network it could even be useful for some longer trips. One of the advantages of giving an early deposit for the model 3 was getting a 7500 federal rebate (which goes away after Tesla (or any car manufacture) has sold 200,000 pure EV cars) and here there’s a state EV rebate of at least 2500 and up to 5000 depending on income. Being the first state to get model 3 production runs helps too.
A 5000 state rebate for fuel cell cars like the Honda Clarity, which gets 300+ mileage, is another choice we’ve been thinking about since there are an increasing number of fueling stations in California now including three 24/7 ones within just a short drive from us.
California is about to add 3 billion to its rebate program. An additional 500 million will be added for rebates for disadvantaged communities, school and transit buses.
The average transaction price for a new car this year is 30,000+ according to a quick net search.
.
I was also going to say that it feels like the average price of a new car is 30k. It does seems higher than it should be, but that's what it is.
As my 10-year-old Prius nears 140,000 miles on its odometer, I am not happy to think about having to pay $30k for a new car when the time comes. I'm hoping it will be another couple of years before it needs to be replaced, but still. It took long enough to pay off this car, and it cost < $25k. (It is a great car and I'm very happy with it. It's nice to feel like a major purchase decision was a good one.)
NY, I bet that Prius will last awhile longer. Great cars!
Our last car, a Honda CR-V, cost around $27K. This was for the "middle" trim line in 2013. The economy line was $2K less, but I had to have an armrest. I always joked that it was my "two thousand dollar armrest", as that was the only thing I just had to have from the next trim line up!
If we were to buy a car now, we'd go with a late model used car from Carmax. If you're willing to buy a car just 1-2 model years old, you can save some $$ off brand new.
If I needed a new car now, I would want another Prius (they really are great cars). Last I heard there are not many used ones available, though that was a few years ago so maybe it's changed. I understand what you mean about the $2000 arm rest. I chose a more expensive option package on my car because I wanted the HID headlights. The other things that were part of that package didn't interest me so much. But it turned out that the auto-dimming rear view mirror that also came with that package is the best nighttime rear view mirror I've ever used -- it cuts glare amazingly well. I think when I eventually need a new car I will sorely miss that mirror. Also I will miss the stereo with the 6-CD changer, because yes I still prefer CDs!
What I really need for a new car is to bring my sister along to negotiate for me. She's way better at it than I am.
On another topic -- this morning I read about discounted prices at Whole Foods now that Amazon has bought them. I don't care. I still hate Amazon for putting good small companies out of business. In fact I may end up shopping less at Whole Foods in the future because of them.
The closest Whole Foods to me are all about 10 miles away (3 of them). The only one I've been in was in Boulder, in 2002! My smaller, local grocery chain store (there are 4) is fine for me, supplemented by local farms, a gourmet farm market/grocery, a very local natural foods store, and occasional trips to Trader Joe's for chocolate bars and lox. I don't mind paying for good food, because I see it as medicine for my body. But I can get what I need elsewhere.
Lower prices will be necessary to attract more customers. Perhaps it will help to educate more people about better nutrition, gmo’s, pesticides etc. and to see the value in natural and organic food. We get all our fresh organic food from the year round farmers markets here….We prefer to support the small farms/business’s in southern Ca. which also helps to keep our food dollars circulating through our communities.Quote:
Originally Posted by ny biker
I got a new phone in May. Ever since I got the phone, I can't stay permamantly logged in to TE. I keep checking the box to do so... I am wondering if it has anything to do with the Tapatalk app, which I keep x-ing out of signing up for. Perhaps this is their way of getting back at me for refusing to get the app? I tried it awhile back and hated it. Maybe it has nothing to do with my phone.
new app, learning new software... So even though I've retired from engineering work and designing those "computer" chips that create all those nifty gadgets. Writing low level coding from things called picocode to microcode to firmware development to things called RTOS...
Anyway, way back when SDI, aka star wars program, I was working as a researcher in thing called Expert Systems, a euphemism for AI. It really was not an AI in that it could not initiate its own learning. But today, using a language called Python and technology called Deep Learning, it has changed the landscape of AI. AI today is more than capable of learning from its own experience.
As for AI, what has it accomplished?
- It has beaten a world's top ranking go player where the strategy is infinitely more complicated than game of chess. Program from what I understand is that it created its own set of strategy not created by any human.
- It has beaten one of best American fighter pilot at simulated dog fight. Pilot said that the AI knew what his next move was and the pilot was defeated multiple times by the AI.
- Latest is the game of DODA, AI creators backed by Musk's neuralink company, said that it never taught any strategy to AI, Instead, it allowed to play against another copy of the same AI and improve its skill over two or so weeks. And it beat one of the best gamer of the DODA.
- And what was that thing by Amazon?? Alexa? speech recognition and parsing the meaning of what a person said. It's not the cutting edge of AI...
I'm on the side of Elon Musk and not with Mark Zukerburg.
Learning a new language, how about Python? I like Python, it beats things called BASH and shell scripting etc. Though I still prefer: Tcl, Lisp (now common Lisp) and Haskal. And yes Crankin, may be the App knows that you will eventually give up and sign-up. Maybe you need to clear out cellphone of its history.
Lots of good geek-talk, NY! I used to work in an RTOS environment and also knew a few things like shell scripting languages (mostly csh or ksh). Have heard of most of the other things you mention but know nothing about them. I was mostly a high-level langugage girl, but even our HLL was low-level compared to most, because of the environment...an older telephone switching system where we had to manage our own timeslices, do bit shifting, and such like. My DH was a firmware engineer and specialized in assembly language & microcode, so he was even geekier than I! :D