Octopus Overlords

Posted: **Wed Aug 24, 2016 12:05 pm**

9 Military Sayings That Will Get You Laughed Out Of A Job Interview

Posted: **Wed Aug 24, 2016 4:54 pm**

MHS wrote:Cross-posted from Facebook:

Kidney update: I'm trending poorly. Since dropping below 30% function last August, they have me on a "monitor every 90 days" schedule. I actually had a big jump UP from last August to last November, but then it's been dropping ever since. My kidney function has been as follows:

8-13-15: 27
11-9-15: 35
2-18-16: 29.5
5-12-16: 27.5
8-18-16: 24

Even though you can technically be put on a transplant waiting list once you're at Stage 4 kidney disease (which I am, the cut off is <30), most nephrologists wait until you're around 20% since insurance won't cover it until then. Which makes NO SENSE to me, as it seems like the odds of a transplant being successful would be higher if you're healthier, but I'm not an MD, so what do I know?

In layman's terms, on a scale of 1-100, a normal 46-year old female would be at 99% for kidney function. Since I only have 24% of my kidney function, the toxins that kidneys are supposed to filter out end up building up in my bloodstream and wreaking havoc. I have joint pain, muscle pain, nerve pain and damage, weakness, fatigue, difficulty breathing, and am developing heart problems due to my consistently elevated blood pressure. My cognitive function is declining (that probably bothers me worse than the physical stuff, and the physical stuff is no picnic), which is normal for this stage, and I've developed hyperparathyroidism.

If I continue trending downward 2-6% every 90 days, as I have been since last November, I'll be eligible for a transplant or need to start thinking about dialysis sometime next year, probably. Dialysis doesn't really fit with my plans in life, so I'm hoping not to have to go that route. We'll see.

Meanwhile- send some good thoughts my way if you have some to spare, and if you're not an organ donor, please think about becoming one! People like me (and Kayla!) may have our lives depend on it someday.

Sorry to hear this, you have my prayers.

Posted: **Wed Aug 24, 2016 4:58 pm**

I am wishing and hoping the best for you, MHS. Please stay strong.

Definitely an organ donor here.

Posted: **Wed Aug 24, 2016 5:26 pm**

Since my wife cut the cord to cable tv they haven't stopped bothering us with offers to rejoin. We get one a a week in snail mail and more in email. I pay $59 a month for internet. We used to pay $180 total for tv and internet. Now they always offer the same stupid deal....$79 for both together. Not gonna happen. Even wit ha free DVR and shit by the time they add taxes and hidden fees its well over $100. Getting tired of them. Im tempted to call them and tell them for $50 total Ill sign back up

EDIT: Me and my wife both are organ donors. Not sure these days how great my organs are. I seem to now have high blood pressure that I dont treat and I haven't had my thyroid medication in 2 months with no end in sight.

Posted: **Thu Aug 25, 2016 4:18 am**

When you wash the dogs blanket do you think they appreciate it?

Posted: **Thu Aug 25, 2016 4:49 am**

Absolutely not. But I know that *I* appreciate it.

Posted: **Thu Aug 25, 2016 8:36 am**

Daehawk wrote:Since my wife cut the cord to cable tv they haven't stopped bothering us with offers to rejoin. We get one a a week in snail mail and more in email. I pay $59 a month for internet. We used to pay $180 total for tv and internet. Now they always offer the same stupid deal....$79 for both together. Not gonna happen. Even wit ha free DVR and shit by the time they add taxes and hidden fees its well over $100. Getting tired of them. Im tempted to call them and tell them for $50 total Ill sign back up

WOW used to give me new customer pricing every time I complained after it expired. They have long since stopped. Now I'm up to over $100 for basic cable and crappy Internet. I need to just quit and let them beg to have me back for two years. Oddly enough, the biggest problem with that is that I have 14 years of email contacts through their email account that I am simply too lazy to divorce myself from.... Maybe this weekend... $100 a month for stuff I barely use is just too much but inertia is such a strong thing.

Posted: **Thu Aug 25, 2016 10:09 am**

The kicker is she still watches everything she did with cable its just through internet now. She doesn't miss anything.

Posted: **Thu Aug 25, 2016 11:38 am**

Daehawk wrote:The kicker is she still watches everything she did with cable its just through internet now. She doesn't miss anything.

We dumped cable almost a decade ago. We've only had the internet, Netflix, and Amazon Prime. We're never at a loss for content to view, and I don't miss every show being injected with 26 minutes of commercials.

Posted: **Thu Aug 25, 2016 12:13 pm**

Paingod wrote:
Daehawk wrote:The kicker is she still watches everything she did with cable its just through internet now. She doesn't miss anything.
We dumped cable almost a decade ago. We've only had the internet, Netflix, and Amazon Prime. We're never at a loss for content to view, and I don't miss every show being injected with 26 minutes of commercials.

Me, too. I haven't lived in a house with cable since 1992, and I've rarely missed anything I really wanted to see.

I don't even remember what TV ads are like.

Posted: **Thu Aug 25, 2016 1:27 pm**

Holman wrote:II don't even remember what TV ads are like.

Sometimes funny, mostly a horrific waste of everyone's time.

What fun - I deploy a new laptop to an executive user, and he's got questions.

Exec: Where's my favorites bar?
Me: Your last hard drive died and took all your data with it, including your favorites.
Exec: Where's Firefox? Why am I looking at Google?
Me: I set Google as your home page. You're using Firefox to see it.
Exec: How do I set MSN as my home page?
Me: <shudder> Here, I'll show you.
Exec: What are all these favorites? Where are mine? <points to MSN banner ads for Microsoft apps>
Me: Those are MSN's ads, not a favorites bar. Here's how we can set up the favorites for you to see that bar.
Exec: So where are my favorites? Like (this site) and (that site)?
Me: We have to add them each like they're new because that was lost. <goes to (this site) and adds it to the favorites bar>
Exec: Oh, okay <clicks back to "Home"> Why isn't that here in the favorites bar? <points at the MSN banner ads for Microsoft apps>
Me: Those are just ads for Microsoft products; it's built into the MSN page and I don't think there's any way to get rid of it.
Exec: Oh, well, I'll play with it later... <leaves>
Me: <back at my desk, I remote into his laptop and start installing more layers of internet security>

Posted: **Thu Aug 25, 2016 4:59 pm**

LordMortis wrote: $100 a month for stuff I barely use is just too much but inertia is such a strong thing.

you'd think you'd want to save aggressively, as you might have mentioned something at some point about retiring early.

Posted: **Thu Aug 25, 2016 5:22 pm**

Huh... It turns out that "macaroni and gravy" isn't as weird as it sounds. Props to Paulie Walnuts for setting me on the road to enlightenment.

Posted: **Thu Aug 25, 2016 5:58 pm**

Max Peck wrote:Huh... It turns out that "macaroni and gravy" isn't as weird as it sounds..

that qualifies as 'casserole/hotdish' in my home state.

Posted: **Fri Aug 26, 2016 1:41 pm**

Thanks to DISH I haven't seen any CBS programing in about 3 months now.

Posted: **Fri Aug 26, 2016 3:34 pm**

"It's a win/win for everyone."

This may be edging out "could of" on the list of stupid things that drive me nuts.

Posted: **Fri Aug 26, 2016 3:48 pm**

coopasonic wrote:"It's a win/win for everyone."

This may be edging out "could of" on the list of stupid things that drive me nuts.

It is what it is.

Posted: **Fri Aug 26, 2016 4:15 pm**

Isgrimnur wrote:
coopasonic wrote:"It's a win/win for everyone."

This may be edging out "could of" on the list of stupid things that drive me nuts.
It is what it is.

I'm just talking out loud.

Posted: **Fri Aug 26, 2016 4:16 pm**

It's hilarious when you contact someone outside your organization with a work-related question and they indicate they're happy to help you on a part-time or contract basis. No, that's not how this works.

Posted: **Fri Aug 26, 2016 4:18 pm**

That commercial often runs through my mind and is sometime very hard to filter out from coming out of my mouth.

Posted: **Fri Aug 26, 2016 4:35 pm**

It's taking all my energy to not respond with it. If you don't want to answer my question (!) you can just say that. Don't counter with suggesting I hire you. It's a first.

Posted: **Sat Aug 27, 2016 1:03 am**

this is for YK

Posted: **Sat Aug 27, 2016 2:25 am**

hitbyambulance wrote:this is for YK

Ah, the Doctor Demento show! That was appointment radio in its day. Midnight on Saturdays IIRC.

Posted: **Mon Aug 29, 2016 7:17 am**

It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever.

<Sigh>

Posted: **Mon Aug 29, 2016 7:56 am**

A pretty neat knife holder.

Posted: **Mon Aug 29, 2016 11:10 am**

So it turns out if you put almost a litre of oil into a lawn mower engine that only needs about 100 mils, bad things happen.

Good to know.

Posted: **Mon Aug 29, 2016 11:40 am**

How did almost a liter even fit???

Posted: **Mon Aug 29, 2016 12:18 pm**

stessier wrote:How did almost a liter even fit???

Good question.

I was expecting "why on earth did you put so much in?!" to which I was planning on answering "Because it let me!"

I honestly don't know how it held so much oil. I've since drained it of all but the little bit it needs.

Posted: **Mon Aug 29, 2016 1:20 pm**

http://motherboard.vice.com/read/a-new- ... everything

The right to repair stuff? I remember growing up, everything came with an owner's manual that showed you how that thing was built and what you needed to do to fix it when it broke.

Now all we have is youtube when you're lucky (and don't get me wrong. Youtube + repairclinic have saved me a lot of money).

Anyhoo, thought it was interesting that a lobby is forming.

Posted: **Mon Aug 29, 2016 1:40 pm**

I've been keeping an ancient pair of JBL floor speakers alive for almost 3 decades now. I just buy foam kits and refoam the speakers when the previous surrounds start to rot. And they're not even high end speakers by any definition. I'm just oddly obsessed with seeing how long these things will continue to work.

Posted: **Mon Aug 29, 2016 1:55 pm**

hepcat wrote:I've been keeping an ancient pair of JBL floor speakers alive for almost 3 decades now. I just buy foam kits and refoam the speakers when the previous surrounds start to rot. And they're not even high end speakers by any definition. I'm just oddly obsessed with seeing how long these things will continue to work.

Sort of by your own admission they have already failed and you have repaired them multiple times.

Posted: **Mon Aug 29, 2016 2:01 pm**

In 1992 I was backpacking in New Zealand. My Walkman stopped working. The headphone connection broke. I took it to a repair shop. The guy pulled it open and soldered the connections. Worked like a charm. $2 US.

If I'd been in the US, I'd most likely have had to buy a new Walkman for ~$35. Or I could have sent it off to be repaired, maybe; though that probably would have cost even more.

Posted: **Mon Aug 29, 2016 2:06 pm**

LordMortis wrote:http://motherboard.vice.com/read/a-new- ... everything

The right to repair stuff? I remember growing up, everything came with an owner's manual that showed you how that thing was built and what you needed to do to fix it when it broke.

Interesting. I never really thought about it on a larger scale and I'm glad someone finally did. People should be able to attempt their own repairs, and small businesses should be allowed to provide service, without corporations creating a structure that only benefits them when it comes time to fix something that breaks.

TheMix wrote:In 1992 I was backpacking in New Zealand. My Walkman stopped working. The headphone connection broke. I took it to a repair shop. The guy pulled it open and soldered the connections. Worked like a charm. $2 US.

If I'd been in the US, I'd most likely have had to buy a new Walkman for ~$35. Or I could have sent it off to be repaired, maybe; though that probably would have cost even more.

This morning I had to replace a fan inside a Dell Laptop. Their service department wanted me to send the laptop off to their service team for 1-2 weeks so they could fix it under warranty. I decline and suggested I knew how to unscrew things. They warned me that I was about to undertake a dangerous enterprise and would void my warranty completely if I caused any damage. No problem. Send me the fan. 6 screws out. 6 screws in. Done.

It seems like as the years tick by, the insides of anything electronic keep getting simpler. It'd be foolish to tell me I couldn't, under any circumstance, take out those 6 screws myself.

Posted: **Mon Aug 29, 2016 2:17 pm**

Paingod wrote: It seems like as the years tick by, the insides of anything electronic keep getting simpler. It'd be foolish to tell me I couldn't, under any circumstance, take out those 6 screws myself.

unless you're talking about the electronic components themselves. SMT components are super difficult, if not impossible, to work on unless you have proper equipment for it (like a microscope).

Daehawk wrote:
hepcat wrote:I've been keeping an ancient pair of JBL floor speakers alive for almost 3 decades now. I just buy foam kits and refoam the speakers when the previous surrounds start to rot. And they're not even high end speakers by any definition. I'm just oddly obsessed with seeing how long these things will continue to work.
Sort of by your own admission they have already failed and you have repaired them multiple times.

there's a fine line between 'repair' and 'regular maintenance', but it's there.

Posted: **Mon Aug 29, 2016 2:19 pm**

Typically you void the warranty by opening the case. I find it hard to believe that the company was cool with you tooling around in there as long as you didn't break anything.

Which is not a criticism of you. I'd absolutely void the warranty and fix it myself, most of the time.

Posted: **Mon Aug 29, 2016 2:22 pm**

hitbyambulance wrote:
Paingod wrote: It seems like as the years tick by, the insides of anything electronic keep getting simpler. It'd be foolish to tell me I couldn't, under any circumstance, take out those 6 screws myself.
unless you're talking about the electronic components themselves. SMT components are super difficult, if not impossible, to work on unless you have proper equipment for it (like a microscope).

Maybe that's why it's easier. They don't just tell you to bust out the solder. You have to order a whole new component and it clips into place. Even the fan, above, was built right into the heatsink and had thermal paste pre-applied. The hardest part of the install was determining which way the plug connected, and that's only because it was so tiny and the slots were hard to see in somewhat dim light.

GreenGoo wrote:Typically you void the warranty by opening the case. I find it hard to believe that the company was cool with you tooling around in there as long as you didn't break anything.

Which is not a criticism of you. I'd absolutely void the warranty and fix it myself, most of the time.

Heh. Me too... but yeah - they just warned me that any damage to the unit caused by my repairs would void the warranty, not that I was voiding it entirely. They left the ticket open for me to report back on the completion so they could close it out. I simply wasn't cool with sending the thing off for 2 weeks for someone to spend 5 minutes fixing it and run the strong risk of getting the hard drive back wiped out or something. This is the third time, maybe, that Dell has simply sent me parts covered under warranty after confirming that they've failed.

Posted: **Mon Aug 29, 2016 2:29 pm**

Stuff that used to be repaired no longer is. Most times its cheaper to buy a new one. Other times theres just no one who fixes stuff any longer around. Id love to have my 3 space heaters fixed but it would cost more than new ones. Same with a AC or a microwave.

Posted: **Mon Aug 29, 2016 2:40 pm**

When they made it impossibly difficulty to change the headlights on cars, I said nothing...

Posted: **Mon Aug 29, 2016 2:54 pm**

Smoove_B wrote:When they made it impossibly difficulty to change the headlights on cars, I said nothing...

Oh, you want to change the headlight? No problem, first you have to take off the fender...

Posted: **Mon Aug 29, 2016 3:08 pm**

GreenGoo wrote:Typically you void the warranty by opening the case. I find it hard to believe that the company was cool with you tooling around in there as long as you didn't break anything.

Which is not a criticism of you. I'd absolutely void the warranty and fix it myself, most of the time.

Because I have premium NBD onsite warranties for all of my Dells, short of a MoBo replacement, they're more than happy to have me rip stuff apart and RMA me a part to keep from having to pay a tech to be here tomorrow. Lenovo, OtOH, rarely want me ripping their machines apart. I think in all of the years I've been working with them, they've directed me rip apart their thinkpads without sending someone onsite exactly twice.

Octopus Overlords

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