Roland's Merciful Modly Mash-up Random Banter Thread #221

[Peelee]

I feel like this thread is turning into nothing but hostile identity-politics, but I've been wrong about that before.

Nah. I love the Brits, Germans, and Finns. And they all love to joke on the Americans. So the world is perfectly balanced!

[Teddy]

Annoyingly my speciality is really in digital logic, and really annoyingly it's at the level of individual gates (my Final Year Project only started moving once I abandoned HDLs and designed the circuit manually). It's one of those areas that people don't quite need, but I'm good enough at it to make rather complex functions graphically instead of behaviourally.

FPGA programming? I know my employer at least could use more of those, and good optimisers too because of the spatial restrictions on FPGAs that make them quite unique in the field of programming. You would need a Swedish citizenship to even apply, though...

ION:
Sleep has really been scarce this week, and I think I'm averaging less than 5 hours a night now. It's starting to hit the levels where the head aches and nausea stop and things start turning interesting instead. As soon as the code gets a little bit understimulating, I'm instantly yanked off to the dreamlands. It isn't entirely easy to draw the line between reality, daydreaming and just flat out dreams.

Having a sobering discussion with my team leader about being reassigned effect immediately to a high priority to project which appeared more or less out of the blue did help me wake up toward the end of the day, though. It'll be a hectic handful of weeks ahead of me before the vacations.

*breathes in*
I'm really going to try and get a full night's sleep tonight. An actual full night, not just the six hours I've come to label as "full night" in order to not make my life sound too pathetic.
...
Anyone wanna place bets on how many hours I'll manage in the end?

[FinnLassie]

IT'S TEDDY. TEDDY!

Good to see you're alive, man.

[Teddy]

IT'S TEDDY. TEDDY!

Good to see you're alive, man.

Heeey Finn! Glad to catch you on the same page for once! Or maybe I was the one caught...
...
Yeah, it certainly looks like that.

I am indeed alive! I wish I was more present too, but I swing between the extremes of "busy" and "potato", and spend very little time in between. Also, I blame my work for having so little to write about in here. It's somewhat unhelpful when the most interesting parts of your life are the ones you're legally not allowed to talk about.

I see you're alive too, which is great! We should catch up some time!

[enderlord99]

Out of nowhere, I just remembered that there was a story-arc in the comic strip Monty where the main character had a crush on someone who claimed to be part of the Etterretningstjenesten.

One of the exchanges was "I didn't even know Norway had a secret agency" ... "Yeah, that's because we're actually good at it!"

[Sermil]

One, the Germans don't have a sense of humour!

Apologies to all the Germans on this forum, your national sense of humour is significantly better developed and more sophistocated than the American one.

How many Software Engineers does it take to change a light bulb?

Spoiler: Answer

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None, it's a hardware problem

I can make that joke 'cause I'm a Software Engineer.

[Peelee]

Finished making my tunic just in time for the Ren fair. Pretty pleased with myself.

[Tvtyrant]

Finished making my tunic just in time for the Ren fair. Pretty pleased with myself.

Can I see the tunic?

[Florian]

I feel like this thread is turning into nothing but hostile identity-politics, but I've been wrong about that before.

Nah, we´re at this for a while already, especially when it comes to food. That's just friendly banter.

@Teddy: Slept well? Working in a 4-shift-pattern has really ruined my natural sleep circle and my inner clock happens to wake me up at the same times, regardless whether I'm on or off shift. Sucks, so you have my sympathy.

[enderlord99]

especially when it comes to food.

Füd? Notte speling?

[Peelee]

Can I see the tunic?

Sure! I'll try to get some pictures up tomorrow evening. Back is killing me tonight. I'll toss out the pattern I used and my finished product (I used a way lighter weight fabric, so it's going to look a bit different. More comfy, though, and goes with the leather vest I got at the last fair).

[Teddy]

@Teddy: Slept well? Working in a 4-shift-pattern has really ruined my natural sleep circle and my inner clock happens to wake me up at the same times, regardless whether I'm on or off shift. Sucks, so you have my sympathy.

I got 6 hours, so while not as good as hoped, it's at least enough to feel fairly decent today. And my problem is that I'm a total night person and have very little encouraging/forcing me to go to bed in time, so I regularly overstay what is a sanctioned bed time for people with normal jobs...

ION:
The dandelions are really in full bloom. You don't want them in your garden, but seeing an entire field shine in yellow from millions of dandelion flowers is a pretty sight. Especially the horse paddocks are full of them, and there are quite a number of those along the train tracks of my morning commute. I feel I don't get to appreciate it as much nowadays as before, but I still find the spring greenery as beautiful as ever.

[Anonymouswizard]

Okay, serious question. How does somebody find someone?

Because online dating just doesn't work for me. Sending first messages is incredibly difficult for me, and when I do I have a 1/50 response rate at best.

Meeting new people in general isn't easy for me anyway. Whenever I've tried to go to a club or similar I've had the problems of it either being fat too noisy for me, or in a pub and as such far too noisy for me. So I haven't even made any new friends in almost a year, even as my old friends her harder and harder to meet up with.

[Florian]

Füd? Notte speling?

Don't talk to me about spelling or even pronunciation. My spelling is Autocorrect and my pronunciation is apparently so close to irish, that I regularly get positive feedback on my good "Oxford, even when you come from Ireland" when dealing with britons.

No, sire, foode is simply fun because of the amount of what got culturally transferred and butchered as part of the transfer, with both sides of the fence feeling they are talking about the legit article.

To give you a simple example: A certain kind of sausage is called "Vienna Sausage" all over Germany. Go to Austria, especially to Vienna, or make a detour to Switzerland next door, and talk about the same kind of sausage, you'll get the answer that this is a "Frankfurt Sausage" and doesn't have anything to do with Vienna.

Now the fun starts when two cultures/country claim the same name (and possible origin) for wildly different dishes.

[FinnLassie]

Heeey Finn! Glad to catch you on the same page for once! Or maybe I was the one caught...
...
Yeah, it certainly looks like that.

I am indeed alive! I wish I was more present too, but I swing between the extremes of "busy" and "potato", and spend very little time in between. Also, I blame my work for having so little to write about in here. It's somewhat unhelpful when the most interesting parts of your life are the ones you're legally not allowed to talk about.

I see you're alive too, which is great! We should catch up some time!

I am also in the potato and busy spectrum. My internship had so much **** that I can never talk about, and my work in the future will be that. Can't legally say about a lot of things that are integral to your work. Of course it's rather different in humanities than it is in technology, but the feeling of "I can't share this, ugh!" is likely a very shared feeling.

Every time people say "catch up", I just can't help but think "what, go fishing?"

Okay, serious question. How does somebody find someone?

My boyfriend spooked the hell out of me at an event. But I don't recommend that kind of a first encounter.

[Domino Quartz]

Now the fun starts when two cultures/country claim the same name (and possible origin) for wildly different dishes.

Like the word "Pfannkuchen"? I've read that in some parts of Germany, it means "pancake" and in other parts it means "doughnut."

That also reminds me of the Pavlova (a sort of great big cake-sized/-shaped meringue with a soft, fluffy interior, and whipped cream and chopped up fruit on it) - it was named after a Russian ballet dancer named Anna Pavlova. Both New Zealand and Australia claim to have invented it first. The funny thing is, the modern pavlova is quite a bit different to the first dessert to be called pavlova, and it's difficult, if not impossible, from the historical information currently available, to pin down a single origin for the dessert.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

I am also in the potato and busy spectrum. My internship had so much **** that I can never talk about, and my work in the future will be that. Can't legally say about a lot of things that are integral to your work.

It also makes it a ***** to pass interviews for future employment. "Tell me about your prior projects" is a reasonable opener to ask in an interview to gauge how well one knows one's field, and when all you can say is "NDA, NDA, NDA" its hard to prove competence.

Grey Wolf

[Teddy]

Okay, serious question. How does somebody find someone?

Because online dating just doesn't work for me. Sending first messages is incredibly difficult for me, and when I do I have a 1/50 response rate at best.

Meeting new people in general isn't easy for me anyway. Whenever I've tried to go to a club or similar I've had the problems of it either being fat too noisy for me, or in a pub and as such far too noisy for me. So I haven't even made any new friends in almost a year, even as my old friends her harder and harder to meet up with.

When it comes to looking for friends, I suggest joining clubs or societies for hobbies that interest you. My circle of offline friends would be pitiful if it wasn't for gaming clubs and a Tolkien society. Thanks to those, it's actually rather nicely sized.

As for romantic partners, I'm not qualified to answer that, really.

I am also in the potato and busy spectrum. My internship had so much **** that I can never talk about, and my work in the future will be that. Can't legally say about a lot of things that are integral to your work. Of course it's rather different in humanities than it is in technology, but the feeling of "I can't share this, ugh!" is likely a very shared feeling.

Yeah, not being allowed to talk in depths about your work is probably rather common. I do find it a little sad that I'm not allowed to take photos of the cute birds that land in the tree outside my window. Or of the rather magnificent mistletoe that grows on a small tree on the premises.

I hope that isn't bad ****, but the way...

Every time people say "catch up", I just can't help but think "what, go fishing?"

Did I say "catch up"? Of course I meant "ketchup"!

I wouldn't mind to go fishing, though. Staring at the water doing nothing at all for a few hours sounds quite appealing right now. Actually catching fish would be secondary, I could even skip the bait!

It also makes it a ***** to pass interviews for future employment. "Tell me about your prior projects" is a reasonable opener to ask in an interview to gauge how well one knows one's field, and when all you can say is "NDA, NDA, NDA" its hard to prove competence.

Grey Wolf

Yeah. With software engineers, you can at least do small code tests to weed out the worst cases, although I guess those get harder to make the more specialised the required competence gets.

ION:
I've been on a Bionicles nostalgia trip for the past pair of weeks. The old Mata Nui Online Games had a huge impact on my childhood, and I've basically been playing the soundtracks on repeat. It's... not very well remixed, but this Ride of the Valkyries remix gives me the shivers every time.

[enderlord99]

Why is it that sometimes, when I describe two things as "similar" peopple will assume I'm implying something about which came first and will respond "No, it's the other way around"

"Similar" is a reciprocal property!

[Peelee]

Can I see the tunic?

Don't judge my fatness.

Spoiler: Flat Front

Show

Spoiler: Flat Side

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Spoiler: Worn Front

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Spoiler: Worn Side

Show

That last one I could have held my arm out to the camera to get the sleeve slit better, but my wife didn't tell me until she was already nestled back in her bed and not about to get back out. Technically it's not completely done, I have to wash it to get the ink off and then re-iron all the hems down, especially the new slit ones. Also, the decorative stitching by the arm and neck slits really don't come off well in the pictures. Part of that is the fabric I used as well, though; it's significantly lighter than recommended (because the Ren fair is, well, soon and in the South), so not only does the fabric not flow like the original design, but it doesn't take that stitching as well.

Speaking of the original design, that's here. Don't know why they called it Fierce Deity Link tunic, it looks nothing like FDL's tunic, but it looked good enough for me to want to make it.

[Tvtyrant]

Don't judge my fatness.

Spoiler: Flat Front

Show

Spoiler: Flat Side

Show

Spoiler: Worn Front

Show

Spoiler: Worn Side

Show

That last one I could have held my arm out to the camera to get the sleeve slit better, but my wife didn't tell me until she was already nestled back in her bed and not about to get back out. Technically it's not completely done, I have to wash it to get the ink off and then re-iron all the hems down, especially the new slit ones. Also, the decorative stitching by the arm and neck slits really don't come off well in the pictures. Part of that is the fabric I used as well, though; it's significantly lighter than recommended (because the Ren fair is, well, soon and in the South), so not only does the fabric not flow like the original design, but it doesn't take that stitching as well.

Speaking of the original design, that's here. Don't know why they called it Fierce Deity Link tunic, it looks nothing like FDL's tunic, but it looked good enough for me to want to make it.

Looks amazing! I'm super jealous, now I want a tunic.

Is there more to the costume? I used to have a torc when I went to SCA as a kid.

[Peelee]

Looks amazing! I'm super jealous, now I want a tunic.

Is there more to the costume? I used to have a torc when I went to SCA as a kid.

Spoiler: Boots. Obviously not made by me. Mine are black.

Show

Spoiler: Belt. Obviously not made by me.

Show

Got a really awesome vest a couple years ago that started the whole thing, but don't have any reference images for that.

[LaZodiac]

Okay, serious question. How does somebody find someone?

Because online dating just doesn't work for me. Sending first messages is incredibly difficult for me, and when I do I have a 1/50 response rate at best.

Meeting new people in general isn't easy for me anyway. Whenever I've tried to go to a club or similar I've had the problems of it either being fat too noisy for me, or in a pub and as such far too noisy for me. So I haven't even made any new friends in almost a year, even as my old friends her harder and harder to meet up with.

It's taken me...like six or seven guys to find The One, and in that time someone died (deserved it) and someone's marriage was ruined (not mine). I'm only friends with two of these people otherwise.

So yeah um don't worry, you'll get there eventually. It just takes a lot of effort. You can hang in there.

It also makes it a ***** to pass interviews for future employment. "Tell me about your prior projects" is a reasonable opener to ask in an interview to gauge how well one knows one's field, and when all you can say is "NDA, NDA, NDA" its hard to prove competence.

Grey Wolf

One could argue that you had to deal with NDA stuff means you were good? At the very least you can direct them as references. "I'm not legally allowed to speak about my time there, but they can still present about my character."

[Peelee]

One could argue that you had to deal with NDA stuff means you were good? At the very least you can direct them as references. "I'm not legally allowed to speak about my time there, but they can still present about my character."

Don't know how Canada is, but in pretty much the entire US, no they can't. Or, at least, won't.

[DataNinja]

It's taken me...like six or seven guys to find The One, and in that time someone died (deserved it) and someone's marriage was ruined (not mine). I'm only friends with two of these people otherwise.

...I dunno if I've said this before, but, man, do you live an interesting life.

[Florian]

Don't know how Canada is, but in pretty much the entire US, no they can't. Or, at least, won't.

Basically all over continental Europe, companies / employers are bound by the law to give testimony about current or former employees, mostly in the form of a written letter of recommendation.

Way back when I was a rookie in the field of IT, I used to work for a company that was a subcontractor for the secret service and parts of the defense ministry, so the whole screening and signing of NDA thingies. When the company went under and I lost that job, my letter of recommendation more or less consisted of three letters:
- One letter from my former chef confirming length and level of the job, as well as an assessment of me as a person and my abilities. "Florian worked for three years (start to end date) as a Project Manager in the field of Hardware Development, leading an international team of 30 engineers and developers, most of them in India, Vietnam and Russia. Florian never failed to deliver on a project and always executes them below any given budget, both monetary and time, but is unwilling to cooperate with other Project Managers".
- Two letters, one each from secret service and defense, simply stating project date and job level, then cleanly announcing what type and level of security clearance it would take to get their full letter of recommendation on the job.

A standard NDA lasts for a decade and that's, well, back two decades by now, so I can talk about certain stuff, like early trial runs of facial recognition software in prisons or conventions.

...I dunno if I've said this before, but, man, do you live an interesting life.

Truth be told, I´m rather horrified by that statement.

[Fyraltari]

Not to self: do not piss off Florian.

[LaZodiac]

...I dunno if I've said this before, but, man, do you live an interesting life.

My life is utter boredom interspersed with random fits and starts of pure chaos. Y'all remember that time my sister locked me out of the house in the rain? Or that time she drew a knife on me and my response was to glare at her so hard that she dropped it and curled into a ball? Or that time she tried to throw my mother down a flight of stairs?

there's like, an actual decade between all of those events all told, by the way.

Basically all over continental Europe, companies / employers are bound by the law to give testimony about current or former employees, mostly in the form of a written letter of recommendation.

Way back when I was a rookie in the field of IT, I used to work for a company that was a subcontractor for the secret service and parts of the defense ministry, so the whole screening and signing of NDA thingies. When the company went under and I lost that job, my letter of recommendation more or less consisted of three letters:
- One letter from my former chef confirming length and level of the job, as well as an assessment of me as a person and my abilities. "Florian worked for three years (start to end date) as a Project Manager in the field of Hardware Development, leading an international team of 30 engineers and developers, most of them in India, Vietnam and Russia. Florian never failed to deliver on a project and always executes them below any given budget, both monetary and time, but is unwilling to cooperate with other Project Managers".
- Two letters, one each from secret service and defense, simply stating project date and job level, then cleanly announcing what type and level of security clearance it would take to get their full letter of recommendation on the job.

A standard NDA lasts for a decade and that's, well, back two decades by now, so I can talk about certain stuff, like early trial runs of facial recognition software in prisons or conventions.



Truth be told, I´m rather horrified by that statement.

Florian: I worked on facial recognition software decades ago and likely known secrets that could shatter your mind

Also Florian: LaZodiac's mystery past scares me.

No judgement, I just find this hilarious.

[Knaight]

You clearly haven't had their pies.

The pies are the one thing they can do right. I'll grant that there's an argument to be made that Australia took that art and refined it, but there are some impressive baked goods. Now, if the word "boil" ever comes up for British food you know the situation is about to deteriorate.

[Florian]

{Scrubbed}