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Vlad!
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« Reply #2680 on: February 24, 2009, 06:34:12 PM » |
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There are a few dangers of growing a long beard that aren't self-evident when starting the process. For example, zipping one's beard up in one's jacket can be a particularly painful experience...
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If you don’t have freedom as a principle, you can never see a reason not to make an exception. There are constantly going to be times when for one reason or another there’s some practical convenience in making an exception.
rms
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Ian
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« Reply #2681 on: February 27, 2009, 08:34:46 AM » |
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I can only dream of beardness at this point. And I'm almost 20  |
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dgp11776
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« Reply #2682 on: March 10, 2009, 01:04:12 PM » |
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Unexpected phone calls from your 3 1/2 year old daughter really improve the quality of an afternoon!
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Vlad!
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« Reply #2683 on: March 10, 2009, 01:18:31 PM » |
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Unexpected phone calls from your 3 1/2 year old daughter really improve the quality of an afternoon!
I guess it would depend on the content of the phone call. "I made an oopsie and mommy is out of the house" would probably not improve the quality of anything, be it your afternoon or the carpet. |
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If you don’t have freedom as a principle, you can never see a reason not to make an exception. There are constantly going to be times when for one reason or another there’s some practical convenience in making an exception.
rms
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Vlad!
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« Reply #2684 on: March 17, 2009, 03:42:52 PM » |
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It's convenient when a word can be typed using only the left hand, because that means the right hand can remain on the mouse (it's incredibly serendipitous that the word 'test' can be typed using only the left hand, since the qwerty keyboard layout was designed before either the personal computer or the mouse was invented). It's also very nice that 'wget' can be typed using just the left hand. I'd say at least once I week I copy something with the mouse, switch to a terminal window, and type 'wget' with my left hand while pasting the thing with the mouse hand. I wonder if the people who named the command did that on purpose? [1] I read somewhere once that the longest word which can be typed with only the left hand is 'stewardesses'. I am pleased to announce that the collective mass wisdom of the internet has dispelled this pernicious myth, as seen here. I will admit that I have yet to find an appropriate conversation in which to interject the word tesseradecades, but believe me, once I do I will let you know (the word means "groups of fourteen"). [1] wget is a command that downloads something from the web. It's standard on Linux and (I think) Mac; you can get it for Windows here. For my fellow nerds: I'm sure that curl or aria2 can do a better job...but can I type them with the left hand? No? Then shut up. |
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If you don’t have freedom as a principle, you can never see a reason not to make an exception. There are constantly going to be times when for one reason or another there’s some practical convenience in making an exception.
rms
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enemy anemone
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« Reply #2685 on: March 17, 2009, 04:15:39 PM » |
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I have thought off and on about how much I like such words. the one I seem to type most often is "sweater".
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bethany
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« Reply #2686 on: March 26, 2009, 01:31:50 PM » |
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In more UPS weirdness, check out this tracking info: http://tinyurl.com/cd266fCan't say I've ever seen "natural disaster" as a reason for delayed packages before. |
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Vlad!
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« Reply #2687 on: March 26, 2009, 01:50:23 PM » |
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In more UPS weirdness, check out this tracking info: http://tinyurl.com/cd266fCan't say I've ever seen "natural disaster" as a reason for delayed packages before. It shows as 'delivered' for me. I've seen several awkward statuses, including one where they put the package on the wrong truck by mistake. I don't think I've ever personally had a package delayed by natural disaster, but there were some of those making the rounds on the internet back when Katrina hit. |
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If you don’t have freedom as a principle, you can never see a reason not to make an exception. There are constantly going to be times when for one reason or another there’s some practical convenience in making an exception.
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bethany
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« Reply #2688 on: March 26, 2009, 02:25:19 PM » |
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It shows as 'delivered' for me.
I've seen several awkward statuses, including one where they put the package on the wrong truck by mistake. I don't think I've ever personally had a package delayed by natural disaster, but there were some of those making the rounds on the internet back when Katrina hit.
You have to click "view package progress." |
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Vlad!
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« Reply #2689 on: March 26, 2009, 02:28:57 PM » |
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You have to click "view package progress."
Ah, I see. It's probably a good idea for them to have delayed the shipment; I seem to recall reading a bit ago of a FedEx plane that pulled a faceplant in some East Asian country recently. |
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If you don’t have freedom as a principle, you can never see a reason not to make an exception. There are constantly going to be times when for one reason or another there’s some practical convenience in making an exception.
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Vlad!
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« Reply #2690 on: April 03, 2009, 02:01:58 PM » |
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MS Outlook is awesome  (For the less technically-inclined, that is a screenshot of Outlook owning my work laptop HARD). |
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If you don’t have freedom as a principle, you can never see a reason not to make an exception. There are constantly going to be times when for one reason or another there’s some practical convenience in making an exception.
rms
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spacebrat311
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« Reply #2691 on: April 03, 2009, 02:32:47 PM » |
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I may be the most awkward leaver of answering machine messages that I know.
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Vlad!
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« Reply #2692 on: April 03, 2009, 04:06:34 PM » |
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I may be the most awkward leaver of answering machine messages that I know.
I rarely leave answering machine/voicemail messages. If I'm calling, I want to talk to the person right now. If I have to do communication asynchronously, I prefer to do it over e-mail. |
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If you don’t have freedom as a principle, you can never see a reason not to make an exception. There are constantly going to be times when for one reason or another there’s some practical convenience in making an exception.
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Vlad!
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« Reply #2693 on: April 15, 2009, 09:16:21 AM » |
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No matter how good it is or how free it is, key lime pie is a bad call for breakfast.
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If you don’t have freedom as a principle, you can never see a reason not to make an exception. There are constantly going to be times when for one reason or another there’s some practical convenience in making an exception.
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enemy anemone
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« Reply #2694 on: April 15, 2009, 01:17:53 PM » |
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poor pie. |
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enemy anemone
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« Reply #2695 on: April 16, 2009, 09:34:45 PM » |
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even though I want to help people learn how to do things with a computer, I quickly become inordinately annoyed/frustrated/Idon'tknowwhat. this seems to show in my voice and hand and head motions (looking up at the ceiling, raising hands in exasperation), and the person asking for help concludes that he/she is "bothering" me and/or I am "mad" and/or the thing is "too hard" and it would be "easier not to do it, ever". all these erroneous conclusions annoy me even more. I end up very frustrated and even furious at myself for not being able to help.
*loud sigh*
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Vlad!
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« Reply #2696 on: April 16, 2009, 10:26:38 PM » |
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If you don’t have freedom as a principle, you can never see a reason not to make an exception. There are constantly going to be times when for one reason or another there’s some practical convenience in making an exception.
rms
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enemy anemone
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« Reply #2697 on: April 16, 2009, 11:30:22 PM » |
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heh. yeah. but I can deal with "stuff" and "things". I have a harder time when the person uses the wrong terms and I have to decipher everything. "my computer is broken. the mouse doesn't move and I can't type my password." "is Hotmail in Internet Explorer?" I need to remember not to ask any further questions but just say "show me." I'm perfectly willing to help solve the problem, but it works better if I can see for myself what is (or isn't) going on. hearing a bunch of stuff that makes no sense to me makes me cranky. other observations: I need to remember that "I don't know why it does that" doesn't necessarily mean they want to know how it works and what they might be doing to trigger "that". similarly, "I don't know how to use it" doesn't mean they want to learn how. and "I never use that" doesn't mean they want to know how useful it can be. and the main thing I need to remember is that if I start talking about things in a general/theoretical/abstract way to someone who doesn't think that way and only wants to know what to do in a very specific situation right now, what I say sounds confusing or too difficult or something. and I think nothing gets learned. and we both go our separate ways frustrated with the whole encounter, like Sims characters with the two red minus symbols above their heads.  |
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Vlad!
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« Reply #2698 on: April 17, 2009, 12:04:26 AM » |
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I just can't handle that sort of thing. My Dad is an accountant. He is a very detailed and meticulous person. When I was in high school and living with my parents, he would come up to me and ask me how to do something. He would have a notebook in his hand. He would write out every step, and draw little pictures of the menu with an arrow pointing to the location of the menu item to click on. This would frustrate me to no end. "Dad, what are you going to do when you finally upgrade from Office 97 and the menu item is in a different place?" (Of course, the joke's on me. It's 2009 and he's still using Office 97). To me, if I want to format a paragraph, I click on "Format" and then click on "Paragraph". I don't memorize where it is or anything like that. I wanted to teach him how to intuitively use a computer, by observing what's on the screen and figuring out how to get from where he is to where he wanted to be. He wanted a series of steps. To me, the computer wasn't the problem, his attitude towards the computer was the problem.
Eventually, he learned to ask my mother. If she didn't know, she would ask me, I would show her, and she would explain it to him.
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If you don’t have freedom as a principle, you can never see a reason not to make an exception. There are constantly going to be times when for one reason or another there’s some practical convenience in making an exception.
rms
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NewDimension
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« Reply #2699 on: April 17, 2009, 06:56:54 AM » |
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Oh, wow. I don't know what I'd do if someone used a notebook to write out every step. I like helping people learn how to do things, but sometimes it just frustrates me when I have to explain everything to them in a slow and very detailed, step-by-step manner. It feels like it takes forever to help them understand anything. It especially annoys me when I have to do this with people who could really figure something out by themselves. I guess this type of behavior really stems from different types of learning, laziness, or someone's lack of interest in learning how to do something by themself (unless they have a legitimate learning disorder).
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« Last Edit: April 17, 2009, 07:20:10 AM by NewDimension »
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Vlad!
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« Reply #2700 on: April 17, 2009, 08:22:14 AM » |
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I think it's due to a fundamental difference in the way people approach the world (and I'm sure Schil will be quick to point out that it's captured in one of the axes of the Meyers-Briggs typology). My dad views tasks as consisting of a series of discrete steps. Do this, then do this, then do this, and becoming an expert in something involves figuring out which steps to do in which order (this is probably why tax forms are all linear pages of numbered steps. You should see him tear through a tax form like it's nobody's business). If you want to annoy a person like this, interrupt him in the middle of something.
Meanwhile, I take a more organic approach. I look at a task and see an array of options. I quickly eliminate the options that won't help me accomplish the task and choose the ones that I think will help me accomplish it. As I move the task towards completion my available options change based on which ones I've already chosen. At any time I can break out of this sequence to either back up and do it some other way, accomplish some other task that's demanding my attention, or just take a break. Memorizing a series of steps is worthless because your options may change out from under you and you have to adapt to that.
The best way I've found to describe it would be that some people are interested in how to do a task and others are interested in how to use a system.
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If you don’t have freedom as a principle, you can never see a reason not to make an exception. There are constantly going to be times when for one reason or another there’s some practical convenience in making an exception.
rms
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Vlad!
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« Reply #2701 on: April 17, 2009, 09:16:08 AM » |
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If you don’t have freedom as a principle, you can never see a reason not to make an exception. There are constantly going to be times when for one reason or another there’s some practical convenience in making an exception.
rms
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bethany
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« Reply #2702 on: April 17, 2009, 10:05:40 AM » |
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I am thinking that sounds like a J/P and/or N/S difference in the MB personality.  |
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enemy anemone
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« Reply #2703 on: April 17, 2009, 01:07:22 PM » |
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(and I'm sure Schil will be quick to point out that it's captured in one of the axes of the Meyers-Briggs typology).
I don't have to now since you and Bethany just did.  I know someone who has a note taped to the filing cabinet with detailed instructions on how to go to a website and log in. it has pictures of buttons and numbered instructions to "clip" them and everything. I can handle teaching someone something very specific with step-by-step instructions, but not something vague or in general. since I am terrible at teaching in person and by talking, the only way I can really be sure I'm being as thorough and clear as possible is to write out the instructions step-by-step, with screenshots and arrows pointing to things. I can deal with that. I can't deal with people who don't learn by following step-by-step instructions but want me to show them every time and/or are even more all-over-the-place than I am. when I'm learning something I might try to figure it out myself if it's not something that looks too complicated or that will blow up if I do things wrong. but if I need/want a specific result I prefer to follow specific instructions. then if I learn the correct step-by-step way to do something I can figure other things out from there. |
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« Last Edit: April 17, 2009, 01:11:23 PM by schilleriana »
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NewDimension
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« Reply #2704 on: April 18, 2009, 08:28:49 AM » |
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I think it's due to a fundamental difference in the way people approach the world (and I'm sure Schil will be quick to point out that it's captured in one of the axes of the Meyers-Briggs typology).
Yep, the MBTI gives a good overview of the basic differences people have in learning & perceiving things. If you want to annoy a person like this, interrupt him in the middle of something. Usually I don't like it when people interrupt me while I'm in the middle of something (especially if they interrupt me over something that I deem trivial in comparison to what I'm doing at the time), but it's not because I have to follow a certain set of steps. I just don't like it when people interrupt me when I'm doing something that I think is important or interesting. Most of the time I'll just see the interruption as a useless distraction that wastes my time. But if someone needs urgent help or something, that's a totally different situation. If I've already spent a long time doing something, then I'm usually more lenient when it comes to people interrupting me (but that's not always the case-- especially since what other people consider a long time, may seem like a very miniscule amount of time to me). I try to be tolerant and amiable when people interrupt me, but if they constantly interrupt me when they know that I'm in the middle of doing something and that I don't want any unneeded distractions at the time (unless it's evident that they really need help with something), then I'll either ignore the person or go to another location if that's possible. Memorizing a series of steps is worthless because your options may change out from under you and you have to adapt to that. Exactly. I can handle teaching someone something very specific with step-by-step instructions, but not something vague or in general. I'm usually good at giving people specific instructions, but it depends on how specific I'm supposed to be. I'd rather give someone a general overview (it can be step-by-step) in how to do something-- only highlighting the main points (unless they need a little more help). But if someone wants uber specific instructions, it can become kind of tedious after a while. I also dislike it when I have to constantly repeat something to someone, or when someone constantly repeats themself to me. when I'm learning something I might try to figure it out myself if it's not something that looks too complicated or that will blow up if I do things wrong. but if I need/want a specific result I prefer to follow specific instructions. then if I learn the correct step-by-step way to do something I can figure other things out from there.
I think there usually needs to be a balance between generality and specificity-- or at least knowing when to be specific and when to be generic. If it's something that's highly complex, then at first specific instructions are preferable. For everything else, I'd rather have generic instructions; that is, if I decide to use any at all. |
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Vlad!
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« Reply #2705 on: April 21, 2009, 05:31:21 PM » |
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I got Wikipedia'd today at work, and somehow I wound up here. Poor chicken |
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If you don’t have freedom as a principle, you can never see a reason not to make an exception. There are constantly going to be times when for one reason or another there’s some practical convenience in making an exception.
rms
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dgp11776
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« Reply #2706 on: April 24, 2009, 10:43:05 AM » |
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I'm the only member of management in the office today (of six). I'm trying to bat down all of the bad ideas swirling in my head.
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enemy anemone
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« Reply #2707 on: April 29, 2009, 12:35:39 PM » |
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by "bad ideas" did you mean "partying with/pulling pranks on the employees"? I only just now thought that's what you might mean. at first I had this vague notion that if a member of management is left unattended, he will implement bad business ideas.  |
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dgp11776
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« Reply #2708 on: April 29, 2009, 01:01:40 PM » |
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I had thought about calling a meeting and telling everyone the other managers were laid off. But that could cause a real panic, so I decided against it.
I also thought about going home and insisting it was a national holiday.
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enemy anemone
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« Reply #2709 on: April 29, 2009, 01:08:54 PM » |
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hehe. National Nobody Else Is At Work Day.
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Vlad!
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« Reply #2710 on: April 29, 2009, 01:26:38 PM » |
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at first I had this vague notion that if a member of management is left unattended, he will implement bad business ideas. Isn't that what they do anyway? (I don't get along very well with management, as you might imagine). |
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If you don’t have freedom as a principle, you can never see a reason not to make an exception. There are constantly going to be times when for one reason or another there’s some practical convenience in making an exception.
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« Reply #2711 on: April 29, 2009, 01:30:08 PM » |
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That's the type of things peons usually say.
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Vlad!
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« Reply #2712 on: April 29, 2009, 01:57:15 PM » |
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That's the type of things peons usually say.
Until you increase the beatings to twice a day? |
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If you don’t have freedom as a principle, you can never see a reason not to make an exception. There are constantly going to be times when for one reason or another there’s some practical convenience in making an exception.
rms
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dgp11776
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« Reply #2713 on: April 29, 2009, 01:59:12 PM » |
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Absolutely.
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Vlad!
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« Reply #2714 on: May 05, 2009, 12:35:06 PM » |
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We've talked about the inanity of the perfunctory "how are you doing?" that's part of American conversation. Well, today in a weblog I read, I observed this comment:
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Funny thing is that we actually did not have this silliness when we were growing up in Poland. There was just no reason to ask this question, because everyone knew that the other person’s day was fucking miserable. If you are asking a Pole how his day was your better brace yourself for a long litany of complaints. That’s the sort of things we do - we complain at each other. When you meet a neighbor in an elevator you usually chat about how shitty the weather is, how this elevator is a piece of crap, how the stairway smells like piss and the super is not doing his job and etc. That’s the kind of small talk we do. Then, if there is time, we escalate it to “oh, you think that’s bad - listen to the bullshit I have to get done today”. This airing of complaints is sort of therapeutic.
When I moved to US I was surprised to see that this sort of thing made Americans extremely uncomfortable. I talked it over with a few fellow immigrants and they confirmed it - Americans are hypocrites and they bottle it all up. No matter how shitty their day is, they will usually tell you they are doing magnificent, and try to sound as if they were never happier in their life. If they start complaining, that means that something really, really bad happened and you should probably leave them alone.
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I've probably told this story before, but I'm old and I repeat stories a lot so I'll tell it again: I remember when I was in college and I was walking across the quad with a friend who was complaining to me about how he was failing Operating Systems and would thus not be able to graduate at the end of the spring semester and wouldn't be able to afford another semester and this whole litany of how his life was falling apart primarily due to his own incompetence. Halfway across, he saw a friend and greeted him. The friend said "how ya doin'", and he replied "great!".
It hit me at that time that this guy was clearly not doing great, but how effortlessly he produced that polite fiction.
Next time someone asks me how I'm doing, I'm going to invent some really awkward malady or terrible life circumstance just to see what the person does when I bust it out.
"Hey, how's it going"
"Oh, not so well. My pet alligator just got tail cancer and I think they're going to have to put him down"
"Oh...oh, really? I'm...sorry to hear that"
*sob* "Oh, Chompy...I'm so sorry"
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If you don’t have freedom as a principle, you can never see a reason not to make an exception. There are constantly going to be times when for one reason or another there’s some practical convenience in making an exception.
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« Reply #2715 on: May 09, 2009, 11:31:39 PM » |
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sometimes I read"ftw!" as "for the world!" because it is so generous. sharing the win with the world. stwwtw!
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chrisnu
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« Reply #2716 on: May 10, 2009, 01:36:54 PM » |
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I'm so used to people being rude that I was ignoring someone who was trying to be nice. Shame on me.
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My Pub songs:
Ashley Cleveland - "Willy" (from Big Town)
Margaret Becker - "I Don't Want To Be Without You" (from The Reckoning)
Out Of The Grey - "The Deep" (from Live 12.6.2000)
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Vlad!
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« Reply #2717 on: May 14, 2009, 01:21:54 PM » |
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It's so cute when interns think they're people.
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If you don’t have freedom as a principle, you can never see a reason not to make an exception. There are constantly going to be times when for one reason or another there’s some practical convenience in making an exception.
rms
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Rough Draft
Inphrequent Poster
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« Reply #2718 on: May 16, 2009, 12:59:45 AM » |
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"Everything that matters is invisible." --Robert Bresson
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Vlad!
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« Reply #2719 on: May 20, 2009, 09:07:43 PM » |
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Bev Purdue, the semi-recently-elected North Carolina governor, just got a bill passed banning smoking in bars and restaurants. This alone makes me like her about eighty percent more than I did when she was voted in.
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If you don’t have freedom as a principle, you can never see a reason not to make an exception. There are constantly going to be times when for one reason or another there’s some practical convenience in making an exception.
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