throwawydedbee

Many techies want Biden. Others want Trump. Many would probably prefer someone else. But very, very few would see the integrity of this election as more than an intern-level joke.

If you've ever worked in an environment where money was changing hands (banking, trading, etc) or where security was the real deal (three-letter agencies), or even in the insurance industry, you know that election integrity controls are a half-baked freshman project by comparison.

(For myself, I don't care who wins. I don't believe it matters. But don't piss on me and tell me it's raining.)

What was it replaced with?

I've been thinking of making sure that my age is clear on my LinkedIn/resume/etc., for just this reason. Even then, it's clear that quite a few interviews I've gone on have been "fake", in the sense of being useful for EEOC stats, but with no bona fide intention to hire. Which is frustrating, because at the end of the day, interviews are themselves unpaid work.

These days, I've "solved" the problem by just taking lower-paying jobs. No one I work with really understands what I do--they just know that when they bring me the harder problems, they generally get solved. It's kind of nice in a way to be king, even if it is in a puddle.

Fair or not, the market always wins. And if the market tells you that you're not wanted, best to go elsewhere.

You're not wrong. But I might put that as, "Looks matter to most people, because they haven't yet discovered that looks don't matter, and in fact conventional attractiveness can be a noxious poison.".

I met my current (and last) wife on OKCupid. Only messaged two or three women, she the last. We've been married now for four years and get along like two peas in a pod. Luck, I guess. (I certainly had it coming.)

I'm well aware that I have nothing to complain about, money-wise, when considered on a global scale. (To say nothing of the historical scale.)

I've never missed a meal. And a precious person in my life gives me a roof over my head, use of her car, food, and most importantly, her support.

At the same time, all of my cash is gone. I've had to drain my retirement accounts, and it turns out that alimony/penury is not a valid excuse, so you pay the 10% penalty for early withdrawal. It's embarrassing to explain to HR why I'm taking 30 allowances on my W-4 when everyone else takes only a few. I can't take the company 401k matches, because I don't have the money to do so. More money lost. The deductions for alimony are mostly wasted, because if alimony takes most of your income, you didn't owe taxes anyway. You can't use it in a future year--you just lose the value of it.

A lot of "normal" financial/tax regimes are stacked against you when you're under alimony. Had to explain to family why a contribution to my 401k would cost me 10% of the contribution in taxes, right away. Seems inconceivable, but that's how it works out. Alimony? Fuck you, buddy.

If you want my lesson, don't get married. Nor live in any sort of common law situation.

I have nothing to say about kids. If you get someone pregnant, expect to pay for the next 20 years. I have no particular problem with that. Children are always the highest priority. (Better not to bring them into the world, though.)

Although no kids were involved in my case, "mere" alimony can be crushing. I spent a several years living on $625/mo (the residue after alimony and payroll taxes). And no, I wasn't particularly well off to begin with, left with maybe $500K net worth after the split.

So, beware. On the other hand, being poor-ish makes you realize that possession don't matter so much after all. And drinking will pave over a lot of unhappiness.

As for sex toys and porn, there's a lot to be said for them. We might actually be far happier if we reserved man/woman sex just for reproduction. And even then, maybe artificial insemination would be the way to go.

One of the best things about the Internet is that one can read literally thousands of tales of relationship woe if one cares to. If that had been available way back when, it would have saved me a lot of grief.

Maybe. I grossed around $300K at a JS competitor, but quit after a few years. These can be unpleasant places to work. High concentration of jerks. Highly secretive, which means it can be hard to find useful things to do. And they're rolling in dough, which means that there's very little motivation to do things right or care about retention.

On top of that, cost-of-living in NY is very high, taxes on high salaries are very high, and it makes you a target (e.g., divorce, lawsuits, etc.).

And as a final cherry, you'd be using OCaml all day, which while interesting, is a language you'll never see again in your career.

I wouldn't beat myself up about it.

I wouldn't. I want to live in a civilized society, not some Mad Max movie.

If someone needs to be punished, or even killed, it needs to be done under the legitimate auspices of the legal system.

Ngo might be our nation's finest working journalist. That will make you many enemies and will not be good for your health.

I admire the saints, and in an abstract way, I admire you.

But I also take the counsel of Ecclesiastes, which says in essence, nothing that you do will matter. The earth will turn, the rivers will run to the sea, and it will be that way forever and ever. Victory does not come to the righteous, but rather horrors come to us all without discrimination.

Take what God has given for the moment, a few specks of relative happiness, and be happy with that.

Jackboots of whatever flavor may be coming, but there is little we can do. Prepare as you can. I hear hoofbeats.

It's one thing to choose to suffer. It's another thing entirely to ask your loved ones to suffer.

The current cultural revolution we are living through is simply mowing people down, decent or not. Take a look at this letter from the MIT chaplain, who was fired for posting it. Although I am not religious, it is a simple statement of hard truths by an apparently decent man. There is simply nothing in here for a reasonable person to object to.

https://newbostonpost.com/2020/06/19/heres-what-the-m-i-t-ca...

It is a sort of suffering, but I no longer post on the Internet, even in places like HN. It's just too dangerous. There are a lot of smart people out there, and if they want to find you, they will. And as we're seeing, violence is not off the table.