Most Votes
- What AI models do you usually use most? Posted on February 19th, 2025 | 19190 votes
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- Do you still use cash? Posted on February 13th, 2025 | 5729 votes
Most Comments
- How often do you listen to AM radio? Posted on February 13th, 2025 | 85 comments
- What AI models do you usually use most? Posted on February 13th, 2025 | 78 comments
- Do you still use cash? Posted on February 13th, 2025 | 54 comments
6 months from now ... (Score:2)
It'll be summer here in Australia! ... rain, rain, go away!
Trouble is our summers have turned into monsoon season over the last couple of years
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From hearing the News about the weather/climate in Australia, I have come to expect one of three major things to be happening:
Fire
Flood
Drought
Of course 3 neighbouring towns can be experiencing each one of these
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From hearing the News about the weather/climate in Australia, I have come to expect one of three major things to be happening:
Fire
Flood
Drought
Add Earthquake and you have the 4 California seasons.
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"Quarter" rather than "season" (Score:3)
I will be here, roughly (Score:3)
http://goo.gl/maps/MZ0Fz [goo.gl]
For a week.
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I win in the remote category: http://goo.gl/PGEkR [goo.gl]
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No streetview where I'm going.
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Same thing since I graduated college in 2009 (Score:3)
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It's actually a masters in international relations.
Ahh...there's the problem. Join the military as an officer or the CIA/FBI or NSA or do something that makes you useful.
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It's actually a masters in international relations.
Ahh...there's the problem. Join the military as an officer
They've cut back recruitment, and I have a bad back.
CIA/FBI or NSA or do something that makes you useful.
Tried. Didn't get far due to the fact that I haven't done 1 and was competing against people who have.
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CIA/FBI or NSA or do something that makes you useful.
Tried. Didn't get far due to the fact that I haven't done 1 and was competing against people who have.
Well, there's always DHS, FEMA, or the TSA!
From what I can tell, those guys don't ask for you to have done anything useful prior to applying (or if you're a criminal...)
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Well, there's always DHS, FEMA, or the TSA!
From what I can tell, those guys don't ask for you to have done anything useful prior to applying (or if you're a criminal...)
Tried to get into a state version of FEMA, even had the Lt Governor as a reference. Denied for no experience :/
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If it helps... I heard a joke recently: All new College freshmen in STEM tracts should change to Philosophy. ... When they graduate they STILL won't be able to get a job, but at least they will know WHY.
But on a serious, personal note; Good Luck, brother...
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I really wonder why so many STEM people can't get jobs when everyone I know at tech companies, including my own, can't get enough qualified applicants for their many open positions.
There are 3.9M jobs available in the USA right now and hundreds of thousands of them are tech jobs.
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/jolts.pdf [bls.gov]
Where did successful candidates get experience? (Score:3)
Denied for no experience
When you asked "Where did successful candidates get their experience?", what reply did you get?
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Well, there's always DHS, FEMA, or the TSA!
From what I can tell, those guys don't ask for you to have done anything useful prior to applying (or if you're a criminal...)
Tried to get into a state version of FEMA, even had the Lt Governor as a reference. Denied for no experience :/
Shoulda gone with the TSA then; 'no experience' is their bread n' butter.
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Travelling around Europe for two weeks. (Score:2)
More than I usually travel.. so I voted "Grand adventure". Everything is relative.
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. . . for me, that is work . . .
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I was going to comment "then maybe you are doing it wrong", but then I noticed the OP said "two weeks". Traveling around Europe in just two weeks would be quite a job since all you would be doing is traveling with no time to do anything else. I'd consider that work too if he's doing this as part of an actual vacation, and it's a wasted effort as far as I'm concerned. He'd do better to limit his travels to just a couple of countries or cities so that he actually had a chance to appreciate what he was doin
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Agreed. I traveled Europe for 2 months after university, and although I saw a lot and went many places, it was still very rushed a lot of the time (example: hiked all 5 towns in cinque terre, Italy, in something like 1h45m or 2h (instead of the average of 4h or more), just because we were rushed and had to meet our train schedules. Such a shame to have to rush though such a beautiful place...). 6 months would have been much nicer...
Now there's a gap... (Score:3)
...between some small trips and a stretch of grand adventures. Rather surprised so many don't plan to do even that, everybody needs a big break from the daily routine at least once a year. That's at least what I'm doing, though I wouldn't call it a grand adventure and certainly not a stretch of them.
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I've already had my grand adventure for this year, in April. I went to Vietnam for three weeks.
I will do one or two small trips (a week or less) in the summer. The summer is the best time to be at home (England) anyway.
I'll be studying at home (Score:2)
I've a bunch of exams in June, two projects to do in July, and then more exams in August.
Everyone needs a break? What I need is to pass this year :-)
(But luckily I live in a country where a year of university costs about half of an average person's monthly salary, so when I say "need", I just mean it would be really great.)
Recovering... (Score:5, Interesting)
...from bone marrow transplant.
No unnecessary contact with anyone who might be ill, or who might know someone who is ill. Which severely limits what one might want to do for fun...
By the end of the year, should have my childhood immunizations restored, and next summer will be a lot more fun....
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I plan to go camping so deep into the woods that I will not see another human for the entire trip.
Of course going that deep into the woods might not be a good idea with a compromised immune system. On the upside, seeing no people means seeing no sick people.
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Nah, the transplant is GOOD news. 100% chimerism (yes, I have two sets of DNA now - different results if you do a cheek swab as opposed to a blood draw), so none of my old bone marrow around to generate cancerous cells. Much better than chemotherapy every other year...
The downside of the transplant is that I can't go anywhere, or do much of anything for a year and change.
Oh, and no beer. Or rare steaks/burgers.
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I am lucky, I can drive a little over an hour, then turn off the highway, head up some trails for an hour or so, and no one would ever find me.
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Go crazy?
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When you have recovered, I hope you do several AC FRosTY PzISs posts to celebrate. It's the clearest manifestation of being alive there is.
Lucky! (Score:2)
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Quite so.
And, in a small effort to make this sort of thing slightly less a matter of luck, consider seriously becoming a bone marrow donor.
Details of the process can be found at the National Marrow Donor Program (aka BeTheMatch) website http://marrow.org/ [marrow.org]
Note, by the by, that Marrow donation is a pain in the ass (quite literally, the hipbone the needle went into is going to be reminding you for a few days after the anesthesia wears off), but Peripheral Blood Stem Cell (which is becoming an increasingly
Re:Recovering... (Score:5, Insightful)
I'll be recovering from the end of a relationship I thought was going to be for keeps. I thought I was getting the greatest lady in the world and maybe a % of two lovely and special kids. I did get a lot of wonderful gifts (not of the material kind) along the way.
It's not just a broken heart that makes this noteworthy, it is the reason. She's a trauma and abuse survivor dating back to pre-verbal times. The lovely, positive, smart, open minded, adventurous, beautiful lady I loved lived with a Dragon as a guardian. It slumbered most of the time. Then one day, something put her in a dissociative mode where she could not communicate her wishes clearly and her state of communication impairment wasn't at all obvious. The trauma got fully evoked, the Dragon woke up, and both of us sustained greivious wounds to the heart and the destruction of all our hopes, plans, etc.
Everything going fine, incident (no sign of problem), days pass of normal activity, text indicating things hadn't happened as she wished but she felt she owned it, more days pass of normal activity, small break, email declaring me the evilest creature in the universe.
I tried to get heard, to make the point about what I could know and what she could communicate, to reject projections as to my motives or thoughts, and to empathize. I tried to insert the grey and get the truth heard, but the old wounds brought forward (as happens in these cases) provided a context that tainted the memories of the current events. They also are clung to tenaciously by the brain as accepting a reaction that caused everyone harm occurred for no reason other than the traumatic past is a horrible thing for the survivor's brain to contemplate, so it buries good memories, distorts others, and generally finds rage at the impotence state they were in (again because of the old trauma) rather than face the unfortunate and tragic truth that no villains exist in the present. This is just an old, wicked wound reopening again and again.
This explains why many trauma sufferers never sustain long term close relationships and end up isolating then being desperately lonely then forming unhealthy relationships to cope. Then more trauma ensues.
I came to understand and accept this this by talking to a survivor of parochial school abuse and by reading chapter 2 (titled "Terror") in a book I think was written 30 or so years ago either called Healing Trauma or Recovery from Trauma. That chapter was hard sledding - it covers the experience and cognitive effects from the perspective of the victim and their psyche. It had examples from WWI/II/Vietnam combat victims, crime victims, and sexual assault/rape victims.
My heart wept when I understood deeply the experience she must have had. I don't blame her for the fact she could not, in the moment, differentiate the old trauma from new events. Her healing is not that advanced. She has strong hope with a good therapist and a friend of mine who is a psychiatrist said she has about an 80% chance of healing anyway within 10 years even without therapy, to be within the broad spectrum of normal.
Still, imagine that the person you care about most in the world thinks the most vile thing about you.
Then imagine that anything you say or communicate will evoke the trauma, put the elephant in the room (the trauma response not being accurate to current facts) in the spotlight, and will cause either greater harm or cognitive distortion of all of the good memories you created over nearly a year of hard work to learn to avoid any situation like this.
Imagine that person was a friend for 20 years. Imagine the love you shared was the deepest either had ever felt and that both took the time to share with the other things never shared elsewhere because of the close connection.
Then imagine that the high road, the best thing you can do for her, is swallow your desire to protect, to help heal, to try to go beyond and salvage something (anything) from the mess, is to walk away
Landscaping (Score:1)
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We're in winter down here and currently renovating. So hopefully spring and summer will be in part about getting the landscaping to recover from the mud and broken bricks it is at present.
During the Christmas/NY break we're booked to go on a 14 night cruise around New Zealand and the South Pacific. Definitely looking forward to that. It's been a suck of a year with both my husband and myself having surgery. His was planed and long overdue (to treat chronic obstructive sleep aponea), mine was unexpected (to
Pedaling (Score:5, Interesting)
Pedaling across the US - east to west. I've been planning to do it since high school. Finishing grad school seems to be the perfect time.
Starting: Provincetown, MA. Ending: San Francisco.
Approximate route: https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=Province+Lands+Rd&daddr=42.3496063,-71.0758567+to:43.2323393,-86.2590757+to:40.0115442,-105.2775582+to:38.2089812,-122.1499352+to:Lincoln+Way&hl=en&ll=38.548165,-85.605469&spn=35.448818,53.569336&sll=42.346365,-71.07605&sspn=1.977165,4.22699&geocode=FRRwgQIdnuHQ-w%3BFSY0hgId8HfD-ykzi83tDHrjiTHLREkIFo1TAw%3BFVOskwIdfcrb-im_C56q1dcbiDEFG_kDTpKEyg%3BFRiHYgIdipe5-SmJTX78L-xrhzEx8CFuKjriCw%3BFdUFRwId0SO4-Ckt6RIZRhKFgDHoJI0yGuN3vg%3BFec7QAIdnKSy-A&t=h&dirflg=b&mra=mrv&via=1,2,3,4&lci=bike&z=5/ [google.com]
Departure: Early July
Arrival: End of August.
Mileage: ~60/day (97 km / day)
Style: Mostly camping. Some friends and hostels along route.
Anyone, including you, is welcome to join me for a stretch. jon caplan a_t ] g-mail dot kom
Also welcome are your tales of similar trips as well as advice. (I've done some one week tours before.)
Re:Pedaling (Score:5, Interesting)
Back when I was much younger, I pedaled from Los Angeles to Ithaca, New York. I went by myself and carried about 70 lbs of gear. I usually did 60-70 miles a day, with a low of 30 and a high of 100. It took me 65 days, with 55 days of cycling (too much time in Santa Fe). I took the scenic route, seeing Death Valley, Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, White Sands, Carlsbad Caverns, and Mammoth Caves. West of the Mississippi was a lot more interesting.
This was before Google Maps, so I only had a vague idea of my route. I would buy a state map at the border of each state and then happily discard it at the other end.
I only paid for camping once, and that constant search for a place to sleep made the trip more interesting. I highly recommend it.
I am not that outgoing, but I met lots of people. I think it helped that I was by myself. One guy wanted to take my picture at the Grand Canyon. That's it. No conversation, just a picture. Ok.....
Then there was the escapee from a Spanish prison. His sister was an accomplice, and she killed herself in prison. So he was going to go back to Spain to kill the guy who ratted them out (his sister's husband).
I met a guy with 5$ in his pocket and trunk full of beer (to sell to the Native Americans). I also met a pair of Native Americans enjoying a beer at 8 am (one of whom who was the result of incest between his mother and grandfather).
I met an actor from a large production in Chilicothe, OH who let me sleep at the theater. I met a really nice set of cops in Arkansas, and the next day a different not-so-nice cop who wanted to run me out of town.
I met a family from Pennsylvania at the Grand Canyon. They said that if I was ever around their place, I should call them up. The next winter, I biked from Ithaca to Washington, D.C. and called them up. They were surprised, but happy to host me for a day.
I happened to bike along the path of Race Across America (RAAM) at the exact right time. I talked to one of the support crew, and saw the first and third place pass me by.
Finally, I met a ton of other people riding across the country. They all seemed to travel in groups. I am not sure if it is better to travel alone or not. I did not have any problems with motivation.
Prior to this trip, I had done 3 day solo trips by myself, so I was fine with the physical part. The challenge is largely mental. In any case, best of luck!
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Awesome.
I have similar plans, but hiking.
I want, when I can afford to take several months off at a time, to hike the country on all major routes: The Continental Divide Trail, the Pacific Crest, the Appalachian, North Country Trail.
and then finally the big kahuna...the American Discovery Trail.
This summer I onl have a couple week off though. So bout all I can do is a section of the PCT near my grandparents, combined with a visit to them so they can see their great-granddaughter.
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That path goes about a mile from the farm I grew up on in Michigan. Steps 566 and 567 have you on Musketawa Trail between Grand Rapids and Muskegon. Near the end, it goes straight east-to-west. About the middle of that segment is north of where I grew up.
It looks like the rail line that I remember was removed and paved, and made into a bike path. That is so cool. When I rode from Muskegon to Grand Rapids one weekend in high school, it took all day to get there. The roads don't go south-east, so a lot of tur
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That is awesome. Incidentally your route goes about a block from my house at one stage (in Madison, WI).
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Were I to live along the route, I would erect a Natalie Portman statue/grits fountain for you to see. Alas, I'm in Europe.
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Taking Route 66 through Oklahoma?
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I ask because I know you said San Fran, but i've heard of several folks will detour a tad south, to to go through the somewhat shorter mountains of NM/CO border area, as opposed to the much taller ones along I-80 and the WY/CO border.
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P-Town to San Francisco??? I didn't realize there was an actual gay tour of America :)
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Why? There are so many people there who are willing to massage it for you.
This from someone who rode a bicycle in San Francisco many times.
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No but the trade off is that you are seen riding a recumbent bike in public.
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Soon I will not be seen in my Quest [velomobiel.nl] as often as I am now. The hood I am planning to purchase will be seen, but it's hard to see me.
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Work! (Score:4, Insightful)
Summer means more work than usual due to projects. That's OK. Summer is too hot to be at home and outside. I get free AC, paid OT, etc. ;)
More Work... (Score:2)
More Work. I still have to do my regular job, but I also own a seasonal small business. In the summer, I drive my Ice Cream truck!
Burning Fossil Fuels (Score:1)
Not a vacation, a relocation (Score:2)
I can't afford to travel anywhere this summer... because I just bought a new home! My big summer plans involve moving down there next weekend, and gradually settling it. I guess technically I am "traveling", but no farther than I might on any other weekend (the next county over).
Climbing/Mountaineering (Score:2)
I don't plan, you insensitive clod (Score:2)
No plans. Let things happen as they may.
Option fail (Score:2)
I live on Titan, you insensitive clod!
i miss winter already (Score:1)
Quake Con (Score:2)
One small trip to Quake Con. I hope to be able to ask Carmack about hUMA architecture on new consoles and how they plan to adjust their math processing in order to take advantage.
Cross country (Score:1)
I travel in Winter, not summer (Score:3)
If I'm going to use precious vacation time to get away, I'm going to use it to fly some place nice when the weather is cold and ugly at home. If it's nice here, why leave?
More Work: (Score:2)
I fix lab equipment for the chemistry department at a university.
During the summer, not only do I have the usual run of research equipment, but also have all the gear for the teaching labs. It has to be fixed and gotten ready for the labs to start in the fall.
The guy across the street in life sciences has the same, but also gets to deal with large numbers of microscopes. Oh, and his part time help just retired.
I'm truly glad I don't fix microscopes.
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New job and a long distance move (Score:2)
You insensitive clod.
No Travel, But Adventure (Score:2)
This all started last year right about this time. I'd worke
Where is my option? (Score:2)
I live in perpetual summer you insensitive pig... Just moved from Laos to Thailand yesterday...
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I live in perpetual summer you insensitive pig
You'd better update your signature then. It doesn't look like you'll need to stack barbecues any longer...
I love stacking my barbecues in the shed at the end of summer[...]
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It might be a thyroid surgery scar rather than an Adam's apple they are hiding - thyroid cancer and other issues being far more common in women than in men and all.
Typed while wearing a scarf at work, but that's mostly because it's cold. Covering up the thyroid surgery scar is just an added bonus.
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One of my ideal vacation plans involves re-visiting Thailand, so I'm kind of jealous! Depending on where you are there are some absolutely gorgeous locations that I haven't seen in years... Though I could do without all the women with Adams Apples in Bangkok. Never trust a woman with a scarf.
Especially as Bangkok is in a tropical climate, 25 C and 90% humidity minimum.
Family first (Score:2)
1190 (Score:2)
Also there will be cupcakes, and many trebuchets!
Every flight is a grand adventure! (Score:2)
I'm a private pilot here in Ireland and every time I go across country (or further) flying, I treat it as a grand adventure. So, roll on summer!
I live in the UK... (Score:1)
...not your average "Small Trips" (Score:2)
I prefer small trips to long holidays. After all, there's only so much being chased around by Zombies while I'm trying to reload my Nerf gun that one's heart muscles can endure. I need a week off at home after a weekend like that just for the adrenaline to wear off.
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I just try to avoid DC all year.
Yardwork! (Score:2)
Small trips with the kids (Score:3)
Visiting Canada (Score:2)
First substantial visit North of the border (> 3 days). Any slashdotters in Saguenay?
Planning my next grand adventure (Score:2)
This summer I'm planning my next big trip for next year. I already burned all my vacation doing a trip of a life time, and may very well not be able to top it, but I will see what I can plan out. Earlier this year (the coles notes version) i climbed/hiked 3 mountains, 1 volcano, 1 galcier, canyoning, caving, cliff jumping, absailing, ziplining, jumped off a 200m tower, a 134m bungee jump, a 15,000ft skydive, swam with white tipped reef sharks, went diving at the great barrier reef, hiked through a few rain
Solo Motorcycle Trip (Score:2)
Our plans for the summer (Score:4, Funny)
The same thing we do every summer, Pinky—try to take over the world!
Camping with 3 year olds!!! (Score:2)
I vote for "describe a stretch of grand adventures."
I camp a lot and I take my 3 year old twins as often as possible (4 nights this year so far, including my first solo two-night trip just before the holiday).
This year they learn to collect fire material and are allowed to both sit closer to the fire (the wife has adjusted their acceptable temperature levels from last year so the 40s are now game) and throw gumballs and small sticks into the fire. We play soccer and they watch dad shoot cans with an air gu
Road Trip (Score:2)
I prefer my summer vacations in October/November. (Score:2)
I work for a living (Score:2)
Summer? oh you mean going to work while its hot, sorry no special breaks here, living in the real world... If I want time off I have some vacation days but not enough for the season.
Country Represent! (Score:5, Funny)
Which way does the water turn in your toilets?
Your water turns ?? I can't see that deep in the outhouse. . . . (grin)
Third world Represent! (Score:2)
Your water turns ?? I can't see that deep in the outhouse. . . . (grin)
You have water??
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Depends on which hand I stir it with.
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I like (or am angry about, I can't tell) how we're usually the Cowboy Neal option now.
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Which way does the water turn in your toilets?
Depends on which way I "swirl" when I take a dump.
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