Well, I’ve heard if you spin it backwards you can hear satanic messages

Now that’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time …

My latest conspiracy theory is that is why so much money is being dumped into AI. They want to make AI video so convincing that when the real videos come out, everyone can claim it’s AI.

I’m considered an expert in my field, and with almost 20 years experience I tried what you are suggesting.

The thing all us tech geeks forget about when starting a business, is all the stuff that actually goes into the running a business part of it.

You want to focus on the work, but there are bills, invoices, client and project management, etc.

I had clients, I had projects, but I didn’t have nearly enough time in the day to handle all of it.

Then clients started paying late, causing all kinds of fees to stack up. So even when I had time to do the work, I was distracted and nothing got done the way I wanted.

I tried hiring an admin, but it was too little too late. In the end I went back to being the in house guy at a large company, where I get to focus on the stuff I am good at and enjoy.

I’m not saying don’t do it, I’m saying be very very aware about all the other elements before going off on your own.

At one of the no kings rallies, I feel something hit me in the back. Turn around to see a small girl running over to get the large Styrofoam sign that the wind had blown out of her hands.

She looks up saying “I’m sorry!”.

“It’s ok, I’m not a space shuttle, I can survive being hit by a foam block”.

Crickets.

I would not fuck a Tesla.

For small projects, I’ll use csv files for my data.

It’s much faster for me to prototype concepts in simple text files than designing and building a database.

Once the project matures or scales large enough, I’ve usually reached the point I’m going to rewrite it from scratch “the right way”, so will build a database if it makes sense.

Maybe one in twenty projects reach the point it’s worth moving.

No, not in the sense you mean, it’s a 5 door hatch back. The gold standard was always “Can it fit a sheet of plywood?”, and no not a chance.

With the roof rack it can carry whatever ,including the giant tree that fell on it five years ago that makes me not care if I carry anything on it.

If you have the money, buy the all wheel drive Volvo wagon, it’s what I’m looking at next.

2014 Subaru Impreza sport wagon and I couldn’t be happier.

Had to basically replace the entire tans at 80k miles this year, but otherwise bullet proof.

Well, got back 4 more and you are pre OBD2 and modern emissions sure, but now you’re dealing with a technically ‘classic’ car and the rust, wear and tear, and parts availability issues that come w it.

2014 - 2018 will get you a modern car without a touch screen or Internet connection, which is what I’m really after.

Physical controls I can use with my eyes on the road, and not a subscription to worry about.

After many such threads I’ve come to the conclusion that peak car is between 2014 and 2018.

I’m old enough to believe I’ll never have to drive something with a touch screen.

I design touch screen UI as part of my job and I can see no argument for one in a vehicle other than GPS, and for that I have my phone.

The Mass Effect trilogy for sure.

Just finished my annual Far Cry 2 play through, and it was as chaotic and random as ever.

Gin, I’ll drink Malort before I touch gin

Pulled over on the highway in Chicago. This just when phones started being hot spots, and I got an emergency service call about a software glitch, had to write and upload a fix from my car.

I did it for a few years, and blew through all my savings in the process.

Had to start an actual business, LLC, and deal with all the parts that as an engineer I absolutely hate.

Had done about 15 years in the industry with a small tech company, had all the skills, leads, etc, and wanted to do it on my own.

Way underestimated how much time and effort the running of a business part takes, and while I had projects, I didn’t have the time to do them right, payment was always late so my profit shrank, and I burned out in two years.

Hired an admin to help with managing the projects and clients, but it was too little too late.

I’m not saying don’t do it, I’m saying be sure to have all those other elements well in place, cause the actual time spent programming was pretty small.

In the end I took a role as the on site guy for a very large company, making decent money, and I’m back doing the parts I enjoy.

Best of luck to you.

I take great pride in my work. The results are appreciated by the whole company. I’m lucky that now I’m on a small team of good people, but that isn’t always the case.

I tend to ignore the dead weight when it’s there, because I know I’ll get my part done, and if I have to work extra to pick up the slack, I’m not shy to draw attention to it.

My whole chain of command knows what I do, and not being in management, dealing with lazy ineffective people isn’t my problem.

Focus on you, talk to management about the issues you face, but don’t point out others failures, just let it be implied.

Why is there a next target? Are we at war? We used to declare war on everything, drugs, poverty, crime, but we didn’t send in the Marines.

This can’t be the new normal.

Always felt the cosmic inflation theory was a place holder until we better understand the early universe.

For snowboarding and skateboarding I’ve always used the Clip by Sansa, works in any weather, pretty damned tough, and if I lose or break it, at $32 I just dont care.