Something Random

Chewy509

Wotty wot wot.
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time

Storage? I am Storage!
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So Julia is still our PM...

I guess the public will have to wait until the next Federal Election then...

Are baseball bats effective against zombies?

The main thing I care about is the NBN (National Broadband Network), to my mind the most important piece of national infrastructure in my lifetime. Given the small-mindedness that prevails in Australian politics, only someone like K Rudd could have had the vision to set us up for Fiber To Premises, at the same time as putting a sword through the heart of the Telco monopoly, Telstra. It doesn't matter what else he does, that (and acting promptly and fully on Treasury's advice when the GFC hit) cements his place in history - in my book anyway.

The risk, as everyone in Australian IT knows, is that the muppets in the LNP will disembowel the NBN and leave us as a third world nation - God knows, it's happening in many other ways already without their assistance.

I believe The PM's approval rating has dropped as low as 26%, with dissatisfaction rising to 64%. These are stupefying numbers, but the ALP (Australian Labor Party) is apparently up to the challenge of meeting them with ever-greater stupidity. The conventional wisdom is that the Greens will retain control of the Senate, but my prediction is that barring new circumstances, the LNP will garner enough support to actually gain a majority there as well as the House of Representatives, meaning unbridled ideologically-driven government awaits us.

Poor fellow, my country.
 

Mercutio

Fatwah on Western Digital
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At least you guys (and Canada, for that matter) have three major political parties to choose from. Here in the states we only have one.
 

MaxBurn

Storage Is My Life
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I just noticed the forum software auto saves text entry boxes if you pause for a bit, upgrades are good.
 

Handruin

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Dell is out of the PC business;

http://www.theverge.com/2012/2/27/2828339/dell-not-a-pc-company

Wonder what that means for my company who is heavily invested in the business line laptops?

My company used to buy most of their IT hardware from Dell until they stabbed us in the back and decided to compete with us. I imagine they'll be losing many millions of dollars of new hardware purchases because of this. We're no longer allowed to buy from Dell for anything. This worked out nice because now our employee laptops are either from Lenovo or from Apple.
 

MaxBurn

Storage Is My Life
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That must be nice. Our field guys are generally getting something ruggedized and IT says they saw repairs go WAY down when they did that. I really really don't want a ruggedized laptops bulk.
 

Mercutio

Fatwah on Western Digital
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EMC makes ridiculously high margins on its products. It's tough to blame a hardware company for moving into that space given how commoditized PCs and components have become.
 

CougTek

Hairy Aussie
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Québec, Québec
That must be nice. Our field guys are generally getting something ruggedized and IT says they saw repairs go WAY down when they did that. I really really don't want a ruggedized laptops bulk.
You could suggest them to hire me as a field guy ; I would make sure they get at least the same amount of repairs from ruggedized laptops as they did back when they had normal laptops, so you wouldn't have to get a ruggedized laptop. No human technology is CougTek-proof.
 

LunarMist

I can't believe I'm a Fixture
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You could suggest them to hire me as a field guy ; I would make sure they get at least the same amount of repairs from ruggedized laptops as they did back when they had normal laptops, so you wouldn't have to get a ruggedized laptop. No human technology is CougTek-proof.

You, as the field service guy? Scary. :rambo:
 

MaxBurn

Storage Is My Life
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Speaking of which anyone still read BOFH? I don't but that reminded me of them.
 

Mercutio

Fatwah on Western Digital
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BofH hasn't really been funny in a decade or more.

I have a date on Friday. With a stripper.
Even if it's a train wreck, I'll always be able to say that I went out with a stripper and that is awesome.
I'm just feeling rather pleased with myself.
 

Handruin

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BofH hasn't really been funny in a decade or more.

I have a date on Friday. With a stripper.
Even if it's a train wreck, I'll always be able to say that I went out with a stripper and that is awesome.
I'm just feeling rather pleased with myself.

Interesting. Is this congrats-worthy, or is there more to this story (there almost always is)? Did you two meet in the obvious arrangement or was it something odd like at the book store? Good luck with whatever transpires and most importantly, I hope it's fun. I hope that if it is a train-wreck, it doesn't get you involved in something bad. Knowing your past track record with women, is she interested in men, men and women, or women only?
 

ddrueding

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I have a date on Friday. With a stripper.
Even if it's a train wreck, I'll always be able to say that I went out with a stripper and that is awesome.
I'm just feeling rather pleased with myself.

Sweet. I've had a number of friends who were strippers. They all had a reasonable (if somewhat cynical) outlook on life. They could also lie in ways that blew my mind.
 

Mercutio

Fatwah on Western Digital
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Funny story: I met her on another forum site and just knew that she worked somewhere close to where I live. It is possible to give directions to my apartment by strip clubs, adult bookstores and liquor stores; my town exists to give truckers a place to stop before they get to Gary, Indiana or as soon as they get out of it. Meeting a chick who works near my apartment, I should've probably known.

Anyway, I'd been in touch with her for about a year before I found out where she worked and what she did. I just never really asked. Whatever.
We get along pretty well and I need to do something different than what I've been doing. I've been around strippers before and I know they can be incredibly manipulative. Whatever. I'm just not going to give her money or buy her stuff.
 

Santilli

Hairy Aussie
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"However, it doesn't sound like Dell will make quite as dramatic a move as IBM did — Anderson said that the company would continue to invest in PCs, citing the success of its premium XPS line of consumer laptops and desktops."

So much for Dell being totally out of PC's.

Good luck with your stripper, Merc. Not to be cynical, but I hope you have a wonderful physical relationship, since that has to balance the mental problems you'll have dealing with her.

Been there, done that. Be careful out there.

Strippers are master manipulators. They use those incredible bodies and faces to create the illusion they like you for something other then the money you are throwing at them.
The dream that you are 'the one' for her can cost you a lot of money.
Not to be cynical, but that's the nature of most of the women in my area as well.

Ahh the old Winston Churchill story, a whore by any other name...
 

ddrueding

Fixture
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Meeting people on forums that live close to you is an interesting concept. I suspect I live closest to Silicon Valley of everyone here (60 miles from Google HQ, 70 from Xerox PARC's original HQ). And the closest member is probably Santilli (~140 miles?). In this digital home of geekdom, why aren't any members residents of the physical home of geekdom?
 

Santilli

Hairy Aussie
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Quick stripper story.
Phyllis Dameron was my friend, tennis partner, and surfing buddy for maybe, 8 years in Hawaii. Never slept with her, but her husband thought I did. So, I had to cut off the relationship. Wasn't easy. He turned into a bit of a stalker:
PhyllisDameron.jpg


Phyllis stripped so she could boogie board Sunset beach. The above picture is taken from the one time she road Wiamea Bay. Her custom board was very fast, and skipping, free falling was her way to get speed. Didn't work on this wave.
The lip pitched out, and landed in the center of her back. Bad wipe out.

The combination of stripping and boogie boarding gave her a lower body that was/is truly incredible. You can see a bit of it from this photo.
 

ddrueding

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I have a bunch of member's actual addresses, as well as actual names, but I try to be non-specific and use handles where possible. No need to make that information too easy to find :batman:
 

Mercutio

Fatwah on Western Digital
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Strippers are master manipulators. They use those incredible bodies and faces to create the illusion they like you for something other then the money you are throwing at them.
The dream that you are 'the one' for her can cost you a lot of money.

I've seen 350lb. goiter-having land whales with some poor dude twisted around their finger. Not everyone is going to act that way.
 

Handruin

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I've seen 350lb. goiter-having land whales with some poor dude twisted around their finger. Not everyone is going to act that way.

Based on previous gifts and indulgence that you've provided to female friends, just be careful to not let a hero-syndrome come into play as you try to rescue her from her past or present fiscal difficulties. Also, don't get the HIV, I hear it's a downer.
 

Mercutio

Fatwah on Western Digital
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Be it known that Handy has also been a recipient of some pretty damned indulgent gifts that were basically my idea. :p
I'm generous with my friends.

People I *know* to be friends.
 

Handruin

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Be it known that Handy has also been a recipient of some pretty damned indulgent gifts that were basically my idea. :p
I'm generous with my friends.

People I *know* to be friends.

I wasn't down-playing the generous gifts at all. I'm very appreciative of what you (and everyone else) put together for me and I'm trying to keep my word and put it back into this community. I just don't want to see you get used by someone because they may see your generosity and seek more of it. I know you're a smart guy, but woman can be tricky when their boobs and other fun body parts start taking charge. :-D I just hope she sees you as a growing friend regardless of her choice of work and whatever complications (baggage) that may come with.
 

Mercutio

Fatwah on Western Digital
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Not everybody who takes off their clothes for money has baggage. I've met, like, two chicks who did it and were pretty well adjusted regardless. :p

But anyway I know most of her issues. It's not stuff I can fix and I know it. But I think spending some time with somebody who is very different from other women I've been around might do me some good.
 

Handruin

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Not everybody who takes off their clothes for money has baggage. I've met, like, two chicks who did it and were pretty well adjusted regardless. :p

But anyway I know most of her issues. It's not stuff I can fix and I know it. But I think spending some time with somebody who is very different from other women I've been around might do me some good.

I know not everyone fits that category, but my girlfriend is in the social work field and the research indicates that a rather high percentage of women in that area of work has had some kind of parent (specifically father) issues and in a lot of cases molestation. Again, not all, but a good percentage.

I agree, it sounds like the best part of this to take away is someone different and also if I remember correctly, you use to have some uncomfortableness and/or social phobias. Maybe being around a confident woman (who I'm assuming must be confident enough with herself to reveal her body to strange men) might give you more confidence in yourself. Good luck with the new-found friend. I hope it leads to great things.
 

Mercutio

Fatwah on Western Digital
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"Used to" have social phobias? No, it's very much part of my life.

It doesn't help that the place where I live is a giant void of anything interesting. Since my life doesn't revolve around high school athletics, church or a bar, there's really not even any reason for me to go out in the first place. It sucks, and being alone all the time probably just makes me weirder to deal with. On one hand, that's perfect since I'm disinclined to go out and do things in the first place, but on the other I feel completely alienated from everyone around me and that's not healthy.

I'm hoping some kind of new social connections can draw me out a bit.
 

Handruin

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"Used to" have social phobias? No, it's very much part of my life.

It doesn't help that the place where I live is a giant void of anything interesting. Since my life doesn't revolve around high school athletics, church or a bar, there's really not even any reason for me to go out in the first place. It sucks, and being alone all the time probably just makes me weirder to deal with. On one hand, that's perfect since I'm disinclined to go out and do things in the first place, but on the other I feel completely alienated from everyone around me and that's not healthy.

I'm hoping some kind of new social connections can draw me out a bit.

Well, I didn't want to assume it still was a part of your life. Based on other threads of hearing you going out to conventions and speed-dating, I was thinking that maybe you were overcoming some of it.

My impression is that you're trying a lot more than you had in the past to do things and meet women. I obviously don't know much of the stresses you deal with every day, but it's good to hear you want something to be healthy for you. That's a big difference from just a few years back. I know it's been said before by several of us, but maybe it would be worth taking a serious look into moving into a different area. You've proven that your skill set is more than qualified to get a job in the IT field. Other areas may pay you more for the work you do to help you live in the new areas. It would mean a clean slate where you can pick an area that doesn't have a limited set of social activities.
 

Santilli

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""Used to" have social phobias? No, it's very much part of my life.

It doesn't help that the place where I live is a giant void of anything interesting. Since my life doesn't revolve around high school athletics, church or a bar, there's really not even any reason for me to go out in the first place. It sucks, and being alone all the time probably just makes me weirder to deal with. On one hand, that's perfect since I'm disinclined to go out and do things in the first place, but on the other I feel completely alienated from everyone around me and that's not healthy.

I'm hoping some kind of new social connections can draw me out a bit. "

Being lonely and meeting a stripper is a combination for falling hard, and being taken advantage of.

I'm resembling that a bit right now. Merc, be real careful. This is not a wise choice. Strippers ALWAYS come with drugs. It's the business. If they aren't in to begin with, they end up with drugs, and it eventually washes them out.

I'm with Handruin: Make a move, get out, and into some place healthier.

Perhaps I'm projecting a bit, but you can go pretty much any where, and have the resources to do it.

San Diego or Florida sounds nice.
 

LunarMist

I can't believe I'm a Fixture
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I don't think it hurts to go on a date or two, but do so with eyes wide open and realistic expectations.
 

LunarMist

I can't believe I'm a Fixture
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There are currently 181 users online. 6 members and 175 guests

Most users ever online was 651, 11-26-2011 at 07:35 AM.

Clocker, timwhit, LunarMist, sdbardwick, Handruin, Stereodude

Damn, who or what are those 175?
 

LunarMist

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You can click on the link and it will show you who or what is browsing. Most are search spiders indexing the website. Several are spam bots trying to spam.

Wow, it looks like the Chinese spider bot is really sucking all the juice out of SF. I wonder if that affects the performance. :scratch:
 
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