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BergTheBold

28 karma · joined December 23, 2021

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BergTheBold··on Ask HN: 10k hours rule to master anything. Could I switch career when I am 43?
If you think you can afford to make a change and you have a clear goal, then you should take advantage of it before your life changes and you can't any longer. I had a major career change in my early to mid 30s (I'm 40 now) and it was one of the best decisions I've ever made. I've heard a saying which I heard is an old Chinese proverb; no clue if its background is true or not, but it goes like: The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time to plant a tree is right now.
BergTheBold··on Ask HN: Which tech terminologies are the most confusing to “non-tech” people?
My dad thought that his Facebook account didn't exist any longer because he got a new computer and hadn't logged into FB on it yet.
BergTheBold··on Ask HN: Travelers of HN What's the Most Useful Thing You Own?
A smart phone is probably the most useful travel item, but I can also highly recommend an Aero Press for good coffee while on the road. I finally got fed up with bad hotel coffee and got one, and I am seriously impressed! Pair that with one of those small portable water heaters and you can have a good cup almost wherever you find yourself.
BergTheBold··on Ask HN: Why is home ownership linked with gardening?
This might be a regional language difference, but do you mean maintaining landscaping, or growing vegetables? I agree with the previous commenter - just ignore the whole thing and mow two or three times in the summer to keep it from getting too high. There's no reason you have to grow vegetables if you don't want to, and maintaining a lawn is a huge waste of time and resources.
BergTheBold··on Any opportunities for hyperskilled labor, preferably online and pseudonymously?
You could mow peoples' lawns for a summer job
BergTheBold··on Ask HN: Why do companies not want to hire me?
Is this no responses to 10+ applications or 10+ interviews? Sometimes companies just get a lot of responses and can't get through them all. I've helped sort through resumes at my company before and there were times we got dozens, which can be very time-consuming to review. I agree with the idea of talking to a recruiter.
BergTheBold··on How to fuck up an airport
Oh this is an article about how someone else screwed up an airport? I was hoping to learn how to mess them up myself :(
BergTheBold··on Ask HN: Why don’t restaurants have tables with androids that you can talk to?
I'll take a more extreme position and say that I think this would be totally horrible! I already hate how restaurants have QR codes for you to order your food from their app/site. Have questions about something on the menu? Good luck flagging down an actual human to talk to. Are you traveling and want recommendations on where to go for cocktails later that evening? Well, you're just out of luck on that, aren't you? Talking robots would just be an expensive novelty and there's no evidence they would enhance peoples' dining experience in any way.
BergTheBold··on Ask HN: Does a formal education in CS matter?
This is a pretty serious line in the sand. My company has definitely hired many people without CS degrees (myself included). What field do you work in?
BergTheBold··on Hello HN
The way you wrote this could come off as kind of harsh, but this is a very valid point. If you're job hunting in the United States, you'll be contacting recruiters and interacting with clients. Having good written English skills will be critically important.
BergTheBold··on Ask HN: What are the best ways to get out of poverty?
Yeah, I spent a period in my 20s fairly poor; I wasn't homeless or anything but I worked two jobs, didn't own a car, and had to exercise extreme discipline with my budget. I can agree that the "spend less" solution is logical but doesn't actually work. "Whoa look at you big spender, with your $10/mo Netflix subscription!" In all seriousness, I could suggest working in a grocery store or restaurant so you can "obtain" free food. The way I got out of it was by applying for jobs in a different area and borrowing money from family to move.
BergTheBold··on Ask HN: What are the best ways to get out of poverty?
The "cut back on spending" type suggestions are part of the solution, but can also sound a little condescending to people who are truly poor. As if money just appears in your bank account if you can only muster the right amount of will power? Should you give up eating? Find an abandoned house to squat in? If you can only save $50 a month, how long does it take for you to save up for college, a working car, or a more stable place to live?
BergTheBold··on Ask HN: You can take one other person with you to the moon, whom do you invite?
Someone who actually knows how to fly the shuttle?
BergTheBold··on Ask HN: I have no idea what is being said in meetings?
This is super entertaining, but it's an analysis of a TV show, not real research. It's almost cathartic to read, though not applicable to people who actually exist.
BergTheBold··on Ask HN: I have no idea what is being said in meetings?
People just talk that way to make themselves sound smarter. If it's a remote meeting, turn off your camera so they can't see you rolling your eyes.
BergTheBold··on Ask HN: What rituals or rites do you perform?
Throw salt over my shoulder when I commit directly to production lol :(
BergTheBold··on Maine Resident Dies of Rare Tick-Borne Virus
Whoever wrote this doesn't appear to have a solid understanding of English.
BergTheBold··on Ask HN: How do you deal with running errands guilt?
Just get your job done and make sure your coworkers know when you'll be gone and when you'll be back. You're right - you're human and need to get things done that aren't your job. Maybe, like, just don't feel bad. Your boss doesn't feel bad for preventing you from living the rest of your life outside of work. My second thought on this - this sounds a little bit like humble bragging. "I don't have time to get my basic chores done because I have such a good work ethic". Is this really because you're too squeamish about being assertive? Just be matter-of-fact about it. Tell your manager that you have something you need to get done, the day and times you'll be gone, and then you've done your part.
BergTheBold··on Ask HN: What are the things that annoy you daily as a dev?
I'll agree that slow pipelines are irritating, but you should really take the extra time and fix your e2e tests. In a project I was on recently, our e2e tests were extremely robust and played a key part in re-architecting a fairly large backend for a site we were maintaining. They don't have to be flaky. I'll add to your original thread too, and say that disengaged product owners combined with changing requirements and/or scope creep have been some of the biggest sources of annoyance for me.
BergTheBold··on Ask HN: Why are companies pushing working from the office?
My company has let at least a couple people go since the start of the pandemic - people who would just disappear for hours, would spend hours/days working with very little to show. I'm curious - do you think that time management is a learned skill? Is working from home biased towards people who are inherently better at managing time? When the pandemic started we had a drop off on productivity as a whole, but we've since improved and have reached levels at least equal to where they were 2 or 2.5 years ago.
BergTheBold··on Ask HN: Why are companies pushing working from the office?
I'm not a researcher, but I do have some thoughts on this. Some managers assume that if they can't see you, then you aren't working. This is possibly true for some employees, but I believe bad employees aren't only bad if they work from home. They're likely just bad employees all the time and now they can't be monitored. People want to "get back to normal", which could include working from a shared office. However, there can be disagreement on whether what used to be "normal" was really good for everyone. Also, managers need to manage. That is, some people think their job is to make up rules, so if they make up more rules then that gives the appearance that they're really working hard. There are some real benefits to sharing an office. It can make some types of meetings easier to facilitate. It can be easier to get to know your coworkers if you're in the same place.
BergTheBold··on Ask HN: Did I make a mistake jumping on the homestead bandwagon?
I think the point here was about preferring one type of work over another, not actually about the income.
BergTheBold··on Shark Side of the Moon: Are Shark Attacks Related to Lunar Phase?
+1 for shark puns
BergTheBold··on /tap – Powerful and customizable note-taking system
I'm still very interested in the service, though, and I'll probably continue to check in on it.
BergTheBold··on /tap – Powerful and customizable note-taking system
I don't see where to submit a service request. There are errors in the browser console when I log in: TypeError: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading '$router') at app.e2dbfb1e.js:1 at h (chunk-vendors.439a26c5.js:35) at r (chunk-vendors.439a26c5.js:35) at Nt (chunk-vendors.439a26c5.js:35) at e.zt.confirmTransition (chunk-vendors.439a26c5.js:35) at e.zt.transitionTo (chunk-vendors.439a26c5.js:35) at se.init (chunk-vendors.439a26c5.js:35) at Cr.beforeCreate (chunk-vendors.439a26c5.js:35) at ie (chunk-vendors.439a26c5.js:41) at Hn (chunk-vendors.439a26c5.js:41)