• 2 Posts
  • 75 Comments
Joined 8 months ago
cake
Cake day: November 10th, 2023

help-circle

  • It’s a nice gesture, but this is exactly why a lot of people don’t like giving away free stuff. It’s why IT departments are hesitant to give away equipment they are throwing out because some users will come back and expect free tech support. Not saying you’re against doing anything like that, but just that asshole companies like Microsoft make this so damn difficult nowadays that doing as others suggested here to create a new Microsoft account for this is going to get you calls inevitably in the future when they forget the password or run into other issues. And if not, it’ll likely end with them not using it because of the hassle or throwing it out.

    I hate to sound negative because it’s an awesome gesture on your part to do and I’m sure in a perfect world, it would be wonderful for some of the residents to get to use something like that.

    But since it’s not like the old days of having a CD you pop in but a digital app connected to an online account, you’ll need to do somethings that may cause confusion. It sounds like you’d have to do as others suggest and create a new Microsoft account and have a license for that game on there. Or get a GamePass subscription on that account that would allow access to Flight Simulator and more, but that would mean a perpetual donation for them to use it too.

    Someone may come along and suggest a pirated copy of Flight Simulator, but I would strongly advise against that because it can put the home at legal risk if discovered and can cause other issues like if it gets patched in the future.


  • Since I prefer controller over mouse and keyboard, it’s a lot of games pre-Xbox One era for me. But that is subjective because a lot of people prefer mouse and keyboard.

    Games like Oblivion never had a proper way of getting a controller to work with them on the PC release and any tries to get it to work flat out suck. I’ve tried Steam’s button mapping and even that doesn’t work for a lot of these games. But working through an emulator helps translate my controller to the game with almost no issues.

    Considering how the Steam Deck plays and you’re usually using it as a controller unless docked, this would be nearly any game from this time period.



  • This is Grubhub and all those other apps when I get a craving at home and don’t want to drive or can’t drive because I’m not sober. I browse through and see some stuff that looks decent and get all the way to the end to find out that my $10 worth of food is now going to be $25 plus tip to be delivered to me. So I just close the app and then get one of those stupid notifications “hey you still have stuff in your cart! Come back and finish your order”.

    No, fuck you.






  • Most recent, but not the absolute worst, was ripping my pants at work. I bent down to pick something up and heard the rip. It was over my crotch region too. Thankfully I had boxers on but was still pretty embarrassed.

    Thankfully my boss was cool about it and I just drove over to Costco down the street and got a new pair and changed in the back of my car. He make a joke when I got back which was fine.



  • I think your cert plans are good, but I think you should also get a Microsoft cert relating to security as well just to diversify and also be appealing to orgs that are using Defender and give you another perspective. Microsoft has exam vouchers every so often so you have the opportunity to schedule an exam for free if you participate too.

    I am currently unofficially the security guy at my job in my role because no one else was taking it on and I have similar goals as you and this is the route I’ve been taken thus far.

    If you have the freedom in your current role, see if there are any security related tasks you can take on to gain some experience if that sounds appealing too.



  • I’ve been into 3D printing for a few years now and it’s been a really fun hobby that has grown over the years.

    I started with a cheap FDM printer which basically is the most common kind that extrudes plastic onto a build plate to create a 3D object. I then began learning how to create my own objects in various CAD programs like Fusion 360 and even Windows 10/11’s 3D Builder. I started making small alterations to existing objects I found online. The first was because the object I wanted was too large for my small print bed so I learned how to modify the model on my own in the CAD software. I then began doing more complex things like creating objects from scratch to be used. I’m mostly into practical printing but there are a lot of people who choose this for miniatures like for DnD and Warhammer or for creating cosplay armor/accessories.

    Most recently, I moved into resin printing (SLA) which is different than FDM in using liquid resin and lasers to create the 3D objects. This is more expensive and more hands on in terms of needing post processing and also more safety involved because resin is toxic to breathe in and also hazardous to the touch, but has been very satisfying and a joy. The level of detail is much higher quality on SLA than FDM, generally feeling like something you’d actually find in a store than something that has noticeable lines straight from a FDM printer bed. Not that you can’t achieve similar qualities with FDM, but it just will require more work like sanding and polishing.

    Similarly, my girlfriend likes to crochet and we both have grown to find commonalities in our hobbies. I recently created and 3D printed a crochet hook for her with a cute little buddy on top which she has been awing over the past week.

    We have gone to some local street fair events and often find people who are selling their crocheted and 3D printed stuff, usually like stuff animals and desk toys, respectively.

    But if you feel burnt out, you may need something else in your life. Maybe to find a more fulfilling purpose like helping others? Speaking from experience, some of my burnt out feelings have been “fixed” when I spend time helping others and being a source of strength for someone else. I find myself most satisfied when I have been able to improve someone else’s life in some way. Just to throw that possibility out there too.


  • Don’t put up with abuse. I let a woman take advantage of me and abuse me, mentally, emotionally, and physically, for almost 4 years. I was determined not to hit the 4 year anniversary, but I feel stupid letting it go on at all. She still tries to reach out and every now and then but I’m over it. I let her have a ton of control over my life back when we spent time together.

    It was hard dealing with it and it was hard getting over her.




  • One recent example I can give you is XnView. It’s a program that is free for personal use as an alternative to some specific Photoshop suite as well as some other paid photo viewers like ACDSee. But if you’re going to use this for any sort of commercial use, you need to pay for licenses for all computers you use this on. Such was the case for us since we needed it where I work.

    Admittedly it’s integrity based for most of these programs. They are hoping that you are going to be honest about your usage and pay when you use it for commercial use. There doesn’t appear to be telemetry that reports back your usage as this is usually just some guy releasing his personal project. In the case of XnView, I feel it was a guy who was fed up with more recent updates to ACDSee and made his own that mirrors the older versions and just works.

    We bought the licenses but I never really felt they were necessary to activate. But we had the proof if we were ever audited that we paid for commercial usage.

    I pirate some stuff in my personal life, but these little guys who do this are seriously awesome and I try my hardest to follow their rules since it’s so convenient and helpful in my search and their approach is not ever privacy intrusive.

    Another example would be WinRAR, if I remember correctly. They expect businesses to pay to use it but the general public of users just using it at home get the free, infinite “trial”.


  • Guy in my 30’s here too. I felt the same but the last 4 relationships I’ve had over the last decade, all of them approached me. Two women at work had an interest in me and reached out to me and another came by a friend and another came from online dating, she messaged me first.

    I have spent time going hard on the search and didn’t have as much luck as when I just sat back and did my own thing. I focused on my hobbies and doing what made me happy than trying to please women I was interested in and making them my top priority in hopes they would see me and want to date me.