In college, I interviewed with two different local companies that had internships that would continue as part-time positions during the year. Both interviews went well and I felt that the interaction was positive overall. I was confident that I would at least have a good shot at each position after the interview. Both companies ghosted me.

For someone just developing their career and who was excited to work with actual professional companies (instead of the minimum-wage jobs offered to most students), that was kind of a big deal. Looking back, I'm pretty sure that's what really instilled a lot of the cynicism toward interviews I carried even after getting an internship and graduating into a full-time sysadmin position. I honestly got lucky getting the position I did, and I think without that success my cynical view would have spiraled downward.

> Getting ghosted is part of life.

The argument is that it shouldn't be. Responses like yours when people express hope that things can change is just digging your feet in because you think that other people have to deal with the same hardships you did. Everyone acknowledges that getting ghosted sucks, so maybe having a bit of empathy and sending something, even an automated message, should be encouraged more.

I agree that the law seems to validate the viewpoint, but I disagree that it's a common one, nor that you should have had to spend time building that trust.

You can, you just have to explicitly assign something to a[0]. Lua doesn't have real arrays, just tables. You have to do it for every table you use/define though, so if you mean "toggle" as in change the default behavior everywhere then I believe you are correct.

I have a friend with a heart condition, prior to surgery he couldn't even walk 100 ft or stand for more than a minute. He put on significant weight, partially due to lifestyle changes when his heart was failing. Now he _has_ to walk a lot to strengthen his heart again, and he's working on his diet to lose weight as a whole separate component. The walking has nothing to do with weight loss for him, it's purely about strength. I think a lot of people fail to make any kind of distinction there, and they just think of exercise as a way to lose weight.

For some of my friends outside of STEM degrees, a Chromebook would have (mostly) been fine. Given that our laptops were a major source of entertainment for us at the time, I think something with enough power for indie gaming and HD video is a must.

My starting costs were reduced by gifts, and my dad giving me an anvil he made with a piece of railroad several years ago. A basic gas forge from Vevor is around $75, but you can make your own small one from a coffee can, some refractory wool, and a handheld propane torch.

Right now, I just make tools and trinkets for myself. I'm _very_ amateur at the moment, I have more theoretical knowledge than practical experience. Once I get comfortable, I'll make more trinkets and tools for friends and family, then maybe one day make things to sell.

For a little more, and a little more freehand style, you can try Spyderco's Sharpmaker [3]. My dad has one of these, and growing up he would sharpen kitchen and pocket knives to a razor edge very quickly with it.

I personally freehand sharpen my knives using Shapton stones [4]. I have the Kurumaku at 320, 1000, 2000, 5000, and 8000 grits, although the higher grits don't get used often; usually the 1000 grit alone is enough for getting a razor edge fairly quickly. I got mine from Amazon, but you can find them various places for $30-50 each.

[1] https://www.lansky.com/deluxe-5-stone-system.html [2] https://www.worksharptools.com/products/precision-adjust-kni... [3] https://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=77 [4] https://shapton.co.jp/en/#products

Damascus steel was originally a crucible wootz steel that came from India or Iran and was sold to Europe through Damascus. The alternating colors came from the grain structure of the steel, not from different steel types layered together. As far as I am aware, we still do not know the exact process used to create it, although we have come close, and it's likely that modern CPM (Crucible Particulate Metallurgy) steels surpass it due to more consistent measurements for the components of the alloy.

I am only an amateur blacksmith, but I have spent the last 15 years dreaming and researching to prepare myself. Given that I live in an apartment, I am limited to a small mobile forge that I can wheel out to the complex's grill area where I am actually allowed to have a fire, which limits the projects I can do due to the forge size and temperature. Crucible steel is a dream one day, but for now I just nitpick and try to tell people about the original Damascus, which is (in my opinion) much more fascinating than what gets the label today.