Hacker News: OldGuyInTheClub

New comment by OldGuyInTheClub in "[dead]"

OldGuyInTheClub — Sat, 24 May 2025 00:39:33 +0000

Wow. I was actually trying to get pricing on a MATLAB Home license and couldn't get signed in or initiate the webform to Sales.

I sent an email to their info@ account and heard they were having some problems with their online systems. Didn't occur to me that it could be or is a cyberattack.

New comment by OldGuyInTheClub in "A List of Hacker News's Undocumented Features and Behaviors"

OldGuyInTheClub — Mon, 27 Jan 2025 01:56:35 +0000

Very interesting collection and I learned a lot of history and norms that I didn't know. Thank you for this! Bookmarked.

New comment by OldGuyInTheClub in "Life lessons from the first half-century of my career"

OldGuyInTheClub — Sun, 26 Jan 2025 17:43:05 +0000

I could have made contributions in line with the support and advantages I have been given.

New comment by OldGuyInTheClub in "A History of Matlab"

OldGuyInTheClub — Sun, 26 Jan 2025 04:55:20 +0000

Matlab fan here. I've been very impressed with how the product has grown over the years. Its documentation is especially superb. I've been able to get great overviews of signal processing, physical simulation, and many other topics just by going over the examples.

New comment by OldGuyInTheClub in "[dead]"

OldGuyInTheClub — Sat, 25 Jan 2025 20:55:47 +0000

Putting that spade in the ground will trip the mines, though. Didn't Elon threaten to primary anyone who doesn't salute?

New comment by OldGuyInTheClub in "Emotional support across adulthood: A 60-year study of men’s social networks"

OldGuyInTheClub — Sat, 25 Jan 2025 20:06:56 +0000

Agreed. They followed this cohort for decades and this was the conclusion? It reads like an update from the pitch drop experiment.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitch_drop_experiment

New comment by OldGuyInTheClub in "Feeling Targeted: Executive Order Ending Wasteful DEIA Efforts"

OldGuyInTheClub — Sat, 25 Jan 2025 19:59:37 +0000

Well then, we are in for a very deterministic, not-at-all-chaotic future.

"Ve vill haff order!"

New comment by OldGuyInTheClub in "Emotional support across adulthood: A 60-year study of men’s social networks"

OldGuyInTheClub — Sat, 25 Jan 2025 19:32:17 +0000

Were they friends or his downline?

New comment by OldGuyInTheClub in "Emotional support across adulthood: A 60-year study of men’s social networks"

OldGuyInTheClub — Sat, 25 Jan 2025 19:30:49 +0000

Of course, "Further research is required." ;-)

More telling, "This study utilized a unique longitudinal dataset drawn from a sample of 235 men who were originally recruited as Harvard University students between 1939 and 1942."

New comment by OldGuyInTheClub in "Life lessons from the first half-century of my career"

OldGuyInTheClub — Sat, 25 Jan 2025 19:10:52 +0000

Pretty bad, overall. I got diddlysquat out of LinkedIn when I was job hunting 10+ years ago but then I got nothing out of my other leads, either. I was old back then and older now so I am staying at my employer until I'm fired, retired, or expired. LI may be required these days to get anywhere, I just adjusted my travel plans so I didn't need to deal with its BS or the general Talent Acq/HR gauntlet required to get past square one. Probably not helpful to you but there it is...

New comment by OldGuyInTheClub in "Life lessons from the first half-century of my career"

OldGuyInTheClub — Sat, 25 Jan 2025 18:50:41 +0000

Well said. I tried and bailed on LinkedIn about ten years ago because so much was forced happy-talk like this article. I think this author is writing earnestly but there is a load of pressure on everyone to think and speak this way even though it makes zero sense for their specific cases. I think it may be called "toxic positivism" in that context.

New comment by OldGuyInTheClub in "Feeling Targeted: Executive Order Ending Wasteful DEIA Efforts"

OldGuyInTheClub — Sat, 25 Jan 2025 18:18:02 +0000

> And I think it might even be against the guidelines to imply it ever does

I was not aware of this. Thanks.

New comment by OldGuyInTheClub in "Life lessons from the first half-century of my career"

OldGuyInTheClub — Sat, 25 Jan 2025 18:13:06 +0000

I read the tips and thought, "Well, good for him I guess?" It is easy for very successful people to write homilies like this but what worked for them may not/will not work for most. This guy clearly has a few more brain cells than the average person and was in good environments. To his credit, he made the most of them and contributed greatly to his field. When I hear people mumblefrotz about "passion" my skepticism ramps to 11. This is the stuff of management consultants and motivational speakers. A very few can write their own ticket, the rest of us have to make do with what we can get.

In my case, I wish I had worked much harder and with more focus in my youth and early to mid career. Whatever time I did take off I should have spent differently. Hell, I should be doing something more worthwhile right now. Can't go back of course but I expect to think that way even in my last moments.

New comment by OldGuyInTheClub in "Feeling Targeted: Executive Order Ending Wasteful DEIA Efforts"

OldGuyInTheClub — Sat, 25 Jan 2025 16:50:21 +0000

Yes, that's my point. The objective is to overwhelm the society and its institutions - a disease that stresses the host's immune response until it breaks. The lower courts will stand by since the ultimate court is in the bag for this guy.

New comment by OldGuyInTheClub in "Feeling Targeted: Executive Order Ending Wasteful DEIA Efforts"

OldGuyInTheClub — Sat, 25 Jan 2025 07:48:26 +0000

The tech owners seem to have gone the other way with their votes (few) and money (big).

New comment by OldGuyInTheClub in "Feeling Targeted: Executive Order Ending Wasteful DEIA Efforts"

OldGuyInTheClub — Sat, 25 Jan 2025 07:46:24 +0000

You're right... I can't find it by scrolling. I thought this site was all algorithmically ranked? Are there people throttling material critical of SV and/or other topics?

By the by, is it possible to see where a post is (or isn't) in the numbered list from within the post?

New comment by OldGuyInTheClub in "Feeling Targeted: Executive Order Ending Wasteful DEIA Efforts"

OldGuyInTheClub — Sat, 25 Jan 2025 07:35:12 +0000

[flagged]

New comment by OldGuyInTheClub in "Feeling Targeted: Executive Order Ending Wasteful DEIA Efforts"

OldGuyInTheClub — Sat, 25 Jan 2025 06:56:19 +0000

Not seeing it happening. The base thrives on this. e.g. disabled reporter got mocked, no consequences.

New comment by OldGuyInTheClub in "More than 40% of postdocs leave academia, study reveals"

OldGuyInTheClub — Tue, 21 Jan 2025 07:41:48 +0000

I think that's generally true but I've noticed that there are a couple of people in every cohort who have the right stuff. They're good and everyone knows it, including themselves.

Glad this post was revived after being dead for some reason.

New comment by OldGuyInTheClub in "More than 40% of postdocs leave academia, study reveals"

OldGuyInTheClub — Tue, 21 Jan 2025 07:12:18 +0000

I couldn't read the whole article due to the paywall. I wonder (now that my knee has stopped jerking) whether they consider non-tenure-ladder professorial positions at universities as 'academia'. e.g. adjuncts, lecturers, staff or contract researchers, lab administrators, ...