The Official Status Thread
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What happens if the task takes X+1 seconds to complete?
THE PLANET EXPLODES.
It's very dangerous technology.
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there's no way I can view them, since I can't take a day off without arranging it a week in advance.
If you simply didn't come in, what's the worst than could happen? They already have you lined up for a job, they're not going to fire you.
Or hell, fake being sick. Who cares. They're making your life miserable, just lie.
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Textbox now says "http://www.dangermouse.net/esoteric/piet/hw6.png".
How did THAT get into the clipboard? WTF!
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Did someone find another XSS bug with that client?
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I don't have anywhere to live.
My next job, whether permanent or contract, is almost certainly going to involve relocation, so I understand your dilemma. In my case, the relocation will be, at a likely minimum, to put it into perspective for you UK people, roughly double the distance from London to Edinburgh, so that makes finding a place to live before I arrive a little problematic. I can look at rental listings, but viewing a potential house or apartment is a tad difficult.
At least if I wind up moving back to the Bay Area, I know the area well enough to know where to look. I know the areas I'd like to live in, and I know the areas that I might be able to afford. Unfortunately, these are disjoint sets.
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Valve has managed to stick with 'our entire UI is grey rectangles' in source for the past decade, and steam and dota barely show more effort.
Steam's gotten worse. Before they switched to "embedded web browser UI" you could change the fucking font size.
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PixelVision was an awesome Steam skin until the guy stopped developing it. The Pressure skin is a nice alternative.
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Yeah, while you technically can now, it breaks parts of the UI and gets reverted the next time steam updates... You'd think that font sizes would be obvious...
They also have the worst touch support I've ever seen. You have to touch the scrollbars, because it treats a finger as a mouse. I don't know how they managed to break something built into their primary platform. You'd pretty much have to force it to fail.
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Yeah, while you technically can now,
If you go into "super-hacker install a theme but there's no UI for it so fuck you, user" mode.
You'd think that font sizes would be obvious...
You'd think a lot of obvious things about Steam would be obvious. You'd think when they implemented a feature like putting games in categories, they would have tested it and it would work in some way. You'd be wrong.
Valve is really, really shitty at writing software.
Interesting they do this thing where they pretend to let people promote themselves for jobs, even when they don't have any positions open. Since they're local (to me), one time I was like, "sure why not" and wrote up this huge cover letter about my background, my interest in usability, and all of the various things in the Steam client that would benefit from a fresh eye.
Never got a reply. I'm sure nobody even read it.
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Nah, I was planning on making a Piet-to-BIT compiler, but then I decided I couldn't be arsed.
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If you simply didn't come in, what's the worst than could happen? They already have you lined up for a job, they're not going to fire you.
Or hell, fake being sick. Who cares. They're making your life miserable, just lie.
If I break the terms of my employment contract, they can fire me and demand I pay tens of thousands of pounds of 'training fees'. They probably won't but I don't feel like risking it.
My next job, whether permanent or contract, is almost certainly going to involve relocation, so I understand your dilemma. In my case, the relocation will be, at a likely minimum, to put it into perspective for you UK people, roughly double the distance from London to Edinburgh, so that makes finding a place to live before I arrive a little problematic. I can look at rental listings, but viewing a potential house or apartment is a tad difficult.
Ouch. I am glad I don't have to move far. But time is the limiting factor. I have a fortnight to find a place and move in and it's now after business hours on Friday, so the chances of me being able to get any viewings this weekend are getting slim. Which means that I probably will be viewing places next weekend to move in the following weekend.
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my interest in usability, and all of the various things in the Steam client that would benefit from a fresh eye.
This is probably where you went wrong. I don't think they think there's a problem.
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If I break the terms of my employment contract, they can fire me and demand I pay tens of thousands of pounds of 'training fees'.
... what!?
Why did you sign that!? Jesus.
... Jesus.
Ok but you still get SICK LEAVE, right? Take some. Not having a place to live is bad for your health.
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This is probably where you went wrong. I don't think they think there's a problem.
Possible.
I think it's more likely they assign all their interns to Steam while the experienced developers get the "desirable" game developer positions.
You've read their employee manual, how nobody has a team but people just work on whatever they feel like? Yeah. I'm guessing, despite that, only the interns get (what they consider) the shit job of writing practical desktop software.
EDIT: I should add that it's obvious whoever is in charge of Steam is vastly, vastly, vastly under-staffed for the amount of customers it has. But they somehow had no problem spending thousands of developer-hours on that dumb clicker game for the summer sale... PRIORITIES!
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Why did you sign that!?
They're a terrible employer (though probably not so bad once the two year obligation is over, if you stay on) but a good way into the field for someone who didn't know how to program when they finished university. I only have six months left of my indentured servitude.
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Right; but what kind of horrible hell-hole do you live in where you don't get sick leave?
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I do get sick leave, but I'm not sick. Yes, I'm sure I would not be caught, but lying is against my religion.
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But being steamrolled by assholes isn't? You need to convert to Islam, those motherfuckers use bombs and shit.
Or, you know, Methodist.
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blakey has a point.
Blakeyrat is always right.
I bet if you talked to the HR guy at this shitty company, even he'd say, "geez, why didn't you just pretend to be sick? I'm not a Nazi."
Unless he is actually a Nazi. Then he'd say also-that, but in German.
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I probably will be viewing places next weekend to move in the following weekend.
Yeah, I'll probably be doing the same thing. I've been figuring two weeks for a move — one to get everything boxed up and on a truck, and one to get where I'm going (obviously, a destination that's only a 14 – 15 hour drive won't take me a week, but that takes a little pressure off the rush to pack, and maybe gives me a couple of days to start looking for a place before I have to spend 8 hours a day sitting in a fabric box).
One advantage to finding a permanent job, rather than a contract, is that most employers will pay for moving and temporary housing for permanent employees, but for a contract that comes out of my pocket.
Relevant status: WebEx interview for a permanent job in just under 3 hours.
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This is probably where you went wrong.
Maybe. I think it's just as likely that he didn't have exactly the right keywords to get through the automated filtering, and no human ever even saw it.
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I bet if you talked to the HR guy at this shitty company, even he'd say, "geez, why didn't you just pretend to be sick? I'm not a Nazi."
The HR guy is allowed to take a week to reply to emails, and I can't go and talk to them because HR is at the other end of the country. I think.
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Or, you know, Methodist.
Not sure why you're picking on them. (Yeah, I know, humor.) I grew up Methodist (I'm not any more), and there's nothing about Methodists that makes them any more relevant to your joke than any other denomination, so why them? Any particular reason, or just random group?
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The HR guy is allowed to take a week to reply to emails, and I can't go and talk to them
Phone? I think you have those things even in your backward country.
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Seriously?
"I know it's a joke, BUT I'M STILL OFFENDED GUYZZZ!" Get over yourself.
Phone? I think you have those things even in your backward country.
Religion bans telephones. Obvs.
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The canonical Protestant group to use in this situation is Presbyterian, btw.
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"I know it's a joke, BUT I'M STILL OFFENDED GUYZZZ!"
I'm not offended, just wondering if you had a particular reason to use that group as the target.
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I seem to recall Hedley Lamarr including Methodists in the list of scoundrels and crooks he asked for to drive the citizens of Rock Ridge away.
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I seem to recall Hedley Lamarr including Methodists in the list of scoundrels and crooks he asked for to drive the citizens of Rock Ridge away.
IMDB says you're right. I didn't remember that. So now I know Blakey's humor wasn't original, and I assume Mel Brooks (or whichever writer came up with that particular gag) included them because they are probably about the least offensive, and thus incongruous and humorous, group that could be included in such a list.
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Status: when your VPN disconnects, Git reports that error by saying "your repository no longer exists". Wow.
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I'm not offended, just wondering if you had a particular reason to use that group as the target.
Yes; it's funny. It's a joke. You recognize it's a joke, so why the fuck are you asking?
Goddamned.
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Jokes that target a particular group are usually based on some stereotype, and I was wondering if there was some stereotype about Methodists that I was missing.
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Yes; it's funny. It's a joke. You recognize it's a joke, so why the fuck are you asking?
Maybe he's just curious. I'm curious. Was there a reason, or just the first vaguely benign religious group you thought of?
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Was there a reason, or just the first vaguely benign religious group you thought of?
Probably reusing the joke from Blazing Saddles (see above) that I didn't remember until @mott555 mentioned it.
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Status: when your VPN disconnects, Git reports that error by saying "your repository no longer exists". Wow
As far as Git's concerned, that's true.
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Yes blakey, status thread is not a place for your hateful anti-religion rants.
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Status: Extreme sport for the night: I'll try programming without internet.
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Status: the new dashcam I bought is really, really slick. When I'm playing with it at my desk. I'm guessing wiring it into the car power is going to be very annoyingly difficult.
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Relevant status: WebEx interview for a permanent job in just under 3 hours.
Interview done. First 20 minutes spent trying to get WebEx sharing working; whiteboard worked, but very, very slow — like 30 seconds for the other end to see updates. Finally shared desktop and typed into blank email; most of the time this updated in something close to real time.
Other than that, the interview went mostly ok — not the best interview I've ever done, by a long shot, but not the worst, either. Expect feedback from interviewer's boss in about a week.
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I think so far the longest time it's taken me between an interview and the offer is two days. I don't know whether 'about a week' is a positive thing or not, since it could mean 'kthxbye' and it could mean that they're really pro.
Edit: That's not counting Google, who responded to the resume I submitted one year after I submitted it, but I was offered the Intel position almost immediately after. I've yet to hear anything from the 50+ resumes I've submitted to Microsoft.
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How long it takes them to get back to you is a good indicator of how agile (in the general sense, not in the programming sense) they are as an employer.
Insurance company = 2 months.
Hot .com = "come in tomorrow, PLEASE"
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Insurance company = 2 months.
Hot .com = "come in tomorrow, PLEASE"
One of those next day ones was both of those things, kind of. But for funerals.
...yeah. That was the place that told me as they got rid of me that their sysadmin was going to write the replacement internal app in PHP, to replace the aging ASP.NET .NET 1.1 app they had...
I say good luck.
After that I worked at Intel and gained enough skill that I probably would have been able to do a good job of the attempt at the latest ASP.NET version of their site that I'd been working on, but any place that would choose PHP designed by a sysadmin over that deserves it. Pestering them for requirements and getting nothing for 3 months is exactly how you get fired for not producing anything useful.
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In my limited experience, I've gotten offers for contractor positions within a couple of days; permanent positions take longer. The contract position I interviewed for on Monday is with a client that is, apparently, notoriously slow, even for contractors. The one I interviewed for today, I didn't expect quick feedback. Apparently, the person I interviewed with is not the decision-maker; his boss is, and, like many bosses, prioritizes day-to-day business activities over hiring. He'll review the interviewer's report when he gets around to it. I think this is for a permanent position (although the interviewer mentioned something about both permanent and contract at the end of the conversation, which caught me a little by surprise); if so, I would expect a trip for a face-to-face before being extended an offer, if the interviewer liked me enough.
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I've yet to hear anything from the 50+ resumes I've submitted to Microsoft.
Sounds like nVidia. I've never heard anything from any job I applied for there. I know people that work there, and resumes they submit as employee referrals just seem to go into the circular file, too; nobody they've referred has ever heard anything, either.
I did get one bite from Microsoft, years ago, for an opening designing chips for XBox (360, I think, or maybe 360 was the then-current model, and I would have been working on whatever was after that; I don't remember). I got an interview, but not an offer.
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Status: the new dashcam I bought is really, really slick. When I'm playing with it at my desk. I'm guessing wiring it into the car power is going to be very annoyingly difficult.
Oh, you're moving to Russia?
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Status: Dota 2 blog has a new post. Read it. Noticed a new button in the header. Apparently you can watch Dota 2 games from the website now. Clicked on the first one. "ex. playing Bloodseeker".
Here's a screenshot of the stream (I didn't think to take one until the game was already over):
Here's a screenshot of the Mumble server I'm on right now:
Holy fuck.
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The first game I clicked on on the Dota 2 Live Streaming Beta that came out about an hour ago was a russian guy playing against my friends. It was first because it was the most popular stream, not because of my friends being in it.
