Random Thought of the Day

May 11th, 2017 at 7:34:58 AM permalink
Nareed
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 346
Posts: 12545
My work PC began restarting at random intervals, the shutting down at random intervals.

Corporate IT found a virus, reformatted the HD, and recommended replacing the PC with a new one.

But I don't wan to. It's one of the best PCs I've ever had, at work or at home. It runs well, seldom even gets stuck, and before this week it had never given me any problems.

Most important, odds are like 99.999% any new PC will be Windows 8. And we all know Windows 8 Is Not a Desktop Operating System.

So I'll talk tot he IT guy and demand:

1) 4 GB RAM minimum
2) Windows7 or Windows10
2.1) Or privileges to install additional software, namely Classic Shell or Start8

There's a fair chance that'll work. They get plenty of complaints from people stuck with Win8, and this guy also hates using it almost as much as I do.
Donald Trump is a one-term LOSER
May 11th, 2017 at 8:09:08 AM permalink
rxwine
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 188
Posts: 18631
There was apparently an emergency fix for really bad malware in the last few days.

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2017/05/11/microsoft-scrambles-to-fix-worst-windows-issue-in-recent-memory.html
You believe in an invisible god, and dismiss people who say they are trans? Really?
May 11th, 2017 at 10:03:17 AM permalink
Nareed
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 346
Posts: 12545
I'd like someone to check my math....

Starbucks sent me an email with this offer:

Get a Special Edition card with 300 pesos (presumably as money to be spent at Sbucks), and you get 3 free drinks.

Assuming I buy alto lattes with this (at 42 pesos each), that nets me 7 and a fraction drinks, which we round up to 7. Plus three free drinks, which can be more expensive. So that's ten drinks for 300 pesos or 30 pesos per drink.

It seems like a good deal.
Donald Trump is a one-term LOSER
May 11th, 2017 at 1:43:08 PM permalink
Fleastiff
Member since: Oct 27, 2012
Threads: 62
Posts: 7831
You will go to Starbucks more often to use up your card and you will not go elsewhere during this time period.
May 15th, 2017 at 8:39:13 PM permalink
rxwine
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 188
Posts: 18631
Have to admit, the only voice I've heard of Hitler is in his shouty mode voice. Interesting actually. So is the conversation.

You believe in an invisible god, and dismiss people who say they are trans? Really?
May 16th, 2017 at 3:48:21 PM permalink
Nareed
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 346
Posts: 12545
Given how completely verkakte(*) this week ahs been, and it's only Tuesday, here's some good news:

The sentiment for same-sex marriage has passed 64% in the US. That's practically 2/3 of the population. This means it's highly unlikely any of the attempts to curtail the rights of same-sex couples will work. And any delusion that a future Supreme Court will strike down the Obergefell decision is just that, a delusion.


(*) For those unfamiliar with Yiddish, it's like FUBAR
Donald Trump is a one-term LOSER
May 17th, 2017 at 10:06:59 PM permalink
rxwine
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 188
Posts: 18631
I copied this whole thing from my Quora feed.

Quote:
I’ve tested at the 99.9th percentile. I’m a member of Mensa. It’s not a good thing.

One of the recurring topics in LinkedIn’s validated members only Mensa group is “If we’re so smart, why are we so much less successful than everyone who is less smart!”

I’ve come to understand there is an EXTREMELY high correlation between excessively high IQ and Asperger’s Syndrome. (Now merged with HFA: High Functioning Autism, as of the DSM V).

So that old phrase, “There’s a fine line between genius and insanity” should be restated as “There’s a fine line between genius and Asperger’s.” (I’ve been saying this for years. Maybe writing it here will finally get it to gain some traction).

But here’s the thing. It’s true! Asperger’s Syndrome is finally being appropriately recognized, first and foremost, as a sensory overload disorder. Why?

Imagine that you are running your hand across a wooden table top. Now imagine that your brain is trying to process every permutation of the texture of the table — just because it can! Sound cool? It’s not! Not when it happens with every single sensory input surrounding you every day.

Back when I used to consult for pharma, I'd explain it to psychiatrists and neurologists this way:

“Have you ever been in the King of Prussia Mall (the largest shopping mall in the U.S. measured by square foot of retail space) 2 days before Christmas? You know what that feels like? You can’t wait to get out, right? Too much noise. Too many crazed people shopping. Too much sensory overload!”

“Now imagine every moment of every day of your life feels just like this. How do you cope? You learn to shut it out and shut yourself down."

Human contact is the most intense recurring sensory experience. It’s why one of the classic signs of Aspergers (and exceptionally high IQ) is that you can’t look at someone directly in the eyes. Your brain "sees" too much. Your whole person FEELS too much. It’s literally physically painful. So what do we do? We don’t look. We shut it out.

Then we fail to develop appropriate social skills. We don’t learn how to make friends. We don’t develop the political skills it takes to rise to the ranks of leadership in corporate America. We become bona fide NERDS! Or just socially inappropriate. And now we're back to that Mensa LinkedIn discussion.

When, at the age of 25, we get around to reading Dale Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” we cry through the whole book. Thinking to ourselves, “If only someone had given me this book in kindergarten…" (yes, we could have read it and understood it back then; we were doing algebra, after all) "I might have had a chance at actually making friends as a kid.”

Ultimately and essentially, we’re left envying people who are more "normal." Or at least those with an IQ of 140. 130 is probably a little more enviable. But we wouldn’t know for sure since people don’t have the ability to relate to someone with greater than a 30 IQ point difference. Guys, please remember this when choosing a partner. You probably already know it, but intellect becomes a physiological NEED, not a “nice to have.” If you’re going for “looks” and not finding love, this is why.

People with excessively high IQs live with constant psychological pain. Especially without the help of mind-numbing drugs. Whether benzodiazepines (probably the best, for clinical reasons I won’t get into here), or SSRIs, or DRIs, or marijuana, or alcohol.

Here's one you might not have heard before: People with exceptionally high IQs can also immediately tell when another person has an exceptionally high IQ by simply by observing how they move. Truly! No words needed.

We can observe the ways in which a person responds to physical stimuli and notice if they are shuddering ever so slightly from the sensory processing. The more (barely perceptible) shuddering, the higher their IQ. More proof that our bodies are simply not equipped to handle that level of neuroprocessing power.

A prominent neurology researcher in the Netherlands believes higher IQs are the next phase of human evolution. I hope he’s right. Because it would mean our bodies will finally catch up with our brains to be able to handle merely existing. It’s just a shame that I (or both of my siblings who committed suicide because of it) won’t ever get to experience that.


Time it took to write/rant about all this? Eighteen minutes. Go figure. Hopefully this will help someone someday. Or at least provide some insight as to the cause of anxiety and depression. Therapy is great, but it’s intended for psychological disorders, not neurological disorders. Excessively high IQ is a neurological disorder.

I’m sure some people out there will disagree with this last statement. But please know this: if you disagree and also have an exceptionally high IQ, you’re extremely rare and fortunate. So please don’t lash out at me for opening up the way I did here in such a public forum.


Female author, if it matters.
You believe in an invisible god, and dismiss people who say they are trans? Really?
May 18th, 2017 at 4:04:29 AM permalink
Fleastiff
Member since: Oct 27, 2012
Threads: 62
Posts: 7831
Quote: Nareed
And any delusion that ... . . .. . .............. is just that, a delusion.
I think people have said that about Prohibition, the income tax, the Democrats ever electing a president, the this, the that. Never have any delusions about the stupidity of the political process.
May 19th, 2017 at 8:32:17 AM permalink
Nareed
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 346
Posts: 12545
I hate talking to tech support on the phone. They often want simple things I know how to do, but they insist on walking me through the whole procedure as they would any idiot user.

I know how to get the IP info on the PC. You don't have to say "Windows key and the letter R." And then I know how to take a screenshot and email it, you don't have to tell me how to search for the snipping tool.
Donald Trump is a one-term LOSER
May 25th, 2017 at 7:42:54 PM permalink
Nareed
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 346
Posts: 12545
Sometimes, I find myself wistful for the days in ancient times when rhetoric was thought a valued skill, essential for success in life.
Donald Trump is a one-term LOSER