https://youtu.be/Ib6TC0JVfi8

I hope you and yours are safe and healthy. Hopefully no fatalities in your family and friend group on the local area.

Take care out there.

I try to be understanding with my software brethren. We’re different sides to the whole. Ying and yang, so to speak.

That said, I’ve gotten some brain-dead requests from you developer types.

I’m not saying all of you are the problem, but there’s definitely some of you that need to learn how things work.

As IT/network/security, using a well known port for something that’s not what is supposed to run on that port, is inviting all kinds of problems.

Especially the very well known ones, like ftp, ssh, SMTP, http, HTTPS, etc (to name a few). People make it their mission to find and exploit open FTP systems. I opened up FTP on a system once to the internet as kind of a honeypot, and within a week or so, there was someone uploading data to it.

No bueno. Don’t use well known ports for things unless the thing that well known port is known for, is what you want to do.

Traitor.

It’s pretty inhumane, if I’m being honest.

I’ve heard horror stories from truckers that don’t feel safe driving due to exhaustion, and their company literally calls the cops to send them to go knock on the doors of the truck until the driver, who is trying to sleep, wakes up, just to make sure they’re okay.

Usually followed by their manager basically calling them and telling them to get back on the road.

This shit happens, and it’s disgusting.

The next time you see a long haul trucker who doesn’t seem to be able to keep their lane, understand that it’s most likely because their employer is a cunt.

“we’re a family”

Yeah, and I’m the three year old child in the family that you don’t listen to, don’t trust, and you won’t raise my paltry allowance.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, corporations treat you like a product. Whether you buy something from them or not. People are becoming the product that they sell.

I usually don’t care very much until it starts to affect pricing for stuff based on some algorithms impression of how desperate you are. That algorithm started with travel (airlines, online booking fees for hotels and stuff) and has expanded.

If I need a new computer because mine isn’t working, I don’t really care that advertisers come at me with ads for their computer products. I need one, they want me to buy one, it’s marketing. No worries.

If I need a new computer and suddenly all the prices for new systems goes up by $100 because it thinks I’m desperate enough to pay that, now I have a problem.

I still don’t like them selling my data, and I’ll do what I can to avoid it, but marketing is going to do marketing things.

As a tech savvy person, it’s already a gaping chasm. Making it wider and deeper isn’t a huge change.

Yeah. This is the problem with trying to enforce standards on industries that historically move at glacier speed, with standards used by tech moving at breakneck speeds.

The only happy part of USB-C in this context is that, at least right now, the USB-C connector doesn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon, so if things get updated to USB C, we should be okay for a while.

Personally, I carry a whole assortment of USB cables with me everywhere. C-to-C, A-to-C, even A-to-lightning, and A-to-microB. I don’t use an iPhone, nevermind one that needs a lightning cable. And I have moved away from most accessories that require micro.

I also have a power brick in my pack with the cables, it’s a GaN power brick from Anker, with over 100W of output, two USB-C outputs, and one USB-A. At least one of the type C ports supports enough power output to charge my laptop, the other USB C port for my phone, and the USB A port for anything else that might need it. I don’t recall the exact power capacity of it, but if memory serves, it will take 100-240V, 50-60hz AC input, so at most, I just need to get one of those cheap converters for the receptacle type used wherever I may find myself.

I work in tech, so being without power is a huge problem. My work laptop also takes USB C for charging, so I don’t need to have two power bricks with me. I usually have both, but I don’t need to have both.

As long as there’s power available and is sufficiently clean and stable, I’m good. I have a few accessories that are not USB C compliant, some have USB C ports but won’t trigger a proper USB C charger to deliver any power, which is why I have USB A to C cables, and there’s two devices I have that uses a proprietary cable (a Bluetooth headset and my smart watch), which I’ve obtained spares for which I keep one charging cable at home and one in my kit. My kit also includes a USB A/C power bank. It’s not powerful enough to charge my laptop, but it’s fine for everything else.

USB C has simplified the cables I carry. I still have a few odds and ends for edge cases, but for the most part, I’m okay with it.

My only big issue with USB C at this point is that it’s not just for power+usb data anymore. It’s thunderbolt, and display port, and… Ugh. So many things using the same connector that I don’t know what will work anymore when I get to a new device, because though it looks like USB C, it might be USB C QC, or PD, or thunderbolt, or display port, or… FML.

Very recently, I was chatting with a coworker who is a dad, and he said, “I love my kids, but don’t do it”

Bit of a different vibe from that guy.

Assert dominance, do it again.

I would expect that Gabe is trying to hedge his bets and make the company more of a co-op, where several key figures in the company as well as himself, own the majority, so that there’s accountability in what everyone decides.

That way if someone’s kid ends up inheriting stock in valve, there’s a way to block them out of major decisions if there’s a need to.

If that’s indeed what’s happening, then it’s a very long-term play by Gabe. He’s looking so fast ahead, so that long after he’s departed the company, the values that make valve great (and successful) will endure.

Actually explained like you would to a 5yo.

Awesome job.

I know right? What a stud that guy is.

I had to pay the cat tax. I couldn’t tell the story and not include something.

The cat distribution system has been good to us.

73. Be safe out there.

This is a well known phenomenon. The cat distribution system.

Happened to my partner twice in the last ~10 years or so. The first was Zora, a black/white lady who was very chill and liked to stare at people (usually me, but yeah). Very friendly and outgoing. She was distributed to my partner at a bus stop. Anytime someone visited while we had her, she would go and greet them, since we’re pretty sure that she was convinced that people only ever came to visit her to give her pets.

She played fetch, ate fries and Cheetos… She’s a great girl. She passed away a few years back and I still miss the little shithead.

Then we were distributed shadow. His nickname is manager, because he tells everyone what to do, and occasionally where to go. He’s got sass when he needs it and he’s our fluffy little man. When he was distributed to us, he basically showed up at our door and when we opened it, he came in and made himself at home. He’s a very distinguished gentleman, and demands the freshest food, tastiest treats, and only the prescribed 82.475 pets in any one petting season. If you slow down or stop at any point before this quota has been satisfied, he will glare at you like he’s about to end your life if you don’t resume.

He’s got a little white spot on his chest that looks like a bowtie, so he’s always ready for a fancy party. He doesn’t like guests though, and when anyone new shows up, he will depart quickly and won’t be seen for at least 4 hours after the guest leaves.

His hobbies include windows (mostly looking through them) and trying to eat any food I may have.

As a qualified amateur operator, I approve this course of action.