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Recent Posts

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7126
Living Room / Re: The pleasure and possibilities of living a time-shifted life?
« Last post by wraith808 on August 08, 2012, 12:55 PM »
Not all that tough to do. I pay off my car insurance for the year within about 5 months of the yearly cycle, and then I try to do my yearly savings (or in this case desperation while unemployed!  :o   )  in the summer.
-TaoPhoenix (August 07, 2012, 10:10 AM)

It's a little more involved than that.  An example.  I change jobs today.  My new job pays 30 days in arrears, but my old job pays on time.  Let's say that both pay on the first.  Since my pay is time shifted, on 9/1 I'm actually releasing funds from 7/1 (full paycheck from old job).  With that, I pay bills from November, including estimated utilities based on the average for the year.  It doesn't matter that I actually haven't gotten paid from my new job.  It also doesn't matter that I didn't get paid from my old job (except for the 8 days in August).  That money used was already made two months ago.  And is paying bills from two months in the future.  I'd have to (1) not get paid for two months, and then (2) not pay bills for two months for everything to be back to normal.
7127
Living Room / Re: It's Official: Many DC'ers Are Psychopaths~! :P
« Last post by wraith808 on August 08, 2012, 12:48 PM »
So do 1-man companies have MORE rights than one man!?
-TaoPhoenix (August 08, 2012, 12:31 PM)

That's an easy question to answer... and the answer is... Yes!  And the 1 man corporation pays less taxes for more benefits, and enjoys more protections.
7128
Developer's Corner / There's Apple in my Microsoft
« Last post by wraith808 on August 08, 2012, 11:25 AM »
Carol made a joke (I think it was Carol) that the discourse was:

Apple: Do something that makes money but is stupid
Microsoft: Do what Apple does.

She's pretty much right on the money- an e-mail that I just received from Microsoft:

We’re excited to announce new benefits that will help you get your
apps out to millions of people to see, try and buy! As an MSDN
subscriber, you’ll receive one-time 12 month Windows Store and
Windows Phone Developer accounts!

With a developer account, you can
• Create apps
• Publish your apps in all available markets
• Watch your progress with detailed reports

WINDOWS STORE DEVELOPER ACCOUNT AVAILABILITY:

You can sign-up for a company account starting today! Simply go
to the benefit overview page to get your registration code and start
the registration process. You'll also see Windows Store Developer
account listed on My Account. Individual account registration will
become available later this fall.

WINDOWS PHONE DEVELOPER ACCOUNT AVAILABILITY:

Later this month, you’ll be able to sign up for your Windows Phone
Developer account. You’ll know it’s ready when you see the benefit
list on My Account. Just click on ‘Get Code’ to get your promo code
and start the registration process.

Enjoy your new developer accounts and best of luck!

Look familiar?  :;headdesk::
7129
Living Room / Re: Curiosity Mars rover - live feed from NASA
« Last post by wraith808 on August 08, 2012, 07:24 AM »
I got trapped for an hour reading Dork Tower after seeing the devastating new comic.
http://www.dorktower...08/DorkTower1098.gif


-TaoPhoenix (August 08, 2012, 02:24 AM)

That one is up further in the thread.  But this is another good one...

Spoiler
20120808.gif

7130
Living Room / Re: The pleasure and possibilities of living a time-shifted life?
« Last post by wraith808 on August 07, 2012, 09:44 AM »
The amount I make is pretty much unpredictable. Sometimes I'll make as much in a few days as in some months. And I'm always getting paid a couple months after the work, so... Not something that I could really manage to do myself unless I were to time-shift bill payments by making them late. :P
-Renegade (August 07, 2012, 09:13 AM)

That's actually when I started to do it- when I used to contract.  You have to do it a bit at a time, and it takes real discipline.  I remember the first time I actually saw the problem- the company told me when I started that I would invoice 30 days after starting, then get paid 30 days after that at the most.  So I had 90 days saved up to pay each month as it came.  What wasn't accounted for was the time it would take me to get into their system as a vendor - it was a multi-national company, so one vendor they weren't going to go out of the way for, no matter how key I was to this project.  120 days later, I was paid. 

A full 4 months... but I received all of the payments for the 4 months at once.  I wasn't so far off in my projections- it hurt, but it wasn't so bad.  So I put money aside, and I paid an extra month on a few of my bills.  Each month, I did that, taking it out of my discretionary money, and by the time a year had passed, I was very near ideal. 

I don't think that most people could do it all at once... but a little at a time with discipline and it works.

Which reminds me of the other big thing to time-shift... vehicles.  I never buy new vehicles, but always get them 1 or 2 years old at the minimum.  I've also been trying to stretch the life of my vehicles so I can put the payments towards the down payment on the next vehicle.  Hopefully, one day, I'll be paying cash for vehicles instead of financing them :)
7131
Living Room / Re: The pleasure and possibilities of living a time-shifted life?
« Last post by wraith808 on August 07, 2012, 07:48 AM »
I time-shift my bills, but I actually do it forward.  And then I time-shift my pay back.  I'm currently up to paying my next month's bills at the very least with my prior month's paycheck.  It sounds crazy to do... but I have software that actually lets me (and encourages me) to do so.  Of course, it drives some of my bill people crazy, because their systems aren't set up to keep track of someone who is ahead... I wonder why...  :-\

But it's incredibly freeing.  I don't pay bills on the date when they say I should... I pay them at the time of month when it best fits my schedule.  And I always have leeway if something unexpected comes up.  Some might say that's just savings... but my savings is totally separate.  The paychecks that I have set aside untouched haven't been allocated at all.  Quite hard to effectively explain... but it works.
7132
Living Room / Re: Happy Birthday C=64
« Last post by wraith808 on August 06, 2012, 02:25 PM »
I wouldn't think that Elite II fit the description of what he was talking about.  But... there's plenty of info about it to say if so.

Wikipedia Linkw

Official Page

Retro Reminiscence article

It was an amazing game- but also a lone wolf type of game.
7133
Living Room / Re: Curiosity Mars rover - live feed from NASA
« Last post by wraith808 on August 06, 2012, 12:40 PM »
Comic hits the news coverage on the money

7134
Living Room / Apple's Marketing Mindset
« Last post by wraith808 on August 06, 2012, 09:47 AM »
Apple's Biggest Marketing Secret Was Revealed In Federal Court

The title is a bit sensational- more like their marketing mindset was revealed.

Apple no longer actually needs to do ANY advertising when it launches new products, marketing chief Phil Schiller testified Friday in the Apple v. Samsung patent trial in a San Jose, Calif., federal court.
Instead, the company relies on these two strategies:
  • Rely on the media to create buzz for its products through positive reviews.
  • Product placement in TV shows and movies.
7135
Living Room / Re: Olympic coverage this year SUCKS!
« Last post by wraith808 on August 05, 2012, 09:12 PM »
Lifehacker's guide to overcoming nbcfail

And I don't feel bad at all about doing it...
7136
Living Room / Re: Happy Birthday C=64
« Last post by wraith808 on August 05, 2012, 12:06 PM »
I remember mine looking exactly like that.  That was the reason that I used my Laser 128 for anything that wasn't gaming- the CRT gave a better image than the TV.   And I don't believe that's shaking- that's overscan from the settings being off.
7137
Living Room / Re: Hacked "hard" via the cloud.
« Last post by wraith808 on August 05, 2012, 12:04 PM »
^ Hah... I'm with you.  When they give you a limited number of questions to choose from, I usually use a totally unrelated answer that I've related somehow to that question in my mind.
7138
Living Room / Re: Happy Birthday C=64
« Last post by wraith808 on August 04, 2012, 07:54 PM »
,8 ,1~! ;D
-Renegade (August 04, 2012, 05:25 PM)

A true (old) geek joke :)
7139
Living Room / Re: Hacked "hard" via the cloud.
« Last post by wraith808 on August 04, 2012, 01:40 PM »
I don't have remote wipe setup on my mbp.  That seemed quite silly at the time- to treat something that has a hard drive the same as something that doesn't.  I'm glad now that I don't.
7140
General Software Discussion / Re: Outlook.com
« Last post by wraith808 on August 04, 2012, 10:49 AM »
Yes, you have ads when you're not in an e-mail thread (conversation).  When you have an e-mail open, there are no ads.

And isn't that the same link in the OP IanB?
7141
Living Room / Re: What do you desire from your job?
« Last post by wraith808 on August 03, 2012, 08:24 PM »
Well, up until a few years ago it was
  • Money.
  • The ability to advance my skills/challenge
  • Money.
  • Work environment, i.e. I get to work how I want
  • Money.

Now its...

  • Relative Security
  • Money
  • Work environment, i.e. I get to work how I want
  • The ability to advance my skills/challenge.

I agree with the part about advancement being quite the illusion- it's basically in the eye of the beholder, but on to my points...

I totally agree with the fact that security is not all it's cracked up to be- but there is a relative level of security that you can maintain if you watch out.

Along the lines that security is very much not what it used to be, I need to be paid- that's the primary transaction.

I'm working for someone else, but I work better and am more productive if allowed to work how I work best, and not how you think I should work.

And being real about the security bit, I need to be able to keep up with the market in a real way so that if the bottom does fall out, I can say that I've used practical skills in a real-world environment, rather than on some hobby project.
7142
General Software Discussion / Re: Immersive Explorer: Oh God why?
« Last post by wraith808 on August 03, 2012, 06:23 PM »
How about we just give it a one word code word... sort of like metro, but more fitting...

Windows IDTENT

(wonder how many will get that...)
7143
Living Room / Re: Windows 8 Metro has gone ...
« Last post by wraith808 on August 03, 2012, 11:33 AM »
As a writer, I understand the theory of IP and why it exists... but the practice sucks!
7144
Living Room / Re: Windows 8 Metro has gone ...
« Last post by wraith808 on August 03, 2012, 07:49 AM »
They were probably hoping for a payout... I can't see any other reason they would wait so long.  Or is that overly cynical...
7145
Living Room / Re: Dropbox Security Failure
« Last post by wraith808 on August 03, 2012, 06:47 AM »
It's more social hacking than anything else, I think.
-wraith808 (August 02, 2012, 07:49 PM)

I think the word just came to me, though it still isn't quite fitting. Perhaps a more appropriate title would be: "Dropbox Security Exploited"
-Deozaan (August 03, 2012, 03:26 AM)

I guess it doesn't really matter... other than the fact that I don't think this has anything to do with dropbox security.  If I give my password to someone and they use it to access my account, is it the system's fault?  Pretty much, this is the same thing- the passwords were already compromised, and the people in question didn't change it on their accounts.
7146
Living Room / Re: Dropbox Security Failure
« Last post by wraith808 on August 02, 2012, 07:49 PM »
It's more social hacking than anything else, I think.
7147
Living Room / Happy Birthday C=64
« Last post by wraith808 on August 02, 2012, 04:51 PM »
http://www.bbc.com/n.../technology-19055707

I can't believe he didn't hook up the 1541 and save that tape drive loading time.  Or even use a cartridge or two. I mean, he could SHOW the tape drive, and START loading a game to demonstrate it's awfulness...
7148
Living Room / Re: Dropbox Security Failure
« Last post by wraith808 on August 02, 2012, 03:46 PM »
I just don't see why this is a security failure on the part of Dropbox.  Sure, they've had their failures, but this doesn't seem to be one of them.
7149
Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Cubby Beta Invitations. (First come first serve.)
« Last post by wraith808 on August 01, 2012, 08:07 AM »
I'm waiting on e-mail addresses from 3 people... if I get them all, they'll all be gone.  I'll post here with updates.
7150
Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Cubby Beta Invitations. (First come first serve.)
« Last post by wraith808 on July 31, 2012, 09:12 PM »
I have some also- just PM me if you're interested.
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