leam1983 · 1 year ago
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First Steps
Here's something one of the juniors asked me:
"I really like computers, but I suck at them! How can I get better? I'd also like to make a job out of it, like you!"
You've got two avenues. One is standard and bland and safe, and the other involves you discovering the sweet, sweet scent of burnt-out power supply units or the joys of stripping motherboard stand-offs. Among other things.
But first - Long Post is Long. Clicky the thingy below to get A FUCKTON OF FUNBUCKS FOR PHREE!
So. You can either:
wait for the next Community College enrollment window for an institution that's within travel distance of your residence or job, and check to see if they've got either Computer Science 101 or Technical Support. Pay the expected fees, wait for your start date, and realize you're probably months ahead of the curve even if all you know is how to open or close your PC. It's all peaks and valleys from here, from Assembling everything from scratch (Scary but fun!) to Realizing that you can acheive near-godlike power over your rig or nearly anyone else's using batch files saved on a pendrive (quick and easy - a snoozefest). You'll realize that two-thirds of your average Helpdesk stuff amounts to what I nominally go through, which involves reminding Walt that he shouldn't plug his mouse's receiver dongle in one of the rear ports... The one remaining third comes waaaay late in your career track, and involves turning Eldritch glyphs into room-spanning lengths of Cat5 Ethernet spaghetti. You'll realize you need a stepladder and ibuprofen more than you need to worry about crosstalk or potentially accidentally engineering a line patch on the same rack.
look on eBay for used 1U enclosures (as in One Unit of server-grade computing) and a workable side rack, mount it somewhere where you won't mind the thing screaming at you for all eternity, and then start working with a system you've intentionally built to destroy and rebuild as you see fit. That's what's colloquially known as a Home lab, and it's the best starting base you could ever want. In a pinch, you can also sub that 1U for an old and dinky laptop you're not attached to anymore. Do everything to it. Upgrade its memory, learn how to replace old mechanical drives with SSD or NVME drives, get used to stripping screws, destroy it, drop it off at a recycling centre and then BUY ANOTHER ONE ON EBAY, AGAIN FOR THE EXPRESS PURPOSE OF DESTROYING IT.
Option 2 is long, kludgey and much, much more fun. You'll run into every bottleneck a Helpdesk worker will encounter, and you'll be both your own worst client and your own trustworthy boss who gradually adds to your responsibilities. It also involves watching vids from creators like NetworkChuck or Lexikitty on your off-time and introduces you to everything you could ever want or need in order to sandbox a new operating system with the prospect of - you guessed it - ripping it to shreds.
The one catch is that Option 2 can be dangerous if you're too enthusiastic. So, considering this, some formal basics are needed:
always wear an ESD strap or keep one nearby
wear Nitrile gloves if you can't keep your fingernails or fingers consistently dust or oil-free. Your skin's PH balance will eventually thank you
steal guitar picks from music stores, most of 'em give them out like Spicy Tortilla Chips you Aren't Supposed to Eat. As to why, it's because picks are cheap and somewhat reliable plastic spudgers and pry-tools. Wiped-out credit or rewards cards can also work in a pinch, but I wouldn't recommend making a habit out of it.
If you're working on a system, keep it plugged in even if you've flicked the PSU's rear switch off. The ground pin will save your hardware.
The only liquid a computer can tolerate is isopropyl alcohol. It is non-conductive and will be perfect at lifting fingerprints or smears off of metallic elements. Do not use anything stronger, acetone turns evil when paired with PBT plastics such as those you find in keycaps or even Chicklet keyboards like a MacBook's.
If you own a laptop and the palmrests start to lightly bulge - turn off your lappy, unplug it, carefully leave it in an open and well-ventilated area for several minutes so the power supply's capacitors discharge safely over time, and then take it out to a recycling centre. Your onboard battery has turned into what is informally known as a Spicy Pillow of Death, and it should be treated with the utmost care. Most laptops can operate while tethered to their external power source and while having no battery of their own, so use this time to recover your files. If you're lucky, you can contact your manufacturer's Support service and ask for a replacement cell.
Why do batteries do this? I don't know, Jim, I'm a systems engineer and a weekend programmer, not a chemist! What I do understand is that the two opposing components of a typical cell (the alkaline and the base) are typically kept well separated by walls in-built into the cell, but that this membrane can sometimes degrade. A reaction then follows, which eventually turns to a very real fire courtesy of the charge being passed on inside it.
Complement all of this ad-hoc nonsense with a few serious CompTIA certifications - Microsoft and Google both offer online classes - and you'll be swinging for the fences in, oh, two to three years. You'll have a sucky starting salary but your skills will forever be in demand.
Also remember that the best Home Lab imaginable is life itself. A relative bricks their machine? Try and flex your muscles by attempting to repair it from scratch, or by reformatting the hard drive! Did someone give you a long-term loan for a machine that needs fixing but that won't be needed for several months? Keep their hard drive aside and toss Linux or Proxmox onto a new one, so you can either pick up server-side console commands or Hypervisor tools!
Mostly - have fun. Just don't visit r/hardwaregore too often, you'll eventually start having nightmares.
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beepbeepdespair · 3 months ago
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currently debating doing my first ever voice acting auditions and my stomach is in knots oh my god 💀💀💀 all the roles already have 10 or more submissions each and i just feel like i can't compete with that
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rznant · 1 year ago
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(crawling back here from twitter) hello...... my old friend....
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shibaraki · 1 year ago
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it is easy to get stuck on numbers and engagement and what trope / rating gets more attention or kudos than another but ultimately you should write for the audience you want. it’s far more rewarding that way
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opens-up-4-nobody · 2 months ago
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...
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jewishbuckley · 4 months ago
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I think everyone needs a lesbian friend fr
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celestialscribbler · 2 years ago
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I'm trying to stay positive but I don't deal well with things ending.
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sybbi · 5 months ago
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"If enough of us vote third party for president, we could actually GET somewhere with our policy goals!"
Baby girl you can't even get a majority of third party/independents in a single state legislature. In the past 30 years there have been seven independent/third party state governors, and of those, only three were genuinely independent. The rest either got elected as a R/D and switched mid-term when they alienated themselves from their state party, got elected as I and then switched to R/D during their terms (with some of them having served the R/D parties before), or served as proxy candidates with heavy backing and support from one of the major two parties. Even VERMONT, a relative stronghold for independent/third party candidates -- the place that brought you Bernie Sanders -- doesn't have a majority of third party candidates. And when I call them a stronghold, I mean they are the only state (I know of) that consistently elects (less than a handful of) Independent candidates to the state legislature; the place is still dominated by Ds and Rs.
"The highest power in the land can't actually be voted on so there's no reason to vote for the democrats"
Hey princess here are some high school civics question for you: How are Supreme Court judges nominated? :) By what process are they appointed? Who starts that process? :) Why is the Supreme Court considered reflective of who has won the presidency? :)
#the reason you 'cant get anywhere' with your policies is bc youre not the political strategists you think you are#some of you barely know how your own government functions and it fucking shows#and it would be one thing if i looked in ur bios and u were like. 15 or smthg.#but 30?!?!?! you're 30 yrs old and you dont understand that the rsn rvw was overturned under biden is bc trump got his foot in the door???#youre 30 and youll rant abt the long lasting effects of reagan's presidential policies but you cant fathom trump might have left#a similarly long-lasting legacy??#youre 30 and you think the echo chamber you put yourself in on the internet is proof that clrly a vast majority of ppl agree w u#and theres no need to play politics when the democrats couls just wave their wands and fix everything if they werent so evil#despite the fact that both of the ladt two elections about half the population was voting for trump???#the tight margins btwn repub and democrat in congress shld tell you that#you are 30 and dont understand what strategic voting is?#youre 30 and you dont understand the difference between state laws and federal laws#youre 30 and youre upset that joe biden is a 'fascist dictator' but not in the way that gives you everything you want?#youre 30 and youre acting like biden and the dems operate in a vacuum without interference feom political enemies and#moneyed interests that have thrown up lawsuits and obstructionist tactics and misinformation#everytime the try to do something good?#youre 30 and you think palestine will be saved if joe's not in office when the only other viable candidate in the running#was cozy with netanyahu and advocated 'finishing the job' re:palestine and moved the embassy to jerusalem#in a clr fuck you to any palestinian feelings?#youre 30??? youre 30 and you never outgrew the 'mommy and daddy made me mad so I'm gonna smoke to get back at them' mentality???
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swordsofsaturn · 9 months ago
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i'm going to be honest i still feel very left out of the general queer scene in australia. something about it feels very.... insular. unable to be broken into unless you're already in it. maybe i'm just bitter and lonely and can never feel a part of any community ever but like every now and then i just see on instagram or something some random queer event or parade and i'm like ??? what on earth is this? why haven't i heard about this? like it's always something i'll never know about until it's too late. how do people get the secret knowledge in advance in order to attend these things. why is there a pride parade in melbourne right now i don't get it
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bunnihearted · 10 months ago
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bruh for real im just sitting here trying to listen to my audiobook and it sounds like my upstairs neighbor is moving furniture. hour after hour, i dont even understand WHAT they're doing that makes that noise. and why do they have to do that everyday??? going insane post #9191818818181992
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sevicia · 24 days ago
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I will always find it super inspiring and cool how Damien Leone did everything in his power to bring his special little guy to the big screen. I understand him.... Also Art's design is just SO cool it makes me sooo happy when people who aren't into horror recognize him like it makes me so proud. Yessss look at the characterrr....
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gatsby-system-folks · 1 year ago
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OK tumblr I need your help with something.
We volunteer in a library today, loved it, and are now very seriously considering changing our major to become a librarian.
Our current major is communication studies, aiming to get into an HR position, then later on go back to school for sociology and psycology.
My question to you, librarians of tumblr, do you think it's worth it?
I feel like it bears saying that we're autistic, plural, and queer; interact well with people but could be wayy better
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redrockbutch · 2 months ago
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Idk I just think that if wearing makeup was so truly Empowering™, people wouldn't throw a fit when an absolute stranger said they don't like it and women shouldn't have to do it
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killerandhealerqueen · 1 year ago
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So a job application of mine went through to the hiring manager and now I’m just waiting to see if I get an interview or not and honestly, in this fucking mess of job searching, this is the best god damn news I’ve had in a while
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toytulini · 3 months ago
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reeeeeeally wish. it didnt feel. like the needs of my body vs the needs of my brain were actively in fucking conflict with each other in a way that makes it impossible to function or exist
#toy txt post#chronic pain#just. really frustrated. cant see a way out or through or over or whatever here yall#augh#and dad wants me to. do what i was doing before that made everything worse somehow as a method to get my foot in the door and fucking#network???? to do?????? unclear. until i get what. middle management?#how the fuck would that help anything#meanwhile i am trying to muster the executive function to complete. the catpans#ouaghghahghhgghg#it is so hard to be gentle with myself about this bc it doesnt feel like i deserve gentleness for it! like i have worked so hard to try to#unlearn the ableism and shit but that doesnt really fucking help much if both my parents just keep that shit so deeply baked into their#worldview that they interpret me trying to treat myself a little gentler as being a lazy freeloader or whatever#like im really trying not to be too harsh on myself about this but for what? at least if im mean to me about it i have ground to stand on#in calling their meanness unjust and unnecessary cos dont worry!!!!!!!!! i can reproduce the entire fucking ableism cycle inside my own#head and self flagellate for not being able ti push through it like you guys did so you dont have to! in fact i am so good at it that it#makes it an impossible topic to address! bc i just speedrun everything into thinking of myself as worthless so you dont have to! see im not#a total laze/s#god. i hate this so much so fucking much. aaaaagh. there are a number of things i CAN do and unfortunately none of them seem to be#the necessary administrative faff of it all#oausbdjsfusbfhshhrrrgrhrhgggg#trying to organize notes of talking points to unpack this a little in therapy this week but its only the second appt. so like. she wanted#to go through a bit of a questionnaire? idkkkk
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izar-tarazed · 7 months ago
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What tarot card are you?
The Moon
(for Izar) You avoid corners and doorways - do you know why? Have you looked inwards recently? Do you understand what is happening there? Your mind is muddled and dusty, a mirror you haven’t been able to clean properly. Smudging the nervousness just leaves streaks on the glass, which makes your face harder to see, which makes you nervous. What are you nervous of, darling? What keeps you up at night? Why haven’t you confronted it? Do you know what it is? Can you answer my questions? Are they making you nervous? Am I frightening you?
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The Hermit
(for Ensha)
It’s a skill, to look inside yourself, one you have mastered. The endless corridors and shifting thoughts are mapped to very carefully. This all takes time, of course. And those twisting hallways are so very difficult to map. It would be so easy to get lost. You know this space so well. Wouldn’t it be a lovely place to stay? So well-known and comforting. Why go back? How nice, how easy, to dissolve, to hide from the rest of the world and all the people in it. Why bother, when you are so good at looking inside yourself. Like enlightenment, the self. Retreating this far inwards is like retreating just as far out, into the vast ether. So comforting. The thing that was you looks at the thing that was the old woman. There is no you anymore. Goodbye.
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Tagged by @rotten-pest (thank you!) Tagging whoever wants to do this!
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