SynAck

SynAck, 5 months ago to random

Let's play a little game! In the interest of building community (and if you'd be willing to share), answer these 2 questions:

1. What does your username/alias mean?
2. How/Why did you choose that one?

I'm really curious to hear where some of y'all's names came from! I'll start.

1. SYN-ACK is the second step in the TCP handshake process (SYN -> SYN-ACK -> ACK). The SYN-ACK packet is the server's acknowledgement that the client's request has been received, and also sets a sequence number for server responses so that the client knows what packets are coming from the server.

2. I chose this for a couple of reasons:

   • I'm a software dev by trade, so I wanted something geeky and technical-sounding
   • It has my initials embedded in it
   • It metaphorically captures the concept of either posting a toot of my own (which is "ACK"ed by anyone who responds to it) or reading someone else's toot (replying to someone else's toot, thus "SYN-ACK"ed, well, by me :bec_grin: ).
   • An alternate version that I toyed with, SinAck, could tie into the Shadowrun concept of runners being SINless (where SIN == System Identification Number). Might still do that sort of shenanigans in my display name from time to time now that I've been here for a while. :bec_wink:​

#UsernameOrigins #finger #whoamiGame

SynAck, 9 months ago to random

Big Shrimpin' 🦐

SynAck, 29 days ago to random

I should probably be applying for some jobs, but the experience is so demoralizing. :bec_sigh:

SynAck, 6 months ago to random

Aaaaaand guess what is sitting in my mailbox right now? Yep. My stickers from Germany. So now they get to sit there for 2 more weeks until I can get back home.

Stickers are here! :spongebobsmug:

Stickers arrived 2 days later than I needed them: :moodface:

Great job, DHL/USPS. Perhaps reviving the Pony Express ain't such a bad idea. Would probably deliver mail faster. :kekwwait:

SynAck, 2 months ago to random

I may have gone on another sticker bender this evening...

The front of a desktop showing a samurai logo sticker and an Arasaka asset tag on the case above and below the power button and USB ports. The interior is exposed and a clear plexiglass panel is suspended to the left side over the innards by 4 silver metal posts. The large cooling fans and power cables are visible in the right center and the video card with orange lighting is visible in the lower center.

SynAck, 6 months ago to random

Spotify really pisses me off. It's impossible to turn off the Spotify Connect feature without rooting my phone. And I have to put up with the constant irritation of having my Now Playing list of whatever I last listened to following me around on whatever device I'm currently listening on because I got duped into using Spotify a decade ago when they still pretended to care about their users. And now I'm locked in because it's where all my music is. The enshittification is real.

F🤬​k you very much, Spotify.

SynAck, 6 months ago to f1

Anybody know how to follow multiple hashtags in a single list? Lists only seem to be tied to accounts, and following hashtags is on a 1-by-1 basis. For example, it would be really nice to group #F1, #formula1, and #formulaone into one column so that I can catch all the content without having to have 3 separate columns open (which I can't do on my phone anyway).

From my research thus far, it doesn't look like this is a supported feature yet, but it's quite possible that I've missed something. I'm still sort of "new" to the fediverse power-user options. So I figured I'd ask just in case someone out there has figured it out (or could maybe give me a pointer as to a github issue that I could monitor to see what discussion there is about it).

SynAck, 1 month ago to random

I really wonder what society would look like if people weren't forced to do jobs they hate just in order to live.

The fact that a capitalist system makes money by denying people the basic necesssities of life and then lays the blame for not being able to live at the feet of the people that the system has screwed is despicable.

Capitalism profits the most on the misery that the capitalist system itself creates. The fact that "work" is seen as both an ideal state of being as well as an "incentive" to get the basic necessities of life is reprehensible. Forcing people to start work as young as possible and then work until they've been completely used up through decades of constant work like so many cogs is abhorrent.

And the capitalists who perpetuate this system have likely never been anything less than affluent their entire lives. The irony is that their accumulated wealth allows them to be more of a "freeloader" than any person without a job. They have transferred their "work" to their money and the only "work" they do is to say, "put this much here".

Capitalism is a lie. It is the ultimate ponzi scheme. It is a system of control by which the wealthy control the rest of us. Capitalism devalues humanity to the point of insignificance.

I hate it here.

SynAck, 7 months ago to random

I was today years old when I finally put 2 + 2 together to make five that Judy's holocall icon (and I think one of her tattoos also) is an interpretation of "ghost in the shell". :facepalm:​

My brain would never let me get past the fact that the ghost just looked like a happy little sperm and I never really bothered to stop and think about it.

I am the worst cyberpunk ever. :bec_sigh:​

SynAck, 6 months ago to random

Why do companies always have to add new things to software? If it's working and people like the way things are, why are they constantly changing things?

I just want simple software that does the simple things I want/need it to do. Guess it's time to go back to my '90s software setup, like using bit torrent and WinAmp to get all my music, Nero to burn DVDs, and NCSA Mosaic to browse the web.

SynAck, 1 month ago to random

Got a random recruiter email for a Principal Software Engineer role at Zynga.

Zynga's still around? I thought they went under years ago....

SynAck, 7 months ago to random

Hey @revengeday - what was that company you bought your cyberpunk phone cases from? I think it's time for a new case for my old S20+...

SynAck, 4 months ago to random

And a very merry Zwischen den Jahren to those who celebrate. :bec_wink:

SynAck, 8 months ago to random

Oh, Amazon...

Me: {orders 2 UPS backups}

Amazon: would you like to have these delivered on Tuesday Prime Delivery Day? It saves trips and packaging materials!

Me: Sure, let's do that! Monday is a holiday, and I don't want to give you any excuse to make somebody work that day on my account.

Me, 2 hours later: {orders some tactile keyboard stickers}

Amazon: Hey, you already have an order pending! Would you like to add this item to that one? Saves trips and packaging!

Me: That's smart of you! Yep, do that.

Amazon today (Labor Day): Hey, UPS 1 is out for delivery today! And then the stickers tomorrow, and UPS 2 will be delivered on Wednesday!

:facepalm:​ Why offer a consolidated delivery day if you're not gonna stick to it, Amazon? Now some poor shlub has to deliver my heavy-ass UPS on a day that they should be kickin' back and relaxing for a long weekend.

SynAck, 11 days ago to random

And now comes the part of my day where I throw up my hands in exasperation because I don't understand SCSS nor React and I can't figure out how to make the Quartz code style my site the way I want it to look. What's worse is that I'm trying to modify code that someone else has built, while not having a good handle on how styling works, which I'm sure is a very large part of my problem.

That and getting down to the nitty gritty of all the things I dislike about front-end work - all the bit twiddling and pixel tweaking falderall. I'm frustrated with the whole thing, so I'm done with it for now.

The good news is that while it's not looking exactly the way I want it to - which would likely have to be accomplished with some gnarly hand-written HTML+CSS code - it looks "good enough". There's a lot of space where I don't want it, but I can't figure out how to turn it off, so I'm done with it. The good news is that I was able to create an "OTS Links" sidebar component with some buttons on it, which was the goal for today.

If I just can't stand it anymore, I'll go pester some of the people I know that use Quartz + Obsidian and see how they did what they did.

I hate front-end work. :bec_sigh:​

SynAck, 6 months ago to random

Welp, looks like I'll be renting a 10-foot U-haul truck for the low, low price of $1,500 USD. :gnah:

I am so over this situation! :big_mood:

SynAck, 1 month ago to random

Made the mistake of watching a few recent episodes of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and now I'm all angry.

Apologies in advance for any incoming screeds that may result. :gnah:

SynAck, 8 months ago to random

I want to do something but I don't know what I want to do. It's not that I don't have anything to do. I do. I just need a flash of inspiration to spark some motivation to pick something.

The unemployment "there's always tomorrow" procrastination is setting in, hard.

SynAck, 4 months ago to random

Cyberpunk sustenance acquired.

SynAck, 7 months ago to random

My father finally succumbed to his battle with pancreatic cancer and a massive stroke and passed away today. He went peacefully in his rest, surrounded by friends. Unfortunately there was no way that I could be with him, but I was able to talk to him one last time early this morning and say my goodbyes. Death is never happy, but my father was granted the best possible one that we could have asked for. I am very grateful that I got to spend an extended time with him before his stroke, and the last words that I spoke to him that he would have remembered were "I love you". No more suffering, no more cancer, no more being made to drink protein drinks or eat protein bars that "taste like dirt" (he could be so dramatic!)

Both my father and I believe that we will see each other again in the afterlife, but that doesn't mean that I won't miss him in the here and now. But I would rather miss him for a while than to have him be here and in constant pain and struggle.

I'm headed back there on Monday to help with arrangements and such, so I may not be around much here for a while. Then again, this place is my "digital home" so I may be around more than I think for the distraction. I'm doing okay, and I'm feeling fine at the moment other than the effects of grief.

Rest in peace, Dad! :pixelheart:​

SynAck, 4 months ago to random

corteximplant.com

SynAck, 4 months ago to boardgames

IT'S FINALLY HERE!!! #Cyberpunk2077 Gangs of Night City by CMON games. Backed this Kickstarter in 2022 and now it's here! Can't wait to dig in!

#boardgames

An open shipping box showing the contents: the Gangs of Night City base game, Gang Wars expansion, Motor Pool expansion, Side Gig expansion, Allies and Outcasts expansion, and the bonus Panam Palmer stretch goal figure.

SynAck, 6 months ago to random

One of the worst things about not having a national healthcare system is the yearly slog through trying to change or renew one's insurance coverage. It's such a frustrating mess and healthcare.gov is an exercise in futility.

It would be really nice if there was a base level of healthcare for most services (preventative care, emergency care, in-patient care, generic drugs and namebrands with no generics available, etc.) and then one could pay for extra insurance to cover those non-critical, elective, or otherwise planned medical expenses.

But of course that will never happen here because capitalism, greed, and profiteering. :bec_sigh:​

SynAck, 2 months ago to random

Passport acquired! I am now free to roam about the globe (mostly). Still waiting on my passport card, but it should hopefully be here in a couple of days (they inexplicably come separate from each other).

A lot has changed in passport tech since last I got one (2013). I vow to take some international trips so I actually get some stamps in this one! Between 2000-2010, I had a bunch. And then I haven't had any since, so now's the time to change that. I just wish that plane tickets weren't so expensive.... :oh_no_blob:​ :oh_no_bubble:​

SynAck, 8 months ago to random

The first shower with the tankless water heater was GLORIOUS!!! Took maybe 20 seconds for the water to get warm enough to stand in, maybe 2 minutes total to get up to full heat. I never realized what I was missing without instant hot water.

It was an expensive upgrade but boy oh boy is it nice!