melanthius

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Computer Experts: What's a computer trick you think everyone should know? by jojojokin AskReddit

[–]melanthius 0 points1 point ago

This has gotten me more far more praise at work than I deserved.

What was the biggest lie of your generation? by fireball_73in AskReddit

[–]melanthius 3 points4 points ago

But eating really good bread is fucking awesome. It's the HFCS-laden bread and enriched bleached flour that I can live without.

When is the best time to apply for jobs? by rtomo425in AskEngineers

[–]melanthius 0 points1 point ago

Nothing wrong with applying - just be realistic with them about when you're available to start work.

(Hint - You might not want to start work the day after graduation.)

Companies sometimes hire a year in advance, it's not unheard of at all. If they need someone right now it's simple, they won't consider you. No harm in trying.

Diamonds ARE NOT my best friends. by seriousmandain fffffffuuuuuuuuuuuu

[–]melanthius 0 points1 point ago

I had a long, in depth conversation with my fiancee about why I didn't agree with buying her a diamond (all the typical reasons). I ended up buying her a diamond. Worth it.

In the scheme of things, paying for a ring you can afford, that your fiancee loves, and buying with cash is not going to lead to one's financial ruin.

On the other hand, a girl who thinks your gesture wasn't lavish or expensive enough can go fuck herself.

Should I start studying for the PE/FE now? by hq4in AskEngineers

[–]melanthius 0 points1 point ago*

Agreed on the FE calculator front. Figure out which one you can live with and use it for everything.

You shouldn't need more than a few months (assuming maybe 4-5 hours per weekend) of studying for the FE. No need to start with years to go.

For me the most effective studying was just taking the paid online practice exam ($~35). Only answer questions you think you know, leave the others blank on the practice exam. The ones you didn't answer will show you your main areas where you need to study, and spend lots of time studying the questions you answered incorrectly (you thought you knew it, but you were wrong - much worse than realizing that you don't know how to do it at all)

The main strategy for passing the exam IMO is learning to realize which questions will take you longer than your "per question time limit" and just skipping them immediately regardless of subject area. Then you will have plenty of time at the end to go back.

Anyone ever try and of these? $30 bucks for a 12 year old single malt of Caol Ila, I am suspicious. by ardbeg_headin Scotch

[–]melanthius 0 points1 point ago

They do look like they're being marketed toward a younger generation but I wouldn't disagree to trying them.

Something that's beginning to depress me a bit about computer hardware. by neon_overloadin hardware

[–]melanthius 1 point2 points ago

As someone who went from academia to working in the real world, no thanks.

I found this to be very useful by GoogleMeSometimein PS3

[–]melanthius 0 points1 point ago

I have had the worst time trying to get certain h.264 subtitled videos to work properly on ANY media server on PS3. If this works, I can finally donate my 7 year old toshiba eyesore (laptop) that serves as a makeshift HTPC. Somehow missed it in the sidebar for a long time, thanks.

Played Civ 5 again recently, felt this way. by Araxielin gaming

[–]melanthius 0 points1 point ago

The thing about the Civ series that has always bugged me is that "harder difficulty level" = "AI gets free bonuses." Random civilization with 2 cities in the desert magically outpace you and sweep world wonders out from under your feet... bullshit. Not to mention those goddamn AI cities with practically endless defense units. No way in hell you can build up such a huge army and still manage to build stuff effectively.

My son dropped his ball. by triggerhappy82in funny

[–]melanthius 1 point2 points ago

More like 12.

Motorcycle VS Car oil in motorcycles. Any oil engineers out there care to give their opinion on what route to go these days, quality synthetic car oil or motorcycle oil? by drive2fastin AskEngineers

[–]melanthius 1 point2 points ago

The mechanisms that lead to wear on metal parts are not well understood except by true specialists in this field. Data typically has to be collected by conducting a DOE to explore the relevant variables. For example, harder material doesn't necessarily mean it will be more wear resistant, and higher viscosity oil doesn't necessarily mean you are better protected.

I personally would stick for whatever the manufacturer of the engine recommends. They most definitely know better than any internet "experts."

A Nasal Troll by davidlenin fffffffuuuuuuuuuuuu

[–]melanthius 5 points6 points ago

Gotta love how 99% of sexy times on /r/fffffffuuuuuuuuuuuu are dueling masturbators.

As a guy who works in the jewelry business, this cannot be more accurate by wigitalkin videos

[–]melanthius 0 points1 point ago

I understand where the fear is coming from, but you are really in tinfoil hat, conspiracy theory territory here.

What specifically do you find uncouth about the GLD audits by Bureau Veritas?

http://www.spdrgoldshares.com/media/GLD/file/Inspectorate_Certificate_Oct12_2011.pdf

And more importantly what would make this audit more suspicious than a 3rd party audit of any other bullion holdings company?

I mean, look, I get it... we're on the Internet where everyone is an "expert." So stop acting like an expert and be one. If you know something, don't hold back on me now.

As a guy who works in the jewelry business, this cannot be more accurate by wigitalkin videos

[–]melanthius 0 points1 point ago

No, it's not that kind of ETF. GLD is 100% backed by physical bullion. The fund's expenses for storing the gold are paid for by the fund's expense ratio.

It's a 73 billion dollar ETF, not some infomercial scam. Nothing wrong with owning physical bullion yourself if you're into that... more power to you. But unless you can store your gold for a cost of less than 0.4% of its value you are probably better off owning the ETF.

As a guy who works in the jewelry business, this cannot be more accurate by wigitalkin videos

[–]melanthius 1 point2 points ago

You buy gold to hedge against devaluation of currency and other assets... there is no such thing as a nondiversified portfolio that I would say isn't a bit crazy.

You can make a lot of money through nondiversified portfolios or you can lose a lot of money. Or your portfolio can do nothing. It's kind of the definition of risk exposure.

As a guy who works in the jewelry business, this cannot be more accurate by wigitalkin videos

[–]melanthius 2 points3 points ago

The real reason gold goes up is because the supply growth is in the low to mid single digit % range, while the demand continues to outpace the supply. It is notoriously difficult to get out of the ground. Until someone invents a legitimate technology to boost gold production rate for a reasonable price, it will be this way for a long time.

As a guy who works in the jewelry business, this cannot be more accurate by wigitalkin videos

[–]melanthius 0 points1 point ago

If you want gold, buy coins or bars, not jewellery.

Easier, and doesn't require safety deposit boxes... buy shares of physical bullion GLD

My sister brought me a present from Japan. Has anybody tried this before? by wermboin Scotch

[–]melanthius 3 points4 points ago

This is very true... at a Nikka Whisky distillery in Japan they had a pretty cheesy powerpoint-style slideshow that explained "the Japanese way" to drink whisky - 1/3 ice, 1/3 whisky, 1/3 water.

ITAP of my friends Ferrari F430 while driving on the Freeway! by Trevorfromwhereverin itookapicture

[–]melanthius 0 points1 point ago

To be honest, if you could actually land a job like that from Honda and or Toyota, it would probably pay much better.

How do you deal with your management? by rangerrick5in AskEngineers

[–]melanthius 0 points1 point ago

This is a terrible response. It is a crappy but common (mis)management style to choose employees who basically manage themselves. I'm sure you are a great employee but your managers are clueless if this is how you feel at work.

At small companies it's true everyone has to wear several different hats, but there should still be management to help people with career development, goals, putting expectations in writing, etc.

How do you deal with your management? by rangerrick5in AskEngineers

[–]melanthius 2 points3 points ago*

So, I work with a lot of different "managers" / "bosses" at work. Maybe I can be of some assistance. Here are some tips that I've developed after breaking out of my new-guy phase... (based on what I see a lot of "new guys" doing wrong as well).

  • Don't apologize for every little thing that goes wrong. No manager should feel like they need an apology for virtually any reason and apologizing for stuff makes you look spineless.

  • Along the same lines, when it comes to delays in the project don't provide unnecessary explanation about what is going on, nor should you point the blame at anyone or anything else. Most often, what they care about is when the next task will be done. So, if you can, open with "it should be done by ______". If they need an explanation of why it's taking so long, then tell them in a brief format and let them know you're doing whatever you can to move things along.

  • Speak less and listen more.

  • When delivering work product, use minimal but effective explanation where necessary (i.e. don't be overly wordy if it's not necessary). Focus on the results and the impact from the results.

  • If something isn't going right with the project and you need to let a manager know things aren't going to work out, before you go running to them, think about some potential options for keeping the project moving forward. This kind of thinking and action is the kind of behavior that managers get from their top performers and tends to lead to good things for employees who master it.

  • Don't assume the manager has read your email, ever, unless they have responded to it.

  • You interact with managers like any coworker but respect their time. If you need to talk to them, open with "is now a good time" etc. If they never have a minute to talk to you, then let them know you need to schedule something with them.

  • Boundaries seem to come into play most often when it comes to Employee X wants to leave work at a reasonable time and Manager Y needs something done ASAP. Well, to be honest, I guess I am not very good with boundaries. I typically do whatever it takes to get tasks done, but if you can't then the key is to be able to provide options for what can be done (and/or who can do it) in your absence.

  • IMO the best way to deal with notoriously DIFFICULT bosses who have difficult requests is to be reasonable and responsive to their seemingly insane requests. For example, they give you a task that takes a week and they want it done TODAY. Don't open with how it cannot be done. Focus on what deliverable work product you can produce in one day, package it nicely and send it off to them. This is being both reasonable and responsive. Provide what next steps need to be done to achieve their ridiculous request. Usually, once they see some work product, they have an idea how to proceed and will come to their own conclusion that either (a) they want to proceed along the same lines, or (b) they want you to stop working on it. If they should get frustrated that it is not done within the day, you can let them know that after digging further into the issue, you have determined that it will require more resources and possibly more people to get the task done.

  • The best way to get what you want is, simple as it seems, be assertive and be able to respectfully justify yourself in an adversarial setting. If you want a raise you should have a good justification for why your work product was valuable in the past 12 months. If they don't agree and you feel like you're stagnating, it's time to find a new job. If you want training then provide them with a value proposition, tell them how much it will cost in terms of money and time and why this cost is worthwhile to the company.

  • Remember managers are humans too, and they have their own strengths and weaknesses. A good team member like yourself can be a better team player if you help compensate for their weaknesses and make the most of your managers' strengths.

Until you follow every.single.rule in every.single.chapter, please do not pick out the ones that suit you. by iWalkAroundNakedin atheism

[–]melanthius 0 points1 point ago

Let me answer this as an Atheist. I went to a Presbyterian church for a class assignment once. The people there were awesome, very accepting, and the sermon was great. It had barely anything to do with the Bible or religion and the minister was very level headed. Now I didn't go back, but I wouldn't have a problem going there often if I had (for example) friends who were doing the same. It was an enjoyable experience.

There are a LOT of "Christians" like this out there. It is a community thing. They don't hate ANYONE. They don't love everyone either, they are just "normal" people, who believe in god but aren't all in your face about righteousness.

IAmA roughneck working on a drilling rig in Alberta. AMA. by L1BR8TEDin IAmA

[–]melanthius 0 points1 point ago

  • Being a badass

25 years old, and completely new to cycling - halp? by gaussian45in bicycling

[–]melanthius 3 points4 points ago

Can you explain similarly how to learn riding without touching the handlebars? As long as I can remember, if I take both hands off the handlebars the bike instantly wants to get away from me. Inevitably the front wheel picks a direction and fucks me over.

I'm a first year EngG student, and we need to make our selections for specialties soon, I was wondering what made you decide to go into the field you're in? (do you still stand by said decision) by perhapsanotherday22in AskEngineers

[–]melanthius 1 point2 points ago

My best advice is to do a mini job search right now, and find out specifically what specialties you need for the job(s) that you really want (i.e. look at what specific skills are listed on the job description)

Also factor in which industries (or even individual companies) are likely to grow versus those that may be on the decline or stagnating. We are coming out of a recession so most companies are now growing again.

You can look up long term projected growth rate of any public company on google / yahoo finance - individual companies' estimated growths are compared to their industry's and their sector's growth

I say all of this because it's exactly what I did NOT do, and during my job search near the end of grad school, I realized it's exactly what I should've done. I did luckily end up somewhere that really works for me, but it was not easy to get my job and since I didn't do any job searching at the beginning of my grad career, I almost got stuck moving somewhere I didn't really want to move for a job that I only thought I wanted.

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