Chat Thread 42: The Answer To Life, The Universe and Everyth

Amazee Dayzee · Post by **Amazee Dayzee** » Sun Jan 10, 2016 3:57 pm

You beat all of us by going through basic training.

Mickey the Luxray · Post by **Mickey the Luxray** » Sun Jan 10, 2016 5:55 pm

Credit hours do not apply to me. Only the onward march of time can save me from the iron grip of the educational system. :c

GreatKitsune · Post by **GreatKitsune** » Sun Jan 10, 2016 10:34 pm

Mickey the Luxray wrote:Credit hours do not apply to me. Only the onward march of time can save me from the iron grip of the educational system. :c

...Foreign college?

Mickey the Luxray · Post by **Mickey the Luxray** » Sun Jan 10, 2016 10:56 pm

GreatKitsune wrote:

...Foreign college?

Worse, high school. Six hours of straight classes every day. I can't wait to get the heck outta this dump.

GreatKitsune · Post by **GreatKitsune** » Mon Jan 11, 2016 12:04 am

Try a Computer Sciences course load. 17 credit hours means 17 hours of lectures + 17 hours of study each week, on top of extracurriculars, papers, and life in general.

CS maths, by the way, put calculus to shame.

Amazee Dayzee · Post by **Amazee Dayzee** » Mon Jan 11, 2016 1:13 am

I still say that Jeff beat us all by willingly going through basic training and getting screamed at.

Radio Blue Heart · Post by **Radio Blue Heart** » Mon Jan 11, 2016 1:55 am

Mickey the Luxray wrote:
GreatKitsune wrote:

...Foreign college?

Worse, high school. Six hours of straight classes every day. I can't wait to get the heck outta this dump.

Don't worry. High school is a nightmare for everyone. Soon you'll be in college and you will see how 90% of what you learned in high school is useless, and you will be deprogrammed.

My new job pays good enough but it is not conducive to continuing my nursing classes. I'll have to put my ambitions of becoming a registered nurse on hold indefinitely.

Post by **Sleet** » Mon Jan 11, 2016 10:54 am

Mickey the Luxray wrote:
GreatKitsune wrote:

...Foreign college?

Worse, high school. Six hours of straight classes every day. I can't wait to get the heck outta this dump.

After high school, just six hours a day is nothing! You can either work even longer, or you can go to college where you have a whole bunch of studying to do.

That said, college is great. The classes are more spaced out and you have more control over what you take. You just gotta be disciplined and make sure you study hard.

GreatKitsune · Post by **GreatKitsune** » Mon Jan 11, 2016 11:21 am

Sleet wrote:
Mickey the Luxray wrote:
GreatKitsune wrote:

...Foreign college?

Worse, high school. Six hours of straight classes every day. I can't wait to get the heck outta this dump.
After high school, just six hours a day is nothing! You can either work even longer, or you can go to college where you have a whole bunch of studying to do.

That said, college is great. The classes are more spaced out and you have more control over what you take. You just gotta be disciplined and make sure you study hard.

This is true. College electives are pretty fun if you choose the right courses.

Amazee Dayzee · Post by **Amazee Dayzee** » Mon Jan 11, 2016 4:32 pm

I liked a few of my classes but not a whole lot of them. Of course I only signed up for them to get the required classes out of the way.

Post by **ArcWolf** » Mon Jan 11, 2016 9:26 pm

I am both terrified and excited about my thermodynamics course.

Not looking forward to taking a pure math, though.

Amazee Dayzee · Post by **Amazee Dayzee** » Mon Jan 11, 2016 11:02 pm

Both of those courses sound like they would be soul-crushingly hard.

kurowolfe · Post by **kurowolfe** » Fri Jan 15, 2016 8:42 am

Hey guys, I kinda need some advice.

I've been postponing my driving lessons for quite some time now, and my parents are starting to breathe down my neck about it, my tactless Dad especially. So since I'll only restart college in May, might as well steel my guts and continue with it.

Thing is, I'm a little terrified of driving actually. Once I almost drove me and my aunt down a cliff, and once I drove up the curb so bad that the instructors were yelling at me. I kinda think it's because I'm learning stick shift. The old mentality here is that a man needs to know how to drive a stick shift car to be considered a man, and I foolishly followed that notion even though most cars here now are auto anyway, and that learning auto is easier. I also have this tendency to be overwhelmed by things I need to remember to do and not do while learning, hence the curb incident. While you could retake the final test over and over again, you need to pay a hefty sum of money every time you tried.

So, my question is, should I change my lessons to automatic cars so that I at least have more confidence to proceed on? I've driven in an automatic car, and it's much easier to concentrate on what you're doing. I will have to pay more to change my lesson plans, so that's a downside. Worst thing is, if my license only covers auto cars, I can't drive stick shift by law. Getting a license in stick shift would enable me to drive both transmissions.

Amazee Dayzee · Post by **Amazee Dayzee** » Fri Jan 15, 2016 4:03 pm

Go to auto. I would never be able to drive a manual anyway. It would be way too hard for me. And I'll probably burn the clutch out.

Post by **Hlaoroo** » Fri Jan 15, 2016 6:36 pm

My advice is twofold.

Confidence is very important when learning to drive any car but equally important is learning to multi-task and focus on everything you need to control the car. What I did, and what I advise for any learner driver, is to start learning to drive in an automatic car until you get used to processing everything all at once, and also learning to drive in the quietest streets with the lowest amount of traffic possible so that you have minimal distractions. Once you get used to the level of concentration needed to drive and once you get used to just controlling the car and you get confident with that, then you can switch to manual and learn to add the extra step of changing gears.

I also wouldn't go driving near any cliffs until you're comfortable that you're in control of the car.

CosmicCoyote · Post by **CosmicCoyote** » Fri Jan 15, 2016 6:38 pm

I would lean towards learning an automatic first, so long you have access to an automatic car. My parents tried to teach me stick-shift straight off the bat - and it led to frequent frustration, as trying to focus on driving the car and dealing with the clutch just let me to stalling the car out more often than not. In the end, I just learned how to drive an automatic. When I came back to it after having driven for a few years, stick was much, much easier, because driving the car itself was at that point second nature - it was just a matter of getting used to the clutch.

Fri Jan 15, 2016 9:27 pm

I'd say go automatic, it's easier and as you said, most cars are automatic nowadays. you have to go out of your way to find a manual.

GreatKitsune · Post by **GreatKitsune** » Fri Jan 15, 2016 10:32 pm

Don't worry about manual. I've never once had to drive stick and I passed my test on the first try.

Amazee Dayzee · Post by **Amazee Dayzee** » Sat Jan 16, 2016 12:23 am

I think in Europe it is more common to see a manual transmission than it is to see one in the US but I think it is possible to get one as an option.

Mickey the Luxray · Post by **Mickey the Luxray** » Sat Jan 16, 2016 12:59 pm

If you live in a hilly area manuals are a terrible, terrible idea for a first car. People will tailgate you to the ends of the earth, even if you're on a 20+ degree slope. One mess up on a hill-start and you could find your insurance skyrocketing. Not fun.

Cesco · Post by **Cesco** » Sat Jan 16, 2016 3:37 pm

I've always used manual transmission, and I'd really want to try and probably stay with automatic, since I don't drive a lot and get used with the clutch.

Amazee Dayzee wrote:Go to auto. I would never be able to drive a manual anyway. It would be way too hard for me. And I'll probably burn the clutch out.

You just haven't to keep your foot on its pedal while keeping the other on the throttle one.

Amazee Dayzee wrote:I think in Europe it is more common to see a manual transmission than it is to see one in the US but I think it is possible to get one as an option.

And it's so, in small cars and in cheaper trims is always an optional, and it wasn't neither available for some models till a bunch of years ago. Sometimes is an expensive optional, anyway. Manual transmission is always the best choice for high performances sport cars, though.

Amazee Dayzee · Post by **Amazee Dayzee** » Sat Jan 16, 2016 4:18 pm

I know how to drive it in theory, but in application I would probably mess it up.

Liam · Post by **Liam** » Sat Jan 16, 2016 9:03 pm

I was taught on manual transmission so I could use hand-me-down cars back in the day and I never stopped driving stick out of habit. But if you feel more comfortable with automatic, and you're certain your contact with manual cars will be negligible, I concur in the preceding feedback and say you should switch your curriculum.

And don't worry, driving is substantially less dangerous or complicated than the anxious voice in your head wants to make you believe. Your fear is your greatest enemy, hindering you to progress by disturbing your concentration. Do you have the option of taking a car to a quiet place, someplace traffic cops won't pull you over? Because experience is the most important thing about driving. The more experience you gather the more confident you will grow with your car.

kurowolfe · Post by **kurowolfe** » Sat Jan 16, 2016 10:46 pm

Thanks for the input and advice everyone. I think I'll change my lesson plans to automatic and proceed on from there.

I had wanted to practice on my own first at a deserted area like some of you have suggested, especially since my mum's care is auto as well, but I feel much more comfortable having someone else be there and teach me, and also be able to take over in case I break down mentally, which had happened before. No one was ever free enough to do so unfortunately, and only my younger brother would be available to help. He'll return from Japan for sem break next month, I'll abuse him then xD

About the transmissions, I'm not sure about other South East Asian countries, but automatic transmission personal cars were not readily available here until early 2010s. We only had manual cars before then; even the automatic personal cars license did not exist till about 4 years ago. Nowadays, most city dwellers like me seek out auto cars to save money on petrol, to reduce leg pain from too much clutch control during traffic jams and generally easier handling. If you live in remote areas where dirt and gravel roads are still around though, you still need to know manual since 4WDs are a necessity.

And unfortunately, the old mindset that men should be able to drive manual is still very prevalent here. I've even seen some cars sporting decals and kits declaring that 'real men drive with 3 pedals'. While it had stopped fazing me, that kind of mentality is strong with most driving instructors and even the traffic police officer who would be your adjudicator on test day. If I was a woman, they'd be more forgiving and be more attentive in teaching. But since I'm a man, they expect me to immediately be able to drive off the bat, and became agitated and impatient when they see me floundering with my stalling car.

JeffCvt · Post by **JeffCvt** » Sat Jan 16, 2016 11:44 pm

Kuro, I know it's hard, but you need to stop caring what other people think of you so much. Yes, it's important to keep a positive image of yourself, but look at what's more important. Being a "Manly Man" or actually learning to drive a car without hurting yourself or others? It seems like learning on the automatic will not only be a lot easier, but a lot safer. Like everyone said, once driving is second nature, it'll be a lot easier to learn stick. If you still want to learn it, you can do it then.

On another note, I just spent two hours trying to fix a problem on my laptop that it didn't even have. A word of advice to everyone: Don't spend a lot of time trying to fix something without making sure it's actually not working first. I feel like such an idiot right now.

kurowolfe · Post by **kurowolfe** » Sat Jan 16, 2016 11:57 pm

I'm still working on that, not easy to erase or even write over over two decades of indoctrination to always obey your superiors and self-shaming when you fail to perform excellently in anything.

In this context though, I don't even care about conforming to societal standards of what makes a man a man. It's only that those same stereotypes are seriously interfering with the ability of my instructors to see that I need extra help to get even the basics of changing gears right, and that I might need more practice and time. That's why I'm relying on self-learning with my brother soon, at least he knows his older brother is a little slow xD

Moving on, it's always a learning experience when that happens Jeff. I once spent money to get my laptop fixed at a shop, when the problem is easilg solvable by yourself

GreatKitsune · Post by **GreatKitsune** » Mon Jan 18, 2016 5:17 pm

Just message me or Invi-san about that kind of thing. We're both tech guys.

Liam · Post by **Liam** » Tue Jan 19, 2016 10:25 am

I'm seeing that list of the top leaked passwords that gets compiled annually flying around the web. Much gnashing and grinding teeth about the collective shortcomings of humanity, etc.

The thing is, isn't the method by how these lists are made distorting the results? The highest percentage of leaked passwords should originate from easily hackable sites, right? Who doesn't throw together a quick password that's easy to remember in order to create a throwaway account on those cheapo websites if you want to access their content or services?

So of course that means the most popular passwords in these lists will be "password," "qwerty," "1234567" and so on.

tsMKG · Post by **tsMKG** » Tue Jan 19, 2016 10:32 am

Liam wrote: So of course that means the most popular passwords in these lists will be "password," "qwerty," "1234567" and so on.

"Incorrect" also

GreatKitsune · Post by **GreatKitsune** » Tue Jan 19, 2016 2:18 pm

tsMKG wrote:
Liam wrote: So of course that means the most popular passwords in these lists will be "password," "qwerty," "1234567" and so on.
"Incorrect" also

Beat me to it.

Amazee Dayzee · Post by **Amazee Dayzee** » Tue Jan 19, 2016 2:19 pm

If I were to hack someone, that is the first one I would try!

Cesco · Post by **Cesco** » Tue Jan 19, 2016 2:26 pm

Liam wrote:I'm seeing that list of the top leaked passwords that gets compiled annually flying around the web.

I've now seen it too. The number one is again "123456". It's a classic.

Amazee Dayzee · Post by **Amazee Dayzee** » Tue Jan 19, 2016 9:45 pm

Well you know you can't beat the classics!

CosmicCoyote · Post by **CosmicCoyote** » Wed Jan 20, 2016 2:58 am

Here's a d20 die from ancient Egypt.

Somehow I blame Peanut for this.

tsMKG · Post by **tsMKG** » Wed Jan 20, 2016 11:46 am

Did they find a 3DS also?

Also, I still have my New Year 2005 magnets in my refrigerator.

The magnets are older than Housepets!

Amazee Dayzee · Post by **Amazee Dayzee** » Wed Jan 20, 2016 9:19 pm

I found eye drops in my bathroom from 2005.From back when Rite-Aid was actually called Brooks.

Liam · Post by **Liam** » Thu Jan 21, 2016 9:36 am

Amazee Dayzee wrote:I found eye drops in my bathroom from 2005.From back when Rite-Aid was actually called Brooks.

You should avoid taking them, in that case! :3

Amazee Dayzee · Post by **Amazee Dayzee** » Thu Jan 21, 2016 2:55 pm

Oh I did. I threw them out before anybody could use them.

On another note, I now have a cold and my nose is so stuffed up. I hope that Benadryl does something. >.<

tsMKG · Post by **tsMKG** » Fri Jan 22, 2016 12:31 pm

Amazee Dayzee wrote:I found eye drops in my bathroom from 2005.From back when Rite-Aid was actually called Brooks.

That remembered me that I also have a bubblegum in the door.
From early 2004 (or it was 2003?)

Also some videogame store near here, has the same console and TV running since 2002/2003 as a demo (A MegaDrive running Mortal Kombat 3)

Amazee Dayzee · Post by **Amazee Dayzee** » Fri Jan 22, 2016 5:04 pm

What can I say? Some people just don't like change.