phhlho's comments

phhlho | 3 years ago

This was what led me to quit Facebook as well. I just got a real sketchy feeling sharing photos of my family knowing that other people would see them intermingled with all sorts of awful content.

phhlho | 4 years ago

Don't know how widespread it was, but for my wife who had bi-weekly Covid tests for work they also started testing the samples simultaneously for the flu.

phhlho | 5 years ago

Not just more ads, but longer ones as well. We used to use youtube to put nursery songs on in the living room for our kids. All of a sudden we notice it's 15 minutes into an ad for the state of Ohio. So many less interruptions now that we play them off Spotify.

phhlho | 8 years ago

Always interesting to find 'local-only' chain things. For what it's worth, I think the brats are at the Milwaukee and Green Bay Costcos as well.

phhlho | 9 years ago

I think the biggest failure of RedBox is that people don't seem to realize you can complete the entire transaction online and reserve the movie. I can reserve a movie Friday morning, then drop by the grocery store Friday night to pick it up along with whatever I need for dinner. So easy, and I get to watch in BluRay quality for $2!

phhlho | 9 years ago | on: .NET Core Image Processing

If you are already familiar with .NET, you might find some courses on Microsoft Virtual Academy a good starting point. There is a web development category: https://mva.microsoft.com/training-topics/web-development#!i...

Looking at the courses available, I would probably start with: https://mva.microsoft.com/en-US/training-courses/getting-sta...

then look into either ASP.NET MVC: https://mva.microsoft.com/en-US/training-courses/introductio...

or ASP.NET Core: https://mva.microsoft.com/en-US/training-courses/intermediat...

This is coming from someone that hasn't actually used these, so take my recommendations with a grain of salt.

phhlho | 9 years ago

I always say college was very practical learning as at different points in time I was able to kill a mouse with both algorithms (this very book) and computer architecture.

phhlho | 9 years ago

The one thing I appreciate from editorial boards are recommendations for the down ballot elections. I don't know who these people are and their goals are usually difficult to describe in a blurb. At least I can get a third-party blurb about why I should vote for them. Online doesn't seem to really have a solution for this, as everyone wants to write about the main event, not the local races.

phhlho | 9 years ago | on: India's demonetisation of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 notes

Same problem! I always hold some rupee notes so I have some cash on hand until I get to my hotel. My plan is to find a co-worker travelling there over the holidays and give them a good exchange rate to cash them in.

phhlho | 9 years ago

I would agree that adding a new layer of complexity is to no one's advantage. A strangler application that becomes symbiotic with it's host can be a terrible thing.

I think the key angle to always consider: how will this new thing reduce overall complexity, now or over time? Maybe it means biting off a smaller chunk of the problem then you would like to keep the overall system sane. Or on the flip-side, keeping the new thing under wraps longer and running it in parallel with so you can thoroughly vet it before attempting to replace it.

And sometimes, you just have to decide that you won't be the person to try to 'repair' an application, particularly an old and stable one. Make the point change necessary for your need, call it a day and look for better opportunities elsewhere within the environment.

phhlho | 9 years ago

Agree completely on voting for one person to act on my behalf. I absolutely loathed needing to mark yes or no for two pages worth of judges when I voted in Chicago.

I always promoted a plan of voting no for every single judge. I figured if every judge failed to be retained during one election cycle, the powers that be would finally take the power away from the people for good!

phhlho | 9 years ago

Just remember - state matters heavily in that decision! If I had lived in a non-recourse state, I would have gladly performed a strategic default a couple of years ago and left the bank to pay the loss in value of my place.

phhlho | 9 years ago | on: How to Pick Your Battles on a Software Team

The hardest battles I've had are dealing with legacy code. The majority of teams want to improve the overall code base and correct past mistakes, but you can never fix everything right now. Deciding when to let the nasty thing lie and when to pay the cost of fixing something is a tough decision to make. Fixing costs are large and immediate but the cost of leaving a problem area is spread unknown across the future. Couple that with fixes that don't actually provide system value except for standardization and you can have all sorts of fun arguments.

phhlho | 9 years ago | on: Myth and reality in the crisis of college affordability (2015)

It would be interesting to see more information breaking down the increases there to compare to the causes at public universities. I saw an article the other day that stated that private colleges have also been increasing their financial aid or scholarships per student. Maybe that eliminates any of the difference in price changes between the two.

phhlho | 10 years ago | on: Apple's iTunes is 13 years old–and it’s still awful

Can anyone help me get iTunes completely out of my life? I use the iPod Shuffle to listen to podcasts while running, but would really prefer if I didn't need to use iTunes (or a computer connection at all) to update my feeds. Right now the only option I've really seen is a cheap, small unlocked android phone that I just use in wifi mode.
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