steerclear's recent activity

  1. How to reduce (non-spam) business calls to my personal cell phone?

    ~tech Ask (advice)
    I have a business phone number that I use for work in addition to my personal cell phone number which I’ve had for 20+ years. I’ve always used my work number for anything job-related (colleague...

    I have a business phone number that I use for work in addition to my personal cell phone number which I’ve had for 20+ years. I’ve always used my work number for anything job-related (colleague contact, vendors, sales reps, networking, LinkedIn, etc) and only provide my personal for, well, personal contacts.

    But having had my personal number for as long as I have, it’s very easy to Google my name and find that number associated to me.

    My issue is that I’m constantly receiving phone calls and voicemails on my personal number from vendors, sales reps, etc that are either for services we use at my job or from vendors in relevant fields contacting me for various reasons. I realize some may lump this kind of outreach into “spam”, but I want to differentiate this kind of outreach from what I consider true spam (robocalls, phishing, non-work related sales calls like for home internet, etc) which just goes ignored and blocked.

    I don’t want to answer every call to correct someone to use my work contact info. I can continue ignoring but it does fill my voicemail and I’m hoping to reduce the number of calls I receive on my cell every day (even if it were to only cut it down by 5). Someone suggested changing my outgoing voicemail message to flag it’s my personal number and any work related messages would be ignored while providing my work number. I think this may be the best approach (though I’d skip providing my work number as I don’t need it to start receiving robocalls). I know I’m not the only one that deals with this (but maybe I’m in the minority rather than a majority) and am curious if y'all have this issue and if so, how you manage it?

    20 votes

  2. Comment on It's not just you. LinkedIn has gotten really weird. in ~tech

    steerclear
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    I remember feeling that I’d begun to lose sight on how to use LinkedIn as a professional network when I realized that I would only (and still do) “connect” with those I actually had a professional...

    I remember feeling that I’d begun to lose sight on how to use LinkedIn as a professional network when I realized that I would only (and still do) “connect” with those I actually had a professional relationship with (present and past colleagues, vendors and reps I engage with, friends for their professional connections, etc) while it seemed to be a more common trend to “connect” with everyone under the sun (random recruiters, random unrelated requests, random employees that worked at one’s former company 15 years after they have no longer worked there, etc). While my network now is a healthy ~500, I’ve seen (in my field) it’s more common to be 1000+. Not saying there’s a right or wrong approach here, but that was my first feeling of “Wait, what is this? Is there more or less value in networking with a connection of a colleague vs a stranger?”

    Then the blurring of casual and professional which this article focuses on only added to that disconnect.

    It’s similar with Blind. Once touted as the ultimate, professional network of anonymous, transparent discourse seems to primarily be (IMO terrible) relationship advice posts.

    15 votes

  3. Comment on <deleted topic> in ~games

    steerclear
    Link Parent
    Ha, no worries at all. Worst case scenario is that if I was crazy, my crazy mind was thinking about my workshop and that doesn’t sound too terrible to me.

    Ha, no worries at all. Worst case scenario is that if I was crazy, my crazy mind was thinking about my workshop and that doesn’t sound too terrible to me.

    1 vote

  4. Comment on Starter tool set for someone starting out in ~life.home_improvement

    steerclear
    Link Parent
    Not OP but here’s my reasoning: Why rubber mallet? Mallets are a softer material and have a wider surface area than hammers. Ideal for knocking things into place like pegs, furniture legs, tiles,...

    Not OP but here’s my reasoning:

    • Why rubber mallet?
      • Mallets are a softer material and have a wider surface area than hammers. Ideal for knocking things into place like pegs, furniture legs, tiles, etc. You may not need to use a mallet very often unless you work on home projects often, but trust me. If all you have is a hammer, it will absolutely be what you reach for in the above situations and will definitely find yourself thinking “I mean, that worked but I guess I just live with that indentation now.”
    • Why dedicated screwdrivers?
      • Unless you’re using them a lot, I think this is personal preference. IMO, a multi is fine when talking about a general starter kit. Just added risk of losing one of the heads or the attachments become loose over time if you are using/switching them out frequently.
    • Why blue masking tape?
      • I apologize if this is a regional thing and I’m mistaken, but I believe they’re referring to blue painters tape. Painters tape has a very light adhesive that will leave no marks when removed. You wouldn’t use it to secure anything, but perfect for marking measurements, making notes on furniture or walls, covering anything when painting (hence the name), or just visually outlining/framing anything on hard or soft surfaces. Masking tape is less adhesive than duct tape, for example, but is more adhesive than painters and it can still leave residue especially if left on a while before removing.
    • Why wood screws/finishing nails?
      • This would just be using the right fasteners for your material. Just as you should use drywall screws when screwing into drywall or machine screws for metal, you should use wood screws when securing wood to wood. Finishing nails are really for workshop needs (making furniture and such). They can be useful when hanging items like pictures, but they’re smooth and if used on drywall, they may just slip in or out of the hole dropping your frame in the process.
    3 votes

  5. Comment on <deleted topic> in ~games

    steerclear
    Link Parent
    I love reading this viewpoint. As a (terrible) gamer that was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult, I found the opposite to be true for me. I used to play a lot of turn-based games in my youth, but...

    I love reading this viewpoint. As a (terrible) gamer that was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult, I found the opposite to be true for me. I used to play a lot of turn-based games in my youth, but realize when I picked up Baldurs Gate 3 that it’d probably been at least 15 years since I’d last played one. I quickly realized why I loved them as the formulaic battle structure calms my brain a lot.

    I completely understand your point and it could just as easily have had the same impact on me, but something about requiring the focus to think of battles in terms of being rube goldberg machine of IFTTT cause and effect hits all the right buttons for me. The “downside” is that in turn-based games, I’m 100% thinking about the game and story mechanics behind-the-scenes from start to finish whereas anything not turn-based, I’m more in the story or role-playing seat. All enjoyable to me, but I can imagine that’s would be a detractor for some.

    10 votes

  6. Comment on <deleted topic> in ~games

    steerclear
    Link
    Admittedly I only have the information you’ve provided us, but from your post alone I would suggest that maybe they aren’t actually up your alley? There’s a wide variety of RPGs with rich...

    In theory, turn-based games should be right up my alley

    Admittedly I only have the information you’ve provided us, but from your post alone I would suggest that maybe they aren’t actually up your alley? There’s a wide variety of RPGs with rich narratives that aren’t turn-based so it may just be this play style just isn’t for you. And that’s ok! I love narrative driven games, but I also know that visual novel type games are not for me, for example.

    Turn-based games are a different type of strategy than real-time. Instead of developing the skills to block an attack in real time, for example, you have to plan for the fact that your enemy will have the turn to damage you every time. One might make an argument that real-time is boring because once you know dodge, there’s no challenge. It’s also possible that if you find yourself quitting within a few hours, maybe you’re not progressing past the “tutorial” encounters that are more geared towards introducing the player to the concept turn-based battles and haven’t reached more strategic encounters that will stimulate you more and appear less boring.

    That said, I feel that if you’ve tried that many games and still find yourself not feeling engaged, life’s too short to force enjoyment when there’s so many other options that can tick the boxes of what already know you like. Or maybe your brain really is trying to get you into woodworking in which case, we welcome you to come join the fun!

    EDIT: I could have sworn when I first read your post that you mentioned you found your mind wandering to “Should I pick up woodworking?” instead of focusing on the game because you kept getting too bored.

    4 votes

  7. Comment on What is your favourite cutscene/cinematic in any game? in ~games

    steerclear
    Link
    (This isn’t necessarily my favorite cinematic but it does stand out as one of the most mind-blowing to me at the time) The beach assault in Final Fantasy VIII. It’s kind of a beautiful scene but...

    (This isn’t necessarily my favorite cinematic but it does stand out as one of the most mind-blowing to me at the time)

    The beach assault in Final Fantasy VIII. It’s kind of a beautiful scene but that moment when a Square Enix cinematic of assault ships rushing full speed onto the beach and opening their doors revealing your party characters and it taking a moment to realize that you’re now in control of your characters without there being a transition from cinematic to game was the coolest thing ever in 1999.

    Edit: Found a clip https://youtu.be/wNOSYIL1x24

    7 votes

  8. Comment on How to read House of Leaves in ~books

    steerclear
    (edited )
    Link
    I read it all as I went. Read the main text, pause to read the footnote, pause again to read the footnote to the footnote. When there’s a reference to an addendum, I would flip there to read and...

    I read it all as I went. Read the main text, pause to read the footnote, pause again to read the footnote to the footnote. When there’s a reference to an addendum, I would flip there to read and repeat the above cycle.

    Reading HoL is kind of a journey. There’s not “a right way” to read it; more that suddenly you’ll find yourself literally reading the text differently than you would another book or even the chapter before. You’ll know when to jump around or flipping the book upside down or navigating a labyrinth of text because you’ll naturally find yourself doing so.

    I read HoL while traveling by train. Those near me on the first leg of the trip would say they sat next to a man reading a novel. Those near me on the last leg of the trip? They probably told their family they spent the trip keeping their distance from a terrified lunatic.

    Edit:

    “Is it worth it to try that if some are fake and some are real?”

    I look forward to your follow up after having finished the book on what you think about this question.

    21 votes

  9. Comment on What are the greatest TV intro songs of all time? in ~tv

    steerclear
    Link
    No real order or reason; these are just iconic tunes imo: Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (which, btw, what a product of its time. Does anyone auto tune the news anymore?) White Lotus (season 2) The...

    No real order or reason; these are just iconic tunes imo:

    Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (which, btw, what a product of its time. Does anyone auto tune the news anymore?)
    White Lotus (season 2)
    The X-Files
    X-Men animated series
    Batman animated series
    Curb Your Enthusiasm

    1 vote

  10. Comment on I gave Lemmy, Kbin, and Beehaw a chance. I think I'll be sticking with Tildes. in ~tech

    steerclear
    Link
    Still fairly new to Tildes and practically an infant in regards to kbin/Lemmy/general Fediverse so these are just my impressions from only the past few weeks after having been a Redditor for 13+...
    • Exemplary

    Still fairly new to Tildes and practically an infant in regards to kbin/Lemmy/general Fediverse so these are just my impressions from only the past few weeks after having been a Redditor for 13+ years and on message boards/usenet/irc/etc for years before that.

    Reddit replaced pretty much all forums/etc for me in the time that I’d used it. The community is/was vast and strong both in total but also in diversity. The micro pockets of unique subreddits meant never feeling alone in whatever small interest or trait you held yourself. I love both.

    When I wanted a constant feed of content (whether it was info I cared about or not), it was there in the main subreddits without effort with thousands of voices contributing. And much of that contribution could sometimes just be noise, but that noise was a white noise that brought its own connection to a community. And when I wondered “maybe this is just me?” about anything, I could find others just like me with minimal effort. Aching for philosophical discussion around a singular episode of Lost? The /r/lost community was standing around the watwr cooler waiting for you. When I was diagnosed with ADHD at nearly 40 and my world shattered a bit trying to reprocess what I thought I knew of myself, my past, and how to cope with moving forward? Multiple subreddits were there with others sharing similar stories. All unique but also deeply personal and overlapping so that I didn’t have to journey alone. /r/puppies was the first place where people acknowledged its a completely normal but not-openly discussed thing to truly hate your new puppy for a few weeks. These aren’t even great examples of the smaller communities of like minds/interest (who knew I was obsessed with discussing robot vacuums??).

    On Reddit, though, I mostly felt like I was engaging with the community as a whole. On my regular message boards prior, I felt like I was engaging with individuals in a community. We knew each other, recognized usernames, would engage in long form discussions directly. Both are great; just different.

    Tildes reminds me of those message boards and the smaller, specific subreddit communities. kbin/Lemmy reminds me of the broader Reddit way of connecting. When I hop on Tildes, I find myself reading more and getting to know people through their discussion. When I browse kbin, I’m sifting through content and reading responses.

    Over time, I may find I’ve curated my kbin feed better so it’s more targeted to my interests, but so far I’m feeling more at home on Tildes in a way that I haven’t had since prior to Reddit.

    77 votes

  11. Comment on Has anyone tried 4DX movies? in ~movies

    steerclear
    (edited )
    Link
    I’ve seen two movies in 4DX (both over a decade ago so it’s probably come a long way since then and they were only the moving seats at the time) and they left two wildly different impressions: The...

    I’ve seen two movies in 4DX (both over a decade ago so it’s probably come a long way since then and they were only the moving seats at the time) and they left two wildly different impressions:

    • The Fast and the Furious 6: It was pretty fantastic and felt like the kind of movie made for 4DX. Genuinely felt like you were in the car.

    • The Book of Eli: ….it was two hours of walking.

    Edit: Just learned these were D-BOX, not 4DX. TIL they’re different and not just brand names.

    1 vote

  12. Comment on General product recommendations in ~life

    steerclear
    Link Parent
    This was going to be my exact reply. Very comfy, but do not recommend if you’ve pets that sleep in the bed. We’ve two cats and a dog, none of which are rowdy or claw at things (in bed at least)...

    This was going to be my exact reply. Very comfy, but do not recommend if you’ve pets that sleep in the bed. We’ve two cats and a dog, none of which are rowdy or claw at things (in bed at least) but just hopping in and out of bed wore out our bamboo blend sheets very quickly in a way we’d never had with anything else.

    1 vote

  13. Comment on Any fans of British comedy series here? in ~tv

    steerclear
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    Not enough love here for Black Books. Some days we could all benefit from being a little more like Bernard. Most days it’s best that we’re not. And Taskmaster never fails to make me laugh.

    Not enough love here for Black Books. Some days we could all benefit from being a little more like Bernard. Most days it’s best that we’re not.

    And Taskmaster never fails to make me laugh.

    27 votes

  14. Comment on Redditors of Tildes, which subreddits are you missing the most during the blackout? in ~tech

    steerclear
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    Echoing the local city subreddits but I’ll also deeply miss my fellow /r/lost community. 13 years later and we still would dissect that show like it we were around the water cooler the day after...

    Echoing the local city subreddits but I’ll also deeply miss my fellow /r/lost community. 13 years later and we still would dissect that show like it we were around the water cooler the day after an episode.

  15. Comment on Redditors of Tildes, which subreddits are you missing the most during the blackout? in ~tech