Insane Advice

Tom Hoge Top Pick For Tomorrow Ship It Nation # # # #

So anyone here what have a pet rabbit I'm wondering if'n one would be a good choice for me, I've always been a cat person, but also think rabbits are neat, but no idea if'n one would fit my life. I figure now is a good time to ask as if I do decide to get a rabbit, I'll prolly wait until after Easter for obvious reasons.

Stretch goals are for workaholics, not healthy people.

Why This CEO Wont Let Private Funds Near His Companys 401(k) - WSJ

Do you often ask yourself what it would be like to be the opposite sex What it would be like to have a vagina or a penis, depending on the case

**What to do when reading gets hard**

"Sometimes, reading gets tough. And it's hard to even understand what you're reading. Here are a couple of techniques to help you when you're in that situation"

Geo-tagging

The war has begun..

My trusty Huawei P30 died today, after 7 years, due to a common hardware issue. Rather than pay 200 have it repaired, I think it's finally time to buy a new smartphone.

Contenders so far:
(1) Google Pixel 9a 265 GB with grapheneOS
(2) Fairphone 6
(3) Nothing Phone 3

Does anyone have experience with either of these smartphones that they could share :D

A lesson for employers: Treat your employees like dirt, your business will be dirt.

When employees feel slighted, they work less, research reveals

> A missed birthday. A forgotten anniversary. A milestone that goes unnoticed. These small slights from a manager may seem like no big deal, but new research from Wharton reveals that even the mildest of mistreatment at work can affect more than just employee morale.

Dear Mastodon,

I am a mechanical engineer who is about to make a major change. I have received a job offer from an international company for an Application Engineer position. The role involves supporting (computer-aided design), (product lifecycle management), and (product data management) systems and their underlying infrastructure.

As far as I know, most of the applications are -based, but there are likely some -like systems involved as well. I do not have formal system administration experience, so I am looking for guidance on which technologies I should focus on to make this transition as smooth as possible. Could you recommend useful books, technologies, or keywords to explore

For context, I have homelab-level experience with Linux, networking, SSL, reverse proxying, ZFS, Solaris zones, bhyve, and FreeBSD, and I have been using OpenBSD as my desktop operating system for years.

Thank you in advance for any or recommendations.

TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Implementation, configuration, and maintenance of software and systems related to the supported area in line with corporate requirements.
- Installation, configuration, and maintenance of critical software systems, as well as providing expert-level support to end users.
- Management of application-related changes, handling major upgrades, and the introduction and testing of new systems and developments.
- Publishing and testing new releases.
- System administration and monitoring to ensure the performance and proper operation of supported software and systems.
- Troubleshooting and problem resolution, including the management of system updates and fixes.
- Analysis of business requirements and implementation of related processes.
- Support for project management, including the preparation of documentation and reports.
- Communication with clients and business units to maintain synergy between business requirements and system solutions.

16 JAN - GRACE: For others. And yourself.
Card from "A Way Oracle" by Behbeit / The Water Bearer Press

Dear Universe:

Steps to understand rock'n'roll:
1. For "rock", substitute "fuck".
2. For "rock'n'roll", substitute "fuck'n'ball".

That's what it's all about.

Sincerely,
A former 18-20-year old rock musician

Don't lose treasure for new endeavors

Advice

Request for advice:

My dad (retired for 15 years) told me the other day that many jobs these days want "experience with AI" and that I should consider taking an online AI course so that I could put it on my resume . Now he's emailing me links to AI courses.

Any advice for uhh gently rebuffing him on this

My mom also secretly gave him a copy of my resume (she asked if she could see it after I applied for a job at the end of last year, and I told her I didn't want my dad's feedback because it's always extremely nitpicky and useless and she promised it was just for her own interest and that was apparently a lie.) Anyway, he returned it with helpful edits like "lie about your dates of employment so that it looks like you have fewer gaps in your resume", and a question mark next to the word 'wiki'.

So this is someone who thinks he's in the know, but has no idea what's going on...

If you're a beginner artist trying to find an art style, then this blog post is for you!

21 Lessons From 14 Years At Google, Addy Osmani ().

Via HN:

On Lobsters:

COTD - 15 JAN: RELEASE. You need an outlet.
Card from "A Way Oracle" by Behbeit / The Water Bearer Press

Ageing Matters Podcast
Hear first hand from the people driving change across ageing and aged care in Australia...

Great Australian Pods Podcast Directory:

. See for official warnings from the QFD. DO NOT RELY ON THIS SERVICE FOR TIMELY EMERGENCY WARNINGS.

AVOID SMOKE - Kumbarilla - fire as at 2:42pm Thursday, 15 January 2026 (IF39-5412021)

Location: Kumbarilla and surrounding areas -27.357441696369 latitude, 150.974677474 longitude, grid square QG52LP64
Map:
Incident Type: FIRE VEGETATION
Alert Level: Advice
Severity: Minor
Action: Monitor
Expires: 2026-01-16T14:42:00+10:00

Smoke is currently affecting Kumbarilla and surrounding areas. This is from a fire burning near Halliford Road, Kumbarilla.

- Stay inside and close windows and doors.

- Keep respiratory medication close by.

- Follow your bushfire survival plan now. If you do not have a bushfire survival plan, make one on the QFD website.

- Avoid driving through smoke if you can.

- Watch out for firefighters working in the area.

- Do not fly drones around the fire. Drones affect air operations.
- Click here for current QFD incidents and warnings
- Click here for bushfire preparation tips
- Click here for health advice and air quality information
- Follow QFD on Facebook and X.com
- Click here for road closure information or call 131940

- See for a listing of ABC Local Radio stations which may be broadcasting emergency information in your area.

This is probably a stupid question:

What do you do with thin bars of soap that are too thin to use without breaking It seems to me that there should be some way to combine them somehow into a new bar. But I don't know *how*.

They don't stick together well, even if I wet two at a time and try to squeeze them together. Could they maybe be melted down somehow, maybe in a microwave or on the stovetop Or should I just throw them out That seems kind of wasteful!

Does anyone have any solution

. See for official warnings from the QFD. DO NOT RELY ON THIS SERVICE FOR TIMELY EMERGENCY WARNINGS.

AVOID SMOKE (HAZARD REDUCTION BURN) - Mount Nebo - fire as at 11:58am Thursday, 15 January 2026 (IF39-5410221)

Location: Mount Nebo and surrounding areas -27.390832534254 latitude, 152.78033046614 longitude, grid square QG62JO36
Map:
Incident Type: FIRE VEGETATION
Alert Level: Advice
Severity: Minor
Action: Monitor
Expires: 2026-01-16T11:56:00+10:00

Smoke is currently affecting Mount Nebo and surrounding areas. This is from a Queensland Parks and Wildlife hazard reduction burn near Forestry Road and Double Break. This fire is under control.

- Stay inside and close windows and doors.

- Keep respiratory medication close by.

- Avoid driving through smoke if you can.

- Watch out for firefighters working in the area.

- See for a listing of ABC Local Radio stations which may be broadcasting emergency information in your area.

. See for official warnings from the QFD. DO NOT RELY ON THIS SERVICE FOR TIMELY EMERGENCY WARNINGS.

AVOID SMOKE - Kurumbul (near Goondiwindi) - fire as at 12:00pm Thursday, 15 January 2026 (IF39-5409221)

Location: Kurumbul, Yelarbon and surrounding areas -28.491067314901 latitude, 150.57679341899 longitude, grid square QG51GM92
Map:
Incident Type: FIRE VEGETATION
Alert Level: Advice
Severity: Minor
Action: Monitor
Expires: 2026-01-16T11:53:00+10:00

Smoke is currently affecting Kurumbul, Yelarbon and surrounding areas. This is from a fire burning near the Cunningham Highway and Wondalli Kurumbul Road.

- Stay inside and close windows and doors.

- Keep respiratory medication close by.

- Follow your bushfire survival plan now. If you do not have a bushfire survival plan, make one on the QFD website.

- Avoid driving through smoke if you can.

- Watch out for firefighters working in the area.

- See for a listing of ABC Local Radio stations which may be broadcasting emergency information in your area.

Had a great time interacting with an audience of early career folks today during a McDonald Institute event on how to develop a CV and cover letter for job applications. I hope the perspectives from our panel discussion were useful to the audience. I loved their questions!

One possible benefit to kicking the can down the road: Each time you kick it, some of its contents might spill out. Then you can clean up the little spill and the can will be a bit lighter the next time you kick it down the road...

. See for official warnings from the QFD. DO NOT RELY ON THIS SERVICE FOR TIMELY EMERGENCY WARNINGS.

AVOID SMOKE - Glass House Mountains - fire as at 8:42am Thursday, 15 January 2026 (IF39-5406421)

Location: Glass House Mountains, Beerwah and surrounding areas -26.896157418324 latitude, 152.99951183534 longitude, grid square QG63LC94
Map:
Incident Type: FIRE VEGETATION
Alert Level: Advice
Severity: Minor
Action: Monitor
Expires: 2026-01-16T08:42:00+10:00

Smoke is currently affecting Glass House Mountains, Beerwah and surrounding areas. This is from a fire burning near the Bruce Highway, between Red Road and Johnston Road. This fire is under control.

- Stay inside and close windows and doors.

- Keep respiratory medication close by.

- Follow your bushfire survival plan now. If you do not have a bushfire survival plan, make one on the QFD website.

- Avoid driving through smoke if you can.

- Watch out for firefighters working in the area.

- See for a listing of ABC Local Radio stations which may be broadcasting emergency information in your area.

Startup to Scale-up Club Q&A 13th Jan 2026

Recommendations for automated infrastructure monitoring

Safe presentation of medical data in Femtech apps

Trade-offs of cloud versus local AI deployment for agricultural technology

and more

COTD - 14 JAN: RIPE. Oh get on with it already! Card from "A Way Oracle" by Behbeit from The Water Bearer Press

. See for official warnings from the QFD. DO NOT RELY ON THIS SERVICE FOR TIMELY EMERGENCY WARNINGS.

AVOID SMOKE - Glass House Mountains, Beerwah and Beerburrum - fire as at 3:30pm Wednesday, 14 January 2026 (IF39-5404521)

Location: Glass House Mountains, Beerwah, Beerburrum and surrounding areas -26.91086182044 latitude, 152.96775351827 longitude, grid square QG63LC61
Map:
Incident Type: FIRE VEGETATION
Alert Level: Advice
Severity: Minor
Action: Monitor
Expires: 2026-01-15T15:28:00+10:00

Smoke is currently affecting Glass House Mountains, Beerwah, Beerburrum and surrounding areas. This is from a fire burning near the Bruce Highway, between Red Road and Johnston Road.

- Stay inside and close windows and doors.

- Keep respiratory medication close by.

- Follow your bushfire survival plan now. If you do not have a bushfire survival plan, make one on the QFD website.

- Avoid driving through smoke if you can.

- Watch out for firefighters working in the area.

- See for a listing of ABC Local Radio stations which may be broadcasting emergency information in your area.

. See for official warnings from the QFD. DO NOT RELY ON THIS SERVICE FOR TIMELY EMERGENCY WARNINGS.

AVOID SMOKE - Kumbarilla - fire as at 2:15pm Wednesday, 14 January 2026 (IF39-5402121)

Location: Kumbarilla and surrounding areas -27.354981903215 latitude, 150.97473857807 longitude, grid square QG52LP64
Map:
Incident Type: FIRE VEGETATION
Alert Level: Advice
Severity: Minor
Action: Monitor
Expires: 2026-01-15T14:07:00+10:00

Smoke is currently affecting Kumbarilla and surrounding areas. This is from a fire burning near Halliford Road, Kumbarilla.

- Stay inside and close windows and doors.

- Keep respiratory medication close by.

- Follow your bushfire survival plan now. If you do not have a bushfire survival plan, make one on the QFD website.

- Avoid driving through smoke if you can.

- Watch out for firefighters working in the area.

- See for a listing of ABC Local Radio stations which may be broadcasting emergency information in your area.

. See for official warnings from the QFD. DO NOT RELY ON THIS SERVICE FOR TIMELY EMERGENCY WARNINGS.

AVOID SMOKE - The Glen (near Warwick) - fire as at 1:54pm Wednesday, 14 January 2026 (IF39-5401721)

Location: The Glen and surrounding areas -28.343246188517 latitude, 151.92066614341 longitude, grid square QG51XP07
Map:
Incident Type: FIRE VEGETATION
Alert Level: Advice
Severity: Minor
Action: Monitor
Expires: 2026-01-15T13:53:00+10:00

Smoke is currently affecting The Glen and surrounding areas. This is from a fire burning along the New England Highway, The Glen.

- Stay inside and close windows and doors.

- Keep respiratory medication close by.

- Follow your bushfire survival plan now. If you do not have a bushfire survival plan, make one on the QFD website.

- Avoid driving through smoke if you can.

- Watch out for firefighters working in the area.

- See for a listing of ABC Local Radio stations which may be broadcasting emergency information in your area.

The Elvolve Podcast With Elly Miles
Hosted by Elly Miles, this podcast explores what it actually takes to regulate your nervous system, rewire unconscious patterns, and come home to yourself...

Great Australian Pods Podcast Directory:

Every shift my supervisor asks for suggestions like were running a think tank. I give them. They nod like it matters. Then they do the exact thing they wanted from the start. At this point my ideas are just their emotional support clipboard.

Artists who are looking to use Print-on-Demand services, do not use TeeSpring!

I have orders people placed *last November* that still haven't gone through, & I can't get TeeSpring to respond at all, let alone tell me why.

If you are one of the people who hasn't gotten their order, I'm sorry! They don't share your info with me, so I can't DM you & explain. You should probably go cancel your order!

Do you use a POD company that's actually good Please tell me about it

COTD - 13 JAN: PASSAGE. Step into bravery. Card from "A Way Oracle" by Behbeit from The Water Bearer Press

How about, instead of Google and other AIs dispensing questionable medical advice, they instead automatically spit out the contact details of the persons 5x nearest GPs and a nice little note underneath that reads something like "Obtaining medical advice online can be hazardous to your health, the best option is to contact your local in-person doctor". It would be a tiny task to program each AI to respond to medical questions in this way.

There, solved, wasn't so hard.

Sometimes I remember how darn proud of the adults many of my former students have become, of what they have accomplished and what, I am sure, they will accomplish. So, this is my reminder to them

reports on settlement (without details) between families of children who died by suicide and Google and Character.ai (which is licensed by Google, who also re-hired founders). Character.ai is no longer letting < 18 use the service. Google and Character.AI agree to settle lawsuits over teen suicides linked to AI chatbots

OpenAI launches ChatGPT health, encouraging users to connect their medical records

COTD - 12 JAN: INHERITANCE. Remember the magic that brought you here. Card from "A Way Oracle" by Behbeit from The Water Bearer Press

Last updated: 2026-01-18