Open post Scott Blaydes @sblaydes@bsd.network · 8mo ago Replying to @climagic@mastodon.social <p>Had the fortune of meeting Michael Elkins (left), the creator of the mutt email client, today while at the Information Sciences Institute.</p> @climagic@mastodon.social Now that is a real celebrity cameo. Would much rather meet famous FOSS people than who ever is on TV/movies lately.
Open post Scott Blaydes @sblaydes@bsd.network · 8mo ago Replying to @stefano@mastodon.bsd.cafe Yesterday I lost a client. And I couldn't be happier about it. It's a long-standing client, but the management changed a few months ago. On Monday, they requested an emergency intervention, which I handled immediately. On Tuesday (yesterday, evening), they asked for a non-urgent enhancement to be closed by Wednesday evening. I explained that due to various reasons (including urgent family matters), I wouldn't be able to finish the task before Friday. That's when the lecturing started: they told me they set tight deadlines even for non-emergencies because "that's the proper way to do things", and anyone working with them must respect them without exception. I requested a video call to clarify. I explained that the work requires nearly a full day and that I simply couldn't close it by Wednesday. Even the physical time required to copy the data exceeded their deadline. But the new management believes that by applying pressure, you can overcome anything. Even the laws of physics. Their response was sarcastic: "Our requests take priority, even if you are dying". I smiled and reiterated that I had no other way. "We will therefore have to find a new consultant who respects our timing", they said. My response: "Okay. Our agreement expired on 31st December. I was waiting for a renewal, but it never arrived. Meaning, I have no legal obligations toward you. You have the data, the passwords, everything. Have a great day.". The manager, annoyed and failing to understand the implications, replied: "Fine, we’ll look for someone younger with fewer family ties to manage.". This morning, the phone rang. It was the manager, asking me to reconsider. His tone remained contemptuous, so I told him my decision was final. Two minutes later, I got a call from their biggest client - the one responsible for over 50% of their revenue. They had been notified I was leaving and informed the company they would also leave if I was no longer the one supervising their machines. I called the manager back, friendly, trying to see if they were willing to change their attitude - to move from peremptory orders to requests between human beings. He started talking about "suing for damages" if they lost their main client because of me (to be clear: I am not taking that client for myself). I don’t know how this story will evolve, but right now, I'm just enjoying a breath of fresh air outside my window. #IT #FreelanceLife #WorkLifeBalance #ToxicManagement #TechLife #Consulting #SelfEmployed @stefano@mastodon.bsd.cafe It is hard to go back if they are already threatening to sue. Good luck.
Open post Scott Blaydes @sblaydes@bsd.network · 11mo ago Replying to @dotcolm@mastodon.ie <p>I've been walking around Disneyland all day with this shirt. Nothing I've worn before has ever gotten me more compliments, positive comments, fist bumps and high fives.</p> @dotcolm@mastodon.ie That is a great shirt. Speaks to me SO much.
Open post Scott Blaydes @sblaydes@bsd.network · 43mo ago Replying to @patagona@chaos.social <p>Honestly, I didn't really expect this to work, but...</p><p>cc @Foone</p> @patagona@chaos.social But it is really safe to change disks while driving?
Open post Scott Blaydes @sblaydes@bsd.network · 2mo ago Replying to @GossiTheDog@cyberplace.social I just priced up my gaming PC, it's by far the most expensive thing I own now. I could sell it and have a deposit for a large house. Insane times. @GossiTheDog@cyberplace.social The fact my laptop has 64gb DDR5 in it means the value went up quite a bit.
Open post Scott Blaydes @sblaydes@bsd.network · 34mo ago Replying to @collinsworth@hachyderm.io <p>I took this photo of my kid playing with his blocks the other day, and when I realized it reminded me of something, well...I had to make this.</p> @collinsworth@hachyderm.io Need to start a patreon for your kid. Gotta keep developers of this stuff paid.
Open post Scott Blaydes @sblaydes@bsd.network · 2mo ago Replying to @kaneel@mas.to @tisba@ruby.social yeah and most people don't understand how it was trained, they often say "oh I get it's stealing your jo…" NOOOOOOOO wait, before we start getting there, do you know how it's trained? do you know how data was acquired… and they go "uh? that's stealing", WAIT, there's more "wait, they got a free pass? there u go. @kaneel@mas.to @tisba@ruby.social Got a friend who did 1.5 years in federal prison for piracy. I can imagine he is pissed at what they LLM trained on.. Lesson learned: Small scale piracy is wrong and large piracy is okay.
Open post Scott Blaydes @sblaydes@bsd.network · 46mo ago Replying to @wezm@mastodon.social <p><span class="h-card" translate="no"><a href="https://decentralised.social/users/wezm" class="u-url mention">@<span>wezm@decentralised.social</span></a></span> test</p> @wezm@mastodon.social @wezm@decentralised.social fail