The Vent and Rant Thread

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by badgoodDeb

Never heard of it; *highly* applicable! I've often wondered, when I help people with their computers, how they can *possibly* write "computer literate" on their resumes, when they don't know how to find the desktop, or what a folder is. They only know the inside of MS Word. And they don't KNOW that. It drives me up the WALL.

Sigh.

Oh, yeah. We get this ALL. THE. TIME. I've had clients tell me--the ones who I have to call, and walk through finding their downloaded files--that they are 'tech-savvy,' and that "this never happens to me when I deal with OTHER people!" (Talk about making you grind your teeth...). Of course, everyone ELSE just sends them Word files, that "download" (read: open) when they double-click it. They think that's downloading.

All I have to do is see a yahoomail, aol, or hotmail email address, and my blood pressure literally starts to rise. Thank God I have low blood pressure, naturally.

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

On the subject of computer literate, when I worked at the college, a student needed a helper in Access. The first two helpers that were hired, the first one literally asked the professor how to turn on the computer and the second one asked how to find the program.
Needless to say the professor told the front office that she had to interview the next potential helper before approval.
The student wasn't too fond of the third helper but the professor loved the new one.
The student knew he would have to actually do the work to pass with the helper.
I know she asked the new potential helper if the helper knew access. The helper was honest and said not sure how well I know it but I made a card catalog.
The professor had seen the card catlog.

GEEZE. Now, that's bad. Do we know what happened to the poor student, who among all the parties involved, was the one most shafted?

Hitch

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Oh, yeah. We get this ALL. THE. TIME. I've had clients tell me--the ones who I have to call, and walk through finding their downloaded files--that they are 'tech-savvy,' and that "this never happens to me when I deal with OTHER people!" (Talk about making you grind your teeth...). Of course, everyone ELSE just sends them Word files, that "download" (read: open) when they double-click it. They think that's downloading.

All I have to do is see a yahoomail, aol, or hotmail email address, and my blood pressure literally starts to rise. Thank God I have low blood pressure, naturally.



GEEZE. Now, that's bad. Do we know what happened to the poor student, who among all the parties involved, was the one most shafted?

Hitch

The student now has a good job where he has worked for many years. His speech impediment has gotten much better but his very limited mobility has not.
He was born with limited use of his left hand. That is his ability. He also finally got a service dog.

The college should not have let him try for a business degree. Let's just say because he was very special education, the public school district he went to didn't teach him anything.
The first class I worked with him in was EXCEL. The poor student could not even do simple subtraction. That left me in tears. Yes, I made him try.
He wanted helpers that would do the work for him.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by Freeshadow

as Dennis said: I mean it.
Every time you come out with something where I can "un-down" you and cheer you up it's as much therapy for me as it is for you.
Because every time your questions or a rant boils down to something like "I can't stomach this idiocy anymore." I know it isn't just me asking himself whether I'm slowly loosing my last marbles or the masses outside ARE that terminally stupid. You (and a bunch of others here) are more often than I would like to admit my proof that I'm not inside of a huge mental asylum.

The masses out there are not terminally stupid. They are terminally *lazy*.

I know some people who are more than intelligent enough, as they have finished a bachelor or a master in a field that I'd call respectable. Often, their jobs require them to NOT be stupid.

Still, when they need to have something done on the computer, or have to have a new home entertainment system installed, or a device configured, they call me and try to get me to do it for them. Those same people are also the ones saying "I can't do that" even before they took a look at what they would need to do.

They just don't have the drive to study and learn new things. They also groan, sigh, and moan when they have to study a course on work-related stuff (rule changes in law, or taxes, or whatever).

IMHO, because there are a lot of these people, they are the ones which make employers think that people above 35 are less interesting for a company, and the ones above 45 are completely and utterly useless, even though they still have 20-22 years to go before retirement.

There are quite some 45+ year old people I know that react with fear and loathing (even when not in Las Vegas) if they are required to do something that is only the tiniest bit outside their normal line of work.

Heck, I know a few people who are in their twenties that are already like this.

"Could you write a mailer script in PHP that sends an uploaded to a number of people?" (And it's PHP because the webserver happens to be running Apache on Debian, with PHP already installed and serving some stuff.)
- "No, I can't. That wasn't a part of my education. I've only worked with C#."

Those people WILL be useless in 20 years... after the version of C# they learned has moved on to beyond being a relic.

[PeterT]

Originally Posted by PeterT

DRAT... Another bluetooth headset goes missing

I drive for a community care organization, so of course need to be reachable by cell phone. In Ontario it's the law that you have to be handsfree.

I was out this morning, and all was fine. Went back out to do Meals on Wheels driving and realized when I finished that my headset was gone

I dislike the in the ear type, and like the Motorola H730 so have yet another one on order from Amazon.

Maybe I need to figure out how to attach a lanyard to it at all times.

WOOT

Was in my car this morning and did one more check..... Lo and behold in a small nook between the front seats there was the missing headset. I know I had checked the car yesterday but somehow missed it.

Now to work on the lanyard!

[cromag]

I'm a sucker for happy endings!

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

The masses out there are not terminally stupid. They are terminally *lazy*.

I know some people who are more than intelligent enough, as they have finished a bachelor or a master in a field that I'd call respectable. Often, their jobs require them to NOT be stupid.

Still, when they need to have something done on the computer, or have to have a new home entertainment system installed, or a device configured, they call me and try to get me to do it for them. Those same people are also the ones saying "I can't do that" even before they took a look at what they would need to do.

That's simply typical. Like any animal, they'll take the path of least resistance. Once thing I learned, far too many times, is that people don't do "what's right," (generally), no matter what they tell themselves; they do what's easiest. They'll rationalize what's easiest into somehow being "the right thing." If doing the RIGHT thing is hard, fuhgedddaboudit.

They just don't have the drive to study and learn new things. They also groan, sigh, and moan when they have to study a course on work-related stuff (rule changes in law, or taxes, or whatever).

Seriously, what's the purpose of life, if not to learn new stuff? Sheesh. Yeah, yeah, we're all here to procreate, no matter what other high-and-mighty story we may tell ourselves, but when push comes to shove, learning as much as you can on your trips around the sun is the best you can do with your time. Obviously, just my opinion, but...

IMHO, because there are a lot of these people, they are the ones which make employers think that people above 35 are less interesting for a company, and the ones above 45 are completely and utterly useless, even though they still have 20-22 years to go before retirement.

There are quite some 45+ year old people I know that react with fear and loathing (even when not in Las Vegas) if they are required to do something that is only the tiniest bit outside their normal line of work.

I must confess, I know this wasn't your intent, but, BOY, have you managed to offend me with this. I have a number of friends, most WELL over 45, who are frustrated at their inability to find work, even though they, far more than most college students, have invested and are investing their time in learning new things--technologies, programming, you-name-it. Maybe it's because most recent college grads think that they can rest on their laurels, while those of us longer in the tooth think we have to prove we're still "cool" and can make with "The Facebook, The Youtube and The Twitter." :-) (Old fart joke).

Heck, I know a few people who are in their twenties that are already like this.

"Could you write a mailer script in PHP that sends an uploaded to a number of people?" (And it's PHP because the webserver happens to be running Apache on Debian, with PHP already installed and serving some stuff.)
- "No, I can't. That wasn't a part of my education. I've only worked with C#."

Those people WILL be useless in 20 years... after the version of C# they learned has moved on to beyond being a relic.

Yes, actually, THAT I've seen. There's an obdurance to a lot of recent college grads--I don't think it's laziness, or whatever; I think it's a bad case of "I know better"-ness. It seems to be a constant irritant with new-hires fairly straight out of school.

Or, perhaps, this is simply proof that the Generation Gap still exists.

Hitch

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by Hitch

I must confess, I know this wasn't your intent, but, BOY, have you managed to offend me with this. I have a number of friends, most WELL over 45, who are frustrated at their inability to find work, even though they, far more than most college students, have invested and are investing their time in learning new things--technologies, programming, you-name-it.

I'm sorry I've offended you. Obviously, that wasn't the intent. It is just an observation that I see (and have seen) numerous people who KNOW that they will have to go to work for another 20 years at least, but they seem to actively refuse to stay relevant in case they are ever out of a job, which can happen in a pinch these days.

Yes, actually, THAT I've seen. There's an obdurance to a lot of recent college grads--I don't think it's laziness, or whatever; I think it's a bad case of "I know better"-ness. It seems to be a constant irritant with new-hires fairly straight out of school.

The difference between the two groups, I think, is not wanting to learn anything new (anything at all), vs. to not wanting to do anything outside of the field of work that has been studied. Maybe these younger people would study new versions of C#, but not anything else, or something.

Or, perhaps, this is simply proof that the Generation Gap still exists.

I think it will never go away; there'll just be a new one each generation.

For example, if SMS/Whatsapp text goes any further, it will look like this in another 10 years:

"Dwoera dfio werJz dkow3s4A ??"

Or something

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

I'm sorry I've offended you. Obviously, that wasn't the intent. It is just an observation that I see (and have seen) numerous people who KNOW that they will have to go to work for another 20 years at least, but they seem to actively refuse to stay relevant in case they are ever out of a job, which can happen in a pinch these days.

Yes, I knew it wasn't intended that way, but for those of us who think of 45 as merely a fond memory... ;-)

The difference between the two groups, I think, is not wanting to learn anything new (anything at all), vs. to not wanting to do anything outside of the field of work that has been studied. Maybe these younger people would study new versions of C#, but not anything else, or something.

Maybe it's the same "disease," but with different (yet similar) symptoms, based on age and experience. Yeah--I like that idea. It's logical.

I think it will never go away; there'll just be a new one each generation.

For example, if SMS/Whatsapp text goes any further, it will look like this in another 10 years:

"Dwoera dfio werJz dkow3s4A ??"

Or something

Yeah, don't get me started on that crapola. It literally boggles my brains. I can read it...but why the hell should I? Even on my (accursed) smartphone, the Google text algorithm types (predicts) the words I want to use, fairly competently. Ch***t, even if they're the wrong word, at least they're typed out in full. Maybe that will be the new textspeak--all completely typed-out, predicted, but utterly WRONG words. Our lives will all become a variant of "Damn You, Autocorrect!"

Jelly Loves That (Just Like This).

Hitch

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Yeah, don't get me started on that crapola. It literally boggles my brains. I can read it...but why the hell should I? Even on my (accursed) smartphone, the Google text algorithm types (predicts) the words I want to use, fairly competently. Ch***t, even if they're the wrong word, at least they're typed out in full. Maybe that will be the new textspeak--all completely typed-out, predicted, but utterly WRONG words. Our lives will all become a variant of "Damn You, Autocorrect!"

Jelly Loves That (Just Like This).

Hitch

Despite being a member of that very generation, I find that quite annoying as well.
And I manually type everything -- maybe slow, but I've almost never had a "Damn You, Autocorrect!" moment....

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

Despite being a member of that very generation, I find that quite annoying as well.
And I manually type everything -- maybe slow, but I've almost never had a "Damn You, Autocorrect!" moment....

You're fortunate. I have "damn you, autocorrect" moments even when I'm not using Swipe or autocorrect. I'll omit letters, syllables, and sometimes even entire words; then looking at what I wrote, I'll wonder how I managed to omit things I knew I was thinking. Maybe my brain works faster than my fingers can type, or maybe the mental queue that holds my thoughts prior to their expression has limited storage space and auto deletes any thoughts that aren't processed in a timely manner. Perhaps my head just needs its RAM beefed up.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

You're fortunate. I have "damn you, autocorrect" moments even when I'm not using Swipe or autocorrect. I'll omit letters, syllables, and sometimes even entire words; then looking at what I wrote, I'll wonder how I managed to omit things I knew I was thinking. Maybe my brain works faster than my fingers can type, or maybe the mental queue that holds my thoughts prior to their expression has limited storage space and auto deletes any thoughts that aren't processed in a timely manner. Perhaps my head just needs its RAM beefed up.

Just keep telling yourself "I am a very fast thinker."

Who knows -- it might even be the real reason.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

Just keep telling yourself "I am a very fast thinker."

Who knows -- it might even be the real reason.

I actually don't know how any of you type so quickly on the cursed things. I can't. I have a suitable stylus, and STILL can't go that fast. {sigh}. And I'm fast as hell on a regular keyboard.

Hitch

[cromag]

My autocorrect rarely overrides me, but it did once insist on changing "zinfandel" to "infanticide." Fortunately, I spotted it and corrected it back to my original intent before sending it on. No need to make friends and relatives even more concerned about me!

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by Hitch

I actually don't know how any of you type so quickly on the cursed things. I can't. I have a suitable stylus, and STILL can't go that fast. {sigh}. And I'm fast as hell on a regular keyboard.

Hitch

I'm with you. I'm a very fast touch typist, but completely NOT fast on my phone or tablet. OTOH, I don't often get caught by autocorrect. I'm slow enough to notice what it's trying to do. And fussy enough to go back and correct it.

[HomeInMyShoes]

New library system is both great and annoying. They've totally messed up the search results by making it totally difficult to narrow results and get the proper results. They've allowed you to assign a username to your library card number which is awesome. They make you think you can change your PIN, but you can't. One good thing and two bad. Sigh.