The Frying Pan

This is just so frustrating. Friday I received an e-mail that was sent by mistake. It included evil manager's recap of when we worked together. You can't imagine the awful things she said about me. It was very insulting to say the least.

Stephie

@Cindy adressed to whom?

Cindy

@Stephie It was originally sent to our manager. She mistakenly forwarded it to ask about something else and didn't realize that the e-mail was at the bottom of the chain.

Stephie

@Cindy Hm. Freud says there are no mistakes.... Well, I think its good you have it. Never know when it might come handy.

Cindy

@Stephie Yeah, in a way. I just hate when people lie and/or put a negative spin on things.

Stephie

12:30 PM

@Cindy So what are you going to do? I guess pistols at dawn isn't an option?

Cindy

@Stephie Lol! I don't really know. Evil manager won't stay out of my business and keeps creating problems that I have to deal with. It just doesn't make for a good work environment.

Plus, I'm kind of the new kid on the block.

user116848

I hate evil managers and bosses.

user116848

They give me stress.

Stephie

Who doesn't?

ElendilTheTall

@Stephie Imogen

Stephie

12:36 PM

@ElendilTheTall Imogen who?

user116848

So coughs coughs coughs. It is very dusty here.

user116848

My city sometimes:

user116848

ElendilTheTall

@Stephie the storm, doofus

user116848

I better cover my nose. I'm sitting in an open space right now.

user116848

12:38 PM

Coughs coughs coughs

user116848

ElendilTheTall

is that smog or dust from a desert or something

I must confess to not knowing exactly where in Pakistan Karachi lies

user116848

Near the Arabian sea.

user116848

In the very south.

user116848

Indian Ocean is at a 20 min drive from here.

ElendilTheTall

12:40 PM

so where does the dust come from?

user116848

I think the dust comes from the Balochistan province. It is desert there.

user116848

Smog too.

ElendilTheTall

user116848

Cindy

I'm off for a bit. Work beckons. :( Catch you guys a little later.

user116848

12:42 PM

See ya!

ElendilTheTall

@Cindy see ya cind

keep yer chin up

@arrowfar what is the Kirthar national park like?

user116848

Wha? Oh, first time I'm hearing the name :)

user116848

Let me search.

ElendilTheTall

lol

it looks like it's a couple of hours away

Stephie

@ElendilTheTall Sorry,,have to run. Feeding double the usual amount of kids.

See you later!

ElendilTheTall

12:45 PM

@Stephie bye

user116848

Ah yes exactly. Couple of hours away.

user116848

The pics looks pretty good.

ElendilTheTall

perhaps National Parks aren't tourist destinations like they are in the west

can't see many roads

user116848

Ah yes roads and infrastructure here sucks that's why. Otherwise lots of beautiful places here.

user116848

So I'm a big fan of the north part of our country. Search "Shogran" in Google, it is our own little Switzerland.

user116848

12:49 PM

Been there. Very nice place.

user116848

Lots of tourists go there.

user116848

But I stayed at an average hotel there.

user116848

Shogran

Shogran (Urdu: شوگران ‎) is a hill station situated on a green plateau in the Kaghan Valley, northern Pakistan at a height of 7,749 feet or 2,362 metres above sea level. Shogran is located at a distance of 34 km away from Balakot. The road from Islamabad to Kiwai is metalled and measures 212 km. From Shogran, you can ride a jeep or horse or hike to several picturesque places like Siri, Paye and Makra Peak. Hotels and motels are available at affordable costs. Mobile phone services is also available there by Telenor and Mobilink. The local people are friendly and peaceful. It is accessible in the...

ElendilTheTall

haha, that looks like it's written by the Shogran Tourism Association

"the local people are friendly and peaceful"

either the tourism association or the local bandits

"It is completely safe to bring jewellery, expensive gadgets and hard US currency"

"Infidel dogs are especially welcome to visit"

user116848

Wha?!

user116848

12:54 PM

No no, the local people are indeed very friendly. They are right.

user116848

But don't bring any jewellery there of course lol.

user116848

Or expensive gadgets for the matter.

user116848

But these days I don't know. Those places can be very unsafe indeed.

ElendilTheTall

Yes, I was joking.

user116848

:)

ElendilTheTall

12:57 PM

But it's rather odd to put a subjective, blanket comment in a Wikipedia article

user116848

Yeah.

ElendilTheTall

It's like someone putting "All Mercedes cars are excellent, never break down and are good value for money" in the Mercedes article

user116848

Well people would get scared away if someone wrote "You could be looted so be careful".

user116848

Luckily I had a very good guide he knew lots of local people so it was a good experience for me.

user116848

I'm fond of adventure so I take risks sometimes ;-)

user116848

1:01 PM

But yeah with family one has to be extra careful.

ElendilTheTall

@Arrowfar that is likewise subjective and blanket

the solution would simply be to report the facts of the matter, e.g. "The rate of violent crime is low"

and let people make up their own minds

@rumtscho hey hon

user116848

Yeah.

rumtscho

@ElendilTheTall hi, how are you?

and hi @Arrowfar

user116848

Hi rumi!

ElendilTheTall

@rumtscho same old same old

all the better for your arrival, naturellement

I have a new gadget

Capture Camera Clip by Peak Design - Official Video

►

rumtscho

1:13 PM

you old charmeur

ElendilTheTall

@rumtscho less of the old, you cheeky scamp

rumtscho

the clip seems nifty

have you had it in action yet?

ElendilTheTall

not yet, only got it a couple of hours ago

damned work

It's not cheap for its size, but it's very solid

I have a BlackRapid strap but the clip arrangement for that is very fiddly

this can go straight from belt or shoulder strap to tripod, bish bash bosh

ElendilTheTall

1:29 PM

well, I see I've bored everyone away

peace at last

user116848

I thought I was the boring one :-)

rumtscho

aaaah how can I be so scatterbrained

ElendilTheTall

@Arrowfar me too ;)

rumtscho

I needed to write a script some time ago

it didn't work, I started doing more pressing tasks

now I went back to the script, solved the problem at which I was sitting back then

and thought "it is almost done, now I only need a function to split this number into its parts"

for example, a [G 10/006] is the sixth payment in October from account G

so I sat down and wrote it.

I don't write Scala so frequently, so I forget the exact syntax of some very easy things, like "if I have a number like 6, how do I print it as 006, but 12 as 012"

but luckily, it went relatively quickly, because I could frequently see an example of what I needed somewhere in the existing code

and now, when the function is ready, I looked at the script as a whole

I HAVE WRITTEN THE FUNCTION BACK THEN ALREADY

and now it went fluently because I was finding examples of what I needed to do in the existing implementation

but never realized that this function is doing the exact same thing as I'm doing now

until I was ready :(

ElendilTheTall

ah well

you live, you learn

rumtscho

1:36 PM

yes, but I thought that "when you copy something, understand what you are copying" is a lesson I have learned in second grade

ElendilTheTall

ah... but you are a long time out of second grade

rumtscho

and it seems that organisation (as in, look at what we already have done before deciding what to do next) is something I'm resistive to learning

ElendilTheTall

it's a slippery slope from here to dementia

rumtscho

The next thing I was planning to do was writing a cover letter for a job appliaction

I feel a bit hard pressed to praise myself right now

ElendilTheTall

I'll write it for you

let me see

highly intelligent

excellent paddling skills

erm

great cheekbones

willing to work in exchange for money

Sorted. I'll leave you to flesh it out

rumtscho

1:41 PM

haha, thanks

ElendilTheTall

but seriously, if you do want a hand, here I am

rumtscho

Thank you. In this case, it will be in German

but if I don't get this position, I might need a second pair of eyes for some future letter

ElendilTheTall

well, yes, I wasn't going to actually write it for you

i meant pointers on content or style :P

rumtscho

I wouldn't want you to write it either

ElendilTheTall

oh really? ಠ_ಠ

;)

Stephie

1:51 PM

@rumtscho the new department thingy?

rumtscho

@Stephie yes, that one

dkfz.de/en/stellenangebote/index.php?id=017/2016

Stephie

Cool!

@ElendilTheTall how much? And is it just cool or really handy?

ElendilTheTall

@Stephie £60

I'm hoping it will be really handy

I wouldn't spend that much just to look cool

Stephie

V2?

ElendilTheTall

V2, yes

Stephie

1:56 PM

My very significant other has a birthday coming up...

ElendilTheTall

My BlackRapid strap is so fiddly that usually I just leave the camera on the tripod and schlep the lot of it

Stephie

Hm...

rumtscho

We hope V1 wasnät known for suddenlz dropping cameras from zour belt Ö=

ElendilTheTall

the result being that I often avoid places where I think I might drop the camera

putting it in and out of the bag all the time is a PITA

so I figure this will come in very handy

see a shot, off the clip, onto the tripod, shoot, back on the clip, off we go

and you can use it to hold the camera while you change lenses too, which is very handy

Stephie

That is an interesting point...

ElendilTheTall

1:59 PM

I'm very impressed with the build quality, it's a good solid chunk of aluminium

what tripod does your very significant other have?

Stephie

Erm.... Good question.

ElendilTheTall

tut

what kind of wife are you?

(assuming you're referring to hubby as your VSO of course ;) )

rumtscho

Does MrsTheTall know what tripod you have?

Stephie

A very old one, but solid quality. A hand-me-down from a enthusiastic photographer...

rumtscho

Also, if she knows it, does she want to know it?

ElendilTheTall

2:02 PM

she'd know the brand I'm fairly sure

she has spent a lot of time around photographers and their gear

rumtscho

This somehow reminds me of a typical Big Bang Theory setup

ElendilTheTall

a joke setup you mean?

rumtscho

yes. Wasn't there a scene where somebody asks the crowd about some comic trivia, Penny answers and then is terrified at herself for knowing it?

ElendilTheTall

I try and avoid BBT

@Stephie is that in response to the tripod or the kind of wife you are ;)

ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

rumtscho

I used to avoid mindless entertainment until I found out that it helps me relax, especially as a background while knitting.

ElendilTheTall

2:07 PM

mindless is the operative word

Stephie

@rumtscho Star Wars Day...

ElendilTheTall

you may as well listen to a CD of laugh tracks

@Stephie anyway, the main point is the tripod head needs to be compatible if you want to go straight from the clip to the tripod

it fits all ARCA tripod heads and most Manfrotto RC2 heads. If it's quite old it may well be ARCA.

but it pays to check

Stephie

@ElendilTheTall I figured that, but thanks. I haven't decided yet, but am seriously considering that clip thingy. (And if not now, Easter's soon.)

ElendilTheTall

I will give you my field report in due course

Stephie

Looking forward to it!

rumtscho

2:13 PM

@Stephie do you know if stores are likely to be open full time today?

ElendilTheTall

is it a holiday?

Stephie

@rumtscho outside the Köln, Mainz etc probably yes.....?

rumtscho

If I can get a printer cartridge right away, that would be great. If not, I'll order one online.

Stephie

Depends - if there's a parade, not necessarily.

rumtscho

@Stephie OK, thanks. I'm going out and hoping I won't be struck in a parade.

@ElendilTheTall not an official one. It's carnival.

ElendilTheTall

2:17 PM

which of you lovely ladies wants to donate a photo of yourself so I can practice frequency separation retouching?

rumtscho

You have no photos lying around?

ElendilTheTall

not at work

Stephie

@ElendilTheTall You do have your personam photo model at home...

ElendilTheTall

at home

I don't have a lens that long...

Stephie

No pictures if Mrs the Tall at work?

ElendilTheTall

2:19 PM

not digital ones

Stephie

Then you might actually be forced to work, unless @rumtscho obliges.

Sorry, have to run, prevent WWIII....

ElendilTheTall

not bloody likely... practising FSR is only one of a long list of procrastinations

go, prevent

@rumtscho I'm relying on you now

Stephie

2:34 PM

Ha! Peace restored. Nothing a bowl of popcorn and a new board game couldn't solve.

(Another one to two hours until peace and quiet.)

I have a rather unusual task today: Cleaning out my cupboard with cleaning stuff.

ElendilTheTall

you mean cleaning out your cleaning stuff cupboard?

Stephie

Ironic, right?

ElendilTheTall

terribly

Stephie

But absolutely necessary. The times of throwing everything in willy-nilly are over. I have a cleaning lady starting tomorrow. She should be able to grab the rags...

ElendilTheTall

is it in the standard location under the kitchen sink?

Stephie

2:42 PM

Can you fit a broom under yours?

ElendilTheTall

no

Stephie

Me neither.

ElendilTheTall

we're tall, but not that tall that a broom can fit under the sink ;)

Stephie

The previous owners built a real little closet complete with hooks, shelves etc. And it "collects" stuff that needn't be there. Time to re-organize.

ElendilTheTall

good grief, how did that guy not know what a pomegranate was?

Stephie

2:52 PM

@ElendilTheTall Well, I took a 7yo to a store today that didn't recognize red cabbage...

(Not mine, of course!)

ElendilTheTall

good grief

good. grief.

Stephie

3:07 PM

There was a sign on the box with the name on it, too.

ElendilTheTall

Tut

Stephie

Do you take your kids to the stores with you?

ElendilTheTall

3:22 PM

yes

they keep on finding their way home though

Stephie

Read Hänsel and Gretel for some effective pointers. Note that you should move during their stint with the witch.

rumtscho

4:14 PM

Now this is a question which should not have used title case:

1

Q: How is the Die for Cat Tower Configured?

I just bought Cat Tower yesterday and the die came unlabeled with the stickers to be applied to each of the 6 faces. Unfortunately, it gave no indication as to how to apply the stickers. Based upon a picture on the box, I was able to apply 3 of the faces, but am stuck on the remaining 3 faces. ...

Jefromi

@rumtscho Don't Worry, It Doesn't Anymore!

rumtscho

@Jefromi nice! I forgot you're active there, and didn't want to make an edit for a site where I have practically no participation.

How are you on this wintery monday?

Jefromi

@rumtscho not bad, you?

rumtscho

I could use another 12 hours in the day, but else OK. Went out for some shopping, had an interesting weather: rain, sun and some wind at once. I liked it.

Catija

"Active" = 18K! Wow.

rumtscho

4:21 PM

ah yes, shopping, I spent 18 Euros so I can find out if I have to throw out my printer. Will check now, wish me luck.

Jefromi

For... a cable or usb analyzer or something?

Catija

Fingers crossed! Hope the ink works.

rumtscho

for a new ink cartridge

it started saying "cartridge not recognized" in the middle of cleaning yesterday

if it doesn't recognize the new one either, then there is a problem with the printing head or its firmware

Jefromi

ah, okay

rumtscho

and repairing that would cost about as much as a new printer

of course, I can't return an opened ink if the printer doesn't work with it

ok, I decided to be extra cautious

removed all cartridges and turned the printer off, also removed the plug

will try it again after 15 min or so

I want to be 100% sure that this error doesn't spread onto the new cartridge

Jefromi

4:28 PM

@rumtscho you should probably wear gloves too!

ElendilTheTall

mono lasers are the way to go

rumtscho

I've read about people getting infected with a computer virus (I still don't know why I ever looked at that tabloid), but the other way round?

Jefromi

Or at least thoroughly wash your hands before touching the other cartridge!

rumtscho

@ElendilTheTall I used to be quite happy with colored inkjets before this one came along

they have built into it ways to spill my money I had never dreamed of

Mafalda Hopkirk

Afternoon :)

rumtscho

4:36 PM

hello @MafaldaHopkirk

Mafalda Hopkirk

How are we?

ElendilTheTall

@MafaldaHopkirk howdy

Mafalda Hopkirk

@ElendilTheTall Such sunny weather!

ElendilTheTall

b-e-a-utiful innit

Stephie

Hi everyone!

Gone. They are gone! The underage invasion was just picked up by their dad. Peace and (relative) quiet restored.

Mafalda Hopkirk

4:39 PM

@Stephie 'Aloo

Stephie

ElendilTheTall

@MafaldaHopkirk Indian?

Mafalda Hopkirk

@ElendilTheTall Nah, I prefer a chinese

Better chow mein

Stephie

Oh, and my broom closed is clean and ordered.

ElendilTheTall

@MafaldaHopkirk where's your nearest good chinese? Paisley?

rumtscho

4:41 PM

Mafalda Hopkirk

@ElendilTheTall Theres four where I live!!

Stephie

@rumtscho me no has expensive china!

Mafalda Hopkirk

and those are just the legal ones

ElendilTheTall

@MafaldaHopkirk what, Chinese people?

Mafalda Hopkirk

@ElendilTheTall Four Chinese restaurants!

Stephie

4:42 PM

Me still owns "best of IKEA and Granny"

ElendilTheTall

@Stephie "This is why we can't have nice things"

rumtscho

No? My picture of you as a modern Hausfrau is crumbling. No single Villeroy and Bosch piece? Not even a Milchkännchen you got for the wedding?

ElendilTheTall

@MafaldaHopkirk ah, but the specification was good Chinese

Mafalda Hopkirk

@ElendilTheTall OOps

@rumtscho A whole different language

Stephie

@rumtscho Nope. There is one tea pot and my wedding registry mostly said "please contribute to our honeymoon". Which then was spent supporting the tourism industry of Tall's home country.

Mafalda Hopkirk

4:45 PM

@Stephie Noooooooooo!!!

@Stephie NOT ENGLAND

@Stephie WHY

Stephie

We crossed the border, too.

Mafalda Hopkirk

@Stephie Oh, that's ok then!

rumtscho

Sounds practical. I mean, nowadays most couples have lived away from mommy and daddy for long enough to have household stuff already.

ElendilTheTall

@MafaldaHopkirk You know I married a Scot, right?

Now she lives in England.

Mafalda Hopkirk

@ElendilTheTall I feel for her

ElendilTheTall

4:47 PM

That's right, we steal your wimmin!

rumtscho

@MafaldaHopkirk Hausfrau = housewife, Milchkännchen = tiny pitcher for pouring milk into your coffee

Mafalda Hopkirk

@ElendilTheTall Aye, she was from north o me wasnt she?

ElendilTheTall

@MafaldaHopkirk aye hen

Mafalda Hopkirk

@ElendilTheTall Aw, the poor petal

Stephie

@rumtscho exactly. And if you have a full cupboard and a toddler (plus plans for no.2 sometime in the future) spending €€€ on plates is kind of stupid.

Mafalda Hopkirk

4:48 PM

@rumtscho Gotcha!

ElendilTheTall

@MafaldaHopkirk she'd be muttering about soft lowlanders in Gaelic about now

Mafalda Hopkirk

@Stephie Pffft. The UK will never go to Euros

@ElendilTheTall As a highlander myself....

I agree

ElendilTheTall

Are you from further north than Argyll and Bute?

Stephie

@MafaldaHopkirk nobody asked me - I would have happily kept my Mark.

Mafalda Hopkirk

@Stephie :D

@ElendilTheTall Originally, Yes

ElendilTheTall

4:50 PM

how far?

Mafalda Hopkirk

@ElendilTheTall Quite, a couple of hours

Stephie

@MafaldaHopkirk on foot?

ElendilTheTall

that's about 10 miles on Scottish backroads

Mafalda Hopkirk

@Stephie Unicycle and a haggis

Stephie

@MafaldaHopkirk In fact, I came across a 20 DM bill the other day, stashed in some mysterious "to sort" box. Big wave of nostalgia: real money

ElendilTheTall

4:52 PM

Every time they have a landslide at Rest And Be Thankful it's a 68 mile diversion >.<

Mafalda Hopkirk

@Stephie The pound sterling or, official name, smackarooni, is real money

@ElendilTheTall It kills us! Thank god parliament are trying to put funding in now!

ElendilTheTall

unless it's bright green <cough>Scottish</cough>

Mafalda Hopkirk

@ElendilTheTall Its real money!!!!!!!!!! You're all to snobby

ElendilTheTall

Lol

methinks the lady doth protest too much, in using 8 exclamation marks

Mafalda Hopkirk

Sigh....bear with

There

ElendilTheTall

4:54 PM

It's

Stephie

@MafaldaHopkirk Oh, I've been lectured about "real" and "Monopoly money" before - in Cambridge, Edinburgh, Beaulieu and I think near Milton Keynes.

rumtscho

Milton Keynes sounds the right place to learn about money

ElendilTheTall

@Stephie the England-Scotland relationship is based on mutual piss-takery

@rumtscho it's actually the right place to learn about roundabouts

Mafalda Hopkirk

Pfft. Milton Keynes

ElendilTheTall

Mafalda Hopkirk

4:57 PM

Brb!

ElendilTheTall

@MafaldaHopkirk Satan's Lay-By

rumtscho

Of course, given that Milton Friedman was well-known for anti-Keynesianism, I suspect the dispute must be very lively.

ElendilTheTall

look at the place on Street View: it's like something out of dystopian sci-fi

rumtscho

What's wrong with roundabouts?

ElendilTheTall

nothing, but look at the amount of them

rumtscho

4:58 PM

I've heard that some countries still prefer them, while others were simply sucked in by the Siemens lobby to install traffic lights

ElendilTheTall

Milton Keynes is a New Town - it's built on a grid system, and there's a roundabout at every intersection

oh, we love 'em

Catija

Wow, it's so perfect looking.

ElendilTheTall

This is the Magic Roundabout in Swindon (another New Town)

A roundabout of roundabouts

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