Real Life and What's Happening...

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Yeah all I can say to help anyone here is all the corporate overlords I know are begging for warm bodies, competence optional at the moment. If ever you wanted to switch jobs now is the time.
 
Yeah all I can say to help anyone here is all the corporate overlords I know are begging for warm bodies, competence optional at the moment. If ever you wanted to switch jobs now is the time.

i’m finding an issue with matching pay. I had an employer that wanted ne to do what I do now, but at a 30% pay cut and expecting me to travel between two sites at the drop of a gat. The rest all seem to know what I currently make and want to pay me 25% less of that.
 
i’m finding an issue with matching pay. I had an employer that wanted ne to do what I do now, but at a 30% pay cut and expecting me to travel between two sites at the drop of a gat. The rest all seem to know what I currently make and want to pay me 25% less of that.
Fascinating. What general professional area if you don't mind me asking?
 
Finally getting attention from buyers on Facebook marketplace. I think that my ad for Space Hulk 3e was defective or something. Not a single view in over 2 years. Deleted it and remade the ad, got 80 views and 2 potential buyers in one afternoon.

Clearing house of a bunch of board games and card games that I'll never play. It is strangely cathartic.
 
Since that's always a growth industry, you'd think that you'd have a lot more power and choices.
Unfortunately I’m limited geographically. I have one elderly family member who needs some assistance in their daily lives, and another who can’t take care of themselves due to health issues. It keeps me confined to an area where the job market isn’t the best for my set if skills, limiting my options.
 
Trying to finish up the insurance claim for when I got hit & run in June. I've been quite happy with my insurance company, not just in relation to this claim, but in general, however... they want the final documents faxed to them. Seriously?? Who even has a fax machine anymore??
 
Who even has a fax machine anymore??
In my experience, institutions that are resistant to change still use fax machines- doctor's offices, government agencies, and boomers. Ninety percent of my industry revolves around accurate documentation and fraud prevention- we had to institute a policy that faxes are no longer accepted because of the issues they cause.
 
Trying to finish up the insurance claim for when I got hit & run in June. I've been quite happy with my insurance company, not just in relation to this claim, but in general, however... they want the final documents faxed to them. Seriously?? Who even has a fax machine anymore??
Your doctor. Because that's another industry that has fax as a go to for some silly reason
I heard somewhere that fax is actually in a legislative requirement so that's why they have them.
 
Trying to finish up the insurance claim for when I got hit & run in June. I've been quite happy with my insurance company, not just in relation to this claim, but in general, however... they want the final documents faxed to them. Seriously?? Who even has a fax machine anymore??

I have one in storage somewhere. It's nearly 10 years since I did timesheets by fax, though.
 
Trying to finish up the insurance claim for when I got hit & run in June. I've been quite happy with my insurance company, not just in relation to this claim, but in general, however... they want the final documents faxed to them. Seriously?? Who even has a fax machine anymore??
Your local office supply place (Staples, Office Depot, etc-) will have one at the desk with the copy services. Most Pony Express/Mailboxes/UPS Stores have them, too.

(I've had to use them occasionally for sending condo sale certificates and things like that to mortgage brokers. I had the same "Man, WHAT?!" reaction the first time I ran into that...)
 
Your doctor. Because that's another industry that has fax as a go to for some silly reason
I heard somewhere that fax is actually in a legislative requirement so that's why they have them.
Correct, though those rules were relaxed, (IIRC) about a decade or so ago, or at least there was an attempt. Thanks both to work and my personal life I got to be involved with some early attempts to switch to an all-electronic model. At one point they had this grand idea of using encrypted transmissions of RXs from doctors to pharmacies, and the issue of whether the receiver could handle the encryption used waan’t properly addressed before implementation.

i remember one dedicated sending device which was “portable” but could have been used to beat soneone to death as well as (attempt) to send Rxs with it.
 
I am skeptical that doctors are still using faxes solely because of regulations. I think institutional inertia plays a big part. I switched to a younger doctor about my age whose office is in a wealthier part of Orange County- dude uses Zoom and a web portal so I don't have to call or show up in the office for every little thing like it was 1974.
 
I am skeptical that doctors are still using faxes solely because of regulations. I think institutional inertia plays a big part. I switched to a younger doctor about my age whose office is in a wealthier part of Orange County- dude uses Zoom and a web portal so I don't have to call or show up in the office for every little thing like it was 1974.
I think that's a bit chicken and egg. Prior to Covid the group who saw the doctor the most (elderly) was the least likely to embrace technology. Suddenly that flipped so justifying the expense of virtual solutions became an order of magnitude easier
 
Your doctor. Because that's another industry that has fax as a go to for some silly reason
I heard somewhere that fax is actually in a legislative requirement so that's why they have them.
A fax is considered to be an true representation of the original, in a legal sense. Which is silly in this day and age, but I don't make the rules. If I did, people with silly haircuts would live in fear of me.
 
A fax is considered to be an true representation of the original, in a legal sense. Which is silly in this day and age, but I don't make the rules. If I did, people with silly haircuts would live in fear of me.
I am not sure what you mean. I work for a nationwide notary service and am unaware of any law that says a fax is more valid than a scan. We pretty much insist on scans nowadays and reject faxes unless there is no other alternative.
 
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I am not sure what you mean. I work for a nationwide notary service and am unaware of any law that says a fax is more valid than a scan. We pretty much insist on scans nowadays and reject faxes unless there is no other alternative.
There are wierd federal laws on fax's. You must by law have the correct time on your fax machine.
 
I've just had an absolute rollercoaster past 2 days. Monday was the first day of my bakery certification program, all in all a great start to the day. Then I get to work after school and find out that my new boss resigned. He has 6 kids, is in grad school and had a 1.5 hour commute both ways. I'm frankly surprised he lasted 2 weeks. We're slowly inching back to full staff. We just need someone who knows what they're doing to run the kitchen.
Today I find out that a friend of mine who was going to go through the bakery program with me hasn't been answering her phone, and also hasn't shown up to class. She was going to the Philippines this summer to visit family, so I'm hoping she just got stuck there due to travel restrictions instead of something more worrying.
 
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There are wierd federal laws on fax's. You must by law have the correct time on your fax machine.
This might be wrong. I believe what I'm remembering is the fact my father worked as an expert witness on court cases and if they had the dates wrong it could count as something akin to perjury I think. Anyway dates mattered much more than I would have thought as a kid
 
This might be wrong. I believe what I'm remembering is the fact my father worked as an expert witness on court cases and if they had the dates wrong it could count as something akin to perjury I think. Anyway dates mattered much more than I would have thought as a kid

Controlled substances and the time limits on the validity of Rxs for them by Class led to tons of fun in a previous job of mine when it cane to dated materials
 
Also int'l processing helps to have legacy hardware. Japan, I am sure, still uses fax in standard rotation, given I had to whip up a typewriter :shock: for form work in the not so distant past. The world is a lot more resistant to change the higher up you go in geriatric comfort.

My molehill of electronic components will one day achieve that mountain after sheer time & travel. It already feels grassy knoll-sized. :sad: My Rubbled Tower of mechanical & electrical Babel (babble).
 
So true, and don’t settle. I’ve been crying for people at work for a couple years now, but covid and retirements have emphasized it

I've been working in a forest fire dispatch center all summer. Of the 7-9 full time positions they are supposed to have only 2 are filled, the rest were like me retired and working per diem, seasonal or trainees from another agency working TDY. I'll probably end up working in the dispatch center on the forest I retired from off an on for the next few months since they have just lost another of their dispatchers, and have asked if I would be willing to cover those shifts. Same story up and down the state. I've been retired 3 years but come back to work short duration details, normally working 2-3 months a year mostly summer and fall. As of March this year I've averaged 60 hours a week, so less retired and more working without having to worry about the usual Office Space nonsense, just show up do my job and get paid. It would be awesome if I wasn't away from home so much.

Fascinating. What general professional area if you don't mind me asking?

Just anecdotal, but I've been seeing a lot of people whining that "nobody wants to work" and yet they don't think pay they offer has anything to do with it and are still trying to pay salaries like it is 1984.

The agency I retired from is having a terrible time keeping asses in seats, this year they trotted out the "retention plan" they used 14 years ago acting like it is a new thing. "We're listening, we hear you", a one time 10% pay increase (only to lower tiers and bottom middle management, not the middle and upper fire management that have devoted years of their life to the agency) and a lot of promises that "big changes are coming". The pay increase is an incentive pay, it does not go towards retirement, and it only lasts until they take it away. Last time around they gave out this "retention bonus" for two years and then gave everybody the middle finger because "the hiring crisis was solved". It wasn't, and in fact we ended up with a 3 year pay freeze. It worked as a distraction though, with the economic collapse it got people worried about other things and took most of the wind out of the sails of those pushing for improved pay and benefits. When they announced the "new plan" a few months ago I just laughed, so glad I pulled the plug as soon as I was eligible. It amuses me to go back and work on my terms, 3 bad days and I can go back to being retired full time. I like the work, but my BS tolerance is negligible at this point.

In my experience, institutions that are resistant to change still use fax machines- doctor's offices, government agencies, and boomers. Ninety percent of my industry revolves around accurate documentation and fraud prevention- we had to institute a policy that faxes are no longer accepted because of the issues they cause.

There was a seasonal dispatcher where I was working this summer, about 24. The older people in the office got a kick out of it when he had to send a fax (had to fax a Government office so figures) and he said it was the first time he ever used a fax machine.

There are wierd federal laws on fax's. You must by law have the correct time on your fax machine.

I bet I'm guilty then, I don't even know how to set the clock on the fax machine we have at the house.
 
I've been working in a forest fire dispatch center all summer. Of the 7-9 full time positions they are supposed to have only 2 are filled, the rest were like me retired and working per diem, seasonal or trainees from another agency working TDY. I'll probably end up working in the dispatch center on the forest I retired from off an on for the next few months since they have just lost another of their dispatchers, and have asked if I would be willing to cover those shifts. Same story up and down the state. I've been retired 3 years but come back to work short duration details, normally working 2-3 months a year mostly summer and fall. As of March this year I've averaged 60 hours a week, so less retired and more working without having to worry about the usual Office Space nonsense, just show up do my job and get paid. It would be awesome if I wasn't away from home so much.



Just anecdotal, but I've been seeing a lot of people whining that "nobody wants to work" and yet they don't think pay they offer has anything to do with it and are still trying to pay salaries like it is 1984.

The agency I retired from is having a terrible time keeping asses in seats, this year they trotted out the "retention plan" they used 14 years ago acting like it is a new thing. "We're listening, we hear you", a one time 10% pay increase (only to lower tiers and bottom middle management, not the middle and upper fire management that have devoted years of their life to the agency) and a lot of promises that "big changes are coming". The pay increase is an incentive pay, it does not go towards retirement, and it only lasts until they take it away. Last time around they gave out this "retention bonus" for two years and then gave everybody the middle finger because "the hiring crisis was solved". It wasn't, and in fact we ended up with a 3 year pay freeze. It worked as a distraction though, with the economic collapse it got people worried about other things and took most of the wind out of the sails of those pushing for improved pay and benefits. When they announced the "new plan" a few months ago I just laughed, so glad I pulled the plug as soon as I was eligible. It amuses me to go back and work on my terms, 3 bad days and I can go back to being retired full time. I like the work, but my BS tolerance is negligible at this point.



There was a seasonal dispatcher where I was working this summer, about 24. The older people in the office got a kick out of it when he had to send a fax (had to fax a Government office so figures) and he said it was the first time he ever used a fax machine.



I bet I'm guilty then, I don't even know how to set the clock on the fax machine we have at the house.
I mentioned it up thread but I'm not sure it's a law. I know I was stressed heavily that the date and time had to be correct at jobs with fax's. Something legal related but may not have been a law.
 
I mentioned it up thread but I'm not sure it's a law. I know I was stressed heavily that the date and time had to be correct at jobs with fax's. Something legal related but may not have been a law.

I could certainly see an incorrect date / time on a fax machine being a legal issue for some industries, and the potential to invalidate a piece of evidence in a legal setting. Not like the clock police will raid your place, but having to treat the time stamp as valid even when it is an obvious error.
Like a doctor sending RX forms to a pharmacy with the wrong date in the fax machine. I can also see how in some situations it could be treated as fraud if it was intentional and provided some benefit. Legal documents can be pretty persnickety.


I'm sorry but we are unable to fill your prescription because it has expired.

What, I just saw the doctor an hour ago.

Yes, but according to the fax he sent it 21 years ago at Midnight on January 1st, and we can only hold it for 7 days.
 
I could certainly see an incorrect date / time on a fax machine being a legal issue for some industries, and the potential to invalidate a piece of evidence in a legal setting. Not like the clock police will raid your place, but having to treat the time stamp as valid even when it is an obvious error.
Like a doctor sending RX forms to a pharmacy with the wrong date in the fax machine. I can also see how in some situations it could be treated as fraud if it was intentional and provided some benefit. Legal documents can be pretty persnickety.


I'm sorry but we are unable to fill your prescription because it has expired.

What, I just saw the doctor an hour ago.

Yes, but according to the fax he sent it 21 years ago at Midnight on January 1st, and we can only hold it for 7 days.
Yeah I think it's something like that I'm remembering.
 
As some of you may have seen in previous expletives, it turns out that the Z440 I got a year or so ago isn't supported by Windows 11 - bear in mind that this machine is just one generation behind the current models. Cue my profound lack of amusement at my first world problems as it's otherwise a perfectly good computer that I was hoping to get somewhat more than 3 years out of. However, I have a cunning plan.

I may be able to give the Z440 a stay of execution. Windows Server 2019 isn't all that expensive (cheaper than replacing the computer anyway) and appears to support the CPU. Extended support goes to 2029, which gives security updates. I've used Windows Server as a desktop before and it actually works quite well - at one point 2003 R2 was the best 64 bit Windows desktop for many years; it wasn't until Windows 7 matured that actual desktop Windows releases offered a better alternative.

A part of me would be quite happy to go back to using Linux as my daily driver (which I did for many years) but I have a lot of dependencies on software that runs on Windows and primarily work with MS SQL Server for a living. One other option would be to spin up VirtualBox or VMWare on the machine and run the Windows stuff in a VM, which might allow one to keep Windows 10 going beyond 2024. W7 might even be better as Distiller from CS6 has persistent issues on Windows 10.

Food for thought.
 
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As some of you may have seen in previous expletives, it turns out that the Z440 I got a year or so ago isn't supported by Windows 11 - bear in mind that this machine is just one generation behind the current models. Cue my profound lack of amusement at my first world problems as it's otherwise a perfectly good computer that I was hoping to get somewhat more than 3 years out of. However, I have a cunning plan.

I may be able to give the Z440 a stay of execution. Windows Server 2019 isn't all that expensive (cheaper than replacing the computer anyway) and appears to support the CPU. Extended support goes to 2029, which gives security updates. I've used Windows Server as a desktop before and it actually works quite well - at one point 2003 R2 was the best 64 bit Windows desktop for many years; it wasn't until Windows 7 matured that desktop Windows offered a better alternative.

A part of me would be quite happy to go back to using Linux as my daily driver (which I did for many years) but I have a lot of dependencies on software that runs on Windows and primarily work with MS SQL Server for a living. One other option would be to spin up VirtualBox or VMWare on the machine and run the Windows stuff in a VM, which might allow one to keep Windows 10 going beyond 2024.

Food for thought.
Or not upgrade to Windows 11 as long as they're doing security and driver updates for Windows 10 you're good to go. I tend to replace systems every 4 to 6 years personally but that's me. If this current system won't support running Windows 11 I'll just wait and replace the whole system in at a later date. My current system will be four years old in April. Figure as long as I can get driver and security updates for the next two years I'm good

Honestly I'm very tempted to pass on the Windows 11 update for this system and wait to make the jump with the next system in two years. What I'm seeing of Windows 11 isn't really making me happy. Looks like a lot of change for change reasons which always irks me. If it works well, why fuck with it? Stop re-inventing the fucking wheel.
 
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