GenX Hammer

Wondering how we get our country back? This short passage is the best answer that I've ever heard. From the late, great William Pepper in 2006. It has stuck with me since then.

@end3of6days9 Cashless cards enable 70% of parents to get taxpayers to pay for their kid's lunches without lifting a finger. It's unbelievable parents don't take responsibility... or let their kids eat this garbage... or send their kids to government indoctrination centers.

This mom just wanted to give her daughter $5 cash so she could buy a water bottle after forgetting hers at home. Sounds simple, right? Nope. The school doesn’t accept cash anymore — everything has to go through the online lunch account. What should have been a quick hand-off turned into a full-blown bureaucracy nightmare: confusing apps, multiple websites, phone calls to the school, hunting for a student ID number, password resets because of a data breach… all before she finally gave up and just drove over with the forgotten water bottle. It’s crazy how modern “convenient” systems can make paying for something as basic as a $5 water bottle so much more difficult than just handing over cash used to be. Have you ever gotten stuck in one of those ridiculous school (or government, or company) bureaucracy loops over something tiny?

@theoliverxp Somewhat similar to this take... certainly pros and cons... youtu.be/FpMkURnmOZE?t=…

When I was a kid, I heard this song called "Kokomo" by the Beach Boys. You might have heard of it. The Beach Boys sing that there's this island off of the Florida Keys called Kokomo and it's dreamy and filled with romance and leisure. When the song was written, and when I heard it in the early 90s, you probably wouldn't know if Kokomo was a real place or not. Maybe if you were really into geography or you went to the library and you looked it up in a reference book. Today you ask Siri if it was real and then you would go on with your life like the question never existed. I am starting to think the ability to learn any fact you want has been a net loss in human civilization and even more devastating, for the human mind.

@Batboy1989 @mattwr @GamingAndPandas I found a good example... youtu.be/ltKhK8a1ZZU

@GenX_Hammer @mattwr @GamingAndPandas I think I want to check that out

"AAAAAAAAAH GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT WITH A STABLE INCOME I'M LITERALLY IN HELL SAVE ME KURT COBAIN'S GHOST AAAAAAAH!" Why was Gen X like this?

@Batboy1989 @mattwr @GamingAndPandas Absolutely. Given who's driving trends, I see it all as a play for social engineering. The 80s/90s were good so we'd be distracted from bad seeds being set. There's a GenZ music producer on YouTube who provides commentary while listening to old classics. Some good takes.

@GenX_Hammer @mattwr @GamingAndPandas It's funny how the 90s played out. Grunge was a reaction to hair metal; post grunge was corporate slop; ska and swing were reactions to grunge; and then numetal came around to burn it all down. Wild times

@MaykowskiD @0hour1 I see helping to enable the younger generation as key. Not expecting much help from Boomers.

@MaykowskiD @0hour1 I agree, too many of our cohorts are a big disappointment but we arguably did more than any other recent generation. Many are focused on their kids and aging parents now. High tech offshoring wasn't our doing either, but many have been fighting it.

My biggest problem is I’m Generation X it’s a gift and a curse.

@jackvlloyd Low IQ take, ironically. There is some pragmatic analyses to use, such as local impacts on water, grid, noise and land use. Stupid tax abatement subsidies is another issue. Concerns of nefarious uses are valid, given who's in charge.

You can judge how intelligent someone is by how much they hate data centers. The greater the hate, the lower the intelligence.

@churrascooooo "Go outside" - never bad advice.

being on the internet now feels like when you were a kid bored flipping through the same channels on TV and there's nothing good on

@BrianAtlas Western civilization is based on pro-family values. If you promote messages that counter that then you're not compatible with our culture. You're subversive, and we've had enough of that. She'd be happier someplace else. Maybe try Islam? /s

1,000,000 likes on TikTok. There is a near ENDLESS SUPPLY of this feminist propaganda slop being shown to millions of women daily. You think the manosphere is bad? Wait until you learn about the unscrutinized femisphere…

the amish are wealthier than any billionaire in the US they have health, they're fertile, they arent fat, they grow their own food, can build a barn in one day, they arent addicted to screens, they have family, community and great milk & butter. this is what real wealth is.

@AlpacaAurelius True, a model to learn from. I'd argue leveraging more technology isn't bad as long as you don't get dependent upon it.

@Batboy1989 @mattwr @GamingAndPandas It certainly did for some, just saying for me and my circles back then. It's downer grievance music, if you're going strong it doesn't fit the mindset.

@GenX_Hammer @mattwr @GamingAndPandas I wouldn't say his music had zero appeal.

@marsh_lt @GamingAndPandas Mostly. Lots of GenX was focused on achieving higher order goals. It wasn't complaining. Society seemed stable so you look for what's next. There was no bases to consider a social regression. For sure, the foundation is gone, and GenZ is facing a much worse reality as a result.

@GamingAndPandas It's the heirarchy of needs in action. Gen X took safety as a granted and began complaining about higher needs. Millenials can't meet basic needs so don't get it.

@mattwr @GamingAndPandas Yep, Kurt brought in nasty junk music that had zero appeal. He was obviously part of a culture grooming cycle to degrade society.

@GamingAndPandas What does Kurt Cobain have to do with Gen X beyond most of us being aware he existed and died young?

@GamingAndPandas Bad take. Gen X was not like that. Most I knew in high tech were excited about creating a better future. Lots of fun, and getting paid very well. Problems came later with high volumes of visa holder and incompetence players who used nepotism to get low tier management jobs.

@_andrewthecoder Hiring manager here. 👋🏻 Yes, ageism is a massive problem, worse in management jobs. Managers don't want to risk being outshined. My data shows Millennials don't hire much GenX. Ignore job posting with huge qualification lists, the manager will be insufferable.

Dear recruiters (and hiring managers if you are watching); I am going to rant about a few things I have noticed regarding the hiring pipeline. And I want to preface this by saying over the last 3 years I have applied for over 2,000 jobs between LinkedIn and Indeed. First, the ageism is QUITE obvious. Not sure (other than perhaps legal ramifications) you are even trying to hide it. For context, I have been a professional software engineer for 25 years (for clarity, every single rent check I have issued was the result of writing and shipping software). So, if I get a response that says "We really prefer someone with 3-5 years of experience"... this is a little obvious. Second, this unicorn thing. This idea that you are going to find someone that understands YOUR stack! The stack YOU created. Or looking for someone who has never done anything but React since the day it was released (primary problem there, obviously, pay a premium for an expert that will never be able to grow with your business). And finally; this idea of "proficiency in [x], [y], or [z] programming languages". What does this even mean? How are you defining "proficiency"? Here is a simple example of a VERY common problem. What if the problem is "we need to traverse this [array, tree, etc] in both directions". Imagine you just hired me, a literal expert in Javascript and React! But, I don't know what a doubly linked list is! Now think of the inverse, I know exactly how to solve that problem! I just don't have much experience in [whatever language you prefer me to be proficient in]. Since I know the answer, I have solved the problem, it is pretty easy for me to ask an AI, "How do I implement a doubly linked list in [x]?" Do you see the difference? In time, in cost... to be honest, I am QUITE CERTAIN that most of you don't.