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Sacrificing everything for my dog. How I became a programmer

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Re: Sacrificing everything for my dog. How I became a programmer

#131

Post by tfb »

nobodysfool wrote: post #130
tfb wrote: post #49

I honestly don't know where I'd be without my dog. They really are amazing animals. It's been a rough few years and just knowing that every time I get up from the computer that he's ready to make me smile and go wherever I go, whenever I go... it's a perfect reminder of why I work as hard as I do. Even though I do walk him multiple times each day, I feel bad for sitting at this machine working 70+ hours a week trying…

Stop projecting your feelings on your dog. Your dog does not guilt you into anything, your dog doesn't judge you, you are judging yourself.

I know. I thought I made that clear with the "probably more so myself" bit. But me feeling bad for the dog who has a much shorter lifespan than I do and who seems to already be losing his sight and hearing is not projecting. My sight and hearing is perfectly fine.

Re: Sacrificing everything for my dog. How I became a programmer

#132

Post by MereInterest »

cpursley wrote: post #75
drrotmos wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I strongly disagree. In my mind, the only way to vote is to vote your conscience, not what happens to give me the greatest personal gain. "The God Delusion" by Dawkins includes a great (and somewhat Rawlsian) rule, 'Always devise your rules as if you didn't know whether you were going be at the top or the bottom of the pecking order.' E.g., as a libertarian, I consider taxes to be unethical regardless of whether I ga…

Yeah, I'm a libertarian also. Most people think the way people understand taxes is a.) screw the poor, it's mine b.) screw the rich, you don't deserve it. But there's an entirely different philosophy out there. Taxes, which are non-voluntary by nature, are theft and therefore unethical. It's hard for many to conceptualize, but you can actually help the poor and those causes you care about and be anti-tax. It's not li…

If you define theft as non-voluntary taking, then I would argue that theft is not always unethical. The traditional example is that of a father stealing bread to feed his children. I would not call this to be unethical. Why, then, would I call it unethical to steal of funds to feed a nation?

Re: Sacrificing everything for my dog. How I became a programmer

#133

Post by hackinthebochs »

Just imagine if people were that dedicated to each other.

I've often noticed that we treasure the unconditional love and dedication that dogs have for their owners, yet the same behavior seen among people would be considered weak, co-dependent, etc. Why is there such a disconnect here?

Re: Sacrificing everything for my dog. How I became a programmer

#134

Post by rmrfrmrf »

Heliosmaster wrote: post #39
seldo wrote: post #10

Remember kids, if you work hard, sacrifice, and have parents with a spare house in Tahoe they can lend you rent-free indefinitely, you too can make it as a programmer.

I can't understand the general hostility toward getting (financial) help from your parents or living with them until you are financially independent, even after 18/25/30. I know I am biased as an italian (and pretty much adhere to the true stereotype) but I can't find anything wrong from getting help from the people that brought you in this world and which probably love you more than anyone else on the planet (and th…

My issue is with the title more than anything. Sacrificed everything? This guy has traveled the world, was able to dump truckloads of money into 2 rounds of post-graduate study, and was finally able to throw it all away and live in his parents' house in the name of changing his career path.

Sacrifice is about hardship, tough decisions, and tangible loss, not about your parents shaking their heads and wagging their fingers at you. I'd argue that this guy's parents sacrificed more than he ever did just to give him the privilege of saying that he "sacrificed everything".

Re: Sacrificing everything for my dog. How I became a programmer

#135

Post by rmrfrmrf »

jamesaguilar wrote: post #128
Afforess wrote: post #31

I like the story, but I feel it's important to mention that the authors stated opinion on Karma is terrifying . Karma is essentially the worst sort of belief, in that superficially it seems to reward good behavior and punish bad behavior. This appeals to a lot of people because of its clear "carrot/stick" mentality and overall simplicity. This is the "Just-World" hypothesis. In reality, this kind of thinking means th…

> the authors stated opinion on Karma is terrifying. Man, people on this site overuse the word "terrifying."

"terrifying"

"stunning"

"I'm not so sure..."

"I'm curious,"

"perhaps"

"arguably"

"How My Startup ____________ (In Other Words, Something That Is Not At All a How-To Article)"

Re: Sacrificing everything for my dog. How I became a programmer

#136

Post by VladRussian2 »

ianstallings wrote: post #113
VladRussian2 wrote: post #13

> If you’ve ever owned a dog, you know just how intelligent they actually are (especially larger breeds) yes, some larger breeds rate higher on obedience scale, and we, humans, equate that to the intelligence in animals. There is another bias also is that large breeds are more frequently working breeds, thus a lot of specialized effort is invested into training them, and thus more of the obedience results achieved.

Because dogs simply will not sit down and take a written test. Unruly bastards.

about anthropocentric design of the tests - reminded me about how they tested chimpanzees for ability to recognize faces (an ability which we consider a necessary trait for a high intelligence), and there wasn't much progress until instead of human faces chimpanzee faces started to be used in the test.

Re: Sacrificing everything for my dog. How I became a programmer

#137

Post by jamesaguilar »

rmrfrmrf wrote: post #135
jamesaguilar wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the authors stated opinion on Karma is terrifying. Man, people on this site overuse the word "terrifying."

"terrifying" "stunning" "I'm not so sure..." "I'm curious," "perhaps" "arguably" "How My Startup ____________ (In Other Words, Something That Is Not At All a How-To Article)"

I don't really mind things that are said a lot, especially when they express genuine doubt, rather than people playing devil's advocate or intentionally muddying the waters with far-fetched speculation. My problem is the misuse of the word. "Terrifying" is to HN as "slightly concerning" is to real life.

I do like your list, though.

Re: Sacrificing everything for my dog. How I became a programmer

#140

Post by ecopoesis »

StavrosK wrote: post #88
danso wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a dog and cat person, though mostly I've only been what my roommates have been. My current roommate has a dog. My last few roommates have had cats...Living in New York now, what I wouldn't give for a mouse-killing cat... It's hard to say which animal is better, overall. I will say though that a cat whose devotion you've earned, to the point that it's as loyal as a dog (yet knows how to use the litter box)...is my…

Regarding the litter box situation, I prefer dogs. They let you know when they have to go so you don't have to scoop foul-smelling poop and stink up the apartment.

I have two cats, and they don't stink up the house. Use good litter, not that clay crap, but the wheat or corn based ones, and scoop every day into something like a litter genie.

It works perfectly, except when my older cat forgets to bury. The younger one usually takes care of that though.

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