Questions you want answered.

So one of our HR reps just quietly gave me a heads up that I'm getting an offer for a new position in a few hours. That's awesome, and I'm stupidly excited. Here's my question. This is the first job offer that I've ever gotten that wasn't an entry-level position. It's a management gig, and there's a lot of travel involved. Should I make a counteroffer to whatever salary offer they make? If I do decide to do that, how to I make a counteroffer without risking them saying, "Okay, we'll go with someone else."?

trichy wrote:

So one of our HR reps just quietly gave me a heads up that I'm getting an offer for a new position in a few hours. That's awesome, and I'm stupidly excited. Here's my question. This is the first job offer that I've ever gotten that wasn't an entry-level position. It's a management gig, and there's a lot of travel involved. Should I make a counteroffer to whatever salary offer they make? If I do decide to do that, how to I make a counteroffer without risking them saying, "Okay, we'll go with someone else."?

I don't think they'll ever say that. They'll just say "this is the best we can do" and then it's in your hands to take or leave it.

Well you will probably not get a used car salesman talk about it on the spot. At the interview get your info. But then go with the classic "I need to go home and think about this."

This gives you an opportunity to do some research on what competitive wages would be. Evaluate the pluses and minuses. IE more travel, less time at home with your wife and kids. Will this be travel they cover 100%, will you have to pay some, will you have to pay and wait to be reimbursed? If the travel is on your car, be sure you weigh that against more wear on your ride (unless you get a car out of the deal). If it is a lot of extra car travel, IRS reimbursement on gas is horrid and most companies I know of are only a little better IE 50 cents a mile vs 35 cents. You get a raise, but what are the tax implications? Do you start making so much money you lose some tax deductions? Are you put in a new bracket?

trichy wrote:

Should I make a counteroffer to whatever salary offer they make?

Kinda depends on the offer, doesn't it? If they make you an offer that you're happy with, why would you counter?

Chumpy_McChump wrote:
trichy wrote:

Should I make a counteroffer to whatever salary offer they make?

Kinda depends on the offer, doesn't it? If they make you an offer that you're happy with, why would you counter?

Yes, but I'd trade it all for a little more.

carrotpanic wrote:

You're super wrong.

Don't care. It's two. Period. Always.

Coldstream wrote:
RolandofGilead wrote:

Why does the water level in the bowl go down when I clean the toilet?

Because the level of the water equalises in that U-shape formed by the bowl and the proximal portion of the goose-neck. When you push water forcefully into the pipe by brushing, it slops some past the point in the goose-neck beyond which it can't return, lowering the total amount of water left in the U-shape, and therefore the level of the water on either side when it's at rest.

Thanks, that was awesome, I don't know what any of it means.

No, wait, okay, so basically in every toilet there is empty space? The water in the bowl that I can see is part of a 'U'. But then how does the flushing occur?

There's a tv commercial I don't understand. A bunch of African tribesmen are digging in the ground. One of them finds something shiny. They chase him. He gets to his hut safely, it's an X-like shape with four colors, it glows. Fade to black, there's a bunch of text in what looks like Arabic, but there are some English words asking one to sign up for something and giving a date, I don't know if this is the time sign ups are open or if this is the time of the event.

What's it about?

X with four colours? I haven't seen the commercial in question, but that sounds like the Nexus logo. Did it look like this:
IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/HREyB.png)

RolandofGilead wrote:

No, wait, okay, so basically in every toilet there is empty space? The water in the bowl that I can see is part of a 'U'. But then how does the flushing occur?

http://home.howstuffworks.com/toilet3.htm
By hitting the flush lever you empty the reservoir into the bowl. This causes the level of the water level to rise above the the backside of the "U". The water flowing out the back of the "U", siphons the contents out of the bowl until the water reaches a neutral level.

IHateDRM wrote:
Concave wrote:
IHateDRM wrote:
Concave wrote:

At risk of starting some sort of holy wars... should I get Civ IV or Civ V?
Bearing in mind the last Civ-type game I played was Colonization (1994 original version :old:).

I'm inclined to say Civ IV, if only because of Fall From Heaven II, A mod that actually makes good on the promises of games like Master Of Magic and Age Of Wonders.

But I also have a spare copy of Civ V From my XCOM pre-order if you want it, just send me a friend invite. (Thanks to dejanzie for reminding me a have it :))

EDIT: It might help if I link to my steam profile http://steamcommunity.com/id/DRM75. :P

Ah excellent, will do :)

And done!

It's things like this that make GWJ so great. Thanks!

RolandofGilead wrote:
carrotpanic wrote:

You're super wrong.

Don't care. It's two. Period. Always.

Except the html just converted your sentence down to one space after period.

carrotpanic wrote:
RolandofGilead wrote:
carrotpanic wrote:

You're super wrong.

Don't care. It's two. Period. Always.

Except the html just converted your sentence down to one space after period.

Exactly, so then everyone sees things that match the kerning of modern digital text, but your muscle memory can continue to write the correct 2-space way that is compatible with all forms of typing devices. Win-win!

carrotpanic wrote:
RolandofGilead wrote:
carrotpanic wrote:

You're super wrong.

Don't care. It's two. Period. Always.

Except the html just converted your sentence down to one space after period.

Since this BS just won't die. If you write in a profession that uses Blue Book form, you use 2 spaces. You always double space between the end of a sentence and then your citation sentence and then your next sentence. You use 2 spaces between all other sentences.

For non professional writing, double spacing is a stylistic choice, but encouraged when using a monospaced font.

The vigorous defense of Chicago, MLA, etc is silly. Now if you could return to the main page and rage out on SNES vs Genesis in a mob like fashion. 2 spacing is simultaneously right and wrong. You write the way your field tells you to. You are guaranteed to be wrong to make a blanket statement on what is correct for style and formatting.

However, as a question. What are Canadian kids taught about that extra "u"? Are they sticking to their guns and armour?

KingGorilla wrote:

However, as a question. What are Canadian kids taught about that extra "u"? Are they sticking to their guns and armour?

What about the 'u'? We're just taught how to spell correctly.

RolandofGilead wrote:

No, wait, okay, so basically in every toilet there is empty space? The water in the bowl that I can see is part of a 'U'. But then how does the flushing occur?

Look under your sink. See the how the pipe forms a U shape before leaving for the sewers? Exact same thing happens inside your toilet. But instead of pipes, the toilet has the same shape built into it at the back. It forms a seal and plugs the pipe, so that the gasses from the sewer cannot enter your bathroom/kitchen.

nihilo wrote:
KingGorilla wrote:

However, as a question. What are Canadian kids taught about that extra "u"? Are they sticking to their guns and armour?

What about the 'u'? We're just taught how to spell correctly.

You say that now, but what about when the Americans come with their gns?

MoonDragon wrote:
RolandofGilead wrote:

No, wait, okay, so basically in every toilet there is empty space? The water in the bowl that I can see is part of a 'U'. But then how does the flushing occur?

Look under your sink. See the how the pipe forms a U shape before leaving for the sewers? Exact same thing happens inside your toilet. But instead of pipes, the toilet has the same shape built into it at the back. It forms a seal and plugs the pipe, so that the gasses from the sewer cannot enter your bathroom/kitchen.

Moondragon has got it. It's not just for plumbing. This idea is used all over the place, though. Brewers use a tool called a "vapor lock" that uses the same principle to keep wild yeasts and bacteria from getting in and contaminating your brew while allowing excess gasses to escape, for example. And if you get a vapor lock in your fuel-line, it can cause problems for your car.

Do you guys and gals ever get tired of me popping in here and asking dumb questions?

Grenn wrote:

Do you guys and gals ever get tired of me popping in here and asking dumb questions?

Well that is a dumb and annoying question.

Grenn wrote:

Do you guys and gals ever get tired of me popping in here and asking dumb questions?

KingGorilla wrote:
Grenn wrote:

Do you guys and gals ever get tired of me popping in here and asking dumb questions?

Well that is a dumb and annoying question.

IMAGE(http://blogs.psychsterdata.com/yjgm/dunce-cap.png)

I haven't seen that in a very long time, Tangle. Madeline Kahn was a genius!

momgamer wrote:

And if you get a vapor lock in your fuel-line, it can cause problems for your car.

There's only one thing you need to be a great quarterback.

iaintgotnopants wrote:
momgamer wrote:

And if you get a vapor lock in your fuel-line, it can cause problems for your car.

There's only one thing you need to be a great quarterback.

Okay, look. I gotta run. Remember what I told ya!

nihilo wrote:
KingGorilla wrote:

However, as a question. What are Canadian kids taught about that extra "u"? Are they sticking to their guns and armour?

What about the 'u'? We're just taught how to spell correctly.

The extraneous "u" in words like "color/colour" and "armor/armour" in British English can be attributed to the fact that Samuel Johnson's influential 1755 "Dictionary of the English Language" came at a time when it was much in vogue to exaggerate the French influence on English language and culture, a fad that had thankfully passed by the time the American Noah Webster published the first edition of his superior "A Compendious Dictionary of the English Language" in 1806.

Taking your spelling cues from a man who was more concerned with being trendy than correct is an adorable affectation. Never change, Canada.

Cut us some slack, the Dictionary was patronized by this guy:

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/FnyA2l.jpg)

Hey guys, how are you? I'm writing because I'm have a bit of a quandary and could use some advice, if you all don't mind. Some background might be needed first.

Back in April of this year, a small e-publication I had previously written for tasked me with writing two game reviews -- one covering a game I'd already written about on my blog, and one I hadn't -- and laid out a sum for each article. I completed the articles ahead of schedule and sent them off.

In May, not having heard anything, I emailed my contact to see what was going on, and was told the publication of the magazine would be delayed. I accepted it and continued waiting.

In late July, I saw a tweet saying they were about to publish the actual magazine which supposedly had my articles in it, so I wrote and inquired again about the articles again, as well as payment. I was told they only used one of my articles in the magazine -- to accommodate more features -- but would use the other one on their blog. Fine, I said, and waited some more.

Last week, noticing the magazine had been published, I emailed my contact again to inquire about payment and such. It's been over a week and I've heard no reply. I'm pretty fed up at this point.

My question, after all that, is would it be okay if I tweaked one of the reviews I wrote for them and repost it on my own blog, since they are my words and I've yet to receive payment for them? Since I doubt I'll ever be paid at this point, I'd like to do SOMETHING with my own content instead, you know?

Thanks in advance for any advice y'all can provide.

Vel,

I don't know much about the publication space, but have you ever signed anything with them in the past? You mentioned writing for them before, but I think there should have been some contract/document that would outline copyright for the work. In some cases, you're sometimes selling all rights (and usually getting a slightly higher sum), in some cases you're selling the rights but in lieu of up-front payment you get residuals from future sales, and in other cases you're essentially leasing the right to publish the content for a certain timeframe after which copyright returns to you to do whatever you want with the work.

So...to me (and IANAL), if there's no paperwork in place at all, they boned themselves and you're free to do whatever you want. But at the same time, they're most likely not going to pay you anything.

If there was paperwork in place for the previous work you did, but nothing for the latest round of work - I would bring that up. Approach it with a "no one is at fault" attitude, and you're more likely to get a response instead of a "where's my money"-tactic. If the payment you'd be expecting is worth more than 2 hours of an attorney's time, I'd probably also seek out some real legal advice.

And finally, if there was paperwork involved for this latest round, it should have detailed out all those answers - who owns the copyright, and for how long, what can be done with the work, and how much you're getting paid, and when that payment will be dispersed.

If any of that language is in place, and they weren't following it to the letter, then you start getting into breach of contract territory.

Again, if its worth more than a few hours of a lawyer's time, I'd get some council to at least write a nice letter to them. Most likely, a well written letter from your legal representation will get their wheels turning - but at the same time, you'll probably burn the snot out of that bridge. If its a small amount, your council can also coach you on opening a small claims case, and if its a big amount, take all that work on himself and start a civil case on your behalf.

Is there any reading you could recommend on "Time Lapse" or "bullet time" in a more real scientific sense?

Like my hippie stoner/ pseudo intellectual type thought:

We have a very limited ability to perceive things significantly outside of our scale of time. We don't see trees grow. We don't see 100 year old glass flow. We can see the results after it's happened.

If "something" had a brain which worked like our computers and processed things in millions, or billions of operations per second, we would seem static to them.
There could be "things" surrounding us with operate on such a vastly different scale of time that we don't notice, nor do "they" notice that we're in the same physical space.

Or if "they" exist elsewhere and we're observing for communication, we don't notice theirs because it's happening, so out of whack with what we normally perceive.

Would be some interesting reading if you've encountered something that you could recommend.
Bullet time has been a popular game theme for a long time. I was just wondering if maybe it came from a real theory.