Hello everyone, I have decided to log on again after a while. How is everyone doing? Are you guys excited for new years? Any music you guys like?

Thank you,
polyplexmescalia

Kill KMAC

I just started playing around with BBS's again and using QWK again. So
I am going to say hello back.

Am I excited for the new year? Well that a tough one. On the one hand,
yes I am. After all a new year is sort of a blank slate. Nothing is set
in stone. On the other hand, I am older and have more days behind me than I days going forward. That thought alone is enough to give pause. Plus, I am
not looking forward to seeing more of the same. In many ways, I am going to take a page for my wife favorite artist Morrissey and his lyric to "Stop watching the News". Of course that's just me and everyone's mileage may vary.

At any rate, have a wonderful New Year. Hopefully, I will be hanging around here.

PPM wrote to All <=-

Hello everyone, I have decided to log on again after a while. How is everyone doing? Are you guys excited for new years? Any music you guys like?

Thank you,
polyplexmescalia

Kill KMAC
--- SBBSecho 3.34-Linux
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... 2 + 2 = 5 for extremely large values of 2.
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I just started playing around with BBS's again and using QWK again. So
I am going to say hello back.

Am I excited for the new year? Well that a tough one. On the one hand, yes I am. After all a new year is sort of a blank slate. Nothing is set
in stone. On the other hand, I am older and have more days behind me
than I days going forward. That thought alone is enough to give pause. Plus, I am not looking forward to seeing more of the same. In many ways,
I am going to take a page for my wife favorite artist Morrissey and his lyric to "Stop watching the News". Of course that's just me and
everyone's mileage may vary.

Aging sucks.... :/

... Condense soup, not books!

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2023/04/30 (Linux/64)
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Re: Screaming into the void
By: nblade to PPM on Tue Dec 30 2025 10:52:00

On the other hand, I am older and have more days behind me than I days going forward. That thought alone is enough to give pause.

I'd rather hit Rewind, but I'd settle for Pause.

Hopefully, I will be hanging around here.

I'm glad I'm sill just hanging around.
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Re: Screaming into the void
By: PPM to All on Tue Dec 30 2025 06:24 am

Hello everyone, I have decided to log on again after a while. How is everyone doing? Are you guys excited for new years? Any music you guys like?

I'm hoping the new year will be good. I was laid off from my job in September, so the end of the year has been a bit of a downer, having to look for work. I recently had a few interviews for a job I applied for; the last one of those was just today, and I feel like it went well, so hopefully there will be good news regarding that.

As far as music, I still tend to listen to a lot of older classic rock & similar. :)

How are you?

Nightfox

Re: Screaming into the void
By: nblade to PPM on Tue Dec 30 2025 10:52 am

not looking forward to seeing more of the same. In many ways, I am going to take a page for my wife favorite artist Morrissey and his lyric to "Stop watching the News". Of course that's just me and everyone's mileage may vary.

Lately I don't watch news on TV as much as I used to, but I still hear about news on the radio when I'm in my car and I see articles shared online (everything taken with a grain of salt). I still want to be informed, and it feels like it can be hard to have a trustworthy news source (especially with AI these days).

Nightfox

At any rate, have a wonderful New Year. Hopefully, I will be hanging around here.

Happy New Year to you also, and I hope you enjoy your return to BBSing. ;)


* SLMR 2.1a * A hen tomorrow is more valuable than an egg today.
--- SBBSecho 3.28-Linux
* Origin: Capitol City Online (21:1/175)

On the other hand, I am older and have more days behind me than I days goin
forward. That thought alone is enough to give pause.

I'd rather hit Rewind, but I'd settle for Pause.

Honestly, I would settle for time just moving a little slower. ;)

As I look back, I am not sure there is a time in my life I would rather go
back to. There might be some individual points where I might wish I had acted/reacted differently to a situation but, overall, I would really
rather not relive the whole period surrounding it to do so. There are individual times/experiences I might be sentimental about but I must remind myself that there were also many experiences at those ages that I really, really am glad are far behind now.


* SLMR 2.1a * No problem is so formidable that you can't just walk away
--- SBBSecho 3.28-Linux
* Origin: Capitol City Online (21:1/175)

Thanks I hope to enjoy it. It certainly brings back memories of when I got my first PC.
Hell the funny thing is I can still tell you the stats for my first PC (but not any machines
after that).

It was a 386sx-16 with 4mb of RAM with a 40mb Hardrive. It had a vga card it. I upgraded
it to have one of the first multimedia upgrade kits (aka Sound Blaster Card, CDROM drive, and
Windows 3.0 with multimedia extensions).

Dumas Walker wrote to NBLADE <=-

At any rate, have a wonderful New Year. Hopefully, I will be hanging around here.

Happy New Year to you also, and I hope you enjoy your return to BBSing.
;)

* SLMR 2.1a * A hen tomorrow is more valuable than an egg today.
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... Just because you can doesn't mean you should.
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Re: Screaming into the void
By: nblade to Dumas Walker on Wed Dec 31 2025 08:35 am

It was a 386sx-16 with 4mb of RAM with a 40mb Hardrive. It had a vga card it. I upgraded
it to have one of the first multimedia upgrade kits (aka Sound Blaster Card, CDROM drive, and
Windows 3.0 with multimedia extensions).

I had a very similar setup too, for a few years.

Nightfox

Hello everyone, I have decided to log on again after a while. How is everyone doing? Are you guys excited for new years? Any music you guys like?

Being in Germany, I have prepped my camera for fireworks mode, and hopefully will be able to capture something interesting around midnight, when a fifth of the German population lights off fireworks that aren't legal in most places.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Linux/64)
* Origin: Storm BBS (21:2/108)

Re: Re: Screaming into the void
By: Adept to PPM on Wed Dec 31 2025 06:22 pm

Hello everyone, I have decided to log on again after a while. How is
everyone doing? Are you guys excited for new years? Any music you guys
like?

Being in Germany, I have prepped my camera for fireworks mode, and hopefully will be able to capture something interesting around midnight, when a fifth of the German population lights off fireworks that aren't legal in most places.

That seems fairly common. Where I am, I don't even know where people are buying fireworks during New Years.. I don't recall seeing many places (if any) that sell fireworks during this time of year.

Here in the US, it's common to be able to buy fireworks for July 4th (US independence day), but even sales of fireworks for that holiday have reduced a lot in recent years. Where I am, aerial fireworks have been illegal for many years, but it used to be that people could drive to the state north of us (not far from my city) and buy aerial fireworks there, but they stopped selling fireworks altogether there several years ago (at least in the county just across the border).

I find it annoying when I still hear people set off exploding fireworks late at night a couple weeks after the holiday..

Nightfox

I find it annoying when I still hear people set off exploding fireworks late at night a couple weeks after the holiday..

I know the feeling!

Get this one, we had some idiots in the neighbourhood setting off fireworks on Christmas Eve.

... Do vegetarians eat animal crackers?

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Re: Screaming into the void
By: niter3 to Nightfox on Wed Dec 31 2025 03:52 pm

I find it annoying when I still hear people set off exploding fireworks
late at night a couple weeks after the holiday..

I know the feeling!

Get this one, we had some idiots in the neighbourhood setting off fireworks on Christmas Eve.

I've noticed people doing that in past years too.. It's definitely annoying.

Nightfox

Re: Screaming into the void
By: PPM to All on Tue Dec 30 2025 06:24 am

Howdy,

Hello everyone, I have decided to log on again after a while. How is everyone doing? Are you guys excited for new years? Any music you guys like?

Welcome :)

New years is just another day for me. They all seem to blurr together.

Its actually here for me now, and I work up late because I was out enjoying company with friends until the early hours this morning. It was a good night.

As for music, last night was mostly 80s music, where we were all trying to remember when songs were released...


...δεσ∩
--- SBBSecho 3.29-Linux
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Re: Screaming into the void
By: Dumas Walker to MORTAR M. on Wed Dec 31 2025 10:11:42

I am not sure there is a time in my life I would rather go back to.

I am. July, 1977. I'm just out of HS and looking (unsuccessfully) for a Summer job. It's the dawn of the home computer era and to para-phrase Obi-Wan, I'd taken my first steps into that larger world thanks to discovering BYTE magazine at a news stand while pounding the pavement. That led to other magazines, and hanging out at computer shops that were starting to pop up in the area. It would be another year before I owned a computer; a T/S 1000. I would love to re-experience that wonder, that excitment of something totally new.

Then there was the '80s. My favorite decade. I loved most everything about it: The cloths, the music, the movies/TV shows. They were like, totally bitchin'!
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Re: Screaming into the void
By: nblade to Dumas Walker on Wed Dec 31 2025 08:35:00

Thanks I hope to enjoy it. It certainly brings back memories of when I got my first PC. Hell the funny thing is I can still tell you the stats for my first PC (but not any machines after that).

The only things I remember about my first PC (but not my first computer) was that it was a 386 clone, EGA graphics and had a 1200 baud, internal modem. It was also my first foray into BBSes. Even tried running one for awhile, but it never gained traction. Probably because I only ran it part-time; I didn't like leaving it on while I was at work.
--- SBBSecho 3.31-Linux
* Origin: End Of The Line BBS - endofthelinebbs.com (21:2/101)

On 30 Dec 2025, Nightfox said the following...

Re: Screaming into the void
By: PPM to All on Tue Dec 30 2025 06:24 am

Hello everyone, I have decided to log on again after a while. How is everyone doing? Are you guys excited for new years? Any music you guy like?

I'm hoping the new year will be good. I was laid off from my job in September, so the end of the year has been a bit of a downer, having to look for work. I recently had a few interviews for a job I applied for; the last one of those was just today, and I feel like it went well, so hopefully there will be good news regarding that.

I had no idea that you lost your job. Sorry about that. With your skills, you shouldn't have any problems finding the right job, no matter how long it takes.

Once you do, you are sure to have a Happy New Year. Praying for you, bud.

Mike Dippel
Get Your Site Listed
https://bbs-list.net


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Re: Re: Screaming into the void
By: Mike Dippel to Nightfox on Thu Jan 01 2026 05:46 am

I had no idea that you lost your job. Sorry about that. With your skills, you shouldn't have any problems finding the right job, no matter how long it takes.

Once you do, you are sure to have a Happy New Year. Praying for you, bud.

Thanks :) It's a tough market right now - The economy isn't great, and there are also a lot of other people looking for the same jobs because a lot of people from other companies have been laid off recently too. Several months ago, Intel alone laid off a couple thousand people who work in my area.. I've been laid off multiple times in the past, and sometimes I'd been able to find a new job within just a couple months, and sometimes more - During the financial recession of 2008-2009, I was laid off and was looking for work for about a year. (And as an aside, that's when I started working on a few of my Synchronet mods, such as SlyEdit, my login matrix, etc.)

Nightfox

niter3 wrote to nblade <=-

Aging sucks.... :/

Agreed. I spent the first half of 2025 watching my mother decline
swiftly with lewy body dementia, in the back of my mind I'm wondering
how many years I have until what seems like an inevitable decline.

People are now advocating not working like gangbusters in your later
life, instead retire more reasonably and enjoy life while you can.

Travel in your late 50s instead of your late 60s/early 70s, you'll
enjoy it more and your quality of life will be better. Makes sense.



--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
* Origin: realitycheckBBS.org -- information is power. (21:4/122)

Mortar M. wrote to nblade <=-

Re: Screaming into the void
By: nblade to PPM on Tue Dec 30 2025 10:52:00

On the other hand, I am older and have more days behind me than I days going forward. That thought alone is enough to give pause.

I'd rather hit Rewind, but I'd settle for Pause.

Hopefully, I will be hanging around here.

I'm glad I'm sill just hanging around.

As I get older, I find myself getting more nostalgic, looking back on
times of my life. I find it fulfilling to know I've had some great
times, and see them as passing - an intersection of the right people at
the right time. It's not expected to go on forever, you need to enjoy
the moment. I did, mostly. I was always more of a "the journey is the
reward" type.






--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
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Dumas Walker wrote to MORTAR M. <=-

There are individual times/experiences I might be sentimental about but
I must remind myself that there were also many experiences at those
ages that I really, really am glad are far behind now.

Yes, but those experiences make you who you are now. I did some what-if
thinking a while ago, and thought about what it would have been like to
avoid painful moments in my life, but they built character and set a
path for my life. Avoiding the pain wouldn't have caused a better path,
and I wouldn't have the wisdom I'd gained from the experience - nor
would I have the experiences I'd enjoyed afterwards.



--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
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deon wrote to PPM <=-

New years is just another day for me. They all seem to blurr together.

2025 was a year of highs and lows for me, but I wasn't in a celebratory
mood last night. Here's to 2026.


--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
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Mortar M. wrote to Dumas Walker <=-

shops that were starting to pop up in the area. It would be another
year before I owned a computer; a T/S 1000. I would love to
re-experience that wonder, that excitment of something totally new.

One of the guys in the BBS documentary mentioned something about knowing something that only a few people knew about, I remember dropping a
reference to computers in a conversation in the early 80s and seeing one person's eyes light up - you knew you had something in common with them.

Same with the early internet in the mid '90s. I worked in Multimedia Gulch
in San Francisco, a center of creative design and technology in the
early 'net days. Travel a few blocks north to the financial district and
they had no idea what you were doing.




--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
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Re: Re: Screaming into the void
By: poindexter FORTRAN to niter3 on Thu Jan 01 2026 09:39 am

Agreed. I spent the first half of 2025 watching my mother decline swiftly with lewy body dementia, in the back of my mind I'm wondering how many years I have until what seems like an inevitable decline.

Sorry to hear. :( That's always a hard thing to watch, and also wonder about for yourself.

People are now advocating not working like gangbusters in your later life, instead retire more reasonably and enjoy life while you can.

Travel in your late 50s instead of your late 60s/early 70s, you'll enjoy it more and your quality of life will be better. Makes sense.

I've often heard people in the US tend to work a lot more than people in some other countries. In countries in Europe, for instance, people tend to get more vacation time from companies, and I've heard Europeans tend to travel more. I think it would be good to be able to travel more when you're even younger.

Nightfox

Re: Re: Screaming into the void
By: poindexter FORTRAN to Mortar M. on Thu Jan 01 2026 09:39 am

As I get older, I find myself getting more nostalgic, looking back on times of my life. I find it fulfilling to know I've had some great times, and see them as passing - an intersection of the right people at the right time. It's not expected to go on forever, you need to enjoy the moment. I did, mostly. I was always more of a "the journey is the reward" type.

I feel like that too. And sometimes I appreciate certain things more now that I'm looking back on it. Also, I always want to ne able to do things now (such as travel, etc.) and enjoy my life so I have good memories to look back on later.

Nightfox

That seems fairly common. Where I am, I don't even know where people are buying fireworks during New Years.. I don't recall seeing many places

Costco.. Kroger/Fry's parking lot.. etc.

I find it annoying when I still hear people set off exploding fireworks
late at night a couple weeks after the holiday..

In Sao Paulo, for at least two weeks before and after new year, people set off fireworks out of their apartment complex windows ALL times of day and night.. non fucking stop. Holy shit so obnoxious.



--- NE BBS v1.13.2 (linux; x64)
* Origin: NE BBS - nebbs.servehttp.com:9223 (21:3/193)

Re: Re: Screaming into the void
By: poindexter FORTRAN to Mortar M. on Thu Jan 01 2026 09:39:26

As I get older, I find myself getting more nostalgic...

Me too, I mostly listen to music from the '60s-'90s, same with TV/movies, but my biggest mostalgia kick is in retro-computing, getting back to BASICs (C what I did there?) I've got three retro-influenced computers, I'm reaquainting myself with BASIC, C and COBOL, I picked up some '80s computer mags off ebay and I watch a number of retro YT channels. That's how I nostalge.
--- SBBSecho 3.31-Linux
* Origin: End Of The Line BBS - endofthelinebbs.com (21:2/101)

Travel in your late 50s instead of your late 60s/early 70s, you'll
enjoy it more and your quality of life will be better. Makes sense.

If only we could know what it would take to have enough money for whatever is coming for us.

My mom has been traveling more, though I think some of it really has been a realization that traveling is an option. And that she's unlikely to outlive her money, with her current spending habits.

Obviously, end-of-life needs oftentimes wind up being super expensive, but she's also figuring she can do things like send me money under the yearly gift allowance. Not because I need it, but because she probably doesn't, and if she does, my brother or I would make sure she's not destitute, anyway.

I'm pretty sure much of this wouldn't have been overly reasonable or possible a decade or two ago. Though, having said that, it took the right set of circumstances for her to travel to Europe for the first time, and that was effectively, "we'll meet you once you get out of the secure area, and take care of it from there".

She did still have a lot of concerns she talked through ahead of time, and worried about until they became irrelevant.

But, while my mom isn't suffering from any obvious big health concerns, our travel plans did wind up being impacted by figuring out how to get around, with my mom being a lot slower than me.

Still, it worked. But, yeah, the better shape a body is in, the easier it is to get things done. And that gets harder the later into life one goes.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Linux/64)
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to get more vacation time from companies, and I've heard Europeans tend
to travel more. I think it would be good to be able to travel more when you're even younger.

Thinking about the common American experience versus the common European experience, in the US I lived in a mid-sized Midwestern city, that was an uncomfortable longer bus ride to Chicago, and not a whole lot else. And, obviously, driving was clearly the most-comfortable option.

In Germany, I live in a mid-sized city, that's a fairly-comfortable longer train ride (well, maybe multiple trains, depending) to Essen, Cologne, Bonn, and if going for more than 2 hours, Frankfurt, Berlin, Paris, and Amsterdam, among others, aren't too far away.

In the US, traveling to anything else was pretty much guaranteed to be a plane ride, if not planning on a multi-day road trip.

So there are a lot of things that are both nearby(ish) and suitably different enough from the local area.

It's still fun to visit places in small towns in the US, or see some wide-open places that are less common in Europe, but I think a lot of that wouldn't even strike most Americans as "travel".

But, eh, probably not a surprise that different things are different, somehow.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Linux/64)
* Origin: Storm BBS (21:2/108)

I've often heard people in the US tend to work a lot more than people in some other countries. In countries in Europe, for instance, people tend to get more vacation time from companies, and I've heard Europeans tend
to travel more. I think it would be good to be able to travel more when you're even younger.

I've heard the same as well.

Wonder if they'll ever get the Bernie Sanders 4 day work week to come into place?

... It said "insert disk #3", but only two will fit...

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2023/04/30 (Linux/64)
* Origin: Clutch BBS * telnet://clutchbbs.com (21:1/199)

Re: Re: Screaming into the void
By: Adept to Nightfox on Fri Jan 02 2026 12:05 pm

Thinking about the common American experience versus the common European experience, in the US I lived in a mid-sized Midwestern city, that was an uncomfortable longer bus ride to Chicago, and not a whole lot else. And, obviously, driving was clearly the most-comfortable option.

In Germany, I live in a mid-sized city, that's a fairly-comfortable longer train ride (well, maybe multiple trains, depending) to Essen, Cologne, Bonn, and if going for more than 2 hours, Frankfurt, Berlin, Paris, and Amsterdam, among others, aren't too far away.

In the US, traveling to anything else was pretty much guaranteed to be a plane ride, if not planning on a multi-day road trip.

Yeah, the US is a relatively large country, so getting from one end of the country to the other (for instance) is probably going to be a plane flight.
My wife and I visited Europe in October (Paris, Edinburgh, and London), and while in the UK, we took a couple of train rides - We took a train from Edinburgh to London, and then took a train from London to Bath, visited for a few hours, then took a train back to London. That all was very easy to do, and I really liked it. In particular, I think taking a train between Edinburgh and London would be better than flying - It was very easy to get on the train, as there were no security checks, and we could simply bring all of our luggage on the train. Also, I imagine that train trip would probably take about as much time as flying, considering getting to the airport early, checking in, and going through security.

We have trains & train stations in the US too, but it seems to me they're fewer and farther between.

It's still fun to visit places in small towns in the US, or see some wide-open places that are less common in Europe, but I think a lot of that wouldn't even strike most Americans as "travel".

Yeah, if I'm going to see a national park or something that's local & a fairly short distance to me, I wouldn't consider that travel. But if I visit another state in the US, I'd consider that travel.

Nightfox

Re: Screaming into the void
By: niter3 to Nightfox on Fri Jan 02 2026 07:52 am

I've often heard people in the US tend to work a lot more than people in
some other countries.

I've heard the same as well.

Wonder if they'll ever get the Bernie Sanders 4 day work week to come into place?

I haven't really read up much on that, but if that happens, I'd wonder if it would be 4 8-hour work days or 4 10-hour work days.

Nightfox

I haven't really read up much on that, but if that happens, I'd wonder
if it would be 4 8-hour work days or 4 10-hour work days.

Exactly, I think that's the catch. It would be more...

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2023/04/30 (Linux/64)
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Adept wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

But, while my mom isn't suffering from any obvious big health concerns, our travel plans did wind up being impacted by figuring out how to get around, with my mom being a lot slower than me.

Traveling is hard, and gets harder as you get older. We just dropped my
mother-in-law off at the airport, she's 79 with 2 replaced hips.
Sitting for a long period of time is tough, jetlag takes longer to deal
with, and immune systems aren't what they used to be - heck, I usually
get a cold after breathing airplane air on long journeys.

We pretty much had it in our minds that this would be her last flight.
We're planning on flying out more often and are researching retiring in
England, so travel shouldn't be an issue - but we wanted her to see the
California coast and San Francisco one more time.



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Adept wrote to Nightfox <=-

In Germany, I live in a mid-sized city, that's a fairly-comfortable
longer train ride (well, maybe multiple trains, depending) to Essen, Cologne, Bonn, and if going for more than 2 hours, Frankfurt, Berlin, Paris, and Amsterdam, among others, aren't too far away.

Exactly! We're looking to retire to the English country, far enough
from London that commuters wouldn't want to live there. I'm looking
forward to taking the train to Scotland, the Cotswalds, or taking a
short hop in an airplane to France, Spain or Italy - something that
would be a multi-thousand dollar, 10+ hour flight for a family of 4.

Oh, and Amsterdam! I've never been. And Sweden - I have relatives
there. Ditto for Germany, my father's family came from a town in the
south of Germany, would like to visit there, too. It would be so much
easier without that ocean in the way.







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Re: Screaming into the void
By: niter3 to Nightfox on Fri Jan 02 2026 02:54 pm

I haven't really read up much on that, but if that happens, I'd wonder
if it would be 4 8-hour work days or 4 10-hour work days.

Exactly, I think that's the catch. It would be more...

Some companies already give employees the option to work 4 10-hour days or 5 8-hour days. If it's going to be 4 10-hour days, I'd rather things just be left as it is and give people the option. But if it's 4 8-hour days, I wouldn't mind that for more work-life balance.

Nightfox

Re: Re: Screaming into the void
By: poindexter FORTRAN to Adept on Fri Jan 02 2026 12:18 pm

Traveling is hard, and gets harder as you get older. We just dropped my mother-in-law off at the airport, she's 79 with 2 replaced hips. Sitting for a long period of time is tough, jetlag takes longer to deal with, and

I've seen some airlines have a super luxury option for some of their flights, which includes a suite with a bed. I think that could be interesting, though I don't think any American or European arlines do that.

Nightfox

Re: Re: Screaming into the void
By: Nightfox to poindexter FORTRAN on Fri Jan 02 2026 12:59 pm

I've seen some airlines have a super luxury option for some of their flights which includes a suite with a bed. I think that could be interesting, thoug I don't think any American or European arlines do that.

Yeah, I think those are mostly on Emirates Airlines flights, at least from what I've seen. Pretty wild, with a wraparound wall, fold-down chair that turns into a bed, and a pretty wild entertainment setup.
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Nightfox wrote to niter3 <=-

Re: Screaming into the void
By: niter3 to Nightfox on Fri Jan 02 2026 02:54 pm

I haven't really read up much on that, but if that happens, I'd wonder
if it would be 4 8-hour work days or 4 10-hour work days.

Exactly, I think that's the catch. It would be more...

Some companies already give employees the option to work 4 10-hour days
or 5 8-hour days. If it's going to be 4 10-hour days, I'd rather
things just be left as it is and give people the option. But if it's 4 8-hour days, I wouldn't mind that for more work-life balance.

Would you mind the 20% pay cut? Also likely don't get
benefits/insurance with only 32 hours per week...



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I've seen some airlines have a super luxury option for some of their flights, which includes a suite with a bed. I think that could be interesting, though I don't think any American or European arlines do that.

When I was frequently flying for work, I would frequently go between Frankfurt and Los Angeles. I once wound up in business class, with a seat that allowed more lying than sitting.

And this was on Lufthansa, on one of their 747s.

Not a room, but perhaps _slightly_ more plausible for a normal person to purchase a ticket.

However, I'm guessing that would probably be tremendously hard to justify. Plane tickets, especially beyond economy class, get to be pricey.

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Gamgee wrote to Nightfox <=-

Would you mind the 20% pay cut? Also likely don't get
benefits/insurance with only 32 hours per week...

My wife works for a non-profit, works a 32-hour week (with benefits).
The pay is commensurate with the hours, the challenge is sticking to
the 32-hour schedule when urgencies arise. She manages payroll, and if
the deadline is on her day off, she's working. An event happening?
She's working.



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Re: Re: Screaming into the void
By: Gamgee to Nightfox on Fri Jan 02 2026 07:35 pm

Some companies already give employees the option to work 4 10-hour days
or 5 8-hour days. If it's going to be 4 10-hour days, I'd rather things
just be left as it is and give people the option. But if it's 4 8-hour
days, I wouldn't mind that for more work-life balance.

Would you mind the 20% pay cut? Also likely don't get benefits/insurance with only 32 hours per week...

That's another question I've had - If there's a move to 4-day work weeks, would that also mean benefits would change? Maybe they'd change it so that 32 hours per week is considered enough to get benefits. And one might imagine it would also imply a pay cut, but perhaps a law would say companies should allow that without a pay cut - though I think that would be highly doubtful.

I imagine some people would consider taking a 20% pay cut, though, if it meant more time to spend with their families or more time to themselves. I probably wouldn't, but I don't think there would be anything wrong with allowing people to do that if they want to.

Nightfox

Re: Re: Screaming into the void
By: Adept to Nightfox on Sat Jan 03 2026 09:15 am

When I was frequently flying for work, I would frequently go between Frankfurt and Los Angeles. I once wound up in business class, with a seat that allowed more lying than sitting.

And this was on Lufthansa, on one of their 747s.

Not a room, but perhaps _slightly_ more plausible for a normal person to purchase a ticket.

However, I'm guessing that would probably be tremendously hard to justify. Plane tickets, especially beyond economy class, get to be pricey.

Yeah, they can be pricy, and plane ticket prices can fluctuate a lot too. Years ago (2010 & 2011), I visited Brazil a few times; the first time was October 2010 and I was able to get a round-trip plane ticket to Brazil & back to the US for about $850. Then I went again just 2 months later, and the plane ticket was over $1000. The time of year could have had something to do with that though, as it's summer in Brazil in December.

Nightfox

everyone doing? Are you guys excited for new years? Any music you guys like?

My music likes have changed a lot through the years. In the past, say 5 years of so, I have been getting a lot into industrial and "heavy" techno.
I can recommend right "off teh bat", Hocico from Mexico.
Cheers!

Pol Malvinas.

Islas Malvinas, siempre Argentinas!

... Islas Malvinas, siempre Argentinas.

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Nightfox wrote to Gamgee <=-

Some companies already give employees the option to work 4 10-hour days
or 5 8-hour days. If it's going to be 4 10-hour days, I'd rather things
just be left as it is and give people the option. But if it's 4 8-hour
days, I wouldn't mind that for more work-life balance.

Would you mind the 20% pay cut? Also likely don't get benefits/insurance with only 32 hours per week...

That's another question I've had - If there's a move to 4-day work
weeks, would that also mean benefits would change? Maybe they'd change
it so that 32 hours per week is considered enough to get benefits. And one might imagine it would also imply a pay cut, but perhaps a law
would say companies should allow that without a pay cut - though I
think that would be highly doubtful.

Cutting employees back to 32 hours (vs 40) is a common tactic so that employers/companies can *AVOID* having to pay benefits...

Whether it's a pay cut or not likely would depend on whether you're paid
by the hour, or "salaried". I do know some companies might allow a
person to work four 10-hour days per week so that they can still get 40
hours but have three days off a week.

I imagine some people would consider taking a 20% pay cut, though, if
it meant more time to spend with their families or more time to themselves. I probably wouldn't, but I don't think there would be anything wrong with allowing people to do that if they want to.

I'd guess most people would not entertain the idea of a 20% pay cut. As
for allowing people to do that if they want to, it very much depends on
the nature of the work, too. Basic administrative jobs could maybe do
it, but many (most?) jobs may require your presence or availability on
every day of the work-week (5 days a week). There's a huge amount of variability in this question/discussion.



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BY: Adept (21:2/108)

|11A|09> |10However, I'm guessing that would probably be tremendously hard to|07
|11A|09> |10justify. Plane tickets, especially beyond economy class, get to be|07
|11A|09> |10pricey.|07
for my first flight to virgin atlantic, i ended up getting premium economy. That ended up costing me an extra 300 bucks.


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Re: Re: Screaming into the void
By: Gamgee to Nightfox on Sat Jan 03 2026 03:31 pm

That's another question I've had - If there's a move to 4-day work weeks,
would that also mean benefits would change? Maybe they'd change it so
that 32 hours per week is considered enough to get benefits.

I thought the idea was 4 10-hour days, making it the same weekly hourly amount? --- SBBSecho 3.33-Win32
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Re: Re: Screaming into the void
By: poindexter FORTRAN to Gamgee on Sat Jan 03 2026 09:05:15

She manages payroll, and if the deadline is on her day off, she's working. An event happening? She's working.

On-call jobs suck. I knew an IT guy that worked like that. Server crash at 3am, he's off to the office.
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Re: Re: Screaming into the void
By: Mortar M. to poindexter FORTRAN on Sat Jan 03 2026 09:37 pm

On-call jobs suck. I knew an IT guy that worked like that. Server crash at 3am, he's off to the office.

Sucks when you're salaried, OK when you're single and don't drink. :|
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Re: Re: Screaming into the void
By: Gamgee to Nightfox on Sat Jan 03 2026 15:31:11

Cutting employees back to 32 hours (vs 40) is a common tactic so that employers/companies can *AVOID* having to pay benefits...

That's what my workplace did when Obama enacted his health care program. Part-timers who worked 30-39 hours were reduced to 29 so they didn't have to pay for health benefits. I only lost one hour, but I knew others that lost nine. They were not happy.
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Re: Re: Screaming into the void
By: Utopian Galt to Adept on Sat Jan 03 2026 09:14:51

for my first flight to virgin atlantic, i ended up getting premium economy.

Wait, you flew one airline to get to another?
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Re: Re: Screaming into the void
By: Mortar M. to poindexter FORTRAN on Sat Jan 03 2026 09:37 pm

On-call jobs suck. I knew an IT guy that worked like that. Server crash at 3am, he's off to the office.

I've known people working as sysadmins or server admins, and it seems most of them are on-call all the time. I don't think I'd like such a job, knowing I could be interrupted at any time with a call to go in and fix a server issue..

I'm doing a job search now, as I was laid off a few months ago, and even for software developer jobs, I've seen a few job postings where one of the job responsibilities is rotating on-call duties where you might be on-call for a few days every few weeks or so, which I suppose wouldn't be so bad.

Nightfox

Re: Re: Screaming into the void
By: Nightfox to Mortar M. on Sun Jan 04 2026 09:59 am

I've known people working as sysadmins or server admins, and it seems most o them are on-call all the time. I don't think I'd like such a job, knowing I could be interrupted at any time with a call to go in and fix a server issue..

I remember, a couple of jobs back, when we started an on-call rotation. The senior guys still got brought in on after-hours events.

One of them asked, "If I'm on-call on these hours, does that mean I'm off-call on the others?" We were expected to be on-call for the on-call people as a "professional courtesy". So, no.

A few jobs later, in the public sector, we were all union.

Junior and mid-level employees were hourly and received 1/2 their hourly pay for on-call rotations, paid whether they were called or not. Accept a promotion to senior lead and you went salaried. They'd end up taking a serious pay hit despite an increase in pay.

The people supporting E911 actively stonewalled increasing the pool of people supporting that infrastructure. It was quite a racket as the two people were effectively being paid for 104 hours a week.

My boss wrote off the employees as unmotivated, and criticised them for not being in the office after 5pm. I don't think he understood the pay issue, and must have forgotten his rule that there was to be NO OVERTIME - despite paying on-call pay around the clock, not just when called.
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Re: Re: Screaming into the void
By: poindexter FORTRAN to Nightfox on Sun Jan 04 2026 10:51 am

A few jobs later, in the public sector, we were all union.

Junior and mid-level employees were hourly and received 1/2 their hourly pay for on-call rotations, paid whether they were called or not. Accept a promotion to senior lead and you went salaried. They'd end up taking a serious pay hit despite an increase in pay.

If you're working a job where you're regularly getting overtime, I feel like salary is a way for companies to avoid paying overtime, and for the scenario you describe, it's a way of taking advantage of the employees.

Nightfox

BY: Mortar M. (21:2/101)

|11MM|09> |10> for my first flight to virgin atlantic, i ended up getting premium|07
|11MM|09> |10> economy.|07
No. Premium economy first time and regular economy on the way back.


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poindexter FORTRAN wrote to Gamgee <=-

Re: Re: Screaming into the void
By: Gamgee to Nightfox on Sat Jan 03 2026 03:31 pm

That's another question I've had - If there's a move to 4-day work weeks,
would that also mean benefits would change? Maybe they'd change it so
that 32 hours per week is considered enough to get benefits.

I thought the idea was 4 10-hour days, making it the same weekly hourly amount?

You replied to me, but quoted something Nightfox said...

He said right there that it was 4 days and 32 hours.

<BOGGLE>



... He does the work of 3 Men...Moe, Larry & Curly
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Re: Re: Screaming into the void
By: Gamgee to poindexter FORTRAN on Sat Jan 03 2026 08:08 pm

That's another question I've had - If there's a move to 4-day work
weeks, would that also mean benefits would change? Maybe they'd change
it so that 32 hours per week is considered enough to get benefits.

I thought the idea was 4 10-hour days, making it the same weekly hourly
amount?

You replied to me, but quoted something Nightfox said...

He said right there that it was 4 days and 32 hours.

<BOGGLE>

I said "maybe", as in I don't really know for sure what they'd do if there was a change to make a standard 4-day work week. It could be 4 10-hour days.

Nightfox

Re: Re: Screaming into the void
By: poindexter FORTRAN to Adept on Fri Jan 02 2026 12:18 pm

Paris, and Amsterdam, among others, aren't too far away.

Exactly! We're looking to retire to the English country, far enough

Brittish are retiring to Spain for the most part, that should tell you something.

Spain is a hellhole if you want to make a living here. If you just want to settle and have a house near the beach or near some natural environment, as long as you have money, it is a very good place.

English speaking population is displacing the locals in certain neighbourhoods. In certain areas I think you can make do without speaking that much Spanish.


--
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