Readit News logoReadit News
burner420042 commented on Prozac 'no better than placebo' for treating children with depression, experts   theguardian.com/society/2... · Posted by u/pseudolus
robertakarobin · a month ago
We had/have a lot of reservations about it too, and discussed it at length with our pediatrician over months of observation. We decided what was more horrifying was hearing a 7-year-old — who has supportive family and friends, good health, no traumatic events, no major life changes going on, never worries where food/shelter is coming from — say he feels like "he shouldn't be on Earth anymore" and suddenly react with extreme physical anxiety to almost everything. It was bad enough that he couldn't really implement any of the coping skills he learned in therapy. His therapist hoped that medication would bring him to a baseline where he was able to benefit more from therapy. My family's historical success with Prozac also made the decision more palatable since depression appears to be hereditary.

There has been a phenomenal positive shift in his behavior since he started medication. All that said, another commenter pointed out that the study specifically says that Prozac is no better than placebo for depression, which is similar to but distinct from anxiety, which is what my son is being treated for. My mom and I were both diagnosed with depression, but anxiety may be more accurate -- I'm not sure.

burner420042 · a month ago
I appreciate your candor in this. A respectful and on-going discussion and dialogue about this subject is really the best way forward for us all.
burner420042 commented on Prozac 'no better than placebo' for treating children with depression, experts   theguardian.com/society/2... · Posted by u/pseudolus
burner420042 · a month ago
Not to get into the historic details but growing up there was lot of tension in my parent's house. When you're a kid you feel these things and are aware of the issues that cause them, but you haven't yet learned how to talk about them or the right words to describe the truth of them. Instead you internalize them.

The lack of learning constructive perspectives and ways for discussing emotions while young, may very much be a source of depression, the same way people say "he can't help it, he has ADHD".

I was about 16 and the doctor recommended this new SSRI called ... I think it was Paxil, The side effects, especially if you missed a dose are hard to describe. If you missed a dose you couldn't function at school, and everyone thought you were really stoned. Also, you could look at a pretty girl and just nothing. A 16 year old boy doesn't know why THAT's happening, neither does the girl, and it just makes things worse. Try having that conversation with your Dad, while doped out on the drugs he told you to take. Imagine the anxiety. It's really depressing. Better to be alone, and safe in one's bedroom and on the Internet... ( and that was 20 years ago ).

Around the same time there was Ritalin and maybe a few others came out.

The issues kids are facing, the feelings they are then given pills to erase are still there, even when numbed to them. The answer lies somewhere in familial stability and relearning respect?, and how to constructively frame life's difficulties and teach that to our kids.

I would never give my kids anything that altered their brain chemistry. Even as adults, the only way is through.

burner420042 commented on Why I love my Boox Palma e-reader   minimal.bearblog.dev/why-... · Posted by u/pastel5
armenarmen · a month ago
I’m considering one of these $69 readers https://www.xteink.com/
burner420042 · a month ago
I just bought one. I want the form factor, not for reading long form ebooks. Out the door with a case and screen covers it was about $120 USD. We shall see how it all goes.
burner420042 commented on Tinkering is a way to acquire good taste   seated.ro/blog/tinkering-... · Posted by u/jxmorris12
burner420042 · 2 months ago
The best object for comparison you all are missing here are camera lenses.
burner420042 commented on Intel's retreat is unlike anything it's done before in Oregon   oregonlive.com/silicon-fo... · Posted by u/cbzbc
dmead · 5 months ago
They would probably say the same about you. Nobody is required to like what they do. life is more than work.
burner420042 · 5 months ago
Weak answer.

When I think of people that went into Tech 20+ years ago, this choice of work was a vocation. Not saying they were all pleasant, but they were all largely invested.

At some point Tech became a safe, lucrative profession, for people who say things like 'life is more than work. Nobody is required to like what they do.', like the managers from Intel.

burner420042 commented on Intel's retreat is unlike anything it's done before in Oregon   oregonlive.com/silicon-fo... · Posted by u/cbzbc
burner420042 · 5 months ago
It's hard for me to be specific about this but I've worked for 2 cloud FAANGs and whatever the management culture was like at Intel, whenever I work with ex-Intel management... their behavior and perspective just really rubbed me wrong. None went to work because they liked what they did. What was worse is you could feel it. They had a smell; not Tech, no imagination.
burner420042 commented on A Tektronix TDS 684B Oscilloscope Uses CCD Analog Memory   tomverbeure.github.io/202... · Posted by u/zdw
blagie · 8 months ago
Tektronix instrumentation from this era (as well as HP/Agilent, and many of the military-affiliated labs) used pretty magical engineering tricks.

In order to be able to design equipment, the instrumentation generally needs to outperform the equipment, sometimes by a significant margin. If I'm looking at the eye of a digital signal, I need to capture much faster than the signal.

It'd be fun to have a book of tricks from this era. At some point, it will fade into obscurity. Right now, it's a whole different bag of tricks for the state-of-the-art. They feel less... more textbook and less clever.

On the other hand, what's nice is that in 2025, decent equipment is cheap. There's a breakpoint where below around 100MHz, you can't do basic work, and above you can. That's roughly where FM pickup and a lot of oscillations sit. That used to cost a lot, but as technology progressed, we're at a point where a decent home lab can be had for well under a grand.

burner420042 · 8 months ago
Any recommendations for a sub-grand scope that a hobbyist will never be limited by?
burner420042 commented on Ask HN: CS degrees, do they matter again?    · Posted by u/platevoltage
platevoltage · 8 months ago
I probably should have been more clear in my original post that I don't have a degree. Sometimes I forget that "a degree in something" is really the bare minimum for anyone to take you seriously. I specified a CS degree because what else would I do?
burner420042 · 8 months ago
My answers could have been clearer - I totally get your question and where you're starting from. A CS degree from WGU is worth the time and money and it will open the doors you want it, especially with your existing professional experience. Hopefully, that clarifies things.
burner420042 commented on Ask HN: CS degrees, do they matter again?    · Posted by u/platevoltage
burner420042 · 8 months ago
Having made this decision myself here is my direct experience over the last 6 months being an out of work tech worker like you, no degree at all, that also lives on the US West Coast.

Most places require a comp sci degree regardless of how good you are. It's rude to say that but I've found this to be true. I've also now realized that someone with a comp sci degree saying you don't need one, well they don't know what they're talking about. Being 6 months in to my degree program, also a boot camp grad but no degree, and in this US economy just having that I'm in school has made the difference. I added the degree to LinkedIn and my resume one month ago and I started getting interviews. Causation or correlation I don't know, I think a bit of both. I'm getting strong loops and it's come up now in every interview. Keep in mind that I have a very respectable DevOps background already, but I was getting anywhere. For Software Dev roles, I really think having the degree matters that much more and would reward you accordingly.

I assume we're talking about the school everyone asks about? A comp sci degree for 15k (so 18 months?) that's * ABET accredited * and * regionally accredited * which it is, checks all the necessary boxes, and would leave you open to get an in-person Comp Sci master's degree from Georgia Tech (I called) and probably from any good school on the US West Coast.

Before committing I asked 3 recruiters that I know, plus some hiring managers, and they all responded the same: "We'd interview you for a Software Developer role if you had a comp sci degree. We really don't care that it's from that school."

No to DeVry, ITT Tech, or City U, yes to the 'owl' one.

Do it.

burner420042 · 8 months ago
In reading some of your responses to other posts I wanted to add that I'm answering the question realizing that you don't have a degree of any kind. Having a degree normalizes you to people with limited time or imagination - the upside is you spend far less time having to explain or prove your value. Getting a degree now is also a commitment to stop doing things the hard way. :-)

A degree in something is a minimum, a STEM degree is better, but since you're here now starting out, the direct route is one I really would recommend.

Edit: this question really fires me up and I've added to it a bit.

Deleted Comment

u/burner420042

KarmaCake day51February 3, 2023View Original