Here's a little schematic to understand the layout. Help me figure out this mistery, not only to satisfy my curiosity but also to know if the cats in my street are in any danger.

Before reading and to avoid triggering any of you, my cat is fine and he was asking for belly rubs in the sun on my backyard just now.

So, I live in the house with the backyard with the B. My cat occasionally hangs around my neighbor's backyard too. At curfew, if he's outside, I come calling and he comes in.

Last night I called him in the backyard at B and he didn't come but he was replying terrified. I know his meowing and this was "I can hear you, I'm scared, help me". I couldn't see him since only my backyard had any light. Every time I called he replied immediately in the same panic. That by itself wouldn't scare me since he's very anxious and easily startled. Once he entered the neighbor's house and got locked in and he was yelling for me from inside the exact same way. But this time was different. The sound came from the outside the house, somewhere around the circle in A. And always from the same exact place. It really seemed he was stuck, he was definitely not budging.

I went around the house through the empty terrain (blue arrow) with a flashlight to see if I could see him and figure what was wrong. As I started moving through the low vegetation I heard and somewhat saw some movement in C in the direction of the arrow. I called my cat again and he was no longer replying. I looked inside my neighbor's backyard and saw nothing.

I went back into the house. My mother was in the backyard (B) calling my neighbor. She said she saw nothing but heard a huge noise inside the house near the backdoor. The description of the noise sounded a lot like my cat running in panic. After a while looking for him inside and outside we eventually found him hiding behind furniture, peeking very cautiously. It took a while but he recovered. He has no injury or any kind mark of any struggle on his fur.

What I'm pretty sure happened:

• He was around A completely terrified of something and was not budging
• At the moment I entered the empty field whatever C was, it ran from me
• Also at that moment, my little demon flew through the fences and into my backdoor so quick my mother couldn't even see him and made a huge noise running for his life (as he often does)

What I have no clue and want to find out:

• Most important, what the hell could C have been?

• Was my furry murderer frozen on fear or was something actually physically preventing him from leaving

• How long was he "stuck" there until I came calling him for curfew?

Some relevant information and, since I know some you are against leaving your cats going outside:

• My cats are indoor/outdoor, as most are here, and they can come and go as they please, though mine mostly stay inside and in my backyard. The cat in question explores just a bit more, but not much.

• At night, they have curfew and are inside only, and they know that routine

• It's a calm street and the cars are slow. Also, for specific reasons my cats are terrified of cars and they even hide when they hear an engine.

• There are no known cat predators here. This is southwestern Europe in a 500k city suburb. There is a small woodland near here which I know very well and the most dangerous thing there is a hedgehog (I actually had one living in my backyard for a year). A fox is very unlikely since I never saw one here. But I have seen foxes in stranger places.

EDIT: Why does every post mentioning a cat outdoors has to be hijacked by the indoor cat fundamentalists? Really, guys? You have the right to your opinion and even to make your argument. But why you have to hijack every post to say your piece for the nth time? It's annoying as it is ridiculous.

I'm not going to waste time give you the introduction. If you don't know who Jimmy is, I suggest you check my post history.

So, the lad striked again. You might remember the app he tried to vibe code. The other day he tried to have me put it in the server I have set up when I tried to explain it wouldn't do what he thought he would.

Copilot basically gave him a one page HTML that saved data in cache and it was major thousand line slop that I could barely make sense of. Today he insisted I set it up once more. Today he asked again. I warned him that I was already doing my own version. He got pissed and said he had already told about it to the bosses and this was HIS idea and HE was doing this one. I shrugged. The way I saw it, if he actually managed to do a better job, more power to him, we would've earn it, and some humbling wouldn't hurt me either. I'd still finish my own version, though I didn't told him that. I actually finished the first working version today though it needs some polishing and admin interfaces (I can still set permissions directly on the database). I'd still give him a fair chance.

"OK, how did you set up the database then"

"Never mind that, it's working. Just do it"

"Dude, I need to know what you used to make sure the server is supporting it"

(obviously, he has no clue, he can't even read the code...at this level of slop neither can I)

"Uh...it's...uh...it's in...PHP"

"Database? Dude...is it like...SQL?"

"Yeah, that's it"

(me, knowing he has no clue how to set up an SQL database, and assuming it was working at home) "You sure...maybe it's SQLite? In a single file?"

"Yeah, that's it"

I shrugged and said sure, I'll do it. He hands me over a USB pen. At this point, I don't even care. I'll just throw the code in ChatGPT to have a clue on what it does. So I sit in my computer and open the USB pen. Of course, it's a HTML file again (probably some JS there) and the thing is so huge even ChatGPT can't make sense of it. This, I expected.

This is what I didn't expect...

In the middle of the files there's a saved webpage. The name of the webpage? https://dev-server.spirinolas.com/ (not the real name, obviously). This lazy POS found my Laravel version open in the browser of the computer (not my work laptop, that is always locked) and tried to save it to steal my code. Of course, nothing of value was there. But the fact he actually tried it...I saw red.

I called him and confronted him. First he denied it. When I confronted him with the facts he got pissed and started gaslighting me.

"That file was already on the computer, I know nothing about it"

"It was already saved on the computer? Who saved it then"

"I have no idea. It was already there. When I got here it was wide open"

It's a browser with a webpage...top secret indeed. The actual code is in VSCode and isn't even stored on my work laptop. I use SSH to access it on my home server.

"Then explain to me how it was on your USB pen?"

As he got stuck against the wall and couldn't gaslight me anymore he lost his cool. He said I left it open because I know nothing about security and I'm a fucking idiot. The moment he insulted me I stopped the conversation immediately. I told him he had no right to insult me and we were DONE. I removed the USB and gave it back to him and told him to figure it out, I was not helping him.

Now I'm actually considering talking with the bosses about this. I know they like him but this was serious. He was trying to steal my work and pass it as his own though he's too stupid to realize how out of his depth he is.

It wasn't my purpose at first but I think Jimmy's stories might actually become an ongoing series.

You might rembember me from the first one:

https://lemmy.world/post/36801269

Well, so basically he's doing good with the leadership for other non-IT related reasons. But, as I could always tell, he tries to be competitive with me regarding IT subjects and doesn't realize how much he makes a fool of himself.

Like I said, I usually develop small apps to help our day-to-way workflow. He always downplayed what I did like it was the easiest thing ever. That LLM's can do all that in a second. At first I thought he was just playfully messing with me. Now I realize not.

So, we have a section where our coworkers have to deliver and receive a specific type of equipment. The records where basically sheets of paper that people put the time and signature. It was all very confusing since the sheets got often mixed up.

Jimmy basically asked chatGPT to make him a solution for that. So he came up to me, all proud, showing me an HTML file with some Javascript. It had authentication (lol) by way of using a pin code hardcoded in the JS code itself. The data was saved in Chrome itself. When I tried to show interest on what he did and ask him to explain the code to me he was suddenly very busy. The higher-ups were very impressed how it looked, not realized it didn't work. And he never used it...because it wouldn't work for obvious reasons. Eventually I started developing something using Laravel and he actually warned me not to steal his code.

My Laravel version took more time than expected since I was busy with other things. Eventually I had to postpone it for later. The other day he came to me and told me he wanted me to put his version on the server. The server is basically a Debian machine I use for some of my stuff on nginx, that doubles as a info screen kiosk. Knowing how "his" app worked (better than he did) I tried to understand what is it he wanted. He already knew it could work locally on a single PC (not in the safest manner, but whatever). He told me he wanted it to be available on the network on any computer by using the machine IP (the way my Laravel apps work). I tried to explain to him that his version stored the data locally and he would have to find another solution for network access to the data. I offered to help him know what he needed but, as usual, as soon as it was obvious how little he knew he rolled his eyes and just said "I'll solve it".

The other day I was passing by the TV that has my info screen/server connected and found he was messing with it. He had closed the full screen browser and was messing with some of the settings on the DE (he doesn't have the sudo password though). I scolded him and immediately put things the way they were. I knew, as I expected, he probably asked chatGPT for a solution and was trying to implement it on that server, not knowing nginx doesn't even have a GUI there (I always connect with SSH). He had no clue what he was doing.

Later, when I calmed down, I tried to understand what it was he was doing. He was being vague and avoiding any details. The more he talks the more obvious it is he has no clue what he's doing. He doesn't know how a server work. He doesn't know what PHP is or the difference between server-side and client-side. After a bit of prodding he told me he was installing this program called (and he spelled it) X-A-M-P, like it was this super-advanced software I wouldn't know anything about. XAMP on a server...for outside access...yeah. Jimmy and ChatGPT strike again.

This pisses me off because one of these days he's going to actually break something. And until that happens, the bosses actually think he has a clue.

This happened just now. It’s not serious but, God I wanted to bang my head in a wall.

So, I work in a government non-specialized job. I have some education in IT and I’m trying to get back into the industry after a hiatus (long story). While my job is non-specialized, the bosses realized I’m a somewhat competent programmer and developer (in a tech-illiterate environment I’m basically a God) and basically put me in a position to develop content for the institution I’m at. They get nice whistles and bell and I get to develop my portfolio while avoiding the most boring jobs. You can probably guess some coworkers don’t like it and think I’m lazy because I’m “always on the computer”, but I digress. It’s definitely not the case with Jimmy he at least understands what I do.

Jimmy joined the staff not long ago. He used to be a security guard supervisor and is a competent computer user. In that place that is a lot better than most people. But he knows nothing of programming or development or even intermediate tech support. But he is resourceful and knows how to figure some things out. We get along fine but he is older than me and can be a bit condescending. The moment he arrived I was glad I, at least, had someone else tech-literate. While talking to him I found out he had been enrolled in a Computer Engineering degree but quit on the first semester because “he had no time to go to classes”. I was very optimistic until I saw him do some dumb things. One was using a random charger for a laptop because “it is all the same and I know better, kid” (I stopped him just in time). The other was seeing me working on a disassembled machine trying to troubleshoot and he basically banged on a hard drive because “all this needs is a little slap”. I almost had a heart attack and managed to stop him as he was about to unknowingly destroy a hard drive.

He used to see me programming and I use LLM’s to help me speed some things up. He would, half-joking (or not), say it was easy and he did the same at home and I just tried to make it look harder. After a while he came with a small web app he did to help in his post. It was visually nice, and I applauded his initiative, but I quickly realized it was vibe coded 100%. It was basically HTML and JS all in a single *.htm file. I don’t like to put people down or be arrogant so I just complimented the aesthetics of it. It was never usable. I tried to lure him to try to fix it with my help but he was never interested.

Recently we changed posts and I got his old post since it would leave me more free to develop and give tech support. I decided to make something more usable to “replace” his app. I didn’t want him to feel I was trying to make him look bad so I decided I’d try to fit his code in the project I started in Laravel. The aesthetics would still be there so he would still be recognized for his initiative. But I soon realized nothing short of the layout would be usable (he had a harcoded pin code in JS, I shit you not) and even that I eventually left out since the interface wouldn’t be practical.

Well, sorry for the long context, story time:

Today as we’re leaving work he comes to me with a very condescending tone telling me that app was sure to get me in trouble. I had 2 QR codes in my desk. One with my local hotspot with restrictions that runs on the local network, and another with one of my projects ip (that runs in a machine inside the network only I have access to). Everything developed using MVC in Laravel and proper authentication. He actually took a picture of it and showed it to me saying it was the most unsafe thing ever (and probably to other people, but whatever). He was holding that picture like it was the most damning thing ever, like it was the thing that could make me be disciplined for. At first I was dumbfounded because I wasn’t truly understanding what was wrong. For a moment I even got worried I had missed something obvious. So I kept asking him what was the problem because I was probably missing it. At first he was saying the local hotspot was a security risk and I should use the local network only (uh). Then he was saying the app I already developed was unsafe to be there and should be on the Internet (I didn’t laugh in his face, I’m proud of my composure). Then he told me, in his majestic tone to this lowly pleb, there were rules about data protection and privacy, like any half-competent developer wouldn’t know about it. In between some vague concerns and contradictions and insinuations I was getting in trouble with the bosses (that 100% trust me when IT is concerned). I basically insisted he explained himself properly. Always while he was keeping that annoying condescending smirk. I kept my composure and forced him to explain himself properly. Until he eventually realized how blatantly he exposed his ignorance and was making a fool of himself. And he started avoiding the conversation saying stuff like “oh, I don’t care, don’t say I didn’t warn you”.

I know what you’re thinking. He’s trying to scare me into stopping improving that post, since he can see how much of a major improvement it will be. I’m used to it, so I don’t care. I’ll be leaving that job as soon as I can jump ship anyway. But the more he talks the more I realize that he isn’t as capable as I think. Even in other contexts he does everything to look smart but fails. But it was so frustrating trying to explain to me he had no clue what he was talking about and, until today, I hadn’t realized how threatened he felt by me. I know he wants to be the go-to IT guy and try to stand out from the rest of us, but he has no chance while I’m around. And after the ignorance I heard today…I wouldn’t even trust him with a laptop administrator account.

This happened just now. It's not serious but, God I wanted to bang my head in a wall.

So, I work in a government non-specialized job. I have some education in IT and I'm trying to get back into the industry after a hiatus (long story). While my job is non-specialized, the bosses realized I'm a somewhat competent programmer and developer (in a tech-illiterate environment I'm basically a God) and basically put me in a position to develop content for the institution I'm at. They get nice whistles and bell and I get to develop my portfolio while avoiding the most boring jobs. You can probably guess some coworkers don't like it and think I'm lazy because I'm "always on the computer", but I digress. It's definitely not the case with Jimmy he at least understands what I do.

Jimmy joined the staff not long ago. He used to be a security guard supervisor and is a competent computer user. In that place that is a lot better than most people. But he knows nothing of programming or development or even intermediate tech support. But he is resourceful and knows how to figure some things out. We get along fine but he is older than me and can be a bit condescending. The moment he arrived I was glad I, at least, had someone else tech-literate. While talking to him I found out he had been enrolled in a Computer Engineering degree but quit on the first semester because "he had no time to go to classes". I was very optimistic until I saw him do some dumb things. One was using a random charger for a laptop because "it is all the same and I know better, kid" (I stopped him just in time). The other was seeing me working on a disassembled machine trying to troubleshoot and he basically banged on a hard drive because "all this needs is a little slap". I almost had a heart attack and managed to stop him as he was about to unknowingly destroy a hard drive.

He used to see me programming and I use LLM's to help me speed some things up. He would, half-joking (or not), say it was easy and he did the same at home and I just tried to make it look harder. After a while he came with a small web app he did to help in his post. It was visually nice, and I applauded his initiative, but I quickly realized it was vibe coded 100%. It was basically HTML and JS all in a single *.htm file. I don't like to put people down or be arrogant so I just complimented the aesthetics of it. It was never usable. I tried to lure him to try to fix it with my help but he was never interested.

Recently we changed posts and I got his old post since it would leave me more free to develop and give tech support. I decided to make something more usable to "replace" his app. I didn't want him to feel I was trying to make him look bad so I decided I'd try to fit his code in the project I started in Laravel. The aesthetics would still be there so he would still be recognized for his initiative. But I soon realized nothing short of the layout would be usable (he had a harcoded pin code in JS, I shit you not) and even that I eventually left out since the interface wouldn't be practical.

Well, sorry for the long context, story time:

Today as we're leaving work he comes to me with a very condescending tone telling me that app was sure to get me in trouble. I had 2 QR codes in my desk. One with my local hotspot with restrictions that runs on the local network, and another with one of my projects ip (that runs in a machine inside the network only I have access to). Everything developed using MVC in Laravel and proper authentication. He actually took a picture of it and showed it to me saying it was the most unsafe thing ever (and probably to other people, but whatever). He was holding that picture like it was the most damning thing ever, like it was the thing that could make me be disciplined for. At first I was dumbfounded because I wasn't truly understanding what was wrong. For a moment I even got worried I had missed something obvious. So I kept asking him what was the problem because I was probably missing it. At first he was saying the local hotspot was a security risk and I should use the local network only (uh). Then he was saying the app I already developed was unsafe to be there and should be on the Internet (I didn't laugh in his face, I'm proud of my composure). Then he told me, in his majestic tone to this lowly pleb, there were rules about data protection and privacy, like any half-competent developer wouldn't know about it. In between some vague concerns and contradictions and insinuations I was getting in trouble with the bosses (that 100% trust me when IT is concerned). I basically insisted he explained himself properly. Always while he was keeping that annoying condescending smirk. I kept my composure and forced him to explain himself properly. Until he eventually realized how blatantly he exposed his ignorance and was making a fool of himself. And he started avoiding the conversation saying stuff like "oh, I don't care, don't say I didn't warn you".

I know what you're thinking. He's trying to scare me into stopping improving that post, since he can see how much of a major improvement it will be. I'm used to it, so I don't care. I'll be leaving that job as soon as I can jump ship anyway. But the more he talks the more I realize that he isn't as capable as I think. Even in other contexts he does everything to look smart but fails. But it was so frustrating trying to explain to me he had no clue what he was talking about and, until today, I hadn't realized how threatened he felt by me. I know he wants to be the go-to IT guy and try to stand out from the rest of us, but he has no chance while I'm around. And after the ignorance I heard today...I wouldn't even trust him with a laptop administrator account.

I live in a poorer country where I live with less than 10k a year. It's low but since my country is generally less expensive I can live (and vacation) there with some comfort as long as I don't go crazy. I'm a frugal person so I don't miss out on anything.

My sister and brother-in-law went to live in Europe and they are doing very well. Together they easily make 200k. I'm happy for them.

The problem starts when I visit. The country they live in is far more expensive than mine. It isn't always a problem since I don't have to pay for accommodation and cooking at home is sustainable. The problem is they always want to eat out and do expensive activities (for my standards). And they always leave out the price until it's time to pay since the price is meaningless for them. At first they would chip in until my brother-in-law started pulling "it's your turn to pay now". Imagine being given a dinner tab that is almost as much as your monthly paycheck.

Visiting has become stressing as hell, when I should be relaxing. I tried to talk about it, that eating at home would be more affordable for me, but they quickly go back to old habits. At this point I just decided it's not worth it to visit anymore and blow my year savings in a few days. They're not happy and, as much as I try, I can't make them understand how much money I make. They can't understand you can't buy 100 euro meals everyday when you earn less than a 200 a week.

It's also not much better when they visit our country but at least I know what prices to expect and since I'm home I can find an excuse to ditch them.

Maybe we have just grown appart and that's that.

I live in a poorer country where I live with less than 10k a year. It's low but since my country is generally less expensive I can live (and vacation) there with some comfort as long as I don't go crazy. I'm a frugal person so I don't miss out on anything.

My sister and brother-in-law went to live in Europe and they are doing very well. Together they easily make 200k. I'm happy for them.

The problem starts when I visit. The country they live in is far more expensive than mine. It isn't always a problem since I don't have to pay for accommodation and cooking at home is sustainable. The problem is they always want to eat out and do expensive activities (for my standards). And they always leave out the price until it's time to pay since the price is meaningless for them. At first they would chip in until my brother-in-law started pulling "it's your turn to pay now". Imagine being given a dinner tab that is almost as much as your monthly paycheck.

Visiting has become stressing as hell, when I should be relaxing. I tried to talk about it, that eating at home would be more affordable for me, but they quickly go back to old habits. At this point I just decided it's not worth it to visit anymore and blow my year savings in a few days. They're not happy and, as much as I try, I can't make them understand how much money I make. They can't understand you can't buy 100 euro meals everyday when you earn less than a 200 a week.

It's also not much better when they visit our country but at least I know what prices to expect and since I'm home I can find an excuse to ditch them.

Maybe we have just grown appart and that's that.

When I'm uploading a show to my server, or setting the subtitles or whatever, I'd like to have the show disabled and invisible to everyone until I have everything uploaded and set up at 100%. Is there a way to do this?