Cat 🐈🥗 (D.Burch)catsalad@infosec.exchange
Apr 29, 2025, 4:59 PMwhat's wrong babe you've barely touched your potential even though all those grade school teachers liked you and said you were gifted and that you were going to do great things in life
Replies
Apr 29, 2025, 4:59 PM@catsalad gesticulates wildly at the everything
Lady Tess of Lasganediffractie@glitterkitten.co.ukApr 29, 2025, 4:59 PM
Amber :neodog_box:puppygirlhornypost2@transfem.socialApr 29, 2025, 5:00 PM@catsalad@infosec.exchange cites environmental causes
- Cat 🐈🥗 (D.Burch)catsalad@infosec.exchangeApr 29, 2025, 5:02 PM
@puppygirlhornypost2 What are we on? Our 10th once in a lifetime historic event this decade? A lost track.
- Amber :neodog_box:puppygirlhornypost2@transfem.socialApr 29, 2025, 5:02 PM
@catsalad@infosec.exchange this decade? ahaha try the past year.
Rachel RawlingsLinuxAndYarn@mastodon.socialApr 29, 2025, 8:11 PM@puppygirlhornypost2 @catsalad Yep, being a person who had so much potential in a place that had so much potential just leads one to want to spend all day in bed with the cat and a good book.
Apr 29, 2025, 10:27 PM@LinuxAndYarn @puppygirlhornypost2 @catsalad that is a good idea. Me too.
- Rachel RawlingsLinuxAndYarn@mastodon.socialApr 29, 2025, 10:38 PM
@Niall @puppygirlhornypost2 @catsalad Actually, I'm realizing how much just lying around (or sitting in a tree) reading is what got me tagged as gifted in the first place. So, really, the only thing that changed was people's expectations.
- Apr 29, 2025, 11:13 PM
@LinuxAndYarn @puppygirlhornypost2 @catsalad lol! Good observation. That shows you're smart, you'll do great things....
Irenes (many)ireneista@irenes.spaceApr 29, 2025, 5:03 PM@catsalad @puppygirlhornypost2 we had the really irritating realization recently that, like...
all those "once in a century" events, yeah?
we've personally lived for 45% of a century
it's just not as rare as it sounds :(
Apr 29, 2025, 6:15 PM@ireneista @catsalad @puppygirlhornypost2 this plus the fact that the "once in a century" baseline was set when atmospheric levels of CO2 were much lower makes just reaching middle age one wild ride :blobcatsweat:
(not to mention all the accelerating trends in capitalism since the Reagan era)
- Irenes (many)ireneista@irenes.spaceApr 29, 2025, 6:59 PM
@dotjayne @catsalad @puppygirlhornypost2 yeah, agreed
KathmanduKathmandu@stranger.socialApr 29, 2025, 6:44 PM@catsalad @puppygirlhornypost2
And we're only halfway through the decade. 😬
kwayk42kwayk42@sechtor.socialApr 29, 2025, 5:03 PM
Apr 29, 2025, 5:08 PM@catsalad ouch :-(
cathoscathos@merveilles.townApr 29, 2025, 5:12 PM@catsalad help cat its too real
- cathoscathos@merveilles.townApr 29, 2025, 11:32 PM
@catsalad i talked to my therapist about this today. can't believe I kicked so many kids who are now famous in the shins trying to play soccer in elementary school. and i'm crying about how the entomology camp teacher said I wasn't special because I spent too long studying the bugs. anyway. whoooooo privileged autistic trans white person childhood trauma!!
- Cat 🐈🥗 (D.Burch)catsalad@infosec.exchangeApr 29, 2025, 11:37 PM
@cathos :oof: I remember crying when the other kids would step on bugs! Don't step on my little friends! What did they ever do to you? 😭
Prof Lutzpr_ret_lutz@jasette.facil.servicesApr 30, 2025, 12:11 AM
Multiclass GhostMulticlassGeek@mas.toApr 29, 2025, 5:13 PM@catsalad
Ouch! Stop hitting me!
Apr 29, 2025, 5:15 PM@catsalad next time just use a knife already, ouch
Richard Vasquezrichard_vasquez@infosec.exchangeApr 29, 2025, 5:15 PM: stares at you in gifted-kid burnout.
Luna Lacteajackemled@furry.engineerApr 29, 2025, 5:29 PM@catsalad No one hires neurodivergent people :(
𝓐𝓷𝓭𝔂𝓣𝓲𝓮𝓭𝔂𝓮 𓀤andytiedye@sfba.socialApr 29, 2025, 5:37 PMOther neurodivergent people do. Got to get past/around HR's attempts to filter us out though.
- 𝓐𝓷𝓭𝔂𝓣𝓲𝓮𝓭𝔂𝓮 𓀤andytiedye@sfba.socialApr 29, 2025, 6:20 PM
At least half of the graduates of MIT and other top engineering schools are neurodivergent.
- Luna Lacteajackemled@furry.engineerApr 29, 2025, 6:23 PM
@andytiedye @catsalad Yeah but most neurodivergent people can't afford colleges that have a high reputation to make up for being neurodivergent.
- 𝓐𝓷𝓭𝔂𝓣𝓲𝓮𝓭𝔂𝓮 𓀤andytiedye@sfba.socialApr 29, 2025, 10:01 PM
If it's a tech job there is a good chance the hiring manager is ND. The HR people probably aren't. Trying to keep HR from screening out the people we wanted to hire was a longstanding problem when I worked in the tech industry. It is also a problem for ND people trying to get a job, of course.
- Luna Lacteajackemled@furry.engineerApr 29, 2025, 10:03 PM
@andytiedye @catsalad I hope I don't have to deal with HR issues, but school is still extremely expensive & unaffordable to most people in my country, which includes MIT.
Apr 29, 2025, 6:35 PM@jackemled @catsalad Actually, try Computer Security. Me (bipolar) and my buddy (ADHD) used to say security is much too important to be left to neurotypical people.
- Luna Lacteajackemled@furry.engineerApr 29, 2025, 6:42 PM
- Apr 30, 2025, 12:45 AM
@jackemled @catsalad (*sigh*) Unfortunately that's probably true these days. I flunked out of college (A's and F's, they kick you out if you get too many F's), and that closed some doors while opening others. My buddy got his degree, but also jail time for hacking activities, so I guess I avoided that.
Honest question, though: Do new grads understand infosec any better now than, say, 20 years ago? Based on the attacks I've had to defend against, I'm skeptical.
- Luna Lacteajackemled@furry.engineerApr 30, 2025, 1:45 AM
@alameth @catsalad It's probably worse. Lots of classes lie to you now for advertising purposes or are just scams, especially recently since big companies have switched to promoting their new LLM spam generators in their certifications classes instead of their other products. I wonder how long until Cisco puts one of them in their switches & tries to make people use it instead of the command line for configuration.
Fluffy Kitty Catfluffykittycat@furry.engineerApr 29, 2025, 9:08 PM@jackemled @catsalad I feel you there. I could be a great asset to any team Willing to give me the chance
- Luna Lacteajackemled@furry.engineerApr 29, 2025, 9:43 PM
I could be a great asset to any team Willing to give me the chance
I would be a great office pet. I could be a good employee too I guess.
People hear "autistic" & think that means "special needs" or "mentally challenged" or "unstable". Yeah, my special need is for you to give me a problem to solve, my mental challenges consist of solving the problem, & my instability is when placed upon a precarious ledge in high winds. I am normal & can be trusted around computers, let me write your shell scripts. 
Richard Hendrickshendric@astronomy.cityApr 29, 2025, 5:39 PM@catsalad *hits* IT'S SUPER EFFECTIVE!
💀
Pseudo Nympseudonym@mastodon.onlineApr 29, 2025, 5:42 PMI'm amused at how many folks commenting on this I already follow.
Hi all. I'm Pseudo, and I was in a "gifted" class too, and feel seen.
Ok, I participated, can I stop interacting and finish my book now?
(Memory flash)
Anyone remember the little horizontal water color paint kits? Color nuggets to dip the brush in?
Mine were in a different order than everyone else's, so I rearranged them to match.
Teacher thought I was a prodigy as I arranged them by frequency(rainbow) order.
- Apr 29, 2025, 6:39 PM
@pseudonym @catsalad Fine line between “gifted” and OCD. My 7-day pill sorter came in spectral colors, but with Thursday and Friday transposed. It drove me nuts, so I pulled their little stickers off and put them back on in the right order.
OK, maybe there actually isn't a line. 🤷♂️
Shaula EvansShaulaEvans@zirk.usOct 24, 2026, 1:08 AM@pseudonym @catsalad My closet is arranged by garment type and then, within those types, by ROYGBIV, and within that, from light to dark.
Nonya BidnissNonya_Bidniss@infosec.exchangeApr 29, 2025, 5:46 PM@catsalad Thought it was safer to hold it in reserve for the collapse of civilization
- Cat 🐈🥗 (D.Burch)catsalad@infosec.exchangeApr 29, 2025, 5:49 PM
@Nonya_Bidniss Ooo, I like that!
Apr 29, 2025, 5:48 PM@catsalad "if only you could put pen to paper"
- Apr 29, 2025, 5:48 PM
@catsalad also my phone autocorrupted this to "put porn to paper" and... wat
- Cat 🐈🥗 (D.Burch)catsalad@infosec.exchangeApr 29, 2025, 5:50 PM
@gsuberland *Ao3 has entered the chat*
Chirayu :verified: :twit:mountdiscovery@twit.socialApr 29, 2025, 5:48 PM@catsalad when I am unable to do those things, and eventually want to stand on the rooftop of a building to take a leap
They again start to see my potential (PE=mgh)
FoolishOwlfoolishowl@social.coopApr 29, 2025, 5:53 PM@catsalad I often feel terrible about failing to realize my potential. Then I remember that what my teachers imagined my potential to be was along the path that fascist techbros followed, so maybe the best thing I've done in my life was fail.
Karl T.dubious_dragon@mastodon.socialApr 29, 2025, 8:08 PM@foolishowl @catsalad My ethical sibling, I felt that in my spleen. Thanks.
chicatingchicating@mastodon.worldApr 29, 2025, 9:50 PM@foolishowl I could have ended up an apple-polisher like Krysten Sinema. Same.
🐦⬛Crow@pagan.plusApr 29, 2025, 5:54 PM@catsalad hello chat, glad to see we're all being called out like this.
- Cat 🐈🥗 (D.Burch)catsalad@infosec.exchangeApr 29, 2025, 5:56 PM
@Crow Poke @everyone's fee-fees!
The 500 Hats of LambdaCalculuslambdacalculus@masto.hackers.townApr 29, 2025, 6:14 PM@catsalad Help I feel called out 🫠🫠🫠
Apr 29, 2025, 6:33 PM@catsalad and imagine what homeschooling teachers tell their students
- Apr 29, 2025, 6:33 PM
@catsalad 25 years of teachers whining about how I “wasn't living up to my potential,” not a one of which offered even a finger to help me get there. I knew all about them.
The problem was, I did not recognize the ones who _were_ helping me until much too late. Maybe if they had said something like, “you've got enormous potential, but you need to learn to focus. Here, let me show you.” They wouldn't have had to change a thing they did, just add those words.
Petra - but all scary for halloweenPetraPhoenix@beige.partyApr 29, 2025, 6:42 PMOuch!
StarkRG@myside-yourside.netApr 29, 2025, 6:45 PM@catsalad There was a lot of potential, but it was all lost due to friction.
Apr 29, 2025, 6:56 PM@catsalad Ahh the weight of "potential"... Such a sinister word used in preparation for capital gain. Thanks, Mrs. Copeland!
judgyweeviljudgyweevil@mastodon.unoApr 29, 2025, 6:57 PM@catsalad Teachers were taking a wild guess
Thomas LobigTom_ofB@23.socialApr 29, 2025, 6:59 PM@catsalad "Thomas bleibt leider hinter seinen Fähigkeiten zurück" (Thomas is not reaching his potential) was literally once written on my report card at school.
SylvhemSylvhem@eldritch.cafeApr 29, 2025, 7:23 PM@catsalad Read this and immediately wanted to cry.
Fritz AdalisFritzAdalis@infosec.exchangeApr 29, 2025, 7:29 PM@catsalad
My grade school teachers didn't like me.
ladyterukiladyteruki@mastodon.socialApr 29, 2025, 7:35 PM@catsalad : why the personal attack ? 😭