darkmarx

It would take a lot to convince me that they haven't been discussing this for years and have been waiting for the right time. The market is now loaded with others to do the delivery, which was probably one of the considerations. I'm sure another was how to announce it where they can blame someone else; at least to the point of ensuring some will defend them.

The minimum wage increase is their excuse. What they are doing is outsourcing their delivery to a 3rd party (GrubHub, Uber eats, etc). They wont have to pay them anything, the customer will. They are decreasing their head count, payroll, insurance, taxes, benefits, etc. They will lose some sales, but that wont even be close to their cost savings. They will easily make more money while selling their product at the same price. Any business would love to be in the same position.

I get why people are upset by the headline. It is written to provoke anger. Unfortunately, anger at the wrong issue.

I understand the argument that a large company can absorb the cost of workers they don't currently. Though it's unrealistic to expect them too.

I lived in the Quad Cities for a number of years. A large majority of people I know, both family and friends, worked for either Deere or Case IH - until they closed the plant in East Moline.

Layoffs are a yearly thing. Deere, Case, Caterpillar, they all hire a bunch of people in the beginning of the year and lay them off towards the end. It's typically around August or September, and they announce it in July. Everyone in the Quad Cities knows it. It is expected. Sometime early next year, they are going to hire these jobs back. The people who take these jobs go into it knowing this is going to happen.

It can suck being let go and some people might struggle with it. Those who are used to this cycle treat it as a well-paying seasonal job. Many already have something else lined up. This is only a single, anecdotal, data point, so take it with a grain of salt... one of my uncles works for Deere and is a bus driver for one of the school districts. He knows Deere is going to let him go by fall so he has the driving job for the rest of the year. In spring, he will go back to Deere.

Perspective is also important. Deere has somewhere between 80k and 85k employees. They are laying off < 1000 based on this story. That's the equivalent of a small, 80 person company hiring 1 person to get through the holiday season, then laying them off in January. Next year, they will do it again.

Headlines like this are nothing more than a distraction from real issues. For example, why does any company have multi-billions of dollars in profit to begin with? It just means they are charging more than they need to. The farmers who buy Deere equipment then have to charge more for their produce. Which means the stores have to charge more. Which means we pay more for our food. Deere's profits are leading to higher food prices for everyone. To me, that is more of an issue than 1/80th of their workforce being in a hire/layoff cycle.

If you are using the concepts and writing the code yourself, you're fine. If you are copying/pasting code from work to your personal project, you're commiting IP theft. I'd recommend never doing that. On the otherhand, if it is for a peraonal project that you will never give away or sell, no one will know. Id still recommend not doing it, but to each their own.

Let me get this straight. You were made fun of by a guy who works for Disney. An organization that's ridiculously protective of their brand and famous for not being fucked with. One of the most litigious organizations, with an army of lawyers who know more about entertainment law than anyone on the planet. And you're plan is to sue these people? Good luck.

Of course not. There is also hair styles, acessories, and makeup... I meant beer, football, and boobs.

"Would have liked to run tests on the sea shells." ~Mordin Solus (Mass Effect 3)

Historically, this is exactly how theological disputes were handled. See Crusades on Wikipedia for more information.

Then why would the company be against paying minimum wage?

A quarter has 13 weeks, so if you do 2 week sprints and align them to start with a quarter, there is 1 week per quarter that is not accounted for. That week can be used for stuff outside of daily activities. It can be used for training, offsites, working on a pet project, etc. Its a good way to build time in the schedule for this type of thing. These types of breaks have tremendous long term value.

He didn't even work for the company, his wife did. She had him record the lines on a tape recorder in their livingroom. She sold it to the company for a few hundred dollars.

I disagree with the premise. There is an exit strategy. Get Russia out of Ukraine. Seems pretty straightforward to me.

The 50 to 60 hour week over multiple jobs does happen. However that is not the average nor the norm. Though I'm sure you were using it for effect more than an actual data-point.

According to the Bureau of Labor statistics, for 2023, the average American works 38.5 hours per week. If you drop part-time workers (<35 hrs / wk), a full-time worker does an average of 41.9 hours.

https://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat23.htm

That's how a jury trial works. You need all 12 to agree, otherwise it is a hung jury and declared a mistrial. It is then up to the prosecutor to retry the case if they want to.

It isn't double jeopardy because the trial didn't come to a decision. If all 12 jury members agreed, one way or another, that is the end of it. At least for that/those counts.

I have, conservatively, two dozen playthroughs under my belt at this point, including the original trilogy and remastered versions. If I had to guess, I'd say im about an 85/15 split FemShep over MaleShep. Apparently I'm in the minority, but I much prefer Hale's performance.

I'm curious as to the paragon vs renegade percentages for each character type. As in, do more people play FemShep as paragon or renegade? Same for MaleShep.

Why does my neighbor lock the door to his house? What if he is doing something in there I don't agree with - like praying to a different god than me? How am I supposed to stop him? If I can't just walk into his house whenever I want, I wouldn't even know. This type of security can't stand. Door locks are NSFWorld.

Over a lifetime, 7% to 8% is a good return. If you are safely building a portfolio, and looking at year over year, then anything between 8% and 12% is pretty good. If you are closer to retirement or just more risk averse, then around 5% to 7%. Really, anything above inflation means you are making money.

Everyone is going to have different definitions of "good." It all depends on your goals, risk aversion, and stage of life. Your best bet is to find a financial advisor who can tailor a plan to your needs.

Just another BS article designed to get clicks.

7/144 = 4.9% With the information presented and using the same jump-to-conclusion analysis, energy drinks reduced the likelihood of a cardiac arrest by over 95%.

I winder how many of the 144 had brown hair. Let's guess 30%. The article could read, "People with brown hair have a 30% likelihood of cardiac arest. Why hair dye saves lives?"

I played a ton of 3d movie maker back in the day. I'm with you; I wish there were games like that today. It might be a niche, but you can't tell me there isn't a market for it.

Ever tried? Ever failed? No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.

-Samuel Beckett

If that were the case, how did you know to post about it?

I had one done recently due to breaking a filling while eating a Jolly Rancher. The whole thing took maybe 2 hours.

The shot of novocaine to numb my jaw was the only pain, and even that wasn't bad because the dentist used topical numbing before that. It was no different than getting a cavity filled.

My dentist has a cnc machine (CEREC) in the office to make the crown, so I didn't need a temporary cap. Waiting for that to be milled was the longest part.

I had a bruise on my gums for a couple days from the shot and the retainer clamp, but it wasn't even bad enough to stop me from eating.

More of a physical representation of a debt, but in essence, yes.

I buy a rock from you with $5, that $5 represents the debt I incurred by taking the rock. You have the $5 that you can use to barter for something else. At the end of the day, the government is backing my debt for the rock with a physical piece of paper. Except it isn't physical anymore now that everything is digital. So, I suppose its more like the bits of data that represent the physical money that represents the debt for the rock is backed by the government. Although that money is actually physical at the bank that conducted the electronic transaction, and they borrowed that physical money from the fed. But even then, it is inflated since not every dollar a bank transacts with, is backed by something physical since the reserve ratio is not 100%. And that is when it starts becoming confusing.

Best audio book I've listened to... Dungeon Crawler Carl. Great story. Amazing audio book production.

People want someone or something to blame. I think the reason is that certain groups think everything can be controlled. It's too much of a challenge to their world view to have a large scale desaster not be attributed to someone's fault. This causes them to dig in more with conspiracies. It's easier to accept wild theories than change their world view.

It seems to typically be people who don't have critical thinking skills. Those who can't see past the superficial. A story that, on the surface, matches something that is true, then gives a speculative leap to something that isn't, is hard for them to disregard. If A is true, and C happens sometimes with A, then A causes C. Without the ability to realize, B was skipped. Or to say it in a different way, its hard for some to realize correlation is not causation. So, conspiracies are born.

Ex: The ice is melting in Antarctica. Scientists are there all the time, drilling holes to get samples. If you drill a hole in an ice cube, more air gets to it and it melts faster. Therefore its the so called scientists that are causing the icecaps to melt. Maybe they are even putting heaters in it to speed it up just so they can say they were right. We need to stop these scientists before they kill us all. And so on.

Before I start, I want to be clear, this process works for me. It isn't for everyone, so take it with a grain of salt.

Outlining is personal. Everyone does it different. Some writers architect the full story, some outline the plot, while others discovery write everything. Personally, I get decision paralysis when I attempt to outline everything and when I attempt to discovery write everything.

When I start an outline, I tend to be detailed with setting and plot. I flush out my world and know roughly where I want the story to go. Characters are left fairly open. I create just enough of each character to get into their head. That way, I can take the characters, plop them into the setting and situation of the plot, and see what happenes. Discovery writing characters works for me, but only if I know where they are and what they should do.

Step 1: Sticky Notes... Starting out, I tend to brainstorm on sticky notes. There is something about writing ideas manually that helps me see things better than typing them. Typically, I have a vauge idea or two to start with, and not much more. I'll write it on a sticky note and stick it to my desk. Then write something else - whatever comes to mind. I keep going until some ideas start to grow. It could be a character trait, plot point, setting, whatever. I'll rearrange them to see what, if any, ideas make sense together. I'll cross things out, throw some away, pull them from the trash, rewrite them, etc. Just an idea board type activity. Sometimes I will leave them on my deak for weeks. By the time I'm done with them, they are usually sad remnants of sticky notes.

Step 2a: Outline in Word... Word worked for me for a while. I created a template in Word that helps me straighten things out. It has custom headers that fill the Navigation panel, giving me sections. Default Word has this, I've just customized the look to something more pleasant to me. The problem is exactly what you said, things get lost. It grows fast and by the time I'm done with a full outline, it's a little much.

Step 2b: Outline in OneNote... For the most part, I have transitioned to OneNote for the majority of my outlines. I created an always expanding template. It has tabs for things like Characters, Plot, Locations, Religion, Economy, Government, Magic, Weapons, Science, etc. I copy my template and start a new Notebook for each story I write. What I'm writing determines which tabs I keep. For example, if I am writing fantasy, I typically wont include the Science tab. Each tab has a page template that is automatically used when adding a new page. My character template, for example, has a table for physical traits, motivations, character arc, internal secrets, etc. I try to put down enough so I feel like I understand the person. Going overboard is easy, but I try to keep to to just what is needed.

Step 3: Scenes... Once I have a good understanding of the story, I start figuring out what scenes I need. These are typically one or two sentences and can help with plot, character development, or just something random and awesome. "A lazy pet cat that wakes up just in time to scratch the eyes out of an intruder." I throw it in. Then, rearrange. Scenes never seem to come to me in an order that make sense. I'll prune and expand, but by the time I'm done, I know the story.

Step 4: Fill in the blanks... I go one scene at a time, not necessarily in order, and fill them in. For example, Mr. Whiskers scratches Billy the Kid. Maggy sat straight up in her bed. The door banged agaist the cabin wall. Her eyes fought to stay closed as she forced them open. She couldn't make out the silhouette in the door. The moonless night was no help. "You owe me money," a gruff voice said. "Oh shit," thought Maggie. She knew that voice. If Billy came to collect, she knew he would collect - one way or another. Billy took a step into the room. His boot was muffled by a thick layer of dust. Before he took a second step, a hissing filled the room. Mr. Whiskers sprung from the end of the bed. He landed on Billy's face and started scratching the man like he was a mouse caught in the cupboard. And so on.

Step 5: Edit it together... Once you have I have all of the scenes, i stitch them together and edit it so it flows. This is where I add transitions and such. By the end, there is a completed story. It isn't perfect. There might be some fillers, but it is about 95% done.

Step 6: Rewrite it all.... I bring up a blank Word document, set it to 14pt Times New Roman, double spaced, and rewrite literally everything. I have my last draft and this one open side by side. Since I'm reading the story as I'm writing it, I notice thinga I missed or phrases I don't like.

Again, this isn't for everyone. It is a process that works for me.

And my ax.

I run a development department, and nobody who reports to me comes to the office. We have been 100% remote since 2020... much to the chagrin of HR. Others in IT come in, but no developers. I see no reason to change it either. I question why I even come in most days.

Without looking it up, I don't know how many people I've interviewed over the last 4 years, but there's been a few. I've only had one person who indicated he wanted to be in an office. Every other person wants fully remote. The most common comment I've heard from people is saying they will settle for hybrid if full-remote isn't available.

There's some value to having people work together in-person, but I'd rather give my teams the flexibility to choose for themselves rather than force it.

I agree that it isn't as good as it was. The last two updates have definitely decreased its effectiveness for multiple things, not just dev. It is still my starting point when looking for something. It is just not as good as it used to be.

Obviously, you can't take what it gives at face value, but you shouldn't do that from SO either. In general, I see faster results using GPT than I do with Google and SO. You can also extend the responses with any customization or changes specific to what you are trying to do, where you can't with SO.

I'm not saying SO is bad. Not by any stretch. I still use it a lot. It just isn't my starting point anymore.

I agree with what you're saying. They got the phone from Carrier A with the expectation the phone plan went with it. Once the phone is paid off, they can take the phone to Carrier B. Since they phone is basically bought on an interest free loan, the interest is recouped by the plan, and the collateral for not paying is a loss of the phone plan and use of the phone. To leave the plan, payoff the phone.

That does require that, the moment the phone is paid off, it should be automatically unlocked. There shouldn't have to be a request or additional waiting. And the customer should be notified that it's unlocked along with an explanation that they can now use the phone with any other provider.

He's 81, not 88.

Over time, the weaken your muscles and make it even more difficult to have good posture. You end up relying on the straps rather than your own body.

Which shows that a sexual act took place, not that there was consent. Not to pass judgement one way or another. Only they know what happened in the apartment. Where there other texts? Was there audio that shows consent? Too many questions at the moment and nothing but speculation one way or another.

I think I get where you are coming from here, though I question the certainty in it. There is too much nuance to humanity to never trust or always ignore.

If you never anticipate good in others, you must be very lonely - never trusting, always defensive, waiting for the next attack. We all have different levels of trust shaped by our own experiences. Personally, I try to anticipate good until a person proves otherwise. I'd rather be disappointed occasionally than miss a possible connection to someone because I never anticipated goodness.

As far as receiving advice, take it from anyone and everyone. We constantly do this, even if we don't notice. We take in the world around us. We decided if it was good, bad, or somewhere in between. If I see someone hit their thumb with a hammer, I learn not to hold the nail in the way way did. It's non-verbal, yet in its own way, is advice. Verbal advice works similarly. Take it in, listen to it, accept or reject it. Ether way, it is part of you. You will adapt it to your own view. If someone says that jumping of a bridge is the best thing ever, you can ignore them or you can do it. Ignoring them shapes a picture of that person as irresponsible or dangerous while shaping you to be more conscious and risk-averse. Doing it shapes that person in your mind as someone to listen to in order to do something fun. I suppose what I'm getting at is a simple question, can you really ignore advice?

I'm probably just thinking more into it than you intended.