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Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: July 3rd, 2024

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  • LOL, not everywhere is like this. Fridays are always the day an emergency project gets dropped in my lap that absolutely must be done before the next Monday because somebody else has a deadline they need to meet (that they’ve known about for months) and they need our work for a critical part of it, but they never seem to remember until Thursday night.


  • I’ve also worked at places where the boss demanded a doctor’s note to return to work. I just said “No, I’m not doing that.” That’s always been the end of it. I returned to work once I was well and continued we all continued on as if it never really was about health and safety in the first place. Lots of places have policies on the books that are either outright illegal or unenforceable, but they get people to tow the line out of fear. If a few of us call their bluff, it’s better for them to quietly move on so that we don’t escalate the situation and shine a light on that policy. If word got around that the policy was unenforceable, they wouldn’t be able to bully the rest into compliance.

    Moreover, not every “sick leave” is something that is contagious, migraines for example. I’ve even taken a sick day preemptively because I got to work and discovered that I’d have to work in close proximity to someone that was actually sick and contagious, but refused to stay home.

    Also, if the company is requiring a professional evaluation in order to work, surely that is something that will be fully expensed to the company. I suppose that dynamic would be different under universal healthcare. But sending people that are recovering from a contagious disease that will resolve itself on its own would still be an incredible strain (and an unnecessary one) on the entire system.


  • I was just pointing to the simplest answer I had, which didn’t rely on a bunch of circumstantial and vague hunches. Since you take issue with that, I guess I’ll rant a bit.

    Fake photos have been a thing as long a photos have been. Very little has changed in that regard. The various tips and tricks to spot AI fakes will become obsolete a lot faster than the other critical thinking skills needed to decipher fact from fiction in any other medium: news articles, YouTube videos, social media, etc. This will be especially true as the tools used to make these images will evolve. One of those critical thinking skills is tracing a claim, especially a repeated claim, back to it’s source. Another is looking at the timeline of the spread of the meme. These both involve gathering actual evidence and work for a variety of mediums. This is why so many lamented the death of rigorous independent journalism. Suddenly the news becomes so much more trouble to trust and to verify. AI is here just a fungus feeding off the corpse of journalism in the dense jungle of the death of critical thinking in the news consuming public.








  • Strange New Worlds catches the feels of TOS without feeling dated. It honors the best of TOS, Next Generation, DS9, and Voyager, but leaves behind the parts that don’t really work anymore. There are women on the bridge and Rick Berman’s shadow is long gone. Although there is still some interpersonal drama, it doesn’t feel nearly as center stage as it did in Discovery, focusing more on the adventure and focusing less on ACTING-centric monologues that made Discovery unbearable sometimes. I wouldn’t call the politics luke warm, though they are maybe a more subtle and less center stage than they were in Discovery. In general, my feeling is that Strange New Worlds has distanced itself from all the parts of Discovery that didn’t work for me.

    My chief gripe is that Spock is often way more emotional than makes sense.

    -A millennial that watched every episode of Next Generation at least twice, once when they aired and again from VHS tapes when my dad got home from work. I guess I’ve watched them all way more than twice now.






  • Pineapple pizza really is kinda meh by itself. But, pineapple + jalapeno + a salty/savory topping like pepperoni can be amazing.

    Semi-tangential non-sequitor: The news algorithms offered up the recipe for an “Italian treat” recently that had me appalled and curious in the same way I expect pineapple pizza haters are. It was very ripe cantaloupe slices wrapped in prosciutto. I don’t even really know what to say. I just don’t want to be alone in knowing about that monstrosity.


  • First of all, yes, those look like shit. Brown gravy? Square flat bricks that I assume are meant to be biscuits? Just awful.

    But, an over easy or sunny side up egg is always a welcome addition to biscuits and gravy. That’s the only thing they got right.

    I really don’t get how people screw up the gravy so badly. It’s just sausage crumbles in a pan, coated with flour once the fat has rendered (melted) a bit, then adding milk or cream and pepper to your desired consistency and taste respectively. Simmer and add spices until it looks good. Maybe add some minced sage if the sausage doesn’t have it already. If you’re not starting your gravy recipe for biscuits and gravy with sausage, you’re doing it wrong and should be ashamed. It doesn’t come from a box. It’s not white as a sheet and devoid of spice or flavor. It’s not vegetarian. It’s not gluten free. It’s also not brown gravy, which is made entirely differently using fond to give it the brown color.

    The biscuits are no better. Even Bisquick biscuits from a box would turn out better for most people than these depressing bricks.



  • With no more due process, an ID and proof of citizenship do not matter at all. They’re not checking ID’s before hauling people away. And given ICE is going around masked and without uniforms there is no way to verify their authority either. I absolutely loath violence to a point, and that tipping point is the safety of the people in my family and community, regardless of their citizenship. If a group of unidentified masked gunman are attempting to kidnap someone, the only truly patriotic American response is to defend their liberty with all necessary force. Given the murder happy training of our law enforcement, that will obviously result in tragic deaths. But that, protecting the people (all the people, not just citizens) from a corrupt government, is the fundamental justification for the 2nd amendment, always has been.