Category: Working

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What’s with all the hand wringing about Twitter? OH! Right…

I admit that I’m still on the fence about Twitter personally. I did enjoy it and participated in some great discussions with people, in its early days.

Dead Twitter Bird

That being said, I’m “Meh” about it going the way of MySpace. Nobody ran in tight circles or lit their hair on fire when MySpace wound down to whatever it is now. (Is MySpace even still around?)

Celebrities, Pundits, Wags, and all kinds of other people appear to be having a melt down over Twitter “Melting Down”.

Elon Musk probably went too far with his email asking for, (or demanding) fealty to the company long work hours and whatever else he asked for. Clearly he pushed too hard too fast resulting in a lot of his staff resigning.

This makes me wonder though if he’s “souring the milk” just to get rid of self important dead weight.

It’s long been a tactic of employers to make a place a tough work environment that forces employees out the door rather than have a mass layoff. Especially with the WARN Act and all of its constraints, having a mass voluntary exodus works for Elon and the company.

Now he can hire employees to replace those that have quit, and not have to pay unemployment either. This is financially better for the company rather than have to keep those employees around for 60 days and pay them to screw him.

I’d imagine that he’s looking very hard at the H1B1 workers who remain, and considering simply not renewing their H1B1 Status. I don’t know all the ins and out of the visa system but I do know that without sponsorship the H1B1 Visa expires. At that point, the individual is supposed to return to their country of origin unless they’ve become citizens of the US.

Elon may be trailblazing in showing how H1B1 and other visas can be cancelled while limiting liability. I don’t know.

I know that there are a lot of American software engineers that can certainly do the job, who’d be willing to take on the challenge of working at Twitter. I’d guess that American software engineers would be willing to ensure freedom of speech as long as they were from outside the Silicon Valley bubble.

That so many people not involved directly with the company are commenting and wailing about the changes at Twitter is interesting to me.

Journalists specifically seem to be making a lot of noise, and I couldn’t figure that out.

I began to wonder if these journalists are realizing that they’re actually going to have to research what they say instead of relying on “Tweets” to write a story. That could explain why they’re so up in arms.

Are these people saying, “My God, I’m going to have to actually do research!”

Once that realization sinks in, I’m guessing they’re going to be pretty pissed off that they’re going to have to pick up the phone and speak to someone, vet their sources, and at least partially verify their facts before running off to write a one sided hit piece on someone or some event.

Social media is hearsay not fact. It’s always been hearsay, rumor, innuendo, and in some cases complete bullshit.

When so called journalists began using platforms designed for social media and conversation as their journalistic sources we got Journalism that looked like social media, instead of fact.

Funny how that works isn’t it?

So journalists… Get to fucking work!

I’m going to be waiting for the want ads to come out to see if there’s a position for me at the new Twitter.

If I could work from home, or in an office outside California I’d work pretty damn cheap. If I have to move to San Francisco, well the job is going to have to be really “Cherry” and the pay will have to be significantly more.

That’s because I don’t see the need to live in a Studio Apartment for 5K a month, to be in a place where I have to step over shit in the streets to go to work.

I absolutely love the thought of all the rainbow colored hair social justice warrior types finding that their “playpen for pay” is being taken away. I’m half tempted to drive up to near San Francisco, take BART to Twitter headquarters and ask for a job application.

I’d fill out the application in the lobby and laugh my ass off watching the tearful goodbyes as the children left the building.

It would be very hard for me not to say to them, “Welcome to the real world, parasites!”

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You know, I don’t think it’s that that people don’t want to work

I think it’s that people are sick and tired of the endless bullshit that comes from trying to get a job.

I’ve talked to people who’ve had five interviews and hadn’t met the hiring manager yet. There are others that say they’ve had to explain their technical chops to recruiters, and then to the company HR, and then got to a video interview composed of people from every department except the one that they were going to be working in. In that interview they got to re-explain their technical abilities to people who had no clue what the job title was.

I read of one programmer who asked, “Will I be interacting with the accounting department on this project?” When he was told, “No,” he followed up with, “Then why are two of the 5 interviewers in this room from accounting?

It’s not just about having to fill out a 50 page job application where your’e cutting a pasting everything from your resume into the prescribed little boxes. And then having to submit your resume with the 50 page application. It’s about the complete disrespect that’s shown during a phone interview or zoom interview by people not having read either of the documents.

Technical people tend to cut straight line to a solution and don’t waste a lot of time getting from point A to point B.

There are also a lot of HR and recruiters who play the whole bait and switch game. No I don’t want to accept a 6 month (onSite) contract on a technical support desk, when I applied for a programming position.

No I’m not interested in a salary that is half of what I stated that I needed, with the possibility of overtime.

I love that the recruiter told me, “You’ll be making your requested salary when you consider the OT.”  Uh no that’s not how it works. If the company decides to cut the OT then I’m not making enough to pay my bills. The recruiter said, “Oh you don’t have to worry about that! Most people complain that there’s too much OT and they have no time to do anything.”

The poor girl just didn’t understand that the company sounded like a shit show right from the start. Of course, the Corporate web site said, “We have a commitment to work life balance.” Uh Yeah! I can see that ever so clearly.

A buddy told me about an interviewer that couldn’t understand why he didn’t want to take a management slot instead of the position he’d applied for.

His answer was pretty straight forward. “I’ve done management, I want to spend time with my kids right now. I just want a job that pays the bills, is low stress, only has occasional overtime, and that I can go home at quitting time without worrying about people, resources, and budgets.”

The interviewer just couldn’t get it through her head. She literally kept talking in circles trying to get him to agree to take the management position. The kicker was that the management position only paid 2K per year more than the slot he applied for.

Eventually my buddy terminated the interview telling the interviewer that he was no longer interested in working for her company. She literally started screeching at him for wasting her time.

He told me it was one of those times when he missed the satisfaction of slamming the phone receiver down, especially since it was a zoom call. He substituted closing his laptop while she was berating him red-faced on the screen. He said it was strangely satisfying hearing her muffled screams from the closed laptop. He said he could have simply hit disconnect, but he really wanted to make the point, by closing the laptop screen she could see what was happening.

I’ll have to remember that for the future. I think my buddy may have come up with the phone slam equivalent for Zoom calls!

I’m still annoyed and amused by the hiring manager that pushed for a phone interview even though I told her I had a conflict because I was participating in an online collaboration meeting with my current employer. My participation was text chat only. She simply wouldn’t take “No” for an answer and I let her badger me into doing the interview. So during the call that she forced, She heard me typing a reply to one of my coworkers and immediately started yelling about how I wasn’t prepared for the interview and was obviously looking up information about the questions she was asking. I explained yet AGAIN that I was participating in a meeting and that I was answering a coworker’s question.

Nope! She went off on me and I thought, “I wouldn’t work for this person or her company! I’d rather stay right where I was. Better to drive daily 90 miles one way through LA traffic than to work for someone like her.”

I told her as politely as I could, “Goodbye,” and disconnected. She called me back telling me that it was unprofessional to hang up on her!  I was well past my boiling point, “I asked what part of goodbye didn’t you understand? What part of I’m not going to be screamed at by someone that I don’t know, don’t work for and have no desire to ever meet in person, don’t you get?” I repeated, “Good Bye” and disconnected a second time. She called back to continue berating me.

I remember sitting there wondering what the hell? I hung up, blocked the number and went back to my meeting.

Later in the day I wrote a letter to the HR department of her company. I called out her harassment and offered to send them my phone log as evidence of her repeated calls. I further requested that they flush my application, and resume from their system. I have not applied to that company in the 10 years since.

They’re 25 miles from my home. At the time I knew 2 of their VPs and one of them had walked my resume into the company. I told them both about my experience with this particular manager. As of now, I know absolutely no-one who works for this company. The VP who’d walked my resume in, had been promoted to Director, but left the company a year or two later saying the place had become a shit show of egos and political bullshit.

He’s at Microsoft now.

I’ve had a couple of interviews where a hiring manager was grilling me for proprietary information about a previous employer throughout the interview. They’ve both been Chinese and refused to give up on the subject. The employer they zero in on is a defense contractor I worked for 8 years ago. Any information I might have is long since irrelevant and none of their business in any case. I’m not going to divulge anything about that time in my life except the employment verification number for them to call.

What these people don’t seem to get is that when they get all demanding and particularly if they seem to posses information about the project or projects I worked on, I’m going to call the security number and report that they’re asking inappropriate questions and have details they shouldn’t have. I’ll let the security people deal with these Foreign Nationals asking about confidential projects.It’s no skin off my nose to drop a dime on them.

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Hey Apple, here’s a thought…

I saw that you were having some trouble getting people to come into the office.

It’s in The Wall Street Journal today.

You know what? I’d come into the office. I’d work for a reasonable salary, and not demand much of anything.

Give me some reasonable medical coverage, and enough cash after taxes to pay my bills and I’d be a happy camper. Put me in a cubicle and give me software to test. I’d keep my head down, do my job, and leave at the end of the day.

I’ve got 40 years of experience in technology. I’m not particularly political, (at least not at work,) I don’t give two shits about catching COVID, been there, done that.

I’m not interested in social justice, or trans rights, all I want is a job. In my view none of the politically charged stuff has a place in the workplace. That’s stuff that each employee can pursue in their personal time.

Oh I’ll be polite, I’ll be Politically Correct, I’ll listen to people decrying the injustices they’ve endured but I’m not going to comment or engage with it.

I’d come into work, do my job, and that’s it. I’m not interested in office politics or becoming management. I’ve done both, and am old enough now to recognize that neither is my cup of tea.

I’d like to just work in the trenches.

You’d know that if you’d ever bothered to respond to the multiple applications I’ve filled out seeking employment in my field with your company.

Honestly, my offer seems like a reasonable one. A trouble free employee who shows up on time, does their job, and collects their paycheck.

I have zero social media profiles except for this blog and LinkedIn. I’d not be Twittering, Facebooking, Instagramming, or posting on Tic Toc, during working hours.

Seems like that would be an employer’s dream.

Given that you’ve ignored my applications for years, I can only assume you’ve become far more interested in Social Justice Work than making reliable products and software.

Nonetheless, if you change your mind, fire off a comment to this post. I’m sure we could talk.

I’m even willing to relocate. Bear in mind, if you’d want me to move to Cupertino or Northern California it would affect my base pay requirement calculation. The rents up there are wicked high. One thing though, I’m white. Hiring me could negatively affect your diversity quota.

Just a thought Apple…

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Conservatives, It’s not enough…

It’s not enough to whinge and complain.

The question is, how will we address the issues we’re complaining about?

It’s not enough to sit behind keyboards making nasty comments about liberals or Democrats.

In doing this we’re no better than the liberals or Democrats that do the same on Twitter.

It’s not enough to boycott this company, or that.

Are we brave enough, to not only boycott the company who’s offended, but to boycott their parent company? Are we strong enough to boycott the other companies who share board members with the company we’re boycotting?

It’s not enough to say the election was stolen, or Trump 2024 or DeSantis 2024.

Have we actually done the research to validate the assertion or political choice, or simply repeating what we’ve been told, casting votes for the person the Republican Party says to?

It’s not enough to watch conservative curated snippets of the Jan 6th hearing.

Watching curated snippets that cast the hearing in a negative light, is no different than those watching the hearing and swallowing the snippets the committee has curated and says is true.

I think for myself. I’ve looked at the available information and made choices. They weren’t always the correct choices, or even the best choices. But I own them. For better or worse, they’re mine.

I look at the time and effort spent endlessly commenting on Twitter, Gab, Truth Social, Facebook, News articles, American Thinker, Breitbart, and the myriad other conservative outlets, and I have to ask.

Is this all we’ve got?

An upvote?
A snarky comment?
A meme?
An online argument?
A ‘share’ with followers?

Really?

Obviously we all have computers. How about spending all that energy, time and resource to figure a way out of this mess?

If, as so many of you say, the ship is sinking, it’s no matter who’s right and who’s wrong. The water is rising, we’ll all drown. Whatever differences we had will be settled in silence.

Will we go the route of Melville:

“To the last, I grapple with thee; From Hell’s heart, I stab at thee; For hate’s sake, I spit my last breath at thee.”

Or will we put aside our differences, bridge the gap, and demonstrate what we’ve said we stand for.

Work!

Doing what needs to be done, because it needs doing.

Not for fame, not for riches, or clicks, or accolades. But because the survival of our country is in our best interest. Implicitly demonstrating that Capitalism is what ultimately drives societies forward to better futures.

So what if there will be those whose asses undeservedly get pulled from the water?

They, will stand as witnesses to the abject failure of marxism, socialism, or communism. Their survival and shame will haunt them all the days of their wretched lives. Because they will know they live by our largess, not by the sweat of their brow or the work of their own hand.

So Conservatives, and our more middle of the road friends…

Let’s get to work.

Put the phone down, push back from your keyboards, stop feeding the beast of the media, and self indulgent click bait.

Assess your skills and knowledge then direct it at the problems at hand.

How do we get this country’s supply chain moving?

Retired Truckers, Longshoremen, material handlers, shippers, planners? It’s time for you to take the stage.

How do we stop more and more people climbing onto a sinking lifeboat?

Retired diplomats, ambassadors, immigration professionals, Any thoughts?

What do we have to do to be energy independent?

Retired oil producers, roughnecks, drilling crews, coal miners, power plant workers, Nuclear engineers, This is your bailiwick.

How do we peacefully, yet undeniably make our voices heard in the halls of power?

Children of the ’50s, ’60s, 70’s 80’s. We were really good at making Washington listen. It’s time for us to decorate our walkers, dust off our signs, create easily remembered slogans, songs, and present clear and unified messages. It’s time to march once again.

(Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

I know us old farts wanted to leave the issues to the young. We wanted to go fishing, put our feet up, watch the sunset, and pass peacefully from this mortal coil.

Unfortunately, our Nation, our Home isn’t done with us yet. “Once more into the breach dear friends…”

It sucks! But it is what it is.

Perhaps we can enjoy fishing and the sunset for a while after we help set things right.

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Lately reading or watching the news feels like doom scrolling.

Doomscrolling or doomsurfing is the act of spending an excessive amount of screen time devoted to the absorption of negative news. – From Wikipedia

My Apple News application is configured to show me Science, Technology, and items related to mens health. I’ve blocked CNN, Breitbart, Mother Jones, MSNBC, Vanity Fair, The Rolling Stone, and a plethora of others.

Unfortunately, blocking these publications leaves a white square in my News feed telling me that I’ve blocked the publication and asking me if I’d like to read the article anyway.

Uh… Nope!

What I’d really like, is for the little white boxes to disappear too!

The actual publications that I read for news are more local publications from places that I’m interested in.

Think of it like reading the local news papers from various cities around the nation. The Idaho Statesman, The San Diego Times, The Lexington Herald, there are some Texas papers I’ll skim as well. (Before you ask, I can’t stomach the Los Angeles Times!)

I find that these publication are often a bit more hometown and they’re balanced between human interest stories, local events, and national news.

It’s nice to read about a community rallying behind their high school football team. Or that the local school baseball teams are having a car wash to raise money for a local charity.

I read one article about car washes, being coordinated so that for a period of six weekends, a patron could have their car washed by one of six local school teams and the proceeds would help a community center that had a fire.

It’s that kind of thing that makes the “Bad” news palatable.

It used to be that, only the most egregious faux pas of the D.C. elites would make it to these local papers.

The papers being local meant that the journalists writing for them, were interested in presenting the hard facts and then after the meat of the story perhaps they’d opine about how this, or that, might affect the local community.

I like that kind of reporting. The journalists know which side of their toast is buttered and aren’t necessarily attempting to grandstand to “Hit the big time”.

They’re locals, they’re interested in their town or state and their reporting reflects that.

The papers I mentioned weren’t generally bashing or praising former President Trump, nor have they been bashing or praising current President Biden. They are just reporting the facts. What did the President say, how might the policy affect their particular community.

I guess you’d call it “old school” journalism. Report the story, keep your bias to yourself, if you feel the need to express your opinion then do it on the Op Ed pages.

Lately though, it’s like all the news is just plain bad. Everywhere, (at least in all the papers I read or scan,) there’s almost nothing but bad news. Be it national events like Ukraine, gas prices, or baby formula. Or local reporting of shutdowns of businesses, construction sites, or oil drilling operations, the news is bad.

These local entities are still reporting how the various events are affecting the local community and they’re doing it in personal, first person interviews. Then they move on to the next story.

Stock Photo

The Father of 4 who lost his job because the business he worked at closed, and who said it didn’t really matter because he couldn’t afford the gas to get there anyway. There was a ray of light. He was interviewed in the process of roto-tilling what used to be his backyard and teaching his children to plant vegetables. His wife still had her job, he was staying home watching the kids, instead of paying for daycare. He’d decided that a productive family activity was to plant a vegetable garden. He was going to learn the art of canning later in the summer and fall.

The mother who drove 100 miles one way to stock up on baby formula. She brought light into the story because she shared what she had gotten with other mothers in town who were unable to find formula. She’d then started a formula bank at her church where she and other moms pooled their resources. She thanked the men in the community who were helping by buying a can of formula if they saw one during their daily commutes and dropping it by the church. She commented that many of the men helping out didn’t have children themselves.

The causes were the bad news, the balance was the journalist speaking with people in the community asking how they were adapting, then reporting that, as part of the human interest.

Yet even with the rays of light, the overall news is just bad.

On the one hand, I’d like to look away and just ignore it all. On the other hand I get curious about what’s happening outside my little mountain town.

So I open the News app, and alternately have my heart broken, or become enraged. Sometimes both at the same time.

I simply can’t reconcile that our leaders seem so out of touch, even when they must have the best information flooding into their ivory towers.

How can they apparently ignore the plight of so many who are struggling?

Why are the elites talking about “Taking Action” on issues that don’t directly address the issues that are first and foremost in people’s minds?

You know, minor things like;

Putting food on the table
Getting to and from work
Feeding the children and babies
Paying the mortgage

Right now, the vast majority of average folks don’t give a rats ass about trans-rights, gun control, racism, green energy, CRT, the latest Tic-Tok trend, Hollywood, or even COVID.

Notice, I said the majority… There will always be the few that are so narrowly focused on their cause, that they’ll refuse to see the bigger picture.

Average folks are focused on basic needs. Broadly speaking… A functioning economy.

That requires jobs, the ability to get to aforementioned job, and affordable basic staples in the store. Anything beyond that is un-necessary and complete bullshit.

The elites will no doubt be appalled to discover that all their grandiose “actions”, “plans”, or whatever don’t mean squat to folks just trying to get by.

I’ve got to stop looking at the news. It just makes me sad, and pisses me off!