Christopher Masto

Exactly the same here.

Plus, some people are really sensitive to tastes and textures. When we’re not them, we call them picky eaters. When I was a child, I couldn’t stand the taste of water, and there were other foods I found repulsive. Even a different brand of ingredient from the one I was used to made me gag.

Somehow, I completely grew out of that and I’m now very adventurous when it comes to food. But it did leave me with empathy when I encounter someone who has a limited palate, which is pretty common among my nerd-spectrum peer group.

When you think about it, eating the wrong thing is a quick path to sickness or death, so it makes sense that food can trigger extreme reactions of disgust. If you ever ate something and got sick afterward, even if the two were unrelated, it’s very hard to un-make that connection.

Sorry I took forever to answer this.

None of my previous jobs (including Google) checked references at all. They may have done a criminal background check, I don’t remember.

This latest one outsources their background check to a company that I’m sure charges them tons of money to do very little. I was disappointed to see from their web site that they are selling their use of AI to screen people. So that’s great.

But anyway, yes, what happened was that I had to fill out a form on the third party web site and give them a bunch of information - driver’s license, SSN, but also education, previous employers, job titles, manager’s names, etc. Then a few days later I got an email from the HR person at my new job telling me the third party company was unable to verify any of the information, so could I please send them a copy of my diploma, a letter from my former employer, etc. Basically I had to do all the legwork that they paid for, apart from checking a few databases to confirm I’m not a felon.

I just started a new job and I had to dig up a copy of my high school diploma as part of the background check. Ridiculous? Yes. But also, they just outsource to a third party company to verify everything. And that company doesn’t seem to actually do what they’re paid for and they just kicked back all of the work to me.

In any case, I agree with the comments that you shouldn’t need a degree. I’ve been a manager in tech for a long time, including 10 years at Google, and have a lot of experience hiring. I don’t have a college degree. And once someone had work experience, I never paid any attention to their education. Lying about it is only going to risk getting caught.

This is a skill I do not have, and apparently I may be one of two people in the world who can’t do it.

“Exploiting” means what, exactly? And what evidence do you have for it?

The content of your email is not used for targeting or profiling, it’s not being sold. Clear enough? The qualifier is because some “well ackshually” will point out that they have to scan it for spam filtering, virus detecting, adding calendar events, etc. These are features of the product, and I think labeling them exploitation would be a bit rich.

Google does not use the content of Gmail messages for ad targeting. Lots of misinformation here.

I don’t believe the producers had the whole story arc planned regardless of what they say. I think you can tell when there’s a mystery box situation. But now that they moved the island and it has settled down into an allegory for Scientology, I’m hoping they’ll stop introducing polar bears and keep focusing on the story.

Spoiler here:

I think there is a huge corner they’re backed into when it comes to neatly wrapping things up. If severance is stopped, the innies have to die. Even reintegration means giving up their identities and personalities and becoming just a memory. So it’ll be pretty messy to try to write their way out of that.

All the honey I’ve ever bought has crystallized before I could get through the small bottle. Yeah, you can heat it, it’s a pain to have to deal with when I just want to use it. I’d rather buy what I need fresh.

Maybe Pac-Man. Wandering around a maze eating all day isn’t that different from my current life.

My partner is allergic to coconut. That also means no palm oil. You know what has palm oil in it these days, often randomly replacing the previous oil in something that used to be ok? Everything.

I’ve made this cake a couple of times. It’s quite good.

https://youtu.be/Yi1W5qgtNYU?si=l6cvn5YZTbAsZZzb

What do you do for entertainment?

Mostly silence, but when I was in high school (some decades ago now) I had a CD of Mozart music I would put on while doing homework. I still associate Symphony 40 in G minor with grinding through tasks.

Stopped eating so damn much.

I read the The Hacker’s Diet by John Walker (who recently died, sadly) and followed his advice.

At the risk of facts getting in the way:

1. You can install ad blockers
2. Apps are not able to do that

There are plenty of home gamer quats too (just look for active ingredient: yadda yadda ammonium chloride) My favorite is Formula 409. I buy the industrial refills and just top up the sprayers.

One thing if you’re actually trying to sanitize: they have a contact time. You need to let the surface stay wet for a minute, or 10 if you’re trying to kill the andromeda strain.

Browser bookmarks. My trick is I make a new folder every month, for example “2024-01 Bookmarks”, and put it in the bookmarks bar. Whenever I realize I’m leaving a tab open because I want to look at it later, I put it into the current folder. That way I know it’s not lost and I give myself permission to close it.

When a new month comes around, I stick the previous folder in an “Archive” section and make a new one. It costs nothing to keep them forever, but avoids the current list getting out of control.

Leaded gasoline.

The 6502 was from MOS.

Instacart and Uber Eats, mostly.

Waiting out this winter’s covid surge living in the hot zone.