Confused Automakers Braced for Strike at the Wrong Plants
The Big Three automakers stalled production and moved parts out of plants across the country ahead of the strike, according to rank-and-file UAW members.
Hasnain says:
The moves this guy has been orchestrating are amazing.
“The strategy the UAW is currently employing is led by the union’s new militant president, Shawn Fain. He was elected in March after the UAW changed its election process from a delegate system to one member, one vote in the most recent leadership election. He has assumed a new posture for the union’s leadership: for example, refusing to endorse Joe Biden for president until he supports the UAW’s efforts to unionize electric vehicle facilities, and rejecting a ceremonial handshake with auto manufacturer bosses before the start of contract negotiations.”
Posted on 2023-09-20T03:08:09+0000
Microsoft completely misjudged Baldur’s Gate 3
Not a great look for Microsoft
Hasnain says:
I’ve started playing it and liking it so far. Wish I had more time/energy to sink into it.
“In hindsight, Microsoft made a big oopsie; Baldur’s Gate 3 has no exclusivity tied to it, so its exclusion from the Xbox console was noticeable. In February, Larian Studios explained why Baldur’s Gate 3 didn’t have a planned Xbox release at the time. Vincke said on X — then Twitter — that Baldur’s Gate 3’s split-screen co-op didn’t work on Xbox Series S, Microsoft’s lower-priced console. Microsoft requires games to have feature parity across Xbox Series X and Series S, which held up the launch. By Aug. 24, after Baldur’s Gate 3’s major successes, Microsoft made a concession to let Baldur’s Gate 3 launch without split-screen co-op on Xbox Series S.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is now expected to arrive on Xbox later this year.”
Posted on 2023-09-19T20:04:25+0000
‘No way out’: how video games use tricks from gambling to attract big spenders
Controversy over tactics used by some firms to target players who are on track to spend high sums
Hasnain says:
"An early win is a well-documented technique known among gambling researchers and clinicians as a catalyst for addictive play, because it creates an early dopamine hit that gamblers are then eager to recreate, even as their subsequent losses mount.
A gambling operator that orchestrated this outcome would probably lose their licence to operate in Britain but there is no clear disincentive for gaming firms.
Gambling tends to spur much greater ethical concern and regulatory scrutiny, yet overlap – in practice and even game design – is becoming increasingly evident."
Posted on 2023-09-19T06:07:10+0000
The Engineer’s Guide to Career Growth — Advice from My Time at Stripe and Facebook
Raylene Yung has spent a decade scaling eng and product teams at Facebook and Stripe. Here's her advice for engineers at every stage of their careers, from IC to org leader.
Hasnain says:
Chock full of amazing advice. I'm aiming to revisit this one periodically.
"“It’s about asking the right questions, the ones that keep you focused on growth and learning, not on moving up. My best teammates have been the ones who constantly pushed themselves to identify their weaknesses, systematically learn from their mistakes and get better,” she says."
Posted on 2023-09-19T06:02:12+0000
It's Happening: United Auto Workers Strike!
Why this strike is different than all the other strikes
Hasnain says:
This has been a glory to watch. still surprised the PR team let the CEO on TV to do that massive bungle earlier this week.
“But there’s something else, something maybe even more significant. While the Big 3 automakers have helped make this a pivotal moment, because fighting them means fighting corporate America in so many ways, the workers have also turned this into a crucial fight, because they embody our hope. Not only is the union explicitly fighting for the working class, they’re open about the class war nature of this struggle. UAW president Shawn Fain was recently asked about corporations and pundits accusing him of engaging in class war, to which he replied, “It's hard when I hear that not to just die laughing because the truth is the working class in this country has been under attack in a one-sided class war for decades.” And it’s true. What else could you call the CEO raises and the investor paychecks, when you stack them up next to the stagnant wages of workers? Not to mention the stripping of pensions, the creation of tiers where newer workers get screwed, labeling workers as temporary employees for years and years, and so much more.”
Posted on 2023-09-18T01:43:00+0000
With democracy on the ballot, the mainstream press must change its ways | Margaret Sullivan
The American press is failing to adequately emphasize the stakes of the coming election
Hasnain says:
“The big solution? Remember at all times what our core mission is: to communicate truthfully, keeping top of mind that we have a public service mission to inform the electorate and hold powerful people to account. If that’s our north star, as it should be, every editorial judgment will reflect that.”
Posted on 2023-09-16T21:45:23+0000
‘Help me’: fans watching bear camera help save Alaska hiker’s life
Wildlife enthusiasts watching live feed from remote national park spot hiker in distress and alert authorities to rescue him
Hasnain says:
Okay this is pretty nuts, wonder what would have happened if cameras like this were not a thing.
“On Tuesday, however, when the hiker was spotted on the Dumpling Mountain camera, only a handful of viewers were online, making the sighting even more remarkable. On Saturday, when the Guardian checked the camera, only 19 people were watching the live feed.”
Posted on 2023-09-16T18:50:21+0000
No sacred masterpieces
Or "that time I built Excel for Uber and they ditched it like a week after launch"
Hasnain says:
There’s some interesting anecdotes here about working in big tech and career growth but I cannot get past the fact that the author just… took code from one employer to another, then open sourced it at the second employer (without permission) when the project got canned. And even now just says the companies are welcome to contact him about this if they like.
Like….
“You won’t have the opportunity to take lessons away from the project if you see the sunsetting of the project as a failure: there’s often much to learn about what non-technical aspects of the project broke down. Perhaps there aren’t any, and maybe management is just a group of fools! But often that’s not the case; your delicately milled cog wasn’t ripped out of the machine because it was misunderstood, it was ripped out because it didn’t operate smoothly as a part of the larger system it was installed in”
Posted on 2023-09-16T04:28:56+0000
Simple data pipeline powertools: sqlite, pandas, gnuplot and friends
Why my favourite API is a zipfile on the European Central Bank's website
Hasnain says:
“A mere zipfile with a csv in it seems so diminutive, but in fact an enormous mass of financial applications use this particular zipfile every day. I'm pretty sure that's why they've left those commas in - if they removed them now they'd break a lot of code.
When open data is made really easily available, it also functions double duty as an open API. After all, for the largeish fraction of APIs in which are less about calling remote functions than about exchanging data, what is the functional difference?”
Posted on 2023-09-16T03:46:10+0000
'An astonishing scumbag move': Indie developers react to surprise Unity engine pricing changes
Unity's new Runtime Fee will charge developers on a per-install basis.
Hasnain says:
Goodwill and trust: so hard to build, so easy to lose it all and never recover. Case in point right here.
“Despite the partial walkback, some developers say they still plan to move from Unity to another engine. Aaron San Filippo of Whisker Squadron developer Flippfly, for instance, said he doesn't care if Unity reverts the new pricing scheme completely: "They’ve made it clear it’s not safe to work with this engine."”
Posted on 2023-09-14T06:28:39+0000