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14 votes
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Woolie Will Figure It Out Ep 1 - About abandoned games and the creative process
3 votes -
Noam Chomsky - The Right Turn (1986)
9 votes -
On hiring for tech positions: How do you get what you need from the HR department?
I wish I had a dollar for every time I heard a manager complain, “The HR department included ‘must have college degree’ in the job req even though I don’t care” or “They asked for 5 years of...
I wish I had a dollar for every time I heard a manager complain, “The HR department included ‘must have college degree’ in the job req even though I don’t care” or “They asked for 5 years of experience in a technology that’s only been around for 3” or “I have no idea why they rejected this candidate without even contacting me.”
Still, in many cases you don’t have a choice. If you want to hire someone, you need to deal with HR, at least to a small degree – especially if you work in a big company.
So I’m writing a feature story for technology managers, collecting real-world advice from people who learned their lessons the hard way. Here’s the questions I’d like you to answer:
• Tell me about a frustration you had with the HR department (in regard to hiring). That is, tell me a personal story of HR-gone-wrong. Because we all love schadenfreude, and that gives me an emotional example with which to begin.
• Let’s say you have a new opening in your department. In what ways do you involve HR? (That could be anything from, “give them general guidelines and let them choose the best candidates for me to interview” to “I do the search myself, and use HR only for on-boarding.”) What makes you choose that path? How much choice do you have in the matter?
• What weaknesses have you discovered in your HR department’s ability to serve the needs of a tech-focused department?
• What have you done to cope with those weaknesses? Which of those efforts worked, and which failed?
• What do you wish you knew “n” years ago about dealing with your company’s HR department?
• So that I can give the reader some context: Let me know how to refer to you in the article (at least, “Esther, a software architect at a Midwest insurance company”), and give me some idea of your company size (because the processes appropriate for a 70-person company aren’t the same for one with 7,000 employees).You don’t have to answer all those questions! I asked these to get the conversation going. Tell me as much or as little as you like.
Please don’t assume that I think HR always sucks. However, there isn’t as much to learn from “why HR is your friend.” The idea here is to help techie managers cope when HR doesn’t offer what you hoped for.
16 votes -
Nogu Svelo! - Haru Mamburu (1993)
2 votes -
Some plants “hear” through flowers. A study found petals vibrated in response to recordings of a bee’s wingbeats, leading plants to sweeten their nectar.
10 votes -
The twenty best TV dramas since ‘The Sopranos’
17 votes -
It's the end of the gene as we know it
15 votes -
Passion, direction, inspiration : How do you rediscover it?
I'm stuck in a rut. What do you do to get out? How do you rediscover something that inspires you? Or something that you can be passionate about? I've got a handful of "projects" on the go at all...
I'm stuck in a rut.
What do you do to get out? How do you rediscover something that inspires you? Or something that you can be passionate about?
I've got a handful of "projects" on the go at all times - writing some music, getting better at the sport I play, learn a new language for work, do some "proper" research. But they all sort of sit there looking tedious on my whiteboard. I'm just not passionate about any of them really (except maybe the sport, but I'm approaching 40 so it's not like I'm on the verge of setting the world on fire with it!).
What do you do to rediscover your inspiration? What has worked for you?
15 votes -
The battle for the Boqueria
8 votes -
Is trade in turmoil a change for justice? The global free trade system is being battered like never before. Can any good come of it?
7 votes -
The Feds cracked El Chapo's encrypted comms network by flipping his system admin
10 votes -
Must writers be moral? Their contracts may require it
8 votes -
Reviews of the Royole FlexPai - the first foldable smartphone/tablet
Victory, Royole: The FlexPai is the first folding phone we've seen The foldable Royole FlexPai has a way to go World's first foldable smartphone is glorious, and a hot mess
10 votes -
How Technicolor changed movies
5 votes -
A 1950s TV show had a fear-mongering conman named Trump who wanted to build a wall.
7 votes -
Unity's ToS update blocks the use of SpatialOS
13 votes -
Unity responds to Improbable's (SpacialOS) blog post
9 votes -
Parent links?
Just a few hours ago I was thinking about how much I miss parent links from Hacker News, and now I see that they have suddenly appeared on user pages and in topics. Did Deimos just roll out an...
Just a few hours ago I was thinking about how much I miss parent links from Hacker News, and now I see that they have suddenly appeared on user pages and in topics. Did Deimos just roll out an update, or have I been blind this whole time?
4 votes -
Over a million IP addresses geolocate to a house in Pretoria, South Africa, causing people (and police) to show up regularly in search of criminals, stolen phones, and more
9 votes -
Designing the Flexbox Inspector
5 votes -
The noisy dispute over the meaning of populism is more than just an academic squabble – it’s a crucial argument about what we expect from democracy
12 votes -
For owners of Amazon’s Ring security cameras, strangers may have been watching too
10 votes -
How "At the Gates" took seven years of my life – and nearly the rest
10 votes -
Danish government to improve conditions for prostitutes
9 votes -
How Magic: The Gathering’s most expensive card changed the game
9 votes -
Experiences with LineageOS and/or moving from iPhone to Android (or LineageOS )
Hi there, I'm considering purchasing a used Galaxy S7 and moving to LineageOS and would like to hear about similiar experiences. I currently own a iPhone 5S (only my second smartphone). I plan to...
Hi there,
I'm considering purchasing a used Galaxy S7 and moving to LineageOS and would like to hear about similiar experiences. I currently own a iPhone 5S (only my second smartphone). I plan to continue using Ting as my provider.
I am attracted to LineageOS because it's open source and allows greater control than the standard Android-build I'd get from an ISP. I'm not afraid of installing ROMs or tinkering - I know I'll be doing a lot more of that by moving to an open-source OS.
I was looking at Galaxy S7 because it's well-known and has wide support/information available on forums, etc and of course because it's relatively cheap to get a used one ($200-ish).
I'm in the US and use Ting as my provider.
So some questions I have are:
- Should I expect to use the standard Google Play store? I'm still a little unclear on this after looking at the LineageOS website and wiki. The best I could find for an answer is this article talking about installing default google apps. I think my question is so basic it's not addressed on their site lol.
- Can I drag and drop MP3s from my computer to the phone? In other words, can I get my music on there without having to install something dreadful like iTunes or use Spotify/Amazon Music?
- The LineageOS project looks healthy to my untrained eye...any rumors that it'll vanish overnight?
- I found these instructions for a Galaxy S7 Anything else I should know or look out for?
- Any general thoughts/advice about moving from the Apple to the Google ecosystem? I'm entrenched in Google everywhere BUT my iPhone where I mostly use Google apps.
- What else should I look out for? See any gaps in my understanding?
19 votes -
Suburbs and car centric urban design is the worst mistake in modern history
Designing our countries to accommodate cars as much as possible has been one of the most destructive things to our health, environment, safety and social connectedness. The damage has spread so...
Designing our countries to accommodate cars as much as possible has been one of the most destructive things to our health, environment, safety and social connectedness. The damage has spread so far and deep that it has reached a crisis point in most developed cities in almost every country. The suburbs we live in are subjected to strict zoning laws baring any form of high density building and any form of mixed zoning. As a result our houses are spaced so far away from each other and from the essential services we need that unless you own a car you are blocked from having a normal life. The main streets full of independent stores and markets have all been killed by megamalls 30km away from where people live with carparks bigger than most park lands. All of this was caused by car usage pushing our societies further and further apart to the point where many people find it acceptable and normal to drive 40km each direction to work each day.
One of the more devastating effects of this urban sprawl is the supermarket has been moved so far away that most people avoid going as much as possible and limit it to a single trip every 1-2 weeks. Fresh food does not last 1-2 weeks which leaves people throwing out mountains of spoiled food that wasn't eaten in time as well as the move to processed foods packed full of preservatives. As well as a shift to people buying dinner from drive through takeaway franchises because their hour long commute has left them with little time to cook fresh and healthy foods.
Owning a car in many countries is seen as the only way to get a job. This locks the poor from ever regaining control of their life because the cost of owning and maintaining a car is higher than most of these people get in an entire year. Our city streets which should be places of vibrant liability have become loud, unsafe and toxic.
Elon and his electric cars solve none of these issues. Electric cars are not the way of the future. They don't even solve air pollution issues entirely because a large part of air pollution is brake pad fibres and tire wear which is proportional to the vehicles weight. And these Teslas are not light.
The only solution is reducing personal vehicle usage as much as possible in urban areas. Of course there will always be some people who will genuinely need vehicles such as in rural areas but there is simply no reason to have the average person drive to and from their office or retail job every day. Its wasteful and harmful in so many ways.
There needs to be a huge push to reclaim our cities and living spaces to bring back the liveability that we could have had. In my city some of the side streets were closed to cars and the change was incredible. Plants and seating filled the spots that would have once been a row of free parking. The streets are filled with the sounds of laughter instead of the roar of motors. The local pubs and cafes have benefited hugely. They didn't benefit at all from street side car parks that were always filled by people who have done 5 laps of the city looking for an empty park and do not intend to shop there.
What is everyone's opinion on this topic and what can we do about it?
64 votes -
On building your favourite web browser from source
25 votes -
Netflix's "Abstract: The Art of Design" is possibly one of the best docuseries I've ever watched
11 votes -
(Don't) return to sender: How to protect yourself from email tracking
13 votes -
‘The Division 2’ coming to Epic Games Store, pulled from Steam
17 votes -
The stunning chart revealing Australia's record-breaking run of rising temperatures
10 votes -
Victorian man arrested for allegedly sending suspicious packages to embassies
5 votes -
Build the US wall? It could take at least ten years, even with 10,000 workers.
11 votes -
What social responsibilities do fiction authors have (if any)?
In 1977, Stephen King published a novel about a school shooting called Rage. It is somewhat infamous, as it has been connected to instances of real-life school shootings. King, in response,...
In 1977, Stephen King published a novel about a school shooting called Rage. It is somewhat infamous, as it has been connected to instances of real-life school shootings. King, in response, allowed the story to fall out of print and has never reissued it. The novel has a lot in common with other YA stories and tropes: a disaffected protagonist, meddling/out of touch adults, and newfound social connection with peers. While the main character is undoubtedly disturbed, the novel feels somewhat uncritical (or potentially even supportive) of his actions.
Certainly fiction is a space where authors are free to explore any point of view or theme they wish. The beauty of fiction is that it is limitless and consequence-free. No people are harmed in Rage because there are no people in it. Its characters are merely names and ideas--they are a fiction.
Nevertheless, Rage addresses a real-world phenomenon, and the beauty of fiction is that it doesn't live as a lie. As Ursula K. Le Guin writes,
"In reading a novel, any novel, we have to know perfectly well that the whole thing is nonsense, and then, while reading, believe every word of it. Finally, when we're done with it, we may find - if it's a good novel - that we're a bit different from what we were before we read it, that we have changed a little..."
We like fiction because it resonates with us, exposing us to themes that can affirm, shape, or challenge our mindsets.
With this dichotomy in mind, I'm torn between whether authors should be free to explore anything they wish from the safety of make-believe, or whether they have a social responsibility because their words carry messages and ideas that directly impact lives. I'm not sure what to think, and I can come up with great arguments for both sides. What's your take? What social responsibilities do fiction authors have (if any)?
19 votes -
Tags aren't clickable?
Disclaimer: I'm not sure if I'm just now noticing something that has always been that way, or if something has actually changed. Post tags aren't clickable on the main page, or on any group page....
Disclaimer: I'm not sure if I'm just now noticing something that has always been that way, or if something has actually changed.
Post tags aren't clickable on the main page, or on any group page. I can click on tags inside a topic, but I can't click on tags on the main page.
I feel like I used to be able to do this. I'm pretty sure I must have been able to do this, because I've done some work in the past making tags consistent, and that's how I obtained lists of posts with certain tags.
Has something changed? Or am I imagining things?
10 votes -
The egg thief - For decades, Jeffrey Lendrum has been snatching unhatched raptors and selling them, investigators believe, to wealthy Middle Eastern falconers
8 votes -
'Skyrim', 'Oblivion' composer offers modders permission to use more of his tracks
5 votes -
Phoenix police department obtain DNA samples from Hacienda HealthCare staff in the week after vegetative patient gives birth
7 votes -
We need more keywords, captain!
7 votes -
Suggestion: make tild.es redirect to the main tildes site
When I say tild.es, I don't mean a shortened link, I mean literally https://tild.es/
14 votes -
Sourakata Koite - Kaira
4 votes -
The State of Software Security In 2019
9 votes -
The world’s oldest woman was 122 when she died. A researcher believes that her daughter assumed her identity in the 1930s to avoid inheritance taxes.
28 votes -
Start with a website, not a mobile app
20 votes -
thank u, next
20 votes -
T-Mobile, Sprint, and AT&T Are Selling Customers' Real-Time Location Data, And It's Falling Into the Wrong Hands
29 votes -
GitHub now allows unlimited private repos for free (with up to 3 collaborators)
35 votes -
The mysterious, stubborn appeal of mass-produced fried chicken
10 votes