Notices by Marko Vujnovic (dawngreeter@dice.camp)

Today I found out that US companies are not legally required to give employees paid days off for public holidays.

I was searching for info on which countries have fewer paid holidays than the US (I work with US people a lot and I am keenly aware that they get days off significantly less frequently). And I found out that about 25% of US workers have zero paid days off of any kind, holidays or vacation. And this is legal.

I'll just go and lie down now.

@inthehands Yet the stock ticked up after the earnings call. It's a cult.

I will just keep repeating this, I guess.

If crashing the economy in order to improve the country is on the table, there exist no arguments against revolution.

#uspol

@aral Is that the same author who wrote The Value of Trains Running on Time?

I cannot stress enough how much what is happening is a textbook scenario of overinvesting before proving a system's usefulness.

And that is a direct result of companies posturing for investors rather than delivering value.

@sidereal Blind leading the blind. It's Dr. Strangelove scene about the doomsday device race. It's a double bubble of not only overinflating the product but also inventing a demand for it in the first place. It is investment cult behavior.

A term I just learned about that really describes everything right now: hypernormalisation. The elaborate pretense that clearly and obviously failing systems are not failing and everything is ok. Originally coined to describe life just before the Soviet Union collapsed, but also applies to late stage capitalism.

Crucially, it does not imply a conspiracy. It is engaged in by the majority of society, because the alternative is unbearable and unimaginable.

#uspol #canpol

@cstross Public infrastructure should be publicly owned and tax funded.

@kccqzy @waldoj @aral Conversation topics are either comfortable and familiar or political.

@aral Female hair is either long or political. Sexual orientation is either heterosexual or political. Gender identity is either cis or political. Clothing is either gender stereotyped and boring or political. City infrastructure is either car-focused or political. Energy is either fossil fuels or political. Education is either white christian propaganda or political.

Everything follows the same pattern, tech included.

"At the Gates is a high fantasy tabletop roleplaying game about burgeoning heroes struggling to survive, fighting for what’s right, exploring dangerous places, and saving the world."

Look. I love The Onyx Path. I do. And I am sure At the Gates will be a good game. But who the hell came up with this promo blurb?

Hey, you, look at this RPG! It's about all the RPG things you like to RPG. Out of all the RPGs in the world, this is one of them.

#ttrpg #TheOnyxPath #AtTheGates

Oppenheimer: We can't launch if the test failed the night before launch.

Oppenheimer's engineer: No no, trust me, the test was wrong, it'll work in prod.

Me: This is the most real thing I have ever seen in a movie.