DowagerDave

They most certainly did not do a lay-off. Private companies in financial trouble don't do voluntary buy-outs. The "demand for millions of dollars" also explicitly stated "or equivalent investment in WP".

I guess you shouldn't let facts get in the way when you're pushing a narrative...

"can't afford" seems to be at the heart of the issue here, vs. not prioritizing and choosing not to.

Would a better tribute be something that's directly related to appropriate internet activism, and not physically tied to a single location that few will ever see/visit/care about?

This is a weird and unbalanced selection... I expected to see waterfall or some variation on here, but nothing like it, even though it is very common. Lots of mentions of evolving & fully-autonomous engineering structures without even mentioning how this interfaces with all the other parts of every company larger than a few people. Valve's approach is not really a methodology vs. a perk from generating ridiculous per head revenues for a pretty small company. Shape up can only work as described when your company is small and run by a benevolent dictator will complete control.

maybe 10 years ago, but this is not the case today.

vintage hardware is too expensive. I'm not sure why, or who's buying it, but if you want to actually run & program on it you're better off with emulators

Interesting that the hackers in the book of the same name (by Steven Levy) were looking to change the public's perception of computers from something very different from what we see today to something very similar to what you describe. You both describe an end state that is very tactile, emotional and human.

I struggle to get my kids to experience computers with the same sense of wonder and amazement that I had. This could be inevitable (I've always taken flipping a light switch or refrigerated food for granted) but it still makes me sad.

I feel like there was also a brief window where "many amateur eyes in public" trumped "private experts"; wikipedia, open source software, etc. This doesn't seem the case in a hyper-partisan and bifurcated society where there is little trust.

Not sure of the context here is for "previous generation" but I've been around since early in the transition from university/military network to public network, and the reality was the internet just wasn't that big, and it was primarily made up of people who looked, acted and valued the same things.

Now it's not even the website of undetermined providence that is believed; positions are established based on just the headline, shared 2nd or 3rd hand!

AI seems really good at producing middling content, and if you make your living writing mediocre training courses, or marketing collateral, or code, or tests you're in big trouble. I question how valuable this work is though, so are we increasing productivity by utilizing AI, or just getting efficient at a suboptimal game? I for one just refuse to play.

focusing on efficiency is very depressing. Machines seek efficiency. Process can be efficient. Assembly lines are efficient. It's all about optimization and quickly focuses on trimming "waste" and packing as much as possible into the smallest space. It removes all that's amazing about human life.

I much prefer a focus on effectiveness (or impact or outcomes, or alternatives). It plays to human strengths, is far less prescriptive and is way more fun!

Some of the most effective actions are incredibly inefficient; sometimes inefficiency is a feature. I received a letter mail thank-you card from our CEO a few years ago. The card has an approx. value of zero dollars, but I know it took the CEO 5-10 mins to write a personal note and sign it, and that she did this dozens of times. The signal here is incredibly valuable! If she used a signing machine, or AI to record a deep fake message I would know or quickly learn, and the value would go negative - all for the sake of efficiency.

For our Disney(land) trip, we stayed at a motel ~ 1.5 miles from the park (Canadian walking distance) and the thing my kids LOVED was we walked by a 7-11 every day and I would buy them a slurpee on the morning walk to the gates. Probably $20 for the week (and likely not much worse for you than a typical vacation breakfast).

The "make your own waffle" station at the included breakfast was also a huge hit. The park and rides were satisfactory.

The part I don't like is an entire army of people now think doing exactly the same thing is a viable strategy to similar success. We should view this as a lottery win, not career development

none of those things are accessible to someone who has say, a 4-yr fine arts degree. They're also extremes and not typical, unless your car is at the dealer, your backyard is on a make-over show, or that tree is hanging over your house & powerlines

I don't agree. The emphasis on content implies it's the output that is most important, and that you can split it out from all the nonsense you differentiate above. Many of the people in this thread counter that the act of creation is the most important part. Just stop with "Creator" (or builder or writer).

>> and people online in general are weirdo freaks and annoying to deal with.

This is definitely the current internet and not the typical experience back when blogging was very popular. It's too easy to access and produce low-quality contributions today, which (ironically?) is something that blogs countered and also probably led to their decline.

I think the biggest hurdle is the human condition. We're prepared to spend 10x to get a human into some version of outer space as basically cargo, but don't get the same emotional resonance with unmanned exploration even though that's were the valuable science happens.

>> Realtors are paid on commission which means that they want to transact high and immediately

This is either naive or disingenuous. Do the math; realtors want to close fast but don't really care about the price the way the buyers and sellers do. The commission difference on a significant gap is not worth losing the deal.

Sellers, sure but I don't understand why a buyer would NOT want to use an agent? You mention better prices, but I don't believe I'm in a unique environment where the seller covers all costs and agents work on commission.

>> The founders of Modern Realty realized that since buyer agents are paid for by commission, they will encourage you to buy immediately and high. Modern Realty allows you to transparently control your transaction.

I believe this could be a flawed premise. It's no secret agents are after the quick sale, but it is far easier to convince the seller to accept an offer 20 under than talk up the buyer.

>> software development has gotten infinitely easier

Software development hasn't even gotten a magnitude easier, let alone infinitely. Every improvement has addressed accidental aspects not the essence.

>> It is a shame we didn't take more pictures back in the 1990s. I don't have any pictures of my time there or with anyone.

I really appreciate your description and the picture it paints; it's a lot more work than taking a photograph. We take so many pics and videos these days that it can make the event or subject feel less valuable.

>> We abstract away all the security risks and vulnerabilities of building your own solution.

Maybe... but don't I trade that for your risks and vulnerabilities? And you're a small startup so it's tough for you to play the obvious "expert-specialist" card at this point. I think you need a strong value prop at this stage.

As someone who starts with the data to try and understand a system, I agree but it feels like we're not the majority. At least in the MS world the rise of code-first has not been well received by me :(

What exactly does a bus driver do directly for just you? Everyone tips private drivers though.

Nurses don't get tips but it's very common for them to get thank-you gifts and treats.

Do people choose to dine on airplanes? Do airlines even still serve meals?

professional wait staff sure make enough to pay income tax; it's a skilled trade. In Canada the tax authority would audit service industry people who don't declare other income, where tips get captured.

Is Square popular and/or growing? This is the biggest change I've seen in Canada and the US

In North America the growth of Square has pushed things the other way; tips are front and center for the most limited of "tippable service" - starting at 18% and up from there. Tipping on fast food or something like a latte were the extra labour is already priced in is ridiculous.

>> One of my VP's (one of the coolest dude I know) would often say "slow is smooth and smooth is fast".

Apparently you worked for a Navy Seal, so yeah, likely a very cool dude :)

my understanding is "crump" as in crumple, fast but not immediate deterioration. I believe you can crash at the end of your crump.