wkimeria

Early in my career, I had a code review with 2 Senior Engineers who absolutely hated each other. The code review session ended with them screaming at each other and them almost getting into a physical fight. Till today, I still have no idea about what they were fighting about but it pretty much boiled down to the naming convention of a local variable (I kid you not!)

I have almost 30 years in tech and thankfully have never run across that. But I can see how that could be a thing for other companies/industries.

Every place I have worked I have given 3 week notice, and every potential employer has been ok with me starting in 3 weeks (except one).

The one exception was a company that balked at my request to start in 3 weeks in order to give my current employer time. They countered with "Well, take it now and start immediately, or leave it. You must not be serious about working here." I countered with "You are probably looking to hire people with no sense of responsibility to their current employer". Bullet dodged.

I have quit before I have started. I accepted an offer from a company (after being jobless) but my interaction with their HR the day before I was to start was so rude and combative that after I left, called my future boss there (who I really liked) and told him I was rescinding my acceptance. I then grovelled back to another job whose offer I had turned down (and they re-made the offer). It all worked out.

I've had good luck explaining any thorny technical problem to any inanimate object on my desk. Often times, the mere act of doing this makes me really pay attention to my assumptions and the information I have gathered.

A Black man was misidentified, arrested and held for 6 days in place of a White felon twice his age https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/27/us/nevada-man-jailed-misident...

'The Computer Got It Wrong': How Facial Recognition Led To False Arrest Of Black Man https://www.npr.org/2020/06/24/882683463/the-computer-got-it...

I shouldn't laugh but this right here is gold. Also, love all the points you laid out.

"If it happens in Africa it is called corruption. If it happens in the US it is called lobbying".

I remember seeing a chart of how much money a Senator had to raise every week for their next race and it was stark bonkers (and this was in the 90s, before Citizens United). I just checked and the figure is even worse now. https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2019/02/state-of-money-in-p...

From that article, victorious senate candidates have to spend an average of about 16 million. So if you are already a Senator looking forward to your next race you have to raise about 80k a week!. And you are not getting that kind of money from the average citizen.

Money in politics is the root of most of what ails the U.S political system (not all, but a very big part).

I will see myself out.

Also, being rejected sucks (I've been in the field 25+ years, I have been rejected by a lot of companies), but contextualizing it as "I was not right for the role" rather than "I suck" (which used to be my go to), has been hugely helpful.

It hurt, but I decided to try something. I sent an email with something along the lines of "I am disappointed that you decided to pass on me, but I respect your decision. I know this is a big ask, but I'd really like some feedback on how I can be better at what I do".

Surprisingly, both companies agreed to meet with me again (via Zoom), and the feedback sessions were about 1/2 hour each. I just sat back and listened (and at the end, thanked them again for their time). In one case, it was with the hiring manager, in the other it was with the recruiter. What I learned was very valuable, and these two companies are definitely on my list to work with again. With one company, what sank me was that they felt I did not have the technical depth for the role (and I was impressed with how detailed their feedback was). With the second company, they felt that I did not have leadership experience of the breadth that they needed.

Now, granted, it is pretty rare for companies to invest time in a candidate that they have already rejected (unless they figure this is someone they would love to recruit in the future when they had more experience or for a slightly different role), but it is possible if you send an email thanking them for the opportunity and phrase the request for feedback as a growth opportunity for you that they might be open to it.

Also, I know that some people state that companies do not do this for legal reasons but truth be told, unless the company is rejecting you for an illegal reason, this is a non-issue. It is more an issue of how much bandwidth the company is willing to spare.

And you see the absolutist Utilitarian argument he is making used in economics. For example, Larry Summers (yes, that Larry Summers) memo (when he was at the World Bank) justifying dumping toxic waste in developing countries since the life expectancy of people in developing countries was already lower. The argument being that it was better for someone who would only projected to make it to 50 years to die early than it would be if someone who was projected to make it to 75 years died early.

The memo

'Dirty' Industries: Just between you and me, shouldn't the World Bank be encouraging MORE migration of the dirty industries to the LDCs [Least Developed Countries]? I can think of three reasons:*

1) The measurements of the costs of health impairing pollution depends on the foregone earnings from increased morbidity and mortality. From this point of view a given amount of health impairing pollution should be done in the country with the lowest cost, which will be the country with the lowest wages. I think the economic logic behind dumping a load of toxic waste in the lowest wage country is impeccable and we should face up to that.

2) The costs of pollution are likely to be non-linear as the initial increments of pollution probably have very low cost. I've always thought that under-populated countries in Africa are vastly UNDER-polluted, their air quality is probably vastly inefficiently low compared to Los Angeles or Mexico City. Only the lamentable facts that so much pollution is generated by non-tradable industries (transport, electrical generation) and that the unit transport costs of solid waste are so high prevent world welfare enhancing trade in air pollution and waste.

3) The demand for a clean environment for aesthetic and health reasons is likely to have very high income elasticity. The concern over an agent that causes a one in a million change in the odds of prostrate[sic] cancer is obviously going to be much higher in a country where people survive to get prostrate[sic] cancer than in a country where under 5 mortality is 200 per thousand. Also, much of the concern over industrial atmosphere discharge is about visibility impairing particulates. These discharges may have very little direct health impact. Clearly trade in goods that embody aesthetic pollution concerns could be welfare enhancing. While production is mobile the consumption of pretty air is a non-tradable.

The problem with the arguments against all of these proposals for more pollution in LDCs (intrinsic rights to certain goods, moral reasons, social concerns, lack of adequate markets, etc.) could be turned around and used more or less effectively against every Bank proposal for liberalization.

Note: The memo was written by Lant Pritchett and signed off by Lawrence Summers (who was the Chief economist at the World Bank at the time). They have both argued it was meant to be sarcastic but nothing at the time indicated that.

If that happened I would actually directly ask the other interviewers "Did I do something wrong or say something to offend him/her". Put the ball in their court and hear what they have to say.

I also love swat535's suggestion to end the interview with "Thank you for the opportunity, I don't think I'm a good fit for this position"

Also, you are right, I'd treat that as a data point into whether this is a company you want to work for.

I once had a company ask me to interview (one of their recruiters reached out to me) and I was so so on it, but curious, so I took time off and scheduled a technical phone interview. 5 minutes after the interview should have started (I was waiting for the phone call and wondering whether I had messed up the scheduling), I received a brusque email from the engineer meant to interview me "I don't have time to interview you, reach out to our recruiter". You can bet my interest in the company tanked and when the recruiter tried to re-schedule me (without so much as an apology) I declined and ask they not contact me in the future. Because I figured either.

1: They hired jerks 2: Their engineers were so stressed that they viewed an interview as yet one more burden.

I have been on the other side where a candidate we were interviewing (at the time I was a junior engineer and my interview partner was a Senior engineer). The candidate was so rude/condescending to her (but not to me, I wonder why) that after we finished our interview session we told HR and they cancelled the rest of his interviews and thanked him for his time.

$400k/yr with no social safety net, no national healthcare, and obscene housing costs so you end up in an area with good schools, work like a dog with little actual labor laws etc, no pension etc.

€60k/yr with 1-2 years leave and generous vacation, actual labor laws, good public education, good equitable walkable neighborhoods etc, a pension etc

I exaggerate a bit but the reason people want to earn so much in the U.S is because a large amount of that money goes to building a personal safety net that is guaranteed in most other developed countries.

The average German working class worker probably lives a happier, more fulfilling life than a so called "professional" in the U.S.

I am also acutely aware that I am a small slice of a pretty privileged group (highly paid knowledge workers) and that these benefits are not available to the average American.

I wish this was something that the American government would pay for (instead of spending billions on weaponry and corporate tax giveaways).

We are an incredibly unequal society with little to no safety net for anyone other than the wealthy, and it is a damn shame given how rich we are.

So kudos to Google, and kudos to other companies that are following suit (I think Spotify was the first company to have 6 months of parental leave) but I wish this would become federal policy.

I could fight the ticket, but that would mean driving back to Vermont for the court date (a 3-4 hour drive and whole day away from work). I just ended up paying it (it was over $100). Only later did I find out that stretch of road was notorious for this and the cops preyed on out of towners who had no idea they needed to slam on their brakes before the poorly indicated 25 MPH zone (locals knew to do this).

The traffic stop served absolutely no purpose other than revenue.

---- > Ferguson has allowed its focus on revenue generation to fundamentally compromise the role of Ferguson’s municipal court. The municipal court does not act as a neutral arbiter of the law or a check on unlawful police conduct. Instead, the court primarily uses its judicial authority as the means to compel the payment of fines and fees that advance the City’s financial interests. This has led to court practices that violate the Fourteenth Amendment’s due process and equal protection requirements. The court’s practices also impose unnecessary harm, overwhelmingly on African-American individuals, and run counter to public safety. Most strikingly, the court issues municipal arrest warrants not on the basis of public safety needs, but rather as a routine response to missed court appearances and required fine payments. In 2013 alone, the court issued over 9,000 warrants on cases stemming in large part from minor violations such as parking infractions, traffic tickets, or housing code violations. Jail time would be considered far too harsh a penalty for the great majority of these code violations, yet Ferguson’s municipal court routinely issues warrants for people to be arrested and incarcerated for failing to timely pay related fines and fees. Under state law, a failure to appear in municipal court on a traffic charge involving a moving violation also results in a license suspension. Ferguson has made this penalty even more onerous by only allowing the suspension to be lifted after payment of an owed fine is made in full. Further, until recently, Ferguson also added charges, fines, and fees for each missed appearance and payment. Many pending cases still include such charges that were imposed before the court recently eliminated them, making it as difficult as before for people to resolve these cases. ---

The full report is with reading.

Also add asset forfeiture to the equation (usually targeted at poor and minority populations who cannot find it) and you have a toxic cycle of racism that feeds into more traffic stops of certain populations which then feeds into stats about that same population, rinse and repeat.

But asset forfeiture can cast an even wider death. The murder of millionaire Donald Scott by LA county police was motivated by the fact that they hoped to seize his ranch through asset forfeiture if they found any wrongdoing/illegal activities there (there were none) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Donald_Scott

I have a story, names protected to protect the innocent (and guilty).

Many moons ago I worked for a company. I was a Senior engineer and we were hiring for a Principal engineer. We had a candidate highly recommended by someone a couple of levels up in the company come in. I was one of the people to interview him. I was a very, very strong NO! (he was incredibly condescending and rude, did not answer any of my questions as he deigned me beneath him). A couple of other engineers were also a strong NO! for similar reasons but he got hired. It is always possible he was a genius but would have been absolutely hell to work with.

He showed up in pajama bottoms on the first day of work (not a huge flag, but still). When he was introduced to the rest of the small company at a meeting he stood up, did a sarcastic, dramatic queen wave and then sat down. Everyone was like WTF!

He stopped showing for work a few days later. When his boss called him at home he said "He didn't feel like coming in". Eventually got fired for not showing up.

> I looked back and there was a hyena loping towards me, a huge bristling monster with a maniacal grin and terrifying jaws. In situations like this it is vital to stay calm, avoid eye contact and make sure that you are walking with someone who is slower than yourself. I was alone. I ran.

Everyone thinks a hyena is like a dog in size. It is absolutely not, it is much larger. I'm Kenyan, and a friend of mine growing up was a boy scout whose troop regularly went camping in remote areas. He kept a steel cooking pot that had been savaged by a hyena when they were camping and someone was stupid enough not to clean it of animal smells. It looks like it had been though an industrial metal shredder. If their jaws can do that, I shudder to think what they can do to flesh and bone (actually, you can easily find out by Googling images, but I'd suggest against doing that if you ever intend to fall asleep again)

Context: I consider myself a serious amateur photographer. I own a Nikon full frame DSLR (D750) as well as a slew of Nikon professional prime an zoom lenses. I also own a Nikon N80 film camera, and a 30+ year old Nikon FE2 camera. I also did large format photography and had a Shen Hao HZX 4X5 Camera as well as a 60+ year old Graphlex Crown Graphic 4x5 camera and a Mamiya RB76 medium format camera (sold those a few years ago). Oh, and I also own a Fuji X100F mirrorless (I wanted a high quality camera that was easier to carry than my DSRL+lenses).

The only recent manufacturer I can think of that came out with a DSLR was Nikon (with the D780) and they ae possibly coming out with a D850 successor. I don't see any new full frame DSLR cameras being produced (I still expect to see consumer level DSRL cameras). But this does not mean the cameras will die out, since there is a robust used market. The D750 was first produced in 2014, I bought one in 2019 (it was my first full frame DSLR, prior I had a D300 DX camera). It is 24 MP, which is still pretty decent and should last me for a couple more years. Some of my DSLR lenses (which are compativle with the Nikon N80) I bought used (great way to save money). For me, since I intend to stick with Nikon, moving to mirroless at this point makes no sense because

a) For the type of photos I take, does not make a difference. 24 MP is plenty enough for me https://www.flickr.com/photos/williamkimeria/51370902562/siz...

b) Nikon Mirrorless is still not on par with their DSLR offerings. The Nikon Z7II is a great camera, 47 MP but lacks features they have in their prosumer and high end DSLRs. I would also need to get a whole slew of new lenses (there is an adapter to use my existing lenses but it is clunky). If I were willing to switch to another manufacturer (I'm not, I have been very happy with Nikon for 25 years) I could see myself switching right now.

I suspect I will move over to mirrorless with Nikons next version of the Z7 (possibly in a couple of years) but will keep my DSLR and lenses (but sell some on the used market, www.keh.com is a godsend).

But as some have pointed out, phone cameras get better and better. I expect those to cannibalize the sales of mirrorless rangefinders (like the X100 range) but you will never get the flexibility that prosumer DSLR/mirrorless systems give you (dynamic range, ability to switch lenses, super-fast focus if you are a sports photographer etc). But I am at the point where I am comfortable using my iPhone (and I have the XS, not the latest) for day to day photos where I either don't have my camera or did not carry it)

The software came to the conclusion that race (black vs white) was a predictor of crime and recidivism. How did it come to this conclusion? Because of the data

- Black people get arrested at a higher rate than white people

- Black people were also more likely to re-offend than white people

So the conclusion that the program came to makes sense. But it totally ignores the external factors that lead to the 2 above statistics

- Black neighborhoods are more heavily and more aggressively policed, meaning that you will uncover more crimes.

- Black people are targeted by police (black and whites consume drugs at the same rate, but black people are more likely to get stopped, more likely to get searched and more likely to get arrested)

- Over their lifetime, black people are more likely to have more contact with police (even if they live in an all white neighborhood). All it takes is for one of those times they commit a minor infraction (having weed on them etc). That conviction then becomes a justification for elevating their 'risk' level.

- Black ex-convicts have a harder time getting jobs due to inherent bias (all ex-convicts have a hard time, but black ex-convicts have a much harder time). This closes off avenues to gainful employment making turning back to crime one of the few options available to them. And once again, black ex-convicts have more contact with police than white ex-convicts.

Sans context, the input data can be an incredibly effective way of propogating bias into the model.

Even strong AI will not solve for this without some corrections/mintigating strategies. The most effective strategy would be solving the policing problem (bias, over-policing, how we close off all avenues at rehabilitation to people who have been convicted of victimless crimes)

Privilege is real, a little anecdote.

I'm black, I've had quite my shares of DWB stops and bad cop experiences (I detailed some of them on Twitter and in this subsequent interview). That Twitter thread blew up because so many black people chimed in (from college students to famous journalists to famous musicians) detailing their ridiculous experiences with cops.

https://www.boredpanda.com/ridiculous-reason-black-people-st...

One of the more "interesting" one was I was stopped by a cop in a suburb of Boston, I think it was Newton or Newtonville). The reason given was that "I was adhering too strictly to the rules" which made me suspicious. This was a read that had a 35 MPH limit and I was strictly observing that limit. So the fact that I was following the law made me suspicious. But the reason I was following the law (even when other drivers were speeding) was because cops will use any ridiculous reason to pull me over. Can't win for losing.

Privilege is real and I see it every time I compare how I get treated with how my white friends (who share the same socio-economic profile and other markers to me) are treated. I dumped a white acquaintance I was giving a lift to Manchester NH on the side of the road when he pulled out a joint as I was driving and got belligerent with me when I got mad at him for endangering me and refused to put it out or throw it out. He just could not get it through his head why I, a black person at much higher risk of getting stopped by cops would take umbrage at his stupidity.

I'm 47. I have never done weed, not because I think there is anything wrong with it, but because given how often I got stopped by cops (driving or even simply walking), all it would have taken was for me to have a joint on me for it to ruin my life. My white friends had no such fear.

When I was younger and in college I used to work security, and sometimes I'd do security for concert venues. I saw how the cops treated predominantly black patrons vs white patrons. With black patrons, the cops felt their role was to intimidate and they tended to escalate situations and just generally be rude and aggressive. With white patrons, they went super easy (I worked security at the Fleet Center in Boston for a Fish New Years Concert (1995 or 1996 I think) (the band put on an amazing show and made me a fan of theirs that night)). White concert goers were walking around openly smoking pot (I drove home in the morning with my uniform reeking of weed) and the only things the cops would do was to occasionally ask patrons to put them out. Totally different from when the crowd was predominantly black (no black person in Boston at that time their right mind would even THINK! of lighing up a joint in front of a cop).

The facial recognition issue is particulary vexing/scary for me (Netflix has a great documentary called "Coded Bias" about this) because there are 2 things that are true 1: Facial recognition systems are incredibly terrible at telling black faces apart 2: Any rule or perceived rule violation is going to be enforced much more harshly against POC. There is wiggle room and entreaties about being mis-identified are likely to fall on deaf years

A good example of this confluence is the black girl who was put out of skating rink (at night, thereby putting her in danger) because the facial recognition system mis-identified her. The only saving grace is the venue did not call the cops (I'm pretty sure that things would have gone badly for the teenager) https://www.newsweek.com/black-teen-barred-skating-rink-afte...

Our trusty 2007 Honda Civic developed a cracked engine block after 11 years. I was ticked off because this was due to a manufacturing defect that made Honda extend the warranty to 10 years. While I fought with Honda to cover the cost of it, we decided to lease a Mazda 6. I've driven a 3 series before, and I was surprised how close in comfort the Mazda was. We've had the Mazda (and the fixed civic) for a while, and I have to say, I'd have a hard time justifying buying a BMW or Mercedes because the Mazda 6 is fancy enough for me (we also ended up getting a Honda Odyssey minivan and that is even fancier).

If feels like the luxury car brands have lost ground to other car manufacturers and instead of adding value they are nickel and diming their customers for features that other car-makers include at a lower cost.

I do find the only cars I lust after are either the Porsche Boxster or 911.

The Mazda does have the little wheel (it's down near the gearshift) and in addition the touchscreen on the display screen is disabled when you are in motion (which I think is a great idea). I adapted to it within an hour (I was coming from our older 2007 Honda Civic which has none of these)

The Honda does not have the wheel and you can use the touchscreen any time (which I think is a bad idea)

So a good compromise for you might be a Mazda (I think all cars will come with screens especially now backup cameras are federally mandated)