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The best quote I've heard about AI at work so far was on a YouTube video, but it was, "If an AI tool really was better than the old tool, we'd be using it without being forced to."
I've watched in horror as my own division keeps mandating, "You have to use the AI tool for this," because people won't because it slows them down and its output isn't as good. The whole argument from upper management is, "You'll get faster and it'll get better."
Never a good argument for using an inadequate tool.
Then this morning from a friend in another division: "You got it, and remember, I’m at the mercy of our own AI tool and I had to fight with it all day yesterday just to get the few done that you gave me."
It should have taken her under an hour to take care of what I sent her. Because she was mandated to use the AI, it took her an entire day.
Maybe, just maybe, let AI play on a level playing field with the other tools and see whether it can compete.
There's the obvious bias of, "I want to use the tool I'm familiar with," but when someone hands me a tool that really is obviously better I immediately start using it. If the tool isn't clearly better, then why force the switch?
EDIT: There's got to be a joke in here somewhere about, "Your AI or your clothes!"
Yeah, I can't give all that much away because it would divulge the identity of my Global Megacorporation, but from everything I'm reading from every angle, it will be surprising if I still have a job here come mid-March, and it's *all* about overselling AI's current abilities.
I watched a YouTube from a former Amazon manager who said, "If you know you're on a sinking ship you should jump first because then you'll be doing everything on your own terms."
Decent advice for someone who's not in a "so old as to be nearly unhireable" age bracket whose core skills are in the crosshairs of the AI purge.
If I wait, I get 6 months' severance and it'll be right in the heart of the college hiring spree so I can go back to teaching as a form of semi-retirement. I'll hate the 60-hour work weeks. I'll love that it's only for 38 weeks a year.
I mean, who doesn't like sandy yams."Sandy Yams" sounds like a pseudonym used for a busty bikini model or an exotic dancer at a beach-side bar."LOOK AT ME, I'M SANDY YAMS,
SQUEEZED INTO A CHEONGSAM..."
...you have my attention.
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I can't be replaced by AI, mostly because I doubt AI can build a patio, kitchen, and water feature while being able to say "suck my balls!" In 5 different languages.
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My sister, codenamed girlboss. Has to be the best example of LE around.
"All you've been doing this week is sleep.
"Yeah. You didn't move the cars like i asked. SO shoveling the drive way was harder, and i was tired from that. And then I had to stop a car from rolling you over, and stopping that hurt, and then I shoveled the driveway at 2 am and 6 am."
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Slacker.
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My sister, codenamed girlboss. Has to be the best example of LE around.
"All you've been doing this week is sleep.
"Yeah. You didn't move the cars like i asked. SO shoveling the drive way was harder, and i was tired from that. And then I had to stop a car from rolling you over, and stopping that hurt, and then I shoveled the driveway at 2 am and 6 am."
The common mindset of "It doesn't count as work if 1) it doesn't benefit me in some way and 2) I don't see it actually happening" continues to vex me.
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Wow, they're not even being subtle about it this time around. I just got invited to an unheard-of CEO all-hands on the morning of March 11. Typically CEOs only deign to hold all-hands after massive shakeups, so I'm guessing March 10 is my (possible) expiration date.
It's very much like my first layoff -- I'm top-rated in my department, I'm well-regarded both within and outside of the division, but there's a decent possibility that they're going to cut all of documentation and training in the belief that AI can take it all over, and if they cut the entire division there's not much I can do.
My guess is that they cut a huge percentage of us (50%+) and tell the rest of us to use AI to generate the content our missing co-workers would have produced.
Time will tell...
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Wow, they're not even being subtle about it this time around. I just got invited to an unheard-of CEO all-hands on the morning of March 11. Typically CEOs only deign to hold all-hands after massive shakeups, so I'm guessing March 10 is my (possible) expiration date.
It's very much like my first layoff -- I'm top-rated in my department, I'm well-regarded both within and outside of the division, but there's a decent possibility that they're going to cut all of documentation and training in the belief that AI can take it all over, and if they cut the entire division there's not much I can do.
My guess is that they cut a huge percentage of us (50%+) and tell the rest of us to use AI to generate the content our missing co-workers would have produced.
Time will tell...
Im praying that isnt the case.
Wow, they're not even being subtle about it this time around. I just got invited to an unheard-of CEO all-hands on the morning of March 11. Typically CEOs only deign to hold all-hands after massive shakeups, so I'm guessing March 10 is my (possible) expiration date.
It's very much like my first layoff -- I'm top-rated in my department, I'm well-regarded both within and outside of the division, but there's a decent possibility that they're going to cut all of documentation and training in the belief that AI can take it all over, and if they cut the entire division there's not much I can do.
My guess is that they cut a huge percentage of us (50%+) and tell the rest of us to use AI to generate the content our missing co-workers would have produced.
Time will tell...
OK, I'll admit it: Mild colds are the boon of employees with paid sick days.
Thanks to everything that's happening at Global Megacorporation, we're all feeling rather demotivated. After 3 meetings this morning I had a bit of a headache. But I was also too warm. And had a scratchy throat. So I took my temperature and I'm floating at 99.4°F. I'm not feeling terrible and so I could work, but motivation is lacking. So I'm sitting here hoping my temp pops up a little more so I feel justified in taking the rest of the day off.
Considering we get 9 days a year and I've taken 0 so far, I've got plenty in the tank. But my Lawful nature requires me to actually be sick enough (either mentally or physically) that I really need the day off, and right now I'm on the border in both cases.
We'll see how I feel come lunchtime...
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OK, I'll admit it: Mild colds are the boon of employees with paid sick days.
Thanks to everything that's happening at Global Megacorporation, we're all feeling rather demotivated. After 3 meetings this morning I had a bit of a headache. But I was also too warm. And had a scratchy throat. So I took my temperature and I'm floating at 99.4°F. I'm not feeling terrible and so I could work, but motivation is lacking. So I'm sitting here hoping my temp pops up a little more so I feel justified in taking the rest of the day off.
Considering we get 9 days a year and I've taken 0 so far, I've got plenty in the tank. But my Lawful nature requires me to actually be sick enough (either mentally or physically) that I really need the day off, and right now I'm on the border in both cases.
We'll see how I feel come lunchtime...
Please NH.
Take the day.
You will feel SO much better if you do.
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We'll see how I feel come lunchtime...
I am in no way suggesting that you should start installing logic bombs, booby raps, trojans, and taking Global Megacorporation's data as a hostage bargaining chip...
BUT.
It is an option.
Oh, you meant how you will feel physically?
Nevermind.
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FTR, I did end up taking the afternoon off. And I think it was a good choice.
Apparently at the yearly reviews they're cracking down on overly long lunches and leaving for lunch, taking too many sick days and leaving early.
I make lunches for the crew, so that's not an issue, I don't take sick days and I don't leave early.
So I wonder what they're going to give me s#$@ for?
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Inserting screen shots of games you're playing as part of your work logs?
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At that point, just watch the show yourself >.>
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Inserting screen shots of games you're playing as part of your work logs?
My work logs are as professional as can be. My driving logs though, those are a different story.
But those they already use as training for what not to do.
Fun fact: they even used one of my screenshots in the training manual (jumping over a volcano in a similar truck from Forza Horizons 5) as an example of pictures not to include.
Fun fact 2: for one glorious run they made it required to leave notes on the weather. Unfortunately they got real tired of "it's raining men" or "cloudy, with a chance of meatballs" really quick.
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On-camera meetings from 6:30-10:00 am this morning. People always say, "Ah, well, forces you to get out of your bathrobe!"
No. No it doesn't. They can just deal.
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On-camera meetings from 6:30-10:00 am this morning. People always say, "Ah, well, forces you to get out of your bathrobe!"
No. No it doesn't. They can just deal.
I bet they would never say that to porn actors.
One of the fundamental frustrations with corporations is their utter inability to deal with anything unusual. As I've mentioned, my interactions with Bank of America have been:
NobodysHome : So, the first check never arrived. Can I pick it up in person? Can I pay to have it sent by certified mail instead of regular mail? Can I do anything other than just have it sent out again by the same exact system that lost the first check?
Bank of America: Nope.
And needless to say the second check has now failed to arrive. Which also explains why, as a trustee on all my mother's trust accounts, I've been inundated with physical mail from Vanguard, Fidelity, UC Berkeley, and even my mother's credit union in Washington, but I haven't received a single piece of mail from Bank of America.
The saddest bit is that I'm almost positive I know what's happening. All of Albany is in the 94706 ZIP Code, so I'm not exactly giving anything away there. When we tried to get our Yggdrasil cat tree shipped from Arizona, the shipping system wouldn't approve the shipment because their address system had us as 94707. (True fact: Because they couldn't deliver Yggdrasil we ended up with this beauty, and considering the three kittens *loved* sleeping in the three flowers together, I think we ended up with a better choice.) And that has started popping up again and again; we're pretty sure it's a mistake in Google's address validation software. They think we're in 94707, so they won't validate a 94706 address, and the post office won't deliver to a 94707 address. We've had to talk to multiple shippers over the last year to get them to manually change our address to 94706.
So I'm guessing Bank of America is using that same address system and won't generate a check for the 94706 address. The obvious solution is to have the check sent to the Albany branch of Bank of America, but we'll have to see whether they're willing to do that.
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I swear. Work post. "Why are our customers resistant to AI?"
And they had all these hypotheses as to what the resistance might be, and, "You're forcing it down their throats and demanding that they use it before they see any benefits," isn't even being suggested as a possible reason.
When you refuse to acknowledge the obvious you're not an "evangelist", you're a cultist.
That's why you gotta switch it up. "It's raining balls" or "Cloudy with a chance of men". Or maybe "Ballsy with a chance of Man Meat".Inserting screen shots of games you're playing as part of your work logs?My work logs are as professional as can be. My driving logs though, those are a different story.
But those they already use as training for what not to do.
Fun fact: they even used one of my screenshots in the training manual (jumping over a volcano in a similar truck from Forza Horizons 5) as an example of pictures not to include.
Fun fact 2: for one glorious run they made it required to leave notes on the weather. Unfortunately they got real tired of "it's raining men" or "cloudy, with a chance of meatballs" really quick.
Thank you, I will be sure to include these next time.
Yep. This is what it's come down to.
Meeting Organizer: Please review the AI notes and provide any corrections.
AI Notes: NobodysHome said this during the meeting.
So, yeah, I most certainly did not say that. I was at the meeting and I know what I said, *and* the thing the AI says is completely out of character for me. SOMEONE ELSE said, "Hey, maybe NobodysHome can help us with this!" And the AI has me saying it directly.
And in our current environment at my current company, I don't dare to question the AI. So I guess now I said it. At least it wasn't offensive.
Dying Light 2 finished...
I wanted to love that game, and yet, the game fought against that with a lot of little or not so little details - the many glitches that made parkour worse than in (what I remember of) the first game, the main character suddenly losing grip on edges for no reason, enemies suddenly spawning for no reason, enemies spawning just behind you, and bugged final stage of the final boss fight, and many other things.
Some quests were fun, there was one tiny side quest that actually brought tears to my eyes, even after I almost guessed the twist (I got the general idea what's up right but I didn't expected that particular method of delivery), a lot of quests were unimpressive, boring, or forced.
I could probably finish it in half the or maybe even third of the time it took me, skipping a lot of grind. On the other hand, grinding for guns made a lot of later parts much easier than they should be.
I gave up on the DLC - because to progress I'd have engage in boring and tiresome arena fights over and over again.
Dying Light 2 finished...
I wanted to love that game, and yet, the game fought against that with a lot of little or not so little details - the many glitches that made parkour worse than in (what I remember of) the first game, the main character suddenly losing grip on edges for no reason, enemies suddenly spawning for no reason, enemies spawning just behind you, and bugged final stage of the final boss fight, and many other things.
Some quests were fun, there was one tiny side quest that actually brought tears to my eyes, even after I almost guessed the twist (I got the general idea what's up right but I didn't expected that particular method of delivery), a lot of quests were unimpressive, boring, or forced.
I could probably finish it in half the or maybe even third of the time it took me, skipping a lot of grind. On the other hand, grinding for guns made a lot of later parts much easier than they should be.
I gave up on the DLC - because to progress I'd have engage in boring and tiresome arena fights over and over again.
Good to know, i have that one, I tried to get into it but I found the stamina system (in a parkour zombie hunting game) to be too annoying. That said, it will never not be fun kicking zombies off rooftops.
I found the melee to be somehow tedious - the fun started when (a) I learned that thrown knife upgraded as much as possible is solution to almost all situations (including the otherwise dreaded volatiles if you are a few levels above them), (b) after I got a bow and stocked on materials to craft arrows.
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Well, one of life's little mysteries has been solved, and thanks to XKCD, it has me thinking about Sherlock Holmes' famous quote about eliminating possibilities. Unfortunately, it'll seem obvious when I post the clues here, but it sure as heck wasn't obvious to us.
(1) I serve the kittens a variety of cat foods, some of which they shun, and some of which they wolf down. At the end of each evening there are several plates of food on the floor in the kitchen. In the morning several plates are empty, so I figured the kittens were getting hungry and eating their less-favored foods.
(2) I have to prepare special meals for Nefret because she has trouble eating: Watered-down, microwaved Fancy Feast that Mephisto thinks is the Best Food Ever, but Nefret will frequently go an entire day barely eating half a can of food. Yet she's mysteriously gaining weight.
So yeah, this morning I slept in quite a bit (didn't get up 'til 4:47, which is ridiculously late for me) and came out to the kitchen to feed the kittens. A too-white ragamuffin was face-down in the kitten food. Sure enough, Nefret was happily chowing down on all the leftovers, in spite of the fact that she really shouldn't be able to; she's been on a semi-liquid diet for months.
Ah, well, she's 94 in human years. She gets to do whatever the h*** she wants in her remaining time. But I'm happy she's gaining weight, and I don't mind finding her in the kittens' food.
And there we have it.
Question: Is Google Maps a valid address verification service?
Answer: Definitively, "No."
Question: Does Bank of America use Google Maps for its address verification anyway?
Answer: Almost certainly yes, since it's the only database where our ZIP Code is 94707.
So we had this issue with a couple of small-time shippers before: They used Google Maps instead of paying for an actual address verification service, then they refused to deliver to us because they couldn't find our address.
Kind of appalling that Bank of America is doing the same.
In my final news of the morning, I really wish newts would stop trying to crawl into WhimseyShire for safety. Lenore and Mephisto find them, and as Impus Major put it the other day, "I can't believe these two are predators! I just watched Mephisto and Lenore spend 20 minutes battling an earthworm."
So yeah, newt gets gently carried all over the house, batted at with soft paws, and otherwise generally has a miserable time until I find it. If I see it first, I release it back outside and it's all good. If I don't, I'll just say I've stepped on far too many newts in my bare feet for my comfort. Or theirs, I'm sure.
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So yeah, this morning I slept in quite a bit (didn't get up 'til 4:47, which is ridiculously late for me) and came out to the kitchen to feed the kittens. A too-white ragamuffin was face-down in the kitten food. Sure enough, Nefret was happily chowing down on all the leftovers, in spite of the fact that she really shouldn't be able to; she's been on a semi-liquid diet for months.
Ah, well, she's 94 in human years. She gets to do whatever the h*** she wants in her remaining time. But I'm happy she's gaining weight, and I don't mind finding her in the kittens' food.
And now you owe Mephisto an apology... He's not stealing Nefret's food, he is getting just compensation for his leftovers being sneakily devoured by the Ancient One!
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And now you owe Mephisto an apology... He's not stealing Nefret's food, he is getting just compensation for his leftovers being sneakily devoured by the Ancient One!So yeah, this morning I slept in quite a bit (didn't get up 'til 4:47, which is ridiculously late for me) and came out to the kitchen to feed the kittens. A too-white ragamuffin was face-down in the kitten food. Sure enough, Nefret was happily chowing down on all the leftovers, in spite of the fact that she really shouldn't be able to; she's been on a semi-liquid diet for months.
Ah, well, she's 94 in human years. She gets to do whatever the h*** she wants in her remaining time. But I'm happy she's gaining weight, and I don't mind finding her in the kittens' food.
*sigh* unfairly blamed for the crimes of others, he really is furry me.
I know I've written about this before, but every time I see it I marvel at it anew:
My first exposure to government vs. private contracting happened back when I was a math professor: Both the public college where I was teaching and the private high school across the street happened to be doing major construction projects of new sports stadiums at the same time. My walk to and from the BART station took me past both projects. Every time I looked at the private project, everyone there was doing something. Even the supervisors were actually supervising. Every time I looked at the public project, the workers were sitting around, chatting. I never saw them actually working, but I was in classes during the day so I suppose that much like the shoemaker's elves, they worked out of my sight. But as expected, the private project was finished ahead of schedule and under budget, and the public project went over 50% over in both time and cost.
So...
...there've been a few rainstorms, so it's time to cut up the trees that have been weakened or that have fallen down. We had to do it with a 50' cedar at my parents' house: A few guys with chainsaws show up, they carve up the tree like paladins attacking a rampaging demon, they pile up the detritus, and backhoe guy (or whatever they could rent) throws it all into dump truck and everything's done in 3-4 hours. I've watched two guys make a 20' tree vanish, and five guys make a 50' tree vanish. They're pretty astonishing.
Then along come the city workers. 6 guys, 3 trucks, and an entire day to manage half a tree. And I've been listening to the chainsaws all day. So, they're running the chainsaws. But either they're not cutting the tree at all, or they're cutting the teeny little branches that don't need to be cut. Either way, it's only 2 in the afternoon and I'm sick to death of the sound of chainsaws. And it's always the city guys who take forever and make the most noise.
It all boils down to paying someone to do a job vs. paying someone for the number of hours it takes them to do the job. One incentivizes them to finish quickly. The other incentivizes them to work slowly.
As a final depressing note/rampage of the day:
And the tech bros are celebrating this as a "freedom for humanity" moment, where we no longer have to do the grunge work to get through our day-to-day lives.
And somehow, those ultra-rich tech bros who have never worked an honest day in their lives, can't comprehend the repercussions of this: Our entire economy is based around you working. Unless you're remarkably well-off, you need to work to get decent health care. Renting or owning a home, paying for utilities, or even buying food or clothing requires money, which you only get by working.
They see this utopia where everyone rides the stock market and everyone gets rich without anyone ever lifting a finger and it's like, 'That's not how reality works. You're going to lay off 10%+ of the U.S. work force, the economy will collapse, your stock market will burn, and there will be mass homelessness, starvation, and rioting in the streets. This is the idyllic future you imagine?"
And it's all about not being able to even comprehend the notion of putting yourself in someone else's shoes. If no one in my family ever works again we have enough saved up to survive. I know damned well that makes us very rare indeed. And I can actually ask the question, "What about the rest of humanity, you complete a**h***s?"
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I started Assassin's Creed: Gollum. It's not only a decent murder-simulator game, it's also a better Gollum game than Gollum...
Considering my ex-wife's job is coding schedules I'm okay with that.... I mean, that's terrible, f%&@ AI, or whatever.
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Wow... the Bank of America check is finally coming today! Given that it's over $10,000 so I have to deposit it in person, my local credit unions all close at 2:00 pm, and it's a 20-minute drive to get to the nearest one, I'm betting the mail arrives today at 1:45 pm.
Because such is my life.
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Wait, how did Freehold managed to squish himself into Nobodys's mail box?!
Now there is no place for my kobolds! How are they supposed to get their little claws on the...
Oh...
Dammit Freehold!
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Wait, how did Freehold managed to squish himself into Nobodys's mail box?!
Now there is no place for my kobolds! How are they supposed to get their paws on the...
Oh...
Dammit Freehold!
Since we don't have a mailbox, I now imagine finding Freehold squatting in my foyer, gazing eagerly at my mail slot.
NobodysHome: Who the hell are you, and what are you doing here?Freehold: Oh, Dearest Father, it is I, Freehold! And I patiently await the coming of your mail that I may sort it for you, saving you the tedious effort and the danger of marring your dove-soft hands!
NH: Get out.
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Wait, how did Freehold managed to squish himself into Nobodys's mail box?!
Now there is no place for my kobolds! How are they supposed to get their paws on the...
Oh...
Dammit Freehold!
Since we don't have a mailbox, I now imagine finding Freehold squatting in my foyer, gazing eagerly at my mail slot.
NobodysHome: Who the hell are you, and what are you doing here?
Freehold: Oh, Dearest Father, it is I, Freehold! And I patiently await the coming of your mail that I may sort it for you, saving you the tedious effort and the danger of marring your dove-soft hands!
NH: Get out.
And now I imagine Freehold meowing in response and pretending to be Mephisto.
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... saving you the tedious effort and the danger of marring your dove-soft hands!
NH: Get out.
He lost you on dove-soft hands, didn't he?
The kittens have been hanging themselves from trees and fences all day, so I brought them in and am attempting to get them to nap.
I am not hopeful in this endeavor.
It's like I'm psychic:
- 1:10 pm and no sign of the postman.
- The kittens are already back outside.