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Cake day: July 10th, 2023

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  • Visas being tied to an employer and getting only 1-3 months to get a new job if you get laid off is fucking awful. If we had the same number of tech workers here on visas but they had real mobility then it would be an entirely different story.

    And to add insult to injury, Elmo didn’t even follow the visa rules when he started in the US. If he weren’t a billionaire he could legit get deported for breaking immigration laws in the past.


  • Tech workers are one of the few groups that can get a 4 year degree, work hard and be able to afford a house, health insurance, a few cars, annual vacations, education for their kids and have a decent retirement. Granted, it’s not all of tech and it isn’t guaranteed, but it’s fucked that everyone who works can’t get this basic shit (car as basic shit is debatable but much of the US is designed around cars). But Phony Stark is desperate to knock the techies down a peg or two because I guess he needs more money to fund his king of mars fantasy? What a fucking dick.




  • The thing is, whoever did it was pretty smart about much of the crime, which is why the story of how Luigi was caught and what they say he had on is person seems so odd relative to the behavior the previous week.

    If it was Luigi, he was pretty disciplined and smart before, during and immediately after the crime with the only leak being showing his face at the hostel (which he may have been required to do when he gave them ID).

    If he did do it and really had all that evidence on him, maybe he wanted to get caught? It seems crazy that anyone would hang onto a 3d printed gun when it would be pretty easy to destroy and dispose of it in multiple pieces and locations.

    I’ve said it before but I truly believe that Luigi would still be free if he had plucked his eyebrows, regardless of whether he did it.

    Edit to add, maybe he thought he’d get shot or captured at the scene and didn’t think too far beyond the immediate getaway? And with the stress of his picture up all over the news and social media, he kinda wasn’t thinking straight?





  • Fair. The generalizations ring true to me but obviously no generalization is 100% and many Ivy grads are dummies, many smart and or well educated people are poor communicators and many excellent writers will write poorly when stressed or unfocused.

    I do think that someone from a wealthy background who graduated at the top of his class at an elite prep school would be less likely to fall into the “trying to sound smart” pitfalls. And we haven’t really seen evidence of that kind of writing in his public online accounts.

    I am still very skeptical of the police reports stating that they found this note (and the IDs and the multiple passports and foreign currency) on his person. I guess we’ll see what his lawyer says when they argue over what can be used at trial


  • For language skills, I think being valedictorian at a competitive prep school is more relevant, since that would require more high quality writing (and discussion of writing) on a consistent basis than any CS program at any level. Regardless, it’s true that no credentials are going to guarantee that someone will never write crap. In this case, we do have examples of casual writing from the suspect (goodreads, twitter) and they generally avoid the kinds of things that the lawyer noted in her video (contradictory language, overly wrought prose). Even if her analysis wouldn’t apply to every person who managed to graduate from an Ivy, to me, in this case, it 100% rings true.






  • He’s rich tho, his lawyer will likely get him bail.

    His grandparents are wealthy. His parents may be rich but might not be wealthy (they may or may not be, we only know about the grandfather’s extensive holdings and the expensive schooling).

    It may sound like bullshit to people stressed about making rent, but middle aged people worth a few million aren’t wealthy. Like if you’re super lucky you can work for 20-30 years and own a house in or near a major city and have a enough of a retirement or pension to quit working when you’re old and have a reasonable lifestyle. I’m in a mid tier city and even here paying off your house or condo means you’re worth at least 500k. That isn’t “buy a politician” money. That isn’t “live in any country I want because I’m rich enough that everyone gives me citizenship” money. That isn’t “immune from health insurance fuckery” money. That isn’t “get away with murder“ money.

    Anyway. A wealthy grandfather may be willing to help out with or pay for schooling. But it’s a coin flip on whether he’s gonna shell out hundreds of thousands or millions for a legal defense (and if he did, would he pull funding if the defense wasn’t to his liking?). From the granddad’s perspective, the kid is a class traitor.


  • Working in the tech industry isn’t enough money to be immune from worries health care costs. A bad injury or illness can rack up hundreds of thousands or even millions in bills.

    A kid who’s been out of school for a few years could maybe have made a few hundred thousand. There are rare unicorns that might get totally insane compensation right out of school but I doubt there are many 26 year olds getting 1 million+ total compensation in tech.

    Anyway, making a few hundred thousand a year isn’t poor but when you’re looking at healthcare, political influence or the legal system, that money most certainly isn’t rich.




  • The average person likes stuff and wants their stuff now. The average person will buy shit on a credit card even though saving up to pay cash would make the cost much cheaper. Particularly disciplined people may put off purchases for a few months if they think the price will drop (maybe a few years for something really big like a house) but those folks are the exception rather than the rule. Are there real world examples of times when deflation triggered a mass consumer cash hoarding? Or is this something that only exists in economics books?

    If you’re talking about investing and the behavior of companies, then maybe you’re right. Although I suspect it would also depend on interest rates and stock market performance.