mandelbrotwurst (u/mandelbrotwurst)

mandelbrotwurst commented on Do the simplest thing that could possibly work seangoedecke.com/the-simp... · Posted by u/dondraper36

hinkley · 2 days ago

One of the biggest, evergreen arguments I’ve had in my career revolves around the definition of “works”.

“Just because it works doesn’t mean it isn’t broken.” Is an aphorism that seems to click for people who are also handy in the physical world but many software developers think doesn’t sound right. Every handyman has at some time used a busted tool to make a repair. They know they should get a new one, and many will make an excuse to do so at the next opportunity (hardware store trip, or sale). Maybe 8 out of ten.

In software it’s probably more like 1 out of ten who will do the equivalent effort.

mandelbrotwurst · 2 days ago

Those conversations are an important part of the job. You can, for example, agree that something works in the sense that it is currently possible to use it to obtain a desired output, while simultaneously failing to work in various ways: It might fail to do so reliably, or it might only be able to do so at great cost.

mandelbrotwurst commented on 19% of California houses are owned by investors ocregister.com/2025/07/21... · Posted by u/milleramp

jimbokun · 25 days ago

The latter.

mandelbrotwurst · 24 days ago

In what sense? An investor seeks a return on their investment. The former achieves this. The latter spends money for pleasure. I suppose you could argue that they are an investor seeking non-monetary return, but in that sense everyone is equally an investor, just with different goals.

mandelbrotwurst commented on 19% of California houses are owned by investors ocregister.com/2025/07/21... · Posted by u/milleramp

jimbokun · 25 days ago

Well obviously those would be included. Anything that’s not owner occupied.

mandelbrotwurst · 25 days ago

The article does state they were included, but is it "obviously" true that they should be? Who is more of an "investor", someone who purchases a primary residence to build equity or someone who purchases a second home to vacation in, spending large amounts of money to maintain it and allowing it to sit empty for long periods of time?

mandelbrotwurst commented on National Archives at College Park, MD, will become a restricted federal facility archives.gov/college-park... · Posted by u/LastTrain

jonstewart · 2 months ago

It means if you are a crazy person, you can no longer waltz in off your motorcycle and demand all documents related to alien spacecraft held at Area 51 or the real unedited Zapruder film that clearly shows Walt Disney was the triggerman, etc.

My guess is anyone could still pursue whatever crazy theories they wanted, so long as they conducted their research legitimately, i.e., as a legitimate _process_ of research, with no value judgment on the topic or end goal.

mandelbrotwurst · 2 months ago

How do you estimate they will judge process legitimacy?

mandelbrotwurst commented on Googler... ex-Googler nerdy.dev/ex-googler... · Posted by u/namukang

somesortofthing · 5 months ago

Layoffs in particular are like this because they're planned very quickly by very small groups of people. Rumors of impending layoffs obliterate morale, so the people in charge do everything they can to maintain secrecy and minimize the time between people hearing about layoffs and the layoffs taking effect. This basically always translates to random-seeming decisions - priority 1 is to cut costs by X amount, choosing the right people to cut is secondary. This means that, for example, engineers that have received performance-based raises are punished since, on paper, they do the same job as lower-performing but lower-paid engineers.

Not defending the process(the right way to break this equilibrium is statutory requirements for layoffs a la the WARN act) but that's why you see the outcomes you do.

mandelbrotwurst · 5 months ago

It seems rather disappointing if typical management would make such impactful decisions so rapidly that their "on paper" analysis couldn't be made clever enough to consider more than a single variable.

mandelbrotwurst commented on Oxygen atoms discovered in most distant known galaxy eso.org/public/news/eso25... · Posted by u/sohkamyung

mandelbrotwurst · 5 months ago

What does “direct democratic” mean in this context please?

mandelbrotwurst commented on Should managers still code? theengineeringmanager.sub... · Posted by u/blah2244

evidencetamper · 6 months ago

> unfair competition for work

That's a very good indicator of a bloated institution. People have to compete for work instead of pushing it away or avoiding it because they already have their hands full.

But I don't believe there is a general rule that applies here.

Most great managers I had were deeply technical and involved in the nitty gritty of the projects, including coding the very spiky aspects of a project.

Most mediocre managers I had were very focused on relationship building. The kind of manager that would need a hobby project to keep current, instead of being the most knowledgeable person in the room.

mandelbrotwurst · 6 months ago

People might compete for the work they view as relatively more attractive for a variety of reasons even when they are quite busy.

mandelbrotwurst commented on People who are good at reading have different brains: study theconversation.com/peopl... · Posted by u/pseudolus

btilly · 9 months ago

What about people who don't just read, but have absurd speed?

My brother and I both read around 900 wpm. My children only read at a normal adult speed, but both love to read. If I had a way to have passed on my reading speed, I would have. But I have no idea how to do so. And no idea how my reading speed is possible.

I've met only one person outside of my family with similar reading speed to my own.

mandelbrotwurst · 9 months ago

Do you find that your comprehension is as high at this rate as at a lower rate?