This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.

A reader writes:

This happened a while ago, but I’m still weirded out by it. I worked in a very close-knit, small office (five people), where I got along very well with everyone except one person, “Gertrude.”

Gertrude was in her first job out of school, so it’s likely she was new to working world etiquette, but it seemed like she constantly tried to put herself as someone who was doing it all, while actually doing very little (she had the lowest output of anyone). She also had a tendency to try and stir drama — she’d say, “I don’t know why Janine (our boss) didn’t put me and you on this project. I think she’s totally unfair, right?” I’d just say that I didn’t know why anything happened and it was best to just focus on my own work and move on.

After two years of working at this office, I got engaged and wanted to invite my coworkers to my wedding. Since I thought it seemed incredibly rude to invite three of them and leave Gertrude out, I included her as well.

Traditionally, wedding invitations in my circle only include a plus-one if the person is married or in a very committed long-term relationship (as in years). The venue has limited seating, weddings are expensive, etc. … It may not be a great system, but it’s what it is.

On the RSVP cards I wrote out the guest name (e.g., Ms. Sally Jones), with a checkmark box for “yes” and “no.” For internal reference, I wrote out the number of guests on the card, so when I inputted the response I could easily write down the number of attendees.

When Gertrude mailed back her response, she wrote a note in the margins saying, “Ms. Gertrude Smith and sister Ellie Smith.” She then crossed out the number where it said “1” and wrote 2, and then in the box where one should check yes or no, she wrote in “yes for me and my sister.”

I am not an etiquette expert so maybe inviting sisters is a thing in other cultures? I told her sorry, but her sister was not invited to my wedding.

She was very insulted and we had this conversation:

Gertrude: I don’t understand.
Me: Sorry, but we are not doing plus-ones
Gertrude (huffy): Why not? I’m going to be bored without anyone to talk to.
Me: Well, you will be seated with everyone from our office, so you’ll have people to talk to.
Gertrude: Well, I want someone I’m close to to talk to.
Me: Okay. I definitely understand, so if you choose not to come, I will understand.
Gertrude: Who’s going to stop me if I bring my sister anyway?!
Me: No one will physically stop you, but it’s assigned seating … so she won’t have anywhere to sit.
Gertrude: I can’t believe you’re not letting me bring a plus-one.

I didn’t even want Gertrude at my wedding in the first place! And I had to navigate a whole mess because I didn’t want to leave her out! (She was rude to me for the rest of the year she worked there, I had to escalate to our mutual boss, and she ended up leaving soon afterwards). But was there something I could have done differently here? I know mixing the workplace and personal lives is always tricky, but I honestly don’t know what I should have done better in this situation.

I wrote back and asked the burning unanswered question: “What ended up happening? Did she go? Did she bring her sister?”

She was unclear if she would be willing to come without her sister, repeating that it’s standard to expect a plus-one. I was equally firm in that there would be nowhere for her to sit.

Whenever I tried to press Gertrude if her sister’s exclusion meant that she wouldn’t come at all, she just repeated that she could not believe I was not giving everyone a plus-one. So I kept Gertrude on the “yes” list.

Gertrude did come, and coworkers didn’t mention her trying to shoe-horn her sister into their table, so I think she got the message. But she was standoffish the remainder of the time we worked together. Her behavior was bizarre with other people too so I’m not sure if it was because of the wedding (for example, at one event where she was assigned to hand out pamphlets, she told everyone she was managing the event and got really angry when people tried to correct that). When she left a few months later, she sent me an out-of-the-blue message on social media saying, “I don’t hate anyone at work, but I needed to grow as a person and out of my comfort zone.”

All in all, a weird experience and I’m not sure what I should have done to make it less weird. Not engaged on my reasons for not including universal plus-ones? Escalated to my boss when she was rude to me before? Eloped?

People are so weird about invitations.

You don’t get to forcibly invite an additional guest to someone else’s wedding. If you’re told you don’t have a plus-one, your choices are either to accept the invitation on those terms or to decline to attend. “I’m bringing a plus-one anyway” isn’t on the table.

The point of a plus-one was never supposed to be “so that you’re not bored.” Rather, it stems from etiquette long treating married couples as a social unit, where it was considered rude to invite one member of a couple to a social event without including both (and later, as it became more common to see long-term relationships without marriage, to view those long-term couples as a social unit as well). There’s certainly a whole conversation that could be had about whether or not that’s the right paradigm to use, but it’s still a very common social convention and it’s not shocking or offensive to limit your plus-one’s that way (particularly at expensive events like weddings where space on the guest list is often at a premium and hosts are having to make trade-offs).

But all that aside, Gertrude was simply rude. “I’m going to be bored at your wedding” is rude. “Who’s going to stop me if I bring a guest anyway?” is rude. Hassling you about a decision you’d already made clear was firm is rude.

You’re looking at this as “is there anything I could have done differently?” when this was really just about Gertrude being rude, which doesn’t sound out of character for her.

That said, you were on the right track with “I understand if this means you won’t be able to attend.”  Ideally you would have taken it a step further and said, “Since I know the lack of a plus-one was a concern for you, I’ll put you down as a no. Although if you do want to attend on your own, let me know today before I finalize things.” (You could also leave off that last sentence if you wanted to.)

And if she still pushed: “Okay, I’ll put you down as a no.”

If it’s any solace, I believe all the best weddings include weird drama. (I was disappointed that mine didn’t have any! Keeping it small was likely our fatal error in that regard.) In your shoes, I would cherish this story for years to come, and I recommend that you do the same.

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.

Readers, can you help with this one?

I had a question I’m hoping to get your or your readers’ input on.

I live, and work remotely from, one of the Southern Appalachian communities that was most severely impacted by Hurricane Helene. I’m very lucky in that I’m safe, my people are safe, and I didn’t have catastrophic property damage. And, the city I call home is in ruins, I have no running water (and likely won’t for weeks), cell service is spotty, WiFi access is inconsistent, and many people I’m close with lost everything or are stuck in remote communities still inaccessible by road.

Even though I’m physically okay, mentally I’m barely functioning. My life has become a series of long lines to get drinking water, supply runs for isolated friends, endless news (both actual news and 1-1 news from people I care about) about how bad things are, weeding through extensive disinformation on social media, volunteering on emergency response teams, etc. Every time I leave my house I see another treasured place that’s either gone forever or will never be the same. I’ve dealt with trauma and loss before, but this is different – both in its enormous local scale, and what feels like irrelevance (or even unawareness) to everyone outside the region.

My company has been accommodating through the first week, and has given me a blanket “let us know what you need and we’ll work with you” offer. But I’m in a senior role and I’m worried about my total lack of mental bandwidth to do my job. I’m short with people, and I can maybe get through one major task a day before losing focus. I expect my employer’s patience to run out well before I’m back to 100%. Performance assessments are coming up next month and we’re in the middle of our busiest season, so it’s not exactly a great time for me to be struggling – and it’s a small business so my current survival-mode capacity has real impacts. I have no idea what I could even ask for to make work easier, other than “let me take two months off to rebuild my ability to function like a normal human again.” I’m not in a financial position to quit or take unpaid leave, and I’m not able or willing to temporarily relocate out of the disaster zone.

I’d love to hear about anything I could ask for from my company, or anything else you can think of to help me navigate the aftermath of such a catastrophic disaster at work. I also have folks in my community who would benefit from ideas about how to negotiate with employers who are less flexible with remote staff in this situation.

I’d prefer to keep comments specifically focused on remote work. I deeply appreciate the intent behind suggestions re: life-logistics, resource access, community response, or general expressions of empathy, but I don’t have bandwidth to absorb it all.

Readers, can you help? (Please make sure to respect the writer’s request in the last paragraph.)

KHOU 11 Houston reports that a suspicious package forced the evacuation of its own Galleria-area building on Monday night.For the 10 p.m. newscast, Channel 11 staffers left their studio at 5718 Westheimer and relocated to its downtown Houston KHOU Avenida Studio.Police say an officer heard a vibrating sound around 7:30 p.m. when opening a package sent to the Saudi Consulate General on the 15th

KANSAS CITY, MO—In a stunning turn of events that shocked fans during the Chiefs’ game against the New Orleans Saints, sources confirmed Monday night that 34-year-old tight end Travis Kelce had suffered a film-career-beginning injury. “Folks, that was a big hit that Kelce clearly wasn’t prepared for, and he’s been down for several minutes—you can already see him consulting with his agent to see whether there’s any chance of him walking off this field and directly onto the set of a rom-com,” said Monday Night Football play-by-play announcer Joe Buck, describing the catastrophic lower-leg injury expected to leave Kelce confined to movie and television roles for the remainder of his life. “The medical staff are doing their best to apply makeup for a new round of headshots. We can only hope there’s a chance of him coming back as America’s everyman. It’s an incredibly somber night at Arrowhead Stadium.” At press time, both teams had reportedly taken knees at the sidelines to pray that Kelce’s first film saw strong box office returns.

The post Travis Kelce Suffers Film-Career-Beginning Injury appeared first on The Onion.

The post Man Starting To Worry Mole On His Tumor Might Be Cancerous appeared first on The Onion.

STOCKHOLM—In a ceremony at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Nobel Committee reportedly awarded their annual prize in physics Tuesday to Zoomer and Zorbit, two aliens commonly seen driving a tie-dye Volkswagen bug while flashing peace signs. “For their profound advancements in astrophysics, we are pleased to honor this pair of smiling, neon green aliens surrounded by flowers and peace signs with the 2024 Nobel Prize,” said the chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Foundation, posing next to the recipients as they clutched the prestigious gold medal in their three-fingered hands. “These far-out beings have made tremendous strides in traversing the cosmos in nothing but a souped-up VW Beetle with a novelty license plate spelling out ‘PEACE’—something which no other life form in the galaxy has been able to accomplish. Thanks to their scholarship, we all may soon be able to roll our kaleidoscopic vehicles over the rainbow road straight to the glitter-covered surface of Saturn, and we’ll have these two and their message of radical love to thank when we do.” At press time, Zoomer and Zorbit had dedicated their award to their dear friend and collaborator, a purple leopard-print seal.

The post Nobel Prize In Physics Awarded To Alien Giving Peace Sign Driving Tie-Dye VW Bug appeared first on The Onion.

Hello, I’m Carl, the custodian in charge of maintaining the litter box in your child’s public school classroom. Ask me anything.

Are there actual litter boxes in my child’s classrooms for student use?
Yes, we keep them there to support the needs of our youths who identify as a “furry.” Although we don’t discriminate, any child is welcome to lighten their load in front of the class as they see fit.

What about classmates who aren’t furries?
They will be soon enough, thanks to our dedicated librarians.

Who authorized this?
This inclusivity program came straight from our school board, composed of city-born liberal elites. It’s funny; they may all SEEM like local conservative business owners who sought election purely to fuel their own fragile egos. But they’re actually secret Democrat operatives sent to infiltrate our community with their extreme leftist agendas.

Why are the teachers going along with this?
That’s the great thing about teachers: they do anything the union tells them to. Fun fact: Teacher’s unions are actually a front for Chinese spies operating in the US to destabilize Western democracy. Kind of like TikTok but with more mandatory meetings.

And you personally scoop the… you know?
Yes. I’ve been doing it proudly since the beginning of the Obama administration.

How are you okay with this as your job?
I, like all small-town public school custodians, am a proud liberal Democrat. And like all Democrats, I exist only as part of a tribalistic hive mind and blindly follow the will of my masters when it’s beamed into the 5G chip from my COVID vaccine. It’s so much better than the old days when I had to use my copy of The Communist Manifesto to decode the message hidden in every broadcast by Rachel Maddow.

All right, I’ll play along. Why aren’t the litter boxes in the bathrooms?
The previously aggressively labeled “boys” bathroom is now a gender-neutral “relief space” that’s mainly a series of troughs, so there’s no more room on the floor. We thought about using the former “girls” room, but it’s now a shelter for illegal immigrants. They need a place to stay while they forge absentee ballots.

Is the box out in the open, or…?
Wide open. But there isn’t a privacy issue since all students have district-issued fur suits. Paid for by local school taxes, of course.

How is this sanitary?
Students are provided with printouts of the Pledge of Allegiance and loose pages of vintage Bibles to wipe with. It’s part of our effort to allow healthy expression of youthful resistance towards authority.

I’m pulling my student out of school—this is disgusting!
Sorry to hear that, but you won’t have any luck finding another school. My Marxist overlords have driven out all of the charter schools from the community using their vast wealth and shadowy influence. So you’re only left with homeschooling. Thanks to high taxes caused by excessive pork barrel spending on federal social programs, you and your wife have no choice but to both work full-time jobs so we’re free to corrupt your children according to our most wicked desires.

The Democrats are too powerful! How am I, a red-blooded conservative American, supposed to exist in such a cruel world?
Only one golden savior among your number can provide salvation from our nefarious schemes. Although his power and virility terrify us, we are close to crippling his political influence using an unending torrent of baseless witch hunts targeting crimes we full well know were committed by Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and Kamala Harris. Once you see federally mandated litter boxes in every Chick-fil-A, you’ll know we’ve won.

Click here to go see the bonus panel!

Hovertext:
This is actually the answer to most Zen koans.

Today's News:

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'How dare you politicize this tragedy' works in literally any context. In fact, if anyone sends hatemail, it's going to be my response.

Today's News:

Having managed to take down Ontario Place and The Science Centre, Doug Ford’s plans to destroy every cool thing in Toronto appear to be well under way. But the man who put the Buck into ‘this beer costs way more than a buck’ has been surprisingly cagey about what he has in mind. Fortunately he […]

The post Doug Ford reveals how he will destroy 5 more Toronto landmarks appeared first on The Beaverton.

In newly resurfaced audio, the vice-presidential candidate is heard making disparaging remarks, calling childless children “miserable” and “pathetic”.

The post JD Vance Under Fire For Resurfaced Remarks Criticizing Childless Children appeared first on The Onion.

In brief: The greater Houston region faces one more very warm day before drier and moderately cooler air arrives tonight and on Tuesday. And then, the forecast remains one of persistence with sunny, warm days, cooler nights, and for Houston, pleasantly dry air for as far as the eye can see.

No rain

Our average high temperature so far this month has run above 93 degrees, which may be normal for late August, but is decidedly not for early October. This late summer pattern definitely needs to break. Fortunately, we’ll see some cooler and drier air to help with that in the coming days, but what we’re not going to see much of is rainfall.

As expected, showers this past weekend remained mostly offshore. Our next chance of rain, meager though it may be, does not come for another 10 days or so. Even clouds will be scarce this week, and into the weekend, as somewhat drier air prevails for awhile. In other words, expect sunny days and mostly clear nights for the foreseeable future.

Monday

We’re going to see one more day of temperatures in the low 90s across the metro area today, ahead of the arrival of a front that pushes in from the northeast. This will be what is sometimes called a “backdoor” front as the main thrust of the colder and drier air goes to our east, but a finger or whirl of cooler and drier air is spun out, and southward into Houston. Already, dewpoints will be in the 60s today, so while the air will feel warm, it also won’t feel Houston humid. Winds today will be fairly light, from the northeast. Low temperatures tonight will drop down to around 70 degrees.

Tuesday

Even drier air will arrive on Tuesday morning, pushing dewpoints down further. As you probably now, drier air heats up more efficiently than humid air, so because this is not a strong push of colder air from the north we’ll still see warm days this week. Especially with the sunshine. As a result, Tuesday will see highs in the upper 80s, with overnight lows dropping into the lower 60s for much of the city away from the coast. Areas further inland will see the upper 50s on Wednesday morning.

Wednesday through Friday

More of the same. We’ll see sunny and warm days, in the upper 80s. Nights will be pleasant, in the low- to mid-60s in Houston, with cooler conditions outside of the city. With lower dewpoints the air won’t feel particularly humid. For early October, this is pretty nice weather.

Saturday and Sunday

The outlook for the weekend really doesn’t change much: sunny skies with highs in the upper 80s to possibly 90 degrees, with cool-ish nights in the mid-60s. If you have outdoor plans for this coming weekend, proceed with confidence in the weather.

Next week

Sunny skies with highs around 90 degrees will probably continue into the middle of next week, when perhaps a bit stronger front arrives. The details on this one are fuzzy, naturally, but it has the potential to drive nighttime temperatures in the 50s and, if we’re lucky, bring some rain chances with it. We shall see.

Tropics

There remain zero concerns to Texas. We are now firmly in the offseason for hurricane activity. However Milton became a major hurricane this morning in the southern Gulf of Mexico, and it poses a very significant threat to Florida on Wednesday and Thursday of this week. The Tampa Bay region of the state has not been directly hit by a major hurricane in more than a century, but that could well change this week. We have continuing coverage on The Eyewall.

Headlines

• Milton is now a major hurricane, with further strengthening likely to high-end category 4 or category 5 intensity north of the Yucatan.
• Milton is expected to bring widespread, significant hurricane conditions to the west coast of Florida on Wednesday.
• Milton will have a significant storm surge, regardless of its landfall intensity, and west coast communities in the Tampa area and south should expect a Helene-type surge *at a minimum,* with higher surge likely at and south of the exact landfall point of Milton.
• Heavy rain will overtake most of north Florida Wednesday and flash flooding is likely along and north of I-4 then.
• Milton should accelerate out to sea after Wednesday night.

As of 7 AM ET, NOAA hurricane hunters discovered that Milton now has 120 mph maximum sustained winds and a pressure of 954 mb. Milton is undergoing rapid intensification in the Gulf and is now a major hurricane.

In the immediate term, hurricane conditions are likely on the coast of the Yucatan tonight and tomorrow morning as Milton passes. Warnings are posted from Celestun to Rio Lagartos in Mexico. This does not include Cancun or Cozumel.

There are several things to touch on this morning. We’re going to go over track, intensity, and surge in this post.

Milton’s Track

There are a couple elements to Milton’s track that are important. Milton has a little bit of north to south trajectory being imparted on its motion right now, and that’s why we’re seeing Milton track east-southeast. That component of the direction is expected to fade after today, and Milton will then basically rush off to join up with a trough in the upper atmosphere dropping down the East Coast. As this happens, Milton will turn east and then probably due northeast. While Milton is a rarity in terms of how far west in the Gulf it formed, what it’s doing in terms of track is fairly common behavior of Gulf storms in October.

For Florida, the question of track and trajectory is critically important. On one hand, there will be a large, major hurricane approaching the west coast of Florida on Wednesday afternoon. And from that point of view, expect widespread hurricane impacts regardless of track. On the other hand, as we’ve discussed, the exact track is critically important in terms of how storm surge will behave. The worst surge will come in at and south of where Milton comes ashore, so a track into Siesta Key has a drastically different outcome than a track into Clearwater. This isn’t just for Tampa; it’s for the entire heavily populated west coast. So we’ll need to see exactly where that turn to the northeast occurs and how strong Milton actually gets. But as noted yesterday, everyone on Florida’s west coast needs to prepare as if this is coming and follow the advice of local officials.

Milton’s intensity

Now that Milton is already a major hurricane, it seems likely that it will become at least a category 4, with a chance to become a category 5 storm.

We can say that Milton has a reasonable chance to become a high-end 4 or 5 storm because of the heat potential available to it in the Gulf. All else aside, the storm will have some of the highest heat potential in the entire Atlantic, outside the northwest Caribbean available to it for intensification. Most modeling shows the storm peaking in intensity sometime tomorrow and then slowly shaving some of it off as it approaches landfall. Unfortunately, from a surge point of view this matters very little. The surge is baked in and even if the storm weakens substantially, the surge will lag that weakening. If, hypothetically, Milton becomes a cat 5 and makes landfall as a cat 3, it will probably still have surge equivalent to a strong cat 4 at landfall. So we have to assume the surge is going to be very bad regardless. In terms of wind, a storm that weakens will probably also expand in size. So while the peak wind may be lower at landfall, those winds will envelope more of the coast than otherwise, and the expectation should be that much of the west coast of Florida will be experiencing substantial hurricane impacts on Wednesday. Impacts to the east coast and inland Florida will be less severe than the west coast in terms of wind, but those areas will still likely see tropical storm or hurricane winds as well.

Flooding will be an issue regardless of Milton’s intensity, and the heaviest rain will fall along and north of Milton’s storm track from central Florida into portions of southeast Georgia.

Milton’s surge

By far the most troubling aspect of Milton will be the surge. Again, the fact that Milton will likely be past peak intensity when it makes landfall will matter very, very little in terms of what sort of storm surge it brings.

More critical for surge, as noted above will be where the storm makes landfall. I anticipate that the map above will evolve as the track becomes clearer. At this point, Tampa Bay should expect, at a minimum, a Helene-type surge. If Milton hits north of Tampa Bay, the surge will be several feet higher and possibly more forceful than Helene. Surge will also be notably worse than Helene for areas south of Tampa, including Sarasota, Fort Myers, Naples, etc. Exactly how much worse will depend on track. But surge is probably going to be the most dangerous, concerning element of Milton. That will be what determines evacuation orders. And again, we can’t stress enough that you should heed those warnings and hope for the best.

We’ll have another update following later this afternoon once we digest the 5 PM ET advisory.

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.

I’m off for a few days (probably back tomorrow). Here are some past letters that I’m making new again, rather than leaving them to wilt in the archives.

1. My office thinks I insulted a coworker but I didn’t mean it like that

I work for a small nonprofit. I have one boss and about 14 coworkers with whom I’m “office friendly,” meaning I don’t socialize outside of work/discuss personal matters. Though I’ve been employed the longest, I know very little about people’s personal lives.

The other day my coworker “Susan” came into the office carrying a rock she’d found on a hike. She showed it to me saying that she thought it was a fossil and wanted to ask “Nancy,” our volunteer coordinator, what it was. Without thinking, I laughed and said, “Whatever would Nancy know about fossils? That’s not her background.” Susan gave me a strange look and walked away.

Later that day, our boss called me into her office, shut the door, and told me that “accusing a coworker of falsifying information on her resume is a serious issue.” She then asked me for proof that Nancy had lied. Apparently, Nancy has advanced degrees in paleontology and had taught at our local junior college before switching fields and joining our team. I confessed that I had no idea; what I said to Susan was based my not knowing Nancy’s background. The idea seemed ridiculous: Nancy coordinates volunteers at a nonprofit that has nothing to do with science. How was I to know her background? My response didn’t go over well. I received a verbal warning as well as “advice” about being more aware of how my words came across.

I was also asked to apologize to Nancy – which I reluctantly did. She accepted my apology, but seemed strangely hurt. I still feel that I did nothing wrong. I was merely responding to something that sounded silly to me; the others blew it all out of proportion. My boss said that my words had come across as “dismissive and sexist” because I’m a man and it sounded like I’d assumed Nancy wasn’t really a scientist. I did assume that, but not because she was a woman, because she’s working in a field that has absolutely nothing to do with her scientific background. What say you? Was I out of line? I want to return to friendly terms with my boss and coworkers, but I don’t want admit unwarranted guilt.

Yeah, your original comment was rude. If you didn’t know anything about Nancy’s background, it doesn’t really make sense that you scoffed at the idea that she could know about fossils (as opposed to saying something like, “Oh, I didn’t realize she knew about fossils”). And that does play right into some sexist tropes, even if you didn’t intend it to.

That said, your boss characterizing it as “accusing a coworker of falsifying information on her resume” is weird. That makes me wonder if this might be part of a pattern where you’ve been perceived to be dismissive or sexist before. If you’ve had that kind of feedback before, or gotten the sense people were taking you that way, I’d take this as a flag that it’s a serious problem with the way you’re perceived and your relationships with coworkers.

If not, and this is genuinely the first time this has come up, I’d still apologize. The comment was insulting, even if you didn’t intend it to be, and that alone warrants an apology. You could add that you realize now that it played right into a particular type of sexism that women in science have to deal with and that you’re resolving to be more thoughtful about that in the future.

– 2019

2. Can public support of a fired employee hurt that employee?

I regularly attend shows at a local theater, and know many of the staff and performers there. Recently, the theater announced that their beloved creative director would be leaving. This appears to be a firing. The news article about it mentioned that said director could not comment on advice of his lawyer.

The local arts community is pretty upset about this. There are planned rallies and boycotts of the theater, claiming he was wrongfully terminated and demanding he get his job back. Obviously, neither party is publicly commenting. My assumption is that it was something routine, like performance on non-artistic parts of his job — there’s nothing to indicate a scandal, and he’s a genuinely kind and good person.

My question is this — could this outpouring of public anger hurt his ability to get another job? My fear is that it will make him seem like a high risk to take on, or make a company think he’ll be vindictive if he ever left. (Or at least not willing to stop friends who are vindictive.) Or, could it potentially impact an employment case? And, is there ever any BENEFIT to this kind of outrage over a firing, at least if there’s no evidence of discrimination or illegal activity?

Oooh, that’s a really good question. I’d think the fact that other people are protesting it is unlikely to impact any legal action he pursues as long as he continues to follow his lawyer’s advice. But whether it could affect his ability to get a future job is murkier. Depending on the tenor of the protests, it’s possible that it could. At a minimum, it will certainly cause attention to his firing, which he might have otherwise been able to be more low-key about. And if a reference-checker learns, for example, that he was fired for legitimate performance issues, they might worry about how he’d handle critical feedback from them if they hired him (because no employer wants to deal with a public boycott over a fairly handled but private personnel issue). So I think it partly depends on what really happened and on whether the cause of his firing warrants the outrage or not (and also on whether the protesters have the full story, which they may not).

Even if it does warrant the public outrage, though, there are certainly employers who will see it as a risk to hire someone who was at the center of something like this, figuring that he’s more likely to rabble-rouse than someone else. He might be happy to screen out those employers though. And that might be canceled out by the employers who get more interested in him as a result of this — because they find his situation sympathetic (although it’s hard to do that when no one will say what happened) or they see it as a PR move to hire him or they just find him interesting and so are more likely to give him an interview.

– 2018

3. Someone at work threw away my shoes

I work as a server for a widely known corporate food chain. Last night, a friend of mine dropped off my shoes that I had previously worn a time out. And today an employee threw my shoes away and only one was recovered. $150 shoes that I had only worn once. My manager’s response was, “You should know not to leave your stuff here.” Are they responsible for this? Please help!

They’re not responsible for your shoes, but your manager should have been nicer about how she explained that to you. There’s a difference between “You should know not to leave your stuff here” and “Oh no! I would hate to lose shoes too. We can’t be responsible for items people leave here because there are just too many people coming through, but that really sucks and I’m sorry it happened.”

– 2015

4. My coworker uses all-caps for everything

My team recently hired a new employee to help pick up some of the slack when it comes to the admin tasks we deal with on a day-to-day basis. Our new employee (Sansa) is enthusiastic about the job, a quick learner, and well liked by everyone in our organization. Her work is also very consistent and accurate. However, she does have one habit that drives me and my counterpart absolutely mad — she prefers to TYPE IN ALL CAPS.

Now, this wouldn’t be a huge concern if it was just on internal communication (emails to staff, messages on Slack, etc.), but one of her tasks is to draft the letters and memos that go out to our clients and the public. All of the letters she drafts use templates where the writer can fill in the blank on the particulars, meaning random words will be capitalized in the middle of a paragraph. There is nothing about the details she’s entering that warrants the use of all caps (or even bold, underline, or italics). Ultimately, this means either my counterpart or I have to re-do all the work she’s just completed (defeating the point of bringing her on the team) or the letter is sent to the client looking sloppy or poorly generated by a computer.

My counterpart and I discussed this with Sansa early on. We gently questioned if Sansa prefers to write this way because it’s easier to read, hoping we could find a way to adjust her computer screen to increase the font size. She told us that it’s just her preference. I’ve even made a joke (it was appropriate in context of the conversation) about how Sansa “yells” at me through email; to which she giggled, said that’s just how she types, and that I know she’s not trying to be “shouty.” The way I see it, it is an understood rule for anyone using electronic communication THAT ALL CAPS MEANS YOU MUST BE UPSET OR YELLING OR TRYING TO DRAW ATTENTION TO THE MESSAGE.

I hope that we’re not making a bigger deal out of this situation than need be – maybe we need to hear from an outside perspective that this isn’t a big deal and we should move on. But if you think our concerns have some merit, can you offer any advice on how we can address this with Sansa? I know from reading your articles that the next step is to very directly discuss this matter with her. However, I’d hate to go into the conversation where my only defense for asking her to change is “because it’s not how you should do it” or “it looks more professional to type normally.” To me it seems like we’re trying to push our stylistic preferences on her even though our way is the conventional format. Any advice or feedback would be greatly appreciated!

This isn’t stylistic preference. If she were just doing this in internal emails, then maybe — although even then, it would be reasonable to ask her to stop because it’s harder to read. But doing this in materials that go to clients and the public? No. That’s not okay, and it’s not just a stylistic preference. It’s the same as if she’d decided to send all your materials out in white font in pink paper — you would presumably simply tell her to stop. And you need to do that here too — without the hints and the jokes — just a clear, direct “we need you to do X instead of Y.”

I suspect you feel like you can’t say that so bluntly because you’re not her manager, but actually you can! She was hired to take work off your plates, and you’re having to redo it for her. You 100% have the standing to say to her, “We do need you to stop using all caps so that our materials are consistent and professional and easier to read. Please start using standard case on everything you’re producing for clients and the public.” Then, if she gives you any more work in all-caps, tell her that you can’t use it that way and ask her to re-do it. Not only do you have the standing to say that, but I’d argue you have an obligation to say it — because right now you’re wasting your own time cleaning up her work (which your organization and your manager surely don’t want) or allowing materials to go out looking like they were created by a hostile loon (which they also surely don’t want).

Talk to her today, and enjoy the soothing feel of standard case on your eyes tomorrow.

– 2019

5. My employee’s boyfriend asked for my permission to marry her

The boyfriend of one of my reports recently contacted me because he said he had something important to discuss. He said he was planning on proposing to my report and wanted to get my permission before he did. I had no idea why he would ask me, and he explained that his girlfriend was raised by her mother after her father divorced her when she was pregnant and her mother only had help from her unmarried sisters and widowed mother and said I’m the closest thing she has to a father figure. My report and I have a manager/employee relationship but that’s as far as it goes. We aren’t involved in each other’s personal lives (to the point where I didn’t even know she was raised only by her mother with no involvement from her father), I can’t recall a time when we have spoken outside of work, and we have never been alone in the same room outside of the building we work in.

I certainly care about my report as much as I do everyone I work with but I have no feeling beyond that. I know she has lived with her boyfriend for a while and she has brought him to company picnics and Christmas parties before. He even showed me texts where they discussed getting married in the future and she mentions me being like a father to her and saying my blessing would be great. But to me it feels awkward and weird since I hardly know either one of them. My report has never told me she considers me like a father or attempted to have a relationship with me besides a professional manager/employee one. I want to gently let them down. How should I handle this without making the situation even more awkward than it already is? Especially since the proposal is meant to be a surprise and I don’t want to ruin it.

This is super weird.

Tell him that you think your employee is great but as her boss it’s not your place to get involved, although you wish them both much happiness.

– 2017

According to researchers, “gray divorce,” a term referring to divorce occurring at age 50 or older, is on the rise. Here is what to know about the increasing divorce rate among older American couples.

Q: What makes gray divorce different from regular divorce? 

A: Old people, who presumably have nothing left to live for, are doing it.

Q: What is the divorce rate among elderly couples? 

A: Enough for two Time magazine covers and five segments on Fox & Friends.

Q: Why is it on the rise?

A: The populace has turned its back on the Lord. 

Q: How is gray divorce affecting families?

A: Adult children are being forced to juggle two nursing homes they don’t visit. 

Q: Can seeing a marriage counselor help?

A: Sure, if you want, but they’re very hard to sleep with.

Q: How can couples avoid gray divorce?

A: By seeking a divorce while they’re still young.

Q: When is the right time to ask for a gray divorce? 

A: He’s been dead for 20 years, grandma.

The post What To Know About ‘Gray Divorce’ appeared first on The Onion.

PORTLAND, OR—Demonstrating an ability to uncover previously uncharted territories not seen since the Portuguese explorer circumnavigated the globe, 32-year-old Nate Sulzer, a modern-day Ferdinand Magellan, reportedly discovered new dining options Monday by zooming in a little on Google Maps. “Oh cool, it looks like there’s a pretty good Thai place a few blocks over,” said the intrepid explorer, placing a finger and thumb on his phone screen and moving them apart slightly to reveal several more restaurants and coffee shops, which appeared before him like the islands of Tierra del Fuego materializing out of the South American mists. Sulzer then told his friends—in manner that recalled the famed 16th-century admiral lowering a brass telescope from his eyes to sketch out his destination on a parchment map before the stunned sailors of the Trinidad—that one restaurant was apparently BYOB. “You couldn’t see it before, but I guess if you jiggle the screen around a little bit, sometimes more stuff shows up. There’s a burger place, too.” At press time, sources confirmed that the employees at a local buffalo wing restaurant were warmly greeting Sulzer and his friends like natives welcoming Magellan’s crew, unbeknownst to the horrors that awaited them.

The post Modern-Day Magellan Discovers New Dining Options By Zooming In A Little On Google Maps appeared first on The Onion.

SPOKANE, WA—Saying anyone who could swing it would be doing him a “huge solid,” 38-year-old data entry clerk Darryl Bouchard reportedly asked his coworkers Monday if one of them could cover his weekend with his daughters. “Hey, guys, sorry this is such short notice, but is there any chance somebody could pick up my custody weekend with Katie and Sarah?” said Bouchard to his coworkers, adding that something important had just come up that conflicted with his regular court-ordered parenting schedule. “The girls are usually pretty quiet on weekends, so all you’d have to do is feed them, put them to bed, and maybe take them to a Sabrina Carpenter concert if you can manage it. I know nobody wants to spend their weekend hanging out with my kids, but I’m really up against the wall here. I’d be glad to return the favor any weekend when a friend hasn’t scored free Seahawks tickets and invited me to come with him.” At press time, sources confirmed Bouchard had texted again to see if one of his coworkers could fill in for him at an upcoming family court hearing.

The post Coworker Asking If Anyone Can Cover His Weekend With Daughters appeared first on The Onion.

Niccolo Machiavelli

When one child refuses to go to school, ignore their insolence and lavish praise on their compliant sibling. Malcolm puts on his shoes perfectly! Malcolm gets a toy from the prize jar! Once the first child succumbs and leaves on time, swiftly punish their infraction by fashioning a mini-guillotine from the bagel slicer. Decapitate their Paw Patrol toys one by one while both children watch in horror. Hang the severed heads around the house. Wave the bagel slicer threateningly every morning.

Friedrich Nietzsche

There are no higher powers, least of all yours, and your parenting has no purpose. Your child will become an adult regardless of this one morning. So, who cares if you’re late? Rejoice in the chaos of absent expectations.

Thomas Jefferson

Fie! Instruct your kinsmen to direct their ire at your common enemy, the tyrannical administration of King George Elementary School. They are the ones levying taxes and strict five-minute import-export curfews without providing bus service. Yet they are merely people, created and equal under God; their happiness is no more important than yours. Call on your child and their brethren. Announce you shall march to school, not to attend, but to distribute pamphlets urging all kindergarten parents to form a united republic that will self-determine appropriate drop-off windows.

Plato

Ask your child what they mean by they “can’t” put on their shoes, backpack, and socks. Have they lost the physical ability to so? Or their emotional interest? Why is today different than yesterday? What will be the consequence of their action on you? And to themselves? Does this make for an orderly and just society? Who is in charge of maintaining such a society? What punishment should occur? Who will receive it?

Mao Zedong

WAKE YOUR CHILD WITH THE MAGNIFICENT NEWS THEY ARE THE GREATEST GENERATION YOUR FAMILY HAS EVER SEEN. THEY SHALL INHERIT YOUR LEGACY AND ITS GLORY THROUGH THEIR HARD WORK AND DEVOTION. IGNORE COMPLAINTS OF HUNGER OR EXHAUSTION. IF THEY CANNOT PERFORM EVERY TASK ON THE CHORE WHEEL OVERNIGHT WITH ENOUGH TIME TO BE READY FOR SCHOOL, THEY ARE ENEMIES OF THE STATE. THEIR FAILURE IS DUE TO LACKING FAITH, FERVOR, AND MORALITY. HUMILATE THEM IN FRONT OF THEIR PEERS EACH MORNING UNTIL THEY RECANT. AND THEY WILL RECANT. BECAUSE THEY ARE THE GREATEST GENERATION YOUR FAMILY HAS EVER SEEN. THEY SHALL INHERIT YOUR LEGACY AND ITS GLORY THROUGH THEIR HARD WORK AND DEVOTION.

Adam Smith

Be calm, dear parent, there is no need for yelling or conscription, instead rely on your toddler’s inborn self-interest. For every day your child is punctual, provide them with a dollar. When they are late, penalize them fifty cents. After a period, mandate their earnings must also be used to pay you, their landlord, for security, housing, and food. Their morning antics will come to an end as they yoke themselves to your pitiless tasks, desperate to secure the funds necessary for survival.

Miranda Priestly

There are a million children that would kill for this opportunity. In fact, if your own child doesn’t get ready for school by the time you’ve finished knotting your Hermes scarf, then just replace them with a skinnier, more stylish, and more grateful child from Instagram. On the drive to school, casually mention that if they don’t shape up, you won’t bring them on the annual trip to Paris, whoops, Disneyland. That’s all.

Dr. Becky

When a child is writhing on the floor throwing oatmeal at the wall, they’re really asking you for some sturdy leadership. Go ahead and give it to them. Lie down, grasp both their hands and yell validating statements about how separation is hard. Once you’ve out-screamed them, say in a firm voice that you’re the captain right now. Set a clear boundary and stick to it. This is absolutely distinguishable from completely losing your shit for no reason. It is. Yes, it is. YES, IT IS.

Jack the Pumpkin King

Steal that better-behaved child you’ve had your eye on and tell him he lives with you now. Go to bed, excited and giddy at the prospect of tomorrow’s smooth and stress-free morning. When the stolen child proves disappointing, simply return and repeat. Do this over and over until you begin to suspect the problem isn’t your child’s behavior but the crippling anxiety that’s been brewing inside you since you turned forty. Realize it’s time to accept yourself and your child for who you are: skeletons.

Today's links

• China hacked Verizon, AT&T and Lumen using the FBI's backdoor: There's no such thing as a backdoor that only works when 'good guys' use it.
• Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
• This day in history: 2004, 2009, 2014, 2019
• Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
• Recent appearances: Where I've been.
• Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
• Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
• Colophon: All the rest.

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China hacked Verizon, AT&T and Lumen using the FBI's backdoor (permalink)

State-affiliated Chinese hackers penetrated AT&T, Verizon, Lumen and others; they entered their networks and spent months intercepting US traffic – from individuals, firms, government officials, etc – and they did it all without having to exploit any code vulnerabilities. Instead, they used the back door that the FBI requires every carrier to furnish:

https://www.wsj.com/tech/cybersecurity/u-s-wiretap-systems-targeted-in-china-linked-hack-327fc63b?st=C5ywbp&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

In 1994, Bill Clinton signed CALEA into law. The Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act requires every US telecommunications network to be designed around facilitating access to law-enforcement wiretaps. Prior to CALEA, telecoms operators were often at pains to design their networks to resist infiltration and interception. Even if a telco didn't go that far, they were at the very least indifferent to the needs of law enforcement, and attuned instead to building efficient, robust networks.

Predictably, CALEA met stiff opposition from powerful telecoms companies as it worked its way through Congress, but the Clinton administration bought them off with hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidies to acquire wiretap-facilitation technologies. Immediately, a new industry sprang into being; companies that promised to help the carriers hack themselves, punching back doors into their networks. The pioneers of this dirty business were overwhelmingly founded by ex-Israeli signals intelligence personnel, though they often poached senior American military and intelligence officials to serve as the face of their operations and liaise with their former colleagues in law enforcement and intelligence.

Telcos weren't the only opponents of CALEA, of course. Security experts – those who weren't hoping to cash in on government pork, anyways – warned that there was no way to make a back door that was only useful to the "good guys" but would keep the "bad guys" out.

These experts were – then as now – dismissed as neurotic worriers who simultaneously failed to understand the need to facilitate mass surveillance in order to keep the nation safe, and who lacked appropriate faith in American ingenuity. If we can put a man on the moon, surely we can build a security system that selectively fails when a cop needs it to, but stands up to every crook, bully, corporate snoop and foreign government. In other words: "We have faith in you! NERD HARDER!"

NERD HARDER! has been the answer ever since CALEA – and related Clinton-era initiatives, like the failed Clipper Chip program, which would have put a spy chip in every computer, and, eventually, every phone and gadget:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clipper_chip

America may have invented NERD HARDER! but plenty of other countries have taken up the cause. The all-time champion is former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who, when informed that the laws of mathematics dictate that it is impossible to make an encryption scheme that only protects good secrets and not bad ones, replied, "The laws of mathematics are very commendable, but the only law that applies in Australia is the law of Australia":

https://www.zdnet.com/article/the-laws-of-australia-will-trump-the-laws-of-mathematics-turnbull/

CALEA forced a redesign of the foundational, physical layer of the internet. Thankfully, encryption at the protocol layer – in the programs we use – partially counters this deliberately introduced brittleness in the security of all our communications. CALEA can be used to intercept your communications, but mostly what an attacker gets is "metadata" ("so-and-so sent a message of X bytes to such and such") because the data is scrambled and they can't unscramble it, because cryptography actually works, unlike back doors. Of course, that's why governments in the EU, the US, the UK and all over the world are still trying to ban working encryption, insisting that the back doors they'll install will only let the good guys in:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/03/05/theyre-still-trying-to-ban-cryptography/

Any back door can be exploited by your adversaries. The Chinese sponsored hacking group know as Salt Typhoon intercepted the communications of hundreds of millions of American residents, businesses, and institutions. From that position, they could do NSA-style metadata-analysis, malware injection, and interception of unencrypted traffic. And they didn't have to hack anything, because the US government insists that all networking gear ship pre-hacked so that cops can get into it.

This isn't even the first time that CALEA back doors have been exploited by a hostile foreign power as a matter of geopolitical skullduggery. In 2004-2005, Greece's telecommunications were under mass surveillance by US spy agencies who wiretapped Greek officials, all the way up to the Prime Minister, in order to mess with the Greek Olympic bid:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_wiretapping_case_2004%E2%80%9305

This is a wild story in so many ways. For one thing, CALEA isn't law in Greece! You can totally sell working, secure networking gear in Greece, and in many other countries around the world where they have not passed a stupid CALEA-style law. However the US telecoms market is so fucking huge that all the manufacturers build CALEA back doors into their gear, no matter where it's destined for. So the US has effectively exported this deliberate insecurity to the whole planet – and used it to screw around with Olympic bids, the most penny-ante bullshit imaginable.

Now Chinese-sponsored hackers with cool names like "Salt Typhoon" are traipsing around inside US telecoms infrastructure, using the back doors the FBI insisted would be safe.

(Image: Kris Duda, CC BY 2.0, modified)

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Hey look at this (permalink)

• Juice Rescue https://juice-rescue.org

• Privacy and security in your messages https://opcandado.citizensandtech.org

• The Fed Took $3k From You and Gave it to Jamie Dimon https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/monopoly-round-up-the-fed-took-3k

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This day in history (permalink)

#20yrsago How the NSA broke crypto, and created civilian crypto industry https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2004/10/the_legacy_of_d.html

#20yrsago Brewster Kahle: Universal access to all human knowledge is possible https://craphound.com/kahleweb20.txt

#20yrsago HOWTO break Google Print DRM https://web.archive.org/web/20041011120549/http://vitanuova.loyalty.org/weblog/nb.cgi/view/vitanuova/2004/10/07/2

#15yrsago Japanese court overturns Winny ruling, says file-sharing software is legal even if used for infringement https://web.archive.org/web/20091009232138/http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/news/20091008p2a00m0na016000c.html

#15yrsago Robert E Howard collection, HEROES IN THE WIND: revisit your heroic past https://memex.craphound.com/2009/10/08/robert-e-howard-collection-heroes-in-the-wind-revisit-your-heroic-past/

#15yrsago The criticism that Ralph Lauren doesn’t want you to see! https://memex.craphound.com/2009/10/06/the-criticism-that-ralph-lauren-doesnt-want-you-to-see/

#15yrsago Scott Westerfeld’s Leviathan: kick-ass young adult steampunk series starts with a bang, a hiss and a clank https://memex.craphound.com/2009/10/06/scott-westerfelds-leviathan-kick-ass-young-adult-steampunk-series-starts-with-a-bang-a-hiss-and-a-clank/

#10yrsago Profile of Daniel Pinkwater, “Pynchon for kids” https://forward.com/culture/206667/how-daniel-pinkwater-became-my-own-personal-guru/

#10yrsago Sore losers: How casinos went after two guys who found a video poker bug https://www.wired.com/2014/10/cheating-video-poker/

#10yrsago Fixing the unfixable USB bug https://www.wired.com/2014/10/unpatchable-usb-malware-now-patchsort/

#10yrsago 20 meaningful things you can do about climate change http://thischangeseverything.org/twenty-things-you-can-do-to-address-the-climate-crisis/

#10yrsago 10% of Americans have 10 or more alcoholic drinks every day https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/09/25/think-you-drink-a-lot-this-chart-will-tell-you/

#10yrsago $35 Firefox OS smartphone – back to the drawing board https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/10/testing-a-35-firefox-os-phone-how-bad-could-it-be/

#5yrsago For the first time ever, taxes on the 400 richest Americans were lower than taxes on everyone else https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/10/06/opinion/income-tax-rate-wealthy.html

#5yrsago Supreme Court greenlights lawsuit over Amazon’s wage-theft from warehouse workers https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-amazon-com/u-s-supreme-court-rejects-amazon-warehouse-worker-wage-appeal-idUSKBN1WM1FI/

#5yrsago Bernie Blindness: a subreddit for noting the way press narratives ignore or smear Bernie Sanders https://www.reddit.com/r/bernieblindness/top/

#5yrsago Checkm8: an “unstoppable” Iphone jailbreaking crack https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/09/developer-of-checkm8-explains-why-idevice-jailbreak-exploit-is-a-game-changer/

#5yrsago After an injunction against Pacifica radio, New York’s WBAI is back on the air https://twitter.com/2600/status/1181423565389942786

#5yrsago How the “Varsity Blues” admissions scam punished deserving, hard working kids so that mediocre kids of the super-rich could prosper https://memex.craphound.com/2019/10/08/how-the-varsity-blues-admissions-scam-punished-deserving-hard-working-kids-so-that-mediocre-kids-of-the-super-rich-could-prosper/

#5yrsago Facebook’s 2016 election billboards: Buy all your elections with us! https://twitter.com/MarietjeSchaake/status/1180166896294887424

#5yrsago Podcast: Why do people believe the Earth is flat? https://ia601006.us.archive.org/35/items/Cory_Doctorow_Podcast_311/Cory_Doctorow_Podcast_311_-_Why_do_people_believe_the_Earth_is_flat.mp3

#5yrsago The cloud vs humanity: Adobe terminates every software license in Venezuela, keeps Venezuelans’ money https://helpx.adobe.com/la/x-productkb/policy-pricing/executive-order-venezuela.html

#5yrsago How this fine gentleman convinced me to donate $300 to Elizabeth Warren https://memex.craphound.com/2019/10/06/how-this-fine-gentleman-convinced-me-to-donate-300-to-elizabeth-warren/

#5yrsago The corrupt Brazilian prosecutors who locked up Lula now want to release him, to make him less sympathetic https://memex.craphound.com/2019/10/06/the-corrupt-brazilian-prosecutors-who-locked-up-lula-now-want-to-release-him-to-make-him-less-sympathetic/

#5yrsago Hi-rez, open-licensed recreation of the 1968 Disneyland souvenir map https://ia803109.us.archive.org/7/items/disneylandmap1968_201910/DisneylandMap1968Full.jpg

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Upcoming appearances (permalink)

• “Come distruggere il capitalismo della sorveglianza” (Pisa/Remote), Oct 12
  https://www.internetfestival.it/programma/come-distruggere-il-capitalismo-della-sorveglianza/

• OKFN Tech We Want Online Summit (Remote), Oct 18
  https://okfn.org/en/events/the-tech-we-want-online-summit/

• SOSS Fusion (Atlanta), Oct 22
  https://sossfusion2024.sched.com/speaker/cory_doctorow.1qm5qfgn

• Eagle Eye Books (Decatur), Oct 23
  https://eagleeyebooks.com/event/2024-10-23/cory-doctorow

• TusCon (Tucson), Nov 8-10
  https://tusconscificon.com/

• International Cooperative Alliance (New Delhi), Nov 24
  https://icanewdelhi2024.coop/welcome/pages/Programme

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Recent appearances (permalink)

• Go Fact Yourself
  https://maximumfun.org/episodes/go-fact-yourself/ep-158-aida-rodriguez-cory-doctorow/

• The great decline of everything online (Lately podcast)
  https://www.theglobeandmail.com/podcasts/lately/article-cory-doctorow-podcast-interview/

• A Book Talk with Cory Doctorow and Woodrow Hartzog at BU Law
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gkt9dlTX-gs

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Latest books (permalink)

• The Bezzle: a sequel to "Red Team Blues," about prison-tech and other grifts, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), February 2024 (the-bezzle.org). Signed, personalized copies at Dark Delicacies (https://www.darkdel.com/store/p3062/Available_Feb_20th%3A_The_Bezzle_HB.html#/).

• "The Lost Cause:" a solarpunk novel of hope in the climate emergency, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), November 2023 (http://lost-cause.org). Signed, personalized copies at Dark Delicacies (https://www.darkdel.com/store/p3007/Pre-Order_Signed_Copies%3A_The_Lost_Cause_HB.html#/)

• "The Internet Con": A nonfiction book about interoperability and Big Tech (Verso) September 2023 (http://seizethemeansofcomputation.org). Signed copies at Book Soup (https://www.booksoup.com/book/9781804291245).

• "Red Team Blues": "A grabby, compulsive thriller that will leave you knowing more about how the world works than you did before." Tor Books http://redteamblues.com. Signed copies at Dark Delicacies (US): and Forbidden Planet (UK): https://forbiddenplanet.com/385004-red-team-blues-signed-edition-hardcover/.

• "Chokepoint Capitalism: How to Beat Big Tech, Tame Big Content, and Get Artists Paid, with Rebecca Giblin", on how to unrig the markets for creative labor, Beacon Press/Scribe 2022 https://chokepointcapitalism.com

• "Attack Surface": The third Little Brother novel, a standalone technothriller for adults. The Washington Post called it "a political cyberthriller, vigorous, bold and savvy about the limits of revolution and resistance." Order signed, personalized copies from Dark Delicacies https://www.darkdel.com/store/p1840/Available_Now%3A_Attack_Surface.html

• "How to Destroy Surveillance Capitalism": an anti-monopoly pamphlet analyzing the true harms of surveillance capitalism and proposing a solution. https://onezero.medium.com/how-to-destroy-surveillance-capitalism-8135e6744d59?sk=f6cd10e54e20a07d4c6d0f3ac011af6b) (signed copies: https://www.darkdel.com/store/p2024/Available_Now%3A__How_to_Destroy_Surveillance_Capitalism.html)

• "Little Brother/Homeland": A reissue omnibus edition with a new introduction by Edward Snowden: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250774583; personalized/signed copies here: https://www.darkdel.com/store/p1750/July%3A__Little_Brother_%26_Homeland.html

• "Poesy the Monster Slayer" a picture book about monsters, bedtime, gender, and kicking ass. Order here: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781626723627. Get a personalized, signed copy here: https://www.darkdel.com/store/p2682/Corey_Doctorow%3A_Poesy_the_Monster_Slayer_HB.html#/.

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Upcoming books (permalink)

• Picks and Shovels: a sequel to "Red Team Blues," about the heroic era of the PC, Tor Books, February 2025

• Unauthorized Bread: a middle-grades graphic novel adapted from my novella about refugees, toasters and DRM, FirstSecond, 2025

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Colophon (permalink)

Today's top sources: Matt Blaze (https://www.mattblaze.org/).

Currently writing:

• Enshittification: a nonfiction book about platform decay for Farrar, Straus, Giroux. Today's progress: words ( words total).

• A Little Brother short story about DIY insulin PLANNING

• Picks and Shovels, a Martin Hench noir thriller about the heroic era of the PC. FORTHCOMING TOR BOOKS FEB 2025

Latest podcast: Spill, part one (a Little Brother story) https://craphound.com/littlebrother/2024/10/06/spill-part-one-a-little-brother-story/

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This work – excluding any serialized fiction – is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. That means you can use it any way you like, including commercially, provided that you attribute it to me, Cory Doctorow, and include a link to pluralistic.net.

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Quotations and images are not included in this license; they are included either under a limitation or exception to copyright, or on the basis of a separate license. Please exercise caution.

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"When life gives you SARS, you make sarsaparilla" -Joey "Accordion Guy" DeVilla

Hurricane Helene's catastrophic damage and flooding to the Southeastern states may affect the country's medical supply chain.

Hospitals nationwide are bracing for a possible shortage of essential intravenous fluids after the cataclysmic storm inundated a vital manufacturing plant in North Carolina.

The plant is Baxter International's North Cove manufacturing facility in Marion, which is about 35 miles northeast of Asheville. Helene unleashed unprecedented amounts of rain throughout the western part of the state, killing dozens and ravaging numerous communities, homes, and other structures, including the plant.

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Headlines

• Milton is now a hurricane, and it is forecast to become a powerful category 4 hurricane over the Gulf of Mexico.
• It continues to look likely to track into the west coast of Florida on Wednesday as a major hurricane, delivering wind, rain, and potentially catastrophic storm surge to Florida’s west coast.
• Impacts will be significant regardless of Milton’s specific intensity at landfall.
• Milton will also deliver some impacts to the north coast of the Yucatan tomorrow.

Hurricane Milton is strengthening this evening, now with winds of 85 mph. It is expected to become a category 4 hurricane now with 145 mph maximum sustained winds by Tuesday afternoon. It will likely peak in intensity and come ashore into Florida in a somewhat less intense state, however a no less dangerous one.

First point I want to absolutely stress: Given that this storm is going to be extraordinarily precarious for the Tampa Bay area, if you live in an evacuation zone on the Bay and you are told to go and you have the means and ability…go. If you do not, follow up with local officials on what you need to be doing. This is the storm where you expect the worst and hope for the best. Tampa’s had a generally favorable hurricane history over the last 100 years, but at some point that streak is going to end. Unfortunately, you are not afforded the luxury of time with this one. A track north of Tampa Bay has dramatically different impacts in terms of surge compared to a storm tracking south of the bay. As local WFLA meteorologist Jeff Beradelli stressed yesterday, you run from the water and hide from the wind. You don’t need to travel hundreds of miles to escape the surge threat; just a few. But if you are told to go, you should go out of an abundance of caution. We will debate the specifics of the forecast, but I want to remind you that notable past storms such as Katrina, Rita, Ike, and Opal were all storms that were weakening at landfall and that all did tremendous surge damage. That’s the fear in Tampa Bay.

Current model forecasts are still spread out to a point where we believe there are almost equal chances that this tracks just north or to the south of Tampa Bay. In other words, we are still waiting on some clarity with track, hence why we are advising people to evacuate if told to do so.

We are obviously heavily focused on Tampa because that’s the densest and most populated area in this region. But let’s talk briefly about a few other places.

Big Bend & Nature Coast: Areas that were hardest hit by Helene last month will likely see impacts from Milton but hopefully mainly via rain and some gusty winds. With the storm currently likely to track to the south and an offshore wind in place, Big Bend communities should be spared additional surge problems. But some added vulnerability from Helene may lead to a few issues. Follow the advice of local authorities.

Sarasota & Bradenton: Wind and surge will be major concerns here. Unless this does follow extreme southern model forecasts and comes in near Fort Myers, there will likely be a substantial surge in these areas. While there will be strong, potentially major hurricane force winds here, the strongest winds may end up north of this area. Much like Tampa, however, it would be wise to follow any evacuation orders given and you should take this as seriously as Tampa.

Fort Myers & Naples: Obviously this region is vulnerable and on edge for any storm impacts given Ian’s hit a couple years ago. You’ll want to watch how close this gets to you in terms of how much wind to expect (the closer, the worse). Surge should be considerable no matter the track at this point, and you should be following the advice of local officials who should know the risks of surge post-Ian. Really want to make sure folks here take this seriously.

Orlando: We’ve gotten a lot of questions about the Orlando area and people with vacations. In Orlando, the impacts from Milton will involve wind and rain and the potential for severe weather. There will be areas of flooding in and around Central Florida, especially given precursor rounds of rain. So obviously watch for that. While the wind will probably be nasty at times and power outages will be a good possibility, most hotels should have plans in place to keep guests safe in storms like this. One other risk in interior Florida will be that of tornadoes or severe storms as Milton blows through.

Daytona through Jacksonville: This area will see very heavy rain, possibly back inland to Gainesville as well. In addition to tropical storm or hurricane conditions as Milton crosses the area, flooding and isolated tornadoes will be possible. There will probably be some minor storm surge as well on the east coast of Florida.

In terms of rainfall for Florida, between predecessor rains and Milton, we are looking at 5 to 10 inches of additional rainfall along and north of I-4 in Florida.

So the message I want to close with for now is this: This is a serious, serious threat to Florida and it should be taken seriously. Don’t let any conversation among meteorologists or others about what intensity Milton will be at landfall dictate your decision-making. Follow the advice of local officials, check on friends, family, and neighbors. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best. We’ll post again in the morning.

Unified Linux Wine Game Launcher (UMU) from Thomas "GloriousEggroll" Crider version 1.1.1 is out now as the first official release to help improve Linux desktop and Steam Deck gaming.

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Read the full article on GamingOnLinux.

Headlines

• Milton is nearing hurricane strength as it begins to move eastward toward Florida
• The storm is forecast to rapidly intensify today and Monday as it encounters very warm seas
• The intensity forecast becomes more complicated as Milton nears Florida, and faces more hostile atmospheric conditions
• Residents along the western coast of Florida should make preparations today and Monday in advance of the storm’s arrival

Milton on Sunday morning

As of 11 am ET on Sunday morning, Milton has strengthened to a 65-mph tropical storm, which is just 10 mph below hurricane strength. Given that an eyewall has formed, it is likely that Milton will become a hurricane later today, and possibly strengthen into a major hurricane by Monday. The storm has started to move a little bit more, toward the east-southeast, at about 6 mph. Its motion will continue to accelerate over the next couple of days as steering currents become more pronounced.

Major sources of uncertainty

In this section I want to talk about what is known, and what is not, in regard to Milton. Let’s start with the track of the storm. Overnight, there has been a modest southern shift in several of the most important models we look at. Although there remains some uncertainty, at this time the most likely outcome for a Florida landfall on Wednesday is somewhere just north of Tampa Bay to just south of Fort Myers. I would anticipate that the track forecast will really tighten up during the next 24 hours. However, time is running out for preparations, with tropical storm-force winds possibly reaching the west coast of Florida by as early as Tuesday evening.

Next, we’ll move to intensity. This is really where there is the largest amount of uncertainty. We expect Milton to intensify rapidly over the next couple of days because it will be traversing very warm waters and face only modest levels of wind shear. The National Hurricane Center predicts that Milton will peak as a strong Category 3 hurricane on Tuesday evening, with 125 mph sustained winds, as it nears Florida. It might be even stronger.

Around that time, however, Milton will be encountering increasing levels of wind shear, which disrupts the circulation of a hurricane much like trying to skate on uneven ice. Another potentially significant factor is the intrusion of dry air from the north and west of Milton, which will be wrapped into the circulation of the hurricane. This dry air results from the front the northern Gulf of Mexico that is helping to steer Milton toward Florida. The image below shows how dry air might become entrained into Milton by Tuesday evening and Wednesday.

How all of this plays out is difficult to predict, even though we are only about four days from Milton making landfall. A weaker storm is unquestionably better in terms of wind damage. However, a weakening storm could also become larger (Milton is fairly small right now), and a larger storm often produces a more powerful storm surge, and has more far-reaching effects. This is why we cannot say too much about impacts from Milton for specific areas of Florida yet. Too much depends on track, size, and intensity of the hurricane, which all remain a bit fuzzy.

The bottom line remains pretty simple, however. A powerful and potentially destructive hurricane is headed toward the west coast of Florida, and will strike the state in the middle of the week. Milton will bring strong winds, heavy rains, and a significant surge to parts of the state. People who live along the west coast, especially from Fort Myers to the Tampa Bay metro area, should prepare for the worst in terms of wind, surge, and rainfall now. Much of the rest of Florida, aside from the Panhandle, should prepare for the possibility of heavy rainfall.

Tampa hurricane history

The Tampa Bay metro area, with a population of more than 3 million people, is the most developed region on the west coast of Florida. Among hurricane forecasters, the region is famous for dodging major hurricanes. A major hurricane, defined as Category 3 or larger, has not made a direct impact on Tampa Bay since 1921, more than a century ago. This was the Tampa Bay Hurricane, and was so-called because back then there was no formal naming convention for tropical storms and hurricanes.

A century ago the region had less than one-twentieth the population is does now, about 125,000 people. The Tampa Bay area has had some close calls of late, including Hurricane Charley, in 2004; Hurricane Irma, 2017; Hurricane Ian, 2022; and of course Hurricane Helene this year. Will the region’s luck hold out with Milton? It’s way too early to make any kind of prediction.

Elsewhere in the tropics

There is plenty of other activity in the Atlantic tropics. Hurricane Kirk is rampaging across the mid-Atlantic Ocean, and although it is thousands of miles distant, producing some modest swells along the US East Coast. Eventually, as an extra-tropical storm Kirk could bring some disturbed weather to northern Spain or France. Hurricane Leslie has also formed in the open Atlantic, but this storm is not going to bother anyone, anywhere. For now, the focus is going to be all about Milton.

Matt will have an update by or before 6 pm ET today discussing the latest on Milton, and our thinking on its most severe impacts.

Meow Wolf Houston has released sneak peek images of its permanent exhibition Radio Tave. Last month, the arts and entertainment company announced its Houston location will open on October 31, 2024. 

Radio Tave was designed by more than 100 artists, half of whom are from Texas, including Cole Bee Wilson and Havel Ruck Projects. Visitors to the space will experience various unique rooms such as Cowboix Hevven, a cowboy-themed dive bar; the ETNL radio station; a cave-like space filled with “living instruments,” and Obsidiodyssey, a multi-room space designed by Santa Fe artist Janell Langford.

In a press release, Spencer Olsen, the Senior Creative Director for Meow Wolf Houston, commented, “Radio Tave is a story about a group of everyday colleagues who find their way through an otherworldly experience by embracing new possibilities. We’re inviting guests to become part of this community and contribute to the musical artistic expression of the show.”

Meow Wolf also released a new commercial featuring Fat Tony, a Nigerian-American rapper who was born in Houston’s Third Ward. He was also brought in as a collaborator to compose hip hop tracks that will be featured in the Radio Tave Arcade. 

Gil Perez, the General Manager for Meow Wolf Houston, said, “Radio Tave will offer visitors a journey through the depths of their own imagination. From the moment you step inside, you will be transported into an entirely new reality — one that defies expectation and invites endless exploration and creativity.”

Visit the Meow Wolf Houston website to learn more and purchase tickets in advance of the opening. 

The post Get a Sneak Peek at Meow Wolf Houston; Tickets Now On Sale appeared first on Glasstire.

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Today's News:

In brief: Tropical Storm Milton formed in the Gulf of Mexico this afternoon. Normally, a tropical system in this part of the Gulf would be of serious concern to Texas, but since we’re now in October, the overall steering pattern generally pushes tropical systems away from our state. We’re sharing this post from The Eyewall because we’ve had several questions about Milton, and know many readers have family and friends in Florida.

At 5 pm ET on Saturday, the National Hurricane Center upgraded a tropical depression in the extreme southwestern Gulf of Mexico into Tropical Storm Milton. The center of the storm is nearly stationary this evening, but it should start to move slowly to the east over the next day or so before accelerating. Although it is unusual for a tropical system this far west in the Gulf of Mexico to move toward Florida, that’s exactly what we expect to happen over the next four days in response to blocking in the mid- and upper-levels of the atmosphere.

Although we remain about four days—give or take—from a landfall along the west coast of Florida, it is important for residents of the state to take Milton very seriously. We realize that some areas of the state remain dazed by Hurricane Helene, but this is a similarly threatening storm. Although we don’t have full confidence in precisely where the storm will track, it does seem very possible that it will directly impact the greater Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area, which has a population in excess of 3 million people.

Please remember that the forecast can and will change in the coming days. However, we have seen a fair amount of tightening in the model solutions over the last 24 hours, and increasingly they are pointing to a powerful hurricane approaching the western Florida coast, possibly near or north of Tampa Bay, by around Wednesday of next week. This post will discuss our preliminary assessment of some of the impacts from this storm.

Track and intensity

There remains a broad cone of uncertainty in regard to where Milton will go, but we can expect this to narrow somewhat during the next day or so. After Milton wobbles around the southwestern Gulf of Mexico for the next day or so, it will get picked up by a front moving down into the northern Gulf of Mexico. This will help steer the storm the east, and then the northeast over the next few days.

Most of our best modeling guidance, including hurricane specific models such as the HWRF and HAFS, brings the storm to the western coast of Florida, near the Tampa Bay region, very late on Tuesday night or Wednesday. Now that a fairly well defined center of circulation has formed, I expect modeling agreement to increase over the next day or so.

In terms of intensity, there is a broad range of outcomes. The National Hurricane Center predicts a major, Category 3 hurricane at landfall on Wednesday. However, an even more powerful storm is possible given that the Gulf of Mexico is very warm, with deep oceanic heat content, and wind shear levels unlikely to disrupt Milton’s organization. Unfortunately, this is a setup for the development of a large and powerful hurricane.

Winds

Milton’s track will determine where the storms strongest winds occur; they will be along the path of the center and generally just to its right. The majority of our guidance continues to point to a hurricane somewhere between Category 2 and Category 4 intensity, which means that there is the potential for a large stretch of the Florida peninsula to experience hurricane-force winds. This level of winds will cause significant damage and likely lead to power outages.

Storm surge

With four days to develop, Milton is ultimately going to push a large and powerful storm surge toward Florida. This storm will almost certainly impact areas south of where Hurricane Helene struck in September, but at this point anywhere from the coastal bend of Florida, south to the Tampa Bay area, and further south to Fort Myers, is at risk. It is too early to talk about absolute risks, but for wherever Milton makes landfall, the storm is likely to bring a historically damaging storm surge. These impacts will be most pronounced just to the right of where the hurricane makes landfall—which again, is a location that we cannot say with any certainty yet.

Inland rainfall

Heavy rainfall is another threat from Milton. Although the storm should be moving at a fairly good clip once it reaches Florida by the middle of this week, Milton could nonetheless drench a swath of the state, from west to east as it crosses the state. Whether this occurs in the central part of the state, such as the vicinity of Orlando and the Space Coast, or further north in the coastal bend and Jacksonville, is just not clear yet. However, the risk is there for 10 or more inches of rainfall in a short period of time, which will lead to flash flooding.

Conclusions

If you’ve read this post up until now, you’ll realize that we cannot say much more at this time beyond stating that a serious hurricane threat is coming to the state of Florida this week. Sunday and Monday will be a time for preparations, as impacts such as wind and heavy rain are likely to reach the state as early as Tuesday evening.

We will have continuing coverage on The Eyewall as this very serious threat develops.

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The post Loblaws: “now we need to raise prices because of deflation or whatever” appeared first on The Beaverton.

It's 5 o'clock somewhere/everywhere/all at once

Video by the incomparable Shoocharu, check their channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGA9-VO0z4eELmVtsJEgyQQ

Gee whiz it's album time! I usually have everything already released, so this is real exciting to have so many new songs and videos to show you!

Listen to Transcendental Cha Cha Cha on streaming!
https://open.spotify.com/track/1gaa0N2DGSLKcW7aIQu9xF?si=48adacedd0474948

Pre-save the album (out October 18th Australia time) here! https://gyro.to/TheDancefloorAtTheEndOfTheUniverse