The unimportant news thread

[Spineur]

Harvard Alumni directory lists Scaramucci as dead. 

http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-trump-scaramucci-harvard-idUKKBN1AG2NY

Boy ! was this a bad week !

[Karl Henning]

Citing 'basic physics,' a judge berated the FAA over shrinking airline seats

Airline seats were designed for people no taller than 5-foot-10, and in reasonably good shape, FlyersRights.org argued, noting that "many Americans do not fit into this category."

[Dancing Divertimentian]

I dunno...unimportant or not?

[Karl Henning]

"My bed has, like, an imprint of my body."

[zamyrabyrd]

My cat occupies choice parts of my bed...

ZB

[Karl Henning]

As a cat must!

[Ken B]

Reform hits Motor City http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2017/08/02/half-detroit-mayoral-candidates-felony-convictions/104244406/

[Karl Henning]

And if you thought last year in the US was nasty:

She announced she was running for president. Then fake nude photos were released.

[Parsifal]

And if you thought last year in the US was nasty:

She announced she was running for president. Then fake nude photos were released.

At least we were spared fake nude photos of Trump (although if the "Russian Dossier is to believed we might look forward to real ones.  ) On the other hand, I have seen fake nude photos of Hilary Clinton (at least I assume they were fake).

[Todd]

At least we were spared fake nude photos of Trump

But there was the statue:

[Parsifal]

Have mercy, this is not the "blow chunks on your screen" thread.   

[Todd]

Outlaw named Portland police chief.

[Turner]

At last, it is the main summer holiday month:

https://twitter.com/tillski/status/892317208495476736

[Karl Henning]

As scientifically literate people have been saying for years, the rational argument about climate change and its origin is over. ("Worldwide, 15 of the last 16 years have been the warmest years on record. Today, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said 2017 is on track to be the second warmest for the United States. Scientists from all over the world have documented warming in the air and water, melting glaciers, disappearing snow, shrinking sea ice and rising sea level. The report said the United States will see temperature increases of at least 2.5 degrees (1.4 degrees Celsius) over the next few decades, even with significant cuts to carbon pollution.") According to the New York Times: "Worldwide, the draft report finds it 'extremely likely' that more than half the global mean temperature since 1951 can be linked to human influence." (If it makes climate-change deniers feel better, they can say humans alone haven't caused all the temperature increase.)

[Mahlerian]

That Google internal memo that got the guy fired reads like conspiracy theory literature, with its abuse of the "It could be A, so it's definitely A and anyone who disagrees is trying to fool you" logic.

Also, if he thinks the work culture at Google is so inhospitable to him, why doesn't he just decide that the best thing is to work somewhere else?

[Ken B]

That Google internal memo that got the guy fired reads like conspiracy theory literature, with its abuse of the "It could be A, so it's definitely A and anyone who disagrees is trying to fool you" logic.

Also, if he thinks the work culture at Google is so inhospitable to him, why doesn't he just decide that the best thing is to work somewhere else?

https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/no-the-google-manifesto-isnt-sexist-or-anti-diversity-its-science/article35903359/



http://slatestarcodex.com/2017/08/07/contra-grant-on-exaggerated-differences/

[Ken B]

I'm just curious. What kind of person gloats that someone they disagree with gets fired? To me that is low.

[Mahlerian]

I'm just curious. What kind of person gloats that someone they disagree with gets fired? To me that is low.

How was I gloating?  I just thought he wrote a dumb memo, and didn't really weigh in on whether or not he should have been fired.  For the record, I take no side, because I don't know anything about his actual performance at work.  Whether he is right or not, his argument is horrible.

[amw]

https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/no-the-google-manifesto-isnt-sexist-or-anti-diversity-its-science/article35903359/

https://sexnotgender.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/fine_cordelia_delusions-of-gender.pdf

[Parsifal]

I read his memo, or at least as much as I could without getting unpleasantly irritated. He basically uses a few random factoids to support a misogynistic worldview. The only statement that has any clear basis is that maybe men are, on average, biologically predisposed to be more competitive and/or aggressive and therefore their presence in larger numbers is not due to discrimination. Well who is to say those attributes are more valuable to Google, even if they help you get in the door?

Maybe Google's code of conduct is there because less aggressive, less competitive people (of whatever gender) can produce more value to the company even if those attributes don't help them get the job. Or maybe Google is more cynical than I give them credit for and that code of conduct is there to help Google deflect accusations of discrimination.

In any case, Google has a right to dismiss an employee that openly rejects its code of conduct and/or mission statement. It seems to me that the sh*tstorm that this memo has brought down on Google outweighs any C++ code that this software engineer might be writing for their search engine.