@Rycaut@mastodon.social avatar

Rycaut

@Rycaut@mastodon.social

Entrepreneur & Product Manager - currently looking for new opportunities. Likely starting a Fediverse related business to host, manage and extend instances for businesses and organizations. Writer and GM

https://calendly.com/rycaut to schedule meetings with me

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

molly0xfff, to web
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io avatar

If you've ever found yourself missing the "good old days" of the , what is it that you miss? (Interpret "it" broadly: specific websites? types of activities? feelings? etc.) And approximately when were those good old days?

No wrong answers — I'm working on an article and wanted to get some outside thoughts.

Rycaut,
@Rycaut@mastodon.social avatar

@molly0xfff I miss search engines showing me only results that actually contained my search terms (and didn't try to guess what I "actually" meant, didn't show me barely related results, didn't force massive numbers of ads, videos, "similar searches" or other junk and actually did respect when I used searches that included quotes or negatives etc. In short Google (and a few other search engines) of the late 1990's early 2000's.

Then I could actually do a search and find no results and trust it

mekkaokereke, to random
@mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io avatar

Writing a thread on onboarding here, because I don't want to write it in the other place.

Context:
Good engineer onboarding is DEI. Teams that have great onboarding, tend to be more diverse and inclusive. Teams that have poor onboarding, tend to be more homogeneous and less diverse.

That's because poor onboarding makes life harder for junior employees and remote employees. Underrepresented groups benefit disproportionately from remote work options. Junior employees are a more diverse group.

Rycaut,
@Rycaut@mastodon.social avatar

@mekkaokereke I wonder also about the concept of “beginner questions” I’m sure many times they are basic stuff that should have been covered in onboarding but aren’t (because the people may assume they are obvious because they have forgotten that not everyplace works the same way or uses the same language)

But equally I could easily imagine some are cases of people with an outside of the org perspective seeing alternatives perhaps from their own past experience and asking questions first

Rycaut, to random
@Rycaut@mastodon.social avatar

I like @anildash (we've know each other for eh a lot of years) and while I too agree that the return of the weird Internet is likely (and largely a good thing)

I also really want a return to the boring Internet. An internet with reliable trusted information, searches that don't try to think for me, and sites that really are from the local businesses I'm looking for (or are actual humans with real knowledge about a topic or area talking about it)

the internet of the 1990's was this as well

Rycaut, to random
@Rycaut@mastodon.social avatar

Not going to call out any specific company for taking too long to leave X. Let’s celebrate those that are doing the right thing.

But worth noting that pulling ads the week before Black Friday is, in fact, highly meaningful. From now for another few weeks is a very high volume shopping period - so ads especially for consumer goods have a lot of spend behind them (but also B2B as budgets for next year are set and budgets spent this year)

Rycaut, to random
@Rycaut@mastodon.social avatar

I’m not an Apple developer but I follow a lot of them and I’m very impressed by how quietly Apple has a lot of employees posting to the Fediverse about their work (folks who built APIs, developer documentation etc). I’m sure some of it is just geeks being up on the current Gen of tools. But it is also notable and reflects well on Apple’s culture. All of their posts are professional, full of direct useful links, well written and engaging.

rebeccawatson, to random
@rebeccawatson@mstdn.social avatar

been riding a bike around towns for 20 years and everywhere I go I find that rich white people spend an absolutely incredible amount of time, money, and energy designing ways to keep everyone else away from the waterfront.

Rycaut,
@Rycaut@mastodon.social avatar

@rebeccawatson one of the things Chicago got right many many decades ago (over a hundred I think) was making all beaches public as well as stopping nearly all construction adjacent to the lakefront (Lake Point Tower where famously Oprah used to live is the exception that luckily was well designed and then the loop hole it used closed)

As a result the entire lakefront of Chicago is open to the public (though in places erroding and needing repair) even in the most expensive neighborhoods

ajroach42, to random
@ajroach42@retro.social avatar

Hey! I'm compiling a "trending" section for our bookstore, but I want it to be books that are popular on the fediverse.

Tell me about books you've read recently or just really enjoy. Does not have to be a recent release. Bonus points if it's an independent author.

Fiction, Non-fiction, poetry, etc.

Rycaut,
@Rycaut@mastodon.social avatar

@ajroach42 Michael Harriot's Black AF History: The Un-Whitewashed History of America was one of my top reads in 2023 and should be part of every US History curriculum at the high school and college level (and read by every American) - fantastic book - https://www.michaelharriot.com/poscasts

I'm slowing reading (in French) @jmechner Replay: Memoires d'une Famille which is coming out in English next month (graphic novel about 3 generations of his family & the making of Prince of Persia but also WWI and WWII)

danhon, to random
@danhon@dan.mastohon.com avatar

Now is probably a good time to buy or make an air filter if you can, because now it's lighter, it feels we're closer to fire season :(

Rycaut,
@Rycaut@mastodon.social avatar

@danhon apparently both Amazon and Costco have good deals at the moment on good products. Costco has one for $99 (with an extra filter) and Amazon has the same Coway model I own for a pretty notable discount (it’s a bit over $100 but also a good model). I might actually get a second for my bedroom.

Rycaut, to random
@Rycaut@mastodon.social avatar

Does anyone know specifically why US retailer workers unions seemingly can’t be “all workers at a company” but keep being limited to “the workers at a specific store”?

I suspect I know the reasons include differences between state rules about unionization of workers - but it seems like both workers and companies would be far better off with a union that represented the whole retail workforce (or at least all US workers)

Rycaut, (edited ) to random
@Rycaut@mastodon.social avatar

If I organized an unconference in the Bay Area for non-AI focused technologists, investors and companies hiring for non-AI positions would you be interested in attending? Sponsoring (with $ or contributions like space)? Volunteering? Non-AI because there is a surplus of AI focused events and while my first startup did machine learning I’m more interested in solving real problems for real people than the latest fad and hype cycle. Unconference but will have some structure.

drahardja, to cars
@drahardja@sfba.social avatar

If you’re a guy in the , you’ve probably heard of Alice’s restaurant in La Honda. I went up there recently and I saw this sign.

This is chickenshit. If you want to raise prices, raise your menu prices. I’m willing to pay for the difference. Don’t blame “inflation” and then add 6% to your prices off-menu. This shit should be illegal.

Cowards.

Rycaut,
@Rycaut@mastodon.social avatar

@drahardja one of the best restaurants near me doesn’t do crap fees like this. Instead they just adjust their menu prices to be fair but cover thier costs. During the pandemic they added 50% more space to their indoors and built a large outdoor seating and their food quality went up.

guess what - they are always busy every day for every meal

And have much of the same staff as they had prepandemic

(Adelita’s Taqueria Restaurant and Bar in San Jose)

https://adelitastaqueria.com

Rycaut, to random
@Rycaut@mastodon.social avatar

Feature idea for Fediverse clients - when autocompleting an account name either show their most recent post or highlight if they haven’t been active in some period of time (default to say past 14 days? Perhaps let users configure this for their own preferences) the goal here being twofold.

  1. to help identity if you have used the right username - ie from the correct instance

  2. to flag if you are @ referencing an account that is inactive as that’s rarely particularly useful

shoq, to random
@shoq@mastodon.social avatar

The old saw that it’s best to combat bad speech with more speech sure is being tested. And it’s failing. We have no way of focusing more speech. None. The right-wing has a massive media infrastructure that repeats messages all day long to millions, and never gives air to any counter-speech.

But for all our tech ambitions and wizardry, no one has come up with a way to even dent their propaganda machine. It’s a bad situation.

Rycaut,
@Rycaut@mastodon.social avatar

@shoq random idea this suggested to me though it would take a lot to pull it off - what if the Democrats or supporters via a separate group created an old school, newsppaper (and perhaps a glossy magazine) which was all about the Biden administration and Democrat's successes on a national scale with editions for each state and city. And then made this widely available and perhaps even "collectible" (make a version cheap enough to distribute widely and expensive versions in fancy packaging)

TonyStark, to random
@TonyStark@progressivecafe.social avatar

This will invest in school facilities that demonstrate the need for both energy improvements and financing, with a focus on supporting districts that qualify as disadvantaged.

Quite different from the Republican plan, which is essentially “close America’s schools” or “turn them all right wing Christian Nationalist.”

Biden–Harris Administration Announces $180 Million Investment in School Energy Infrastructure as Part of Investing in America Agenda-
https://cleantechnica.com/2024/03/20/biden-harris-administration-announces-180-million-investment-in-school-energy-infrastructure-as-part-of-investing-in-america-agenda/

Rycaut,
@Rycaut@mastodon.social avatar

@TonyStark some of that money is going to my old high school! They are installing a geothermal system as part of an expansion. Estimated cost is $10M+ with $7.3M of that coming from the Federal Government Inflation Reduction act. (A friend of mine now serves on the school board that approved this). They estimate that it will save some $6M in energy costs over the next 30 years. Since the school recently celebrated 150 years long term planning makes sense)

See https://www.oakpark.com/2024/01/30/oprf-school-board-approves-geothermal-for-project-2/

Rycaut, to random
@Rycaut@mastodon.social avatar

Anyone know why FedEx happily informs you of an upcoming package. But does not let you actually see the sender. So unless someone happens to email you the tracking number you have no way to figure out what the package that is going to show up is. This has been a problem I’ve encountered for years now. I can’t be to the only person who would like to know who a pending package is from before it arrives (so, for example, I know if it needs to be hidden from others in the household as it is a gift?)

Rycaut, to random
@Rycaut@mastodon.social avatar

Thinking this evening about a lesson I learned over 30 years ago while a volunteer on an archeological dig in Ashkelon Israel

That all archeology is destructive - to learn about the past by digging it up you are deliberately destroying a (portion) of a historic site. Capturing and saving as much of the site as you can in the process - but the job is day in and day out slowly destroying the very thing you are seeking to learn about.

What tourists see is generally just a small fraction of a dig

Rycaut, to random
@Rycaut@mastodon.social avatar

Odd late night idea (usual note - please make this happen, I’m happy to be involved but take the idea and run with it) what if media companies instead of using AI to create content no one actually will read took a very different approach.

Publish less content (dramatically less) while removing ALL programmatic ad crap from their sites.

Instead publish one, well written and edited story per (month, week, day, hour) depending on your size & editorial capacity (per section for newspapers)

drahardja, to ai
@drahardja@sfba.social avatar

New York City’s new chatbot (predictably) sometimes gives bad, law-breaking advice to residents’ queries about how to run their businesses.

Q: What’s worse than a bot that always gives bad advice?
A: A bot that sometimes gives bad advice.

“NYC AI Chatbot Touted by Adams Tells Businesses to Break the Law”

https://www.thecity.nyc/2024/03/29/ai-chat-false-information-small-business/

Rycaut,
@Rycaut@mastodon.social avatar

@drahardja and an important point about any tool that gives partially / sometimes bad information it makes you question even the correct information you have gotten from that source. Especially if it was mixed up with inaccurate information. And as search continues to degrade we're all facing this increasingly often where we start to doubt even accurate information because we've also gotten very inaccurate info from the same source which adds friction to even seemingly simple tasks

alcinnz, to random
@alcinnz@floss.social avatar

This morning's link haul for discussing time:

https://zachholman.com/talk/utc-is-enough-for-everyone-right
https://www.wired.com/2012/06/falsehoods-programmers-believe-about-time/
https://everything-everywhere.com/whats-the-deal-with-daylight-savings/
https://www.ipses.com/eng/in-depth-analysis/standard-of-time-definition/
https://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/julian-gregorian-switch.html
https://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/julian-calendar.html

Any more great links for discussing you wish to share?

Should have my text fully linkified very soon!

Rycaut,
@Rycaut@mastodon.social avatar

@alcinnz very good article.

Speaking as a (reformed) founder of a calendar company (and former editor of some of the calendar related RFCs) this is a fantastic article. But it can get even harder and more complicated - imagine things like how do you ask a user what to do if they put in a start time and a duration vs a start and end time? If DST happens during an instance of the event? Or if they change the start time? Or the duration? Or the end time?

And look up temporal databases sometime

Rycaut, to random
@Rycaut@mastodon.social avatar

Is there anything like the old school hand crafted directory of sites (like Yahoo! back in the day) that exists on the web these days?

I'm thinking of the value of such a directory that listed highly vetted sites - with reviews of their site, descriptions of what they offer, history of the site/when the reviewer used it personally, and other notes about the business (related sites/companies)

This could be online commerce sites, software, services, even physical retail shops. So Yelp + Yahoo

Rycaut,
@Rycaut@mastodon.social avatar

at scale this is a very hard problem - as all of the ghost/scam businesses on Google Maps shows. And some of the semi-accurate sources of "truth" about physical businesses (Foursquare for example) aren't without their own serious issues (and their data is not flawless though it is generally better than Google Maps in at least some categories)

But perhaps this can be started in specific niche areas and over time expanded (see @libreture for example for DRM free book sources)

Rycaut, to random
@Rycaut@mastodon.social avatar

Yes non-competes were used with tech workers. But the real issue today is not tech workers.

It is everyone else. It is noncompetes being used to restrain nurses from working at any other medical facility in a city (or further). It is non competes being used for hair dressers and grocery store clerks.

Those uses of noncompetes are being used to weaken workers ability to negotiate for better pay and conditions - if they can’t take a job at a competitor they have a weak negotiation hand

Rycaut,
@Rycaut@mastodon.social avatar

Banning noncompetes is a classic case of helping (not hurting) employers and protecting them from their own worst impulses.

Employers forget that noncompetes limit who they can hire - and make it harder to recruit skilled workers (in all fields) even if the employer offers high wages and a great working environment

ai6yr, to random

Freelancing/self employment tip (for newbies): W2 wage is not the same as 1099 pay, due to self employment tax/Medicare/SS. $1/hour W2 is not $1 if paid on a 1099 (same rate on a 1099 would be a pay cut). Learned this long ago.

Rycaut,
@Rycaut@mastodon.social avatar

@ai6yr and you ideally want to factor in all the unbillable time you spend to get new clients & to learn. I’ve yet to fully master this but I always try to remember that as a freelancer ideally I should be able to bill enough in about 1000 hours a year to cover my annual income goal (after covering the additional taxes and business expenses). Any more billable time would be bonus. (Though also I’ve learned that often the best projects aren’t going to be hourly but that varies by your role)

anirvan, to random
@anirvan@mastodon.social avatar

Kindle? Kobo? Apple Books?

What’s the best, or maybe most ethical, ebook platform?

(I rarely reread books, so long-term ownership isn’t a factor for me)

Rycaut,
@Rycaut@mastodon.social avatar

@anirvan they have an active presence here - @libreture offers a drm free place to store ebooks onljne and they promote a lot of places to buy drm free ebooks. So they are a good option to explore whatever client you use to read the ebooks. Many libraries have one or more services they offer to anyone with a local card which can also be a great source for ebooks (and libraries pay often more than individuals for their ebooks)

Rycaut, to random
@Rycaut@mastodon.social avatar

so haven't tested it heavily but the very first search I tried this morning on Google (after they announced their update to remove more spam) - is bad.

Looked for a local Chinese restaurant. Used their name and restaurant. Results show two different URLs each claiming to be the SAME restaurant as top results

One is a total scam site (from I think BeyondMenu) that shows an inaccurate menu, hours, and claims to have online ordering.

The other is their actual website with real ordering

Rycaut,
@Rycaut@mastodon.social avatar

and these types of sites that mark up local businesses prices and insert themselves between real customers and the business are a particularly evil (IMHO) type of scam that preys on small businesses especially small restaurants (frequently ethnic ones)

But as @pluralistic has recently written about these scams show up in MANY other categories and aren't just on Google search but also in Google Maps

ernie, to random
@ernie@writing.exchange avatar

In honor of Gmail’s upcoming 20th birthday: Go to your oldest/primary Gmail account, do a quick search, and share the date you got it.

I’ll go first: June 21, 2004.

Rycaut,
@Rycaut@mastodon.social avatar

@ernie May 5th, 2004

Ironically a few months earlier I had written a post about why it was unlikely that Google would launch an email product.... remains likely my worst ever prediction (though to be fair to myself I don't usually make predictions like I did in that post)

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