20210426

Mon Apr 26 06:00:01 EDT 2021 ======================================== Slept from eleven to six. Partly cloudy in the morning, then mostly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of rain showers in the afternoon. Highs in the lower 50s. Southeast winds 5 to 15 mph. Work ---------------------------------------- - forward QA extension to Heather Done. - review Bullseye invoice Done. Ten-minutes on the exercise bike at lunch. Home ---------------------------------------- - taxes? Done. Washed a load of sheets, watered plants, unclogged tub, washed dishes. https://kottke.org/21/04/labor-shortage-or-terrible-jobs https://annehelen.substack.com/p/the-capitalism-is-broken-economy > Anne Helen Peterson noticed a bunch of reports about fast food & retail businesses around the US having trouble finding employees, which difficulty the business owners are blaming on lazy American workers whose unemployment benefits have been extended/expanded during the pandemic. But what if, she writes, those benefits are actually providing a safety net to American workers so that they do not need to take terrible jobs for low wages at terrible companies under terrible management? The ‘Capitalism is Broken’ Economy: > > Stick with me here, but what if people weren’t lazy — and instead, for the first time in a long time, were able to say no to exploitative working conditions and poverty-level wages? And what if business owners are scandalized, dismayed, frustrated, or bewildered by this scenario because their pre-pandemic business models were predicated on a steady stream of non-unionized labor with no other options? It’s not the labor force that’s breaking. It’s the economic model. > > Unemployment benefits have offered a steady paycheck while you figure out your options. Put differently: a version of the safety net that’s been missing from most American employment, and, by extension, the ability to say no. No, I don’t have to work for a restaurant that only gives me my hours three days ahead of time, thus making it nearly impossible to find reliable childcare. No, I don’t have to work clopen shifts. No, I don’t have to expect a job without sick leave or paid time off. No, I don’t have to deal with asshole customers or managers who degrade me without consequence. No, I don’t have to work in a job with significant, accumulating health risks. > Her question near the end of the piece is worth considering: “If a business can’t pay a living wage, should it be a business?” Digital Needle: Ripping vinyl records with a scanner https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26945694 https://www.cs.huji.ac.il/~springer/DigitalNeedle/index.html Some of the samples are pretty wild. https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2021/04/how-yahoo-became-internet-villain/618681/ They really did kill a lot of great sites; I was a big Flickr and Delicious fan. Servings: grains 6/6, fruit 1/4, vegetables 4/4, dairy 2/2, meat 2/3, nuts 0/0.5 Brunch: banana, carrots, coffee Lunch: cucumber, two hot dogs Dinner: Japanese curry

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