brianmcc

5 ms·

1.
by brianmcc 19d ago
Replying here to link -> https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdew81wd2y8o Which is specifically addressing what seems to be a massive and current/active struggle in the healthcare and scientific communitie
2.
by brianmcc 1mo ago
No it doesn't. It comes from the Queen saying "We are not amused" to mean "I specifically am not amused".
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by brianmcc 10mo ago
I don't think anyone's saying unions can do that? They can protect workers and provide some balance in the power dynamics, but there absolutely are limits.
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by brianmcc 10mo ago
No it's more because things have gotten worse. When people's parents could get an X-bedroomed house on a single parent's income, which they grew up in and developed their sense of aspiration and normality, but they cannot do
5.
by brianmcc 10mo ago
Plus the Scottish Govt have removed the peak/off-peak ticket split, everything is now priced at off-peak - i.e. cheaper - rates. Doesn't necessarily impact season ticket holders but it's been a pretty good move for the most p
6.
by brianmcc 11mo ago
"Lots of the team knows Postgres really well, nobody knows Kafka at all yet" is also an underrated factor in making choices. "Kafka was the ideal technical choice but we screwed up the implementation through well-intentioned
7.
by brianmcc 1y ago
The technologically inept get QR codes tattooed on their foreheads.
8.
by brianmcc 1y ago
Perl CGI FTW! :-D
9.
by brianmcc 1y ago
Sure I mean it's not a crime or anything, just highlighting you're highly unlikely to get anything like the perspective, wisdom, insight, that - for example - an 80 year old might share. You could ask a 5 year old for opinions,
10.
by brianmcc 1y ago
Interesting choice of words in the original article and headline here - to "seal one's fate" feels quite pessimistic and doom-laden. Why not something like "secure its future"?
11.
by brianmcc 1y ago
Sure, just that stories about "paying down tech debt" are an implicit admission of flaws and shortcuts and "doing it again because it wasn't done right initially". Which is all true but the concept of making deliber
12.
by brianmcc 1y ago
As something of an AI skeptic the thing that bothers me most is the wholesale gullibility and credulity of leaders. Incredible claims IMO require incredible levels of evidence, not just "tech bros with vested interests tell us this, i
13.
by brianmcc 1y ago
Ironically, screen sharing on zoom whilst all colocated can be less bad than sitting round a gigantic TV type screen for calls where screen content is needed :-|
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by brianmcc 1y ago
A total tangent but it's amazing how more palatable "tech enhancement" is in planning, management chats, etc., than anything involving the term "tech debt"
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by brianmcc 1y ago
Sadly yes - "When America sneezes, the World catches cold"
16.
by brianmcc 1y ago
I mean maybe if you hear it a lot, there's a reason for that? Frameworks may not bring magical perfection but they bring a lot of objective benefit to the table.
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by brianmcc 1y ago
Then they half press the shutter button and achieve only a brief moment of auto focus :-D
18.
by brianmcc 1y ago
>> The iPhone picture always turns out, but the Canon takes a modicum of skill, which my wife is not interested in, and I'll never be able to teach passers-by when they take a group picture for us This is why my Canon 80D sits an
19.
by brianmcc 1y ago
Wife: good day at the office dear? Me: yep argued with some strangers on HN about how daft/wise UK's paracetamol laws are, highly fulfilling! :-)
20.
by brianmcc 1y ago
You can buy two packs of 16 each, enough for 4 days usage at 2 per dose, 4 times per day, after which point if you still need them you maybe have a bigger problem. Or can just restock. What's "fantastically stupid" about it?
21.
by brianmcc 1y ago
Ah that distinct phase of the Gartner Hype Cycle where CEOs claim massive amounts of use of Technology X regardless of whatever the underlying reality is
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by brianmcc 1y ago
It could but you need a body of evidence for it, plus credible pathways to explain it. So far the greater weight seems to be behind "use it or lose it".
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by brianmcc 1y ago
Treat it as the common good and societal investment it actually is, and fund it from central taxation like plenty of other countries do. Problem solved!
24.
by brianmcc 1y ago
This is a really good point. It rather reminds me of a recent Vince Gilligan (Breaking Bad) interview where he lamented what seems to be an emerging excess focus on villains, not "good guys" - and making them way too glamorous: h
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by brianmcc 1y ago
Or more, if Canadians travel to Europe instead of the US
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by brianmcc 1y ago
FWIW I do think you're right that we should treat a new entrant to the (mainstream) market with at the very least some "optimistic skepticism". Personally I'd like to see some stronger competition in the market and wish
27.
by brianmcc 1y ago
OK but US really is in a world of its own these for a lot of things. In the UK it's very common to get 0% interest installments. Which is not to have a go at the US, but to just make the point that buying domestic appliances is not a s
28.
by brianmcc 1y ago
Sorry no but domestic white goods such as TVs, fridges, laundry appliances, etc are the perfect use case for small credit plans where doing without or "saving up" is a poor alternative, and sensible non-extortionate credit options
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by brianmcc 1y ago
Agree re chicken wings but there are plenty of reasonable and responsible credit options for spreading payments for a relatively unusual purchase - at least, not a daily or weekly necessity - like a TV
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by brianmcc 2y ago
Way to start a Friday argument :-D FWIW - no it's not an absolute waste of time. But, it's arguably more dogmatic than is realistic for most teams. And I would say it's certainly not required for an elegant readable and high

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