Interesting Links for 03-06-2024

[andrewducker]

1. A message to England on their treatment of trans kids

(tags:transgender children LGBT UK OhForFucksSake )

2. NHS 'pen-pushers' are doing a great job

(tags:nhs bureaucracy UK healthcare efficiency )

3. Ursula K. Le Guin on How to Become a Writer

(tags:UrsulaKLegGuin writing )

4. EU rebuffs Labour hopes for softer Brexit as too ambitious

(tags:uk europe labour doom )

5. Ozempic and Wegovy Might Be Supercharging Your Taste Buds

(tags:weight taste sweets sugar )

6. Britain going backwards on trans rights, warns first transgender judge

(tags:uk bigotry lgbt transgender )

Comments

2.

[channelpenguin]

the importance of having managers in general, to free tech/operational staff from management tasks, and to have an overview that can be reported upwards/downwards, tends to be underrated.

I miss Project Managers. Out of fashion, (like specialist Operations, SysAdmin, Network Engineers)

Re: 2.

[andrewducker]

Interesting. My last employer and current ones still have project managers. To manage their projects.

Re: 2.

[channelpenguin]

Lucky you! Not had one for a decade. Startup and ex startup people don't seem to see the need. Sigh.

Re: 2.

[andrewducker]

You can probably get away without them if you only have one or two projects and they don't talk to each other much. But if developers have to manage themselves then it scales really really badly.

Re: 2.

[channelpenguin]

Our entire org works that way pretty much. Oh there are POs at the client, but we just have teams, 3-4 "chapter" ambassadors, 2 what would be "C" level and then it's the head of our company within the group, with higher management being over all the groups.

You are not wrong though, it's a bit unclear chaotic (I find).

I assume the logic is that the CLIENT will do whatever management is necessary for the actual projects, our guy just manage us and our career progresseion.

But we are consultants. We are supposed to do the client facing stuff ourselves of course.

But with multiple projects per client, some teams manage better inter team comms and org than others. Like for one client at have a DX team, for others, not.

Re: 2.

[channelpenguin]

I actually like client facing stuff, but I'm not getting to do it so I'm waiting on a move. I'm much better at requirements and running a small team than with IaC!

Re: 2.

[andrewducker]

Ah, gotcha.

Yeah, if you were going into one project per customer then you wouldn't need it, but if you're in multiple ones then it makes sense to have some communication between you.

Although if the customer has project managers then having two different channels between projects might get confusing (or highlight when people are being kept in the dark).

5

[anna_wing]

The mechanism for the increase in taste sensitivity would be interesting to know. Would the effect be basically a speeding-up of normal habituation? My understanding is that the GLP-1 agonists reduce obsessive thoughts about food ("food noise"), thus helping their users develop and become accustomed to healthier eating habits, which can then be maintained more easily once they are at healthy weight and off the medication.

I spent a fortnight in Japan once, eating nothing but Japanese food, and my ability to differentiate among low-intensity flavours definitely went up, simply from the absence of the much higher level of spicing and flavouring that I was used to (my food is subtle, yours is bland, his has no taste except salt and sugar).

Re: 5

[andrewducker]

That would make sense.

I certainly find that when I stop eating/drinking things that are heavily sweetened then everything else tastes "realer" after a few days. Like I've turned up the volume on their natural flavours.

[gingicat]

5. That would explain why regular milk tastes as sweet as Lactaid and why I don't miss the sugar in unsweetened soy milk.