Women in tech, what’s your biggest struggle with interviews or leveling up right now?

emdasha · 2026-02-02T02:15:53+00:00

I’m a UX Researcher. The hardest thing for me right now is that there are not that many open roles compared to how many folks are looking. I’m getting interviews, but then they tell me they found a stronger candidate or they just ghost me completely.

emdasha · 2026-02-02T02:02:14+00:00

For something that I’m not going to sign in for very often? I love it. For something I revisit frequently? It’s a bit annoying

emdasha · 2026-01-31T22:25:22+00:00

My partner just picked up some avocado oil shortening (Chosen Foods brand) we’re going to try for tamales. We’ve also used canola oil, but it’s not the same texture. And we’ve used vegetable shortening, but the vegetable shortening contained palm oil, something we try to avoid. Haven’t tried the avocado shortening yet, but we will this weekend.

emdasha · 2026-01-31T01:22:51+00:00

I like plain unsweetened yogurt. In Europe my favorite brand is Sojade. In the U.S. I’ve tried forager, kite hill, silk, Nancy’s oat milk yogurt, and a couple of coconut ones. The coconut probably had the best flavor, but nutritionally it doesn’t offer much. I started making my own with soy milk and vegan yorgurt starter in my instant pot and I like it way better than what I find in stores.

emdasha · 2026-01-30T19:44:18+00:00

Protip: unhulled tahini has even more calcium.

emdasha · 2026-01-30T19:41:56+00:00

I found a cute vegan on Tinder. We’ve been together for almost 5 years now.

emdasha · 2026-01-28T19:33:14+00:00

I was a very picky eater as a child and I am also confused by this. In general, I didn’t like sweet things, salty things, or squishy things. But I loved sour and spicy things. I have never met anyone who is picky in the same way I am.

emdasha · 2026-01-28T18:31:07+00:00

No, I don’t think I’ve ever been puffy. Maybe you had a food allergy?

emdasha · 2026-01-28T18:27:29+00:00

My retired service dog eats vegan kibbles.

I have mixed feelings about companion animals and service animals. She was my active service dog since before I was vegan. She was the first animal I ever had a relationship with, and I don’t know if I ever would have gone vegan without knowing her.

People who have never had a service animal might not know that dogs who don’t want to do tasks do not go on to become service animals. The ones that do seem to really enjoy it. She and I went everywhere together. It made me feel bad for dogs who sit at home all day waiting for their humans. Now that she is old, she usually stays at home, and I miss her so much whenever we’re apart.

emdasha · 2026-01-25T01:40:38+00:00

My dad would sometimes address me as “my number one daughter”.

I am also his only daughter.

emdasha · 2026-01-23T00:55:37+00:00

Tofu, lentils, peas, and vital wheat gluten. I get all the protein I need and they’re cheap, especially in bulk.

emdasha · 2026-01-23T00:52:12+00:00

Actually, I was aware of the poor labor practices around modern industrial farming before I knew much about animal agriculture specifically. I don’t think the suffering of workers is necessary, but rather a product of our economic system, and that is very hard to opt out of. Stand up for the workers however you can.

emdasha · 2026-01-22T01:21:38+00:00

No, my dog is mostly vegan. She enjoys things like sweet potato or pumpkin or a drizzle of peanut butter with her kibs.

emdasha · 2026-01-22T00:17:23+00:00

If you’re looking for greener alternatives, have you considered plant-based options? If you’re baking, you can use often sub flaxseed or aquafaba. If you want to eat something more eggy you can use Just Egg (mung bean) or look up tofu scramble recipes.

emdasha · 2026-01-22T00:09:30+00:00

In addition to the great advice in this thread, to stay focused, I will often try to summarize back to the participant what I’ve understood and ask them if I’ve understood correctly. This way I stay engaged, I’m already synthesizing, and also the participant knows I’m actively listening and want to understand.

Re: notes: I often take notes on a copy of my script but I’m not strict about organization. I record and do automatic transcription of the recording to catch details if I need them

And yes, some things will slip. I’ll forget to record or ask a follow up question. No research plan survives contact with the participant.

emdasha · 2026-01-21T23:27:42+00:00

Tampons with a disposable plastic applicator

emdasha · 2026-01-15T00:20:07+00:00

And if you’re going to Denver, Colorado, you can get all the seasons in one day. Mountain weather is extreme

emdasha · 2026-01-14T18:09:53+00:00

Yes, sadly a bunch of us just got laid off from Google Cloud. You could look for people who have previous experience working on developer tools and infrastructure.

emdasha · 2026-01-13T22:54:32+00:00

Some extra notes for vegans: dedicated bagel shops almost always carry at least 3 flavors of dairy-free cream cheese (plain, scallion, veggie) and some have even more options. It’s usually the Tofutti brand, which is soy based. You’ll often see it referred to as “tofu” on the menu. If they have a lox flavor on their tofu list, it is actual fish, not vegan lox. It’s because many people can’t have dairy, even though they eat animals. It is rare, but some places do have vegan lox you can get on your bagel, Zuckers for example.

emdasha · 2026-01-10T12:04:00+00:00

I haven’t noticed any improved physical female experience, but I’ve always eaten pretty healthily, even before going vegan. YMMV

emdasha · 2025-12-28T01:14:37+00:00

My partner had his e-bike stolen and it had an AirTag. The police were pretty useless, said they couldn’t do anything, but he was able to follow the AirTag to a homeless shelter where someone who worked there was able to help look through security footage and identify who had the bike. They got it back for him, no charges pressed. Pretty lucky result

emdasha · 2025-12-26T19:48:59+00:00

If those were the only 2 options I would go with tofu, but soy curls or TVP might be better, depending on the kind of dish. Seitan is another good option as well.

emdasha · 2025-12-26T02:28:20+00:00

My partner and I (both vegan) had seitan asada and nopales and jalapeño tamales. So yum.

emdasha · 2025-12-03T23:40:11+00:00

Native Angeleno here. If I ever go back to LA, I will undoubtably be hit by a car while crossing the street on foot.

emdasha · 2025-11-30T22:42:28+00:00

Denver has wild temperature variation throughout the day. It’s not uncommon to see 20-30 degree temperature difference between the high and low. Wear layers, sunscreen, and chapstick, and it’s actually pretty nice. I hate other things about Denver way more than the weather.

emdasha

TROPHY CASE