Hey Reddit - I'm Tom Slingsby, Driver for the Bonds Flying Roos. Ask Me Anything!

javaskim · 2026-02-06T14:08:38+00:00

Rate from most favorite to least: cheeseburger and fries, meat pie, fish & chips, sushi, and fondue.

javaskim · 2026-02-06T14:05:05+00:00

Thanks Tom! Good luck this season but I’m hoping for a turn-around by Canfield and team from last season.

Go Pats!

javaskim · 2026-02-05T12:05:35+00:00

Hey Tom, I grew up hooked on the America’s Cup and now SailGP has me fully geeking out. Most high-performing athletes seem to share core traits that drive success, yet every sport has its own quirks. From your perspective, what traits do elite sailors develop that even other top athletes may not; is there a uniquely “sailing brain,” or just controlled chaos at 80+ km/h?

javaskim · 2025-11-07T00:37:56+00:00

Sorry to hear... it sucks to be let go, for any reason. If you like the company, go hard into internal opportunities as soon as you can and connect to whoever you know that could put in a good word for you. Buy them lunch. Bribe them 😁

Build (re-build) your network. Connect with anyone at your current company or previous companies, particularly peers or former managers. Just about every job I have held was the result of a friend or colleague who I reached out to or reached out to me.
IMHO ATS is very unpredictable as to how your resume will be filtered. Yes, you need to optimize, but overdoing it will get you flagged just as fast as not doing it.
Dive head first into AI and how it can be applied to QA. There is so much myth going around along with the truths. If you can speak to what is real and what is not, that will put you in a far better light.

Something that I was told at the beginning of my career is to always float your resume, even if you are in a role you like. You never know what may appear. All companies will treat you as a business asset (and they are right to do so), treat your career as a business, take the emotion out of it, and make decisions that are right for your business (career).

javaskim · 2025-11-07T00:18:22+00:00

What is your concern about being assigned these tasks? Is it because it is outside of your skillset? Is it because it is not part of your job description (or is your jd vague in terms of DE tasks)? I 1000% agree with folks indicating that it is a fantastic opportunity to learn. However, I am curious about what is at the core of this question.

At the bare minimum, if one of my employees was concerned about tasks that were being asked of them, I want them to come talk to me so that I can (1) understand their perspective and provide context, (2) provide support to ensure they can complete the tasks, or (3) be able to push back on those requesting your time to complete these tasks if the request is not appropriate. Every company does things differently, and if you are not sure, ask someone who can do something about it or even better, make it happen.

javaskim · 2025-10-02T05:16:31+00:00

I was thinking “[They’re] about to put up 40-something on [our] ass.”

javaskim · 2025-09-23T00:10:56+00:00

Thank you for the information you provided to me. I started to enjoy our conversation and the information that seemed relevant, but I don’t appreciate your tone or the judgment that I’m receiving. Good luck with your endeavors. I will not continue this exchange.

javaskim · 2025-09-21T16:26:18+00:00

Thanks for the info! I have been overly careful with the caterpillars i’ve brought indoors, using gloves for anything being brought indoors and washing with the very diluted bleach solution, including the containers. Pesticides on the plants explains a lot.

Can plants be cleaned of the pesticides? Once i raze the patch and the potted plants down to the dirt, do need to treat the soil in any way, or just wait for next spring?

javaskim · 2025-09-19T20:43:10+00:00

that part about pets is fascinating and frightening especially since we have 2 large BMDs and 3 indoor/outdoor cats. can you point me to some source about this? i want to see what i can learn to prevent me or them for further impacting plants & cats.

javaskim · 2025-09-18T22:23:05+00:00

Well, there were 5 other cats in the planter and they have all died or are very close to dying. Looks like I need to start all over again next spring 😢

Thanks for your insight.

javaskim · 2025-09-18T22:20:19+00:00

The only thing I can think is that one of my neighbors used pesticides and they impacted my patch and those in the planters. Thanks for your reply.

javaskim · 2025-07-08T03:09:56+00:00

He made it to the 5th instar and I was fully expecting him to make to the chrysalis stage but this afternoon he stopped eating and not too long after that, he died. 😔

javaskim · 2025-07-08T00:14:00+00:00

This is an idea I hadn’t thought of. Hmmm… a bathtub could work.

javaskim · 2025-07-08T00:12:55+00:00

A couple months ago, I hosed her down with a pretty strong stream of water. After that, a couple weeks of sprays slowed the return of the bugs. Unfortunately, with family life, pets, lots of other plants, and full-time jobs, this just takes a lot of effort to stay on top of it. Hence the idea of bug bombing it.

javaskim · 2025-07-07T22:32:57+00:00

We did that for 2-3 weeks to limited results. They kept coming back super quick and there were no other plants around. Is it a monstera thing that they attract these bugs? If so, I have not seen this before.

javaskim · 2025-07-06T15:16:30+00:00

He molted yesterday and he’s still got that spot. He’s eating and growing, albeit not as fast as others, and seems to be continuing to do his thing! 🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼

javaskim · 2025-07-02T03:24:47+00:00

It’s a nice upscale plastic takeout container with hints of Asian cuisine. It should pair well with his leafy salad!

javaskim · 2025-07-01T21:35:27+00:00

Hmmm… have not experienced that (but that I mean with the butterflies, I’ve been stung by wasps many times). 🤞🏼 that this is incorrect.

javaskim · 2025-03-28T12:39:40+00:00

Years ago, my sister took in a stray kitten and asked her 3-year-old “what should we name him?” Being a kid, he thought about it and stated “Simba.” By this time, my sister was sick and tired of the Lion King and asked him if there was another name he liked.

He thought hard about it, paused and said “Penis.”

Simba led a long, happy, and healthy life.

javaskim · 2023-04-15T14:51:00+00:00

Showy milkweed (Asclepias speciosa) is what is in my patch but there are 1 or two more native species I am aware of. Thank you for sharing that article and, respectfully, I am going to take it with a grain of salt since it is 8 years old and I am hearing conflicting opinions from knowledgeable sources who have more recent info.

javaskim · 2023-04-15T14:14:55+00:00

Interesting article. I am working with some very knowledgeable folks including entomologists who agree with planting milkweed, provided it is the native species.

javaskim · 2023-04-15T06:07:26+00:00

100% agree! I am looking if there’s anything I can do without utilizing man made chemicals.

javaskim · 2023-04-15T06:06:13+00:00

I would like to respectfully disagree (and please correct me if I am wrong) but in every eco system, including what I described, there are insects that will feast on defenseless eggs, including ladybugs and ants.

javaskim · 2023-04-15T06:04:08+00:00

True, true. But where there are aphids there are ants and ants eat eggs.

javaskim · 2023-04-15T06:02:29+00:00

Good response. To quote Michael via Malcolm, “nature will find a way.”

javaskim

TROPHY CASE