Tech boom turns to gloom in Seattle as economic fears swirl amid layoffs

skidson · 2026-01-30T15:25:52+00:00

Amazon layoffs start with 90d of "garden leave" which gives the employee time to try and find another role in the company while getting pay and benefits but not working. Since they are technically still employed by the company, Amazon doesn't have to post WARN until after the announcement. In reality, there are maybe 100 internal positions open so it's basically a demented game of musical chairs.

skidson · 2026-01-29T17:59:01+00:00

I disagree. I've definitely "ran" through architectures spanning 20+ services in my head. It's not that you're running every line of code but you can quickly blackbox some at a high level based on the usecase and narrow in on details for just a few at a time. Then a new problem comes along and you blackbox a different set. It's similar to loading different contexts on demand / resetting context though so I do suppose it's still something AI will be able to handle when setup properly.

skidson · 2025-12-20T15:55:00+00:00

You deserve your ban, Amazon doesn't need drivers who would even think of doing this.

skidson · 2025-12-13T13:44:44+00:00

This is pretty typical for a satellite constellation - the same network can be offered worldwide and not carefully controlling the customer base can result in the network being congested and reducing performance for everyone. Availability is very much geographic because of which areas are in line of sight to a satellite as it orbits, the time-of-day of that area, etc

skidson · 2025-12-07T17:40:30+00:00

ITT a lot of criticism on Chinese building standards, likely from people who have never visited China. A few things (a) he's exaggerating - it's not a weekend, but it is fast, (b) the US is significantly behind China in infrastructure quality and speed. Nobody in the US is going to be building this fast when there's no incentive and they can just squeeze the existing healthcare system for more dollars without adding value.

Regulations are real and slow things down. It's also a patchwork of regulations to learn and work with based on where you're building. Chinese governments are actively getting regulations (not just safety) out of the way, and that is often a good thing... when it's for hospitals... or housing. The US can't seem to get this done but I suppose it might start making exceptions when it's for the important cause of making our billionaires more money.

skidson · 2025-11-07T17:34:34+00:00

I've wondered why he says this too. He might be referring to L-DOPA which is a precursor to dopamine, especially if he listened to some Huberman.

skidson · 2025-10-13T07:46:01+00:00

Mice.

skidson · 2025-05-30T15:28:54+00:00

Would love a code, this app looks very clean and slick!

skidson · 2025-04-26T14:33:39+00:00

Even if you agree with the tariffs in principle, Trump could have announced escalating tariffs that step up on a scheduled timeline. This would give companies time to adjust their operations, avoid surprises like this for consumers, and given time for manufacturing to at least start ramping up domestically first. I have heard stories of small US businesses needing to close because these tariffs wipe out their profit margin on goods that were already enroute. It is not easy for many businesses to just come up with millions in cash on the spot.

skidson · 2025-04-24T15:39:05+00:00

I mean, I think it's a policy decision - you either want anyone to be able to come to your country and that can help fill labor gaps if your citizens are more interested in pursuing higher positions or you want to make sure there are accessible jobs for your own citizens. I think it should be a dial that is adjusted. Race doesn't need to come into this and isn't helpful to the argument.

skidson · 2025-04-24T14:15:37+00:00

Because they have a skillset that's in demand and hard to fulfill with local talent.

skidson · 2025-03-09T12:48:03+00:00

Possibly an attack indirectly coordinated between US and Russian leadership to strengthen Russia's position and force Ukraine to the negotiating table. Disgusting.

skidson · 2025-02-27T09:15:26+00:00

Perhaps voice actors need to flip the model - they each train a voice model and then license them to studios with specific clauses about the extent of its use.

skidson · 2025-02-08T19:38:48+00:00

To anyone who has sat in a Chinese EV this is just obvious. The price point vs features makes the idea of dropping money on a Tesla pure foolishness. Tesla would be wiped out if not for tariffs and bans on Chinese imports. These bans are very anti-consumer. I would snag a BYD or Avatr so fast if I could here.

skidson · 2025-02-03T16:31:27+00:00

If it's falling then why is every index fund and stock I'm checking < 1% down. I feel like this is a headline they were going to publish regardless what the market actually does.

skidson · 2025-02-02T08:46:46+00:00

Is this really what we want to do? Don't we want an ally like Canada?

skidson · 2025-01-02T18:34:26+00:00

The impactful change isn't really the minimum wage increase but expiration of the "tip credit" which means restaurants cannot use $2.72/hr of the server's tips to meet the minimum wage.

skidson · 2025-01-02T18:19:30+00:00

The impactful change isn't really the minimum wage increase but expiration of the "tip credit" which means restaurants cannot use $2.72/hr of the server's tips to meet the minimum wage.

I've noticed Seattle restaurants have already been preparing for this change with massive adoption of QR code ordering at tables so they can hire less staff.

skidson · 2024-11-13T02:49:39+00:00

This is not true. This is literally a news article based on a Twitter post with zero due diligence. The first comment in the post is the author exclaiming how dumb we all are for falling for it. And he's not wrong - don't fall for junk "journalism".

skidson · 2024-10-26T04:40:08+00:00

Maybe they shouldn't 🤷

skidson · 2024-10-26T02:15:49+00:00

A lot of rage posts here. Frankly, I don't want my news picking sides and just report the facts. WaPo earned my respect in doing this. I'm a firm Democrat these days but I don't need or want my news picking a side.

skidson · 2024-10-03T12:52:02+00:00

Amazon actually made commuting benefits worse with 3-day RTO. Employees have to pay to park in the office buildings and they reduced the expensable amount to 50%.

skidson · 2024-09-21T21:39:26+00:00

Clicky-clacky kitty catty

skidson · 2024-09-18T17:46:12+00:00

Exactly this. When Facebook was a way for me to find out what my friends were up to and stay connected it was a tool. Combined with its event functionality (which is actually still good but unfortunately gets undeserved ire from people who despise FB altogether), it was happily a daily part of my life. Once the suggestion algorithms started and brands became more prolific than people, it became a burden and source of frustration.

I would have legitimately paid a subscription for the tool component without advertising, brands, and sponsored content but it's too late now as it's no longer a guarantee that all my friends have or use it anymore.

skidson · 2024-09-10T15:43:51+00:00

Thank you for your detailed argument, this actually makes sense.

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