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97938779
comment
bythesandtiger
ry 24, 2018 @07:55AM
(#56180639)
Attached to: Major New Study Confirms Antidepressants Really Do Work
The point of the pills is to allow someone who is depressed to be able to function well enough to be able to benefit from counseling aimed at helping them cope.
People with severe depression often aren't able to function at a level where they can "face the pain and become a fully functional human being" without a chemical assist at the beginning.
Pills alone aren't the answer. Then you're just someone who has had a lifetime of behavior and patterns built around being depresses, and it isn't much different from actually BEING depressed. Pills and therapy - and you have to work at the therapy - can be life changing.
97009257
comment
bythesandtiger
30, 2018 @02:43PM
(#56035043)
Attached to: The Next Time You Order Room Service, It May Come by Robot
I agree and disagree.
Having useful stuff to do - that's important. I think that when a person feels like what they're doing - whatever it is - matters, they will find some fulfillment.
Having artificial responsibilities tied to a job? Not so much.
I find no value in responsibilities tied to work that may or may not be meaningful in any real way. I find zero value in responsibilities tied to an arbitrary job for an arbitrary entity - they are pointless constraints on my time, energy and freedom.
I do find value in responsibilities voluntarily tied to people or persons, where my unique self is of specific value to the people or persons I'm responsible to.
What do we do when people have no "work" responsibility? We hopefully teach people to care about other people, rather than just economic gain.
95945041
comment
bythesandtiger
ber 13, 2017 @07:17PM
(#55734985)
Attached to: Former Uber Employees Have Gone Into Debt To Hang Onto Shares They Can't Sell
If that were actually the intent, then lottery tickets and casinos would likewise require people to prove they can afford to lose that money.
They don't, and this rule is just another way that the haves are trying to remove the ability of the have nots to better their lot in life. If one thinks otherwise, one hasn't been paying attention.
95903989
comment
bythesandtiger
r 12, 2017 @02:13PM
(#55726791)
Attached to: The First Women in Tech Didn't Leave -- Men Pushed Them Out
Based on the comments here every time gender imbalance in tech comes up, I guess it must be because men in general just aren't biologically, emotionally, and intellectually suited to being veterinarians nowadays. Only someone with a radical SJW agenda would say that we should try and get more men in veterinary medicine.
95711663
comment
bythesandtiger
04, 2017 @09:55PM
(#55677341)
Attached to: To Solve the Diversity Drought in Software Engineering, Look to Community Colleges
We do. They just need to be good. By good, I mean:
- Relevant tech skills and the demonstrated ability to keep current
- A "years of experience" appropriate understanding of architecture, team operations, the non-code parts of writing good code
- Age appropriate interpersonal skills or better (communication, empathy, that kind of thing)
- The ability to demonstrate clearly how they will generate more value than it costs to bring them onboard
- Make me feel confident that it's a good fit and it looks like it'll work out for 2-3 years
That's it. A pretty low bar, I think.
With the fit part, lest anyone think that's a hidden gotcha - I'm over 45 myself and I actually prefer older people because basically, by the time someone's 45 or so, they are who they are and are generally comfortable enough in their own skin to show that at an interview. I'm biased against hiring people in their 20's because they're still figuring out their shit and while I don't have a problem with that on a personal level, I'd really rather not have them do that on my dime.
95288225
comment
bythesandtiger
17, 2017 @04:27AM
(#55568267)
Attached to: Foreign Students Have Begun To Shun the United States
Speaking of intellectual honesty, you should try some.
Nobody is "pro-illegal" first and foremost - that's pretty dishonest to use that term, about as dishonest as "pro-abortion" is. Secondly, you're lumping the entire group of people who have different views into one mass when it's a hell of a lot more complex than that. Thirdly, you're then mocking that entire group using intentionally infantilizing and simplistic language. Finally you're blaming those people you have treated as a monolith and infantilized as entirely responsible for the tone of the discussion.
So, if you actually want to have an intellectually honest conversation you're off to a very bad start.
Here, let me help:
The only people I feel are xenophobic are people who say or cheer for people who make xenophobic remarks. I believe that It's perfectly possible to have a problem with immigration (whether legal or illegal) without being xenophobic.
I'm opposed to illegal immigration. I feel that it is an incredibly dangerous thing to do just to get here, and then when here, people are forced to live half-lives for fear of being caught. I think this leads to a situation where those here illegally are able to be exploited and ultimately that exploitation causes huge problems in many areas.
However, I do not think that deporting people is the solution. I would much rather we overhaul our immigration and guest worker policies to make it easier for people to use legal means to come here than illegal means. I think the effort would be worth it and everyone would benefit. I think we should do a sort of amnesty for people who are here illegally so that they can contribute more fully and be better protected from exploitation that hurts EVERYONE, not just them.
Some people will say that amnesty isn't "fair" to the people who came here through sanctioned means, but I think that it is. People who came here legally are able to go to the police if they are threatened, are able to partake in civic life, are able to live without having to constantly fear deportation - they are free. People who came here illegally pay a different price, and I think it balances out.
With regards to this administration - I think some may be xenophobic, as certainly the president has said some xenophobic stuff and many of his supporters cheered him on. My gut tells me it's more craven pandering to get votes than outright malevolence. I think the bigger problem with this administration in regards to immigration is that they're looking for quick fixes - they want to be seen as doing something/having some wins - and as a result they're advocating short-sighted policy initiatives that won't solve the existing problem and are causing even more problems down the line.
But sure, if you want, you can say that the entire sum of my argument boils down to 'OAMG the administration hatez the dreamers!!!111!!one!!'
94471817
comment
bythesandtiger
15, 2017 @07:02AM
(#55372075)
Attached to: Ask Slashdot: How Can You Apply For A Job When Your Code Samples Suck?
Specify in your cover letter that you have to give samples because the back-end stuff, where you were able to follow best practices, is owned by your company and your front end code wound up going through a process that pretty much turned it into garbage. Give them links to the stuff you worked on that is live, but also the samples, and you'll be on your way.
If you're any good - I mean, literally, if you have a pulse and don't scream and hurl feces during your interview and demonstrate that you know at least how to slap at the keyboard and make something that works - you'll find a job.
94462125
comment
bythesandtiger
r 14, 2017 @10:13PM
(#55370969)
Attached to: Startup Plans To Clean Up Cigarette Butts Using Crows
I don't hate people who smoke - I hate people who smoke and are assholes about it. Smoke yourself silly when I don't have to smell it, fine by me. Smoke when it affects me, or make a mess that I have to deal with - no, that's not acceptable.
BTW, I also grew up when smoking was cool and smoked for decades and quit as well - climb off your fucking cross.
94382185
comment
bythesandtiger
er 11, 2017 @05:56PM
(#55352923)
Attached to: Amazon Finally Makes a Waterproof Kindle
A baggie will still let you swipe, no problem, and doesn't cost $30.
I use 'em on my kindle, phone and tablet when I want to use them and soak in the tub or float in the pool.
94382161
comment
bythesandtiger
er 11, 2017 @05:55PM
(#55352921)
Attached to: Amazon Finally Makes a Waterproof Kindle
Or a Paperwhite and a $.02 ziplock baggie...
94226015
comment
bythesandtiger
er 04, 2017 @07:02AM
(#55307173)
Attached to: Breast-Cancer Death Rate Drops Almost 40 Percent, Saving 322,000 Lives, Study Says
Bzzt, wrong answer.
A friend of mine does public health work, specifically around cancer and outcomes, with a number of hospitals directly and with data from a great many more.
One of the interesting things they've found is that outcomes are greatly influenced by one's socio-economic status even when people are able to get the same treatment. Why?
Because having cancer - actually dealing with it, getting treatment for it - is complicated. Keeping on top of myriad appointments, following through on issues with insurance, basically just working with the system, is hard for people who a) have a fundamental distrust of a system that hasn't worked well for them and b) don't know enough about this particular system to navigate through it. Patients from poorer backgrounds were less likely to advocate for themselves than patients from more affluent backgrounds, and would ultimately lead to an increased mortality or worse outcomes for people in the less affluent group.
In one hospital, they addressed the problem by getting volunteers who had been through the process (either as a survivor or partner of someone who had cancer) to help them navigate through this complex process and let the patient focus instead on getting well. Lo and behold, outcomes improved - not to the same level (there were factors outside of treatment that impacted survival - such as stress), but substantially.
To say that the difference is purely biological is frankly uninformed. Sorry, chum, but when you're dealing with science that is heavily human involved, politics in fact are important considerations. And, based on the improvements in outcomes (and resultant policy changes to try and provide more assistance), I'd say in this case that politics has HELPED rather than hindered.
"Politics" is EXTREMELY relevant to medical outcome, and the fact that you were voted 5 for your comment just makes it it clear that there are a great number of people who have no idea what they're talking about, to the detriment of others.
93721003
comment
bythesandtiger
ber 14, 2017 @10:22PM
(#55200391)
Attached to: Google Hit With Gender Pay Discrimination Lawsuit
Assuming you're in the US...
You're an old white guy who is completely ignorant about how "classes" work, as you claim that you cannot be a member of a "victim class" by definition.
Do you have a gender? If so, congratulations, you are part of a protected class: you cannot be discriminated against because of your gender.
Do you have a race/ethnicity? If so, congratulations, you are part of a protected class: you cannot be discriminated against because of your race/ethnicity.
And in the US, people 40+ years old are a protected class when it comes to employment discrimination. Since you claim to be "old" one assumes you're past 40, so you're by definition part of one of the one protected classes that actually doesn't protect everyone Congratulations!
Yes, I get that you were aiming for funny, except I see that particular bit of misinformation (that only minorities are in protected classes) so often here, I figured I'd mention the actual facts.
93260271
comment
bythesandtiger
5, 2017 @06:38AM
(#55081633)
Attached to: General Mills Loses Bid To Trademark Yellow Color On Cheerios Box
When I was little, I told my brother that Cheerios were just dried up cat assholes, so that he wouldn't eat them all.
Weirdly, when I sent that anecdote in to them for possible use in a cute little "how far will kids go for Cheerios" campaign, all I got was a request to never contact them again.
93079131
comment
bythesandtiger
17, 2017 @08:26AM
(#55033507)
Attached to: Why Does Hollywood Remain Out of Step With the Body-Positive Movement?
Because short near-sighted bald guys with beer bellies are a dime a dozen and aren't sexy to most people. Do you understand what the words "sex" and "symbol" mean, when put together like that?
Personally, I find the article stupid - "fat lady has problem finding something glamorous to wear" isn't a fucking headline, it's every 30 seconds in any store that sells clothes in America.
92555605
comment
bythesandtiger
2, 2017 @08:34AM
(#54857475)
Attached to: Drupal Developers Still Rebelling Against Drupal Leadership
The system absolutely does have ways to deal with it. The "good" solution would have been them either not having a puritanical shit-fit over someone's kinks that they got squeamish about OR, if they had any verifiable evidence or signs of abuse, to take that info to the authorities ASAP, fire Garfield with no explanation - they don't have to give one - and then shut the fuck up in public about it, offering only "no comment" to any questions.
Instead, they did the least helpful possible thing. They fired the guy with claims that his private behavior would harm their organization despite having zero evidence that he had behaved unprofessionally at any time, because they got squeamish about his kinks. They then tried to litigate this in the court of public opinion, and started making vague statements that maybe he was abusive based on their biased thinking that individuals with autism can't possibly provide full consent in a relationship. On top of that, they're opening themselves and their organization up to massive legal repercussions since they are making these claims in their capacity as leaders of the organization. And finally and worst, they muddied the waters sufficiently that it's going to be even harder to get any justice (if any is needed) for the individual they are claiming to want to protect.
The fact that they weren't able to respond with anything remotely approaching emotional maturity to this situation says to me that they are wholly unqualified to be in any position of responsibility until they grow up. They will be lucky to come out of this without their careers being turned into smoldering craters. and their abysmal handling of this has almost certainly caused far more harm to the organization than Garfield's private life would have.
I'm as socially liberal as they come, and I'm a huge fan of codes of conduct for projects in an industry where it's very clear that codes of conduct are needed. That said, I am able to understand when someone's private behavior is irrelevant to their professional behavior. In this case the situation was caused by, I'm sure, well meaning idiots who have demonstrated they don't have the emotional maturity to be in leadership positions in an organization, and just keep on proving that over and over as this thing goes on. From what I've read, other than some kind of hand gesture thing, there was zero public behavior on Garfield's part in any context related to Drupal that was also related to his private life.
For several years I was a mandated reporter and will always err on the side of reporting signs or claims of abuse so that they can be investigated. If they believed that there was abuse and they didn't go to police, then they are proving that they don't give a fuck about the person they are claiming to want to protect, and only trying (badly) to cover their asses. I don't personally care for Garfield's kinks, but that's none of my business unless and until he makes it my business, which, as far as I can tell, he hasn't.
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