ceoln @ceoln@qoto.org

I'm older so I remember things. Everything you see happening today should be understood this way:

The top tax rate used to be 90% in order to prevent the really rich from destroying democracy.

The corporate tax rate was 50% because corporations exist to serve society.

AND the inheritance tax was really high to keep family dynasties from gaining power over us.

#taxes #democracy

"With AI, now any idiot can write malware!"

As a security researcher, I can assure you that idiots have been writing malware for quite some time.

The ghost town of Bodie, CA by starlight

Gallery: https://www.abandonedamerica.us/bodie

Our latest: Employees at TikTok and ByteDance have access to a secret back-end button that can make any video go viral, immediately pushing it to more viewers. The practice, which TikTok has never disclosed, is known internally as “heating.”

https://www.forbes.com/sites/emilybaker-white/2023/01/20/tiktoks-secret-heating-button-can-make-anyone-go-viral/

i was laid-off twice early in my career in very large reorgs / cost-cutting.

the thing that wld have been helpful for me to hear then was 'this is not abt you. you were a number on someone's spreadsheet. they wanted that number to go down by 1000 or 2000 or 10,000'.

so, to anyone who needs to hear that today:

it's not abt you. you did nothing wrong.

A bit of a departure this week, here's a few of my favourite African proverbs.

* Strategy is better than strength.
#Hausa

*  When the door is closed, you must learn to slide across the crack of the sill.
#Yoruba

*  If you are on a road to nowhere, find another road.
#Ashanti

*  Those who get to the river early drink the cleanest water.
#Kenyan

*  Two men in a burning house must not stop to argue.
#Ashanti

#BlackFriday #BlackMastodon #BlackJoy #AfricanProverbs #Wisdom #Wordstoliveby

So, we just got a new dining room bench/booth situation, which the doodles immediately claimed as their own. The big one, Stella, seems convinced that we bought a new giant dog bed just for her.
Because of course we did.

#dogsofmastodon #doodlesofmastodon #diningroom #booth #interiordesign #thedogsletuslivehere

Doodle pics galore on my IG:
🔗 https://instagram.com/jeffreyaward

Hello (Again) World. I appear to have successfully jumped off one airplane onto another and am now @carlmalamud.

This is a certified verified account. I yam who I yam. It's official.

Well this is interesting:

"The vast majority of adults with an ADHD nervous system are not overtly hyperactive. They are hyperactive internally.

Those with the condition don’t have a shortage of attention. They pay too much attention to everything.

Most people with unmedicated ADHD have four or five things going on in their minds at once.

The hallmark of the ADHD nervous system is not attention deficit, but inconsistent attention."

➡️ https://www.additudemag.com/secrets-of-the-adhd-brain/

#maker #projects #adhd

Layoffs:
- don't save money
- don't improve company performance
- don't increase stock pricess
- destroy trust
- have huge impacts on health, well-being, and income of employees

So why do layoffs? It's a network effect: execs lay people off because other companies are doing it

Stanford Biz School article: https://news.stanford.edu/2022/12/05/explains-recent-tech-layoffs-worried/

Harvard Biz Review:
https://hbr.org/2022/12/what-companies-still-get-wrong-about-layoffs

Getting ready for our #bookclub #podcast planning meeting & watching The Russian Ark! This month’s #bowiebookclub pick was epic and educational.
@bookstodon
#bookpodcast
#amreading #bibliophile #bookworm #readmorebooks #read #bookcommunity
#apeoplestragedy #russianrevolution1917 #historybooks #bookstodon

Too many choices! #CatsOfMastodon