Karli Watson @karlequin@qoto.org

River roots
https://www.instagram.com/p/ClMDpygjgbU/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY=

"You do know it's only fucking November?"

@theaardvark Hello! I vaguely remember that when I first joined up I followed everyone on a "list of interesting people" (mostly in Brum) and you were on it :)

https://humanists.uk/2022/11/15/stephen-fry-and-humanists-uk-launch-animated-film/

@LexiconDevil @book who is "they"?

@Noided I have no idea how to respond to this... Because I can't help it?

@book @amerika I couldn't disagree more. You would remove companies from the least ethical up, and if there's a need for the services those companies provide then the space would quickly be filled by those able to pay a decent living wage, which everyone ought to be able to enjoy in a civilised society, regardless of skillset, disability or other demographic. It's obvious to me that my more socialist viewpoint is not something that is ever going to sit well with you, so I'm not going to discuss this any further. It is refreshing to step out of my twitter echo-chamber, but I have more important things to do than carry on with this conversation! Thank you for your input, though.

@book @amerika If you believe the system is failing people in that way, and if you also believe that removing workers' rights is the right solution to that, then honestly there's nothing I can say that's going to convince you otherwise.

@amerika Well, I think we have a fundamental difference of opinion there! It seems obvious to me that unions have done immeasurable good *for workers*, which is kinda the point of them. If they've also made it harder for companies to function, I have no problem with that. Without legislation to even the playing field, it's ludicrous to rely on the beneficence of bosses to "treat the good ones well", as you put it. Call me an idealist if you like, but I believe minimum wage, maternity and paternity rights, pension provision, holiday and sickness entitlements etc. are of great benefit to society. And also, you might argue that the hypothetical fast food employee you mention provides a far more useful function than a twitter employee by feeding people (one cannot live on tweets alone) and the pay discrepancy is much greater than it ought to be. But, hey, maybe I have some deep-rooted anti-meritocracy feelings going on :)

@amerika I'm not saying they shouldn't. But working long hours for more money should be a right, not an obligation. I'm sure you don't mean to say that workers' rights are a bad thing?

Anyway, it sounds like Elon needs blue pills more than blue ticks... (Sorry, my inner schoolboy couldn't help it!)

@DebsWithCats Absolutely!

@gpowerf It's certainly what I'd be doing!

Oh ffs, get over yourself Elon. It's just a job. People have lives, they're not your servants. Despite what you might want, nowadays nobody has to work like they're in a 19th-century mill. #deadbirdsite

Hi all, thought I should add my #introduction! I'm enjoying it here so far. Like many others have said, it's reminiscent of those halcyon days of early #deadbirdsite.

Anyway, brief summary time… I started off studying physics and assumed I'd end up in academia, or would at least become "Dr Watson", but it wasn't to be. My attempt at a PhD in nanoscale physics didn't go too well for various reasons, and I fell into a career editing and writing books about programming, mostly concerning C#. My timing was terrible as everybody started using #stackoverflow instead of reading books, so I sold my soul to the man and now work as a contractor in the London financial sector.

So, that's me. Looking forward to meeting some likeminded people here. Please go easy on me, I was widowed at the start of 2021 (#fuckcancer) and am still rebuilding myself.

Have some hashtags:

#computing
#programming
#dotnet
#react
#ethicaldata
#bigbrotherwatch
#sciencecommunication
#physics
#atheist
#lego
#sff
#bookchat
#finewines
#hiking
#boardgames
#cooking
#tofueatingwokerati
#sexpositive
#alltheusualfilmtravelandtvnonsense