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Dell Sales team told to return to office 5 days a week
  • i hate how this "best performers" rhetoric always comes out in WFH discussion. everyone should be able to work from home if it's better for them regardless of if they're The Best at their dunder-mifflin ass job

  • This week I predict there will be a lot of f**ked off astrologers
  • this is definitely the answer, and i don't get why people are so aggressive about shitting on people who just want a bit of fake mysticism in their lives. literally not hurting anyone to look at the stars and feel stuff

  • Tiny fish found to have sophisticated self-awareness only ever seen in some humans
  • all animals are waaay more aware than we realize (or can bear to realize), but it's going to take forever to officially prove because we have to start from the place of them needing to prove that they:

    may also have an internal awareness of their own bodies

  • Where will the internet go post-reddit and post-twitter?

    both companies notably ruined the internet in the 2010s by consolidating discourse then taking various steps to destroy the user experience and the feel of the communities for profit.

    so, broadly, the web went from cozy, small hobby forums in the 90s and 00s, then with the 10s as a transitional period, the 20s being practically complete corporate control of online discourse.

    it's a bummer. but nothing lasts forever. where will we go next?

    48
    First date of my life I am shook I cannot believe this is real

    i genuinely feel like my entire life and mindset have done a... at least a 90 by now, by somehow, somehow getting this hail mary pass off and setting this up. i can't believe this is real life it's very bizarre, i'm just shaking with anxiety and energy

    i just feel like she'll hate me upon first sight (this was thru an app) for some reason, she'll sense the autism, she'll know i'm off and the next hour will be awkward and she'll politely say goodbye.

    i mean, alternatively, it could go well, she could be cool. she seems cool which i suppose is why i did this. what is happening i cannot believe these are things that are going on in my life i feel like i was just in a major major hitting slump for 10 years, strikeout after strikeout

    and then also what if she ghosts me or stands me up like in the films. what then? add it to the list of failures and try to rebuild my self image?

    aghufasdf

    17
    McDonald's to 'rethink' prices after first sales fall since 2020
  • i don't get why people complain about this -- i'd so so much rather type my order in myself, see what's in everything, make modifications easily, etc without having to talk to someone. get those workers on the line and help ease the load on the kitchen

  • Is everyone so depressed now partially because modern science has probably proven there is no god / afterlife?

    By that I mean, it must be an inherently comforting thing to think - we inherently know this and want there to be something after death, because it feels right, or more meaningful. There's a reason basically every civilization ever has some sort of afterlife ethos.

    I realize I am basically horseshoeing my way into evangelicalism but still. Maybe life was better if we believed there was something beyond this. [edit - please note that yes, the world is shitty, things are awful and getting worse, and that is exactly my point -- we get THIS SHIT, and nothing else? god that's awful]

    50
    www.forbes.com Supreme Court Will Rule On Gender-Affirming Care For Minors

    The Supreme Court will review a Tennessee law that restricts hormone therapy, puberty blockers and gender-affirming surgery for minors.

    Supreme Court Will Rule On Gender-Affirming Care For Minors
    53
    Having to score strangers on their 'empathy' and 'courtesy' and 'knowledge' (anything less than a 5 star is a 'bad grade', I am sure)

    by that i mean, those are intangible, effervescent parts of a human being that should not be quantized down to a fucking amazon star system. the 'anything less than 5 stars is actually bad' thing is disgusting as well - all modern companies do this.

    23
    I cannot stand how social interactions are valorized in media and advertising to make us feel wrong for being alone.

    If you go somewhere alone, say, a restaurant, that's an ostensible bad vibe, plus you're taking up valuable real estate and time, when you could iNvItE your bUdDiEs and make it more worth the restaurant's while, so 'fun'-based companies have all been subliminally forcing us for 100+ years to only consume their products with people around us -- think the smiling people in those Olive Garden ads.

    And I'm not saying it's not fun to do these things with people, of course it is, I'd agree that it's even more fun. But it's not necessarily accessible or practical for everyone all the time. We should be able to enjoy the same pleasures of the world, the same excesses of capitalism, chef-cooked lunch from the Mediterranean for $10 in iowa at 10am, roller coasters, beach resorts, etc, without feeling shitty and weird for not having someone by our side. Same thing with the pressure to start a family as well. Sure, it's a natural impulse, but it's been hijacked by the ever-growing greed of capital.

    It's so insidious it's insane. Marketing is scumwork for scumlords. They create empty spaces of desire we're magnetized to fill. I'm sure there's a way to think yourself out of this, but it's hard and I have no idea where to start on that mountain and I think meditation is sort of bullshit (especially if you have autism [hi]).

    I tried to buy season tickets for myself for our local baseball team and the guy was like 'you can invite a friend if you want as well!' and like yeah no shit, maybe I want to go alone and relax? Can I simply have that freedom without being nudged to constantly perform my own emotional labor to give them more revenue? Please? God?

    7
    Pros / cons of riding a bike?

    apparently my city literally literally banned public rail funding, and people online love jerking off about how good biking is, so i figured might as well try. I have come up with:

    pros:

    • good for mental health / exercise / endorphins
    • arguably quaint
    • feel like an old timey guy taking his wares to market
    • feel european
    • can annoy others
    • less of a police state around them vs cars
    • more flexible parking, routes
    • capacity to be peaceful
    • nice in summer

    cons:

    • look like an annoying dork (esp w neon - which also hurts the quaint factor)
    • have to wear a helmet (^)
    • getting sweaty, potentially "unpresentable" for work
    • still have to find safe parking
    • still takes a while
    • have to find new routes to places
    • can't listen to music or might die
    • little meaningful protection against severe injury
    • can only carry so many groceries/etc
    • sucks in winter
    128
    Male Fashion Advice @lemmy.world _number8_ @lemmy.world
    Got some amazing shirts at Costco for $15 but learned they're $60 new, ughh

    i am in shambles - I bought two Weatherproof Vintage short sleeve men's linen button down shirts last month from Costco, they were like $15 each, thinking little of it, oh these are probably going to be ok, normal big box store shirts.

    but I've worn them, and slowly realized: these are the best shirts I've ever worn. they're comfortable, they fit perfectly, they feel absolutely perfect, the linen is perfectly breathable and feels perfect on my skin, they look very summery and nice, I've never enjoyed a shirt more than these shirts.

    So I want more than the pink and blue that I bought, because that's only 2 days of the week. I go to the official website and the shirts start at $60. I am wrecked. I should've bought 15 of them at the store.

    Costco themselves have a few left online, but only in obscure sizes and ugly colors. I am in shambles.

    5
    I hate how reddit lies to you about if your post was actually posted on a subreddit

    i posted a fairly obscure support request on an obscure sub and instead of just saying the post isn't live, etc etc, it'll fake-show me the post as #1 on the hot page of the sub, #1 on the new, but then if I open the sub in a private window it isn't there -- so it either wasn't approved at all, or hasn't been approved yet. why lie? why why why.

    it's so fucking frustrating, because usually there's literally no other place to go for support, and now I can't even post about my issue because some mod who works for free decided my valid thread with support logs and everything "isn't good enough" or god knows what. sick of it.

    5
    Why isn't jerking off more valorized as an easy dopamine hit that's also literally good for you?

    people have been demonizing it for most of the AD years i think but it's quite pleasant really. are there any proven negative effects?

    249
    When watching a film, do you generally try to empathize with the lead and immerse yourself, or do you try to watch it more objectively?

    i feel like when i was younger i exclusively did the first thing, just relate to the main character. but now it's more fascinating to zoom out more.

    ex I'm watching Black Swan atm and instead of being like oh dancing is hard the teacher wants to fuck me etc, I'm thinking about like, that's a lot of effort just to do ballet, which the opening 5 minutes establishes is a completely irrelevant art form

    8
    This stuff about the price reductions after 4 years of blatant gouging is really freaking me out

    I mean, that’s 4 years of our lives taken! 4 years of opportunities that were more challenging because they wanted a number on a computer to go up! 4 years of feeling worse than necessary about my finances and management of them and general personhood because i felt like i couldn’t afford anything because everything was priced egregiously!

    And now they’re saying ‘oh well we fixed it now’. Fuck you!!! Get over yourselves! Holy shit, I can’t wait to happily be friends with the giant corporations again!! Just the arrogance that we’re happy to once again be at their beck and call because they changed the numbers they could’ve always changed. Sickening.

    And I feel like I have a brain disease because i’ve been worrying and posting for years about how disgusting it is that they’re just cranking the numbers up to see what’ll happen and obviously no one will stop them because this is an oligarchy — and i kept getting well-ackshullyied into the ground by esteemed logical posters explaining how supply chains work. Well look at this shit you motherfuckers!

    Just the amount of incredibly deep and sophisticated social engineering is so disgusting:

    >It’s a savvy play for shifting perceptions of value, crucial for consumers in the decision-making process of where to shop for bread and eggs. Customers benefit by saving some money; retailers possibly benefit even more by being known as the company that magnanimously trimmed prices.

    Go to hell, stop shifting my value perception. I should be able to decide what I feel about milk or zucchini. When I think about a croissant I should be thinking about France, not Target pricing strategies.

    >Most importantly, the theater of making grand pronouncements about lower prices is great for retailers’ reputations. Forget about all the price hikes grocery retailers and food brands implemented in the last few years — now companies would like consumers to focus on the savings they’re offering. “They’re all leaning into this inflation-oriented messaging,” says Stambor, which he notes is interesting because food inflation isn’t high at the moment. It’s the accumulation of past inflation that we’re still feeling the sting of; the prices just didn’t come down.

    And we’re meant to thank them for this! I hope to god they can’t put the genie back in the bottle with this. I won’t forget 2020, I’ll hate these bloodsuckers til the day I die.

    34
    jacobin.com Private Equity–Backed Firm Bowlero Is Ruining Bowling

    Bowlero, the biggest bowling company in the world, has grown rapidly in recent years. Fueled by private equity groups, the firm’s expansion has ruined the beloved pastime for many while its executives pull in massive profits.

    Private Equity–Backed Firm Bowlero Is Ruining Bowling

    >For the most part, Bowlero doesn’t build its own centers. Instead, it purchases existing ones and makes them over in the Bowlero style: dim lights, loud music, expensive cocktails. At Bowleros, bowling isn’t bowling. It’s “upscale entertainment.”

    >But for serious bowlers, the lived experience of Bowlero’s rise has come with a marked deterioration in conditions. Someone in Big Mike’s crew warns that lane 26 tonight is sticky right where you step up to bowl: “The approach! The actual approach!” Someone else says it’s no surprise: “They spend a couple million dollars putting in screens but can’t clean the place.”

    >In its initial acquisition wave, Bowlero bought up prominent centers in large population areas from New York to Los Angeles. As it continues to expand, it has promised to hoover up centers everywhere else in the country. There are roughly 3,500 independent bowling centers left in America. For Bowlero, that’s 3,500 potential acquisition targets. “This industry,” Bowlero executive Brett Parker has said, “is fragmented and ripe for roll-ups.”

    >“A lot of guys are worried that in five years, seven years, you’re only gonna have a Bowlero,” Big Mike says. “And when that happens, what happens?”

    i love how everything is getting shittier in the same awful belittling way

    19
    Why Is There an AI Hype? | The Luddite
    theluddite.org The Luddite

    An anticapitalist tech blog. Embrace the technology that liberates us. Smash that which does not.

    >Companies are training LLMs on all the data that they can find, but this data is not the world, but discourse about the world. The rank-and-file developers at these companies, in their naivete, do not see that distinction....So, as these LLMs become increasingly but asymptotically fluent, tantalizingly close to accuracy but ultimately incomplete, developers complain that they are short on data. They have their general purpose computer program, and if they only had the entire world in data form to shove into it, then it would be complete.

    25
    This is what I learned on tiktok today. I obviously have my algorithm very finely tuned but I don't see anything this insightful on any other social media site.

    full disclosure i was accidentally logged out today and scrolled for 5 minutes and it was pure pure absolute uncut dogshit i mean god awful bad. so i don't blame people. but on my account it knows what i want

    4
    InitialsDiceBearhttps://github.com/dicebear/dicebearhttps://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/„Initials” (https://github.com/dicebear/dicebear) by „DiceBear”, licensed under „CC0 1.0” (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)_N
    _number8_ @lemmy.world
    Posts 233
    Comments 1K