🛢

[🛢 @jobead]

Something crazy has taken our office by storm this week. It's a phenomenon we have dubbed #AmazonLootBoxes. It all started with this tweet from @meslin, who was just trying to order some boxes. https://t.co/cLDlCejTkB

[dave meslin, KC @meslin]

1. Three weeks ago, I ordered a box of boxes from @PkgWholesalers, via @amazonca. Specifically, I ordered a package of 25 boxes, each 6x9x6: https://t.co/My0zSBmYyD

[Patrick McKenzie @patio11]

@snewmanpv @David_Kasten Also *inevitably* we are going to discover the downside of maximally candid automatically recorded persistent record of what senior technologists believed about their orders and actions via an indictment at some point.

[🛢 @jobead]

@patio11 There is a wildly self-reinforcing aspect of this too. I recently learned that kids “need” [to end up ~fluent] to hear something like 2 million words by 5yo or their brain structure is permanently stunted. If 1 or both parents can’t functionally read book nightly, kids are hosed.

[🛢 @jobead]

🎯

[Patrick McKenzie @patio11]

My microtactical suggestion if you are ever in a very frustrating meeting is to pivot and say "Of course there are some people who are reading in not-their-native-language" because that gives these meeting participants permission to notice difference in ability levels.

[🛢 @jobead]

@startupandrew @APompliano @avlok the embedded mocking here of using an ellipsis with a space when the prompt for the overly verbose essay quoted clearly has a "replace all usages of em dashes with ellipsis + space so it doesn't look like LLM output" somewhere in its context window is *chefs kiss*

[🛢 @jobead]

@rywalker Tasklet (@TaskletAI) from the founding tech team behind @firebase

Wildest new thing that got me to try it is iMessage integration so you have an actually secure comm channel. Individual phone number per agent so you can name your contacts and know “who” is messaging you.

[🛢 @jobead]

@bendog28 Visually yes; can’t figure out how they still haven’t figured out how to remove the distinctive background whine. That has to drive the competitors crazy too.

[🛢 @jobead]

Dangerous Professionals who are regular readers of @patio11 will be 0.00% surprised by this anecdote.

[Roger Ledbetter @rledbetterCPA]

Always an adventure calling the IRS

Me: "Hi, I'm calling about penalty relief for my client. He's disabled and --"

Agent: "What's the account number?"

Me: "He lost his job. Couldn't afford to file. He has severe anxiety and --"

Agent: "I see. The penalty is $847. Next?"

Me: "His anxiety is documented. He's been struggling for years. He literally couldn't handle opening the mail from you guys."

Agent: "Understood. The penalty stands."

Me: "He's on disability income. This is going to hurt him badly."

Agent: "I hear you. Still $847."

Me: "He was literally unable to function during this period. His doctor can verify --"

Agent: "That's unfortunate. The penalty is assessed."

Me: "So there's nothing we can do? No hardship exception? No compassion?"

Agent: "Not without something to base it on, sir."

Me: *long pause*

Me: "I mean - unless I..."

Agent: "You could...."

Me: "Could what?"

Agent: "Well. You'd have to say it."

Me: "Say..."

Agent: "THE words, sir."

Me: "What words?"

Agent: "I can't say them for you."

Me: "It's not even a sure thing though. Could it work?."

Agent: "Only one way to find out sir."

Me: *long pause*

Me: "I'm going to say it."

Agent: "I'm bracing, sir."

Me: "First time penalty abatement."

Agent: "Excellent. Your client is eligible. I'm releasing the penalty now. We're all set."

Me: "Wait. That's it? Just like that?"

Agent: "Yes sir. The penalty is gone."

Me: "It's automatic?"

Agent: "Exactly."

Me: "So why all the drama? Why couldn't you just tell me?"

Agent: "Because most people don't understand how serious a decision it is to say THE words."

Me: "It's that serious? Why?"

Agent: "You just used your one shot."

Me: "What do you mean my one shot?"

Agent: "First time penalty abatement. You can only invoke it once per client. Ever."

Me: "...once?"

Agent: "That's right. Once... And then it resets again in three years."

Me: "Wait, it resets? So we can do this again in a few years?"

Agent: "Is there anything else I can help you with?"

[🛢 @jobead]

@quantian1 I used to have a section at the very bottom of mine that said:

OTHER
League Bowler (Right-Handed, X̅ = 151, σ = 21)

I was never job searching intensely enough to get a large sample but the few examples I did have, it definitely hit its intended audience

[🛢 @jobead]

@mcuban B/c cost is always covered by 📈premiums but generally profit capped by regulation to a %. So it can minimize overall costs & profit $35 (10% of $350) or let costs overall costs escalate & profit $250 (10% of $2500). Which option is a capitalist entity incented to move towards?

[🛢 @jobead]

@tweetatweir @mikeharrisNY How about 578!

[🛢 @jobead]

@mikeharrisNY @tweetatweir I also like this take where you move “exactly 2 matches” for 2e508

[🛢 @jobead]

@mikeharrisNY @tweetatweir (I would actually argue that 5E81 is valid as well)

[🛢 @jobead]

@mikeharrisNY @tweetatweir 600 million (6E8)

[🛢 @jobead]

@ttrefren @PatrickHeizer 5/ …criteria for determining the fault inside a population, you must assume all of the parts in the population are bad and need 100% inspection. You can’t inspect a weld like this in the field (likely needs xray) so the lowest cost containment is full replacement. /fin

[🛢 @jobead]

@ttrefren @PatrickHeizer /4 I don’t want to sound like to much of a corporate glazer here but it sounds like the quality culture that Toyota was famous for and hasn’t been totally stamped out by their integration with American capitalism. You must contain the defect and if you literally can’t find a… /4

[🛢 @jobead]

@mcuban Because they are paired with HD plans which don’t recognize out of network costs (even when paid 100% by the insured) against the deductible. I pay $400 (my PBM 📈 price) for a 💊 with a cash price of $30, so I can eventually get to my deductible and get real coverage.

[🛢 @jobead]

@nathangross This is mine. A decade later and these packages from @kroger are exactly the same, with the same lie printed right in front of your face 🫠