LinkedIn? In My GitHub? It’s More Likely Than You Think

Outlook Integration with LinkedIn

I didn’t much care when Microsoft bought LinkedIn, because no one actually likes LinkedIn. What little usefulness it has exists only because there’s nothing else in the space. A Facebook for work. Really? That’s boring squared. Who cares? But when Microsoft bought GitHub, I was really disappointed. I felt it was “unwarranted.”

Linus Torvalds wrote Linux, and changed the world. Despite never being able to make a dent in desktop usage, it destroyed what little progress Windows was making on the server side compared to Unix and minis, and now runs basically everything that isn’t a desktop (or an Apple device).

Then Linus changed the world again, and wrote git. Except for the absolute biggest repositories (e.g., Microsoft Windows, or, say, Oracle), it quickly ate all other source code management software, paid or free. And then Microsoft patched git to handle their codebase, and uses it now as well.

GitHub was one of the first big Ruby on Rails apps to prove the framework’s viability at scale; a huge platform success that didn’t involve either Microsoft or Oracle.

So, from my perspective, GitHub — hosting git repos using Rails running on Linux and MySQL — represented everything in the software world that was NOT MICROSOFT.

And then Microsoft threw a couple billion at the founders, the government shrugged their shoulders at such a “small” acquisition, and GitHub, like so many before, became another head on the software world’s biggest hydra. I actually felt a little betrayed by the founders, if I’m being honest. I hate the M&A activity that’s destroying our economy, capturing our government, and producing a new feudal-like aristocracy, but I suppose, of all the companies that had the resources to give the founders their exit, a DOJ-chastened Microsoft wasn’t the worst possibility. Certainly better than Oracle or Salesforce.

Now I see this tomfoolery in the updated version of Outlook, which my corporate laptop just self-installed. Uh, no thanks? In fact, I can’t imagine something I want less than this, but Microsoft is always surpassing themselves, so I’ll just give it time. I would complain about jamming more “stuff” into an already over-stuffed application, but Outlook may be the software world’s poster child for bloat at this point, so what’s another useless “social” add-on?

I’m saying all of that to say this: I fully expect GitHub to get some sort of LinkedIn integration like this in the near future as well. “Link your professional software portfolio with a click of the button!” it will say, as if you can’t stick a link in there already. And then it will build a graph of user data behind the scenes for only-God-knows-what further marketing purposes.

I also expect that there will be some linkage between GitHub and Azure Devops. I had been thinking that Microsoft would simply phase out Devops for GitHub. Devops has never been particularly interesting as a product. However, a thoughtful person on Twitter — “There are dozens of us!” — disabused me of that notion. I’m sure he’s right: Microsoft certainly has too many paying customers for Devops to do anything drastic with it now, and it has become another lame-duck victim of Microsoft’s own success, destined to limp on forever because of backward compatibility. But I’m certain that they’re not just going to leave these two, so-closely-related silos sitting right beside each other with no connection, and I’m also certain I won’t like it when they finally do something.

“How do you define ‘unwarranted?'”

UPDATE: A comment on HN pointed out that Microsoft already has “boss ware” in the form of “Workplace Analytics,” and it’s bundled in Office365. Ticking this box, then, will allow them to associate a real person with a user in your company’s “analytics.” Will they rank people for recruiters based on this data? Will they provide a report for companies who are considering you for a job? Sounds like a perfectly valid, dystopian business opportunity to me. Right up their alley. I wouldn’t put it past them.

Analysis | Can Congress resurrect Roe if it’s overturned? Well, it could try.

To that end, Democrats in Congress are calling on their colleagues to “codify Roe” in federal law. The Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA) introduced by Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) in June 2021 would do just that. Here’s what you need to know.

By framing the right to abortion as a matter of access to abortion services, the WHPA is taking a page from another major civil rights bill, the Civil Rights Act of 1964. When Congress sought to enforce anti-discrimination requirements in public accommodations such as hotels, public transit and restaurants, it grounded its authority to do so in the Commerce Clause.

Source: Analysis | Can Congress resurrect Roe if it’s overturned? Well, it could try.

I’ve been barking at the moon on Twitter about the leaked decision on Roe v. Wade, trying to point out that it is the job of Congress to pass policy law on the issue of abortion. If delivered as leaked, this decision doesn’t require an Amendment to restore the status quo, nor does the issue have to be relegated to 50 different State legislatures, which all have wildly-varying interpretations on what the policies should be.

Elizabeth Warren made some news by being candid, passionate, and coherent — an unfortunately all-too-rare combination for a sitting Senator — and basically said what I’ve been trying to say: “Congress can keep Roe v. Wade the law of the land; they just need to do it.” And then everyone ignored that, and we got Kamala Harris jumping up in front of a microphone, and delivering a charted symphony of dog whistles.

The article I’ve linked makes the point I’ve been thinking: Congress has gotten a lot of milage from the “interstate commerce” clause of the Constitution. Especially given the varied nature of State statutes governing abortion, it would seem to me that Congress is perfectly positioned to invoked the clause again in order to regulate abortion across the country. In fact, I would argue that the leak should be seen as a blessing, giving time to Congress to lead and be prepared to pass just such a law if and when the time comes.

There’s an open floor for actual leadership in this country. But, no. No one is stepping up. No one is being an adult here. So, instead, we’re letting all the crybabies have the mic. It’s disgraceful. This whole thing is just disgraceful. And I really just can’t wrap my head around how it seems our entire government of elected lawyers can’t figure this one out. I realize everyone wants to capitalize on the political persuasion that’s up for grabs here, given the coming midterms, but the party that takes control of the narrative, makes the case for Congress doing their job, and drafts a bill reflecting a compromise would score huge points in the next election.

Unpopular opinion: Social media is a great scapegoat, but it is not the source o… | Hacker News

Source: Unpopular opinion: Social media is a great scapegoat, but it is not the source o… | Hacker News

I just felt this was a great post, serving to highlight the capriciousness, hypocrisy, and exploitation of kids just trying to get through public eduction. The people who are architecting these policies and curriculums know they have a captive audience. Further, they also know that their only resistance are parents who are too caught up in the adult versions of these same pressures to effectively combat the school boards who are applying them to their kids. Nobody likes being coerced. No one likes being compelled to do things they don’t want to do. Why is so much of society now bent on telling everyone what to do and say and think!?

Horizon Forbidden West Exemplifies Bad Characterization | Extra Punctuation – YouTube

There’s an uncomfortably good point being made in this video. The literal entirety of the future of the human race is riding on Aloy. She knows this. Her friends know this. It should be imperative to all concerned that she should be kept from danger. Everyone should have helped to shoulder her burden, and forced her to accept their help, if need be, instead of allowing themselves to be sidelined, and letting her trot off into the wilderness alone.

This second game could have allowed you to play as Aloy’s friends. You could have cleared the way for her to come in, unlock this, and upload that, and generally be the DNA-gated hero she is. As her ally, maybe you could have died, and been replaced by another ally for a different chapter of the game. Maybe you could have unlocked different allies — you accumulate a whole bunch in the home base by the end — each with different abilities, and chosen who would perform each mission. Each “herald” could have had access to a subset of the skill trees, forcing you into whole new play styles throughout.

Dang.

That would have been amazing!

I hate realizations like this.

I’ve been stuck finishing the game, because I’ve just gotten bored with it. It’s just not… fun. You know? You remember, Guerrilla Games? The whole point of a video game? I want to unlock the upgrades on the few pieces of legendary-level gear I’ve managed to score, and the process is just ridiculous. Even with the difficulty turned down, and with “easy loot” turned on, trying to farm enough parts to upgrade everything turns the game into an MMO-level grind.

I’ve put the game aside, and been playing through Skyrim Anniversary Edition (the one with all the Creation Club content), and it’s been awesome. There’s enough new content mixed into the game that there are little surprises all along the way. Most of all, it’s fun. The first time I fired it up, I was grinning from ear to ear. After you start getting into the higher levels, you can have several different play styles available to you, and they all have their utility. It’s just fun to play. I guess that’s why Bethesda is still rereleasing the game after 10 years.

Christian Hypocrisy (About Healing)

Classic Jeff Arnold.

First, he hammers ministers.

“We are supposed to reveal Jesus; not us. And we are supposed to reveal redemption and not perfection. And you cannot reveal Jesus (just) because you talk in tongues, and don’t smoke cigarettes.”

Then he turns around and hammers congregants.

He points out that we go to the doctor, wait forever, spend a lot of money, take the medicine, and then we don’t get better. We go back to the doctor, adjust the approach, repeat the process, and keep trying. But then, when it comes to God, we go to the altar, pray and get prayed for, and if we DON’T get healed on the spot, then we get discouraged, think that God doesn’t love us any more, and give up on the process.

I may or may not see myself in his comments, which is a weasely way of saying that I’m convicted.

Sex Education Acts As A Wake Up Call To Parents And Teachers

Old-fashioned parents and teachers needed a wake-up call, and Netflix’s Sex Education has provided just that.

The hit series, which recently blessed our screens once more for its third – and not final! – series, should act as a bible for all teachers and parents who are still stuck in outdated views about sex and relationships.

Parents and teachers no longer have any excuse to slut-shame, be judgemental or show anger or discrimination towards young people’s sexual endeavours – it’s 2021, and as Sex Education says, we should be ‘f*cking [that] pain away’.

Source: Sex Education Acts As A Wake Up Call To Parents And Teachers

I can’t imagine stringing together more wrong words in a row. You only have to look at social statistics for young people for the past 20 or 30 years to understand just how terrible modern society has become as an environment for growing up. Anxiety and depression are becoming staggering problems. I just read a study that reported that the average teenager’s anxiety is what people sought professional psychiatric help for 50 years ago. I’d try to find a source, but only the most-ardent contrarians would dispute that general idea. Doubling down on the behavior that’s making people crazy is probably not the right answer.

Reselling gig work is TikTok’s newest side hustle

Resellers buy gig work for as cheap as $5 to resell for profit

Source: Reselling gig work is TikTok’s newest side hustle

Yes, you can make money by looking for opportunities to match up supply and demand, and legitimately take a cut of the transaction. I didn’t read the whole thing, but I doubt that they talk about the flip side of this “work.”

I read a classic Hacker News comment by a person who claimed that they were employed by 3 or 4 companies at any given time, and sent all of their work to 3rd-world countries, to be done by contractors. They “did nothing,” and collected multiple salaries. Except that… they didn’t “do nothing” at all. Managing all of this work would be a lot of work in and of itself.

See, in either the case of using TikTok to work the arbitrage, or in misrepresenting yourself as an employee (and not a outsourcing firm), this takes real work. You have to constantly be hustling. Not only that, but in doing all of these things, you’re going to frequently be getting mixed up, caught in the middle, and have people (from both sides) getting mad at you. You have to the special kind of person — e.g., a psychopath — for this to not affect you, if you want to do this sort of thing for any length of time. So this is hardly some sort of quick and easy way to get rich doing nothing.