August 15, 2021

Hoo boy, just got 8 California ballots in the mail. Not great.

Two of them are legitimately ours.

Two are right house number, wrong street.

Two are right street, wrong house number.

Two are people who don't (no longer?) live here.

The four in my neighborhood I'll be walking over in the morning. Our two will get mailed when I do that.

Still. Eesh, USPS. Good thing it doesn't matter, eh?

August 10, 2021

A Republican could easily become California governor

If Newsom is recalled in Question #1 of the ballot, the person selected in Question #2 will replace him.

Here's the thing. Last I checked, there are 46 names listed on the second question. Whoever gets the most votes wins. Doesn't need to be a majority. There will not be a run-off. If the vote is divided all over, someone with 10% of the vote on Question #2 can be governor.

All the Republicans have to do is coalesce around someone. Looks like Larry Elder is it at the moment.

Here's the absolutely totally crazy thing.

Newsom's campaign is telling people to leave Question #2 blank.

https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/politics/governor-newsom-wants-voters-to-ignore-second-question-on-recall-ballot-democrat-republican-election/509-3bb99c42-2a67-4440-a9e1-42889ea6d5ff

In a statement, Nathan Click, Newsom’s advisor wrote,

"Leave it blank. Voting NO is the only way to block the Republican power grab and prevent the Republican takeover of California."

"They've made a strategic choice to solely focus on that first question because anything in their minds is a loss,” said News 8 political analyst Laura Fink.

It is so, so important for people to vote on this. If you're Californian - or even if you're not and know some - get your ballots filled out and mailed, and make sure everyone you know in the state is doing their part.

This situation can go to hell real easily. And then everyone will act all shocked and surprised. It's a heavily blue state. We have no excuse here.

August 9, 2021

President Obama's birthday party was a bad idea

The Right is having an absolute field day with it. Of course photos and videos got out. That was inevitable. People crowded together around the dance floor. No masks. Social distancing non-existent.

You know who was wearing masks? The staff. What a great optic.

Sigh. This was totally foreseeable.

People don't like this stuff. "Rules for thee but not for me." That's a nice chunk of why Newsom got himself in trouble in California. I don't think people from out of state understand the pure rage people had when he and London Breed got nailed for their behavior. Not just Republicans, either. Nearly everyone. Certainly everyone I know.

This stuff hurts us. It hurts our efforts.

The politicians and famous people on our side need to abide by the rules and recommendations given to everyone else. If you give someone an order, then you yourself don't follow it, it pisses people off. Even the ones who are inclined to be on your side.

I know we don't like to call out our own, but why this completely predictable chum thrown into the water for our opponents?

This was stupid.

August 6, 2021

Smoke and ash moving into Sacramento and Bay Area

Now it feels like summer.

Winds shifted overnight, and smoke from the fires has started moving south. It had been getting blown east the past few months, as I know many Americans can attest. We're finally transitioning back to what much of our summer was like last year. Blocked sunlight. The house smells like a camp site. Just brushed ash off my car.

Lovely. Probably just the beginning, as fire season goes well into Oct/Nov now. Around here, it's a total tinderbox. The hills were dead brown by April after a rainy season with no rain. That is not a good sign.

We're probably in for a repeat of last year, which was pretty bad.

What climate change?

August 5, 2021

Congress and the President need to make clear their plans on expiring unemployment assistance now

The Covid relief benefit of an extra $300 per week is ending on Labor Day. Half the states have already ended this benefit (mostly Republican governors).

We have one month left until the end of benefits. The Delta variant may cause further disruptions in businesses and hiring.

We should let people know so they can plan. Will the benefits definitively end? Will Democrats attempt to procure some kind of relief or extension? What can people expect?

We need to avoid a repeat of the eviction moratorium, where people had no idea what was going on until the last conceivable minute, and everyone had to scramble to figure something out. Everyone knew the day was coming. People sat on their hands until literally days before.

We shouldn't have a repeat of that chaos. Let people know, let people plan. And if Congress or the administration need to take action, let's start getting that together sooner rather than last minute.

August 2, 2021

Meltdown at the pharmacy over Covid vaccine

My partner is a higher up for a pharmacy system, and I just heard this one (he works from home and sometimes has calls on speaker).

A patient went into the pharmacy to pick up a prescription that apparently needed pharmacist consultation. The pharmacist asked if they had gotten the Covid vaccine, and if not, would they like to get one for free today? It's just something they do.

And then the fireworks began. The patient went ballistic on the pharmacist, demanding why she asked ("That's private!" ). Then lit into her for asking out loud. What if his neighbors were there and heard he was unvaccinated? What if anyone he knew had overheard? Apparently he took his mask off while ranting, and the waiting area cleared out fast (the pharmacy is within a hospital). Then security was called.

I didn't hear the ultimate resolution as I had a work call just then.

But sure. Let's behave that way in public in a hospital setting.

What if his neighbors overheard? Hell, I'd call that fair warning for them.

July 31, 2021

Grocery workers aren't even wearing masks, wtf . . .

Went to Costco to grab paper towels (we're genuinely out), then Safeway for things.

I keep tabs on how masking is going whenever at stores. Today was a 50/50 sort of day. Better than it's been.

But some workers weren't wearing masks. I'm talking cashiers, too. It took me a second to realize I'd never seen the faces of a lot of the local grocery workers. Both Safeway and Costco had maskless employees at check-out and wandering around. They were also about 50/50.

How is this happening? How are the stores allowing it, now that we're facing mask restrictions again because of Delta?

Ironically, Costco positioned cases of Clorox sanitation wipes in the vestibule - same as they did during lockdown.

I am totally baffled here. Shoppers not wearing masks yet? Fine. But workers, who are interacting with hundreds of customers a day, many of them maskless?

WTF. Just . . . WTF.

This is California Bay Area.

July 30, 2021

Welp, I've been told not to come into work

I've been working 95% from home since the pandemic started, only going into the office once or twice a week for a handful of hours to manage paperwork or meetings/interviews that can't be Zoomed.

We were supposed to begin transitioning to a 3/2 split next week (3 days at office, 2 days home). That's being scrapped. Corporate is now saying, "We will re-assess in September."

Friends of mine in tech are reporting similar. People were supposed to start going back in late summer/early fall, and it's all being cancelled until further notice.

So this is happening.

July 29, 2021

Iranian Defector Dedicates Silver Medal Win In Judo To Israel

Here's a nice Olympics story. We see a lot of anti-semitism in the games sometimes. One guy said, "Nah, I'm good. Oh, and also, fuck you."

Iranian Saeid Mollaei dedicated his silver medal to Israel after finishing second in the Olympics judo event Tuesday behind Takanori Nagase of Japan.

Mollaei, who now competes for Mongolia, defected from his home country of Iran after his team coaches told him to purposely lose in his semifinals match of the 2019 World Judo Championships in order to avoid competing against Israel’s Sagi Muki, the Washington Examiner reported.

“Thank you to Israel for the good energy. This medal is dedicated also to Israel,” Mollaei told an Israeli Sports Channel, according to the Washington Examiner. “I hope the Israelis are happy with this win.”

Muki, who became close friends with Mollaei following the events of the 2019 championship, congratulated Mollaei on his win during a press conference, the outlet reported.

https://dailycaller.com/2021/07/29/iranian-defector-silver-medal-judo-israel/

July 22, 2021

Activision Blizzard Sued Over 'Frat Boy' Culture, Harassment

This is a very big deal, as it's one of the largest gaming companies in the country and around the world. They're the makers of World of Warcraft - the largest Massive-Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) in the world and Starcraft, which is massive in Asian, particularly Korean e-sports.

Tech has long had a problem with sexism. The gaming industry doubly so. But even by those standards, what's laid out in this suit is horrifying.

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/activision-blizzard-sued-by-california-over-frat-boy-culture

Video game giant Activision Blizzard Inc., maker of games including World of Warcraft and Diablo, fosters a “frat boy” culture in which female employees are subjected to constant sexual harassment, unequal pay, and retaliation, according to a lawsuit filed by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing.

A two-year investigation by the state agency found that the company discriminated against female employees in terms and conditions of employment, including compensation, assignment, promotion, and termination. Company leadership consistently failed to take steps to prevent discrimination, harassment, and retaliation, the agency said.

. . .

According to the complaint, filed Tuesday in the Los Angeles Superior Court, female employees make up around 20% of the Activision workforce, and are subjected to a “pervasive frat boy workplace culture,” including “cube crawls,” in which male employees “drink copious amounts of alcohol as they crawl their way through various cubicles in the office and often engage in inappropriate behavior toward female employees.”

. . .

The suit also points to a female Activision employee who took her own life while on a company trip with her male supervisor. The employee had been subjected to intense sexual harassment prior to her death, including having nude photos passed around at a company holiday party, the complaint says.

I believe all of it. I dated someone who worked for one of the biggest mobile gaming companies in the world. I visited him at his office regularly. It had the usual kitchens full of food. But the kitchens also had special fridges for wine and beer. Many employees openly had hard liquor bottles on their desks. A laid-back atmosphere was encouraged. One time, after a company employee appreciation function full of alcohol, a bunch of us went back to the office for a drink. One guy puked at his desk, and we had to call him an Uber.

I believe everything in this suit.