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.

July 8, 2021

Wow, Tahoe area is getting rocked

Counting 20+ quakes in the last half hour. The biggest is 5.9 so far. And this is 40 minutes after a 4.8 hit a bit east of the Bay Area.

California seems bored today.