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Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: February 14th, 2025

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  • The article isn’t about child labour specifically, but part time jobs for teens. Technically, child labour, but not really the same as a 8 year old coal miner or loom operator. Good click bait!

    I worked through my teens but with some important caveats. I worked next to my boss every day, and they started before me and finished after me. I worked outdoors, in relatively decent weather. I was able to take vacation as I desired - even though I only had a few weeks to work, I still was able to take 2 weeks of vacation.

    I don’t think my kids will be able to have a similar experience (given my location and market forces), and I don’t want them to grind away their leisure time at minimum wage working in a shitty retail environment with unpredictable hours. When I was working, (50-60hrs a week for the summer) the sum total of my all my teen years up to university didn’t cover the first year’s rent. I hope that I’ll be able to find suitable activities, volunteer opportunities, and learning experiences that they can participate in instead of a job.




  • Yeah, smart homes suck. You need Homeassistant to do a lot of basic interactions like “when my window is open for more than 10 min, disable the hvac” because the window sensor is IKEA and the thermostat isn’t.

    You shouldn’t need a tech tour and an app (or five) to turn the heat down or clean the dishes. You shouldn’t have to worry that pressing the wrong button will set off a chain of events you don’t know how to undo.

    Exactly this. If it needs a manual or explanation, it’s too much cognitive overhead. It’s fine if you’re an engineer who lives alone or have a partner that enjoys it as much as you _and you have change management. Nothing should need explanation to just work. I have a fair bit of automations, but a key part of all of them is manual override.