Some Gen Zers seem to be bringing parents to job interviews. It may not be as bad as it sounds. - "For the Gen Zers who said they had a parent at an in-person interview, 37% said they had them come into the office, 26% said the parent physically sat in the room while the interview took place, and 18% said their parent introduced themselves to the hiring manager, Seven percent said their parents even answered questions for them... In a survey of 800 managers, directors, and executives commissioned by the student-life publication Intelligent last year, one in five employers said a candidate showed up to their interview with a parent. Some employers, 39%, said they avoided hiring recent graduates in favor of older candidates. When asked about interview behavior, 50% said they'd had young candidates ask for too much compensation, and 47% said they'd dressed inappropriately. These polls have limitations. Managers saying they have encountered candidates doing something doesn't mean it's becoming the norm. (Business Insider could not find any Gen Zers on social media who said they'd brought their parents to interviews.) It's also cyclical that younger generations are criticized for their every move. In 2013, The Wall Street Journal reported that in an Adecco survey of college graduates, 3% of millennials said they were dragging their parents into interview rooms. But there also could be some truth in it. Erin McGoff, a content creator who gives career and life advice, said she had asked around and had been surprised to find evidence of parents attending interviews and trying to set them up for their adult children... It could provide a much-needed confidence boost for young people and may be the difference between them performing well or badly."
TERRAZZANO: Time to end taxpayer-funded bonuses for failure - "Bureaucrats working in federal departments have raked in more than $1.5 billion in taxpayer-funded bonuses since 2015. Every year, about 90% of government executives receive a bonus, for an average of about $18,000. What have these government executives done to deserve a bonus? “Less than 50% of (performance) targets are consistently met within the same year,” according to the parliamentary budget officer. In the real world, when you can’t even meet half of your own performance targets, you should polish up your resume, not expect an $18,000-bonus cheque. But Ottawa isn’t the real world... Rewarding failure with bonuses is also common practice in federal Crown corporations... The CBC handed out $15 million in bonuses to 1,100 staff in 2023. Meanwhile, CBC announced hundreds of layoffs just before Christmas. And President Catherine Tait claimed the state broadcaster is plagued by “chronic underfunding.” What’s worse? The fact Tait thinks the CBC is chronically underfunded, but refuses to end the bonuses. Or the fact she thinks the CBC is chronically underfunded even though it takes more than $1 billion from taxpayers every year."
I arrived at prom in a coffin — I've never wanted to fit in
Meme - "PAYSAGE CHIANT RISQUE DE DOUTE EXISTENTIEL SUR 25 KM"
Meme - Will Mavity @mavericksmovies: "It's been 15 years and the lifeless CGI eyes in The Polar Express still freak me out *3 people from The Polar Express and Mark Zuckerberg*"
Actual Fact Bot: Revived | Facebook - "A 19-year-old wrestler died after losing 9 pounds in 8.5 hours by exercising vigorously in a hot environment wearing a vapor-impermeable suit under a cotton warm-up suit. He resumed exercising 2 hours after the weight loss and died from cardiac arrest an hour later."
Wrestling hyperthermia and dehydration
Meme - "ROBERT, ARE YOU IN HERE MAKING DEEPFAKES OF GIRLS AT SCHOOL?!"
"I... I.. DON'T LOOK!"
"BOBBY, YOU ARE LOVED AND VALUED, AND I'M SORRY YOU ARE NOT TREATED WELL AT SCHOOL."
"OH CHRIST JESUS IT'S SAD INSTEAD OF GROSS."
"AM I IN TROUBLE?"
"WHAT SOFTWARE ARE YOU USING?"
LATER... "SHIRLEY, YOU ARE LOVED AND VALUED AND I'M SORRY YOU'RE NOT TREATED WELL AT WORK."
Meme - "What happened, Gandalf? Why didn't you meet us?"
"I am sorry, Frodo. I was delayed."
"A wizard is never late... Nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to."
Meme - *Running away balloon*
"JESUS CAME TO LIBERATE THE OPPRESSED"
"PROGRESSIVE CHRISTIANS"
"FROM SIN"
NYC shootings erupt across city, killing two, as warm weather hits
Clearly, we need to destroy the economy to prevent climate change
Lottery prize winner in Ontario can't collect prize - "When he went to claim his prize, he couldn’t remember where the ticket was purchased and has since been unable to claim his windfall... When CTV News reached out to OLG, a spokesperson said in a statement: “OLG always pays the right prize to the rightful owner of a winning ticket. OLG has detailed information about all our lottery tickets sold, for example, exactly when and where it was purchased.” “The one piece of information we don’t have is the name of the person who purchased the ticket, especially if they purchased it at an authorized lottery retail location. If a customer purchases a ticket on OLG.ca, then they are registered in our system, and we notify them directly when they’ve won a prize.” The spokesperson added, “When a winning ticket of $1,000 or more is presented for claim, the OLG Prize Centre is required to determine the rightful ownership of that ticket. As part of the standard prize claim review process, claimants are asked a series of questions to determine ticket ownership, such as, 'where did you purchase the ticket?', 'when did you purchase the ticket?' or 'did you purchase any other lottery products such as ENCORE or another game at the same time?'"... After CTV News got in touch with OLG, they took another look at Zhou’s case. He’s since been informed his cheque has been processed and will be sent shortly to him in the mail, which was great news for him. A good habit when buying lottery tickets is to keep the receipt, which also serves as proof of “where and when” you bought it. Also, don’t write anything on the lottery ticket other than your name, as that can slow down the process if you have a winning ticket."
Meme - "Video games allow us to do and experience things that are completely impossible in real life
You awaken feeling Well Rested"
Ontario family kidnapped, robbed in South Africa - "On the last day of their trip, Stephens and the kids along with his mother and a vulnerable 12-year-old girl she’d adopted ventured to the Kingdom of Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) to visit a children’s home and donate medicine. After a visit at the orphanage, the group jumped back in their rental vehicle en route to a youth camp run by his mother. But before embarking on that roughly three-and a-half hour drive they stopped in the city of Mbombela to grab some take-out food and fuel. That’s when everything went south. There, Stephens said he was pulled over by what he believed to be a police officer, but soon realized he was simply posing as one. “They were immediately aggressive. … (The officer) also had no insignia and no police hat,” he told CP24.com on Wednesday morning. Stephens said that the individual was wearing a vest with the word “POLICE” on the front and was quickly joined by a number of other men who approached his SUV. One of them then reached inside the vehicle to unlock the door, he said. “Suddenly my mother said, ‘He’s got a gun’,” Stephens told CP24.com. “He then pointed that gun at my head.” Stephens, who is the CEO of a digital marketing company called Treefrog, said he initially assumed the assailants were after the rental vehicle, their cellphones, and other personal effects... Stephen said that the suspects drove for about 30 minutes before coming to a stop at a forested area, near a cliff. The men then opened the doors of the vehicle with guns drawn and rifled through the family’s belongings taking their debit and credit cards and demanding that they divulge their PIN numbers, he said. “They threatened to rape my daughter if the PIN was incorrect,” Stephens said, adding that the assailants then grabbed him and beat him up further outside the vehicle. At that point, the whole family was transferred and locked inside the bed of the pick-up truck, which was driven to several places over the course of about 90 minutes, he said. Stephen said that he suspected at the time that the assailants were “going from ATM to ATM” and was fearful that they would kill him and his family once they were done emptying their bank accounts. However, he said that the kidnappers eventually brought them back to another location where their SUV had been taken and allowed them to go their own way. In the end, Stephens said they lost roughly $10,000 in cash along with a few cellphones and some jewelry. Stephens said that police told him that they’re seeing a rash of similar robbery-kidnapping incidents in the area, which they believe are being led by a group known as the Blue Light Bandits."
Newmarket business owner overwhelmed with support after kidnapping in South Africa - "The Treefrog CEO spent the Christmas holidays with his 18-year-old daughter, Trinity, and 15-year-old son, Kai, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania... Stephens drove to a police station, but the police told them that they couldn’t help. So they then drove to his father Chuck’s house, who’s also a missionary in South Africa, and he instructed them to go to another police station. They ended up going back to the city they were kidnapped to speak to the police. Stephens thinks because there was a tourism worker there, the police were more helpful... After the traumatic experience, Stephens said there was no way he was keeping his children there any longer despite having a concussion and being told not to fly. “All that mattered was getting them back to their mother,” he said. “I didn’t care if I died on the plane.”"
This could have happened anywhere, and if you suggest non-white countries can be dangerous, you're racist
Who was the last NHL player to not wear a helmet and is it still allowed? - "The last player to venture onto the ice without a helmet was none other than the former Edmonton Oilers centre and head coach, Craig MacTavish, who boldly went helmet-less until the 1996-97 season... The transition towards mandatory helmet usage in the league was pivotal in reducing the risk of head injuries, concussions, and other potential dangers associated with head trauma. The league introduced this rule over 40 years ago, stipulating that any player entering the NHL after June 1st, 1979, must wear a helmet while playing. It was a proactive step towards safeguarding the well-being of the league's finest athletes. Yet, there was a provision for players who had already signed their first professional contracts before the helmet rule came into effect. They were permitted to play without a helmet, provided they signed a waiver acknowledging the risks involved. Craig MacTavish was one of those few hockey players."
Unflattering helmet cam footage emerges from dead ISIS foot soldier (VIDEO) - "Vice News fell into some video purportedly from the headcam of an Islamic State fighter zapped by Peshmerga last month in Iraq and it gives a window into just how slapsticky these guys are."
From 2016
Shocked doctor discovers 30-YEAR build-up of smegma under the foreskin of married man who was suffering agonising pain in his penis - "The patient was taking a shower when he felt pain in his genitals and bits of hardened dirt began to fall into the drain. Mistaking them for kidney stones, he hurried to urologist Dr. Chen Zhaoan in the city of Taichung, Taiwan on March 14, to have himself checked. The medical professional peeled back the man's foreskin and beheld the revolting accumulation of sickly yellow-brown smegma. As Dr. Chen cleaned up the calcified scales of dirt, oil, and dead skin, a foul odour began to fill the clinic... 'His private parts hadn't been 'active' for 30 years. If we hadn't found it, his partner might have discovered this "treasure" first.'... Meanwhile, the aged smegma was sealed in a specimen bottle at Dr. Chen's office."
How Parisians Fell in Love with Their Own Weird Interpretation of Bagels - "When I moved to Paris, it took me three months to find a real bagel. As a native New Yorker, I immediately sought out the Jewish bakeries on Paris' rue des Rosiers, but while I found challah and cheesecake, bagels were nowhere to be found. It was at an American superette, alongside Funfetti frosting and Oreos, that I finally found frozen H&H bagels sold in packs of six. Nine years later, Paris is positively blooming with bagel restaurants, boasting approximately American names with improbable punctuation: Bagel Day'S, So Good Bagel, bagel's Family. Completely distinct from the nondescript deli where most New Yorkers buy their bagels and schmear, these restaurants are a testament to what Parisians think America is, decked out alternately in 1950s diner memorabilia or exposed brick—a wink at the current Parisian obsession with Brooklyn... It's closed in the mornings; the idea of a bagel for breakfast is too farfetched even for the most daring of Parisians... "We're sick of sushi, baguette sandwiches—we eat them all the time," he says. "And there's a trend now where at least part of the Parisian population wants to discover new foods." While the bagel seems to have finally had its coming out party in Paris, bagels have actually existed in France for decades, albeit in a very different form. The Polish braided beigel first appeared on the rue des Rosiers in 1946, when Joseph Korcarz, a Polish Jew recently freed from Auschwitz, opened Korcarz bakery. This everyday Ashkenazi Jewish bread had already appeared on Manhattan's Lower East Side at the turn of the century and had even spawned the denser American bagel, made with local high-gluten flour. But while the bagel soared to new heights in America, particularly after the 1963 invention of the bagel machine by Daniel Thompson, Polish Jews who fled to France after the War encountered a much different cultural topography than their American brethren: the predominantly Alsatian Jewish community that had prevailed in France since 1306 left no room, amongst cheese tarts with raisins and chicken soup with noodles, for these newfangled beigels. "In France, you don't eat your special food outside of your home," says Yaelle Ifrah, a French-Jewish restaurateur. "You can eat it at home, and you're going to be an immigrant at home, but in France you have to blend in." It wasn't until 1992 that Joseph's grandson Alain Korcarz began selling the American bagel with its "texture of chewing gum," according to Alain. He claims to have been the first person to bake them in Paris, at the behest of Euro Disney's Mike Leisner. Of course, transitioning from the beigel to the bagel was no easy feat. After six months of attempts, Alain called in an expert—not from Poland, but from the United States—to teach him to reproduce a real New York boiled bagel, with its dense, chewy interior and crisp skin... Olivier's hipster bagels, meanwhile, definitely have a Parisian flair, with fillings ranging from salmon with grapefruit to chicken with pineapple and curry sauce... it would be impossible to sell a true boiled bagel to Parisians—not that she didn't try... In the kitchens at Rachel's Cakes, bagels are made alongside burger buns—about 5,000 bagels for every 30,000 buns. The pairing is no coincidence: for many restaurateurs, the two American imports, which have no real similarities save their roundness and vaguely Central European roots, go together like salt and pepper. Olivier even sees the bagel as the more "feminine" version of the burger... in Paris, bagel has become a metonym for a sandwich served on a bagel, and even for a type of restaurant... "burger-bagel." No, that's not a mutant sandwich—it's an "American" restaurant... "We also have a lot of other New World flavours, so that our customers don't get bored," she explains. "So fried shrimp with a Thai vinaigrette, or we might use Italian burrata." I'm not sure which New World those ingredients come from, but it seems to work. This may be because, as Antoine explains, most of his clientele has never actually been to the US. "It's what we, as French people, expect from an American menu," he says. "Not necessarily what is eaten there, but what we think they eat there." On most Parisian "American" menus, this translates to barbecued ribs and T-bone steaks. Here, that means the bagel, which Antoine believes that French people see as, "the refined American sandwich. Manhattan vs. New York."... Of course, if the French are finally willing to embrace American food, it may be because they believe that France is the reason American food is finally good."
From 2017
Drama around Toronto corner store that may close over mystery complaint continues - "Netizens are also using the case as an example of how restrictive zoning, technicalities and NIMBYism by a few can destroy local businesses and the enjoyability of neighbourhoods in Toronto. "Honestly did not realize city regulations covered whether a corner store could have an espresso machine. Kind of insane when you think about it for more than five seconds," one person wrote on X on Thursday. "The fact that people can self-serve but can't be served coffee here is crazy. Zoning really has gone too far. Also, this redditor's comments had the opposite intended effect on me," another wrote... Finch Store Yana Miriev told blogTO earlier this week that the business has had the appropriate documents — for over five years, "enabling us to serve drinks and provide to-go food services" as grandfathered in from the previous owner. "It's frustrating because it was the municipality's Licensing and Standards department that initially issued this licence to us, [and] after investing significantly in these services, it's disheartening to face the threat of not only a potential downgrade but also the complete loss of our licence.""
Clearly, we need more regulation to protect people
Metro Transit Police on X - "Fare enforcement isn’t just about fare collection, it’s about keeping our communities safe. Yesterday, while addressing fare evasion, MTPD officers arrested 4 individuals with open warrants for charges ranging from larceny to armed carjacking. #wmata"
wanye on X - "Pay attention to what's being revealed here. Criminals with open warrants "for charges ranging from larceny to armed carjacking" nevertheless jumped a turnstile in front of a cop. You cannot overstate how stupid and brazen the average criminal is."
Violinist calls out childhood bully who asked her to perform for FREE at her wedding - before a shock twist sees the nuptials called off - "Tiffany Moore, 31, a professional musician who has been performing at events for 19 years, was horrified to get a random message from the woman who tormented her when they were kids... The fiancé shared his soon-to-be-bride's version of events, which was that the potential violinist for their wedding, a.k.a. Moore, was rude and unprofessional to her. 'She's being secretive and hiding things constantly,' he wrote about Moore's bully. '...I feel like she's cheating on me too so I don't know what to do.' He ended up confronting his bride-to-be after a church service, and was met with an attitude of aggression Moore was familiar with. The fiancé later messaged Moore to say she 'lashed out like the bully she is,' telling him things like she never loved him anyway, screenshots show. 'She ostracized him from his friends. He hasn't had friends in two years because she made him only spend time with her,' Moore said in the interview. In the midst of the blowup, the wedding was called off. The man messaged Moore to say he was grateful he found out who his partner really was. 'You literally saved my life,' he wrote in an Instagram message to Moore. 'I'm gonna try to fix things with my friends.' Moore wrote back: 'Today is the beginning of a new chapter for you. Cheers to a fresh start, no more narcissistic relationships.'"
Meme - "Best Buy Valued Partner Induction Training
We should greet all Best Buy customers.
Incorrect. You did not select the correct response. We Welcome our customers, not greet them."
The Bizarre World of Chicken Beauty Pageants Photographed by Ernest Goh - "Photographer and visual artist Ernest Goh is known for his work photographing wildlife and other animals. His latest book documents the strange world of chicken beauty pageants in Malaysia where he encountered a breed of bird called the Ayam Seramas, an ornate chicken raised not for its meat but purely for its appearance. These chickens not only have decorative plumage but possess the ability to strike ridiculous poses"
Review: 'Cultish' Examines the Language of Fanaticism - The Atlantic - "the demands of modern living, Montell argues, has left many people looking to brands and “gurus” for the kind of guidance and meaning they used to find in religion. I know more people who worship at the altar of Peloton than I do who go to church. And with anything that engenders devotion and financial commitment alike, there’s space for exploitation to occur. Cultish thoroughly examines the ways that words can be manipulated to build a sense of community, enforce collective values, shut down debate, or even coerce damaging behavior in the name of ideology. Though the “stakes and consequences” of being a CrossFit enthusiast versus joining the spiritual group 3HO differ, the book argues, the methods used by both groups can seem “uncannily, cultishly similar.” Consider the “private patois” and beloved catchphrases of CrossFit (functional movements, DOMS, EIE), Montell writes, alongside the terms of 3HO (Piscean consciousness, lizard brain, old soul)... Cultish language, she proposes, does three things: It makes people feel unique but also connected to others; it encourages people to feel dependent on a particular leader, group, or product to the extent that life without them feels impossible; and it “convinces people to act in ways that are completely in conflict with their former reality, ethics, and sense of self.” The last two effects are what tend to separate brands or people who inspire cult followings (e.g., SoulCycle) from more malign groups and leaders."
Or maybe modernity isn't to blame and most humans need religion or something similar
What’s the Worst Corporate Buzzword? - The Atlantic - "several readers raised a compelling point: What if these words aren’t so bad after all? Some defended their simplicity. “What else are people supposed to say? ‘Let me dial your phone number so we can converse about a relevant work related topic’?” Ryan Freeman asked. That justification made sense to Karlee as well. “It’s an understandable ‘script’ when you need to communicate a meaning quickly and smoothly,” she explained—benefits that are even more important with so many meetings occurring remotely now... Value proposition offered a strong performance in the finals, but the winner was too formidable an opponent to shake. Ultimately, lean in, a term for grabbing opportunities without hesitation popularized by Sheryl Sandberg, claimed victory as the worst buzzword."
David Epstein's 'Range' Makes the Case for Dabbling - The Atlantic - "Range, a book about the value of being a generalist rather than a lifelong or career-long specialist, argues that many of the most effective people in elite professional fields (such as sports, art, and scientific research) succeed not despite the fact but because they find their way to that particular field after pursuing other endeavors first... The Federers, Epstein notes, did a lot of things that served their son well. For starters, once they learned that Roger loved playing sports, they encouraged him to try a variety of them—or to have a “sampling period,” as Epstein calls it in the book. Sampling periods are crucial, he argues, because they allow kids to discover organically what they love doing and most want to succeed in. They’ve also grown less popular in recent years... There’s a lot of concern among parents who follow these kinds of ideas, Epstein said, that without early specialization they’ll “miss” the next Tiger Woods, or the next Mozart. But that’s a somewhat misguided fear, “not only because of course that [kind of professional success is] very rare, but in both those cases a lot of the public consciousness is that they were created by their fathers, or manufactured,” Epstein said. “When in fact, in both cases the father started responding to the kid’s very unusual display of interest and prowess.” Indeed, in a study of 1,200 young musicians, overwhelmingly those who quit did so because they felt there was a mismatch between the instruments they wanted to learn to play and those they eventually took lessons in—and another study Epstein cites found that among musicians ages 8 to 18, the students who went on to become the most successful only started practicing more when they identified the instrument they themselves wanted to focus on... The other major principle that Epstein hopes parents will take away from Range is not just the acceptability but the importance of quitting. Quitting sports or music lessons or other activities, it should be noted, has also gotten controversial among parents. Some argue that, in line with the old adage “Quitters never win,” hanging in there when an activity becomes unfulfilling or hard builds character, or encourages the development of “grit.” But as Epstein points out, while the ability to persevere when something is difficult can certainly be a competitive advantage, in the long run so can knowing when to quit. Epstein points to research that has shown that quitting something that’s unrewarding or unfulfilling and moving on to something that’s a better fit makes people happier. For example, when the economist and Freakonomics co-author Steven Levitt conducted a study online in which participants who were considering a career change could flip a digital coin, heads for quit and tails for stay, he found that six months later, those who flipped heads and changed jobs were substantially happier. And perhaps more important, they had freed themselves up to try other things and find out what fulfilled them more than their current career."
Meme - "Free 4 u *eggplant and 2 melons*
Just a little something that may fill your belly!"
Meme - "How people view winter in New York vs reality *Frozen Central Park with snow* *Slipping on ice*"
"When discussing how bad weather is in a place, it's always important to mention the difference between how awful weather is in a walkable place and a car-dominated place. 90f in Florida sucks but you largely just drive in an air-conditioned car to an indoor air-conditioned place most of the time. You don't have to be outside if you don't want to be. 90f in NY is much more hellish because you're walking everywhere. My daily commute involves around 25 minutes of walking, let alone going elsewhere. Same applies to winter. Yeah, winter in north dakota sucks, but you drive everywhere. In NYC we have to walk, often on icy streets where we are constantly slipping and falling."