1. Diane Feinstein? I don't know what to say, but maybe you do.

2. WADU. I found this original post about JP Morgan's employment monitoring system mildly interesting. If you lie with dogs, then you get fleas.

I think everyone expects their employer to track them to some extent...WADU is on a different level. It is an artificial intelligence & machine learning system for workforce human behavior. Starting at the moment you arrive to the building, WADU is tracking you using facial and speech recognition. Most JPMC offices and branches have been outfitted with some of the best HD AV security cameras...Whenever you are at your desk, know that there is a HD camera tracking you the entire time. WADU uses the array of HD cameras at the office to monitor all of your non-verbal body language all throughout the day. The collected information is then fed into the AI/ML system and it is used to update your WADU profile in real time.

...

If the employee is at the office, two bio-metrics are available, attention/focus and stress. The bio-metric feeds are updated from the facial and behavioral tracking. Having a bad day? Stressed about something? WADU has already noticed this and alerted your manager. Can't focus? Not working at your usual pace? WADU has already noticed this and alerted your manager. Did something you normally don't do? It's possible WADU flagged it as suspicious and alerted your manager.

ADU is also watching and listening whenever you are working from home....You'll notice that your web camera will flash right after login. This is not an "initial connection" flash. Your web camera just took a burst shot of pictures and sent them to WADU. The pictures will be scanned for anything deemed unprofessional or unsafe. Recreational drug paraphernalia, TVs, game consoles, and several other things are all flagged if detected in the pictures. If you see your web camera flash randomly, that was your manager or someone in security requesting a burst shot of pictures from your web camera...You'll also notice that your microphone will go hot shortly after login. Anything you say will be processed by WADU. All background noises will be processed by WADU. Say something bad about your boss or other superior? WADU flagged it. Say something bad about another co-worker? WADU flagged it. Have a moment of anger or frustration? WADU flagged it... Your manager can also connect and listen to your audio feed live.

It's pretty dystopian, but then again, so is JP Morgan.

It keeps getting removed from Reddit, maybe because it's not true, or maybe because of NDAs. So this whole post is probably irresponsible of me. But hey, I don't care enough about the ethics of posting things that may make JP Morgan look bad to turn down barely-interesting fodder.

I'm so depressed over the state-level legislation. Obviously banning treatment for trans kids in Texas is the most proximate example, but we're seriously deluged by insane shit coming out of many, many states.

Mostly I'm picturing a gripe thread. But I do have one palate cleanser:

The Internal Revenue Service has quietly built its own prototype system to allow Americans to file tax returns digitally and free of charge, according to three current and former agency officials, essentially creating government software that could disrupt the tax-prep industry.

The system will be available through a pilot program for a small group of taxpayers by January, when the 2024 filing season begins, said the people briefed on the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal agency conversations. It was developed by the IRS and the U.S. Digital Service, the White House's technology consulting agency.

Mo Char writes:

AP:

The [Indian Meteorological Department] had predicted the site where the cyclone would make landfall as well as the time. "We were able to forecast this accurately four days ahead, which gave enough lead time for authorities to move the coastal communities to safer regions,"
[...]
According to WMO, the number of extreme weather events increased fivefold between 1970 and 2019. Economic losses increased even more -- by a factor of seven. However, thanks to improved early warning and disaster risk reduction strategies, the number of deaths fell to 40% of the 1970 level.

Heebie's take: This article is a Rorschach test, isn't it. I don't know how it makes me feel.

I know the NYT is tiresome, and I know that anything sweet risks being saccharine, and I'm sure this is getting linked all over, but anyway: the Generation Connie piece is just so lovely.

Connie Chung was trusted and respected -- qualities that my mother herself had enjoyed in China. So when I picked my name, my mom readily acceded. What more could she hope for from her own Connie?

What my family didn't know was that a version of the same scenario was playing out in living rooms and hospitals across the country. Asian American families from the late 1970s through the mid-'90s -- mostly Chinese, all new immigrants -- had considered the futures of their newborn daughters and, inspired by one of the few familiar faces on their TVs, signed their own wishes, hopes and ambitions onto countless birth certificates in the form of a single name: Connie.

Plus adorable baby photos of a bunch of Connies!

I want to really use this summer to purge a bunch of accumulated stuff from the house. The reason that I find it so hard is that it seems like making infinitely many small scale decisions, over and over again. I am definitely someone who worries about throwing out something "important". And it's hard, because a lot of the crap is kid paraphernalia. If you ever hold something up and say "Can I get rid of this?", most kids will say, "No, that's special!"

So you're stuck with a few options:
1. Purge behind their back, and don't worry too much if they occasionally miss something that's no longer here.
2. Involve them in the purging process, ("Keep anything you want from this pile, but it has to live in your room"), or
3. Go in circles with indecision over each item.

I guess what I want is some heuristics to make 1 easier.

This is a dull post, but I'm feeling a lot of anxiety over my plan to use this summer wisely, and so sometimes you're stuck with a mental brain dump from me.