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ShadowFaxSam

225 karma · joined March 26, 2018

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ShadowFaxSam··on I quit social media and now I want a cigarette
I've always reflected on the idea of deleting my social media accounts, especially after studying media in University. The more I learn about social media, and other forms of media the more aware I am with regards to what I post and share online. At the same time, I have friends all across the globe and use social media to stay in contact with my friends. I have a question though, would you consider Whatsapp to be social media? Especially because users can share stories on the platform.
ShadowFaxSam··on Scooter Brand Prix Revs Up in Race to Stay on Streets of Paris
As someone who frequently uses E - scooters in a major European city i can see both sides to the argument on rather or not the6y should be banned. While they are convenient, there is minimal supervision in terms of following regulations and they are dumped around the city. That being said, they are fun and make getting around a city a lot easier, especially if trams are delayed or busy.
ShadowFaxSam··on Pakistan to ban single-use plastic bags
There should be more countries who are also taking these steps in order to help reduce waste and help the environment. We are fully aware of the harm plastic bags cause and there are many other alternative including paper or reusable bags.
ShadowFaxSam··on Why Google Employees Are Donating to Warren and Sanders
Refreshing article in terms of talking points within the upcoming American election. Nice to see a break from the typical focus of the campaigns.
ShadowFaxSam··on A Man with the Golden Airline Ticket
I am without words after reading this article. Very well done, and raised many questions regarding failed marketing strategies as well as to what lengths some major corporations will go to.
ShadowFaxSam··on Boris Johnson elected new Tory leader
It'll be interesting to see how Brexit will unfold now under his command.
ShadowFaxSam··on ArangoDB 3.4 GA Release: Full-Text Search, GeoJSON, Streaming and More
I am wondering if the new S2 geo indexes are downwards-compatible and can be used with existing data from previous release. Do you see any obstacles for upgrading to 3.4 coming from an older release?
ShadowFaxSam··on In Germany, the use of cash has become a proxy for concerns about trust, privacy
>That's because German vendors are hopeless at processing cards.

I could not agree more with the process you described every time I pay with a card in Germany. Germans point to this inefficient process for the reason cash is faster.

However, when I lived in the US, Australia, and NZ you literally tap your card with paywave and the transaction is complete. It is impossible for a cash transaction to be faster than this.

ShadowFaxSam··on In Germany, the use of cash has become a proxy for concerns about trust, privacy
>Yet for many Germans, the convenience of electronic payment is beside the point. Rather, the use of cash has, to a surprising extent, become a proxy for profound concerns about trust, privacy, and the role of the state.

I've been banging my head against the table since moving to Germany about the lack of convenience with cash payments and the need to constantly visit the ATM. Yet the economy is doing just fine.

ShadowFaxSam··on North Koreas nuclear test site collapsed and that may be why NK suspended tests
You can see a difference in the striations in ridges in the picture on the right. There are more "cracks" suggesting some sort of internal collapse.
ShadowFaxSam··on America is moving toward becoming a better version of itself
Its refreshing to read a hopeful and positive piece about the future of America. So much has been written of the state of the great divide between races, conservatives and liberals, heartland America and the coastal liberal cities, republican vs democrats. At least out of all this turmoil there is a sense of activism and involvement in politics I have not seen in years.

>“If you want to create a great community, you move someplace that needs your help,”

ShadowFaxSam··on Renting is Throwing Money Away, Right? (2015)
I did buy a used car, just a more recent, nicer model. At the time, I thought I would hold on to this car for years, so I went for a step up in quality as well.

After working low level internships and restaurant jobs, its easy to get a little too ambitious at age 22 when you sign that first contract with an annual salary.

ShadowFaxSam··on Renting is Throwing Money Away, Right? (2015)
A 3 year term would not have been possible at my then current salary to finance the car. The standard term period (when I was buying) was 5-5.5 years.

In hindsight its easy to look back on what I could have done differently, but I guess that's point. When first graduating, I wouldn't recommend entering into even a medium term financial commitment as things can change so quickly within your first few years in the professional world.

ShadowFaxSam··on Renting is Throwing Money Away, Right? (2015)
True, but the average term of a lease is only 24-36 months while the length of term for financing a car is 60-84 months. (I had a 72 month plan). So you can get out of a lease much earlier, and if you do exit early, you typically only have to make the next 6 months of payments.
ShadowFaxSam··on Renting is Throwing Money Away, Right? (2015)
This same principal can be applied to buying or leasing a car. When I first graduated college and had my first "adult" job I wanted to purchase my first car. The general mantra I heard was "Leasing is throwing money away". I ended up financing my first car, (used) thinking I was making the correct financial decision.

The problem with someone fresh out of college buying or financing a car is they really have no idea what they're next 3-5 years have in store (change in cities, jobs, etc).

My friends who went the leasing option were making considerably lower monthly payments and were able to move on to another car at the end of the year with no difficulty, or could move to another city without carrying a multi-year financial obligation.

I ended up moving to Europe before I had even completely paid off the car and had to sell it at a loss.

I wish I could go back and simply lease a car for my first few years out of school before I figured out where my career would take me.

ShadowFaxSam··on Why All Programmers Should Get a Master's Degree
I'm not studying my Masters in Europe, and here the the norm is to enter a Masters Program directly after finishing your bachelors. I have already worked for a few years in America and while I'm still in my 20's, I am one of the oldest students in the class.

The biggest reason I could not enter into a graduate program straight out of university was the college debt I had already taken on for my bachelors. I worked for a couple years making student loan payments and then as I always planned, I began researching Masters Programs. After seeing the price tag, it was very hard to walk away from a comfortable salary.

To avoid this, perhaps it is best to go straight from Undergrad to grad before you start enjoying the the young professional lifestyle and work on paying off a larger debt upon graduation.

ShadowFaxSam··on Sydney’s plan to split into three cities in as little as 20 years
This site here backs up what you said, and as you mentioned its really not close. My personal experience was based on short term rentals (<1 year).

https://www.bedssi.com/rental-price-guide-for-australian-cit...

I did find that Sydney had more availability and options (at least during the market period I was searching). Lower Supply and High Demand should drive up Melbourne's price, but as you said, real estate in Sydneys CBD is just more valuable than Melbourne.

ShadowFaxSam··on Sydney’s plan to split into three cities in as little as 20 years
I keep hearing how Sydney has the most expensive housing.

In my experience, I found renting to be much more expensive in Melbourne compared to Sydney.

This may be driven by affluent areas such as Rose and Watsons Bay.

So while these new measures could potentially lower pricing in the housing market for buyers, I could see this having negative affects for the renting community.

ShadowFaxSam··on Scaling the Largest Dockless Bikesharing Platform
To combat this problem DC puts out portable docks when higher traffic is expected. If there is an event or concert in a park, they can drive a van over and add more docks for that day.

On a daily basis I think they do a pretty good job determining which networks need a higher capacity ie which docks in high traffic areas have a larger number of spaces.

ShadowFaxSam··on Scaling the Largest Dockless Bikesharing Platform
I've lived in both cities and the abuse is the problem. Its a toss up as to which city was worse, DC or Sydney.

It might be a culture thing, but looking at the comments here it seems to occur in every city.

Not a specific city problem, a humanity problem.

ShadowFaxSam··on Study shows salaries of young women 8% higher than men in peer group (2010)
Thank you for this. I couldn't agree more with this in regards to some comments here.

Especially when people share personal observations on a study that includes data, yet people cry "small sample size!".

Of course its a small sample size, it's a personal experience of one.

ShadowFaxSam··on Scaling the Largest Dockless Bikesharing Platform
Have you experienced the "bike abuse" or littering problem? It could simply come down to the culture of the city but as others here have noted people can't be trusted with nice things.

Maybe Seattle just has more responsible citizens?

ShadowFaxSam··on Scaling the Largest Dockless Bikesharing Platform
It can get pretty bad. And I have seen the exact same problems in other cities like Florence, Italy and Sydney (DC was the worst).

Even if the majority are using the service properly it takes seeing one bike in a tree to ruin the system for everyone.

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/How-Is-This-Not-Lit...

ShadowFaxSam··on Scaling the Largest Dockless Bikesharing Platform
Perhaps it makes a difference if you sign up for an annual membership. The cost is only $8 a month which pays for itself in a couple days.

Do dockless companies have the option for an annual membership?

If you are a frequent rider I assume you are responsible with where you leave your bike, but you must have noticed how other rides simply dump their bikes wherever they please (in the middle of sidewalks, streets, or even hanging from trees). https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/How-Is-This-Not-Lit...

If everyone behaved responsibly it would work much better, but the sad truth is people pay a dollar or two so they don't care.

*In no way am I affiliated with any bike share company either, my friends just think I am because I won't stop talking about it!

ShadowFaxSam··on Study shows salaries of young women 8% higher than men in peer group (2010)
I have to laugh at this because I definitely noticed my error after I posted this. I was waiting for someone to comment on the mathematical error.

Thank you, yes I understand how percentages work. Tip of the hat to you.

ShadowFaxSam··on Study shows salaries of young women 8% higher than men in peer group (2010)
Always appreciate different news sources and ways to further educate myself.

>It depends on the job. What you say applies mainly to Twitter-empowered employees at consumer-facing tech companies.

It may depend on the job, one of them falls into the consumer facing tech company bucket (marketing).

However my other job was an analyst role at a Financial Services company which you typically expect to be male dominated and where you might expect this sex discrimination to occur.

It could have been the specific company I worked for (small sample size), but I found it to be a fair and equal opportunity hiring/promoting process at least for those early on in their career.

ShadowFaxSam··on Study shows salaries of young women 8% higher than men in peer group (2010)
Not trying to drum up any controversy and I fully admit it is a small sample size. As someone who falls in the demographic "Under 30 and Living in a Metropolitan City" I feel comfortable sharing some of my own personal and my friends experiences in their particular office as well.

The dominant news story has always been the story women earn 80 percent less than men, but that was difficult to reconcile compared to what I was seeing in my work life. This article backed up some of those points.

If you are looking for hard data to back up what I experienced, the article posted here is a perfect source.

ShadowFaxSam··on Study shows salaries of young women 8% higher than men in peer group (2010)
Not sure if you're referring to me or the comment above, but the article does support my personal experience that female colleagues seemed better prepared for corporate life right out college.

I never said I was being reverse discriminated, and in each case I personally observed, the coworker fully deserved their raise/promotion.

Again, as the article also suggests, it remains to be seen whether or not these trends will continue as the population ages and higher-level management jobs become available to both sexes.

"This generation [of women] has adapted to the fundamental restructuring of the American economy better than their older predecessors or male peers," says Chung. While the economic advantage of women sometimes evaporates as they age and have families, Chung believes that women now may have enough leverage that their financial gains may not be completely erased as they get older.

ShadowFaxSam··on Study shows salaries of young women 8% higher than men in peer group (2010)
"Applies only to unmarried, childless women under 30 who live in cities"

This is a trend that I have personally witnessed since joining the corporate workforce as a recent college graduate living in a major city.

In general I saw my female colleagues getting promoted faster and moving up faster than their male counterparts.

In no way do I think it was favouritism, I just believe our senior management thought these young women were better prepared and organised than their male counterpart in their 20's.

Whether or not this trend continues to higher levels of management remains to be seen.

ShadowFaxSam··on Scaling the Largest Dockless Bikesharing Platform
After living in Washington DC which was one of the first cities to successfully implement the bikeshare model, I honestly dont understand why cities still continue to push the dockless model. Capital BikeShare in DC worked for year, I didn't have a car and it was my primary means of transportation. There was a plethora of docks placed strategically throughout the city and I rarely had an issue finding a dock to park my bike. In the last year they are testing the dockless model and I now I see bikes thrown all over the street just as I have in other cities with dockless bikeshare. Why the push to continue for the dockless option?