Thanksgiving miscellaneous

Rock salt

Joe Barrett, “In Effort to Avoid Rock Salt, States Look to Briny Solutions,” Wall Street Journal, November 27, 2019, https://www.wsj.com/articles/in-effort-to-avoid-rock-salt-states-look-to-briny-solutions-11574911972


Pacific Gas and Electric

Judge Dennis Montali said Wednesday the principle of inverse condemnation applies to PG&E, rejecting an argument that the utility was attempting to invoke to limit the amount it owes for homes and businesses destroyed by the fires. . . . Under the doctrine of inverse condemnation, PG&E can be held liable for property damage from fires caused by its equipment, even if it wasn’t negligent. . . .

Lawyers for fire victims said the utility was wasting its time attacking inverse condemnation, a legal principle that is rooted in the California constitution. Given the evidence of alleged negligence they have amassed, victims’s lawyers said, inverse condemnation is beside the point when it comes to PG&E.[1]

Peg Brickley, “PG&E Loses Challenge to Law Holding It Liable for Fire Damage,” Wall Street Journal, November 27, 2019, https://www.wsj.com/articles/pg-e-loses-challenge-to-law-holding-it-liable-for-fire-damage-11574910091


Ageism

Having landed hard on my ass in the high tech industry three times now, I wouldn’t be anxious to return even if I felt I could: It is clear to me I would be setting myself up for yet another catastrophe. But when I was being laid off from my last real job, the job I had hoped would lead to a career in systems administration, my supervisors noted I would face age discrimination—I was 41, about to turn 42—as I sought another job. They promised support for my job hunt which never materialized.

FireShot Capture 043 - Older IT Workers Left Out Despite Tech Talent Shortage - WSJ - www.wsj.com
Fig. 1. Screenshot of chart in the Wall Street Journal, based on CompTIA data, November 25, 2019,[2] fair use.

The Wall Street Journal sees ageism setting in with high tech at age 45, although a chart within (figure 1) seems to show the information technology industry employing workers at ages 25-54 at above national averages.[3] I was laid off in the dot-com crash, at a time companies were offshoring jobs as fast as they could,[4] and this was one factor in my decision not to pursue a degree in technology[5] when I returned to school.

Angus Loten, “Older IT Workers Left Out Despite Tech Talent Shortage,” Wall Street Journal, November 25, 2019, https://www.wsj.com/articles/older-it-workers-left-out-despite-tech-talent-shortage-11574683200


Thanksgiving

I’ve previously noted that Whole Foods Market’s selection, especially for vegans, is much more limited here in Pittsburgh than I saw on the west coast. So when I went down on Wednesday to see what I could find, I was really just hoping to find something. I found this (figure 2), with a name too long for me to remember.

IMG_0055
Fig. 2. Photograph by author, November 29, 2019.

It’s amazing. And much simpler to prepare than the Tofurky, which, directions notwithstanding, really needs to be broiled in a double-broiler.

Following the directions, I baked the Field Roast Hazelnut Cranberry Roast on a cookie sheet, with tin foil. It took 24 hours of defrost time, plus an hour of baking time. And that was it.

It really brings home the point that I’ve seen many vegans make that the flavor many omnivores associate with meat is actually in the seasoning. You really don’t miss the turkey with this.


  1. [1]Peg Brickley, “PG&E Loses Challenge to Law Holding It Liable for Fire Damage,” Wall Street Journal, November 27, 2019, https://www.wsj.com/articles/pg-e-loses-challenge-to-law-holding-it-liable-for-fire-damage-11574910091
  2. [2]Angus Loten, “Older IT Workers Left Out Despite Tech Talent Shortage,” Wall Street Journal, November 25, 2019, https://www.wsj.com/articles/older-it-workers-left-out-despite-tech-talent-shortage-11574683200
  3. [3]Angus Loten, “Older IT Workers Left Out Despite Tech Talent Shortage,” Wall Street Journal, November 25, 2019, https://www.wsj.com/articles/older-it-workers-left-out-despite-tech-talent-shortage-11574683200
  4. [4]In neoliberalism, it is imperative that labor costs be reduced at any cost, in the name of “efficiency,” and that means hiring even idiots overseas when they can be paid a third of what competent workers would cost in the U.S.
  5. [5]Computer science is a mathematics degree and accordingly requires advanced mathematics. I hit a brick wall with trigonometry, a level well below what is needed. I have also observed that many in the information technology field hold academic degrees in utter disdain, seeing them as “elitist,” and yes, this is awfully rich, considering that, with their high-flying lifestyles, very well-paid IT workers are responsible for a significant part of California’s transportation and housing crises.