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5390d93515 Add new post 2025-11-14 12:52:31 -06:00
2fa49051e0 Add now burning post 2025-11-14 12:52:24 -06:00
112f76e340 Update /links 2025-11-12 17:01:27 -06:00
9acf8cc77f Add now burning entry 2025-11-12 17:01:15 -06:00
4773d620bb Typos 2025-11-10 20:13:20 -06:00
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---
title: "Job Paranoia: Is My Boss Out to Get Me?"
description: "Some thoughts on understanding what actually gets people fired."
date: 2025-11-14
tags:
- Quick Thoughts
- Work
synopsis: "Some thoughts on understanding what actually gets people fired."
---
I occasionally talk to people facing what I can best describe as job paranoia—the fear that their boss is out to get them, see them fired, et cetera. If you're someone who occasionally feels like this, as someone who has both hired and fired people, I'm here to offer some reassurance. Before we proceed—and I know you'll understand this intuitively because you have excellent reading comprehension—my description to come of certain hiring and management practices is not an endorsement of them.
In cases of exceptionally poor management, it surely happens that bosses occasionally develop some sort of personal vendetta against someone[^1] but, in these instances, the red flags will usually have been waving for some time. If your workplace seems to be relatively sanely run, however, in most cases management chiefly wants one thing out of you: reliability.
Getting hired and staying hired are two very different things. You might not have been the best candidate at all; it may be that you simply met some particular piece of the job description that someone far more skilled than you did not (such as a driver's license, even if it's not necessary for the role), and so the better candidate was removed from the pipeline simply because the company has to be able to claim that all candidates were judged by the same criteria (in order to avoid discrimination suits[^2]). Maybe you were hired because management thought your lack of experience would enable them to pay you less. Maybe management used "culture fit" as an excuse to hire you instead of a person who is BIPOC, LGBTQ+, disabled, or a member of some other group for which they harbor a bias against. Maybe your interviewer just thought you seemed especially affable. You will likely never know. All this to say that finding a good fit for a role in question is only one piece of the puzzle when a company decides who to hire.
Staying hired, however, is another matter (as is getting promoted). Once you're in a position, no one cares about your resume, credentials, experience, or schooling. The quality of your work isn't necessarily of much import either, so long as it meets a minimum standard. When a new hire is made, the principal concern of a busy manager is that they are not a nuisance. Do they show up on time? Can they work independently? Do they get along with others, or are they a frequent subject of complaints? Are they frequently making complaints themself? Can I assign a task to this person and expect them to just get on with it, or will I face a barrage of inane questions? Can this person work out how to use [insert simple software with drag and drop interface here] on their own, or are they going to need training for something others could suss out by clicking around for ten minutes? It's as simple as that. If management feels that you fit in nicely without any grinding or squeaking, you'll typically remain fitted[^3].
Hiring people and getting them up to speed is a pain that no one wants to go through; firing people makes that pain necessary. This is why people that may seem blisteringly incompetent to you manage to keep their jobs without issue: they simply don't generate sufficient friction for management such that it is worth the hassle of replacing them. These types aren't likely to be promoted either, but that's another matter.
So, if you find yourself wondering how likely you are to be escorted off the premises carrying a box of your belongings, here's a quick litmus test: How much time am I making management spend on me that could be spent on other tasks? Assuming all else is well, the lower the number, the safer you are.
[^1]: If you do find yourself in one of these scenarios, or in fact, if you find yourself facing any red flags at all from management, the best thing to do is start applying for other positions right away. This ought to alleviate some of your anxiety about the situation, helping prevent burnout from bad management.
[^2]: This should not be taken as an indictment of DEI, nor a suggestion that certain groups of people are commonly hired regardless of their ability to perform a job (with the possible exception of white men).
[^3]: Some astute readers may notice that a few of the previous points may disadvantage people with various disabilities. Unfortunately, this is true. If this is a concern for you, you may also benefit from taking measures to protect yourself such as requesting accommodations in writing for *documented* conditions that are *legally recognized as disabilities*, but this is beyond the scope of this post; dealing with these matters is a tricky path best undertaken with individual advice and support.

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@@ -174,7 +174,7 @@ I added this include in my base layout, after the footer, just before the the cl
Now all we need to do is make sure {% raw %}`{{ metadata.weatherSymbol }}`{% endraw %} exists and we should be cooking with gas. To `_data/metadata.js` I added: `weatherSymbol: "🍁",`; a falling leaf for autumn. Now all we need to do is make sure {% raw %}`{{ metadata.weatherSymbol }}`{% endraw %} exists and we should be cooking with gas. To `_data/metadata.js` I added: `weatherSymbol: "🍁",`; a falling leaf for autumn.
## Settings ## Settings
Now we have our ~~falling-snow~~ falling leaf effect working but, as with anything fun, there are going to be at least a few crabbit souls who are going to hate this. For them, let's implement a toggle. First, the toggle itself, in `_includes/weatherController.njk`: Now we have our ~~falling-snow~~ falling leaf effect working but, as with anything fun, there are going to be at least a few crabbit souls who will hate this. For them, let's implement a toggle. First, the toggle itself, in `_includes/weatherController.njk`:
``` html ``` html
<form id="weatherController"> <form id="weatherController">
@@ -208,7 +208,7 @@ Let's first add a quick rule to our CSS:
Then we can work on our script. Let's add it to the bottom of our weather include, `_includes/weather.njk`, as it's positioned right before the closing `</body>` tag. Then we can work on our script. Let's add it to the bottom of our weather include, `_includes/weather.njk`, as it's positioned right before the closing `</body>` tag.
First, we'll check local storage to see if the user has set a preference before; if so, we'll add/remove our `.hidden` CSS rule to our weather element and update the weather-controller checkbox accordingly: First, we'll check local storage to see if the user has set a preference before; if so, we'll add/remove the `.hidden` CSS rule to our weather element and update the weather-controller checkbox accordingly:
``` javascript ``` javascript
<script> <script>

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structuredData: none structuredData: none
--- ---
# Changelog # Changelog
* 2025-11-12
* Added [Milne Open Textbooks](https://milneopentextbooks.org/) to [/links](/links).
* 2025-11-11
* Updated [/links](/links).
* 2025-11-9 * 2025-11-9
* Added [ThinksTooMuch](https://thinkstoomuch.net) to the [blogroll](/blogroll). * Added [ThinksTooMuch](https://thinkstoomuch.net) to the [blogroll](/blogroll).
* Updated [/incense](/incense). * Updated [/incense](/incense).

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--- ---
# Links # Links
An old-school links page. Click on one or two! Here are some links to pages and resources that I believe are worth sharing.
## Design tools and resources
### Education
* [Buttericks Practical Typography](https://practicaltypography.com/)
### Reference
* [Design Systems Gallery](https://designsystemsrepo.com/design-systems-recent/)
### Software
* [Converseen](https://converseen.fasterland.net/)—A Batch Image Converter and Resizer Tool for Windows, Linux and macOS
* [darktable](https://www.darktable.org/)—An open source photography workflow application and raw developer
* [digiKam](https://www.digikam.org/)—Open-source digital asset manager and image editor
* [DisplayCAL](https://displaycal.net/)—Display Calibration and Characterization powered by ArgyllCMS
* [G'MIC](https://gmic.eu/)—A Full-Featured Open-Source Framework for Image Processing
* [Glaxnimate](https://glaxnimate.org/)—An open-source vector animation and motion design desktop application
* [Inkscape](https://inkscape.org/)—A FLOSS vector graphics editor
* [Krita](https://krita.org/en/)—A professional FLOSS painting and raster editing tool
* [RawTherapee](https://www.rawtherapee.com/)—A free, cross-platform raw image processing program
* [Scribus](https://www.scribus.net/)—The Go-To Libre Desktop Publishing Application
### Stock graphics
* [Artvee](https://artvee.com/)—Browse and download high-resolution, public domain paintings, posters and illustrations
* [CocoMaterial](https://cocomaterial.com/)—The Open Source hand-drawn illustration library with 3,293 images
* [Free and open source icons](https://www.toools.design/free-open-source-icon-libraries)
* [Getty Search Gateway](https://search.getty.edu/gateway/search?q=&cat=type&r=%22Paintings%22&types=%22Paintings$Paintings%22&highlights=%22Open%20Content%20Images$Recent%20Acquisitions%22&rows=10&srt=a&dir=s&dsp=0&img=0&pg=1)
* [Museo](https://museo.app/)—A visual search engine that connects you with the Art Institute of Chicago, the Rijksmuseum, the Harvard Art Museums, the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the The Cleveland Museum of Art, and the New York Public Library Digital Collection
* [Pexels](https://www.pexels.com/)—The best free stock photos, royalty free images & videos shared by creators
* [Pixabay](https://pixabay.com/)—Stunning royalty-free images & royalty-free stock
* [Smithsonian Open Access](https://www.si.edu/openaccess)—Download, share, and reuse millions of the Smithsonians images
### Typefaces
* [Badass Libre Fonts By Womxn](https://www.design-research.be/by-womxn/)
* [Collletttivo](https://www.collletttivo.it/)—An Open-Source type foundry and a network of people promoting the practice of type design through mutual exchange and collaboration
* [coolLabs Fonts](https://fonts.coollabs.io/)—A privacy-friendly drop-in replacement for Google Fonts
* [Cyreal](https://cyreal.org/info/)—A Libre/Opensource foundry with expertise in Latin and Cyrillic scripts
* [Font Library](https://fontlibrary.org/en)
* [FontCDN](https://thomaspark.co/projects/fontcdn/)—A search tool for Google fonts
* [Fontsource](https://fontsource.org/)—An updating monorepo full of self-hostable Open Source fonts bundled into individual NPM packages
* [Fontspace](https://www.fontspace.com/)—Free downloads of 150,000+ legally licensed fonts
* [google-webfonts-helper](https://gwfh.mranftl.com/fonts)—A hassle-free way to self-host google fonts
* [Use & Modify](https://usemodify.com/)—A personal selection of beautiful, classy, punk, professional, incomplete, weird typefaces
* [Open Foundry](https://open-foundry.com/fonts)
* [Open Source Publishing Foundry](https://osp.kitchen/foundry/)
## Education
### Code
* [freeCodeCamp](https://www.freecodecamp.org/)—Advance your career by learning in-demand skills in Programming, DevOps, Cybersecurity, AI Engineering, and English for Developers
### Credit-bearing courses and degrees
* [saylor.org Academy](https://learn.saylor.org/)—Learn new skills or earn credit towards a degree using free courses from Saylor Academy
* [Sophia Learning](https://www.sophia.org/)—Online college-level courses for $99 a month, designed to transfer to 100+ partner colleges, reviewed for credit at 1,000+ other colleges and universities
* [University of The People](https://www.uopeople.edu/)—A tuition-free online university, accredited by WSCUC and DEAC
### GNU/Linux
* [KillerCoda](https://killercoda.com/)—Interactive environments for tech you study, teach or present
* [Linux Upskill Challenge](https://linuxupskillchallenge.org/)—Learn the skills required to sysadmin a remote Linux server from the command line
* [SadServers](https://sadservers.com/)—Master Linux & DevOps troubleshooting on live servers
### Open Textbooks
* [LibreTexts Commons](https://commons.libretexts.org/)—The LibreText Commons hosts curated Open Educational Resources from all 16 libraries in the LibreVerse in one convenient location
* [Milne Open Textbooks](https://milneopentextbooks.org/)—Milne Library Publishing at SUNY Geneseo manages and maintains Milne Open Textbooks, a catalog of open textbooks authored and peer-reviewed by SUNY faculty and staff
* [OER Commons](https://oercommons.org/)—A public digital library of open educational resources
* [Open Textbook Library](https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/)—Now offering 1739 open textbooks, the Open Textbook Library is supported by the Open Education Network
* [openstax](https://openstax.org/)—The worlds largest publisher of open education resources
### Scots language
* [OpenLearn Create Scots language and culture](https://www.open.edu/openlearncreate/course/index.php?categoryid=382)—This course teaches aspects of Scots, one of the three indigenous languages spoken in Scotland alongside English and Scottish Gaelic
* [Scots Language Center](https://www.scotslanguage.com/pages/view/id/9)—Educational resources relating to the Scots language
* [ScotsHoose Yaldi](https://www.scotshooseyaldi.com/)—Scots language learning and creativity resource for children, young people, teachers and parents
## Eleventy resources ## Eleventy resources
* [11tyBundle](https://11tybundle.dev/) * [11tyBundle](https://11tybundle.dev/)—Learn how others are making the most of 11ty, an exceptionally simple, flexible, and performant, open-source static site generator
* [11tyCMS](https://11tycms.com/) * [11tyCMS](https://11tycms.com/)—A local, serverless, dependable, and FLOSS CMS for websites made with Eleventy
## Free/libre software ## Free/libre software
* [Free Software Foundation](https://fsf.org) * [Free Software Foundation](https://fsf.org)—A nonprofit with a worldwide mission to promote computer user freedom
* [GNU](https://gnu.org) * [GNU](https://gnu.org)—An operating system that is free software—that is, it respects users' freedom
* [KDE](https://kde.org) * [KDE](https://kde.org)—An international community developing the worlds finest free and open-source software
## Friends (Not linked elsewhere on this site) ## Friendly Sites (Those not linked elsewhere on this site)
* [Davey Dynamite](https://daveydynamite.neocities.org/) * [Davey Dynamite](https://daveydynamite.neocities.org/)
* [Mercury Retro](https://calam.us/) * [Mercury Retro](https://calam.us/)
## Indieweb ## Indieweb: discovery
* [blogroll.org—Because blogs are the soul of the web](https://blogroll.org/) * [blogroll.org](https://blogroll.org/)—Because blogs are the soul of the web
* [blogs.hn—a directory of tech sites, primarily sourced from HackerNews](https://blogs.hn/) * [blogs.hn](https://blogs.hn/)—A directory of tech sites, primarily sourced from HackerNews
* [blogscroll.com—an open directory of personal sites and blogs](https://blogscroll.com/) * [blogscroll.com](https://blogscroll.com/)—An open directory of personal sites and blogs
* [Feedle—A search engine for blogs and podcasts](https://feedle.world/) * [Feedle](https://feedle.world/)—A search engine for blogs and podcasts
* [indieblog.page—discover the indieweb](https://indieblog.page/) * [indieblog.page](https://indieblog.page/)—Discover the indieweb
* [Kagi Smallweb](https://kagi.com/smallweb/) * [Kagi Smallweb](https://kagi.com/smallweb/)
* [Mwmbl—a crowd-sourced search engine](https://mwmbl.org/) * [Marginalia Search](https://marginalia-search.com/)—Search that prioritizes non-commercial content
* [Mydora—a continuous streaming player that gives you a deep dive into the lost archives of Myspace Music](https://mydora.restorativland.org/) * [Mwmbl](https://mwmbl.org/)—A crowd-sourced search engine
* [ooh.directory—A collection of 2,358 blogs about every topic](https://ooh.directory/) * [Mydora](https://mydora.restorativland.org/)—A continuous streaming player that gives you a deep dive into the lost archives of Myspace Music
* [searchmysite.net—Search real content by real people from their personal websites](https://searchmysite.net/) * [ooh.directory](https://ooh.directory/)—A collection of 2,358 blogs about every topic
* [searchmysite.net](https://searchmysite.net/)—Search real content by real people from their personal websites
## Indieweb resources ## Indieweb: resources
* [90s Cursor Effects](https://tholman.com/cursor-effects/) * [90s Cursor Effects](https://tholman.com/cursor-effects/)
* [blinkies.cafe—blinkie maker](https://blinkies.cafe/) * [blinkies.cafe](https://blinkies.cafe/)—Blinkie maker
* [GIF Printer 2000](https://melonking.net/frames/pixelsea) * [GIF Printer 2000](https://melonking.net/frames/pixelsea)
* [GifCities—The Geocities Animated Gif Search from Internet Archive](https://gifcities.org/) * [GifCities](https://gifcities.org/)—The Geocities animated gif search from Internet Archive
* [Gify Pet](https://melonking.net/frames/pet) * [Gify Pet](https://melonking.net/frames/pet)
* [Guestbooks](https://guestbooks.meadow.cafe/) * [Guestbooks](https://guestbooks.meadow.cafe/)
* [Hit counters](https://www.websiteout.net/counter.php) * [Hit counters](https://www.websiteout.net/counter.php)
* [Nekoweb—a free static website hosting service](https://nekoweb.org/) * [Nekoweb](https://nekoweb.org/)—A free static website hosting service
* [tamaNOTchi](https://tamanotchi.world/) * [tamaNOTchi](https://tamanotchi.world/)
## Literature
* [TypeLit.io](https://www.typelit.io/)—Test your typing online by practicing on your favorite literature
* [Wee Windaes—A continuum o the Scots Leid](https://wee-windaes.nls.uk/)

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---
title: Beau Soir
manufacturer: Myself
date: 2025-11-13 11:28:00
time: 11:28 AM
---

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---
title: Cambodi AAA
manufacturer: Agaroots
date: 2025-11-11 15:45:00
time: 3:45 PM
---