Posts made by Arkandel

I think the Lakers overpaid for AD. I get it, it's so they can compete for a title right when the window is open with the Warriors' roster depleted and LeBron's age probably about to become a factor. But even then... they gave up so much for one guy who has a history of getting injured.

But anyhow, perhaps unpopular opinion: They shouldn't get a third max guy (unless they are going to go very, very deep into luxury tax territory). They should get quality pieces instead.

For example they could use a guy like Brogdon - but he won't come cheap. Excellent shooter, top-notch defender, doesn't turn the ball over or need it in his hands. Or if they can get him for a reasonable contract, and it won't be as low as this year's was, Boogie; he's played with AD before and he can take the center spot allowing AD to be a PF which he prefers, and lets him not have to bang it out with the monsters in the league. Maybe a Patrick Beverly as well; round it up. Ricky Rubio as a backup PG if he'll play that role, even though he can't shoot the ball.

If they put AD+LeBron+third All-Star in front of any roster they'll crush them, but what when they need a rest? In the West's long regular season you can't not rest guys. And one injury might get you in deep trouble - like actual nightmare territory of not making the playoffs after you just traded all those guys away.

@Taika Fuck cancer.

How machine learning works

Interviewer: What's your biggest strength?

Me: I'm fast learner.

Interviewer: What's 11 * 11

Me: 65

Interviewer: not even close. It's 121

Me: It's 121

I think the biggest change in the league is that for the first time in half a decade the Warriors look pretty vulnerable instead of them being the nearly unbeatable juggernaut you kind of just plan to outlast or throw gimmicky teams at hoping for the best.

That means we're perhaps about to go into a full-on arms race.

• LeBron's prime window is closing and the Lakers will go at it hard.
• The Rockets need to figure out what they're doing. Reload and try again or blow it up by trading CP3 for... something? Who'd give back major assets for an elite but aging guard with that huge contract and a history of injuries though?
• Portland needs to decide how many real pieces away from contention they are. Will they make big moves or hope adding Nurkic back gives them the edge?
• The Clippers have a lot of salary cap space but they are also... the Clippers. Can they land big names in free agency? This summer might be the chance to prove they're not just the also-in-LA team.
• The Sixers and Bucks are extremely salary capped locked but they can't afford to build any more - they have to hit the playoffs running next year, no more excuses. I expect Giannis to come back with a midrange shot next year. But can Simmons also evolve?

I hate the Warriors but I must admit they fought hard even when they were terribly depleted. As for Klay, that guy is a fucking legend; he seemed pretty willing and able to take us out pretty much single-handedly if he had to. Thankfully ACL tears aren't what they used to be, and he'll hopefully come back in fully health by Christmas.

My own concern is the Raptors' future. Masai Ujiri was just offered a $10m/year contract by Washington, does he take it? Does Kawhi leave for LA where his family is? Then the rest of the roster is aging other than 2-3 pieces, but also the entire thing comes off the books next year, basically.

The only guarantee is we can keep Siakam and FVV since they'll be RFAs, but other than that this could be a title team that actually goes into full rebuild mode in less than a year, which is insane.

Also I'd be shocked if Antony Davis isn't traded (probably to the Lakers) by Monday.

@Admiral I see banning Mages is a universal principle.

Well, the lady in question just crushed the phone part of the interview so.

Folks, I asked for advice - and I'm thankful for your insights.

However even if we disagree with someone can we please not dissect their every word looking for offense? Not only is that the wrong attitude for this forum but it's also not constructive.

Obviously women are not being treated fairly in the workplace and there's a lot we can and must do to address it but I don't think bringing down the temperature a notch on the thread will hinder our ability to discuss ways to do so.

Since the advertisement thread is getting hammered, moving its posts here.

https://getpocket.com/explore/item/38-wonderful-words-with-no-english-equivalent

@Kanye-Qwest I had a chat today with our (female) HR person who pointed out we all tend to hire people who look like we do. It's a natural bias, since we can find it easier to imagine working with such people.

I did have a chat with a project manager - also female - who works with my team pretty closely and she set my mind at ease saying we're probably too PG for our own good as it is. Having so many introverts on the team means there are no jokes at all most of the time, let alone inappropriate or even raunchy ones (her words: "I wish you guys DID swear more"). Which is probably good.

There are other things we do need to adjust. For example we have two washrooms in our area, both men's... that's gonna have to change unless we expect a new hire to walk across the first floor to use the facilities.

@Caryatid Do you think the gender imbalance is something that ought to be addressed in the interview?

For instance does a question such as "we're currently a team consisted only of men, how do you feel about that?" sound like we're preparing to listen for feedback and keep things professional, safe and constructive or signal we might be shedding too much of a spotlight on gender right out of the gate?

I wanted your folks' opinion on an actual real issue.

So I work for a tech company. We're not huge but we're growing pretty fast. Up to a year or so ago we had very few women working in actual IT positions - there were several among our tier 1 customer support but among our 100+ developers, sysadmins and QA we had no ladies at all. This has started to shift over time, and now we have about a dozen, but the demographics are still pretty skewed.

Here's the thing; I'm building a new team within the sysadmin group now, and among the applicants whose resumes are making their way to my desk there are some women. However we have zero female staff within the team itself, and never did. If any are hired they would be the first.

I don't know (I have no way of knowing) how that would feel. How awkward, intimidated or comfortable someone might feel despite the best intentions from everyone involved to make them fit in and feel part of the group... I haven't had to deal with it.

But some of you might have. What are the challenges? What has gone wrong assuming good intentions were in place? What mistakes were made despite those intentions? What can I do from my end to make things smoother?

I'd appreciate any input you have.

@Auspice

***=What bugs me is after***

Basically whatever magic the MCU performed that allowed them to have 10+ characters share the plot without most of them having no impact or agency other than simply firing off their powers in fight scenes was completely missing here. If I hadn't read the comics I wouldn't have given a shit about Cyclops and the rest of them because who are they? Why should I?

I thought Sophie Turner did a pretty good job though. The movie was crap but it wasn't on her.

@Ghost Or you can play Marvel Ultimate Alliance, soon released for the Switch!

I love Gauntlet games.

@Warma-Sheen You know what got me? I was reading an interview by the Dark Phoenix producers where they were breaking down why they believe the movie didn't do well.

They mentioned a bunch of reasons; timing (Alita: Battle Angel stole its original release spot on the calendar), budget, lack of focus on what groups it focused on...

Man, these people have had their own heads up their asses even before Batman and Robin. The very idea that a film might not do well at the box office because it's not good doesn't seem to mean anything, so they try to barf jargon all over their own reasoning.

Like... that's the difference between Endgame which crushed it and Superman vs Batman which did not; same genre, similar budgets, buildup from earlier films, well known characters... but one was really good and the other was not.

Dark Phoenix is no Logan. It won't succeed no matter when you put its release on a calendar. If you want it to do better you should make a better movie out of it, you guys.

@Tempest Trailers do mean something - they mean money. It's very expensive to create cinematic ones, and that translates to investors' expectations on returns for that.

Obviously they can try to trade hype for early sales but early bad reviews and word of mouth will kill games really fast - they are not like, say, movies where an enormous chunk of the total revenue is due to the first weekend.

Clearly I'm not saying it's a definitive correlation but there is something there. If you buy a super expensive marketing toy for your product it means you're expecting it to do well.

@Ganymede said in The Basketball Thread:

@Warma-Sheen

Durant was the difference maker in this one. Without his first quarter, the Raptors would have had it. They knew how to deal with the Warriors without him.

Also the Warriors had an amazing shooting night from 3 (45%) and the Raptors an abysmal one. That, too, won't repeat itself.

@Warma-Sheen It's because they've had the luxury of such overwhelming talent they didn't need to have discipline. They had three all-time great scorers and a couple of really good defensive guys.

I think the Raptors can take a game in Oakland again without Durant there.

Branching out a different conversation here.