danielquinn

danielquinn , 7 months ago to Work Reform in Rising pay transparency is causing an employer compensation information ‘arms race’

While sometimes the case, it’s not always true.

I used to work for a big(ish) NGO in the Netherlands. They didn’t have the financial backing to offer me a salary on par with what other private companies were offering, but they did have a substantial perks package because of the many tax rebates available to such organisations.

• My ISP was paid for
• I got a free laptop every few years
• €1k for home office upgrades every few years
• €700 toward a bike every few years.

When you add it all up, it was still a pay cut, but at a certain income level that stops being relevant.

I also later worked for Big Evil Corporation in London where they paid below market rates plus:

• 15% bonus
• 7% "London is expensive allowance"
• 20% pension.
• £6500 car allowance (I don’t have a car, so this was just cash)

This allowed me to stay under certain income levels for tax reasons while squirreling away a bunch of money for my pension.

They were evil assholes though, so I quit.

Anyway, it can make a lot of sense to tinker with the salary in the form of benefits. The important thing is for workers to share their compensation information openly to ensure fair dealing.

danielquinn , 8 months ago to Star Trek in Are you ready for the upcoming 2026 2nd American Civil War?

This was on Mastodon this morning.

danielquinn , 8 months ago to Star Trek in I just discovered this exists - Emperor Georgiou's Tea Room

Please post pictures!

danielquinn , 8 months ago (edited 8 months ago) to Work Reform in Simple, right?

There are alternatives to driving your car everywhere and there are objective environmental benefits to centralising human efforts for around 8hrs/day.

I’m not a fan of demanding people go back to the office, but this meme is idiotic. Get out of your fucking car.

Edit: the responses to this are exactly what I expected: pleas of helplessness rooted in a lack of imagination.

Nearly every city (yes, even those in the US) where you see these ridiculous commutes has options for transit and even cycling. The trick is that you have to live closer to the centre. You can’t live in a suburb 2hrs away. You sell your car and you move closer to work.

This “oh everything is built for cars!” refrain is true enough, but only because so many people have chosen to live under that system.

“I can’t afford rent in the city!” is what comes next. Have you considered how much money you save not having a car?. I’ve read estimates of roughly $10,000 every year. Living in Ottawa, I did the math and ditched my car in 2001. I later lived in Toronto, Vancouver, Amsterdam, London, and Cambridge, all car-free.

Sure for some it’s just not possible, but for most it’s a refusal to imagine a world where you don’t own a car… and that’s on you.

danielquinn , 9 months ago to Star Trek in Does Star Trek Need Starfleet?

Exactly what I was thinking about. Though I think if you wanted to do a series, you’d probably want a little more conflict than a paradise planet could offer.

danielquinn , 9 months ago to Star Trek in Does Star Trek Need Starfleet?

A solarpunk Star Trek would be amazing! Tell the story of civilians living in a post-scarcity economy, building a colony, farming, and running restaurants. The “Articles of the Federation” idea of “The West Wing in Space” made my heart skip a beat.

I want to see more of Federation life, through a lens other than the military!

danielquinn , 9 months ago to Work Reform in Flashback - Mark Zuckerberg on billionaires: 'No one deserves to have that much money'

That “antisolitions” read was fascinating! Thanks for sharing.

danielquinn , 9 months ago (edited 9 months ago) to Star Trek in Fun episodes

+1 for Bride of Chaotica! Also SNW’s “Those Old Scientists” is pretty damned good. Oh! and DS9’s “Magnificent Ferengi”!

danielquinn , 9 months ago to Star Trek in Voyager and Paramount Plus

Wait, commercials? Since when are there commercials on Paramount+?

danielquinn , 9 months ago to Star Trek in Episode Discussion | Star Trek: Lower Decks | 4x01 "Twovix" and 4x02 "I Have No Bones Yet I Must Flee"

Here you go!

danielquinn , 11 months ago to Star Trek in Episode Discussion | Star Trek: Strange New Worlds | 2x09 "Subspace Rhapsody"

I loved the bunnies reference until I realised that in that moment they were talking about alternate realities. A better Buffy reference might have been to mention the reality where everything was shrimp 😆