At airports, we wait in a parking lot set aside for us.  It is a geofenced area so the Uber and Lyft apps can put us into a queue as soon as we enter the lot.  It's a FIFO buffer of cars, so get parked and wait in line.  At least KSAT (San Antonio International Airport) has tents and stuff set up for us, including a full-on litterbox at the far end of the parking lot.  We chill and talk at the picnic tables set up under the tents.

Sun Jun 04 2023 08:57:00 EDT from Nurb432

Dont they pre-order your services? Or are you doing it like a taxi, just get in line and wait for someone to climb aboard?

So ya, sort of like taxis getting in line, hoping for business. 

MFA breaks for 3/4 of our stuff this afternoon.

Now that they have removed physical lines and 3rd party VoIP and its all teams voice, would have been funny if it took that out too.  "we are down, but we cant call anyone or have our little meeting to talk about it " "and our card readers are broke, we cant get in the building "

So here locally they just passed a law that any 'food delivery app' has to have approval from the companies that you get food from, and they can deny it without recourse if they dont want you delivering their food..

Seems like a violation of freedom to me.

It's already like that, no need for such a law.

Wed Jun 28 2023 19:29:05 EDT from Nurb432

So here locally they just passed a law that any 'food delivery app' has to have approval from the companies that you get food from, and they can deny it without recourse if they dont want you delivering their food..

Seems like a violation of freedom to me.

That dont seem right to me. Law or not.    Now if i try to represent them, sure that is wrong, but if i clearly am a 3rd party service, should be my right and i should not get permission.  

"common carrier" stats should apply.

Man. Worse remote accessible meeting, ever.

Can only hear people if they are on the mic up by the TV that is doing the slide show..  they were told via text message .... no one is moving so all you hear is perhaps every 15th word.

Well, one is a 'organized system for 3rd party food ordering and delivery' and the other is ' hey dude, grab us a pizza on your way here'.

But, its not quite the same, as with AirBnb as the owners of the house do have to opt-in.  Would be more like if you rented rooms, then rented them back out ( which is forbidden in many leases ). Similar for ride share, all parties opt-ed in.  ( which is being attacked by the taxi industry ). i do agree its wrong to restrict this, but not a 1:1 comparison. 

And of course:  Personal interest = agenda = money = legislation. 

Thu Jun 29 2023 05:28:46 PM EDT from IGnatius T Foobar

So here locally they just passed a law that any 'food delivery app'
has to have approval from the companies that you get food from, and
they can deny it without recourse if they dont want you delivering
their food..

What's the difference between a "food delivery app" and a person picking up food for someone else?

Isn't that how Uber and all of the "Uber for [industry]" companies present themselves? Uber isn't a taxi, it's a "ride share". Airbnb isn't a hotel reservation system, it's a "house/apartment share". Likewise for food?

Sounds like someone either has their panties in a bunch or has a personal interest to protect.

I know how to mail packages without leaving any leaving a trace back to me.  I can mail a disembodied My Little Pony head to whomever introduces legislation that jeopardizes my job.

Fri Jun 30 2023 20:28:06 EDT from Nurb432

Well, one is a 'organized system for 3rd party food ordering and delivery' and the other is ' hey dude, grab us a pizza on your way here'.

But, its not quite the same, as with AirBnb as the owners of the house do have to opt-in.  Would be more like if you rented rooms, then rented them back out ( which is forbidden in many leases ). Similar for ride share, all parties opt-ed in.  ( which is being attacked by the taxi industry ). i do agree its wrong to restrict this, but not a 1:1 comparison. 

And of course:  Personal interest = agenda = money = legislation.

Dont forget:

• Cameras *everywhere* tracking and recording movements. Remember when they pieced together every movement of one of the 911 terrorists? and that was decades ago.. These days if you are in any city they know every step a person makes. There are a few ways to ditch it, but it takes a lot of practice, and even those are getting harder to do as most buildings inside, and even parking garages have cameras now.    And they record anyone that comes near a post office box ( ever see '2000 mules'.. its far worse now, by several magnitudes ).
• Cameras include inside and outside of buildings, street corners, ATMs, satellites...   Several states now have active monitoring of ALL cameras, even private ones. All shoved into a database for later. 
• Cell towers, knows where you phone is even if you dont use it. 
• Your car...  its transmitting 
• Fingerprints and DNA. Even on paper, after they have traveled cross-country.   It may not be 'proof' but it does lead them back to trace the movements. And if they natch, THEN its evidence

Fri Jun 30 2023 09:10:36 PM EDT from LadySerenaKitty

I know how to mail packages without leaving any leaving a trace back to me.  I can mail a disembodied My Little Pony head to whomever introduces legislation that jeopardizes my job.

 

Rumor is the hammer is going to be coming down on WFH this summer.  I guess the powers that be are pissed that so few departments are following the mandate, and are tired of it, so its not going to be pretty.  I hear ultimatums are coming, ( do or you are fired ).  Late last year several agencies have had to sign papers that they have read, understood the policy and if they dont follow it they can be terminated.  So it might even be retroactive in some cases.

Even talk of having legislature get involved to give it even sharper teeth. So if you dont follow,  you violate the law, not just policy. ( i guess Ohio had to go to that extent.. ) I suspect the extra teeth is if you break law and get fired, you lose pension...  currently if you just break rules and get fired, you dont lose it, and that would be hard to change.

Blind mandates are stupid. It should be based on need for each position. Also, I hate when people whine "its not fair". Don't like it, shut your whiny ass face, and transfer to a different position that permits it. But its going to cost jobs as people quit/fired, more cost ( managing office space is more expensive than VPN.. ). I know of a few agencies that sent everyone home but those who had to be there, and gave up their floor space ( which is how it should be ). Once floor space opened, to save cost, several leasing off-site space moved back onto the campus.  So now we have to lease space again.

And its not just 'worker's' as I know a few managers that will be gone too, they refuse to force their people to do stupid stuff.

( And the rule is not 100% in office, its 2 out and 3 in, per week. A comprise, and from what i gather not an uncommon rule )

Here 'win or lose' isn't really an option. Its a mandate, you comply or go elsewhere. You are replaceable. While direct management may care, go up a couple of levels and get outside the agency, and you are of zero value to them. Just another name, and resource drain.

"why does it not just do xyz?"  "Well, that was not part of the requirements you gave me, and that we agreed on for this project.  I am not magic.. I cant read your mind."

My first passengers today was an expurrience I would prefur never to repeat again.

I picked up a lesbian couple.  They were extremely toxic.  By the end of the trip, they broke up.

I picked up a lesbian couple, I dropped off two single women.

Ouch

Mon Jul 10 2023 01:22:28 AM EDT from LadySerenaKitty

My first passengers today was an expurrience I would prefur never to repeat again.

I picked up a lesbian couple.  They were extremely toxic.  By the end of the trip, they broke up.

I picked up a lesbian couple, I dropped off two single women.