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Joined 6 months ago
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Cake day: June 11th, 2025

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  • Yes, this summarizes the latest guidance:

    On September 19, 2025, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted to change what had been a universal COVID-19 vaccine recommendation (except for HHS’ recent change for those under age 18) to “shared clinical decision-making”, including for those 65 and older. For those under 65, ACIP added that the assessment should include “an emphasis that the risk-benefit of vaccination is most favorable for individuals who are at an increased risk for severe COVID-19 disease and lowest for individuals who are not at an increased risk, according to the CDC list of COVID-19 risk factors.” These recommendations, should they be adopted by the CDC Director, mean that all individuals are recommended to have an individual assessment and interaction with a health care provider to determine whether getting a COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for them. If that determination is made, insurers should cover the vaccine at no-cost, although it is possible that some consumers may face challenges. (source)

    So the change is that it’s no longer routinely recommended for everyone, but it’s supported if the patient and healthcare professional agree. Simplicity of access varies and some states have mandated that a pharmacist qualifies to make this decision, while others haven’t, but as long as you don’t have a doctor who is anti-vax, you should be able to get one.

    More info from the CDC here about what “shared clinical decision-making” means.


  • Small note: in the end, access to COVID vaccines has not been limited. There was swirl around this that made it seem like they would be, but then the CDC landed on guidance that basically boils down to, “it’s an individual’s choice with the guidance of their healthcare provider.”

    I was livid about the swirl because I am an immunocompromised person while my partner is not, and the initial guidance implied he would not have access to the vaccine, despite living with me.

    I want everyone who can get vaccinated to do so, and so it’s important to me to stop the perception that anyone is restricted from accessing it.



  • I was firmly against them but an opportunity showed itself early in my career and figured I could stick it out for 2 years to get a big name on my resume… and somehow it’s been ten years now. But it’s a company with a genuinely good culture and my career has grown constantly over those 10 years, so I’ve been happy. TBF, my employer before this was extremely toxic so in comparison it’s been amazing.



  • There’s a lot to take issue with in your post that doesn’t mean people prefer fake things.

    Assuming people hate reality because of these arbitrary dichotomies that aren’t actually black and white.

    Spending time online can mean making real, personal connections. Why is that less valuable than spending time outside? Are people who have allergies or heat intolerance or live in a big city somehow lesser because they can’t spend as much time in nature?

    Many people don’t get plastic surgery or any of the things you listed. Plus a lot of people who claim they hate makeup and prefer “natural beauty” actually just like natural-looking makeup and prefer that to people who truly don’t wear any.

    Organic is more expensive and less accessible than not-organic; often it’s not a choice. Plus like another commenter said, it’s not like GMO means fake. We’ve been genetically modifying plants for millennia through selective breeding; we’ve just sped up how it’s done.

    Ozempic is an easier way to weight loss and yeah, some people take it as a lazy way out I’m sure. But also a lot of people who are overweight aren’t just that way because they’re lazy, but because there’s an underlying issue. Mental health issues like depression or addiction; physical health issues that cause weight gain like hypothyroidism or issues that make exercise difficult (and yes, weight can add to these problems, but a lot of time it’s a both/and situation); socioeconomic problems that make healthy food inaccessible due to time or cost limitations or living in a food desert. There are many reasons people are overweight beyond simply choosing not to exercise. (And I shouldn’t have to do this but just to head off any judgment you want to throw at me: my BMI is currently 18.1, putting me in the “underweight” category. I have never been overweight, I just have empathy for people who live different lives than me.)

    You’re making a lot of false dichotomies and everything you’ve said is rooted in judgments of people. I suspect that’s where the downvotes are coming from, but I also suspect you’ll find issue in what I’m saying and dismiss me for it rather than checking in with your own biases and judgments.


  • Just curious, do you mean specifically the job as in role, or do you think this about going back to a company as a whole?

    I can name easily a dozen, maybe two dozen people at my company I personally know who left then came back, although generally to a different role. And I’ve seen most of them get promoted after coming back, even to high roles like Director or VP. I don’t know if that’s just because of a good company culture or if it’s because it’s a larger business (2-2.5k corporate employees).



  • Maybe keep a small pillow over your collarbone area? Especially if you have a buckwheat or microbead one that molds to the shape of whatever you put it on.

    I had abdominal/pelvic surgery with a cat who loved walking across my stomach, so while I was recovering I never lay down without a pillow covering my incisions. When she did step on it, the pillow at least helped disperse her weight so it didn’t hurt much.



  • My dad has always been on the right and he’s a Trump voter, but he’s mostly avoided going full MAGA-proud. We have always had a tense relationship when it comes to politics and at times had very little personal relationship. Now we just avoid political discussions or keep them very high level, and it’s manageable. I talk to him a lot less than I would if he didn’t have those views. His health is declining significantly at this point so I have decided it’s not worth trying to change his mind.

    My mom is still with him and she’s leftist and we talk all the time.

    My dad’s two sisters are deep into MAGA (they were proud attendees of Trump’s first inauguration). They’ve been far-right fundamentalist Christians most, if not all, of my life, so I already had a strained relationship with them before 2016. I haven’t even tried in over a decade now. I was recently diagnosed with a chronic disease that one of them also has and I kept thinking about reaching out but ultimately decided I don’t even want her in my life for that so I haven’t bothered.



  • My company has started using a survival metaphor of air/water/food.

    • Air - “keep the lights on” work; things that will fundamentally stop the product or business (legal, compliance, security) if not done in the next year
    • Water - foundational work; tech debt is here
    • Food - strategic work, new features, experimentation

    It works because it recognizes that you need all three to survive and you have different time scales on which you can survive without them.

    We will choose not to drink water sometimes to make sure we can eat some food. But we will die if we only consume food.

    I’m on the product side and trying to buy my teams as much capacity to pay off some of our wayyyy overdue tech debt, and this metaphor has made it easier to convey where we are to my higher ups.