Mark Day
@mday1964.bsky.social
Retired software engineer. Autistic. I love dogs.
And when you ask them to explain it (so you can understand what you did wrong), they very often won't (or can't?).
November 15, 2025 at 1:27 AM
And when you ask them to explain it (so you can understand what you did wrong), they very often won't (or can't?).
There's something about "divergent" that mildly rubs me the wrong way. It feels a little bit like "deviant." The word "diverse" doesn't bother me that way.
It may just be the way the word sounds in my head. Intellectually, I understand the meaning: "differs from," which doesn't really bother me.
It may just be the way the word sounds in my head. Intellectually, I understand the meaning: "differs from," which doesn't really bother me.
November 13, 2025 at 12:55 AM
There's something about "divergent" that mildly rubs me the wrong way. It feels a little bit like "deviant." The word "diverse" doesn't bother me that way.
It may just be the way the word sounds in my head. Intellectually, I understand the meaning: "differs from," which doesn't really bother me.
It may just be the way the word sounds in my head. Intellectually, I understand the meaning: "differs from," which doesn't really bother me.
For PTO, have a specific, written policy for how much time off you get per year.
Places where there is no set limit end up causing people to take LESS time off because they're afraid of abusing the policy. Autistic justice/fairness can cause people to take even less than others might.
Places where there is no set limit end up causing people to take LESS time off because they're afraid of abusing the policy. Autistic justice/fairness can cause people to take even less than others might.
October 31, 2025 at 4:26 PM
For PTO, have a specific, written policy for how much time off you get per year.
Places where there is no set limit end up causing people to take LESS time off because they're afraid of abusing the policy. Autistic justice/fairness can cause people to take even less than others might.
Places where there is no set limit end up causing people to take LESS time off because they're afraid of abusing the policy. Autistic justice/fairness can cause people to take even less than others might.
I'm not a fan of horror movies. As a kid, I did like "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown."
Thanksgiving was my favorite holiday until about age 30, at which point the annual extended family gathering kind of dried up.
Thanksgiving was my favorite holiday until about age 30, at which point the annual extended family gathering kind of dried up.
October 31, 2025 at 1:17 AM
I'm not a fan of horror movies. As a kid, I did like "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown."
Thanksgiving was my favorite holiday until about age 30, at which point the annual extended family gathering kind of dried up.
Thanksgiving was my favorite holiday until about age 30, at which point the annual extended family gathering kind of dried up.
The fun part is that the graphic changes in real time as you move the sliders to adjust the various values. I think I'm going to have to add a continuous animation mode...
Here is a large 2048x834 image as an example.
Here is a large 2048x834 image as an example.
October 29, 2025 at 3:12 PM
The fun part is that the graphic changes in real time as you move the sliders to adjust the various values. I think I'm going to have to add a continuous animation mode...
Here is a large 2048x834 image as an example.
Here is a large 2048x834 image as an example.
That looks cool!
I've been working on an app that draws a rainbow infinity symbol. I wanted a design to put on T-shirts, use as wallpaper on my computer, etc.
I wanted to experiment with the size, thickness of the rainbow line, number of repetitions of the rainbow, position of colors, etc.
I've been working on an app that draws a rainbow infinity symbol. I wanted a design to put on T-shirts, use as wallpaper on my computer, etc.
I wanted to experiment with the size, thickness of the rainbow line, number of repetitions of the rainbow, position of colors, etc.
October 29, 2025 at 3:12 PM
That looks cool!
I've been working on an app that draws a rainbow infinity symbol. I wanted a design to put on T-shirts, use as wallpaper on my computer, etc.
I wanted to experiment with the size, thickness of the rainbow line, number of repetitions of the rainbow, position of colors, etc.
I've been working on an app that draws a rainbow infinity symbol. I wanted a design to put on T-shirts, use as wallpaper on my computer, etc.
I wanted to experiment with the size, thickness of the rainbow line, number of repetitions of the rainbow, position of colors, etc.
Let me show up at the office at 7:30 and work while very few people are there, and I'll have done most of my work by the time everyone else strolls in later. While everyone else is busy and active after 5:00, my brain has shut down and is useless; I'm better off going home and getting good sleep.
October 24, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Let me show up at the office at 7:30 and work while very few people are there, and I'll have done most of my work by the time everyone else strolls in later. While everyone else is busy and active after 5:00, my brain has shut down and is useless; I'm better off going home and getting good sleep.
Our productivity can come in bursts, and so does unproductive time. Being able to work when the productivity appears, and stop working when it disappears, can make for better overall productivity, while also reducing stress, making for a better employee in the long term.
October 24, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Our productivity can come in bursts, and so does unproductive time. Being able to work when the productivity appears, and stop working when it disappears, can make for better overall productivity, while also reducing stress, making for a better employee in the long term.
For visual stimulation, I like colored lights. A gradual color change or slow blinking can be good. Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic, we have kept colored Christmas lights up and lit year round. Seeing the colors brings me joy.
October 15, 2025 at 8:12 PM
For visual stimulation, I like colored lights. A gradual color change or slow blinking can be good. Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic, we have kept colored Christmas lights up and lit year round. Seeing the colors brings me joy.
Why that chair? Because it was easy to lean back in. It had a tall back, allowed more lean than the others, and had a wide, sturdy base that prevented tipping over, and felt stable while leaning back.
October 15, 2025 at 8:07 PM
Why that chair? Because it was easy to lean back in. It had a tall back, allowed more lean than the others, and had a wide, sturdy base that prevented tipping over, and felt stable while leaning back.
because it was highly adjustable. A different chair was by far the most popular (>80% of employees). They decided to investigate why. What had they missed that they could learn from? It turns out that women showed greater variety in their chairs, but almost 95% of men picked that one chair.
October 15, 2025 at 8:07 PM
because it was highly adjustable. A different chair was by far the most popular (>80% of employees). They decided to investigate why. What had they missed that they could learn from? It turns out that women showed greater variety in their chairs, but almost 95% of men picked that one chair.
I like to lean back in chairs. My employer built a new building, and made a big effort to make it friendlier to employees, primarily engineers. They allowed employees to pick their chair from 5 pre-approved choices. The facilities people thought that engineers would pick one particular chair
October 15, 2025 at 8:07 PM
I like to lean back in chairs. My employer built a new building, and made a big effort to make it friendlier to employees, primarily engineers. They allowed employees to pick their chair from 5 pre-approved choices. The facilities people thought that engineers would pick one particular chair
I used to chew pencils, and then pens. Exerting the force with my jaw was so satisfying. Until a pen exploded while it was in my mouth, resulting in ink all around my mouth and on my hands. I rarely chewed pens after that.
October 15, 2025 at 8:07 PM
I used to chew pencils, and then pens. Exerting the force with my jaw was so satisfying. Until a pen exploded while it was in my mouth, resulting in ink all around my mouth and on my hands. I rarely chewed pens after that.
It was also a guide book for masking (whether NT or ND). Those polite, canned exchanges have had a significant impact on the mask I've worn for half a century.
October 13, 2025 at 4:20 PM
It was also a guide book for masking (whether NT or ND). Those polite, canned exchanges have had a significant impact on the mask I've worn for half a century.
It was a recipe for something you could say or do in the moment to get through a situation, so that you could take the time later to really process what happened, and how you feel about it.
October 13, 2025 at 4:20 PM
It was a recipe for something you could say or do in the moment to get through a situation, so that you could take the time later to really process what happened, and how you feel about it.
Reading that column exposed me to potential situations I had not yet encountered, with ways that might go wrong, and what a polite and socially acceptable response would be. It built up a library of scripts that might be useful someday.
October 13, 2025 at 4:20 PM
Reading that column exposed me to potential situations I had not yet encountered, with ways that might go wrong, and what a polite and socially acceptable response would be. It built up a library of scripts that might be useful someday.
As a teenager, there were two parts of the newspaper that I read every day: the comics, and advice columns (Dear Abby and Miss Manners).
The Miss Manners column was people writing in about situations (usually social) that didn't seem to go well, and asking how to handle them politely.
The Miss Manners column was people writing in about situations (usually social) that didn't seem to go well, and asking how to handle them politely.
October 13, 2025 at 4:20 PM
As a teenager, there were two parts of the newspaper that I read every day: the comics, and advice columns (Dear Abby and Miss Manners).
The Miss Manners column was people writing in about situations (usually social) that didn't seem to go well, and asking how to handle them politely.
The Miss Manners column was people writing in about situations (usually social) that didn't seem to go well, and asking how to handle them politely.
Bose QuietComfort headphones allow you to customize the amount of active noise cancellation, which makes external sound quieter, without completely eliminating it.
That's super helpful for me, since anything in the ear canal is very uncomfortable.
That's super helpful for me, since anything in the ear canal is very uncomfortable.
October 12, 2025 at 1:07 AM
Bose QuietComfort headphones allow you to customize the amount of active noise cancellation, which makes external sound quieter, without completely eliminating it.
That's super helpful for me, since anything in the ear canal is very uncomfortable.
That's super helpful for me, since anything in the ear canal is very uncomfortable.
Back before open office plans became a fad (that pretty much everybody hate, both ND and NT), you had cubicles. You were separated from your neighbors by 5 foot high walls. It didn't help much with sound, but it did help with visual distractions.
October 9, 2025 at 10:39 PM
Back before open office plans became a fad (that pretty much everybody hate, both ND and NT), you had cubicles. You were separated from your neighbors by 5 foot high walls. It didn't help much with sound, but it did help with visual distractions.
Yum! That does sound like a good combination.
October 9, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Yum! That does sound like a good combination.
I have lost count of the number of times that it looked like the last stair was part of the floor (same type of stone). I think I'm stepping down onto the floor, only to rudely discover I was twice as high up. That's physically jarring to my legs and back.
October 9, 2025 at 2:49 PM
I have lost count of the number of times that it looked like the last stair was part of the floor (same type of stone). I think I'm stepping down onto the floor, only to rudely discover I was twice as high up. That's physically jarring to my legs and back.
I hope you've figured out why they were wrong. (You don't have to tell us why.)
It stresses me out when something goes wrong, and I have no idea why it happened.
It stresses me out when something goes wrong, and I have no idea why it happened.
October 9, 2025 at 12:45 AM
I hope you've figured out why they were wrong. (You don't have to tell us why.)
It stresses me out when something goes wrong, and I have no idea why it happened.
It stresses me out when something goes wrong, and I have no idea why it happened.