Nazarré Merchant
@nazarre.bsky.social
Linguist
she/her 🏳️⚧️ (new main is @tlatoani.bsky.social)
she/her 🏳️⚧️ (new main is @tlatoani.bsky.social)
Extremely interesting set of observations here. Would love to see some research on this, particularly as one suspect some federal anti-bullying initiative kicked off the change (or at least accelerated it).
Related, it's often hard to fathom Obergefell was only 9 years ago.
Related, it's often hard to fathom Obergefell was only 9 years ago.
February 20, 2024 at 9:21 PM
Extremely interesting set of observations here. Would love to see some research on this, particularly as one suspect some federal anti-bullying initiative kicked off the change (or at least accelerated it).
Related, it's often hard to fathom Obergefell was only 9 years ago.
Related, it's often hard to fathom Obergefell was only 9 years ago.
are executive fiduciary responsibility laws so weak as to be toothless? back when studying for actuarial exams (never completed) i recall them being made a big deal and waved about to scare the junior actuaries.
February 10, 2024 at 1:47 AM
are executive fiduciary responsibility laws so weak as to be toothless? back when studying for actuarial exams (never completed) i recall them being made a big deal and waved about to scare the junior actuaries.
But it's not. Micropayments are everywhere, and are solved tech.
The real issue is that as a business decision it looks bad. Why would, e.g, the Times allow people to drop in and read a single article for say $0.25, when they can get a portion of those people to shell out for annual subscriptions?
The real issue is that as a business decision it looks bad. Why would, e.g, the Times allow people to drop in and read a single article for say $0.25, when they can get a portion of those people to shell out for annual subscriptions?
February 10, 2024 at 1:39 AM
But it's not. Micropayments are everywhere, and are solved tech.
The real issue is that as a business decision it looks bad. Why would, e.g, the Times allow people to drop in and read a single article for say $0.25, when they can get a portion of those people to shell out for annual subscriptions?
The real issue is that as a business decision it looks bad. Why would, e.g, the Times allow people to drop in and read a single article for say $0.25, when they can get a portion of those people to shell out for annual subscriptions?
Yeah, lots of inconsistent reporting (Forbes reports 10.6% for Q3 2023, others higher, notably Statista w/many quarters above 10%). Not a big deal.
February 9, 2024 at 6:26 PM
Yeah, lots of inconsistent reporting (Forbes reports 10.6% for Q3 2023, others higher, notably Statista w/many quarters above 10%). Not a big deal.
To quibble slightly, Macs are reported variously to be between 10-16% of personal computer market share, a big leap over the grim 2% days.
February 9, 2024 at 6:17 PM
To quibble slightly, Macs are reported variously to be between 10-16% of personal computer market share, a big leap over the grim 2% days.
Props for slogging it through such a self-indulgent piece. Had to give it up after the, I think, eighth picture of her with some tech mogul.
February 8, 2024 at 1:16 PM
Props for slogging it through such a self-indulgent piece. Had to give it up after the, I think, eighth picture of her with some tech mogul.
Not trying to defend the actual purchase price of an academic book here (which are exploitative), only that setting a max cost is likely the absolute last thing a publishing company would ever agree to.
January 30, 2024 at 11:11 PM
Not trying to defend the actual purchase price of an academic book here (which are exploitative), only that setting a max cost is likely the absolute last thing a publishing company would ever agree to.
Unfortunately book authors have no control over this (I didn't and don't know anyone who has). It's also of the type that these cos will never cede as it affects bottom line. There's even one legit arg for this as pub can happen years after the contract was signed, w/very different publishing costs
January 30, 2024 at 11:08 PM
Unfortunately book authors have no control over this (I didn't and don't know anyone who has). It's also of the type that these cos will never cede as it affects bottom line. There's even one legit arg for this as pub can happen years after the contract was signed, w/very different publishing costs
Fwiw, the US is 65th when ranked in terms of immigrants. Truly reprehensible framing by the Times, as they surely know better.
Trying to imagine the convoluted justification: "WH gave us this number, known to be inflammatory - reframing w/better statistic would be us media showing bias"
Trying to imagine the convoluted justification: "WH gave us this number, known to be inflammatory - reframing w/better statistic would be us media showing bias"
January 30, 2024 at 11:00 PM
Fwiw, the US is 65th when ranked in terms of immigrants. Truly reprehensible framing by the Times, as they surely know better.
Trying to imagine the convoluted justification: "WH gave us this number, known to be inflammatory - reframing w/better statistic would be us media showing bias"
Trying to imagine the convoluted justification: "WH gave us this number, known to be inflammatory - reframing w/better statistic would be us media showing bias"
the perpetual mystery of the dems
January 20, 2024 at 7:39 PM
the perpetual mystery of the dems
the last scene (the joyous celebration of the terror of the brain), imo, intentionally undercuts the identification we've developed throughout for the characters, reminding the viewer who they've been cheering for: fascists who revel in, among other things, emotional suffering.
January 13, 2024 at 8:56 PM
the last scene (the joyous celebration of the terror of the brain), imo, intentionally undercuts the identification we've developed throughout for the characters, reminding the viewer who they've been cheering for: fascists who revel in, among other things, emotional suffering.
Dentists maybe, as people regularly experience physical pain with them. But math falls squarely in the category of topics that people loathe (such as writing and reading) because of bad experiences. The writing profs I know report similar responses for parallel reasons.
December 14, 2023 at 1:05 AM
Dentists maybe, as people regularly experience physical pain with them. But math falls squarely in the category of topics that people loathe (such as writing and reading) because of bad experiences. The writing profs I know report similar responses for parallel reasons.
Idk, I teach math and also get this reaction a lot. It never feels personal. My read is that people really do hate math (or whatever subject) typically for having had some traumatic early experience. I see this in the classroom too though students are more prepared to control their visceral reaction
December 14, 2023 at 12:28 AM
Idk, I teach math and also get this reaction a lot. It never feels personal. My read is that people really do hate math (or whatever subject) typically for having had some traumatic early experience. I see this in the classroom too though students are more prepared to control their visceral reaction
What's odd is that crucial deadlines for running in the Dem primaries are past (most notably Nevada), and most will be past in a couple weeks. Pure fantasy that anyone could get themselves on relevant ballots, raise funds, get noticed by, say, mid-December when registration is effectively over.
November 20, 2023 at 10:45 PM
What's odd is that crucial deadlines for running in the Dem primaries are past (most notably Nevada), and most will be past in a couple weeks. Pure fantasy that anyone could get themselves on relevant ballots, raise funds, get noticed by, say, mid-December when registration is effectively over.
Also trans rights. Beshear vetoed a sweeping trans ban -- turned out quite alright for him.
November 8, 2023 at 2:03 AM
Also trans rights. Beshear vetoed a sweeping trans ban -- turned out quite alright for him.
we have a winner
November 1, 2023 at 11:11 PM
we have a winner
If the inertial dampening system fails for even one millisecond (as all tech does), the spaceships will definitely be filled with goo!
October 26, 2023 at 10:13 AM
If the inertial dampening system fails for even one millisecond (as all tech does), the spaceships will definitely be filled with goo!
From that editorial: "We are not naive."
October 25, 2023 at 11:48 AM
From that editorial: "We are not naive."
I have read it. You're conflating cash with increase in net assets when you say things like "bringing in annual surpluses."
October 23, 2023 at 8:19 PM
I have read it. You're conflating cash with increase in net assets when you say things like "bringing in annual surpluses."
I think you may be misreading their financial statements. The increase in unrestricted net assets for the last three years were: $8million, $50m, & $16m. This is different from cash (which varies from $50-$86m). All functional orgs have cash and wiki's cash on hand is stable over time.
October 23, 2023 at 8:07 PM
I think you may be misreading their financial statements. The increase in unrestricted net assets for the last three years were: $8million, $50m, & $16m. This is different from cash (which varies from $50-$86m). All functional orgs have cash and wiki's cash on hand is stable over time.
My #s are from the Foundations audited financial statements. 2023 endowment reports $119m.
Assets over time are not increasing significantly, and there's no other pot of assets
wikimediafoundation.org/about/annual...
wikimediafoundation.org/about/annual...
wikimediafoundation.org/about/annual...
Assets over time are not increasing significantly, and there's no other pot of assets
wikimediafoundation.org/about/annual...
wikimediafoundation.org/about/annual...
wikimediafoundation.org/about/annual...
October 23, 2023 at 7:47 PM
My #s are from the Foundations audited financial statements. 2023 endowment reports $119m.
Assets over time are not increasing significantly, and there's no other pot of assets
wikimediafoundation.org/about/annual...
wikimediafoundation.org/about/annual...
wikimediafoundation.org/about/annual...
Assets over time are not increasing significantly, and there's no other pot of assets
wikimediafoundation.org/about/annual...
wikimediafoundation.org/about/annual...
wikimediafoundation.org/about/annual...
I absolutely see your point about messaging (they are not financially struggling!), but to my view being conservative with a new influx of a large amount of money is good financial stewardship.
October 23, 2023 at 6:30 PM
I absolutely see your point about messaging (they are not financially struggling!), but to my view being conservative with a new influx of a large amount of money is good financial stewardship.
Looking at the Wiki Foundation's financial statements from 2022 we see $50.9m in cash, $141.9m in short-term invests (assuredly short-term bonds). 2021 saw $86.8m and $117m respectively. Net assets from 2020, 2021, 2022 are 191, 240, 250. I belabor this as I see no red flags here.
October 23, 2023 at 6:27 PM
Looking at the Wiki Foundation's financial statements from 2022 we see $50.9m in cash, $141.9m in short-term invests (assuredly short-term bonds). 2021 saw $86.8m and $117m respectively. Net assets from 2020, 2021, 2022 are 191, 240, 250. I belabor this as I see no red flags here.
"Why are they building an endowment when they have a surplus of at least $50 million a year?" This strikes me as fundamentally a fear-mongering question. As someone who's been in tech, academia, and finance for decades, I don't know how to engage with such a query. And so really I'm trying to logoff
October 23, 2023 at 6:04 PM
"Why are they building an endowment when they have a surplus of at least $50 million a year?" This strikes me as fundamentally a fear-mongering question. As someone who's been in tech, academia, and finance for decades, I don't know how to engage with such a query. And so really I'm trying to logoff
Why build an endowment when you have extra money? This isn't a serious question, just fear-mongering. According to the endowment's webpage, they are supporting various projects. I'm checking out here.
October 23, 2023 at 5:51 PM
Why build an endowment when you have extra money? This isn't a serious question, just fear-mongering. According to the endowment's webpage, they are supporting various projects. I'm checking out here.