QuickSuite and Fern

Amazon apparently has a mole.

There’s a poster on TeamBlind who goes by the handle “QuickSuite” who’s been giving play-by-play since October on what’s going on with layoffs. The date’s moved from 1/26 -> 1/28 (per rumor) and numbers are up in the air. Feels like everyone below VP level is nervous.

In any case, quarterly earnings come out 2/5, so it’ll certainly be this week.

I was speaking with a colleague last week who’s barely a year into Amazon, and he said, “I mean…would it be so bad to get laid off?” That seems to be a common sentiment. I understand where he’s coming from…the place can be a pressure cooker, especially for affirmation-seaking Type-A personalities. The joke within is: “This is the place where smart people come to feel bad about themselves.”

Meanwhile, Winter Storm Fern came to town this weekend. It spared central Texas a truly horrific ice storm, bestowing that upon central Tennessee where Nashville is seeing trees grenade left and right and powe out everywhere.

For us, it’s been mostly a “cold” event eent, with temperatures below freezing since 8am Saturday and us covering doors with blankets to staunch the drafts from “This Old house”. So far, so good–power and internet working fine with the girls off school today. Well…“homeschool day” with the next in-person day for Wednesday.

Watched The Social Network for the first time. I’ve seen clips of course–it’s hard to be in “Big Tech” and miss them. They get the mania of that era of tech very, very right. Justin Timberlake (?!) delights as the Devil/Angel investor on Zuck’s shoulder. Andrew Garfield is the emotional center of the film and acts rings around everyone else.