Category: Gigs
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Graduation day
Less than a week ago our whole team at 18F found out we were fired. The past week has been amazing. It was immediately clear that they could not break us, they could not divide us, and that we will win. I said at some point that the power we have discovered is stronger than…
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With a net
When I heard that the Public Buildings Service was getting hit hard yesterday, with entire regions almost entirely shut down, closure of the historical buildings teams and leaked lists of historical buildings on the chopping block, it made me realize that not everyone can get the attention of a laid-off team of techie do-gooders, and…
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Hope springs eternal
I try not to amplify rumors even while lately most rumors I’ve been hearing have either come true or turned out worse than rumored. Especially now I don’t want to spread stories that may not be true or might actually be in flux right now. So I’m glad I didn’t report that people at TTS…
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We have to stick together
It’s Monday and I’m still drawing a paycheck but I’m on “administrative leave.” Still the muscle memory is strong and a bunch us held a standup to coordinate some immediate mutual aid and response activities. Later in the day the incumbent leadership team from 18F also connected to regroup, check in on each other, and…
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1800 force ghosts
So they fired us all at once and we’re still here. They have no idea what they’ve unleashed.
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And one day the axe just fell
The news is already out. 18F, targeted for deletion weeks ago by Prime Minister Musk, was laid off (“RIFfed” in the parlance) last night at 12:01 am ET. Sometime today they managed to pull the plug on 18F.gov but keep your eyes on 18F.org, where so far we have published a joint statement (included below),…
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The waiting
Rumors fly. Those who know are not allowed to tell. Encouraging court cases proceed toward an uncertain terminus. Some days are quiet now. A little too quiet. Hypervigilance and anxiety reign. Scenes and schemes and artifacts from work invade our dreams. We hold hands, waiting for the meteor to hit.
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What to expect when you’re expecting
Some interesting facts about federal reductions in force (RIFs):
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Daily check-in
I was reflecting on the calumnies being heaped on civil servants by professional grifters on the right. Electoral-vote.com this morning shared several comments from television, online, and elected hatemongers suggesting that people who work for the government are stealing taxpayer dollars and producing nothing. (No comment about Georgia congresspeople taking taxpayer dollars to spread lies…
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Double secret probation
After we spent most of Monday taking stock of the damage so far, wasting time responding to a nonsensical status report, and assessing the immediate impact of all this chaos and wasteful destruction on our ongoing project work with partner agencies, true to form we got an email blast after close of business on the…
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Dunning-Kruger guide to micro management
As most of the online world knows, over the weekend a presidential adviser used his right-wing microblogging network to continue repeating all the plays he used to spoil the company behind it. This weekend it was another one of those ludicrous emails couched in weasel words with all the “macho” threats taking place at the…
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It gets worse
Yesterday, I was telling my partner about three troubling things that were going on at work. The first was that our colleagues who had taken the deferred resignation offer, and the probationers who were let go outside of the normal process, were both told suddenly that they would be losing access at close of business…
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Feeling seen
This is my opportunity to thank the many people who have found ways to let me know that they are paying attention to what is going on, that you have grave concerns about the impact on our mission of delivering vital federal government services to the people of this great nation, that you have deep…
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One day at a time
I’ve been checking in with colleagues, peers, and mentors lately and when one asked me how I was handling things lately, I said “one day at a time” and she said something like that sounds like a good strategy. As if I have a choice! Still, there’s some wisdom in there. You can only game…
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A RIF by any other name
More than a day after being notified that they should expect to be dismissed during their probation period for reasons having nothing to do with performance, two people on my team were finally notified after 10 pm ET via email and attachment. I have to assume that hundreds if not thousands other across the fed…
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The fork not taken
Because these are very serious people treating us with respect, our new overlords declared once a judge lifted his stay, that the deferred resignation program was closed to new entrants at 4:20 on pacific time. Maybe now we can stop hearing about this meshugganah fork, at least? In the meantime, they semi rolled out a…
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Reporting for duty!
I’ve been working remotely since 2015. After we sold a startup to Dropbox, I had about six months off to chill and figure out what to do next. I took a playwriting class and got a lot of exercise. At the end of the period I joined another startup that was fully remote. I worked…
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Waiting for the other shoe to drop
So it’s another day of doing my job while trying to understand what the plan is, what’s on pause, and what is going to happen next. The judge who stayed the deadline for forking ourselves heard arguments yesterday and then left the stay in place indefinitely (until he makes his decision). Meanwhile, inside the house…
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Calm before the storm
One nice thing about the temporary restraining order (TRO) handed down by a judge in Massachusetts last Thursday is that by extending the deadline to take the “go fork yourself” offer from the stooges doing the bidding of the Project 2025 playbook (while Elon and his muskrats continue to root through our national privates), they…
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Ladies and gentlemen, the weekend
I was anticipating the new season of Severance since they started announcing it last fall and now life has gotten so crazed I am tending to catch the newest episodes days late instead of right when they drop. And then all of a sudden a show about a job where the people at the top…
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Oath takers and oath breakers
The whole concept of swearing an oath can feel antique, or worse cringe-y. Sad creepy quasi-militia guys exchanging rings with their daughters, that kind of thing. But I have worked for two governments now, and three administrations. When I was appointed to a role in the California government I swore an oath to defend the…