Alex Karp (he/him) :clippy:

EM @Thumbtack. #Autistic. Posts: #Tech, #Leadership, #Autism. Lifelong learner. Prev SayMC (npub1wdx…6vcy), @Wayfair. More scared of you than you are of me. Views = mine.

Also on Bluesky at autistic.af

Running Start: How to get a job in tech, keep that job, and thrive: https://www.runningstart.dev/l/hpffo
My Manager README: https://alexkar.ps/readme
My Blog: https://cryingundermydesk.com
Twitter: https://hello.coop/Twttr/AutisticManager

Public Key

npub17aswlus99yerwdvtmn4mw7x852wq7mksacsw736d697mcj9rcq3qvaclfh

NIP-05 Address

autisticmanager_at_techhub.social@momostr.pink

Profile Code

nprofile1qqs0wc807gzjjv3hxk9ae6ah0rr698q0dmgwug80gaxazldufz3uqgsgxxl0w

Author Public Key

npub17aswlus99yerwdvtmn4mw7x852wq7mksacsw736d697mcj9rcq3qvaclfh

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Last Notes

2024-08-20 14:16:49

Interviewing is hard for everyone, but it’s especially hard to navigate if you’re #ActuallyAutistic. Not only is it an additional barrier to employment, the company loses out on potentially great employees. This is why it’s important to design interviews with a diverse range of neurotypes in mind.
https://files.techhub.social/media_attachments/files/112/994/773/200/433/434/original/21f3918ea2da5725.jpeg

2024-07-26 01:09:39

Just recorded almost 30 minutes of piano performance only to realize that a) I accidentally deleted it, and b) it didn't matter anyway because I wasn't actually recording the piano, just the sound of me hitting the keys. 🙃🙃🙃

2024-07-21 18:34:12

I bet therapists across the country are asking themselves today: “I wonder what my patients will be talking about this week?”

2024-07-21 14:25:51

My wife, upon returning home from my birthday breakfast: “Aren’t you coming into the living room?”
Me: “I’m going to put in a load of laundry first.”
My wife: “32 has made you wise and responsible.”
Me: “I think it’s the Ritalin more than anything.” #ActuallyAutistic

2024-07-12 00:53:15

Most of what makes requesting workplace accommodations so difficult is a) figuring out what kinds of accommodations are even available, b) deciding what is “reasonable” ask for. Perhaps what we need to do is crowdsource this data… 🤔

2024-07-10 14:16:53

I wrote a thing! #ActuallyAutistic
https://aane.org/autism-info-faqs/library/traveling-while-autistic/

2024-06-12 22:34:34

Meeting Jon Taffer was not on my “Week at the Cape” bingo card, but it was still a really cool experience! I’m more of a Scotch and Irish Whisky drinker, but I’m excited to try this out. 🥃
https://files.techhub.social/media_attachments/files/112/606/030/797/834/180/original/e034c8a641b07c86.jpeg
https://files.techhub.social/media_attachments/files/112/606/030/937/489/770/original/8cd079a311d4c8da.jpeg

2024-06-05 18:33:18

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It's amazing how much difference a supportive manager makes. It's both very cool and completely terrifying.

2024-06-05 18:32:35

One of my favorite responsibilities an an Engineering Manager is explaining why we can't just reuse UI components made for web on iOS/Android.

2024-06-04 20:11:01

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This is something that I wish more companies offered. At previous companies, they explained to me that things like calendar management were basic skills that were required for a junior engineer, let alone a senior engineering manager.

2024-06-04 19:38:10

As an #ActuallyAutistic professional with executive dysfunction and a pervasive drive for autonomy, I can't overstate how helpful it is to have even fractional access to one of my company's executive assistants.
Specifically for calendar management. Meeting scheduling is my biggest struggle.

2024-06-03 15:52:51

Why even add an "Accepting New Patients" flag if you're not going to keep it up to date?

2024-06-03 15:30:53

I took 2.5 weeks of medical leave in mid-March after ankle surgery. I returned to work nearly two months ago, but the short-term disability insurance company is *just now* calling to see if I've returned to work yet. 🙃

2024-06-01 01:44:21

I bet Trump is Googling “how to transfer campaign funds into commissary account” right about now.

2024-05-31 18:01:09

If they make Trump pick up trash along the side of the highway, would his secret service also have to pick up trash? Would they have to wear orange too? 🤔

2024-05-31 17:11:26

Yikes. The "tech bro" mentality that if you're not writing code, you're not adding value is disgusting. There is this misguided belief that if you just keep everyone focused on keeping their head down and working hard enough, then everything else can be solved with a foosball table and a snack wall. https://leaddev.com/team/what-andreesen-horowitz-got-wrong-about-engineering-management

2024-05-31 16:01:29

Ooh. A message from my new prison pen pal!
https://files.techhub.social/media_attachments/files/112/536/537/380/752/962/original/76f1a8f9c2d0b4a8.png

2024-05-31 12:47:11

There is a very real possibility that, come November, Trump could be *on* the ballot, but not legally able to vote on said ballot. https://www.politico.com/news/2024/05/30/donald-trump-vote-2024-election-00160430

2024-05-30 03:02:14

If you use the term “Stealth PTO” unironically, I am ethically required to vomit on your late-stage capitalist shoes.

2024-05-29 01:46:37

Coworker: Oh wow! These changes will really help us put our team execution on autopilot!
Me: Yeah, and not that crappy Tesla autopilot — an autopilot that actually works!

2024-05-28 13:46:48

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The scary thing is that it still seems to work.

2024-05-28 12:06:19

Israel accusing countries that recognize Palestine as “being complicit in genocide” is wild.

2024-05-24 14:47:56

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Perhaps a TikTok dance instead?

2024-05-24 02:16:15

I wonder if future children will sing “Ring Around the Rosie”-esque songs about COVID?

2024-05-21 12:16:41

Just heard the Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs equivocate *dozens* of Israelis killed due to friendly fire with the *tens of thousands* of Palestinians killed as the “realities of war” on NPR. 🙃

2024-05-18 18:47:22

It has been far too long since I’ve pimped my last waffle. Terrible hotel, great waffle. BRB while I book another trip to Berlin. 🤤
https://files.techhub.social/media_attachments/files/112/463/579/546/597/596/original/d7ed2e6da855d7a9.png

2024-05-16 19:58:12

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Interesting. For me, it was:
Internships: all by Product
1st job: all by Product
2nd job: mostly Product, with some help from the EM
3rd job: mostly product, with some help from the EM
Now at my current job, we're just setting up 2 week sprints, but people seem to want it to be solely eng-driven, which feels siloed.

2024-05-16 16:39:13

In people's experience, are Agile ceremonies like sprint planning more often lead by Engineering or Product? I'm trying to check an assumption.

2024-05-15 14:49:01

Just saw a Cybertruck out in the wild for the first time and I feel like photos do not do it justice. However moronic you think it looks in pictures… it’s about 1,000 times worse in person.

2024-05-14 21:50:43

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I would pay BIG for an app or service that could tell me whether I was being reasonable.

2024-05-14 20:56:36

One of the hardest things about being autistic, for me, is never truly knowing if I'm being reasonable when someone suggests that I'm not. It feels isolating, like I'm the only one who sees something. Especially when I have pretty solid reasoning and the other person isn't open. #ActuallyAutistic

2024-05-13 14:44:38

Warmish take: "Say what you mean" cannot coexist with "the question behind the question".

2024-05-11 20:28:12

TIL that Xfinity only allows you to change your account password if you're on the home network associated with that account. So if you have, say... a nearly 20 year old email account, you can't change your password unless you fly back home to your parents' house. 🙃

2024-05-10 23:58:34

Does anyone use ChatGPT to help with executive dysfunction? If so, what do you use it for and how? i just started using it to create meeting notes and summaries from transcripts, but I’m wondering what else I can do! #AskingAutistics #ActuallyAutistic

2024-05-07 13:36:36

There is something about Israel’s invasion of Rafah and the closure of the crossing that makes less likely to believe that they’ve been negotiating a potential ceasefire in good faith. But I can’t quite put my finger on what it is… 🤔

2024-04-01 19:18:53

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Another fun fact: the person who came up with ABA was also behind the idea of Gay Conversion Therapy. /3
https://nsadvocate.org/2018/07/11/treating-autism-as-a-problem-the-connection-between-gay-conversion-therapy-and-aba/

2024-04-01 19:17:54

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Over the years, researchers and therapists have come up with ways of “supporting” autistic people, i.e. helping them be “normal.” The gold standard for this at the moment is what’s called Applied Behavior Analysis. Fun fact: if you Google it, Autism Speaks is the first result.
Applied Behavior Analysis involves identifying “problem behaviors” and attempting to replace them with socially acceptable alternatives. These problem behaviors often come in the form of a list from the family. Autistic children are rewarded for “good behavior” and negative behavior is met with consequences. If this sounds a lot like animal training to you, you’re not wrong! This “therapy” is billed as helping to support autistic children navigate a NT world. But in reality, all it does is train autistic people to fight against the way that their brains work for fear of punishment. It instills the idea that the NT way of thinking is the correct way and that anything else is bad. /2

2024-04-01 19:17:19

If you know an autistic person, you’re probably aware that April is “Autism Awareness Month.” What you might not know, however, is that April is a month of pure hell for #ActuallyAutistic folx.
The concept originated in 1970, when we understood a lot less about autism than we do today. Since then, the month has been co-opted by groups like Autism Speaks for fundraising. But what neurotypical people don’t realize is that the vast majority of these groups are actually
considered to be hate-groups by the #ActuallyAutistic community. So much of the discourse and dialogue around autism has centered NT people. When you consider NTs to be the ‘norm’ and NDs to be outside of that norm, the discussion veers toward “how do we help them be normal?”
It's a thread! 🧵