I don't understand either, but I would be genuinely interested in what "mailing a payment" means in practice. Is it like sending a check by mail or some kind of paper bank transfer?

Sending a check via mail is infrequently done, but it happens. I just paid my annual property taxes that way. My options were:

* mailing a check

* paying via credit card over the phone for a hefty surcharge

* cash in person

In my case, I used my online banking to send the amount to the mailing address on the bill. In some cases - for large companies, typically - my bank can send the remittance electronically. In others, though, they fill out a paper check on my behalf and send it via the postal system. This service is fee free to me, or else I’d have sent the letter myself.

You say ‘the cheque is in the mail’ when you intend to ignore an instruction whilst pretending to comply.

Yes it’s Esri advertising, but wow, that must be one of the most inspiring accounts of using GIS in policy management I've ever heard. Brilliant, absolutely brilliant. And this guy is in the running to become Vice President of the USA? I had never heard of Tim Walz before yesterday, when Kamala Harris chose him as her running mate. For once there is hope.

'We named our oldest daughter Hope for a reason. It's the most powerful word in the universe.'

Amazing. And I’m not even American.

You can also scan documents from the Files app (tap on the circle with three dots)

I started as manager a bit after the start of the pandemic and left after 9 months.

I was full of hope and illusions, but I had to recognize that it was not for me. Too many fires to manage, urgencies, external and internal politics, changes of management, lots of deliverables each week for the executive committee… What surprised me was that managing the team was very rewarding and I quite enjoyed it. I also benefited from a mentor and a coach.

But at some point, I was asked to do stuff that I found dubious ethically (not illegal or anything, just some “flexibility” with the truth) and I became ill. I had to take antidepressants and anxiolytics. A few weeks later I had to take a sick leave for 4-5 weeks, then I talked with my N+1. I have the chance that I work for the state, so I just had to ask to get my previous position back. I thought that I would be burned, but I was directly assigned in the core team of the biggest business transformation project the company had ever had, together with MBB consultants. I also got like 5 other internal offers from other teams that wanted to hire me.

I do not regret my passage as manager because I met a lot of people and grew my network. It was a very exposed position so I had to manage a lot of bullsh*t but it was very central, so I had the privilege to work with all the executives of the company.

I lost a bit of salary (management bonus) when I got back as individual engineer but got my serenity back. Now I’ve just been promoted to Principal Engineer, which is almost the same package as when I was manager, but for an IC. I also find it important for me for the recognition it gives.

So now I understand better that middle management is really hard and, for me, not worth the price. But I have more appreciation for my colleagues that are managers. I may consider becoming a manager again in the future, but I am not sure yet.

I'm not seeing a confirmation page, it redirects transparently. So it seems that YMMV.

It's funny that their blog uses good old WordPress and YouTube for videos.

Anyway, it seems creepy, I hope we can opt out. I fear that in the future most of the bullshit content from companies will be generated by AI. And then we'll need another AI to summarise it.