s18e07: A Very Short Announcement
0.0 Context Setting
Monday, 3 March 2025 in Portland, Oregon where the best thing about today is that we’ve never been as close to the end of the week this week.
0.1 Events: Hallway Track
Hallway Track, my ad-hoc online event series pretending to be the bit that happens in the hallway after a good talk at a conference is back.
Hallway Track 011 The DOGE shitshow: what happened, and what comes next is this Friday 7 March 2025 at 9am Pacific, 12pm Eastern, and 5pm London.
I’ll be joined by Waldo Jaquith, Angelica “Angie” Quirarte, Sarah Schacht, Emily Tavoularas, and Rebecca Williams.
The second Trump administration, led by Elon Musk and other ideologues, has brought a wrecking ball to the U.S. government’s capability for using technology to deliver modern public services.
The U.S. Digital Service was hollowed out in what must have been considered by the administration as a hilarious and strategic owning-the-libs move. 18F, the federal government’s internal consulting arm, was subject to a Friday night massacre, an instant decapitation.
Come to this very special Hallway Track, likely the first in a series, to hear and discuss topics like:
- the very real risks and dangers of DOGE’s approach;
- the progress that was being made and has now been lost;
- the crucial difference between DOGE’s approach and the approach of organizations like 18F and the U.S. Digital Service; and
- group therapy, and maybe even a wake.
35 spaces only.
Spaces will be released at ~8am PT on Tuesday 4 March (15 spaces), Wednesday 5 March (10 spaces), Thursday 6 March (10 spaces).
Register for Hallway Track 011 The DOGE shitshow: what happened, and what comes next.
1.0 Some Things That Caught My Attention
1.1 I Said It Was Short
This episode is just an announcement for the next Hallway Track.
In the meantime, you might be interested in a related op ed I wrote for the MIT Technology Review, From COBOL to chaos: Elon Musk, DOGE, and the Evil Housekeeper Problem, where I get to completely forget to mention the xkcd comic with the wrenches.
That’s it for now. Writing has been difficult. Sorry about that. I’d ask how you’re doing but... you know.
Best,
Dan
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