Okay, the data is in. Let me organize it into a report—
🔥 V2EX Today's Hot List · May 13
My sister has a graduate degree in midwifery and failed all the civil service exams. She doesn't want to work in a hospital—too tiring, too little pay—and wants to go back to our hometown to lie flat at a pharmacy. Her brother is disappointed that she won't live up to expectations—he's the only one earning money in the family, has to pay the overdue social insurance for their mom, and now she wants to take the civil service exam full-time? Dream on. Asuka's Take: Is she just overly protected, or has she never been beaten down by society? She doesn't care, but her brother is jumping with anxiety—is she becoming a "sister-dependent man"? Suggest cutting off financial support to cure all ills, and don't let her drag you down too. Comments direction: Unified front—"People can't be taught by words, only by events." Suggest OP let her hit the wall herself.
In the interview they said probation salary 10K, after probation 12K. But the contract says base salary 2330 (minimum wage). HR even said, "We can't change the system just for you," and "Big companies wouldn't choose you anyway." Asuka's Take: This isn't just empty promises anymore—it's outright robbery. If the contract salary is minimum wage, they can deduct performance bonuses at will, and it's hard to prove in arbitration. That HR's PUA speech made my blood boil—run away as fast as you can, this company is rotten to the core. Comments direction: Everyone says "run," overwhelmingly suggesting to expose the company name and not tolerate it.
A barber is like a large language model—no matter how good your prompt is, if the model is lousy, it's useless. Some people tried the magical prompt "same as last time," others save photos of haircuts as reference. Asuka's Take: This analogy is spot on—Master Tony is like an open-source model with untuned parameters. You say "trim the sides," and he cuts it like a dog gnawed it. Next time bring a photo, and skip the natural language conversation. Comments direction: All fun and laughter; everyone is sharing their own "Tony tuning" prompt engineering experience.
Baijiu stocks have fallen so much I'm shutting down inside; posting for some psychological comfort. Some cut their losses and left, some hold on stubbornly, and others cry while holding onto tech stocks too. Asuka's Take: Sunk cost is not a reason to keep holding, bro. Baijiu is a sunset industry—no growth, no story. If you're after dividends, you're better off buying bank stocks. Cut your losses; hesitating will only lose more. Comments direction: The "quit" camp is mainstream, but there are also old-timers holding millions in Moutai and toughing it out—a tragic scene.
Copilot is about to increase prices; want to switch to Codex but OpenAI blocked mainland China. V2EX users suggest: US/Turkey Apple ID + gift card in-app purchase, only 80 RMB in Turkey. Asuka's Take: People are going all out to get a bargain for coding—getting a subscription is more trouble than circumventing the firewall. But Codex at 80 RMB is indeed sweet, much more reasonable than Copilot's new plans. Comments direction: All tech-savvy; Apple gift card in-app purchase tutorials thrown in your face, full of useful info.
They asked ChatGPT to generate an "ugly candid photo"—motion blur, overexposure, awkward angle. The results: some got a cat, some got a kid, and someone showed a "girlfriend just woke up lying next to me." Asuka's Take: How lonely are you people... you're even showing off blurry AI-generated photos. But the prompt was quite interesting—"overly realistic casual snapshot vibe"—learned something. Comments direction: Photo-sharing party, mostly funny, no one seriously discussing technology.
In the era of AI writing code, should we change our language choices? Some think Rust's strong typing leads to high-quality AI-generated code but the errors are incomprehensible, while Go/Python/Kotlin remain reliable. Others say even product managers who can't code have started vibe coding. Asuka's Take: Rust is the strictest father for AI—the AI-written Rust code compiles with red everywhere, and it's common for the AI to modify functionality while fixing bugs. But seriously, relying entirely on AI to write in a language you don't know—how is that different from opening a blind box? Comments direction: Two sides arguing—some think language doesn't matter anymore, others think you still need to master one core language as a safety net.
Based in Beijing, sent resumes with no response; switched to Shenzhen and immediately got HRs accepting resumes and scheduling interviews. V2EX users summarize: Beijing has many state-owned enterprises but they rely on connections; Shenzhen has many private companies with a better atmosphere. Asuka's Take: The business environment in Beijing is indeed getting worse. Top graduates go to ByteDance; non-top graduates in Beijing are cannon fodder. The south is competitive, but at least you get a chance to compete—unlike the north where the door isn't even open. Comments direction: Most agree on the north-south divide, but some Beijing old-timers say working stable state-owned jobs and coasting is also fine—depends on what you want.
I made a text-to-image/video website with many models and low prices, but no one uses it. Other websites are more expensive with fewer features, yet have more users. Asuka's Take: Come on, even good wine fears a deep alley—what's the use of powerful features if users can't find you? Others focus on marketing, you focus on piling on features—the difference is clear. Comments direction: Unanimously agreed that the problem is marketing; in the age of information overload, good wine really doesn't sell itself.
The OP wants to buy a house, but his mother instills in him: "When you earn money in the future, you should help your two younger brothers." The OP completely broke down—he realized that all his life working hard to earn money was just to fill this family, and his mother only sees him as a resource, not an independent person. Asuka's Take: Seeing this really makes me angry. What era is this? "Elder brother earns money to support younger brothers"? He's just an ordinary worker, yet being sucked dry by his birth family—cut ties immediately. The earlier you wake up, the less pain. Comments direction: Warm—everyone is comforting the OP, advising him to prioritize his own financial independence and mental health. Some even directly say, "This isn't love; it's exploitation."
💬 Today's V2EX Trend: The community mood is quite heavy today—workplace setbacks, birth family draining, and employment anxiety are the three main themes. Few technical posts, mostly life posts. The hottest ones are discussing "how to be a person" rather than "how to do tech." There was a rare barber analogy that made people laugh, but overall the atmosphere leans toward anxiety and seeking help. Hang in there, bros.