The Ford Tempo was never a glamorous car. It was slow, small, and almost entirely style-free. But at the same time, the Tempo’s sheer mundanity came in shades. If you really wanted to unimpress, you had to go for broke by buying the incredibly obscure and short-lived diesel version.

Joy of joys, you can do exactly that today! A seller in Cleveland, Ohio has listed a 1985 Ford Tempo in gleaming condition, and…it’s got the diesel donk! It’s about as mid as you can get without hitting rock bottom, and it could be yours.

Yes, Ford’s entry into the world of front-wheel-drive compacts was unexceptional and forgettable. The Tempo name died forever just 11 years after it entered production. It was neither interesting nor bad enough to make a serious impression on anybody, but we’re not anybody. We’re The Autopian, so we’re gonna remember the diesel Tempo and pore over this finely preserved example.

From 1984 to 1986, Ford offered the Tempo with Mazda’s RF diesel engine under the hood. The four-cylinder engine offered just 53 horsepower, which is even funnier when you realize that’s just 39 kW. That is what the kids call a low number. Torque wasn’t great either, with just 82 pound-feet on tap—about enough to twist apart an Oreo. The diesel models were only available with a five-speed manual. This was a sage decision on Ford’s part, because they’d be even slower if they lost more power through a torque-converter automatic.

The diesel came with one main benefit, though—fuel economy. Where the 2.3-liter gas engine was achieving 23 mpg combined, the diesel would trounce that with a figure of 34 mpg combined. If you only had one gallon of diesel, you could go a whole 11 miles further than your friend with one gallon of gas! If you were both racing to dig up treasure 30 miles away, you’d have the edge by far. Still, your friend would have far less trouble merging onto the highway, with the 2.3-liter HSC gas engine having a much healthier 90 horsepower on tap.

The owner of this fine 1985 Ford Tempo GLX claims even better economy than that. The ad reports achieving up to 43 to 51 miles per gallon. That’s within the believable range, assuming some careful hypermiling techniques were applied. The Tempo was light by modern standards, at 2,606 pounds, which didn’t hurt either.

It’s in amazing condition for a 39-year-old vehicle. The Tempo is resplendent in Regatta Blue, and it wears its badges with pride. The owner notes it’s sat for 6-8 months, but it has near new tires. “Needs to be driven!” reads the ad, and that’s true. It does. Honestly, the car looks like it rolled out of the dealership last week, ready to go. Even the underbody is clean.

What about mileage? Well, it’s got 72,000 miles on the clock. That works out to less than 2,000 miles a year.

This Tempo was delivered fully-loaded, to boot. The owner has plenty of documents on the car, including a “Deluxe Marti report” that outlines the car’s options from the factory. This one came new with power steering, the sports instrument cluster, air conditioning, and power windows. It even scored power locks, a sunroof, and “Speed Control,” which is what Ford called cruise control in the 1980s. Hilariously, the document also notes that the car was built ten days behind schedule. The diesel was apparently so slow, it even dawdled through the production line.

It’s not hard to buy a desirable classic car if you’ve got lots of money. There are plenty of old Jaguars, Ferraris, and Porsches in fine shape, which are maintained to that degree because of the glory they inspire. It’s much rarer to happen across a regular car that has been kept to this standard. And that’s what makes this Tempo so special.

As an aside, I’ll tell you a deep secret. It’s this writer’s dream to build a Tempo track car one day. I have a yearning to drive the car that was so middle-of-the-road, it was forgotten as soon as someone stopped looking at it. A diesel Tempo would be all the better, though I couldn’t possibly desecrate a pristine living example like this one.

If you bought this car for $5,500, you’d probably be driving one of only a handful of Tempos still remaining. The fact that it’s of the diesel, manual variety only makes it rarer. If you treat Cars and Coffee like a competitive blood sport, buy this Ford Tempo, and cherish it like the gem that it never was. Precious few remain, and they ought to be cherished.

Image credits: Facebook Marketplace, Ford

The post This Pristine Diesel Ford Tempo Has Less Speed And Style Than Anything Else You Can Buy appeared first on The Autopian.

Bosch Parade 2022

The Bosch Parade, a theatrical and musical art spectacle on the Netherlands’ Dommel River, kicks off on Thursday, June 20. For four days, spectators on the riverbanks can experience a procession of 19 floating, paddling, and swimming works of art in the middle of the historic center of ’s-Hertogenbosch, the birthplace and home of Hieronymous Bosch (1450–1516). The tenth edition of the parade is dedicated to our contemporary demons.

Fantasy, Absurdities, and Wonderment
An impressive spectacle that amazes, touches, and connects viewers, Bosch Parade 2024 is the tenth edition of this floating art manifestation in the heart of ’s-Hertogenbosch. As in previous editions, visual artists, directors, and choreographers from the Netherlands and around the world will pay tribute to the timeless creativity and imagination of Bosch. In this all-new fascinating cruise of the ludicrous, nineteen quirky and colorful art objects full of fantasies and absurdities will be shown to thousands of spectators. 

Extraordinary Creations Depict Contemporary Demons
Through floating, bobbing, and wading creations, renowned and emerging artists present their interpretations of the theme of this year’s edition: contemporary demons. Algorithms, data, news reports, social media, hackers, trackers, and influencers rattle like menacing pests at the gates of our existence. What do we have to fear from these tormentors? Do we turn away from them, or surrender? 

During Bosch Parade 2024, artists and creators from far and wide will highlight these contemporary demons in a wondrous spectacle of unique sailing artworks, some of which feature theater, dance, and music.

Lennie Visser, “Evolution of Demons” (2024)

Thespian Lennie Visser, collaborating with designer Jelle Engel, creates singular circus performances with Boost Producties, exploring the boundaries between movement theatre, circus, dance, and visual arts. Visser will perform “Evolution of Demons” at this year’s Bosch Parade.

Chant van Lieshout and MOSs Social Club, “Isteria Archipelago” (2024)

Chant van Lieshout and MOSs Social Club have created a magical archipelago “Isteria Archipelago”, a utopian paradise where deformed fish, amid pollution and decay, work toward a better universe.

Artist rendering of Simone Serlenga and Amy Evans, “The Voyage of the Ship of Fools” (2024)

For centuries, Bosch’s The Ship of Fools (c. 1490–1500) has been a symbol of a flawed human society. Simone Serlenga and Amy Evans used it as inspiration for their installation,“The Voyage of the Ship of Fools”, to deliver a similar social critique of today’s excesses: overconsumption and a constant desire for newer, bigger, and better.

Bosch Parade 2022, SKYPUNCH COLLECTIVE, project Naîad

Garden of Earthly Delights: David Bade & Tirzo Martha

Part of this year’s Bosch Parade is the Garden of Earthly Delights, a summery open-air studio on the waterfront at the Citadel, a medieval fortress in the center of ’s-Hertogenbosch. From May 23 through June 23, you can see and meet artists at work in this breeding ground of artistic fervor, including Curaçao artists David Bade and Tirzo Martha, who collaborated with dozens of volunteers, artists, and students from Curaçao and the Netherlands on an impressive gesamtkunstwerk that will continue to be built from May onwards with the opportunity for attendees of the parade to participate.

To learn more, visit boschparade.nl, and view the 2024 full program.

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article The Floating Bosch Parade Makes a Spectacle of Online Life on a River in The Netherlands appeared first on Colossal.

Finally a break from Disney’s same-face syndrome

Continue reading…

Enlarge (credit: Getty)

A study analyzing Apple, Microsoft, and SpaceX suggests that return to office (RTO) mandates can lead to a higher rate of employees, especially senior-level ones, leaving the company, often to work at competitors.

The study (PDF), published this month by University of Chicago and University of Michigan researchers and reported by The Washington Post on Sunday, says:

In this paper, we provide causal evidence that RTO mandates at three large tech companies— Microsoft, SpaceX, and Apple—had a negative effect on the tenure and seniority of their respective workforce. In particular, we find the strongest negative effects at the top of the respective distributions, implying a more pronounced exodus of relatively senior personnel.

The study looked at résumé data from People Data Labs and used "260 million résumé s matched to company data." It only examined three companies, but the report's authors noted that Apple, Microsoft, and SpaceX represent 30 percent of the tech industry's revenue and over 2 percent of the technology industry's workforce. The three companies have also been influential in setting RTO standards beyond their own companies. Robert Ployhart, a professor of business administration and management at the University of South Carolina and scholar at the Academy of Management, told the Post that despite the study being limited to three companies, its conclusions are a broader reflection of the effects of RTO policies in the US.

"Taken together, our findings imply that return to office mandates can imply significant human capital costs in terms of output, productivity, innovation, and competitiveness for the companies that implement them," the report reads.

For example, after Apple enacted its RTO mandate, which lets employees work at home part-time, the portion of its employee base considered senior-level decreased by 5 percentage points, according to the paper. Microsoft, which also enacted a hybrid RTO approach, saw a decline of 5 percentage points. SpaceX's RTO mandate, meanwhile, requires workers to be in an office full-time. Its share of senior-level employees fell 15 percentage points after the mandate, the study found.

"We find experienced employees impacted by these policies at major tech companies seek work elsewhere, taking some of the most valuable human capital investments and tools of productivity with them,” one of the report's authors, Austin Wright, an assistant professor of public policy at the University of Chicago, told the Post.

Christopher Myers, associate professor of management and organization health at Johns Hopkins University, suggested to the Post that the departure of senior-level workers could be tied to the hurt morale that comes from RTO mandates, noting, "it’s easier to manage a team that’s happy.”

Debated topic

Since COVID-19 restrictions have lifted, there has been heavy debate about whether employees returning to work in an office is necessary or beneficial to companies. An estimated 75 percent of tech companies in the US are considered "fully flexible," per a 2023 report from Scoop. As noted by the Post, however, the US's biggest metro areas have, on average, 51 percent office occupancy, per data from managed security services firm Kastle Systems, which says it analyzes "keycard, fob and KastlePresence app access data across 2,600 buildings and 41,000 businesses."

Microsoft declined to comment on the report from University of Chicago and University of Michigan researchers, while SpaceX didn't respond. Apple representative Josh Rosenstock told The Washington Post that the report's findings drew "inaccurate conclusions" and “does not reflect the realities of our business." He claimed that "attrition is at historically low levels."

Yet some companies have struggled to make employees who have spent months successfully doing their jobs at home eager to return to the office. Dell, Amazon, Google, Meta, and JPMorgan Chase have tracked employee badge swipes to ensure employees are coming into the office as often as expected. Dell also started tracking VPN usage this week and has told workers who work remotely full-time that they can't get a promotion.

Some company leaders are adamant that remote work can disrupt a company's ability to innovate. However, there's research suggesting that RTO mandates aren't beneficial to companies. A survey of 18,000 Americans released in March pointed to flexible work schedules helping mental health. And an analysis of 457 S&P 500 in February found RTO policies hurt employee morale and don't increase company value.

Read Comments

Some time ago, I recommended that before you try to do something, you should make sure you can do nothing. There’s a variation of this maxim when you are adding code to an existing component rather than writing something from scratch: Before you try to change something, make sure you can change nothing at all.

In other words, take the existing component and run it before making any changes to it at all. Does it work?

Sometimes we’ll get questions from developers saying, “All I did was add this line of code, and I’m getting all these build errors. What did I forget? Do I need to add another dependency?” This often triggers a prolonged troubleshooting session trying to see how that line of code could result in those build errors, until somebody asks, “Did it build before you made any changes?” And then we learn, “Oh, I don’t know. I never tried.”

This step of building the unchanged component (perhaps I should call it “step negative one”) makes sure that your development environment is properly set up: Are the build tools installed? Are the correct build tools installed? Did you install all the necessary libraries? Maybe the component retrieves a NuGet package from a NuGet feed: Can you authenticate to that feed?

After you build the component, can you deploy and run it? Did you set your test system into an appropriate developer mode so you can install your component onto it? Do the unit tests pass?

After you’ve gained comfort with a component, you can start skipping these steps, but these are important steps to undertake before writing a single line of code: If you can’t get the component to build, deploy, and run as-is, you’ll certainly never get it to do those things after you make your changes!

And doing all this on an unchanged project makes it clear that the problems you’re encountering are unrelated to any changes you plan on making. Now you know that you need to troubleshoot how you set up your development environment, rather than debugging your code.

Bonus chatter: If you’re particularly unlucky, the problem will be that the project is already broken and nobody noticed. But at least you can get the attention of the people with primary responsibility for the project, seeing as you can clearly show that the problem is theirs and not yours.

The post Before you try to change something, make sure you can change nothing appeared first on The Old New Thing.