LEXINGTON, KY—Researchers at the University of Kentucky published a study Monday confirming that you should brace yourself for a massive personal disaster, because you are probably due to experience a big life tragedy soon. “Our results have found that since it’s been so long since you had something absolutely terrible happen to you, there is likely a massive calamity coming right down the pipeline,” said researcher Sean LaMonte, adding that you could expect there to be a day in the next month or so when you would wake up to 12 missed calls from everyone in your family, and that the reason would likely tear your life apart. “Your friend’s parents have been dying off lately, could be something with that. Or perhaps there’s a major career setback lurking right around the corner for you. There’s no telling exactly what is going to happen, but mathematically it’s going to be in the near future and it’s going to be real fucking awful.” LaMonte claimed the only way you could feasibly prepare was to remain paralyzed in fear until the tragedy occurred.
In brief: Houston is about to experience its warmest weather of the last six months, but at least there’s an expiration date. Widespread showers on Friday and/or Saturday will usher in a cool front that will bring cooler and drier air. Sunday, at this point, looks especially nice.
The 90s? Great decade. April temperatures, not so much.
As a member of Generation X, I’m firmly of the belief that the 1990s were the best decade. We balanced the budget, won the Cold War, had some great Thursday night television, and the internet was in its youth—a place of wonder before smart phones and social media. However that does not mean I’m a fan of 90-degree days in April.
Houston got close on Saturday, with a mark of 89 degrees at Bush Intercontinental Airport. Sunday was a shade cooler. If not today, then Tuesday or Wednesday is virtually certain to hit 90 degrees. If we look at data over the last 60 years (when the city’s official meteorological station has been located at Intercontinental Airport) Houston has recorded its first annual 90-degree day as early as February and as late as June. The average first 90-degree day has been May 2 (this coming Saturday).
Graphic showing earliest and latest 90-degree days since 1968. (NOAA)
So we are not particularly early with temperatures in the 90s this year. And the good news is that we really do have a nice-looking cool front on the way for this weekend. So although summer is indeed coming, it is not here yet to stay.
Monday
We are starting out this morning very warm, in the mid- to upper 70s, and muggy. Skies are mostly cloudy but by mid-morning we should start to clear out. Highs this afternoon will range from the mid-80s near the coast to around 90 degrees for inland areas. Winds will be from the south at about 10 mph, with gusts up to 20 mph during the afternoon. Rain chances are near zero, but if a capping inversion breaks we could see some isolated showers and thunderstorms later today. Low temperatures tonight will only drop into the mid-70s.
High temperature forecast for Wednesday. (Weather Bell)
Tuesday and Wednesday
These will be the warmest days of the week, with inland areas possibly seeing highs in the lower 90s. Tuesday should be the sunnier of the two days, with a few more clouds on Wednesday. Humidity levels remain very high. Both days, again, will carry a low-end chance of showers and thunderstorms. Chances are probably only 10 percent each day. These will be our region’s warmest days in half a year.
Thursday
A weak front will approach the area on Wednesday evening, and this may lead to some slightly cooler weather, perhaps bringing highs down to the mid-80s. We are going to see some much better rain chances to end the work week, but it’s not clear to me that we’ll see much more than a smattering of showers on Thursday. We’ll see. Overnight lows should drop to around 70 degrees.
Friday and Saturday
By Friday an increasingly disturbed atmosphere should lead to widespread showers, maybe during the daytime or maybe not until later in the afternoon or evening with a frontal passage. Overall the setup does not look super favorable for severe weather, but it’s too early to make that determination. What does seem likely is widespread showers starting some time on Friday and lasting well into Saturday. High temperatures on Friday will likely peak in the upper 70s, with highs on Saturday perhaps not pushing out of the upper 60s. Lows on Saturday night should drop into the 50s as rains end.
NOAA rain accumulation forecast for now through Saturday night. (Weather Bell)
Sunday
At this point, with the knowledge that things could change, Sunday looks like it could be a really fine day. Skies are likely to be mostly sunny, with mild temperatures in the 70s, low humidity, and light winds. It’s an early candidate for one of the 10 nicest days of the year. We’ll see. Lows on Sunday night will probably drop into the 50s again for most of Houston.
Next week
Houston should start out in the 70s next week before returning to the mid-80s. I don’t think we’re going to get back to the 90s, but we shall see!
I am a mid-level supervisor for a state government agency. While I directly supervise several employees, about half of the employees in my section directly report to my manager, “Michael.” He, in turn, reports to “David” and “Jan,” who are the chief and the second-in-command. There are several other sections within our agency that do separate work, and those sections have their own corresponding Michaels, who also report to David and Jan.
Hypothetically (I do not have any plans to do this currently), given the fact that I supervise some employees, would it be inappropriate for me to organize a Bible study, book club where we read a religious book, etc., which would occur, say, over lunch?
On the one hand, my religion is extremely important to me and my religious beliefs aren’t exactly a secret. (For example, I told a coworker who lost a family member that I would pray for them, because I know they follow the same religion as me.)
However, I would not want anyone, especially those I supervise, to think that their participation (or lack thereof) in this sort of activity is being encouraged by me by virtue of my position. That is, I wouldn’t want there to be any pressure for people to participate because someone in management is doing it. Does the fact that I only supervise a handful of people when there are well over 100 employees in our agency, many of whom do entirely separate work from me, make a difference?
No, a manager should not organize any kind of religious discussion at work. No matter how sincere you are in saying that people who attend wouldn’t get favorable treatment from you, some of your staff will still worry that they will and/or will feel pressured to participate and/or will find it unfair that people are getting extra networking opportunities with you based on a shared religious practice. And frankly, it would be unfair — that is an extra networking opportunity with you, and it shouldn’t be open only to people willing to talk about religion with you (or be based around religion at all).
2. Can I ask an interviewer about their terrible customer reviews?
After being laid off a month ago, I’m in the early stages of interviewing for a learning and development role at a midsize corporation. Unlike my last job, where I was creating customer-facing trainings, this role would entail creating internal trainings on a wide range of topics, which is much more aligned with my long-term career goals. However, when I was researching the company, I discovered that the service the company provides garners VERY low customer ratings (as in, 1.4 stars on Google reviews and Yelp and an enormous pile of Better Business Bureau complaints). While of course I realize that these online reviews don’t reflect the good experiences (there must be some, right?), I was appalled by some of the claims people were making.
Right now, I’m leaning toward not moving forward in the interview process, as I’m not desperate for a job (yet!) and I am reluctant to work for a company that seems to have no compunction about scamming its customers. But there is a part of me that is curious as to how they would respond if I asked them about those reviews — I mean, maybe they’re working to address the issues. I have been considering asking something like, “I have seen some online reviews where customers are really unhappy with Company’s services. I know that people who are happy with Company aren’t likely to go online to rave about it, but I was wondering what steps Company takes to address customer feedback and how your customer service reps fit into the vision you have for the L&D team.” Or something along those lines. Is that totally unhinged? Should I just cut and run now?
It’s not unhinged at all. That’s a pretty normal question to ask in this context, and they’ve probably been asked it before! They’re aware of their reviews, and they’re aware (some) candidates will be too. Your wording isn’t particularly aggressive or adversarial; it’s reasonable.
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t cut and run. But if you’d otherwise be interested in the job, go to the next interview and ask.
3. Should I tell a former coworker that someone is talking smack about them?
I had a job recently where we were a team of seven, including the system admin, Amanda. Her attendance was sporadic, but didn’t really affect the rest of us. I felt like whatever arrangements she had with our team’s leadership were none of our business.
The front-end guy, Kevin, and I talked regularly, and he’d often talk junk about her. He’d regularly make comments to me like, “Well, what the hell does Amanda do all day? Why don’t we see her on X date?” It made me uncomfortable because neither of us was Amanda’s supervisor and I felt it was none of our business as it didn’t affect our jobs in the slightest.
Now that I’m no longer there, should I warn Amanda that Kevin was talking junk about her? Why or why not? Does it make a difference if I got fired for an unrelated reason? (It was my fault, and I own it.)
Are you close with Amanda and do you consider her a friend? If so, sure, you could go ahead and tell her — if you think she needs to know that Kevin is potentially stirring up drama that could affect her. If you’d just be telling her on principle and not because it potentially could have repercussions for her, then no; in that case I’d leave it alone since there’s no point in getting involved when you’re not even there anymore.
And if you’re not close with Amanda, then there’s nothing to do. You’re no longer there and that office’s issues don’t need to take up any space in your brain (and it risks coming across as odd and drama-stirring to contact someone you’re not close to after leaving to share something like this).
4. Expected to show up in person even when we don’t need to
I’m a teacher in an independent school, and I love my job, for many reasons. However, my colleagues and I get frustrated by the administration’s expectations regarding our working hours. Like essentially all teachers, we work quite a bit outside of school hours; we work before school, after school, evenings, weekends, and on breaks. That’s just part of being a teacher. We are salaried, and sometimes we are required to stay after school or be at school in the evening for meetings, events, Parents’ Nights, graduations, etc. Also part of the job.
What’s frustrating is that the administration and HR tell us that we have to be on campus for a particular eight hours a day (even when not teaching) and sometimes even on days with no classes or meetings. As teachers, we are a pretty highly educated bunch; most have advanced degrees and could earn a lot more in other industries. It feels kind of disrespectful of our time and dedication for us to be told that we have to be on campus when nothing is scheduled, and it feels inconsistent with other jobs for salaried professionals. What are your thoughts?
Yes, it’s disrespectful of your time, your obvious commitment to the work, and the amount of additional hours you put in over and above a normal work week. It’s also pretty par for the course in teaching, unfortunately, which is still very much a “you need to be in the building to be seen to be working” culture from what I understand.
5. Is it legal for a job ad to set a limit on years of professional experience?
I recently read on your site that requiring someone to be a recent graduate could quality as age discrimination. I’ve seen a company director posting a job on LinkedIn (not an ad, a post from their regular profile) saying the job only accepts people with a maximum amount of professional experience of five years. This is in the U.S., so doesn’t this open them up to age discrimination? While they work in an field I’m not interested in, I am nearing 50 with decades of “professional experience” and it really sounds like it is a statement of “old people need not apply.”
Yes, it absolutely opens them up to liability for age discrimination. I wouldn’t be surprised if you don’t find that language in the actual HR-approved ad (because they know better) and this guy, in writing his own message, let the truth about who they prefer slip out.
Kash Patel’s time as FBI director has been plagued by accusations of chaotic behavior, binge drinking, and unexplained absences. The Onion shares everything you need to know about the head of the federal law enforcement agency.
Claim To Fame: First person to give up looking for Nancy Guthrie
Office Nickname: Shhh, He’s Right There
Greatest Asset: 360-degree field of vision
Signature Look: “Oh you definitely took too much, bro.”
Case He’s Currently Working On: Heinekens
Biggest Case Solved: Which bar he left credit card at
TORONTO, ON – Ontario Premier Doug Ford was on hand as he and other school administrators broke ground on the new FanDuel Toronto Primary School for students in Junior Kindergarten to Grade 8 in the Sugar Wharf community. Named after the sponsor and primary funder of the school, “FanDuel Primary”, as it has come to […]
Hovertext: During the book tour of A City on Mars, I did a talk with Randall Munroe in NYC, and he made, impromptu, a better joke than any of us have committed to paper. During a discussion of whether you could eliminate all life on Earth for a reasonable price, a person asked if there might be a way you could specifically annihilate Queens. To which he replied, 'regicide?'
[This was posted on Patreon last week, I realise some of you aren’t signed up to the free tier where you get the newsletters – sorry for the repeat if you do.]
From late April I am taking a two-month sabbatical from work. The long and the short of it is that I’ve completely worn myself out. About a month ago I realised I was going to have to take a serious, actual break. Usually, I get a second wind, a wind which on this occasion was not forthcoming. A friend got me to write down everything I’d done in the last two-and-a-half years, and it was ludicrous. It looked like four years work, if not more. Their words: “this reads like a really great death warrant”.
For a one-man show run by someone who lives alone, this is a serious decision. “Never give your readers a jumping-off point,” as I like to tell people. But my health is starting to suffer, so it’s best not to let things get catastrophic.
The next Solver story is finished, completing Volume 2, and will run throughout my break. After that, I’m going to re-run Murder She Writes (with commentary i.e. “mirthful asides”), Monday-Thursday for eight weeks. Not ideal, but I believe it’s been off the website for more than a decade, and it’s been titivated for a 15th anniversary reprint. Re-running it on badmachinery.com probably removes the need for a reprint, we shall see.
Patreon updates will continue, I have plenty in the queue, including a process zine that reprints a whole A4 notebook full of story notes and drawings. It is hefty.
My webcomics career has had phases – Bobbins, Scary Go Round, Bad Machinery, the various nostalgic excursions during my time writing Giant Days every month, and the pandemic and post-pandemic stage of Steeple, Solver and various glossy minis, created full US-format comic style. Six years seems to be about the structural limit of any of these broader projects for me, and I’m ready to rethink my approach, which is near-impossible when I’m in full production mode (which for nearly six years has been all the time).
So, once I feel like myself again, I’ll start thinking about how to go forward. I don’t know if anything will change, a rest might be enough. But I’m too tired right now to think about what I want to do. I don’t know what comes next, and in a way, that’s liberating. I have a lot of unused story ideas on the board – years’ worth. I don’t want to throw them away. And I love making comics. I hope that still comes through.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a directive lifting the requirement that U.S. service members receive the flu vaccine, citing “medical autonomy.” What do you think?
“I hope the enemy will take the time to say ‘bless you.’”
Alejandro Cortez, Paint Consultant
“Well, we didn’t recruit them to live.”
Kara Lim, Chandelier Hanger
“Some soldiers fight better with active diarrhea.”
Nearly 4,400 fewer U.S. teens and young adults died by suicide than projected in the first two-and-a-half years of the 988 mental health crisis hotline, a sign the program is working even as it faces long-term funding challenges.
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