U.S. women's rugby sevens center Ilona Maher has dominated the Olympics, both on the pitch and on social media. Here's what to know about the rising star — and the rising sport.
Donald Trump falsely questioned Kamala Harris' racial identity Wednesday, saying that in the past she only promoted her Indian heritage until, he said, "she happened to turn Black."
“The bid to bring the Summer Olympics to Boston in 2024 fell apart nine years ago… Many community leaders and residents were supportive of the idea, and some expressed disappointment when the bid was canceled.” — The Boston Globe, 7/24/2024
News reports are being written about layoffs announced today at Disney Entertainment Television, and mikemcguff.com has learned that they also affect Houston-owned station ABC13 KTRK.ALSO THIS WEEK- Melanie Lawson is out with foot issues- Mo Haider joins abc13 HoustonMultiple sources tell me that ABC13 KTRK announced some job cuts. One manager-level staffer was affected. The rest
This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.
It’s Mortification Week at Ask a Manager and all week long we’ll be revisiting ways we’ve mortified ourselves at work. Here are 12 more mortifying stories.
1. The disk
Grad school in the late 90s. I was a female graduate student working at a computer lab. One professor had written a computer program on a 3.5″ floppy disk that the students had to take to a computer, insert the disk, and run the program. A male student came in asking for assistance. I of course forgot the “s” sound, so I told him, “It’s easy, you just stick your dick into it.” He was horrified and said, “I really don’t have to do that, do I?”
2. The wrong word
I once described a coworker as “randy” thinking that it meant mischievous or fun. Reader, it does not.
3. The insult
After finishing my MLIS in 2016, I was doing the customary circuit of academic all-day interviews with presentations to the faculty and staff.
I work in a technical part of LIS, so I was speaking about how users interact with databases and search interfaces and intended to say something along the lines off, “Of course many people in this room have been working with computers for decades and have seen the evolution of user experience design in computers, but often collegiate users only recognize modern design.” My nerves at being new to the field and not the most experienced presenter yet made me look at a room full of senior librarians and faculty at a STEM institution and say, with the full-chested confidence we all put on for professional presentations, “Of course many people in this room are older than computers.”
OOF. And yet, I got the offer!
4. The wrong phrase
I once said, “We shouldn’t shoot our whole wad” in a business meeting. Because I was absolutely sure that it referenced a wad of cash and meant you shouldn’t use up all your resources at once. And I was absolutely sure that I had heard my very proper mother use it that way.
Looking around the room at my colleagues’ faces, I realized in that very moment that that is not the actual origin of the phrase.
5. The straw
My third interview for my very first managerial job involved me flying into Chicago where I would be meeting with “the Big Boss” right at the airport.
Finding each other, he suggested we get a table at one of the restaurants, where we both ordered sodas. As he was speaking, keeping my eyes focused on his face, I bent down to take a sip of my soda. My straw went way up one of my nostrils! Neither of us said anything and I prayed he somehow had not noticed.
I got the job! Years later, it was time for me to move on. On my last day, that same boss called me in to say good bye. Grinning ear to ear, he asked me if I remembered what he called “the Straw Incident” when he had first interviewed me. (As if that were something I could forget!)
6. The potty
I (a female attorney) had gone to an attorney’s office to review some documents for a case in which we were on opposite sides. After doing so, he walked me back to the elevator and asked, “Do you need to go potty before you leave?” He was immediately mortified! I laughed and responded, “no, I think I can make it back to my office!”
He apologized profusely and said he was in the midst of potty training his toddler and “I guess I’m asking everyone that question automatically.” I thought it was hilarious but he could not stop apologizing.
7. The voicemail
One day at an old job, I had just started eating lunch when a “minor work emergency” came up that I had to deal with (read, not actually an emergency, but the person whose issue it was needed everything done RIGHT NOW and in this case it was easier to do it than deal with them complaining the rest of the time until it was done). I scarfed the rest of my food and chugged the soda I was drinking, picked up the office phone, and dialed the much senior coworker I needed an answer from regarding the topic. I was sent to their voicemail because they too were eating lunch. The “please leave your message at the beep” happened, I opened my mouth to talk, and immediately burped longer and louder than I ever had before or since and, in shock, immediately hung up the phone.
I sprinted up three flights of stairs to the office of the coworker, burst in the door, and yelled, “Delete your voicemail,” which obviously led to said coworker listening to the voicemail over and over and making sure as many coworkers as possible got to hear it.
8. The self-congratulations
When I worked at a mid-size nonprofit, all our previously in-person meetings moved online at the beginning of the pandemic. Before Covid, high-level donors and board members had special lunch meetings at a posh location that regular employees didn’t attend. But after Covid, boosting attendance at the virtual meetings mattered, so these strategic meetings became required for all employees.
In searching for something to talk about, the leadership asked me if I would present a small amount of my work in front of these bigwigs. It was a huge honor, and I took the assignment seriously. I practiced the presentation many times and even got feedback from coworkers and my partner who was at home working, as well.
The big day came and I carefully set up a room where things would be quiet, checked camera angles, and made sure my slides were ready to go. I did a great job presenting but was so relieved when it was over, I forgot to turn off my camera and microphone when I was done. All the important people on the call got to see me jumping excitedly around hear me clapping and saying to myself that it had gone well. It wasn’t until I had about a dozen texts from colleagues all at once that I realized my mistake! So embarrassing!
9. The wrong answer
One of my first professional interviews was for an internship in college. When asked what my five-year plan was, I honestly told them my goal was to work as an ESL teacher after college and get paid to travel – which had absolutely nothing to do with the job at hand. My aunt’s friend who got me the interview called me later and gave me the feedback that even if it’s not true, you should tailor your responses to the interview at hand. Oops.
10. The exam
I was on my OB-GYN rotation in medical school. My student partner and I were very nervous learning how to do a GYN exam on a real person. The school has actors who are willing to let a bunch of nervous and blushing students do these exams. We are taught to describe everything to help the patients feel comfortable. The students were divided into pairs with a OB attending doctor and a patient-actor.
When it was my turn to do the exam with the speculum, I encouraged the patient to relax, letting her know I warmed the speculum. Just before, I reassuringly told the patient, “You will now feel a little bit of pleasure.” (I meant pressure!)
It was over. The patient and attending exploded with laughter. I mean, tears rolling down faces, gut-busting laughter.
11. The kiss
I was working at a vet’s office and helping a client hold his dog while the vet was examining the dog’s tail. The owner and I were both near the dog’s head and he must not have realized that in addition to holding the dog, I was moving my hand to pet the dog’s head to comfort it. At this exact moment, he bent down to kiss his dog’s head and ended up kissing the back of my hand. we both just stared at each other for a second and then pretended it didn’t happen while the vet continued her exam.
12. The dress
I worked at a mall jewelry store and frequently wore cute, work appropriate fit-and-flare dresses. One morning I squatted down to unlock and raise the gate at opening, and my skirt caught on the handle and went up with the gate, over my head.
ACWORTH, GA—In an effort to prepare for a “devastating” outcome, terrified conservative Clayton Hawkins told reporters Wednesday that he was planning to move to 1930s Austria if Donald Trump lost the presidential election. “I swear to god, if Kamala Harris wins in November, you can bet I’m getting a one-way ticket to…
FAIRHOPE, AL—Exploiting the popular online game platform for his own perverse ends, local Roblox user Rodney McKinney, 68, was accused of grooming 56-year-old Roblox user Walter Rhodes, sources confirmed Wednesday. “For the past several months, Mr. McKinney, a 68-year-old Roblox user, used the game as a means to…
Sofia Nelson — a former friend and law school classmate of JD Vance — has made public dozens of email and text exchanges with the vice presidential candidate.
2. I’ve done the same routine over and over for years.
3. I wear a nerdy windbreaker.
4. One of my most important goals is getting as much gold as possible.
5. People suspect I’m a different age than I say I am, but no one’s been able to prove it.
6. It takes a lot of product and an almost bizarre number of pins to keep my hair where I want it.
7. At this point, I’m pretty unabashed about picking my wedgie.
8. I have a complicated relationship with bars.
9. I’m always concentrating really hard on not falling.
10. Sometimes it’s the bars that make me fall.
11. I never score as much as I want.
12. There’s a lot of tape on various parts of my toes and feet.
13. The skin on my hands is dry and chalky.
14. Most of my smiles are fake.
15. Anyone who witnesses me exercising on the floor feels nervous, anticipating everything that could go wrong.
16. I have random pain all over my body.
17. Part of my mind is always preoccupied with the next vault I have to clear.
18. I’m constantly bending over backward for everyone.
19. I shoplift candy bars from CVS to feel alive and then, as soon as I get out to my car, shove them all in my mouth at once while sobbing about my newfound invisibility.
20. You don’t know exactly when, but you can be sure I’m going to flip.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was formally declared the winner of his country’s disputed presidential election a day after the political opposition and the entrenched incumbent both claimed victory in the contest. What do you think?
The U.S. women are bringing home the country’s first medal in rugby sevens. In a dramatic finish, the U.S. defeated Australia, 14-12 to win the bronze medal.
NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with Sofia Nelson, a former close friend of vice presidential hopeful J.D. Vance, about how he's changed from the person she knew for more than a decade.
Campaigns don’t often reach out to male voters as men. At least on the Democratic side, that changed when Kamala Harris became the party’s likely nominee.
The issue of border security is one of Vice President Harris' biggest vulnerabilities in her campaign. On Tuesday, she tried to use his signature issue against former President Donald Trump.
When President Joe Biden announced just a week ago that he would not accept the Democratic nomination for president, he did not pass the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris.
He passed it to us.
It is up to us to decide whether we want a country based on fear or on facts, on reaction or on reality, on hatred or on hope.
President Joe Biden called for sweeping changes to the Supreme Court, including a constitutional amendment that would limit immunity for presidents, impose term limits for justices, and stipulate an enforceable code of ethics. What do you think?
This Windows application has stopped responding to the system.
* Press ESC to cancel and return to Windows.
* Press ENTER to close this application that is not responding.
You will lose any unsaved information in this application.
* Press CTRL+ALT+DEL again to restart your computer. You will
lose any unsaved information in all applications.
The text for this message was written by Steve Ballmer. (He didn’t write the code to display the message; he just wrote the text that goes into the message.)
Could not continue running Windows because of paging error.
C:\>_
Next is the Windows 95 kernel error, which you could consider a “blue screen of death”, although Windows 95 lets you ignore the error, so it’s not a true death. (Then again, there’s no guarantee that ignoring the error will return you to a usable system.)
Windows
An exception 0D has occurred at 0028:80014812 in VxD CONTOSO(03) + 00000152. This was called from 0028:80014C34 in VxD CONTOSO(03) + 00000574. It may be possible to continue normally.
* Press any key to attempt to continue.
* Press CTRL+ALT+DEL to restart your computer. You will
Restart your computer. If this message reappears, do not restart.
Contact your system administrator or technical support group, and/or
peripheral device vendor.
This is a true “blue screen of death”: The system is unrecoverably dead at this point.
So we have the following table:
OS
Author
Release year
Windows 3.1
Steve Ballmer (text)
1992
Windows 95
ends with me¹
1995
Windows NT
John Vert
1993
¹ I did not write the early version of the Windows 95 blue screen message, but I was the one who brought it to its final form.
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WASHINGTON—Figuring a wardrobe update would play well with voters, Vice President Kamala Harris reportedly rushed to Marshall’s Tuesday to buy nicer work clothes. “It’s time I finally invested in a decent blazer,” said Harris, who flipped through the racks of discount merchandise, picked up a pair of stretchy black…
Enlarge / Converting this street from two lanes in either direction to one lane in each direction with a turning lane in-between would make it much safer. (credit: Getty Images)
Although driving is a privilege, some Americans treat it more like a right. This entitlement leads them to get upset with policy proposals that try to increase road safety by prioritizing vulnerable road users over the wants of drivers. But a new study suggests that a common complaint—taking away lanes from cars makes emergency response times go up—about traffic calming isn't actually true.
This is where road diets come in—they're a relatively cheap and simple way to slow traffic and significantly cut the accident rate along a stretch of road. You take a four-lane (two-way road) and repaint it so there are now three lanes for cars: one in each direction, with a center lane in the middle for turning. The remaining space on either side becomes bike lanes (physically protected ones, please).
