While we continue to keep an eye on a couple robust looking tropical waves in the Atlantic, there has been no added support or reason to believe these are any likelier to develop this week than it appeared last week, which is to say chances are low.
Happening now: Do the wave
Looking at satellite this morning, we have two pretty distinct features in the Atlantic. If you did not know better, these might look somewhat likely to develop.
A lot of disorganized storms peppering the Atlantic map this morning, with none of these areas likely to develop over the next 5 days. (Weathernerds.org)
But you read our site each day, so you do know better! And what I can tell you about things today is that these remain just some relatively bulked up tropical waves. No development of these waves is expected over the next 5 days as they continue marching to the west. The leading wave should arrive in the Antilles by Wednesday, bringing bulked up rain chances with scattered showers and thunderstorms to many of the islands. The trailing wave may or may not make it to the Caribbean.
Wind shear is going to remain rather hostile across many key points across the basin, including in the Caribbean, Gulf, and southwest Atlantic.
The day 4 forecast of wind shear shows high shear in the southwest Atlantic and Caribbean, moderate shear in the Gulf, and very high shear in the North Atlantic. It’s a bit hostile out there. (Tropical Tidbits)
This should act to keep any development chances of these waves very much in check over the coming days.
The medium range (days 6 to 10): Development odds remain somewhat squelched
There are a couple things to watch in the medium range but none that I think are particularly likely to develop. First, the wave entering the Caribbean early in the period that will struggle may have some potential to try and organize itself as it comes west if it can escape some of that shear above. But honestly, that’s entirely based on history. Because the models are not having it. Here’s a map that roughly shows how much uncertainty there is in the Euro ensemble (50+ runs of the same model with tweaks) forecast of sea level pressure with this wave as it moves toward the northwest Caribbean and Gulf.
The interquartile range (75th percentile minus 25th percentile) of European ensemble members shows very little spread and very few individual ensemble members (red numbers) developing the leading wave as it comes west toward the NW Caribbean and Gulf. (Polarwx.com)
There’s not much there. If there were higher uncertainty (in this case, a meaningful cluster of individual ensemble members showing development), these colors would pop more. To me, this indicates that within the ensemble spread of the 51 members from the Euro, there is not a ton of volatility. If a tropical system were likely, you’d expect volatility here. Since we don’t see this, it’s indicative that modeling senses a hostile environment toward any tropical development. So, yes, keep an eye on it, but odds seem to favor nothing over anything else.
There may be an additional wave off Africa to look at or perhaps the trailing wave in the Atlantic in the near term can try something, but all of these features are likely to have some headwinds inhibiting their organization.
Fantasyland (beyond day 10): I guess we can keep an eye on the Atlantic?
Trends this season have been very, very clear cut in modeling. A system shows itself as possible around days 10 to 13 or so, it holds in the modeling, a development area gets highlighted, and then it finds a way to fail. Now that we’re pushing through mid-August and toward late August, I don’t want to get lulled to sleep. But admittedly, I can’t help but wonder if we’re trending toward that potential again. There are some signs of a wave forming in the Atlantic in the 11 to 15 day period, but exactly how and where are up for debate within models.
So for now, we’ll say that development odds in the “fantasyland” portion of the forecast are maybe a little higher than in the medium or near-term, but I would not classify the odds as “high” by any means yet. That is good news in mid-August.
LONDON—Picking up the phone with excitement, local woman Sally Hartford’s mood reportedly soured Tuesday after realizing her friend was only calling because he needed a trivia answer on a live game show again. “Hey! I’ve been meaning to call you, actually, my mom is in the hosp—oh, you want to know what the largest…
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 to enjoy.
1. The accidental overture
UGH back in the day, I had my work e-mail and home e-mail feed into the same e-mail client (yeah yeah, I know, I know, it was a different time). I (female) saw what looked like a cool show at a local venue, copied the link, popped it in an e-mail and said, “Hey, looks fun, we should go!” and typed in the first two letters of my (male) friend’s name and hit send.
Almost immediately, one of my students replied back that he didn’t think this was appropriate (college student, but still ick!) As my soul left my body, I replied that it was an autocomplete error and it OBVIOUSLY wasn’t meant for him. I am still dead and am typing this from beyond the grave.
2. The knock-out
My brother, who is 6’3″, was interviewing for a CEO position and was seated on a couch chatting with the chairman of the board and his top team, when a cabinet door above him swung open. When he stood up, he hit that thing with the force of a vigorous launch from a seated position and knocked himself out. Still got the offer.
3. The GIF
My coworker (higher ranking, but not my boss) and I were getting ready to work the early shift together – meaning we were both on our computers at home. He sent a quick greeting via Slack and I decided to send back a “good morning” GIF. (In Slack, this means you type in a “find me a GIF” command, followed by the topic. It shows you a bunch of GIFs for that topic, you pick one and click “send”.)
One of the GIFs suggested was shown in the preview as a cartoon sheep running up the hill with the sun rising over it and the words “Good morning” appearing in the sky. It seemed cheerful and friendly, so I clicked “send” – only to realize that I hadn’t watched the full GIF, and he received a GIF that didn’t just say “Good morning.” I watched and watched as the letters kept on coming, until the final message said: “Good morning, I love you.”
Fortunately, he’s an all-round good egg who thought it was hilarious. So while my mortification was intense, it was also short. Still, lesson learned – always watch a GIF to the end before you send!
4. Poor judgment
I sat on an interview panel once where I encountered a guy who, when answering a question about dealing with workplace conflict, went on a long, convoluted, extremely detailed story the upshot of which was: he’d started dating a colleague, it wasn’t going well, and he needed a new job so he could break up with her.
He did not get the job.
5. The name
I was up in the C-suite for the first time for a big meeting, very nervous. I was trying to find the conference room and bumped into someone who I knew of but hadn’t yet met. He said, “Hi, I’m John Hancock.” I meant to respond, “Oh, you’re John Hancock,” as in, nice to put the name to a face. But instead I blurted out, “I’m John Hancock” and honestly, I don’t know which of us was more confused. I turned every shade of red but managed to correct myself. Then luckily some other people walked up and I had a chance to show off that I do actually know my own name.
6. The underwear
During the summers, I often go to my seasonal pool after work before I head home. Every once in a while I’d just change in my office, put on swimsuit and a cover-up, so I could get right in the pool as soon as I arrived. One day last summer, I got into the office early in the morning, having gone to the pool straight from work the day before, and gave my regular friendly greeting to our cleaner. She wasn’t nearly as chatty or friendly as usual when we cross paths in the morning, but I didn’t think much of it until I got to my office. After opening my locked office door (which I always leave unlocked) I noticed something in the middle of my office floor. Reader, it was my panties! Somehow they haven’t made it into my pool bag with the rest of my work clothes and our cleaner had vacuumed around them (I’d been shredding paperwork and the floor was a bit of a mess) but left them in situ. Bless her heart, she’d obviously locked my door so no one else would witness what she must have assumed were shenanigans on my part.
We have never spoken of this, and now I always change at the pool.
7. The introduction
It was 22 years ago and finally at age 40! I got my long awaited breast reduction. I was thrilled with the results – 20-year-old old “new ones” on my middle-aged body. After I recovered and returned to work, we had our work Christmas party that featured multiple hospitals’ staff all combined at one venue. A coworker helped me find a great dress to highlight my new and improved silhouette. I was single at the time, and was hoping to meet someone special.
I had a wonderful time, and as the evening was winding down I was sitting at a cocktail table by myself. A guy came over and abruptly sat down across from me saying “I’ve been wanting to say hi to you all night!” Well, gee, of course you have, because I have these spectacular new and improved breasts, said my wine-addled brain to myself. So I coyly replied with a sultry look, “Hey, let’s just cut to the chase here — just who in the hell are you, anyway?”
He told me his name, and I thought for a moment, hmmm … that name sounds familiar, OMG, yikes! and I said, “I think that’s the name that signs my paycheck.” And he said, “Why yes it is.” Turns out he was the CEO of the group that paid my salary, and he was making a point to try to say hello to everyone personally that evening. Obviously not trying to hit on me.
The following year, I attended the party with my boyfriend/now-husband, and the CEO was in a receiving line to greet everyone as they entered the ballroom. As I was introducing my S.O. to him, I said, “I don’t know if you remember me” … and before I could say another word, he clasped my hand and said, “Of course! I remember you, Jackie.” Cringe…
8. The blowjobs
I was just an innocent cashier caught in the crossfire between my super sweet manager (Mormon mother of eleven kids, and yes that’s relevant here) and a customer she was chatting with while bagging his groceries. He had just gotten his hair cut at the salon next door and was mildly complaining about the price of a simple cut, and my manager just popped this gem right out with her sweet and bubbly voice: “I wonder how much she would have charged you for a blow job?”
He went damn near purple with embarrassment, the cashier behind me started this horrible laugh-cough, and her customer lost it right there. I was dumbfounded. Couldn’t say a word.
My friends, I had to explain it to her. After he left. She looked like she was going to faint as she had been telling her kids and everyone else for years that she was really good at blow jobs and that’s why her kids always had the best looking hair. Of course, she thought that blow jobs were the same thing as blow drying hair.
9. The Legos
My first year in the U.S., not yet familiar with all of the colloquial language, I was chatting with a coworker who had a son close in age to my oldest (mine was 4 and his was 3). He complained about how his son would never sit still and always kept him and his wife running around. I said, “Oh mine is very easy, he’s happy to just sit in a corner, playing with himself” and was then surprised when Coworker quickly ended the conversation and left. I MEANT LEGOS.
10. The strengths
At an interview ten years into my career: I’d prepped fairly well, including an answer to the “weaknesses” question, and instead I got asked what my strengths were. I totally blanked, stared at the interviewer for what feels like forever but was presumably only a few seconds, and eventually managed to stammer out, “I do have strengths, honest, I just can’t think of them right now.” We managed to finish the interview reasonably well after that, but I did not get a job offer.
11. The wink
While testifying before a legislative committee, I inadvertently winked at one of the committee members.
12. The Myers-Briggs types
At an all-hands meeting for a small company, we’re talking about Myers-Briggs types and the differences between some of the paired opposites like thinkers vs. feelings (shorthanded as T vs. F) and judgers vs. perceivers (shorthanded as J vs. P). Our deputy director is talking about how she is a judger (J) and her husband is a perceiver (P). She sums it up as, “My husband’s P-ness drives me crazy!” Never to be forgotten.
COLUMBUS, OH—According to a new study published in the Journal Of Itty-Bitty Little Paws, single aunt researchers confirmed Monday that 100% of cats are angels on earth. “I’m not even religious, but I can report with 100% certainty they are blessings from God, every single one of them,” said lead researcher Amanda…
DES MOINES, IA—Vociferously defending his state’s decision to teach middle school students that enslaved Black Americans benefited from forced labor, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced plans Monday to live as a slave for a year to prove it’s not that bad. “I’m going to be put on the auction block and sold away from…
X, the site formerly known as Twitter, is now letting its Blue subscribers hide the once-coveted verification “blue check”—the status symbol they pay $8 a month for—on their account. What do you think?
AUSTIN, TX—Claiming he would be totally free to come out once the party died down, local man Dan Gorski informed his wealthier friends Monday that he would love to meet up after everyone was done having fun. “If you’re still hanging out after a great night of making memories together at that Carly Rae concert, I might…
This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.
Welcome to Mortification Week, where we’ll be talking all week about how we’ve mortified ourselves at work.
To start us off, here are 12 stories people have shared here (or submitted via email) about work moments they now cringe over.
1. The misunderstanding
My now husband and I met as coworkers. When we started dating, we also began looking for other jobs. On his last day in the office, I made an elaborately decorated sheet cake to share with our coworkers. I’m talking intricately piped flowers, vines… and the phrase, “Good Riddance.”
It turns out not everyone knew it was his last day. This would not have been a problem, except the previous day was also the last day of another coworker few people could stand. For the rest of the day several of my coworkers thought I had made a cake to celebrate a former colleague’s departure, AND NOBODY TOLD ME.
2. The nickname
First internship in college and they asked for fun facts, hobbies, etc. They also asked for nicknames. I didn’t know that meant Bob if your name was Robert, etc. I put down a nickname my uncle had called me thinking it was another fun fact thing. I think HR realized I didn’t understand and thank god they left it off the welcome email.
3. The punch
I worked closely with a colleague in a technical role and we were quite friendly. I got promoted to a technical management role and he got promoted to a product management role. He often brought new requirements back from trade shows and customer meetings (his job) but on the development side we were swamped. The churn in priorities was difficult.
One day he came to my office after a trade show and I knew what was coming. In jest, I started to shadow box at him, saying “no new features.” Two jabs in the general direction of his face made him lean back. The movement made the left to the body connect. This pitched his head back forward, and the right cross caught right on the chin.
His response: “I’ll come back later.” I went immediately to his desk and apologized repeatedly. He took it with good grace and we remained friends.
4. The cat serenade
I’m a K-12 math teacher, and during the pandemic, I was teaching online over Google Meets. One of the requirements was that we record our classes and post them within thirty minutes for students who didn’t attend. One day, I ended the class, left the room, came back in holding my cat and singing “I’m a Little Teapot” while I swung him around like he was dancing.
That was the moment I noticed my camera was still recording and dove to turn it off. I had no video editing software on my laptop with which to delete the end of the video before uploading. I asked my AP if I could just skip posting this one class or have some time to figure out how to edit the video and she refused (one of many, many, unreasonable decisions that resulted in me moving to a new school at the end of that year). So I had to post a video of myself serenading my cat and make it viewable to about 90 7th grade girls. Since it was the VERY end of the video, most of my students didn’t get to the cat serenading part (especially since there were a few minutes of just a recording of an empty room) but it haunted me for the rest of the year until I was able to archive that class.
5. The breast pump
I have one long story with two points of mortification. 19 years ago, after giving birth to my second child, I returned to work after six weeks, but continued to breastfeed for 8 months. This meant I needed to pump a couple of times each day while at work. I was fortunate in that I had a private office with a door that locks. A bit of background regarding my office: there were no windows either to the outside or to the hallway, and the door was solid oak and fit very tightly, allowing no light or noise around the cracks. Essentially, if the door was shut, it was impossible to tell that anyone was in the office. We also had a custodian who started making the rounds to empty trash cans around 30 minutes before the end of the workday each day.
I had one of those fantastic electric double-breast pumps that really suctioned on and did the hard work, leaving my hands free for other tasks. I had been pumping successfully in my office mid-morning and mid-afternoon, and had grown quite confident in my routine until The Incident.
I’d had a rather busy day, and had missed my mid-afternoon pump, so by around 4:30 that afternoon, I was bursting (busting?) I shut and locked my door, hiked my shirt up to my neck, unhooked my nursing bra, and attached those suckers to do their thing. I don’t know how familiar the general populace is with electric breast pumps, but this particular model would pull each nipple a good 3 inches into the suction cup and really go to work, and there was a little bottle attached to each cup that would just sort of dangle there as it collected the milk. Very efficient, but slightly alarming-looking to the casual observer.
So there I was, shirt around my neck, boobs out, electric motor whirring, kicked back in my chair with my feet propped up on the desk, talking on the phone (hands-free pumping! Great for multitasking!), when I hear a rattle at the door. I glance at the doorknob, see that it is indeed locked, then carry on with my phone conversation, assuming whoever is at the door will come back later. Then I hear the squeak of the door opening. I look up and meet the eyes of our very tall custodian, who is frozen mid-stride in the doorway, eyes as big as saucers, with a horrified look on his face. We stare at each other in dead silence for a few moments that felt like an eternity, pump still busily whirring, boobs twitching in time to the motor, and he slowly, without a word, backs out into the hallway and closes the door. We never shared another word, and we both went out of our way to avoid each other from that moment until he retired several years later. I have no idea if he realized what he was witnessing or if he just thought I had some very strange hobbies.
Slightly traumatized by the incident, I started thinking of all of the other employees in possession of master keys, and decided it would be prudent to hang a “Please Do Not Disturb” sign on my door during pumping time. Should solve the problem nicely, right? Well, for some reason, a shut door is generally ignored, but a shut door WITH A SIGN stirs up all kinds of questions and speculation. One day a few weeks later, I needed to bring my older daughter to work with me. As she had spent the first 11 years of her life happily as an only child, she was less than enthusiastic about babies, and completely disgusted by the whole breast-feeding business. She was also a rather talented artist. Because of her “ew, gross!” reaction to all things breast-related, she chose to wait outside of my office while I pumped. Apparently she got tired of my co-workers asking her what I was doing behind that locked door, and was too ashamed to actually TELL them, so she drew a very detailed picture of a dairy cow, a boob, and a baby bottle on my “Please Do Not Disturb” sign. On the bright side, the rest of the office was quite impressed with her artistic abilities, and I suppose her additions DID clear up the speculation, but I was the butt (boob?) of the (good-natured) office jokes for awhile.
6. The underwear
This was almost 40 years ago and it still makes me cringe. First job out of grad school, working for a very small law firm. Think scrappy more than LA Law. I used to walk to work, and one day it’s raining so I’m wearing a trench coat over my skirt suit. I worked for 2 partners—one very gregarious and social, and one crazy smart but super socially awkward. Smart But Awkward partner was scheduled to be off site all day for client interviews, and was just getting ready to leave when I arrived. The instant I walked in the door, he started giving me a list of things he needed done, while walking back to his office. I followed along, taking mental notes while putting down my umbrella, my lunch bag, etc., on the way.
We get to his office and he’s standing behind his desk still running the list. I’m standing across from him as I finish unbuttoning my coat, take it off, and drop it on a chair. At which point, he stops abruptly, and says “OH! OH!” Just staring at me with this deer-in-the-headlights look. I look down and see that, on my walk in, the fuzzy lining of my trench coat has rubbed against my skirt until my skirt is now all the way UP AROUND MY WAIST and I am standing in front of my boss in red lace string bikini underwear and my pantyhose. (Yes, I still had my shirt and jacket on, but that hardly helps). I yelp, and scrabble my skirt back down, apologizing profusely. He is completely flustered and blurts out, “I wasn’t sure, I thought maybe it was a fashion thing.”
7. The wrong word
I (female) was talking to my (male) coworker. I was trying to say “can you fill me in?” or “can you catch me up?” but unfortunately I combined the two together and it came out “can you fill me up?” I wanted to die.
8. The wine
A few other (college-age) interns and I were ushered into a conference room with wine on a table, and told, “Please wait here and make yourselves comfortable”… which we took as invitation to start drinking. In retrospect I have no idea why we thought the company would leave 6 bottles of wine and 40+ glasses for three interns to use while waiting for less than an hour. I’m cringing even to remember it.
9. The half-speed
I had an editorial internship at Marie Claire. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler were coming out with Baby Mama. They had interviewed each other for a feature in the magazine. My task was to travel to 30 Rock, pick up the tape from some assistant, go back to the office, and transcribe it into a Word doc. Well I put the tape in, my headphones on, and to my dismay, all I heard was two men interviewing each other! I thought it was the wrong tape or that they played a cruel joke on us for some reason. I went to my supervisor and explained the situation and almost caused a big kerfuffle, but then someone realized that the tape was just on half-speed…. once we sped it up to normal speed, I heard that it was indeed Tina and Amy. I was mortified.
10. The audiobook
Sometimes in the morning during my commute I listen to music, sometimes I listen to audiobooks. I was listening to an audiobook on the drive in that had some ~steamy~ scenes. No big deal, I always use headphones at my desk and then swap over to music while I’m working anyway.
Unfortunately my phone was overdue for an upgrade and glitching. Usually it would just freeze or close out apps, but sometimes it would start randomly playing music … or whatever I was last listening to.
I’m sure you can see where this is headed.
I was sitting at my desk when out of nowhere my phone comes to life with a man’s voice saying, incredibly gutturally “Fuck yeah, baby.” I’ve never moved so fast in my life but the damage was done. Thankfully only one or two people noticed and kept their laughter to a low series of giggles.
11. The nuisance
This happened years ago, very early in my career, but it’s taken until now for me to really be able to talk about it. I was an auditor visiting suppliers to check their processes. Some suppliers were ok with it, but most considered it a real nuisance and tried to put it off as long as they could.
One kept repeatedly asking me to supply a Heads of Terms document, something we didn’t routinely do and which I needed my manager to draft. He didn’t want to do it but I couldn’t get anywhere without it so I kept nagging him. One day he said, “FINE! HERE YOU GO!” and emailed me the document. I replied thanks and sent it on its merry way.
He went pale and asked me if I’d sent it. I said, “Yes, of course, thanks for doing it.” He had assumed I would read it first, and find the cartoon of someone giving the reader the middle finger on the last page.
As quickly as I could, I recalled the email and sent the correct one, but it was too late, they had seen it. I had to send a grovelling apology and the audit was quietly shelved.
12. The spill
I was in a meeting and a wild arm movement (my own, sadly) made my coffee mug sail off the table, and onto my lap. I was soaked! I excused myself and ran to the nearest bathroom to take care of my wet pants.
It was one of those unisex, no stall, single toilet restrooms on the lowest floor. In my haste to get back to the meeting, I evidently didn’t lock the door behind me as I started to mop the coffee from my pants.
The door opened and in walked the most meek and mild coworker I had. He was a very nice man but highly prone to blushing and unwarranted embarrassment. He and I locked eyes, and he instantly turned bright red while hustling back out the door.
I felt so bad that I hurried out, too, and yelled down the hall after him, “CARL, I HADN’T EVEN PULLED MY PANTS DOWN YET!”
No response from Carl.
I turned back to return to the bathroom, realizing that the Board of Directors were on their annual tour of the facilities and had just rounded the corner when I was shouting to Carl.
Never one to freeze in the moment (I do hate to brag), I pointed confidently at my crotch and announced, “I’m wet.”
And that was the last day Carl ever made eye contact with me.
This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.
It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…
1. My employee insists on working on vacation
I have been the director of a small library staff for a little over a year. I have a good rapport with my team, and I am grateful for them.
One of the people I supervise checks their email every day while they are on vacation. They say they spend about an hour or so going through and responding to email each day. I am trying to create a culture where folks are not getting burned out, and I encourage my team members to fully and truly take a break while they are away. I tried to set a good example by not checking my emails while I was away for a recent vacation. However, this teammate insists that they need to check their emails because otherwise they will be too anxious that something is being missed and too overwhelmed when they return. I’ve had a brief conversation about how they can set up their out-of-office emails to direct urgent inquiries to other people, but they still insist they need to check their email daily. On other issues they have been open to change and feedback, but they are more insistent on this.
They have a vacation week coming up, and I am considering pushing back a bit. I am thinking of proposing a trial compromise where they would check their email twice while they are away and then reflect on it together at our regular check-in meeting when they get back. I think it would be good for them to see that things do not fall apart if they don’t check their email for a few days and, even if something major does happen, to be able to identify gaps where cross training is necessary. While not overstepping into the position of a therapist, I also would like to learn more about why they feel so nervous about things falling apart when they are away.
Does this seem reasonable? How insistent should I be on this? I don’t want to cause further stress by trying to help them destress, but I also feel like they would benefit from a true break.
An hour a day is a really significant amount of work when someone is supposed to be disconnected! If they found one quick daily check (like five minutes) helped them be more relaxed while they were away — fine, I don’t think it’s optimal but it’s also not something a manager should micromanage. But an hour a day is a problem.
The question to start with, though, is whether it’s a problem on their end or a problem with the workload. Can you find out more about that side of it — are they right to think they’ll be overloaded when they return if they don’t do this? If so, that’s the piece to work on, whether that means finding more coverage while they’re gone, lessening what you throw their way before and after a vacation, or something else. But if that’s not the case and this is more like free-floating anxiety, then it’s reasonable to say, “Vacation days are part of your compensation and I can’t in good conscience let you work an hour a day when you’re supposed to be fully disconnected. Moreover, vacations are an opportunity for us to spot holes in our systems — and if you’re always stepping in to handle things while you’re out, you’re denying us the ability to do that.” (In fact, if this person works with money at all, you should insist on them fully disconnecting. Financial positions often require people to fully disconnect on vacation for one or two weeks a year because that’s a good way for companies to detect fraud.)
Beyond that, whether you should try the experiment you’re thinking of depends on the specifics of what you learn about what’s driving this, as well as your relationship with them (and also things like how senior their role is). But the more you can frame it as “this is about what’s healthy and sustainable in the long-term for us a team” rather than “I know better than you do what’s good for your mental health,” the stronger ground you’ll be on.
2. Can a hiring employer reject resumes for using pronouns or mentioning DEI?
I recently saw a Twitter thread from someone saying they automatically reject resumes with he/him or she/her, as well as any references to DEI. Obviously, it’s not surprising that bigots would do that. But are any of these practices actual discriminatory in a legal sense? Is the person who says they throw out resumes that mention pronouns or DEI opening themselves up to a lawsuit in a real way?
In some ways, it’s a blessing, because I wouldn’t want to work for any company that reflexively trashes resumes that mention DEI. But I’m wondering if there’s any kind of remedy for these hiring practices.
Yes, it opens them to huge legal liability. Federal law prohibits discrimination based on gender identity just like it does race, sex, religion, disability, and other protected classes. I suppose this person could argue that they are discriminating not on the basis of gender identity itself, but based on a reference to gender identity existing — but either way, if you could show it has a disparate impact on a protected class (likes trans and non-binary candidates — and you almost certainly could), it’s illegal. Also, if they’re really “throwing away” resumes, that itself is illegal since federal law requires employers to keep resumes on file for at least one year.
Plus they’re violating the law of “don’t be an asshole,” so there’s that too.
3. My coworker suggested we assign work based on senior and junior status … but we all have the same job
I work in a team with less than 10 people where everyone has the same title. While there are some variations to our assignments, to others in the organization, we do the same work. We have one team leader and one boss, who is very much absent in our day-to-day.
I am in my early 30s, the youngest, and started two years ago. One other person is a year older than me and has also worked here for less than five years. The others are a mix between 40-60 years and several of them have worked here for 10-20 years. I recently found out that one of my coworkers with ~15 years of experience suggested to our boss that we assign areas of responsibility based on who is “senior” and “junior.” While I recognize that I have the least amount of experience, since I began working here I have been described as a rising star. I get amazing feedback on my work and get along great with both my coworkers and leadership. I have grown so much in my role, much because I am pushed (and supported) by my team leader to take on more advanced assignments. I love my job and wouldn’t like to be assigned “junior” work after everything I’ve accomplished so far.
What really are the criterias for junior and senior roles? If it’s experience, then I would be the only “candidate” for her suggestion. Wouldn’t that be a demotion? If it’s age, would it be ageist? The other 30-something is a specialist in a specific part of our work, and she would 100% leave if she got labeled junior. How do you even determine whether someone is senior (insert job title)? For clarification, there are no senior or junior roles at all in the organization today.
Typically a “senior X” type job is based on both experience and skill — both, since someone could have a lot of experience but still not a lot of skill. Sometimes it’s based just on skills, so someone really talented but inexperienced could come in at a senior level based on the strength of their work … but more often it’s a mix of both.
If your boss wanted to pursue this, it might make more sense to have “llama groomers” and “senior llama groomers” — no need for anyone to suddenly be labeled “junior” when they weren’t before. But I also wouldn’t assume your boss will go for the idea, unless the coworker who proposed it has a good argument for it and/or lot of influence. Still, though, if it’s something that would affect your assignments, there’s no reason you can’t offer your input too, particularly if it’s along the lines of “having my assignments restricted like that would make me much less satisfied with my work.”
4. Manager made a superior-sounding comment about an employee’s father
Can a supervisor who is teaching a class make a statement about a student’s father in front of other students, making her look superior over another employee in the company? Example: “I am four levels higher than your father in the company’s chain of command.”
She can, but it would be obnoxious and call her judgment into question (assuming I’m understanding correctly that she said it as a way to try to establish some sort of superiority or dominance, as opposed to a less snooty context). And it wouldn’t be surprising if someone above her heard about it and developed concerns about her professional maturity and general sense.
5. Can I hide a new job to get more severance?
I’ve been furloughed from my company for a defined period. Ideally, I will be brought back before the period ends, but if not, there is a severance agreement. If they don’t need to bring me back at the end of the period, I get the full package. They understand anyone impacted will be looking, so if I get a new job and resign before the furlough ends, I get half the severance package for my tenure.
If I get a new job, do I have to resign? I hadn’t intended to be looking for a new job, and the furlough kind of just seems like a delayed layoff, with the hope they won’t have to pay out the full package. Plus it may line up that I end up underemployed/otherwise in a situation I’d have left for my old job, but still technically would have a new position. Is it legal and/or ethical to not resign and get my full severance package, even if I’m otherwise employed at the end of the window?
Whether it’s legal will depend on the exact wording of the severance agreement (although it’s most likely not — you’re presumably going to have to sign attesting to the circumstances), but no, it’s not ethical since you’d be accepting money under false pretenses. Of course, some people might decide they don’t care about that (especially people who have been left with no paycheck while waiting for the company to decide whether to bring them back) but I think you’d be hard-pressed to come up with an argument for it being ethical.
New CDC analysis shows that cases of Leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease, are surging in central Florida, with the region accounting for nearly one fifth of reported cases in the U.S. What do you think?
CHICAGO—Confirming that the joy and sheer, reckless rapture they experienced would always be just out of reach, a new report published Monday revealed that you would never find a love like that shared by two teens riding the same electric scooter. “After studying countless samples, it has become abundantly clear that…
Paul C. Pratt is the man behind the Gryphel Project, an ambitious software and documentation effort to preserve and extend classic 68000-based Macintosh computers. He’s the author of the wildly-popular Mini vMac emulator, as well as other great tools like disassemblers and ROM utilities. Paul’s been a pillar of the classic Macintosh community for decades. Although I’ve never met him, I’ve exchanged many emails with Paul over the years, and he’s always been helpful.
Paul has gone missing. Not missing in the sense of a family emergency and police search, but missing for over two years from the classic Macintosh community where he’s been an active member for so long. His Gryphel Project site is still up, but there have been no new posts there since April 2021. He hasn’t appeared anywhere else online either, and he’s not responding to emails, nor to messages sent through community forums where he’s a member. Paul doesn’t have much social media presence, and nobody’s sure of his real-world address or phone number.
Maybe some family emergency or health crisis has demanded Paul’s attention since 2021? Maybe he simply got burned out on classic Macintosh topics, and decided to abandon his online identity and walk away from it all? For the past year, concerned members of the community have attempted to get in touch with Paul through various ways online and real-world to confirm he’s OK, or to ascertain what might have happened to him. They’ve not been successful, which is frustrating and sad.
I sincerely hope that Paul’s sitting in a sunny meadow somewhere, enjoying a lovely day and not giving any thought to crusty old Macintosh computers. But with every passing day that he’s not heard from, we all fear the worst. If he’s died, it’s entirely possible that Paul’s heirs might not think or care to tell anybody outside of his immediate family and friends. From his bio we know that Paul was born in 1969 or 1970, which makes him about 52, and the same age as me. That’s not old, but it’s a cautionary reminder that none of us live forever.
Hearing Paul’s story has motivated me to draft a continuity plan for BMOW, in case of my sudden unexpected disability or death. I’ve made arrangements to ensure the blog and the store would be gracefully wound down, and product designs would be transferred to responsible hands to make sure that nothing important is lost.
Brooke Chaney, aka MOM. Photo courtesy of the artist.
This summer, the Creative Arts Center of Dallas (CAC) selected Brooke Chaney, aka MOM, as their summer resident artist. MOM is only the second resident artist in CAC’s newly established Equitable Artist Residency (EAR) Program. Her residency consisted of a solo exhibition titled Procession, located in CAC’s gallery, and a role as the lead instructor and educator for CAC’s outreach program, Run with the P.A.C.K (Public Art Camp for Kids), where she led a group of teens ages 12–16 through the process of creating a large-scale public art mural.
For MOM, Procession functions as a reflection, a micro-retrospective, of her artistic practice over the past few years. The majority of her pieces in the show are paintings characterized by solid, flat fields of color, creating shapes that are both geometric and organic. Although MOM utilizes a variety of principles and elements of design as driving forces within her compositions, such as balance, repetition, rhythm, and movement, it is her use of vibrant color, and the combinations and contrast between the colors within a work, that immediately catches the eye.
Installation view of “Procession.” Photo courtesy of CAC.
Natural landscapes and bits of infrastructure can be seen within many of her paintings, and some diverge into complete abstraction. Horizontal and vertical lines create a grid in which the landscapes are situated and experimented upon. “Thematically the work is an overall exploration of the outside, natural world from the perspective of being indoors,” MOM says of her exhibition. Altogether, her work is inquisitive in its formal explorations while remaining playful and vivacious.
MOM, “Gingham Sky,” 2022, latex on wood. Photo courtesy of CAC.
For the latter half of her residency, MOM guided a group of young teens through the process of creating a public mural, not only physically, but also conceptually. MOM has ample experience in designing and installing murals — her latest one can be found at the recently opened immersive art experience Meow Wolf in Grapevine, Texas. However, the location of this mural is on the side of Owenwood Farm and Neighbor Space in East Dallas, a community hub for a plethora of local nonprofits. MOM first led the group, which she affectionately referred to as “scholars,” on a journey of exploring the grounds and learning about the overall mission of the organization. “Then, we spent the next couple of days brainstorming imagery that could not only represent the good Owenwood does, but the reality of the community surrounding it,” MOM explained to me. “Themes of equity, inclusion, and diversity were explored and expressed, as well as gentrification and disparity.”
Installation of the Owenwood Farm mural. Photo courtesy of CAC.
Once the group collaboratively settled on a meaningful narrative and layout for the mural, the scholars set to work. For most of them this was an entirely new media on a much larger scale than anything they had ever done. In the end, the mural portrays an idyllic farmscape/naturescape inhabited by a community of bugs who work with and for their fellow bug community. Although the group tackled heavy themes of racial and wealth inequality when contemplating the history of East Dallas, the resulting mural can only be described as joyous and full of hope for a better tomorrow. “Being able to acknowledge and support the agency they discovered during this experience was my favorite part of the camp,” MOM told me, reflecting on the experience. “It’s amazing to see what young people can accomplish with just a bit of direction and trust. I’m extremely proud of the scholars and what they were able to give to the community through their artistic expression.”
MOM and the Run with the P.A.C.K teens in front of their Owenwood Farm mural. Photo courtesy of CAC.
Procession is on view at the Creative Arts Center of Dallas through Friday, August 11, 2023.
Applications and information for the next resident artist at CAC can be found here.
The Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts (LHUCA), a nonprofit arts organization in Lubbock, has announced that it is accepting exhibition proposals for 2024.
LHUCA announces a call for exhibition proposals each fall. The call is open to artists, artist groups, and curators with exhibition ideas featuring any visual medium, including painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, collage, mixed-media, photography, fiber arts, ceramics, jewelry, installation, sound art, digital art, and video.
“Care + Collaboration,” at the Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts (LHUCA), Lubbock, Texas. Photo courtesy LHUCA.
LHUCA’s main building has four art gallery spaces and hosts over 20 exhibitions each year, featuring regional, national, and international artists. The call is seeking proposals that consider and speak to how the gallery space will be used for a specific exhibition. Applicants can review the gallery floor plans via the organization’s website.
Mayuko Ono Gray, 諸行無常, “This too, shall pass,” at the Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts (LHUCA), Lubbock, Texas.
Proposals will be reviewed by a selection team composed of Lindsey Maestri, LHUCA’s Executive Director; Dexter Woods, the Helen DeVitt Jones Clay Studio Manager; an artist who exhibited with the organization in 2023; and newly hired curator Taylor Ernst. According to Ms. Ernst, a range of 15 to 20 exhibitions will be selected for 2024. For artists who are outside of Lubbock, a $500 stipend will be provided to assist with costs related to travel.
LHUCA 2024 Call for proposals.
To apply, interested parties should send a digital portfolio of five to ten images, an image list, a brief artist statement or exhibition proposal, and contact information to Ms. Ernst at exhibits@lhuca.org. The entry deadline is Monday, September 4, and selected participants will be notified via email by Friday, September 15.
EDMONTON – Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has announced a moratorium on all pending renewable energy projects in Alberta until these projects can prove they will be just as detrimental to the environment as the province’s current and past fossil fuel extraction projects. “Alberta has a proud tradition of producing some of the dirtiest energy known […]
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Giorgio Agamben, State of Exception Hrafn Asgeirsson, “On the Instrumental Value of Vagueness in the Law,” in Ethics John Austin, The Province of Jurisprudence Determined Iain Donnelly, Tango Juliet Foxtrot Ronald Dworkin, “Introduction,” in Taking Rights Seriously Ronald Dworkin, “Jurisprudence,” in Taking Rights Seriously Ronald Dworkin, “The Model of Rules I,” in Taking Rights Seriously Ronald Dworkin, “The Model of Rules II,” in Taking Rights Seriously Timothy Endicott, “The Value of Vagueness,” in The Philosophical Foundations of Language in the Law John Gardner, “Legal Positivism: 5 ½ Myths”, in American Journal of Jurisprudence John Gardner, “The Virtue of Justice and the Character of Law,” in Current Legal Problems Nadia Guidotto, “Looking Back: The Bathhouse Raids in Toronto, 1981,” in Captive Genders H.L.A. Hart, The Concept of Law Scott Hershovitz, “The End of Jurisprudence”, in Yale Law Journal LawExplorer Blog, “Dworkin’s ‘Law As Integrity’ Andrei Marmor, “Law as Authoritative Fiction,” in Law and Philosophy Jolyon Maugham, Bringing Down Goliath Jolyon Maugham, “No, The Legal System Isn’t Biased Against Men - It Allows them to R*pe with Near Impunity,” in New Statesman Tommi Avicolli Mecca, “Brushes with Lily Law,” in Captive Genders Michael Moore, “Hart’s Concluding Unscientific Postscript,” in Legal Theory Office of National Statistics, “Police powers and procedures: Stop and search and arrests, England and Wales, year ending 31 March 2022” Joseph Raz, “The Problem About the Nature of Law,” in Ethics In The Public Domain Joseph Raz, “Authority, Law, and Morality,” in Ethics In The Public Domain Joseph Raz, “The Politics of the Rule of Law,” in Ethics in the Public Domain Joseph Raz, “Legal Principles and the Limits of Law,” in Colombia Law School Scott J. Shapiro, “The “Hart-Dworkin” Debate: A Short Guide for the Perplexed” Judith Shklar, “Political Theory and the Rule of Law,” in Political Thought and Political Thinkers Jon Stone, “Liz Truss To Give Government Powers to Override Human Rights Court,” in The Independent Thoughtslime, “All Cops Are Bad” Daniel Trilling, “Not Much Like Consent,” in The London Review of Books Trashfuture, “Bad Boys” Wesley Ware, “Rounding Up the Homosexuals,” in Captive Genders
The Alberta town that proudly announced itself as the home of the Canadian rock band Nickelback has quietly removed its popular highway signs, with potential safety risks cited as one reason they were taken down.
The DOJ asked a federal judge overseeing the criminal case against former President Trump to step in after he released a post online that appeared to promise revenge on anyone who goes after him.
