Republicans are suing and Democrats want a full review after Harris County missed deadlines to have its votes tallied and failed to count 10,000 ballots in its initial returns.
Land Commissioner George P. Bush is in the middle of a fierce runoff in the Republican primary for Texas attorney general against incumbent Ken Paxton. During the race, several of Bush’s opponents have criticized his office’s work in distributing Hurricane Harvey relief funds.
Amber Briggle had hoped inviting Paxton to dinner might soften his views about transgender children. Now, the family is under investigation after he issued an opinion equating gender-affirming medical care with child abuse.
While speaking with my manager the other day, he mentioned that my coworker, “Susan,” has come to him regarding my attitude towards her. He phrased it as “butting heads.” I must have looked confused (I was!) because he told me he doesn’t feel I am rude or inappropriate. The problem, according to him, is that Susan is almost neurotic in her need to be liked, and she isn’t getting the reaction she wants from me. He doesn’t think there’s a problem or is asking me to change anything about my behavior – he just wanted to bring it to my attention in case there is tension.
I will say I noticed Susan’s tendencies when I started in my position here in August, and I immediately took a dislike to her for them. She is kind, thoughtful, and professional, and she does an excellent job in her role, and I try to be friendly and appreciative of that. I offer her genuine compliments and gush over her grand-baby. However, I do tend to keep her at a bit of an arm’s length while the rest of the office fawns over her.
My problem (and I admit here it is MY problem, because it doesn’t affect her work) is that I hate suck-up’s – she writes little “thinking of you” notes, offers compliments regularly, is happy to take on extra work, etc. – which I tend to view as fabricated in order to make people like her. It might be genuine, and I might be biased – and, again, I recognize this is MY problem to work through.
So, here’s my question: will this work itself out or should I try to improve our relationship? Any suggestions for easing the tension?
I wrote back and asked, “What do you think Susan is looking for from you? What does the fawning from others over her look like? And do you know what she said to your boss?” The response:
I think she can tell she’s not my favorite person in the world. I try to be kind and considerate, I offer her compliments and gratitude, and I include her when we’re ordering lunch and so on. I try to keep my personal feelings from affecting our professional relationship because, again, she isn’t doing anything wrong — I just don’t care for her. A lot of people bring her little gifts (either for herself or for her family), and they often stand around chatting with her. I hear a lot of inside jokes, some bawdy banter, and just general conversation. It’s all friendly (and mostly appropriate for the office) and, if I had to pick a word, I think I would say celebratory, if that makes sense? It’s all very positive and upbeat from all parties — a lot of cooing over her grandchild and upcoming nuptials for her daughter, telling her how impactful a post was on Facebook, asking where she bought a blouse, and so on. She reciprocates the positivity and asks how their own celebrations are, how their weekends were spent, and so on … but people seek her out and initiate the interaction, in most cases. They aren’t bad interactions — maybe a little much, but not inherently bad. I think I just tend to keep our conversations more on the small-talk/professional level, perhaps. For example, I’ll mention how cute a photo of her granddaughter is and she’ll thank me. Someone else might come over and talk at length about the dress — was that something you bought, Susan? You have great taste! I think she has your eyes! — then show up a few days later with baby shoes to go with said dress or a picture frame for this particular photo.
I don’t know exactly what was said between her and my boss. He told me he didn’t want to go into detail, as he doesn’t think it’s a problem and told Susan as much as well. He only mentioned it in case I pick up on any tension from her. The comment was part of a larger check-in meeting we were having, and this comment was thrown in at the end.
Good lord. You are offering Susan compliments and gratitude. You’re admiring her family photos! It does not sound like you are freezing Susan out in any way.
If the issue is that you’re not bringing her gifts, trading bawdy banter, or fawning over her to the extent that other people do, Susan is being very, very weird here.
Any chance there’s more to it than that? Like is it possible that it would be clear to a reasonable observer that you don’t like Susan or that you’re put off by the cooing your coworkers do over her? I’m inclined to trust your boss’s assessment that that’s not the case, but if he doesn’t see a lot of your interactions it’s worth asking yourself that.
That said, you’re allowed not to like all your coworkers, or to be a little put off by what sounds like frequent, lengthy, and possibly loud festivities around her desk all the time. As long as you’re reasonably pleasant and kind — and you say you are — nothing here should spark a complaint from Susan.
What’s interesting is that the picture you paint of Susan is, in some respects, a rather lovely one! People seem to genuinely like her, and she and they take what sounds like mutual interest in each other’s lives.
What I can’t tell is whether Susan is a lovely person whose popularity is well earned but who just happens to rub you the wrong way … or whether all this fawning happens because Susan has taught people it’s necessary (by being difficult when it doesn’t happen). I’d normally think it was the first scenario, but the fact that she complained to your boss about you makes the second one seem more likely than it otherwise would.
As for whether this will work itself out or if you should try to improve the relationship … those aren’t necessarily the only options! It’s possible it won’t work itself out but that you still don’t need to change anything you’re doing. That said, if you want to, you could try asking Susan directly about what your boss said in a “I was concerned to hear this; have I done something that has upset you?” way. And who knows, maybe it’ll turn out there is something happening that you hadn’t realized. But otherwise you’ll probably get a vague response about seeming standoff-ish or chilly … in which case you can respond with, “I’m so sorry I’ve given you that impression. I’m probably less effusive than you and I tend to be more down to business, but I’d never want to give you the sense that I have issues with you or your work. I hope you can see it as just a difference in style and nothing more.” (That might be more gracious than is warranted, but this is about smoothing things over if you decide to go that route.)
Beyond that, though, I wouldn’t worry much. Your boss doesn’t think it’s a problem, and it doesn’t sound like a problem. As long as things don’t escalate in some way, you can go on being pleasant to Susan and let her work out her own feelings about the degree of that pleasantness.
300 Tasty, Healthful Dairy Dishes
Culinary Arts Institute
1940
Submitter: Hold onto your stomachs for this one. Just when you think you have found everyone of these items for the series, another mystery stained volume appears like a zombie crawling out of a hefty bag. I hope this won’t spoil anyone’s lunch!
Holly: Instant recognition after the egg cookbook! Dairy is so 1940.
Mary: Thank God this is in black and white. I think if we saw the Green Pea Ring recipe all decked out in a pea color, it could cause some kind of trauma.
Are tea cozies clothes, and if so, do you not wear one on principle?
Did you truly name your kid Chip ahead of time, or was he born while you were a teapot?
Listen, Lumière says that “ten years we’ve been rusting—” but Chip is only seven years old. What are the mechanics of pottery birth?
Who is Mr. Potts, and did he break?
What are the mechanics of pottery insemination?
Was he a teapot too, or like a spoon or a fork?
I don’t mean to dwell on this, but did Chip come out of your spout? Of the part that you lift to put the tea bags in?
How did Chip get chipped? Is this a birthmark situation / manufacturer’s error, or a severe childhood accident where he dented his head?
When you became human again, were your quads and glutes absolutely ripped from literally hopping everywhere for the past decade?
What did you think about the non-human teacups?
Do the servants of the castle get paid?
Is the payment in tea?
Is it hot and/or odd to have your body full of tea and/or of a gestating teacup baby?
Did you get paid family leave? Paid pottery family leave?
The castle is in France, but you’re English. How?
Is it derogatory against English people that you turned into a teapot and the French maid was a sexy feather duster? Also, you were literally objectified, which is not good.
Am I a bad person? I didn’t interrogate these things as a child, but I’m worried now.
Would you be my mother?
But not like, in a way where you would have to carry me inside your teapot cavity… unless that sounds like fun?
This spring, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH) is debuting exhibitions featuring Dawoud Bey, M.C. Escher, Shahzia Sikander, and the Obama Portraits by Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald.
Dawoud Bey: An American Project, which opened last weekend, is a retrospective of the artist’s work spanning from the 1970s to present day. The exhibition includes early street portraits he took in Harlem, large-scale studio portraits, works from his series The Birmingham Project (which highlights the lives lost in the 1963 Birmingham bombing), and poignant landscapes that explore the Underground Railroad and Louisana plantations.
In the press release announcing the exhibition, Gary Tinterow the Director and Margaret Alkek Williams Chair at the MFAH said, “Dawoud Bey is one of the preeminent photographers of our day. As the exhibition’s co-curators [Corey Keller and Elisabeth Serman] have so aptly noted, the exhibition and its evocative title introduce Bey’s deeply humanistic photographs into a long-running conversation about what it means to represent America with a camera.”
The exhibition is co-organized by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, and will feature approximately eighty five works by Mr. Bey.
Virtual Realities: The Art of M.C. Escher from the Michael S. Sachs Collection, the largest and most comprehensive show of works by the artist ever held, opens this weekend. The exhibition features the collection of Mr. Sachs, who accumulated artworks by Escher over a 50-year period and acquired 90% of the artist’s estate in 1980.
Though Escher’s early works focus on portraits, nudes, and still lifes, his fascination with patterns and repetition are evident as early as 1918. During the 1920s and 1930s, his works shifted to include detailed landscapes and studies in perspective. Then, in the late 1930s through the early 1950s, he made the pieces he is perhaps best known for today, works in which realistic images devolve into abstract tessellations, and compositions that experiment with optical illusions.
In the press release announcing the exhibition, Dena M. Woodall, Curator of Prints and Drawings at the MFAH (who organized the show) remarked, “By spanning Escher’s entire career, this extraordinary exhibition explores Escher’s detailed thought process. It reveals, in a way, the magic behind the final prints, with the inclusion of preparatory drawings and progressive printing proofs as evidence of his working process. His meticulous manner extends to printing all of his woodcuts by hand with the back of a spoon, instead of a press.”
The exhibition will include more than 400 prints, drawings, watercolors, printed fabrics, constructed objects, artist tools, and sketchbooks.
Shahzia Sikander: Extraordinary Realities, which was featured in Glasstire’s 2022 Spring Preview, will open later this month at the museum. With nearly sixty works on view, the exhibition will present art from the first fifteen years (1987-2002) of Ms. Sikander’s career. Her works are rooted in historical manuscript painting traditions from South and Central Asia, and explore issues related to migration, gender, and female sexuality. While some works are miniatures, the exhibition will also include wall drawings, large-scale installations, and video animations.
Organized by the Rhode Island School of Design Museum in collaboration with the Morgan Library & Museum in New York, the show was exhibited at both venues prior to coming to the MFAH, which will be the final stop on the exhibition’s tour.
The Obama Portraits Tour, which features paintings commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery of the President and First Lady, will open early next month. The much-anticipated exhibition is the final stop of the works’ tour across the U.S.
Dawoud Bey: An American Project is on view through May 30, 2022. Virtual Realities: The Art of M.C. Escher from the Michael S. Sachs Collection will be on view from March 13 through September 5, 2022. Shahzia Sikander: Extraordinary Realities will be on view from March 20 through June 5, 2022. The Obama Portraits Tour will be on view from April 3 through May 30, 2022.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Axios, written by Erica Pandey and Mike Allen: The rising power and prominence of the nation's loudest, meanest voices obscures what most of us personally experience: Most people are sane and generous -- and too busy to tweet. It turns out, you're right. We dug into the data and found that, in fact, most Americans are friendly, donate time or money, and would help you shovel your snow. They are busy, normal and mostly silent. These aren't the people with big Twitter followings or cable-news contracts -- and they don't try to pick fights at school board meetings. So the people who get the clicks and the coverage distort our true reality.
Three stats we find reassuring:
1. 75% of people in the U.S. never tweet.
2. On an average weeknight in January, just 1% of U.S. adults watched primetime Fox News (2.2 million). 0.5% tuned into MSNBC (1.15 million).
3. Nearly three times more Americans (56%) donated to charities during the pandemic than typically give money to politicians and parties (21%). The report also highlights a Gallup 2021 poll, showing that 42% of Americans identified as independents.
How do older electronics nerds have fun? With an amateur radio license, of course! Some recent conversations with friends spurred me to learn more about ham radio operation, and I threw myself into studying. I’m now scheduled to take the technician and general class license exams back-to-back on March 19, and if I pass I’ll receive a call sign and can get on the air. Watch out, world.
What exactly do amateur radio operators do? Until recently, I only knew what I’d seen in movies, where hams working at night try to make voice contact with other radio operators on the opposite side of the planet, using huge antennas. This is called DXing and it’s certainly a big part of the hobby, but now I’ve learned there’s much more. Many hams begin with simple handheld radios operating on VHF and UHF frequencies, where they can talk to others in their local area. Most cities have repeaters on hilltops and tall buildings that can rebroadcast these low-power transmissions, effectively increasing the coverage area. Where I live in California’s San Mateo County, there are over 50 such repeaters available for amateur radio use!
Other fun things to try: talking to the International Space Station, bouncing signals off the moon, and patching communications through amateur radio satellites. There are also radio-internet gateways that can stream radio traffic across the internet for part of its journey. And beyond voice communications, there’s all manner of digital radio communication too. Packet radio, RTTY, image and video transmission, you name it.
Much of the hobby revolves around building and tinkering with the radio equipment and antennas, in order to get the best performance. For people who enjoy experimenting with electronics, this is a good challenge.
To broadcast on an amateur radio frequency, you must be licensed. This theoretically prevents inexperienced people from accidentally screwing-up the EM spectrum for everybody else through improper operation of their radio. There are currently three levels of license, from the beginner-level technician license, to the general license, and the top-tier amateur extra license. Your license class determines what frequency bands you’re permitted to broadcast on, and the maximum permitted power level. Technicians are mostly restricted to VHF and UHF frequencies (with a few exceptions), while the general license opens up more lower frequency bands that propagate further and are better suited for chatting with people 10 time zones away. Amateur extra licensees can broadcast in any amateur band and are also eligible to get shorter, more-memorable call signs.
Before I knew anything, I assumed the amateur radio license exams would be quite difficult. “Difficult” is a relative idea, but now that I’m familiar with the tests, I’d say practically anyone could pass the technician exam with about 5-10 hours of study. If you already have some background in basic electronics and physics, like most readers of the BMOW blog likely do, then you’ll find it easier. The technician exam is roughly one-third electronics and radio theory basics, one-third practical radio operation skills, and one-third FCC regulations. The general exam goes deeper into the theory, but it’s nothing too scary. All the tests are multiple choice, and knowledge of Morse Code isn’t needed.
Initially I’d planned to study for the technician license, but after I realized I already knew about half the material on the general license exam, I decided to double-up and do them both at once. This seems to be a fairly common path for people who already have some electronics and physics background.
See you on the airwaves! If you’re in the SF Bay Area, hit me up after the 19th if you’d like to try some on-air conversation.
When director Domee Shi began providing artistic inspiration for her film "Turning Red," she knew she would be forcing some of the animators out of their comfort zone, and others into a world they'd only dreamed of creating. Inspired heavily by 1990s and early 2000s anime, "Turning Red" effortlessly combines the western style of animation that made Pixar iconic, and the massively influential eastern style of anime that Shi grew up loving. The result is a highly expressive film where 13-year-old Mei Lee gains stars in her eyes when she's amazed, giant drops of tears when she's sad, a gigantic bean-shaped mouth to showcase the full range of her emotions, and pupils that wildly shift in size depending on how she's feeling.
For a film like "Turning Red," where our main character transforms into a giant red panda at any sign of a big emotional shift, the incorporation of anime elements only adds to the storyline's effectiveness. In a recent interview with Shi, we asked her to give us some anime homework to prepare for "Turning Red." I'm happy to say that Shi didn't disappoint, and recommended three all-time greats that are absolutely worth checking out.
Ranma ½
One of the biggest anime inspirations for "Turning Red" is the series "Ranma ½" which aired in Japan from 1987-1996. Viz Media licensed the show in 1993, bringing it to the western world as the very first anime TV series to ever be released in English with a faithful uncut dub. The story follows a teenage boy named Ranma Saotome who accidentally falls into the "Spring of Drowned Girl" and is cursed to become a girl when splashed with cold water, only being brought back to his correct identity with hot water. The anime was extremely popular in the 1990s, with Ranma not only accepting his ability to transform between genders, but frequently and willfully transforming in order to fulfill his goals. The screwball anime is largely remembered only for its famous gender-swapping angle, but "Ranma ½" also serves as a slapstick comedy of errors and an accidentally affirming (albeit clumsy) allegory for transmasculinity.
"It's like martial arts, high school drama, transformation, comedy, action, and slapstick," said Shi. "We borrowed a lot of its tone and the whole transforming between human and animal aspect."
While Mei is firmly a girl throughout the entire movie, like Ramna, she frequently intentionally transforms into the Red Panda when necessary. There's a certain beauty about both Mei and Ramna learning to embrace an intrinsic part of themselves that makes them "different" in the eyes of the status quo, and realizing that what they thought was a "curse" is actually what makes them wonderful.
"Ranma ½" is currently available to stream on Peacock.
Fruits Basket
I was in middle school when I read my first manga, the wonderful "Fruits Basket," about Tohru Honda, an orphan girl who, after meeting Yuki, Kyo, and Shigure Sohma, discovers that the 13 members of the Sohma family are possessed by the animals of the Chinese zodiac and are cursed to turn into their animal forms when they are weak, stressed, or when they are embraced by anyone of the opposite sex that is not possessed by a spirit of the zodiac.
"I loved that series growing up,'' said Shi. "It's comedy, it's high school, it's great." The manga was given the anime treatment in 2001, and with Mei transforming into a red panda whenever her emotions get too hard to handle (yes, that does include the feeling she gets when she thinks about cute boys), the "Fruits Basket" influence is easy to see.
The original "Fruits Basket" anime is available on Crunchyroll, and the 2019 anime is streaming on Hulu.
Sailor Moon
"Fighting evil by moonlight, winning love by daylight, never running from a real fight, she is the one named Sailor Moon!" With a movie that so heavily values the importance of female friendships, Domee Shi was of course inspired by "Sailor Moon." Shi admits that much of the pastel and high-femme color palettes of "Sailor Moon" inspired the look of "Turning Red," but the friendship was very much an homage to the Sailor Scouts.
"Middle school girls saving the world with superpowers, how can you go wrong with that?" Shi asked. "Sailor Moon" was extremely influential in the world of anime, and along with "Dragon Ball Z," helped spark a wave of anime love in the west. "Sailor Moon" is still putting out new content even today, because you can't keep a good magical girl down.
"Sailor Moon" is available to stream on Hulu and "Sailor Moon Crystal" is on Netflix.
I have been working professionally in construction as an engineer for about six years now, and am female and in my late 20s. My friend, who is still studying but the same age as me, has just gotten her first ever job as a part-time administrative assistant at a small financial firm. She’s worked there for about four weeks now, and recounts a lot of stories of going out for work lunches and her colleagues encouraging her to drink alcohol to the point where she can’t be productive for the rest of the day. I find this a little odd and old school, but I just assumed that it can still happen in industries where people aren’t responsible for other’s safety. She has now told me that she is flying to a regional town three hours away this weekend to visit her boss’s farm property for two nights, alone, staying in his home, on the premise that he has some young farm animals and she would like to see them. If it matters, he is single and in his early 40s, and is also the company owner.
Am I wrong in thinking that this is super inappropriate? I just cannot for a minute even contemplate doing anything like this with anyone I have ever worked for, even if they were a married female manager and I’d been working with them for years. I now hold a management position and wouldn’t ever think it was appropriate to have one of my employees stay at my home, or even visit one on one and not as a group for a BBQ or something similar. I’d love some other seasoned professional opinions on this please!
You are not wrong. There are red flags all over the place.
There are still industries where people have a drink or two during the day, although far, far fewer of them than there used to be. But pressuring her to drink is both immature and alarming, and the fact that she’s drinking so much that she can’t be productive for the rest of the day is concerning on a few different fronts (one of which is, does she realize she’s prioritizing the drinking over the work she’s being paid to do?).
The out-of-town weekend trip to visit her boss … well, at a minimum, some really serious boundary-violating is going on. I mean, I want to see young farm animals too, and if she were taking a road trip with some coworkers to visit his farm that wouldn’t be a big deal. But an overnight trip on her own to stay in her older male boss’s home raises all kinds of alarms.
2. How can I sound more approachable in high-stress work periods?
I am a graduate student at a large university, working under a faculty member who I have known for 10+ years. I am responsible for the selection and daily management of our undergraduate student workers – a team of 2-5 with frequent turnover as students graduate, get opportunities they can’t pass up, or find they need to focus on classes.
For many of these students, this is their first big job, and there is a lot of training that can only be provided in 1-on-1 calls with me. I also have a full workload and am sometimes juggling multiple time-sensitive projects at once. Since we are 100% remote and communicate via Teams chat and calling, I worry that my tone may come off as short/very direct in the chat when I am just trying to get a quick answer back to them. No all caps responses, but certainly not my normal friendliness. My boss does the same, but I know it’s because they’re pressed for time but don’t want to hold me back. Whenever possible, I do a video call to explain initial tasks, then use chat to answer smaller questions.
I cover tone and communication extensively during onboarding (stating multiple times that I value questions and they should not worry about failing as they figure projects out). Do you have any tips for making sure I remain approachable in a remote situation that is often high-stress? I find myself doing the same with family members (á la drill sergeant), so it’s an issue I need to navigate professionally and privately. I also want to set a good example for these students as they go into their first adult jobs, and some seem to need a lot of encouragement and confidence-building during their first semester.
It’s surprisingly easy to warm up that sort of exchange by just adding one friendly sentence at the start and one at the end. For instance, you could probably convey the tone you want if you start with “good question!” before you launch into the answer and end with “I hope that helps — let me know if you need more.” Obviously don’t use the same exact phrases every time or it will quickly become obvious that you are doling out warmth-by-formula, but it’s surprising how just a friendly expression at the start and end of the exchange can set the right tone without taking much more time. (Other openers: “Oh yeah, that’s important!” / “I can see why you’re confused!” / “Let’s see if I can help.” / “Hey!” Other closers: “Don’t hesitate to ask anything else if you get stuck.” / “That was a smart question, keep them coming.” / “You sound like you’re on the right track!”)
3. Are there offices where things just … work?
Are there workplaces where things just … work? Where everyone is on the same page, clear about their expectations, and able to interact with the technology and teams needed to do their job? I assume that a workplace that functions smoothly and seamlessly is the end goal, but how often does it play out in practice?
In any given semester, I’ll encounter a ton of little issues that add up. A computer won’t update because it’s too old and was never replaced, links are broken, offices move without updating their webpage, design standards change without notice, students can’t log in, FAQs aren’t updated, policies are updated but no one can find them, new tools are added but no one knows which office provides training on them.
Because I work in higher education, I need a reality check if these workflow problems are an institution thing, an academia thing, or if it’s a more common thing than I realize.
There are indeed offices where things work reasonably smoothly! There are also lots of offices where they don’t. The difference between the two is usually the presence or absence of good management. Money helps too, but it’s not enough on its own.
4. My coworker leaves early on Fridays, which adds to my work
A coworker and I alternate shifts each week. One does 8-4, the other 9-5. For the past three weeks when my coworker is on the early shift, she will announce on Friday morning that she is leaving at 3 pm as she “came in early each day and has time owed.” As far as I know, our manager is not asking her to come in early. My coworker seems to arrive at 7:45 each morning so that she can claim the hour back at the end of the week. This has impacted my work as I am left to cover for her during that last hour. It can be busy on Friday afternoons and I have struggled to keep up.
How should I address this? I am sometimes (maybe once a fortnight) 15 minutes late to work due to my bus not showing up. I do, however, stay late to make up the time. Because of this, I worry I’ll seem a bit of a hypocrite if I bring this up with my coworker or manager. However, I also don’t feel like we should be able to choose to leave early every Friday. I would do the same thing if we were allowed! As a note, my manager is exclusively remote currently due to government work from home Covid guidance so I don’t think she is aware this is happening.
Speak up! Start with your coworker and say, “When you leave early on Fridays, it’s tough for me to cover everything on my own. Could you plan to stay until the end of the scheduled shift so we have enough coverage?”
If that doesn’t solve it, then talk to your boss and say, “Would it be possible to have Jane stay until the end of her scheduled shifts on Fridays? In the last few weeks when she’s on the early shift, she’s been coming in extra early each day so she can leave at 3 on Fridays, but that leaves me without enough coverage for the end of the day. I spoke with her about it but she said ___, so I wanted to see if you can help.”
This shouldn’t seem hypocritical; you’re not deliberately altering your schedule to get time back later in the week, which is the issue here. Do keep the focus on the impact on your work though, not on whether it seems unfair in principle.
5. Why am I not rehireable for a job I did well at?
I was let go from an huge organization I had been employed by for six years. During that time, I was promoted twice. When I was in the first two jobs, I had excellent reviews and was held in high esteem by my bosses. The third position was a bust. It was outside of my comfort zone and it was a mistake accepting the position.
I ended up being let go and it wasn’t because I was dishonest, or had stolen anything or had said something offensive to my manager. I just couldn’t get the hang of the job.
Since I was let go, I’ve applied for 11 jobs with the organization, all of which are either the first or second positions I previously held in the company, and I haven’t gotten an interview for any of them. Finally, a friend who is also friends with one of the internal recruiters let it slip that I was “not eligible for rehire due to unacceptable rating in review.”
The jobs I’m applying for have nothing in common with the job I was let go from. It’s like comparing chocolate teapot making to unicorn mane grooming. Is it the norm to basically blackball someone from all jobs because they weren’t good at one of them?
Some companies do have a practice of marking people as ineligible for rehire if they’re fired or have low performance ratings. But in a case like yours, it’s a blunter instrument than makes sense for your circumstances.
If either or both of your managers from those first two positions are still there, you could try reaching out to them: explain what’s going on and ask if there’s a way around the policy since you had excellent reviews in the jobs you’re re-applying for. If those managers really liked you, they might go to bat for you. It may or may not work — it’s a huge company so the bureaucracy might be entrenched and hard to fight — but there’s no reason not to try.
Glenn Fleishman has some advice that may seem counterintuitive: never change your password. If your password is long and random enough to avoid brute force or dictionary attacks, unique to the service, and has not been leaked, you should never need to change it. — Read the rest
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Oh, and look at these cool people! Xerol, Yaniv , Francis, BooseGumps, Jay , Dave Anderson, Eric Hansen, Jeremy Kitchen, Audin Malmin, Adam D. Ruppe, Matthew Giraitis, Kevin Landrigan, Carl Yazbek, Nolan Johnson, Hunter Schwisow, Matt Falcon, Paul Williams, Brent LaRowe, Lurker239 , Felix Freiberger, James Ryan, Lukas Komischke, BlancoGrande , Technicalleigh , Adam Coddington, Steven Metcalf, Justin Talbot, Christopher Jett, SovietBear , Techmoan , Kotanu, Brian G. Shacklett, Andre Nogueira, Matthew Baron, Mark Critchley, Andres Plaza, Charlie Hankin, Casey Kikendall, Warmo , The8TrackKid , Julian Rapoport, Christopher Bassett, Ryan Cozzubbo, The Automatic Filmmaker, Matt Taylor, CharlieVictor, Peek , Robert Toth, Marc Ethier, Thijs Dortmann, Stein Strindhaug, foophoof , Ernie Smith, Christopher Dickey, Jeff M, Mikko Puustinen, Mitchel J. Mullin II, Matthew Razza, Trix Farrar, Marco Anastasi, Howard Kraut, Matthias Dienelt, Yona , Grayson Lang, Paul Virdone, Jeffery Grajkowski, Stefan Berndtsson, Christopher Leidich, Sean Reigle, Mike Friedman, André Waage Sørensen, Chris LeChien, fussel , Lennart Pelz, Luc Ritchie, Eric Romero, Ewen McNeill, Henrik Ripa, Shane Zamora, Yorick Terweijden, Andrew "FastLizard4" Adams, Avi Drissman, Philippa Taprogge, Pieter van der Eems, Reto Jost, Andrew Montagne, David Scott, Brandon Enright, James Fialho, toasterking , Jason Boyles, Nick Pollard, Manalope , Andy S, Robert , Slartibartfast, Rob Kefford, Benjamin A., Nathaniel , EASY TARGET, Colin Cogle, MrHammond , Aaron Rennow, Countzero , Anders Dahnielson, Eli Krumholz, Guillaume Tremblay-Beaumont, Laria , thegeoffreak , Jib Systems, Grazer, Mike Noe, Scott Rowland, Your name, Felix Winkelnkemper, Owen O Byrne, Matt Mullett
00:00 Intro 01:56 A brief (hah!) history of electric lighting 04:28 Ballasted light sources 07:59 The freedom of LEDs 08:49 The thing the video is about 09:26 Electrical boxes and wiring 11:10 Why the idea is so appealing 12:02 All the advantages 17:17 And now for the problems 21:22 The idea is spreading - should it? 23:08 Some light bulb longevity advice 25:25 Thermal cam footage of filament-style LED bulb 27:19 I hope you will consider PAR-style lamps if you can 28:36 Smooth jazz and bloopers
Now that society is collapsing, Everything Is Terrible! is reborn with their new and fantastical expedition into found footage... but this time the adults can stay home! EIT! has unearthed thousands of forgotten DVD & VHS tapes aimed at yesterday’s youth to bring you their most mind-melting movie to date. Watch in awe as all colors of the rainbow join forces to destroy the tyranny of adult civilization once and for all! All of your oldest friends will be there; skateboarding web-surfers, rapping math equations, gigantic baby ducks, and maybe even a wizard or two! And what EIT! show would be complete without a live experience that makes the Ice Capades look like a stupid piece of trash! Finally, an all-encompassing extravaganza created for kidz... by kidz!
The audio archive contains recordings ranging from alternative news programming, to Grateful Dead concerts, to Old Time Radio shows, to book and poetry readings, to original music uploaded by our users.
Founded in 2005, Librivox is a community of volunteers from all over the world who record audio versions of public domain texts: poetry, short stories, whole books, even dramatic works, in many different languages.
The Live Music Archive is a community committed to providing the highest quality live concerts in a lossless, downloadable format, along with the convenience of on-demand streaming.
The Internet Arcade is a web-based library of arcade (coin-operated) video games from the 1970s through to the 1990s, emulated in JSMAME, part of the JSMESS software package. Containing hundreds of games ranging through many different genres and styles, the Arcade provides research, comparison, and entertainment in the realm of the Video Game Arcade.
The BBC is resorting to broadcasting news bulletins over shortwave radio in Russia after the country blocked access to BBC websites, The Guardian reports. The Verge: The BBC announced it was bringing back the WWII-era broadcasting technology in the region just hours before its sites were banned. News of the ban was also reported by Russian state news agency RIA. Shortwave radio uses frequencies that carry over long-distances and are accessible on portable sets. The BBC says its shortwave broadcasts will be available on frequencies of 15735 kHz from 6pm to 8pm and 5875 kHz from midnight to 2am, Ukraine time. News will be read in English, which the BBC says will be available in Kyiv as well as "parts of Russia." Shortwave radio has a long history of wartime broadcasts. The Guardian reports that its usage peaked during the Cold War, but that it was also used throughout WWII to broadcast propaganda. The BBC World Service ended its use of the technology in Europe in 2008 after 76 years.
I’m going to open today’s post with a few comments about drought that’s been developing or festering across Texas. The updated Drought Monitor data came out yesterday, showing almost 57 percent of Texas in severe drought or worse.
The coverage of drought is expanding in Texas, with over half the state deemed to be in “severe” drought or worse. (US Drought Monitor)
Three months ago, less than 20 percent of Texas was in drought that excessive. We did see some improvement in early February across the state, but things have turned back worse again. Locally, things are not too bad just yet, with mostly the outskirts of Greater Houston even classified in drought at all. But rainfall is expected to average at or below normal the next 2 weeks, so this story will be one to watch in the weeks ahead. We are still technically in a La Niña (cool tropical Pacific Ocean), which tends to favor drier weather in Texas. As that has been in place over the last year or two, we’ve managed to get bailed out before things got too severe. We will see if we can pull that off again this spring.
Friday
As temperatures warm up and humidity gradually flows back into the Houston area, we continue to see some patchy fog in the area.
The rest of the morning will see gradual clearing, though Galveston and the Bay Area could see fog emerge at any point today. Otherwise, expect partly sunny skies and temperatures making a run toward the upper-70s. A few locations could even eclipse 80 degrees. There will be a noticeable southeast breeze through the day.
It’s Ricky Martin’s turn at the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo tonight, and if you’re going, you’ll be livin’ la vida buena. Look for temperatures around 70 degrees initially, only dropping into the mid-60s after the show. No weather woes are expected, though there will be that fairly steady southeast breeze.
Weekend
This weekend will see fairly similar weather on both days: Fog, clouds, some sun, a gusty southeasterly breeze, warm temperatures, and higher humidity. Fog will be a little tougher to pinpoint due to the winds, but at times, we’ll likely see some fog along the coast and near the bays, especially in the morning. By afternoon, virtually everyone should just see clouds and sun. Look for highs in the 80s.
Saturday’s high temperatures will be quite warm, with 80s almost everywhere away from the coast. (Pivotal Weather)
Morning lows will generally be in the 60s. Any rain chances this weekend are likely to be limited to a few showers or some sprinkles, nothing that should interfere with any plans you may have.
Monday
Our next cold front will likely cross the region on Monday morning or afternoon. I would expect at least a broken line of showers and thunderstorms as it pushes through, which should give many of us some rain. Behind the front, temperatures should drop from the 70s into the 60s or 50s. We may warm up with some clearing in the afternoon, as well as drier air. But then look for 40s by Tuesday morning.
The 40s should return by Tuesday morning (Pivotal Weather)
Rest of next week
The forecast gets a little trickier after Monday with a couple quick moving systems and cold fronts in the offing. This should allow us to have a generally cooler week but perhaps an unsettled one as well. We’ll fine tune the details on that for you on Monday.
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