New:
1. Kingdom of the Blind by Louise Penny
2. The Asshole Survival Guide by Robert I. Sutton
3. Pikiq by Yayo
Reread:
1. Dark in Death
Thursday, January 31, 2019
Friday, January 25, 2019
Working 9 to 5
It surprises me how often businesses and services that serve the public directly choose to have their operating hours Monday to Friday, 9 to 5.
This makes it far more difficult for customers who work regular business hours to use these businesses.
It's particularly surprising when I see these hours on, like, hair salons and small clothing boutiques in Yonge St. storefronts. While it's possible that customers could get time off work to go to the doctor, it's less likely that they could get time off work to get their hair done, and may well choose instead one of the many comparable businesses in the same neighbourhood with more convenient business hours. Especially with storefront space on Yonge St. being so expensive, I'm surprised they can afford to make themselves less convenient to their customer.
Also, if I think about it in the first person as a small business owner, why wake up early to open at 9 if you could instead sleep in, open later, and be available to the after-work crowd? If you're, like, a doctor, why not sleep in at least a couple of days a week so you have office hours where your patients wouldn't have to miss work? Why not work four 10-hour days and get three days off every week?
Even if you need to be available for deliveries etc., a very small business probably doesn't get deliveries every day. Be on site when you're expecting something, sleep in the other days.
If I had completely control over my schedule, I sure as hell wouldn't be waking up to an alarm! And if your clients are the people whose workday causes rush hour to happen, you'd also be doing them the kindness of being available at more convenient hours.
This makes it far more difficult for customers who work regular business hours to use these businesses.
It's particularly surprising when I see these hours on, like, hair salons and small clothing boutiques in Yonge St. storefronts. While it's possible that customers could get time off work to go to the doctor, it's less likely that they could get time off work to get their hair done, and may well choose instead one of the many comparable businesses in the same neighbourhood with more convenient business hours. Especially with storefront space on Yonge St. being so expensive, I'm surprised they can afford to make themselves less convenient to their customer.
Also, if I think about it in the first person as a small business owner, why wake up early to open at 9 if you could instead sleep in, open later, and be available to the after-work crowd? If you're, like, a doctor, why not sleep in at least a couple of days a week so you have office hours where your patients wouldn't have to miss work? Why not work four 10-hour days and get three days off every week?
Even if you need to be available for deliveries etc., a very small business probably doesn't get deliveries every day. Be on site when you're expecting something, sleep in the other days.
If I had completely control over my schedule, I sure as hell wouldn't be waking up to an alarm! And if your clients are the people whose workday causes rush hour to happen, you'd also be doing them the kindness of being available at more convenient hours.
Saturday, January 19, 2019
Things They Should Invent: teach students how school norms differ from workplace/adult life norms
I've been thinking lately about how school instills a set of norms that's different from workplace norms, and a recent Ask A Manager gave a perfect example:
And it's also the complete opposite of the norms instilled in school.
In school, if you are asked a question, you are expected to know the answer. If you don't know the answer, you don't get the mark. And looking up the answer is cheating.
But no one ever actually tells you that this change is a thing that happens, so many young people do foolish things in their first few years in the workforce.
There are other examples too. As a kid, you're told "Don't talk back!" But in the workplace, you're supposed to speak up if you see someone making a mistake, so the mistake doesn't reach the client.
When you're in school, your tests and assignment are specifically designed to be doable based on the information you've been taught in class. In the real world, there's nothing guaranteeing that the specific task you're called upon to do will be feasible, or that you will succeed at it. Your restaurant might get a rush that overwhelms the kitchen. Someone might call you tech support line with a problem no one has ever heard of. The text sent for translation might be illegible or nonsensical.
But, at the same time, in the real world you can sometimes say to your boss "It is literally impossible for me to do this task by this deadline in addition to all the other tasks. What's my priority?" And something might get taken off your plate or reschedule. In comparison, in school you're expected to do all your work from all your classes even if they conflict.
At this point, you might be thinking "But the nature of a classroom is different! It's only natural for expectations to be different!"
And that is true.
The problem is that when you're a kid just beginning to enter the workforce after a lifetime in the classroom, no one tells you that expectations are different, so you end up like the Ask A Manager LW, genuinely uncertain if it's professional to verify before making declarative statements.
So they should tell students this at some point in high school, probably earlier rather than later, so as to reach students before they start getting part-time/summer jobs. Talk about ways the classroom doesn't reflect the expectations and realities of adult life, and the reasons why the nature of the classroom makes this necessary. If possible, create some "classroom norms don't apply, adult norms apply" environments within the school experience to give students some practice.
The challenge here is that it has to be done well. We've all our teachers tell us "This will be really important in high school/university/the work world" when it ended up being irrelevant. And it would be a particular disservice to give students information about the adult world that ends up being outright incorrect.
But if it can be done well, it would be doing an enormous service to young people, those who will one day work with them, and those who will one day rely on their work.
2. Does “let me check” make me look incompetent?As Alison makes quite clear in her response, saying "let me check" and then checking is the good and correct and responsible thing to do, and actually makes the employee come across as more reliable.
I am a new grad and recently got a job interning in a teapot development company. I work closely with my boss since we’re a two-person team, and I do a pretty good job (my boss has given me positive feedback), but there is one thing that I sometimes stumble upon. When my boss asks a question that I’m like 70% sure of, which is often, is it better to say “I think it’s ____, but let me check,” or say whatever I think the answer is confidently and then maybe check later and revise if I’m wrong? I usually go the “Let me check” route, but I feel like it might be making me look incompetent. Am I overthinking this?
And it's also the complete opposite of the norms instilled in school.
In school, if you are asked a question, you are expected to know the answer. If you don't know the answer, you don't get the mark. And looking up the answer is cheating.
But no one ever actually tells you that this change is a thing that happens, so many young people do foolish things in their first few years in the workforce.
There are other examples too. As a kid, you're told "Don't talk back!" But in the workplace, you're supposed to speak up if you see someone making a mistake, so the mistake doesn't reach the client.
When you're in school, your tests and assignment are specifically designed to be doable based on the information you've been taught in class. In the real world, there's nothing guaranteeing that the specific task you're called upon to do will be feasible, or that you will succeed at it. Your restaurant might get a rush that overwhelms the kitchen. Someone might call you tech support line with a problem no one has ever heard of. The text sent for translation might be illegible or nonsensical.
But, at the same time, in the real world you can sometimes say to your boss "It is literally impossible for me to do this task by this deadline in addition to all the other tasks. What's my priority?" And something might get taken off your plate or reschedule. In comparison, in school you're expected to do all your work from all your classes even if they conflict.
At this point, you might be thinking "But the nature of a classroom is different! It's only natural for expectations to be different!"
And that is true.
The problem is that when you're a kid just beginning to enter the workforce after a lifetime in the classroom, no one tells you that expectations are different, so you end up like the Ask A Manager LW, genuinely uncertain if it's professional to verify before making declarative statements.
So they should tell students this at some point in high school, probably earlier rather than later, so as to reach students before they start getting part-time/summer jobs. Talk about ways the classroom doesn't reflect the expectations and realities of adult life, and the reasons why the nature of the classroom makes this necessary. If possible, create some "classroom norms don't apply, adult norms apply" environments within the school experience to give students some practice.
The challenge here is that it has to be done well. We've all our teachers tell us "This will be really important in high school/university/the work world" when it ended up being irrelevant. And it would be a particular disservice to give students information about the adult world that ends up being outright incorrect.
But if it can be done well, it would be doing an enormous service to young people, those who will one day work with them, and those who will one day rely on their work.
Thursday, January 03, 2019
Things I Don't Understand: why do my thighs get colder than my calves?
Whenever I walk around outside in cold weather, my thighs get colder than my calves.
This makes no sense, because my winter coat is knee-length, so my thighs are covered in coat while my calves aren't. (I don't own or care to shop for winter coats of any other lengths, so I can't do the obvious science experiment.)
Neither my boots nor my socks are tall enough to cover my my calves or warm enough to outweigh the warmth of my coat. (In other words, they're ordinary everyday socks and shoes, not thermal footwear for outdoor activities.)
My thighs have noticeably more fat on them than my calves do.
Even my feet don't get cold as much as my thighs do, and my feet are downright bony!
The coldness of my thighs can be felt externally as well as internally. In other words, if I take off my pants as soon as I get home and feel my thighs and calves with my hands, my thighs are colder to the touch than my calves are.
Has anyone else ever experienced this, or know why this might happen?
This makes no sense, because my winter coat is knee-length, so my thighs are covered in coat while my calves aren't. (I don't own or care to shop for winter coats of any other lengths, so I can't do the obvious science experiment.)
Neither my boots nor my socks are tall enough to cover my my calves or warm enough to outweigh the warmth of my coat. (In other words, they're ordinary everyday socks and shoes, not thermal footwear for outdoor activities.)
My thighs have noticeably more fat on them than my calves do.
Even my feet don't get cold as much as my thighs do, and my feet are downright bony!
The coldness of my thighs can be felt externally as well as internally. In other words, if I take off my pants as soon as I get home and feel my thighs and calves with my hands, my thighs are colder to the touch than my calves are.
Has anyone else ever experienced this, or know why this might happen?
Tuesday, January 01, 2019
"Kids Today think they invented sex!"
Sometimes people who are old enough to perceive young adults as "kids" complain that "Kids Today think they invented sex!" Which is a really bizarre thing to say!
First of all, think back to when sex first became part of your life. You didn't think you invented it (literally or metaphorically). The history of sex was irrelevant to what you were thinking and feeling. You were simply revelling in a new and thrilling life experience (quite possibly the most thrilling life experience you'd had in your entire life so far.)
But on top of that, at least within the cultures with which I'm familiar, young people grow up in an environment where adults (or, at least, non-abusive adults) are trying to keep sex secret from them.
For the first several years of your life, if all goes well you don't know that sex at all. Then, when you're old enough to wonder how babies get in a lady's tummy, your parents might tell you about procreative sex.
Around middle school and into high school, you start getting sex ed, with a generally vanilla focus and an underlying message that you're not supposed to be doing this yet. But also around this age, you're starting to become aware of adult popular culture, which frames sex as the ultimate human experience. It's Unimaginable Pleasure, and it's Not For You.
At the same time, you are most likely supervised by parents, school, etc. in a way that's intended to prevent you from having sex, or even from finding out about the details of sex that aren't taught in sex ed. Your adults make rules like you can't bring a person they think you might have sex with into your bedroom, and they try to prevent you from accessing porn, or whatever else Kids Today are using to learn about Weird Sex Stuff. If they find out you know even about Weird Sex Stuff, you can get in trouble.
And, at the same time, the adults around you are hiding any sex that they might be having. They lock the door, they don't leave their sexual accoutrements out in the open, etc. Even if they don't object on a theoretical level to you knowing that they have sex, they take measures to prevent you from knowing when and how. If they are using porn or engaging in Weird Sex Stuff, they actively try to keep this secret from you - even beyond the point where they're not keeping the fact that they have sex secret.
(All of which is the right thing to do, of course. In our culture, it would be considered abuse for such specifics of their parents' sexuality to be inflicted upon kids. If your kids don't know about your Weird Sex Stuff, you're doing your job right.)
So basically, the people who say "Kids Today think they invented sex!" are contemptuous of their kids for enjoying the novelty of a new experience that, for as long as they have been aware of it, has been hyped as the ultimate human experience, while also dissing their kids for not assuming they have been doing the very thing that, to do their job as a parent in our culture, they've been trying to conceal from their kids their whole lives.
How self-absorbed is that!
First of all, think back to when sex first became part of your life. You didn't think you invented it (literally or metaphorically). The history of sex was irrelevant to what you were thinking and feeling. You were simply revelling in a new and thrilling life experience (quite possibly the most thrilling life experience you'd had in your entire life so far.)
But on top of that, at least within the cultures with which I'm familiar, young people grow up in an environment where adults (or, at least, non-abusive adults) are trying to keep sex secret from them.
For the first several years of your life, if all goes well you don't know that sex at all. Then, when you're old enough to wonder how babies get in a lady's tummy, your parents might tell you about procreative sex.
Around middle school and into high school, you start getting sex ed, with a generally vanilla focus and an underlying message that you're not supposed to be doing this yet. But also around this age, you're starting to become aware of adult popular culture, which frames sex as the ultimate human experience. It's Unimaginable Pleasure, and it's Not For You.
At the same time, you are most likely supervised by parents, school, etc. in a way that's intended to prevent you from having sex, or even from finding out about the details of sex that aren't taught in sex ed. Your adults make rules like you can't bring a person they think you might have sex with into your bedroom, and they try to prevent you from accessing porn, or whatever else Kids Today are using to learn about Weird Sex Stuff. If they find out you know even about Weird Sex Stuff, you can get in trouble.
And, at the same time, the adults around you are hiding any sex that they might be having. They lock the door, they don't leave their sexual accoutrements out in the open, etc. Even if they don't object on a theoretical level to you knowing that they have sex, they take measures to prevent you from knowing when and how. If they are using porn or engaging in Weird Sex Stuff, they actively try to keep this secret from you - even beyond the point where they're not keeping the fact that they have sex secret.
(All of which is the right thing to do, of course. In our culture, it would be considered abuse for such specifics of their parents' sexuality to be inflicted upon kids. If your kids don't know about your Weird Sex Stuff, you're doing your job right.)
So basically, the people who say "Kids Today think they invented sex!" are contemptuous of their kids for enjoying the novelty of a new experience that, for as long as they have been aware of it, has been hyped as the ultimate human experience, while also dissing their kids for not assuming they have been doing the very thing that, to do their job as a parent in our culture, they've been trying to conceal from their kids their whole lives.
How self-absorbed is that!
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