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I find if I walk in and pretend like I'm better than everyone I get dismissed fairly quickly.
Again. The house of lords has a dress code. Sir.
Yeah, but this is America! Dress codes only apply to teenagers.
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I literally had to make a pair of diplomacy and bluff checks today. Passed one, failed the other. *sigh*.
Well, "news":
- Google Maps recommended that I take the bus, not BART. And it was a very pleasant ride. Thank you, Google Maps!
- Everyone who showed up was assigned to a single case and then asked to fill out the case questionnaire. Yet again that "14% of people who show up get assigned to cases" seems to be an entirely fictitious number.
- Fortunately, the case was expected to take 12 business days, right in my wheelhouse because Global Megacorporation pays for 10.
- Unfortunately, the questionnaire virtually guaranteed I'm going to get a call and be excused this week.
So yeah, unless the attorneys are certifiably insane I'll be off the case, but we'll know more next Monday when we're supposed to reconvene.
EDIT: And no. "Paladin", remember? I won't discuss anything about the case since I'm a prospective juror. It's simply a case in which I have personal experience, and that pretty much precludes you from being on the jury for such a case.
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Well, "news":
- Google Maps recommended that I take the bus, not BART. And it was a very pleasant ride. Thank you, Google Maps!
- Everyone who showed up was assigned to a single case and then asked to fill out the case questionnaire. Yet again that "14% of people who show up get assigned to cases" seems to be an entirely fictitious number.
- Fortunately, the case was expected to take 12 business days, right in my wheelhouse because Global Megacorporation pays for 10.
- Unfortunately, the questionnaire virtually guaranteed I'm going to get a call and be excused this week.So yeah, unless the attorneys are certifiably insane I'll be off the case, but we'll know more next Monday when we're supposed to reconvene.
EDIT: And no. "Paladin", remember? I won't discuss anything about the case since I'm a prospective juror. It's simply a case in which I have personal experience, and that pretty much precludes you from being on the jury for such a case.
Damn.
Now I wonder if once you got dismissed, and thus you won't be a prospective juror anymore, can you then comment? Aren't the court cases public knowledge once they start, at least until the judge specifically excludes the public from hearing?
Yeah, but this is America! Dress codes only apply to teenagers.I find if I walk in and pretend like I'm better than everyone I get dismissed fairly quickly.
Again. The house of lords has a dress code. Sir.
Teenagers and Freemasons.
Now I wonder if once you got dismissed, and thus you won't be a prospective juror anymore, can you then comment? Aren't the court cases public knowledge once they start, at least until the judge specifically excludes the public from hearing?
The legal prohibition extends only until my jury duty ends, and it's just a very broad catch-all: "You shall not investigate the case yourself, talk to your friends about it, post about it on social media, etc." designed to prevent juror bias
Once jury duty ends, either I'm not on the case so it doesn't matter, or the case has been decided and now it's public record.
However, since this is personal, I won't be posting about it in any case. Just a classic, "You can't have a juror on the case who's had personal experience with this sort of thing." For example, a juror whose friend was murdered shouldn't be on a murder case. A juror whose company failed to pay them their legally-due overtime shouldn't be on a corporate abuse case. Stuff like that.
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hanging a door and working outside. I'm using a ginormous chisel knife because i couldn't find the large chisel or the small axe, so paying a LOT of attention to my fingers.
BBbzzzrrttsBzzrrtts Bzzrt right by my ear
"Wow. That is a BIG bumble bee" work work work
BBbzzzrrttsBzzrrtts Bzzrt
Turn. Look. Cross eyes.
"Wow. That is Tiny hummingbird"
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The one part I feel I can freely share from the questionnaire (since it's been on every jury questionnaire I've ever done, civil or criminal):
Have you ever witnessed a crime?
Yes.
Did you report the crime to the police?
No.
Why not?
My friends were committing it.
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Why not?
"cause ya'll make some really dumb stuff illegal.
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There's one at every company:
NobodysHome on the "Suggestions for the EVP" channel: Have you considered a sabbatical program such as one 4-week break per 5 years of employment? In 17 years at the company I've only gotten one vacation longer than 2 weeks.
That Guy: ...or, you could just take vacation like a normal person.
So, reading comprehension score: 30%
Advocating for his fellow workers score: 0%
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The fight over vacation time is always weird.
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The fight over vacation time is always weird.
Yes, yes it is.
What it *should* be:
Employee: Hey, manager! I'd like to take these days off next month. Is that OK?
Manager: You're caught up on your work and you have enough vacation days accrued so yes, approved!
What it tends to be:
Employee: Hey, manager! I'd like to take these days off next month. Is that OK?
An Executive At Some Level: Hmm... if the employee is caught up enough to be able to take time off, we're obviously not getting 100% efficiency out of them. We need to increase their workload so they can't afford to take so much time off.
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I have been abundantly clear over my growing dissatisfaction with the current state of community college education.
Today's little bombshell was quite the canonical example:
(1) Many years ago, instructors did away with "Dead Week" and continued to pile on new assignments and homework even during the last week of class. Even when I was teaching in the late 1990s I was unusual for respecting Dead Week.
(2) Thanks to COVID, Finals Week has been removed and finals are now given during the last week of class.
(3) Yes, you guessed it: Many instructors are sitting there lecturing and giving homework during finals week.
(4) So today, Impus Major received his final assignment, all on new material, all due tomorrow at noon, with an estimated time to complete of 4 hours. And yes, his final is tomorrow. Studying for your final? That's for losers! Do homework instead!
If you were smart enough to pay close attention in class today, the instructor pointed out that "only the last 2 pages will be graded". Oh, so it's not QUITE as bad, but it's still a homework assignment students are expected to do the night before their final.
"Enraged" is an understatement.
Have you ever witnessed a crime?
Yes.Did you report the crime to the police?
No.Why not?
I was committing it.
Fixed it
Fixed itHave you ever witnessed a crime?
Yes.Did you report the crime to the police?
No.Why not?
I was committing it.
Well, I learned something new today.
So yeah, just as accurate.
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Gotta love government forms mailed 10 days ago with a due date of yesterday. Like... do they think we have messenger ravens?
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This is firm evidence that time travel is REAL, at least in the mind of the Bureau of Faith-Based Weights and Measures.
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I learned this week that if you tell people the fate of the universe is at stake they will automatically work faster.
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Patience is hard.
We have a whole bunch of pending stuff we've been waiting for the end of school to take care of: The Cranky Calico's vet appointment, an oil change for the Prius, summer planning, an optometry appointment for me...
...and it all depends on whether or not I end up on jury duty.
So intellectually, I know that my chances of being put on the jury even without my revelations in the questionnaire are only around 25-30% (95 potential jurors, maybe 30-35 of whom get dismissed for hardship or reasons, so 50-60 of whom 18 will be chosen). But I still don't want to make any plans that jury duty could disrupt, because in my experience hoping for the best and planning for the best never works. Hope for the best, plan for the worst, and life is easy.
But sitting here day after day wondering, "Am I going to get a call today, or do I spend another day in suspense," is less-than-fun.
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Not to be that guy, but do one thing today. Preferably the oil change.
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Not to be that guy, but do one thing today. Preferably the oil change.
My "one thing today" is a store run. The oil change can wait; it's only been 3000 miles. And the problem is weekday scheduling: If I'm out of the picture I need to rely on GothBard (works 9-5), Impus Major (major paper due on Sunday), or Impus Minor, and most of the stuff is stuff Impus Minor doesn't know enough about to be able to do it on his own. (He's never put a cat in a cat carrier, much less the hellish Calico.)
Better to wait than to risk catastrophic failure.
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Speaking of the sheer and utter incompetence of Government IT:
(1) I've started receiving multiple jury summons a year. When I reported it to the courts, their response was, "Oh, yeah, we just rolled a bunch of disparate systems into one: DMV records, voter registration records, and any other government records you had all got rolled into one database."
So, maybe because it's because I have a certificate in data transformation and loading, but an implementation that saw someone with the exact same name and address and generated two records for that person is an implementation where someone needs to be fired, fined, or jailed for abject incompetence.
(2) Being aware of (1) for at least several years, you'd think they'd recognize that multiple summons are now a commonplace thing. Instead, I reported to the exact same courthouse that I was there on Monday, and therefore had satisfied my reporting duties for the year, so please cancel my June 27 reporting date.
"We cannot confirm that you reported on Monday. Please either mail us a physical copy of your proof of service or bring it in physically. If it's for the same court, your juror badge number will suffice."
Notice what's missing there? Any ability to simply email, text, or phone in my badge number. It's a 6-digit number. The inability to submit it remotely? I'm hearkening back to the 1970s to think of a time when you couldn't dial in an automated system, punch in your number, and have it confirm it.
Stupidity, to say the least.
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Government agency 1: The forms must come directly from government agency 2
Government agency 2: We cannot send the forms to anyone but you. We cannot send them to government agency 1.
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I, for one, fully support our rulers' efforts to make real life as much like a game of 'Paranoia' as possible
I learned this week that if you tell people the fate of the universe is at stake they will automatically work faster.
With some people, it may be that they think they'll be getting steak at the end of the day.
I learned this week that if you tell people the fate of the universe is at stake they will automatically work faster.With some people, it may be that they think they'll be getting steak at the end of the day.
All I know is I got the block for my fire table I'm going to be building a day early and new guy carried me pavers all day yesterday without complaining.
Mmm. Steak.
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Yesterday Shiro pointed something out to me in California labor law that I was 100% unaware of: If you're an exempt employee (salaried, not hourly), then your pay cannot be reduced for jury duty unless you miss a full week of work.
Apparently the courts know this: My jury duty is slated to run every Monday-Thursday, so I'll be working full-time on Fridays, meaning Global Megacorporation can't legally dock my pay.
This is something that every prospective juror should know, but I had no idea. It means that you CAN serve on those multi-week trials and get fully paid for it, as long as you're salaried.
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Ah, the signs of summer! It's foggy and freezing and we're unlikely to see the sun until this afternoon, and Impus Minor is in an online game at 9:30 am with his windows wide open, and his screams and laughter can be heard echoing down the street. (I've apologized to the neighbors about it multiple times, and they insist they find it delightful because it reassures them that all is right with the world...)
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Other crew leader (to the boss): How come you never tell Yesterday to hurry up?!
The boss: Because Yesterday gets s$~* done and doesn't b&$@$ about it!
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Yesterday Shiro pointed something out to me in California labor law that I was 100% unaware of: If you're an exempt employee (salaried, not hourly), then your pay cannot be reduced for jury duty unless you miss a full week of work.
Apparently the courts know this: My jury duty is slated to run every Monday-Thursday, so I'll be working full-time on Fridays, meaning Global Megacorporation can't legally dock my pay.
This is something that every prospective juror should know, but I had no idea. It means that you CAN serve on those multi-week trials and get fully paid for it, as long as you're salaried.
My awesomeness can't be contained in a salary. It must be allowed to wander free, paid by the hour, with all overtime that might entail. Fortunately I love my family so it's not as much overtime as some other people.
My awesomeness can't be contained in a salary. It must be allowed to wander free, paid by the hour, with all overtime that might entail. Fortunately I love my family so it's not as much overtime as some other people.Yesterday Shiro pointed something out to me in California labor law that I was 100% unaware of: If you're an exempt employee (salaried, not hourly), then your pay cannot be reduced for jury duty unless you miss a full week of work.
Apparently the courts know this: My jury duty is slated to run every Monday-Thursday, so I'll be working full-time on Fridays, meaning Global Megacorporation can't legally dock my pay.
This is something that every prospective juror should know, but I had no idea. It means that you CAN serve on those multi-week trials and get fully paid for it, as long as you're salaried.
Shiro's gave me the best definition of when you should be salaried vs. hourly: If you can do your job while at home in the shower, you should be salaried.
At the same time that I wince, I get a certain sadistic pleasure when PMs publicly call me out by demonstrating that they don't read well.
PM: NobodysHome, I can't access these files you sent me! They're password-protected!
NobodysHome:
And yes, the text of the original email is, "Here are the files I'd like you to review, and here's the password you'll need."
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Yay! I was able to snag 2nd row center tickets for a night with Animals as Leaders, Devin Townsend, and Dream Theater. I am a happy man.
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Shiro's gave me the best definition of when you should be salaried vs. hourly: If you can do your job while at home in the shower, you should be salaried.My awesomeness can't be contained in a salary. It must be allowed to wander free, paid by the hour, with all overtime that might entail. Fortunately I love my family so it's not as much overtime as some other people.Yesterday Shiro pointed something out to me in California labor law that I was 100% unaware of: If you're an exempt employee (salaried, not hourly), then your pay cannot be reduced for jury duty unless you miss a full week of work.
Apparently the courts know this: My jury duty is slated to run every Monday-Thursday, so I'll be working full-time on Fridays, meaning Global Megacorporation can't legally dock my pay.
This is something that every prospective juror should know, but I had no idea. It means that you CAN serve on those multi-week trials and get fully paid for it, as long as you're salaried.
I can do my job anywhere that has decent internet access. Doesn't have to be good, just better than bad or average American ISP offerings. This could mean from home in the shower, but that's using some specialized equipment.
Shiro's gave me the best definition of when you should be salaried vs. hourly: If you can do your job while at home in the shower, you should be salaried.I can do my job anywhere that has decent internet access. Doesn't have to be good, just better than bad or average American ISP offerings. This could mean from home in the shower, but that's using some specialized equipment.
Well, the idea is that an hourly worker is someone who's 100% done with their job the moment they leave work. When a worker at a cannery leaves work, they don't think about ways to improve their canning technique when they're off work. When a programmer leaves work, they might have been in the middle of a particularly nasty piece of coding, and they'll think about it on their drive home, maybe scribble some notes during dinner, think about it as they're going to bed, and they otherwise never "leave" work -- it's always in their heads.
The problem is people like CY -- I guarantee that after every snow run, he lies there at night thinking, "How could I shave 2 minutes off that run?", which should make him salaried...
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And tomorrow night I'm going to go catch a show from Steve Hofstetter. Late birthday present for Aiymi.
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Shiro's gave me the best definition of when you should be salaried vs. hourly: If you can do your job while at home in the shower, you should be salaried.I can do my job anywhere that has decent internet access. Doesn't have to be good, just better than bad or average American ISP offerings. This could mean from home in the shower, but that's using some specialized equipment.Well, the idea is that an hourly worker is someone who's 100% done with their job the moment they leave work. When a worker at a cannery leaves work, they don't think about ways to improve their canning technique when they're off work. When a programmer leaves work, they might have been in the middle of a particularly nasty piece of coding, and they'll think about it on their drive home, maybe scribble some notes during dinner, think about it as they're going to bed, and they otherwise never "leave" work -- it's always in their heads.
The problem is people like CY -- I guarantee that after every snow run, he lies there at night thinking, "How could I shave 2 minutes off that run?", which should make him salaried...
Oh god no, I've been shoveling snow for 20 years, if there's a way to shave off a couple of minutes I've already figured it out. Besides I do that while I'm working.
Now, the other part of my job I absolutely think about after work but I do get paid very well and I have complete creative freedom so it does balance out fairly well.
All I know is I got the block for my fire table I'm going to be building a day early and new guy carried me pavers all day yesterday without complaining.I learned this week that if you tell people the fate of the universe is at stake they will automatically work faster.With some people, it may be that they think they'll be getting steak at the end of the day.
Semi-related question: have you guys been getting a lot of really jacked-up materials from the quarries lately? Our main suppliers out here all get their stone from Wisconsin, and this season it's been really bad.
Semi-related question: have you guys been getting a lot of really jacked-up materials from the quarries lately? Our main suppliers out here all get their stone from Wisconsin, and this season it's been really bad.All I know is I got the block for my fire table I'm going to be building a day early and new guy carried me pavers all day yesterday without complaining.I learned this week that if you tell people the fate of the universe is at stake they will automatically work faster.With some people, it may be that they think they'll be getting steak at the end of the day.
Do you mean jacked up prices or subpar or damaged materials.
And do you mean like pavers and block or stuff like clear stone or gravel.
As far as pricing, Wisconsin is definitely the first to jack up prices if they can.
Have been getting an inordinate amount of pavers with chips and stuff but I do so much cutting it's not usually an issue.
And yes, inconsistent quality of materials like gravel and clear stone is an issue in Wisconsin which harkens back to the first person that did something half assed and then said "good enough!" And everyone else gave them a pass. It usually kicks in about this time every year and lasts until memorial day and then you get a brief surge of giving a s#~& before everything crashes and just goes into autopilot after the 4th of July.
Iiiit's the American waaay!!
(Ours too. Probably Poland as well, &c)
G&+%*+n it, it rained overnight. No biggie for me, I started landscaping in Seattle so rain doesn't bother me as much as everyone else out here.
The problem is, everyone else's job site will probably be too wet to do much of anything. Which means everyone else (former coworker mostly) is going to want to work on my job site. But I'm at that point where I don't want anyone (former coworker mostly) screwing anything up and it's Friday which means no one (former coworker mostly) gives a s$+@ about screwing something up.