We tend to associate bullying with childhood, with schoolyards and school buses. Perhaps we remember our own experiences with someone who treated us as their personal chew toy, or oh-so-helpful adults telling us to "just ignore them" (as if they'd let us) or suggesting snappy comebacks that were supposed to knock bullies flat, but never worked in ( Read more... )

Here in the US, "getting crap past the radar" usually means finding ways to get somewhat off-color jokes past Standards and Practices -- often by giving the Moral Guardians something even more obvious to object to, so they'll feel like they've done their job when you take the bait out ( Read more... )

Back in 2016, when we were struggling with the tub drain problems, I wrote an article on how small things like our lack of funds to pay a plumber to unclog the drain could become a self-reinforcing downward spiral ( Read more... )

Tonight DST goes away for another winter. For a few blessed months I won't be struggling every day feeling an hour behind, feeling like time is always against me ( Read more... )

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There's an old saying that, if you have a problem, you've got a problem, but if you have two problems, sometimes they can solve each other ( Read more... )

or why the idea of Visible Busy as productivity really needs to Just Freaking DIE.

I remember having to deal with the pressure to appear busy at a number of jobs. In fact, I had several where the biggest criticism against me was "you do excellent work, but you don't look like a good worker." And at my one and only full-time professional library ( Read more... )

It's back, like a bad penny. Yet again the annual charade moves the clocks forward and we all act as if this somehow adds an hour to our days ( Read more... )

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Interesting evidence of ritualistic behavior among chimpanzees, but only in one area, which suggests cultural transmission. Some primatologists are suggesting this may representing some form of an awareness of the sacred -- which raises interesting questions about the boundaries of personhood and what exactly demarcated pre-humans who were not yet ( Read more... )