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Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by DrFrylock, Sep 16, 2010.
DrFrylock
This week our crop of summer interns returns to school, and I've tried to give the intern I was responsible for a good experience, as my mentors gave me many years ago. This was a pretty realistic workplace experience for an engineer and he handled it very well, far beyond his years. He comments that it's quite different from his high school job at a bakery. I should hope so.
Every journey begins with a single step, and many careers begin with a McJob or two before you get to the prestigious stuff. I find these stories fascinating. BigPerson8686 has volunteered to do an "Ask a Fast Food Worker" thread, and we'll do that in a week or two, but it got me thinking about McJobs in general.
I sort of missed out on McJobs, in a way. I'm a computer guy, and my first jobs were indeed non-commissioned barely-above-minimum-wage retail jobs. But they were selling software and computers, back when people who sold such things were expected to actually have a fair bit of technical knowledge about them (before the big box stores shut down all the little boutiques). At the first one, ties were mandatory and coats were recommended.
There were good and bad points to those early jobs. On the good side, it was fun interacting with people, and once I learned the ropes I could do the job in my sleep. Also, when I clocked out, I was done until I got back to work. Nowadays I go home and try to work up the energy to get some work done at home to get caught up. On the downside, buying a cheeseburger and fries cost me an hour's pay before taxes.
Because we were all nerds and half the guys were in their 20s and 30s on commission, there weren't really any shenanigans to report. One of my favorite sites capturing the essence of a pure McJob is this group set up by some of the summer lifeguards at Walden Pond in Massachusetts. They describe the experience thusly:
We all know working at Walden is the shit. Especially being a lifeguard. This group is for everyone who loves Walden, all the crazy people who go there and who understand:
we all party like animals
we smoke weed...including the supervisors
nobody from concord actually goes there to swim
there are no trash cans at the beach...carry in carry out BITCH
the bathrooms are upstairs...and no you cant use the handicapped bathroom
if youve ever been asked the stupidest questions. EVER.
floatation devices arent allowed, but hate telling people to take them out of the pond
youve heard "whered the beach go??" 5 million times
kids must be clothed
...and potty trained
you know the crazy lady who collects mushrooms and occasionally flips out because she thinks if mice can eat them, she can too
you know not to swim after a few weeks of peak season and you feel the need to shower after a safety check
taking the board out is the SHIT, and you get to tan your back side
the park workers do way more work and get paid less
sleeping in the back room is key
being hungover is expected
...throwing up in the handicap bathroom is extra points
the state police all know we smoke weed bc "they see those phish stickers" on our cars
TAKING THE BOAT OUT. YA KNOW.
gotten complained about for driving the boat too fast and/or jumping off
diving w/fins and masks
you love getting paid to work out
we all know whats really going on with denise and pete
terri can roll a blunt with 1 hand
we love thunder!
youve never had to save anyone
youve flipped the polaris
youve crashed a gator
youve gone through a day and heard no english spoken on the beach
the park closes at sunset....right.
making fun of patrons never gets old
you know walden attracts creepers! and peepers!
youve gotten a date with a patron
youve had a crush on a camp counselor/wanted to steal a cute camper
you never really see the need to go up to the second chair, or the first chair for that matter...you can see everyone from first aid
you enjoy watching the park workers paint the same places over and over again
you always volunteer to drive to dunkin donuts
you enjoy being half naked and having a bathing suit as a uniform
you get taxed up the asshole from the state of massachusetts
the pond path is 1.7 miles (sometimes more if it's flooded) of beautifulness
swimming the mile to the other side and back is awesome/really hard
WE LOVE WALDEN POND!
FOCUS: What McJobs did you have before you started your career in earnest? What were the best parts of those McJobs? What were the worst?
#1 DrFrylock, Sep 16, 2010
I had a few Mcjobs, some were worse than others.
1. This one I really liked, and I dont know if it even qualifies. When I was in HS I got a job at a ski resort. My job was in the rental shop setting and repairing skis. It was minimum wage but I got to stay warm and go skiiing after work for free so it was actually not to bad at all, despite the constant flood of shitty customers.
2. Also when I was in HS I had job at a store called Ocean State Job Lot. Think Walmart but a few notches below. My job consisted off stacking patio equipment, area rugs, or helping the retarded guy with the vest and whistle gather shopping carts in the dead of winter. Constantly berated by asshole customers and a boss who was a veritable hunchback, When I was going to start my summer gig, I gave my boss my two weeks notice and never went back.
3. A few weeks before college graduation, I had been hired as a junior financial analyst at a firm in Boston. I accepted the offer and counted the days til I would finally be making some money. 4 days before graduation I got a phone call telling me that I had been laid off before I started because the firm decided to downsize and cut the position. Graduation came and went and I had no job. Being the self entitled college graduate that I was at the time, I couldnt comprehend how I wasnt getting hired for places I was applying. I finally had the bite the bullet and took a job as a computer tech at Staples. Having to settle for that after busting my ass in school was pretty disheartening. I eventually got a job after 6 months and started working in the company I am now. The weird thing was, I wasnt the only college grad there. There were a few others who had been working retail stacking shelves with degrees simply because they didnt care or because they could live with there parents and it didnt matter. The biggest thing it taught me was that a college degree doesnt entitle you to shit. I learned to stop being a spoiled brat and that I would have to bust my ass to do well more so than I ever did in school. This sounds painfully obvious, but it really wasnt when I was 21 and in college.
#2 Juice, Sep 16, 2010
- Worked in maintenance (painting and landscaping, nothing skilled like carpentry) for my first 2 summers in college. I think I got dumber by listening to the guys who were in their 40's that were still there because they were too stupid to ditch this $10/hour no benefit gig and get a union job. I didn't party with any of them, but apparently a lot of these guys were drunk on the job and most of them had DUIs. My favorite quote from my tenure there - as we pass by an open field surrounded by trees (so there was not much visibility of the field from the road) one guy says "that looks like a great place to rape somebody." Real classy.
- I consider my first career out of college in the call center a McJob. It paid well enough (I was raking in around 42 - 45k in salary + OT + bonuses in my third year and it was in a low cost of living town) but good god did that suck. Taking each call was like playing Russian roulette, were you going to get lucky with an empty chamber and get the nice person asking for help signing up for health care or were you getting the nasty person with a ridiculous entitlement complex that just lost their job and wants somebody's head? Also we had our "idle" time tracked which basically meant a very big chunk of our performance reviews were based on how many bathroom breaks we take and how many times we get up to get water or some other shit. As you can probably guess smokers (thankfully I'm not one) usually got terrible bonuses. I had more freedom in middle school.
The worst part is that it pays well enough to keep people there, but doesn't really build useful experience to apply to other jobs. People get use to the 40k plus income lifestyle and will deny offers from other companies for entry level jobs that pay a grand or two less but will lead to huge promotions and raises down the line. You end up with a lot of college grads in their mid thirties that never took the risk to leave and now have another 30 - 40 years of answering phones and having their piss breaks tracked before they can retire.
On the plus side, most of my department were party animals in their early 20's and we would go out for and do shots on a lot of lunch breaks (and subsequently get bitched out for being 2 minutes late coming back), meet at the bar after work a lot and invited each other over for a bunch of house parties. I'm still friends with a lot of them and luckily most of them have made it out of there now.
#3 Frank, Sep 16, 2010
toejam
I had a couple different McJob type jobs in high school, and waited tables through college, but delivering pizza definitely fits this thread the best. I started delivering almost as soon as I got a car. It was great, despite the lack of self respect and the fact that my car always smelled faintly of pizza. I worked at a local place, not a chain, and the hours weren't nearly as bad as working in restaurants. I easily cleared $20/hour cash under the table, which was fantastic considering my job was to drive around in my car listening to music.
Most people have food delivered because they are lazy and hungry. A few do it because they are too weird to interact with the rest of society. One day, I come in a few minutes early for my shift and print out a few delivery slips and start filling the hot bags and my manager/the cook gives me a weird look. He's a weird Greek so I don't think anything more of it and am on my way. The last of my deliveries is to a small apartment building. I ring the buzzer and a kid answers and tells me to come up. I knock at the door, and the kid opens. Normal people answer the door at least mostly clothed. This kid is maybe 13, and is standing at the door in his boxers - fully erect. I'm a bit stunned. I tell him what he owes, he hands me some cash and I hand him the pizza. He closes the door.
Motherfucker. Not only did he answer the door naked, but I forgot to count the cash and he shorted me. I ring the bell again because fucked if I'm going to be out a few bucks because of some boner kid. He opens the door, still in his boxers, but with his dick out now. I get the rest of the money and drive back to the pizza shop. When I walk in I tell the manager there's no way we're delivering to that address again. He starts cackling and yells, "Ahaha was the fucking kid naked again?"
The other delivery guy tells me the kid has been doing this on deliveries for a while now, I've just been lucky enough to avoid him. A week or two later, the next time this guy goes to deliver a pizza to that address, he tells the kid on the intercom that he won't sell him the pizza unless he has pants on. The kid never calls our pizza place again, so I guess he had a thing for pizza guys, not our shitty pizza.
#4 toejam, Sep 16, 2010
Ton80
My first job at 16 was working as a sandwich artist at Subway. That job sucked like you wouldn't believe. You never EVER manage to get the smell of mustard out of your hands and clothes, the asshole franchise owners paid us less than minimum wage, and perhaps most importantly, I was TERRIBLE at this job. I was really slow in making the sandwiches because I tried to make them like I would want them, and people hated opening after I closed because I sucked at cleaning the place up.
It took me almost 12 years after that jobn before I was able to walk into a subway and not want to retch from the smell.
#5 Ton80, Sep 16, 2010
My first job was a McJob, I worked at a local Arby's.
Pros- Any time they were open at night and the sexual harassing day manager wasn't, I could drop in sober, drunk, or high and walk into the back and make my own sandwiches. I could also hook friends with me up as well with whatever. Jamocha shakes were my crack, I'd have at least two a day.
Cons- I was one of the few guys working so anything have to do with outside work usually fell to me, including unloading the trucks. What came in those trucks singlehandedly made me vow never to work again in a fast food restaurant.
That famous roast beef comes in a forty pound box. Inside this box are two frozen twenty pound slabs of beef. Before these can be slow cooked in the oven and then sliced, there is a procedure that has to be done, and that procedure is called fatrubbing.
Basically you take a twenty pound slab, place it under hot water, and then you have to rub the outer layer of fat off the slab. This layer is usually about half an inch thick. By the time you are done with both slabs it looks like you successfully gave a hand job to an elephant and had him cum on your hands.
#6 Dmix3, Sep 16, 2010
I worked in a kitchen at an upscale restaurant after high school. I worked the morning shift, so most of what I did was prep work and washing dishes.
Nothing about the work was particularly great, but it was enjoyable to have a job where you're physically active and can see the product of your work. Definitely better than working in big law, where I really had no idea how my work fit in to everything else going on, and usually didn't even understand the client's business.
The only part that really sucked about working in a kitchen was that I didn't have any training in food prep, so I kinda sucked (mostly was just slow, not incompetent).
#7 BL1Y, Sep 16, 2010
-The worst part is that it pays well enough to keep people there, but doesn't really build useful experience to apply to other jobs. People get use to the 40k plus income lifestyle and will deny offers from other companies for entry level jobs that pay a grand or two less but will lead to huge promotions and raises down the line. You end up with a lot of college grads in their mid thirties that never took the risk to leave and now have another 30 - 40 years of answering phones and having their piss breaks tracked before they can retire.
Wait, those jobs aren't in India yet? Just wait. Believe it or not, there are a lot of young lawyers falling into a similar trap now working for Document Review temp agencies. They make semi-decent money (at least for Chicago) since they rake it in when they can get overtime. I know of lawyers in their seventh and eighth year who are still grinding it out for these agencies. The problem is they develop no skills doing this. It's really a trap.
More on focus-- Right out of college I sold Apple computers in London in the early 90's. Thanks to creative work visa manipulation, we didn't have to pay UK taxes, so we were a steal. We also worked like dogs (50-60 hours a week) compared to the Brits. It was fun, but it was definitely a McJob-- we were selling MacIntosh computers that Apple would unload onto the European market a year after they had been introduced into the US. I remember drinking a lot and sharing a 1 bedroom apartment with four people. It was pretty funny.
#8 Lowest, Sep 16, 2010
I worked at a gas station for a summer back in high school. I wouldn't ever want to do it again, but at the time it was a pretty solid summer job.
A friend of mine also worked there on most of the days, so we would routinely fuck around on the job all day. Our friends would come by, get $0.10 of gas and then hang out for the next 20 or 30 minutes until somebody noticed or a bunch of customers showed up and got impatient. And after the owner left for the night we would go on the computer in the office whenever there weren't any customers. After I discovered his, umm.. bizarre taste in pornography one night, I could never look at the guy the same way.
As far as cons, the only real downside was coming home smelling like gas. I don't mind the smell at all but a number of people would comment on it if I ran into them before I could shower. On the plus side, we were outside for the majority of the day, and the station had a roof so we stayed dry in the rain. It also gave plenty of opportunities to have 3 or 4 minute conversations with complete strangers so I became alot better at making mindless small talk. And having an endless parade of girls to hit on all day was never a bad thing either.
#9 jets22, Sep 16, 2010
Lowest said:
Wait, those jobs aren't in India yet? Just wait.
We'll see, it's still a BIG industry standard in that line of work to have Americans in all client facing roles. But they are starting to outsource call centers to the south where they can pay less in salary.
They have outsourced most of the jobs where people actually do the processing and analysis to India, but none of the big dogs in the field want to be the first to cut costs (well cut THAT cost) when it comes to customer service.
#10 Frank, Sep 16, 2010
My first job was making ice cream in the basement of a really popular place in my town. It was probably the most fun job I've ever had. I never had to deal with customers or work the late summer hours serving ice cream to people lined up out the door. The best part? I got to eat everything fresh out of the machine, you know, to test its quality. Most days, I would walk in the back, go down stairs, flip on the Best of Van Morrison (the only good CD he had in the shop) and make the necessary batches for the day, never once with any interruption from anyone. It was wonderfully peaceful.
After a little while, my boss trusted me to try my hand at making my own flavors. My first was Mint-Mocha with a Raspberry and Fudge Ribbon. Later, a marshmallow ribbon was added as well. The ice cream was made with real coffee and just a little bit of some amazing Italian mint concentrate that would clear your sinuses if you put your nose near the top of the jar. It was incredible.
When I first presented it to my boss, he basically told me I was retarded and that it was going to suck. When he tasted it, he told me to make another batch so we could sell it upstairs. After the first day, 2 gallons of it were gone.
The worst part of that job was definitely cracking the oreos...by hand. My boss believed that every bite of the cookies and cream ice cream should have 1/4 of an oreo in it, so putting a bunch in a bag and smashing them with a mallet wouldn't do. He'd go to BJ's or Costco and get a dozen of these giant boxes of oreos with about 20 tubes in them and I'd spend a whole afternoon crack-cracking oreos, by hand, and tossing them into this bottomless fucking container that took forever to fill. I eventually mastered it by cracking three and four at a time. When I was done, I'd have oreo cookie dust crammed so far underneath my fingernails that it'd be there for days. I would eat all of the toppings that we had--mainly the Reese's pieces M&M's--but I never touched those fucking oreos.
I was laid off in December after a really slow fall led to my boss closing the shop for good. I worked as a bus boy after that, which was terrible compared to the wonderland of ice cream I had become accustomed to.
#11 effinshenanigans, Sep 16, 2010
I've mentioned before my high school/right out of HS job was at the local Dairy Queen. I was the Drive-Thru Girl.
Flirting in general.
A hot Boss that I had a huge crush on.
All kids my age.
A cool as shit, flamingly gay night manager that let us do whatever we wanted as long as we got the job done.
Employee discount on shift and off for you and your entire party.
Double Dipped chocolate in chocolate ice cream cones. The secret was putting them into the blast freezer for a minute between dips. SO GOOD.
I had to wear something very similar to the pic below. Dorky to say the least.
Crap pay and no tips.
Working nights on the weekends. Put a dent in my social life.
The owners, although they were cool, they were stern because they dealt with a bunch of highschool kids.
Customers. There are some people you cannot please no matter how hard you try. Fuck 'em.
Smelling like a Dairy Queen. The novelty of DQ in general wore off rather quickly.
Catching my right hand in the shake machine thus ending my HS Basketball career my senior year.
Food service wasn't my gig. I walked out the back door one day and didn't look back. I haven't worked in that industry since.
#12 shegirl, Sep 16, 2010
I worked at McDonald's when I was 16. There is nothing good about working there. The pay is comically bad, you usually work less than 18 hours a week, and you get written up for "not being cheery enough". Who the fuck could be cheery there? Sure, I worked with a few hot chicks, but I would rather have my daughter sell meth to kids younger than her than have her work there.
Fuck that fucking place.
#13 Crown Royal, Sep 16, 2010
Harry Coolahan
One of my favorite jobs was working in construction when I was 18, my first summer back from college. I was a "carpenter's assistant," I basically did all the odd jobs that didn't require extensive training.
Work started at 8 and I was usually sweating balls by 8:30, many aspects of the job were exhausting (e.g. digging a 4' deep, 30' long trench in a gravel driveway in order to lay down electrical wiring... oh yeah and the electrician is coming at noon so you better get moving), and I developed respiratory problems that lingered for almost six months after that job ended due to inhaling so much dust.
But, goddamn if I didn't love that job. I got to work with my hands, I saw the fruits of my labor develop day by day, and the people I worked with were generally pretty cool. I would never work in that industry again, but it was a great experience. I developed a good work ethic (being clever might help with cramming before a final exam but it doesn't build a fence), learned some good skills, and got paid to spend my days outdoors.
I've had a handful of other shitty jobs but that one was the best. Last summer I was waiting tables in a high-end restaurant and all I can say is the restaurant industry is a fucked up place, especially in higher-end establishments.
#14 Harry Coolahan, Sep 16, 2010
My job requires me to wear many hats.
I do the photography for the website and catalog, and the image processing. I also maintain our email servers, do repairs, and input on designs.
But I do have a part of my job that is more or less a "McJob". Doing tech support. Luckily these days I do it much less, but it is honestly one of the worst things you can imagine. Any kind of job where you interact with customers is a McJob in my book. What makes it worse is when they are fucking stupid/
You would think that with the products we put out, you would attract an educated clientèle. Not exactly. Sure, I get the occasional guy who blows me away with his knowledge, but most of the people are so fucking ignorant you wouldn't believe it. There are rednecks abound, with incredibly hard to understand accents, (I have found that North Carolina seems to be the worst)
They have no idea how to open up the instruction manual, and the amount of racism that I hear is atrocious. I had a guy once tell me he didn't like Astronomy magazine because it was too Jewish. I have heard the n word multiple times just casually thrown out in a phone call. Not to mention all the white pride emails that get forwarded to us because we are on their email list, and so they just click FWD:ALL.
I once dealt with a woman for 20 minutes telling her all she needed to do was take off one part of her item, hold it in her hand, spin the mount 180 degrees, and put the tube back on, and not to flip the tube at all, and it wouldn't end up being mounted upside down. She kept telling me it would end up upside-down no matter what, and that I wasn't listening to her because she was black and a woman. So I walked her through it again, and this was the result:
Woman:"The tube is upside-down"
Kuhjäger:"Did you turn the tube over before attaching it, which I told you not to do?"
Woman: "Yes"
Kuhjäger: "Then stop flipping it over before you put it on"
Woman: "I don't like your attitude. I want to speak to your manager"
#15 kuhjäger, Sep 16, 2010
I had a literal McJob. I started at McDonalds at 15, was a manager by 17, and worked there until I got shitcanned at 19. I've mentioned it before, but I was a very angry person.
The job sucked when I became a manager. The main change was that I was A) in charge, and B) had to take orders and deal with customers. The first part wasn't a big deal, usually. The second part was stressful as fuck. God forbid someone leave pickles on a burger when they said no pickles. It was never good enough to just take the sandwich back and give them a new one in a matter of about 30 seconds. Fuck that, they were going to fucking SCREAM at me. We're talking totally irrational anger over a fucking fast food hamburger. One mother fucker threw a big mac, in its box, and hit me in the face. It was all I could do not to jump the counter and beat him into oblivion. Instead I went to the freezer and punched a few boxes.
My only requirement as a manager was that food got made quickly and correctly, and that shit was done by the end of their shift. If that meant they sat around and bullshitted with friends for 3 hours and then did all their cleaning in the last 15 minutes, I didn't care, The only time I'd yell at employees is when they were dragging ass or taking smoke breaks during rushes, and I'd have to explain that for every customer that yelled at me for their burger being fucked up, I'd yell at them for fucking it up. Basically, I asked the absolute bare minimum from the crew when I was a manager. I also let them have free food, but I always thought it was retarded that McDonalds charged employees for their break meals anyway.
The best story from this job, however, was a friend of mine. He was a fellow manager, and completely socially inept when it came to women. I was working with him and another girl at closing, and the two of them were semi-flirting all night. As I was counting the drawers down after we closed, he and she disappeared for about 20 minutes. Then he strolls in and sits next to me with a big shit-eating grin. I ask what is up...
"I totally fucked her just now."
He said she was in the women's room cleaning, and he went in to check on her. He said one thing led to another, and they wound up fucking right there on the floor. I asked him where she was, and I'll never forget his answer:
"She's still mopping. That place was a mess."
I couldn't look at her with a straight face for a good two months. To top it all off, he was a virgin. Forever, he'll be able to say that his first time was on the bathroom floor of a fucking McDonalds.
Christ, I could tell stories about that job for weeks.
PS: I got fired for punching the fry-hop (a large plastic bin that dispensed frozen fries into the baskets) and screaming 'GOD FUCKING DAMN IT!" at the top of my lungs when my little brother, who was a crew member, refused to make an order for a customer that he had fucked up. It was either punch the fry-hop, or punch him in the face. Either way, a apparently scared a little girl who saw me, and her mom called corporate headquarters to complain. I was fired the next day. Getting fired was easily the best thing to ever, ever happen to me. It prompted me to get my shit together and finally go away to college, instead of staying at home and going to the local commuter college.
#16 D26, Sep 16, 2010
At the age of 16, I was a host, yes a male host, at a very notorious breakfast chain that I refuse to mention because I developed a personal hatred towards everything related to said restaurant.
Now being a host isn't exactly the hardest job by any means.. Except when you're the only host working and the place gets a 30+ person waiting list on weekends. I also cleaned tables in between seating people because the asshole servers were too lazy to do it themselves (I made no tips and the only reason I bus'd tables was to avoid the constant bitching of senior citizens about the slow wait). I only worked for about 6 hours but it was pretty difficult by myself.
I made the mistake of calling some grease ball guy an asshole because he decided it would benefit him somehow by telling my manager how poorly of a job I was doing. He basically lied to my manager. It's sad because I almost prided myself in how hard I worked, which led to me being fired.
#17 Super, Sep 16, 2010
AlmostGaunt
Like Frank, I worked the call-centre mines for a dark, soul-sucking period in my last year of Uni. The company sold mobile phones aimed at the extremely poor end of the market, which meant that every month, the 2-3 days immediately after the bills got sent out would consist of mostly uneducated, mostly rude, mostly drunk customers ringing up and screaming abuse at me. I never understood the drunk callers - I've been drunk a lot, and not once have I thought "now would be a fine time to do those domestic errands I've been delaying". Anyway, that was tiresome, and the ridiculous monitoring of your time was worse. We had 45 seconds once every 2 hours to use the bathroom. Any longer and you got a write-up. Back literally 1 second late from lunch? Write-up. (The phones tracked when you clocked in, so they actually timed you to the second).
The interesting part of this job is how I lost it. I was a typical Uni student, used to waking up about 11am. This job started at 5:45am, and it took me about 1 hour 20 in travel time to get there. So, I was constantly, constantly underslept. The only way I could get to work on time and be 'cheerful' and 'make calling B a highlight of our customer's day' was to take Adderal. (Called Dexamphetamine here, but I think they are your adderal). Lots and lots and lots of adderall. I'd eat about 10-15 during the course of the day, which would stop me sleeping that night, so I'd have more the next day, and so on. Now, adderal seriously fucks with your emotional stability...
After the first fortnight of working there, they didn't pay me. They told me it was a scheduling error, and I'd be payed next week. Next week they told me it must be my bank, and my bank denied any funds being sent to the account, and that it must be my employer. This went on for another week. The next pay cycle came and went, and I still didn't get paid. I'd been getting up at 3am for 6 weeks to take abuse from fuckwits for free. I hadn't had a full nights sleep in a month and half. I fucking lost it. I stormed out to lunch with a good friend of mine who also worked there, ranting about 'firebombing' and 'nuclear war' and 'murderous rampage'. Like I said, adderall isn't ideal for peace and tranquility. Anyway, it turns out the GM of the company was behind me and freaked out. As soon as I got back from lunch, I was told to go upstairs to the general manager's office, where I was immediately 'let go', albeit with an extra month's severance pay, presumably as 'don't come and in gun us all down' insurance. A fine start to my working career!
Incidentally, the whole pay thing was caused by a clerk mistyping an 8 as a 7.
#18 AlmostGaunt, Sep 16, 2010
scootah
New mod
I stood by the side of the road waving a sign at passing traffic for Dominos. Sometimes I had to wear a blue tracksuit and a giant styrophome Domino. In the tropics. In summer.
I worked my way up to phone bitch and dough maker for Domino's then left to be a glassy at a nightclub frequented by the visiting US navy. Then a glassy at a strip bar. Then I worked as a coffee bitch at a coffee shop. I fucking love working with computers. My first couple of jobs were as an office junior and then as a call center bitch - but shit work with a computer beats the absolute fuck out of hospitality.
#19 scootah, Sep 16, 2010
audreymonroe
The most powerful cervix... in the world...
My best McJob was working in one of the little ice cream joints in my hometown, which was a knockoff of Coldstone. I loved it because I worked with my friends, got all the free ice cream I could eat, and the owners had absolutely no idea how to run a business, so they thought it was perfectly fine to let a bunch of 18 year olds be in charge of our store while they hung out at the main one a few towns away. (On the other hand, the owners had absolutely no idea how to run a business, so the worst part was having to deal with them.)
My worst McJob is a tie between all the other ones. I've had shitty luck with part-time jobs. The only other one I had longer than a few months was at Blockbuster, my senior year of college. It was not the worst job by far, but it was definitely bad. The pro was that I got free movie rentals, and there was one guy who I really enjoyed working with. The con was everything else. All of my coworkers were in their late twenties or early thirties, and they clearly hated themselves for working at Blockbuster at that point in their lives, so there was a bizarre amount of drama. I amused myself by playing all the sides and maybe slightly manipulating it every now and then, which is kind of awful, I know, but I couldn't help it. Everyone assumed I was on their side, so I hear everything.They were a pretty pathetic bunch. It was like being in the high school cafeteria again, only this time we were wearing uniforms. Shudder. Anyway, that part was juicy, but I couldn't take it. Our store was being shut down, and I quit two weeks before the closing date because I could not stand to spend another minute in there.
#20 audreymonroe, Sep 17, 2010


New Podcast Episode! Meet Hilary and Rachel - two user-experience (UX) designers who are reshaping education as we know it. Their work and research dives deep into the learning structure to examine the question, "How can our students learn better and more efficiently?"


text:
Q: WhatsApp delete recording Animation in Android I want to implement whatsapp like delete animation as this ios library here
https://github.com/RATTLESNAKE-VIPER/GLMoveToTrashAnimation
I have searched a lot for it but could not found anything useful.
Please Help
Thanks.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Did you know Veterans Day originated as "Armistice Day" on November 11, 1919? The first anniversary of the end of World War I. Major hostilities of World War I had formally ended on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 but in 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower officially changed the name of the holiday from Armistice Day to Veterans Day.
This designated holiday gives Americans the opportunity to celebrate the bravery and sacrifice of all U.S. military. The day is marked by parades and church services and in many places the American flag is hung at half mast.
Military men and women who serve and protect the U.S. come from all walks of life; they are parents, children, grandparents, friends, neighbors and coworkers, and are an important part of their communities. There are about 16.1 million living veterans that have served in at least one war; 2 million are women, 7 million served during the Vietnam Wary, 5.5 in the Persian Gulf War and 2 million in the Korean War. As of 2014, 2.9 million veterans received compensation for service-connected disabilities. The VA health care system had 54 hospitals in 1930, since then it has expanded to include 171 medical centers; more than 350 outpatient, community, and outreach clinics; 126 nursing home care units; and 35 live-in care facilities for injured or disabled vets.
In New Hampshire, there are many organizations and services to assist this population.
Navy – Marine Corps Relief Society offers assistance for housing, food, medical, utilities, child care and many other expenses.
The Division for Children, Youth & Families Department of Health and Human Services provides loans for automobile repairs.
NH Offices of Veterans Services assists veterans or their dependents to secure all benefits or preferences to which they may be entitled under any state or federal laws or regulations.
Friends of Veterans provides crisis funding, particularly to avoid homelessness; also provides advocacy and coordination of services with other service providers.
Disabled American Vets Helps disabled veterans and their families in obtaining VA and other benefits and services.
Survivor Outreach Services helps Families of Fallen Service Members by providing long term, local support. The services apply to all branches of Service and all conflicts.
Veterans Day is an important day for showing appreciation to members of our military, past and present. Consider the veterans in your community and show them appreciation for the freedoms and liberties we enjoy because of those who have served.


text:
<?php

namespace League\Url\Components;

use ArrayIterator;
use Closure;
use Countable;
use IteratorAggregate;
use RuntimeException;
use Traversable;

/**
 *  A class to manipulate URL Array like components
 *
 *  @package League.url
 *  @since  3.0.0
 */
abstract class AbstractArray implements IteratorAggregate, Countable
{
    /**
     * container holder
     *
     * @var array
     */
    protected $data = array();

    /**
     * {@inheritdoc}
     */
    public function toArray()
    {
        return $this->data;
    }

    /**
     * {@inheritdoc}
     */
    public function keys()
    {
        $args = func_get_args();
        if (! $args) {
            return array_keys($this->data);
        }

        return array_keys($this->data, $args[0], true);
    }

    /**
     * IteratorAggregate Interface method
     *
     * @return ArrayIterator
     */
    public function getIterator()
    {
        return new ArrayIterator($this->data);
    }

    /**
     * Countable Interface method
     *
     * @param int $mode
     *
     * @return integer
     */
    public function count($mode = COUNT_NORMAL)
    {
        return count($this->data, $mode);
    }

    /**
     * ArrayAccess Interface method
     *
     * @param int|string $offset
     *
     * @return bool
     */
    public function offsetExists($offset)
    {
        return isset($this->data[$offset]);
    }

    /**
     * ArrayAccess Interface method
     *
     * @param int|string $offset
     */
    public function offsetUnset($offset)
    {
        unset($this->data[$offset]);
    }

    /**
     * ArrayAccess Interface method
     *
     * @param int|string $offset
     *
     * @return null
     */
    public function offsetGet($offset)
    {
        if (isset($this->data[$offset])) {
            return $this->data[$offset];
        }

        return null;
    }

    public static function isStringable($data)
    {
        return is_string($data) || (is_object($data)) && (method_exists($data, '__toString'));
    }

    /**
     * convert a given data into an array
     *
     * @param mixed    $data     the data to insert
     * @param \Closure $callback a callable function to be called to parse
     *                           a given string into the corresponding component
     *
     * @return array
     *
     * @throws \RuntimeException if the data is not valid
     */
    protected function convertToArray($data, Closure $callback)
    {
        if (is_null($data)) {
            return array();
        } elseif ($data instanceof Traversable) {
            return iterator_to_array($data);
        } elseif (self::isStringable($data)) {
            $data = (string) $data;
            $data = trim($data);
            $data = $callback($data);
        }

        if (! is_array($data)) {
            throw new RuntimeException('Your submitted data could not be converted into a proper array');
        }

        return $data;
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Internet gambling in sports events has captured the interest of the majority of gamblers in the world. In spite of gambling on sports activities being illegal in many states of the US, with the exception of a few states like Nevada and Montana, sports gambling is most popular with the Americans. Gambling in sports has been made a breeze with the advancement of the internet. Internet gambling can be done from the comfort of one?s home. There are scores of efficient sportsbooks that offer their services at the numerous sports gambling sites.
Gambling in sports activities has existed in the USA since the 1920s. As long as there has been sports from the traditional baseball and football games to cockfighting and bare fist boxing, there've always been "bookmakers" on the sidelines taking and making bets. It really is of great importance that the gambler learns all of the gambling laws and legality of sports betting before he places his bets online. Nobody wants to be on the wrong side of the law, hence it is advisable to find out the legal issues that concern sports gambling before placing bets.
This is relatively easy as there is really a great deal of information, technical know-how and data that is available online. Besides this, sports betting guides can also be found that give valuable information like statistics, strategies and methods, and reviews of sportsbooks that help the gambler make a wise choice. Weaknesses and strengths of sportsbooks are revealed through guides, reviews and articles to ensure that one can easily assess the honesty, reliability and trustworthiness of a particular sportsbook before choosing to position bets through it.
Additional factors which are important are whether a sportsbook has a reputation of fast and quick/timely payouts. Many sportsbooks offer free bonuses, promotion offers, and customer services which can be round-the-clock to lure clients. Whether they really are whatever they state, can be another matter. Testimonials and reviews by experts and professionals who have had their experiences with particular sportsbooks are thus valuable and one can easily make a good selection based on them.
Gambling in sports activities is both fun and thrilling but it also has a down side to it. This activity can soon become an addiction. It is therefore important to know when you have crossed the line. Addiction is a serious condition and also a compulsive need. Many gamblers are usually in denial regarding their condition, it is therefore imperative that you have a reality check. There are many clues and hints as to whether you've crossed over from being a individual that just gambles for the fun, excitement and thrill of the game to a gambling addict. This addiction has dangerous repercussions on the family too and needs being treated.


This is serious. At least superficially similar to the pine beetles infecting forests in the Rockies, there's a pest called the coffee berry borer beetle that is infecting coffee plants around the world [LINK]. As the climate is changing, these beetles have started to become common pests in regions where they have historically been virtually unknown, such as Ethiopia. This insect problem just makes the impacts on coffee production worse, as there are already some issues with temperature sensitivity in growing coffee. Frankly, this story completely freaks me out, as I rely on coffee for survival.


text:
module SensuPluginsMySql
  module Version
    MAJOR = 1
    MINOR = 0
    PATCH = 0

    VER_STRING = [MAJOR, MINOR, PATCH].compact.join('.')
  end
end


Get to Da Choppa is my entry for the 'Syntax Bomb' Retro Game competition 2017/18. 320x200 resolution and 16 colours.
Mostly inspired by the Amiga game: Apocalypse.
Go hit a home run solitaire combo on Android!


Along with George Barris' 1966 Batmobile, James Bond's 1964 Aston Martin DB5 is if not the, one of the most recognized movie cars of all times. And now, for the first time in history, it's going under the hammer by RM Auctions, a leading auctioneer of classic cars. The auction will take place in London on the 27th of October, but don't get your hopes high as 007's original Aston is expected to fetch north of US$5 million.
And all for good reason as the 1964 Aston Martin DB5 with UK registration number FMP 7B is one of only two, and the sole remaining, of the original '007' DB5s featured on the big screen with Sean Connery behind the wheel in the classic 'Goldfinger' and 'Thunderball' movies.
The authentic Bond movie car comes factory-fitted with all the modifications conceived by Oscar-award-winning special effects expert, John Stears.
"Q's" bag of goodies include machine guns, bullet-proof shield, tracking device, revolving number plates, removable roof panel, oil slick sprayer, nail spreader and smoke screen, all of which are controlled from switches in the center arm rest.
The car's history is short in terms of owners, in fact aside from James Bond, only one other person has owned the car.
The DB5 was originally loaned to EON Productions for the filming of the two Bond movies, and returned to the Aston Martin Lagonda factory following a special promotional tour.
In 1969, Philadelphia-area radio station owner Jerry Lee bought the car from the factory for US$12,000. It remained in his possession and has rarely been seen publicly over the past 41 years. But now the time has come for DB5 to find a new owner with Lee claiming that he will use the proceeds from the sale to further the charitable work of The Jerry Lee Foundation.
For now, you can enjoy our mega gallery with high-resolution photos of 007's original 1964 Aston Martin DB5.
Next PostNext Lamborghini Cnossus Concept Design – What do you Think?


I entered university last year.
I started university last year.
I have agreed to work at Google next month.
She joined the company straight out of college.
If you join our company this year, we will offer you a signing bonus.
This product has a defect, so it's on sale.
' Enter ' is often used for Key typing on key pad of personal computer.
So,' Enter ' is ' Key in ' or ' Input ' at a web site.
'Enter' has also the meaning 'To fill in' and 'To fill out'.


text:
Guest Art
They can fly? They can *all* fly?! Smol Patrick too I assume, unless that's the reason why he's super bitter about his experience being the Red Ranger of this Sentai Team.
Makes that maze-like run at the beginning of the journey and the guilt car trip with Patrick's mom kind of unnecessary, wouldn't it?
elilla
Maybe it's just dream-logic and the logistics get squishy.
David Gillon
They both come under 'losing yourself in your memories'.
Packy Anderson
Narrative necessity. Patrick is telling a story in his mind.
Zorae42
I think they didn't fly in the beginning because Menace was in that tower and they were trying to keep a low profile and not attract attention… Flying is pretty attention grabbing 😛
Weatherheight
I can fly in my dreams and I can fly in my imagination. Can't you? 😀
If we assume that all of this is intentional, then Patrick is going to tell the story in the way that best supports his narrative. Narrative is rarely utterly true.
You can fly in a dream when you have need to fly in a dream to achieve your intent 😉
Yirtimd2
And then she wake up and everything is fine… but after some time she understand that this is another layer of dream and wake up… in another dream and then it is another one… and another one… and another one…
Kid Chaos
Now, now; this is "SFP", not "Inception"…I think. 😵
Empress Ambivalence
Nor Neil Gaiman's Sandman volume 1.
::glances at the mug that's been spinning for three years::
::shrugs and flickers an ear a few times::
I'd kinda enjoy it if she gets out now, and then Pat just wakes up and is like "Hey, what'd I miss?"
Kronimiciad .
I get the feeling Patrick meant for this to happen. "Ambush!"
demosthenese10
"Pocket Sand!"
NotPatrick
I really really hope that something like that happens. They made such a huge deal out of Patrick being unable to read his own mind, that it would be a shame to just throw that away. Plus, it makes the most sense to move the plot forward. Either a. they're about to break out and kill Patrick in the ensuing conflict somehow, eliminating one of the most interesting characters in this comic for the sake of subpar melodrama, or b. this is considered as a kind of autonomous telepathic immune response to the presence of a foreign mind, and they just move forward with the Gurawa mystery.
Dave Huber
I truly hope Alison exits back to her body. Feral could easily decide the best way to save her friend is to snap Patrick's neck…
JohnTomato
"No capes." – Edna Mode
Aresius
So no fifth Patrick in the tower, just a holoTV of the surrounding minds…Since Menace was up there at the beginning, was he in charge of Patrick's likely charade to draw Alison into Boy's trap?
Magma Sam
My. current running theory is that the 'sentinel' is the fifth Patrick. It's probably not that, but it wouldn't be completely out of the question.
M. Alan Thomas II
It could be that those are the five Patricks that the others know about and acknowledge, while there's a hidden "Sixth Patrick" outside the walls and behind the door. . . .
Or the Behind the Green Door is where the Fifth Eleme.. er… the Fifth Patrick is currently being held…
Yeah, I like that…
Lord Boy, Menace, Anima, Record Keeper and Sentinel…ok, that kinda makes sense xD
People kept mentioning the "Fifth Patrick" and that there were "five of us" as if they were waiting on the last one, or that the information were accurate and undeceptive to begin with! Honestly I've assumed it was probably the Sentinel ever since Alison followed Gurwara down Lord Boy's particular rabbithole; but I've been keeping an open mind, just in case there was another trapped up here in the Tower, or behind that mysteriously unsealable door. Always good to be pleasantly surprised by extra characterisation after all! But no, seems like that's all, folks.
I like the Sentinel premise, but also, Patrick's body? the shifting maelstrom? There are definitely things we've encountered that might be the fifth
David Jantz
People have been mentioning the "fifth Patrick" for a while now… how do we know there is one at all? I must have missed something, I don't remember a fifth patrick being mentioned.
You might have missed the third panel of page 51.
http://strongfemaleprotagonist.com/issue-7/page-51-5/
Well, if we have to trust any version of Patrick to be accurate/truthful, that'd be my pick…
Got it, thanks for the link 🙂
JeffH
I really like how the surrounding minds includes so many people — an interesting insight into his powers. Patrick can, to a certain extent, "see through walls" by being able to read minds of folks within the radius of his powers.
That's something I hadn't thought of before for telepaths, but it kind of makes sense — there's no reason to expect that walls would stop whatever physical effects allow mind reading.
zarawesome
The tiny, blurry area in Patrick's mind corresponding to the actual real world in the present.
Ladon
Yeah, she may not have a giant flying brick, but she knows when to get the hell out of dodge.
Well, technically Alison is a flying brick, she's just short the giant part…
You make a strong point
it occurs to me I had an opportunity to say something about flipping the "b" and I totally missed it…
I am so sorry…
"We have to stop herbefore the mindscape gets even more abstractly trippy!"
"We're too late…"
She can't leave!
We don't know whats behind that door.
We also don't know if that's an exit.
BTW, when the kid said 'it was a mistake to come here', I was sure she was about to throw a shoe. But there's NO SHOES in dream world. omg
Who cares if it's an exit…
I wanna know what's behind the green door!
::stomps a hoof petulantly::
Also, panel two – shoes. Only Alison is shoeless
Alison is doing her impression of Shoeless Joe Jackson because she wasn't wearing shoes when she entered Patrick's Realm – she was crashed out and was barefoot when all this started.
palmvos
whats behind the green door. the answer is given in an old song.. my dad refused to sing/recite that part of the song though
Jordan Hiller
Who throws a shoe? Honestly!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=an0bVaTjF_Y
Kaunisenkeli
https://i.imgur.com/Mv5dCk0.gif
That guy.
tygertyger
All that component in the last panel… I guess Alison vanishes in a puff of illogic.
Eric Meyer
Nono, Component is Emotion. She vanishes in a puff of emotion.
AustinC123
Hey remember when she saw Gurwara and he ran away?
That was odd.
I'm still betting that wasn't actually Arjun, but a very flashy squirrel for Alison to chase.
Shjade
I hadn't considered that possibility. Seems plausible.
Yeah, I think that's very likely. I'm not sure exactly how it jives with the rest of Lord Boy's deal, here – if he can create independent manifestations, even illusory ones, what exactly are his limits and why doesn't he just crush her immediately? – but it's seeming like the Occam's razor answer to what the hell he was doing in Patrick's mind at the very moment Alison went inside.
If he has the illusion interact too strongly with anything other than one of Patrick's aspects (the only "real" things in his head), Alison gets a Saving Throw.
Too nerdy?
Yeah, probably too nerdy…
Is that Gurwara in the background of Alison's portal back to the objective world? Perhaps the tower is Patrick's conceptualization of an interface hub where all foreign minds are cataloged?
Pol Subanajouy
So…is the Tower the focal point of Patrick's more external senses? I was under the impression that the Tower was a still more central aspect to his psyche.
if it's also controlling outgoing, then it very much is essential.
He just likes tall cylindrical things.
Tylikcat
It's the communications tower. *nods*
…huh, I wonder if it's a general analog to the thalamus.
Neurobiologists are so much fun. 😀
Hey, mediates the connection between internal experience of the mind and connection to the outside world. Really, it should look like a pair of eggs, but, Patrick.
We should totally get the tower and the thalamus together.
Those, and this book cover:
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B008PM8YDK.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg
R Lex Eaton
Urrgh. Allison, I like ya, but it kinda irks me how so many people play you for a sucker.
Of course, better a sucker than a cynic. Side-eyes for you, Pat.
zellgato
I rather hope that…
This isn't going to make one of the aspects following her.. enter her own psyche too..
This would be one elaborate plot to infect her brain in a way that lets him control her more. and I could believe that.
Though i still hope she wakes up in her body still "struggling" and accidently crushes his skull abit.
I doubt this. Patrick already, in a sense, lives in a corner of Alison's head as it is. I don't think they'd feel the need for a more literal aspect of that in the comic.
Its more that Patrick is highly about controling her in someway.. because she really has an influence on him that no one else does.
Nnnnrggggh! So much action!
Gimme some exposition!
Whilst this looks bad, the generous part of me wonders if he's, in his own misguided way, trying to protect her from the plotters in the conspiracy.
Danygalw
~component~
So this is sleeping Patrick reading Feral's mind. Is Alison about to wind up in Feral's mind?
I suspect the image of Feral is Alison's sensory experience from her body, offering her foreign mind a portal back home.
deebles
The question is, will Alison get her mind out this way, or pull Feral's mind in?
Cori J.
body swap body swap body swap PLEASE LET IT BE A BODY SWAP
BiologyProf
The colors in the 6th panel make me think the barrier just came down…
Patrick_GETS_me
Does the Sentinel not count as a "Patrick" iteration? Everyone in the comics is assuming there is a fifth Patrick out there somewhere who we haven't met yet, but I thought we had already met all five: The Boy, Anima, Menace, the Sentinel, and the Record-Keeper. Do we have confirmation that there is still a fifth somewhere?
SFP follows the adventures of a young middle-class American with super-strength, invincibility and an overwhelming sense of social injustice.
Written by Brennan Lee Mulligan
Drawn by Molly Ostertag
© 2020 Brennan Lee Mulligan & Molly Ostertag - RSS

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Short Sale! Oceanfront Complex with gorgeous Sunsets and Private Lagoon! 2 Swimming pools, BBQ grills, Sauna and 24 Hr. Security! Tenant Occupied Need 48 hours Notice for all Showings! In the event that the Seller's lender will not pay $1,500.00 for the Seller's Short Sale Negotiation Fee, Buyer agrees to pay $1,500.00 towards the Short Sale Negotiation Fee.


Our pursuit and enterprise aim would be to "Always fulfill our buyer requirements". We carry on to acquire and layout excellent quality items for the two our old and new clients and realize a win-win prospect for our shoppers in addition as us for Gym Square Rubber Flooring Mat , Square Rubber Flooring Mat , Gym Rubber Flooring Mat , We've been expecting to cooperate along with you on the basis of mutual advantages and common advancement. We're going to never disappoint you.
In the past few years, our business absorbed and digested advanced technologies both equally at home and abroad. In the meantime, our company staffs a group of experts devoted to your advancement of Gym Square Rubber Flooring Mat , Square Rubber Flooring Mat , Gym Rubber Flooring Mat , Faced with the vitality of the global wave of economic integration we've been confident with our high-quality goods and sincerely service to all our customers and wish we can cooperate with you to create a brilliant future.


A smart and stylish vintage Danish desk in teak, this dates from the 1960-70's. It's well made and in good vintage condition, there is just some wear to the polish on the top, mostly along the front edge. This is clean and sturdy, its finished on the back too, so can be used as a free standing item. The Danish stamp is seen below the top.
A stunning and extremely well made vintage coffee table from the 1980's, this was made in Italy and was designed by Paolo Barracheli for Roman Deco S.P.A. It's made from rosewood and satin wood configured in a geometric pattern, it's highly varnished, and is in excellent condition for its age. There is only some extremely minor wear here and there.


"at the age of nine, he found the love of his life (in the inanimate sense) when he discovered his first science-fiction magazine. By the time he was eleven, he began to write stories, and at eighteen, he actually worked up the nerve to submit one. It was rejected. After four long months of tribulation and suffering, he sold his first story and, thereafter, he never looked back."
His extraordinary output comprises some 500 volumes on every conceivable subject. His most famous science fiction works include the Foundation trilogy and I, Robot.
In his classic 1953 robot story Caves of Steel, Isaac Asimov teamed a human detective with a robotic one - R. Daneel Olivaw. Hong Kong has been testing robotic police officers for years, and has now introduced RobotCop III.
You can store your entire music library on this device, using digital sheet music brought in from music composition programs and even scanned sheet music files.
The Pedsco RMI robot, used for remote handling of explosive devices and other hazardous materials, now has the ability to gather fingerprints. Good news for the humans who might otherwise perform this task.
Robotic Safety Barrels (RSBs) developed by Shane Farritor may be the kind of smart traffic cones that can save many lives and $100 billion per year in losses due to accidents and delays on U.S. highways.
Russia's space agency Roskosmos announced that it would stop giving free rides to US astronauts beginning in 2006. US space shuttles have been grounded since February of 2003, when the shuttle Columbia burned up on re-entry.
Next month, the US Army will be putting robot soldiers in the field in Iraq. The SWORDS robots are fully armed, and thus the first to break Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics.
'Hoppers are probably the most grotesque forms of transportation ever invented.'- Isaac Asimov, 1954.
Self-steering cars and buses are coming!
PEPs use plasma to electromagnetically pulse your nervous system into thinking something bad is happening. And you can fine-tune it.
Japan makes a serious effort to make sure robots first do no harm.
A researcher takes a somewhat different direction in trying to figure out ways to keep robots from hurting people.
Hopping is a surprisingly good exploration strategy; biomimetic robots can take advantage of hopping.
Not a very daring prediction, but at least they're thinking about it.
Even though these won't fit in any of those 20 billion light sockets, sheets of light are worth looking at.
Multi-Robot Pursuit System: We'll Be Back!
I'm sure that everything will go fine with this project, which could have useful applications in search and rescue, fire fighting and for all I know, the food service industry.
Interesting little device is a pretty close analog to an Isaac Asimov device from the 1950's.
Scientists have named their microrobot the Proteus, after the 1966 movie. With video.
This room-sized tribute to your busy life is the best possible way to dominate a meeting.
Science fiction writers caught on to this almost seventy years ago; I'm glad it's finally being addressed formally by NASA.
Fascinating series of interviews on video shows how a prominent roboticist read science fiction as a child, and then worked to make it come true as an adult.
'Centuries ago, Stratos was built by leaders that gave their word... that all inhabitants would live there.' Identify that quote.
Did you think that 'no more teacher's dirty looks' would prevail in the era of the robotic teacher. Au contraire.
Unique use of nanoparticles to deliver melittin, a component of bee venom, directly to cancer cells.
You might have trouble believing that a nuclear battery could be no larger than a dime, even if you didn't study under the great Bler at the University of Trantor.
An agrarian Detroit may well be in the offing in the decline of the Big Three automakers.
Ready or not, Korea is rolling out robot help in the classroom.
One legged hopper robots in fact and fiction; yes, you can ride them! Now with a better sf reference.
Asimov described planets like this one as 'ribbon worlds' and extolled the virtues of their unusual microclimates.
The Vegetable City? It doesn't quite have the same ring as 'The Motor City', but give it time.
High tech used in the raid on bin Laden's compound.
Systems of Neuromorphic Adaptive Plastic Scalable Electronics (SyNAPSE).
Manga-style online 'chat robots' will help people learn English, 24x7.
Keep your fingers crossed, Fantastic Voyage fans. Your day will come.
Let there be light, and let it be flat.
I'm imagining a very bizarre teleconference.
This technology keeps getting closer.
Robots that communicate with gestures may have practical applications.
Dangerous professions can be made safer with robots.
'The survivors tore up the metal plating and sold it... for seed and cattle.'-Isaac Asimov, 1951.
'The mechanical teacher was on and waiting for her.'- Isaac Asimov, 1950.
A lot has happened in health care robotics since 1942.
Don't get caught with fake handwriting. Use the best robot handwriting.
'You have this on Siwenna?'- Isaac Asimov, 1952.
How Many Systems In That Galactic Empire Now?
'An Empire to twenty million stellar systems...'- Isaac Asimov, 1953.
Actually the Prime Radiant was just a display device.
''Dave,'[Powell] said. 'You're a stable, rock-bottom mining robot...'- Isaac Asimov, 1944.
'The fingers were long and were shaped into artistically metallic, looping curves...' - Isaac Asimov, 1976.
'They wheeled and turned in macabre simultaneity...'- Isaac Asimov, 1944.
'It's been a criminal offense... to drive manually on a public highway.' - Arthur C. Clarke, 1976.
'They were bronzy gleams of smooth motion...' - Isaac Asimov, 1944.
'...Probably the most grotesque forms of transportation ever invented.'- Isaac Asimov, 1954.
'... The rational use of computers to design more advanced computers.' - Isaac Asimov, 1958.
'the hopper sprang thirty feet into the air...' - Isaac Asimov, 1954.
Little robots cooperating can do big tasks. Eventually.
Those buses need to feed on something.
I think that I will wait for other volunteers for this one.
What's it like for autonomous trams when they're turned off at night?


text:
Last Update November 21, 2015
EXCLUSIVE: Arizona Sheriff Cites Flood of Border Agents Confirming Feds' No-Apprehension Policy
By Jana Winter, | Fox News
Nov. 1, 2010: Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever, left, speaks about illegal immigration at an event in Arizona also attended by Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu. (AP)
An Arizona sheriff says he has been flooded with calls and emails of support from local and federal agents who back his claims that the U.S. Border Patrol has effectively ordered them to stop apprehending illegal immigrants crossing the U.S.-Mexican border.
"Upper management has advised supervisors to have agents 'turn back South' (TBS) the illegal aliens (aka bodies) they detect attempting to unlawfully enter the country … at times you even hear supervisors order the agents over the radio to 'TBS' the aliens instead of catching them," one San Diego border agent wrote in an email to Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever.
"This only causes more problems as the aliens, as you know, don't just go back to Mexico and give up. They keep trying, sometimes without 10 minutes in-between attempts, to cross illegally," continued the email, which was among a number of communications to Dever reviewed by FoxNews.com. "This makes the job for agents more dangerous. Not only are the aliens more defiant, they also begin to feel like they can get away with breaking our federal laws."
The email is one of more than 100 messages Dever said he received from active and retired Border Patrol agents and law enforcement officers from across the country. Many wrote of what they said was their own experience and first-hand knowledge of Border Patrol's efforts to reduce apprehension numbers by making fewer arrests.
FoxNews.com first reported this month that Dever said several Border Patrol officials, including at least one senior supervisor, told him they had been directed to keep the number of border apprehensions down by chasing illegal immigrants back toward Mexico. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has recently cited a reduction in border apprehensions as evidence of an increasingly secure border.
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Border Chief Writes Arizona Sheriff Who Claimed Lax Border Patrol Enforcement
EXCLUSIVE: Federal Agents Told to Reduce Border Arrests, Arizona Sheriff Says
Three days after FoxNews.com's initial report, Border Patrol chief Michael Fisher sent a letter to Dever in which he denied the accusations and invited the sheriff on a ride-along with federal agents at border.
"That assertion is completely, 100 percent false," Fisher wrote in the letter. "That it comes from a fellow law enforcement official makes it especially offensive."
But accounts from law enforcement officials around the country continue to pour in supporting Dever and the conversations he says he had with Border Patrol officers, including at least one supervisor, about keeping arrest numbers down.
"This is nothing new, during my career with the border patrol, this was done regularly," said another email to Dever reviewed by FoxNews.com. "By assigning agents to different tasks, locations, etc., the apprehensions can be increased or decreased dramatically," wrote Dan McCaskill Jr., a retired Border Patrol agent who worked in the Anti-Smuggling Unit.
McCaskill went on to describe how, he said, apprehension numbers were regularly manipulated to achieve various budget, equipment or manpower goals.
In response to request for comment on the new allegations, Homeland Security offered the same statement from Jeffery Self, commander of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Joint Field Command, that was provided to FoxNews.com earlier this month:
"As the commander for border enforcement operations in Arizona, I can confirm that the claim that Border Patrol supervisors have been instructed to underreport or manipulate our statistics is unequivocally false. I took an oath that I take very seriously and I find it insulting that anyone, especially a fellow law enforcement officer, would imply that we would put the protection of the American public and security of our nation's borders in danger just for a numbers game. Our mission does not waiver based on political climate and it never will. To suggest that we are ambiguous in enforcing our laws belittles the work of more than 6,000 CBP employees in Arizona who dedicate their lives to protect our borders every day."
Local 2544, the Tucson branch of the National Border Patrol Council union, has also come out in support of Dever, and posted this message on their website after the FoxNews.com report.
"Sheriff Dever is right. We have seen so many slick shenanigans pulled in regards to 'got-aways' and entry numbers that at times it seems David Copperfield is running the Border Patrol. Creating the illusion that all is well and you can start having family picnics in the areas where we work has been going on far too long. Has there been improvement in some areas? Absolutely. Is the border anywhere near 'under control'? Absolutely not. Do some in management play games with numbers and cater to the wishes of politicians like Janet Napolitano and David Aguilar? Resoundingly, yes. Time for the foolish political games to stop."
The union posted another response on their website following Fox News' publication of Fisher's April 6 letter to Dever:
"Just remember, for years now we have been told from the highest ranking managers in our agency that 'every apprehension is a FAILURE' (Johnny Williams - former INS Western Region Director), and that we 'are NOT immigration officers' (current CBP Deputy Commissioner David Aguilar to Border Patrol agents when he was the Chief of the Border Patrol)…. We have been told that - Apprehensions = failure, we are not 'immigration' officers, we should not 'lower' ourselves to the status of an immigration officer, and our primary job is not apprehending illegal aliens. Couple all this with Secretary Napolitano's recent public announcement about what she expects our apprehension numbers to be this fiscal year, and it's not hard to figure this thing out."
A second Arizona sheriff, Paul Babeu of Pinal County, also testified at a Senate Homeland Security Committee last week in support of Dever's charges. Dever was slated to appear at the hearing, but said he could no longer attend when the date of his appearance was changed.
Asked specifically about Dever's assertion that agents were told to turn back illegals to reduce apprehensions, Babeu told the committee he'd specifically asked his top lieutenant, Matt Thomas, about the claims.
"He said, 'Sheriff, I have heard that myself directly from border agents in the Tucson sector,'" Babeu testitified.
Babeu told FoxNews.com he's been told by Border Patrol officials that for every person apprehended at the border, an average of 2.7 succeed in crossing into the U.S. With those numbers, he said he was concerned paramilitary or terror cells equipped with more sophisticated support and training could easily get through.
"This is no longer just public security threat, this is national security threat," he told FoxNews.com.
T.J. Bonner, retired president of the National Border Patrol Council, said in an interview with FoxNews.com that he's familiar with "TBS-ing" and shares Babeu's concerns about criminals and terrorists crossing the border.
"TBS has been going on for a number of years. You'll never find orders in writing, and some agents have even been disciplined for TBS-ing people. That's a practice that dates back to quite some time, to try and discourage is part of their 'strategy of deterrence.'"
Bonner said Border Patrol agents are receiving "TBS" orders from someone higher up, but he isn't sure who.
"Agents don't just do this on their own. The orders must come from on high. They don't just wake up one day and say I'm going to risk my job, my livelihood," said Bonner, who retired last year after 32 years with Border Patrol. "I'm not sure if it's Napolitano or folks in Customs and Border Protection, but somebody wants to silence critics in Arizona to claim success in Arizona."
As for Dever, he says he's just hoping that some good will come out of this.
"Frankly, I don't want to create a firestorm," he said. "I only want this problem solved."
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How Buddy Hield Is Helping the Bahamas Recover from Hurricane Dorian Kings guard Buddy Hield grew up in the Bahamas before going on to star at Oklahoma and make his mark as a pro in Sacramento.
However, a move for out-of-favour Juventus striker Mario Mandzukic appears more likely, with the Serie A club's sporting director Fabio Paratici reportedly having flown to the UK for talks with United chiefs at their London HQ.
SUCCOP MISSES 3 FGS The Titans added kicker Ryan Succop to the roster this week and he missed all three field-goal attempts of 43 and 44 yards.
The play was a microcosm of the game as a whole, and perhaps the entire early season — even when something goes right for the Warriors, there's a lesson about what went wrong.
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Pulitzer Hall, the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University
JSPA 2020 Conference and Shabbaton to be Specialty Program at CSPA Convention in New York City
The Jewish Scholastic Press Association will hold its annual convention and Shabbaton in New York City this year, as a specialty program of the 2020 convention of the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) set for March 18-20 at Columbia University in New York.
JSPA is honored to be partnering with CSPA, a 95-year-old organization that gathers more than 2,500 students and their advisers to learn from leading journalism educators as well as reporters, designers, multimedia producers, free speech attorneys and ethicists from top publications in print, radio, television and online.
As part of the annual CSPA convention, which takes place on campus during the university's spring break, JSPA will host a set of workshops scheduled throughout the day on Thursday, March 19. All of JSPA's topics — including Torah insights into journalism, how to cover Israel and Jewish issues in college media, how to localize world and national news, and how and why to cover religion in high school — will be included in the regular CSPA conference registration of $149 (early registration by Feb. 24) or $159 or per person (late registration – Feb. 25 up until onsite at the convention).
More information and registration can be found on CSPA's website. CSPA offers many workshop choices per hour in areas ranging from reporting, interviewing, advising and legal issues to video, online, photo and yearbook production.
CSPA's convention ends with an awards assembly on Friday afternoon, but JSPA will extend its activities to include a Shabbat luncheon on Saturday, during which we will explore a real-life journalism dilemma through the lens of Jewish thought. This Saturday discussion has been a highlight of our annual conference in Los Angeles and a tradition we are proud to continue in New York this year. Attendees will pay a separate $50 registration for Shabbat lunch through the JSPA website.
Also being presented in New York this year will be JSPA's annual Jewish Scholastic Journalism Awards for articles published on Jewish topics in high school media over the last year. Contest details and a link to the entry form can be found here. Winners will be announced at the post-CSPA Shabbat luncheon in New York on March 21.
We are thrilled to open this new chapter in our work with Jewish high schools and students and all who are interested in what Judaism has to say about this critical democracy-defining endeavor. Our partnership with CSPA will offer students a broad range of educational opportunities, while still providing them with both a rich exploration of Judaism's perspective and tools to cover critical issues pertaining to the Jewish world.
JSPA aims to help students become educated, top-flight journalists who can become leaders of college and professional publications while employing Jewish values as stated in its motto, from Vayikra 19:16: "Do not go about as a talebearer among your people; do not stand idly by the blood of your neighbor. I am the Lord." Those words can create a framework for making decisions that arise in newsrooms every day, teaching students to use both courage and restraint, when to use which, and how to channel curiosity into purpose.
Click here for more information about JSPA. For questions about our 2020 conference or any other aspect of our work, please e-mail JSPA Founding Executive Director Joelle Keene at [email protected]


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News article created on 19 November 2014
We've reduced our carbon footprint
We've been awarded the Carbon Trust Standard, a certification that recognises our achievements to reduce our carbon footprint.
The award recognises that we cut emissions by 13.5 per cent between 2012 and 2014, which is equivalent to an annual reduction of around 3,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
In total we have achieved a 26 per cent reduction in emissions since 2010, exceeding our Carbon Management Plan target of 25 per cent, one year ahead of schedule.
Things we have done to make the improvement include:
installing smart meters for electricity in buildings, which monitor electricity usage, and acting on the data produced to reduce consumption
improving insulation, installing heating and lighting controls in operational buildings
installation of LED lighting in offices
vehicle tracking system for commercial vehicles to manage miles driven and speed to reduce fuel consumption. 119,000 less litres of diesel used in 2013/14 than in 2010/11
solar power installations, such as those at Caen Hill, that are used to power the pumps that transfer water back up to the top of lock flights
variable speed drives installed on pumping stations to reduce energy consumption by giving greater control over the amount of energy that is being used at key times
trialling electric vans in Liverpool, a scheme now being extended to Gloucester
using video conference technology to reduce business travel
Ian Jarvis, financial controller at the Canal & River Trust, said: "We are delighted our efforts have been recognised by the Carbon Trust. Reducing our carbon footprint is hugely important for the environment, it also saves us money that we can put towards improving the waterways.
"With staff working across 2,000 miles of waterways, managing major infrastructure and property, our footprint has the potential to be high, if it went unchecked. That's why this process has been so important. Cutting it down is something that has been embraced by all our teams and we are continuing to look for opportunities to reduce it further."
The Carbon Trust is a not-for-profit company that helps organisations reduce their carbon emissions and become more resource efficient. The Carbon Trust Standard is the leading independent certification of an organisation's carbon impact, with over 1,100 organisations having now been certified around the world.
Awarded to recognise best-practice and real achievements in reduction, the Standard helps organisations to measure, manage and reducetheir environmental impact. More details about the Carbon Trust Standard are available at http://www.carbontrust.com/standard


German carmaker Opel should consider entering insolvency, the country's interior minister has said.
Modern insolvency law was "not set up for the destruction but for the preservation of economic assets", said Wolfgang Schaeuble.
The comments came as executives from Opel and its parent General Motors (GM) met government officials and promised more details on a restructuring plan.
Opel has calling for a cash injection from Germany to help its survival.
But Mr Schaeuble said that insolvency was a better option for Opel than relying on a state handout - and that such a move would not mean that it would have to go bust.
"The public perception is that insolvency is associated with going bust or bankruptcy," he said.
"But that is wrong. We must grasp that to survive such a crisis, modern insolvency rules are a better solution than the state taking a stake."
Like most global carmakers, Opel is suffering from a slump in sales.
The company announced last week that it needed the money to avert plant closures and job losses among its 26,000 employees in Germany.
Media reports suggest that the German government was angry that the bail-out proposal - which asked for 3.3bn euros (£2.93bn; $4.16bn) - was simply a glossy 217-page brochure which read like an advertisement, rather than presenting any viable business plan.
Finance minister Peer Steinbrueck said the plan was "no basis" for the government to make a decision on whether to grant state aid.
However, after an hour of talks on Friday, which German economic minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg said were "open, good and constructive", the government said it was ready to review proposals.
GM Europe's president, Carl-Peter Forster, who is also head of the Opel supervisory board, said GM and Opel would endeavour to supply all the information which the German government had requested.
German media have also reported MPs saying, off the record, that they were "shocked" to learn that Opel did not have any assets - with all factories being owned by GM in the US.
Separately, there is confusion about whether Opel owns the intellectual property (IP) information about its vehicles.
Deputy economic minister Dagmar Woehrl told parliament on Wednesday that GM had pledged the IP of Opel as security against capital injections it had received from the US government.
Trade union leader Armin Schild, who is on the board of Opel, said that both firms could use the IP without having to pay royalties.
But it has raised concerns that it could be sold on by GM.
GM Europe proposed last week that Opel should be partly separated from its parent company's US operations.
Such a move would require financing that GM is unable to provide.
The US carmaker, which was toppled by Toyota as the world's top-selling car firm earlier this year, is trying to wind down some of its European operations as part of a massive cost-cutting exercise.


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Singapore tops fDi's first biotech rankings
Cathy Mullan	| 15/04/2019 7:27 pm
The city-state of Singapore has been named fDi's first Biotech Location of the Future for its impressive record of job creation, low corruption levels and intellectual property protection. Cathy Mullan reports.
Singapore is ranked first as fDi's inaugural Biotech Location of the Future, followed by Dublin and San Francisco.
Download a PDF of these rankings here:
fDi Biotech Locations of the Future 2019:20 259.09 kB
According to data from greenfield investment monitor fDi Markets, Singapore attracted almost 2000 FDI jobs in the biotechnology sector between December 2013 and November 2018, the highest number of all locations studied. US-based pharmaceutical company Baxter invested in the city-state in 2014, establishing a biologics manufacturing plant in Woodlands Industrial Park. The company credited its investment decision to the city's ecosystem, where "IP is protected, regulations are clear, there is no corruption, where from a logistics point of view you're in one of the best places in the world".
In 2018, Singapore's minister of state for trade and industry said that the biotech sector was to play a key role in the development of the city-state's economy, and the number of local biotech start-up companies incorporated between 2015 and 2017 was double the total between 2012 and 2014.
Singapore scored well on the Global Innovation Index from Insead and the World Intellectual Property Organization, and starting up a business there takes only 1.5 days. More than 150 international destinations are accessible from Changi Airport, making the city-state a very attractive location for investment.
Dublin's big draw
Ireland's capital, Dublin, ranks second, boasting a strong record of FDI in biotech and R&D. The city attracted 31 R&D reinvestments in the five years to November 2018, contributing to its innovative culture. Companies invested more than $900m in biotech projects in this period, creating 4500 jobs. Merck Sharp & Dohme, a subsidiary of US-based pharmaceutical company Merck & Co, announced the creation of 350 jobs at a new facility in Dublin by 2021.
San Francisco, arguably one of the most important cities in the US for innovation and technology, ranks third in fDi's study. More than 3300 patents in the biotech sector were registered in San Francisco in the review period, the highest number of all cities analysed.
San Francisco is part of the Bay Area Biotech Cluster, which covers much of northern California, boasts a network of academic institutions, hospitals, pharmaceutical and biotech companies and employs about 52,000 people. In 2015, China-based Wuxi PharmaTech, a leading life sciences and pharmaceutical company, established an office in San Francisco to be closer to the life sciences companies present in the area.
To create a shortlist for fDi's Biotech Cities of the Future 2019/20, the fDi Intelligence division of the Financial Times collected data using the specialist online tools fDi Markets, which tracks greenfield FDI projects that have been announced, and fDi Benchmark. In total, 21 cities were analysed for the study and were chosen based on the locations' track record of attracting FDI in the biotechnology sector. Data was then collected for these locations under five categories: Economic Potential, Innovation and Attractiveness, FDI Performance, Cost Effectiveness and Connectivity. Locations scored up to a maximum of 10 points for each datapoint, which were weighted by importance to the FDI decision-making process in order to compile both the subcategory rankings as well as the overall 'Biotech Cities of the Future 2019/20' ranking.
This article is sourced from fDi Magazine
Booming biotech
Setting the benchmark for biotechnology
Multinationals favour Singapore for regional HQs
Singapore tops fDi's Smart Locations of the Future 2019/20 ranking
American Cities of the Future 2019/20 - the winners
Shanghai wins out as 2017 biotech FDI hotspots are revealed
Global greenfield investment trends
Island Economies of the Future 2019/20 – the results
FDI down 13% in 2018, says Unctad report
American Cities of the Future 2019/20 – FDI strategy
Birmingham's mayor brings a buzz to challenge perceptions
Crossborder investment monitor
fDi Markets is the only online database tracking crossborder greenfield investment covering all sectors and countries worldwide. It provides real-time monitoring of investment projects, capital investment and job creation with powerful tools to track and profile companies investing overseas.
Click here to find out more about fDi Markets
Corporate location benchmarking tool
fDi Benchmark is the only online tool to benchmark the competitiveness of countries and cities in over 50 sectors. Its comprehensive location data series covers the main cost and quality competitiveness indicators for over 300 locations around the world.
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fDi Intelligence provides customised reports and data research which deliver vital business intelligence to corporations, investment promotion agencies, economic development organisations, consulting firms and research institutions.


Picturesque pine forests and shady olive groves, verdant green hills which seem to stretch on forever, the crystal clear water of the Tyrrhenian Sea: it is easy to understand how one could fall in love with Maremma.
On the other hand, it seems hard to understand why this paradise on earth is still only known to a select few.
Perhaps it is because Maremma has lived in isolation for centuries, maintaining its rugged allure to this day, thanks to the pristine coastline and wild national parks stretching for miles.
The full magic of Maremma unfolds only to those who take the time to discover it and open their hearts to the charm of this wonderful region.
Those who do are richly rewarded because Maremma casts a spell on its guests.
Fabulous sunsets over the gently undulating hills, countless well-preserved medieval hamlets where you can retrace and breathe in history.
And of course the sea; 250 kilometers of the most beautiful sandy beaches line the Maremma coast.