Just a little (link) love: cuddle pup and kit edition
November 15, 2018
Gift-giving for the British royals. These are interesting in a surreal way, I read as if it’s fiction.
I am hardly any hand at sewing but I am living Kristine’s needlecraft posts because they’re so accessible and get that part of my brain that WANTS to create ticking over with ideas. This week is darning! I used to attempt darning socks purely based on my mental theory of what should be done and the results were pretty hideous but I’m willing to try again now that I have a good guide.
One climate scientist’s commitment to not flying. We are working on our carbon footprint and fly a lot less now than we did years before which is a step in the right direction but I don’t think that we’ll be able to completely give it up for a while yet between my health limitations and being hundreds of miles away from loved ones. I think as we grow our financial independence and have the options to take more time to travel, we can reduce our flying even more. At present I think we’re flying once or twice a year.
I am very much looking forward to reading Michelle Obama’s memoir.
Mining crytocurrencies is absolutely devastating for our environment: During the past two years, researchers estimate cryptocurrencies generated between 3 million and 15 million tons of carbon emissions.
A story about home from Nnedi Okarafor.
I could watch this awesome otter juggling for so long.
This manager is [unprintable].
Hugs
Re: the manager: yeah. And not just the manager, but the policy, too.
I honestly believe that “punishment” has no place in the workplace (or much of the rest of life, for that matter). Reasonable consequences, yes, but not punishment. And I don’t think that any consequences are even at all reasonable for the more micro amounts of time the LW mentions, especially if they’re rare one-offs for a person. I am practically obsessed with being on time, but even so, you have to allow for grace periods. I think 1-3 minute differences could be a matter of timepieces being set differently, and anything up to about 15 min could be the result of bad luck with buses, construction, stop lights, snow clearing crews not getting to a key street yet, etc.
If someone is a few minutes late now and then, you figure it all comes out in the wash and you let it go. If they’re problematically late or frequently late, you talk with them about about fixing the problem–either with your help by having an institutional solution (work later on days they’re late, adjust schedule, etc.) or by telling them that it’s important that they get their pre-work time management together. Or both. If they continue to be problematically late or frequently late, that takes it to the level of a bigger problem and something worth warning that they’re going to be fired and then following through on firing if necessary. But you don’t steal their money, which what I think all this docking amounts to. Especially when they’re minimum wage or near minimum wage workers, who generally need every dollar they earn.
I hope the LW is able to find a new job. Their employer is abusive.
Agreed – consequences for your actions, of course. Punishment? No.
Being a few minutes late could be the result of ten things going wrong in a row, or just the person being stopped by a higher-up for an impromptu conversation, or a watch losing time – what’s the big deal if it’s one off?
1) I used to fly 8-12 times a year, and now I haven’t been on a plane since 2009. Not for environmental reasons, but I guess that’s a benefit.
2) What happens if you don’t pay the fine? Where do the fines go? How does this fit into the company’s accounting? Is the manager just keeping the money? Because that sounds like extortion.
1. I appreciate that side benefits that come from having to do a thing we have to do anyway, like flying less.
2. I bet the manager is pocketing that money. Which steams me even more.
Same, I’d LOVE to stop flying (I absolutely hate it) but being dual-nationality makes this incredibly difficult. I usually take one trip to the US every year, with 1-2 smaller (1-3 hour) domestic or international flights for work every year. That number is increasing as I move up the ranks and go home more often to help my family deal with my father’s illness, unfortunately.
For some reason, probably because I only flew three times as a child, and didn’t start again until I was fully an adult, at what, 20? I still love the idea of flying. But we still only do it when strictly necessary.
I’m so sorry about your father’s illness.
I can’t believe the fine thing is legal. Like docking your pay the $10 whatever your hourly rate is worth for being late, whatever. $90??? F that.
That’s a really good point – I wonder if it’s legal or in line with company policy. Like Millie and Tragic Sandwich say, it’s abusive and extortionate.