Open Bar: We hacked the DNC and all we got are these lousy emails

[POFP]

Well, firstly, working in boarding, Russian is useful.  I mean, I know 90% of the swear words already, but the others would be nice.  Secondly, between my first degree and some of my writing, I have enough knowledge to pass myself off as a Russia expert...aside from the language barrier.  Relevant to my second degree, Russia has a huge far-right problem, and they're mostly violent into the bargain. 

Finally, quite a few of the security jobs I see posted require Russian, or Arabic, or both, as required proficiencies for application.

Oh, well, shit. Yeah, those are pretty good reasons to know Russian.

Also, I don't know why the security application didn't come to me initially. That makes a lot of sense.

[Vanadium Gryllz]

Perfect timing for my conversion to a non-contractor employee status. Just a few more incidences where I resolve an issue that's thousands of dollars above my pay-grade and I'll have enough under my belt to bargain for a higher position right out of the gate. Good thing is, I usually do this very thing once a month or so. So I'm pretty stoked.

I work in quite a different field to you by the sounds of things, but I've been butting up against a problem that I think a few of you guys have probably encountered before.

The problem is this: People who do jobs that aren't mine but affect mine do them badly. How far do I go to rectify their problems and make things better for everyone (especially customers) without stepping on toes?

In the latest instance of this, I've noticed recently that the technical datasheets for our products are pretty terrible. The template they get made from isn't particularly great to start with and due to the marketing/product management teams apparently not giving a fuck the content is verging on incomprehensible at points.

Now, I've completely redesigned (one of) the datasheets and it looks a lot better I think. But... where the hell do I go from here? The people who could actually approve such a change either still don't give a fuck or will be actively threatened by proposed change.

[Junkenstein]

Learn everything you can about the overall business model and compose a lovely letter to a good competitor.

I could go on, but it always comes down to "get out" sooner or later.

[POFP]

Perfect timing for my conversion to a non-contractor employee status. Just a few more incidences where I resolve an issue that's thousands of dollars above my pay-grade and I'll have enough under my belt to bargain for a higher position right out of the gate. Good thing is, I usually do this very thing once a month or so. So I'm pretty stoked.

I work in quite a different field to you by the sounds of things, but I've been butting up against a problem that I think a few of you guys have probably encountered before.

The problem is this: People who do jobs that aren't mine but affect mine do them badly. How far do I go to rectify their problems and make things better for everyone (especially customers) without stepping on toes?

In the latest instance of this, I've noticed recently that the technical datasheets for our products are pretty terrible. The template they get made from isn't particularly great to start with and due to the marketing/product management teams apparently not giving a fuck the content is verging on incomprehensible at points.

Now, I've completely redesigned (one of) the datasheets and it looks a lot better I think. But... where the hell do I go from here? The people who could actually approve such a change either still don't give a fuck or will be actively threatened by proposed change.

That sounds, word for word, exactly like what my Father just dealt with over the past month. Literally the same problem.

Well, maybe. The data sheet he was dealing with had numbers and calculations from the production machines throughout the plant entered manually by an assistant.

That's right, each cell had a different calculation, entered manually every time... No cells used in the equations... just raw numbers... Human error running rampant...

Seriously. She would go down a list of numbers and enter everything like "=(235*67)+3400" in every cell...

So he wrote a couple macros and set up a couple different connected data sheets and changed the entire way that data sheet was calculated. Now they don't have negative weight and waste values 

In his case, he was actually a project manager, so he had the authority to make those changes. Sounds like you aren't so lucky 

Learn everything you can about the overall business model and compose a lovely letter to a good competitor.

I could go on, but it always comes down to "get out" sooner or later.

Yeah, I know my company's management is fucked beyond repair. So I'm learning all I can, moving up as far as I can, and then applying to better places.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

A wildfire started in my town as well today, not bad enough to worry about evacuating but maybe should start to think about what to put in a go-bag. Living that SoCal life!

In other news I found a job! It's not as many hours as I'd like, but I make good tips so that's nice. It's also crazy and bilingual.

Congratulations on the job! Please don't burn to death!

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

So I temporarily lost my mind yesterday, and posted in a FB group inquiring whether any other physical science majors or grad students use a tablet for textbooks and lecture notes and had personal recommendations. I was pretty specific about what I've looked into and models I'm considering, and I asked because, of course, the finer points of actually using a device will yield the kinds of small insights that are useful for choosing between several that are otherwise all basically identical in function.

Needless to say, I got mostly infuriating responses like "Anything but an Apple product!", "Why don't you just use your laptop?" and "I use a tablet", as well as the inevitable random guys who think they are tech experts and everyone who asks a question is stupid. And then I realized, yes, asking any kind of tech question on Facebook IS stupid, especially if you are female, because FACEBOOK IS MADE OF STUPID, CONDESCENDING ANSWERS.

[Vanadium Gryllz]

Thanks for the responses guys. It's comforting to know at least that this happens everywhere.

I actually really enjoy my job for the most part. It requires solving interesting and varied problems regularly, as well as going and seeing what customers are doing with our products. This whole datasheet business isn't serious enough to warrant looking elsewhere (yet).

I'm starting to finally, at the age of 26, realise that nobody knows what they fuck they're doing - some people are just better at hiding it than others.

[LMNO]

Welcome to grownupville. No refunds.

Nigel, have you considered NOT being a woman on Facebook?

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Thanks for the responses guys. It's comforting to know at least that this happens everywhere.

I actually really enjoy my job for the most part. It requires solving interesting and varied problems regularly, as well as going and seeing what customers are doing with our products. This whole datasheet business isn't serious enough to warrant looking elsewhere (yet).

I'm starting to finally, at the age of 26, realise that nobody knows what they fuck they're doing - some people are just better at hiding it than others.

Yep. We're all just flailing hopefully toward death.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Welcome to grownupville. No refunds.

Nigel, have you considered NOT being a woman on Facebook?

I liked the Internet better when I could hide behind male screen names.

[Suu]

A wildfire started in my town as well today, not bad enough to worry about evacuating but maybe should start to think about what to put in a go-bag. Living that SoCal life!

In other news I found a job! It's not as many hours as I'd like, but I make good tips so that's nice. It's also crazy and bilingual.

HOW THE FUCK DO YOU PEOPLE LIVE LIKE THIS?!

My husband is the previous make and model of Project: BITCHHAMMER than Richter, so he's like, "Whatever." And I'm in San Diego like, "OMG IS MY SHIT GONNA BURN DOWN LIKE TOMORROW WTF."

Seriously, like...fucking SERIOUSLY. I am so on edge. But I presume that if some San Diegans were on the East Coast and a Category 5 was just spinning along in the ocean, they'd feel much the same way I am right now.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

A wildfire started in my town as well today, not bad enough to worry about evacuating but maybe should start to think about what to put in a go-bag. Living that SoCal life!

In other news I found a job! It's not as many hours as I'd like, but I make good tips so that's nice. It's also crazy and bilingual.

HOW THE FUCK DO YOU PEOPLE LIVE LIKE THIS?!

My husband is the previous make and model of Project: BITCHHAMMER than Richter, so he's like, "Whatever." And I'm in San Diego like, "OMG IS MY SHIT GONNA BURN DOWN LIKE TOMORROW WTF."

Seriously, like...fucking SERIOUSLY. I am so on edge. But I presume that if some San Diegans were on the East Coast and a Category 5 was just spinning along in the ocean, they'd feel much the same way I am right now.

There is nowhere people can live that isn't fraught with natural disasters of some kind. Forest fires, hurricanes, volcanoes, tornadoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, plain old flooding... there's something for everyone.

[Eater of Clowns]

My department taking over inmate transportation has been...interesting.

We had to get an inmate up on Boston to bring him to a doctor's appointment, also in Boston. Trip to facility - 1 hour, to and from appointment - 1 hour 15 minutes, trip back from Boston - 1 hour.

The team gets to the Boston facility before routine inmate count. No entry or exit for half hour prior. Count takes an hour. Emergency follows count. Second count follows emergency. Inmate appointment rescheduled. Team coming back to home facility.

We just paid two guys to drive to and from Boston, allocated a vehicle, took up their entire 8 hour shift, and didn't even bring the fucking inmate in to be seen.   

[POFP]

My department taking over inmate transportation has been...interesting.

We had to get an inmate up on Boston to bring him to a doctor's appointment, also in Boston. Trip to facility - 1 hour, to and from appointment - 1 hour 15 minutes, trip back from Boston - 1 hour.

The team gets to the Boston facility before routine inmate count. No entry or exit for half hour prior. Count takes an hour. Emergency follows count. Second count follows emergency. Inmate appointment rescheduled. Team coming back to home facility.

We just paid two guys to drive to and from Boston, allocated a vehicle, took up their entire 8 hour shift, and didn't even bring the fucking inmate in to be seen.   

[Suu]

A wildfire started in my town as well today, not bad enough to worry about evacuating but maybe should start to think about what to put in a go-bag. Living that SoCal life!

In other news I found a job! It's not as many hours as I'd like, but I make good tips so that's nice. It's also crazy and bilingual.

HOW THE FUCK DO YOU PEOPLE LIVE LIKE THIS?!

My husband is the previous make and model of Project: BITCHHAMMER than Richter, so he's like, "Whatever." And I'm in San Diego like, "OMG IS MY SHIT GONNA BURN DOWN LIKE TOMORROW WTF."

Seriously, like...fucking SERIOUSLY. I am so on edge. But I presume that if some San Diegans were on the East Coast and a Category 5 was just spinning along in the ocean, they'd feel much the same way I am right now.

There is nowhere people can live that isn't fraught with natural disasters of some kind. Forest fires, hurricanes, volcanoes, tornadoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, plain old flooding... there's something for everyone.

And you only have a couple massive volcanoes in your backyard. No pressure. 


Also, a friend of mine is apparently an "ambassador" for those essential oil vape sticks, aaaaaaaaand she sent me 2 of them, to "help with my stress" and give her a review. These are covered with warnings about not to inhale, and I wonder how many people actually do. They're designed to just go directly into your olfactory systems for aromatherapy benefits, and not go into your lungs and kill you, evidently.

Whatever, they're 20 bucks a pop, and I got them for free. For that I'll give her an almost-honest review.  They have bling on the bottoms, for them fancy hipsters.