Hey all,

Curious to know, for those at State 4 reopening or beyond, what it's been
like from a work prospective. Have you been told to continue working from home, have split shifts to ensure a sanitary environment, between changes in shift, or were you asked to get your behind back to work full time? Also curious how your company is doing regarding sanitary conditions, and what practices of you they are monitoring closely? I ask as I have a chance to
get back to work but am high risk for COVID and would like to have your experiences to form a set of questions to ask them relating to the aforementioned. And .. just curious.

-tG

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A45 2020/02/18 (Windows/32)
* Origin: The Underground [@] theunderground.us:10023 <-port (21:1/165)

On 11 Jul 2020, The Godfather said the following...

Hey all,

Curious to know, for those at State 4 reopening or beyond, what it's been like from a work prospective. Have you been told to continue working
from home, have split shifts to ensure a sanitary environment, between changes in shift, or were you asked to get your behind back to work full time? Also curious how your company is doing regarding sanitary conditions, and what practices of you they are monitoring closely? I
ask as I have a chance to get back to work but am high risk for COVID
and would like to have your experiences to form a set of questions to
ask them relating to the aforementioned. And .. just curious.

-tG

So, my career is much different than mostly everyone; but that does give me some insight as to what goes on in places that might be different from your 9-5, or your corporate careers...

I own a small sales company, and I employ less than 10 ppl... in Oregon, we
are able to work at full-tilt, without much oversight from... anyone. (So
long as we don't bend any rules..)

Point being, I'm not seeing much oversight or roadblocks, for the idiots, at all.. The 'out in public' businesses are freaking hustling more crazily than ever... trying to make up for lost income and time. So, out in the WORLD... it's like worse than it was pre-covid..

I simply mean that what I see as far as traffic outside, from contractors and next tier bosses; they are hustling like they didn't have to last year. It isn't safe. It isn't what I'd think is good practice... I try to employ
decent rules for MY employees, but its a freaking zoo out here man... Home Depots are disgusting cesspools of non-compliance and even push-back. So; if you work in the corporate world, as my partner does, expect something totally different... but if you work in the nitty gritty, expect it to be as nitty
and gritty as it ever was.

I'm [still] worried about the Covid-outcome.. and when I say so, even on the BBSes, I get looked at like *I'M* the idiot.. told 'I'm not wearing that
fackin mask - I don't get it.

Hopefully you DON'T make a career as an owner, or contractor... because WE aren't getting any slack for Covid being here. It's crazy.

pAULIE42o

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A45 2020/02/18 (Raspberry Pi/32)
* Origin: American Pi BBS (21:2/150)

Curious to know, for those at State 4 reopening or beyond, what it's
been like from a work prospective. Have you been told to continue
working from home, have split shifts to ensure a sanitary environment, between changes in shift, or were you asked to get your behind back to work full time? Also curious how your company is doing regarding sanitary conditions, and what practices of you they are monitoring closely? I ask as I have a chance to get back to work but am high risk for COVID and would like to have your experiences to form a set of questions to ask them relating to the aforementioned. And .. just curious.

I am honestly not certain what stage we are at here, but I was in a meeting
on Friday with my division director. He said our division would be WFH for
"at least" 6 more months.

Our building can technically be at 50% capacity right now but they have
pretty much said that only people whose job won't allow WFH (those folks
have been there the whole time) and people who were finding it unpleasant
to WFH should actually be back in the building full time. Soon, I think
they are going to add "people who are underperforming." Other than that,
if we can WFH they really don't want us back in the building.

One of the points of contention appears to be the common areas, the
restrooms in particular. "They" (not sure if that is my employer or our cleaning staff) do not have the resources to put cleaning staff in each restroom full time. The alternative being thrown around right before they turned us loose in March was that we would have to clean the parts of the restroom we used after each use. As you can imagine, not trusting our co-workers to do their part made this unacceptable.

The number of persons who would have to ride the elevators at one time, and
the number of people who would have to be monitored (in particular when we first arrive in the morning) are other issues.

As a reference, I work in a 12-floor building, 2 restrooms a floor, with at least 1100 people there when we are at full capacity. I think that number
went up over the Winter, right before all Hell broke loose.

Also, everyone had to wear masks if they are in the building. I say "had"
as there has since been an executive order that everyone has to wear one if they are in buildings. So, they are still wearing them at work but it is
no longer just a policy in our building.

... Tell me, is something eluding you, Sunshine?
--- MultiMail
* Origin: Possum Lodge South * possumso.fsxnet.nz:7636/SSH:2122 (21:4/134)

Curious to know, for those at State 4 reopening or beyond, what it's been like from a work prospective. Have you been told to continue working
from home, have split shifts to ensure a sanitary environment, between changes in shift, or were you asked to get your behind back to work full time? Also curious how your company is doing regarding sanitary conditions, and what practices of you they are monitoring closely? I
ask as I have a chance to get back to work but am high risk for COVID
and would like to have your experiences to form a set of questions to
ask them relating to the aforementioned. And .. just curious.

Was just informed that everyone will continue working from home until the end of the year. Crazy thing is that the company beat all of the sales/support goals by 160% since people started working from home.

nristen (Karl Harris)

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A46 2020/03/07 (Linux/64)
* Origin: The Search BBS bbs.theharrisclan.net 34123/2222 (21:1/161)

Hello nristen!

** On Sunday 12.07.20 - 23:38, nristen wrote to The Godfather:

Was just informed that everyone will continue working from home until
the end of the year. Crazy thing is that the company beat all of the sales/support goals by 160% since people started working from home.

What industry are you in?


--- OpenXP 5.0.45
* Origin: (} Pointy McPointFace (21:4/106.21)

nristen wrote to The Godfather <=-

Was just informed that everyone will continue working from home until
the end of the year. Crazy thing is that the company beat all of the sales/support goals by 160% since people started working from home.

My work is permanently work from home. Our productivity is through the roof and staff morale is at an all time high. We may reduce our footprint in the office buildings we occupy.

I've already gone to the office to gather my things. Other than my name plate, there's no indication I'm assigned to the cubicle.

Daniel Traechin

... Visit me at gopher://gcpp.world
--- MultiMail/Linux v0.49
* Origin: Digital Distortion: digdist.synchro.net (21:1/137)

My work is permanently work from home. Our productivity is through the roof and staff morale is at an all time high. We may reduce our
footprint in the office buildings we occupy.

I've already gone to the office to gather my things. Other than my name plate, there's no indication I'm assigned to the cubicle.

Daniel Traechin

Daniel,

What type of work do you do?

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A45 2020/02/18 (Windows/32)
* Origin: The Underground [@] theunderground.us:10023 <-port (21:1/165)

My work is permanently work from home. Our productivity is through the
roof and staff morale is at an all time high. We may reduce our footprint
in the office buildings we occupy.

I've already gone to the office to gather my things. Other than my name plate, there's no indication I'm assigned to the cubicle.

That will likely be what happens with our IT team as well. There is no reason why it shouldn't be permanent remote work, only going on-site as needed. They will also get to save on the real estate leases by closing all the remote offices.

In general I think people like the work changes (minus the really social people, which are having the most difficult time not doing face to face in person stuff). Due to the financial impacts to the organization, most departments have forced furlough where you must at take time-off at least once a week. It is uncertain if there will be staff reduction, so most people are uneasy about all the above. Hopefully things get back to more normal soon, but
I feel this will go on as long as there is limited options for work. We went from an employee job market to an employer job market litterly, overnight.

- Mark
���
--- WWIVToss v.1.52
* Origin: http://www.weather-station.org * Bel Air, MD -USA (21:1/132.0)

Was just informed that everyone will continue working from home until the end of the year. Crazy thing is that the company beat all of the sales/support goals by 160% since people started working from home.

What industry are you in?

Security Administration at Rackspace

nristen (Karl Harris)

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A46 2020/03/07 (Linux/64)
* Origin: The Search BBS bbs.theharrisclan.net 34123/2222 (21:1/161)

Was just informed that everyone will continue working from home until
the end of the year. Crazy thing is that the company beat all of the sales/support goals by 160% since people started working from home.

My work is permanently work from home. Our productivity is through the roof and staff morale is at an all time high. We may reduce our
footprint in the office buildings we occupy.

I've already gone to the office to gather my things. Other than my name plate, there's no indication I'm assigned to the cubicle.

I had to get special permission to get back in the office, but I collected my extra monitors recently.

I am sure that one outcome of this is more widespread working from home.

nristen (Karl Harris)

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A46 2020/03/07 (Linux/64)
* Origin: The Search BBS bbs.theharrisclan.net 34123/2222 (21:1/161)

The Godfather wrote to calcmandan <=-

My work is permanently work from home. Our productivity is through the roof and staff morale is at an all time high. We may reduce our
footprint in the office buildings we occupy.

I've already gone to the office to gather my things. Other than my name plate, there's no indication I'm assigned to the cubicle.

Daniel Traechin

Daniel,

What type of work do you do?

InfoSec.

I even collected my chair because my cheap-in-comparison home office chair began
shedding leather after a month of working from home.

I needed the expensive professional office chair designed to survive the scrutiny.

Daniel Traechin
... Visit me at gopher://gcpp.world
--- MultiMail/Linux v0.49
* Origin: Digital Distortion: digdist.synchro.net (21:1/137)

I even collected my chair because my cheap-in-comparison home office
chair began
shedding leather after a month of working from home.
I needed the expensive professional office chair designed to survive the scrutiny.

Ha! Thats classic! Love it. What brand chair? I've been looking for a
more comfortable one then my cheap office chair I'm using now. I hear the gaming chairs are rather comfortable, but they look pretty thin with large lumbar. I'd "test drive" one, however I'm not aware of a retailer locally
that sells them, and I don't go out with covid much.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A45 2020/02/18 (Windows/32)
* Origin: The Underground [@] theunderground.us:10023 <-port (21:1/165)

Security Administration at Rackspace

nristen (Karl Harris)

Always wondered how it was working for a cloud provider. It seems like it would be one of the best roles for someone really into technology/IT.

I'm hoping that with the increased remote work options that jobs that it will open up more possibilities (where I could work for a company in a different state) without issue. Being limited to your local area is getting more and more challenging.

- Mark
���
--- WWIVToss v.1.52
* Origin: http://www.weather-station.org * Bel Air, MD -USA (21:1/132.0)

I'm hoping that with the increased remote work options that jobs that it will open up more possibilities (where I could work for a company in a different state) without issue. Being limited to your local area is getting more and more challenging.

- Mark

The biggest issue I've seen with those working from home (just in my
experience with this class) is the person's ISP. I've noticed Comcast drops out or buffers A LOT. But if companies had everyone working from home, there wouldn't be a need for as large of buildings and rent, therefore should then
be able to afford running some nice fiber lines to their employees homes. I wonder how UI/UX teams will function working from home; should be interesting to hear others roles and how they are managing.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A45 2020/02/18 (Windows/32)
* Origin: The Underground [@] theunderground.us:10023 <-port (21:1/165)

I even collected my chair because my cheap-in-comparison home office chair began
shedding leather after a month of working from home.

I used to have one of those "pleather shedding chairs" at home, too. Drove me nuts since it left the stuff all over the place. Finally replaced it and so far so good on the new one.

- Mark
���
--- WWIVToss v.1.52
* Origin: http://www.weather-station.org * Bel Air, MD -USA (21:1/132.0)

The biggest issue I've seen with those working from home (just in my experience with this class) is the person's ISP. I've noticed Comcast
drops out or buffers A LOT. But if companies had everyone working from home, there wouldn't be a need for as large of buildings and rent, therefore should then be able to afford running some nice fiber lines to their employees homes. I wonder how UI/UX teams will function working
from home; should be interesting to hear others roles and how they are managing.

Many companies are not renewing leases to save money and moving to remote work where possible. Part of the job requirement will likely be having decent internet connectivity - unlikely that it will be work provided. People are saving money in gas - could get a better speed tier if necessary.

The people I see having the most issues are the ones joining video meetings from their cell phone. That is the worst since you are dealing with wireless/cellular and a small device. Always always jitters, creates feedback and other issues.

I never had issues when I had Comcast/cable modem over the years, but moved to fiber connectivity earlier this year with Verizon. It is without a doubt the best option available and more important these days with all the remote work.

- Mark
���
--- WWIVToss v.1.52
* Origin: http://www.weather-station.org * Bel Air, MD -USA (21:1/132.0)

Weatherman wrote to Calcmandan <=-

I used to have one of those "pleather shedding chairs" at home, too.
Drove me nuts since it left the stuff all over the place. Finally replaced it and so far so good on the new one.

It's a catch-22 - when I was looking for a job from home I couldn't
afford to replace my shedding chair and had to spend 8 hours sitting
on an uncomfortable, ugly chair. One of the first things I did when I
found work was to replace it with an inexpensive mesh chair, and I
love it.



... Abandon desire
--- MultiMail/XT v0.52
* Origin: realitycheckBBS.org -- information is power. (21:4/122)

Weatherman wrote to The Godfather <=-

Many companies are not renewing leases to save money and moving to
remote work where possible. Part of the job requirement will likely be having decent internet connectivity - unlikely that it will be work provided. People are saving money in gas - could get a better speed
tier if necessary.

It's interesting to watch - office footprints are being redesigned to
support social distancing, and they're able to support 1/3 of the
headcount they'd previously packed into long back-to-back rows.

We're redesigning a new office, and I'm guessing it's going to be a
reservation system - go to Sharepoint, reserve a desk for the day,
and if they're all taken, work from home.

I never had issues when I had Comcast/cable modem over the years, but moved to fiber connectivity earlier this year with Verizon. It is
without a doubt the best option available and more important these days with all the remote work.

Working from home and remote schooling might turn the tide - If you
could stream a couple of networks and get fiber to the home to be
able to work, it might sway people away from Comcast's 200+ channels
and daily 10:15am network disruption.



... A very small object -Its centre
--- MultiMail/XT v0.52
* Origin: realitycheckBBS.org -- information is power. (21:4/122)

*** Quoting poindexter FORTRAN from a message to Weatherman ***

One of the first things I did when I found work was to replace it with
an inexpensive mesh chair, and I love it.

I love my mesh chair. I'm almost always hot, so I needed something that breathed. Unfortunatly my cat also loves this chair, so now some of the mesh is torn and it kind of looks fuzzy...

Jay

... You can't teach people to be lazy-either they have it, or they don't.

--- Telegard v3.09.g2-sp4/mL
* Origin: Northern Realms/TG | bbs.nrbbs.net:2323 (21:3/110.1)

It's a catch-22 - when I was looking for a job from home I couldn't
afford to replace my shedding chair and had to spend 8 hours sitting
on an uncomfortable, ugly chair. One of the first things I did when I
found work was to replace it with an inexpensive mesh chair, and I
love it.

In my case, the uncomfortable chair was the one at work. It was like sitting on a cement block. At the time, I had did something to one of the nerves in the back of my leg and started sitting on the floor in my office because it was
more comfortable.

I normally don't care about that stuff, but the nerve pain I was having at the time was really bad and that chair made things worse. I was better off standing.

Eventually work got me a new chair - the same one I have in my home office. It
wasn't expensive at all, but has cushion and doesn't shed. It was no more than
$80 at the most.

- Mark
���
--- WWIVToss v.1.52
* Origin: http://www.weather-station.org * Bel Air, MD -USA (21:1/132.0)

It's interesting to watch - office footprints are being redesigned to support social distancing, and they're able to support 1/3 of the
headcount they'd previously packed into long back-to-back rows.

This is one of the positive things to come out of the virus. We were getting to the point they would cram people on top of each other if possible in really small spaces. I hate that and certainly don't mind the extra space.

We're redesigning a new office, and I'm guessing it's going to be a reservation system - go to Sharepoint, reserve a desk for the day,
and if they're all taken, work from home.

We will likely end up with a common hoteling space for a few people that visit the sites from time to time, but will work remote by default. That works for me.

Working from home and remote schooling might turn the tide - If you
could stream a couple of networks and get fiber to the home to be
able to work, it might sway people away from Comcast's 200+ channels
and daily 10:15am network disruption.

Ever since January 2020, I have been 100% streaming over here. I have the same
internet speed at home as they have at work (1G/1G). Mine costs much less, though.

As much as I like the idea of remote schooling, I just don't see it working. There is no way to get elementary or teenagers to stay on point and do what they should be doing via remote video. Not to mention who is supposed to be staying home with them for parents that both work.

The social interaction is important and shouldn't be forgotten in all this.

- Mark
���
--- WWIVToss v.1.52
* Origin: http://www.weather-station.org * Bel Air, MD -USA (21:1/132.0)

The Godfather wrote to calcmandan <=-

Ha! Thats classic! Love it. What brand chair? I've been looking for
a more comfortable one then my cheap office chair I'm using now. I
hear the gaming chairs are rather comfortable, but they look pretty
thin with large lumbar. I'd "test drive" one, however I'm not aware of
a retailer locally that sells them, and I don't go out with covid much.

I work for my state and we are mandated to buy everything from Prison Industry Authrority. So, it's made by prisoners.

Daniel Traechin

... Visit me at gopher://gcpp.world
--- MultiMail/Linux v0.49
* Origin: Digital Distortion: digdist.synchro.net (21:1/137)

Weatherman wrote to Calcmandan <=-

I even collected my chair because my cheap-in-comparison home office chair began
shedding leather after a month of working from home.

I used to have one of those "pleather shedding chairs" at home, too.
Drove me nuts since it left the stuff all over the place. Finally replaced it and so far so good on the new one.

I know right? I saw bits of black all over the house as it would fall off my clothes. It's now sitting in a guest room because neither of us can seem to bring it within ourselves to throw something away. :/

Daniel Traechin

... Visit me at gopher://gcpp.world
--- MultiMail/Linux v0.49
* Origin: Digital Distortion: digdist.synchro.net (21:1/137)

Weatherman wrote to Poindexter Fortran <=-

In my case, the uncomfortable chair was the one at work. It was like sitting on a cement block. At the time, I had did something to one of
the nerves in the back of my leg and started sitting on the floor in my office because it was more comfortable.

Back in the dot-com boom, everyone *had* to have Herman Miller Aeron
chairs for their employees as a perk. Problem is, I'm over 6 feet
tall, and if you don't get me the large size chair, I'm hitting the
plastic, not the mesh.

I had a couple of companies that didn't research the chairs wonder
why I wasn't thrilled with their $1000 chairs.



... Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.
--- MultiMail/XT v0.52
* Origin: realitycheckBBS.org -- information is power. (21:4/122)

Weatherman wrote to Poindexter Fortran <=-

Ever since January 2020, I have been 100% streaming over here. I have
the same internet speed at home as they have at work (1G/1G). Mine
costs much less, though.

I tried cutting down to local cable channels and 60/30 cable
internet, but we missed the phone line (bundled with cable) as we
both work from home and we're in spotty cell coverage. I found a
great streaming channel called locast that plays local channels, but
there's nothing in our area. If I can get that traffic to go over my
San Francisco VPN tunnel, I can get all of the channels we usually
watch.

My wife likes a couple of basic cable channels, so I bumped it up to
basic cable and added a phone line with unlimited calling for
$20/month more.

As much as I like the idea of remote schooling, I just don't see it working. There is no way to get elementary or teenagers to stay on
point and do what they should be doing via remote video. Not to
mention who is supposed to be staying home with them for parents that
both work.

My son is very distraction-prone. Luckily, his aunt is a stay at home
mom and ran a boot camp for he and his cousin last semester. He did
well, but he's close to going to college and not having someone
watching over his shoulder.

The social interaction is important and shouldn't be forgotten in all this.

100%, my daughter is 10 years old, and acting out a lot of
anger/frustration/sadness over not having contact with her friends.



... Can you hear me?
--- MultiMail/XT v0.52
* Origin: realitycheckBBS.org -- information is power. (21:4/122)

I know right? I saw bits of black all over the house as it would fall off
my clothes. It's now sitting in a guest room because neither of us can
seem to bring it within ourselves to throw something away. :/

Mine went into the dumpster when our neighborhood had dumpster day. My wife hated the chair more than me since she was the primary one cleaning up the pieces of it all over the 2nd floor of the house. :)

- Mark
���
--- WWIVToss v.1.52
* Origin: http://www.weather-station.org * Bel Air, MD -USA (21:1/132.0)

Back in the dot-com boom, everyone *had* to have Herman Miller Aeron
chairs for their employees as a perk. Problem is, I'm over 6 feet
tall, and if you don't get me the large size chair, I'm hitting the plastic, not the mesh.

I had a couple of companies that didn't research the chairs wonder
why I wasn't thrilled with their $1000 chairs.

Most of our area has some type of plastic uncomfortable chairs as the norm. Like sitting on concrete and makes my back go to sleep. I would much rather have a Lazy Boy, sofa, or anything with some cushion.

The chair I ended up getting from Staples was far less expensive than the "concrete chair".

- Mark
���
--- WWIVToss v.1.52
* Origin: http://www.weather-station.org * Bel Air, MD -USA (21:1/132.0)

I tried cutting down to local cable channels and 60/30 cable
internet, but we missed the phone line (bundled with cable) as we
both work from home and we're in spotty cell coverage. I found a
great streaming channel called locast that plays local channels, but there's nothing in our area. If I can get that traffic to go over my
San Francisco VPN tunnel, I can get all of the channels we usually
watch.

I have locast as one of the Android TV apps on the list, too. I can get our local channels but rarely watch them. I use the NVidia Shields.

My wife likes a couple of basic cable channels, so I bumped it up to
basic cable and added a phone line with unlimited calling for
$20/month more.

Home Phone, I use Ooma (VoIP) for $120 year for (2) unlimited lines. I avoid the ISP trap where they rope you into their bundles.

My son is very distraction-prone. Luckily, his aunt is a stay at home
mom and ran a boot camp for he and his cousin last semester. He did
well, but he's close to going to college and not having someone
watching over his shoulder.

There is a minority of kids that can do remote learning - which is great. If I
was a teen and this was going on I can tell you 100% that I wouldn't be doing remote learning and would be playing games, on the Internet, or doing anything other than school work.

100%, my daughter is 10 years old, and acting out a lot of anger/frustration/sadness over not having contact with her friends.

That is sad. Around here, it seems more are playing like normal. At least in my neighborhood. The crazy thing is I would rather live away from people but that might not be the best move for my son. Then again, he doesn't play with many of the kids around here anyway.

- Mark
���
--- WWIVToss v.1.52
* Origin: http://www.weather-station.org * Bel Air, MD -USA (21:1/132.0)

I used to have one of those "pleather shedding chairs" at home, too.

I know right? I saw bits of black all over the house as it would fall off

I have one of those chairs... had it so long its bald now. It was actually in reasonably good shape when I got it. My back loved it compared to the other chairs so I guess I had incentive to stick with it. But I did sit down and peel it every so often for a while... give it an exfoliation. Its getting a little sad now, the fabric is getting ratty, the padding is pretty deflated. But it remains for the most part comfy.

Spec


*** THE READER V4.50 [freeware]
--- SuperBBS v1.17-3 (Eval)
* Origin: Scrawled in haste at The Lower Planes (21:3/101)

chairs for their employees as a perk. Problem is, I'm over 6 feet
tall, and if you don't get me the large size chair, I'm hitting the
plastic, not the mesh.

My issue with those chairs is that I _hate_ sitting in one position all day. E.g., at the moment I'm sitting on my right foot, and my elbow on my left
knee, with neither foot on the ground.

And no matter how expensive those mesh chairs are, if you enjoy hanging legs over the side or trying one of the half dozen different positions I contort myself into, it's quickly beyond what's remotely comfortable.

So I also had no idea why anyone would spend $1000 on a chair that only works for a very specific situation.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A45 2020/02/18 (Linux/64)
* Origin: Storm BBS (21:2/108)

I have one of those chairs... had it so long its bald now. It was actually in reasonably good shape when I got it. My back loved it compared to the other chairs so I guess I had incentive to stick with
it. But I did sit down and peel it every so often for a while... give
it an exfoliation. Its getting a little sad now, the fabric is getting ratty, the padding is pretty deflated. But it remains for the most part comfy.

The Al Bundy chairs are always the most comfortable. The newer one I have
now sucks bad. Its like sitting on a frying pan. My wife bought me a gaming chair I hope is more comfortable. The one I love within our office she won't give up; and it looks it's age; fake leather peeling and all. Lets hope I
can sell the one I'm sitting on for a good $4 at a garage sale ;)

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A45 2020/02/18 (Windows/32)
* Origin: The Underground [@] theunderground.us:10023 <-port (21:1/165)

My issue with those chairs is that I _hate_ sitting in one position all day. E.g., at the moment I'm sitting on my right foot, and my elbow on
my left knee, with neither foot on the ground.

And no matter how expensive those mesh chairs are, if you enjoy hanging legs over the side or trying one of the half dozen different positions I contort myself into, it's quickly beyond what's remotely comfortable.

So I also had no idea why anyone would spend $1000 on a chair that only works for a very specific situation.

Here ya go .. buy this one ;)

https://techcrunch.com/2019/09/04/acer-announces-a-14000-gaming-chair-because-w hy-not/

-tg

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A45 2020/02/18 (Windows/32)
* Origin: The Underground [@] theunderground.us:10023 <-port (21:1/165)

*** Quoting Adept from a message to poindexter FORTRAN ***

So I also had no idea why anyone would spend $1000 on a chair that
only works for a very specific situation.

I got my mesh chair for $129 from Costco. It's actually quite comfortable,
my only issue with it is it now makes the most god awful noise when I lean back in in. I think I need to attack the tilting dohicky with a can of WD40
& see if it helps.

Jay

... This tagline was written before a studio audience

--- Telegard v3.09.g2-sp4/mL
* Origin: Northern Realms/TG | bbs.nrbbs.net:2323 (21:3/110.1)

Here ya go .. buy this one ;)

https://techcrunch.com/2019/09/04/acer-announces-a-14000-gaming-chair-beca hy-not/

Ignoring the price, it seems like that'd be great once I ripped out the chair and replaced it with some chair-shaped foam that allows me to sit how I like.

But at $14k, it seems like it should start being a fully-enclosed chamber
with climate control and sound dampening.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A45 2020/02/18 (Linux/64)
* Origin: Storm BBS (21:2/108)

So I also had no idea why anyone would spend $1000 on a chair that only works for a very specific situation.

I can think of two...

HR was having trouble spending its allocation and didn't want cut backs next time..

AND...

It was a good tax write-off..

Spec


*** THE READER V4.50 [freeware]
--- SuperBBS v1.17-3 (Eval)
* Origin: Scrawled in haste at The Lower Planes (21:3/101)

back in in. I think I need to attack the tilting dohicky with a can of WD40 & see if it helps.

I've taken to using my can of budget contact cleaner for lubing stuff, it seems to work quite nicely and last longer in effect than WD40. This stuff is meant to clean & lube for anti-corrosion. The flat has a rather savage attack of the damps so it needs all the help it can get :)

Spec


*** THE READER V4.50 [freeware]
--- SuperBBS v1.17-3 (Eval)
* Origin: Scrawled in haste at The Lower Planes (21:3/101)

Adept wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

My issue with those chairs is that I _hate_ sitting in one position all day. E.g., at the moment I'm sitting on my right foot, and my elbow on
my left knee, with neither foot on the ground.

My office is mandating sit-stand desks in the new office we're
designing. I'll get a chance to try ditching the chair for periods of
time.

So I also had no idea why anyone would spend $1000 on a chair that only works for a very specific situation.

... Listen in total darkness, very quietly
--- MultiMail/XT v0.52
* Origin: realitycheckBBS.org -- information is power. (21:4/122)

Weatherman wrote to Calcmandan <=-

Mine went into the dumpster when our neighborhood had dumpster day. My wife hated the chair more than me since she was the primary one
cleaning up the pieces of it all over the 2nd floor of the house. :)

I miss those neighborhood dump days. In San Francisco and Oakland,
they were a scavenger's paradise - I knew people that decorated most
of their apartments with castoffs.

It worked out for the waste management company, as probably half of
what was put out overall seemed to get reused.

My best haul was a box of 2500 phone sets from a neighbor.

Now you have to call to schedule 1 dump a year. Takes all of the fun
out of it.



... Listen in total darkness, very quietly
--- MultiMail/XT v0.52
* Origin: realitycheckBBS.org -- information is power. (21:4/122)

It worked out for the waste management company, as probably half of
what was put out overall seemed to get reused.

My best haul was a box of 2500 phone sets from a neighbor.

Nothing like a good old dumpster diving mission. :) It is nice to see people being able to use other people's toss away stuff.

Last year someone threw away one of those big gas snowblowers. It was pretty old, but I was tempted to grab it and see if I could fix whatever was wrong with it.

I have lots of stuff that I wish I could give to someone local. All items work
fine, but I have no use for them and will likely never use them. Several old tuners, old modded consoles, network gear, routers, etc. I just can't store everything and would much rather see someone use them vs sit in storage forever.

- Mark
���
--- WWIVToss v.1.52
* Origin: http://www.weather-station.org * Bel Air, MD -USA (21:1/132.0)

Hello Weatherman!

** On Sunday 19.07.20 - 10:08, Weatherman wrote to Poindexter Fortran:

I have lots of stuff that I wish I could give to someone local. All
items work fine, but I have no use for them and will likely never use
them. Several old tuners, old modded consoles, network gear, routers,
etc. I just can't store everything and would much rather see someone
use them vs sit in storage forever.

Don't you have one of those resuse/repurpose/thrift charity-based shops in your area?

They can be a great place to simply drop-off something that still works
and may be perfectly fine for someone to continue using.

I recently got rid of a plain portable CD/AM/FM radio stereo player. I got tired of the poor audio from CD's (not enough bass). The radio tuner
(analog dial) could drive me crazy to get *just* the right spot, but the audio for that was fine. There was no point in just storing somewhere in
the house.

I quite a few pieces of old computer books and gear too. Sadly.. unless a museum wants it, most of it will be visiting the landfill.


--- OpenXP 5.0.45
* Origin: (} Pointy McPointFace (21:4/106.21)

Don't you have one of those resuse/repurpose/thrift charity-based shops in your area?

They can be a great place to simply drop-off something that still works
and may be perfectly fine for someone to continue using.

The only thing I'm aware of it Freecycle.org, which has groups in many areas. You post the item for free pickup, which is nice, but the only part I'm not crazy about is people going to people's homes for pickup. Unfortunately you never know what people are scoping - would much rather drop the stuff off somewhere or give it to friends.

- Mark
���
--- WWIVToss v.1.52
* Origin: http://www.weather-station.org * Bel Air, MD -USA (21:1/132.0)

Weatherman wrote to Poindexter Fortran <=-

I have lots of stuff that I wish I could give to someone local. All
items work fine, but I have no use for them and will likely never use them. Several old tuners, old modded consoles, network gear, routers, etc. I just can't store everything and would much rather see someone
use them vs sit in storage forever.

Craigslist's free category has built-up quite a following. I think
most of the stuff will show up on Facebook Marketplaces or eBay, but
at least somehow it's getting used.




... Think of the radio
--- MultiMail/XT v0.52
* Origin: realitycheckBBS.org -- information is power. (21:4/122)

Back in the dot-com boom, everyone *had* to have Herman Miller Aeron W>pF> chairs for their employees as a perk. Problem is, I'm over 6 feet
tall, and if you don't get me the large size chair, I'm hitting the
plastic, not the mesh.

I had a couple of companies that didn't research the chairs wonder
why I wasn't thrilled with their $1000 chairs.

Most of our area has some type of plastic uncomfortable chairs as the norm. W>Like sitting on concrete and makes my back go to sleep. I would much rather W>have a Lazy Boy, sofa, or anything with some cushion.

Rather plush.

The chair I ended up getting from Staples was far less expensive than the W>"concrete chair".

I have found my staples chair to be both comfy and durable.

I recommend that people give the a solid look before going
any where else.

Alan

- Mark
���
--- WWIVToss v.1.52
* Origin: http://www.weather-station.org * Bel Air, MD -USA (21:1/132.0)

---
� OLXWin 1.00a � Press "+" to see another tagline.

On 16 Jul 2020, poindexter FORTRAN said the following...

Back in the dot-com boom, everyone *had* to have Herman Miller Aeron
chairs for their employees as a perk. Problem is, I'm over 6 feet
tall, and if you don't get me the large size chair, I'm hitting the
plastic, not the mesh.

Same here, but don't have any problems with it. I think you just need to get
a proper slouch going.

- Andre

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A45 2020/02/18 (Raspberry Pi/32)
* Origin: Runaan BBS (21:3/117)

Sorry, I just got this message - not sure why. I did then, and still do, network engineering. Still working from home too. At this point, I can't imagine going back.

It's ok, I don't read messages daily, to many to keep track of and I get too tired early these days.

I didn't work from home but had sold my business right before COVID, so I
spent a couple of years at home. Most of that time was spent helping my
kids with their homework (as their schools were closed) and or playing
around on BBSes while drinking too much beer.

Going back to work was hard to do, and I would imagine going back to an
office would be as well. I prefer it over zoom calls, and feel I'm in much better health all around than I was during that extended time off
personally. BUT, I miss being home. I see far less of my kids and have far less time to spend on hobbies or just being outdoors. Enjoy the ride!

|15-|12t|04G
|15www|08.|15theun|07dergrou|08nd|07.|08us|15:|0810023

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2023/04/30 (Linux/64)
* Origin: www.theunderground.us Telnet 10023 SSH 7771 (21:3/165)

Hello TG!

Going back to work was hard to do, and I would imagine
going back to an office would be as well. I prefer it
over zoom calls, and feel I'm in much better health all
around than I was during that extended time off
personally. [...]

So.. you're back into the landscaping and garden biz?


--- OpenXP 5.0.58
* Origin: (} Pointy McPointFace (21:4/106.21)

The Godfather wrote to calcmandan <=-

I didn't work from home but had sold my business right before COVID, so
I spent a couple of years at home. Most of that time was spent helping
my kids with their homework (as their schools were closed) and or
playing around on BBSes while drinking too much beer.

I did enjoy getting to help my kids with schoolwork and organization. My daughter's teacher was older and when they went remote, didn't really
get it. She'd give them all assignments on Monday, do a zoom class on
Wednesday and expect the assignments on Friday. No time for questions,
no individual content.

I got both of my kids to time-block, making sure they made the most of
their "school" time, and having them focus on taking time out after
school hours. They got it.

Going back to work was hard to do, and I would imagine going back to an office would be as well. I prefer it over zoom calls, and feel I'm in much better health all around than I was during that extended time off personally. BUT, I miss being home. I see far less of my kids and
have far less time to spend on hobbies or just being outdoors. Enjoy
the ride!

I spent the lockdown babysitting servers in an office. I'd go in once a
week or so to make sure the HVAC was running, check on the mail, etc. It
was a nice change of pace, but empty. It was sad, the building had an
energy before.

I'm back to going into an office once a week. Two downsides - it's a 5
hour round trip, and many people are still working remote; it doesn't
feel like an effective use of time when I can't meet in person in the
office. I'd rather save the commute time and work a more flexible day.





|15-|12t|04G
|15www|08.|15theun|07dergrou|08nd|07.|08us|15:|0810023

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2023/04/30 (Linux/64)
* Origin: www.theunderground.us Telnet 10023 SSH 7771 (21:3/165)

--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
* Origin: realitycheckBBS.org -- information is power. (21:4/122)

Sorry, I just got this message - no
t sure why. I did then, and still d
o, network engineering. Still worki
ng from home too. At this point, I
can't imagine going back.

Software Engineer here. I've been remote for > 10 years now. My job originally had a number of remote workers but allowed full time remote work for everyone after covid. We still have a downsized central office for those who want to come in, but all the teams are spread across the globe so it doesn't really make muc sense to do so. I don't think I have a coworker within 100 miles of me on my team.

I'd like to stay remote as long as possible. It has been great having extra time with the family and such.. those are things you can never get back and I'd hate to be trading it for sittin in traffic for 2hrs a day.


--- NE BBS v0.73 (linux; x64)
* Origin: NE BBS - nebbs.servehttp.com:9223 (21:3/193)

slacker wrote to calcmandan <=-

Software Engineer here. I've been remote for > 10 years now. My job originally had a number of remote workers but allowed full time remote work for everyone after covid. We still have a downsized central office for those who want to come in, but all the teams are spread across the globe so it doesn't really make muc sense to do so. I don't think I
have a coworker within 100 miles of me on my team.

I saw a company all-hands meeting online where some CEO who's got a
portfolio full of commercial real estate holdings harangues the company population about Return to Office, while they're sitting in their home
office.

I'm hoping my company moves to a hoteling model for their office spaces.
They allow remote work, and a smaller, more vibrant, well-appointed
office looks better than older, empty offices.

People are used to hybrid meetings, so there's some parity with remote
and in-office workers. Most conference rooms are video-enabled or at
least have a conference phone.



--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
* Origin: realitycheckBBS.org -- information is power. (21:4/122)

On 14 Jul 2020, The Godfather said the following...

Sorry, I just got this message - not sure why. I did then, and still do, network engineering. Still working from home too. At this point, I can't imagine going back.

D

... Classic: A book which people praise but don't read. - Mark Twain

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2023/04/30 (Linux/64)
* Origin: The Bottomless Abyss BBS * bbs.bottomlessabyss.net (21:1/172)

Working from home sounds dreadful. You must be single or childless? I would miss the interaction with people too much. Do you get lonely? I hope you have a great choice of of restaurants and clubs near you so you can get out of the house some. It’s too busy here for me to even consider working from home. What’s a day like for you? I am just curious. If you don’t answer I will not take it personally.

telnet://ricksbbs.synchro.net:23
http://ricksbbs.synchro.net:8080
Madison,NC
--- SBBSecho 3.14-Win32
* Origin: Rick's BBS - telnet://ricksbbs.synchro.net:23 (21:1/242)

Re: Re: Stage 4 COVID
By: Rixter to calcmandan on Tue Dec 17 2024 12:10:21

Hi, Rixter.

Working from home sounds dreadful. You must be single or childless?

You weren't asking me but I really don't understand this take? I have worked from home for nearly 2 decades and I'm married with a kid (well, he's basically an adult now but I worked at home since he was a baby).

I wouldn't try to work from the kitchen table but working out of my study is absolutely fine. My current employer is basically 100% remote for everyone, unless you have a customer meeting or once a month for a team catchup.

I would miss the interaction with people too much. Do you get lonely?

Possibly this is the difference.... I can take or leave people, mostly leave :) I have never, ever felt lonely through remote working. Between constant video calls and the odd face to face meeting I've no reason to feel isolated, plus until recently my wife was in the house most of the day so we could eat or pop out and walk the dog together over lunch.

Honestly I get nothing done in the office, everyone is too busy yapping.

BobW
--- SBBSecho 3.23-Linux
* Origin: >>> Magnum BBS <<< - magnumbbs.net (21:1/205)

Re: Re: Stage 4 COVID
By: Rixter to calcmandan on Tue Dec 17 2024 12:10 pm

Working from home sounds dreadful. You must be single or childless? I would miss the interaction with people too much. Do you get lonely? I hope you hav a great choice of of restaurants and clubs near you so you can get out of th house some. It's too busy here for me to even consider working from home.

I'm not the person you posted this to, but I've been remote since 2020. Most of my work has been remote administration of multiple customer sites, but recently I've taken on a leadership role and been going into an office 1-2x/week.

I don't care for it.

I've got a long commute, and going into an office these days doesn't guarantee face-to-face time, it just burns up time in the car that I could be on a video call with people in other offices and time zones.

When I do work from home, I have a couple of coffee shops I like going to - there's a nice buzz, cool music, and great lunches.

I played around with ambient tracks playing the sound of a bustling coffee shop, those were entertaining for a while - but I'd rather listen to my curated ambient tracks playing on my BBS.
--- SBBSecho 3.23-Win32
* Origin: realitycheckBBS.org -- information is power. (21:4/122)

Re: Re: Stage 4 COVID
By: Rixter to calcmandan on Tue Dec 17 2024 12:10 pm

Working from home sounds dreadful. You must be single or childless? I would miss the interaction with people too much. Do you get lonely? I hope

I'm not the person you were replying to, but I don't have kids at home, so I'm able to work from home without too much distraction. There are times when I like working from home, and at my current job, there are days when I don't interact with anyone face-to-face anyway, so the commute sometimes doesn't seem worth it. I generally do like interacting with people at work, and in the past, I generally have had at least a couple people I always enjoyed interacting with including non-work related things. At my current job though, although I tend to have good interactions with people, there hasn't been anyone at work I interact with in depth aside from work-related things (at least, there hasn't been a whole lot of interaction about non-work things).

I got divorced about 4 years ago, and at the time, I really enjoyed going to an office to work and interacting with the people there, and I definitely would have felt really lonely working from home. These days, I'd probably like working from home more often.

Nightfox
--- SBBSecho 3.22-Linux
* Origin: Digital Distortion: digdist.synchro.net (21:1/137)

On 15 Dec 2024, The Godfather said the following...

Sorry, I just got this message - not sure why. I did then, and still network engineering. Still working from home too. At this point, I ca imagine going back.

It's ok, I don't read messages daily, to many to keep track of and I get too tired early these days.

I didn't work from home but had sold my business right before COVID, so I spent a couple of years at home. Most of that time was spent helping my kids with their homework (as their schools were closed) and or playing around on BBSes while drinking too much beer.

Going back to work was hard to do, and I would imagine going back to an office would be as well. I prefer it over zoom calls, and feel I'm in much better health all around than I was during that extended time off personally. BUT, I miss being home. I see far less of my kids and have far less time to spend on hobbies or just being outdoors. Enjoy the
ride!

When the gyms were closed I got fatter. Right before lockdown I had gotten closer to a six pack than ever in my life.

Once they opened again I hit the gym pretty hard. Then I got injured. I'd recover then get injured again. IT's been quite a ride.

My work got more productive with work from home, namely, our teams calls allow us to meet impromptu without needing a conference booking, which can often take weeks.

Anyway, I'm at the cusp of a six-pack again. This time I'm far more muscular than before. This time I'm doing tons of fasting between cycles of powerlifting and normal weight lifting.

I can't run anymore.

So, it's diet and exercise. My wife is happy now too, pulled herself out of a pretty bad funk. So did I.

Launching my bbs has helped me too. Now I'm busy setting it up graphically and all that jazz. Still need to connect it to the echonets, which is a looonnnnggggg lllloooonnnnng process. I had no idea.

My board is going to be pulling tons of data via api calls, so it's going to be a portal in a sense. Looking forward to seeing it mesh together as I progress. Alot of learning and begging for help in MRC.

Anyway, that's all for now.

... Hard work never killed anyone but why take a risk?

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2023/04/30 (Linux/64)
* Origin: The Bottomless Abyss BBS * bbs.bottomlessabyss.net (21:1/172)

On 17 Dec 2024, Rixter said the following...

On 14 Jul 2020, The Godfather said the following...

Sorry, I just got this message - not sure why. I did then, and still do, network engineering. Still working from home too. At this point, I can't imagine going back.

D

... Classic: A book which people praise but don't read. - Mark Twain

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2023/04/30 (Linux/64)
* Origin: The Bottomless Abyss BBS * bbs.bottomlessabyss.net (21:1/172)

Working from home sounds dreadful. You must be single or childless? I would miss the interaction with people too much. Do you get lonely? I

As of October, I'm married nineteen years and not lonely in the least. My wife is home every day at 4:08PM which is just thirty minutes after I'm off. Not sure why working from home would lead you to the conclusion of a lonely life - sort of boggles the mind.

I also have friends outside of work, actually, all my friends are outside of work. And this didn't change since working remotely. I see them more now than before since some are retired and have time to hang out. Sure, I have acquaintances I work with and I still meet them for beers after work whenever we have the desire to let off some steam. We have breweries all over town and they're often hot spots for professional meetups. These only increased the last four years.

Working from home has drastically changed my life for the better. The commute alone has saved me a good ninety minutes a day off the top. My car logs far fewer miles with very little wear and tear. My car has logged fewer than six thousand miles since 2020 - which encapsulates road trips more than anything. I don't buy new clothing as much. The extra time not spent in traffic has transformed my free time to a degree that I never would have had otherwise. For instance, I have far more time for hobbies and time in the gym lifting weights. Also, I have more time to grocery shop, research new recipes, do chores in the yard or landscape, write software, bbs, or just fart around. Don't even get me started on the volume of books I've read.

Needless to say, I've saved WAY MORE MONEY. This impacted my investment portfolio to a point that I never conceived possible. It is pinch-myself shocking how well I've done financially as a result.

I retire in six years and look forward to the next chapter. A chapter, I'd say, is under heavy planning.

hope you have a great choice of of restaurants and clubs near you so you can get out of the house some. It’s too busy here for me to even consider working from home. What’s a day like for you? I am just curious. If you don’t answer I will not take it personally.

Read above. Working from home doesn't make me a hermit. Far from it.

I could say alot more but I'd bore you. Anyway.

telnet://ricksbbs.synchro.net:23
http://ricksbbs.synchro.net:8080
Madison,NC
--- SBBSecho 3.14-Win32
* Origin: Rick's BBS - telnet://ricksbbs.synchro.net:23 (21:1/242)

... What does it mean to pre-board? Do you get on before you get on?

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2023/04/30 (Linux/64)
* Origin: The Bottomless Abyss BBS * bbs.bottomlessabyss.net (21:1/172)

going to an office to work and interacting with the people there, and I definitely would have felt really lonely working from home. These days, I'd probably like working from home more often.

I have been working from home since the start of covid. At times it can seem very isolating but I have adjusted and would never return to the office. Not having the distraction of co-workers around me, not seeing any of the goofy office politics that seem the be in every workplace and staying focused on tasks are all positives. The positives far outweigh the negatives for me. I know it's not for everyone but I like it and my employer only wants me to stay focused on work and not silly co-worker stuff.

... What does it mean to pre-board? Do you get on before you get on?

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Raspberry Pi/32)
* Origin: https://13leader.net (21:3/195)

Re: Re: Stage 4 COVID
By: Rixter to calcmandan on Tue Dec 17 2024 12:10:21

Hi, Rixter.

You weren't asking me but I really don't understand this take? I have worked from home for nearly 2 decades and I'm married with a kid (well, he's basically an adult now but I worked at home since he was a baby).

I wouldn't try to work from the kitchen table but working out of my study is absolutely fine. My current employer is basically 100% remote for everyone, unless you have a customer meeting or once a month for a team catchup.

Possibly this is the difference.... I can take or leave people, mostly leave :) I have never, ever felt lonely through remote working. Between constant video calls and the odd face to face meeting I've no reason to feel isolated, plus until recently my wife was in the house most of the day so we could eat or pop out and walk the dog together over lunch.

Honestly I get nothing done in the office, everyone is too busy yapping.

BobW
--- SBBSecho 3.23-Linux
* Origin: >>> Magnum BBS <<< - magnumbbs.net (21:1/205)

Thanks, it seems alien to me I had to ask. I am glad it works for you. I know of one other person that described working part time from home. I do work notes from my house, and there has been office chatter about going 30 % remote in 2025. So this thread got me interested. Have a great day.

telnet://ricksbbs.synchro.net:23
http://ricksbbs.synchro.net:8080
Madison,NC
--- SBBSecho 3.14-Win32
* Origin: Rick's BBS - telnet://ricksbbs.synchro.net:23 (21:1/242)

When the gyms were closed I got fatter. Right before lockdown I had
gotten closer to a six pack than ever in my life.

Six pack, something I tried multiple times. Was close at 11% body fat, but not there.

It requires a super clean diet, and I always screw it up after days of eating clean. :)

Now into my 40's, I'm probably in pretty terrible shape. I'm not fat per say, but no six pack that's for sure!

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2023/04/30 (Linux/64)
* Origin: Clutch BBS * telnet://clutchbbs.com (21:1/199)

Read above. Working from home doesn't make me a hermit. Far from it.

I could say alot more but I'd bore you. Anyway.

I wish I could say the same, but just as Covid hit I moved into a new role at my job. This role is very demanding and requires a lot of over time. I'm also in the mits of renovating a new home we purchased, so any extra time I have now is on the house.

We also have 3 kids that have after school events and such.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2023/04/30 (Linux/64)
* Origin: Clutch BBS * telnet://clutchbbs.com (21:1/199)

Working from home sounds dreadful. You must be single or childless? I would miss the interaction with people too much. Do you get lonely?

I am someone who was very skeptical about working from home. When they
first sent us home during COVID, I didn't think it would last long.
However, it really worked pretty well. The folks who were productive
continued to be so. I worked in a "cube farm" so I personally found it a lot easier to get most tasks done without the interruptions (intentional and accidental) of being in the office around others... especially those who
see being in the office as time to socialize.

I was starting to burn out some but, with not having to go into the office every day, I got to where I didn't dread "going to work" most days.
Considering that we were in the middle of a pandemic, being able to say my mental health was somehow better is a plus.

I do live alone. I did not get lonely. ;)

I also found that I ate a little better as I had time to make my lunches at lunchtime rather than carrying a sack lunch.


* SLMR 2.1a * Stick em up! <BANG> Okay.... DON'T stick em' up!
--- SBBSecho 3.20-Linux
* Origin: capitolcityonline.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/HTTP (21:1/175)

niter3 wrote to calcmandan <=-

We also have 3 kids that have after school events and such.

Working from home elects you to the role of de facto chauffeur. I can't
wait until my daughter gets her driving licenses - neither can I!

I may regret that choice.



--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
* Origin: realitycheckBBS.org -- information is power. (21:4/122)

Re: Re: Stage 4 COVID
By: Rixter to calcmandan on Tue Dec 17 2024 12:10 pm

I'm not the person you were replying to, but I don't have kids at home, so I'm able to work from home without too much distraction. There are times when I like working from home, and at my current job, there are days when I don't interact with anyone face-to-face anyway, so the commute sometimes doesn't seem worth it. I generally do like interacting with people at work, and in the past, I generally have had at least a couple people I always enjoyed interacting with including non-work related things. At my current job though, although I tend to have good interactions with people, there hasn't been anyone at work I interact with in depth aside from work-related things (at least, there hasn't been a whole lot of interaction about non-work things).

I got divorced about 4 years ago, and at the time, I really enjoyed going to an office to work and interacting with the people there, and I definitely would have felt really lonely working from home. These days, I'd probably like working from home more often.

Nightfox
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I only have 4 more years until retirement and talk at work has started into the 30 % remote work mandate. I worked for this company 25 years and this is the first time I heard the word mandate. I will tough it out and hope I am not part of the senior staff included. We got 'younger' management group creeping in and this generation uses that type of language, mandates, and rules, and policies over and over again like a mantra of some type. I just tell myself to smile and remember only 4 more years... only 4 more years... pension... 401k... pension... 4 more years. My age group enjoys the product and pleasure of creation and the upstarts are engrossed in corporate policy and rules, and now mandates. They seem to lack joy to some degree. Covid did not have much impact on the rural areas here and it was something we just saw on TV and we moved on. I know it impacted 'some' areas dramatically so I guess that is where some of this comes from. Not sure what Covid 4 is. I try to concentrate on more pleasant and productive things. I would have set me up a 'bunker' here for no distraction work from home. LOL I guess I could do it if I had too. So many people coming by so often and inlaws and kids. good grief. Like yourself, I like the office, the people and politics and stuff. I would miss it terribly. I guess this old dog could learn a few new tricks if forced to.
Have a good day,
Rixter
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Re: Re: Stage 4 COVID
By: paul to Nightfox on Wed Dec 18 2024 06:06 am

I have been working from home since the start of covid. At times it can seem very isolating but I have adjusted and would never return to the office. Not having the distraction of co-workers around me, not seeing any of the goofy office politics that seem the be in every workplace and staying focused on tasks are all positives. The positives far outweigh the negatives for me. I know it's not for everyone but I like it and my employer only wants me to stay focused on work and not silly co-worker stuff.

It would be nice if I could work from home all the time, but my current job involves working with some hardware that we only have at the office which we can't take home with us, so there are times when I need to be in the office at least to do some testing with that stuff.

Interestingly, I haven't noticed anyone at the office here getting distracted.. The people here seem to stay focused much of the time.

Also, I've heard companies that have office space tend to want their employees there at least some of the time, to justify the expense of leasing an office.

Nightfox
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Re: Re: Stage 4 COVID
By: Rixter to Bob Worm on Wed Dec 18 2024 04:23:09

Hi, Rixter.

Thanks, it seems alien to me I had to ask. I am glad it works for you. I know of one other person that described working part time from home. I do work notes from my house, and there has been office chatter about going 30 % remote in 2025. So this thread got me interested. Have a great day.

I think mixed remote / in-person seems to work well even for people who like other people :) I hope you get to an arrangement that works for you!

BobW
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Re: Re: Stage 4 COVID
By: Rixter to Nightfox on Wed Dec 18 2024 10:19 am

I only have 4 more years until retirement and talk at work has started into the 30 % remote work mandate. I worked for this company 25 years and

Interesting that they're mandating some amount of remote work. I've been hearing that especially since the covid lockdowns have passed, many companies want their employees to return to the office. I've heard some say one reason for that is companies that lease office space want to justify the expense of leasing that office space, so they want their employees to use it.

Nightfox
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Hello Nightfox,

On Wed, Dec 18 2024 12:34:17 -0600, you wrote ..

Also, I've heard companies that have office space tend to want their employees there at least some of the time, to justify the expense of
leasing an office.

Sounds like a case of glass half empty or half full..

Instead, they should justify how much money they would save if they *didn't* have to lease office space, or pay any of the utilities. I'm surprise more businesses haven't done this, to be honest.

Regards,
Nick

... He who laughs last, thinks slowest.
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I am someone who was very skeptical about working from home. When they
first sent us home during COVID, I didn't think it would last long.
However, it really worked pretty well. The folks who were productive continued to be so. I worked in a "cube farm" so I personally found it a lot easier to get most tasks done without the interruptions (intentional and accidental) of being in the office around others... especially those who
see being in the office as time to socialize.

I was starting to burn out some but, with not having to go into the office every day, I got to where I didn't dread "going to work" most days. Considering that we were in the middle of a pandemic, being able to say my mental health was somehow better is a plus.

I do live alone. I did not get lonely. ;)

I also found that I ate a little better as I had time to make my lunches at lunchtime rather than carrying a sack lunch.

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I am glad it worked for you, if my group gets selected I hope I can settle into as well as you and Calcmandan . Maybe I am dreading “change”.

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Madison,NC
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Re: Re: Stage 4 COVID
By: Accession to Nightfox on Wed Dec 18 2024 06:09 pm

Also, I've heard companies that have office space tend to want their
employees there at least some of the time, to justify the expense of
leasing an office.

Sounds like a case of glass half empty or half full..

Instead, they should justify how much money they would save if they *didn't* have to lease office space, or pay any of the utilities. I'm surprise more businesses haven't done this, to be honest.

I've heard of some companies doing that. Of the ones that continue to lease office spaces, I think the biggest reasons are:
- The employer feels that it's best to have people working together in person, as it can be easier to talk to people when you can walk over to where they sit.

- Sometimes a company needs the building for other things too. For instance, the company could manufacture physical things that they sell, and/or they use equipment they don't allow their employees to take home. I currently work at such a company that does both.


Some companies might also some perks to their employees when they have a physical office building. Depending on the size of the company, they might offer things like free drinks (or maybe just free coffee), an on-site cafe, and whatnot. If they choose not to lease a building, then naturally they'd also save money by not being able to offer these perks anymore. Some people could complain that a company is being cheap by opting out of offering such things to their employees.

Nightfox
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Dumas Walker wrote to RIXTER <=-

However, it really worked pretty well. The folks who were productive continued to be so. I worked in a "cube farm" so I personally found it
a lot easier to get most tasks done without the interruptions
(intentional and accidental) of being in the office around others... especially those who see being in the office as time to socialize.

We've known this for a long time now, but management ignores the data.

At the previous company I worked for, they renovated all the cubes to be half-height walls. So less privacy, more interruptions/distractions. And then Management wondered why there was lower productivity.

I was starting to burn out some but, with not having to go into the
office every day, I got to where I didn't dread "going to work" most
days. Considering that we were in the middle of a pandemic, being able
to say my mental health was somehow better is a plus.

For me, my waist line was better. My company had a lunch room filled with free junk food. I won't buy the stuff for my home. So no junk food available means I don't eat any junk food.

I also found that I ate a little better as I had time to make my
lunches at lunchtime rather than carrying a sack lunch.

Fresher lunches are a definite plus when working from home.


... Stop talking! I'm out of aspirin!
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Nightfox wrote to Rixter <=-

Interesting that they're mandating some amount of remote work. I've
been hearing that especially since the covid lockdowns have passed,
many companies want their employees to return to the office. I've
heard some say one reason for that is companies that lease office space want to justify the expense of leasing that office space, so they want their employees to use it.

That's interesting. I would think that most companies would have said "no thanks" when the lease came up for renewal. In some cases, those lease expenses were high and if they didn't need all that space...

In my case, my company got rid of our area in the office to expand a different area. We don't have a place to go back to.


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At the previous company I worked for, they renovated all the cubes to be half-height walls. So less privacy, more interruptions/distractions.
And then Management wondered why there was lower productivity.

Stories like this just piss me off. :) Dumb ass people.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2023/04/30 (Linux/64)
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At the previous company I worked for, they renovated all the cubes to be half-height walls. So less privacy, more interruptions/distractions. And

he

Management wondered why there was lower productivity.

I worked somewhere that did that also. It got a lot louder, and the "drop
bys (to socialize)" went up. They, too, wondered why.

I was starting to burn out some but, with not having to go into the office every day, I got to where I didn't dread "going to work" most days. Considering that we were in the middle of a pandemic, being able to say my mental health was somehow better is a plus.

For me, my waist line was better. My company had a lunch room filled with

re

junk food. I won't buy the stuff for my home. So no junk food available

ean

I don't eat any junk food.

I am glad mine never had much in the way of free junk, or I would have been
in trouble! I find I don't eat as much if I am staying busy and keeping my mind occupied -- things that were easier to do from home.


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I only have 4 more years until retirement and talk at work has started into

h

30 % remote work mandate. I worked for this company 25 years and this is the

When we came off of full work from home to hybrid, the mandate meant we had
to be in the office X number of days. We could come in all 5 if we wanted,
but we had to be in the office at least 3 days.

Maybe that is what they mean by mandate here?

Even when we were on COVID work from home full time, you were allowed to
come into the office if you wanted -- so long as you were not ill. Some
people did that because they had a house full of other people who were also stuck in the house, and some others did it because they needed a routine to stick to.

Some others were forced to start coming back in because they were not performing/not available when they were supposed to be.


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I only have 4 more years until retirement and talk at work has started into the 30 % remote work mandate. I worked for this company 25 years

nd

Interesting that they're mandating some amount of remote work. I've been hearing that especially since the covid lockdowns have passed, many companies want their employees to return to the office. I've heard some say one reason for that is companies that lease office space want to justify the expense of leasing that office space, so they want their employees to use it.

Our organization did the opposite. After it became apparent that everyone
was staying home, many leased spaces were not renewed. The organization
saw that as a big cost savings.

When we went to hybrid, those of us who had offices in "owned" buildings had
to be back 3 days a week while those whose offices no longer existed continued working from home full time.

I didn't have an issue with that. Good for them. ;)


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Nightfox wrote to Accession <=-

Instead, they should justify how much money they would save if they *didn't* have to lease office space, or pay any of the utilities. I'm surprise more businesses haven't done this, to be honest.

Automattic, the company that makes Wordpress, closed down a great office
in SOMA, San Francisco. They decided it didn't worth having an office
that no one went into and would rather spend the money on company
offsites where they'd get people together from around the world.

That was back when Wordpress was cutting edge and not shooting
themselves in the foot in public. :(

I've heard of some companies doing that. Of the ones that continue to lease office spaces, I think the biggest reasons are: - The employer
feels that it's best to have people working together in person, as it
can be easier to talk to people when you can walk over to where they
sit.

Lots of people have money tied up in commercial real estate investments,
and a lot of them are CEOs of companies with heavy expenditures in real estate...

Some companies might also some perks to their employees when they have
a physical office building. Depending on the size of the company, they might offer things like free drinks (or maybe just free coffee), an on-site cafe, and whatnot. If they choose not to lease a building,
then naturally they'd also save money by not being able to offer these perks anymore. Some people could complain that a company is being
cheap by opting out of offering such things to their employees.

I did like my time working for $LARGE_INTERNET_AUCTION_SITE. They had a beautiful campus with 2 large cafes, a gym, lots of walking paths, outdoor meeting spaces and a pond. They still haven't seemed to have rebounded
from Covid, I drove by there recently and the gates to the parking lot
were closed - it looked like you needed to show your badge to a security
guy to get in.

I still think the new model is hoteling, but I don't think people are
quite ready yet. For it to work, everyone needs to buy-in, and change
the mindset of making your cube/office your nest - house plants,
pictures of the kids, etc.

In an office of 70 people currently, we could get along in a 20 person
office. Hotel spaces with monitors, keyboard, and mice pre-setup. Gift
everyone a nice set of headphones. Lockers or cubbies for personal items
you want to keep in the office.

Make informal meeting spaces - I've seen them look like libraries, dens,
or simply areas with configurable seating spaces, tables and monitors.

Get a great MFP and urge people to scan paper to email. No more file
cabinets weighing you down.

If you need office phones use soft phones and the aforementioned
headphones.

Phone booths are great for telephone conversations - we had a row of
them on each floor for telephone conversations.

You still need all-hands space, many multi-tenant buildings have a space
you can rent out.

That way, you have space for people to come in, run all your meetings as hybrid, and save a bunch on real estate (and eliminate the "dead office"
effect you get when 3/4 of your workforce is working remotely)




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Dr. What wrote to Dumas Walker <=-

At the previous company I worked for, they renovated all the cubes to
be half-height walls. So less privacy, more
interruptions/distractions. And then Management wondered why there was lower productivity.

I actually liked cubes with high walls. Less distractions, more space
to personalize.

For me, my waist line was better. My company had a lunch room filled
with free junk food. I won't buy the stuff for my home. So no junk
food available means I don't eat any junk food.

Yeah, my current company has the kitchen stocked with goodies. I
started bringing in carrots and celery to munch on.




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Re: Re: Stage 4 COVID
By: poindexter FORTRAN to Nightfox on Thu Dec 19 2024 09:15 am

I did like my time working for $LARGE_INTERNET_AUCTION_SITE. They had a beautiful campus with 2 large cafes, a gym, lots of walking paths, outdoor meeting spaces and a pond. They still haven't seemed to have rebounded from Covid, I drove by there recently and the gates to the parking lot were closed - it looked like you needed to show your badge to a security guy to get in.

That sounds like a good office space. I worked a contract for them for a few months in 2020, and I would have been working at their Portland OR office, but they had everyone working remotely at the time due to covid. I ended up getting a direct-hire job offer from another company, which I accepted (even though it paid a little less) because it was direct-hire, whereas my $LARGE_INTERNET_AUCTION_SITE job was a contract that would have ended just a few months later.

Nightfox
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Re: Re: Stage 4 COVID
By: poindexter FORTRAN to Dr. What on Thu Dec 19 2024 09:15 am

At the previous company I worked for, they renovated all the cubes to be
half-height walls. So less privacy, more interruptions/distractions.
And then Management wondered why there was lower productivity.

I actually liked cubes with high walls. Less distractions, more space to personalize.

I tend to like that too. I feel like it's my own personal office space. I imagine that's what cubicles were designed for, but now, it seems like it's becoming more popular to have low-wall open office spaces. One of my co-workers says he actually likes the low-wall open spaces because it encourages communication in the team. But he has also been working from home probably more than anyone else on the team..

Nightfox
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On 18 Dec 2024, niter3 said the following...

Read above. Working from home doesn't make me a hermit. Far from it.

I could say alot more but I'd bore you. Anyway.

I wish I could say the same, but just as Covid hit I moved into a new
role at my job. This role is very demanding and requires a lot of over time. I'm also in the mits of renovating a new home we purchased, so any extra time I have now is on the house.

We also have 3 kids that have after school events and such.

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Busy boy you.

Good on you.

... My reality check just bounced

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poindexter FORTRAN wrote to Dr. What <=-

I actually liked cubes with high walls. Less distractions, more space
to personalize.

Most people did. But the high walls meant that management had to walk by each cube to see if people were working. But that's the REAL reason for the low walls and no working from home: Management was completely incompetent and couldn't tell from your results if you were actually working or just goofing off for a day and doing everything in an hour.

Now, I get almost no (non-work) distractions as a toil from home in the Man Cave.

Yeah, my current company has the kitchen stocked with goodies. I
started bringing in carrots and celery to munch on.

I wish I could have done that. But I hate celery and carrots are only edible when soaked in the hot juices of meat for a couple of hours.


... Epitaph on a gravestone: Cheerio, see you soon.
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Hi Nightfox,
In a message to Poindexter Fortran you wrote:

spaces because it encourages communication in the team. But he has
also been working from home probably more than anyone else on the
team..

In my office everyone just shouts at everyone else. We have most of
a floor in an office building and my specific area is chaos. We get the
job done and do it well, but it can be loud.

Shawn

... If you have enough push you won't need any pull.


* SeM. 2.26 * Dirty Ole' Town
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At the previous company I worked for, they renovated all the cubes to
be half-height walls. So less privacy, more
interruptions/distractions. And then Management wondered why there was lower productivity.

I actually liked cubes with high walls. Less distractions, more space
to personalize.

I believe that most non-managers like it that way. ;)


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Nightfox wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

That sounds like a good office space. I worked a contract for them for
a few months in 2020, and I would have been working at their Portland
OR office

That would have been fun. That office started all of their meetings at
5 past the hour, so you had time to run from meeting to meeting, wrap
up the previous meeting, make a phone call, or use the restroom. They
figured people took that time anyway and came late, why not make it
official? Very effective.

My counterpart in their office was as Portlandy as a Portlandian could
get - beard, flannel shirt in his badge photo/avatar, and his email
closing was:

"Dig it,
<his name>"

Or, just "Dig."

And, they had a conference room called "Portlandia"!







, but they had everyone working remotely at the time due to

covid. I ended up getting a direct-hire job offer from another
company, which I accepted (even though it paid a little less) because
it was direct-hire, whereas my $LARGE_INTERNET_AUCTION_SITE job was a contract that would have ended just a few months later.

Nightfox
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Nightfox wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

I tend to like that too. I feel like it's my own personal office
space. I imagine that's what cubicles were designed for, but now, it seems like it's becoming more popular to have low-wall open office
spaces. One of my co-workers says he actually likes the low-wall open spaces because it encourages communication in the team. But he has
also been working from home probably more than anyone else on the
team..

The last office I worked in before Covid was an open floor plan, but
people sent slack messages to each other!

I think if you want a hybrid office plan, you want to minimize the
office chatter and funnel it into collab/public areas where you could
join remote employees into a call. The open office plan meant to foster
open communication does so at a disadvantage of not including your
100% remote employees as well as the employees that work a hybrid
schedule.


"WE ONLY INNOVATE 3 DAYS A WEEK"



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Dr. What wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

I wish I could have done that. But I hate celery and carrots are only edible when soaked in the hot juices of meat for a couple of hours.

USB powered Crockpot - Problem Solved. Stew by noon. You'll need to get a waiver from your vegan/vegetarian office mates, though.


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niter3 wrote to Dr. What <=-

At the previous company I worked for, they renovated all the cubes to be half-height walls. So less privacy, more interruptions/distractions.
And then Management wondered why there was lower productivity.

Stories like this just piss me off. :) Dumb ass people.

I recall a discussion when my company (headquartered in San Francisco) underwent a refit of their office spaces by the company that had
acquired them a year back. Everyone's cubes (not overly generous
before) shrunk significantly.

When asked about it, the head of real estate explained that because real
estate was so much more expensive, that employees would need to make do
with smaller spaces, and should be flattered that they were "allowed" to
stay in San Francisco at all!

That got rocketed up to the head of our division, who went to the head
of the real estate division, who called the guy, while still in the
meeting with us, to chew him out. The only thing that moves quickly in corporate America is bad news.





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Dumas Walker wrote to RIXTER <=-

Even when we were on COVID work from home full time, you were allowed
to come into the office if you wanted -- so long as you were not ill.
Some people did that because they had a house full of other people who were also stuck in the house, and some others did it because they
needed a routine to stick to.

Yeah, we had an empty office from March 2020 until it closed in 2023 -
we never went back. I'd go in once a week to use the 600/600 internet
service, connect to the home network when the VPN wouldn't suffice, and
to babysit servers. We'd have people come in when they had guests in
town and needed space to work, needed to have a long work call, or just
needed to have a kid-free work environment. It worked out pretty well,
but gets back to my idea of a hoteling office, where you have a fraction
of the seats, just enough to seat everyone you'd expect to come in at
the same time.



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Re: Re: Stage 4 COVID
By: poindexter FORTRAN to Nightfox on Fri Dec 20 2024 10:00 am

My counterpart in their office was as Portlandy as a Portlandian could get - beard, flannel shirt in his badge photo/avatar, and his email closing was:

"Dig it,
<his name>"

Or, just "Dig."

And, they had a conference room called "Portlandia"!

:) Sometimes I've wondered if I should go full hipster/Portland and grow a full beard, wear a hat (maybe a flat cap) and a scarf and glasses, buy a MacBook, and hang out with it at Starbucks or perhaps independent coffee shops nobody has heard of, and buy a Subaru. I used to drive a Volkswagen though, which I think is about as Portland hipster as driving a Subaru.

Nightfox
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poindexter FORTRAN wrote to Nightfox <=-

Nightfox wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

I tend to like that too. I feel like it's my own personal office
space. I imagine that's what cubicles were designed for, but now, it seems like it's becoming more popular to have low-wall open office
spaces. One of my co-workers says he actually likes the low-wall open spaces because it encourages communication in the team. But he has
also been working from home probably more than anyone else on the
team..

The last office I worked in before Covid was an open floor plan, but people sent slack messages to each other!

I think if you want a hybrid office plan, you want to minimize the
office chatter and funnel it into collab/public areas where you could
join remote employees into a call. The open office plan meant to foster open communication does so at a disadvantage of not including your
100% remote employees as well as the employees that work a hybrid schedule.

I'm very glad that I don't work in an "office", or "remotely". Seems
very likely to get tedious and full of drama.



... Oxymoron: A contradiction in terms, e.g. rap music...
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Hi Poindexter,
In a message to Dr. What you wrote:

USB powered Crockpot - Problem Solved. Stew by noon. You'll need to
get a waiver from your vegan/vegetarian office mates, though.

One of the lead hands at work has one of these. It runs on USB and she
plugs it into her work car if she's on the road or into her computer if
at the office.

Really makes us all hungry. LOL

Shawn

... Stabbed 14 times, shot twice; worst case of suicide I ever saw.


* SeM. 2.26 * Dirty Ole' Town
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but gets back to my idea of a hoteling office, where you have a fraction
of the seats, just enough to seat everyone you'd expect to come in at
the same time.

The one thing that would bother me about "hoteling," especially during the pandemic, would be who cleans up the cubes in between, and how much disinfecting do they do. :O


* SLMR 2.1a * WORK HARDER!... Millions on Welfare depend on YOU!
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The open office plan meant to foster
open communication does so at a disadvantage of not including your
100% remote employees as well as the employees that work a hybrid
schedule.

Yeah, the open and short-wall plans really show their weaknesses when a lot
of people are all on different phone/conference calls.


* SLMR 2.1a * The bold print giveth and the fine print taketh away.
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I'm very glad that I don't work in an "office", or "remotely". Seems
very likely to get tedious and full of drama.

I found that "in the office" was more likely to do so than working remote.
The gossips and drama lovers, who could no longer just drop by someone
else's cube, either found some other ways to fill their goof-off time or
just never decided to loop me into their foolishness (thank goodness!).


* SLMR 2.1a * Goodness! That was close! I almost gave a damn.
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USB powered Crockpot - Problem Solved. Stew by noon. You'll need to
get a waiver from your vegan/vegetarian office mates, though.

One of the lead hands at work has one of these. It runs on USB and she
plugs it into her work car if she's on the road or into her computer if
at the office.

LOL, I thought he just made that up until you confirmed they exist! :O :D


* SLMR 2.1a * What is mind? No matter! What is matter? Never mind!
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Nightfox wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

:) Sometimes I've wondered if I should go full hipster/Portland and
grow a full beard, wear a hat (maybe a flat cap) and a scarf and
glasses, buy a MacBook, and hang out with it at Starbucks or perhaps independent coffee shops nobody has heard of, and buy a Subaru. I used
to drive a Volkswagen though, which I think is about as Portland
hipster as driving a Subaru.

I did the same, thing, except San Francisco, long hair and a goatee,
Jeans, black t-shirts and engineer boots, stickerbombed Thinkpad, indie
coffee shops, and a Prius. I tried to be an anti-hipster surrounded by
MacBooks and marketing people.

I've moved from sticker-bombing to having a single sci-fi reference
sticker on my laptop. Gotten comments on my Weyland-Yutani sticker and
my Blue Sun Sticker from those in the know.



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Dumas Walker wrote to POINDEXTER FORTRAN <=-

The one thing that would bother me about "hoteling," especially during
the pandemic, would be who cleans up the cubes in between, and how much disinfecting do they do. :O

That was one of the sticking points. Larger companies can try and make
the rounds with their cleaning staff, others need to socialize wiping
down your space when you walk in and cleaning up at the end of the day.

I camped out in a non-hoteling office yesterday, took someone's desk
and did just that. Re-adjusted everything to the way I found it and
wiped down the desk, mouse and keyboard when I left. Easy enough.



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Dumas Walker wrote to POINDEXTER FORTRAN <=-

Yeah, the open and short-wall plans really show their weaknesses when a lot of people are all on different phone/conference calls.

At my last office, we had 4 "phone booths" for people to take calls in,
and used them religiously. It made the space really workable.


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Dumas Walker wrote to GAMGEE <=-

I found that "in the office" was more likely to do so than working
remote. The gossips and drama lovers, who could no longer just drop by someone else's cube, either found some other ways to fill their
goof-off time or just never decided to loop me into their foolishness (thank goodness!).

I was a sysadmin who did double duty at my last gig, completely open
office. Half the company was engineering peers who'd slack me with
requests. The other half was marketing, admin, biz dev, finance and PR -
they'd come by to ask a question or make a request - which ended up
being more productive, since what they needed might not be what they
requested, or they were going about things in a way that I could improve
by suggesting alternatives.

"Give them more than they asked for" is a great mantra for support organizations.



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Dumas Walker wrote to TINY <=-

LOL, I thought he just made that up until you confirmed they exist! :O

:D

I thought I did make it up! I had no idea one existed, thought it was
like that USB toaster gag gift box a couple of years ago.

"Only 20 minutes to toasty goodness!"



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Hi Poindexter,
In a message to Dumas Walker you wrote:

LOL, I thought he just made that up until you confirmed they

I thought I did make it up! I had no idea one existed, thought it was
like that USB toaster gag gift box a couple of years ago.

Laugh, these are a thing. I have seen, smelled and tasted the stew it
can make.

Shawn

... Ah.. aah.. aaah.. atchou�2OO�:'�&bEo NO CARRIER


* SeM. 2.26 * From the Dirty Shwa
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Yeah, the open and short-wall plans really show their weaknesses when a lot of people are all on different phone/conference calls.

At my last office, we had 4 "phone booths" for people to take calls in,
and used them religiously. It made the space really workable.

The place I worked in -- the one that lowered the walls -- built some
booths that were supposed to be for that and/or for visitors to use. None
of them had phones installed, of course, and only four of them were "out of
the way" enough not to bother others. The majority of them were built
right across a very narrow aisle from office cubes.

I might add that not having a desk phone was really important at this site
as, for some very weird reason, it was in a cellular dead spot!


* SLMR 2.1a * Humpty Dumpty was pushed! Well, I saw it on X-Files....
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Dumas Walker wrote to POINDEXTER FORTRAN <=-

I might add that not having a desk phone was really important at this
site as, for some very weird reason, it was in a cellular dead spot!

Back before wi-fi calling became a thing, AT&T set up microcells in our
office space. It was nice, we got 5 bars in the office instead of
*maybe* 1 1/2.

I had a femtocell at home, a little device that hung off my wired
network and did the same thing, but for 5 phones max.

Now, everyone relies on wi-fi calling. I did like the femtocell, though. Sometimes my phone sticks with cell calling when it should be using
wifi.



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I might add that not having a desk phone was really important at this site as, for some very weird reason, it was in a cellular dead spot!

Back before wi-fi calling became a thing, AT&T set up microcells in our office space. It was nice, we got 5 bars in the office instead of
*maybe* 1 1/2.

I had a femtocell at home, a little device that hung off my wired
network and did the same thing, but for 5 phones max.

They always talked about adding "something" to increase the cellular
coverage in that building, but it was either too costly or they liked being able to track phone usage (by making cell phones not work). This was about
10 years ago. Don't think they could get away with that now.

Now, everyone relies on wi-fi calling. I did like the femtocell, though. Sometimes my phone sticks with cell calling when it should be using wifi.

The wifi did work so I guess if you had an app on your phone back then that could use wifi for calling, it would have worked. ;)


* SLMR 2.1a * Taglines: the toilet-stall walls of BBSdom.
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Re: Re: Stage 4 COVID
By: poindexter FORTRAN to Dumas Walker on Sun Dec 22 2024 10:36 am

Back before wi-fi calling became a thing, AT&T set up microcells in our office space. It was nice, we got 5 bars in the office instead of *maybe* 1 1/2.

Now, everyone relies on wi-fi calling. I did like the femtocell, though. Sometimes my phone sticks with cell calling when it should be using wifi.

It would be nice if the office where I work would allow using a microcell for my cell provider or allow easier access to their wifi. The office is in an area where I don't get good cell phone reception, and it's worse inside the building. My main concern is if someone tries to contact me in an emergency and perhaps I don't get their call/text due to lack of signal. The company I work at (understandably) has an IT policy where only approved devices can use their wi-fi though. I'm not sure I want to set up my personal phone with the company, and trying to set up a microcell with their wi-fi or network would probably require IT approval. There also aren't any ethernet ports near my desk at work, which is a bit frustrating (and is another issue in itself).. For the past few months, the wifi at the office I work at has been unreliable sometimes, and my laptop often loses its wifi connection.

Nightfox
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So, it's diet and exercise. My wife is happy now too, pulled herself out of a pretty bad funk. So did I.

Thats great that you got back to the health you were used to. I can't speak to what is causing it but I surely am seeing more people with health issues since 2020, beit working from home, a more tech savvy culture, health issues, etc.. There seems to be such a broad gap (where I live) from those in shape and those not. I tend to keep weight off and eat very health, don't drink nor smoke (4 (maybe 3, can't remember) years in February! w00t!) Oddly though, over the past 6 months my blood pressure has been high and I've been refferred to a cardiologist; so hoping its a minor change necessary and not something worse! Also on the wife, yeah good for you! Happy wives are always important :)

Launching my bbs has helped me too. Now I'm busy setting it up
graphically and all that jazz. Still need to connect it to the echonets, which is a looonnnnggggg lllloooonnnnng process. I had no idea.

My board is going to be pulling tons of data via api calls, so it's
going to be a portal in a sense. Looking forward to seeing it mesh together as I progress. Alot of learning and begging for help in MRC. Anyway, that's all for now.

Thats awesome! BBSing is stress relief! I really enjoy the customization side of BBSes, I'm working on my 3rd BBS now. They're a lot of work but with the ebb and flow of calls there's never a deadline nor major rush to get them perfect. I love calling into BBSes and seeing the progress active sysops make in their cutomizations! I tend to lose track on who's actively working on theirs versus taking a break as I am horrible at remembering to read the FTN's with consistency. What are you working on now with your BBS and what type of API's are you pulling? I'd love to get more API "stuff" working on The Underground. I've always wanted a Gas Buddy type mod but haven't had time to dig in to see if I can find an API that would work for what I'd like to do.

|15-|12t|04G
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... Hard work never killed anyone but why take a risk?

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I did enjoy getting to help my kids with schoolwork and organization. My daughter's teacher was older and when they went remote, didn't really
get it. She'd give them all assignments on Monday, do a zoom class on Wednesday and expect the assignments on Friday. No time for questions,
no individual content.
I got both of my kids to time-block, making sure they made the most of their "school" time, and having them focus on taking time out after
school hours. They got it.

It really made a case for home schooling, didn't it? I feel like my kiddos got more done and learned more within a shorter period of time. Not knocking public school (my wife is a school teacher) but do feel so much time is added to "prep" for standardized testing while also just keep the kids busy until mom or dad are off work. I enjoyed having the kids home and spending more time with them too. It was really nice.

I spent the lockdown babysitting servers in an office. I'd go in once a week or so to make sure the HVAC was running, check on the mail, etc. It was a nice change of pace, but empty. It was sad, the building had an energy before.
I'm back to going into an office once a week. Two downsides - it's a 5 hour round trip, and many people are still working remote; it doesn't
feel like an effective use of time when I can't meet in person in the office. I'd rather save the commute time and work a more flexible day.

I never worked in a field where I had the option of working from home outside of owning my own business. I do however now work for a small business and am one of two people in the office, it is low energy and feels too quiet at times. In my corporate past I do rememer how active the offices were and the great friendships made. Does seem like a buzz kill not having that if you have to go in.

|15-|12t|04G
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... WOMAN.ZIP - Great program but no documentation

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So.. you're back into the landscaping and garden biz?

Hey Ogg! No, a craftsmen business that does everything from change light bulbs for elderly to kitchen and bathroom remodels. We do pretty much everything interior and exterior under the roof. I do not own the business but am a manager for them. We are currently training my eventual replacement (AI) to learn how to do most estimates requested online and or from weekend calls when we are closed, that are more simple and not complex and subjective such as a remodel would be. As for landscaping and gardening, those are my passions/hobbies outside of retro computing though :) My garden gets larger with each passing season. This year I made over 30 bottles of spicy Pickles! We had a great cucumber season!

|15-|12t|04G
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... The person who snores the loudest will fall asleep first

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The Godfather wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

It really made a case for home schooling, didn't it? I feel like my kiddos got more done and learned more within a shorter period of time.
Not knocking public school (my wife is a school teacher) but do feel so much time is added to "prep" for standardized testing while also just
keep the kids busy until mom or dad are off work. I enjoyed having the kids home and spending more time with them too. It was really nice.

The lack of social interaction did hinder kids' development - especially
boys - at least that's what I've heard.

I never worked in a field where I had the option of working from home outside of owning my own business. I do however now work for a small business and am one of two people in the office, it is low energy and feels too quiet at times. In my corporate past I do rememer how
active the offices were and the great friendships made. Does seem like
a buzz kill not having that if you have to go in.

Yeah, making the trip, hoping for some face-to-facde interaction and
being one of 2 people in an office is a bummer. I don't know what's
going to happen when leases come due and leaders ask why they need to
pay for such a huge office. With commercial real estate in such a slump
it'll mask the effects for a while, but I'd like to see some really
cool, radically smaller hoteling offices.



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