The Chit Chat Chit Chat Thread

[Gabe1]

Last week, all students were moved to virtual. No more snow days.

As restaurants and bars started to reopen. Makes my head hurt. I go nowhere. we stick to our pod of 4.

 

[DryerLintFan]

How were the crowds at DHS? Both AK and Epcot were basically empty.

Very crowded today. We waited an hour for MMRR. Couldn’t get a BG at 7am or 1 pm.

MK yesterday was very light. The difference in the two parks was remarkable.

AK was swamped when we were there Saturday. I was surprised by how crowded it felt.

 

[Gabe1]

Our school was the same last spring and had pick up times for supplies, a random snow day is a little different though. I know some schools have told their teachers to watch out for possible inclement weather and be prepared for virtual learning and some have just given a snow day.

Up here in Illinois Naperville is one of the best school districts that can be found. They have been doing this for years now. There are never lost school days. They have teachers, parents and students working together to educate kids no matter what the weather or virus. I am beyond impressed with them. They were so prepared for virtual learning when the pandemic hit. Our district struggles yet it has not closed for the virus 2020~2021. Not good in disclosing case numbers though. i am beyond grateful I am not on our school board any longer. A roll of the dice daily.

 

[Gabe1]

AK was swamped when we were there Saturday. I was surprised by how crowded it felt.

Explains Floridas new cases

• Monday: 5,730
• Sunday: 7,788
• Saturday: 15,019
• Friday: 10,976
• Thursday: 11,423

 

[Gabe1]

MMMM....Olive Garden. Do you have a standard order there? What do you get? I always get the thing with 3 different things....it might be called Tour of Italy, but that might also be what the sampler is called at Bisetti's, my favorite Italian restaurant in Fort Collins, Colorado. It's a similar thing, so I don't remember which one has the "tour of italy".

That was my kids Dads favorite. We usually order spaghetti with extra meat sauce And salad. We do not dine in. Curb side. It travels well.

 

[Cesar R M]

I have become so lazy. I have Google Pay on my phone. It's a chore to pull out my wallet anymore. I like tapping my phone to pay. When it's not accepted, it's such an inconvenience. What? You mean I must take a wallet out with a card? Ugh.

Til you have a tiny compartment for your CC IN your phone case

 

[Gabe1]

I guess what surprises me most is that no one else took exception to it. Like they all just agreed. I would say a lot of E's class is lazy, but that's boys AND girls, and the girls are no more likely to slack off than the boys are. NONE of them want to do the math homework! E does it, as do her friends, and she gets really good grades on it, but a lot of the kids will ask in the whatsapp group "Who has the answers to the homework?" I just don't understand how the this teacher who doesn't even know them can make generalized statements based on gender.

My DD also a math wiz frequently was asked to copy her homework. She declined. That was rough for her.

 

[Songbird76]

Yep.. Thats what I'm getting too. My brother also confirmed this feeling as well when I mentioned everything to him.
It seems he pretty much wants to squeeze me of all he can while paying a fixed salary.
I'm putting the brakes. If he doesn't like it.. well he can try to get 4 employees to do all this crap.
Also kinda confirms as one of the "affiliated agencies" seems likely to split. And they are the ones who mainly perform some of the sales, marketing, leads related jobs.

If I was to resume the whole thing... he expects me to do the job of 3 people from the agency about to split.. My job, and one of our developer's job.


The funny thing is, I do not mind the work. I just hate being the goddarn punching bag when he's not in the mod.
He's bipolar.
One hour he's being very helpful, other days he's berating me for stuff that makes no sense.
One day he gives me all information I needed with no issue, the other berates me for asking too much and to find the information elsewhere.

Spoiler: Another example, careful can cause facepalms

Example of work idiocy that happened 2 weeks ago:
Boss wants me to do "cost cuts" and reduce/eliminate some applications and apps to save costs.
I did all the ones listed as agreed.
Then in the task in the online organizer (where we centralize everything). He had put an app I never heard before nor seen. It was not added to our shared app lists (that we agreed to have so we could keep track of everything).
Now, this comes to no surprise. Because despite being always on deadlines to release products. The boss LOVES to register to new apps to "test" them out ALL the time. Except he "asks" all of us to test said app.

Anyway, I inform him that I have no idea what that app is and to know if he has the information needed to shut down the app.
Then he explodes. Claiming that its my responsibility to find out, I should be asking others and how I need to rise up and own the responsibility. And to never ask him again. In the same line claims that I should have reviewed X document (document that I have never heard of and that nobody had mentioned to me, this document is NOT the ones we agreed to have the information on.. )

So there I go to ask who knows about that app.. Surprise.. NOBODY F.. knows that app.
So I go to check the document he mentioned. You guessed it right. IT WAS NOT THERE and even the document owner (accountant) was asking me why I had requested that file, It was only useful for accountants.
This is one of the many instances where my boss wants me to produce out of NOTHING and then berates me for not doing the impossible.

It sounds like maybe he does these things without realizing he did them. Like...he may have had every intention of having you all test that app, but forgot to tell everyone. So he's been going along with it, now realizes it doesn't help him and he wants to get rid of it, but forgot he never told anyone else about it.

Is he diagnosed bipolar, or is that just how you describe his behavior? If he has an actual diagnosis, he can't really help those behaviors...it doesn't excuse him because he SHOULD get help for it and apologize when he takes things out on you. But you can't really be angry at him for something he can't control. If it's just the way he acts and it's not actually a medical issue, then he sounds like a real idiot and a jerk. I know you are still looking for a job and I hope you find something, but that doesn't help for now in dealing with him.

If he truly is bipolar, perhaps you could look into how to deal with someone who is bipolar. How to recognize what his triggers are, how to calm him when he's in an angry episode, how to talk to him in a productive way, etc. And just don't engage with him when he's like that. Just say "I can see this isn't a good time. I'll come back later." It sounds like he's the kind to dig in his heels and never admit when he's made a mistake. If you engage with him while he's in one of those moods, he won't be able to be rational, so you won't get anything solved. If he feels like you are calling him out on something, he'll get defensive. So just make your exit, wait until the storm blows over, and then try again with a "Hey, is this a good time? I wanted to talk to you about this app. I don't recognize this from the list we agreed on and I was wondering....."

I'm sorry about this situation...it really sucks to have a boss like that. I hope you can get out of there soon!

 

[Songbird76]

Well as you said, at least you still have a job. Plus, you're safe at home and don't have to worry about driving in the storm. It's coming down heavy where I am (north of Boston) and is supposed to continue until about midnight. We're getting over a foot.

I saw just the beginning of this post and thought it was a response to @Cesar R M and I was like....what happened to Minnie? She's usually much more sympathetic! I couldn't believe you were telling him to be grateful he had a job even though his boss was a humungous jerk! I knew you wouldn't be so insensitive!

 

[Songbird76]

Hey, @Tuvalu , a general question here. If a guest doesn't have a phone with them (or if it breaks, or they lose it), how do they gain access to their hotel room? I was reading in one of the threads about how people point their phone at their door and it opens. That's fine for those people who want that function, I guess. But is there an alternative way if a person wants another way to open their guest room door?

This has probably been answered, but I read somewhere that guests who don't want to use that function can get a key card. Just like guests get a card as their ticket when they stay off property, in place of the magic bands.

 

[Songbird76]

At my dh's work you're either at work for the duration or you're home for the duration. They don't want anybody on the roads

Hrmmm....makes me wonder about back home. The coal mines are equipped with food stores and such...cots and sleeping bags maybe? in case of a blizzard. It doesn't happen often, but they are prepared for people to not be able to get home, and people not being able to get into work. The schools make all the "country kids" who take the bus have a contact in town so if the buses aren't running, they have someplace to go. They also open the schools, churches, and town hall for travelers who can't make it further. The nearest town is 40 miles away in one direction, 70 in another, and there's NOTHING to the east or west that connects. It's really in the middle of nowhere.

 

[Songbird76]

Sorry for the late response....For testing I've done a couple things this year. When all the students were virtual I let the test be open book/open note but I gave them a time limit. If the test wasn't submitted within our class period then they would not receive any credit. At that time I knew not all my students had stable internet and making them keep their webcam on wasn't an option. I figured with the time limit they wouldn't have a chance to look everything up and some would be their own knowledge. Could some of them have cheated and worked together? Maybe but I there was only so much I could control.

With only a couple kids remote and the rest in the classroom everyone still has a time limit but remote student have to keep their webcams on with their face visible. The tests I have been using is a Google Form and it locks their Chromebook until they submit the test so they can't be on anything else but the zoom (which was running before they started) and their test. The only place the students should be looking is the screen so it is easy to see if they might be cheating if they are looking away for more than a moment. I also have the Zoom recording them too. The students in the classroom also take the test on the Google form and even though it locks them into the test too I make them turn their screens so it is visible to me, then I can see what they are doing after the test.

I have heard about high schools and universities/tech schools having students down load the app/software you mentioned. I wouldn't have students do that but I don't see any problem with students keeping their camera on during the test. All of our students have a school provided Chromebook that has a webcam built in so requiring the camera on doesn't create any problems with parents having to buy anything. Does your daughter's school provide any lap tops to students or is it reliant on the technology students already have? Like I said with the Google Form just having the student's face visible is enough to see if a student is cheating but another teacher I work with has the students put the webcam down to see the keyboard/mouse area and the area around that to see that they are typing and not flipping through stuff. I don't think I need to see around their room and into the house though, that might be extreme.

This year it is just tough. I try to do whatever I can usually to ensure there isn't cheating but this year I realize there is only so much I can do, so I talk to them about honesty & integrity of their work and just kind of hope for the best. The kids that are going to cheat will probably find a way and the kids that are honest will be honest.

That all seems completely rational and like you have realistic expectations! Thank you for the thoughtful response!

Our schools rely on technology the students have at home. They were all given a code to download Microsoft Teams software so they can do the meetings online, like zoom, but some kids don't have webcams, or they have to share a computer with siblings, etc. One of E's friends had you use her brother's computer and I think it was her sister who was in an exam year, so she needed the computer for her graduation requirements. I have no problem asking the kids to turn on the webcams while they are taking the test, IF they have a working webcam. But not everyone has that, and not every family is in a position at the moment to be buying new laptops or accessories for laptops. There are so many people who have lost their jobs, or who work in careers that are not allowed right now....if they have no income, how can you expect them to buy a webcam? Like you said, some kids will figure out a way to cheat, but the honest ones will be honest...and it will be that way whether they are at home or in the classroom.

We contacted her mentor and said we were uncomfortable downloading unknown software onto her computer and we felt that was extreme. He took it up with someone...not sure who, but they decided at this time, they can't determine that it won't invade privacy, so they aren't going to have to download that program. One of E's friends wrote directly to the teacher about how uncomfortable it was making the class, and she wrote back that they wouldn't use the software download (I think because the school told her she's not allowed to require that), but that she really didn't understand what the big deal was about having the webcam on. I don't think anyone was upset about needing to have the webcam on if they HAVE one, but there are a few who don't, and since we're in lockdown, you can't GET one. You can order online, but everyone and their dog is ordering stuff online right now because we can't go to a store to buy anything. Our delivery people are backlogged, inventory is depleted...it can take weeks to get the item you ordered. I'm still waiting on multiple things I ordered at Christmas. So the teacher is saying that if they don't get a webcam by the test today, they get a zero. That's just not fair. If the school provided the technology, it would be ok, but to require them to provide it themselves in just a couple of days with no negotiation for delivery times or for families who can't afford it is really not reasonable. I really like your method of making it open book, but having a time limit. That's really smart! Like you said, they don't have time to look it all up, so they still have to know some of it themselves.

E can't click out of the teams meeting anyway...her computer goes wonky when she tries to switch out of the teams meeting. She took a video...it just starts flashing and turns black. So there's no way for her to look stuff up other than her book or her phone, and you'd see if she looked away from the screen.

 

[Songbird76]

OMG, that is adorable!! So empathetic!

 

[Cesar R M]

It sounds like maybe he does these things without realizing he did them. Like...he may have had every intention of having you all test that app, but forgot to tell everyone. So he's been going along with it, now realizes it doesn't help him and he wants to get rid of it, but forgot he never told anyone else about it.

Nope, he does this consistently. He tries way more than he can chew. He is constantly moving, doing stuff, forgetting.
I think he is trying to micromanage everything. Which is funny, because the whole point of getting me to "learn" more, is to make me the "leader" of Support. So I am not depending on him.
While in the same day hours later..., he then told me he cant give me "control" or the "responsibility" because I do not "produce" (as in get money in the company).
and I'm like.. WHAT?

Is he diagnosed bipolar, or is that just how you describe his behavior? If he has an actual diagnosis, he can't really help those behaviors...it doesn't excuse him because he SHOULD get help for it and apologize when he takes things out on you. But you can't really be angry at him for something he can't control. If it's just the way he acts and it's not actually a medical issue, then he sounds like a real idiot and a jerk. I know you are still looking for a job and I hope you find something, but that doesn't help for now in dealing with him.

No he is not diagnosed. I'm saying that its his behaviour, one hour he seems fine and is explaining a lot and how I should get more info from him for X stuff. The next is berating me on how I should not be asking him and I should be more independent..etc.. he consistently contradicts himself.

Also what?
Did you even read what I'm dealing with? "something he can't control". HES BLAMING ME FOR SOMETHING I CAN'T CONTROL.
He's the one who registers to a crapload of sites, then wants someone else to shutdown them because of costs.. then gets angry when noone knows his passwords or credentials that ONLY HE KNOWS.

If he truly is bipolar, perhaps you could look into how to deal with someone who is bipolar. How to recognize what his triggers are, how to calm him when he's in an angry episode, how to talk to him in a productive way, etc. And just don't engage with him when he's like that. Just say "I can see this isn't a good time. I'll come back later." It sounds like he's the kind to dig in his heels and never admit when he's made a mistake. If you engage with him while he's in one of those moods, he won't be able to be rational, so you won't get anything solved. If he feels like you are calling him out on something, he'll get defensive. So just make your exit, wait until the storm blows over, and then try again with a "Hey, is this a good time? I wanted to talk to you about this app. I don't recognize this from the list we agreed on and I was wondering....."

It does not matter if I start with "is this a good time". He's the one engaging me, not the opposite.
He gets to me, barks order. I ask him for info about the orders, he gets ed.
I never know when he's on his good side.
"wait until the storm blows over" not helpful either when he's the one setting up deadlines then complains later on that I'm not fulfilling them. Most of the time I cannot wait until "blows over".
Also, read again my post... "Hey, is this a good time? I wanted to talk to you about this app. I don't recognize this from the list we agreed on and I was wondering...." thats is kinda how I approach.
I am like "Hey boss, I do not know this tool, can you share the credentials to shutdown asap" and he flips his crap.
I'm not even sure why you seem to defend my boss. My brother has had these kind of bosses. And they will keep asking more and more and more.

I'm sorry about this situation...it really sucks to have a boss like that. I hope you can get out of there soon!

Thats what I hope.

 

[Songbird76]

My DD also a math wiz frequently was asked to copy her homework. She declined. That was rough for her.

Yeah, it can be hard. E won't share her grades, either. Usually, when they get a test or project back, everyone in the app group starts posting what they got, but E won't tell them. In her first year, it was really rough for her because she would do the homework and then other people wouldn't and would ask "Who has the homework done for History?" or for whatever class, and she wouldn't say anything because she didn't want them to bug her for the answers. They would get more and more insistent in the group that they know SOMEONE has it done, and the nice thing to do would be to share it with everyone! But she knew that if she did, no one else was ever going to take a turn being "nice" and doing the homework for everyone to copy. It wouldn't be a rotating thing like "Ok, I'll do this, you do that, so and so will do this other subject" or anything, plus she couldn't rely on other people doing it as well as she would and she wouldn't learn anything. So she just kept everything to herself. Now her classmates are used to it and know she won't share, so they don't even ask anymore.

But last week, they had a test in Chemistry and the teacher put it up in a form that everyone could make changes to it. E downloaded the original file before she started filling it out, but a bunch of people started changing things, deleting questions, inserting pictures of random things like cats....then when they realized they actually needed to do the test, E was the only one who had saved the original. She was nice and posted it for them, but then they messed with it again and she refused to post it again. They goof off and expect that someone else will fix it for them, but never take the initiative to be the one in a position to fix it. Always someone else's responsibity to do the homework and give them the answers....never their job to provide the answers for others. Always someone else should be listening and taking notes, or making the vocab list or summary. So E just won't share hers with them. Such a shocker that she has the best grades.

 

[MinnieM123]

So this storm is a big bust for us........2 inches so far maybe. The news reported 8 inches near me though.

Looking outside (it's still dark out), it looks about 6 inches here -- far less than what the weather people predicted. Here's what happened -- snow came down at a rapid clip late yesterday and was accumulating, but at some point after midnight, it turned over to a rain/mix. (Sometimes we get slammed with snow from the colder Merrimac Valley weather pushing eastward; but sometimes we get a warmer MA coastal effect, producing more rain, pushing westward out of the Boston area. )

So it's the heavy wet snow outside, but only half the amount of what was forecasted for our area.

 

[Songbird76]

Nope, he does this consistently. He tries way more than he can chew. He is constantly moving, doing stuff, forgetting.
I think he is trying to micromanage everything. Which is funny, because the whole point of getting me to "learn" more, is to make me the "leader" of Support. So I am not depending on him.
While in the same day hours later..., he then told me he cant give me "control" or the "responsibility" because I do not "produce" (as in get money in the company).
and I'm like.. WHAT?


No he is not diagnosed. I'm saying that its his behaviour, one hour he seems fine and is explaining a lot and how I should get more info from him for X stuff. The next is berating me on how I should not be asking him and I should be more independent..etc.. he consistently contradicts himself.

Also what?
Did you even read what I'm dealing with? "something he can't control". HES BLAMING ME FOR SOMETHING I CAN'T CONTROL.
He's the one who registers to a crapload of sites, then wants someone else to shutdown them because of costs.. then gets angry when noone knows his passwords or credentials that ONLY HE KNOWS.





It does not matter if I start with "is this a good time". He's the one engaging me, not the opposite.
He gets to me, barks order. I ask him for info about the orders, he gets ****ed.
I never know when he's on his good side.
"wait until the storm blows over" not helpful either when he's the one setting up deadlines then complains later on that I'm not fulfilling them. Most of the time I cannot wait until "blows over".
Also, read again my post... "Hey, is this a good time? I wanted to talk to you about this app. I don't recognize this from the list we agreed on and I was wondering...." thats is kinda how I approach.
I am like "Hey boss, I do not know this tool, can you share the credentials to shutdown asap" and he flips his crap.
I'm not even sure why you seem to defend my boss. My brother has had these kind of bosses. And they will keep asking more and more and more.




Whats what I hope.

I'm not defending him at all....as I said, it's not fair and doesn't excuse him. But you know how unfair it is for him to get angry at you for things you can't control. If he has a legitimate disorder, like bipolar, he can't control that...he can't help what his brain does. It's like getting mad at a person with the stomach flu for throwing up. It's not something they are doing on purpose just to make your life harder. So I was just saying that IF he has a legitimate illness, there are ways to deal with that. You said "He's bipolar." I didn't know from that whether it was an actual diagnosis or just the way you were describing his behavior, but nowhere did I say it was ok how he was treating you. But I have a kid with Autism and some of his behaviors are monumentally frustrating. He can't help it...he's not doing it to be a jerk. So I have to learn how to talk to him, how to explain things to him, how to help him learn new behaviors. No, it's not appropriate for him to scream at me when he doesn't understand something I ask him to do. But he has to learn what to do INSTEAD of screaming at me. And now I know that I need to be more clear when I ask him to do something, that I have to say things specifically. Yes, I'm his mom, and I could go into it with the attitude that it's HIS responsibility to do what I tell him to do, but that doesn't work. So I had to learn what DOES work. All I was trying to do was give you some possible strategies to deal with inyour boss' inappropriate behavior because perhaps he couldn't help it. If you already tried that, I'm sorry that it didn't help, but it's not me who is doing these things to you. I wasn't there, and I don't know every detail. I don't know what you've tried, or who approached whom. But if he was really struggling with a disorder, I have empathy for that...it can't be easy. Since you said that's not the case, then no, he has no reason to be a jerk. But I didn't know that he didn't ACTUALLY have bipolar disorder. But the fact is that what you've tried hasn't worked....the situation isn't getting better. You can get mad and complain about how awful he is, but you can also try something different to see if something different works better. I was trying to help you find something different to try. I wanted to help you in a difficult situation, because I've been there.

 

[DryerLintFan]

Explains Floridas new cases

• Monday: 5,730
• Sunday: 7,788
• Saturday: 15,019
• Friday: 10,976
• Thursday: 11,423

Cases don't show up from spreading events for a few weeks, and even crowded the park felt safe. Plus it's outside.

They've gotten really lazy about reporting though and often report numbers on the wrong day. In Ohio we've had artificial spikes because of this.

 

[Lilofan]

Looking outside (it's still dark out), it looks about 6 inches here -- far less than what the weather people predicted. Here's what happened -- snow came down at a rapid clip late yesterday and was accumulating, but at some point after midnight, it turned over to a rain/mix. (Sometimes we get slammed with snow from the colder Merrimac Valley weather pushing eastward; but sometimes we get a warmer MA coastal effect, producing more rain, pushing westward out of the Boston area. )

So it's the heavy wet snow outside, but only half the amount of what was forecasted for our area.

You are lucky. Some I know in NJ got 28 inches and the snow drifts made it much higher.

 

[Mr Ferret 75]

This has probably been answered, but I read somewhere that guests who don't want to use that function can get a key card. Just like guests get a card as their ticket when they stay off property, in place of the magic bands.

It's what we would ask for as our phones stay in the safe all holiday.