The Off Topic Topic

[Josquius]

[Ed Anger]

PowerPoint Uber Alles. A 100 slide Army powerpoint:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/60579101/Final-Slides-SecArmy-Visit

Someone worked day and night on this. The man deserves a Bronze Star.

Bronze Star with 'V' device. He braved the Comic Sans font for the republic.

[FunkMonk]

His sacrifice will be remembered in the next version of MS Office.

[MadImmortalMan]

Cassoulet is in the oven. mmmmmmmmm

[Josquius]

I am annoyed.
Got some new sunglasses today. Gave them to my mam to put in her handbag.
We get home....she has put them in the bag with some new jeans and they're scratched already.

[FunkMonk]

Today is 'No Email' Day at work, by order of the CHIEF OF STAFF ( ). 

[MadImmortalMan]

Today is 'No Email' Day at work, by order of the CHIEF OF STAFF ( ). 

You can always spend the day making powerpoints.

[FunkMonk]

My PowerPoint powers pale in comparison to the dude who made the one in Ed's post.

[FunkMonk]

The command has a survey on our sharepoint site, inviting everyone to give their opinion. This was mine:

I think this was childish. If the command wants to influence the behavior of its employees in a positive way, there are more efficacious ways of doing so, i.e. building more parking spaces or renovating the Fusion Center into something resembling a decent working environment. This was a waste of time. Maybe worse than a waste of time, maybe it was in fact detrimental to the command, because if someone was for some reason unable -- or unwilling -- to talk to someone face-to-face or over phone, then the propensity for someone to just drop an issue and wait till tomorrow skyrockets.

The reason why email and instant messaging (IM) are so popular is because it enables one to immediately pop off a thought or correspondence to someone and continue on with something else while waiting for a reply. This neatly categorizes multiple ideas in a person's head; ideas which are essentially competing for one's attention. With email and IM, these programs provide aural and visual cues which easily switch one's attention from one idea to another. Ever try talking on a telephone and typing a product on your computer at the same time? Or even engaging in two different conversations with two different people? Get flustered a lot, right? That's because it's very difficult to concentrate on two or more ideas concurrently. Email and IM get around this. Multitasking works, to a point. It seems this point was lost today.

Have a little more sense next time when trying to encourage a positive shift in work productivity and attitude. This one was definitely in the wrong direction.

[Tonitrus]

Today is 'No Email' Day at work, by order of the CHIEF OF STAFF ( ). 

WTF?  Aren't you on a USAF base?

[Ed Anger]

My PowerPoint powers pale in comparison to the dude who made the one in Ed's post.

Army Strong.

[FunkMonk]

Today is 'No Email' Day at work, by order of the CHIEF OF STAFF ( ). 

WTF?  Aren't you on a USAF base?

Ostensibily, yes. 

Seems more like a not-for-profit sharing-is-caring hugfest, though.  Meh. I'm only here for two more months.

[MadImmortalMan]

Man gets sick benefits for heavy metal addiction

Published: 19 Jun 07 15:12 CET

A Swedish heavy metal fan has had his musical preferences officially classified as a disability. The results of a psychological analysis enable the metal lover to supplement his income with state benefits.

Roger Tullgren, 42, from Hässleholm in southern Sweden has just started working part time as a dishwasher at a local restaurant.

Because heavy metal dominates so many aspects of his life, the Employment Service has agreed to pay part of Tullgren's salary. His new boss meanwhile has given him a special dispensation to play loud music at work.

"I have been trying for ten years to get this classified as a handicap," Tullgren told The Local.

"I spoke to three psychologists and they finally agreed that I needed this to avoid being discriminated against."

Roger Tullgren first developed an interest in heavy metal when his older brother came home with a Black Sabbath album in 1971.

Since then little else has mattered for the 42-year-old, who has long black hair, a collection of tattoos and wears skull and crossbones jewelry.

The ageing rocker claims to have attended almost three hundred shows last year, often skipping work in the process.

Eventually his last employer tired of his absences and Tullgren was left jobless and reliant on welfare handouts.

But his sessions with the occupational psychologists led to a solution of sorts: Tullgren signed a piece of paper on which his heavy metal lifestyle was classified as a disability, an assessment that entitles him to a wage supplement from the job centre.

"I signed a form saying: 'Roger feels compelled to show his heavy metal style. This puts him in a difficult situation on the labour market. Therefore he needs extra financial help'. So now I can turn up at a job interview dressed in my normal clothes and just hand the interviewers this piece of paper," he said.

The manager at his new workplace allows him to go to concerts as long as he makes up for lost time at a later point. He is also allowed to dress as he likes and listen to heavy metal while washing up.

"But not too loud when there are guests," he said.

The Local spoke to an occupational psychologist in Stockolm, who admitted to being baffled by the decision.

"I think it's extremely strange. Unless there is an underlying diagnosis it is absolutely unbelievable that the job centre would pay pay out.

"If somebody has a gambling addiction, we don't send them down to the racetrack. We try to cure the addiction, not encourage it," he said.

Henrietta Stein, deputy employment director for the Skåne region, is also puzzled by the move; "an interest in music" is not usually sufficient to qualify for wage benefits.

"Certain cases are confidential but in general there is always a medical reason that is well-documented," she said.

Tullgren currently plays bass and guitar in two rock bands and says that he tends to get a lot of positive reactions for daring to be himself.

"Some might say that I should grow up and learn to listen to other types of music but I can't. Heavy metal is my lifestyle," he said.

[Ed Anger]

Thomas the Imperialist Tank Engine:

http://www.slate.com/id/2299653/

enjoy!

[Eddie Teach]

Swedish Onion or are they really that nuts?