The Off Topic Topic

[CountDeMoney]

Actually, I dunno, machining is a pretty seriously skilled trade.

Its present state, however, makes Yi's thighs quiver with post-orgasmic delight.

http://www.npr.org/2014/01/15/262165973/boeing-machinists-plight-marks-changing-times-for-labor

Machinist Wilson Ferguson mourns the pension his union fought so long to get — and keep.

"We didn't get that pension when we formed a union 78 years ago. We didn't get that pension till 1959," Ferguson says. "Now it's gone and will never be back."

The Boeing contract phases out the pension over time, replacing it with a 401(k). The contract also increases health costs at a time when the company's profits and stock are soaring. Workers felt backed into a corner, Ferguson says. Boeing threatened to move the jobs away; local politicians, and even their own national union leaders, pushed the machinists to accept.

Mew. Squee.

[fhdz]

Actually, I dunno, machining is a pretty seriously skilled trade.

Doesn't matter; as Seedy points out, it simply isn't valued as highly as it used to be.

If you want to be a tradesman *and* make good money, machining isn't the place to be. The dough's in plumbing and electrical.

[CountDeMoney]

If you want to be a tradesman *and* make good money, machining isn't the place to be.

Or, you know, do it in a country that isn't actively trying to destroy you.

[garbon]

My company has a new rule that you can add to Outlook that will delete all e-mails you receive while you are on vacation and will inform the sender accordingly. This is meant to reduce stress for employees. Other big companies have configured their mail servers so that you don't receive any mails between say 8 pm and 6 am anymore.

Okay take backs on my comment. I just randomly checked email as I had something I wanted to send out.  At 10:30 my client sent me an invite to a meeting she's having with her team from 9-10am tomorrow. I don't have time for that shit. Suck a dick.

[Ideologue]

Latest Event:    West Columbia SC
Delay in delivery due to weather or natural disaster - February 17, 2014 10:20:00 AM

Hmm.  Maybe it wasn't sunny and 75 degrees outside today in West Columbia.

[jimmy olsen]

163-155. The score validates the decision not to watch the game.

I havent watched an all star game in years.  It represents everything that has gone wrong with the league.  No defence.

The glory days of the NBA were the 80s when scores in the 120s were common. Most teams score in the low 90s today. If there's something wrong with the league it isn't the defense.

[MadImmortalMan]

I'd like to thank the congress critters for keeping the Lima Tank Plant open. 

And the Saudis and Egyptians who buy the tanks. 

[Eddie Teach]

The glory days of the NBA were the 80s

Says the Celtics fan.

[Ideologue]

I'd like to thank the congress critters for keeping the Lima Tank Plant open. 

And the Saudis and Egyptians who buy the tanks. 

They're all equipped with self-destruct devices.

A friend of my dad's was a Lockheed trainer for the Saudis in the 80s.  If his accounts were accurate, they'd probably never notice.

[jimmy olsen]

The glory days of the NBA were the 80s

Says the Celtics fan.

IIRC the Lakers won 4 to the Celtics 3

[garbon]

I found this a little odd as they drifted into the frame. Thanks Disney and Google for the new "love story."

[Syt]

There are some interesting cases recently in which checking email outside of normal work hours is considered working overtime and some employers have been required to pay the employees for that work.

I suspect that the policies Zanza is talking about is at least partly motivated by employers wishing to avoid claims for overtime and extra holiday pay.

That's a very unclear situation under German employment law. BMW recently decided to give people overtime for answering mails/calls outside their normal working time. I also sometimes log overtime when I have a call later in the evening, e.g. with North America, when I am already home.

Meanwhile, the highest court in Austria has decided that employees must be available for their employers, even when they're sick, if information is required urgently that would otherwise lead to economic harm for the company (economic harm is not defined in more detail in the verdict).

Normally, the situation was that if you're sick or on vacation, your employer can't contact you for work related issues.

[Valmy]

Meanwhile, the highest court in Austria has decided that employees must be available for their employers, even when they're sick, if information is required urgently that would otherwise lead to economic harm for the company (economic harm is not defined in more detail in the verdict).

Normally, the situation was that if you're sick or on vacation, your employer can't contact you for work related issues.

Der Shäreholdervälue!

[Capetan Mihali]

Der Shäreholdervälue!

[Grey Fox]

I wonder what to get

an Android Tablet
a Windows 8.1 Tablet
a Linux/Chromebook laptop