That's such a great video. The guy in the picture the kid holds up looks like a photo I have of my great uncle in the room where I have my PC, except he's in his World War One army uniform. The rest of the scattered detritus of the old fellow's life in that ruined house? Makes me wonder about the reaction someone might have if my own house was in ruins several decades from now. Kind of depressing to think about. There would be better ruined stuff, though. At least there is that.
First day working from home here in Austin area, and other than cats pissed I would not let them in my room, all went well. Youngest is home from college and starting online classes from home tomorrow. State agency VPN connection was shaky under the unprecedented load but mine stayed steady. Others in my group were never able to connect. Made my day busy. The commute was nice.
Agreed It's a shame that we will never watch a Rockets game together and slowly drift apart as the broke AF owner declares chapter 7 and sells Rockets.com to a Chinese videoconferencing startup
I still have no idea if I'm supposed to be preparing for a 1 month, 3 month, or 18-24 month scenario. Should I convert our spare bedroom from the defacto office to a "learning center?" Should I invest in home office setup for my bedroom (since I have to move it from the new learning center)? Do I need to look into god damn lesson plans for ****s sake? I mean what the hell are we doing here.
btw: for those who can claim tax deductions above the standard deduction, everyone working at home can now itemize deductions for internet, % rent/mortage interest equal to your office space, portion of renter/homeowners insurance and any office equipment/furniture purchases you make. I believe you can even deduct increased utility expenses for AC that you otherwise wouldn't use during the day. This assumes your company isn't paying for your internet, equipment purchases, etc, as you can't both deduct it.
I sit alone in my 4 corner room staring a candles . . .. . . Don't go Stir Crazy!! Rocket River CoronaVirus Playlist
Started work from home today. Some things I realize I should probably invest in. 1. second monitor - considering one of the USB plug in ones for a laptop 2. mouse (our I'll just run to the office and get my mouse from there 3. door lock for my "office". Kids have come in at least 4 times in an hour.
Been home all week and i'm pretty much in the same boat. I'm still working through a laptop but considering buying a monitor to supplement. Luckily I did bring my normal keyboard and mouse from the office but it's still tough doing on a laptop in a spreadsheet heavy position. The office shares french glass doors with the dining room, so I'm fully exposed to the kids. Every time they walk by i freeze and go silent, as though they are t-rex like in their inability to see stationary objects. It doesn't work. Nothing like being on a conference call and they come crawling in, pretending to be cats and meowing at me.
Still no sight of the possibility of working from home. Was asked to not work on any projects and focus on supporting our service desk. So far they have not needed any help and I've done one ticket for them. Watching paint dry at the office.
I’ve always worked from home, so things haven’t changed. But man my wife is now working from home and has to keep me updated on everything she’s doing. “I’ve been in conferences since 7am so I’m going to take a break and do some yoga”. I asked her if she realized I wasn’t her supervisor.
I'm starting a new job on Monday, different than what I've done. They're mailing me a laptop and phone as we'll likely work from home next week. Should be interesting to learn a new job remotely.
Wow. What a world. I remember when a call from a pay phone cost a dime. When one of those tasty 6.5 ounce Cokes with real sugar cost only 6 cents from a machine, and you got 2 cents back for returning the bottle. Smart phones, laptops, home computers? Pure science fiction, except much of it wasn’t even in science fiction, which I used to buy and consume like a drug, 35 cents for a paperback. Pretty freaky. Good luck with the new job, @Big MAK.
[Premium Post] I've got a large home office that is darn near soundproof. If sound does creep in, it is effectively snuffed out by my noise-cancelling headphones (very pricey). Huge monitor, huge desk, aristocratic leather chair, commercial-sized printer, commercial-sized scanner, commercial-sized shredder. Beautiful bay window to look out at my gorgeous, finely-manicured lawn and gardens. Being an industrialist is by no means easy, but my setup helps me maintain productivity and make excellent decisions. On a human level, my housekeeper was so incredibly appreciative that I did not cancel her services this week. Makes me feel warm inside that I'm providing her a way to make a living, but also leaves the door open for a price decrease since her appreciation reveals she would probably work for less. GOOD DAY
To be honest, I really don’t have a favorite, although I likely did at one time or another. Some stick with you. Childhood’s End is one. It’s such a great science fiction novel, one I’ve also read more than once. If you’ve read that, you have probably read The Left Hand of Darkness, by Ursula Le Guin. I still have my Science Fiction Book Club hardcover of that from 1969. Groundbreaking at the time and deserved its Hugo Award. In the late ‘50’s, I became a regular reader of Amazing Stories, and the SF book club frequently had promotions in the back of the magazine, where you could also find ads for a “real spider monkey!” Not kidding. One ad for the book club said “Get 3 hardcovers for a dollar!” I succumbed and it became an addiction. About every 4 weeks, I’d get a new hardcover, always great reads, and they were cheap. Arrived in good condition, surrounded by stiff cardboard. I still have several. Sometime during the ‘80’s I stopped my subscription. One of the last was The Saga of Pliocene Exile, by Julian May, 1981 & 1982. It came as one large book containing two novels. The Many-Colored Land and the sequel, The Golden Torc. It involved one way time travel from 2110 to the Rhône Valley in France of 6 million years ago, two alien races, and the humans who went there for their own reasons, without a clue as to what awaits them. A good read. One of the earlier novels is Poul Anderson’s The High Crusade. Anderson had a great sense of humor. Aliens land in England in the mid 1300’s as England is about to invade France. The aliens are determined to conquer the planet. What happens is pretty hilarious. Another favorite, a rare SF satire (rare at the time), is Mindswap, by Robert Sheckley, 1966. I named the best dog I ever had after one of the characters 6 years later. One thing to remember is that I took what they sent me, so I was frequently surprised. Their selections were very eclectic! I tried to pick a couple you might not have read. Most of my novels are paperbacks, stowed away in boxes. I used to have them on shelves, 4 rows on a shelf, one row behind the ones you could see, and then more parked on top of them. You can fit a lot of paperbacks on a shelf that way, if they aren’t the “trade paperbacks.” We had kids, or they would still be where I can see them. Kids are grown now, so I should really dig in the boxes and check them out. God knows what kind of shape they’re in! As you can tell, I have too much time on my hands. ;-)
