Ridiculous Thoughts.

I think it’s funny that most hitchhikers look like folks I’d rather not share a ride with.  In that way it seems like an evolutionary dead end.  By the way, doesn’t it seem that crust punks are really over represented among people trying to thumb a ride?

Sometimes I see a crazy looking hitchhiker with a giant backpack and think that it’s completely full of either severed heads or pudding cups; because it couldn’t possibly be anything else.  Maybe his whole life is in that backpack, you might say.  I would agree %100:  Severed heads or pudding cups.

Many a truth is said in jest.

A friend on Facebook put up an e-card about honouring mothers of children with four legs and fir.  Is it just a cute card or is there a heap of sorrow and regret underneath it?

Being suited to your work.

I was thinking about a of a professional estimator for a trim carpentry company that I did some railing work for.  He definitely fell somewhere on the spectrum, and really loved his work.  We were talking and he mentioned a period of his career where he worked for a general contractor and said, “We would just send the drawings to our subs, mark up their estimates, and put in our bid.  Where’s the fun in that?”  No joking or sarcasm on his part…he really loved sitting down and costing jobs.

A bit of a rant.

“Yeah, of course…it’s what I live for…fixing other people’s $h!t for free.”

-Sarcastic Amish guy.

Brother, you said it.

I was thinking about this when a prospective customer was surprised at what I was going to charge him to pressure wash his driveway and patios.  He figured that a fellow doing this would be paid $20/hour and he’s right.  The problem is that he’s only considering paying the man.

Who pays for insurance or maintenance and depreciation costs on tools and vehicles?  There’s also the fact that my equipment isn’t constantly utilized; which would prorate my fixed costs.

The prospective customer want’s a fellow to work for him for $20/hour and he’ll probably find one.  The truth is a that after the fellow factors everything in, he’s making considerably less.

I’m not angry that he’s going with someone cheaper; I’d rather not spend my time working hard to break even.  I’ll spend my time searching for better customers.

 

I prefer to laugh.

When I think of the rationalization of criminal behavior I don’t think of something so cerebral as Raskolnikov struggling with the theory of an extraordinary man but rather of The Simpsons:
Bart:  Uh, say, are you guys crooks?

Fat Tony:  Bart, is it wrong to steal a loaf of bread to feed your starving family?

Bart:  No.

Fat Tony:  Well, suppose you got a large starving family.  Is it wrong to steal a truckload of bread to feed them?

Bart:  Uh uh.

Fat Tony:  And, what if your family don’t like bread? They like… cigarettes?

Bart:  I guess that’s okay.

Fat Tony:  Now what if, instead of giving them away, you sold them at a price that was practically giving them away.  Would that be a crime, Bart?

Bart:  Hell, no.

Passive aggression at work.

I was talking with a friend about passive aggression in the workplace today and he has what I think is a wrong-minded view.  Consider this scenario:

A worker is assembling a mechanical device but forgets a critical step, such as installing a certain o-ring, and a co-worker sees the error but says nothing.  Whose fault is it?

My friend’s view is this:  The bottom line is that the worker who did the improper work is totally responsible because they performed improper work.

I’ve seen people take the view that in this scenario the worker doing the faulty work should be absolutely absolved because another saw his mistake and did nothing but I think this is wrong-minded as well.

My thought is that the worker in this scenario is responsible for the bad work they did, and it needs to be appropriately addressed, but the MUCH bigger problem is the passive aggression of the other worker; their inaction caused the company harm and they cannot be trusted.

Workplace bullying gets plenty of attention but it seems to me that passive aggressive behavior is a very serious problem that largely remains covert.

Punch lists….being a whipping boy AND a fink.

I’m changing jobs next week and have been reminiscing about my work life this morning.  One thought was how, over the years, I’ve often been given the job of dealing with deficiency lists.

You have to be thorough and often bear the brunt of the criticism about your employer.  You have to be able to swallow your pride and keep your temper while  having to fix everything, deal with unhappy customers while defending the reputation of your employer and fellow workmen; never blaming others or making excuses; focusing on the fact that it’s being made right.

Another part of it that isn’t fun is when you’re sent in to check jobs before the owner or general contractor inspects the work for themselves; it has to be documented and your work order is a report to the boss which contains a list of things that your coworkers have done wrong; you run the risk of being a labelled a tattletale.

There’s no glory or gratitude given for doing this kind of work yet most workmen can’t or won’t do it.