Pizza Police

So...I've see this a lot. And it reminds me of the "Stanford marshmallow experiment" where if children didn't eat a treat (marshmallow) immediately, they would get another later. 

It was used as a method to determine success in adulthood - if the children had enough "impulse control" and "discipline" to resist the treat knowing there is a greater reward they were smart and would be successful.

It was an intelligence test. Dumb kids ate, smart kids waited.

Since the experiment, in the 1970s, the inherent bias has come to light.

The children dealing with food insecurity ate the marshmallow right away because they couldn't be sure they would have another chance to eat, even when told they would.

The children without that experience and who had access to treats were able to wait.

So - what's this post saying?

Should be taken at face value, shaming those who take 3 slices while the righteous take 1 to prove their sacrfice is for the greater good and the greedy take more.

Or is it that the people who take 1 slice do so because they have access to resources and want others can take what they need.

Or are the people taking 1 slice the ones who need more but don't want to be shamed for taking anything, even if they needed it.

Or is it stating we have been led to believe we can't get more pizza if we run out because have been conditioned to judge those accessing resources as greedy, shameful and bad.

I'd say: I'm not the pizza police. Take what you need without shame at my pizza party. And take some home to those who couldn't attend or because you need or want them.

Let's stop assuming someone who takes more needs less and those who take less dont need more.

Depress and Re-Press

Statement

Somehow we've managed think it's okay to focus on dystopian futures, but not utopian futures. In school we're read Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World" but not "The Island". We read dystopian and depressing stories like "1984", "Farenheit 451", "Lord of the Flies", "The Great Gatsby", "Harrison Bergeron", "Slaughterhouse Five", "Night", "Animal Farm", "Hamlet", etc. 

I honestly don't remember reading one uplifting book when I was in school. No wonder I read slowly, I likely linked reading to feeling lethargic, helpless and depressed. 

While there are great lessons in the aforementioned stories, may we explore the possibility that we can also learn lessons from uplifting books that imagine a healthy future that we can feel more inspired to create? 

 The only major cultural influence of a healthy future that I recall is Star Trek. More recently "The Celestine Prophesy" taught ways of being that promote harmony and healing. 

Reply

Simply put, difficult topics are essential for teaching and practicing empathy. These "depressing" texts create socially-consciences adults. 

Ideally, up to this point, children have been reading books that build technical and critical thinking skills with less danger – like “Johnny Termain” or “Little Women” or “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” or “Anne of Green Gables.” Even "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey."

Also, let’s not pit books against each other - the human condition is complex and often many aspects of humanity exists in each story. What each person takes away from a book is different. Conflict and consequence exist even in the happiest of stories, it is what makes them compelling.

As teenagers, students finally recognize themselves in the texts and characters - and through that opening, can see struggling communities and worlds beyond their experiences and in safe spaces. They can discover circumstances surrounding issues and parallel elements within their own lives and systems allowing them to be more socially minded outside their spheres. We grow through discomfort - when readers are uncomfortable, they open themselves blind spots in their own thinking and then have the ability to confront and dismantle normalized harmful ideologies.

Get Lit

The general focus in many corporations is on emotional intelligence. There are meetings, books and so many talks around EQ...

Emotional intelligence is defined as a person's capacity to deal with their #emotions in any given situation in order to further interpersonal relationships.

One of the missing pieces of this initiative is emotional literacy.

Emotional literacy is the ability to identify, understand and communicate your emotions to others while also identifying and understanding someone else’s emotions about themselves and about you. Emotional literacy is a social process requiring the accepting of other people who probably have diverse backgrounds, education, resources and come from other cultures. 

Change Is Fine

People are not actually afraid of change as much as it's broadcasted.

People are afraid of uncertainty, giving up comforts and having to embrace what they perceive as detrimental to their livelihood or processes.

For example: anyone who had to suddenly endure $1,000 more in each paycheck probably will cope and adapt to that change just fine. Anyone suddenly having to endure the loss of $1,000 in each paycheck will probably exhibit a different response.

It is critical to understand and address what your audience is actually concerned about over stating, "we understand people are afraid of change."

Stop the Abuse: Better Betta Care

A lot of people have been getting bettas. Wee! Bettas are awesome fish who can recognize you and even preform little tricks. They have some common needs that will keep them healthy and happy!

Their life expectancy is 5-7 years, too.

We Are Taught To Abused Bettas
Bettas are extremely tolerant fish – they can live in a variety of horrible conditions and continue to live. They are called a good "beginner fish" because you can make a lot of mistakes with them without killing them. 

Which is kind of a sad bar to set.

This means they are also one of the most abused animals in stores and homes. It's not because we want them to be unhappy but because we are conditioned to think we know what they need – small spaces, plants to eat, no filtration, neon rocks in a vase of tap water.

Betta fish do not make pet stores much money, so, they get crammed into tiny jars to take up less retail space and now we all think they are happy in a space where they can barely turn around. If you saw a dog or cat in a cage where they could not turn around, sitting in their own feces and urine, you'd probably feel some sort of way. 

But when it comes to fish, we are not taught to feel that way. 

I know this because my first betta I kept in abusive conditions because he was "just a fish" and needed some water and food. I thought I was doing everything right. When I realized what I was doing, I was horrified and that's why I often comment when they get bettas for their home, kids, friends and classrooms.

The truth - I was an abusive pet owner. And I had to do better.

I know how f**king awful I felt knowing what I did to my first betta. It's hard to look at yourself and realize you caused the suffering of a creature in your care. 

So, I did my research and I talked to actual fish experts and I watched videos so my next betta, Willoughby, would have the best life I could give him. 

This post will address the basics you need for your betta. Don't worry, it's not expensive and bettas are actually a lot of fun and even more dymamic and interesting when they are healthy and happy.

Also, you might want to give you betta a female name, but, you probably have a male. The beautiful long fins and colors are a trait of males. Female bettas are small with short fins and natural colors. Again, bettas don't make retail much money, so, only males are typically crammed into jars for sale because they are "pretty."

Betta Basic Needs

5 Gallon Tank

Even humans can live in solitary confinement cell of 6x6. But surviving in a closet isn't living. A betta needs a min 5 gallon tank to swim and play.

Imagine being locked in a closet with all your pee and poop and unable to exercise? When a betta has a nice sized tank, you will see him darting around and happily playing.

If you do not have the room for a manual 5 gallon tank – or don’t want to use up that amount of space – don’t get a betta. An animal should not have to suffer because you don’t feel like provide it what it needs.

Also, make sure you have a lid for your tank. Bettas can jump from their tank – they are quite good at it. If they are very unhappy, they might try to jump from the tank because they want to find a better home. If they are very frisky, they also might do it.

Water Conditioner
Tap water contains ammonia, chlorine, chloramines and heavy metals that need to be removed because they are toxic to bettas. Sure, they can live in it but it will slowly destroy them inside and out and greatly reduce their life expectancy. 

A good conditioner also come with beneficial slime that keep your betta's scales and fins protected and healthy. 

I used the Top Fin brand water conditioner. It's super easy to use. Costs about $7 bucks and you only need a capful or two depending on the size of your tank. For under $10, your betta will not be living in toxic water. 

Also, never used distilled water for your betta. 

I had a large tank, so, I also checked the water levels to make sure everything was balanced because I had other fish in with my betta. I used the API Freshwater Aquarium Master Test Kit and then could adjust elements to ensure the water was balanced. 

Yes, bettas can live with other fish. That's not a basic thing, though.

Heater
Bettas are tropical fish. They need their water to be at 76°F-81°F. Some say they should always be minimal 80°F. 

For some perspective, room temperature water is about 68 degrees – colder during some seasons - which means your betta will be very cold without a heater. 

Very. Cold. 

Imagine living in a world where you are always cold and continually prone to illness. Cold bettas suffer from something called temperature shock. Symptoms are lethargy, laying at the bottom of the tank all the time and slipping into a coma. They are not built to handle cold temperatures.  

No one wants to see an animal in a coma because it's too cold.

I got a submersible wand type heater and a thermometer to make sure my water was always warm enough for my betta. It was about $12 and it meant my betta wasn't feeling like he was freezing to death everyday of his life. 

Food and Treats
Bettas are carnivores. They do NOT want to eat plants. 

If you have a vase with a plant where the roots are supposed to be the food and the betta is eating them – it's because he's starving. Also, don't do that plant-vase thing.

Imagine being locked in a room with no food but roaches. You will eventually eat those roaches. That doesn't mean it's a yummy part of your balanced diet. 

Make sure you get good pellets (feed per instructions) and offer treats of larva and bloodworms to keep your betta happy. You should remove all food your betta does not eat within about 3 minutes. I also followed advice to not feed my betta one day a week to give his system a break. 

My betta was a piggy, by the way.

If you really want to see a happy betta, get some live bloodworms or larva and watch your betta go into hunting mode! It's great stimulation for your betta and super yummy for him.

Filter
Make sure you have a gentle filter appropriate for your tank size – tanks under 3 gallons with a filter can cause damage to your betta - even though you shouldn't have a betta in a 3 gallon tank. 

A betta's gorgeous fins might get caught or the current might be too strong for him to sleep because of those long fins picking up that current.

Imagine trying to sleep while on a treadmill with a fan blowing in your face. Not really a good life. Again,  have a 5 gallon minimum aquarium and watch your betta when you install your filter to make sure he's happy and not being tossed around. 

He should be able to lay down or make a bubble nest (more on that later). As a bonus though, bettas will also play in the current. My betta would swim to the output and swim hard or slip in an out of the current when he was feeling frisky.

Light
Do not keep a light on 24/7. I never actually used a light in my tank. My living room got both sun and dark...as the world works that way. 

Also, do not put the betta by the window - sunlight is not the best for bettas and it can also encourage the growth of algae and other harmful things in the tank. Non-direct sun is the best.

If you do use a tank light, make sure it is only on for 8 hours max so your betta can have some dark. Bright light can be stressful.

If you think your fish tank is a good night light for your child, it's not – just, get a real night light and let your betta sleep.

Imagine being in a cell and no one ever turned off the bright light. This is actually a torture technique, so, keep your betta on his natural light-dark schedule. 

Plants
Yes, you need plants!

You can get fake or live plants for your betta. Fake plants are easier to maintain and I preferred them in my tank. I really enjoyed the plant thing, too, by the way. I loved making a little environment for my betta with forests and grasslands and open space.

If you ever notice your betta laying on the bottom of the tank (if you have a working heater and he's not in a coma), it's because he's sleeping or being lazy. 

Bettas love having broad leaves to lay on as they are more comfortable then rocks. They also like to dart through "forests" or grasses for a tickle. They love hunting and hiding and plants provide that.

Imagine wanting to go to sleep and only having the floor to sleep on. It’s ok, I guess. But a nice bed where you can lounge is better. Get some plants.

Rocks and Things
Bettas like to feel safe – being in the open all the time can be stressful. Sure, I wanted to look at my betta all the time, but, he needs to feel safe. If you don't have a lot of hiding spaces for your betta, you might notice him cowering in the corner or showing signs of stress. 

Give your betta a place to hide when (someone inevitability) taps on the glass or things get loud. Even new people coming up to the tank can be stressful. When your betta has some place to hide and check things out, it greatly reduces that stress.

Bettas also like to explore and swim around and through things. Make sure you get some fake logs or rocks that give your betta something to swim around and through. If you are likely to get your cat a cat tower and your dog a chew toy – get some fun things for your betta to keep him mentally stimulated (more on play later!) 

Make sure you rub your hand over every object to check for sharp edges and clean it before putting it into the tank. If you notice your betta fins are getting torn (ouch!) it might be because he is getting caught on sharp edges of rocks or other décor. 

Changing You Tankscape
I think one of the best things about fish tanks is the beautiful environments you can create and re-create.

When you do clean your tank, make sure you change up your tankscape - maybe once a month. Bettas like to explore and they have pretty good memories. In the wild, they would be exploring large spaces and experiencing things like trees falling in the water and other upsets. Rearranging the environment or even new things to investigate and taking old things away will keep your betta happy! 

Why not change it seasonally with fun new things? Not only will your betta be happy but you will have a nice addition to your room.

Note on Neon
Please stop using neon tank setups for bettas. Your kids might love it, but the poor betta now has a very unnatural environment that is probably make his eyeballs bleed. 

Stick to natural colors with only some fun accents. Bettas do love color in moderation.

Play!
Bettas are intelligent. It's a myth that fish only remember things for 3 seconds. Bettas can remember things for month and will quickly be able to recognize faces....that feed him. They are very curious, as well.

Bettas also like to play and they are super easy to entertain. You can simply put a mirror up to the tank and watch your betta flare and flex as if he is going to fight. Just, don't do this for two long - you don't want to overdo it.

You can also introduce floating plants and decorations and watch your betta move them around. Some people put a ping pong ball in the tank to amuse your betta. Just make sure to remove it when playtime is over. 

 
You can even use a dry erase market on the outside of the tank to draw things – you’ll see your betta come over to investigate what is it. This is great mental stimulation and fun to watch. If you have a classroom betta, it's a super fun way to write a message and watch the betta get excited about it because it's colorful and new. 

You can also place new objects outside the tank. After all, the betta doesn't like to stare at the same walls all day. He is looking outside the tank and some fun objects around the tank are very interesting.

Medicine

Bettas can get sick and hurt and you should have some medicine on hand. As with all pet care, you need to know your betta well enough to know when he might be sick or hurt.

You should know the signs of:

• Fin rot
• Dropsy (aka pineconing)
• Velvet
• Swim badder disorders
• Ick
• Popeye
• Columnaris
• Cuts/ulcers

I always kept some Bettafix when I noticed my betta had a wound. It's a good medication to keep on hand for common troubles your betta will probably get into. A lot of common or parasite type issues can be solved with cleaning the tank, checking water quality and fasting. 

It's not hard to give medical attention to a betta.

Look, if you betta is sick, you need to take care of him. A sick betta can be a sign of a tank imbalance or ineffective cleaning. Don't make your betta suffer because you are too busy or don't pay attention - if your dog or cat had an open wound or infection, you'd take care of them. Take care of your betta.

A call to an expert or some research can provide you with the right treatments to either cure your betta or make him more comfortable. 

Will ended up dying of dropsy - it's basically an incurable organ failure. I setup a hospital tank with calming treatments, salts and a comfortable space until he died.

A Happy Betta
So, how do you know if you are doing this betta thing right? 

You will see your betta being active – zooming around. He will rush through plants (for a tickle) and hide out in logs or swim through rock holes. The motions will be smooth. 

He will also lounge and be lazy in a favorite spot showing he likes his environment. He will come to see you, too, and want to check out visitors.

Your betta will have open fins (not flaring, that's different) and look relaxed. Fins tight to the body all the time is not a good sign. Bettas will stretch and display their fins - they will basically strut when happy and healthy.

Your betta will be eating, too – they do love to eat!

You might also see a bubble nest. A bubble nest means the male is ready to mate – it’s not 100% that your betta is happy as mating is an instinct over an emotional thing. But, having a betta making a nest indicates he is well fed and feels safe. If your betta does not make a nest, he can still be very happy but just not into mating.

Mighty Morph Don't Rhyme

A few-ish reasons:
1. The words are combination of different etymologies from different languages with different origins or ages

2. Because English is a natural language, not a constructed one like, say, Esperanto, which was constructed to be a international auxiliary language.

3. English has an alphabetic writing system. It has only 26 symbols to represent 44 sounds that, together, create millions of words. Unlike, let's say, Chinese which has an unlimited set of characters to display  meaning.

4. English is morphophonemic language so the way we write words is a code that represents both sound and meaning. Unlike, say, the Serbo-Croatian language where exact letter maps one-to-one with the sounds of the language.

Language is super fun! English is one of the languages with requires a some critical thinking but once you start to understand the roots, it can really open up a lot of fun discoveries.

The Sound of Scent

In "Scent," neither letter is silent.

Together, this combination of letters, create a softer sound than if one or the other was missing.

English is morphophonemic language - the letters represent a code for both sound and meaning - "scent," "sent" and "cent" are three separate words and actually are spoken (technically) in three different ways.

Double Your V

I got'ch!

In Classical Latin, the sound we make from the "w" (as in water) was represented by a letter that looked like "v." 

Through the years, the sound that the letter "v" changed to the modern sound - like vapor. 

To distinguish the sound of "w" from the "v" AND the up and coming letter-sound of "u," a double form of "u" was taken to represent the original Classical Latin "v" sound which was written as "uu" - which is two of those "u" symbols called  "double-u."

November 2018 Out of Office (OOO)

I like to make feisty Out of Office (OOO) messages for my company people. I mean, who wants to read: "Hello, I am currently out of the office I will return on _____."

BORING.

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Hello friends,

I’m out of ze office for the week of November 19. I will be returning Monday, November 26 to answer you messages.

I unable to take your calls (who calls me anymore?) or emails because I will be knee deep in administering medical support for sick kittens and cats and elbow deep in making some 50+ pies in order to raise money for the Pet Adoption and Lifecare Society (PALS) 

(https://www.adoptapet.com/pals),

Not at the same time.

Fun fact - On Thanksgiving, we will have a full moon, known as the Beaver Moon (aka the Frost Moon or Mourning Moon). To celebrate this celestial occasion, it’s time to unload baggage in your life and home to prep for the coming winter.

If you have a problem that requires the local team here to help you, email them. If you need to contact the person I report to, email my boss. 

Cheers my peers,

Maddie

Training and Talent Development

Mean Girls Week: Friday

A few coworkers decided to do a Mean Girls week from October 23-26 because we all loved the movie and I was down.

Welcome to Mean Girls Week. Here are the Rules:

• Don’t wear a tank top two days in a row
• You can only wear your hair in a ponytail once a week
• On Wednesdays, we wear pink
• You can only wear jeans or track pants on Friday
• Be effortlessly plastic

You must take a photo of your outfit every day and share your thoughts.

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I got this shirt in 2011 on sale to wear while I was scooping poop as a throwaway shirt.

Somewhat lies.

More specifically, I got it for when I was working with kids who were volunteering for school credits or religious reasons, or those with various disabilities who were learning skills, or earning badges and even parolees doing community service. I thought maybe it would make me the “cool (cat) mom, not like those other moms.”

I’d be that chick who was with it. The totally relevant adult. People would want to talk to me and then donate to PALS, to foster and volunteer because we're totally hip.

And I'm in no way a fidgety-lame dictator trying to make community service and feline fecal flinging fun!

The t-shirt-plaid-skirt combo is very fetch and I think a respectable nod to the Plastics style and the characters like Janis – the anti-Plastic rule-breaker.

When I got this shirt I researched Superman so if someone needed it to start a conversation with me, I could reply – I worked with some autistic and really shy kids so having something to make connection less scary is always a plus so, I did some research.

Did you know - the “S” does not stand for “Super__” It’s the Kryptonian symbol for hope.

(Don’t @ me bro, comics evolve. As Damian sang: I am beautiful no matter what they say WORDS CANT BRING ME DOOOOOWWWN!!)

I always thought vanity didn’t fit Superman’s character, he didn’t name himself “Superman,” either. Kent picked a symbol of hope not vanity (and also looks sexy with his hair pushed back)

I wear this shirt when I’m working with last-chancers of human and animal kind as my uniform. Because…well, hope.

The word “hope” appears twice in the Mean Girls script:

• Once when Ms. Norbury learned Cady is really good at math and says: “Cady, I hope you join Mathletes.”
• The second time when the Burn Book is discovered and Principle Duvall says, “You better hope nobody else ever does see it.”

I hope you all join your own Mathletes even if it is social suicide. And I hope when venting or holding other peoples secrets, you find ways to counter with positive.

And this skirt is far too short per the dress code at my office and I don’t care.

Mean Girls Week: Thursday

A few coworkers decided to do a Mean Girls week from October 23-26 because we all loved the movie and I was down.

Welcome to Mean Girls Week. Here are the Rules:

• Don’t wear a tank top two days in a row
• You can only wear your hair in a ponytail once a week
• On Wednesdays, we wear pink
• You can only wear jeans or track pants on Friday
• Be effortlessly plastic

You must take a photo of your outfit every day and share your thoughts.

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I was so obsessed with Wednesday (like, why are you so OBSESSED with me?!) – I didn’t think of outfits for Thursday and Friday.

Mean Girls takes place in Evanston, Illinois and it looks like it's always warm and always happy. And it’s getting cold and dark here.

Did you know, while the girls refer to themselves as “The Plastics” they did not invent the name – Janis Ian (the anti-plastic) did. They took what was an insult from someone outside their clique and owned it. They made it their story so much it was in the Rules.

Yesterday, I got the quasi-confirmation that one of my foster-babies might have a fatal infection called Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP). She just isn't bouncing back right now. While her sudden symptoms might also be how she is gaining weight after being starved for all but a few weeks of her life, FIP couldn't be ruled out.

If it is FIP, there is nothing we can do – I just have to watch her and see if she crashes.

Since 2011, by choice, I have worked with last-chancers and those who were dying. I have fostered over 20 felines and I know exactly who I was when the 6 of them died. July 10, 2017 was the last time a baby died wrapped up in my arms. And I have fostered 7 more since then. I can't imagine a place I would rather want to be.

And I know people who do so much more than me with heroic efforts that render me speechless.

Sometimes people outside this world of rescue focus on the death. Death is not the worst thing that can happen - a life without love is.

You become the part of the story that you focus on. If you only focus on the worst parts, you become the worst parts. If you focus on the best parts, you become the best parts. To get to either, you have to accept both parts.

If this little kitten doesn’t make it, it will make her story sad and I will cry. But, that’s not her whole story and not the part I focus on. She is tiny and brave and sweet and has the squeakest meow and loves to be held...

The Plastics focused on the part of the story they wanted. Regina George literally takes the awful (mostly true) stuff people throw at her and owns it. There's a whole montage on it.

I am working from home today and this morning was totally easier to get together than Monday, even if I was working from home. I took the opportunity to hunt for non-black, winter-warm items and I made sure I added some pink accents for the Plastics.

This was a good reminder to me to focus on what I can do and own it.

I was also the fanciest cat-lady at the kitten vaccine bar!

Mean Girls Week: Wednesday

A few coworkers decided to do a Mean Girls week from October 23-26 because we all loved the movie and I was down.

Welcome to Mean Girls Week. Here are the Rules:

• Don’t wear a tank top two days in a row
• You can only wear your hair in a ponytail once a week
• On Wednesdays, we wear pink
• You can only wear jeans or track pants on Friday
• Be effortlessly plastic

You must take a photo of your outfit every day and share your thoughts.
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I don’t like pink because it is the “girl” color and I feel it’s often a one-dimensional characterization of women because it’s soft and pretty and quiet. Blarg.  I have nothing that’s substantially pink in my wardrobe.Wearing pink is outside my comfort zone and I was dreading Wednesday.

According to the rules, you only need some pink - I said to myself, Maeve (which is apparently what I call myself now), I’m going ALL out. See, the Plastics’ pink-on-pink costuming started that trend in the 2000s that made it ok for you to wear a lot of one color - mainly, pink.

Before that, it was “too much.”

There are voices and pressures that can berate us for being "too much" or "not enough" and a high percentage of that pressure is based on looks. In my experience, dress codes and presentations are directed at how women should look so we can be taken seriously and be successful. So ingrained is this rhetoric that I don’t wear pink as secret rebellion.

My inner-critic told me I should wear a black blazer to mute this pinkness, this girlishness, this unapologetic bubblegum announcement that turns "woman" into "girl"…And I stopped myself.

How brutal is that? I would never tell someone to mute themselves. What if someone really, really liked pink...?

I remembered former coworkers who have neck tattoos and gauges that needed to be muted. Or a transgendered friend who struggled to fit norms in order to be seen – she has to hide who she is to be seen. If you are going to be taken seriously - you have to follow these rules..?

(sad face)

Their skills, kindness and talents are so much more than their aesthetic could ever be. Their expressions of themselves or their moods does not limit them, it limits others. So, I grabbed this glittery necklace over a black blazer. Cause #extra.

Honestly, the areas outside my comfort zone are such luxuries and I lost sight of that while having a mini-tantrum over wearing pink. There are people who might step out of their assigned zone and actually be really hurt.

No one would ever condemn me for wearing pink.

People showing up as they are – to work, to help, to connect – can be a struggle that is beyond my flippant disregard for pink and eye-rolling expression toward those who lecture me on how I need to manage my femininity. There are people whose “on Wednesdays we wear pink” takes an amount of courage I don’t think I have.

Here is what I do know.

There is no way we can innovate in a closed system. I reminded myself to seek out and support who people are. People with unique interests, expressions, perceived or actual disabilities, methods and perspectives open doors and concepts beyond my imagination. I don’t want accepted norms (even my own norms) to become a mental cage that holds me back from making connections.

On Wednesday, we wear pink.

And. I wore pink. (Thanks, Amazon Prime!)

Mean Girls Week: Tuesday

A few coworkers decided to do a Mean Girls week from October 23-26 because we all loved the movie and I was down.

Welcome to Mean Girls Week. Here are the Rules:

• Don’t wear a tank top two days in a row
• You can only wear your hair in a ponytail once a week
• On Wednesdays, we wear pink
• You can only wear jeans or track pants on Friday
• Be effortlessly plastic

You must take a photo of your outfit every day and share your thoughts.

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I was up late Monday night at the vet, and with worry. As I was starting to sleep, and then at about 3am the kittens sat at the side of the bed and yowled at me until they got attention - and another can of cat food.

I was totally ready to grab jeans from the hamper and be like “oh, I forgot..?” I didn’t even want to shower….or be at work on time…or do this Mean Girls thing. Or leave my foster-babies.

But one of the rules is "Be Effortlessly Plastic."

Putting this look together took effort (because I hadn’t planned it, number one) and as our front desk maven, Kelsey, snapped this picture, a lot of people told me I looked nice and liked the color combination as if I planned it.

But mere hours before this, I was cuddling fragile kittens and wearing cat food and medications as much as I was delivering it. I was rummaging through the litter box for signs of butt-worms. I was worried my foster-kitten wasn’t gaining weight, that one was getting sicker, and tht maybe it wasn’t warm enough. And I forgot to put in my Chewy order so…

AHHHH! WHY AM I DOING THIS MEAN GIRL THING!? MY SHIRT IS WRINKLED!

But, I had to look effortless.

Today was a much needed reminder that when you do everything right, people will wonder if you did anything at all. Or that when your work is flawless, people only see the success and rarely see the work to get there or the billion other things going on around you.

I reminded myself to compliment people on their dirty, miserable, heartbreaking, grinding work that was needed rather than idolizing the success alone. There are no "three easy steps" of effortless success. Being effortless is f**king hard.

Almost as hard as an American figuring out how to get .20ml of amoxicillin based on a 50mg/ml script from a 30g/60ml bottle oral suspension powder…they use the metric system in Africa, though.

So, despite a rough weekend of helicoptering-fostering nurturing my foster kittens and offering support to my fellow rescuers dealing with far worse issues, at the time of this photo, I’m was pretty sure I could take over the world in the right pencil skirt.

I even took the time to straighten my hair – I just missed that huge part in the photo. So, work in progress….

Mean Girls Week: Monday

A few coworkers decided to do a Mean Girls week from October 23-26 because we all loved the movie and I was down.

Welcome to Mean Girls Week. Here are the Rules:

• Don’t wear a tank top two days in a row
• You can only wear your hair in a ponytail once a week
• On Wednesdays, we wear pink
• You can only wear jeans or track pants on Friday
• Be effortlessly plastic

You must take a photo of your outfit every day and share your thoughts.

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I worked from home – normally I am in my PJs a little longer as I roll into the day but I got up to make sure I had time to dress the part and do my hair and makeup. I'm a Plastic this week!

Cold, Shiny, Hard, PLASTIC!

I was reminded of when I freelanced and at one point I was working like crazy and not showering and eating nothing but marshmallows with chopsticks as I slowly lost my grip on reality to the saccharine sounds of QVC in the background…

We talk about self-care as something that looks like massages and fitness and family. Today felt a little like a type of self-care that I might have been missing. In having to get dressed up on a day when I didn’t have to made me feel like I was doing it for me.

Like I did something unnecessary for myself that made me feel…nice.

The effort also changed a little of my “lazy” mindset and got me in a groove where I felt more like I could take on challenges with some sass and creativity.

Since it’s cold and my warm stuff is dark and “old lady” looking (black turtleneck and navy pants) I needed to find a way to pop it. And my choice was not by accident.

One of the bases of the costumes in Mean Girls was the mixture of retro styles such as preppy knitwear and patterns based roughly on styles throughout the 1940-1950 with tighter fits and midriff cuts that were modern in the 2000s. The concept of the Rules is based on a time when you did dress up to go to school – fetch retro.

My sweater and pants are modern-classic so I added teal. Teal was used a lot in the 1950 and into the 1960 as a color of trend. BOOM! 

Since I later had to rush a lethargic kitten to the vet – I was also the fanciest cat-lady in the waiting room…

Your Going To Be Ok Even There Are People Who Find More Delight In Mockey Then In Being Human

In the pursuit of creating a more compassionate world...

People often misuse "Their/There/They're" and "Your/You're" and "Than/Then" not because they are uneducated, unintelligent or somehow less-than you and deserving of mockery...

Everyone makes these mistakes because we are taught to speak before we are taught to write. Our brains tend to have more practice related sounds to words.

That is why when you hear the sentence:

"Yer (your) Gramps is drunk again!" 

and then

"Yer (you all) all goin' to git in trouble!" 

You understand what is being said even if, on paper, the words are incorrect.

So, let's all be a little nicer on the uptake and acknowledge we probably ALL have made the sound-to-word mistake and give our fellow humans the benefit of the doubt in order to understand the message before we launch into shaming.

End report.

October 2018 Out of Office (OOO)

I like to make feisty Out of Office (OOO) messages for my company people. I mean, who wants to read: "Hello, I am currently out of the office I will return on _____."

BORING.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello,

Nope, I didn’t respond THAT fast. I’m out of office and this is my Ze Out Of Office Form (ZOOM) where assume to know what you are asking and provide answers.

When are you back?

Yes, I have foster kittens

No, uhh when-

Yes, you can donate to the Pet Adoption and Lifecare Society (PALS) (https://www.adoptapet.com/pals) to defer the cost of food and medical.

Where you see yourself in 5 years?

Listening would defiantly be one of my biggest weaknesses.

Anyhow, I will be answering you emails and Jabbers Wednesday, October 11, 2018.

Cheers my peers,
Maddie
Training and Talent Development

Mad Digest: Mark Rober's Beat Any Escape Room

BEAT ANY ESCAPE ROOM - 10 proven tricks and tips

I recently got a Roku (not to be confused with Róka, my comfort animal) so rabbit-holes of content consumption (not to be confused with TB) are emerging in my life.

I actually came across this YouTube gem and it reminded me of the way my industry throws people together and demands excellence. Project are their own Escape Rooms, right? 

So, how does a diverse (or friendly) group quickly come together, solve problems and find success? Or just hack one of dem ‘Scape Rooms?

Here is the content I reviewed:

BEAT ANY ESCAPE ROOM: 10 proven tricks and tips

By Mark Rober

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwgaTYOx0RI&feature

Watch this quick 12min clip for full, glorious details on how you can beat any Escape Room (maybe) and you might be surprised how much these applies to what we do here.

Me Writing A Lot of Junk About A 12min YouTube You Could Just Watch

The host, Mark Rober, talks with Scott Nicholson who is a Professor of Game Design and Development at Wilfrid Laurier University in Brantford, Ontario about designing games that change the world. And also how to hack games.

And…be good at. Stuff.

Mark has implemented Scott’s guidance on how to break records when it comes to solving Escape Rooms.

Our focus here is actually making games to change the world. So a lot of the games we make here have some sort of learning outcome. Our goal is to help get people to learn stuff in a playful way - Scott Nicholson

Here are the 10 tips from the video about solving an Escape Room in record time:

Think simple

Remind yourself that the average person should be able to complete the room in one hour in a well-designed room.

Search 

The first thing you should do is search for clues and items – nothing else. Keep it simple; you shouldn’t have to disassemble a light fixture or spend too much time trying to make a random item into a clue if it doesn’t match the theme.

Organize your stuff

As you find clues and items, put all the things in one location (no one should hold on to something). Group similar items together. This will make it easier to tell what you are missing and a bigger picture should start to emerge. Once you have used an item, put it in a discard pile so no one is confused while working on different puzzles.

Focus on stops

Focus on what is stopping you from moving forward to prevent getting overwhelmed. Address what is stopping forward progress. This will also prevent you from getting side-tracked by red herrings (the bane of ALL gamers).

Team roles

Poor communication is the number one reason teams fail. In Mark’s case, having a "project manager" alleviated the issue of poor communication. The PM does NOT get involved in puzzles, s/he is the person who will cycle through incoming information from the search and call out, "Everyone, we are looking for four numbers for a four digit code!" and the group will then look for that or "Everyone, that poster looks funny, take a look at that."

Lock types

You should be familiar with the most common locks and their inputs such as, combo locks, dial locks and key locks. Know some rare locks like directional locks so you don’t get tripped up by the device itself.

Code types

Know basic codes and cyphers such as Morse code, pigpen cipher or Caesar cipher. Know what they look like and what their keys look like is more important than memorizing solutions. For example, long-short patterns are probably Morse code and a list of numbers from 1-26, probably align with letters in the alphabet (1=a, 2=b, etc.)

Witten clues

When you see text, look for punctuation or grammatical errors as these are often codes within text. Even how the words are typeset on a page can give you clues as to how it can be used. Never take a note at face value. It’s a code.

Look for patterns

In Escape Rooms (or general puzzle games), few things are random. Keep a look out for like items, like colors or groupings of different things. Our brains are wired to find patterns, so, let your brain look for repeating shapes, colors, symbol styles as well as numbers and words.

Your guide is your friend
At the end of the day, you are supposed to have fun, so, if you are super frustrated, just ask for help. It’s better to take a hint and feel the excitement of escaping than being stuck on a task and leaving frustrated.

My policy for the number of people in an Escape Room is the same as the number of people in a tent – no matter what the package says, you’ll have a better time at half capacity - Scott Nicholson

Bonus Round

My takeaways having survived our project workshop errrr...personal Escape Room.

Think simple

Remind yourself that the average person should be able to complete the training and learn the stuff in the allowed time. Keep design simple. You can jazz stuff up later.

Search

Spend time getting items first, aka research. Research should be published, accessible and reviewed. Don’t go digging deeply into wormholes and unsupported or outdated materials. Also, don’t make your learner have to search too hard to find key learning points or apply the points to their next actions after training.

Organize your stuff

Put all your data in one place where everyone on the team can see and access it. This will keep everyone on the same page and prevent overwork or re-work. No one should uniquely hold information or notes. 

A single depository of information will help everyone moving faster and allow them ask better questions (stand on shoulders of giants, people). Once a resource has been fully consumed, move it to an archive/backup folder. Keep only active and truly important resources in the open.

Focus on stops

Look at immediate roadblocks, not the final deadline. Work step-by-step, not “what about in 50 years when ____.” 

Ask: What are the inputs we need to get us to the next phrase and only search for those answers. If you know you will have roadblocks, work backwards not only to give yourself time but to find the inputs to remove it.

Team roles

Assigning project based roles (not so much job title roles) means skills can be used to their greatest potential. 

Have one person who is not doing active work keep visibility to all tasks and activities in order to best direct the team toward the bigger picture. This allows others to get safely buried in the details of each task because someone is watching their back and processing their findings to move everyone forward.

Lock types

From a project standpoint, if you can’t open a lock, let someone else try before you start over. We all perform differently under pressure and pressure removes brain-power. 

Build your own mental catalog of project locks - understanding common lock types means you can make educated guesses: a three-combo lock means you only need 2 inputs, you can guess the last one. Or you might be able to access non-liner problem solving to arrive at resolution: If 1-2-3 combo is the same as 2-3-1 combo, why get bogged down in details of processes that come to the same place? Unlock that sucka.

Code types

Don’t worry about planning and figuring out every aspect of every potential problem and every little detail in order to solve every human, technical, weather, ergonomic, spiritual and task-related issue that possibly could happen. 

You only need to recognize when stuff is getting cryptic and then pull out solutions. Having a general view of what common problems might happen is a better than spending early stages of a project learning how to hot wire a car just in case you lose your keys.

Written clue

If someone is emailing you every hour about progress on a smoothly running project, what does that really mean? If different published sources are saying different things – what does that mean? Often times, requests or stories have deeper clues under the request. 

Look for things out of the ordinary when processing resources, take some extra time to focus on the meaning-type-details so you can, as they say, be more agile.

Look for patterns

You can’t see all the patterns, no matter how hard you stare. Actively cycle people through problems to get new perspectives or to find better ways of explaining something. Everyone has a different design bias and rather than bleaching these out, they should be used wisely. 

If we all have these things, might as well put them to good use.

Your guide is your friend

Have check-ins not only to provide information but to get your bearing and to ask questions. Maybe it seems embarrassing to ask your stakeholder something “basic” but why spend days of frustration trying to figure something out when your stakeholder might be able to hand it over to you? 

Who are your magic-wand people – make them work for you.

Stay humble, stay woke - Maddie

Fall Equinox

Hello friend,

I am currently unable to answer your email as I am on PTO doing important Equinox things like peeling apples and cleaning the graves as my grandmother taught me.

"Steveiemissymichaelerniesandymandy," she would yell, "Mandy, get out of the ditch and clean Pista's grave from all those leaves! And you remember, in this family we don't divorce our husbands we bury them!"

I don't know what killed Pista but he never made it out of the backyard.

If this is an emergency, you can hit up Joe or Topher. They are both snappy dressers with the brains to back it up.

If something is on fire, I suggest putting that fire out.

If you want to report my specific and measurable awesomeness, email my manager.

I'll be back on Tuesday.

Cheers my peers (and Mom),
Maddie

Copyright or Copywrong

Can you help me apply "©2018 Company, Inc." to all my content and slides and things?
I mean, I can. But, why?

Since the Copyright Act of 1976, all work is protected and the mark is no longer needed or required. It also bares no legal status.

It’s important to protect Company’s intellectual property! Without it, we are lost!
The Copyright Act of 1976 was designed to address intellectual property questions raised by new forms of communication that did not jive with the previous laws around content protection.

Since the passing of the Copyright Act of 1976 there is no reason to put a copyright on our materials because, at creation, it is granted full US protection.

Wait. What? We don’t need the ©?
Under section 102 of the Copyright Act of 1976, copyright protection automatically extends to

[any] original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.

The only limit of the Copyright Act of 1976 is around systems, processes and ideas. Copyright law protects the expression of facts and ideas, not the ideas and facts themselves. That’s patent level talk.

No, no. None of this makes sense and you’re not a lawyer. We need that copyright symbol and formal name of Company! Protection! This is how we have always done it!
Let’s review real fast: since the Copyright Act of 1976, all content created after 1978 (when the law went into effect), once viewable and consumable through any medium, is protected by US law from use (minus fair use). You can take legal action without any little knickknack symbol.

Since the Copyright Act of 1976, all work is protected. No razzle-dazzle needed.

Then why is it so important we put "© 2018 Company, Inc." on everything? 
Sometimes battles continue long after wars are over.

The confusion, I can only assume, stems from the last major law around US copyrighting. The Copyright Act of 1909 states only works that were original, published and had a copyright symbol were protected by federal law.

If this was not done, you had a narrow chance of protection at the state level, but, generally, no ability to claim someone had stolen your original work. Many people continue to abide by the 1909 law over the 1976 law for…I assume…cultural reasons or pagination reasons.

I might point out that we, as creators, already gave up the right to anything we create at Company through contract which negates any of this.
 
Wait, we are following an Act passed 117 years ago?
Yep.

Protection in the Copyright Act of 1909 was more about when a work becomes public domain and useable by the masses without payment or credit needed.

Back in the olde tyme days, we didn’t have as diverse mediums as we do now and in order to protect all creators, the Copyright Act of 1976 was passed to broaden the scope of federal statutory copyright protection.

That’s why if someone were to post a photo they took on the Internet, for example, you can’t just use it without payment or agreed on credit. I mean, you can, but, you can also run stop signs when no one is looking.

Since the Copyright Act of 1976, all work is protected.

Better safe than sorry. What if someone steals our work? We would need to take them to court and prove our rights with that mark that registers it as copyrighted!
It’s already prote-...ok ok…I see the rabbit hole we are going down.

Let’s assume someone stole your PowerPoint or an elearning and started using it and you got mad and wanted to legally pursue them for copyright infringement.

These materials, owned by Company, are not registered at the US Copyright Office. Because, well, one it’s protected by the Copyright Act of 1976…and…

We need to register!
So, the Copyright Act of 1976 still allows for registration of work through the US Copyright Office, which then has power to determine ownership and other stuff. To register, the Copyright Act of 1976 requires the work to be published for public sale and that published work has to be deposited within the US Copyright Office to accomplish registration.

According to section 411 of the Copyright Act of 1976, registration can be acquired by creator of the work in order to formally start infringement action against another. But, it’s not required.

Even IF registration is rejected or never acquired, infringement action can begin and continue - the court will just determine that the work is copyrightable first.

Again, since the Copyright Act of 1976, all work is protected.

Ok, ok, well. We still need to add "All Right Reserved." So everyone knows they have no rights to use the work.
"All Rights Reserve" is an old phrase that has no legal significance since Aug 2000.

Again, since the Copyright Act of 1976, all work is protected.
 
Fine. Well, for Company’s protection, we need to add "Proprietary and Confidential" because we can take THAT to court.
The "Proprietary and Confidential" statement has two parts divided by the word "and."

"Confidential" has no legal significance. You can’t say something is confidential and then go after someone who shares the work. My diary had "top secret" on it and I was unable to peruse legal actions against anyone who read it without authorization…I’m kidding, no one cared about my diary.

Confidential information is protected only through contracts and non-disclosures agreements because for anything to be legally binding all parties need to agree to the terms. Without a non-disclosure agreement (consent, if you will) the word "Confidential" is only an alert to the person who has access to the content that someone else deems it confidential.

"Proprietary" indicates the information is unique and original to the industry or entity. It would be a client list or the blueprints for a working time machine. It means that the content is unique and …uhh..yep. That’s all that word means. It’s not legal protection.

Again, since the Copyright Act of 1976, all work is protected.

Do I need to update my copyright every year?
…I was born in 1980, so…I never have…Ok, the battle rages on.

When you see multiply copyright dates on a work, it normally indicates that significant updates or corrections to the content has been made while still falling in the context of the original work. If I wrote a book in 1901 on each of the US Presidents, you might see a copyright update every four years because new content is being added after each election. But, I mean, by 1929 or 1957 it would be public domain anyway…soo…I mean…no

Again, since the Copyright Act of 1976, all work is protected.

Ok, so, no © is needed. Ok. I get it. We are totally protected.
Well, only in the United States.

Copyright is not subjected to international regulations so there is nothing that legally protects content from being used outside of the US regardless of any symbols of actions taken in this country.

Gorgeous

Stop calling me "gorgeous"

Because when you say "you're gorgeous," you mean you expect me to do whatever you want and I should happily exceed your expectations until you are done with me and allow me to disappear as silently as smoke into the night.

Because when you say "you're gorgeous," it means the choices I am excited about are shameful because my happiness is not as important as realizing being gorgeous means I owe something to the world around me that is driven by society, not my own mind or heart.

Because when you say "you're gorgeous," you think it means you are entitled to my undivided attention and body. You say it not as a compliment but as a claim on my person.

When I tell you "I know" or "I'm not interested," in a second, I will turn from "gorgeous" to a slut, a whore, a cocky bitch, bad decision maker and a cum dumpster. I will change from an angel to a woman fraught with drama and too into myself and too negative to be worthy of your attention or life - both which you view as you property to deal with and equal.

Because, when you said "you're gorgeous"...you thought that was just the fee for violating my boundaries and you want a refund when you don't get what you want.

Stop calling me "gorgeous."