The Venting Thread

[apl68]

Ick! That happened to me once when I was teaching 8 AM French I.

I took them around the campus and did a vocabulary lesson a la Robin Williams in "Dead Poets Society" since we couldn't find anyone else to let us in (not even the Security Office across the walkway was staffed until 9 AM...!)

Since the weather was nice, no-one complained.

M.

At least you weren't in the same situation as the medical staff at a Texas hospital.  They were locked out only this week:


https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-heights-hospital-houston-doctors-parking-lot-unpaid-rent/

[mamselle]

Eek!

And you don't want to tangle with an unhappy MD in their natural habitat (or worse, locked out of it).

They're worse than grizzlies when angered ...

M.

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

Dammit! I just recorded a Kaltura video, my computer burped and now it's gone. :(

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

Update! I found the video!

[Langue_doc]

My desktop kept blacking out with every click of the mouse. Aaarrrgh!!! The directions on how to fix black screens were rather cumbersome. Fortunately though, after restarting the computer three times, it seems to not black out --I can only hope that I didn't jinx myself.

Now I'm too scared to open Word because that's how the problem started--at least, that's how I think the problem started. Langue_doc, back up those documents in Dropbox and also on the laptop. And on the external hard drive. How difficult is that?

[FishProf]

Gaaah! I have to have a meeting with HR this morning because one of my supervisees (SV1) is unhappy with his office.  How did we get here?

1) Covid
2) My SVs sit in cubicles in an open air space frequented by students and Faculty.  This is troubling.
3) SV2 is moved (by her choice) to a more remote, but still open air space.
4) SV1 is offered a desk in a storage area with a closable door and essentially zero traffic and gladly accepts.
5) SV 3 and SV 4 stay where they are b/c there are now 1/2 as many people to contend with in their space.
6) Nothing
7) We go remote from TGiving to Feb 1
8) I get summoned to HR b/c SV1 is unhappy with the space he chose, and now I am called on the carpet for not treating him well.

I will point you to the numbered list above where he said anything to me or his direct supervisor about being unhappy with the space.  But don't waste your time looking, it isn't there.

[downer]

Dear Provost

Thanks for the message saying that all employees are required to complete a COVID screening every day, even for those who never come to campus.

I will also be glad to text you a selfie every time I do this. Please send me your personal cell #.

So excited to be working with you on this.

[Cheerful]

Dear Provost

Thanks for the message saying that all employees are required to complete a COVID screening every day, even for those who never come to campus.

I will also be glad to text you a selfie every time I do this. Please send me your personal cell #.

So excited to be working with you on this.

Hilarious. Off-campus employees should just not do it.  Or have the dictators threatened withholding paycheck or firing for noncompliance?

[Parasaurolophus]

Pfft, two months and a rejection without comments. If it isn't a desk rejection, it should come with something.

[Cheerful]

Pfft, two months and a rejection without comments. If it isn't a desk rejection, it should come with something.

Sorry.  Says a lot about the Editor to behave like that.  If it's that same journal you've struggled with before and yet still complete reviews for, you might re-consider helping them out in the future.

[the_geneticist]

Dear Provost

Thanks for the message saying that all employees are required to complete a COVID screening every day, even for those who never come to campus.

I will also be glad to text you a selfie every time I do this. Please send me your personal cell #.

So excited to be working with you on this.

We have to fill out an online "approval to come to campus" AND we're supposed to report if we think we were exposed to COVID or being tested for COVID or actually diagnosed with COVID. 
However, we have the ability to type in the name of our immediate supervisor.  Don't tempt me to put in our Provost for every entry!

[Vkw10]

My apartment complex was sold in October. New company is increasing rent $50 - $75 a month. Also requiring leases. They've also eliminated several small amenities, including twice-weekly trash pickup at door and disinfectant wipes in weight room. Tiny things, but annoying.

[clean]

No time like the present to search for a new place!!

[AvidReader]

Apparently all the lock codes in the building were changed last week . . .

The lock codes were all changed AGAIN on Friday afternoon and the two (new) codes I got from a colleague last Wednesday for my two MW classrooms did not work at 8:00 this morning. Again. As before, no email with codes was sent out.

((Why change them twice in a week???))

At least the dept. secretary was in the office on time today and let me in to my classrooms.

AR.

[clean]

Someone I have never heard of, from an office dealing with international students somewhere across campus CCd me on a message to IT initiating IT to make changes to my Blackboard shell (merging my existing class with a class that is not listed as being assigned to me). 

I treated it essentially as a spam attack and alerted the IT people, my chair, my associate dean, the MBA director (as it was an MBA class that was being 'attacked'). I have also now alerted the Speaker of the Faculty Senate.

The Distance Learning liaison (also alerted) sent the instructions showing that only the department chair or instructor of record are allowed to make such requests.

So NOW that I know that the person is not a scammer Im still pissed!  Hopefully one of my administrators will stand up to such crap and spank the officials that tried such misdeeds! Perhaps a policy will be created, (or hopefully, the existing one will be brushed off and followed!)

No one has yet apologized either, so I sort of feel like I am the only one that thinks this is a problem!  I know that classes are starting today and that there are a lot of fires to deal with and this may be small embers to some, but Im sort of annoyed that no one else seems to think that having someone from the International Student's office unilaterally request changes to a faculty member's Blackboard shells is a problem.... ??? WTF???