Café Quito: 'pub' thread for general discussions Showing 351-400 of 1,427

[Antonomasia, Admin only]

That's dated 30th December tho

[Ella]

AALBC is proud to celebrate the patron saint of black women writers, Zora Neale Hurston, born on this day in 1891. To commemorate the anniversary of her birth, Amistad Books has created a landmark event – for today (January 7, 2020) only, download a copy of her seminal book, Their Eyes Were Watching God, for free at https://www.harpercollins.com/celebra...
Use promo code ZORA: https:// www. harpercollins.com /celebratingzora/ (in case my link doesn't work, that's the URL w/ spaces)

[Ang]

Thanks, Ella. It's a great book.

[Ella]

No problem. I already have a lovely copy w/ notes galore, so I didn't get one, but I think everyone should have a copy of this great book. I adore it. (Like most things in this group, for some reason, it reminds me of other threads...) This time b/c I think the thing that most often puts people off is the spoken dialect (you've read it, so you know that Hurston writes beautifully and "normally" - not in dialect - when not thinking her characters' thougts or speaking their words.) What always helps me w/ dialect I'm unfamiliar with is reading it aloud. Just a tip from someone who had no problem w/ this one but a lot w/ British & Scottish dialects through the years.

[WndyJW]

I saw that after I posted that link, I posted it on my phone. Here is the one I saw the other day.

https://www.dw.com/en/australia-fires...

[Antonomasia, Admin only]

Spreadsheet users - Ang, Ella, Tommi, anyone else - are you aware of any info about quick ways to merge info from GR csv files into these?

[Ella]

Antonomasia wrote: "Spreadsheet users - Ang, Ella, Tommi, anyone else - are you aware of any info about quick ways to merge info from GR csv files into these?"

I don't have a "good" way, but my two-step inelegant solution was to create a clean spreadsheet and dump GR's file into that, then remove all the lines I didn't need (number of GR reviews, average stars, etc) then recopy the ones I needed into my "real" spreadsheet.

I can break it down more, but I'm hoping someone has a better answer for you.

[Irene]

Antonomasia wrote: "Spreadsheet users - Ang, Ella, Tommi, anyone else - are you aware of any info about quick ways to merge info from GR csv files into these?"

you could do a vlookup formula also, if you just write the title in the spreadsheet you want you can pick up the other info you want by vlookup from the goodreads tab sheet or goodreads file

[Tommi]

Antonomasia wrote: "Spreadsheet users - Ang, Ella, Tommi, anyone else - are you aware of any info about quick ways to merge info from GR csv files into these?"

I’m afraid I don’t know, so Ella and Irene are much more helpful!

[Ang]

I think the ready-made spreadsheet I have been using for about a year had instructions on how to import from GR. I didn't download the 2020 version - I thought I might adapt the 2019 version to be multi-year. I will see if I can find the link for the 2020 version. I have been meaning to check if it had features that I want beyond what the 2019 had. My reluctance to change over is because I changed some of the categories in mine.

[Hugh, Active moderator]

I haven't looked at the target spreadsheets, because I use one that I created myself and it has grown organically to the point where I wouldn't want to re-import the GR data. I suspect that the data manipulation is quite straightforward - vlookups and other parsing and formatting functions can do a lot.

[Antonomasia, Admin only]

We would like to announce that Ella is now a moderator!

[Marc]

Awesome news!

[Trevor]

Thanks Ella!

[Tommi]

Great news! She’s been an invigorating presence here so I’m glad for her.

[Val]

That is great news and a good decision by all the moderators.

[Sam]

Cheers! Cheers! Cheers! Ella

[WndyJW]

Congratulations, Ella! Thanks for taking this on, mods do a lot of work!

[Irene]

Congrats Ella!

[Ella]

Thank you everyone, you're all very kind. I love this group - it keeps me coming back to GR, I realized at some point last year, when otherwise I might not.

[June]

Wonderful news, Ella!

[Karen Michele]

You will be a wonderful addition to an already talented moderator group!

[WndyJW]

This group is the only reason I stay with Goodreads also.

[Robert]

Ella wrote: "Thank you everyone, you're all very kind. I love this group - it keeps me coming back to GR, I realized at some point last year, when otherwise I might not."

Congrats!!!!

[[deleted user]]

Congratulations and thanks for taking on this work to keep our community positive and lively.

[WndyJW]

Does anyone else feel like a hunted animal when trying to read at work? I have to gage if it's safer to stay at my desk where someone might stroll over to chat, or walk in the hall making me vulnerable to work acquaintances I haven't seen for awhile who wants to catch up, or find an out of the way quiet spot, which means I don't walk for 8 hours. Each option has risks, benefits, and downfalls. The reader's life is fraught with challenges.

[Navi]

WndyJW wrote: "Does anyone else feel like a hunted animal when trying to read at work? I have to gage if it's safer to stay at my desk where someone might stroll over to chat, or walk in the hall making me vulner..."

This is something I face everyday, Wendy! I've gone as far as walking to a nearby cafe on my breaks but the coffee/tea $ adds up. Thankfully, I have a two hour commute where I get most of my reading done (I never thought I would be excited for my long commute!)

[Robert]

WndyJW wrote: "Does anyone else feel like a hunted animal when trying to read at work? I have to gage if it's safer to stay at my desk where someone might stroll over to chat, or walk in the hall making me vulner..."

Ever since I changed jobs I feel so guilty if I read at work so I wake up at 5am so that I squeeze in two and a half hours of reading. Tonight I'm alone for an hour so I'm going to continue my current read as soon as I stop typing

[Val]

I don't think I ever have read at work, other than lots of work related stuff. I did read on the way to and from work and at lunchtime (outside in good weather and in a friendly cafe otherwise).

[Tracy]

I work from home, so I usually listen to a book while I’m working, or will read if I have downtime.

[WndyJW]

I can read 75-90 minutes during the work day, 15 mins here and there and a lunch hour. Today someone texted me to ask when I took lunch, I grabbed The Iliad, The Meridian Handbook of Classical Mythology and fled right then to a quiet out of the way room.

[Paul]

I don't ever read at work except perhaps to finish off the last page or two of a book that I've been reading on a train.

I possibly may spend time on Goodreads though!

[WndyJW]

I can only access Goodreads on my phone and it’s frustrating to read and post on a phone. I cherish my lunch hour, that’s 5 hours of reading time, I can read a book just by reading at lunch, which I have pointed out to co-workers who wish they had time to read.

[Hugh, Active moderator]

I can occasionally manage 15 to 20 minutes of reading at lunchtime (anywhere in or around the office is too noisy to be ideal, so I normally give priority to a cryptic crossword). The vast majority of my weekday reading is done in the evening.

[Paul]

Lunch hours - those were the days! Eating at the desk while working has been my lot for the last 20 years or so.

[Emmeline]

I've obviously been in Spain too long... the thought of spending lunch hour reading (or heaven forbid working) instead of eating and chatting with 4-15 people is completely bizarre. Though Wendy makes a good point about squeezing in an extra book a week...

[Ella]

Luckily, I have an office with a lock on the door and my job has a weird level of super busy hours or days/weeks then loads of downtime and we never know when it will be one way or the other (at least not much in advance.) I do always keep a book with me so if I'm stuck in a line (queue) or have unexpected free time I can read.

I may simply be terrifically unpopular, but the only people stalking me seem to be my postgrads, and I hide from them whether I'm reading or not! (just kidding, mostly.)

During the summer if I can take a real lunch hour, I get on the harbor shuttle and ride around the harbor reading usually - it's a lovely ride and like having a little vacation in the midst of the workday.

But honestly, at a hospital/university, people use downtime to do a lot worse than read - so I can get away with it so long as my work gets done.

[WndyJW]

I eat at my desk while working before lunch so I have the full hour to myself. I would say it’s not good for anyone not to take a lunch break, but you seem perfectly well adjusted, Paul, and still read more than most.

[Ella]

Paul wrote: "Lunch hours - those were the days! Eating at the desk while working has been my lot for the last 20 years or so." and
WndyJW wrote: "I eat at my desk while working before lunch so I have the full hour to myself. I would say it’s not good for anyone not to take a lunch break..."

This was what 90% of everyone at work did until a few years ago when we were seriously forced to take our meal hours (those who have them. If we have an emergency or an ongoing crisis case, we don't get time. We take it as we can.) It had a lot to do with modeling healthy practices that we'd like to see the community at large use. This was also the time they banned smoking in its entirely anywhere at all on our campus, so many people had an extra impetus to get off grounds.

As they told us, you don't have to eat, but you have to get away from work for a period of at least 30 minutes!

ETA: We should all move to Spain, clearly: Emily wrote: "I've obviously been in Spain too long... the thought of spending lunch hour reading (or heaven forbid working) instead of eating and chatting with 4-15 people is completely bizarre..."

[Antonomasia, Admin only]

I read that in Spain, people are often chronically tired because work goes on very late to make up for the long lunch hours (plus supper is late too) - and these days they are expected to start earlier to keep up with other countries, unlike when these hours evolved. Do you see any of that, Emily?

Just realised which thread this is, so I don't even have to think about this being a digression, and when it might be time to steer it back. :)

[Ella]

Antonomasia wrote: "I read that in Spain, people are often chronically tired because work goes on very late to make up for the long lunch hours (plus supper is late too) - and these days they are expected to start ear..."

In the US people seem both chronically tired and chronically in a bad mood, so if we have to be tired, I'd rather it be from eating w/ friends. But that's just me.

[Emmeline]

Antonomasia wrote: "I read that in Spain, people are often chronically tired because work goes on very late to make up for the long lunch hours (plus supper is late too) - and these days they are expected to start ear..."

That can certainly be the case (though not at my company, or at least not in my department). People do tend to eat too late at night and then go to bed late (again, not.

I do find the collective lunch hour quite healthy though. Note that I don't actually have a long, siesta-style lunch... just an hour, but a full hour and always with other people, usually in a restaurant setting with chat over coffee afterwards. Recently we had some American happiness guru come and talk about how to reduce stress people should prioritize interacting with family and friends, and we thought it a bit ironic that an American was here to tell the Spanish that.

[Ella]

Emily wrote: "Recently we had some American happiness guru come and talk about how to reduce stress people should prioritize interacting with family and friends, and we thought it a bit ironic that an American was here to tell the Spanish that."

Oh the irony! I feel this way about Mexico in particular - that family/friends are prioritized and work is important, but people know where to draw the line. I mentioned this to a friend a few months ago, and she pointed out that the US is particularly awful for these sorts of things, so almost any country that I'd spent time in would likely look good in comparison (with some obvious exceptions.) I remember learning how many weeks of vacation/sick leave/personal time/etc my British friends got and feeling almost ill with envy as a younger person.

My accrued vacation time is one reason I know I won't leave my job and will just retire from it. It's one of the reasons I've turned down interesting offers through the years. I could never accrue the kind of time off I get now. I don't have enough working years left, and I have a decent job that allows me to earn time off. Many don't. It's unhealthy at best.

[Robert]

Up to 2005 Malta used to have something called holiday in lieu - which means if a holiday fell on a weekend we would take the Friday or Monday off. This led to A LOT four day weeks and people seemed happier.

Obviously with other factors such as the World Wide Web and stricter working hours - in the past there was quite a bit of abuse - a store could close when it feels like regardless of the people who needed to go there or teachers could take two days fake sick leave if they wanted. I am noticing that Maltese generally sleep at midnight and are cranky and overworked.

I know that public holidays are bad for the economy but four day weeks do seem to increase happy levels.

[Ella]

I've seen a lot of research that 4 longer days generally make people happier than 5 shorter ones. I'd guess the only reason they're not done in general is that they're apparently not good for the economy. (though in the US, holidays don't close shops/stores anymore. Very few people actually take the public holidays anymore.)

[Paul]

The main opposition party in the recent UK election ran on a platform of moving to a 4-day week with no loss of pay for workers, although more as a medium term (10 years) aspiration than day 1.

It didn't go well for them (worst performance by their party since the 1930s) albeit that was probably not the biggest factor. The question they really struggled with was 'does that apply to public sector workers - and if so how will public services/finances cope?'

[Ella]

Paul wrote: "The main opposition party in the recent UK election ran on a platform of moving to a 4-day week with no loss of pay for workers, although more as a medium term (10 years) aspiration than day 1.

It..."

Our nursing staff have been on this kind of work week for many years. I can't remember when it was implemented. They love it.

My staff and the straight medical staff as well as some other departments simply cannot work on this kind of schedule. In fact, the idea of a schedule is almost laughable, though supposedly we do have one. (I know my schedule for the month, but those will not be the only days I work, nor will I actually work all of my scheduled days...)

I can't complain though, since I do get days off. People who work in fast food, convenience stores, retail in general and loads of other sectors don't even get Christmas Day or Thanksgiving off, let alone the "bank holidays" (it seems the bank & government are the only ones who actually take off those days.)

Clearly a 4-day workweek cannot work for every sector, just like commuting from your computer can't work for everyone, but it seems like it would be a decent thing to do for productivity, worker retention and overall happiness (which leads to longer retention & increased productivity for the most part) for those kinds of jobs that can actually work like this. What it requires is the people who hire/staff actually thinking through how it will work. But nurses all over the US have worked like this for ages & nurses are required all day every single day.

[WndyJW]

There could be 4 day work weeks, just don’t have everyone take the same day off. I did 4 10 hours days for awhile and while the 3 days off really felt like a good long stretch, the 10 hour days felt like very long days and for those who work on computers the eye strain was a factor.
People would be more productive in 32 hours than in 40 I think. They’d be less stressed, better rested, and working faster since they have less time to do their work.

[Paul]

Ella - interesting. In the UK the policy issue was the proposal that people would work 4/5th of the time for the same total pay, meaning in jobs like nursing where one presumably needs X staff at all times, total wage bills and no of staff needed would instantly rise 25%. How did that work when you implemented it?

The US does seem to have less holidays that UK though - even for a professional services job, people would take their 25-30 days of holiday plus their bank holidays (and in UK if those fall on a weekend they roll over to the Monday). Of course in reality people answer emails at home / on holiday etc but it is still a break from the office.

[Val]

Somewhere I worked several years ago gave people the option of working four 10 hour days or five 8 hour days, and did stipulate that only a minority (I think 10% of any department) could take the same day off. The people who took up the 4 day option tended to prefer it.