Here's something you might be interested in.
I hadn't planned on commenting on the fire fighters that were forced to drive a fire engine in the gay pride parade in Hillcrest.
I initially thought the guys complaining were acting like babies. Then I read more of the story, and thought it was insane that they were forced into participating. I was on their side.
Then I hear they asked for "critical incident stress debriefing" and are seeking monetary compensation. And, I'm back to not being on their side.
Here's what should be done in that case. The person (fire chief, I believe), that forced them to take a vehicle in the parade, should be suspended. But nothing too harsh. Their intention was good. They wanted to represent in the parade. But, that fire chief needs to be smart enough to realize, you don't force someone into a parade.
It could be for Black History Month. It could be for an elementary school. You just can't insist on these things, no matter how good you think the PR is worth by having a fire engine involved.
Not to mention the fact that you have to be smart enough to realize that forcing people to do something they might not agree with....like a certain sexual lifestyle, or a religious group, or politics...is just asking for trouble.
So, if the city or whatever, wants to give the four fire fighters each $10,000 for their "pain and suffering," and "humiliation" they say they had to deal with, fine. But anything more, is insane. If they were that scarred by the incident, I'd hate to see what would happen when they pull a burned body out of a building.
On a different subject, I kept meaning to write about City Manager David Garcia, who was fired because of his Internet use while at work.
(by the way...ya gotta love how when the paper covers stories on these people, they always list their salaries; homeboy was pulling in over $200,000 a year, and he was spending a lot of time looking at photos of Pam Anderson!)
I'm all for this guy being fired. Someone in their 50s should know better. Hell, anyone over the age of 16 should know better.
I'm a little confused about how it all went down, though. Initially, stories came out that he was talked to, about how often he surfs the web, and the different celebrity women he seeks photos of (one of the things mentioned in the newspaper today says he would look at sites that featured pregnant women. to each their own, but...hmmm).
So, if he was talked to about it, why a week later is he fired? Did he not follow the rules, and continued to use his computer?
And, if you are talked to about something of that nature, I would say...don't use your computer for ANYTHING but work related issues. Don't even log on to check your emails for a quick couple of minutes.
And just thinking about that, got me to thinking. I've had a few friends tell me they have bosses that are jerks, because they've mentioned to the staff, not to spend so much time on computers doing personal things.
I tell my friends they're insane. Just because technology is at a point where we have computers, and can be in contact with people all the time, doesn't mean you can treat your job like it's your time to play.
Think about this. If nobody had computers. Bill Gates, or Al Gore, or whoever, never created the personal computer. What would happen if you took an extra half hour at lunch each day? Or, you showed up for work 30 minutes late each morning. I'm guessing, you wouldn't have your job long (unless you were union....sorry, that was just a jab at my stepdad).
So, why do people think that same 30 minutes, can be used for personal time, on a computer? Checking dating sites, personal emails, or Pamela Anderson photos? Now, if it was the Pamela Anderson/Tommy Lee video....wait, did I type that out loud?
If I was a boss, I wouldn't want to tell my employees they could never check their computers for that stuff. Because, you'll sound like a jerk. And they're going to anyway. I would just make sure they limit it to around 15 minutes a day. And that they're getting their work done.
I'd also tell them that...ANY picture that's on their computer, from any website, better not be offensive to anyone. If it is, and there's a complaint, they'll be in trouble. Even if they try to say "I didn't know that would pop up."
I think there was a stat that came out about a year ago. It talked about how much time people spend on computers doing non-work related things. If memory serves, it said over 2 hours a day.
When you work an 8 hour day, and a fourth of that time is for personal things, you're officially a bad employee.
If even two minutes of that two hours is looking at Pamela Anderson pictures, well, you have bad taste in women.
I hadn't planned on commenting on the fire fighters that were forced to drive a fire engine in the gay pride parade in Hillcrest.
I initially thought the guys complaining were acting like babies. Then I read more of the story, and thought it was insane that they were forced into participating. I was on their side.
Then I hear they asked for "critical incident stress debriefing" and are seeking monetary compensation. And, I'm back to not being on their side.
Here's what should be done in that case. The person (fire chief, I believe), that forced them to take a vehicle in the parade, should be suspended. But nothing too harsh. Their intention was good. They wanted to represent in the parade. But, that fire chief needs to be smart enough to realize, you don't force someone into a parade.
It could be for Black History Month. It could be for an elementary school. You just can't insist on these things, no matter how good you think the PR is worth by having a fire engine involved.
Not to mention the fact that you have to be smart enough to realize that forcing people to do something they might not agree with....like a certain sexual lifestyle, or a religious group, or politics...is just asking for trouble.
So, if the city or whatever, wants to give the four fire fighters each $10,000 for their "pain and suffering," and "humiliation" they say they had to deal with, fine. But anything more, is insane. If they were that scarred by the incident, I'd hate to see what would happen when they pull a burned body out of a building.
On a different subject, I kept meaning to write about City Manager David Garcia, who was fired because of his Internet use while at work.
(by the way...ya gotta love how when the paper covers stories on these people, they always list their salaries; homeboy was pulling in over $200,000 a year, and he was spending a lot of time looking at photos of Pam Anderson!)
I'm all for this guy being fired. Someone in their 50s should know better. Hell, anyone over the age of 16 should know better.
I'm a little confused about how it all went down, though. Initially, stories came out that he was talked to, about how often he surfs the web, and the different celebrity women he seeks photos of (one of the things mentioned in the newspaper today says he would look at sites that featured pregnant women. to each their own, but...hmmm).
So, if he was talked to about it, why a week later is he fired? Did he not follow the rules, and continued to use his computer?
And, if you are talked to about something of that nature, I would say...don't use your computer for ANYTHING but work related issues. Don't even log on to check your emails for a quick couple of minutes.
And just thinking about that, got me to thinking. I've had a few friends tell me they have bosses that are jerks, because they've mentioned to the staff, not to spend so much time on computers doing personal things.
I tell my friends they're insane. Just because technology is at a point where we have computers, and can be in contact with people all the time, doesn't mean you can treat your job like it's your time to play.
Think about this. If nobody had computers. Bill Gates, or Al Gore, or whoever, never created the personal computer. What would happen if you took an extra half hour at lunch each day? Or, you showed up for work 30 minutes late each morning. I'm guessing, you wouldn't have your job long (unless you were union....sorry, that was just a jab at my stepdad).
So, why do people think that same 30 minutes, can be used for personal time, on a computer? Checking dating sites, personal emails, or Pamela Anderson photos? Now, if it was the Pamela Anderson/Tommy Lee video....wait, did I type that out loud?
If I was a boss, I wouldn't want to tell my employees they could never check their computers for that stuff. Because, you'll sound like a jerk. And they're going to anyway. I would just make sure they limit it to around 15 minutes a day. And that they're getting their work done.
I'd also tell them that...ANY picture that's on their computer, from any website, better not be offensive to anyone. If it is, and there's a complaint, they'll be in trouble. Even if they try to say "I didn't know that would pop up."
I think there was a stat that came out about a year ago. It talked about how much time people spend on computers doing non-work related things. If memory serves, it said over 2 hours a day.
When you work an 8 hour day, and a fourth of that time is for personal things, you're officially a bad employee.
If even two minutes of that two hours is looking at Pamela Anderson pictures, well, you have bad taste in women.