Useless Conversation

[RhyssaFireheart]

AHHHHHH!

This training if fucking excruciating!!  I started this one at ~4:40pm.  It's now 6:30 and I'm only 53% of the way through it.  Oh, and it has to be done by today per my employer, so they can hand it up the line to Manpower.  There is no way to go faster, it has one speed.  Argh.

[Paelos]

Go with Ironwood's plan. Sticky Note Ninja.

[rattran]

Stabbing a prostitute while disguised as a stick note ninja was the whole plan I think.

[WayAbvPar]

Stabbing a prostitute while disguised as a stick note ninja was the whole plan I think.

 

[Sky]

So, finally got around to buying a new cable modem since Time Warner started charging for them last month.

I went with the Moto SB6141, since it's on both the normal and turbo lists (I have normal cable, but hey). Mostly did it to save $$ in the long haul, but a nice benefit was doubling my speeds. That was a bit unexpected and awesome.

[Merusk]

Only just? They always charged for them here, but it was a lease-to-own deal.  If you had it for 3 years it was yours.  I still have my old one from our last apartment.  Maybe they don't do the same thing with the wireless ones.

[Sky]

I had thought they charged for it, too. I had the phone/internet model though I didn't use the phone part. I like my router so I didn't get the wireless Moto unit. Even buying the better version of the plain modem it'll pay for itself in about 27 months ($4/mo). I started to pitch it to my fiancee and she cut me off after the first two bullet points with "What is there to discuss? Get it." The Egg came through with free next day, too.

[Chimpy]

With the number of times in the past where having a rental modem replaced by a tech fixed my issues, I will keep renting.

[Salamok]

With the number of times in the past where having a rental modem replaced by a tech fixed my issues, I will keep renting.

Yes mine seems to melt itself into a pile of crap every 12 months or so.

[Lantyssa]

Our rental fee was getting high enough it made more sense to outright own it and replace it whenever it went wonky.

[Rishathra]

With the number of times in the past where having a rental modem replaced by a tech fixed my issues, I will keep renting.

I also had a problem with rental modems melting every year or so and generally being slow as fuck.  Then I bought my own modem and fixed both problems.

[Nebu]

Our rental fee was getting high enough it made more sense to outright own it and replace it whenever it went wonky.

This.  If rental is ~ $5 a month, it's cheaper to own and replace annually.

[Hammond]

They price the modems yearly rental out to be fairly close to the purchase price.  Also typically the warranty for the modems only last a year...  So its somewhat a wash. 

Also if you put your modems / routers on a UPS they will last far longer.  Giving them as much ventilation as possible helps a lot to.  Typical reason they fail is poor power quality / overheating.  My personal modems last 5 years typically without any issues.

[Sky]

I've never had a problem with the two cable modems I've had. I only had to replace the one because I had phone service installed for a couple years.

Got a chuckle today. Email from TW saying I'm getting a 'free' speed boost! Yeah, all I had to do was buy a less crappy modem myself and install it :)

[Merusk]

They price the modems yearly rental out to be fairly close to the purchase price.  Also typically the warranty for the modems only last a year...  So its somewhat a wash. 

Also if you put your modems / routers on a UPS they will last far longer.  Giving them as much ventilation as possible helps a lot to.  Typical reason they fail is poor power quality / overheating.  My personal modems last 5 years typically without any issues.

This.  My modem's under my desk with nothing else around it, up off the carpeting.   The one prior to us getting phone via cable lasted 6 years and this one's going on 4 without any problems.

[naum]

I've never had a problem with the two cable modems I've had. I only had to replace the one because I had phone service installed for a couple years.

Got a chuckle today. Email from TW saying I'm getting a 'free' speed boost! Yeah, all I had to do was buy a less crappy modem myself and install it :)

This cable modem lasted me ~10 years and was still working when I replaced it, at the end of 2010.



But after experiencing dropouts and download speeds less than what I should have been receiving (in ~1-3M range), dialogued with internet provider (Cox) it seemed that they upgraded their network and older cable modems, while still working, would not conduct optimum bandwidth any longer. So I splurged on (at that time) state of the art DOCSIS 3.0 Motorola cable modem and it bumped up my speed to this mark:

[RhyssaFireheart]

Hmm, now you're all making me wonder if I should upgrade or see if there is a replacement for my almost 12 year old DSL modem.  It's still working fine though, no issues.

On a different note - ahhh, end-of-year.  How I love/hate you.  The whole joyous process of accruals just warms my heart and gives me migraines.  Yay.

[Rasix]

I don't think my manager liked it when I compared the fun of writing up my PBC results with getting stomach flu.  It's such a pointless exercise, they already know how they're evaluating me and what rating I'm going to get.  Nothing I write is going to change that.

[Paelos]

Prepared by Client results?

PBC may mean something different in your industry, what is it?

[Ingmar]

Almost certainly means "performance-based" something.

[Trippy]

Personal Business Commitments

[Cheddar]

I don't think my manager liked it when I compared the fun of writing up my PBC results with getting stomach flu.  It's such a pointless exercise, they already know how they're evaluating me and what rating I'm going to get.  Nothing I write is going to change that.

You sound like one of my peers.  The point of the write up is to give your boss talking points (on the fly) to justify your raise.

Shit, if one of my employees pencil whipped it I would probably shrug and let them get their 2%.  Obviously they do not care.

[Selby]

The point of the write up is to give your boss talking points (on the fly) to justify your raise.

I copy & pasted last year and the year before that into mine this year.  My director still hasn't allowed them to be released to us to see where our scores were, but somehow I just find myself not caring at all.

[Paelos]

Shit, if one of my employees pencil whipped it I would probably shrug and let them get their 2%.  Obviously they do not care.

I think the same way. Personal evaluations seem like bullshit to the person filling them out. Doesn't mean that it's bullshit to the people deciding on your monetary worth.

[Cheddar]

Shit, if one of my employees pencil whipped it I would probably shrug and let them get their 2%.  Obviously they do not care.

I think the same way. Personal evaluations seem like bullshit to the person filling them out. Doesn't mean that it's bullshit to the people deciding on your monetary worth.

Another way to think about it- more and more is put onto managers in this tight corporate environment.  I vaguely know what you did, but having the shit in front of me with actual results empowers me to give you your due.

Evaluation periods are horrible, now.  Its not even about ranking people within a single business unit- sometimes its ranking them against everyone in multiple business units.

I may try harder then most- but at the end of the day my time is finite, and as I pick up more duties I do not have time to flesh out and dig up what you did.  Thats YOUR job.

[Samwise]

I feel like if I were a manager I'd take it as part of my job to know what my direct reports were doing and be able to advocate on their behalf without them having to get involved, so they'd be left to do their actual work in peace.  But then, I'm not a manager because I don't actually want that job, or any of the other stuff managers have to do.

[Cheddar]

I feel like if I were a manager I'd take it as part of my job to know what my direct reports were doing and be able to advocate on their behalf without them having to get involved, so they'd be left to do their actual work in peace.  But then, I'm not a manager because I don't actually want that job, or any of the other stuff managers have to do.

Until this year I have not had to fill out an end of year eval in... 3 years?  My boss handled it and I was happy.  Previous bosses were not the same.

That being said- I see both sides.  It is a tough balance.  I would like to say I was like my previous boss; but it's too much.  This is actually a good learning lesson and glad this discussion came up.

[Ingmar]

As long as I don't have to write peer reviews I can pretty much stomach anything else. But fuck, I'm not sure there is anything else in the world of employment as awful as that, for non-management sorts of shit anyway. Firing people is probably worse.

[Merusk]

Your personal eval is your lone chance to toot your own damn horn and have it on the record.  Let it fly.  If you can't be bothered to care, why should your employer? You're clearly just another face, easily replaced and mollified by mediocre praise and compensation.  

Your manager has other shit to do and if you don't make yourself stand out or aren't buddy-buddy with him, you can't expect him to recall everything about you from the last year.  Can you recall everything about your coworkers?

[MisterNoisy]

I hate personal evaluations, since in my current role other people talk me up to the point that I don't have to, and I'm really the type that just likes to quietly contribute and barely tolerates the 'social' aspect of work.  To me, filling out this ridiculous online form is a drag on what could otherwise be actual productive time.

I'm with Samwise - my manager's job is to make sure that I do my job and 'manage' my output, right?  Why the fuck do I need to write my evaluation for him, since I manage myself pretty well and as a result, he has no other function where my performance is concerned?

[JWIV]

I get the point of view that the end of year evaluation is the only chance you as an employee have to toot your horn and provide talking points to your upper management.  Quite honestly - that is the lowest common denominator of management, and it is a good sign that your manager (like most) is probably in over their head, and mostly treading water.

You want me to be excited about an eval?  Start with a 360 assessment, tack on some career and educational suggestions, and have an adult conversation with me. 

[Hammond]

Pshh man I am happy not to be a supervisor / manager anymore.  Evaluations were a pain in the ass but I would never expect my employees to do them I always figured it was part of my job.  Thankfully at my current job we do yearly evals which are pretty straight forward.  My last one was essentially "Hey you have been doing a great job I hear nothing but good things here is a nice raise and a nice bonus"  When I asked what I could do better he smiled and laughed and said just keep doing what you are doing.


On a side note since it is Christmas season our vendors / customers have been sending gifts which are pretty much all food.  My favorite thing this year?  A 20 pound box of raw almonds.   Last  year was a 20 pound bag of shelled walnuts.

[Paelos]

Honestly, is it really that complicated for some of yall to like...not be a dick once a year and just go balls to the wall on something where you can make more money?

[JWIV]

Honestly, is it really that complicated for some of yall to like...not be a dick once a year and just go balls to the wall on something where you can make more money?

There is no guarantee in any case that writing your own eval and being all I AM AWESOME is going to get you more money.  In a lot of cases, the pot of cash has already been decided and a decision may or may not have been made at the director/senior director level to just give everyone the exact same percentage or for your manager to have to turn in a series of ranking about 2 weeks prior to the due date for end of year reviews and the money distribution to be determined by that.

[Ingmar]

Honestly, is it really that complicated for some of yall to like...not be a dick once a year and just go balls to the wall on something where you can make more money?

How does not wanting to write your own review equate to being a dick? I once had a manager who was supposed to write reviews of us and made us all write them about ourseives *for him*. Who is the dick in that scenario?