Archive | Workplace Technology

If You Won’t Practice, Don’t Bother Learning

As I mentioned in my previous post, “practice makes perfect,” my childhood piano teacher, Corella Johnson, insisted that all her piano and organ students practice their instrument(s) at least 30 minutes a day. The first thing she did at every lesson was ask her students to play the piece of music they were learning, so […]

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Childhood music lessons didn’t work well for me.  I tried guitar and piano but found I’d much rather go fishing or tromp through the woods than hone those skills.  Perhaps it was also because my early music lessons focused too much on fundamentals, rather than playing a song, these music experiences were not attractive to […]

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Practice Makes Perfect

Practice makes perfect. How many times have we heard this phrase? I have heard it too many times to count! I started playing the piano when I was 6 years old. I started playing the organ when I was 11. My piano and organ teacher was a wonderful friend and neighbor, Corella Johnson, who had […]

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I can attest to Melissa’s commitment to practice.  She takes it seriously and is religious about it, as long as her “day job” doesn’t interfere.  But practice gets a bad rap, that is a bad name.  Melissa’s practice time is often better characterized as “playing” as in “playing the bass.”  Practice seems repetitive and punitive.  […]

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Old School Tech

I recently read an article about the executive director of a professional association who uses an IBM typewriter to send notes to members. He said he liked using a typewriter to personalize the notes. I thought it was pretty cool to use old school technology so effectively. I could never afford an IBM typewriter, those […]

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David and I have written about our fondness for “old school” things in several previous posts.  Although I never owned a typewriter, nor am I a good typist, I appreciate David’s fondness for his trusty old typewriter.  It comes in handy when he makes labels for files in our personal filing cabinet.  I remember David’s […]

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Fix it as Soon as it Breaks

I am an ardent fan of the maxim, “fix it as soon as it breaks.” I have never known anything that fixed itself, whether it is a leaky faucet, a flat tire (or tyre, on all the British cars I have owned), or a faulty electrical outlet. Admittedly, I am not good at fixing things. […]

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Homeownership seems to involve an endless “to do” list.  There is always something to do.  Sometimes, the to dos are small items, easy to resolve.  Sometimes, expertise is required, or at least more expertise than I possess.  Or strength – some fixes take more expertise and muscle than I have, or any one person has.  […]

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Why Do People Talk about Weather?

Why do people often talk about the weather? I will admit being guilty of this type of mind numbing discussion, but nonetheless, I have always found it to be an odd topic. Maybe it’s an ice breaker or a way to ease into a more meaningful discussion. I realize that, sometimes, it is important to […]

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I admit to using weather as an ice breaker especially, in the winter when talking with folks in cold climates.  I feel a bit smug.  Of course, they turn it around on me when the weather is hot in South Florida with nearly 100% humidity.  But, beyond ice breakers (which sounds weather related in itself), […]

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Work Tasks Can Become Life Skills

I have written before about learning how to fold towels properly, a skill I acquired (after some initial difficulty) while working in a department store during high school. Never did I imagine that learning how to fold towels would come in handy for the rest of my life! I also learned, at the same department […]

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I never had a job which required folding towels or wrapping presents – thankfully!  I do plenty of both, with supervision for the last 30+ years of an expert, but I don’t think I would have fared well in that kind of retail environment.  As I thought about Melissa’s post, I asked myself what have […]

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Technology and Workplace Violence

In this, final, post about workplace violence that was inspired by my recent mediator re-certification training, I will discuss another reality of life in the modern world, workplace violence involving employees who work remotely. Workplace violence is not limited to in person interactions; in fact, cyber violence is commonplace. The pandemic that began in early […]

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It is somewhat overwhelming to consider the lengths to which “bad actors,” a/k/a criminals, in some situations, will go to in order to attempt to bully, harass, or perpetrate violence.  We at Magnus, are somewhat sheltered in our work environment.  But, to consider the ramifications of remote working, telecommuting, etc. and how that pandemic forced […]

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Technical Difficulties

Many of us are old enough to remember when one of the 3 television networks (yes, there were only 3 at one point) had technical difficulties and the screen went gray with a sign that said something like, “Please stand by. We are having technical difficulties.” The world has changed; now we have lots of […]

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I can’t believe we are writing a blog about a blog!  Things have gotten so bad with our blog that, after 8 years of bi-weekly posts, I’m close to throwing in the towel.  There are lots of things that happen behind the scenes after David and I write our respective parts of each post.  One […]

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Things Back to Normal! Water Fountains, Crowded Elevators, Smiling Faces

Hooray! Hooray! I had the privilege of selecting 2 juries, for 2 different clients, in 2 different courthouses, recently. Usually, this would be nothing to write about, however, these jury selections were noteworthy due to the fact that they were the first, and second, jury selections for me since the world shut down in March […]

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As the one who watches the business side of our business, it is great for Melissa to be back in the courthouse again.  Non functioning courts have been terrible for our business as clients have had little perceived need or motivation to hire a trial consultant if there can be no trials.  So, having trials […]

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Technology is Great…until it isn’t

We rely on technology in today’s world. Some tech is life or death; some of it just seems that way. After my last post, one might understand my frustrations with technology – the loss of data with a server crash is very painful. And, even after supposed recovery of the data, we find ourselves spending […]

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One of my friends recently asked me to fix her computer.  She was surprised when I told her I have absolutely no idea how to fix computers, phones, tablets, or any other electronic devices.  She remarked that, because I am so smart, she thought fixing a computer must be simple for me!  I wish!  Given […]

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