Archive | Workplace Technology

Be Prepared: Prepared, for what?

I was, for a short while, a Boy Scout. The Boy Scout motto is “Be Prepared.” Though I wasn’t a scout for long, that motto is one I’ve taken to heart my whole life – whether personal or professional. I have always tried to use foresight and prepare for contingencies. Years ago, when working as […]

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It’s difficult to be prepared for something one doesn’t anticipate.  For example, I would never have anticipated that the COVID-19 pandemic would have led to mass hysteria over toilet paper!  What in the world has toilet paper got to do with anything?  (Yes, I know all about it now.  People are resorting to primordial behavior, […]

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Learning New Tricks

As I write this, it has been just over a month since the world’s doors slammed shut. Or, at least the doors in the U.S.A, or at least, in Florida. Well, more or less shut – it changes day by day. As we’ve posted and will continue to do a few more times, COVID-19 has […]

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I mentioned to a friend of mine, who is a retired attorney and, prior to retiring, was a long time client of Magnus’, that David and I are in the process of re-inventing ourselves, and Magnus, in this time of social isolation.  He remarked that it seems a shame for me to have spent my […]

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Working in Changing Times

The times, they are a-changin’” said Bob Dylan, in a song of the same name. Oh yes, the times are certainly changing! The times are changing in ways most people could never have imagined. And, the times are changing whether we like it or not. At this point in my long career, I have suddenly […]

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Dylan may have sung that times were changing, but I’d suggest now, that things have changed.  Forever.  In some ways, there is no going back.  Hopefully, lessons we are learning now will make a difference going forward.  A big lesson is that invisible threats like viruses are more lethal than most any weapon of war […]

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Working Remote – Transparency

In this time of forced social distancing, with many people working remotely from home or on quarantine, I have been using some of my time to make calls or otherwise contact clients about outstanding proposals, etc. I always have a stack of people to call upon, so I’ve been reaching out. The results of these […]

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One of my favorite “gate keeper” responses, when I ask to speak with one of Magnus’ clients (including returning his/her call) is “Please hold.  Let me see if he wants to take your call.”  Wow! Talk about a put down!  That kind of response makes me wish I never called.  Far better to say “Please […]

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Loners Like Alone Time

Some people live alone due to circumstances in their life, for example, the death of a spouse, divorce, being a single parent when the last child moves out of the house, etc. Other people truly like to be alone. George Harrison’s first song, written in 1963, was titled “Don’t Bother Me” and famously contains the […]

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In the current time of forced social distancing, it seems that some people have quickly become more distant than others.  I think of friends who live alone and who, most of the time are happy or comfortable with it.  But, forced isolation for many people has become more constricting.  Under “normal” or at least usual, […]

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Wellness Checks

Wellness checks is something normally thought about to only involve the “homebound” or the elderly, the sick, and the frail. Well, we’re all homebound now, in some way or another, and, while we may or may not be sick, elderly, or frail, we are cloistered in abnormal ways. Quarantine, sequestration, call it what you will, […]

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I am writing this post approximately one month into our social distancing, isolation, quarantine, and solitary confinement situations.  I am a person who has a lot of friends, but as of today, only ONE of my friends, including long time, childhood friends, has contacted me to check on my well being. (This doesn’t include people […]

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Check SPAM for Treasure

I was recently reminded that email systems are far from infallible. I was purging email in my spam folder when I found an email from a prospective client asking for a proposal for mock jury research. The email was sent via OUR OWN WEBSITE through the “contact us” form. But, despite being sent from my […]

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Until this experience, I have never liked Spam.  When David and I have visited Hawai’i, we noticed the popularity of the canned meat type of Spam, which is prevalent in many restaurants.  But, the kind of Spam to which David refers is the computer variety that most computer users despise for its pesky intrusiveness.  Since […]

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Know when to ask for help

We, at Magnus, recently ventured into new technological waters and various challenges surprised us. This is not about the specifics of that situation, but rather, a more global commentary on the need to be open to asking for help. In this situation, we, or rather our most excellent research assistant – tech person, got bogged […]

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Any post that includes lyrics from a Lynyrd Skynyrd song is an excellent post, in my opinion!  This being said, as David mentioned in a recent post, there are times to “do it yourself” and there are times to obtain expert advice and/or turn over a task entirely to someone who possesses greater expertise than […]

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Abbey Road and Technology

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On October 17, 2019

Category: Life Outside of Work, Travel, Work-Life, Workplace Technology

Melissa and I recently took a Magical Mystery Tour of England, both London and Liverpool, on a Beatles quest. Part of that tour included a visit to Abbey Road Studios. That visit included a unique opportunity to go inside Studio 2, where the Beatles recorded most of their music, for a lecture. It also included […]

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Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On October 17, 2019

Category: Life Outside of Work, Travel, Work-Life, Workplace Technology

Think about the many ways the scenario described by David is truly amazing. First, it is important to consider the fact that there is a 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, Earth cam web camera mounted near Abbey Road Studios in London that records every single person who crosses the famous crosswalk where […]

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Have Brain-Will Travel

“Have Gun-Will Travel” was a Western radio and TV series starring Richard Boone that was broadcast from 1957 to 1963. The lead character was named Paladin; he was a gunfighter who traveled around the old west while working for people who needed his help solving their problems. Paladin charged a lot of money for his […]

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Many jobs require a lot of “stuff.” The tools of many professions such as Melissa’s, however, require a sharp, focused mind, and little else. A pen and paper for note taking are probably the minimum in these occupations. However, despite the fact that Magnus is essentially paid for brainpower, certain aspects of the work we […]

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