I’m Tracy Au and I have a 2 year diploma in Professional Communication from MacEwan University. I am an aspiring screenwriter, so this blog is used to promote my writing and attract people who will hire me to write for your TV show or movie.
I post a lot of articles about jobs, entertainment (TV, movies, books), news, and my opinions on it. I also write about my daily life. I have another blog promoting my TV project at www.thevertexfighter.blogspot.com.
Friday, November 6, 2020
"Interns Get Fired En Masse After Protesting Dress Code at Work"/ "The magic word makes people do what you want"/ Scarf app
Jul. 1, 2016 "Interns Get Fired En Masse After Protesting Dress Code at Work": This is by Lauren Tuck on Yahoo news:
After complaining at work and hoping to enact change, a class of interns was met with a very unexpected outcome.
A blog post on askamanager.com says that a reader recently scored a summer position at a company within the field the individual hopes to work in post-graduation. “Even though the division I was hired to work in doesn’t deal with clients or customers, there still was a very strict dress code,” the person wrote, adding that they felt the clothing rules were “overly strict” but weren’t going to complain. That is, “until I noticed one of the workers always wore flat shoes that were made from a fabric other than leather, or running shoes, even though both of these things were contrary to the dress code.”
Angered by the hypocrisy, the reader rallied other interns, and the group wrote a proposal, along with a petition signed by the whole class (minus one who declined to participate).
The request mostly focused on footwear, asking for non-dress shoes that would fit under a more business casual dress code, but also asked if it was possible for the workers to not have to wear suits and/or blazers in favor of a more casual but still professional dress code.
The next day, everyone who signed was called into a meeting, where the lot was informed that due to their “unprofessional behavior,” they were being let go. “We were told to hand in our ID badges and to gather our things and leave the property ASAP,” the post reads. The young adults were shocked and weren’t given a chance to defend their actions. But that’s not the worst part.
“Just before the meeting ended, one of the managers told us that the worker who was allowed to disobey the dress code was a former soldier who lost her leg and was therefore given permission to wear whatever kind of shoes she could walk in. You can’t even tell, and if we had known about this we would have factored it into our argument.
There are comments:
Mrs. S:
I think the company was in its rights. I'm so sick of people, mostly younger people, running their mouths off about dress codes. I was watching "Hell on Wheels" last night and my husband made a good point. Back in those days, people didn't have paved streets, indoor plumbing, or any of the "luxuries" that we take for granted. But people dressed nicely. Even in the 50's & 60's, people were well dressed and groomed. Now, no one gives a s**t what they wear or how they present themselves - all in the name of self expression. Even if that means looking like a bum or a #$%$
I am an employee with a large company and I am also an employer of my own business. While we don't have a formal dress code for my retail store, I have had to sit down with my staff and tell them that it is not appropriate to where short shorts (that just cover the bum) or tank tops. One of my staff even said that if she doesn't where her tank top she won't get as many sales.
The problem is that we are growing up in a world that showing off skin is acceptable people belive this is they only way to get what they want; there is no longer as much of an appreciation for leaving a bit of something for the imagination and having a bit more class.
My opinion: I thought the managers should have told the workers that the former soldier lost her leg, then give this strict and big warning about the dress code. I don't think they should have fired all the interns.
Aug. 11, 2016 "The magic word makes people do what you want":
In Star Wars, Obi Wan Kenobi simply has to say, ‘These are not the droids you’re looking for’ with a funny hand gesture - and he gets what he wants.
But what about those of us who DON’T have the advantage of using The Force?
It’s actually easier than to persuade strangers to do what you want, research has shown - and one magic word could be the tipping point.
Contrary to what parents might tell children, it isn’t the world please: it’s ‘willing’, particularly when deployed in the form of ‘Are you willing to do such-and-such?’
Elizabeth Stokoe of Loughborough University says, ‘What we’ve found is this word, ‘willing’, seems to be the word that gets the most positive response from callers. And we’ve found that only 'willing’ gets a complete turnaround from no to yes.
Stokoe based her research on transcripts of callers to a mediation service - who were initially reluctant to use the service.
She said, ‘We start by collecting tens, hundreds, or even thousands of recordings of naturally occuring conversations, the kinds of things that get recorded for research or evaluation purposes.
‘Then we transcribe them in a lot of forensic and close linguistic detail, and identify the component features that make up a complete encounter from the start to the end.
In Star Wars, Obi Wan Kenobi simply has to say, ‘These are not the droids you’re looking for’ with a funny hand gesture - and he gets what he wants. Elizabeth Stoko...
Oct. 6, 2016 "Scarf your supper with online takeout service": Yesterday I found this article by Liane Faulder in the Edmonton Journal:
Kian Parseyan is a serial entrepreneur. While working on his last startup, he realized that long hours and a certain lack of facility in the kitchen meant he was living on a diet of submarine sandwiches.
Probably not dangerous, but somewhat depressing after awhile.
The Belgravia resident put an ad in his community newsletter, soliciting home-cooked meals. He was willing to pay roughly $10 a meal. A handful of people who lived within a few minutes of his home responded to the plea.
That’s how the idea for Scarf — which Parseyan describes as “an ecosystem for buying and selling home-cooked meals” — was born.
“I had a turkey dinner one night,” says Parseyan, 26, his voice lifting in amazement at the recollection of those early, heady days of food-sharing. “I am a bachelor and I had access to food that I would never have had access to, even though I was willing to eat out.”
But a healthier diet of more satisfying meals wasn’t the only benefit of his new system. Eating meals made by neighbours made him happy.
“I felt a community connection simply by walking 200 metres to pick up my food and come back home. It was as if my community was physically nourishing me and I thought, ‘Wow, what a wonderful community I have.’ I felt my community was an asset and I hadn’t experienced that before.”
Anyone who has received chicken soup from a friend, or taken leftovers home from mom’s, knows exactly what Parseyan is talking about. Buoyed by his experience, Parseyan — who has a degree in neuroscience and likes to create things — decided to build a new business. He connected with web developer Pieter Parker, and the two have spent the last year putting the project together.
Here’s how it works. Cooks register with the system and schedule the meal they want to cook. Purchasers can book meals up to seven days in advance, picking the meal up at the public entrance to the cook’s home. Generally speaking, the cooks — who live in the city’s core communities for the most part — simply hive off a portion of a meal they were already cooking for their families. They design and price their own meals, which range from $8 to $12 each.
Customers sign up online and receive an invite code that allows them to look at the meals available, and the area in which the cooks live. Customers receive the address of the cook only after purchasing the meals.
Scarf staff visit all cooks at home when they sign up, and again randomly every 90 days, to ensure the space meets health guidelines developed by Scarf to mirror, and in some cases exceed, established industry standards. Background police checks are also done on cooks.
According to provincial health regulations, cooks who want to sell to the public must operate from a commercial kitchen. A home kitchen doesn’t qualify, and Parseyan says he had no luck working with Alberta Health Services (AHS) to seek an exemption. He decided to launch the service anyway.
“Scarf doesn’t own or operate a single kitchen,” says Parseyan. “Technically, we are a software company and we process (meals) on behalf of our cooks.”
In an e-mail, AHS noted it is aware of Scarf and is considering “our next steps regarding this operation.”
“We can tell you any individual in Alberta intending to prepare and sell food, must have a food permit, provided by AHS. This includes home-based businesses.”
Scarf has been operating since Sept. 1 and roughly 80 people are using the service so far. The average customer is a millennial who is too busy or has limited cooking skills.
Sherman Tsang is a Scarf customer. At 35, the busy software developer finds cooking hard to fit in. Scarf is convenient.
“I know how to cook and I can, but I have a small kitchen, and I don’t usually have a lot of stuff on hand,” says Tsang. “If you are cooking something, you need stuff around, and then things go bad (if you don’t use them.)”
He has ordered via Scarf a half-dozen times and says it’s a great alternative to restaurants or other takeout options. So far, he’s enjoyed the meals — in particular, a meat loaf “cupcake” with mashed potato icing.
About 30 cooks have been approved by Scarf so far. Ten are posting meals, including Red Seal chef Denise Hann, who sees Scarf as a way to make extra money while being at home raising children. There is a rating system that cooks and customers can employ to share their meal exchange experiences.
Scarf can be found at getscarf.com/cook. Users need an invite code to sign up with the new service, which they can get from other users (email Scarf at kian@getscarf.com for more information.)
I tried the system, ordering Thai spring rolls with peanut sauce, and found it both simple to execute and delicious to eat. The chef was only a few kilometres from my home for added ease of use.
Nov. 15, 2016 "Meal sharing plan shut down": Today I found this article by Liane Faulder in the Edmonton Journal:
A new Edmonton meal-sharing system has been shut down by Alberta Health Services, leaving local entrepreneurs out of pocket $60,000 and home cooks without customers.
Scarf, a software platform that connected cooks who had extra dinner servings with hungry Edmontonians, launched in late September. Through an online application, the company posted meals that were prepared daily in home kitchens. Folks in core Edmonton neighbourhoods who wanted an alternative to preparing their own meals could order a meal, pay for it and pick it up, via the digital platform.
But Alberta Health Services issued a cease-and-desist order to Scarf, shutting down the meal sharing service last month. In a written statement, Alberta Health Services said its duty is to “keep Albertans safe.”
Mar. 17, 2018 "Delivering Time": Today I found this article by Liane Faulder in the Edmonton Journal. However, I can't find the article online. It's about meal kit companies like Blue Apron. The pros are the food is already measured, and you have to put it together.
Cons: It is expensive like $130 for one week and 3 meals. It takes 40 min. to cook it so it's not like you are saving time.
There isn't a theme this week, but here are the other 2 posts:
"Breaking out of a negative feedback loop"/ "In management, think of the letter A"
Oct. 31, 2020 "Oregon health official dressed as clown while announcing coronavirus deaths":
A senior Oregon health official has gone viral after dressing as a clown during the state's latest coronavirus announcement.
Doctor Claire Poche, a senior health adviser for the Oregon Health Authority, donned white and red clown makeup and a red tie with a polka dot shirt in the sombre clip.
In the bizarre video, Dr Poche announces statistics on recorded cases of the virus and deaths while wearing the costume and maintaining a straight face.
"As of today, there have been 38,160 cases of Covid-19 in Oregon, with 390 new cases being reported today," she said.
She then goes on to discuss the state's death toll, adding: "Sadly, we are also reporting three deaths today, bringing the statewide total for Covid-19-related deaths to 608."
The costume was actually part of a discussion on celebrating Halloween safely during the pandemic.
Another senior adviser Shimi Sharief later appears in the announcement dressed in a cuddly animal onesie from the film My Neighbor Totoro.
The clip, which aired on 14 October, went viral on Twitter after Oregonian journalist Samantha Swindler called the production choice an "absolute nightmare".
"I'm sorry but who at the Oregon Health Authority thought this was a good idea?", she wrote on Twitter.
The post has gained significant attraction since Tuesday, receiving more than 7,800 likes and 3,300 retweets.
"I get they were going for a "fun" Halloween Covid update and they have a very hard job but this … this does not work," she added.
"One of the great things about this video (and there are many great things) is they never acknowledge or address the costumes. The clown is just THERE and she dives right into the numbers. AMAZING STUFF.”
She then urged people to wear masks and social distance so that doctors do not have to repeat videos such as these.
Some users interpreted the appearance more harshly and applied it as a negative reflection of Oregon officials' handling of the pandemic.
"Oregon. Literally run by clowns," Douglas Murray, associate editor at The Spectator, wrote.
"Federal Covid response: metaphorical clown show. Oregon Covid response: literal clown show," one user said.
My opinion: This was unintentionally funny. Well first Dr. Claire Boche should have said: "I'm dressing up for Halloween and here are the COVID-19 updates."
I even remember working at my 1st restaurant job and one of the memos was that at least one supervisor is not allowed to wear a Halloween costume or at least have a removable mask. How can anyone (like a customer) take you seriously if you're wearing a costume?
COBS Bread donates food: I was watching TV and I saw this commercial about it:
"Through our End of Day Giving program, our bakeries connect with our larger communities by helping every bread find a home after our doors close. It makes us a real part of the communities in which we operate, provides bread to those who need it, and helps reduce food waste.
With over $300 million worth of product donations to date, we’re always looking for ways to give back to the incredible people in our neighbourhoods."
Nov. 1, 2020 Halloween: My mom created a big sign for the trick-or-treaters and put out a box of Crayola pencil crayons with a little pencil sharpener. This was from her old job. 20 kids got these.
Shoppers Drug Mart: Every weekend they always have a sale. Today is Sun. and I called them to ask if there is a sale on Halloween candy. There are and I went in the morning. I bought the last 2 boxes of Nestle 30 mini bars of Coffee Crisp, Kit Kat, Smarties, and Aeros. They were $4.50 each.
The Halloween shelf was mostly cleaned out. I guess I should have bought them yesterday.
Nov. 2, 2020 Organ donation: I did a survey today and then after that, there was a link to this. I posted this on my Facebook page. I signed the back on my AB Health card to be one, and I think I registered last year.
I registered again and then I saved the form onto my USB key.
"Local woman carries on mother's tradition of love": I found this on Facebook:
EDMONTON -- A local woman is carrying on her mother’s legacy by continuing her charitable initiative.
Purses Filled with Love was created by Darlene Gauthier, who died over the summer.
Her daughter, Lacey MacMillan, is now carrying that legacy on.
The purses are filled with clothing, masks, gift cards, makeup and other goods, and are donated to women’s shelters and other outreach centres for Christmas.
“It’s going to be hard without my mom this year for Christmas, so it feels like she is still with us because I’m going to be working all Christmas for her,” said MacMillan.
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