Pet Peeves: Aka Things That Make You Go "Gah!"

[TattleTeeny]

RIGHT! I know the real issue here is that crazy husband*, but if you are going to cheat on the diet, cheat satisfactorily!

*Unless, of course, she asked him to help keep her accountable?

[Lady Whistleup]

Here's a first world pet peeve. I decided to invest in some Wolford tights. I got the Everyday10's in "fairly light" because the other color seemed TOO light. Well I wasn't expecting that the tights are way thicker than the 10 denier would lead you to believe. I was then told that high quality tights feel and look thicker because that's what makes them last long.

 

[PRgal]

4 hours ago, MissFeatherbottom said:

Speaking of stinky food at work, someone who used to work at my office would heat up hot dogs and peas (together) a few times a day to eat. It smelled horrible!

Including the bun (the grossest thing in the world is nuked bread.  In middle and high school, some kids would buy cheese and bagels and then nuke it in the cafeteria microwave (grilled cheese, "ghetto" style), but EWWWWWWW!!!)?  Or just the wiener?  And peas as a topping? Or was it mushed up peas?  Besides, who puts PEAS on hotdogs?  

[Stats Queen]

On 7/21/2021 at 9:40 AM, shapeshifter said:

However, a little more along the lines of the posts above:
When my youngest was 12, outside in a Chicago winter getting 6 inches of snow off of the car because she had missed the school bus, which meant I would have to drive her (and be late for work at my still-new job) I looked out the window and saw she had no gloves or hat in dangerously low wind-chill, so I opened the door and (angrily) yelled at her to "Get in here and get some gloves and a hat!"

After work, my next door neighbor, new mother of an infant, came over to lecture me about yelling at my kid. 
She was not wrong, but there are times when we yell. I wish I had not.

Of course you wish you hadn’t yelled, but if there was a time and place, that was it.

[shapeshifter]

33 minutes ago, Stats Queen said:

Of course you wish you hadn’t yelled, but if there was a time and place, that was it.

Thank you.
And not yelling at all would have required putting on my 30-degree-below freezing attire over my pajamas when the goal was to get ready ASAP to drive her to school before getting to work late. And, once you start raising your voice, it seems natural to get aggressive about it (like at sporting events).
But I'm pretty sure I said nothing to my criticizing new-parent neighbor, which probably had a better effect than any excuse or explanation anyway --demonstrating that I was not in-general reactionary.

[Sun-Bun]

On 7/21/2021 at 11:50 AM, Lady Whistleup said:

The pose that annoys me is when women deliberately put one leg way in front of the other to look thin by making it seem like there's a gap between their legs.
And this:

Okay, sorry but I’m gonna completely own it: I pose in pics EXACTLY like the gal does on the right! 🤷‍♀️

But why shouldn’t we ladies do this though? What’s the alternative—should we just look lumpy and dumpy over posed and pretty??

Look how much better she obviously appears when her leg is cocked a bit and her hand on her hip: it’s *such* an improvement over her lazier pose on the left.
I’ve posed like this instinctually since my early 20’s because back when I modeled we were taught to “find flattering angles” and pose in ways to emphasize length and leanness. And these days I’ll damned well do anything and pose any crazy way to take a few inches off my pics in an attempt to look less naturally fluffy! 😜

[MissFeatherbottom]

6 hours ago, PRgal said:

Including the bun (the grossest thing in the world is nuked bread.  In middle and high school, some kids would buy cheese and bagels and then nuke it in the cafeteria microwave (grilled cheese, "ghetto" style), but EWWWWWWW!!!)?  Or just the wiener?  And peas as a topping? Or was it mushed up peas?  Besides, who puts PEAS on hotdogs?  

She would eat it mixed together. Slices hot dogs and peas. I googled that out of curiosity and found a few pictures so maybe this is a thing??? Still ewww!

Re: the ghetto grilled cheese, I have never heard of those but I could totally imagine the smell and it wouldn’t be appetizing at all!

[Boston]

On 7/22/2021 at 10:11 AM, PRgal said:

Hey, just EATING fish (tuna salad (real or not) or salt fish to be more specific) is punishable.  Back in high school, I once ate tuna salad in the senior student common room and one girl asked me to go elsewhere because she wanted to check her email (this was in the 90s and the room had a computer specifically for school email.  She could have gone to the library or used any of the computer labs, but NO, she wanted to use the one in the common room).  To be fair, I could have eaten in the caf, but as a senior student, I wanted to hang there, away from the younger kids.

I worked in a medical office and my desk was in the back room where the refrigerator was and where everyone would take lunch breaks.  My friend was back there one day eating canned salmon - you think tuna fish stinks!

[Stats Queen]

22 hours ago, MissFeatherbottom said:

She would eat it mixed together. Slices hot dogs and peas. I googled that out of curiosity and found a few pictures so maybe this is a thing??? Still ewww!

Re: the ghetto grilled cheese, I have never heard of those but I could totally imagine the smell and it wouldn’t be appetizing at all!

I love most vegetables, but I hate peas, so this is an unsettling picture 🙀

[shapeshifter]

59 minutes ago, Stats Queen said:

I love most vegetables, but I hate peas, so this is an unsettling picture 🙀

Glad I'm not the only one. There's already enough incomprehensible fads and preferences out there.

[Bastet]

2 hours ago, Stats Queen said:

I love most vegetables, but I hate peas,

I think peas are actually (botanically, anyway) legumes.  Which would make my dislike of them make sense; I hate most legumes other than peanuts and love most vegetables other than root vegetables.

[RealHousewife]

Not being able to register tone via email. Sometimes I'll realize I probably responded too seriously to someone not making a serious statement. 

[ratgirlagogo]

I think a lot of the peeves about "stinky foods" would be lessened if more workplaces had things like toaster ovens rather than microwaves.  Baking fish in a toaster oven isn't nearly as permeating as nuking it in a microwave (also, bonus, it doesn't get overcooked and rubbery).

Once upon a golden time, children, the New York Public Library had full kitchens in every single fucking circulating branch of the Library.  Because the Powers That Be at that time felt that having the staff cook and prepare meals of all kinds together built warm feelings and made the whole place more homey - and of course allowed for the patrons to have community-based events in the community room that involved serving food, since they had a real kitchen to prepare the food in. This was true, and then about twenty years ago there came a regime change.   After that, the stoves were removed (and replaced with cabinets that didn't open) and instead we were faced with microwaves that sat on top of  the fridge (at least we kept that). We did retain the sinks, but also lost anything along the lines of a couch that you could actually lie down on.

I suppose this is also the place to mention that the staff was not and is not majority White American.  Mostly the circulating branch staff were African-American, Afro-Caribbean, Indo-Caribbean, Hispanic or Asian.  There would be years at a time at my own branch where I was the only white staff person, and for that matter,  about half the white people I ever worked with were European immigrants rather than American-born Euro-Americans like myself.  As you might imagine a lot of these folks were cooking foods many Americans might find "stinky."  I honestly don't remember any staff person complaining about some other staff person cooking fish or curry or bigos with sauerkraut or mapo tofu or whatever. I'm not going to pretend that there wasn't some trash talk among the staff about stink - but two things.  First, there was SO MUCH LESS stink when we had a stovetop.  Second, once we had the microwave based stink the complaints from the PATRONS (since the staff room was on the same floor as the auditorium) increased tremendously.  Microwaves distort smells because they cook in a very particular way.

So, simple peeve.  Replace microwaves in office kitchens with toaster ovens or induction or something.

 

Edited July 24, 2021 by ratgirlagogo

[SuprSuprElevated]

4 hours ago, ratgirlagogo said:

So, simple peeve.  Replace microwaves in office kitchens with toaster ovens or induction or something.

Or have sufficient staff and scheduling so as to enable folks to actually, you know, escape for an hour or so, and enjoy some time away from their work environment.  I realize that some don't prefer that, but for me, if you wish to have a meal that requires heating/cooking, it should be outside of the workspace.  

[peacheslatour]

5 hours ago, ratgirlagogo said:

I think a lot of the peeves about "stinky foods" would be lessened if more workplaces had things like toaster ovens rather than microwaves.  Baking fish in a toaster oven isn't nearly as permeating as nuking it in a microwave (also, bonus, it doesn't get overcooked and rubbery).

Once upon a golden time, children, the New York Public Library had full kitchens in every single fucking circulating branch of the Library.  Because the Powers That Be at that time felt that having the staff cook and prepare meals of all kinds together built warm feelings and made the whole place more homey - and of course allowed for the patrons to have community-based events in the community room that involved serving food, since they had a real kitchen to prepare the food in. This was true, and then about twenty years ago there came a regime change.   After that, the stoves were removed (and replaced with cabinets that didn't open) and instead we were faced with microwaves that sat on top of  the fridge (at least we kept that). We did retain the sinks, but also lost anything along the lines of a couch that you could actually lie down on.

I suppose this is also the place to mention that the staff was not and is not majority White American.  Mostly the circulating branch staff were African-American, Afro-Caribbean, Indo-Caribbean, Hispanic or Asian.  There would be years at a time at my own branch where I was the only white staff person, and for that matter,  about half the white people I ever worked with were European immigrants rather than American-born Euro-Americans like myself.  As you might imagine a lot of these folks were cooking foods many Americans might find "stinky."  I honestly don't remember any staff person complaining about some other staff person cooking fish or curry or bigos with sauerkraut or mapo tofu or whatever. I'm not going to pretend that there wasn't some trash talk among the staff about stink - but two things.  First, there was SO MUCH LESS stink when we had a stovetop.  Second, once we had the microwave based stink the complaints from the PATRONS (since the staff room was on the same floor as the auditorium) increased tremendously.  Microwaves distort smells because they cook in a very particular way.

So, simple peeve.  Replace microwaves in office kitchens with toaster ovens or induction or something.

 

I had the microwave taken out of my flower shop once I took it over. The place was supposed to smell like flowers. Jeez!

[Moose135]

I guess I’m a moron then, I have never worried that my tomatoes would get bruised in the bottom of my grocery bag. 

[ParadoxLost]

There were once tomatoes in my backyard that were hatching a plot to take over the world and were virtually indestructible.  I understood the inspiration for Attack of the Killer Tomatoes that summer.  

[Bastet]

I didn't plant a garden this year, but between my parents and a friend, I still have plenty of tomatoes.  Those things at the grocery store are flavor-free abominations of nature by comparison.  One of my many issues with Big Agra - breeding for uniformity and abundance at the expense of flavor.

[annzeepark914]

15 hours ago, Bastet said:

I didn't plant a garden this year, but between my parents and a friend, I still have plenty of tomatoes.  Those things at the grocery store are flavor-free abominations of nature by comparison.  One of my many issues with Big Agra - breeding for uniformity and abundance at the expense of flavor.

I haven't had a good plain tomato in years & this includes the farmers market & peoples' home garden tomatoes. They're all tasteless. So, I only buy Roma (plum) and Campari as they still have a good tomato-y taste. I've heard that the taste has been bred out of tomatoes so that their appearance & sturdiness (for shipping & display) can be enhanced. If I do buy a tomato, I'll sprinkle sugar on it & then some tomato-y taste returns. MrP914 says the best tomatoes he ever had were in Moldova.

Edited July 25, 2021 by annzeepark914

[Moose135]

1 hour ago, icemiser69 said:

I would rather have my tomatoes on top of my buns as opposed to being under them. 

Then the buns get squashed...

[SoMuchTV]

1 hour ago, icemiser69 said:

I would rather have my tomatoes on top of my buns as opposed to being under them.  All the grocery bagger had to do was reverse how he packed that bag.

 

10 minutes ago, Moose135 said:

Then the buns get squashed...

I'm sure I'll regret wading into such a contentious debate, but...  it sounds like those were the only two items in the bag?  I'd opt for putting them side-by-side.  With the egg carton balanced across the top, of course.

[shapeshifter]

9 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

I'm sure I'll regret wading into such a contentious debate, but...  it sounds like those were the only two items in the bag?  I'd opt for putting them side-by-side.  With the egg carton balanced across the top, of course.

Buns should go on top if they weigh less than the tomatoes, but yes, then the tomatoes will be hidden by the buns and are at risk of getting damaged if/when the bag is set down hard.

So what's a poor high school-age bagger to do? 

And I'm not gonna touch the egg carton discussion with a ten-foot pole. 🤣

And this is why I really like to bag my own groceries whenever possible.
Seriously. The last time I didn't bag my own tomatoes they were bruised when I got home.

[MargeGunderson]

What is it with packing tomatoes badly this week? I got cherry tomatoes this morning that came in a rectangular cardboard box. I bought 2 boxes, and instead of laying them flat in the bag, the cashier stood them each on end, so the tomatoes all slid down on top of each other. I didn’t think the tomato massacre would happen to me, but I am not immune.

[shapeshifter]

2 minutes ago, MargeGunderson said:

What is it with packing tomatoes badly this week? I got cherry tomatoes this morning that came in a rectangular cardboard box. I bought 2 boxes, and instead of laying them flat in the bag, the cashier stood them each on end, so the tomatoes all slid down on top of each other. I didn’t think the tomato massacre would happen to me, but I am not immune.

Just to clarify, my laugh icon is because of your wonderfully amusing phrasing, @MargeGunderson.
I do mourn for your tomatoes.

We should all buy buckets in which to grow our own. 
And lettuce too. Don't get me started (again!) on the Western NY lettuce.

[Bastet]

3 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

I haven't had a good plain tomato in years & this includes the farmers market & peoples' home garden tomatoes. They're all tasteless.

If people are using seeds/plants from factory farms to grow their own tomatoes, then, yes, they're going to taste almost the same as the flavor-free abominations at the grocery store (a little better since they'll be eaten freshly picked rather than after having been shipped and stored).  If you find someone part of a growers collective, you'll find produce that tastes like it's supposed to.  It's a shame there's so little access to that anymore.

Edited July 25, 2021 by Bastet

[emmawoodhouse]

Yesterday, I cringed when the bagger loaded my bag with nectarines, plums, and apricots, only to throw the bananas on top. I just consoled myself by saying that it was only a 10 minute drive home, so damage would be minimal. When I unpacked, everything seemed okay.

This time.👽

 

[theredhead77]

1 minute ago, emmawoodhouse said:

Yesterday, I cringed when the bagger loaded my bag with nectarines, plums, and apricots, only to throw the bananas on top. I just consoled myself by saying that it was only a 10 minute drive home, so damage would be minimal. When I unpacked, everything seemed okay.

This time.👽

 

This packaging makes sense to me. While bananas could bruise if placed under the stone fruits it's unlikely the stone fruits would be damaged by the bananas.  Unless they literally threw them on top. That's going to result in bruised bananas. Which I hate. A bruised banana then has to get over-ripe so I can peel and freeze it for banana bread.

[emmawoodhouse]

A little stone fruit 🍑 isn't going to damage the 🍌 I buy, which are on the under ripe (to green) side so as to last the week. I'd worry more if they were ripe. 🙂

[SuprSuprElevated]

22 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

I stopped growing my own tomatoes when I lost the battle with slugs and deer.

The year (yes, year - singular) I decided to grow my own tomatoes (against my better judgement), I became a prolific aphid rancher.  I then notified my local grocer that he need not adjust his tomato inventory going forward.

[SuprSuprElevated]

5 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

 

I'm sure I'll regret wading into such a contentious debate, but...  it sounds like those were the only two items in the bag?  I'd opt for putting them side-by-side.  With the egg carton balanced across the top, of course.

Lemme wade in with you - 

When developed, my Grocery Bagging 101 app will instruct that hard produce items may be packed together, but soft items such as tomatoes, ripe avocados, Emma's plums and nectarines etc., should be bagged separately, as should onions, so as to keep the dried onion skins from shedding all over every.damn.thing.  Bread and bakery items should also be bagged together, with items in boxes or containers on the bottom, and bagged breads, rolls, muffins etc., on top.  I don't like having to unwrap the bags to see where the soft items are when I'm carrying as many bags as humanly possible to avoid extra trips when bringing them in the house, lol.  (I've considered researching the Guinness World Record on this).

 

5 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

So what's a poor high school-age bagger to do? 

Three things - 

1. Get trained
2. Be trained
3. Stay trained

Edited July 25, 2021 by SuprSuprElevated

[EtheltoTillie]

On 7/24/2021 at 4:53 AM, ratgirlagogo said:

I think a lot of the peeves about "stinky foods" would be lessened if more workplaces had things like toaster ovens rather than microwaves.  Baking fish in a toaster oven isn't nearly as permeating as nuking it in a microwave (also, bonus, it doesn't get overcooked and rubbery).

Once upon a golden time, children, the New York Public Library had full kitchens in every single fucking circulating branch of the Library.  Because the Powers That Be at that time felt that having the staff cook and prepare meals of all kinds together built warm feelings and made the whole place more homey - and of course allowed for the patrons to have community-based events in the community room that involved serving food, since they had a real kitchen to prepare the food in. This was true, and then about twenty years ago there came a regime change.   After that, the stoves were removed (and replaced with cabinets that didn't open) and instead we were faced with microwaves that sat on top of  the fridge (at least we kept that). We did retain the sinks, but also lost anything along the lines of a couch that you could actually lie down on.

I suppose this is also the place to mention that the staff was not and is not majority White American.  Mostly the circulating branch staff were African-American, Afro-Caribbean, Indo-Caribbean, Hispanic or Asian.  There would be years at a time at my own branch where I was the only white staff person, and for that matter,  about half the white people I ever worked with were European immigrants rather than American-born Euro-Americans like myself.  As you might imagine a lot of these folks were cooking foods many Americans might find "stinky."  I honestly don't remember any staff person complaining about some other staff person cooking fish or curry or bigos with sauerkraut or mapo tofu or whatever. I'm not going to pretend that there wasn't some trash talk among the staff about stink - but two things.  First, there was SO MUCH LESS stink when we had a stovetop.  Second, once we had the microwave based stink the complaints from the PATRONS (since the staff room was on the same floor as the auditorium) increased tremendously.  Microwaves distort smells because they cook in a very particular way.

So, simple peeve.  Replace microwaves in office kitchens with toaster ovens or induction or something.

 

Do you still work at NYPL?  Which branch?  I’m so excited the branches reopened but I have a peeve about it. The branches have fewer and fewer books on the shelves for browsing. That takes all the fun out of library going. Of course everyone is reserving books for pickup or downloading ebooks, as am I, but I’m sad that there are fewer books for browsing and making random discoveries. 

[ratgirlagogo]

6 hours ago, GussieK said:

Do you still work at NYPL?  Which branch?  I’m so excited the branches reopened but I have a peeve about it. The branches have fewer and fewer books on the shelves for browsing

No, I am retired. The shift away from browsing collections is one of the reasons  I did.  It's part of the whole de-skilling of the branch library system (not just NYPL either).  How to explain this briefly, hmmm.

Until recently (ten years ago, maybe) the Branch Librarian had to have at least a BA in Library Science and usually had a master's. All librarians, supervising or not,  needed a degree in Library Science, also there were many para-librarians who needed to have a BA in something. Clerks needed just a high school diploma or its equivalent, but every branch had a Senior Clerk who was kind of like the Office Manager and had the power to hire and fire the clerical staff he/she supervised.  The Branch Librarian and the Senior Clerk basically ran the branch together.  The Branch Librarian and his/her staff specialist librarians (children's, adult, YA) chose the materials for the branch, both what they bought and what they discarded.

Most of this isn't true today.  The supervisor of the branch is now the Branch Manager, and this title doesn't require a college degree. Because of this, it doesn't pay as well as the Branch Librarian title used to.  There are no more Senior Clerks, since all clerks can now apply to be Branch Managers.  Oh, and Branch Managers are not part of the collective bargaining unit (yes, the union agreed to this) and can be fired at will without going through any kind of formal hearing.  A central committee picks out all the books for everyone. It's possible to order titles for your branch, but you will run into the immediate problem of the other recently adopted policy of Floating Collections - meaning anything a patron returns to a branch, stays at that branch unless someone has placed a hold on it.  This is particularly disastrous for branches outside of midtown Manhattan with smaller budgets since the children's books in particular will be checked out on the weekend and returned to one of the midtown branches by one of the parents during the week.  These midtown branches will be flooded with books that don't fit on the shelves. The policy for making all the books fit is to ruthlessly weed out anything more than a couple of years old.

All this means that browsing is kind of a challenge, since there is essentially no such thing as a permanent collection.  The library wants patrons to request the bulk of their items online and pick them up as holds.  Knowing my own collection was one of the things I was best at.  I was very good at remembering what we had on pretty much any topic, since I had generally had a hand in buying it in the first place and even if not I'd been there forever.  This was a skill that the patrons valued very highly, but clearly the library didn't.  I kept thinking for a couple of years that if I just waited it out, a new management team would change things - but it's clear this is the wave of the present, if not (I hope) the future.  Why pay librarians when you can just redesign the job so that anyone with a high school diploma and no library experience can do it.

 

Edited July 26, 2021 by ratgirlagogo

[shapeshifter]

27 minutes ago, ratgirlagogo said:

This is particularly disastrous for branches outside of midtown Manhattan with smaller budgets since the children's books in particular will be checked out on the weekend and returned to one of the midtown branches by one of the parents during the week.  These midtown branches will be flooded with books that don't fit on the shelves. The policy for making all the books fit is to ruthlessly weed out anything more than a couple of years old

Before I was put out to pasture retired, I vaguely recall a patron who was checking out books because he mistakenly thought we weeded based upon whether or not the book had been checked out in the last couple of years. At a smallish, liberal arts college library that is part of a statewide consortium of academic libraries, that might be a factor in a decision to weed, but not a decisive trigger. But a policy to weed anything 2 years old? That just seems wasteful. I hope all those Very Hungry Caterpillars and Hunger Games in Manhattan at least don’t go to the dumpster. 😟

Edited July 26, 2021 by shapeshifter

[EtheltoTillie]

27 minutes ago, ratgirlagogo said:

No, I am retired. The shift away from browsing collections is one of the reasons  I did.  It's part of the whole de-skilling of the branch library system (not just NYPL either).  How to explain this briefly, hmmm.

Until recently (ten years ago, maybe) the Branch Librarian had to have at least a BA in Library Science and usually had a master's. All librarians, supervising or not,  needed a degree in Library Science, also there were many para-librarians who needed to have a BA in something. Clerks needed just a high school diploma or its equivalent, but every branch had a Senior Clerk who was kind of like the Office Manager and had the power to hire and fire the clerical staff he/she supervised.  The Branch Librarian and the Senior Clerk basically ran the branch together.  The Branch Librarian and his/her staff specialist librarians (children's, adult, YA) chose the materials for the branch, both what they bought and what they discarded.

Most of this isn't true today.  The supervisor of the branch is now the Branch Manager, and this title doesn't require a college degree. Because of this, it doesn't pay as well as the Branch Librarian title used to.  There are no more Senior Clerks, since all clerks can now apply to be Branch Managers.  Oh, and Branch Managers are not part of the collective bargaining unit (yes, the union agreed to this) and can be fired at will without going through any kind of formal hearing.  A central committee picks out all the books for everyone. It's possible to order titles for your branch, but you will run into the immediate problem of the other recently adopted policy of Floating Collections - meaning anything a patron returns to a branch, stays at that branch unless someone has placed a hold on it.  This is particularly disastrous for branches outside of midtown Manhattan with smaller budgets since the children's books in particular will be checked out on the weekend and returned to one of the midtown branches by one of the parents during the week.  These midtown branches will be flooded with books that don't fit on the shelves. The policy for making all the books fit is to ruthlessly weed out anything more than a couple of years old.

All this means that browsing is kind of a challenge, since there is essentially no such thing as a permanent collection.  The library wants patrons to request the bulk of their items online and pick them up as holds.  Knowing my own collection was one of the things I was best at.  I was very good at remembering what we had on pretty much any topic, since I had generally had a hand in buying it in the first place and even if not I'd been there forever.  This was a skill that the patrons valued very highly, but clearly the library didn't.  I kept thinking for a couple of years that if I just waited it out, a new management team would change things - but it's clear this is the wave of the present, if not (I hope) the future.  Why pay librarians when you can just redesign the job so that anyone with a high school diploma and no library experience can do it.

 

Well, now I’m just sad. 

[shapeshifter]

1 minute ago, GussieK said:

Well, now I’m just sad. 

Based on @ratgirlagogo’s explanation, you could request books online and return them to your branch to curate a collection on the shelves for you and others to browse. You would essentially be a volunteer doing the former, masters degree librarian’s job of collection development. 😐

[EtheltoTillie]

5 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Based on @ratgirlagogo’s explanation, you could request books online and return them to your branch to curate a collection on the shelves for you and others to browse. You would essentially be a volunteer doing the former, masters degree librarian’s job of collection development. 😐

A very interesting Machiavellian idea!  The new shelves at my branch are tiny, though, so it wouldn’t work. The branch was closed for renovations for more than a year before the pandemic and never reopened until now.  It’s a shell of its former tiny self.   New Amsterdam branch, one of the smallest but conveniently a block from my office. 
 

@ratgirlagogo, thanks for sharing all that insider info. It makes clear things I could suspect were going on by observing changes in the system but not knowing fully. 

[peacheslatour]

Quote

Three things - 

1. Get trained

2. Be trained

3. Stay trained

But that would cost $$$. And then how would the CEO be able to afford his or her third yacht? Won't someone think of the CEOs?

Edited July 26, 2021 by peacheslatour

[BookWoman56]

9 hours ago, ratgirlagogo said:

No, I am retired. The shift away from browsing collections is one of the reasons  I did.  It's part of the whole de-skilling of the branch library system (not just NYPL either).  How to explain this briefly, hmmm.

[snip]

Most of this isn't true today.  The supervisor of the branch is now the Branch Manager, and this title doesn't require a college degree. Because of this, it doesn't pay as well as the Branch Librarian title used to.  There are no more Senior Clerks, since all clerks can now apply to be Branch Managers.  Oh, and Branch Managers are not part of the collective bargaining unit (yes, the union agreed to this) and can be fired at will without going through any kind of formal hearing.  A central committee picks out all the books for everyone. It's possible to order titles for your branch, but you will run into the immediate problem of the other recently adopted policy of Floating Collections - meaning anything a patron returns to a branch, stays at that branch unless someone has placed a hold on it.  This is particularly disastrous for branches outside of midtown Manhattan with smaller budgets since the children's books in particular will be checked out on the weekend and returned to one of the midtown branches by one of the parents during the week.  These midtown branches will be flooded with books that don't fit on the shelves. The policy for making all the books fit is to ruthlessly weed out anything more than a couple of years old.

 Why pay librarians when you can just redesign the job so that anyone with a high school diploma and no library experience can do it.

 

This is crazy. A gazillion years ago, I was friends in grad school with a few people who were getting their master’s degrees in library science/management, but they all eventually took positions with university libraries. I was teaching freshman composition at the time and our syllabus included taking students to the university library and having one of the reference librarians give them a tour and explain the services they offered. 
 

I’m appalled that this dumbing down of the job requirements has happened in public libraries and sincerely hope it doesn’t spread to university libraries or other specialized libraries. There is a huge need in any library for knowledgeable staff. 

[RealHousewife]

When you find a meme you like, but it's huge. :(

 

[SoMuchTV]

Okay, this is maybe not quite a Pet Peeve but at least an Amusing Annoyance.  Once in a while I'll get a frozen pizza (mmm, stuffed crust) and I've noticed lately in the nutrition information, the serving size is 1/5 of the pizza.  Really?  I need to get out my compass and protractor to cut myself a "recommended" serving?  Sorry, a serving size of pizza is "one" or "one half".  Maybe "one fourth" if I'm trying to be good.  Get real, pizza people!

[MargeGunderson]

10 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

Okay, this is maybe not quite a Pet Peeve but at least an Amusing Annoyance.  Once in a while I'll get a frozen pizza (mmm, stuffed crust) and I've noticed lately in the nutrition information, the serving size is 1/5 of the pizza.  Really?  I need to get out my compass and protractor to cut myself a "recommended" serving?  Sorry, a serving size of pizza is "one" or "one half".  Maybe "one fourth" if I'm trying to be good.  Get real, pizza people!

I think the pizza people are in cahoots with the ice cream and Cheetos people. 

[peacheslatour]

11 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

Okay, this is maybe not quite a Pet Peeve but at least an Amusing Annoyance.  Once in a while I'll get a frozen pizza (mmm, stuffed crust) and I've noticed lately in the nutrition information, the serving size is 1/5 of the pizza.  Really?  I need to get out my compass and protractor to cut myself a "recommended" serving?  Sorry, a serving size of pizza is "one" or "one half".  Maybe "one fourth" if I'm trying to be good.  Get real, pizza people!

There are eight slices, right? I was told there'd be no math!

[DrSpaceman73]

30 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

Okay, this is maybe not quite a Pet Peeve but at least an Amusing Annoyance.  Once in a while I'll get a frozen pizza (mmm, stuffed crust) and I've noticed lately in the nutrition information, the serving size is 1/5 of the pizza.  Really?  I need to get out my compass and protractor to cut myself a "recommended" serving?  Sorry, a serving size of pizza is "one" or "one half".  Maybe "one fourth" if I'm trying to be good.  Get real, pizza people!

Right!!!  1/5 is annoying.  At least do 1/4, what lunatic cuts a pizza in fifths?

[JustHereForFood]

My current peeve is people who party in the middle of the night. I am glad that this time it wasn't anyone with loud music and that nobody was smoking under my window, but it's summer and people want to have their windows open all night, so even if you just talk and laugh on your balcony, or maybe even inside but next to an open window, the whole street will hear you! 

[JTMacc99]

15 hours ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

Right!!!  1/5 is annoying.  At least do 1/4, what lunatic cuts a pizza in fifths?

I am totally making a pizza tonight just so I can attempt to cut a pizza into equal fifths.  My mom, the math teacher, would have supported this endeavor. 

Also, this discussion reminds me of the meme I see occasionally that has some version of "I identify as a female, but according to Kraft macaroni and cheese, I identify as a family of 4."

 

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, JTMacc99 said:

I am totally making a pizza tonight just so I can attempt to cut a pizza into equal fifths.  My mom, the math teacher, would have supported this endeavor. 

https://crayolateachers.ca/framework/uploads/2018/01/DividingCircleFive.pdf

[JTMacc99]

4 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

https://crayolateachers.ca/framework/uploads/2018/01/DividingCircleFive.pdf

Off I go to get my OXO Good-Grips Pizza Compass.

[HissyFit]

Previous posts have expressed peeves with package deliveries. This is not so much a peeve as a puzzlement. I placed an Amazon order for two of the same item. One order. Quantity, two. Price each, $46. Total, $92. I later received TWO email confirmations that my order had been shipped, identical order number, each totaling $46. When I clicked the tracking links, they indicated that one was sent by the U.S. Postal Service, the other by UPS! Both arrived today, via USPS and UPS, from the same return address. The items are small enough to have fit in one small mailing envelope. Whyyyyyyy???

[peacheslatour]

1 hour ago, HissyFit said:

Previous posts have expressed peeves with package deliveries. This is not so much a peeve as a puzzlement. I placed an Amazon order for two of the same item. One order. Quantity, two. Price each, $46. Total, $92. I later received TWO email confirmations that my order had been shipped, identical order number, each totaling $46. When I clicked the tracking links, they indicated that one was sent by the U.S. Postal Service, the other by UPS! Both arrived today, via USPS and UPS, from the same return address. The items are small enough to have fit in one small mailing envelope. Whyyyyyyy???

That is a headscratcher.

[HissyFit]

I even wondered if two bored shipping department employees decided to have a race.