It’s Furlough Day 3. I’m still on forced vacation, and Congress still sucks. Fortunately I’ve had plenty of time for quality internet surfing! (That’s a joke. Kind of.) Here are some fun, thought-provoking, educational or otherwise interesting things I came across this week…
I cannot volunteer my time to work on NASA business during the furlough | Les Johnson
As a preface, I should point out that this is a post on someone’s personal blog. I don’t know him and have never met him, but a link to his post started circulating within my FB and Twitter networks yesterday.
“How many companies where the employees routinely work uncompensated overtime just to get the job done will then turn around and rate their company as a great place to work? Not many. Except at NASA.”
…
“Most of us would much rather be working than furloughed and I, for one, would keep working on some of my projects during the furlough if I were allowed to do so.”
I have extremely mixed feelings about this line of reasoning. I understand his love for his job and what he does, and it’s actually one of the very best things about working for NASA — as a general rule, NASA employees are highly motivated and passionate about their profession. But I don’t agree with the sentiment that people could/should voluntarily give their time to an employer.
Look, I’ve dedicated my entire adult life thus far to NASA. I like my job, I like what I do, and I like what NASA does. But working for NASA isn’t my hobby — it’s my livelihood. Our cause is noble and inspiring, yes, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be compensated for our efforts. Love for my job doesn’t outweigh my desire to be paid for doing it well; they are two independent things. (And more to the point, it’s unfair to me if I do my job well but don’t get paid…like during a furlough, for instance.)
I’ve talked about this topic with many people over the years, as working additional hours in the office or at home but not putting it on your timecard is fairly commonplace these days, both at NASA and in many other workplaces. In some jobs, I recognize that it’s essentially required. So I know that it happens. But I don’t think it’s right. I get the feeling that I’m somewhat in the minority with my opinion, but there it is.
On to less controversial topics…
Is the Game Over? | New York Times
“What happened — is happening — to our national pastime? For all the moral hysteria, the answer, I think, has little or nothing to do with performance-enhancing drugs. It does have a lot to do with the broader cultural trends that have helped shape modern America.”
The Nacho Dorito | New York Times
Somewhere in the back of my head, I know that processed food has a crazy amount of time and effort put into making it taste and look exactly like you expect, and keep you coming back for more. But good grief — this simultaneously makes me want to eat some Doritos and also never buy them again.
I saw this ad for Omega watches on TV the other day and loved the graphics and animation. Really neat.
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