LTE 2.0

[ArkieDukie]

What do you call it when you have short rest periods before hors d'oeuvres?

Answer later tonight.

;)

Nappetizers.

Groan.

[ArkieDukie]

Message to those that smoke: Please be sure your cigarette butt is out before you flick it into the dumpster. Evacuating a 15 story building because you caused a dumpster fire is not very considerate. At least it was nice out today. And at least 3 floors are empty. However, it was not the speediest descent in the world. Someone would stop to catch their breath (smoke in the stairs) and block the way. Then, someone mentioned that another person was texting as they descended the stairs. I think that is as bad as texting while driving.

Wow. Not very smart. Sounds like some of the folks that lawgrad and CathyCA have told stories about.

[ArkieDukie]

Now, for the latest installation of As the Lab Turns:

We had a departmental meeting yesterday. The Boss put Wile E. Coyote on a project with another colleague, touting his experience in the area. Now, here's the funny part of the story: the project IS in MacGyver's area of expertise. He has a somewhat extensive list of publications in this area; WEC does not. I looked across the room at MacGyver during the discussion (about to crack up) and he winked at me. I don't know how (or if) I managed to keep a straight face. Calling WEC an expert in this particular area is a major stretch.

Talked to MacGyver about it later. The Boss tried to pressure him to take this project, and he turned it down because he felt like it was a waste of time (poor experimental model). So, The Boss put WEC on the project instead. In a separate conversation, Road Runner talked about this same incident, saying that she was going to need to learn to keep a poker face when things like this happened. I just about fell out of my desk laughing when she actually referred to our colleague as Wile E. Coyote and then said, "I probably shouldn't say that out loud." It's really nice to have partners in crime.

The whole situation (specifically, anything that WEC touches) is a train wreck waiting to happen. I cannot understand why The Boss has not yet figured out what an idiot WEC is. MacGyver, Road Runner, and I are just trying to maintain a safe distance so we can avoid the wreckage.

On a separate front, it appears that Road Runner's patience may be wearing out with Bar Minion. Early in the week, BM told RR something untrue in order to get Brilliant Grad Student in trouble. I had to intervene - RR did not believe BGS at all. BM has run a pretty effective smear campaign with RR, and she will not believe anything that BGS says. I didn't realize how bad it was until my conversation with RR. Sadly, I thought that BGS was being overly dramatic about how RR treated her. I hope I did not pass up the perfect opportunity to talk to RR about BM.

Then, we had a project with an external collaborator messed up because of Bar Minion's stubbornness on both sample preparation and instrumental analysis. The sample prep problem came because she flat-out ignored a suggestion from BGS that would've prevented the entire problem. The instrument problem is something that I talked to BM about on multiple occasions; she ignored me. She also ignored advice from an expert outside collaborator. Confirmation of my observation came a day later from a completely independent source. As a consequence of all this, we have a meeting scheduled on Monday to talk about experimental design.

I had a long conversation with RR about the latter problem and voiced my theory that BM has a problem with taking advice from females. I believe that, as someone who grew up in another country, this is an ingrained behavior. If anyone has thoughts on this, I'd love to hear them. This is merely a theory based upon observation of her interactions with females in a professional setting (BGS, our expert outside collaborator, and myself). I have no way to know if she has similar issues with Road Runner. However, if it is a problem, Road Runner will know, and she did say something that makes me wonder. Things could get very interesting in the near future.

[YmoBeThere]

That is just crazie!

[OZZIE4DUKE]

I love "As the Lab Turns"! It's my favorite soap opera, as long as AD comes out on top and smelling like a rose!

[windsor]

I do love "As the Lab Turns" so much more intrigue than my mundane office.

It is entirely possible that BM has an issue with taking directions from women. I had a (very good) coder that worked for me a while back. He had been in the US since college, but had grown up in Kuwait. He had a hard time taking direction from a woman. To his credit, he knew it...and was trying to work on it. Most of the time he was OK, but if he felt very strongly about something or was stressed he was incline to use what I called his "three steps behind me" tone. My usual response was to point at my clothing and say "See this, NOT a burqa". It worked 99% of the time. Of course Haithem KNEW he had a problem and need to adjust his attitude, making it much easier to deal with than someone who doesn't realize it or doesn't care.

[YmoBeThere]

... than someone who doesn't realize it or doesn't care.

At some level, aren't we all in denial?

[DukePA]

... than someone who doesn't realize it or doesn't care.

At some level, aren't we all in denial?

Probably. I work really hard to own my shit and have discovered how liberating it is to say, "I was wrong."

[ArkieDukie]

... than someone who doesn't realize it or doesn't care.

At some level, aren't we all in denial?

Probably. I work really hard to own my shit and have discovered how liberating it is to say, "I was wrong."

I really, really try to do that too. Some see it as a sign of weakness (PHB did). May I never be so arrogant that I refuse to admit to being wrong.

[ArkieDukie]

I love "As the Lab Turns"! It's my favorite soap opera, as long as AD comes out on top and smelling like a rose!

You're too kind. My biggest problem is that I get impatient and come off not looking very nice. I need to get a thicker skin and become much better at invoking "who's the asshole."

On a separate note, I completely forgot about group meeting. Brilliant Grad Student mentioned some method development work that she and I are doing. BarMinion interrupted her to tell her how she should be doing it. She interrupted me as well. Road Runner quickly changed the subject.

I was talking with Road Runner later and mentioned this. I mentioned something about having done, literally, hundreds of these experiments, and Road Runner's response was, "Yeah, and (BarMinion) hasn't done a single one." So, yeah, Road Runner is on to Bar Minion. Hopefully she's also starting to figure out that BarMinion isn't always the most honest person in the world regarding things that BGS has allegedly done.

[ArkieDukie]

I do love "As the Lab Turns" so much more intrigue than my mundane office.

It is entirely possible that BM has an issue with taking directions from women. I had a (very good) coder that worked for me a while back. He had been in the US since college, but had grown up in Kuwait. He had a hard time taking direction from a woman. To his credit, he knew it...and was trying to work on it. Most of the time he was OK, but if he felt very strongly about something or was stressed he was incline to use what I called his "three steps behind me" tone. My usual response was to point at my clothing and say "See this, NOT a burqa". It worked 99% of the time. Of course Haithem KNEW he had a problem and need to adjust his attitude, making it much easier to deal with than someone who doesn't realize it or doesn't care.

What's insane about the whole thing is that BarMinion is also female. However, she seems to always defer to the opinion of whatever male is around. I seriously think it's ingrained in her that women are inferior to men. Road Runner thinks she's just threatened by other women who are smarter than her, but I think there's a bit more to it. Road Runner just hired a new female postdoc who is extremely smart and very well-qualified. It's going to be really interesting to see what happens to the group dynamic. I was really impressed with her, and I suspect that BM will feel quite threatened by her. Based on the way BM treats, BGS, I think it's only a matter of time until she starts badmouthing the new female postdoc to Road Runner. There's a male postdoc in the group, too, but he's new to our field and simply does whatever BM tells him to do. They get along fine for this reason and also because he is a he.

I really, really hope that Road Runner is starting to get Bar Minion's number. IMO BM lies to her on a fairly regular basis in an effort to discredit BGS, and she has been even more successful than I realized. After last week, I am hopeful that RR is starting to see through this particular ploy. BM has already managed to get rid of 1 grad student, and BGS will leave as well if things continue as they have for much longer. RR needs to get a reign on things before BM destroys her group. She's creating a positively toxic work environment. There are few things worse than manipulative, dishonest sycophants. To date, I've worked with far too many of them: Supervisor Barbie, The Minion, BarMinion, and now Wile E. Coyote, too.

[captmojo]

Man! There's a lot internal politics and need for CYA in the world of medical research science.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Been doing a bunch of this OY in the last 30 minutes! Those who haven't seen it, I can't Zpork you again yet!

DWBB ACC Champion Zporkz! Ozzie

And thanks, Captn, for your kind words!

[captmojo]

Your actions were deserving of merit, Sir.

[captmojo]

Surprised you didn't get any argument OY from some over your actions. Some OY will argue with a paper sack over the color of grass. Some would lose arguments to that sack.

[ArkieDukie]

Man! There's a lot internal politics and need for CYA in the world of medical research science.

I'd say that's true anywhere, captmojo. Seems to be an issue in society at large. There were similar issues when I worked for the state health department. It's part of the general "get ahead at all costs without having to pay dues" trend. What really stinks is that sycophants (or, politically savvy suck-ups) seem to be rewarded simply for being sycophants. Rarely are their rewards truly merited. The kicker is, you have to be really careful around them if you don't want to be targeted. I think I'm somewhat safe from BarMinion, as Road Runner seems to recognize that I know a bit more than BM does. Wile E. Coyote, on the other hand, could cause a world of problems if I'm not careful.

Remember what I said earlier about Bar Minion growing up in a part of the world where women are viewed as inferior to men? Wile E. Coyote is from the same country and appears to have this view in spades. My biggest challenge is going to be carrying on a civil conversation with this patronizing asshole.

[bjornolf]

My 10 yr old and 7 yr old both got little Om Nom stuffed toys the other day. My 10 yr old informed my 7 yr old that his Om Nom would not be the younger's Om Nom's friend because "he's anti-social."

[OZZIE4DUKE]

My 10 yr old and 7 yr old both got little Om Nom stuffed toys the other day. My 10 yr old informed my 7 yr old that his Om Nom would not be the younger's Om Nom's friend because "he's anti-social."

What's an Om Nom? I need to know! My 3 year old granddaughter is into stuffed bears.

[bjornolf]

My 10 yr old and 7 yr old both got little Om Nom stuffed toys the other day. My 10 yr old informed my 7 yr old that his Om Nom would not be the younger's Om Nom's friend because "he's anti-social."

What's an Om Nom? I need to know! My 3 year old granddaughter is into stuffed bears.

He's the dude from the cut the rope app game. He eats a lot of candy.

[YmoBeThere]

I don't have that app.