SAMs happy-hour-GMT+1-daily-work-COFFEE BAR

[Blind Owl]

We are all positive - because we don't take shit too serious, right? :smile: :beers:
That being said: I got a day off - because son has a day off school! I knew that there were positive things, having kids in school, ha! :smile:
Have a nice day!

Yay. Day off with your son. That's awesome.

 

[marcsand2]

Nice garden, more green, color and blossoms then in mine :sunglasses:

 

[AstroSam]

That's awesome Sam. I love spelling time outside, BBQing, socializing, being with family.
We're just starting to get the nice weather. So the BBQ will be getting used a LOT more.

Yay, hope to BBQ one day with you and @marcsand2 , having a beer and fun :D

Ugh. That doesn't sound nice at all Sam. No even a bit. Having your body "taken over" by medications illness. One can only hope and pray that you find a balance between the medication and feeling well.

I'm working on it, promise :)

Well that's silly. A positive workplace promotes mental wellness. And mental wellness leads to more productivity. It's science!

Yeah, say "hello" to Germany. Its not silly - its business management. Need an example?

• When I stepped into this company 17 years ago - IT development branche - it was a small company with around 50 employees. They were very successful, have had looooots of work, but also fun, making AOE-battles in the evenings, cake in the afternoon and sailing sessions on weekends. Non-alc were free, like Coke, Sprite, etc. water, coffee, tea. There was a freezer filled with ice cream and you could buy lunch at cost. And tell you what: no matter which day or which time I entered the building, at every day, at every f*cking hour there was someone in the office and working! That was a good time.
• The company growed and was bought buy another company. A controlling guy stepped in, fresh from university, successful, aggressive; carreer type of guy. At once he elimintated Coke, Sprite, juice etc. As the months went on, there was no more food at cost, the freezer went dry. Employees first got annoyed, later frurstrated. Today, they go to work because there is money at the end of the month. After a couple of years, at 8 p.m. the offices were empty, no weekend sessions or else happend since then. But tell you what: the *numbers* for sure increased significantly. Our company was the one with the highest profitability in the whole group. Thus this controlling manager went upstairs, today is somewhat CEO or else. The numbers were brilliant - but the spirit is gone. But noone cares, because spirit isn't quantifiable. But numbers are.
  
• Last example of typical German business strategy: a colleague of mine, todays boss, and I built up a department from scratch, making a turnover of 10 Mio. EUR per year at 10%GP. Then, one day, we received a call from top management: "stop your business at once. Cancel all contracts. Your doing does not correspond to our business objective." They did not care that we afterwards do not only lost these 10 Mio. bucks but also a huge customer and additional 50 Mio. EUR. (we built up something new though, cracking the 20 Mio. rev. line this year :) ).

All that matters are strategy and numbers. Nothing more. Welcome to Germany.

A good challenge! You'll conquer this new position like a TESTie conquering crashing: no problem! I'm certainly happy for you.
I'm home a lot more. For the first time in my life, I get to come home daily for lunch and breakfast (after morning physical training). I will be going on exercise for a couple weeks at the end of the month, but NOT for a couple months as with my last position. It's amazing.
I have been spending far less time online. My wife has not yet gone back to work, so we are spending a LOT of time together as a family. Just enjoying the time while we can. :slight_smile: I'm enjoying plenty of time playing with my son. Haha.

Thats so wonderful! I almost could imagine it that "less TEST time" means "more happy real life/family time". Awesome! :)

Crude is well. He went from basic training straight into his trade training. So the military takes you out of the general public for a few weeks to make sure that you don't get negatively influenced. They train you in isolation to make sure that the training sticks, haha. It's not that bad if you're single and have no family. He'll be back into the general public soon enough. Drinking beer! Haha

Ugh, okay, sounds not sooooo...like fun. Isolation like being in the wildernis or aren't allowed to say "hello" to civilization? :D

 

[AstroSam]

Yay. Day off with your son. That's awesome.

It can be. Currently he is...challenging. I think he can't accept that I'm ill at the moment, can't do fights with wooden sticks and stuff. It frightens him. Nevertheless, I'm looking forward to my next weeks vacation. Will drive to the north sea, build some sandcastles or the like :)

Nice garden, more green, color and blossoms then in mine :sunglasses:

Thanks, dear Marc, will forward this to my wife :D

So, have a bunch to do here. We'll read us later!

 

[AstroSam]

:crown::crown::crown::crown::grin::grin::grin:

 

[marcsand2]

:crown::crown::crown::crown::grin::grin::grin:

Congratulations on your 5K :beers::beers::beers::beers::beers:

 

[marcsand2]

Thanks, dear Marc, will forward this to my wife :smile:

Hmmmm, maybe I also should forward this to my wife... I have split it up, I back garden, my wife front garden :relieved:

 

[AstroSam]

Haha, I have a slight idea of how your backyard will look like:

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/60/1f/c1/601fc155cffb8702e8636046c669168e.jpg
:D :D :D

 

[AstroSam]

Congratulations on your 5K :beers::beers::beers::beers::beers:

Thanks! Was tough work - but I never will reach this posting-efficiency of @Blind Owl , haha :D

 

[Blind Owl]

Yay, hope to BBQ one day with you and @marcsand2 , having a beer and fun :smile:

Haha, that will be an amazing day.

I'm working on it, promise :slight_smile:

Good man.

Yeah, say "hello" to Germany. Its not silly - its business management. Need an example?

• When I stepped into this company 17 years ago - IT development branche - it was a small company with around 50 employees. They were very successful, have had looooots of work, but also fun, making AOE-battles in the evenings, cake in the afternoon and sailing sessions on weekends. Non-alc were free, like Coke, Sprite, etc. water, coffee, tea. There was a freezer filled with ice cream and you could buy lunch at cost. And tell you what: no matter which day or which time I entered the building, at every day, at every f*cking hour there was someone in the office and working! That was a good time.
• The company growed and was bought buy another company. A controlling guy stepped in, fresh from university, successful, aggressive; carreer type of guy. At once he elimintated Coke, Sprite, juice etc. As the months went on, there was no more food at cost, the freezer went dry. Employees first got annoyed, later frurstrated. Today, they go to work because there is money at the end of the month. After a couple of years, at 8 p.m. the offices were empty, no weekend sessions or else happend since then. But tell you what: the *numbers* for sure increased significantly. Our company was the one with the highest profitability in the whole group. Thus this controlling manager went upstairs, today is somewhat CEO or else. The numbers were brilliant - but the spirit is gone. But noone cares, because spirit isn't quantifiable. But numbers are.
  
• Last example of typical German business strategy: a colleague of mine, todays boss, and I built up a department from scratch, making a turnover of 10 Mio. EUR per year at 10%GP. Then, one day, we received a call from top management: "stop your business at once. Cancel all contracts. Your doing does not correspond to our business objective." They did not care that we afterwards do not only lost these 10 Mio. bucks but also a huge customer and additional 50 Mio. EUR. (we built up something new though, cracking the 20 Mio. rev. line this year :slight_smile: ).

All that matters are strategy and numbers. Nothing more. Welcome to Germany.

Wow. That seems insane, dropping that kind of revenue because it's not part of the business objective.
I do understand the changing of the way the business is run in other to increase the bottom line. I don't agree with it, but I understand it.

Thats so wonderful! I almost could imagine it that "less TEST time" means "more happy real life/family time". Awesome! :slight_smile:

Indeed. I'm spending an almost endless amount of time with my little man now. It's amazing. :)

Ugh, okay, sounds not sooooo...like fun. Isolation like being in the wildernis or aren't allowed to say "hello" to civilization? :smile:

Only he's not in the wilderness. He's on a big base, going to school, learning and training. He's just not allowed to leave that base and go into town until they pass a certain amount of milestones. Once they pass their Captain's inspection they will be allowed to rejoin civilization.

It can be. Currently he is...challenging. I think he can't accept that I'm ill at the moment, can't do fights with wooden sticks and stuff. It frightens him. Nevertheless, I'm looking forward to my next weeks vacation. Will drive to the north sea, build some sandcastles or the like :slight_smile:

I can imagine he's scared. Not being able to play with his daddy and not understanding why would be scary for him and heartbreaking for you.

 

[AstroSam]

....but lets not sound this tooo...serious. AstroSun and AstroFather will have some great days...well, that being said: I will be offline most of the time next week. But I will send you photos from son and me, doing vacation stuff :smile:

Ah, besides, dear @Blind Owl are you still interested in reading the novel of my wife...?

@CrudeSasquatch s isolation time: NOW I got it. Okay, that sounds more awful than it is. More presumable is that he is having a great time! When I was at German Federal Armed Forces for the 12 months basic military training, we had such phase for three weeks in the beginning and afterwards during military exercises, like 10 days in the field under war conditions. Yes, sometimes it was real stress and I saw tough men having a "breakdown", lying on the floor, crying. But after all, it was a very good time. I would not have missed it as a part of my lifes' experience :slight_smile:

Sad enough that this selective military service in Germany has been stopped around 2010. I'm looking at all the young "IT social media generation" dumb shits around (sorry for this general prejudice), saying to myself "Boy, they could *really* use a good, healthy military drill"....

Well, lunch time has passed. I was at the gym, doing some rehab training, one hour ergometer training, yay :smile: Now having a piece of 80% chocolate and a coffee...
Cheers, have a marvelous day!!

http://freshwallpapers.net/file/7767/500x338/16:9/coffee-with-chocolate-cake-_1831018401.jpg

 

[marcsand2]

Haha, I have a slight idea of how your backyard will look like:

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/60/1f/c1/601fc155cffb8702e8636046c669168e.jpg
:smile: :smile: :smile:

My BBQ lacks the right lower barrel and the left smoker part, also it is square, not round and charcoal, not wood. My roof is not metal, but for the rest it could come right out of my back garden. Ow, I miss some beer bottles :beers::beers::beers:

 

[AstroSam]

Haha, well, its BEFORE the active BBQ'ing, right? :smile:

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/43/14/c6/4314c6e14024cb63089f11c9585c7372.jpg
Way to go... :bow::grin:

P.S. @marcsand2 : I see only minor differences between your description and the pic - you are simply focussing on the essentials, ha :smile:

 

[Blind Owl]

I will be offline most of the time next week. But I will send you photos from son and me, doing vacation stuff :smile:

Most excellent Sam. Go, enjoy, have fun, play. :smile::smile::smile:

Ah, besides, dear @Blind Owl are you still interested in reading the novel of my wife...?

Most certainly Sam! The offer definitely still stands.

@CrudeSasquatch s isolation time: NOW I got it. Okay, that sounds more awful than it is. More presumable is that he is having a great time! When I was at German Federal Armed Forces for the 12 months basic military training, we had such phase for three weeks in the beginning and afterwards during military exercises, like 10 days in the field under war conditions. Yes, sometimes it was real stress and I saw tough men having a "breakdown", lying on the floor, crying. But after all, it was a very good time. I would not have missed it as a part of my lifes' experience :slight_smile:

Precisely this. He's did the isolation at the beginning of basic training. And he has to do the isolation again with his trade training, which is what he's doing right now.
As for the military exercises: I've seen some grown men use any excuse possible to get out of the field and get home. I never understood that. I mean, they joined the military to be in the military. Why try to get away from it?

Sad enough that this selective military service in Germany has been stopped around 2010. I'm looking at all the young "IT social media generation" dumb shits around (sorry for this general prejudice), saying to myself "Boy, they could *really* use a good, healthy military drill"....

I agree with this more than I can either express. There are some entitled little shits out there who could certainly use a good dose of military service. Haha

 

[AstroSam]

:beers: :D

@marcsand2 is really quite the past days. Whats the matter, Marc - having too much stress at work? Take a time out, come here and have a coffee (shhhh, don't tell anyone of the Whiskey in it, ha :D)

http://www.loveclapham.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/coffee-shot1.jpg

 

[AstroSam]

Most certainly Sam! The offer definitely still stands.

Thats great news! I will tell my wife, thank you very much for the offer again :grinning:

 

[marcsand2]

:beers: :smile:

@marcsand2 is really quite the past days. Whats the matter, Marc - having too much stress at work? Take a time out, come here and have a coffee (shhhh, don't tell anyone of the Whiskey in it, ha :smile:)

http://www.loveclapham.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/coffee-shot1.jpg

stress@work, stress@school, stress@soccer, relaxing@home with project but no time for family or playing.... well, actually I finally could team-up with @Beerjerker yesterday, 23:30, not long enough to finish ICC mission 1 before my rig crashed again. This happened last weeks not allot anymore. I found a possible solution to the problem.

 

[AstroSam]

Have had the same problem the past weeks. Now and then, the PC suddenly freezed. Without any reason, it seemed. I did memtest - no result. Ran Whocrashed - no result. Tested the hard drives - no result. One day, I again ran Whocrashed - and received the message that *probably* I driver could be outdated. I checked my system - no result. I bought(!!!!) a tool to check the system. Turned out - attention - that every driver is up to date...............

http://blackbirds.tv/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/giphy_Solo.gif

At least, this f*cking tool told me that I should update my Windows 10. Well, I sighed deeply because I did not want to update Windows 10 because of this issue with the DRM rights. But anyway, the computer crashed again, and I surrendered.
Guess what: update was done, computer crashed again.
Then, out of nowhere, I had an idea. Very slight one...I remembered that my 2 TB WD HDD made a strange noise. It was two or three weeks ago, and only one or two times. And it *seemed* to me that it only was....nothing; particularly as the HDD worked seemingly fine. But who knows....
I bought a new HDD, replaced the old one with the new (better, but smaller) HDD. AND GUESS WHAT - the PC runs flawlessly. Never had a crash since then.

ARRRRRRRRRRGH!!

 

[AstroSam]

stress@work, stress@school, stress@soccer, relaxing@home with project but no time for family or playing....

Stay healthy, dear Marc. Take your needed time for yourself and for your family. Fuck school, reduce work.
But who is saying this.........*looksannoyedintothemirror*.........haha :D

 

[Blind Owl]

Thats great news! I will tell my wife, thank you very much for the offer again :grinning:

No problem my friend. :grinning: