Work

Hackneyed Sojourn gives the other side of the story, from the front seat, of all those people who just know the cab driver is taking them out of the way to run up the fare:

... In one recent case, I had a group heading a good number of towns away and I had to cross through the city for a couple of miles before picking up the highway. At various lights one passenger or another would utter "left" or "right", not actually requesting the turn, but suggesting they knew it should be made, thus 'proving' to me they knew their way around, so I better not screw them (God help the poor driver who's new or from another country who might take such directions seriously). I continued along as if not hearing, and on those occasions when a turn suggestion became shrill or voiced by more than one, I simply pointed straight ahead with my finger and nodded forward. Soon enough we were on the main highway and things proceeded fairly pleasantly, until I took the necessary split from one highway to another. Shortly one began screaming that I'd already driven past their town, while another in a panic declared we were on the wrong highway. ...

Karl doesn't get it:

... [D]oes anybody else find it disturbing that nurses commute to work on public transit in their nursing uniforms? I mean, isn't the hole point of the uniform that whole sterility thing? Otherwise, why not just let them wear jeans? ...

Allegedly, some local social-media concern is willing to pay $250,000 a year to somebody who can drum up thousands of followers a week for their clients, who include "Fortune 500's and celebrities." It's on Craigslist, so it must be true.

While Stop & Shop workers were busy ratifying a new contract this weekend, workers at Shaw's produce warehouse in Methuen were going out on strike, Channel 4 reports. That could mean you'll see only wilted lettuce at your local Shaw's and Star Market - assuming you cross the picket lines the workers could be putting up.

Hackneyed Sojourn, who drives a Boston cab, reports on his shift last night:

... At 9:34 a black Chevy Tahoe Hybrid with Senator John Kerry in the passenger seat paused by my cab. His long face looked longer than usual, with two fingers to his temple and a countenance of disbelief.

A Hispanic girl entered my cab the next moment. I pointed to Kerry's vehicle, telling her he'd just arrived. Struggling to speak English, she told me she didn't know who he was. She was the coat check girl for Coakley's event, but as guests were leaving before removing their coats, she explained, she was being sent to the function at the Park Plaza, where Brown's campaign was headquartered. ...

Casey Atkins posts a photoessay on Metro Pedal Power, which provides package delivery in the Boston area - by bicycle.

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center CEO made news this spring when he sought employee help in making cuts to reduce the number of layoffs. Now, he reports, he asked the staff what to do should hospital finances continue to improve. Based on their advice, and if the upward trends continue, the hospital will restore pay increases on April 1.

Patrick Maguire, who made a splash with his list of suggestions for restaurant customers, starts a list of entries for a customer hall of fame.

Dvsjr was at a Registry office today when he sprang into action. He tweets:

Battery backup at the registry starts screeching. I'm in line, go up to the counter, "its ok maam Im an IT guy" reset the fuse. Clapping.

The Supreme Judicial Court ruled today that teachers who chaperone ski trips shouldn't have to worry about medical bills if they suffer their own ski injuries while monitoring slaloming students.

The ruling comes in the case of a Peabody math teacher injured during a 2004 ski trip - whose medical bills the city of Peabody had refused to pay.

Our roving reporter notes a Teamster picket outside the Starbucks at 755 Boylston St. this morning. He says the issue is not the taste of the coffee but "SB's supplier DPI has fired employees for trying to organize a union. DPI supplies SB with everything except the coffee beans."

WBUR reports that yesterday's announced drop in statewide unemployment numbers - the first in two years - actually masks a record number of underemployed people, i.e., people who have taken part-time jobs because they can't find full-time work.

Candelaria Silva discusses working as a part-time job counselor with 18-22-year olds trying to go back to school or get their GEDs:

... I long to have superhero-powers to turn back the clock to the pivotal moments in their lives where they veered off course. I want to meet the adults and institutions who've failed these young people, all of whom were clearly born with enough intelligence and talent to succeed. What they lack is a clear purpose or direction. Their interests are infuriatingly narrow. Their goals are incredibly small. Getting them to set goals, make an outline for how getting the degree and a job fits into their future plans is nigh impossible. ...

Gloucester fisherman with the tuna it took four hours to bring in off Chatham.

On Sunday, the Globe came out with its guide to the top 100 places to work in Massachusetts. Darn magazine printing schedules: That was three days after one of those alleged worker nirvanas, the law firm of Goodwin Procter, laid off 55 people, who might have another viewpoint, Elie Mystal reports.

Xconomy reports.

And that's not a good thing, the Boston Business Journal reports.

CommonWealth interviews some of the people who will write your term papers and essays for you - for a fee.

School-bus drivers coated in cement dust after a 2006 explosion at a Charlestown cement plant have filed a series of lawsuits against the plant's owners, charging the dust contained beryllium, which can cause a potentially fatal lung ailment.

Never get romantically involved with a supervisor or a subordinate. Stop that right now, just don't even think about it.

If you feel the workplace is overly sexualized, don't go to office holiday parties, or if you do, don't wear risque outfits and get drunk.

Which one could it be? It's not Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, where the blogging, tweeting CEO just posted a copy of the memo from his counterpart at another hospital. He stripped out the name, so we don't know if it's a massively gigantic hospital across town, but we hear from another source that Mt. Auburn Hospital also banned its employees from the social networks last week.

Effective immediately, the Hospital is blocking access to social networking sites including Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter from all Hospital computers.

The decision is based on recent evidence that some employees have been using these sites to comment on Hospital business, which is a violation of the Hospital's Electronic Communications policy and a potential HIPAA violation. ...

Alecia Batson reports an ad she shot last month is now airing in Maine as part of a campaign over some political issue none of us will know about:

Take a look at this notice for a photo shoot - they're looking for a black man between 55 and 90 with thinning gray hair, "mobile enough to lay on the ground comfortably
in a fallen position during shoot" - and overweight black men and women between 60 and 80. Pay is $1,000 a day for a 10-hour day.

Via Chanie.

Blue Mass. Group has the details.

A company in downtown Boston is looking for somebody experienced in content management systems. Sure, yawn if you must, but look at what they're doing:

Book of Odds Enterprises, Inc. is a start-up company creating a unique database of statistical information that will serve as a base for a dedicated website. The work is groundbreaking in its conception and will create a new fundamental reference work. Fifty man-years of research, done to academic standards but translated into easily understood terms, has produced over 500,000 Odds Statements about the details of daily life and a remarkable semantic database.