tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4034888015247889941.post1690421176792891356..comments2024-03-27T02:25:16.462-07:00Comments on Heather Doran: Lab Politics and Post-it Notes (Not quite I Lick My Cheese)Heather Doranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01743182952112081912noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4034888015247889941.post-36211008960778114512012-08-22T04:00:27.977-07:002012-08-22T04:00:27.977-07:00Buy another radio cord and start using it. But thi...Buy another radio cord and start using it. But this time buy a cheap external webcam and attach it to some old laptop. Leave laptop its webcam turned on and recording. To make it inconspicuous, close off the lid of the laptop. <br />Everyday or every other day, clean up the recorded video... until one day you cannot find the power cord any more. When that happens, review the video. Identify the culprit. <br />Then without making it obvious, call a lab meeting, and challenge the wrong-doer to step up and claim the responsibility. If s/he does not stand up, address him/her directly. Charge him/her with theft and get him/her kicked out of the lab. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4034888015247889941.post-64131526777384983102011-11-19T05:51:25.704-08:002011-11-19T05:51:25.704-08:00Well here we are nearly a year on. Despite emails ...Well here we are nearly a year on. Despite emails and request there is still no sign of the power cable and we are still radio-less. Sad faces all round in our Tissue Culture lab :-(Heather Doranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01743182952112081912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4034888015247889941.post-36774736818876844822011-04-13T14:49:27.732-07:002011-04-13T14:49:27.732-07:00I found your blog via askabiologist, then twitter,...I found your blog via askabiologist, then twitter, then arrived here. Whoever left the note and (presumably) took the cord needs to learn how to communicate like an adult. I'm annoyed on your behalf!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4034888015247889941.post-78094802435259214552011-01-24T14:11:39.149-08:002011-01-24T14:11:39.149-08:00Someone really took the power cord??? Jesus. That&...Someone really took the power cord??? Jesus. That's over the top. It was never on loud - I am next door (not the party lab, although I do enjoy their music too :) ) And the walls are thin enough that I can hear people talking so I would have heard a loudly played radio.<br /><br />This was a bone of contention in the last lab I worked in and I dislike how people who don't like background music always triumph. I find it difficult to do some tasks without it, my mind wonders and I screw up. Silence does not rule.<br /><br />The evil in me says find the person and cough in their cells :)<br /><br />Get a wind up radio (they have them in Asda).<br /><br />xxSonianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4034888015247889941.post-55046951395435853502011-01-19T02:25:17.672-08:002011-01-19T02:25:17.672-08:00There was a grumpy Italian in my lab who used to l...There was a grumpy Italian in my lab who used to like stealing the power cord from the radio too. This is clearly his M.O. he is becoming more ambitious in his plans to rid the world of music... and/or build himself a nest out of power cords.Phil Lnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4034888015247889941.post-9476069854455235782011-01-14T07:24:30.315-08:002011-01-14T07:24:30.315-08:00I hate these kind of notes - all rather tediously ...I hate these kind of notes - all rather tediously passive-aggressive. As Jim says, airing this stuff is what lab meetings are for.<br /><br />Sometimes it is just "transference" for people who have, er "issues" with their co-workers. Long ago when I worked at the NIH in the States I had a protracted battle with a lady in the next lab who said my music choice was <i>"putting her off her work"</i>. After sneaking into her lab when our CD player was on full bore, and confirming that it was completely inaudible, I just ignored her. Obviously there was no reason why she necessarily shouldn't dislike me, but equally there was no reason why I necessarily had to take any notice.<br /> <br />Finally, I have known a few people in University labs (and at all levels, up to and including Senior Lecturer!) that had a tendency to "lift" stuff off benches/out of freezers, including pipettes, reagents etc. Needless to say these people were <i>not</i> popular with their colleagues. And, given that there are few secrets in Univs, such folk usually find that there are consequences - notably that, when they need help, they will find it hard to come by. <br /><br />What goes around, comes around, and all that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4034888015247889941.post-32624943852497953532011-01-12T15:42:12.252-08:002011-01-12T15:42:12.252-08:00Woah woah woah, woah! What's wrong with Greigs...Woah woah woah, woah! What's wrong with Greigsy followed by good old John Mellis? That's prime time radio that is. Aye alrite, maybe not ...Stuarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09211143310068733534noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4034888015247889941.post-51067188365304260472011-01-11T05:17:48.052-08:002011-01-11T05:17:48.052-08:00Yes, totally agree. The problem with this lab is t...Yes, totally agree. The problem with this lab is that it is communal, so several groups use it. Our lab is note free and we discuss problems in lab meetings. There is also no set 'owner' for the lab through which all the users can be contacted and brought together (despite efforts from me to sort this). So communication is in note form. <br /><br />If the lab did have a leader and a few organised meetings a year there would be no need for all this petty note business!Heather Doranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01743182952112081912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4034888015247889941.post-40218428051802617222011-01-11T05:09:59.761-08:002011-01-11T05:09:59.761-08:00I despise the whole business of notes and poor com...I despise the whole business of notes and poor communication between either lab users, or departmental facilities. Unfortunately, scientists are cats, and will neither be herded, nor told. Sociable peer-to-peer discourse is to encouraged in a world where righteous indignation poured into note-form is king.<br /><br />In my lab we have no notes except on booking sheets. In areas where labs share facilities, anonymous notes are also not permitted; people wanting to address an issue must speak to the senior technician.<br /><br />Petty theft is theft, and unfortunately there is a lot of it in academic departments. Sometimes thought to be seemingly harmless, but other times malicious. In one of my old labs someone used to steal the knob to the centrifuge if they wanted to ensure it was free for their use. The result was that that user was banned from using the lab centrifuge.<br /><br />These are all matters for lab and staff meetings.Jimhttp://blogs.nature.com/drjimnoreply@blogger.com