A woman in a male-dominated field

Those of you who know me know that I work in male-dominated fields (engineering and construction). For the most part I feel like I am treated fairly and am respected by the men with whom I work. However, there continue to be remnants of male chauvinism that rear their ugly heads. Even though I am the one making the final decisions, some of the men tend to ask the other men on my team rather than talking to me. The other day, one of the engineers with whom I am working blatantly challenged my request, but listened to the men who reiterated what I had requested of him. I try not to be paranoid about it, but sometimes it is hard to ignore the fact that being a woman in this field is still a bit of a novelty, and some men don't know how to respond. When I see or hear gender-biased responses toward me, I usually choose to ignore them and act as if the person didn't mean it. I am of the opinion that if I act with the expectation that they respect me, they will in respond in such a manner. Unfortunately, sometimes it doesn't happen, but I am learning to live with it.

The day that went wrong

I had one of THOSE days. You know the type--when it seems that everything that can go wrong does. Some things that I didn't think were possible to go wrong went wrong today, or so it seemed. I made my list, and from 7am until 9:30 pm the number of items on my "went wrong" list was over 14. These were not little items either. Ugh. Sometimes I wonder if I can face another day of such problem solving. I guess the good news is that I was able to reach a semi-reasonable solution for most of the items on my "went wrong" list. The problem is that these solutions will definitely have a negative impact on my schedule--just when I thought I had a schedule that would work. Maybe tomorrow will be a day when everything goes right for once. I hope I can write that post.

A modern day moral tale

Last week I gave an employee a coupon, which I had been given, for a $2 grande cold beverage at Starbucks. He proceeded to try to determine the most expensive drink he could order to maximize the coupon. He returned from his trip to the coffee shop with his receipt in hand telling me that he had ordered a 13 shot, venti, soy, hazelnut, vanilla, cinammon, white mocha, with extra white mocha, caramel beverage. The total price of the drink was $11.50. He was upset that they did not honor the coupon by giving him that drink for $2. I was not surprised that he had to pay for such a crazy order, especially when he ordered the wrong drink size (venti rather than grande). I was however rather dumbfounded that he even attempted such a strategy. He said the drink tasted terrible, and after he had drunk just a little from the top his hands were visibly shaking. I told him he couldn't finish the drink on the job because I wanted him to be able to think clearly. So, I retell this tale because it is so outrageous and because it illustrates a moral lesson. Don't try to take advantage of someone else's goodwill. You will probably end up paying for it in the end, and the other party will be less likely to offer their benevolence again.

Wasted Energy

If you have worked in a wood shop you have probably heard the saying "Measure twice and cut once." I wish there was more of this type of attitude in industry. I have to believe that if we were to live by this motto a little more often we would consume less of our precious resources. One obvious area of savings would be time. I don't know how much time I have spent fixing other people's gross negligence. It is very frustrating. We all know that time relates to money, so we could save some of that too. In a more subtle way, it could be the new motto for "going green." Think about the amount of electricity, gasoline, and raw materials that are wasted by producing and transporting products that are not made to specifications. I would venture to say that the amount of precious natural resources that are wasted due to people's careless inaccuracy is astounding. Maybe we could start a new saying "Think twice, act once." That's something to think about.

Percentage Errors

I have been surprised lately by some common errors made when people are calculating/reporting percentages. At first I thought it was just one person who made a simple mistake, but in a matter of a week, I saw 4 people make similar errors. Maybe those are the only 4 people to make this mistake, but I had to post this in the event that I might spare you from making this type of error too. Here is an example:

By what percentage is $1400 higher than $600?
Typical incorrect response: (1400-600)/1400=57%
One way to show that this is incorrect is to add 57% of 600 to 600: (600 *0.57 )+ 600=943
The correct response is: (1400-600)/600=133%

Now, if the question was phrased as "By what percentage is $600 lower than $1400?" the answer of 57% would be correct. It is all about choosing the correct base number to answer the question being asked.

Familiar Features

Recently I was able to see relatives from both sides of my family. As our extended family expands, I am noticing strong familial traits. Of course physical similarities are present, but the more interesting ones come in the form of common behaviors, thought processes, and methods. It is quite intriguing to try to determine how much is passed on by environment or genetics. My immediate family is a laboratory of sorts in answering the nature vs. nurture question. Of us four children, two are biologically linked and two are not, but we all were raised by the same parents and lived in the same home. I see the influence of my parents on all of our behavioral patterns in one form or another. I wonder about my grandparents and great grandparents. Did they have any idea as to what behavioral influence they would pass on to the next generations? Could the familial behaviors be teased apart and be attributed to specific ancestors? What if one of the prevailing familial traits is one that the ancestor did not wish to possess and never wanted his/her children to receive?