Why I like my job thread

“Hey, at least the frogs were fresh!”

“why are pegions ok to have but not frogs?
last edited: 11/30/05 11:26:55 AM”

“Fresh-killed pigeons, duh?!?”

“What's the buzz? Teens can't stand it
By Sarah Lyall
The New York Times
Published: November 29, 2005, 6:31 AM PST

BARRY, Wales--Though he did not know it at the time, the idea came to Howard Stapleton when he was 12 and visiting a factory with his father, a manufacturing executive in London.

Opening the door to a room where workers were using high-frequency welding equipment, he found he could not bear to go inside.

"The noise!" he complained.

"What noise?" the grownups asked.

Now 39, Stapleton has taken the lesson he learned that day--that children can hear sounds at higher frequencies than adults can--to fashion a novel device that he hopes will provide a solution to the eternal problem of obstreperous teenagers who hang around outside stores and cause trouble.

The device, called the Mosquito ("It's small and annoying," Stapleton said), emits a high-frequency pulsing sound that, he said, can be heard by most people younger than 20 and almost no one older than 30. The sound is designed to so irritate young people that after several minutes, they cannot stand it and go away.

So far, the Mosquito has been road-tested in only one place, at the entrance to the Spar convenience store in this town in South Wales. Like birds perched on telephone wires, surly teenagers used to plant themselves on the railings just outside the door, smoking, drinking, shouting rude words at customers and making regular disruptive forays inside.

"On the low end of the scale, it would be intimidating for customers," said Robert Gough, who, with his parents, owns the store. "On the high end, they'd be in the shop fighting, stealing and assaulting the staff."

Gough (pronounced GUFF) planned to install a sound system that would blast classical music into the parking lot, another method known to horrify hang-out youths into dispersing, but never got around to it. But last month, Stapleton gave him a Mosquito for a free trial. The results were almost instantaneous. It was as if someone had used anti-teenager spray around the entrance, the way you might spray your sofas to keep pets off. Where disaffected youths used to congregate, now there is no one.

At first, members of the usual crowd tried to gather as normal, repeatedly going inside the store with their fingers in their ears and "begging me to turn it off," Gough said. But he held firm and neatly avoided possible aggressive confrontations: "I told them it was to keep birds away because of the bird flu epidemic."

A trip to Spar here in Barry confirmed the strange truth of the phenomenon. The Mosquito is positioned just outside the door. Although this reporter could not hear anything, being too old, several young people attested to the fact that yes, there was a noise, and yes, it was extremely annoying.

"It's loud and squeaky and it just goes through you," said Jodie Evans, 15, who was shopping at the store even though she was supposed to be in school. "It gets inside you."

Evans and a 12-year-old friend who did not want to be interviewed were once part of a regular gang of loiterers, said Gough's father, Philip. "That little girl used to be a right pain, shouting abuse and bad language," he said of the 12-year-old. "Now she'll just come in, do her shopping and go."

Robert Gough, who said he could hear the noise even though he is 34, described it as "a pulsating chirp," the sort you might hear if you suffered from tinnitus. By way of demonstration, he emitted a batlike squeak that was indeed bothersome.

Stapleton, a security consultant whose experience in installing store alarms and the like alerted him to the gravity of the loitering problem, studied other teenage-repellents as part of his research. Some shops, for example, use "zit lamps," which drive teenagers away by casting a blue light onto their spotty skin, accentuating any whiteheads and other blemishes.

Using his children as guinea pigs, he tried a number of different noise and frequency levels, testing a single-toned unit before settling on a pulsating tone which, he said, is more unbearable, and which can be broadcast at 75 decibels, within government auditory-safety limits. "I didn't want to make it hurt," Stapleton said. "It just has to nag at them."

The device has not yet been tested by hearing experts.

Andrew King, a professor of neurophysiology at Oxford University, said in an e-mail interview that while the ability to hear high frequencies deteriorates with age, the change happens so gradually that many non-teenagers might well hear the Mosquito's noise. "Unless the store owners wish to sell their goods only to senior citizens," he wrote, "I doubt that this would work."
In other news:

Stapleton argues, though, that it doesn't matter if people in their 20s and 30s can hear the Mosquito, since they are unlikely to be hanging out in front of stores, anyway.

It is too early to predict the device's future. Since an article about it appeared in The Grocer, a British trade magazine, Stapleton has become modestly famous, answering inquiries from hundreds of people and filling orders for dozens of the devices, not only in stores but also in places like railroad yards. He appeared recently on "Richard & Judy," an Oprah-esque afternoon talk show, where the device successfully vexed all but one of the members of a girls' choir.

He is considering introducing a much louder unit that can be switched on in emergencies with a panic button. It would be most useful when youths swarm into stores and begin stealing en masse, a phenomenon known in Britain as steaming. The idea would be to blast them with such an unacceptably loud, high noise--a noise inaudible to older shoppers--that they would immediately leave.

"It's very difficult to shoplift," Stapleton said, "when you have your fingers in your ears."”

“That's pretty cool.”

“why do i like my job? because i get paid to sleep.”

“well I went to get my evaluation yesturday.
i am off probation. my boss used the word STELLER (sp) LOL.
it went great. he said I am way way above average for a rookie :)
they love me, they really love me...he even took me out to lunch!

so i am now off probatiopn and a full
Animal Controll Officer.


I will be going sometime next year for class 1 control officer, but i have to be away from home for 7 days and take a 35 hour training course.

still waiting for word about my
Peace Officer status.

oh and I got a raise :)”

“LOL, way to go Maple..say did I ever tell you I'm a Law Enforcement Chaplain too? Welcome on board.. Oops, better get over to school, kiddos await.
last edited: 12/09/05 7:42:08 AM”

“awesome, maple!! congrats. how come you were on probation? or do they just do that for everyone who's just started?”

“Congrat's maple. No more calling in once a week for you. ;-)”

“Congrads Mapes!!!!!!!
Woo Hoo!!!!!!!”

“
Mapes Always Gets Her Man (Animal)”

“well here ya go a quick update with work :)



I got my first dog bite, it hurt but not as bad as the cat bite.

I have ring worm. grossss. they told me i have to get the same stuff guys use for jock itch. even grossser

last night was pretty hard. cat was caught in barb wire, not the pointy ones but the razor ones. on a 8 foot fence, i was able to get half of his body out but relized his tail was all twisted up in it. so i called 911 so they could cut the wire. so 1 1/2 hour later holding this cat with no coat on (i took it off to cover the cat) standing on top of a ladder and you all know how much i love heights, we ended up tranq him and got him free. this was my first rescue that did not have a happy ending. cudos for everyone that helped. without there help i would never have been able to help the kittie. i named him sweety because he was as sweet a cat as you can get. thank goodness he was not ferral.

but on a happy note, i found the owner of two doggies i picked up. :)

why are there so many chickens in Brooklyn?”

“why are there so many chickens in Brooklyn?”
mapleleaf
7:03:04 AM

because the cars go too fast for them to get to the other side???


Anyhow, Maple just called me. She has to go get a raccoon out of a guy's car. Poor dude can't get to work because his ride got hijacked by a masked maurauder!”

“He should have just beat him with a stick you did when you got jacked. LOL!”

“If you have a raccoon in your car, does that mean you can use the carpool lane?”

“Justdon't let him drive, Zac. The mask may give the appearance of a bank job getaway!

Nigal, beat a raccoon's little balls in?”

“If Toonces can drive, so can a raccoon.

”

“Mapes - I thought about you the other day while watching a programp on public tv. Every Sunday a show called "Discovering Alabama" comes on. It's about the different wild places in Alabama and has been airing for maybe 20 years. The one that made me think of you was profiling the Alabama Wildlife Rehabilition program http://www.awrc.org/ It was very interesting. At Oak Mtn State Park outside B'ham they have a tree walk where they have a walkway built at canopy level where different birds of prey that can't be released back into the wild are housed. My kids love it.

It looks like I didn't upload any of the pics from the actual treetop visit, just the TH: http://community.webshots.com/photo/192953956/192961196xywIok”

“Geeez maple...........ya gotta be mo' careful!!!

Zac, if you pick up enough road kill you may use the carpool lane.”

“Good point MarkO, plus I'd have a mid-drive snack as well.”

“dayhiker that sounds so cool. i wish we had more things like that here. but more anomals head up state for rehab. i am waiting for word on the hawk i helped save, he should be released very soon, i was invited to watch :)”

“that does sound like the coolest job ever, maple!! except the part where you got jock itch, and whatnot.”

“Mapes, your adventures sound like a reality show in the making.

"Animal Busts"
Starring Maple "Pottymouth" Leaf
Rating: TV14 (violence, language)

Ride with NYC Animal Control Officer Maple "Pottymouth" Leaf as she corrals wayward cats, dogs, chickens, snakes, rhinoscersauces, heffalumps, platypuses, and lab rats.”

“She just got a call in Brooklyn that a cat or a possum is running rampant in a neighborhood with a Campbell's soup can on its head.

So, do we have 'Cream of Kitty Soup' or 'Meow Goo Gai Can?'”

“I like my job because they are paying me way too well for what I do. Besides which, I have a whole calendar month to get my hours in, and it doesn't matter when/how I do it. I could work all 160 hours in three weeks, and take the fourth off and save my vacation.”

“We just changed over our pay system, I got my check today - apparently I just got a $25 raise! lol, oh how I wish it were true, I guess they've been messing up everybody's checks since the changeover, the lady at the front desk got $1.50/hr too much, and a lifeguard in the city got a check for over a million dollars.”

“for a mil, I'd take the chance I could hide from them.....”

“I love my job...even when im not at work.
I just got home from work and I am still in my uniform. It seems that a game across the street at the ice skating rink just let out. well the loosers are not happy loosers, so a huge fight broke out. I went out just to make sure no one is killed. next thing I hear is a kid yelling "ITS THE COPS" everyone takes off. I look around to find the cops. DOH its me they were talking about
LMAO!! gottcha!!”

“He might not be able to cash that million-dollar check, but maybe he could sell it on eBay...

ROFL@Maple ... too funny.”

“You do look like a cop in your uni mapes.”

“teeheee I know :)”

“This is funny. Watch to the end. Caution language

http://www.killsometime.com/Video/video.asp?ID=332”

“Dang that was funny!!!!!!”

“NO NO NO NO NO NO NO.........!!!!!”

“LMAO!”

“Some new tenants in my work neighborhood:

http://www.arizonahikers.com/board/modules.php?set_albumName=albvf66&id=P1010205_edited&op=modload&name=gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php”

“:) I got a raise- Brag, brag, brag....”

“:-)”

“I like my job. I need a little tricity to run my putor and a big cup a joe , then I can loose a couple a grand before the sun comes up.”

“I thought I might share why I love my job - as it runs through my head almost every day "I can't believe I'm getting paid to do this."

Why I like my job:

Ropes Course Facilitator/Conference Host/Night Monitor/Camp Counselor:
First of all, it's fun. I have fun with the people I work with, we laugh together, we smile. It's a relaxing environment, I never feel forced to do anything. My job has many aspects, so I'm not bored doing one single thing, which leads me into the many aspects - I get to work outside. I get paid to play games with kids all day, and run around like a kid. I get paid to climb trees - isn't that every kids dream? Then I get paid to play computer games, or watch movies, or read a book, or sleep. I get a free place to live on a lake, miles from anybody else, free food on most days, free internet connection, and free utilities including phone, garbage, heat, water and electricity (doesn't include my cell). I work with a variety of people, from 5 years old to 60 years old, this also gives me contacts in different fields. I get paid to go canoeing, rock climbing, whitewater rafting, go to the water park, and backpacking.”

“I like my job because it really doesn't require me to do anything. So basically I get to hike or snowboard everyday and I get paid quite a bit of money to do that :)”

“Nothing worse then getting up every morning to go to a job you don't like. Glad you found a job you enjoy.”

“im going to start a "why i hate simer" thread”

“simer that sounds like a great place to work and live. Consider yourself lucky, I imagine that quite a few people would love to trade places with you.


I am really digging my job lately. I have a super boss who leaves me be as long as I do my job. He has paid for me to go to school (49 credits thus far,50 or so more to go), just sent me to TN for training last wk and is retraining me to keep me from being laid off. Cant beat that. Nice cushy indoor work. No way would I be an electrician in the "real world". Been there about 12 years and have zero intentions of leaving. The work itslef is just that, work. But I have done far worse things for much less money so its all good.”

“I love my job because I get paid to post on TT all night long.”

“LOL...I love the fact that you really never know what is going to happen each day. Had one last night...got home at 1 ish. Gonna be a caffene day today....”

“I love my job, just thought I'd let you all know. :)”