Month: August 2025

Different modes of dress

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There is a lot of talk about dress codes in the office. The dress code in many offices is often referred to as “business casual.”

My father worked for the federal government from the 1960s to the early 1990s, when office dress codes were more formal. I remember being a child and watching him leave for work every day in a suit and tie. I don’t know what the women in his office wore, but I imagine they wore dresses and skirts and maybe suits. And fancy shoes that hurt their feet.

Near the end of my father’s tenure in the government, the dress code in his office relaxed. They even began to have “casual Friday.” On these days, my father would wear a green Champion sweatshirt—with a dress shirt underneath and dress pants.

I personally cannot say much about the dress codes in a typical office, because I never worked in one. I worked in academic research labs. These labs have dress codes as well, but they are completely different from those in an office.

For example, jeans are permitted in a lab and are often encouraged. Even though a technician wears a white lab coat (which is often a mandatory part of the dress code), there is still the possibility of something getting splashed on their legs. It is also possible that the technician may have to get down on their knees to operate or fix a piece of equipment. For that, they would not want to be wearing dress slacks or a nice skirt. T-shirts and sweatshirts are passable in an academic lab as well, as long as they do not display anything objectionable or political.

There are, of course, items of clothing that should not be worn in a lab. Open-toed shoes of any kind are a no-no, for obvious reasons. (I have seen several lab workers try to get away with this, with the result being that their entire lab had to go undergo special safety training.) Neither shorts nor miniskirts are a good idea, either.

As for industrial labs, I cannot say anything about their dress codes, because I have never worked in one.

Is there anything you like or dislike about the dress code where you work?

I’m giving up on you…

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Is it ever okay to give up on a book?

Some people say no. They are determined to finish whatever book they start reading, no matter how dull or uninteresting the story or material has become. These are the people who keep the book through which they are slogging on the coffee table or nightstand for eons. I’m sure you know at least one person like that.

I used to be one of them—until this month.

It was one of my close friends who is an avid reader who told me that’s it’s okay to give up on a book.

I’ve decided to give up on Michael Crichton’s Rising Sun. A few blog posts back, I mentioned several novels of Crichton’s that I read and thoroughly enjoyed. Rising Sun was absent from that post. I’m not saying that it was poorly written—Crichton’s usual polish was there. But I am saying this:

The book has very little, if anything, to do with science or medicine. When I started reading it, I did not expect a story about either, for I knew this was a murder mystery. It’s perfectly fine with me if Crichton wants to write a murder mystery for a change. But this one seemed to drag. The action seemed to take place mostly in a car, with the two main characters zipping here and there and meeting this person and that person and then scooting off to another place. To me, that got old. It got old to the point where I finally said, “Who cares who killed this woman?”

Suffice it to say that it’s all right to give up on a fiction book if you are not into the story or the characters.

It is also okay to give up reading fiction or nonfiction if the writing is bad. I cannot think of any books I’ve read recently where the writing was so subpar that I gave up reading. However, one book I finished that I probably should have given up on was John Saul’s Creature, which was horribly predictable. (To Mr. Saul’s credit, he has written several other novels which were much better.)

Was there ever a book which you gave up on?

Never, ever do this.

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It can be tempting to date someone who works with you, especially since you spend the majority of your waking hours at your job. Your coworkers are the people you see the most and with whom you spend most of your time, so you get to know them pretty well. You get to know their tastes in music, food, clothing, vacation destinations, and so forth.

There can be chemistry between coworkers, and an attraction can take place. This is especially likely if the other person has the same tastes as you do. You might start to wonder, “What would it be like to go with her to our favorite restaurant?” or “What would it be like to go to the beach with him?”

STOP RIGHT THERE.

Do not date a coworker.

First of all, it is unprofessional. A person’s professional life and personal life should be kept separate and should never be mixed with each other. If you are in a romantic relationship with a coworker, it might not be long before you start calling them “sweetie” or “honey” at work. ICK.

Second, there will be too much togetherness. As was previously stated, your coworkers are the people you see the most and with whom you spend most of your time, so you will see your significant other at work and at home for a total of nearly all of your waking hours. Your significant other needs a chance to miss you, and vice versa.

Third, many romantic relationships end in a breakup, and if you and your coworker eventually break up, seeing them at work will be awkward at best and downright painful at worst. You don’t want to put yourself through that.

And don’t even think about trying to date a married coworker.

What are your opinions on dating a coworker?

What are you going to do about it?

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In my previous post, I discussed the signs of climate change that I have personally seen. My husband has seen similar signs. This week, I would like to talk about one thing we are doing in order to do something.

We live in a condominium with an HVAC, also known as an electric heat pump. The HVAC unit produces air conditioning in the summer and heat in the winter. From what I have read, HVAC units are more efficient than gas furnaces. We love ours, although we know it is at least 15 years old and we are dreading the day it gives up the ghost.

In the summer, we turn our thermostat to 76 or 77 degrees Fahrenheit. “But that’s boiling hot!” you say? Try turning your thermostat to 78 degrees, which is the temperature recommended by the US Department of Energy. Seventy-eight degrees has proven to be too warm a temperature for my husband, so we compromise. I have to admit that we turn the air conditioning to 75 degrees at night when we go to bed, but at least we are not like some of our friends, who keep theirs at 70 degrees all day and all night. (I hope said friends own stock in their power company.)

As for our power company, every month it sends an “energy report” to each of its customers, telling the customer how much energy they used compared to customers in similar homes and customers in the “efficiency zone” (the top 20 percent of homes with the least energy use). I’m glad to say that my husband and I have landed in the “efficiency zone” more than once. And even in the months when we do not, we always use significantly less power than the average of similar homes.

It is too bad that our condo association will not allow us to install solar panels on the roof of the building. My aunt and uncle have solar panels and are living completely off the grid. Similarly, their daughter (my cousin) and her family power their home with sunlight. I admire them very much for this, and I have to admit that I am a little envious.

What are your suggestions for mitigating climate change, one step at a time?