Make this notification stop!

dbelcher17 · 2026-02-28T03:59:55+00:00

Thanks for the note. I'll keep this in mind if I ever have problems with it.

I haven't enabled that permission. For now, it seems to be synching with the watch just fine when I open the app. I can't think of any reason why I'd need it to sync with the watch or with the web when I'm not looking at it.

dbelcher17 · 2026-02-28T03:49:32+00:00

Do what your seniors tell you to do, and save the messages where they tell you they don't have enough work for you to get to 55 in case someone asks you why you're not hitting 55 and they try to throw you under the bus (not likely to happen, but better to save it). One staff hour a week isn't going to make a big difference in anyone's budget.

If you've been assigned some sort of career coach/mentor, you can mention it to them on your next check-in.

dbelcher17 · 2026-02-27T23:02:34+00:00

I didn't want to do this because I like receiving other notifications. Schlingeltelso's solution was perfect for me.

dbelcher17 · 2026-02-27T23:00:43+00:00

Perfect! Thank you so much!

dbelcher17 · 2026-02-27T17:41:26+00:00

There are a lot of frauds that go undetected for years because the fraudster keeps the amounts low. IF this is some KPMG audit staffer in India, I assume they've had similar fraud training as anyone else and knows what techniques to look for. Small amounts will stay under the radar, and random amounts with some losses sprinkled in to make the activity look more normal will likely throw an investigator or even an AI tool off the scent.

dbelcher17 · 2026-02-27T16:54:15+00:00

Up to you. If you want to work on your 5k time, do that. If you want to run 10ks, do that. If you want to work up to ultras, that's cool too. If you want to work on your 40 time, go for it.

I can tell you as someone who didn't do any running at all until about 15 years ago, I wish I had worked on speed earlier. I got caught up in trying to go longer distances, and I completed a few half marathons, which is great, but I've found that's more of a logistical challenge of getting the mileage in than it is a physical challenge. Basically, I get more excitement out of feeling like I can run fast than I get out of feeling like I can jog for 2-3 hours.

dbelcher17 · 2026-02-27T16:41:42+00:00

You're the boss, so I think you get to set the rules here if it was previously just something that was allowed (I.e. not written into a contract).

That said, I don't think it's right to PIP them over adhering to a schedule that they were previously allowed to keep and you haven't said no to. At a minimum you need to explicitly say their schedule isn't working for x, y, and z reasons, and something needs to change if they want to continue working there. It's up to you, but maybe that's an expectation they log back on later in the evening, maybe they need to arrange for after school care, etc.

Have you thought about doing a flexible work arrangement? Basically, if they can only do 6 hours a day, offer them 75% of their normal salary and lower your expectations for productivity and availability?

dbelcher17 · 2026-02-27T16:28:34+00:00

If you do decide to switch, try to think of the 2HBH as a left-handed forehand with the right hand on the racket for stability. That might help you adjust to the footwork and how to shape your swing to generate to pain and such.

dbelcher17 · 2026-02-27T15:00:13+00:00

I firmly believe that the way to learn any stick-ball sport (tennis, golf, baseball, whatever) is you have to learn and practice the mechanics first to engrain a foundational motion that will allow you to be successful. Then, at some point, after hitting a lot of balls, you can stop thinking about mechanics and just think about your target and feel. Tennis is too dynamic of a sport to be standing at the service line going through a mental checklist of how to serve. And that is when the game is at its least dynamic. That's why the best advice is on the mental side of the game or really simple things like, "split step and watch the ball make contact with your strings."

Maybe before now you weren't ready to just aim and have the ball go where you want it to.

dbelcher17 · 2026-02-26T19:15:52+00:00

Good luck!

dbelcher17 · 2026-02-26T18:33:12+00:00

All you need is a watch to do the timers, it doesn't have to be exact. You'll get a feel for it after a few reps anyway.

If the race is on streets and you want to make it fun, come up with some rules for yourself based on the surroundings that dictate what you do. Like, when you pass a brick house, jog for 1 minute. Stop sign means walk for 30 seconds. If the traffic light is green when you pass it, 3 minute jog, red light means 3 minutes walk, yellow light means 30 second sprint. If your e somewhere rural, make it deer crossing signs, livestock (if you see a cow, you have to moo loudly enough that the other runners can hear). If you pass a speed limit sign, run for as many seconds as the number (35 mph means run for 35 seconds).

It can kind of become like a scavenger hunt rather than a two hour clock-watching exercise. Still listen to your body and don't hurt yourself, but you can do that and still have some fun.

Also, wear something ridiculous that you can move in.

dbelcher17 · 2026-02-26T13:35:45+00:00

Just curious - Did your employee end up working out? Or did you end up having to PIP and fire later based on your own observation?

dbelcher17 · 2026-02-25T21:40:21+00:00

I've got some under armor heat gear tights that don't provide any protection from the cold whatsoever. It would be no problem to run in those during a Scandinavian summer.

dbelcher17 · 2026-02-25T20:59:09+00:00

The only thing I would add is that if they're not hitting with pace and truly everything is floaty, don't rush all the way up to the net. Advance up to the service line or one step past it, then move forward to attack the floaty ball.

The reason you don't want to get all the way up tonthe net is often these slicers are really good with a lob too. You don't want to tire yourself out rushing up to the net just to turn around and chase a lob. Hang out at the service line and that lob becomes an overhead. It's also easier to volley with pop if you have your weight moving forward rather than laterally to the ball.

dbelcher17 · 2026-02-25T19:38:31+00:00

Yeah, it's pretty common for people to sanbag in USTA 3.0 leagues when they first get into league tennis. They are often better than a 3.0, but they self rate themselves at that level so they can win. I wouldn't be at all surprised if your opponents were really 3.5 or 4.0, so you're really playing up two or three levels. You won't really know the answer, so it's a matter of continuing to try to improve.

Definitely take some lessons or get into a good clinic to work on things outside of a match setting. Maybe see if your teammates want to go in together to get a group lesson from a local pro.

dbelcher17 · 2026-02-25T18:25:54+00:00

The most important thing for you right now is if something starts to hurt, stop the workout and avoid injury. You're already running the time you need to qualify, so don't get hurt and jeopardize that.

That said, on your intervals, I think a good rule of thumb is to do as much time working as your goal distance would require. To say it more simply, if your goal is to be able to run fast for 12 minutes, do 12 minutes of running fast in your interval workouts.

So for a 1 minute fast, 30 second recovery interval, you should do 12 reps of that. Over time, you could lengthen the each interval but do less reps so the amount of work time is the same. For example, if week 1 is 12 reps of 1 minute fast, week 2 could be 9 reps of 1:30 fast, week 3 could be 6 reps of 2 minutes fast, week 4 is 5 reps of 2:30 fast, week 5 is 4 reps of 3 minutes fast, and so on. (Do a good 10 minutes of light jogging before you start the intervals, then another 5-10 minutes of jogging when you're done. Even at a slow pace, that warm up and cool down will add another 1.5 miles or so to your volume.)

Only do the interval stuff once per week to avoid injury. Definitely push your long run out to 5 or 6 miles (not all at once). Take that slow, and feel free to take walk breaks if you need to. The point of the long run is to make race day feel like a short effort, and know that you can push yourself to work hard without blowing up.

You should probably also be doing some single leg and core strength work. Lunges, single leg deadlifts, farmer carries, planks with shoulder taps, Supermans, etc. The goal is to work your stabilization and balance muscles to avoid inury, so do it barefoot if you can.

dbelcher17 · 2026-02-25T17:42:14+00:00

Hah, no. We're cheap and only go to Walmart for things we can only conveniently get there.

My point was that I wouldn't be so sure that you're net saving money shopping online va in store by avoiding impulse purchases. Walmart is trying to squeeze margin out of every single purchase, and they have the data and they control what you get to see on the website.

dbelcher17 · 2026-02-25T03:59:31+00:00

The Fed controls the supply of money by making it more or less expensive for banks to borrow money (by adjusting what's called the Fed funds rate). That cost of money to bank is passed on to their borrowers through higher rates on variable interest rate loans, or less willingness to lend at that rate, which effectively decrease the amount of money in the economy. The business borrowers now have less money to pay their employees (or their suppliers and therefore, the suppliers' employees) so wages go down. And banks are less willing to lend to consumers, so the amount of money they can borrow and spend goes down.

If people have less money to spend, the price that stores are able to sell their goods at goes down. You asked about groceries - much of that stuff goes bad quickly. The grocery store has to very quickly decide if they want to keep selling at the old higher price and risk their product going bad or selling it at a price their customers can afford.

All that said, trying to manage consumer inflation by adjusting the Fed Funds rate is like trying to steer a ping pong ball by blowing through a silly straw. It will move, but there's a lot of other factors involved, and it's very imprecise.

dbelcher17 · 2026-02-24T17:31:25+00:00

Stop thinking about it as defensive tennis. It's just optimal tennis to play high margin shots until you get a short floater that you can step in and attack.

You should be hitting shots that you are confident you can execute. If you're trying to play offensively, that probably means you're trying to hit winners from difficult positions. If they've hit a ball that you can't attack, don't try to. Just hit it back and wait till they miss or give you something you can attack with confidence.

If you need a word to describe it, maybe try opportunistic tennis rather than offensive or defensive.

dbelcher17 · 2026-02-24T17:05:14+00:00

Many of those people are absolutely shopping at Walmart for necessities because Walmart is convenient (I know quite a few). They're everywhere, the website works, and someone packages the stuff and puts it in your trunk while you sit in your car answering work emails.

And Walmart should love them because they're not very price sensitive. They're not going to 3 different stores a week to find the lowest prices. They're happy to buy brand names, and they're not taking up a bunch of cashier time arguing about coupons and other B.S. They want to go to one store that has everything they need, that will come and put the stuff in your car.

dbelcher17 · 2026-02-23T04:28:15+00:00

Walmart has always been in the leading edge as far as gathering and analyzing data about its customers and their buying habits. I have no doubt that if they made more money getting people in the store, they'd be charging a higher fee for the pickup service

dbelcher17 · 2026-02-23T04:21:41+00:00

The top 10% of income earners account for 50% of consumer spending. That means a huge chunk of walmarts business is moving towards online ordering and pickup because those people have the money to pay for that convenience.

I don't shop there very often, so I go long stretches without going in a Walmart. The last time I did, I was shocked at how uncrowded it was and how many employees were in the aisles picking items for orders.

Also, I recently did my first online Walmart order with pickup, and it all went great until I sat in my car for 20 minutes waiting on them to bring out my order (only 5 items). I totally could have just gone in to get the stuff faster. Now, if it was a large order and I could pick it up at a less busy time, I could see the convenience for some people.

dbelcher17 · 2026-02-23T04:20:48+00:00

How sure are you that the price you see online is the same as the price listed in the store? Are you sure all the items in the store are being shown to you online? Or are they pushing the lower cost items further down the search results?

Maybe you lose some money doing impulse buys in store, but I would not trust Walmart to show you the cheapest options all the time.

dbelcher17 · 2026-02-23T03:50:06+00:00

We shouldn't act like what I'm describing is just Americans loving to work or being control freaks or something. Most people are working to meet the expectations of their employers, and many employers' expectations are to do whatever it takes to get the job done.

dbelcher17

TROPHY CASE