Mine was ‘The Green Slime,’ a Japan/Italy/US production that I saw when I was 4 or so. Wasn’t really that scary, but it was my first introduction to the theme of ‘microorganisms as monsters.’ Later, when I was about 10, my dad took me to see ‘Alien.’ Both these movies really rammed home the importance of good hygiene, lest that infection grow into a planet-devouring monster.

These are intentionally bred to look that way.

Interesting way to avoid those grass burrs.

Jason, is that you?

Before there was the Kobayashi Maru, there was Pike’s ‘Klaatu Barada Nikto’ test…

I use to play multiplayer games in the office with co-workers many many years ago. Then when everybody scattered to the four corners of the earth, I’ve mainly just been jumping into single player games that I can pick up and drop easily. I then started getting back into multiplayer sessions with my kids, but they soon transitioned through that period where their studies or other hobbies take precedence to our occasional DRG sessions. So I’ve now been going on Deep Rock runs with strangers. On the one hand, it’s a nice quick fix, but as most users seem to use the text chat if at all, it’s not as much of a social event as it was when I was playing with my kids and we all had open mics. You can get on the DRG Discord to try to team up with regular players, and I may try that some day to see if there are older players who don’t mind shooting the breeze while riding Doretta. But for now, I’ll have to make do with jamming that V key.

Correct - there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution for this. Ideally, you would be on a team where your manager is well aware of what works for each individual, and make decisions based on that but also taking into consideration that there will need to be compromises where individual preferences are in conflict. Some folks may certainly work better in isolation. Others thrive from interaction with others. The more reasonable arguments for WFH practices stress flexibility when accounting for team dynamics.

If management actually value face-to-face collaboration, then they’ll mandate all team members be in the office on the same set of days. Allowing you to pick your own WFH days speaks to different priorities - either manager oversight of specific individuals, or justification for all the money being spent on rent.

The Grand Budapest Hotel (peak Wes Anderson)

Yeah, I see railings at these kinds of spots as a very good thing. They let you get right to the edge for that perfect shot, and no one is the wiser for how little risk it took.