"An explanation of the development of clocks and calendars for keeping track of the passage of time, through the sciences of astronomy, mathematics, and ... others." - Book Buyer's Guide.
"Nickel and Dimed for the Amazon age," (Salon) the bitingly funny, eye-opening story of finding work in the automated and time-starved world of hourly low-wage labor After the local newspaper where she worked as a reporter closed, Emily Guendelsberger took a pre-Christmas job at an Amazon fulfillment center outside Louisville, Kentucky. There, the vending machines were stocked with painkillers, and the staff turnover was dizzying. In the new year, she travelled to North Carolina to work at a call center, a place where even bathroom breaks were timed to the second. And finally, Guendelsberger was hired at a San Francisco McDonald's, narrowly escaping revenge-seeking customers who pelted her with condiments. Across three jobs, and in three different parts of the country, Guendelsberger directly took part in the revolution changing the U.S. workplace. Offering an up-close portrait of America's actual "essential workers," On the Clock examines the broken social safety net as well as an economy that has purposely had all the slack drained out and converted to profit. Until robots pack boxes, resolve billing issues, and make fast food, human beings supervised by AI will continue to get the job done. Guendelsberger shows us how workers went from being the most expensive element of production to the cheapest - and how low wage jobs have been remade to serve the ideals of efficiency, at the cost of humanity. On the Clock explores the lengths that half of Americans will go to in order to make a living, offering not only a better understanding of the modern workplace, but also surprising solutions to make work more humane for millions of Americans.
"I well recall a conversation with an executive I hoped to interview about her astonishing productivity. I began our call with an assurance that I would not take much of her time. She laughed. 'Oh, I have all the time in the world,' she said." Most of us feel constantly behind, unsure how to escape feeling oppressed by busyness. Laura Vanderkam, unlike other time-management gurus, believes that in order to get more done, we must first feel like we have all the time in the world. Think about it: why haven't you trained for that 5K or read War and Peace? Probably because you feel beaten down by all the time you don't seem to have. In this book, Vanderkam reveals the seven counterintuitive principles the most time-free people have adopted. She teaches mindset shifts to help you feel calm on the busiest days and tools to help you get more done without feeling overwhelmed. You'll meet people such as... ♦ An elementary school principal who figured out how to spend more time mentoring teachers, and less time supervising the cafeteria ♦ An executive who builds lots of meeting-free space into his calendar, despite managing teams across multiple continents ♦ A CEO who does focused work in a Waffle House early in the morning, so he can keep an open door and a relaxed mindset all day ♦ An artist who overcame a creative block, and reached new heights of productivity, by being more gentle with herself, rather than more demanding The strategies in this book can help if your life feels out of control, but they can also help if you want to take your career, your relationships, and your personal happiness to the next level. Vanderkam has packed this book with insights from busy yet relaxed professionals, including "time makeovers" of people who are learning how to use these tools. Off the Clock can inspire the rest of us to create lives that are not only productive, but enjoyable in the moment.
An orphan and thief, Hugo lives in the walls of a busy train station. He desperately believes a broken automaton will make his dreams come true. But when his world collides with an eccentric girl and a bitter old man, Hugo's undercover life are put in jeopardy. Turn the pages, follow the illustrations and enter an unforgettable new world!
Southern culture in the small town of Hadlee, Mississippi is brought to life through the friendship between a white boy, Jason Lee Rainey and a black boy, Samson Johnson. The aftermath of the war in Vietnam, where Jason's father died and the fight for civil rights, are very much alive in current events, even though it's now the mid 1970s. Life is tough without a father when Jason's mother's depression take a turns for the worst and he and his mentally-disabled Vietnam vet uncle are left to fend for themselves. Will Jason be able to grow up fast enough to handle himself like a man?
Charlie's plans for a perfect vacation are dashed when his mother announces they'll be visiting her distant relatives instead. Traveling to England might be exciting, but there's nothing fun about a summer spent with quilt-crazy Auntie Phranzie and reclusive Uncle Ralph. Exploring his relatives' bizarre, clock-filled home, Charlie discovers a leather book hidden in the attic. Inside is a handwritten message warning the reader to proceed with the utmost caution. Charlie isn't very cautious, which explains why he chooses to sneak into Uncle Ralph's forbidden room, where a series of events transports him to the clock book's world. In that world, Wenzel Bennington's life is unraveling. The Hill, his once-peaceful home, is under attack from the malevolent Malek. Left unchecked, Malek threatens to destroy everything Wenzel loves. Charlie and Wenzel find themselves instrumental players in the war against Malek. Joined by a mysterious girl marked by magic and aided by the mystical Presence, they will bring peace to the Hill-or live just long enough to see Malek triumph. Reminiscent of a modern-day Chronicles of Narnia, The Boy and the Clock Book marks the beginning of Charlie's adventures in a world where destiny and magic intertwine with strength of character.
Using the designing and building of the Clock of the Long Now as a framework, this is a book about the practical use of long time perspective: how to get it, how to use it, how to keep it in and out of sight. Here are the central questions it inspires: How do we make long-term thinking automatic and common instead of difficult and rare? Discipline in thought allows freedom. One needs the space and reliability to predict continuity to have the confidence not to be afraid of revolutions Taking the time to think of the future is more essential now than ever, as culture accelerates beyond its ability to be measured Probable things are vastly outnumbered by countless near-impossible eventualities. Reality is statistically forced to be extraordinary; fiction is not allowed this freedom This is a potent book that combines the chronicling of fantastic technology with equally visionary philosophical inquiry.
This wacky romp from New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast includes entertaining antics for every hour, on the hour. Counting time has never been so fun! From 12 to 1, Lynn eats baloney With her imaginary friend, Tony. From 1 to 2, in his fanciest pants, Don is digging a hole to France. Do you ever wonder what your friends, enemies, brothers, sisters, and children are doing in the hours when you’re not there? This kooky twenty-four-hour tour of a day in the life of twenty-three different children will reveal answers from the absurd…to the hilarious…to the absurdly hilarious! Beloved New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast is at her finest in this picture book brimming with her trademark stamp of zany humor.
Oxygen-deprived for two hours at birth, Christopher Nolan lived to write, at age twenty-one, the autobiography of his childhood, told as the story of Joseph Meehan. He wrote the book, using a "unicorn stick" attached to his head, letter by painful letter. The result is astonishingly lyrical, filled with powerful description, touching moments of triumph and humiliation, and, above all, disarming wit. It is, in the words of London's Daily Express, "a book of sheer wonder".
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, trends already underway towards the Future of Work and the gig economy rapidly and unexpectantly accelerated. Physical isolation, travel restrictions, and social distancing challenged organizations to rethink how work gets done and by whom, with ramifications that will stretch beyond the pandemic. Punching the Clock explores how well workers are likely to both navigate and adapt to this new Future of Work, using the best of psychological science as a guide. Although the nature of work might have changed, the drives and needs of workers have not. Psychologists working across disciplines have amassed a deep understanding of these psychological forces, and when brought to bear on the changing workplace landscape, this knowledge can inform our ability to adapt and thrive. By drawing together cognitive, social, and organizational psychology with empirical research of the workplace, Ungemah examines the extent to which the Future of Work and the gig economy can be realized without breaking down the social fabric that holds the workplace together.