Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2016 May 17

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May 17

Project management definition

According to your definition of project management, isn't everyone involved in project management in some way? Surely, the vast majority of jobs involve some level of "initiating, planning, executing, controlling, and closing the work of a team to achieve specific goals and meet specific success criteria"? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.132.185.84 (talk) 16:44, 17 May 2016 (UTC)

Yes, but the very next sentence after the one you've paraphrased makes it clear that this is in the context of a Project, which is a finite entity intended to to produce a specific goal (for example: the upgrading of a particular building), rather than ongoing general work (for example: carrying out whatever building maintenance and repairs various customers may request over a period of time).

That said, the line between Projects and general work is not always clear cut, and individual companies in various industries may use the term 'Project' in different ways. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 185.74.232.130 (talk) 17:52, 17 May 2016 (UTC)

And I suppose that many jobs overlap to some degree. Many office workers do some janitorial work, for example, such as cleaning up the coffee they spill on their desk. StuRat (talk) 18:05, 17 May 2016 (UTC)

The project manager is the person who gets kicked first if things are not on time. In turn, he kicks the persons below, etc.--178.106.99.31 (talk) 21:58, 17 May 2016 (UTC)

Doggie bedtime

At what time (in the evening) should one send one's dog to its bed?--178.106.99.31 (talk) 22:41, 17 May 2016 (UTC)

I should think when the adults go to bed, otherwise they won't want to sleep while others are active, unless you have one of those breeds that sleeps all the time, then you don't need to send them to bed at all, as they will go on their own. StuRat (talk) 22:49, 17 May 2016 (UTC)

In your internet browser, search the words_dog sleep behavior_ (without the _underscores_ added here for emphasis). This will yield many articles from vet- or pet-centered websites whose reliability you can assess for yourself. Consider the dog's age, sex, breed traits, daytime activity, and feeding and elimination patterns when establishing a nighttime schedule. For example, a dog who lives indoors might benefit from a late walk before the owner's bedtime for the sake of bladder relief, while another might become overstimulated and restless. -- Deborahjay (talk) 08:25, 19 May 2016 (UTC)

White middle-class American family living in rough inner city

I'm looking for a specific blog. It's written by an American man who moved with his wife and daughters to the central residential area of a small old city. They aren't hipsters or property-developer-flippers. They made the decision decades ago, as a white, educated, employed family, that they'd get a better quality of life in a seriously run-down area than in a typical suburb. Their house is about 100 years old, spacious and gracious with multiple marble fireplaces, and costs a great deal less in mortgage and property tax than suburban tract houses. Their kids went to the local school (across the road - no need for bus or school run), have done well, and the older ones have gone to good universities. They can walk to local shops and other necessities, and so don't need a car for every adult. Their lives are untouched by violent crime, although police statistics and the local news say it's endemic. The point of the blog seems to be to show how low-key and doable such a life is. Any idea how I can find it again? I read it months ago, and not on this computer, so I don't think my history will help, and I've spent far too long already trying various search terms. Carbon Caryatid (talk) 23:13, 17 May 2016 (UTC)

The best I can give from fiction is Larry Niven's Oath of Fealty (or is it Lucifer's Hammer?) in which one of the characters, a middle-class journalist, gets an apartment in the worst part of Los Angeles for the rent, and stays away from bad elements, and hides his goods from view of the window. He is single, but the rationale is the same. Indeed, I have done the same in NYC, having a three room apt, along with full kitchen and full bath and six south facing windows on the fourth floor of a building where I am the only (fluently Spanish-peaking, but) non-hispanic resident for well under $1,000/mo. A similar apartment in a "white" area of Manhattan would run for $5,000/mo. The big thing about bad neighbourhoods is avoiding the bad element and keeping your goods hidden. μηδείς (talk) 00:45, 20 May 2016 (UTC)

Well under $1K/month? Was it rent stabilized or a long commute from Manhattan or something? Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 16:36, 22 May 2016 (UTC)

Thanks for the interesting perspective. I have discovered an additional tool that is not available to me, but which I assume still works for anyone within the US: a to Google's retired blog-only search. Any US-based RefDesker may wish to try [1] (for my query, or for their own future research). Carbon Caryatid (talk) 14:12, 20 May 2016 (UTC)