Take this one. The meeting for the review begins with the male manager coming around to the front of the desk and sitting on it. He is wearing shorts. His female employee is wearing a skirt.
He tells her, “I’m sitting here so you can see my legs too.”
A true story. The employee thinks (hopes) the remark was intended to put her at ease — an ice breaker. It had one outcome. The employee wore pants to work for the rest of her time at the company.
We welcome any feedback on performance reviews, anonymous stories or otherwise.
Moving on to happier topics — thank you to everybody who sent me their favorite country music numbers in response to the column item in the January “Plain English” on Route 99, the latest radio station at Glimpses Media.
These varied from Dolly Parton’s “Here you come again” and “Jolene” to Taylor Swift’s “Should’ve said no.” I agree, all those Swifties can’t be wrong, and yes, we do need music in our lives. The subject of country music is now (regretfully) closed, but I’ll let Route 99 know your picks.
A significant number of us flew in to Palau the for the Inauguration of President Surangel Whipps and Vice President Raynold Oilouch on Jan. 16. The meetings and events during my stay were for sure the icing on the cake. You can read more in the latest issue of Guam Business Magazine, online or in your subscriber copy.
Hotels and restaurants in Palau are in full recovery and buoyed by the latest Qantas flight. Expect to read the latest news and plans for tourism, construction and more.
And lastly, the famous Yigo pothole is back. It’s the one on the corner of Marine Corps Drive and Chalan Lajuna that has been there for years and ineffectively fixed from time to time.
It’s at the corner of the street where I live, also known as the road to Perez Acres and Rte. 15. I am back to watching vehicles that are unfamiliar with it bottom out while I wait at the same intersection’s traffic lights to turn left.
I was interested to read that the UK is moving on from the “let’s shovel a bunch of filler into the hole and hope for the best” approach to potholes.
Researchers at Swansea University in Wales have developed a road surface that “heals when it cracks … without a need for human intervention” according to the Guardian newspaper.
“In laboratory tests, pieces of the material repair small fractures within an hour of them first appearing,” the paper wrote. The invention extends the road surface lifespan by 30 years.
Imagine that. But wait, there’s more.
Surrey County Council in the South of England (where we have a property) will be using AI to detect potholes.
Computer vision cameras fitted to dashboards inside the council’s highways vehicles will spot and photograph potholes, which will then be automatically recorded for repair. Future enhancements will also see other defects, such as missing signs and overgrown foliage programed for repair. The council’s cabinet member for highways, transport and economic growth told the BBC it’s not only safer for road inspectors. “This will make our highway network more resilient, which will reduce the number of potholes that develop on our roads in the first place.”
I have sent both these important updates on one of the best uses of AI I have heard of so far, and to share what is possible to the Guam Department of Public Works. mbj
— Maureen N. Maratita is the publisher at Glimpses Media. Glimpses Media includes the Marianas Business Journal, Guam Business Magazine, The Guam Guide, Wave 105.1 FM, Power98 and Route 99.5 FM.