#288506 - 19/10/2006 19:46
My cube mate -- a mini-rant
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 13/02/2002
Posts: 3212
Loc: Portland, OR
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My cube mate picks his teeth with dental floss picks at his desk. *tchk*tchk*...*tchk*tchk*...*tchk*tchk* He appears to do it aimlessly, most of the time he's at his desk. It's his fidget stick. *tchk*tchk*...*tchk*tchk*...*tchk*tchk* He tells me to put on my headphones, so I don't hear it. *tchk*tchk*...*tchk*tchk*...*tchk*tchk* My headphones are a pair of ultra-comfy Sennheiser HD-600s. I don't say that to impress, but because of a particular feature they have -- they're open backed. I know I'm keeping the music volume at a safe level when I can hear the environment around me. Without that cue, I tend to gradually nudge the volume louder and louder. Of course, if I can hear the environment, I can hear him, too. *tchk*tchk*...*tchk*tchk*...*tchk*tchk* Never mind that I shouldn't have to put on headphones and crank music just to drown out his rude noises. He chews with his mouth open, too, so it's either the teeth picking, or the sound of his breakfast cereal being ground between his teeth.
sigh
I want an office.
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#288507 - 19/10/2006 21:42
Re: My cube mate -- a mini-rant
[Re: canuckInOR]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 17/01/2002
Posts: 3996
Loc: Manchester UK
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I'd tell my line manager, just say it's affecting your productivity!
Or even better, start doing something even more annoying in response, that'll piss him off.
_________________________
Cheers,
Andy M
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#288509 - 20/10/2006 10:20
Re: My cube mate -- a mini-rant
[Re: canuckInOR]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 08/03/2000
Posts: 12338
Loc: Sterling, VA
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I feel your pain. At my last job I worked for over a year in a 10'x7' room with two other people. One of them would eat carrot sticks all day long. **CRRUNCH!**. And it was a help desk, so I wasn't permitted to wear headphones. I had a different solution: I got a new job 
_________________________
Matt
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#288510 - 20/10/2006 10:25
Re: My cube mate -- a mini-rant
[Re: msaeger]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 25/08/2000
Posts: 2413
Loc: NH USA
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I was going to say start eating a lot of beans, but I guess that falls under the rubric of 'piss him off'.
-Zeke
_________________________
WWFSMD?
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#288511 - 20/10/2006 10:44
Re: My cube mate -- a mini-rant
[Re: canuckInOR]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 14/01/2002
Posts: 2489
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Coat the sticks with anthrax/arsenic/cyanide
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#288512 - 20/10/2006 11:23
Re: My cube mate -- a mini-rant
[Re: andym]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 14/01/2002
Posts: 2858
Loc: Atlanta, GA
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Quote:
Or even better, start doing something even more annoying in response, that'll piss him off.
Arms race?
_________________________
-Jeff
Rome did not create a great empire by having meetings; they did it by killing all those who opposed them.
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#288513 - 20/10/2006 11:42
Re: My cube mate -- a mini-rant
[Re: canuckInOR]
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veteran
Registered: 25/04/2000
Posts: 1525
Loc: Arizona
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I would see about getting a different pair of headphones. Full enclosure with noise cancelling works wonders in drowning out normal (and abnormal) office noises. We have an unusually loud person in our room (three cubes away) that really likes to talk on the phone. It is impossible to get anything done with him on the phone, so I put on my headphones and without having to turn the music up to uncomfortable volumes (I like my music to be on low volumes, never liked loud music  ) it completely drowns out the noises around me. It is a good thing that my phone has a light that flashes when it rings, or I'd probably never answer it.
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#288514 - 20/10/2006 12:11
Re: My cube mate -- a mini-rant
[Re: canuckInOR]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31596
Loc: Seattle, WA
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Record him surreptitiously. Would involve planting a mic in his cubicle.
Then, play it back at him.
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#288515 - 20/10/2006 12:49
Re: My cube mate -- a mini-rant
[Re: tfabris]
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old hand
Registered: 14/08/2001
Posts: 886
Loc: London, UK
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Or just tell him to SHUT THE FUCK UP
_________________________
Mk2a RioCar 120Gb - now sold to the owner of my old car
Rio Karma - now on ebay...
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#288516 - 20/10/2006 13:18
Re: My cube mate -- a mini-rant
[Re: canuckInOR]
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old hand
Registered: 09/01/2002
Posts: 702
Loc: Tacoma,WA
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Yes yelling at the top of your lungs to "quit it!" can do wonders. Sure it will draw attention to your cube but that's the point.
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#288518 - 20/10/2006 19:25
Re: My cube mate -- a mini-rant
[Re: andym]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 13/02/2002
Posts: 3212
Loc: Portland, OR
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Quote:
I'd tell my line manager, just say it's affecting your productivity!
Oh, no... the thing that's impacting my productivity is my complete lack of motivation to work on any of the projects I'm supposed to be working on. If I tell my manager that it's affecting my productivity, they might actually look at my productivity! 
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#288519 - 20/10/2006 19:30
Re: My cube mate -- a mini-rant
[Re: furtive]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 13/02/2002
Posts: 3212
Loc: Portland, OR
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Quote:
Or just tell him to SHUT THE FUCK UP
Tried that. Doesn't work -- he just moves on to a new fidget noise. There was one month where he became a leg-bouncer, and I got to listen to his pant legs rubbing against each other like a desperate virgin cricket. *zzp*zzp*zzp*zzp*zzp*zzp*
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#288520 - 20/10/2006 19:49
Re: My cube mate -- a mini-rant
[Re: Tim]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 13/02/2002
Posts: 3212
Loc: Portland, OR
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Quote:
I would see about getting a different pair of headphones.
That's unlikely to happen. I do have another pair of headphones that are full back (Sennheiser's HD-280), which are nearly as comfortable, but I don't like using them because they filter out my environment so well. I don't mind the environment noise -- in fact, I really like being able to hear what's going on around me, especially when people think I can't, because I have my headphones on -- it's just my cube-mate's annoying noises I mind.
Quote:
Full enclosure with noise cancelling
I hate noise cancelling. It replaces annoying background noise with annoying mushiness. I'd rather have the background noise. Even on airplanes. I actually take the full-back headphones with me when travelling, since they reduce background noise by something like -30dB, making noise cancellation unnecessary.
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#288521 - 20/10/2006 19:51
Re: My cube mate -- a mini-rant
[Re: canuckInOR]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 17/01/2002
Posts: 3996
Loc: Manchester UK
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Quote:
Quote:
Or just tell him to SHUT THE FUCK UP
Tried that. Doesn't work -- he just moves on to a new fidget noise. There was one month where he became a leg-bouncer, and I got to listen to his pant legs rubbing against each other like a desperate virgin cricket. *zzp*zzp*zzp*zzp*zzp*zzp*
The guy sounds like he's got problems, I assume you can't move to another cube?
_________________________
Cheers,
Andy M
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#288522 - 20/10/2006 19:54
Re: My cube mate -- a mini-rant
[Re: Dignan]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 13/02/2002
Posts: 3212
Loc: Portland, OR
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Quote:
I had a different solution: I got a new job
I don't have to go quite that far. We had a round of layoffs, and my cube mate is actually one of the affected. It's one-month notice, though, so it'll be a bit before I get my relief. I should say, however, that I do actually quite like my cube-mate as a person, noises aside (I'm going to his birthday party this weekend), so while I'll be happy to be rid of the noises, it's not good that he's lost his job.
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#288523 - 20/10/2006 20:03
Re: My cube mate -- a mini-rant
[Re: andym]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 13/02/2002
Posts: 3212
Loc: Portland, OR
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Quote:
The guy sounds like he's got problems, I assume you can't move to another cube?
Nah... I don't think he has problems, he's just fidgety. I'm fidgety, too, but my fidgeting is generally quiet. For example, my leg is bouncing now, but since I'm not wearing pants(*), there's no noise.
Moving to another cube isn't really an option. I'm lucky to have a cube at all. Half the people here are at desks situated in long rows. They're packed in like sardines.
(*) After reading some of the replies, I thought maybe I'd try working in my skivvies until he quit making the noises. Okay... I'm really wearing shorts. Sorry for any mental images I may have invoked.
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#288524 - 20/10/2006 20:08
Re: My cube mate -- a mini-rant
[Re: canuckInOR]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 14/01/2002
Posts: 2489
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Perhaps his fidgeting is due to pent-up sexual fustration. As a test, get him a call girl and note any change.
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#288525 - 21/10/2006 15:27
Re: My cube mate -- a mini-rant
[Re: canuckInOR]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 08/03/2000
Posts: 12338
Loc: Sterling, VA
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Quote:
I hate noise cancelling. It replaces annoying background noise with annoying mushiness. I'd rather have the background noise.
I tried the Bose noise cancelling headphones, and didn't find that to be the case at all. They sounded fantastic with the noise cancelling on. Of course, they're like $350, and that's why I didn't buy them.
Sorry to hear about him getting laid off.
_________________________
Matt
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#288526 - 23/10/2006 18:05
Re: My cube mate -- a mini-rant
[Re: Dignan]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 13/02/2002
Posts: 3212
Loc: Portland, OR
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Quote:
Quote:
I hate noise cancelling. It replaces annoying background noise with annoying mushiness. I'd rather have the background noise.
I tried the Bose noise cancelling headphones, and didn't find that to be the case at all. They sounded fantastic with the noise cancelling on.
Perhaps I should give them a try sometime, then.
Quote:
Of course, they're like $350, and that's why I didn't buy them.
Buy 'em off ebay. My Senn's are ridiculously overpriced, too, if you buy retail. I got them off ebay, from someone who'd had them for less than a month before needing to sell them to recoup funds to pay for other bills, and payed less than half the retail cost.
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#288527 - 23/10/2006 19:47
Re: My cube mate -- a mini-rant
[Re: canuckInOR]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/06/1999
Posts: 2993
Loc: Wareham, Dorset, UK
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Perhaps pointing out to him, in a conversational and friendly way, but with sufficient volume to carry just *one* cubicle's width, that: "Doing coke as much as you do might rot your septum, you know..." 
_________________________
One of the few remaining Mk1 owners...  #00015
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#288528 - 24/10/2006 11:45
Re: My cube mate -- a mini-rant
[Re: canuckInOR]
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veteran
Registered: 25/04/2000
Posts: 1525
Loc: Arizona
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Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
I hate noise cancelling. It replaces annoying background noise with annoying mushiness. I'd rather have the background noise.
I tried the Bose noise cancelling headphones, and didn't find that to be the case at all. They sounded fantastic with the noise cancelling on.
Perhaps I should give them a try sometime, then.
I have a pair of the Quiet Comfort 2s, and they sound incredible. If you have a local Bose store, head in and test them out. If you like background noise though, you probably won't like them. They do a good job of shutting out background noise.
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#288529 - 24/10/2006 13:11
Re: My cube mate -- a mini-rant
[Re: Tim]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 13/07/2000
Posts: 4180
Loc: Cambridge, England
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Quote:
I have a pair of the Quiet Comfort 2s, and they sound incredible. If you have a local Bose store, head in and test them out. If you like background noise though, you probably won't like them. They do a good job of shutting out background noise.
On a recent flight to the US, Sigmatel flew me business class, and we had Bose noise-cancelling headphones handed out to us. They didn't have model numbers on, so maybe some Boses are better than others, but these Boses were both less comfortable and less effective than the Etymotics earplug-style headphones I had with me. The difference between Etymotics and Bose, in terms of jet noise etc., was nearly as noticeable as the difference between Bose and nothing at all.
Peter
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#288530 - 24/10/2006 15:46
Re: My cube mate -- a mini-rant
[Re: peter]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 08/03/2000
Posts: 12338
Loc: Sterling, VA
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As you say, it's hard to know what kind of headphones you got (are you sure they were noise cancelling?), but of course in-ear headphones are going to be better at blocking out noise. All I know is that I've tried a pair of the original Quiet Comfort phones and I couldn't hear the baby screaming on the other side of the plane.
_________________________
Matt
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#288531 - 24/10/2006 16:28
Re: My cube mate -- a mini-rant
[Re: schofiel]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 13/02/2002
Posts: 3212
Loc: Portland, OR
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Quote:
Perhaps pointing out to him, in a conversational and friendly way, but with sufficient volume to carry just *one* cubicle's width, that:
"Doing coke as much as you do might rot your septum, you know..."
Ha! Around a place like this, a comment like that wouldn't turn any heads at all. It would immediately be recognized as a joke, though I'm sure there are plenty of folks here who, I'm sure, could get me a line or two, were I to ask. That's the entertainment industry, for you. My girlfriend came down to her car in her office parking garage not too long ago, to discover her office-mate smoking crack in the car next to hers.
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#288532 - 24/10/2006 16:34
Re: My cube mate -- a mini-rant
[Re: canuckInOR]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 14/01/2002
Posts: 2489
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Quote:
My girlfriend came down to her car in her office parking garage not too long ago, to discover her office-mate smoking crack in the car next to hers.
Well what else would she be doing with it?
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