PTCooler "OffTopic"

PTC is interested in the terminology you use at your organization. To make your voice heard, take this 2-minute survey. Your responses help PTC create clear, concise documentation and resources. The survey closes on May 1, 2020.     Take a 2-minute survey >>

PTC is having a "Work From Home" Boss contest.   I thought I would share my entry.  Although it's no secret to the PTC Community that I am kind of a fanatic when it comes to taking cute pictures of my golden girl, Maple.       She is the best boss ever! She makes me take breaks to get fresh air, makes me think twice about snacks between meals with her puppy dog eyes, provides emotional and tactile sensory support (throughout the day I get to randomly hug her!), and if I have to "burn the midnight oil" she is right there with me every step of the way. Literally, every step!    Who is the boss in your house right now?  Do share with the PTCooler.  

Missing the routine. Lots of home projects done.   No one expected that when we changed the clocks we would go from Standard Time to The Twilight Zone   Quarantine Day 25: Went to the restaurant called "The Kitchen". You have to gather all the ingredients and make your own meal. They don't pay the help much and then you have to do the dishes and clean up. I have no idea how this place stays in business.

#workfromhome #FlexPLMworkfromhome #stayathome #washyourhands #staysafe

For those of you stuck at home with your kids and are now the educator......     Homeschooling is going well. Two kids suspended for fighting and a teacher fired for drinking on the job.     (No, that is not how we homeschooled.)

It was a different kind of Easter this year, but we still managed to do some egg decorating...well maybe not "We", but don't we look cute together!       If you didn't get a chance to color eggs, the Mathcad Team posted some fun on Mathcad Tips.       Wishing the PTC Community Easter Blessings!    

It may sound silly, but in this special setup, I am finding myself reaching out to my team (a group of talented people spread all over Europe) often and quickly, sticking to the essentials and having a good laugh while we contemplate ourselves in this new normal... luckily everyone is safe and healthy so far.   So in this new way of "remote management", easy and straightforward communication seems more like the norm, and it has great things in it... guessing that companies will have lots to discuss and think after the crisis is over.   My take is that things that we did classify as "unproductive" in the past might become again more essential, especially in regards to meaningful contact with people.   Wishing everybody health and patience to overcome this.   -Ignacio

How is everyone's weekend going?   Special thank to all our customers involved in helping to bring more testing equipment and masks to the "front-lines" and those that are sharing their spouses and relatives in the healthcare field.   Here is what my Golden thinks about this situation right now....   "I don't know about you, but I am loving the extra belly rubs and walks with all the kiddos home right now. I still think my mom is on the shiny box too much, but I have enjoyed meeting her coworkers in "faraway" places. It seems like everyone on those video calls are having "guest attenders" so I joined in too! Please take care of your humans with extra kisses...cuz you are the only ones they can hug right now."      

Stay safe, stay healthy,  and hug the ones you love.   Q: How do you drive an engineer insane? A: Make them watch you fold up a road map the wrong way.   Q: How do you drive an engineer insane? A: Make them stay at home without company access for 3 weeks while there are projects to be done on his desk at work.

(Originally posted as a reply to the PTCooler thread titled  Even Backwards It's Still Pi Day )     I thought a little before writing, but after the images I saw yesterday on television of some American airports with thousands of people crushed like sardines waiting for the controls, I decided to do it.   I live in one of the two regions of northern Italy most affected by the coronavirus, about 50 km from one of the two initial outbreaks (one 100 km from Venice and the other 50 km from Milan).   In these two villages (3-4000 inhabitants) the authorities immediately decided to close everything and confine the residents to their homes for two weeks.The results were seen because after this period there were no more infected people.   At the moment 80 percent of the deaths are of people with an average age of 80 years and 70 percent are men. In one of the new hotbeds, Piacenza, there were 29 deaths on Friday.   A local journalist did a sear

During the last few weeks, a lot of people have had more time than usual and it seems a lot of them are spending more time than ever on Facebook.    What I am seeing in my local Facebook groups is a lot of sharing of tips on how to get the kids entertained when working from home, how to bring a little distraction into your household and how to stay fit.  A woman in my town last week put on a dinosaur costume, turned on music and started dancing on her balcony facing the street - someone put the video on Facebook.   Or people had their kids draw rainbows that they put into their windows to say "times will get better".  I truly loved this one.   While I do love these new ideas, I am super annoyed with all those old chainletters and scams people have dug out on the internet and started to revive. "A meeting between breadfruit" is probably the one I like least.    I am curious is this is just happening around here or also in your social media an

With millions of kids at home during this challenging time - a lot of us are learning how to balance our new "normal":  WFH while also managing home schooling.    I can't take credit for the below as this was a forward, from a forward, from a forward (etc, usw, etc, usw...)  But whoever put it together - well done!   Now that school is closed for a while, my kids will be taking: AP Chores Honors Yard Work Dishwashing 101 AP Trash Disposal Home Economics (aka - make your own lunch) Honors Laundry   😊  

All, I wanted to share a little story that just happened to me yesterday at work, though it's not really work-related.  I am working for PTC in Germany and in my small town, things are pretty well under control in the current situation. We have a partial lock-down and people are coping well with the situation.   A colleague from China - Renee - who I had been working with over the last 2 years on a couple of projects, had emailed me last week (that was for us the first week of school closures) and inquired about mine and my family's well-being. This was so sweet and thoughtful, and I was glad to hear from her that the situation in Shanghai is getting better.  She and her family were unharmed.   Yesterday, she then sent a follow up email telling me that face masks are not hard to get in China anymore and she offered to send some over to me so I could protect my family. This is the sweetest offer I have ever received from anyone I had never even met in person. And for

I was talking to @Jaime_Lee today, and I actually had to put her on hold so that I could take these pictures…..   Have to say - I never thought I would see a neighbor doing yoga on the sidewalk – let alone headstands……it was actually pretty impressive.  👏        

Some WFH'ers were having a conference call. Someone's dog barked, and then all the other dogs barked.

Hi All, Some of you have probably already seen this on Twitter, but I wanted to share because I laughed so hard - I cried.  🙂   Have a great weekend!   https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/yellowstone-reporter-reaction-bison-herd-trnd/index.html

Have a great weekend.   We are sheltering in place in Michigan since Tuesday (if non-essential).   Q: How can you tell you've met and extroverted engineer?   A: When they talk to you, they look down at your shoes instead of their own.

I was having a few side conversations with some community members about how they are managing their new "working from home" arrangements.  So, I thought would start a thread specific to working from home.  Feel free to share your experience here or start your own individual thread!  That is what the PTCooler is for 🙂   My family routine hasn't changed much except I haven't had to take public transportation since February when  I had an onsite meeting with the newest member of the Community Management Team @Jean-Christophe  (I will introduce him on a separate PTCooler post).   We are already homeschoolers with the help of a a couple Homeschool Co-ops and a solid DVD program (with their Grandma facilitating) so life hasn't really changed so much on that end. My highschooler who attends a local school is completing all her Google classroom assignments and taking Homemaking 101 aka folding laundry (again with Grandma---thank goodness for Grandm

I've just received the email from PTC Communications from Eduarda Camacho and in my personal opinion it is excellent   Well done the PTC Management

Stay healthy. Create memories with the ones you love. Have a terrific weekend.     What did the Force say to the Distance? We are having a moment.   Why did the engineering students leave class early? They were getting a little ANSI.

So,  are you telecommuting more this week? Are your kids schooling at home the next couple of weeks?   How are you handling all this disruption to the norm? Life might seem a little mixed up and backwards, but one thing is certain no matter which way you look at it....   ...it's still Pi Day!   Let's all have Pie!

I was just wondering what the consensus is in the design drafting/engineering field on not being allowed to listen to music while you work (with headphones).My previous (and first) company was a very large defense contractor and allowed the design drafting floor to listen to music in their cube.  The unspoken rule was obviously to be respectful by not turning it up to 11 and to take headphones out when someone came up to your cube or called.I recently took a different position and their existing policy is that 0 employees are allowed to listen to music on headphones.  It apparently started a few months before I got here and was an issue on the manufacturing floors so the big dogs made a sweeping, company wide policy.  After 5 months here, I feel like not being able to listen to music fatigues me a lot quicker and I'm honestly starting to feel burned out.What is everyone's experience and thoughts on this issue? Is this common and I just didn't realize it or is my current

Stay well. Enjoy your weekend. Happy PI day tomorrow.      

Have a terrific weekend and don't forget to "spring ahead" in the US.