Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with training

Garmin-compatible bike training schedule for a 180-mile ride

Brittanie — Sat, 18 May 2013 08:39:49 -0800

I want to sign up for Bike Around the Bay. If you're familiar with the MS150, it's similar — 180 miles over two days, circumnavigating Galveston Bay. But I need a training plan. I am not a frequent cyclist — I am a hobbyist. But I have a good bike and am in pretty good physical shape.

I've run several long-distance foot races, and when I've trained for them I've used these awesome downloadable Garmin training schedules. You just select your race date and goal time, and then upload the entire training schedule to your Garmin and go. The schedules include speed work, long runs, tempo runs — basically everything you need to train for a half or full.

Does such a thing exist for a bike race of this distance? The longest ride I've ever done was 40 miles, without training, so I haven't the slightest idea of what sort of schedule I should be training at for Bike Around the Bay.

If downloadable schedules don't exist, I could program an entire schedule into my Garmin (if someone can point me to one for a 180+ mile ride) but I'm looking for something more convenient first.

Long vs. short distance running - in need of guidance on what's next

cristinacristinacristina — Thu, 09 May 2013 23:22:44 -0800

I've been running since 2007, and since then I've run three half marathons and several 10 milers/10k/5ks and what have you. Over the years my speed and abilities have increased, but boredom has set in and my motivation is lacking, especially when it comes to long distance running. I think I want to transition to doing short distances and speedwork, but I'm not sure what I should focus on. I am finding more enjoyment now with the shorter runs that I do during the week before work vs. the long dragging runs on weekends. If I'm not training for a half it is especially hard to motivate into doing any sort of run longer than 5 miles. I do like the setup of the half training - where you build up your mileage over a period of a few months and produce an amazing result. Right now though I just take a watch with me and time myself, trying to PR my 30-40 minute runs, but I haven't signed up for anything. I'm just sort of idling. I do know I like the pressure of an upcoming race and knowing you need to get the work in in order to get that amazing result. I think the thing I am afraid of is not having enough of a challenge set before me if it's only 5k. Help me make it a hard goal to work towards!

A couple other random things - I ride my bike everyday, this is my cross training. I don't do weights or have a gym membership (can't afford it) so strength training is limited. I also play kickball and baseball on weekends, so running faster and developing the ability to start fast would help contribute to those sports greatly. Most of my runs right now I start at a medium pace, work up the speed and then towards the end I'm sprinting home. I only run outside - in all types of weather - mostly on pavement. I have run on trails in the past (I live right next to Prospect Park in Brooklyn) but since running into a tree (doh!) I am a bit hesitant to get back on that type of running.

Also, since I am considering taking a break from distance running for a while, I feel like it's a safe time to try experimenting with something other than my usual very thick, very stable Brooks Defyance shoes. If I'm mostly doing short distances, I feel like it would be an okay time to safely try minimal shoes and forefoot running. I know this is trendy and that people can injure themselves with the transition - should I not mix this in with a desire for more speed? I'm not too familiar with speedwork other than vague ideas of tempo runs or intervals or hill/stair repeats... how often should I work these into a regular weekly routine? Also will a simple 5k really put that pressure on the way a half does? It takes so long to build up and train for a half, but when and how often should you be doing 5ks?

Lastly - a lot of my running buddies have moved away or are having babies right now so I don't have many people to turn to for advice on this subject. Any advice/tips/suggestions/community links/personal anecdotes are much appreciated! Thank you!

Manager fishing for extra hours?

endotoxin — Thu, 09 May 2013 11:18:54 -0800

Summary: Is it legal in New Mexico to require an employee to come into work early for training, and then deny that worker the overtime pay? Background: I work the IT Helpdesk at a medium-sized medical practice, roughly 200 employees. I talk to literally every single person in the company, and have a better idea of inner workings and morale than any manager or company officer. I overhear quite a bit of grumbling, especially from department X in which the manager has been slowly expanding her sphere of influence over the practice. Recently, someone from department X informed me that the manager requires all the departments she oversees to attend mandatory training (Such as HIPAA lectures, materials safety, and soforth) to come in an hour or two before their shifts. However these employees are NOT paid overtime for attending. I alluded that this sounded strange, but IWNAL and perhaps said someone should contact the NM Labor board.

A week later, I've been unable to force the question from my mind and tend to my other duties. I'm not looking to raise a stink (yet), but a glance through MeFi, the web, and my state's labor web site reveals nothing about unpaid meetings for hourly employees. I've a few friends who do take on labor dispute cases, but I don't necessarily want to bother them without someone else weighing in. (I admit, I'm cheap. My lawyer friend likes doubles of the really expensive single-malt scotch at our local watering hole.)

And finally, thank you to everyone who's read this, my first honest-to-goodness Ask MeFi question!

Interview advice

rebent — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 12:27:47 -0800

I had a phone interview last week that I thought I bombed. But, apparently I did good enough to land an in-person interview on Thursday. I'd like some advice on where in between "Fake it till you make it" and "lay your cards on the table" I should be. Details inside. The job is listed as an entry level position creating, managing, and delivering training. However, it pays (i am guessing here based on the interview) $70,000, requires 5 years of experience, and is all about leadership training.

I got a master's degree from the same school as many of the people working at this company last year, which gives me a grand total of 3 years fudged, or 1.5 years steady experience. I think the experience I had was phenomenal and very applicable (I worked in a leadership training department) but I didn't learn enough from it to do anything on my own. I guess what I'm saying is that, while I'm very capable and skilled and knowledgeable of theory, I still have a lot to learn in terms of hands-on skills.

I also am not an expert with regards to leadership or sales, which is the focus of this department.

In the phone interview, they asked a lot of questions that seemed pretty specific, like they had a correct answer in mind, but I could only speak to theory and generalities. For instance, a question along the lines of "What is your process for creating learning objectives?" to which my answer was along the lines of "I'd probably ask someone for help."

During this section, I got a strong feeling from the interviewers that they were just going through the motions because they didn't think I had the skills they were looking for. I can't put my finger on what it was, but i suppose they answered my questions somewhat abruptly, didn't ask may follow-up questions, and didn't ask me to clarify my answers much. (It is possible that I was just imagining this based on my own self-assessment.)

Finally, one of the things I focused on pretty strongly during the phone interview (and was very nervous about afterwards) was that I understood the realities of business and how what a trainer thinks is the right answer isn't always what the other business people want from them, and that it's the training department's job to work for the company, not to try to dictate "the right way" to do things. I honestly have no idea if this helped or hurt my standings.

I don't have much experience interviewing for things that are a challenge for me. My past jobs have usually been completely in line with my qualifications, and I left the interviews feeling confident. This situation is different and I am panicking, and would greatly appreciate your advice.

I have always been told "fake it till you make it" because I am much more judgmental of myself than anyone else ever could be; it's my job to show the best of myself, and it's the company's job to decide if my best is good enough.

On the other hand, I feel that they must realize how inexperienced I am, and that if I act like I have experience when I really don't, they will think I'm fake and bragging and selling myself as better than I am. I want to open the interview by saying "Listen, based on the questions you asked, I think it's pretty clear to everyone that I won't be coming into the position with the ability to immediately start churning out leadership training. By asking me here to interview, I think it shows that you are not looking for that type of candidate. So, let's talk about what about me you find attractive, and we can come to a joint decision about whether I am right for this role."

But I'm super scared that i will say that and they will say "well actually, you misread us completely. We did think you had the skills, but based on what you just said, now we're not sure."

I know that no one can give me the perfect answer because none of you (I hope!) are familiar with the job/department in question. But I hope that some of you with more experience than myself can help me think through this more clearly, and help me find a distinct brand to present during the interview.

Thanks in advanced!

2.5 km to 10km in a month?

runincircles — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 07:30:57 -0800

Hello. I am signed up to run the Manchester 10 k on 26 May. I have never run any kind of race in my life before, and am REALLY „not sporty“ though I am used to hiking/cycling. I have not, to put it mildly, trained as much as I should. By now I can jog for 2.5 – 3 km in half an hour, and have mostly „trained“ on the treadmill rather than outdoors (I strained a muscle running outdoors and feel like it’s my muscles and joints that are most struggling with the running rather than anything „cardio“ related as such. So my actual question: is it still possible to get myself into a condition where I can get round the route without walking it and without injuring myself (too badly) in the remaining time? More specifications: I DO NOT care what time I take to do the 10k so long as I am back before the stewards pack up and I can collect my charity sponsorship money. (Friends are also running, but they are better.) I will do whatever necessary to not have to give up on this.

I am looking ideally for a training plan that fits my situation: able to jog for half an hour, aiming at slow and steady NOT SPEED and "just getting round", 30 days to go! Most of the plans and guidelines I have found online, are apart from being set up for a longer period, start from absolute scratch or aim at attaining the best possible speed.

I have properly fitted trainers and running kit, access to a gym, a pool, a bike, lots of nutrition advice etc and the great outdoors, and an MP3 player but no smartphone or other portable gadgets. I stretch tonnes.
So if anyone has advice or a rough training plan, or suggestions of where best to look for these online, I would be really grateful.

Best way to gauge comprehension of written training docs by employees?

Anonymous — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 08:09:54 -0800

Reading is important, and I want my team to do it as part of training. And then I want to know what they understand, how much they assimilate, what conclusions they reach from the articles and documents I am sending them. What are some good ways for me to accomplish that? I am training a group of remote employees. We use real-time, live, interactive tools like chat, forum, google hangout, etc, but a large part of what needs to be done is reading (blogs and news articles, and training documentation).

I need a way to get feedback from them that accomplishes the following:

- Confirms that they read the material within the timeline I established.
- Encourages engagement, active reading, as a way to ensure better comprehension (as opposed to passive, mindless reading).
- Surfaces problem areas or individual challenges I should pay attention to.

For example, should I send a questionare? Ask for opinions on a certain passage? What are the best ways to engage them?

I don't mind if it resembles what your high school teacher did. It can look like school work, not a problem. If it helped you understand and analyze what you read, I want to try it!

New dog has lost her potty training. Help!

Autumn — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 15:30:15 -0800

I adopted a three year old Chiweenie from a couple unable to keep her. The dog seems to have lost her potty training. The couple said she was fine with it, she goes to the door to be let out... But absolutely refuses to use the bathroom outside. Help! I thought maybe it was an adjustment thing, but it's been a few weeks now. I wake up to piss and shit on the carpet almost every morning, and if I leave the room she'll use the bathroom on the carpet and then cower in the corner. She continues to ask to go outside but then whine and no matter how long I wait out there with her she won't go. Asking here because I can't afford a trainer. I've also tried walking her to see if that will make her go, to no avail. I'm finding myself having to get the carpet shampoo'ed because my clean up methods aren't sufficient enough to keep the carpet from smelling like dog piss.

Maybe relevant - I have another dog that was there before her and uses the bathroom outside. Could it be a smell/territory thing?

Dog Runs Like Crazy Inside for No Reason

juniperesque — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 11:39:02 -0800

So, we recently moved from a small apartment to a big apartment, about 3x size of the old one. Tiny dog has adjusted well, except for one thing: he runs around the house, to get from Point A to Point B. Walking no longer occurs. We'd really like him to walk like a civilized beast again, if possible. Our dog, a small rat terrier, used to live with us in a tiny one-bedroom, and is a lazy little guy who doesn't even enjoy walking on a leash. He spends his days sacked out near his human(s) if we're there, or in his crate if we're not. Since moving to this big new space, however, he's started running from room to room, as though he cannot get to the kitchen fast enough from the living room. This was never a problem at our old place, because the kitchen was two steps away from the living room. Now that it's clear on the other side of the house... zoom. He is extremely fast, and does a full sprint following us from room to room, guaranteeing that he will beat us to whatever room we're headed towards.

His speed and stopping tears up the carpet loops and is probably making our downstairs neighbors unhappy, though we've not heard a complaint. It's making me super crazy because it's irrational; I know dogs are not rational creatures but it is just so bizarre for him to run from room to room just to get there faster. There's no reward for getting there first. Note, this is a dog who actively opposes exercise; he hates walking on a leash, and when let off-leash in a play area, even alone, he clings to our ankles. Not actively fearful of play in general, just... not into it.

Can anyone recommend a training method that will encourage our dog to walk instead of run inside the house? Or is this a lost cause?

Training courses for MCSA?

odinsdream — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 15:39:58 -0800

Please recommend training courses for certifications related to Microsoft server and SQL administration, such as MCSA. Our IT department is looking for educational opportunities that result in certifications. We handle Microsoft servers including SQL servers and IIS servers. It looks like MCSA is one of the best recognized options. We're looking for training courses geared towards specific exams, preferably available online, mainly to avoid having to be off-site for extended periods, rather than because of cost.

What certifications would you look for, and can you recommend specific courses or training companies?

Daring to pick three of good/cheap/fast

andrewcilento — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 13:46:51 -0800

I'm looking for a fitness watch I can use for interval training. I don't need anything fancy, but I do want something that'll vibrate in place of beeping. Can anyone recommend something? I've been looking at fitness watches, and I'm not looking to break the bank--something like the Forerunner 610 sure is nice, but it's probably overkill for my needs. All I'm really concerned with is something that's lightweight and durable...and, as I mentioned above, I absolutely 100% want something that can vibrate at a set interval, as I usually have headphones in when I'm exercising and probably won't hear something beeping.

That said, if there is a really great top-of-the-line-does-everything watch you love, I don't mind saving up and getting one down the road. Kinda want something I could order off Amazon today and be using by the end of the week.

(I did a search before asking this and saw some recommendations for the Gymboss, but I do want something that's designed to be strapped to my wrist without having to buy extra parts.)

Overwhelmed Tutors and Teaching Assistants

divabat — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 14:55:23 -0800

What resources are there that address overwhelm faced by tutors and teaching assistants - grad students who are also taking on a teaching role? As part of my fellowship (training and work as a grad-school academic writing tutor) I am working on a research project about overwhelm in grad school, and I am thinking about writing about when tutors like myself are overwhelmed by our stuff and have to deal with our tutees being overwhelmed (pretty much the #1 comment we've been hearing).

I've found some material about overwhelm about grad students in general, and there's some leads to teachers being overwhelmed, but how do I go about finding material that relates to tutors and teaching assistants in particular? My professor suggested education journals and The Writing Lab though apparently the latter can be hard to search through.

(Part of my query involves working out what terms to search for that will bring up "tutors" as in "grad students who are also taking on teaching roles" rather than any other form of tutoring.)

Barky humpy puppy is making me a little crazy!

chatongriffes — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 08:20:43 -0800

My puppy barks at me if he has too much energy, but he's been so humpy at the dog park that we can't stay long enough for him to burn it all off. Please help by recommending some training we could use! Some of you know my adorable rescue pup, Franklin. He's about 10 months old and because he was a rescue, he was neutered really early--around four months. I got him around 8 weeks. He's super snuggly, friendly to every dog or person he's ever met, a quick learner of his tricks, and generally just an awesome little guy. This new habit is making me crazy and it has been getting worse lately.

I usually get up around 6 to let him out and give him his breakfast. Often after that I want to go back to bed, check my email, or read. Lately after breakfast, he's taken to standing a few feet away from me, looking me in the eye, and barking at me. Or he'll steal something he isn't supposed to have and prance away with it. (Usually either some delicate beautiful scarf that he could destroy in seconds or something that could be dangerous to him.) I know he's totally doing this because he wants attention. He never does it when he's alone in the house or when he's properly tuckered out. He also never does it if other people are around.

I've read up a bit on training and I know that any reaction is feeding into this behavior, but that's sort of challenging. I would ideally just ignore his barking and then give him positive reinforcement when he's quiet to teach him the Quiet command. But I live in a densely populate apartment complex and I don't want him disturbing the neighbors. I've also tried telling him no or interrupting him when he's about to bark, but it didn't do much good. I even squirted him with the kitchen sink sprayer once. He stopped, but it seems mean. I also don't want to let him destroy my stuff or hurt himself. He's tall enough that if he jumps, he can get stuff off counters and high tables.

Usually after trying to deal with this for a bit, I'll walk him a mile to the dog park, let him play for about an hour, then walk him home. He's usually perfectly well behaved for the rest of the day after that. Recently though, he's been super humpy. As I said, he was neutered a long time ago and I know it's not a sexual thing, just a dominance thing. The dogs can usually sort it out themselves but the other owners freak out. I'll pull him off and make him do a sit and stay, but as soon as I let him go play again, he races directly back to the object of his affection and launches right back into it. If the dogs do have the chance to sort things out themselves, he'll usually spend the rest of our time romping around and wrestling and chasing--all good non humpy playing!

I've talked to other dog owners and they say it's just a phase that dogs, especially males, hit at this age. Many of them are totally understanding and say it's just what dogs do. But other people freak out. One guy hit Franklin for trying to mount his pit while I was distracted picking up poop. He got an EARFUL.

We are weekday morning regulars and he always gets along fine with that crew, but if we try to go after work or on the weekends, he's just a mess. I usually give him one chance to stop, but if he continues and the other owners are wigging out or if the other dog seems unhappy or too submissive, we just leave and walk around the lake, and back home.

Here's the kicker. That doesn't tire him out enough, so after a couple hours of napping, he's back to yelling at me!

Relevant information: I work from home 3 days a week, but I've been on a bunch of business trips lately with more to come. I always hire someone to stay at the house with him, but I am wondering if the worsening of this behavior is related to some kind of separation anxiety.

This is my first time raising a dog myself and my first time ever having a boy dog around.

So, dog-owning MeFites, help! What should I do?

Recommendations for advanced linux system administration training?

Anonymous — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 10:48:56 -0800

I've recently come up against several vexing linux system administration issues that have our company outsourcing solutions to other people. I'm looking for advanced linux system administration courses that go beyond installing packages and installing/configuring/starting and stopping services. My routine for the past 15 years has been:

- A problem comes up on a linux server.
- Google the error message.
- Implement whatever fixes Google returns that don't look too sketchy.
- If that doesn't work, go to the next Google result.

When I was just learning linux system administration, I was fresh out of college and had plenty of time to pursue learning what I loved in an environment where "mission critical" wasn't a phrase I had to worry about. I could iterate through the above scenario all day.

Now, having to iterate through the above scenario only to solve the problem 50% of the time is tiresome. Having to constantly go to clients without a solid explanation of the problem makes my company look incompetent and is professionally and personally deflating. I want to be better at this, but I don't have the time or energy to dedicate to getting better at it when I'm working 50+ hours a week with clients.

Thankfully, my company provides each employee a professional development budget. I'd like to find a training program that takes me away from my client duties and out of the office and gives me time to focus specifically on my linux system admin skills.

I've taken several entry level classes. I'm very comfortable on the command line and can do package management across several common distros. The training courses I've found have been remedial to what I can already do. I'm looking to learn strategies for dealing with the unknown.

Things I'd like to to learn:
- Techniques and tools for debugging services and issues you're not familiar with.
- Understanding standard system services logs (what services write to which log files and when).
- Understand linux filesystem management (mounting and unmounting file systems, NFS).

Traveling for training is, oddly enough, preferable as I can physically extricate myself from the office and the stresses found there. Virtual training is good too.

Dog training snags

taz — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 13:51:49 -0800

I have some problems with a couple of dog training efforts: discouraging snapping at treats (but she doesn't always snap), and how to train "drop it," when she's not typically interested in holding something in her mouth to drop. I'd love some ideas on these two problems. Snapping Problem: My problem with teaching her not to snap at treats is multifold. First, I'll say that she gently takes treats when a) she's in normal calm mode, b) I'm just casually giving her something, and c) it's not expected. So, basically her more standard auto-mode is to be gentle with us (less so with other people).

However, when she's expecting a treat, she gets too excited and tends to snap at it -- but the complicating factor beyond this is that when I do the typical training technique of holding it in my loosely closed hand with just bit showing (so that she could nudge and lick, but not snap it right away), she gets into some crazy thing where she won't take it at all, and very dramatically tries to prove that she's not even looking at it, would never, ever try to take it, no sirreee. I have to call her back and tell her it's okay over and over, which is bad training technique, and isn't working anyway. She's obviously very concerned that I'm going to think that she's trying to take my thing (even though I'm soothing and encouraging while offering it to her)... or else (or "and") she's learned her other training way too well: when I ask her to sit or lay, then put the treat down on the floor, and she has to wait until I tell her it's okay to take it.

So she'll either turn away and avert her eyes, or drop to the floor and wait for me to set it down. I call her back to me, and she's obviously aware that we are in a training mode sort of thing, and tries to do right... either by not looking at or approaching the treat in my hand (I never taught her this, or anything similar), or laying down from her sit position and waiting for me to put it down. She's confused and that makes me feel bad. I'm the problem here.

At any rate, begging her to come take a treat in order to teach her to take it gently is not really making any sense or working out very well.

I also don't really know how to get her take treats from other people gently, since they tend to dangle a treat just out of reach, so she really has to sort of jump and snap to get it at all. I try to tell them to give it to her on the palm of their hand, or just drop it on the ground, but they will persist. So this situation has the problem of her being a bit overexcited about getting a treat anyway, plus that really bad dangle-just-out-of-reach thing makes me think that I can't really fix that very well, since I can't train random people who want to give her treats.

Drop-it problem: I'm not sure how to tackle this one (we haven't started). My dog doesn't really play with her toys very much. She will carry them just so that she has them around her places (her rugs and pillows), and she will "kill" them when she's feeling overexcited or frustrated, but there's no chance of me being able to train "drop it" by getting her to drop a toy because she never really has them in her mouth much, and when she does she's overexcited and it's not a good training time.

So I'll have to train her to drop one food item for another, higher-value food item, but I'm not sure what to use other than a rawhide sort of thing, which she likes, but I'm not crazy about them because I don't feel like they're necessarily safe, and it also messes up her system, typically causing some constipation followed by a small hard block of poo, followed by soft yucky, smeary "baby poo." Aside from that all I can think of is a bone, which also causes me concern, and it's not easy for me to get the sort of bones that I feel more okay with (marrow bones, I guess).

She doesn't like any kind of toy except plush squeakies, and pretty much won't touch anything else, doesn't like to play tug. She'd kind of like to chew on shoes, but with rare exceptions understands that they are our things, not hers. She is extremely food motivated, though, so if I can think of something that she wouldn't just swallow first before coming for the higher value treat, that will work.

Possibly helpful to know: She's a rescue; she's very smart (she figured out that dumb, expensive Tornado toy thing in about three minutes, and aces all the doggy IQ tests). She's very respectful and aware of property (what's hers and what's ours; not something we trained, exactly -- she just developed that way after a couple of weeks when we adopted her five years ago, though she wasn't that way in the beginning). She's well-behaved and not at all typically anxious. I/we don't punish her or yell at her ever, but she definitely treats me as the one in charge; she's not overly submissive, though she was at first when we got her. She's confident and has learned everything else I've taught her nearly instantly. We are not in the US so may not be able to get particular brand items, though we can probably get most anything that's available in the UK.

What's the point of getting fit if I can't go out and injure myself?

Punkey — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 12:32:22 -0800

I've recently finally gotten really fit and in shape, after spending most of my 27 years...not doing that. I've been looking for something local and athletic to do, both for fun and for fitness, but since I haven't played sports since I was 12 or so, my skills are lacking. However, all the local instruction is oriented towards youth, so I turn to you folk for aid. How can an sports newb adult learn how to play? I live in northern Orange County, CA, and I'm mostly interested in soccer or basketball, but if anyone here knows of a sport I simply have to try, I'll certainly give it a shot.

Advice on puppy house training in a flat.

molloy — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 16:14:09 -0800

I live in a 12th floor flat with a large balcony, 3m x 9m, which is enclosed, glazed, heated, pretty much counts as an extra room in the flat. It is tiled, and was once exposed, so has drains and is designed to withstand the elements. Could I house train a young spaniel pup in such an environment? Could I allow the pup to wee down the balcony drain in the short term, and would this make it difficult to train it to only poo outside? I don't mind accidents in the short term. Is it cruel to keep a dog in such a flat? The pup could have the run of this balcony until it is housetrained. I work at home, often from a desk on the balcony. So they pup would get lots of contact. I can happily provide 3 good long walks a day no problem, but I'm worried about the initial period. I live across the road from a dog friendly beach and park. Though it takes a few minutes to get from the flat to the road, which is ample time for accidents to happen.

Subject matter for a job interview micro training session

Under the Sea — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 18:39:46 -0800

What are some ideas on subject matter for a 15 minute training session, for a second round job interview. Assume this is for 2nd round job interview for a customer-related service team leader type position in a very large facilities maintenance company. I need to provide a short training session on any topic of choice and will be training up to 4 people, props and materials can be used. I also need to provide a "training reference document brief" for the participants. Of course the focus will be on the ability to prepare the materials needed and the actual training skills during the session rather than the subject matter, but any ideas on the subject would be very much appreciated as Im having a block.

Finally, what would you expect to see in the brief document? My assumption is 1-2 page document with including the Topic Introduction, Description of Skills Required, Outline of Learning Activity, Planned Learning Outcomes, (& References). Does this sound on track?

Puppy in the office!

lunasol — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 18:39:38 -0800

What should I do with my puppy when he's not sleeping or playing with me? I brought my puppy home! So far, it's going really well. The first day was a little rough but we're settling into a good routine. He's peeing/pooping outside, sleeping reasonably well at night, learning really quickly.

Here's the problem: I'm not really sure what to do with him when he's awake and I'm not playing with or otherwise exercising him. I took Friday off so we've been together pretty much constantly for the last three days. I've noticed that if I'm moving around (ie, cooking/cleaning), he's fine for up to a half hour just watching me or maybe playing with a toy. But if I'm sitting down (say, reading or watching TV), then he'll only play on his own for a few minutes before he starts barking, whining, etc to get my attention. At that point I'll usually wait until he stops whining/barking and then play with him.

That's been ok this weekend, since I've had the time to play with him a lot. But I'm going back to work Tuesday (taking tomorrow off) and he'll be coming with me. I definitely plan to take him outside every two hours or so, and give him good walks plus playtime in the morning, evening and at lunch. But in between, there will be a lot of time where I'm, you know, working.

My vet recommended crating him at work, and we are working on crate training, but I'm worried he won't be quite ready by Tuesday. I also ordered one of these "puppy playpens" but it doesn't arrive until Wednesday.

Anyway, what should I do this evening and tomorrow to set us up for success on Tuesday? And what should I do the first few days to make the transition as painless as possible for everyone (including my coworkers!)?

Probably good to know: We're starting obedience classes tomorrow night. I have my own office with a door that closes, and there's a green walk outside for walks and bathroom breaks. I talked to the vet about parvo and she thinks the office set-up is low risk. His personality is bold and energetic but eager-to-please and SUPER food-motivated.

I got it! I got it! I got it! I don't have it!

monocultured — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 06:07:35 -0800

Following the numerous recommendations here for Starting Strength, I've been at it for a month or so, and have joined a proper weight lifting club as well. But is there a similarly simple program for grip strength? I'm still on low weights, but already at a 90kg deadlifting my grip is slipping. Instead of doing a reverse hold I'd rather increase my hand strength, so am curious what programs my fellow mefites have employed for this purpose. I've seen some Tubious of CoC grippers and others, and there are a bunch of exercises all over the place, but I'm looking for something simple to follow (like SS) which might not be perfectly tailored to exactly my hands but works well enough to be worthwhile. Crushing soda cans optional.

Terrier Time Training

Query — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 13:39:44 -0800

Is it possible to teach a dog the concept of time, or at least to read a clock?

Dog Ownership 101

Sara C. — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 17:56:30 -0800

What's it like to be a first-time dog owner? I've wanted a dog on and off for several years now, and it seems like I'm finally in a situation that will allow for it. I have my own apartment which is pretty well situated for dog ownership (small, but there's no reason a smallish dog couldn't hang). There's a yard for supervised pup hangouts. I'm in the habit of going on runs and long walks daily, so it wouldn't be too hard to fold a dog into that routine. It's also looking like the era of insane work hours away from home might be ending for me, at least temporarily, and that if I go back to a crazy 60+ hour work week, I'd be able to afford a walker.

I have a few concerns, though. Mainly that I've never had a dog before. Not even as a kid growing up. I've been around dogs as an adult, walked dogs, pet-sat for dogs, played with dogs. I'm sure I definitely want a dog. But I don't have any experience caring for one full time. Another concern is my neighborhood. A lot of people in my area let their pets wander the streets freely (I wouldn't, obviously). Most of these animals seem docile enough, but the last thing I want is my dog getting into fights on walks. There are a couple of dogs on my block who are able to get into my yard, and we also have a feral cat population.

Additionally, I notice that dogs here in LA aren't as well trained as the dogs I knew back in New York (lots of barking in my neighborhood, lots of dogs growling behind fences). I've never trained a dog before. Is this something I can do?

So OK. Let's say I get a dog. A low-maintenance dog that doesn't need a ton of exercise would be ideal. Probably on the small side. I will need to leave the dog in my (tiny) apartment for several hours a day.

I'm thinking that I'd adopt an adult dog from a local shelter. I don't care much about breed as long as the dog I end up with fits my lifestyle.

What's my game plan, here? How do I get ready for a dog? How do I find the right dog for me? What's the right timeframe for getting a first dog? Is there any non-obvious research I need to do or books I need to read right out of the gate?

If any Southern California folks are reading this, are some shelters better than others? Anything else I should know as a potential LA dog owner?

How can I get hands-on training in home improvement locally?

Vorteks — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 13:50:24 -0800

Is there some kind of class, part-time apprenticeship, or in-home tutor I can use to get hands-on handyman training near Livonia, MI? I bought a house last June. Yay! But now I'm realizing that I really have no idea how to take care of it or perform the numerous small improvements that need to be made. I've bought a couple books on home improvement and maintenance, and I know there are a lot of "how to" videos on Youtube and such. But even though such things exist, I feel like they don't give me the confidence and familiarity I would get if I actually had someone guiding me and working with me as I did things.

So what I'm wondering is, is there some kind of "handyman" class I can take? Locally? Google searches have led me to this certificate program in NY, and a few similar things, but unfortunately they're not located anywhere near me (I'm in Livonia, MI, USA).

Yeah, I have a few handy friends I might be able to call to help out with some specific issues if I needed. But I think I want a greater volume of training than I'd be comfortable asking a friend to provide.

If you don't know of any hands-on training in my area, but you do know about some really good online resources that I don't know about, that would also be appreciated.

Manage an email-based day-by-day training course

argybarg — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 09:36:16 -0800

I work on technology with a staff of about 30 teachers. I found a way to introduce new technologies that seems to work well: Each day I send out an email with a five-minute task. After about 40 of those, provided you stick with them, you're pretty strong. Now I'd like to automate this per user. How? An example: The teachers have new interactive projectors. So I've been sending out "Day 1 with Your Projector," and so on. Each task is tiny and discrete, so the teachers don't seem to mind the dailiness of the emails.

Now I'd like to be able to do this:

-- I store a sequence of, say, 40 of these emails.
-- A user signs up to start a course at some arbitrary date. Maybe even starting today.
-- That user receives, beginning at the start date, daily emails (M-F) in sequence.

This means that I might have 25 users signed on. On day X, one user is receiving day 15, another is receiving day 3. Another might be on vacation but due to receive day 23 when she returns. And so on.

I'll need to automate this or I'll go insane.

We're a Google Apps shop, and I have some Python skills (and access to servers). Commercial services are not out of the question, but open source tools are ideal.

It be hugely helpful if you know of a service that can do precisely this job. General recommendations of "X is an awesome mail manager, look into it" are not so great. For example, I know lots of people use MailChimp, but I don't think it can send out emails on staggered schedules matched to users. Unless I'm wrong...

Thanks in advance.

Goruck Training...Scared & Out of shape.Help!

flipmiester99 — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 14:40:32 -0800

So, my buddy signed me up for a GoRuck Challenge in May. So, my predicament is that im about 25 pounds overweight, can jog at best a total of 10 minutes, and im not that muscular (Can do about 15 pushups and no pullups). Im 38 and dont have the $$ to join a gym or crossfit. Can someone help me with putting together a workout Monday through Saturday to help me get ready for what looks to be the toughest 12-14 hours I will ever go through? Is it possible to get into incredible shape in 3 months? Is this GORuck possible for me, I dont want to chicken out but am I reaching to far here?

How can I make my cat less annoying?

welovelife — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 03:09:17 -0800

My five year old, tough outdoorsy cat has developed a really irritating behaviour- every time I go into the kitchen he begs for food- even if his bowl is full up...any better advice than kicking him? So that's every time I make a meal, make a morning coffee, get the baby's 5am bottle he's under my feet, in my way, tripping me up and even biting my feet.

The strange thing is that if you put one biscuit in the already-full bowl he'll eat the whole thing. If you jiggle the food, or plonk him down in front of it, he'll also eat it. But then 3 minutes later he'll start begging again.

We've recently moved, and since then he's been reluctant to go out, so I definitely notice it more, but he's been doing that for years...The Order of the Boot has been suggested but dismissed...