For food truck lovers — and there are many in this city — Wilshire Boulevard near South Curson Avenue is a mecca, distinguished by the sheer number of upscale trucks it attracts. On Wednesday about 1 p.m., there were nearly a dozen. Across the street from the La Brea Tar Pits, the India Jones Chow Truck, Mrs. Beasley’s Dessert Truck and Fishlips Sushi were all crowded into half a block.

For restaurant owners, the trucks are competition that take away business and hog precious metered parking spaces. Some shop owners are said to have called the police on trucks that languish beyond the allowed hour at a meter.

It sounds delicious—but I can understand why “permanent” business owners are threatened. On the other hand (I used to work in this area), I wish the permanent businesses were tastier.

I often hear this rationalization: It’s a way to multitask and increase efficiency. But neuroscientists tell us that dividing our attention between competing stimuli instead of handling tasks one at a time actually makes us less efficient.

Still, the illusion that multitasking can aid productivity is powerful. And it’s abetted by the fact that splitting our attention between real and virtual worlds can produce a kind of neural intoxication, research shows.

Through our devices, we find a way to disappear without leaving the room. By splitting ourselves off and reaching out electronically, we fill empty interpersonal space and ignite our senses. We can find relief and a fleeting sense of freedom. [emphasis added]

Yes, in suburban Atlanta in 1994, bonuses totalling $39,000 were given by mistake.

Somehow I think they are still going have a hard time collecting this money.

Getting more tasks accomplished — say writing and responding to scores of emails in between other activities — may technically represent higher productivity, but it doesn’t necessarily mean adding greater value.

Instead, the ethic of more, bigger, faster ultimately generates value that is narrow, shallow and short-term.

To summarize the problem:

 Stephen Anderson, president of Anderson-davis Inc., a workplace training company in Denver, says filing a claim is often a no-win situation for a man. “If a woman is harassing you, people might think ‘What is wrong with you? You should be flattered,’ ” he says. In cases where another man is the harasser, the victim might be afraid that he comes across as unmanly or homosexual, he says.

Now, this doesn’t mean it’s now a terrible job. It just means that it’s a normal job with normal people who have strengths and weaknesses and bring their baggage to work because it’s impossible to leave it all at home. That’s all okay. Welcome to reality, and all that.

I call this particular time the “End of the Honeymoon” at work, and I’m sure other people use this term, but the only thing I managed to find on-line was about a “dream” job as a honeymoon tester. As I’ve grown older, the honeymoon has ended sooner and sooner with each new job. It used to be about three months, which would take me through a summer internship unscathed, and it quickly slipped with each new job. And now I think it’s about 6 weeks for me.

How long was your current honeymoon at your job?