Will there be an in-game Cordovan Stream for EU time zone?

[DiannaHimi]

Hey, unsure if this is the correct section to ask, but I was very curious if Cordovan is planning another in-game Stream event, but for EU comfortable times?

I have unfortunately missed on the last week's one, due to it being around 3 AM my time. I have seen videos of the event and heard from kin members that it was very fun. The rewards given as well are something I'd love to have, being a collectionist. As such, I'd love to be able to participate in it.

Further, if any such event is planned, where would be the place for me to check the schedules for it or its announcement?

Thanks!

[Marancil]

To my understanding for it to happen on "our" time Cordovan would have to do it pretty late afternoon US time 4-5PM. Then we would get it on the morning.
For EU to get it on night hours, when many of us play, Cord would have to do it live while he should be asleep. That is, around 3-5 AM US time, not checking the times very carefully here.

[DiannaHimi]

Perfectly understandable. I know the time difference can be a bad thing. However, 12 year anniversary is still an ongoing event and many EU players and EU servers were unhappy with this. How can I join an event starting at 2AM my time, when I need to go to work tomorrow or visit it early morning, when I am at work by that time..

Another chance for EU players to get some rewards and meet Cordovan during a weekend or an 'exception' day for his schedule I believe would be fair. I hope the guys at SSG can think of something.

[thinx]

To my understanding for it to happen on "our" time Cordovan would have to do it pretty late afternoon US time 4-5PM. Then we would get it on the morning.

The time shift is 6 hours, so 4-5pm EDT is still before midnight EU.

OP: There is a google calendar link on https://www.twitch.tv/lotrostream
I guess there is some mismatch between this calendar and the stream mentioned in post 3, as the calendar says that +cord is always at 12-13:00 EDT or 18-19 CEST.
I do not watch the streams though, so I have no idea when they actually happen.

[Marancil]

The time shift is 6 hours, so 4-5pm EDT is still before midnight EU.
.

Yeah, well I usually sleep before 11PM /23CET...

[thinx]

Yeah, well I usually sleep before 11PM /23CET...

Me too. The question is when the target audience for these streams goes to bed. I do not watch the streams, so :-)

[maartena]

Hey, unsure if this is the correct section to ask, but I was very curious if Cordovan is planning another in-game Stream event, but for EU comfortable times?

I have unfortunately missed on the last week's one, due to it being around 3 AM my time. I have seen videos of the event and heard from kin members that it was very fun. The rewards given as well are something I'd love to have, being a collectionist. As such, I'd love to be able to participate in it.

Further, if any such event is planned, where would be the place for me to check the schedules for it or its announcement?

Thanks!

He started at noon EST (6PM EU), and as I understand it.... he did Anor and Ithil first, followed by most EU servers, so he visited the EU servers between 20:00-ish and 01:00-ish, which would be EU prime time.... He put the remaining US servers all the way at the end, so by 03:00 AM EU time, he would have been on US servers again.

So unless you are EU time but play on a US server, you should have gotten a Cordovan visit at a fairly appropriate EU time....

[Cordovan]

The intention this year was to hit the EU servers around their prime times, and not too late. I think in the future I might swap the Legendary and EU servers, based in part on community feedback.

[Pontin_Finnberry]

He started at noon EST (6PM EU), and as I understand it.... he did Anor and Ithil first, followed by most EU servers, so he visited the EU servers between 20:00-ish and 01:00-ish, which would be EU prime time.... He put the remaining US servers all the way at the end, so by 03:00 AM EU time, he would have been on US servers again.

So unless you are EU time but play on a US server, you should have gotten a Cordovan visit at a fairly appropriate EU time....

Not on Laurelin server, he got to Laurelin around 7PM US Eastern time which is pretty late for many. I think next time he should start with EU first then Legendary followed by US servers last.

[Arnenna]

The intention this year was to hit the EU servers around their prime times, and not too late. I think in the future I might swap the Legendary and EU servers, based in part on community feedback.

I logged into the stream about half way through, so ended up in the location after you had long gone lol. Maybe you already do this, but if so, I have no idea where to look for the info, but an online road map a few days ahead of time would be good. Example. Anor (insert time), EN (insert time) etc.

Hopefully I can get that little bear cub next year if you do that

[maartena]

Not on Laurelin server, he got to Laurelin around 7PM US Eastern time which is pretty late for many. I think next time he should start with EU first then Legendary followed by US servers last.

Yep, Laurelin got the late shift.... that was the LAST EU server he visited, so that was probably about 1 AM or so. Cordovan took a break between 6 PM and 7 PM EST because he needed to get some dinner in.

It should be noticed that the Legendary Servers are very international. There are both German and French kinships on the server, and depending when you log in.... it's not uncommon to see German and French things linked in world chat or trade! That said, he should probably have switched them around a bit.

It's never going to be perfect though.... if he had STARTED with Laurelin at noon EST, it would be 5PM in the UK and 6PM in EU, and you would hear people complaining that they weren't off work yet, or it happened during their family dinner time. So somewhere, someone will be offended.

What cordovan should probably do for the future is make a schedule and more or less stick to it, so people know in advance when it is THEIR server's turn, and they can plan around it.

[Druidsfire]

Speaking as someone who was there the entire time (and also doing stuff behind the scenes to help out), I have a different idea to suggest, one that is simultaneously more EU-friendly and isn't so mentally draining in one sitting.

What about two 6-hour streams? One set for EU times, maybe even start earlier than noon Eastern (say, 10am, so it's not too egregiously out of +Cord's usual time). The other set in NA-friendly time, say 4pm-10pm Eastern. That leaves all 5 EU servers being visited in an EU timeframe, all NA servers visited in an NA timeframe. I don't recommend running later for NA stuff because, quite frankly, it's ridiculous for a game's community manager to get home from work after midnight unless something is seriously on fire. We also need to be considerate of the fact that, y'know, he has actual work to do for both this and DDO, and these streams take away from that time, as much fun as they are for us as players.

I'd be interested to see which legendary server would go to which timeframe. I'd probably recommend Anor for EU simply because it was first, and I know a lot of the EU kins set up shop there, so it would have a higher turnout. Maybe have it be the last 'EU' server visited on that stream, so there'd still be a bunch of NA folks who'd be around too. That being said, I'd thus recommend Ithil being the first 'NA' server visited in that suggested stream, so there's still some overlap. I'd suggest Brandywine being second, mostly cos I know there's a large Codemasters-era contingent there, so it wouldn't be too late for them in a 5pm Eastern visit, hypothetically speaking.

EDITED: To those suggesting a schedule for people to plan around, I hear you. Part of the problem is, unfortunately, announcing in advance means everyone who ISN'T a regular part of that server will show up and the regular residents of that server will get stiffed on the freebies handed out. It also has a negative effect on the server by having tons of people waiting already, then even MORE show up when word gets out in /world chat. Even if they message it in advance to request that people who aren't regulars on a server to simply wait for their own server's turn, there are a lot of people who will show up for the freebies or sadly to try and grief the freebies.

I know that's not going to help folks who play a server outside of their usual timezone, and our friends in Oceanic areas are kinda hosed no matter what happens. However, it's an idea to kick around for the next year to see what not only the community wants but also what +Cord and SSG are willing to support.

[Arnenna]

Speaking as someone who was there the entire time (and also doing stuff behind the scenes to help out), I have a different idea to suggest, one that is simultaneously more EU-friendly and isn't so mentally draining in one sitting.

What about two 6-hour streams? One set for EU times, maybe even start earlier than noon Eastern (say, 10am, so it's not too egregiously out of +Cord's usual time). The other set in NA-friendly time, say 4pm-10pm Eastern. That leaves all 5 EU servers being visited in an EU timeframe, all NA servers visited in an NA timeframe. I don't recommend running later for NA stuff because, quite frankly, it's ridiculous for a game's community manager to get home from work after midnight unless something is seriously on fire. We also need to be considerate of the fact that, y'know, he has actual work to do for both this and DDO, and these streams take away from that time, as much fun as they are for us as players.

I'd be interested to see which legendary server would go to which timeframe. I'd probably recommend Anor for EU simply because it was first, and I know a lot of the EU kins set up shop there, so it would have a higher turnout. Maybe have it be the last 'EU' server visited on that stream, so there'd still be a bunch of NA folks who'd be around too. That being said, I'd thus recommend Ithil being the first 'NA' server visited in that suggested stream, so there's still some overlap. I'd suggest Brandywine being second, mostly cos I know there's a large Codemasters-era contingent there, so it wouldn't be too late for them in a 5pm Eastern visit, hypothetically speaking.

EDITED: To those suggesting a schedule for people to plan around, I hear you. Part of the problem is, unfortunately, announcing in advance means everyone who ISN'T a regular part of that server will show up and the regular residents of that server will get stiffed on the freebies handed out. It also has a negative effect on the server by having tons of people waiting already, then even MORE show up when word gets out in /world chat. Even if they message it in advance to request that people who aren't regulars on a server to simply wait for their own server's turn, there are a lot of people who will show up for the freebies or sadly to try and grief the freebies.

I know that's not going to help folks who play a server outside of their usual timezone, and our friends in Oceanic areas are kinda hosed no matter what happens. However, it's an idea to kick around for the next year to see what not only the community wants but also what +Cord and SSG are willing to support.

I think a 12 hours stream was bonkers to begin with. That's got to be tiring. A 12 hour shift is one thing, but 12 hours with people constantly watching your every move and bombarding you with off the cuff questions - that there is "I need a break" fodder.

I think the idea to break up the stream is great. Even three, four hour streams would work.

[cdq1958]

Speaking as someone who was there the entire time (and also doing stuff behind the scenes to help out), I have a different idea to suggest, one that is simultaneously more EU-friendly and isn't so mentally draining in one sitting.

What about two 6-hour streams? One set for EU times, maybe even start earlier than noon Eastern (say, 10am, so it's not too egregiously out of +Cord's usual time). The other set in NA-friendly time, say 4pm-10pm Eastern. That leaves all 5 EU servers being visited in an EU timeframe, all NA servers visited in an NA timeframe. I don't recommend running later for NA stuff because, quite frankly, it's ridiculous for a game's community manager to get home from work after midnight unless something is seriously on fire. We also need to be considerate of the fact that, y'know, he has actual work to do for both this and DDO, and these streams take away from that time, as much fun as they are for us as players.

I'd be interested to see which legendary server would go to which timeframe. I'd probably recommend Anor for EU simply because it was first, and I know a lot of the EU kins set up shop there, so it would have a higher turnout. Maybe have it be the last 'EU' server visited on that stream, so there'd still be a bunch of NA folks who'd be around too. That being said, I'd thus recommend Ithil being the first 'NA' server visited in that suggested stream, so there's still some overlap. I'd suggest Brandywine being second, mostly cos I know there's a large Codemasters-era contingent there, so it wouldn't be too late for them in a 5pm Eastern visit, hypothetically speaking.

EDITED: To those suggesting a schedule for people to plan around, I hear you. Part of the problem is, unfortunately, announcing in advance means everyone who ISN'T a regular part of that server will show up and the regular residents of that server will get stiffed on the freebies handed out. It also has a negative effect on the server by having tons of people waiting already, then even MORE show up when word gets out in /world chat. Even if they message it in advance to request that people who aren't regulars on a server to simply wait for their own server's turn, there are a lot of people who will show up for the freebies or sadly to try and grief the freebies.

I know that's not going to help folks who play a server outside of their usual timezone, and our friends in Oceanic areas are kinda hosed no matter what happens. However, it's an idea to kick around for the next year to see what not only the community wants but also what +Cord and SSG are willing to support.

And guess what, 10 pm Eastern is 7 pm Pacific time; so he won't catch a break there, either. MN Eastern is 9 PM Pacific. This won't bother me much, for I am Central time US (and retired); but still, the US West Coast is about 1/3 of the total.

[Druidsfire]

And guess what, 10 pm Eastern is 7 pm Pacific time; so he won't catch a break there, either. MN Eastern is 9 PM Pacific. This won't bother me much, for I am Central time US (and retired); but still, the US West Coast is about 1/3 of the total.

Yup, I'm well aware of the time difference between Eastern and Pacific. I also know that Cord has an hour commute (he's said so on the stream before), so I'm trying to make suggestions that are considerate to his time as well.

[Cordovan]

I do enjoy doing these in-game visits, but the reality is if I say where and when to be, there is zero chance anyone will have a good time, if I can even make it into the location. These in-game visits need to be seen within a different context for the best result, even if it can be frustrating for some folks.

I am definitely down for two six hour streams or whatever and finding the "best" time for both EU and US.

[Arnenna]

I do enjoy doing these in-game visits, but the reality is if I say where and when to be, there is zero chance anyone will have a good time, if I can even make it into the location. These in-game visits need to be seen within a different context for the best result, even if it can be frustrating for some folks.

I am definitely down for two six hour streams or whatever and finding the "best" time for both EU and US.

No real need to say where, but when (the date and rough time) would be handy. Example, I'll be on Ark, on (date), some time between (time) and (time). That'll keep players logged in through that time frame.

As long as players don't know where you are, there is still that "find you" element which keeps it interesting. Trust me on this, players will still have a great time, far more great than the time they have, if they miss it, because they don't know about it and find out after it's all over.

[Marancil]

I do enjoy doing these in-game visits, but the reality is if I say where and when to be, there is zero chance anyone will have a good time, if I can even make it into the location. These in-game visits need to be seen within a different context for the best result, even if it can be frustrating for some folks.

I am definitely down for two six hour streams or whatever and finding the "best" time for both EU and US.

I wanna se you grind. For hours. Days. Weeks.

[maartena]

And guess what, 10 pm Eastern is 7 pm Pacific time; so he won't catch a break there, either. MN Eastern is 9 PM Pacific. This won't bother me much, for I am Central time US (and retired); but still, the US West Coast is about 1/3 of the total.

Regardless of which times he will pick.... SOMEONE will be unhappy. Besides the US48, Canada and Western Europe, there are players in Russia, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, Alaska, Brazil, even Japan, South Korea, and we have a player from Singapore in our kinship. While on Riddermark, there used to be a US soldier in our kinship who played from Afghanistan, and we had a player from Mumbai, India.

The two largest timezones in the entire game are EST and CET. Every other time zone, including PST and GMT in the UK come well, WELL after the amount of players in EST and CET. Of course GMT and CST are only 1 hour off from those two..... and can easily combined. The "blocks" of EST/CST and GMT/CET probably have the lion share of Lotro population in them.

So I would say: Set a 6-hour stream geared to CST/EST, and a 6-hour stream geared towards GMT/CET, and everyone else, living in other time zones (including myself in PST) will just have to make accommodations to be there if they want to. Sorry, but we here in PST just aren't that important. Besides, we get other perks: Things reset at midnight for us, making it a lot easier to deal with than 3AM for the east coast.....

[cdq1958]

Regardless of which times he will pick.... SOMEONE will be unhappy. Besides the US48, Canada and Western Europe, there are players in Russia, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, Alaska, Brazil, even Japan, South Korea, and we have a player from Singapore in our kinship. While on Riddermark, there used to be a US soldier in our kinship who played from Afghanistan, and we had a player from Mumbai, India.

The two largest timezones in the entire game are EST and CET. Every other time zone, including PST and GMT in the UK come well, WELL after the amount of players in EST and CET. Of course GMT and CST are only 1 hour off from those two..... and can easily combined. The "blocks" of EST/CST and GMT/CET probably have the lion share of Lotro population in them.

So I would say: Set a 6-hour stream geared to CST/EST, and a 6-hour stream geared towards GMT/CET, and everyone else, living in other time zones (including myself in PST) will just have to make accommodations to be there if they want to. Sorry, but we here in PST just aren't that important. Besides, we get other perks: Things reset at midnight for us, making it a lot easier to deal with than 3AM for the east coast.....

I'd disagree with you, some; given that roughly 1/3 is Eastern and 1/3 Pacific. The other 1/3 is mostly Central. I would agree that CET is the bulk of Western Europe's population; but Russia is going to be mostly Moscow/St. Petersburg (or whatever it is called now) and that isn't that much earlier than CET. I do agree that Aussies/NZ/Japan do get the shaft; but how many folk play at UTC +9 or earlier? So, CET and EDT work at 7PM 19:00 +/- 3 h either side of 7PM/19:00; which is what his 12 hour stream did. Still, two six hour streams would be less taxing for him. (I read EST as Eastern Standard Time, UTC -5; which is what is usually meant by EST, taking off amateur astronomer hat.)

Update: Oh, yeah, a glance at the Luxaeterna site confirms that the NA 'peak' is broader and flatter than the EU one, both the high one and the low one.

[Lord.Funk]

If it is possible to accomodate various time-zones that would be nice. At the same time I would not want to see employees working "on the floor" having to pull all nighters or weird hours without reasonable monetary compensation. Devs and other staff should not have to work under slave like conditions, while the suits just gets richer and richer out of the staffs work effort.

Link to one article on the subject: https://www.polygon.com/2016/4/18/11...k-for-this-guy

Oh the arrogance:

...In an opinion piece on VentureBeat over the weekend, the former head of WildTangent wrote that developers should quit whining about fair wages and long hours and get down to doing what they love because, after all, "pushing a mouse around for a paycheck" isn't really hard work.

St. John was responding to a new initiative by the International Game Developers Association to tackle unpaid overtime and long hours. He claimed that "making games is not a job, it's an art" and that "there's no amount of money that anybody can pay people with a wage-slave attitude."

St. John has been the boss of many people working in games and tech. He was a senior figure at Microsoft in the 1990s and was instrumental in the DirectX initiative, which sought to increase the number of games being released for Windows. DirectX formed some of the technology running the Xbox....

YouTube: Devs discuss the BURNOUT from long and stressful working hours



I'm not saying any of that takes place at SSG, but still something to keep in mind when we keep demanding more and more. It's why I try not to ever blame the people working "on the floor", devs and other staff. If one should blame anything it's lack of time given to the devs, as well as resources. Something that is decided on the higher levels.

[Marancil]

At the same time I would not want to see employees working "on the floor" having to pull all nighters or weird hours without reasonable monetary compensation. Devs and other staff should not have to work under slave like conditions, while the suits just gets richer and richer out of the staffs work effort.

Link to one article on the subject: https://www.polygon.com/2016/4/18/11...k-for-this-guy


I'm not saying any of that takes place at SSG, but still something to keep in mind when we keep demanding more and more. It's why I try not to ever blame the people working "on the floor", devs and other staff. If one should blame anything it's lack of time given to the devs, as well as resources. Something that is decided on the higher levels.

This is probably off topic considering the rather innocent question this thread started with, but my response to above is obvious: it should be illegal. It is illegal in my country, sure you can always make a deal for working hours, and the legislation for it is hereby linked. Article 5 of our Working Hours Act: https://www.government.se/49d4f9/con...-hours-act.pdf

I end up in these discussions from time to time and it is beyond my comprehension how anyone can agree to pull a crunch for 60 or 80 hours per week, week after week. If you have two guys working 60 hours your employer should realise he needs to hire another staff. No one can legally force me to work beyond 40 hours per week if I don't want to. I am no socialist, but in regards to healthy work places and healthy employees I have seen my share of bad examples and actively work against "crunches". Dare to refuse them... your workplace is better off having reasonable work hours than perks like free pizza, soft drinks and massage, or whatever you have over the pond. The ugly face of profits before people.

[Arnenna]

This is probably off topic considering the rather innocent question this thread started with, but my response to above is obvious: it should be illegal. It is illegal in my country, sure you can always make a deal for working hours, and the legislation for it is hereby linked. Article 5 of our Working Hours Act: https://www.government.se/49d4f9/con...-hours-act.pdf

I end up in these discussions from time to time and it is beyond my comprehension how anyone can agree to pull a crunch for 60 or 80 hours per week, week after week. If you have two guys working 60 hours your employer should realise he needs to hire another staff. No one can legally force me to work beyond 40 hours per week if I don't want to. I am no socialist, but in regards to healthy work places and healthy employees I have seen my share of bad examples and actively work against "crunches". Dare to refuse them... your workplace is better off having reasonable work hours than perks like free pizza, soft drinks and massage, or whatever you have over the pond. The ugly face of profits before people.

Haha, your post reminds me of a job I held a very long time ago in a tech support role. Five x 11 hour shifts per week on a 6 week rotation that meant once per 6 weeks you'd end up doing eleven days straight, and once per 6 weeks you'd end up with a week off. They had a custom built top of the range gym/fitness centre and access to a pool for staff, who by the time they had finished their shifts, were all to knackered to use it. Long before the time directive came into play of course. They wouldn't' get away with that now.

[Lord.Funk]

This is probably off topic considering the rather innocent question this thread started with, but my response to above is obvious: it should be illegal. It is illegal in my country, sure you can always make a deal for working hours, and the legislation for it is hereby linked. Article 5 of our Working Hours Act: https://www.government.se/49d4f9/con...-hours-act.pdf

I end up in these discussions from time to time and it is beyond my comprehension how anyone can agree to pull a crunch for 60 or 80 hours per week, week after week. If you have two guys working 60 hours your employer should realise he needs to hire another staff. No one can legally force me to work beyond 40 hours per week if I don't want to. I am no socialist, but in regards to healthy work places and healthy employees I have seen my share of bad examples and actively work against "crunches". Dare to refuse them... your workplace is better off having reasonable work hours than perks like free pizza, soft drinks and massage, or whatever you have over the pond. The ugly face of profits before people.

Haha, your post reminds me of a job I held a very long time ago in a tech support role. Five x 11 hour shifts per week on a 6 week rotation that meant once per 6 weeks you'd end up doing eleven days straight, and once per 6 weeks you'd end up with a week off. They had a custom built top of the range gym/fitness centre and access to a pool for staff, who by the time they had finished their shifts, were all to knackered to use it. Long before the time directive came into play of course. They wouldn't' get away with that now.

I agree that it should be illegal. It seems coders and especially game devs and coders are badly organized in the US. Too badly, it seems, to be a force to stand up against the corporations and bosses with attitudes like the one I quoted in my last post. They are in a highly competetive market and often afraid to speak up, or only dare to do so anonymously. Afraid to lose their jobs and be replaced I assume. However delving deeper into topic that would make it too much political and definetly "off topic".

I do not think my previous post was off topic at all though or went too far. Even this thread, even if not a demand or impolite in any way, including an innocent request that still could mean long hours for the streamer and staying up late due to time-zones etc. It is something I think we all should keep in mind when we do complain alot and demand more and more. Yes, me included, as I do definetly complain when I'm not happy with something. Remember that the ones that have to face us in here are also the ones that might work under stress and not enough resources. Caught between a rock and hard place. Usually the business suits in companies never have to face the customers, but they are the ones responsible for making the decsisions that we as customers often get upset over and then the staff have to take all the heat. I'm talking in general here as well, not specifically about SSG in all this, as I have no idea how SSG's hierarchy or command structure is set up. It could be a more relaxed atmosphere betyween the top and the workers.

I do often however see devs in various streams from various gaming companies looking a bit pale and tired. They appear calm at the surface but often You can see that they are tired and can not focus their thoughts half of the time.

That being said Cordovan always manages to look completely genuinely calm and chill. Even after many hours of a marathon stream. I have no idea how he does that. He looks as if he has no worries in the world, which I'm sure he has, but it kind of amazes me that he can look so chill and never seem to get upset or stressed. Not even when he says he's had a busy day or week. As if nothing can shake him. Impressive. That is a good quality to have as an outward representative or a face/steamer etc for a company.

[cdq1958]

I agree that it should be illegal. It seems coders and especially game devs and coders are badly organized in the US. Too badly, it seems, to be a force to stand up against the corporations and bosses with attitudes like the one I quoted in my last post. They are in a highly competetive market and often afraid to speak up, or only dare to do so anonymously. Afraid to lose their jobs and be replaced I assume. However delving deeper into topic that would make it too much political and definetly "off topic".

I do not think my previous post was off topic at all though or went too far. Even this thread, even if not a demand or impolite in any way, including an innocent request that still could mean long hours for the streamer and staying up late due to time-zones etc. It is something I think we all should keep in mind when we do complain alot and demand more and more. Yes, me included, as I do definetly complain when I'm not happy with something. Remember that the ones that have to face us in here are also the ones that might work under stress and not enough resources. Caught between a rock and hard place. Usually the business suits in companies never have to face the customers, but they are the ones responsible for making the decsisions that we as customers often get upset over and then the staff have to take all the heat. I'm talking in general here as well, not specifically about SSG in all this, as I have no idea how SSG's hierarchy or command structure is set up. It could be a more relaxed atmosphere betyween the top and the workers.

I do often however see devs in various streams from various gaming companies looking a bit pale and tired. They appear calm at the surface but often You can see that they are tired and can not focus their thoughts half of the time.

That being said Cordovan always manages to look completely genuinely calm and chill. Even after many hours of a marathon stream. I have no idea how he does that. He looks as if he has no worries in the world, which I'm sure he has, but it kind of amazes me that he can look so chill and never seem to get upset or stressed. Not even when he says he's had a busy day or week. As if nothing can shake him. Impressive. That is a good quality to have as an outward representative or a face/steamer etc for a company.

Cord used to work as a reporter/radio and was/is a musician. Appearing 'Chill' goes with the territory.
Also, the rules for salaried people/supervisors is different than it is for hourly folk. Good thing, too, I say.