Comments on Stonekettle Station: Just stop it already, really

I think my wife would be ungood with strange woman...

2007-11-21T17:41:24.973-09:00

I think my wife would be ungood with strange woman (heh) teleporting in from the world to hug me.

But, you know, I do appreciate the thought.

Hee! That post is one of the reasons I wish we ha...

2007-11-21T07:19:37.458-09:00

Hee! That post is one of the reasons I wish we had a teleporter so I could nip up to Alaska to give you a hug.

As it is, I'll make due with the Expando-matic iHug (Platonic Edition).

Thanks for being you, Jim!
:)

Appalled, Janiece, I'm just appalled - you're a Sy...

2007-11-21T06:35:22.560-09:00

Appalled, Janiece, I'm just appalled - you're a Systems Engineer? I had no idea.

CONFESSIONS OF A ENGINEER, Volume I, or the Good, ...

2007-11-21T05:51:03.515-09:00

CONFESSIONS OF A ENGINEER, Volume I, or the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Technology

Alas, I have to admit I am guilty, guilty. And ashamed! Oh, yes!

Those extremely irritating "voicemail" systems that are the bane of Jim's existence are just one component of how I make my living.

I know, I know - hard to believe, but there it is.

I am a systems engineer, and I design communications systems for large businesses. The components of such systems frequently include "Interactive Voice Response" (IVR) components, which are those incredibly irritating machines that shield employees of a company from actual, human contact.

But wait, there's more!

I also sometimes include what's called a "Predictive Dialer," which is that profoundly irritating component that calls you during the dinner hour to ask if you'd like to donate to whatever cause has purchased it.

I know, I know. I well and truly suck.

In my defense, however, I was instrumental in getting the American Red Cross call center up and running immediately following Katrina.

I am hoping not to be disowned...

How very odd that people "assume" the same things ...

2007-11-21T05:11:09.075-09:00

How very odd that people "assume" the same things about me simply because of my status as a veteran.

My personal favorite was the one going around about Cindy Sheehan's protesting the Iraq war. It made the "agrument" that because she had not been the custodial parent after she divorced her son's father, then her "grief" at her son's death was "contrived." Clearly any self-respecting mother would never allow their child to live with his father, who was (presumably) good enough at one point to contribute genetically.

I found this one particulary offensive because my own children lived with their dad at one point. Since I was deployed to the middle east, it seemed the sensible decision to make at the time. Obviously that decision means any grief I might feel at their death would be contrived.

Grr. Now my blood pressure's up. Thanks a lot, Jim. Stupid neo-cons.

Well, see they wanted to make sure you knkew exact...

2007-11-20T16:40:06.739-09:00

Well, see they wanted to make sure you knkew exactly which words they were accentuating. Like how I continually get asked to not only bold, italic, underline and make the word larger, but also in red. No, seriously, I was forced to do that for a presentation (even after I explained by makinig it red people wouldn't be able to red it, red being the color of least light energy).

I rarely get those emails anymore. I always replied to all and proceeded to rip their (what they thought were) rhetorical arguments to shreds, including documentation, and then (because most were by Good Christian Fundies) explained that they lied and that this made them accomplices of the Father of Lies (Satan) and so should really see to their souls instead of sending out his emails.

I especially like the ones that use bad logic (See Scalzi's winner in the LOLCreation Contest) or miss glaringly obvious counter arguments or mitigating factors.

This is one of the reasons I like Frank (aka CoolBlue) or at Scalzi's. He has the same argumentative problems, but at least he makes me work for it and they do require research instead of common knowledge.