The Happy Moron

By the time you’re rushing to meet a midnight deadline, it’s already too late.

Hilarity ensues.
I said we’d adapt… And I guess we have already
It looks like it’s turning out to be privacy week – tomorrow I’ll finish up with the second half of Playing Hookey.

From the BBC – a woman fired because she was caught facebooking while claiming to be too sick for work.
Playing hookey is not a new thing; it’s just easier to get caught. But there is a new thing at work here, because you just can’t be stupid like you used to.
One simple answer to this [...]

I like to read Bruce Schneier’s stuff; he writes in English. He has a gift for making technical material non-technical.
This little piece gives me hope.
We’re familiar with social audit; we call it “manners”. Break a taboo, and prepare to reap the ensuing outrage. People can do all sorts of things that are gauche and inconsiderate. [...]

We all love to strive for excellence.
But honestly, most of the time… it’s not gonna happen.
Now, often people get angry when I say this.
“Don’t say that,” they chide. “Excellence is achievable… you need to motivate yourself!”
It’s such a shame when people misunderstand me… I fully understand the power of positive thinking and motivation. I do [...]

This is the second piece inspired out of a course on prayer that I’ve been taking. The first is here.
“If nothing changes, things stay the same.”
(I love tautologies; they’re so true. This is my favorite flavour of Einstein’s classic quote, “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”)
What does transformation [...]

Every proverb has a truer, more heavily qualified version.
The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree… assuming no cliff-edge and/or mininal overhang.
A penny saved is a penny earned… neglecting the pennyworth of experience gained in the earning of a penny.
Haste makes waste… in systems (and at a scale) where reliability decreases with production rate.
Hindsight is [...]

George Burley (Scotland) – “I had to set an example”
Fabio Cappello (England) – Hailed by his goaltender
One bans two players from the squad for life, the other forces his squad to stay at the dinner table until everyone has finished. Which of the two do you think is a world-class manager?
If George Burley has [...]

…must be protected. Right?
Extra! Extra! A linguist slams the canonical college compendium of grammar and style advice. Read all about it.
Everyone knows that there are corners of their native language that cannot be explained. (Ok, ok… English speakers know this). We don’t try to make excuses, we simply accept these aberrations for what they are.
“It [...]

Beleaguered, be encouraged! Your testimony shines.
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