Vakkotaur

Satellite Radio Flop

2009-11-18T15:25:02Z

My previous post was about the early pushing of bad Christmas/Winter music. A couple days ago I got in the car and found that XM's "40s on 4" had been replaced by "Holiday Traditions" until after Christmas. The 40s channel was not moved. This is irritating. This is the crap sort of thing that drove people AWAY from broadcast radio in the first place! And it's not as if there aren't other channels that could be used. It's after the baseball season, even I know that. And XM has a scad of baseball (MLB) channels that could have been used.

Right now I'm settling for the 50s channel and occasionally others, but I'm not bothering with 4 for a few weeks. Sure, if it had stayed 40s, I'd have expected some holiday music - but that's it, just some. They DID use dormant channels in previous years. Why did they decide to screw over to 40s this year? Is it that Sirius pulls that crap and this is merger fallout? Is it that this forces an audience for a moment, ala spammers? If I want that sort of abuse, I'll go to a damn mall.

Great going XM/Sirius, you make going to an mp3 player look all that much better: no subscription and no bogus channel-format change crap. Hey, I know it's now considered rather Old School, but I still have a tape deck and I'm not afraid to use it.

I hope XM manages to learn not to do that as they managed to learn a bit with the Radio Classics channel. For a few years they'd have a week (only a week!) of all Christmas themed radio shows. Until last year when they had a week with only some Christmas themed shows, and some regular shows - listeners had had enough.

Christmas/Winter music

2009-11-14T14:37:45Z

Some places are already playing Christmas music and nothing but Christmas music. This is rather early, I think, for that. The inclusion of the occasional winter tune might be acceptable, but full-on Christmas music shouldn't happen until after Thanksgiving if it happens at all. My problem with Christmas music isn't that I don't like it. It's not even necessarily the repetition, though by now there ought to be enough tunes that repeats shouldn't need to happen frequently, and that's counting by title rather than by performance. It's the poor quality of every b-list,c-list, d-list... z-list quasi-celebrity cover of tunes that have been better by better. While White Christmas might not require Bing Crosby and Here Comes Santa Claus might not require Gene Autry, they are destroyed by various wannabes and also-rans put their undesired mark on them. One thing I will agree with the bletcherous Beavis and Butthead on: "Micheal Bolton can make anything suck."

I know there are some radio stations with an all-Christmas format, but the places where one encounters this most are stores that have Muzak or such (no commercials save what the store adds) and those seem to be sanitized of the more interesting Christmas and Winter tunes, such as Christmas At Ground Zero.

Now I'm pondering the interesting not-so-standard Christmas and Winter tunes. I know of a few:

Christmas At Ground Zero - Weird Al Yankovic
Happy Hairy Hippie Santa Claus ("You bet your sweet bippy Santa Claus is a hippie...")
Rusty Chevrolet - Da Yoopers
My Car Won't Go - Da Yoopers
I Yust Go Nuts At Christmas - Yogi Yorgesson
A Christmas Carol - Tom Lehrer
I'm Spending Hanukkah In Santa Monica - Tom Lehrer

Any others that wouldn't be all that likely to played in a store, but might provide some welcome relief if they were?

Rum?

2009-11-13T13:45:40Z

Nobody put in an appearance to decry fruitcake or the committing thereof. There was agreement that real ingredients (butter, eggs, spirits) be used - and that the spirits were essential. Rum seems to be the canonical spirit for this sort of thing. I don't know enough about rum to judge what might be good or bad.

So, what rum would you recommend for soaking a fruitcake? And maybe for other baking. Possibly even drinking, though probably not by itself.

Fruitcake?

2009-11-12T18:44:46Z

A couple days ago I saw a store display of colorful dried or candied fruit that was clearly meant for fruitcake and so I've been thinking about fruitcake. Fruitcake, some say, is a nasty unwanted (and probably dry brick-like) thing. This has become a joke in The Single Fruitcake Theory: "There is only one fruitcake and people keep sending it to each other." Others say that sure, bad fruitcake can be a dry brick that might only be budged by thermonuclear weaponry, but there is good fruitcake if only you can find or make the stuff.

I've not encountered the truly miserable fruitcake, but I suppose I've sampled some so-so stuff due to the effects of commercial mass production. And now I'm pondering making a fruitcake so that I have control the quality - or lack thereof. But I haven't done this before and I have no idea what a good recipe is. There are several variations.

Some recipes soak the thing in rum. Others call for brandy. Others call for whisk(e)y. Some say substitute orange juice for the spirits, while others don't mention any spirits at all. So one question is: spirits or not? If so, which? And if brandy, which flavor? I'm not a huge fan of apricot. I don't really dislike apricot, I'm just not that fond of it.

Another question is, should I do this? I don't mean in the "Aie! A fruitcake! Run!" sense, but I've mainly just been baking cookies (scratch), simple bread (scratch), and the odd cake (mix). Is this a reasonable step or a flying leap?

And of course there is the Big Question even assuming the others are answered and I proceed: Which recipe ought I go with?

Poll: Canada

2009-11-10T12:56:21Z

[LJ]dumbbum_comics: asked for it:

View Poll: Bonjour-Hi. Don't blame Canada. Blame dumbbum_comics instead.

"The End of..." and time marches on.

2009-11-07T09:44:10Z

When the Berlin fell (was torn down!) and the USSR tossed itself onto the ash heap of history, Francis Fukuyama suggested that it might be "the end of history."

After the 2002 elections when the Republicans gained seats in the House and Senate while there are was a Republican President, some suggested that it might be the end of the Democrat Party.

Now, with a Democrat in the White House and Democrats in majority in the House and Senate, some are saying that it's surely the end of the Republican Party.

History is on-going. The Democrats managed not to collapse into nothingness after 2002. Why should 2008 or even 2009 be any different for Republicans or conservatives? It's all rather silly. The form may (and rightly should) change. But "the end" it is not. I'm not about to predict an automatic Republican resurgence in 2010. It's quite possible for them to screw up - just take a look at how well they did with NY-23 where they swerved so far off course that when a third candidate started gaining, the supposed Republican dropped out of the race and endorsed the Democrat. Unless that third party candidate was "caught in bed with a live boy or a dead girl" that is a Career Limiting Move. If they repeat that performance, they will likely get the same result.

It's just that I've been seeing many posts or comments about the end of one party that seem silly to me. I've seen the exact same thing from the other side not that long ago. And I remember. It's not the end. It's just different for a while is all. The population that got tired of Republicans can, and will, eventually get tired of Democrats and almost certainly for about the exact same reasons. The details will change, but the cause-effect relationship will be pretty stable. And time marches on.

Bought the GE

2009-10-30T15:26:28Z

Those that didn't push for a standing mixer suggested going with the GE for the higher power (the same as the highest power standing mixer as it turned out, though I probably would be more impressed with the standing model: KitchenAid, Made in USA) and the somewhat better seal. That's what I did, at least eventually. Evidently I managed to instigate a joke: How many Wal-mart employees does it take to process a check? Evidently at least two, after the first one plays silly games folding things funny as he's convinced that the magnetic ink isn't in the right location.

I made cookies this morning. They were sugar cookies[1] so the dough wasn't terribly stiff, but I did get to experience how the mixer works. There is no true off short of unplugging the thing. Plug it in and the display lights up (the too-cool and annoying blue, but there it is). The 'slow-start' anti-spatter function is nice but the control is backwards: it's always on unless you press the 'slow-start' button to turn it off. There are claims of load-sensing and automatic speed adjustment and they might even be true but I don't think I experienced it.

There are three different beaters. A pair of wire beaters that are supposedly for scrambling eggs or whipping cream, a paid of twisty dough-hook sort of things for stiff dough, and a whisk that the manual claims is for really stiff stuff(?) Uh, I suspect it wouldn't work out very well that way. I used the big dough-hook screws for the cookie dough and was reasonably impressed. They seem like they aren't likely to clog up like standard beaters, and seem less prone to spattering. On the other hand they also seem like it takes long and more manual jockeying to get things completely mixed. Overall it seems a win.

One thing I will have to get used to is that, other than the whisk that can go in either socket, the beaters are not the same and the sockets are labelled as to which beater goes in which socket. I supposed that's a matter of which way things turn and spiral, but it wasn't explained in the manual and since it's something I never had to deal with before I wonder if I'll forget it and mess things up somehow.

[1] Some with orange (well, red and yellow to make orange) coloring added and some with black coloring added. It's a bit weird to have a black sugar cookie: it looks like it ought to be chocolate, but it tastes like a typical Christmas cutout cookie. I suppose I can call that the 'trick' of this treat. These won't be going to trick-or-treaters, of course.

ACME Deliveries at Penguicon 2010

2009-10-29T14:08:11Z

Penguicon may be in months away, but that doesn't mean it can be ignored. Better to be ready early than rush at the last minute. hopefully things will work out well enough that I (and therefore Orvan) will be there again in 2010. I am planning on that. Thus I am again asking for suggestions of vict... recipients and items to be delivered to these folks.

Due to some timing issues, deliveries at opening and closing ceremonies are unlikely to happen in 2010.

I'd like to avoid repeat recipients if possible, so that it isn't "Oh, ACME only delivers to that group." That's at an individual level. It certainly makes sense for the Guests of Honor to get something, but "So & so gets something every year" is what I am concerned about.

Guidelines:

1. Deliveries should be appreciated by or humorous to the recipient. A mild zing is fine, an outright insult is not.

2. Items delivered should be small to ease packaging and transport.

3. Items should be inexpensive, so that all the deliveries combined don't get out of hand.

4. It's best if the delivery is kept a surprise as much as possible. But the delivery ox might need some guidance to the recipient.

5. ACME is not Santa Claus. Please do not suggest items for yourself. It'd spoil the surprise. Exception: you're using the delivery as a gag yourself.

6. If there's something you'd like from ME, go ahead and ask me. Not promising it'w work out, but it won't violate #5.

Numbers 2 and 3 are not an issue if I don't have to purchase and haul the item. I would need to know the size to have packaging ready.

Who can be a recipient? ANYONE who will be there. Jane or Joe Attendee. It doesn't have to be a GoH or a member of con staff. As mentioned above, it would be best to avoid suggesting things for those who had deliveries last year, to spread things out. But if something is just too good not to do, well, they aren't immune either.

On with the poll!

View Poll: ACME Penguicon 2010

NOTE: Friends replies are NOT screened and will be visible.

"It's dead, Jim."

2009-10-29T11:00:45Z

A day or so ago I made 'peanut butter blossom' cookies (the peanut butter cookies with a Hershey's Kiss stuck in the middle while still hot) and bogged the mixer down quite a bit. Last night I made some devil's food cookies with a cake mix and really bogged the mixer down. While the mixer was several years old, I almost certainly was asking too much of (that is, abusing) it. The result was that last night the mixer died. As in "let the smoke out." I've taken the thing apart and I suspect a shorted winding in the motor since that's about all there is to the thing.

Thus I need a replacement. I'd put a handheld mixer ob my Christmas list but I'm not about to wait that long, even if we move at least part of Christmas up to about Thanksgiving.

I went to Wal-mart (the only place that [A] was open by the time I went out and [B] had mixers) and looked at what they had.

What I had, and burned out, was a 200W Black & Decker mixer with the typical beaters and five speeds and a 'burst' for highest speed.

What Wal-mart has is:

1. Rival, 125W, 5-speed, for $6.36.

2. Hamilton Beach, 250W, 6-speed (burst), for $15.88.

3. Black & Decker, 250W, 6-speed, for 19.88.

4. GE, 300W, 6-speed, for $29.00.

1 and 2 looked like they had the usual beaters. 3 had wire beaters of a couple types and a little case for everything, while 4 has wire beaters of a few types, a little case for everything, and in what seems complete overkill, digital display and membrane keys. Actually the membrane keys or buttons make some sense: they keep things sealed and won't let flour/dust/dirt/whatever in that way.

While the Rival is cheap, I suspect that it is just that: cheap rather than merely inexpensive. And considering what I've been asking of my mixer a mere 125W seems inadequate. Both the Hamilton Beach and the Black & Decker should have more oomph than what I had and I'm not sure there's all that much difference between them. The 300W GE is tempting but I don't know if I want or even need that much - or want to spend that much.

The other choice, a standing mixer, is out due to lack of room in the kitchen and funds for something that fancy. No matter how nice such a thing might be, it just isn't going to happen. I don't have to stick to Wal-mart, but really the only other place in town is Shopko. Target or K-Mart would mean a trip to Mankato. There is a Sears in town, but it's a small place that concentrates on larger items - and I'm not exactly thrilled with the idea of dealing with Sears for various reasons.

So I ask the the folks who bake and put some stress on their mixers, any recommendations?

A little time travel.

2009-10-25T16:56:54Z

I went rummaging around the attic yesterday looking for something that as far as I can tell isn't up there. But I did find some other things, including the rabbit ears I was looking for a few months back, not that they'll do me any good anytime soon. I also found a couple old 'personal music players'. One was a cheapie GPX AM/FM radio and the other, to my surprise, was an honest to goodness Sony Walkman (WM-FX301 if model numbers have any meaning for you). It's no mp3 player, but it has AM/FM and the tape player is even auto-reverse. I had forgotten I had such a thing. I'm not even sure how I wound up with such a thing.

As if that wasn't enough, this has to have been sitting for oh, about 8 years I'd guess and the cells were still good. How did I manage to forget this, with a set of lithium cells in it yet? I don't know.

I used it last night while doing a few things about the house. The advantage is that I can listen and not disturb jmaynard. The AM band was full of noise, hardly a surprise in a house (or world) full of computers. FM didn't have as much noise, but aside from some of the programming on Public Radio, FM broadcast is pretty much junk. So I grabbed a tape. One that seems to have stuff on it from about 1984. I hadn't listened to it in some time.

One tune was Mark Russell singing about how "Fritz Can't Win Come Election Day" when it was plain a couple weeks before the election that Walter Mondale wouldn't get far. Another was Garrison Keillor going on about the loss, "We're Never Gonna Run For President Again." I suspect he'd be less than thrilled if Tim Pawlenty ran - and won. Another tune was about alternate energy and was clearly before the Anthropogenic Global Warming Hysteria as it belittled everything but coal - and fusion when it finally is made to work - and there was no concern at all about carbon dioxide. I'm tempted to copy down the lyrics of some of these to see what folks might have to say about them.

The Walkman seems big and clunky now, but it is mechanical and not all that much larger than the tape it plays. I'd still like to have a personal mp3 player, but I have something workable right now.

YAQ: Monster?

2009-10-25T13:43:25Z

Via [LJ]kiwihunter8:

You Are an Alien

You're so strange, people occasionally wonder if you're from another world.

You don't try to be different, but you see most things from a very unique, very offbeat perspective.

Brilliant to the point of genius, you definitely have some advanced intelligence going on.

No matter what circles you travel in, you always feel like a stranger. And it's a feeling you've learned to like.

Your greatest power: Your superhuman brain

Your greatest weakness: Your lack of empathy - you just don't get humans

You play well with: Zombies

What Kind of Monster Are You?

Blogthings: Cheaper Than a Therapist

Stroke that ego, huh? The first part seems to be right, at least. I'm not sure about the power and weakness bits. And I really don't get the whole zombie thing.

Poll: Defenestration

2009-10-19T13:03:30Z

View Poll: 1419, 1618

Illness update

2009-10-19T12:42:32Z

Improving, recovering, but not truly recoverED. I'm able to sleep in longer segments, I think. I'm able to be awake for longer stretches. The sore throat is not outright gone but is receding. There are still nasal and cough issues, being dealt with as best as non-prescription medicine can. And I do feel a bit weak and mildly achy, but at least I have something of an appetite back with a desire for hot food. So things are generally better though it's still a better grade of not-good for now.

Just because it's not H1N1...

2009-10-16T13:56:16Z

...doesn't mean it's not plenty nasty enough.

Last week a fellow I work with missed a couple days due to illness. He was even tested for H1N1 and the test came back negative. Now I seem to have the illness he had.

I've spent most of the last couple days in bed, with a heating pad on and the thermostat maxed out. I think I'm recovering now, but it's slow going. Stuffy nose (and yes, I went and got the 'you gotta show a ID and sign for it' pseudoephedrine for it), sore throat, slight (sinus) headache, and generally achiness and blah.

I had been planning on visiting Sistaur this Sunday and dealing with a birthday anniversary in the family, but that's now out for two reasons. I'm not sure I want to go that far this Sunday even if I am feeling better. And Sistaur's housemate came down with 'influenza like illness' (what healthcare folks say when they are trying hard not to actually say 'H1N1' - which they are assuming but have not tested for). I don't need to get hit by that right after whatever this is. Actually I'd prefer not to get hit by that at all. Maybe there will be a visit next weekend. Maybe.

Poll: How silly is Vakko(taur)?

2009-10-14T17:33:01Z

View Poll: What, me silly?

Poll: The Ten Foot Poll

2009-10-12T15:07:00Z

View Poll: DiPentaPodiatry? PentaDiPodiatry?

...or not. Dangit. And the LEDs again.

2009-10-08T12:52:06Z

The repaired bulb didn't last very long. It's not an outright failure, but looks like a heat issue. After a while the base heats up and seems to go into a protective thermal shutdown. Then it cools down and the light starts up again. It's a slow cycle, but still annoying. I've pulled the bulb again and replaced it with a Sylvania-branded CFL.

Yesterday the warranty replacement LED bulbs arrived. I decided that the office needs more light than they provide. The office is now all-CFL again and looks the better for it.

One LED bulb is in a desk lamp that had been sitting all but unused for some time. That's where the Sylvania CFL came from. I put the lamp in the living room at the end of the couch where it makes a reasonable reading lamp. Since it uses so little power, I won't feel too guilty about not turning it off should I decide to take a nap and not feel like getting up turn off the light.

The other is near the back door and lights up the small area joining the kitchen, downstairs restroom, and laundry area well enough. But it also revealed that I need to change the switch (hopefully just the switch!) for that light: Off isn't really fully off. The bulb still glows, if dimly, when the switch is off.

"No user-serviceable parts inside" Ha!

2009-10-06T13:52:17Z

or: Repair Beats Recycling

There were two "burned out" CFLs on the shelf. I managed to miss the recycling day by exactly a day (I kept asking the folks who who should have know and kept getting 'idunno' replies, yeah government-level competence makes itself felt yet again) and did not feel like having them there another six months waiting the next event, not did I feel driving all over the place to dispose of them.

I had sent the LED bulbs back under warranty (and I have yet to see any results of that), but these were CFLs and had outlasted the warranty. Also, I'm not sure I still had the receipt and such showing the purchase. I plan to be much more paranoid about recordkeeping for light bulbs in the future. So if I don't chase all over the place to find someone to the things, I don't send them anywhere, and I don't leave them on the shelf, then what?

Repair. After all, these are not incandescent bulbs with a broken filament. They're fluorescent and it was pretty obvious that the circuitry in the base was what failed. The base had that peculiar 'something electronic got too hot' smell. I bungled the first bulb in trying to get the thing apart and wound up cracking the glass envelope. Nothing spilled, so everything is now in a zipped plastic bag. I'm not sure what I'll do with that one. I'd like to give it to some of the ignoramuses at the city office - they well and truly deserve it.

I did manage to get the second bulb base apart without breaking the glass envelope. After a while I managed to get fair if not decent access to the circuit board. It wasn't obviously charred and a big capacitor wasn't bulging. One 330k Ohm resistor didn't look right. It was darker than it should have been and had a spot that looked rather... boiled. I replaced it. I did a quick test and the bulb lit up after a moment. After reassembling the base, I put the repaired CFL back into service where one of the LED bulbs had been (and I had left the socket empty) in the office.

Now one bulb is back to being useful and the office is a bit brighter again. And I know how to get CFLs apart and have at least a chance of repairing any further burn-outs.

Poll: A few things about Vakkotaur

2009-10-05T15:24:49Z

View Poll: A centaur's creatively skilled active porosity?

I'm impressed.

2009-10-02T17:01:49Z

It looks like the Obama administration actually managed to save a major US city from disaster.

Poll: Plums

2009-10-02T11:45:34Z

View Poll: Gage (and for once, it's not gauge misspelled)

Poll: ChipUni (LJ)

2009-09-29T17:17:06Z

View Poll: ChipUni

About that last poll (or, since LJ:rillaspins asked...)

2009-09-29T03:25:35Z

So, do we get the answers so we know how wrong we all are? -- LJ:rillaspins

Jay has now answered the poll himself, and he knows himself better than anyone. Therefore...

1. JMaynard has been... in newspapers, on (broadcast) radio., on television, on the web, on Usenet, in court, to testify, uncomfortably close to phosgene gas, right all along. He has not been on the silver screen, on tri-D, on ARPAnet, on BITnet, on top of Old Smoky, or to Utah.

While the Tron Guy bit takes care of radio, TV, and most newspaper, it's not the only thing. He was quoted in the New York Times in the 1990s regarding his interest in Animaniacs. Being involved with the internet he was on Usenet and the web for some time, though his involvement was not so early that it included ARPAnet or BITnet. Despite desires to visit LJ:howardtayler he has not been to Utah. After an incident involving EMS/Paramedic activity he was in court to testify. And in one job there were site visits to a chemical plant where there was a 'water curtain' that was the barrier between the safe(r) area and a process that did use phosgene.

2. JMaynard's hobbies include... ham radio, computery stuff, flying small airplanes, target shooting, and attending renaissance fair(e)s. They do not include horseback riding, flying model airplanes, hanggliding, motorcycling, ice fishing (dry or otherwise), skiing, snowmobiling, building aircraft carriers, or violating the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle.

Why settle for models when you can fly the real thing? Also, there is a significant difference between watching a plane fly and controlling it and being at the controls and feeling their effects directly. As he grew up in Houston, TX, he avoids outdoor cold weather activities. Motorcycling is out due to seeing what can happen to motorcyclists. 'Donorcycle' is a common paramedic name for motorcycles. Horseback riding was never much of an interest nor was there much opportunity for it. It's hardly a necessary skill in Houston. Building aircraft carriers would be a decidedly impractical hobby and violating the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle would be quite a feat.

3. JMaynard is... also known as the Tron Guy, a diabetic, a pilot, a furry, a former EMT/Paramedic, mostly harmless, a friend to those who have no friends, an enemy to those who make him an enemy, just zis guy, you know?, an Animaniacs fan, a Monty Python fan. He is not adiabatic, qualified to dismantle nuclear warheads, a NASCAR fan, an oscillating fan, nor is he trying to take over the world.

He is perhaps known to most as the Tron Guy, though it's curious to see how many of the 'youtube generation' believe that was a youtube thing rather than something that started elsewhere and others migrated to youtube. This is perhaps the first time he has indicated he considers himself a furry, which surprised me some. I was amused by all the positive responses, including his own, to the "a friend to those who have no friends, an enemy to those who make him an enemy" which I swiped from the Boston Blackie radio show. He finds NASCAR to be dull. It's just cars going around and around - or crashing. And he's seen enough crashes or the results thereof from his time as a paramedic. If you can't tell that he's an Animaniacs fan, you really haven't been paying much attention.

4. JMaynard drinks... unsweetened iced tea, Diet Coke with Lime, Negra Modelo, Baltika #6, Port, Bloody Marys, Coffee. He does not drink, or at least avoids as much as possible, sweetened iced tea, Diet Pepsi, Diet Caffeine-Free Mountain Dew, Miller Lite. Starboard is of course a gag to with Port, the blood of his enemies was another gag and the very idea of carrot juice make him gag. Sherry has never really been tried.

His primary drink is Diet Coke with Lime, with coffee being perhaps the next most common. For strong drink, the Bloody Mary seems the most common though its frequency is rather rare. He prefers beers that are not the typical mass-produced American stuff thus will on occasion have a Negra Modelo with a Mexican meal, or an even darker brew such as a stout or porter - like Baltika #6.

5. JMaynard lives in... Minnesota, Texas, a house, reality - which many refuse to acknowledge. He doesn't live in California, Iowa, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Freedonia, Narnia, Middle Earth, all of us, the shadow dimensions, a steam-driven starship, or a yellow submarine. Of those, a move to Californis seems the least likely.

His residence, which is a house, is in Minnesota and he owns some property in Texas. Both of these places are in reality. Well, mostly in reality. Austin, TX and St. Paul, MN seem to have only vague linkage with reality at times.

6. JMaynard drives a(n)... Lexus RX350.

He used to drive a Lexus RX300 and has driven my Corolla at times. He once had the misfortune of owning a Ford Explorer, and has had both a Prius and a Hummer (well, an H3 anyway - a ruined Trailblazer) as rentals. The H3 was not very impressive and the Prius was in need of greater cargo space. He has never driven a team of horses.

7. JMaynard is registered as a(n)... voter.

Minnesota does not require a party affiliation for voter registration.

Poll: jmaynard

2009-09-23T17:21:03Z

View Poll: JMaynard

"The unspoken truth about managing geeks"

2009-09-18T14:16:42Z

Actually, I think that should be the "Unrealized Truth About Managing People." About a week ago an article in ComputerWorld made the rounds, The unspoken truth about managing geeks, and got a lot of positive reaction. While it talks about IT Professionals, it applies to anyone with enough brains to not swallow every bit of nonsense some idiot salesman says. I've extracted a few key bits, but the entire article is worth a read. It should probably be required reading for anyone even contemplating a management job. I doubt that will ever actually happen, after all Dilbert is a documentary disguised as a comic strip.

On perceived ego: "It's not about being right for the sake of being right but being right for the sake of saving a lot of time, effort, money and credibility."

Mentality: "When things don't add up, they are prone to express their opinions on the matter, and the level of response will be proportional to the absurdity of the event. The more things that occur that make no sense, the more cynical [they] become. [...] Presuming this is a trait that must be disciplined out of them is a huge management mistake."

and

"If you are dismissive of complaints, fail to recognize an illogical event or behave in deceptive ways, [they] will likely stop complaining to you. You might mistake this as a behavioral improvement, when it's actually a show of disrespect. It means you are no longer worth talking to..." [Emphasis mine.] This is so very true. It's a off-net version of dealing with damage by routing around it.

Insubordination: "[They] are not anti-bureaucracy, as many observers think. They are anti-stupidity."

"Arbitrary or micro-management, illogical decisions, inconsistent policies, the creation of unnecessary work and exclusionary practices will elicit a quiet, subversive, almost vicious attitude..."

"They may work on big projects or steer the group entirely from the shadows while diverting the attention of supervisors to lesser topics. They believe they are protecting the organization, as well as their own credibility -- and they are often correct." [Emphasis mine.]

Credit whoring: "[They] would prefer to make a good decision than to get credit for it. What will make them seek credit is the danger that a member of the group or management who is dangerous to the process might receive the credit for the work instead. That is insulting. If you've got a lot of credit whores in your group, there are bigger problems causing it." I don't like saying "I did that" just too much when it is or should be a team effort, but if a slacker is getting equal credit because the rest of us are working our asses off to compensate for his lazy butt, well, don't be surprised if you hear a bit more detail than you think you need to hear.

Antisocial behavior: "Like anyone else, [they] tend to socialize with people who respect them. They'll stop going to the company picnic if it becomes an occasion for everyone to list all the [...] problems they never bothered to mention before."

And this really goes everyone, at least everyone with any work ethic at all: "[They] work their butts off for people they respect, so you need to give them every reason to afford you some. Also true is, "Standard managerial processes are nearly useless." Earlier the article mentions that professional courtesy is not the same as respect and while that professional courtesy may be an automatic thing, respect is still an earned commodity. I once told the expediter (dock supervisor) at the Post Office that I stayed later than scheduled because I was helping him and NOT because of the regular supervisor who was a micromanaging buffoon. Had it just been for that fellow, I'd have clocked out exactly as scheduled and not felt the slightest remorse about it.

And this is also true: "...the fight in most [..] groups is in how to get things done, not how to avoid work. [They] will self-organize, disrupt and subvert in the name of accomplishing work. An over-structured, micro-managing, technically deficient runt, no matter how polished, who's thrown into the mix for the sake of management will get a response from the [..] group that's similar to anyone's response to a five-year-old tugging his pants leg." That's not just IT folks, that pretty much describes every place I've ever worked. Things get done in spite of micromanagement, but never because of it. This was (and is) as true at the Post Office as it was (and is) for programming.

In fact, when that micromanager at the Post Office wasn't there, his substitute tended to be rather scarce and barely appeared to do much at all. One of the things he realized was that everybody knew what had to be done and how to do it. So he simply got out of their way and let them do the job. He was only needed when things really didn't go right or something unexpected happened. The result was a much smoother operation and a much happier crew. And this wasn't IT or programming or engineering but was largely grunt-work.

Farker vossiewulf summed it up in three rules:

1. Don't bullshit [them] and keep all marketing weasel speak out of your vocabulary.
2. Don't tell them how to fix a problem, define the desired behavior and let them determine the best solution.
3. Give them the tools they need to get done what you ask of them.

If you don't want to believe that, consider this bit of information from Farker sseye "That was actually a decent article. I've seen a few companies that would still be worth something, or still in business, if their management took that advice."

Marketing weasel words and similar nonsense merely trips very sensitive bullshit detectors - and once those go off, everything is dismissed as the drivel of an idiot and/or liar. The person spouting such garbage gets all the respect of the proverbial shady used car salesman - because that's all he deserves.