Comments on: And the axe falls

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 29 Jul 2002 18:47:19 +0000

Dave,
The first two are cliches. I hope the third never becomes one.
I was working in the oilfields of Texas and supporting a wife and three children before you were born. We worked job to job with periods of unemployment. In the working class you hustle to make a living.
Your friends have good educations and they will do fine.
You have good friends but they don't have to defend you from me, I respect you.
I especially enjoyed R and R comments and their tracking me to Houston.
Another Friend,
Joseph

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 29 Jul 2002 14:40:55 +0000

Posts of three sentences or less with inflammatory cliches and no substance = flaimbait. The characteristics of capitalism have little to do with having basic human sensitivity. Sometimes bad things happen to good people. Good people will recover nicely, often with help. See, good people tend to have *friends*.

But I've already wasted too many calories giving attention to someone who's obviously deficient in it.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 29 Jul 2002 12:28:29 +0000

Joseph, don’t kick my friends when they’re down. I don’t know if you’re trying to be funny, or insightful, but frankly you’re neither.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 29 Jul 2002 02:33:56 +0000

[post modified by Raunche and R. Collins Farquhar IV to increase the Flesch-Kincaid readability score above middle school]

Capitalism provides no guarantee.

[Raunche: Indeed. Even the rabble can apparently acquire computers and broadband access.]
[R. Collins Farquhar IV: Yes, unfortunately, capitalism has failed to keep computers and broadband out of the hands of people who might abuse them. I will be working on that, however.]

It's a dog eat dog world.

[Raunche: I feel for you, sir, if dog is the only animal you can find to consume. I hear it reduces mental clarity and makes one act like a twelve-year old.]
[RCIV: That sure would explain a lot about more than one person in present company...]

Remember Jesus never gives you anything you can't handle.

[RCIV: I see why you must love this site so much. David is always alluding to baseball as well, so you have much in common. I find it funny that someone from Houston, Joseph, would allude to a pitcher for the Florida Marlins. But you are right, Jesus Sanchez never delivered anything a batter could not handle, which is why he is no longer in the major leagues.]
[Raunche: Yes, he hangs curveballs all of the time. In summary, sir, R. Collins and I have established abuse rights on David, and your puerile baiting attempts reveal just how hot it is in Houston these days. 'Tis sad when one must use PPPoE for his DSL connection, no? Treat yourself to a static IP and a smile. It'll wash down the taste of dog.]

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 28 Jul 2002 14:43:07 +0000

Dave, is it time to at least consider jumping before you’re pushed? I’ve hung in there myself when bad decisions were being made, and all I’ve got out of it is used, abused, and discarded. There is no better time to look for a job than while you’ve got one – the alternative doesn’t work nearly as well, or allow the luxury of as much choice. There’s also the fact that your writing is worth a lot on a resume, but as major parts of it recede into history they lose their value.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 28 Jul 2002 04:29:09 +0000

Dave, you know I could go on for pages relating my past experiences with management in this industry. I’ll try to be brief and say that far too often, the people who really make a company work often suffer because the people who are the company’s “face” are – well, I won’t mince words – incompetent. They can make ridiculous excuses when they can’t fulfill their unrealistic promises, point fingers at the people who have saved their sorry butts in the past, blame their own shortcomings on customers, the market, and solar flares. But the higher-ups seem to protect them. I used to work for a company with these symptoms. Now it’s a shell of its former self, withering slowly, not facing the real problems us grunts had been screaming up the line. Thank God I’ve found a place that makes *everyone* responsible for his part, and has the team marching in the same direction. There *are* good companies out there, and too many who are lost.

To Dave’s former co-workers (if they’re tuning in): I know right now that it feels like someone has kicked you in the gut. It sucks, but it will go away, and you should try to get past it. Think of this as an opportunity, as liberation from a place that sounds like it’s made a mistake, or rather several. It happened to me, and to many other folks. In retrospect, I’m happier for it. There’s no dishonor in losing an IT job. It’s the nature of the industry, just as is finding a new place to work. So, chin up and onward.