"There are countless horrible things happening all over the world and horrible people prospering, but we must never allow them to disturb our equanimity or deflect us from our sacred duty to sabotage and annoy them whenever possible." -Auberon Waugh
Friday, May 30, 2008
Friday Happy Feet
At last! The end of a long week, which means - for me - a brief respite from slogging through the bureaucratic trenches. Time to celebrate with a little tune from the Andrews sisters.
"...a brief respite from slogging through the bureaucratic trenches."
Amen. And I needed that pick-me-up!
Sometime, if I ever travel to Occupied Northern Virginia, you and I need to swap bureaucratic horror stories while consuming huge quantities of unhealthy deep fried foods and beer. Mrs. Paco can dine nearby (at a safe distance) on suitable delicacies while watching the spectacle of two grown men vent.
I recommend 'Sno-Seal', on the boots; the Vasolene didn't really work. But it does make an adequate substitute for blubber in an authentic copy of an Eskimo lamp.
Carpefraise: Here's a quick one. Our agency was supporting the sale of some equipment to a foreign country's nuclear power facility. The then- Chairman of our agency - a political appointee, as is the case with all our directors - called up the head of the project finance department to ask how many "megatons" the nuclear power facility generated (RJ ought to get a kick out of that one, too).
The recently-elected head of our department didn't like the "look and feel" of our groupware - email, calendar, etc, etc - so he wanted us to change to a completely different, incompatible system that he was used to.
Estimated cost: 3 mil+ and about 300 person-years. 2-year time frame.
Undeterred by this, El Honcho orders a full work-up on his brain-storm, with RFP's, scheduling and personnel requirements.
My boss got scared-looking when I offered to "go up there and explain it to him in words of one syllable."
"...a brief respite from slogging through the bureaucratic trenches."
ReplyDeleteAmen. And I needed that pick-me-up!
Sometime, if I ever travel to Occupied Northern Virginia, you and I need to swap bureaucratic horror stories while consuming huge quantities of unhealthy deep fried foods and beer. Mrs. Paco can dine nearby (at a safe distance) on suitable delicacies while watching the spectacle of two grown men vent.
On me, of course.
The pleasure would be all mine, RJ (the best fries in D.C. and northern Virginia are at Five Guys Burgers and Fries; the best burgers, too).
ReplyDeleteOoh, Andrews Sisters...
ReplyDeleteAs for trenches - I recommend two pairs of socks, with Vasoline in the inside pair.
Trench foot, y'know. Bad stuff.
;)
Mojo: I think we're out of Vaseline. will vegemite do?
ReplyDeletemojo, are you a fan of Robert Heinlein?
ReplyDeletepaco, I've studiously avoided traveling to Inside The Beltway for many years, but I'll see what I can arrange!
:-D
I recommend 'Sno-Seal', on the boots; the Vasolene didn't really work. But it does make an adequate substitute for blubber in an authentic copy of an Eskimo lamp.
ReplyDeleteCheers
JMH
Paco, we all have stories of bureaucracy horror and so could probably appreciate this sub-genre of narrative.
ReplyDeletePerhaps you'd care to note some experiences in an Office Diary?
Has detective Paco had to fight his way thru mountains of red tape and squinty-eyed gatekeepers to solve a case? Would love to know.
Carpefraise: Here's a quick one. Our agency was supporting the sale of some equipment to a foreign country's nuclear power facility. The then- Chairman of our agency - a political appointee, as is the case with all our directors - called up the head of the project finance department to ask how many "megatons" the nuclear power facility generated (RJ ought to get a kick out of that one, too).
ReplyDelete"...called up the head of the project finance department to ask how many "megatons" the nuclear power facility generated..."
ReplyDeleteBUAWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
He was referring to megatons of carbon, n'est-ce pas?
ReplyDeleteCheers
JMH
The recently-elected head of our department didn't like the "look and feel" of our groupware - email, calendar, etc, etc - so he wanted us to change to a completely different, incompatible system that he was used to.
ReplyDeleteEstimated cost: 3 mil+ and about 300 person-years. 2-year time frame.
Undeterred by this, El Honcho orders a full work-up on his brain-storm, with RFP's, scheduling and personnel requirements.
My boss got scared-looking when I offered to "go up there and explain it to him in words of one syllable."