Get Your Grump on Thursdays - Was (What's chapping my @ss today?)

[GRAVELBIKE]

"While we would love to be featured on your website, we don't feel like this is the right time for a review. We feel that we cannot properly advertise your review with links to your website and media sites due to previous reviews and your support of similar products."

Huh?

[Christian Fox]

Penguin walk is a slow, aimless shuffle. Jorn didn't mean to attribute that with the nationality of the tourists; just that they're tourists and that's what tourists do.

But you were looking to get offended and you got offended. Well done.

I know Jorn didn't mean to offend, it just came off that way to me. Nothing he has ever written here would indicate he's a jerk. Just the opposite in fact. That was my whole point, that stereotypes can be subtle and benign on the surface, but if they aren't applied to the usuals (black/gay/Jewish/Muslim) they are largely ignored. And, jeez, I wasn't "looking to get offended", I just read something that I found somewhat offensive.

and ebola. I already did pushups and I'm too tired to do more

[taz]

I replied to a political troll post on Facebook. Stupid.. I know better, but I took the bait anyway.
And it was a high school acquaintance with tons of mutual 'friends' so I can't wait for the sh*tstorm to follow and blow up my email for the rest of the day.

- Taz (well known commie, liberal, tree-hugging hippie from way back)

[Tom]

Nobody where I work can write an email, probably because they can't write a coherent English sentence other than "Let's have a meeting to talk about that." So we have meetings instead of exchanging a couple emails that completely deal with whatever issue is at hand. When we have those meetings, we never have an agenda. Its just free form stream of consciousness talk. And my project manager apparently doesn't feel its a project manager's job to maintain the project schedule. They're also terrified of making changes in the MS Project plan they set up because they have so many task dependencies and constraints that it is not only hopelessly convoluted it is pushing MS Project's design limits and the file is fragile. Why does that bother me? I showed the project manager how to set up a very simple and automatic structure I've had work very well in many many implementations and they blew me off. Plus I have to repeat explanations at every status meeting because they don't take notes they understand from one week to the next. And another thing. You can dictate precisely what they are to enter for some item: "We need to ask Joe Smith when he can do that change" and they enter something like "Earl wears blue socks" asking brightly if that looks right.

[72gmc]

Dr. Nancy Snyderman, NBC News. She needs a cranio-rectal-ectomy, stat.

[jitahs]

Give me a break. Sit down for a few minutes with my Chinese business partner and ask him about the stereotyping he's been subjected to since living in this country..."Chinese people waddle around in circles like penguins, ha ha ha!"...yes, it's happened. And, I never said it was a slur...it's a stereotype.

There's a physiological component to the walk as well, but people will seize upon anything to belittle one another.

"What is culture? Knowing what to laugh at."

Sometimes the culture simply sucks.

<new topic>

Snyderman was ok as a local medical talking head back before she lost her mind.

[GRAVELBIKE]

Nobody where I work can write an email, probably because they can't write a coherent English sentence other than "Let's have a meeting to talk about that." So we have meetings instead of exchanging a couple emails that completely deal with whatever issue is at hand. When we have those meetings, we never have an agenda. Its just free form stream of consciousness talk. And my project manager apparently doesn't feel its a project manager's job to maintain the project schedule. They're also terrified of making changes in the MS Project plan they set up because they have so many task dependencies and constraints that it is not only hopelessly convoluted it is pushing MS Project's design limits and the file is fragile. Why does that bother me? I showed the project manager how to set up a very simple and automatic structure I've had work very well in many many implementations and they blew me off. Plus I have to repeat explanations at every status meeting because they don't take notes they understand from one week to the next. And another thing. You can dictate precisely what they are to enter for some item: "We need to ask Joe Smith when he can do that change" and they enter something like "Earl wears blue socks" asking brightly if that looks right.

Was immediately reminded of this:

Business Buzzword Bingo!

[seanile]

it takes me so long to construct a cover letter i believe in. and i tend to overly-tailor them to each company im applying to. so i hate cover letters.


@craven, you're point is well-received.
i spent some time arguing with myself about why the penguin thing should or shouldn't be fine, and is it a stereotype if it's true, etc.. because ive not heard of it used to describe anyone other than those staring at phones (packs of students crossing against lights in Boston come to mind)..but i get now that youre not saying the "penguin-walking" descriptor was the issue (correct me if im wrong), because "a bunch of tourists penguin walking" wouldve been fine, so you're right, the specificity re: it being Chinese tourists wasn't needed. and you're right that if it were a more punished group there may have been people more willing to defend them. and at risk of negating everything i just said, i'm going to say a "but"... but given that "penguin walking" isn't attached to a stereotype of certain people (in my experience), it's difficult to call it an actual stereotype versus a generic insult to a specific pack of 15-20 people that happen to all be asian. but (there it is again), like i said earlier, you're right that the specific ethnicity isn't necessary to deliver the point.

[monadnocky]

Edit for content already posted.

Grump: Failed inspection this morning. Need new tires. Bah.

[lbarber]

My neck. Bloody hell it's killing me this morning.

[bcm119]

The thing that made me grumpy about Jorn's post was the drunk cop on the horse boldly announcing that were it one week later, he would have conducted an illegal search of his phone/gps to gather incriminating evidence. Further, it seems that lacking the required self-incrimination equipment is itself a violation. W. T. F.

Not to mention that instantaneous speed at a given time/location is impossible to determine from strava. what a horse's ass.

[Nierman]

"Can't we all just grump along?"

Fan fried. Radiator busted. Called for a pickup and ditched the car on the side of the interstate so I could get home to watch sports. Priorities!

sweep.jpg

[Nooch]

Back on topic, determining my zipp's are 10-speed only and can't be upgraded, hence keeping them from two local sales, is my grump today.

additionally, trying to sell said wheels to have more cash on hand for a down payment on a house I know deep down inside probably won't pan out, also adding to the grumpiness.

[dogrange]

House-selling and buying shenanigans. Cause of much grumpiness on so many levels.

[davids]

My staff tells me they found a wireless router plugged into our network yesterday. They removed it and found out 30 minutes later it was the property of our auditors, who were used it to tunnel through my network and firewall on their own VPN.

These are the same auditors who, a month ago, were asking me whether I'd had any security breaches over the past year.

I thought my guys had implemented port-level security across the WAN. Yeah, kinda...

And I thought it was ironic that the auditors did an end-run around our internal controls and installed their own equipment on my network without asking their client for permission. Yeah, very...

Hey, at least I had the pleasure of yelling at our auditors.

[Tom]

My staff tells me they found a wireless router plugged into our network yesterday. They removed it and found out 30 minutes later it was the property of our auditors, who were used it to tunnel through my network and firewall on their own VPN.

These are the same auditors who, a month ago, were asking me whether I'd had any security breaches over the past year.

I thought my guys had implemented port-level security across the WAN. Yeah, kinda...

And I thought it was ironic that the auditors did an end-run around our internal controls and installed their own equipment on my network without asking their client for permission. Yeah, very...

Hey, at least I had the pleasure of yelling at our auditors.

Somebody does that where I work we frog march them to the door. That would have been doubly satisfying in this case.

Burpees now.

[maunahaole]

Hurricane or tropical storm headed our way for the weekend. Current projection has it tracking to the side of the big island so we will probably actually get some weather out of this one.

[progetto]

Whinger....... oh sorry. this is the grump thread.

That for the second week in a row the grump thread is becoming a forum for politically charged discussions. This is our safe haven for bitching about work, failed bike parts, and general ailments. Speaking of which...it's been a long time since I haven't felt at odds with my company and dissatisfied with my job. And I can't find the source of a minor click on my Gaulzetti and the wheels I trusted my LBS to build for me (you know, trying to support the local guy) have concerning scratches/marks in the rims and spokes so wound up they're white and ready to pop. They've been ridden for maybe 10 miles right when I first got them and have been in wheel bags for months until I get a chance to drive 2 counties over to talk to the shop about it. And my friggin shoulder still hurts.

[quickag]

port-level security across the WAN

I was in the NOC the day the USAF implemented port security. I still have nightmares...

[davids]

I was in the NOC the day the USAF implemented port security. I still have nightmares...

We implemented it years ago. And then my (ex-)asst director decided it was too much work to keep up with it as he moved/replaced devices. Making it possible for an outside consultant to plug in a wireless router and go to town. Fuck fuck fuckity fuck.