Wednesday, July 24, 2002

How do people become cynical?  Is it purely created by external forces?  I never used to think I was a cynical person.  Being cynical was something I thought was counter-productive to just about everything.  However, lately I have come to realize that I am a cynic about a lot of things.  I haven't lost all hope in humankind or anything, nor have I taken a sudden liking to Dilbert cartoons.  But I assure you when oxymorons like corporate culture, military intelligence, president Bush and the like come up, I'm as cynical as the next guy.  How can you not be?  We have a non-elected chimp running the United States and I'm supposed to just hope for the best? naive <--?--> cynical   get on the horn! [] 4:01:27 PM     Hey, have you been watching the new Donahue show?  I think it's a great show-- it's refreshing to see a liberal talk show host for a change.  Last week he had the evil-incarnate Ann Coulter on the show, and I seriously thought Phil and Ann were going to meet halfway across the table in mutual chokeholds.  Ann was all bent out of shape because Phil wouldn't plug her new book, and Phil just kept berating her about what she did to the Clintons.  It was a joy to watch. Tonight he tackles corporate greed (with guest troublemaker Nader).  I don't know if I'll tire of Donahue's tirades, after all he does regularly go over the top.  But it's a style that has suited his right-wing competitors in the talk show arena well.  Maybe it's just that seeing a left/liberal get all sensational about topics is a little unnerving to me. get on the horn! [] 11:52:21 AM     Just have to issue a plug for a great t-shirt/mug/bumper company: Two Unemployed Democrats.  I have the "If you aren't completely appalled, then you haven't been paying attention" and "Like father like son, one term only" t-shirts, and the "I don't have to like Bush to love my country" bumper.  I plan to wear the "appalled" t-shirt for the last day in our downtown office before we're shipped off  to timbuktu.  Hehehe.... get on the horn! [] 10:57:15 AM     I guess I've been somewhat lucky.  Roughly 12 years out of college, and I'm only at my second job.  Neither one did I have to commute more than about 20 minutes, and most of the time at work I could wear t-shirts and shorts.  However, it's looking more and more like I'm going to have to move along to a new job. Let me tell you a little story.  Once there was a bear cub living in Minnesota.  He was working as a software consultant for IBM, and doing fairly well except for one thing.  He was still living in his home town.  Before too long he determined that if he stayed one more year he would become insane.  So, he struck out to find a new cave of his own, and this search landed him in Denver.  Now, this was in '91, so finding a tech job in Denver was a piece of cake.  After a few abortive interview processes, he ended up working for a new software company in the oil & gas business.  In fact, he worked on one of the first MS windows applications, developed in MS Access.  The company was quite progressive, offering flex-time, the option to work at home, and beer every afternoon in the fridge if you wanted it (truth be told, that was the real kicker for the cub accepting the job). Soon this company grew enough so that it became prey for the greedy megacorporations.  It was purchased by one company, then eventually that company was purchased by Halliburton.  The cub could see where this road would lead (he did work at IBM, after all).  So begins the eventual spiral of decay and hopeless assimilation into suitland.  Miraculously enough, he could still have beer on Friday afternoons (I think that's an oil&gas thing).  The suits decided that we needed to consolidate offices.  They gave the employees some choices and then picked a location way out in the suburbs that wasn't even on our voting list.  They stopped reimbursing mass transit costs, even though the move increases the cub's commute by about 250%. Sigh.  That's a depressing story.  I'm not sure how it ends, but I'm pretty sure that the cub works at the company for a while longer, until he realizes how much of his life is wasted just commuting.  At least I can still wear casual clothes at work.  For now. get on the horn! [] 10:32:08 AM     Well alright then.  The first page of my blog at Salon.  This blog belongs to a software developer in Denver, CO. get on the horn! [] 9:56:02 AM

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