Microserfs

I am reading Microserfs, by Douglas Coupland, and it has occurred to me that there may be absolutely no difference between Microsoft in the '90s and my own Big Tech Company today.

I am not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing, but it does give me a comforting feeling of being part of a tradition. Lately I have been thinking a lot about things lacking in the current version of my life, these being primarily 1) large sweeping vistas of scenery and 2) traditions (at least work- or geography-related traditions).

In a similar vein I had a conversation with my guy a couple of weeks ago in which we learned that a large part of my connection to Monterey relates to my sense of its history, and that that simply isn't something which he shares. Instead, he is aware of various aspects of Carmel which I had never even realized might exist.

Somewhat ironically, I think a large part of my sense of Monterey's history derives from my time doing community theater in its old buildings. I acted Shakespeare's Plantagenets cycle of history plays in the Memory Garden near the Custom House, and somehow wound up very aware of Monterey's several-hundred-years-after-Shakespeare Mexican and whaling traditions. This is where they stabled the horses, I thought, and here are the bread ovens, while I bashed enthusiastically away at various other community theater enthusiasts with a fake, badly-centered broadsword. It made sense at the time.

Work = kindergarten?

This afternoon, I left work and went to the toy store. I bought 4 Transformers die-cast action figures (two of Optimus Prime, in order to reduce the likelihood of arguments).

Later today, I will hand out said action figures as prizes (along with cash, admittedly) to team members who have successfully launched certain types of projects. There's some chance that in future I will also hand out stickers. And perhaps one of those blow-up punching bags, again Transformer-themed. I have checked this plan with several people whose opinion I respect, and they all agree it's a great idea.

I work with grown-ups, really I do! Really. Um ... yeah. I do. I think.

Then again, I always say I'm not the person to do the warm fuzzy stuff. You want to know what metrics we should reward? I'm your gal. You want to know what the actual reward should look like, what it is that will make people feel good? Nope, not my area. So wish me luck - I'm either about to crash & burn, or launch something successful, or maybe just feel mildly silly.

Value = money

[Warning: rant ahead]

I just ran across this article on the BBC News: Army chief warns of social 'gulf'. Key quote:

Gen Dannatt also called for a radical rethink on the equipment used in the British Army.... But the most important thing was to acknowledge the value of the armed forces, he added.

This sounds pretty fuzzy for a military guy: can't you just imagine a bunch of British folks in a pub, "acknowledging the value" of the military? What would that even look like?

I can only imagine what I'd think of this if I were a soldier, but I already know what I think of it as an employee. Right now I figure that my value is "acknowledged" when my company doesn't second-guess my work, buys stuff that makes my job easier, and/or pays me more. That's it. I don't want a hug, I don't want an award, I don't want somebody senior to say, "gosh, good job!". I want management to get out of my way, let me do my job, and then fork over the bonus.

Somehow I bet the people fighting in Iraq want more or less the same thing: unlimited budget for the tools they need, the ability to make decisions to get things done, and a fat wallet when they come home. Respect? Acknowledgment? That tends to come as a nice side-effect of the pride most people feel when they get to make their own smart choices & then those choices pay off in results plus money.

And yes, I know that doesn't obviously match up with military command frameworks - but if you think of it small-scale, it could. I keep seeing news stories re: soldiers are short of armor. What if every soldier had access to simply go pick up a new set as-needed? In my job, I can do that with computer equipment. It works well. I am, after all, the best person to know when my keyboard hurts my wrists & I need a new setup. Isn't a soldier the best person to know when their gear is no longer working?

If the government really wants the military to be effective, it should support the theory with the cash. Half-assed solutions rarely get anywhere at all.

Quote of the day

Courtesy of the prof from my Economics of Decision Making class:

"If Alice can buy Bob's package, will she?"
--> "If she does, she's leaving with a smile!"

I'm pretty sure I would have found this at least as funny in high school as I do now, if not more so. Whether or not you think it's funny, o my three loyal readers, I suspect depends on how dirty-minded your high school classmates were.

Of course, it's all about the context ... almost anything becomes funny over the course of the third midterm-exam-related 8 a.m. breakfast meeting. It has to.

Non-Work Haiku

Chaos in focus.
Days and evenings both filled up:
nostalgia, content.

Tomatoes are ripe
Cheese & bread become dinner
No cooking needed.

Cats live down the street
Dark graceful forms yowl at night
All else is silent.

Fans blowing all night
Record highs through next Sunday
Heat wave here at last!

Work Haiku

My Calendar's full
Progress update requested:
All meetings, no work!

Best case? Four hours,
empty room, no distractions.
Unlikely daydream.

Design doc delayed
Engineers not committed
Tonight I stay late.

Odd

It's Sunday afternoon, and up till writing this post I have spent the entire day in the backyard. I have eaten breakfast, read a book, and written a letter to my Great Aunt Lee.

In the apartment building next door, there is a baby who amuses itself by crying in an "I want to talk but I can't yet and this is the next best thing so here I go WWAAAAAHHHA WWAAAHHHH!!!" kind of way. And this afternoon I noticed: on a sunny day and at a distance, a baby crying is a strangely peaceful, happy sound. It's right up there with the buzz of a fat tumbling bumblebee and the helicopter beat of a hummingbird's wings. Odd, isn't it: a sound I normally associate with distress (or at least angst) can add to a day's contentment.