[TheForge] Geeks with anvils

[Phlip]

Ene bichizh ogsen baina shuu...

> For all the blacksmith geeks out there, you might take a look at this one:
> http://www.rinkworks.com/stupid/
>
> I'm a support tech for the Florida Department of Ag, and I've lived
through
> quite a few of these.
>
> Murf

I read quite a few, and was amused, but I can also see things from the other
end. Several years ago, when I went in to get my first "new" computer (I'd
had a TRS 80, and got away from computing when my partner in computing
died), and was wanting to look at whatever was state of the art at the
moment- as it happens, this was when the 486s had just come out.

Went into the computer store- Radio Shack, as it happens- with every
intention of looking over the computers, figuring out the cost, and walking
over to the bank to get the money out to buy one.

This young guy came over to "help" me, and I couldn't get a word of plain
English out of his mouth. He proceeded to go into rhapsodies about this
feature, that feature, and the other feature, without bothering to explain
anything- mumblety mumblety 486 mumblety with mumblety mumblety 300 mumblety
etc. I tried, several times to slow him down, in order to figure out what he
was talking about- after 5 or 6 tries, I walked out, no wiser than before,
and called a friend of mine, told him what I wanted (whatever's top of the
line- I could see that they were changing fast) and, once I convinced him
that yes, if a 486 was better than a 386, I wanted it, whether or not he
thought I would ever use its capacity, got out the money, and bought one.

And my ex, bless his ignorant heart, did the very best he could to convince
me to get a b&w monitor because it was cheaper... all he ever did on my
computer was play Solitaire.

But guys, it does take a while to catch on- and arrogant geeks don't help a
bit.

Saint Phlip,
CoD

"When in doubt, heat it up and hit it with a hammer."
 Blacksmith's credo.

 If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it is probably not a
cat.

Never a horse that cain't be rode,
And never a rider who cain't be throwed....