Comparative Reality

So I'm still waiting for news. Apparently, plans are being discussed, at higher levels than those to which I am privy. Oddly, I have little motivation to start any long-term projects (which, of course, is what I planned to work on for this sprint). Instead, I'm trying to wrap up as many small projects as possible.

If I don't get laid off, then at least these things are done. If I do get laid off, then the other writer won't have a lot of half-done tasks lying around. And if we both get laid off...well, then I guess the features are documented for as long as they last.

A few weeks ago, I realized that I'm finally getting close to breaking my record for length of employment at a single company (3 years, 9 months). I'd match the record by July.

Of course, it's not really fair to say that I was completely optimistic about my chances. Rumblings and rumors have turned into full-blown talk of "restructuring," and our fate might be determined by early next week.

I really don't want to have to fight with my junior writer for a job (I have a lot more experience, but I imagine that an executive would prefer the smaller salary of a junior writer). She's smart, learns quickly, and certainly doesn't deserve to be laid off. Neither do I, for that matter.

Oh, and it's also annual review time. I certainly can't wait to spend a day writing a self-evaluation that might well be dumped in the trash next week. But it's either that, trying to concentrate on a doc reorg I'm working on, or spending the next week tweaking my Linkedin profile and begging friends for contacts.

I don't watch much TV. Not because of any moral standpoint, or anything that ridiculously silly. It really comes down to "can't be bothered."

I tried watching a couple episodes of Battlestar Galactica, but the characters were just sitting around talking, or someone was running around in a ruined city, and I just couldn't be bothered to stick around and find out why. I'll rent the DVDs one day, and try to sit through it from the beginning. I should like it, since it's science fiction and all, but if I wanted to watch a story about xenophobic paranoia, I'd watch The Thing. Which I now want to do, anyway.

Most shows, to me, just aren't worth the time required. By the time someone recommends something, a few seasons have gone by, and my available time isn't enough to encompass the stack of DVDs required to catch up (so...yeah, I might never watch Battlestar).

Sitcoms, by and large...actually, this justifies a generalization: All sitcoms are stupid. Stupid and boring. The Simpsons? That was funny 15 years ago. Now get off my lawn.

That said, I generally trust Tim Goodman (who writes for the SF Chronicle), since he seems pretty honest about calling out crap when he sees it. But he recommended Better Off Ted, comparing it, favorably, to Arrested Development.

And damned if it isn't a good show. If you liked Arrested Development, you'll like Better Off Ted. And if you didn't like Arrested Development, there's something fundamentally wrong with you, and you lack a sense of humor. Plus, you make questionable fashion choices, but that's not really related.

I'm not sure when it's on, or even the channel. At a guess, I'd try ABC, but that's just a 1-in-whatever shot (3, I guess, since I'm sure it's not on Fox). I only set a machine to record it, and that was a few weeks ago, so I just notice that it appears in the Recorded list every so often, and then we get 20-odd minutes of a very clever, very funny show.

My wife is convinced that it will be canceled soon. I have to agree, since, hell, it doesn't even have a laugh track! It relies on satire! Obviously, such a thing is a freakish anomaly for Network TV, and someone's going to notice the error soon.

I think Goodman also compared it to Andy Richter Controls the Universe, which was another show too damned good for TV.

Oracle is like the Roman Empire: If it doesn't expand, and conquer, it dies.

At least, that's how I imagine the leaders of each justify their actions to themselves.

From New York Magazine:

“I’m not giving to charity this year!” one hedge-fund analyst shouts into the phone, when I ask about Obama’s planned tax increases. “When people ask me for money, I tell them, ‘If you want me to give you money, send a letter to my senator asking for my taxes to be lowered.’ I feel so much less generous right now...

Dear Idiot:

You are the charity. Without government intervention, your "let's play with someone else's money" industry would have fallen to pieces, and you'd be standing in line at the homeless shelter. And you're bitching because your taxes are going up, to help pay to keep your company afloat, which is obviously quite the herculean task when it's obviously run and staffed by blithering idiots?

Yeah, I'm suddenly feeling a lot less generous, too. And, honestly, I wasn't feeling all that generous before.