The Off Topic Topic

[Josquius]

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers just notified me that I qualify for a free e-book for renewing early.  The choices:

Engineering the Art of Negotiation Part 2: How to Handle Your Colleagues
Survivor Planning: What Every Spouse Should Know
Communicating with Congress: How to Build A Relationship with Your Elected Officials

What fun, it almost makes me want to run out and pick up a Kindle just so I can read one of these fine works.  I think I'll go with number 3, maybe Congressmen Levin will invite me over for Kosher wine and cheese. 

Kindles and other readers do look nice but...I just can't qualify it to myself. So much money for a single use computer. The equivalent of 10 books or something.

[Ed Anger]

Survivor Planning: What Every Spouse Should Know

Mourn 6 months
Get laid

There, that book is done.

[Eddie Teach]

Of course, it's by the guild. Their entire sitcom is dedicated to WoW.

I dunno, as obsessive as those guys are, they'd probably be in a guild capable of doing endgame raids.

[jimmy olsen]

Got this really strange Christmas card at work. It's Russian and has a graveyard on the front.


On the back it says:

"Between 1917 and 1991, 20 million men, women and children were murdered by the Soviet secret police known variously as Cheka, NKVD, SMERSH and KGB. Some perpertrators and enablers of Communist war crimes and crimes against humanity are in Canada.

They shouldn't be.

Merry Christmas and Peace to Men of Goodwill. (veterans of the Communist Secret Police not include)"

Lovely.

If it's true that former secret police are in the country, I agree, though it's not really an appropriate message for Christmas card.

[Eddie Teach]

I bet there's former CIA there as well. And current ones.

[jimmy olsen]

Highest decorated living American soldier just passed away. 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/34579550#34579550

[Monoriu]

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers just notified me that I qualify for a free e-book for renewing early.  The choices:

Engineering the Art of Negotiation Part 2: How to Handle Your Colleagues
Survivor Planning: What Every Spouse Should Know
Communicating with Congress: How to Build A Relationship with Your Elected Officials

What fun, it almost makes me want to run out and pick up a Kindle just so I can read one of these fine works.  I think I'll go with number 3, maybe Congressmen Levin will invite me over for Kosher wine and cheese.

I am surprised why anyone would want to build a relationship with elected officials.

[Syt]

If it's true that former secret police are in the country, I agree, though it's not really an appropriate message for Christmas card.

Pff, we have former KGB colonels in management positions in Russia and the Ukraine. Fun guys to drink with, but I wouldn't eat sushi with them.

[jimmy olsen]

I totally bit the dirt on the way home from the market today.  

[Jaron]

I totally bit the dirt on the way home from the market today.  

Is that a north korean recipe?

[jimmy olsen]

My shoelace got caught and I fell.

[syk]

What's red and bad for the teeth?



A brick.

[Syt]

[Neil]

Got this really strange Christmas card at work. It's Russian and has a graveyard on the front.
On the back it says:

"Between 1917 and 1991, 20 million men, women and children were murdered by the Soviet secret police known variously as Cheka, NKVD, SMERSH and KGB. Some perpertrators and enablers of Communist war crimes and crimes against humanity are in Canada.

They shouldn't be.

Merry Christmas and Peace to Men of Goodwill. (veterans of the Communist Secret Police not include)"

Lovely.

Well, that has been in the news lately.

[Savonarola]

I am surprised why anyone would want to build a relationship with elected officials.

In Detroit it's helpful to know the people you're sending bribes to.   

Seriously, various disciplines of engineering require that you work with government on some level.  In the cellular industry we have to work with city officials in order to zone and build towers, state and federal officials in order to insure our towers aren't placed in flight paths, and federal officials to make sure our broadcast frequency is within safety standards and doesn't interfere with other carriers.  With the exception of local zoning officials we deal with the unelected bureaucrats; but it never hurts to know and contribute to the campaigns of the people who write the laws that we and the bureacurats must follow.