Sorry for delayed postings but have been travelling. Have interesting posts coming that include Richard Gere , John McCain and Salman Rushdie shortly.
On a plane to Vegas a week or so ago, I sat next to an official Parliamentarian. Not someone who causes a ruckus in English politics (which makes much better television than the U.S. bore fest, I might add), but an American. It seems there is an association of Parliamentarians and what they do is get paid to teach and monitor events that have bylaws and procedures – such as annual meetings or non-profit events, for proper protocol. He sits next the chairman of said institution and whispers things like "you have to recognize the originator of the line of questioning prior to answering the current question in order to comply with bylaw 1104.b…." kind of stuff. What a job. Being a stickler for asinine protocol and formality as I am, I'm glad there is a society out there to keep such stupidity alive and well. On a positive note, he told me that most major non-profit organizations screw stuff like this up so badly that without folks like him they would spend all their time in court. Plus, he literally has that as his title on his card, "Parliamentarian". How cool.
You also don't want to be Janet Jackson's body guard, or posse member. I was patiently waiting for my elevator at "The Hotel", which is part of the Mandalay Bay, only not the same (and yes, I did check in half crocked at the MB only to hear the nice Cuban girl at the desk tell me "choo are in the hotel", to which I responded, "great, I didn't want to be in the parking lot", to which she stared at me blankly. "It's only a three minute walk" – which in Vegas terms means roughly 11 miles). I waited for the one elevator that goes to floor 11,234 for what seemed like forever, and when it finally appeared, it was as if Cirque de Soleil emptied out of it – only with big people. There were about 58 people getting out of the elevator passing by me, standing semi-loaded 14 inches from the doors with my backpack and carry on, when I happened to look down at the top of someone's head. "That's Janet Jackson" the guy next to me said. Why would Janet Jackson need 58 posse/body guards? It must be expensive, and really, does Janet Jackson have to really worry about getting the bum rush from anyone? I find that once the boob is out, the career is over personally. That must be the junior varsity of posse/body guards.
My new neighbor Jim Griffin and his lovely wife are professional chefs. That has worked out really well for me. They are in that famous chef club circle so they know all the other famous chefs that I don't, but my wife and her mother go gaga over. I just like food. Anyway, turns out Jim is not only famous chef type guy and mucky muck at chef school Johnson and Wales in the great state of Rhode Island, but is also one of 8 or so globally recognized "Garde Manger's". There is some fancy French cooking organization that bestows these titles, and I don't think it's by filling out an internet form. Anyhow, I don't remember what that means (Jim is also a wine guy….) exactly, but do remember that makes him master of fancy ice sculpting. He has already offered to create obscene works of ice for our annual New Year's Eve bash. Garde Manger is another good title to have on your card.
There were a lot of Wall St. storage types at Storage Decisions this week with their resume's ready to go. It's ugly down there. The good news is that there are a lot of talented storage folks on Wall St. and lord knows that is one area of IT we haven't figured out yet, so I suspect that as long as they are willing to forgo the "big bank" allure of ancient history, they will do just fine plying their trade in other industries. One job title you don't really want right now is "Anything IT, Wall St. Bank".
As bad as things are my friends take heart. They will get worse well before they get better, but it seems that after all these years of not creating simple methods of demystifying storage nor creating standards to make life easier – it's going to work in your favor. Since the world still has no idea how to keep the IT lights on without a platoon of people, and storage is still the crown jewel of complexity and chaos, you will find employment. Now, however, I hope we can use this life lesson and realize that we best be sharpening our skills to more strategic endeavors and thus giving ourselves more security.
You think IT conferences are bad? It could be much worse. All this month there is a free lecture series sponsored by the Metrowest Medical Center in MA., that includes such spectacular topics as, "Colon Cancer and Colon Polyps", by Greta Taitelbaum, M.D., and one of my favorites, "Problems of the Gallbladder, Bile Ducts and Pancreas", by George Dickstein, M.D. Don't even get me started on Inflammatory Bowel Disease…….
Steve,
I swear the Venetian is actually the result of mapping a 4-dimensional space into 3 dimensions. It's the only explanation I can think for the apparent ability of rooms to move and corridors to change so that a trip from point-a to point-b is never the same twice ;-)
On the subject elevators, at least you were spared the Venetian where the ersatz-music played again (and again and again) consisted of selections from a Franki Valli musical and Phantom of the Opera. Literally the elevator from hell!
Posted by: Nik Simpson | September 30, 2008 at 09:15 AM