journal entry from beyond the grave
[ About a year ago, I wrote this to put “in escrow” until some future time. I meant to post it pretty soon after writing it, but I lost track of it. I stumbled across it recently while restoring some files from a backup. ]
written: 2004-07-06 18:08 title: posterior spinal blade insertion
In the UK, layoffs take longer than they do here. You can’t just walk into someone’s office and fire him. Our UK office is going through the process of downsizing, right now, and one of my co-workers volunteered to leave of his own accord. On his way out the door, he sent an email to a number of execs.
It said, basically, “So long and thanks for all the fish,” and included a slide show. The title of the slide show was “Why [rjbs’s project] Means Failure.” It didn’t get any better from there.
I’m not angry, but I /am/ really upset. I never heard any feedback, despite numerous requests for it. I was never, as far as I know, anything but solicitous toward suggestions or discussion. I thought this guy was my friend, but rather than talk to me while he was here, he decided to talk about me just before taking his leave.
This morning, when I learned he was gone, I tried to secure some contact information so I could keep in touch, because I liked the guy. I feel like a total sap.
At least I’m not concerned about the content. He doesn’t make any arguments, just unsupported statements, including the bizarre claim that Perl isn’t good for most tasks, and is really just a language for tinkerers. (It seems to be trying to use “open-source” as a perjorative, too.)