@sleepyfox And a mixed metaphor is like a cold day in hell without sunshine.

@Tallish_Tom @GeePawHill you whippersnapper.

@GeePawHill i used to think about having a joke account where I could say things that people should not say under their own name -- humorous things only, and sometimes from frustration -- but I decided that the danger isn't the fear of being discovered, but from indulging that dark side and growing it.

So maybe instead a "PlayfulOtter@mastodon.social" where I can share only happy joyful thoughts to grow that side of my personality?

@Tallish_Tom @GeePawHill BTW: I was in that crowd before my cork-sniffing phase.

@Tallish_Tom @GeePawHill I tend to group that with the "delivery mechanism" crowd.

Do you see it as something different?

@Tallish_Tom @GeePawHill I tend to group that with the "delivery mechanism" crowd.

Do you see it as something different?

@GeePawHill Jeez… rototoms, djembe I think, congas, possibly bongos, the string attack on the guitars, … maybe wood blocks sometimes? That’s complex sounding!

@GeePawHill “it’s okay when we do it to them, because we are the good guys and they are the bad guys” is a painful self-deceit.

And, of course, “well, they were targeting US but this time we are safe.”

@GeePawHill There are two kinds: people who like a delivery mechanism for caffeine are the ones you could probably understand the most easily. They tend to get multi-shot milk and sugar drinks so that they can get jittery. They get the same brand for years, and make it the same way, and drink a lot of it.

Then there are the cork-sniffing kind (including me) who are like the cheese, wine, olive, or single malt fans who barely imbibe but do so for the complex experience and variety of flavors not only among beans and roasts but during each sip. They spend a lot of time making and then slow-sipping a single cup per day.

The value of a metaphor or analogy is that it invites people into a new way of thinking, entering by the gate of something more famliiar.

The metaphor is not the thing, but an invitation.

One through that gate, we need to get down to cases or we fail to welcome the visitor.

I've been guilty of leaving people at the gate. I'm trying to be better.

"The way we are doing this isn't working for us. We must do it harder.

The way we work is not working for us. The people must be inferior. Replace them.

The way we work still doesn't work. We need more management.

It still doesn't work; do more of it!"

-- Status Quo anthem

@GeePawHill The king

@sleepyfox @samir which will not help if all the stories are partial subtasks passed out to different people to do at different times and someday after all have finished, be integrated and tested until all the defects are found and fixed ….

I asked ChatGPT about grilling hamburgers.
It told me also how to prepare the hot dogs.
There were no hot dogs in the question or the session, nor the refrigerator.

"... but we're all busy all the time so it must be okay."

Interesting leadership angle (after paying for people to come help make it happen): "We won't support you at this time. If you manage to succeed wildly without our support in the given timebox, then we'll consider supporting you."

@sleepyfox you can reduce so much of the variability that it isn’t the most important thing.

"it's hard to get good estimates."

"Yes, and rightfully so! You have a very chaotic way of working with many delays, waits, and unpredictable 'bounces' between departments. Let's change the system to make better estimates possible."

"No. We want you to guess better."

@wj "With this paint sprayer I did a room in less than an hour."
"Well, I painted a room without a paint sprayer, so you're a liar and a shill."

@wj "By the time I drove to the hardware store, bought an electric screwdriver, charged it up, and put the bit in I could have put in a hundred screws the hard way.

Therefore power tools are a total scam."