ok last night's entry was definitely the result of sudden respite from a week without alcohol. but tonight continues the abject lack of sobriety.
so noteworthy events of the day. it started with a flurry of indignant messages on my phone. "have you read your email?"; "he thinks we're disgusting"; and so on and so on. what happened is this:
some colleagues and i have hamsters at the office. strange but true. our excuse? stress therapy. but one colleague had the nerve (and i mean this in its neutral sense) to put his annoyance in writing. faced with the prospect of moving to our side of the office, he balked on account of his (1) allergy to animal fur; and (2) abhorrence of our way of life.
judgement of this individual aside, it sparked off a short-lived debate of what should be done. how should he be tortured slowly and painfully? should we be forced to rid the office of our furry companions? the end result was (1) various schemes for retribution; and (2) the decision on a total ban of rodents and similar pets at the office.
the cool factor has thus decreased significantly. and, with regard to other issues of office layout and so on, i was gravely informed by our main man at the office that the final decision on who moves where was not based on rational choice but a tragedy of commons: spreading the misery and dissatisfaction as uniformly as possible.
which brings me to the lesson of the day: as organisations grow, the tendency for bureaucracy accompanies it; and mediocrity rather than individual excellence is the norm.
no wonder governments are generally fucked up
so noteworthy events of the day. it started with a flurry of indignant messages on my phone. "have you read your email?"; "he thinks we're disgusting"; and so on and so on. what happened is this:
some colleagues and i have hamsters at the office. strange but true. our excuse? stress therapy. but one colleague had the nerve (and i mean this in its neutral sense) to put his annoyance in writing. faced with the prospect of moving to our side of the office, he balked on account of his (1) allergy to animal fur; and (2) abhorrence of our way of life.
judgement of this individual aside, it sparked off a short-lived debate of what should be done. how should he be tortured slowly and painfully? should we be forced to rid the office of our furry companions? the end result was (1) various schemes for retribution; and (2) the decision on a total ban of rodents and similar pets at the office.
the cool factor has thus decreased significantly. and, with regard to other issues of office layout and so on, i was gravely informed by our main man at the office that the final decision on who moves where was not based on rational choice but a tragedy of commons: spreading the misery and dissatisfaction as uniformly as possible.
which brings me to the lesson of the day: as organisations grow, the tendency for bureaucracy accompanies it; and mediocrity rather than individual excellence is the norm.
no wonder governments are generally fucked up
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