Alarming News: I like Morgan Freeberg. A lot.
American Digest: And I like this from "The Blog That Nobody Reads", because it is -- mostly -- about me. What can I say? I'm on an ego trip today. It won't last.
Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler: We were following a trackback and thinking "hmmm... this is a bloody excellent post!", and then we realized that it was just part III of, well, three...Damn. I wish I'd written those.
Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler: ...I just remembered that I found a new blog a short while ago, House of Eratosthenes, that I really like. I like his common sense approach and his curiosity when it comes to why people believe what they believe rather than just what they believe.
Brutally Honest: Morgan Freeberg is brilliant.
Dr. Melissa Clouthier: Morgan Freeberg at House of Eratosthenes (pftthats a mouthful) honors big boned women in skimpy clothing. The picture there is priceless--keep scrolling down.
Exile in Portales: Via Gerard: Morgan Freeberg, a guy with a lot to say. And he speaks The Truth...and it's fascinating stuff. Worth a read, or three. Or six.
Just Muttering: Two nice pieces at House of Eratosthenes, one about a perhaps unintended effect of the Enron mess, and one on the Gore-y environ-movie.
Mein Blogovault: Make "the Blog that No One Reads" one of your daily reads.
The Virginian: I know this post will offend some people, but the author makes some good points.
Poetic Justice: Cletus! Ah gots a laiv one fer yew...
And he shall have it, because this is pretty damn good. The subject: Why are the people who know about computers, much more reluctant to help a buddy out with his busted computer, than the people who know about cars who help their buddies out with their broken cars?
And the short answer is: Because people don’t look at cars and computers the same way. Therefore, they don’t treat the people the same way who fix their computers, as the people who fix their cars.
But, see, Darlene, you’re VASTLY the exception here. When was the last time your friend dropped by and asked you to build them a car in your spare time, supply all of the parts yourself, and teach them how to drive it? That’s what it is every time someone says, “Hey, man, can you help build a website/database/program for me?”
Whenever you *DO* help someone, after that, IMMEDIATELY and FOREVER, anything that goes wrong with that machine until the end of time is your fault. The refrain is, “it worked before you did whatever you did.” The analogy here is you replace your friend’s alternator, and then, while they’re driving back, they pop a tire, and expect you to buy them a new tire and put it on because, hey, before you touched their alternator, the tire was fine. No amount of explaining how they are unrelated systems will get their attention, either.
When you have a mechanic’s shop, you have hours posted on your door. When you’re “good with computers”, people have NO qualms about calling you at 3am to ask you to get rid of this virus they picked up while surfing porn. (Oh, and, by the way – if they *DO* have a virus, and you’re dumb enough to volunteer to fix it, you’re looking at a MINIMUM of 50 hours of your time fixing it – NOT counting the “it worked until you looked at it funny” comments that go on until you just BUY them a new machine to get them to shut the fuck up – and THEN they want you to transfer all of their data for them.)
Explaining that the problem they’re having isn’t something you do doesn’t work either. I’m a network security guy. I deal with routers, switches, firewalls, and intrusion detection. I’m called upon for shopping advice for Macbooks, laptop repair, Windows consultations, virus infections, which store to go to if one wants to buy a wireless router, helping to build websites, and a host of other bullshit that I neither want nor care to know. When I say things like, “That’s not my specialty”, the response is *ALWAYS*, “Oh, all that computer stuff is the same.” Well, no, fucker, it’s not. You don’t go to your podiatrist and say, “Hey, man, can you pull out this brain tumor? That medical shit’s all the same.” I spent a shitload of time, money, and energy getting a master’s degree in Information Security, and, at last count, 14 different security-related certifications, and not a single fucking one of those had shit to do with fixing a browser because some dumb fuck decided to install every single toolbar that offered itself up to them.
But, using your analogy – do your friends INTENTIONALLY wreck their cars on a weekly basis and then bring ’em to your house to have you fix them at your own expense? How long would you keep that friend if they did?
Now those of you with a Hello Kitty of Blogging account can see Darlene Kozak has a rejoinder to this. She’s a FB friend with sensible opinions and I have high regard for her, but the response of “guess you’re not as close to your friends as I am to mine” is exceptionally sad because she isn’t alone here. She represents many who just can’t quite get clued in to what Mike’s trying to say.
People don’t realize it, but they’re making a demand for commitment and obligation that goes so far beyond reasonable, and once they go that far, the situation ceases to be about friendship. Thus, they’re the cause of the disintegration of the friendship, and they don’t even realize it.
It gets back to a very old question about human compassion. How is charity for the widow any different from charity for the town drunk. Answer: The town drunk creates his own situation, day after day. It matters.
We’ve got a lot of people walking around who aren’t any nicer than the average guy, and no more wicked either — just normal on that axis as normal can be. And they’re not stupid, but they can’t see this critical difference. Charity for the widow makes us better people. Charity for the town drunk makes us more primitive and savage, because we’re creating a framework doomed to collapse on itself.
But it’s the other people who are the creation of the real problem. They people who are proud of “I don’t know anything about computers!”
…[M]y experience with these people is — they aren’t trying to know something and being incompetent at it. They are PROUD of not knowing anything about computers. Sometimes they use it as an introduction to people. “I don’t know anything about computers!” Some of them, disturbingly, flaunt this lack of knowledge like a badge, or title of nobility, like they’re more worthy people because of it. Like, gee, that makes me feel real good. What’s that say about people who know something about computers?
“I don’t want to know about any of that stuff” is a common refrain.
He’s absolutely right. Touch their computers, and from then on when that computer behaves in any way different from the way they expect, it’s your fault. You have to make time to fix it, and the kicker is YOU owe THEM when it’s all done…for the hour or two or three they missed not being able to do whatever it is they do…and that’s if everything goes right.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
A shining example of “From each according to his ability and to each according to his need.” I make it very clear that the first hour is free and then I expect to be paid. Most of the time I just tell them “this one’s on me” but the expectation is set early and firmly, and the choice to donate to charity is still mine.
- Jason | 06/22/2011 @ 08:10Man. I really need to start relaxing the security settings on things which might attract your comments, so people can see the rest of the convo. It’d be nice if FB let you lockdown / unlock things retroactively.
- muttley | 06/22/2011 @ 08:17Oh my gosh that is so on the mark! My husband dealt wit the exact same things when he was “in computers.” He finally started telling people that he would only look at their computer if they paid his hourly fee. Then he just got called a bunch of names. Why do people think tech guys are supposed to just give it all away for free, and like they don’t have a life of their own?
Thanks for sharing this one. 🙂
- DarcsFalcon | 06/22/2011 @ 23:34