Dark Lords handing out rings is no basis for a system of government. I mean, If I went around saying I was an emperor just because a shape shifting necromancer lobbed some jewelry at me, they’d put me away!
Used for the right purposes, Excel is an extremely versatile and powerful piece of software. Is use it all the time for analyzing complex financial data and turning pivot tables into really nice looking reports. I can use VBA behind the scenes to change report scenarios while preserving the formatting. Excel is great for things like that.
It’s easy to get Into trouble though because eventually someone decides to keep a bunch of auxiliary – yet somehow very important – data in a spreadsheet. Before you know it, multiple people are being asked to maintain said data and then POOF! You now have a spreadsheet functioning as a database. It’s all downhill from there.
I have three kids. I was present for the birth of the youngest two. But I adopted my oldest. She was 12 so she had to tell the judge she was OK with it. I told her it came with two conditions: Nothing between us needed to change and she didn’t have to call me “Dad”. She calls me by first name to my face but she calls me “dad” behind my back. I’ll take it.
“Neither of us know shit. But I have an advantage! I know that I don’t know shit. But you still think you know shit. Arrogant dumbass!” --Socrates, Probably
I grew up watching Jon on The Daily Show. You can love Jon or you can hate him. But that guy used his celebrity status, as well as his own effort, to repeatedly shame, cajole, arm twist, plead with, and petition Congress to fund medical care for the 9/11 first responders. Many of whom suffered long term health issues due to exposure to hazardous materials.
He went to Washington with a group of said first responders and chased down as many Congressmen/women as they could find. He appeared before Congress to testify in support of legislation multiple times.
He did far more for those people than anyone else would. There are plenty of people in the world with power and influence. But there aren’t a hell of a lot of them that would use that influence like a fucking hammer to pound out some justice for a bunch of people with no expectation of getting anything in return. For that, he earned my respect.
It’s a song that’s been played so many times the record is starting to get worn out.
Big manufacturer buys software company.
Big manufacturer does not understand software business, software company, or software company’s customers.
Big manufacturer makes a bunch of cost reductions based on incorrect assumptions.
Big shot at big corp customer calls peon (like me) at budget time to ask why we spend so much money on this “VMWare”.
Peon explains that "VMWare is very important software which used to be “Best in Class” but has become “Overpriced, second rate, yada yada…” And suggests we switch to Hyper-V.
Big shot asks (a little suspiciously) if we would save money without any negative impact to operations.
Peon says, “Yes.”
Big shot writes big check to Microsoft.
Other big shot at big manufacturer is stuck trying to figure out where all the customers went; not realizing that big manufacturer pissed all over the peons who actually have to use their [now] shitty software.
Big manufacturer decides the acquisition was a failure, learns nothing from it, and sells the shell of the once popular software company for a fraction of what they paid for it.
“Look human! I bring you prize. Is Copperhead. It was slithering across lawn like ‘Ha ha! I am Copperhead. I am king of world! You will not mess with me because I will bite you and you will die!’ Stupid Copperhead does not know that I am cat and I mess with anything that moves just for funsies. So, I kill it and bring to you so you may bask in awe of my skill as hunter of dangerous prey. You are impressed, yes? Yes. Of course you are.” – My Cat (the Russian Mobster of Animals), Probably
“Oh no, no no no no! Why did you bring that up here!? Arggghhhhh!!!” --My Wife, Definitely
I worked for an industrial tool manufacturer for a couple years. It’s well known brand but not one you can just go to Home Depot and buy. Their tools are very specialized and very expensive.
Anyway, the last project I was on before I left was one where they tried to create smart tools. It wasn’t a completely bad idea. Those things have specific maintenance requirements. Reminding the user that it’s time for maintenance based on a cycle count, hour count, or severity of conditions was actually a good idea.
But, management wanted two things: Wireless charging, and the ability to feed data from the tool back to a dashboard that the user could log into. Then, they would charge a premium for the “smart tool” and get the customer to pay for access to the dashboard. At least that was the idea. The problem was that customers didn’t give a shit about either of those “features.” They just wanted their tools to work reliably. The division president refused to listen. I don’t know how it worked out. For unrelated reasons, I didn’t hang around long enough to find out.
Adding [unnecessary] electronics to tools and appliances is cheap. There’s some engineering costs involved but once that’s done, the components usually amount to a small fraction of the overall build cost. And the markup is insane, which is one reason why they add those “features”.
I suspect that there’s plenty of engineering teams out there questioning why a stove needs WiFi and then getting overridden by some SVP who has literally never used a stove in his entire life.