• SARUMANATEE (unregistered) in reply to The Nerve
    The Nerve:
    nB:
    We don't cut interviews short, but only because it would screw up the other interviews. We have four interviewers and will usually interview four people at a time, they just round robin through. If you cut it short then WTF do you do for the rest of the time?

    We get back to work, making value for the company.

    FTFY

    transverbero - whatever it is I am sure it's legal in California

  • Nihilady (unregistered) in reply to highphilosopher

    @high(&mighty)philosopher - Not everyone who visits this site daily can read code.

    @TDWTF - Thanks for all the posts that cater to the less elite geeks :)

  • (cs) in reply to Iie
    Iie:
    This is the stuff of butthurt trolled nerd fantasy.

    QFT.

  • Anonymous (unregistered) in reply to nB
    nB:
    We don't cut interviews short, but only because it would screw up the other interviews. We have four interviewers and will usually interview four people at a time, they just round robin through. If you cut it short then WTF do you do for the rest of the time?
    Duh, you eat the donuts which are/were intended for a meeting later.
  • Anonymous (unregistered) in reply to Greygor
    Greygor:
    frits:
    As far as I'm concerned, Greg is the crazy one. I mean, what dude holds a grudge longer than 15 minutes?

    Congratulations, you've just made my list, I'll get round to you eventually :-)

    LOL that reminds me of the immortal alien in HHGG who flew around the universe insulting everyone, and checking them off on his clipboard.

  • bbsuser (unregistered) in reply to Ken B.
    Ken B.:
    bbsuser:
    PCBoard rules!
    Yup.
     Directory of \\fileserver\oldsys_bbs\c\pcb
...
08/31/1996  04:30 PM            17,214 PCBDESC.EXE
08/31/1996  04:30 PM           121,802 PCBDIAG.EXE
08/31/1996  04:30 PM           119,824 PCBEDIT.EXE
08/31/1996  04:30 PM           318,992 PCBFILER.EXE
08/31/1996  04:30 PM           159,462 PCBMODEM.EXE
08/31/1996  04:30 PM            34,130 PCBMONI.EXE
08/31/1996  04:30 PM           301,258 PCBNLC.EXE
09/19/1994  04:20 PM            22,870 PCBNUM.EXE
08/31/1996  04:31 PM         1,034,256 PCBOARD.EXE
08/31/1996  04:31 PM           991,104 PCBOARDM.EXE
...
    (So, how do you get it to single-space?)

    still up'n running?

  • WizardStan (unregistered) in reply to frits
    frits:
    As far as I'm concerned, Greg is the crazy one. I mean, what dude holds a grudge longer than 15 minutes?
    This doesn't sound like a grudge to me. Did you miss the part where he ignored the erupting flame war, unsubscribed, and moved on with his life? Some 20+ years later, something triggered in the back of his mind and curiosity took over. To bring it to a modern light, surely you've read someone make a forum post so devoid of logic that you just couldn't help but wonder if this person is really that stupid in real life. What if you suddenly found yourself in a position that you could observe this person. Would you not at least be tempted to follow up? Or if not you personally, can you not see how someone else might easily be tempted to do so? That's all he did. He had such an opportunity and, out of curiosity, followed up on it. His curiosity satisfied, he once again let things go. If it were really a grudge, I'm pretty sure something more akin to the lights-and-music button scenario would have happened. Unless you have a different definition of a grudge than I do.
  • Old Fart (unregistered) in reply to bbsuser
    bbsuser:
    PCBoard rules!

    Renegade rules!

  • (cs) in reply to WizardStan
    WizardStan:
    frits:
    As far as I'm concerned, Greg is the crazy one. I mean, what dude holds a grudge longer than 15 minutes?
    This doesn't sound like a grudge to me. Did you miss the part where he ignored the erupting flame war, unsubscribed, and moved on with his life? Some 20+ years later, something triggered in the back of his mind and curiosity took over. To bring it to a modern light, surely you've read someone make a forum post so devoid of logic that you just couldn't help but wonder if this person is really that stupid in real life. What if you suddenly found yourself in a position that you could observe this person. Would you not at least be tempted to follow up? Or if not you personally, can you not see how someone else might easily be tempted to do so? That's all he did. He had such an opportunity and, out of curiosity, followed up on it. His curiosity satisfied, he once again let things go. If it were really a grudge, I'm pretty sure something more akin to the lights-and-music button scenario would have happened. Unless you have a different definition of a grudge than I do.

    I can see a grudge clearly in the subtext. The article makes every effort to paint Mr. Glans in a negative light. Additionally, bringing him in for an interview for a job he is clearly not going to be hired for is a big "eff you" in my book.

  • (cs)

    Not much of a great WTF. Someone whose name closely matches that of someone you had a flame-war with over 20 years ago applies for a job and has "dated" skills because they have never had a chance to play with the modern toys. They turn out to be very skilled and knowledgeable in the skills they say they have, those on their CV, and probably aren't even who you thought they were.

  • (cs) in reply to frits
    frits:
    I can see a grudge clearly in the subtext. The article makes every effort to paint Mr. Glans in a negative light. Additionally, bringing him in for an interview for a job he is clearly not going to be hired for is a big "eff you" in my book.

    Yeah you waste his time and force him to make a journey for no reason. You owe him a lot more than a free donut.

  • (cs) in reply to frits
    frits:
    As far as I'm concerned, Greg is the crazy one. I mean, what dude holds a grudge longer than 15 minutes?

    Oh, I don't know about that. I'm sure there's people here still with a grudge over MPS. Both his detractors and supporters. duck

  • (cs)

    I wonder why Greg didn't ask Bert how he would solve a problem of a dead patch on the lawn.

  • The Nerve (unregistered) in reply to Cbuttius

    I liked it. Plus, I don't really want to have to type in thedailyamusingtechstory.com

  • Davel23 (unregistered)

    FIDONet served as a dial-up based, distributed message board and was a precursor to internet forums.

    Umm... What? Usenet was around LONG before FIDONet.

  • e (unregistered) in reply to The Nerve

    You mean thedailyamusingtechorarchitecturestory.com

  • anon (unregistered) in reply to Davel23
    Davel23:
    FIDONet served as a dial-up based, distributed message board and was a precursor to internet forums.

    Umm... What? Usenet was around LONG before FIDONet.

    And your point? Did it say FIDONet was the only precursor to internet forums? Would you claim that the 2009 Honda Accord was not a precursor to the 2010 Accord because the Ford Model T came out LONG before the 2009 Accord?

  • Anonymous (unregistered) in reply to anon
    anon:
    Davel23:
    FIDONet served as a dial-up based, distributed message board and was a precursor to internet forums. Umm... What? Usenet was around LONG before FIDONet.
    And your point? Did it say FIDONet was the only precursor to internet forums? Would you claim that the 2009 Honda Accord was not a precursor to the 2010 Accord because the Ford Model T came out LONG before the 2009 Accord?
    Perhaps he's hanging himself over the use of "internet forum" versus "web forum".
  • (cs) in reply to Old Fart
    Old Fart:
    bbsuser:
    PCBoard rules!

    Renegade rules!

    O'Doyle rules!

  • basic (unregistered) in reply to frits
    frits:
    In circumspect, I think we can all agree that the guy's last name should just be shortened to Glans, right?

    I don't think you know what circumspect means.

  • Mary (unregistered)

    TRWTF must be this: why would anyone bother with FidoNet?

    It was full of officious assholes.

    Much more friendly to hit NirvanaNET over on &TOTSE.

  • (cs) in reply to basic
    basic:
    frits:
    In circumspect, I think we can all agree that the guy's last name should just be shortened to Glans, right?

    I don't think you know what circumspect means.

    Inconceiveable!

  • The Nerve (unregistered)

    I really like World War 4. Or is it WWIV? Or is it VWVIV? Or is it VVVVIV? Or is it ////|/?

  • (cs)

    Bert shouldn't have put the doughnut back. He should have said: "It doesn't matter that I'm sitting over HERE, and your sugary baked goods are over THERE. And it doesn't matter that they're buried deep under a pile of papers. I EAT YOUR DOUGHNUTS!"

  • (cs)

    I was expecting a WTF about SQL and Pivot Tables.

  • (cs)

    There is actually an unexplained aspect - if Mr G*'s skills are so outdated, how has he been earning a living the last 20 years? I think something has been glossed over to make a better story - result, fiction.

  • (cs)

    Knowing modem escape codes and VT100 escape codes stuff like that was a useful skill at one time, many years ago. I used to know a few of them myself, but I have forgotten them.

    In NO WAY to I consider those to be "glory days". Just having to know all of that stuff seems now like it was an impediment to getting any useful work done. (Although, at the time, the useful work was probably to allow everyone to connect to the BBS, regardless of their brand of modem and monitor...)

    In any case, I have learned when it's a good idea to move on from my former interests, and learn new things. I used to love APL, but it's hard to write commercial software in that language...

  • Anonymous (unregistered) in reply to basic

    INCONCEIVABLE!

  • G. Foreman (unregistered) in reply to jpers36
    jpers36:
    Old Fart:
    bbsuser:
    PCBoard rules!

    Renegade rules!

    O'Doyle rules!

    Queensberry Rules!

  • (cs) in reply to basic
    basic:
    frits:
    In circumspect, I think we can all agree that the guy's last name should just be shortened to Glans, right?

    I don't think you know what circumspect means.

    I think you're missing something...

    ...or maybe not.

  • Mr. Bob (unregistered)

    Greg has issues.

    Does he REALLY have his FidoNet messages from 1988 archived and available for quick retrieval on the subway?

    Dragging in someone for a phony job interview to entertain yourself is the height of douchebaggery. He wasted the interviewee's time and his co-workers' time to fulfill his morbid curiosity about a mild flame war from over 20 years ago? Sounds like Brad Glasnost's advice to grow up was spot on.

  • (cs) in reply to wtf
    wtf:
    momerath:
    wtf:
    And that this guy was old enough to have had a lawn and lawn problems (and not, say, a face full of pimples) when he was playing with FidoNet. That he was looking for lawn care information on FidoNet in 1988.
    I like that getting to 50-ish counts as a WTF to you. Would you prefer the alternative?

    That's not the WTF. The WTF is that he was 30 or so and couldn't find anything better to do with his time than FidoNet. It's about like seeing a 30 year old playing on Facebook today.... oh, sorry, some of you might take that personally.

    OK, I'm a bit confused by that. I know plenty of people in their 30s who are on Facebook. Some of their parents are on Facebook too. What's strange about that?

  • Manger (unregistered)

    TRWTF was the talking manger:

    “So you know how I get my boys donuts for the Monday meetings?” the manger rhetorically asked
  • OldCoder (unregistered) in reply to anon
    anon:
    Davel23:
    FIDONet served as a dial-up based, distributed message board and was a precursor to internet forums.

    Umm... What? Usenet was around LONG before FIDONet.

    And your point? Did it say FIDONet was the only precursor to internet forums? Would you claim that the 2009 Honda Accord was not a precursor to the 2010 Accord because the Ford Model T came out LONG before the 2009 Accord?

    A car analogy! About time!

  • Bill (unregistered) in reply to jpers36

    SAN DIMAS HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBAL RULES!

  • LadiesMan (unregistered) in reply to wtf
    wtf:
    momerath:
    wtf:
    And that this guy was old enough to have had a lawn and lawn problems (and not, say, a face full of pimples) when he was playing with FidoNet. That he was looking for lawn care information on FidoNet in 1988.
    I like that getting to 50-ish counts as a WTF to you. Would you prefer the alternative?

    That's not the WTF. The WTF is that he was 30 or so and couldn't find anything better to do with his time than FidoNet. It's about like seeing a 30 year old playing on Facebook today.... oh, sorry, some of you might take that personally.

    I don't.... I met your mom on Facebook.

  • Sutherlands (unregistered) in reply to Alargule
    Alargule:
    Alex Papadomilous Papamidilious Pammalicious Palladimious Papadipopulous Papadimoulis:
    Bert Glanston...Bert Glanstron...Bert Gladstron...Bert Glastron...Bert Glanstrom...

    Just curious: what's the guy's real name?

    -- Note from Alex: Ugh. Well that was embarassing. Fixed. I should note, they all looked the same to me, with their red-squigly underline in Word!

    Yes, well, except for the first one, that is.

    Bert Glanston, Greg thought to himself,

  • (cs)

    I think this story proves that only idiots use Visual Basic.

  • PiGuy (unregistered)

    Can you say Schadenfreude? :)

  • CoderDan (unregistered) in reply to ch1gz
    ch1gz:
    So where exactly is the WTF ?

    Sometimes the WTF is in those who have been passed by, but can't accept it. Or worse, don't realize it.

  • whiskeyjack (unregistered)

    Ah, Fidonet. Good times. I remember those days, dialing into BBSes, most of them in my area running Maximus software. And yes, I used Telix! I remember striking up a friendship with the sysop of one of the local programming-themed BBSes. I was, like, 13 at the time, but nobody (neither he, nor I, nor my parents) thought it strange in the slightest. It was an innocent time.

    I remember running into this one guy, who turned out to be a fellow student at my high school. He and his friends InSiStEd On TaLkInG LiKe ThIs AlL ThE tImE, wrote in homonyms ("eye like the weigh ewe right!"), ran an "elite" BBS that was by invitation only, and pretty much for the distribution of "warez". And they thought I was the loser. Sigh.

  • uuang (unregistered) in reply to Alargule

    TRWTF is Alex typed the name over and over, instead of copy/pasting.

  • Anon (unregistered)

    We used to have a guy working for us who I could totally see doing the donut thing. On one occasion, a meeting of the big bosses was happening and they'd left the table with their refreshments outside the room. Our guys come along and helps himself to a donut. The bosses (that saw him) where gobsmacked. The funny thing is, I don't think he did it because he's just that ballsy, I think he really didn't understand that donuts sitting outside a meeting room aren't open for anybody who wanders by.

  • Anon (unregistered) in reply to uuang
    uuang:
    TRWTF is Alex typed the name over and over, instead of copy/pasting.

    Indeed. I don't type anything anymore. I just have a text document open in word with the letters of the alphabet, plus a few punctuation marks and I just cut and paste each character individually. Saves me a ton of time. I got the idea while preparing a ransom note.

  • (cs) in reply to Anon
    Anon:
    The funny thing is, I don't think he did it because he's just that ballsy, I think he really didn't understand that donuts sitting outside a meeting room aren't open for anybody who wanders by.
    I think it's you who really don't understand that donuts sitting outside a meeting room are open for anybody who wanders by. As long as nobody sees that.
  • (cs) in reply to basic
    basic:
    frits:
    In circumspect, I think we can all agree that the guy's last name should just be shortened to Glans, right?

    I don't think you know what circumspect means.

    My name is Glans, but my friends call me Dickhead.

  • Win (unregistered) in reply to GettinSadda

    +10

  • Anon (unregistered) in reply to alegr
    alegr:
    Anon:
    The funny thing is, I don't think he did it because he's just that ballsy, I think he really didn't understand that donuts sitting outside a meeting room aren't open for anybody who wanders by.
    I think it's you who really don't understand that donuts sitting outside a meeting room are open for anybody who wanders by. As long as nobody sees that.

    Dear alegr,

    In case you can’t tell, this is a grown-up place. The fact that you insist on stealing donuts clearly shows that you’re too young and too stupid to be employed.

    Go away and grow up.

    Sincerely, Bert Glanstron

  • Calli Arcale (unregistered) in reply to Anonymous
    Anonymous:
    Greygor:
    frits:
    As far as I'm concerned, Greg is the crazy one. I mean, what dude holds a grudge longer than 15 minutes?

    Congratulations, you've just made my list, I'll get round to you eventually :-)

    LOL that reminds me of the immortal alien in HHGG who flew around the universe insulting everyone, and checking them off on his clipboard.

    Ah, yes. Wowbagger, the infinitely prolonged.

    "You're a jerk, Dent. A complete knee-biter."

    Adams also wrote a hilarious short story involving Wowbagger and Genghis Khan.

  • Obnoxious Frog (unregistered) in reply to Ceiswyn
    Ceiswyn:
    I'm still bitter over my primary school teacher, 27 years ago, telling me off for pointing out to her that tyrannosaurs only had two claws on their forelegs.
    Actually, I remember reading that no complete T.Rex skeleton has been found, systematically missing parts being the end of the tail and said claws. It is (strongly) assumed they had two fingers by similarity with another very similar Theropode -- Albertosorus I think.

    This said, the document in which I read that is over 10 years old, so new, more complete remains may well have come to light since then.

    Besides, who cares ?

Leave a comment on “Tables Turned”

Log In or post as a guest

Replying to comment #:

Log Out

« Return to Article