I Believe You Have My Stapler
yack0 writes "After three years of demand and countless calls, emails and letters, you can finally buy a Red Swingline Stapler. Hooray! As noted in this wall street journal article and confirmed by this page at the Swingline Stapler web site you can now pick up a Red Swingline stapler for merely twice the price of a plain black stapler. However, a colleague of mine says that the online order form is reading around $16 for his right now. Now all the cubicle dwelling prairie dogs can get one step closer to burning down the building." The red stapler has become some sort of cult icon at this point.
Nonono, the stapler is up your ass
F I R S T P O S T ! ! ! ! !
is black and shows up on radar smaller than a pelican. Only $56,000 each.
If Slashdot were chemistry it would look like this:Cadaverine
Yesterday he had 4 bosses/managers/etc come tell him the exact same thing --- that he didn't correctly stow away his oscilloscope in the proper location; but he didn't cause he wasn't finished working with it yet! Truly an Office Space moment.
Slydell: So we just went a ahead and fixed the glitch.
Lumbergh: Great.
Portwood: So um, Milton has been let go?
Slydell: Well just a second there, professor. We uh, we fixed the *glitch*. So he won't be receiving a paycheck anymore, so it will just work itself out naturally.
Porter: We always like to avoid confrontation, whenever possible. Problem solved from your end.
Christ, I love Greek! Women just don't seem to understand that a
man can find just as much pleasure in the warm confines of a
well-muscled ass as they can in the satin embrace of a well-wetted
cunt. Maybe we men have conditioned them too well to ignoring one
hole for the other: nonetheless, every man I've talked to about it
loves Greek and every woman who I've talked to about it has been
less than enthusiastic. So imagine my surprise last weekend when
Jenifer treated me to the joys of anal sex in what must be the
first time in five or six years.
The night started our strangely. Jenifer had just finished re-
arranging her large library and was exhausted. As suits my
biological clock, I was just coming awake at 10 PM when she was
turning in. She invited me to bed and I politely declined: I was
horny as usual and told her I'd keep her awake. After a couple of
more requests from her, I stripped and crawled in beside her.
Jenifer loves to snuggle and wasted no time in curling her small body
up next to mine. I turned and kissed her. She was oddly
responsive for her tired state, and teased me with a hint of
tongue in her kisses. I reached down to feel her muff and found it
just beginnin' to revv as her right hand slipped down her belly to
her clit.
I took up what has become my customary position between her legs -
kneeling and using my cock as a sex toy to tickle her lower labia
and the entrance to her cunt. But this time I let my aim wander
lower to the wonderful curve where ass, crotch, and leg meet. I
rubbed my cock against this soft crescent and expanded the stroke
to brush against the entrance to her ass. I noticed that every
time that my prick touched her rosebud, her strokes on her clit
quickened. It wasn't long before I was pressing the tip of my cock
against her asshole.
Surprise! My cock slipped easily into her ass until the entire
head was buried inside, and just as I was about to pull out and
apoligize, she handed me a bottle of sex lubricant and said "What
the fuck? Why not?". I pulled back and poured the lubricant on
my hard cock and noticed her pussy was swollen and very wet. I
worked my cock back into her tight asshole. It was so easy. I
could feel her ass muscles relaxing and opening for me. I eased
ever so slowly deeper. Such heaven! Like a warm, wet hand
gripping all around my prick - so much tighter than pussy, and
delightful in an entirely different way. I could feel her hips
grind against me as I worked the last of my seven-plus inches into
her tight ass. Realizing where I was and how long it had been
since I'd known this pleasure, I had to fight to pull the reigns in
on my orgasm.
It seemed like forever - my slow rocking pulling my cock almost
full-length out of her ass before easing it back in until my balls
rested against her firm buns. Her right hand furiously massaged
her clit and her left hand played at the entrance of her cunt,
pressing on the full length of her labia. And all the while my
cock was enveloped in a firm net of gripping muscles that wrestled
to bring the cum from me. "It's so weird," she said as she
searched for the grip on her own orgasm. Suddenly, it was upon
her. I felt her ass open up like a mouth that was just to blow up
a ballon. "Are you close?" she hissed. "No," I grunted.
She was close, tho'. Too close to stop. I felt her stiffen and
lurch under me. "Uuhhhh! Come on you bastard! Fill my ass!" she
yelled as she dug her nails into my back. Amazing what a little
dirty talk will do - from that special nowhere where good men hide
their orgasms until their lovers are ready, my load bolted from my
crotch to my brain and back to my flushed balls. I gripped the
pillow with my teeth and jerked my neck back and forth
and tried not to deafen Jenifer when my cum blasted out of my cock
like water from a firehose. The rush of jism racing up my tube
seemed to last for stroke after stroke until sweaty Jenifer
gasped, grunted, and pushed me from on top of her. Since I have a
little anal experience myself, I knew the sudden discomfort of
having something in your ass after you've orgasmed. I
considerately slipped out of her despite not having finsihed my own
orgasm to my complete satisfaction.
I kissed her and thanked her for her special gift, but she pushed
me away. "Go wash off and fuck my pussy," she said " I feel like
something's undone." So after a quick and thourough shower, I
returned to the futon where her dripping, swollen twat waited for
my not-quite-recovered cock.
And that's another story...
second post
...and the store's page is slashdotted.... and google hadn't cached it yet! ahhhh!
AM I the only one baffled by this pointless story? What the hell does a red stapler have to do with anything?
get in on the comments before the million office space movie quotes :)
Does the name Pavlov ring a bell?
The fun thing to do, is watch the movie, while you are working. But I must not, it dose not help productivity!!!
I was looking into the mirror
To see a little bit clearer
Rottenness and evil in me
Fingertips have memories
Mine can't forget the curves of your body
And when i feel a bit naughty
I run it up the flagpole and see who salutes
(but no one ever does)
I'm not sick but i'm not well
And I'm so hot cause I'm in hell
Been around the world and found
That only stupid people are breeding
The cretins cloning and feeding
And I don't even own a tv
Put me in the hospital for nerves
And then they had to commit me
You told them all i was crazy
They cut off my legs now I'm an amputee, god damn you
I'm not sick but I'm not well
And I'm so hot cause i'm in hell
I'm not sick but I'm not well
And it's a sin to live so well
I wanna publish zines
And rage against machines
I wanna pierce my tongue
It doesn't hurt, it feels fine
The trivial sublime
I'd like to turn off time
And kill my mind
You kill my mind
Paranoia paranoia
Everybody's coming to get me
Just say you never met me
I'm going underground with the moles
Hear the voices in my head
I swear to god it sounds like they're snoring
But if you're bored then you're boring
The agony and the irony, they're killing me
I'm not sick but I'm not well
And I'm so hot cause i'm in hell
I'm not sick but I'm not well
And it's a sin to live so well
My first lyrics post. I hope you dont use linux.
the stapler link is slashdotted, and has nothing in the google cache.
: www.virtualstapler.com/office_space/+&hl=en&ie=UTF -8
the wall st article is from a server that can handle a slashdotting.
the cult page? http://216.239.51.100/search?q=cache:ma3R53JMmfEC
I have a ton of machines to beat the living daylight out of. I also have my Office Space Soundtrack to play along to them. Damn it feels good to be a gangsta....
I am Lord Snowbeam. Heed my call!
Can't reach Canada.
Internet Traffic Report pronounces the internet "dead"!
used to feel alone cos i didn't get plastered
but i'm past it though i still ask it:
how long is this shit going to last?
it doesn't get me down like it used to
cos now i'm used to
hanging with a drugged crew
a select fucked few
that i speak shit to
when i'm in the mood to
mingle at the venue
gotta get fucked up
just to get the guts up
reality shuts up
now you can throw your butts up
i'll be the poor straight fuck in the corner
chewing on his tongue in the cigarette sauna
nothing but a social disaster
damn i feel i should be drinking
this is not the place to be thinking
i'm here for the music cos it sounds wicked
lyric plus melody but i can't pick it
ringing in the ear pain getting belligerent
smelling like a beer stain smoking a cigarette
having a good time is giving me illness
think i'll head outside and soak up some stillness
not that i'm jaded
just unrelated to this inebriated
ego inflated culture
that you love don't ya?
well don't ya? ha?
i'm a tall poppy so you better lop me
held me like a baby then go and drop me
you say i sound like this i sound like that
i sound like whoever at the drop of a hat
i'm sorry i'm generic just grin and bear it
spend it if you can spare it
strap it on and wear it
purchase a credo that doesn't have to last
supplement your ego with this piece of plastic
ethical crisis? here's good advice says:
sell your sorry soul and get a nice price for it
now that it's done let's have some fun
that's the priority a number one
a number one
ALL MODERATORS SMOKE COCK. thankyou.
i was told i could first post between the hours of 7 and 8 pm... sharon posts while she files, so i don't see any reason why... i'll burn down the building.
MARIJUANA, SHROOMS, X: ONLINE?! - E
I used to sit by the window, and there were these squirrels, and they were married.
I'll just post a link on /. and burn down your web server....
Sig? What sig? Do I have to have a sig!?!?
That little whore knows how to suck a cock, Michael.
I believe my favorite line would have to be:
PC Load Letter! What the fuck does that mean!!
strychnine in the guacamole.
--bpl
I believe you have my big red buzzing dildo. I left it at your place last night. Return it immediately, or you will be PUNISHED.
...post a fucking article about Gene Kan, for Christ's sake!
The man is dead by a gunshot wound, Jack Valenti and Hilary Rosen were seen leaving the scene in a hurry, and you posting shit about stupid fucking red staplers?
And you want us to PAY for this?
to tell the world that I like poop
follow the IMDB link to learn about Office Space.
PETER GIBBONS
'So I was sitting in my cubicle today, and I realized, ever since I started working, every single day of my life has been worse than the day before it. So that means that every single day that you see me, that's me on the worst day of my life..'.
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Office managers are putting on their O-face. You know: Oh! Oh!
These comments and opinions are mine and mine alone, although they shouldn't be.
THE TROLL POLKA (ARSCHFICKEN MIT ZIEGEN)
By Serial Troller, 2002-06-25
Is das nicht ein early post? Ja! Das ist mein early post!
Is das nicht ein Goatse ghost? Ja! Das ist mein Goatse ghost!
Early post, Goatse ghost,
Oh, du schoene, Oh, du schoene, Oh, du schoene, Slashdot sucks!
Is das post at minus one? Ja! Das ist at minus one!
Is das trolling so much fun? Ja! Das trolling is so fun!
Minus one, trolling fun, Early post, Goatse ghost,
Oh, du schoene, Oh, du schoene, Oh, du schoene, Slashdot sucks!
Is das nicht ein big crapflood? Ja! Das ist mein big crapflood!
Is it worthless Linux FUD? Ja! Das ist mein Linux FUD!
Big crapflood, Linux FUD, Minus one, trolling fun, Early post, Goatse ghost,
Oh, du schoene, Oh, du schoene, Oh, du schoene, Slashdot sucks!
Is das nicht der CowBoiKneel? Ja! Das ist der CowBoiKneel!
Is dis nicht his manchode meal? Ja! Das ist his manchode meal!
CowBoiKneel, manchode meal, Big crapflood, Linux FUD,
Minus one, trolling fun, Early post, Goatse ghost,
Oh, du schoene, Oh, du schoene, Oh, du schoene, Slashdot sucks!
Is das nicht ein WIPO Troll? Ja! Das ist der WIPO Troll!
Is das nicht ein Goatse hole? Ja! Das ist der Goatse hole!
WIPO Troll, Goatse hole, CowBoiKneel, manchode meal,
Big crapflood, Linux FUD, Minus one, trolling fun, Early post, Goatse ghost,
Oh, du schoene, Oh, du schoene, Oh, du schoene, Slashdot sucks!
Is das nicht Jon Katz' slave boys? Ja! Das ist Jon Katz' slave boys!
Und are they not Taco's sex toys? Ja! They are Taco's sex toys!
Katz' slave boys, Rob's sex toys, WIPO Troll, Goatse hole,
CowBoiKneel, manchode meal, Big crapflood, Linux FUD,
Minus one, trolling fun, Early post, Goatse ghost,
Oh, du schoene, Oh, du schoene, Oh, du schoene, Slashdot sucks!
Is das nicht ein trolltalk thread? Ja! Das ist ein trolltalk thread!
Is it nicht now FUCKING DEAD? Ja! Is really FUCKING DEAD!
Trolltalk thread, FUCKING DEAD! Katz' slave boys, Rob's sex toys,
WIPO Troll, Goatse hole, CowBoiKneel, manchode meal,
Big crapflood, Linux FUD, Minus one, trolling fun,
Early post, Goatse ghost,
Oh, du schoene, Oh, du schoene, Oh, du schoene,
Slashdot sucks!
____________________
Change Log:
* Subtle changes to most verses. It sounded really gay before.
* Removed all references to Taco's pud. May have been high at time. Will investigate further.
* Finally think I have goat sex written correctly in German. I think. Arschficken?
(C) 2002 Serial Troller. Permission to reproduce this document is granted provided that you send all the bukkake porn you can find to serialtroller@hotmail.com.
- poopbot: because we're all crapflooders at heart
I can't believe he leaked this story out. I'm going to kill him. He fucks me for the first time in WEEKS, I have to let him fuck me in the ASS to get him to do anything, and then he turns around and puts the story where someone can post it.
I'm sorry guys. This was between me and my Rob.
Imagine a beowulf cluster of these!
(This post is certified by me, Anonymous Coward, and is guaranteed to be a 100% authentic beowulf troll post. The reader is hereby advised that imaginization of a beowulf cluster, in whole or in part, or in any combination, of the items in the story to which this post pertains, is fully sanctioned and endorsed by me, Anonymous Coward.)
I work at motorola. Motorola is undoubtedly a huge source of inspiration for things like Office Space, and *especially* Dilbert. During out "Employee Well-Being" week they showed Office Space in one of the break rooms. It created anarchy when people saw the reality of their office lives!
Come on guys, there was about fifteen, twenty minutes TOPS, of "geek cult movie". The rest of Office Space was just more of the same regurgitated Hollywood "boy meets girl, boy gets girl, boy loses girl, boy regains girl" schlock.
*watches karma evaporate*
-----
PGP Key ID 0xCB8FF658
Gene Kan is dead. Got it? Dead. From a probable self-inflicted, but we're not sure, but we'll probably call it that, even though his employer says otherwise, and his family for some odd fucking reason doesn't want any details released, gunshot wound. A guy who has just about everything a young cali bro could want, a fancy car collection, respect from his peers, a PAYING job (sorry slashdork crew), you name it. Dead.
Oh, but the red stapler story is boss.
You're not having much luck with those first posts are you? Only got one out of several attempts. Try harder grasshopper. And don't be such a pussy.
being an afficionado of dark comedy, I have long been a fan of Office Space. I may be one of five buyers of the (poorly produced) DVD. The performances, particularly Ron Livingstone (hugely underrated actor) and Diedrich Bader (almost unrecognizable) make it a real gem.
On the subject of red staplers, why has the post WWII workplace insisted on mono-color conformity? It seems almost a conspiracy to ensure that office workers be isolated from as much visual stimulation as possible. Is it so important that the occasional visitor/client not see a single clash of colors that offends their sensibility? It would not revolutionize the drudgery of the workplace, but more allowances for individuality and color can't help but improve the condiditon of those who must exist in that environment from day to day.
The whole "flair" concept at the Houlihans type restaurant carries the same theme. Even where modern business allows disorder, it cannot be individually expressive disorder, it must be carefully regimented and designed to communicate the corporate message, not a personal one.
The dot com bust has given added credence to those who actually advocate this kind of enforced conformity - they point to a free form, more open dot com workplaces as a symptom or cause of the crash, and are using it to crush any new proposal to create a more humanized, comfortable workplace. Just my two cents. Great movie if you haven't seen it.
THE YEAR WAS 2081, and everybody was finally equal...
Slightly offtopic, but our Indian DB2 administrator speaks with an accept which has an uncanny resemblance to the mumbling, rambling style of Milton (ie: the Swingline stapler guy). I have visited his desk many times, but have never noticed a red Swingline stapler anywhere. This new product may give him all he needs to complete his full transition to Milton (except that he's Indian, doesn't wear glasses, and doesn't have any facial hair).
Ph33r m3!!!
cares?
Yeah, and my new Martha Stewart Signature Mug has a big cult following too, but somehow i doubt such a worthy item will see the light of slashdot day.
Staplers, people. It's a frickin' story on a STAPLER. I don't care how interesting the design is or how much of a cult following it has. IT'S A STAPLER!!! Oh, that's right... It has wireless LAN access and a 30 Terabyte disk, right? Imagine a beowolf cluster of these!!!
Flame it, troll it, overrate it or mark it redundant, but damn, what a waste of news space.
You need a FREE iPod Nano
who the hell uses manual staplers? it's 2003 almost morons
(idea) by mutant (2 mon) (print)
?
6 C!s
Fri Oct 06 2000 at 20:27:43
THE CALICO CAT
Sam adopted me in 1988 or so. At the time she was living in the lot behind the building that I lived in, and I started feeding her.
At the time she was pretty messed up, apparently having been living on the street for an entire New York winter before I met her. After I saw how totally fucked the animal was I snatched her with the idea of first taking her to a vet, and then finding her a home. For some reason I just didn't see myself keeping her.
But it didn't work out that way, and we were together over ten years later. I'm a loner by nature; I really don't like to hang out with lots of people, preferring to write stories, make art, sling code and play my fucking CDs LOUD!
So the cat and I spent a lot of time together, and it was during that time I learned Sam's story. Of course since she could only speak to me by purring, scratching, pissing, biting, meowing, kneading and playing, I had to piece her story together and that took time.
But it soon became very clear to me.
At one time she'd an owner; that's why she didn't resist when I first put a flea collar on her. The owner had been abusive; that's why when I first got her if you moved too fast to pick her up she'd flinch as if you were going to strike her. More evidence of abuse was the permanent limp this young animal had in her right rear leg. It was clear to me her last owner had been a real class act.
And she'd probably just had enough shit from her last owner to get the hell out as soon as she got the chance; I soon learned that this was one stubborn animal, and I easily could see her doing something like that.
She'd been poorly fed while she lived with this idiot; that's why she always wolfed down any and all food put in front of her. Given enough food, she'd eat until she puked and then would eat more. This was a habit she didn't lose until many years later.
Her previous owner didn't care enough for her (and for cats in general, for that matter) to get her fixed. When she adopted me she was very pregnant, and in fact had three healthy kittens a couple of months later.
Sam was great company, I taught her lots of tricks, and her and I got along real well. In fact if it wasn't for my job, her and I would probably still be together.
I work for a German Investment Bank, and began spending a lot of time in London starting in 1996. At first I'd be over for the odd week - no big deal.
But as time went on I got more and more wrapped up in a project over here, and that culminated with the summer of 1997 when I made 27 round trips between New York and London in about five months.
All that transatlantic travel might sound exotic, but when it's a weekly thing it sucks. Big time.
I was always jetlagged, I would wake up at night not knowing where I was, my girlfriend was more than a little put off by my absence, and worst of all Sam would spend a lot of time ignoring me when I was in New York.
The cat - my companion of almost ten years - would sit with her back to me, refusing to acknowledge my existence when I first returned home from a trip. She wanted me to apologise. She didn't like being alone. She was unhappy. And I didn't like that.
I told my boss I'd had enough, and that I wanted to be reassigned to New York based project. He countered with "Well I need someone in London and you're already there - how about this ex-pat offer to relocate?" The wily bastard already had the contract written up.
I looked over the offer, and thinking I was being slick ("I'd make myself too expensive!") bumped the numbers up a fair amount. He took a quick look and said "Ok". Now I had a problem.
I knew enough about the firm and Investment Banking in general to realise that I was in an awkward position. It was either move to London or find another job.
I had three immediate concerns, and in this order; my cat, my girlfriend and my flat.
I could tell the girlfriend and she already knew this was a possibility, and the flat presented no problem at all as the landlady hated my guts anyway. But Sam was a big problem.
There was absolutely no way I was going to be able to tell her, to make her understand. The poor animal already had a rough life before I'd met her, and now she was going to lose her home and companion. So I did the best thing I could for her - I set out to find her the best possible home.
Now as it turns out my girlfriend knew a guy who had relocated from Wisconsin about six months earlier. Growing up on a dairy farm he was accustomed to having cats around, and it just so happened that he was in the market for a pet.
I met with him briefly and Sam interviewed him at length (sniff, sniff, rub, rub). He made his mind up on the spot and I agreed to let him take her when I left New York in early January 1998, roughly eight weeks away.
Perfect! That was a load off my mind!
THE WHITE CAT
About five weeks later I was preparing to leave the United States. The bank gave me time off to take care of personal business, so I spent my days carefully packing stuff away and preparing shipping manifests. My evenings were spent at a family owned restaurant I that I'd frequented over years.
I'd lived on the Lower East Side for about twelve years. I'd owned two art galleries, published a few underground magazines (Hype) and just hung out; I knew lots of folks there. One of my favourite places to eat and drink was a little restaurant owned by a Dominican family on the corner of Ludlow and Stanton, El Sombrero.
I knew the entire extended family and they were wonderful people; they encouraged and corrected my broken Spanish and I'd watched their kids grow up. They called me "Seis seis seis" after the 666 on the front of my cap, and I generally felt at home there.
I spent a lot of time there my last few weeks in New York, drinking margaritas and saying goodbye to friends.
The latter part of December that year was really frigid. I grew up in rural Western New York state, and have a high tolerance for the cold but it was even getting to me. I was even wearing gloves, and that's something I almost never did while living in Manhattan.
One evening I'd been at Sombrero until late and was coming home. It was probably 20F out, with a brisk wind so I was in a hurry to get back to my flat and my cat. We didn't have too many more nights together.
I was passing a parking lot when I saw a flash of white moving against the chicken wire fence. "What the hell was thought?" I thought. I stopped to take a closer look, and didn't see anything so I moved on. I saw it again.
"That can't be a cat?!??" I thought to myself. But it was.
He was a really tiny little white kitten, maybe six months old and he rushed up against the fence and stood up on his hind legs looking right at me
"Wheeeew" he squealed, a very un cat-like sound. "wheewwwww" he was almost yowling. Its hard to describe, but it was a very unsettling sound.
"Hey kitty" I greeted him, approaching the fence. I poked my gloved fingertip through the chicken wire, and he rubbed his cheek against it.
"Wheew" His yellow eyes looked at me intently. "Shit!" I remember thinking to myself. I looked around but all I saw was a parking lot full of folks hurrying to and from cars. It was fucking cold.
All of a sudden he rushed away from me to some other people who stopped to pet him. "I think he's a stray" I shouted over to them.
They stood up and hurried off. The kitty ran back to me and rubbed his face against my finger again. Then he was off to some other folks.
"Get the fuck away cat!" one shouted, as the little kitty stood up on his hind legs, patting desperately at their calf's. One kicked at him roughly, and laughing, they were on their way.
He rushed back to me. This entire situation sucked. I was freezing my ass off, I was leaving the United States permanently in less than three weeks time and I had a cat at home. Fuck! But I knew what had to be done.
Removing my gloves, I took a Leatherman pocket tool from its sheath, and using the pliers I slowly created a small hole through the chicken wire. The little white kitty watched intently, and when I was finished slipped right out without prompting. He instantly began patting my legs as I knelt at the fence. Opening my jacket, I slipped the cat inside, zipped it up and stood up.
He settled back against my chest and I headed home. As I crossed the streets I swear could feel the little guy shaking; as cold as I'd been I guess with his smaller mass he felt it even more.
I got home and all hell broke loose!
I believe that I forgot to mention that Sam, perhaps because of her background as a stray, was insanely jealous of other cats. I deposited the little guy in my bathroom and closed the door. It was pretty small - just a toilet, a heater and a shower, but it would be enough room for him. All this time Sam stayed about ten feet away from the bathroom door, hissing and loudly yowling constantly.
I hoped she would get tired of it soon because it was not pleasant to listen to.
I grabbed some old t-shirts and filled a bowl with water. I went back in the bathroom and dropped the shirts under the heater, making a crude bed for him. I put the water bowl in the shower, and came out to get him some grub.
The household rule for Sam was "dry food all the time, canned food as a treat once a week", and I didn't see any reason to treat him better. So I made him a large bowl of dry food, maybe as much as Sam would eat in one day.
I took food into the bathroom, and by that time he'd finished the water!
He probably smelled what was in the bowl because he began pawing at my calves. I put the food down and he started crunching away. I gave him another bowl of water, brought in a shoe box filled with kitty litter, and sat on the john as I watched him eat and drink.
About five minutes later he came up to me, and pawed at my calves. "What's your story?" I asked him softly as we looked into each others eyes.
He was a beautiful animal, mostly white with a pink little nose and bright yellow eyes. He had a patch of black fur on his chest that caught your attention, but it was those eyes that really captured you.
He would look intently at you, all the time making his high pitched "Wheewww", although over time he relaxed and emitted more cat like noises.
I telephoned my girlfriend, who lived three blocks away. She came over and was simply stunned by this guys beauty. We both resolved to either find this guys owner, or a home for him as soon as possible.
Over the days that followed, in between packing, changing mail addresses, closing bank accounts, on and on and on with the petty bullshit details involved in rebooting an adult American life in Europe I took care of my number one priority: the Little White Cat.
Even though I walked carefully through the neighbourhood, I never saw a missing cat sign for this animal. And since my own time was running out, I immediately changed goals and started trying to find a home for the little guy.
But that wasn't easy.
Bid-A-Wee, Being Kind and all the other humane organisations that my girlfriend and I could think of were full, and couldn't take in another animal. My girlfriend already had two cats, and they were far more territorial than Sam; she couldn't give him a home, even for a short time.
This was beginning to be a problem.
And worse, even though Sam hated my guts now, the Little White Cat was rapidly bonding with me.
He followed me around my flat, and was generally in my way all of the time.
He'd found an old pair of my socks and refused to give them up, carrying them around the flat in his mouth. Even though I took the socks away from him twice, each time he found them again. I finally just gave up and let him keep them.
He slept with me, almost on my head, and if I rose in the middle of the night to use the bathroom would accompany me back and forth. He was quite a nice animal.
Every evening while I wrote he would climb into my lap and demand to be petted. He'd fix those yellow eyes on mine and while he purred I'd ask him "What's your story?".
And being a cat he answered me the only way he could.
This little kitty was bold and brash and really adventurous. He wasn't afraid of anything, and Sam quickly learned not to mess with him. Even though she was three times his size, the first time she swung at him was the last. He jumped right at her, yowling and hissing and she fled in about two seconds.
Poor Sam! I really felt sorry for her but it was an impressive display from the little guy, I laughed out loud!
And one day I left the flat door open too long. Now Sam would NEVER go outside; being a stray, she had a horrendous fear of not being in her space. In fact when people didn't believe me about this, I'd take Sam out in the hallway and set her down. She ALWAYS beat me back to the flat, her nails desperately scratching against the floor as she ran.
But the Little White Cat was different. I left the door open too long once while I swept the flat and quick as a flash he was gone! Out in the hallway. Down the stairs. Moving like a little white blur. Faster and faster.
I couldn't believe how quickly he moved, and it was difficult for me to sprint down the stairs fast enough to catch him. Him and I were both lucky that nobody had come through the street doors into the building, else he probably would have fled outside.
It was then that I knew : he hadn't been mistreated, but he'd unwisely escaped. Unlike Sam, this guy probably had a good owner, someone who cared for him but he'd gotten out somehow. This was his story; as far as I could see, there was no other explanation.
In any case, I was down to about one week left in the US. Time was running out. I had one last hope, Roger, an Arab guy who ran a string of businesses on first avenue, including a Deli (Rogers Gardens) and a Pet Store (Animal Crackers).
I explained the situation to Roger, and he readily agreed to help me find the little guy a home. I returned home and without much trouble got the little guy in my cat carrier. He was alright until I hit the streets and then he started to yowl.
I can't tell you how bad I felt. I sensed that somehow he knew I was removing him from the home he'd made. This sucked.
I took him to the pet store over on the east side corner of first avenue and second street, and we put him in a back room. The little guy desperately tried to follow me when we shut the door, and I heard him wailing. This fucking sucked.
I went back to the front of the shop with Roger, and slowly started picking up cat food and other stuff. I'd promised Sam's new owner a bunch of supplies, and was preparing a package for him. She was leaving me tomorrow.
Roger rang up my order and this older rocker I'd seen around the neighbourhood came in.
"Michael, how are you?" Roger greeted him. The exchanged pleasantries, and as I packed my bag Roger started his pitch.
"You still looking for cat?" Roger asked.
"No, I was thinking about it but I've got the dogs. I'm ok now"
"Nice cat! Beautiful cat! At least you should look!"
"I don't know Roger..." Michael trailed off uncertainly.
"Come! Come!" Roger closed the cash register.
"See `ya Roger" I departed feeling much better. I knew Roger really well.
He had come to New York from Palestine in 1980, almost broke. Eighteen years later he owned several businesses on First Avenue, and three apartment buildings in Brooklyn. I had no doubt that this old boy could sell when he wanted to.
I never saw the Little White Cat again, and although he comes to me in my dreams, I don't worry about him either. I know he'll be ok.
THE TORTISE SHELL CAT
Fast forward almost three years to October 2000, and I'm living in Camden Town, London. I don't own a cat because I've been really busy with work, and I've also been attending University over here, taking a Masters degree in Quanitative Finance.
But I haven't missed owning a cat because it seems lots of folks let their animals roam outside here. And I make it a point to know something about all of them.
For example, there is the Big Black Tom across the road. I see him every morning when I leave for work. An elderly woman lets him out at about 6:30AM, and he climbs up onto the garage roof. A cat can get some sun and rest way up there.
And there is his buddy, an even larger Orange Tom. I'm not sure who owns him, but I see him and the black cat hanging out when I come home from work. They're good friends and clean each other often.
Then there is the White Persian that lives around the corner from me.
She is next door neighbours with a Small Black Kitten, who wears a bright red collar and even has his own cat flap.
Something is going on with those two, since I've seen both of them using the flap. I think he invites her over for a meal. I certainly would if I were lucky enough to be a cat; she's a fine looking animal.
And finally there is the construction site down the road. I think they've run out of money, since they've been working on it as long as I've been here and haven't made much progress. It's a mess.
But about six weeks ago I was out seeing a show, doing a little slam dancing and its maybe one AM, a brilliant full mooned clear night here in London when I see a dark shape moving in the construction site.
I freeze, and I see the tell-tale JUMP of a cat hunting and going in for the kill. I was curious, but didn't want to interfer so I left quietly.
But even though its out of my way, I made it a point to go by every day from then on, and sure enough, there is a beautiful Tortoise Shell coloured cat living there.
I've seen him during the day, and he's definitely a stray. His fur is matted, he doesn't have a collar, and he's more than a little distrustful.
But we're making progress, and now he'll sit about ten feet away from the fence and take in the afternoon sun as I make PSST PSST PSST noises at him.
He relaxes enough to partially close his eyes in the sunlight. I take this as a compliment.
And no, I don't know his story yet.
But I'm going to find out.
Original url is http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=777740 Props to the author. Cocks to lunix users.
The site was /.ed when if first came out in the WSJ and now it's /.ed again.
Haven't these poor people suffered enough?
How come /. still hasn't posted a single article about the passing of Gene Kan, but somehow a red stapler makes it to the front page???
????
I won't pretend I read all of that, but if they can post stories on the little red stapler that could, you are well within your rights to paste a rant on the various cats of the world... Offtopic, but who cares! /. Obviously doesn't.
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I of course, responded accordingly.
Now if I could get my damn neighbor to quit yelling through the walls...
News is such a relative term here. Something interesting would have sufficed, but I guess if we're digging the bottom of the barrel, overpriced staplers will do handily.
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According to IMDB the original stapler was just painted anyways:
;)
The red Swingline stapler that Milton was so afraid of having taken away was never actually manufactured by the Swingline company; it was instead painted red by a crew member in the props department. However, following the movie's success on video as a cult film, the demand for red Swingline staplers (apparently as a symbol of quiet rebellion among cubicle-bound employees) was so great that the company began to sell the red Swingline stapler on its website..
---
So break out that red paint and make your own...
"...you can steal my woman, but you ain't done nuthin' smart."
Ancient cultures (like China and India) tend to emphasize on hierarchy and obedience rather than questioning and innovation. When immigrant bachelor developers stay till midnight everyday and come to work on weekends, they set the same expectations on everyone else. Anyone who leaves at six because he has a life is viewed as being less of a team player. Also, important technical decisions might end up being taken outside the normal working hours.
Things only get worse when, after a few years, these same people become managers.
Some other symptoms are (i) dependence on individual brilliance rather than a good system and (ii) concentration of knowledge within a few individuals.
I am not blaming anyone and certainly not all immigrant developers fit the above pattern, but there is a cultural aspect to work and I am merely pointing it out.
BTW, I came from India three years ago.
All your favorite sites in one place!
Gmanske.
...merely twice the price of a plain black stapler...
..$29 bucks for a red stapler?
And sell at one-half the price on ebay...uh..yeeaah.
So, do you like Michael Bolton?
Actually, Milton and the epic of the stapler didn't originate in 'Office Space' but rather Judge's cartoon short from MTV's Liquid Television progam.
The skit basically showed Lumbherg and Milton having their classic confrontation about the stapler, moving his office down to the basement, and what not.
Judge made 'Office Space' from this skit.
"Where is my mind?"
At least now we know they use jrun.
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Maybe nobody gives a shit that some geek offed himself. Got it, Einstein?
Umm.. how the fuck does Gene Kan's death affect my life? Why would I care if he shot himself or someone else shot him? Sure justice glorified death whatever but thats not news at all. Besides famous people die all the time, what has Gene Kan done for me? If I can't recall him, he's probably not important.
THE YEAR WAS 2081, and everybody was finally equal...in every way
Harrison Bergeron? Vonnegut?
It may look like I'm doing nothing, but I'm actively waiting for my problems to go away.
--Scott Adams
... but Swingline 747s are damned good staplers. There is a difference between a Swingline and a random generic bubble-packed Asian knockoff hanging on the pegboard at Office Depot. The Swingline just feels right.
You buy oscilloscopes from Tektronix, digital voltmeters from Agilent, spectrum analyzers from Rohde & Schwarz, and staplers from Swingline. It's that simple.
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My grandmother used to have a red swingline stapler at her house. Ironically, I believe it was lost when the house caught fire. This was a good 15 years ago.
If I had known then what I know now, I would have hunted through the rubble for that damn thing!
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What about today? Is today the worst day of your life?
Yeah.
Wow, that's messed up.
.sig last updated Jan. 14, 2000
The Revolution Will not be Televised
Gil Scott-Heron
You will not be able to stay home, brother.
You will not be able to plug in, turn on and drop out.
You will not be able to lose yourself on skag and skip,
Skip out for beer during commercials,
Because the revolution will not be televised.
The revolution will not be televised.
The revolution will not be brought to you by Xerox
In 4 parts without commercial interruption.
The revolution will not show you pictures of Nixon
Blowing a bugle and leading a charge by John
Mitchell, General Abrams and Spiro Agnew to eat
Hog maws confiscated from a Harlem sanctuary.
The revolution will not be televised.
The revolution will be brought to you by the
Schaefer Award Theatre and will not star Natalie
Wood and Steve McQueen or Bullwinkle and Julia.
The revolution will not give your mouth sex appeal.
The revolution will not get rid of the nubs.
The revolution will not make you look five pounds
Thinner, because
The revolution will not be televised, Brother.
There will be no pictures of you and Willie Mays
Pushing that cart down the block on the dead run,
Or trying to slide that color television into a stolen ambulance.
NBC will not predict the winner at 8:32
or the count from 29 districts.
The revolution will not be televised.
There will be no pictures of pigs shooting down
Brothers in the instant replay.
There will be no pictures of young being
Run out of Harlem on a rail with a brand new process.
There will be no slow motion or still life of Roy
Wilkens strolling through Watts in a red, black and
Green liberation jumpsuit that he had been saving
For just the right occasion.
Green Acres, The Beverly Hillbillies, and Hooterville
Junction will no longer be so damned relevant, and
Women will not care if Dick finally gets down with
Jane on Search for Tomorrow because Black people
will be in the street looking for a brighter day.
The revolution will not be televised.
There will be no highlights on the eleven o'clock
News and no pictures of hairy armed women
Liberationists and Jackie Onassis blowing her nose.
The theme song will not be written by Jim Webb,
Francis Scott Key, nor sung by Glen Campbell, Tom
Jones, Johnny Cash, Englebert Humperdink, or the Rare Earth.
The revolution will not be televised.
The revolution will not be right back after a message
About a white tornado, white lightning, or white people.
You will not have to worry about a germ on your
Bedroom, a tiger in your tank, or the giant in your toilet bowl.
The revolution will not go better with Coke.
The revolution will not fight the germs that cause bad breath.
The revolution WILL put you in the driver's seat.
The revolution will not be televised, WILL not be televised,
WILL NOT BE TELEVISED.
The revolution will be no re-run brothers;
The revolution will be live.
PC = Problem Code
Tsunami -- You can't bring a good wave down!
Hell, Lumbergh fucked her...
I got one when I was a little kid, of course it is one of those little ones (about 3" long and 1/2" wide) I never thought it was anything special. Too bad I didn't know about the red swingline craze on Ebay or I could have sold mine for $1000 as an honest-to-goodness real un-spray-painted red swingline before those bastards flooded the market with the real thing.
I wonder if anyone will pay $1000 for an honest-to-goodness real un-spray-painted red swingline that's 30 years old? I'd have to get a new stapler though, I still use the thing at home, for the one or two things that I need to staple on a yearly basis. I'm more of a paper clip kind of guy...
I believe somebody's got a case of the mondays!
obviously...
Plug in Office Space: Free
Can of red Spray paint: $5
Plain black stapler: $10
Ebay fees: $2
Being able to make a living off selling staplers at 3 times the cost to slashdot geeks: Priceless.
but before it does that it does request a few cookies... wtf.
You really should translate that here and see what happens.
Wow, thats really interesting considering "There was just a slight problem: Swingline didn't make bright-red staplers." (wsj)
Nice try at impressing us loser.
Next time try sticking a that flaming stapler up your ass.
Always said Klaar, my first thought was sounds Klingon...
www.swingline.com is toast. Way to go. Some midwestern CIO is getting paged at this moment.
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Comment removed based on user account deletion
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Yeah, Slashdot has it's priorites straight:
story I submitted last night:
2002-07-10 02:31:04 Gnutella Developer Gene Kan Commits Suicide (articles,news) (rejected)
this story:
I Believe You Have My Stapler (accepted, as editors wipe the spooge of each others faces)
So it can be given to a SE professor at my school. This should be good..
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I must say, that I am the main character in Office Space. I work far less than my two coworkers, and get mad praise from my bosses. I'm constantly being reminded I need to turn in that TPS report... and no, I'm not kidding, we really did get a TPpS report about 2 months ago. There's an annoyingly loud lady across the cubicle isle, my boss talks like a California version of Lumberg, and instead of coffee he's got to have his chocolate milk. I just met my fiancee 8 months ago, only unlike the movie we're not living together until we DO get married. Other than that, my life is Office Space. That's why this is News for Nerds, and stuff that matters to me because it makes me laugh to think of Milton and the guy we "upgraded" several months ago that was just like him.
One of the silliest little programs I ever encountered was SimStapler from Freeverse software.
Staple away to your heart's content with no jams! Sorry folks, this one's for Pre-X Mac OS 9 and under.
_______
Hey, Peter, forget this article, check out what's on Channel 9!
...is that a gun in your cockpit or are you just happy to see me? ...is that a cock in your gunpit or are you just happy to see me?
and definetly one of the funniest. The more i watch it the less funny it is, but it still holds a place near to my heart. Even today, the Swingline symbolizes the oppression and greed large entities can have upon smaller ones. Then again, it could also symbolize how simple pleasures can keep us from burning down large office buildings. And also that you'll be treated like shit wherever you are. Even in mexico with lots of money.
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This past spring I had the most godawful computer engineering class... we were all given HC11's mounted on a power supply along with a breadboard. It wouldn't have been so bad if the professor hadn't had a policy of "it doesn't work, your grade is 0." (Each lab was 20% of the overall grade) Anyway, I remember many a night in the lab where the people would get frustrated and swear that at the end of the semester, they going to take out one of those poor boxes and beat the *&%$% out of it. If those boxes didn't cost $500, I'm sure a few people would have done it too...
To make laws that man cannot, and will not obey, serves to bring all law into contempt.
--E.C. Stanton
Why is the world so hell-bent on covering up suicides, even to the point of ignoring potential suicides who are in dire need of help?
Somebody told me that the Coast Guard logs more than thirty jumpers every year at the Golden Gate bridge. If the figure is even half as high as that, why do we never hear anything about it in the local news?
In reading some of the stories about this and doing some googling, I noticed that Kan's existence hase been expunged from the two most trusted web archives, the Google cache and the Wayback machine. Why?
Maybe I can answer my own question... I was in Portland Oregon recently, and as I was driving around the city I noticed at least a dozen billboards about depression and suicide. I've heard that Portland is the #2 city in the U.S. for suicides per capita, after Seattle. Must be the rain, I guess. Anyway, seeing all those billboards every day would actually be enough to actually drive someone *into* depression.
It's damn spooky to think of how many people are out there just quietly being depressed.
RIP Kan.
AM I the only one baffled by this pointless story? What the hell does a red stapler have to do with anything?
To publicize their new product!
Bring new life to your aging stapler with Stapler 2002 Upgrade Edition! Adds new and vibrant features which enhance productivity!
Personal Edition: Package includes one wire wheel for use with your power drill and a can of red Tremclad.
Enterprise Edition*: Package includes glass bead for your sandblaster and a bottle of red DuPont Centari for your paint gun.
* Installation downtime may be reduced through the purchase of a Stapler Backup Kit, part #6661313, projected availability 2Q2003, which includes one black Swingline stapler preloaded with 100 standard office staples. Availability subject to change without notice. We reserve the right to change the color of the paint supplied.
Fire and Meat. Yummy.
Keep modding it down as Offtopic, and I'll keep modding it up. C'mon, I've got 4 more points to burn.
I'm sick to hell of Offtopic abuse.
About half a year ago when I found there was no red stapler on the market. I got a black one and some red enamel. /stares at pink stapler
It didn't quite work right.
Shot in downtown Calgary, where the doozer habitrails are so advanced that, between interconnected malls, eateries, apartment high-rises and office blocks, it is entirely possible to NEVER go outside. (Presumably something to do with harsh Canadian winters. . .)
The film is filled with dark-humor about what happens when a group of co-workers make a three pay-check bet to see who can stay indoors the longest. A rather bent film, with weird-ass hallucinogenic scenes which I can entirely relate to. --Basically, take your time in such fluorescent, filtered air environments, and multiply by 100. Makes you double-think space travel, and that's a fact!
-Fantastic Lad
Dude, I have a purple stapler... I'm in charge of stationery orders :)
* * Always question "the National Interest" - 9 times out of 10 it is a cover for evil
Harrison Bergeron? Vonnegut?
Nope. The Democrat party's vision statement.
2002-07-11 05:31:21 Mining the Moon for Helium-3 (articles,news) (rejected)
Assuming we could pull together a coherent space program of the Apollo magnitude once again, Helium-3, a cleaner, safer, more stable isotope could be mined from the moon in abundance as an alternate nuclear fuel, according to this story from the Sydney Morning Herald. Also discussed: Lunar Tourism.
You know the shit's deep when a story about red staplers gets posted while one discussing how Helium 3 can be mined from the moon is rejected. I'd laugh if it weren't so damn tragic. Take the Karma. Might as well use it for something.
Articles rejected to date: 10/10
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I'd be forgivable it it were funny. Monty Python was funny. Whose Line is it Anyway? is funny. Mr. Bean is irritating, but also funny. The stapler.... Isn't.
My opinion of course. Everybody has two, and like armpits, both stink.
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We had to build stuff on the breadboard using the HC11 for processing - We did not, as I think might have been unclear, have to build our on HC11. 5 projects (each 20% of our overall), including a push-button calculator, a voice mail, and an eletronic etch-a-sketch. The HC11's were free (assuming you turned it back in at the end of the semester)... but man, some late nights in the lab made it tempting target...
To make laws that man cannot, and will not obey, serves to bring all law into contempt.
--E.C. Stanton
If you liked Office Space, you should rent Haiku Tunnel. It's a black comedy about a temp worker who goes perm at a law firm and gets his artistic side crushed. Like Office Space, it's a biting parody of modern office life. Unlike Office Space, the good guy doesn't win, but it's still very funny.
Read the EFF's Fair Use FAQ
Sure the links are slashdotted. Even I was curious to see what was so special about the thing. But then I saw it was a stapler. Red. It... Stapled things. If your a fan of the movie and want the stapler, that's cool. No disrespect intended. Hell, Fight Club soap is selling on ebay this very minute. But my Martha Stewart mug isn't going to get posted here no matter her popularity, obscurity or nerdy homemaker status and I'm pissed ;)
(no, I don't own any sort of Martha Stewert product)
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The swingline website at 11:00pm pacific:
We are currently upgrading our site to serve you better.
Please visit us again in twenty minutes.
Thank you for your patience.
error: conn.105.serv
WHAM-slashdotted! WHAMWHAMWHAM!
You've got my vote, man. Those posts are a damn sight better than a few I've seen.
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I'm glad to see this movie is so popular with the computer crew, yet it never made a big bang at the box office. I can't believe how Mike Judge could have created something this good, and then have gone on to produce "King of the Hill", just horrible.
what a rip off though
i'm sure theres some one with some 1377 455 stapler mods out there if you are really HC
MoRe... LaTeR... -=PJK=-
Is the Red Swingline in the Museum of Modern Art, like this one?
What worries me about the amazon case is.... Why would a Texan register a domain 9-11.net , point it towards Amazon.com, and not request anything(ransom...).
Seems to me there's a lot behind that story... SImple whois'ing the domains shows that. If it's that of revenge, what happened to Michael Beck......
I'd be better than these clowns as an editor , but in no way better than most of the people at kuro5hin.org .
Your reply was both insightful and informative. I would like to add quite simply that we'd have just as many offtopic posts saying 'Some guy who worked on Gnutella killed himself. This is news for nerds? Stuff that matters?' Good lord.
For the record, I found the stapler article to be 'neat.' So quit whining just because your story was rejected. Hell, you can see it on wired and cnet. Why is it so important to have your summary posted here anyways?
It was. If you ever want to really piss of a waitress at Fridays, ask them if they've ever seen Office Space. Then ask them how many pieces of flair they're wearing. They really call it flair, and they really have to wear 15. We did all of this by accident at someone's going away party from a software company a lot like Initech and sent the waitress screaming from the table several times.
How did they drop a whole nation on their heads?
finaly you poor us citizens get colored staplers. I have a Leitz 5524 in red since years on my desk. I didn't know that you poor guys are not able to get colored office tools. Must be real boring in your offices all in black or silver.
;-)
Btw the Leitz stapler never jams like that crap from Bostich.
go to http://www.leitz.de and see all these colored office tools you don't have there.
Juergen from Switzerland
Woe is me.
I don't get it. How does it happen to have ppl going that MAD over such a stapler? Moreover, the link displayed as web site in the story is broken.
And then he said: "I'll tell you the meaning of life. It is" and then realized 120 chars are definitely not enough...
in certan cultures where people does not get fired too much (hint hint: asian country starting with "J">, it is actually opposite as what you say.
the rest is the same, though (the crazy long hours).
think about it... concentration on knowledge serves one and only one purpose -- job security. however, when job security is a non-issue (or, at least a LOT less of an issue than, say, in the US), knowledge gets shared plenty quick -- because the more you teach people to do stuff, the more they can do and the less (hopefully) you have to do. ;-) pretty neat eh? i think china and india cannot cope with the crazyness because of the cultural situation *and* lack of job security.
anyway -- not saying that other countries got it all figured out -- but at least it's working out better than you are describing in certain places. US work model has its own problems too -- heh... man don't even get me started.
My life in the land of the rising sun.
Of course they made red staplers in the past, the metal ones I've seen were more a brick red rather than the brigher shade, though. And of course, the little plastic Tot 50 staplers (no relation to the current Tot 50) were usually red as well.
That's one clique'y, American in-joke too many for my taste. Goodbye /.
Sincerely,
James
What's the big deal about a red stapler?
I've had a red stapler for years.
And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbour Isaiah 3:5
Back when the economy was booming there
were companies here doing the same thing.
Friends were telling me about working 12 hour days and weekends and if they worked less, they were told they weren't being a team player.
The Red #747 has always been available, and $16 sounds about right. The question is, can you still get the #747 with Deco/Diner-style pinstriping?
Signed,
Mike Nomad
I have a friend who eats staplers. His doctor told him he needed a staple diet.
Apparently the Pope does so too(has a Papal diet)
For problems, seek only the simplest solution, complexity brings with it more problems.
I loved that movie. I remember one day I came in to find our dress code hade been moved up a few notches "because if you interact with the public, we want you all to give a good impression of the system.". The irony comes in because that was another of their rules, we're in a windowless square and forbidden to interact with the public! The same day someone showed me office space for the same time, and at least I felt reasured that there were a lot of people in the same situation.
Everything will be taken away from you.
Every year they come to the University of Arizona still.
As of 2:55 PST 7/11/2002.
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Is here: http://stationerystore.opnet.co.uk/detail.asp?Prod uctCode=459778
It's RED, it's cheaper than the swingline, it's ELECTRONIC and you can see all the workings through the transparent casing (so you don't need to mod your stapler case)!
What more could a geek need in a stapler?
A pizza of radius z and thickness a has a volume of pi z z a
some day you people will realize that Slashdot is not the whole world.
There are better sites, use them...
I just thought that I would tell you that your link to see the stapler does did not work when I tried it....
Conoco (a midwestern oil company) was sold on the idea that they could get their company logo on the staplers and that would help prevent them from disappearing. What a scam. The result was once they new red staplers with the logo arrived, people started taking them home. I suspect 1/2 the staplers at the highschool had walked off from the oil company. I suspect that Conoco ended up buying something like 10 times more because people were stealing them.
Now you know there's nothing to report on the business fron when the WSJ writes an article about a red-colored device that weighs a few pounds and fits in my hand.....
Wow that was a waste of an article. All the trees that lost their lives for this story; now that's a story. Hmmm, maybe they might offer the staplers in iMac colors..... Actually any imaginative thought on the idea of a stapler in other colors isn't worth the time.
And for those who might respond, "it's a movie reference to 'Office Space'", my response is "yeah... so what."
I was actually WATCHING Office Space when this story was posted. It's a sign, has to be a sign.
I used to be over by the window and there were squirrels and they were merry. But then they switched from the Swingline to the Boston...
My stapler is black. And it says 'STANLEY BOSTITCH' on it.
And I thought I was cool and hip. Now I'm not. Argh.
Check this out!m =1748980218
...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ite
and don't worry, the seller's user feedback says: Good Communication Fast Pay AAA +++ A Pleasure
Two chicks at the same time.
I looked around for an OfficeSpace script, but I couldnt find one... Does anyone know where to find it??
-k
They going to sell the stapler on Think Geek at all?
Where ARE they? I would be eternally grateful to anyone who could point me to a copy of the "Milton Animated Shorts" by Mike Judge.
I have only been able to find a few shreds of info on this. They were apparently broadcast on Saturday Night Live in October of 1990 (or 1991?).
Please help me find the birthplace of Office Space!
Thank you, Vortran
Knowledge is like ignorance.. too much can be just as bad as not enough.
Put a huge strip of male velcro around my monitor
and a strip of female velcro on the top of my
stapler. Keep it attached to my monitor, where I
can see it. Also keeps the finikey stapler
grabbers at bay due to "asthetics". I also like
the smaller swingline pocket staplers.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
You get today's Jon Katz award for using the most empty phrases to say absolutely nothing. The only part you messed up on is saying "Post-WWII workplace" instead of "Post-WWII, Post-Columbine, Post-9/11, Post-Tuesday workplace". In the future, please keep your buzzwords straight if you want to replace Katz.
You know, the Nazis had pieces of flair that they made the Jews wear.
What Would Jesus Do
(for a Klondike bar)?
"Has a case of the 'Mondays'"... .....
Has anyone ever said to you "Looks like someone has a case of the 'Mondays'"?
Naw. No. Shit, no, man. I believe you'd get your ass kicked.
.
Have you read the moderator guidelines? Well, have you, PUNK? (and I want a Karma: Gnarly option)
It beat the conditions they had at home in Greece, but it really was slavery.
Unfortunately, Americans, being very provincial, tend to think only in terms of American style slavery, in which manumission was rare and unexpected. (Oh, and no one was really sure what to do with free slaves, except repatriate them to Africa.)
For more information on Roman style slavery, try reading the Masters of Rome series by Colleen McCullough.
The real problem with comparing things to the H1-B system is that there isn't anything exactly like the H1-B system. It somewhat resembles both indentured servitude and Roman style slavery.
American style slavery was really more like feudalism, almost no hope of freedom or every raising your social status.
Of course, it is difficult to compare the H1-B system to anything else, since it is a modern invention with its own rules and peculiarities. However, to dismiss a comparison with slavery, especially non-American slavery simply reflects a lack of knowledge of the history of the ancient world.
All the creatures will die, And all the things will be broken. That's the law of samurai. (Jubai, 1605)
He didn't fill out his TPS report.
We have Michael posting a STUPID story that has NO REDEEMING VALUE as NEWS FOR NERDS.
I got this model about 2 months ago, and it's not the same as the one they used in the movie. The color is more of an orange-red than the cherry red used in the movie, and even its construction is different.
The movie's stapler's hinges are underneath the top piece, while the one being sold now has the hinges on either side of the top piece. In addition, the "Swingline" label is on the sides of the movie's stapler, while the current one has a single logo on the top. If they had just gotten the color right, I'd be a lot happier with it.
My previous (asshole) boss wanted to move me into this 10x12 cube with 6 other people, I protested and even suggested that they move me into the basement (it actually would have been better than the sweaty little cube) - anyways after much bitching they finally put me in the climate controlled server room - sure it was noisy and 45 degrees but it really reduced the time drive by's would hang out... I just had to wear a parka at my desk!
As long as we're talking about innovative new forms of slavery, shall we break into the topic of prison labor? With the ever-overflowing population of America's prisons, and the drug war eagerly stuffing more bodies into the system, there's an enormous amount of cheap labor available, creating a vested interest for those who benefit to perpetuate the system. It's really a brilliant workaround to that pesky anti-slavery amendment.
My deviantArt site
http://216.239.51.100/search?q=cache:DQJxCdKIbukC: www.swingline.com/b2c/whatsnew/NewProducts.jsp+red +swingline&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
Here is the text:
"Swingline The Red Stapler
Ah, the price of fame. Hollywood took one of our staplers - thanks,
by the way - and used it in one of their films. Trouble is, they painted it red, a color we didn't offer. Ever since, we've been getting calls from customers demanding to order "that red stapler".
Okay, okay, you win. We took our industry-leading 747 Desk Stapler and gave it a deep, establishment-defying, I'll- flunt-my-individuality-if-I-choose-to red finish. Without sacrificing one staple's worth of solid 747 reliability.
The only concession we've made, in fact, is to offer the Red 747 exclusively over the Internet, at least for now. And that's a matter of public safety -
they're in limited supply, and we'd hate to cause riots in the street."
=== The price of freedom is eternal vigilance
It would seem to me that the fact that Swingline now sells it will kill the novelty of the red stapler. As one who has never undertood the act of spending vast sums of money on a product that wil be gaurunteed to be worthless in 5 years it would seem to me that if so many people are gonna run out and get a red stapler then the black ones will subsequently be the way to express your individuality. I guess I'm the cool one with my 70's orange bates 550.
so if you could just move that article to the end of the posts, that'd be greeeeeaat, ok. Thanks a bunch /.
The Adult Happy Meal - "I'm lovin' it!"
Office Space is to us cubicle workers as Saving Private Ryan is to our WWII vets.
I wish my lawn was emo, so it would cut itself.
THE YEAR WAS 2081, and everybody was finally equal...in every way
Harrison Bergeron? Vonnegut?
Nope. The Democrat party's vision statement.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>&g t;
Answering the first ? - Yes, the (very) short story influenced my young mind more than most and the fact that he predicted the equality of outcomes movement is, to me, just more evidence of KVs genius.
Answering the second (pudknocker) Anyone who confuses the ravings of liberal naderites with position of the institutional Democratic party deserves the theocratic, conform of be investigated for unAmericanism, socially stratified state they will end up with.
THE YEAR WAS 2081, and everybody was finally equal...
Burn their webserver - IIS 4 (according to NetCraft). The techs are probably working on installing updates and re-service-packing everything. Not to mention all the rebooting. They had no chance of survival. Come back in a week...
OK, you're all talking about the movie instead of staplers. Right behind me is the reference desk.
On it are arrayed a grand total of four staplers.
There are three black ones and one cream one.
There used to be one or two burgundy ones (who says red staplers don't sell. I'd imagine burgundy ones are fairly common.) but they must have
circulated on to someone's desk.
The reason we have four staplers is one of them is always broken. The worst part is that students using the things try to fix them. "No!" I always
say. "Just use another one." In my mind's eye,
I see a student with bloody fingers from trying to manually extract a jammed staple. Even worse is
a student employee trying to fix a broken stapler.
There is a good fool proof and very annoying (to the right people) way to fix a jammed stapler. Take it, open it as if you're going to staple
notices to a corkboard. Then fling it hard against the bottom of a bookshelf or a wall. Watch heads
in the work room behind the desk turn. Watch
students go yikes.
Then pick up the stapler and use it. Chances
are very very good it works. The toss and impact
dislodge the jammed staple and gets the other
staples into line, and nobody risks bloody
fingers.
OK, and for being so sweet and patient and putting up with my post, you are all invited for a virtual tour of my office.
http://nakedmolerat.org.uk/office/
A friend of mine, actually has one of the coveted red staplers -- complete with lock and chain. You can waste time at work (and get back some of your sanity) by looking at it here.
Just hit Shift-"Continue" or OK (whichever your printer has on it) and it will ignore what paper you have in there is just start printing. Works every time for me.
http://new.wavlist.com/movies/317/
I actually found one in my fully-stocked desk when I started my last job for a software development company. (Mind you, it wasn't fullsize, but it was indeed a red swingline) That didn't concern me at the time, but sure enough, a few months later they brought in some consultants and fired me along with a bunch of other folks. True story.
And yes, I took the stapler with me when I left.
Here on cnn and on cnet :p
-1:offtopic
Come on people. If you want a red stapler paint it. If you want to be really hip you could powder coat it. Be creative - you don't have to settle for catalog choices. You'll never express your individuality by ordering off the same menu as the rest of the sheeple. You're going to have to roll up your sleeves and create some things on your own (or mod things someone else created). It's fun and rewarding. One-of-a-kind is always cooler than "first to buy it".
-=-=-=-=- osjedi uses Debian GNU/Linux. -=-=-=-=-
Yes they did, cuz I remember the thing, putz.
..where's my Initech logo coffee mug?
We work in a Smed designed office. Everything is grey with dark blue trim. When we first started in here, all desk accessories had to be Smed-approved (lamps, paper baskets, etc). That rule has kind of fallen by the wayside, happily...the only thing that cheers me up is an insanely rainbow coloured Lisa Frank mousepad. Otherwise, all I see is grey...everyday...
Very slow news day I guess.
It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning
My favorite quote of this most quotable film is...
Bob #2: "We're letting go of Michael Bolton & Samir Naya...Naga... Nagonna work here anymore, anyway. Ha!"
That, and the fax machine beat-down...ah...
--G
The only tool you've got against psychosis is experience.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Did you SEE the jump to conclusions mat?? I think you could prolly make one. Besides, it is horrible, this idea.
My grandmother used to have a red swingline stapler at her house. Ironically, I believe it was lost when the house caught fire. This was a good 15 years ago.
I'm looking at a "Swingline Tot 50" staper right now. Red plastic cover over a metal body. It's got to be at least 30 years old as the underside is stamped with "Long Island City, 1 NY" which indicates that it pre-dates ZIP postal codes. Also "Made in U.S.A." appears as well along with U.S. Patent 2,702,384 D-164,265
But the staples are from Stanley Bostitch, since Swingline does not make them any more.
I wonder what this would be worth on e-bay?
It's not that I'm lazy, it's that I just don't care..
We got back from lunch early so I got the projector, threw in the OS DVD and kicked back.
I took a screen capture of Lumbergh and have him on my corkboard looking down at me
"Mmmmm... yeahh....."
Live web cams
The website's back up (still running IIS4) with a big "Nothing but red" ad on the front page... but what happened to our $16 stapler!? $28.99, my friends!! Well, if they can't admin a website, at least they recognize customer demand when they see it.
Is it just me, or does the stapler from the movie look more like the the durable stapler than the new Swingline Red Stapler ? Maybe spray paint is still the best way to get a Milton stapler - ignoring the 100% markup for red paint...(?)
Ok, I click on the add to cart button on the Swingline website, and it pops open an ordering window with a 4 staplers added to the shopping cart. Ok, I think it's a little strange, but change the quantity back to 1, and hit continue to checkout. Next thing I know, I'm looking at an order form with all the text boxes filled out with somebody else's personal information. He's from Bellvue, WA apparently (I'm in Virginia). It also has his credit card number and expiration date!
This has to be the worst security I've ever seen in an online shopping site. The company who apparently provides the online shopping service for Swingline appears to be an outfit called SureSource.
Obviously not a company you would ever want to do business with, but how does this speak of other fly-by-night online ordering services?
You may want to reconsider your strategy of being an incorrect, obnoxious, know-it-all asshole.
I've had a burgundy-red Swingline 767 for quite a while. VirtualStapler has documented such a beast here. Now, the red 747 does appear to be new, though.
-dwd-
Funny no one has mentioned this... The fabled red stapler is up to $30 now. =>
I use Windows... like a two dollar wh.. why don't I just go ahead and not finish that sentence.
When our waitress showed up, her clothes reminded me of the place Jennifer Aniston's character worked. I asked her if she had to wear 15 pieces of flair.
She apparently had no idea what I was talking about. I was so disappointed. :-)
I actually got through to the site some time ago. When I clicked "Add to Cart", three red staples showed up in my card. When I removed the two that I never asked for and clicked "Checkout", the standard form asking for billing and shipping addy's showed up -- WITH SOMEONE ELSE'S INFO. Not someone who works with me or has access to my machine, but someone in Wisconsin. I contacted the person and he informed me that the same happened to him and another person had contacted him informing him of the same. /Groucho/ I've heard of the Slashdot effect, but this is rediculous! /Groucho/
I doubt that there privacy policy allows for handing out random user info!
"Anyway, long story short... is a phrase whose origins are complicated and rambling...." - Abraham Simpson
Dilbert is funny. Tom Tomorrow is not funny - but he may be trying to be funny. Scott Adams has a keen ear for workplace idiocy. Tom Tomorrow does not have much feel for how people really talk and act - his characters are overblown caricatures.
TT seems to think that if office workers read the right kind of comics they'd rise up in some Marxist revolution against the oppressors.
The solution to the Dilbert workplace is not some kind of revolution. Rather, go work for a better company. The only reason intelligent people stay in the Dilbert-style workplace is fear, or lack of awareness of alternatives. The best antidote is to maximize savings and avoid debt.
If I can presume to speak for the Dilbert constituency, we are not communists. We are clear-eyed realists. We don't want our employer to be nice, or to care about us, or to provide jobs for life. We simply want high pay, reasonable hours, respect, clearly defined tasks or responsibilities, and freedom from irrational interference. And (knock on wood) I have been able to get these things.
Ive never see one so therefore it must not exist. Do you perchance work at best buy?
And before you get all defensive. Remember where you probably read where they never made them. EVERYTHING on the internet must be true right...
Here it is friends, the REAL Red Swingline.
It's a "67 Electric" I Like to claim, that since it's painted in 4 layers of hand-rubbed "Ferrari Red" laquer it's the world's fastest stapler, and with a 40 sheet capacity it sure isn't slow =)
Eat your heart out guys...oh and I beleive that I have my stapler.
JawzX.
Big Red 1
Big Red Close
A Call For A New Slashdot Moderation Level!
Nahneenahneenahnah!!
Ok, so I have a "Mutual parting of ways" with work this last spring. The stated reasons were tardiness and not finishing the projects I was assigned. The reality is I was tardy because I was at work until 1 or 2am most nights working on various things I was told were my responsiblity or I knew wouldn't get done otherwise. I wasn't getting my projects done because I was expected to be the helpdesk for 60+ engineers and seemed to be the person who ended up with all of the "little" tasks and projects, also getting stonewalled on absolutely everything that had to be done by someone else tended to slow my projects down. The real reasons I suspect I got canned were refusing to "know my place" and stay quiet and suck it up. I have an unfortunate tendency to tell the emperor he has no clothes. I seem to have attracted the ire of the new CIO who I think was gunning for me within a week of his start date. This combined with a company-wide desire to cut full time staff doomed me. The irony in all of this is after 3 months of collecting unemployment I'm now working 40-50 hours a week as a contractor for the same company, reporting to the same boss, working just on the projects I supposedly couldn't finish, except I'm making 3 times the money, get paid overtime, work less hours, and can tell people who try to dump work on me "I'm sorry that's not part of my contract".