Would you care to cite any examples of alpha males who were allowed to keep shooting their mouths off past the point when their immediate usefulness ended?
No, because that wasn't my point. We were talking about (at least *I* was) so-called alpha males who were essentially wusses in person, but fierce at a distance (in email and the like). My point was that anyone who does not assert their dominance in person is not an alpha male. Period. It doesn't mean that they don't exercise restraint and tact in the business world, but it DOES mean that a guy like Rumsfeld sounds the same in a memo to his staff as he does when he's being interviewed about the war. He is a classic alpha male. Others include Cheney (another classic), Steve Ballmer, George Lucas (ask any actor who has worked with him, and compare to his interviews), Arnold Schwartzenegger, Dr. Dre, and the list goes on. These people assert dominance EVERY time they get the opportunity and NEVER wuss out for fear of public reprisal.
Hmmm. You have no examples as to "how it works in the business world" except for theoretical ball-stuffing and tasting. (I go on record by saying that I'm a little disturbed with the direction you've taken this discussion.) I have cited a couple of high profile alpha males who are highly successful in the business world because they walk their talk. You contend that a true alpha male does NOT walk the talk because of social ettiquette? Um, now I'm lost, especially with no examples. Methinks the bleeding hearts have gotten to you...
I'm just saying that he's inconsistent. Easy-going for the public eye, and a dick on the email list. Sometimes you have to be a dick. I get that. I've been called worse. But it's just not consistent with what he says when the cameras are rolling. He, in fact, says he sometimes fires off emails WITHOUT thinking.
Anyways, I'm not losing sleep over it. It has certainly dropped him a couple of pegs in my book, though. I'm sure he's not losing sleep about my lack of support.:-)
--Akshun J
It's not cowardice. It's the alpha male syndrome. Alpha males, in our society, tend to get beat on by authorities for frightening the people around them. This is mostly because bleeding heart liberals think that everyone is special. Even the idiots who challenge an alpha male's authority without having the strength to back it up are, after the subsequent beat-down, given a lollipop and coddled while the alpha male gets disciplined for being such a meany-monster. Some alpha males learn how to be timid and soft-spoken in person so that no one can say they felt physically intimidated.
On e-mail lists there's no possibility of a physical attack so alpha males are free to express themselves fully.
That's a load of b/s. Alpha male "humans" in the wilderness of the business world provide leadership and assert authority is as direct a manner as possible. The distance and anonymity that email provides is ABSOLUTELY distasteful to them when delivering a beat-down to a rival. Alpha males assert dominance through eye contact, tone of voice, physical proximity, etc. You're saying that because the liberal world "hates" on alpha males, Linus has learned to be a pussy when the camera is on, and issue his beat downs from a distance. If that's the case, he would surely no longer be considered an alpha male. He would be a neutered coward in my book. A true alpha male would assert dominance in every way and absorb the impact. There are various ways of making this palatable to the public, but acting contrary to your nature just because the camera is on is chicken-shit. A calm and smiling Linus could easily get away with telling people that it's his way or the highway, and weak-minded people need to get over themselves (see Dick Cheney or Rumsfeld who are both classic alpha males). In reality, in the last interview I saw with him, he was quite the self apologist saying that he often wrote abrasive emails without thinking. I say he's being cowardly because I don't think he'd take the risk of talking like that to someone's face. True alpha males PREFER that kind of risk. That's how they reinforce their dominance. Put another way, I LOVE it when customers are pissed about something and rant on the phone about coming into my office and telling me to shove it. And then they meet me in person (black, 6' and 230lbs). All of a sudden they are little lambs. Personally, if I am bold enough to talk trash in an email, you can be damn sure I'll say the same to your face.
RTFA, hey? I'm guessing that's a very clever acronym for "reading the fine article." I hope that's working out for you guys. Being clever, that is.
Is it truly sooooo difficult to write in anything other than geek-code?
Also, I have always admired Linus, but his email persona seems quite different from the soft-spoken, calm and thoughtful guy he presents in live interviews. Some of the stuff he writes on the kernel list makes him look like a dick. Timid in person, but aggressive in email smacks of cowardice and gives me quite a different opinion of him these days...
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Would you care to cite any examples of alpha males who were allowed to keep shooting their mouths off past the point when their immediate usefulness ended?
No, because that wasn't my point. We were talking about (at least *I* was) so-called alpha males who were essentially wusses in person, but fierce at a distance (in email and the like). My point was that anyone who does not assert their dominance in person is not an alpha male. Period. It doesn't mean that they don't exercise restraint and tact in the business world, but it DOES mean that a guy like Rumsfeld sounds the same in a memo to his staff as he does when he's being interviewed about the war. He is a classic alpha male. Others include Cheney (another classic), Steve Ballmer, George Lucas (ask any actor who has worked with him, and compare to his interviews), Arnold Schwartzenegger, Dr. Dre, and the list goes on. These people assert dominance EVERY time they get the opportunity and NEVER wuss out for fear of public reprisal.
Do you concede the point??
Hmmm. You have no examples as to "how it works in the business world" except for theoretical ball-stuffing and tasting. (I go on record by saying that I'm a little disturbed with the direction you've taken this discussion.) I have cited a couple of high profile alpha males who are highly successful in the business world because they walk their talk. You contend that a true alpha male does NOT walk the talk because of social ettiquette? Um, now I'm lost, especially with no examples. Methinks the bleeding hearts have gotten to you...
I'm just saying that he's inconsistent. Easy-going for the public eye, and a dick on the email list. Sometimes you have to be a dick. I get that. I've been called worse. But it's just not consistent with what he says when the cameras are rolling. He, in fact, says he sometimes fires off emails WITHOUT thinking. Anyways, I'm not losing sleep over it. It has certainly dropped him a couple of pegs in my book, though. I'm sure he's not losing sleep about my lack of support. :-)
--Akshun J
It's not cowardice. It's the alpha male syndrome. Alpha males, in our society, tend to get beat on by authorities for frightening the people around them. This is mostly because bleeding heart liberals think that everyone is special. Even the idiots who challenge an alpha male's authority without having the strength to back it up are, after the subsequent beat-down, given a lollipop and coddled while the alpha male gets disciplined for being such a meany-monster. Some alpha males learn how to be timid and soft-spoken in person so that no one can say they felt physically intimidated.
On e-mail lists there's no possibility of a physical attack so alpha males are free to express themselves fully.
That's a load of b/s. Alpha male "humans" in the wilderness of the business world provide leadership and assert authority is as direct a manner as possible. The distance and anonymity that email provides is ABSOLUTELY distasteful to them when delivering a beat-down to a rival. Alpha males assert dominance through eye contact, tone of voice, physical proximity, etc. You're saying that because the liberal world "hates" on alpha males, Linus has learned to be a pussy when the camera is on, and issue his beat downs from a distance. If that's the case, he would surely no longer be considered an alpha male. He would be a neutered coward in my book. A true alpha male would assert dominance in every way and absorb the impact. There are various ways of making this palatable to the public, but acting contrary to your nature just because the camera is on is chicken-shit. A calm and smiling Linus could easily get away with telling people that it's his way or the highway, and weak-minded people need to get over themselves (see Dick Cheney or Rumsfeld who are both classic alpha males). In reality, in the last interview I saw with him, he was quite the self apologist saying that he often wrote abrasive emails without thinking. I say he's being cowardly because I don't think he'd take the risk of talking like that to someone's face. True alpha males PREFER that kind of risk. That's how they reinforce their dominance. Put another way, I LOVE it when customers are pissed about something and rant on the phone about coming into my office and telling me to shove it. And then they meet me in person (black, 6' and 230lbs). All of a sudden they are little lambs. Personally, if I am bold enough to talk trash in an email, you can be damn sure I'll say the same to your face.
RTFA, hey? I'm guessing that's a very clever acronym for "reading the fine article." I hope that's working out for you guys. Being clever, that is.
Is it truly sooooo difficult to write in anything other than geek-code?
Also, I have always admired Linus, but his email persona seems quite different from the soft-spoken, calm and thoughtful guy he presents in live interviews. Some of the stuff he writes on the kernel list makes him look like a dick. Timid in person, but aggressive in email smacks of cowardice and gives me quite a different opinion of him these days...
--Akshun J
It's awesome!!! The Doctor is back and Chris Eggleston is BRILLIANT!
--Akshun J
Hello! Netflix! Rent it and keep sitting on your lazy ass. --Akshun J