[dba-Tech] Outlook question

Jim Lawrence accessd at shaw.ca
Fri Dec 11 14:34:06 CST 2009


You have struck a pet peeve of mine... but with your acknowledgement allow
me to prattle on off-topic from your OT. ;-)

I feel that a certifications and/or degrees are an acknowledgement of
diligence, in the pursuit of knowledge, in a discipline of study and a
demonstration of excitement, in a particular field of interest. Some
individuals rank people, not by their character, intelligence or
accomplishments by rather by the paper they have garnered.

My mother was a bright individual, who was attending university at sixteen,
with a full scholarship but had to leave in her second year as her father, a
gardener by profession, died. She then had to go to work as a stenographer
to support her mother and younger siblings and did so for the next 15
years...until she was married and had children of her own.

A story she related was of one of her bosses, of elevated rank due to his
education credentials, knowing little of her life story, chastised her for
being uneducated and of a common background. She responded with; "The
greatest man that ever walked the earth was the son of a carpenter." (This
response probably struck home with far greater impact then, some 70 years
ago, than it would now.)

Some of the most educated people can be some of most the embarrassingly
ignorant.

Jim


-----Original Message-----
From: dba-tech-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
[mailto:dba-tech-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of John Bartow
Sent: Friday, December 11, 2009 7:40 AM
To: 'Discussion of Hardware and Software issues'
Subject: Re: [dba-Tech] Outlook question

Some people who consider themselves "techies" never let go of old procedures
and can't be convinced that they should. A very arrogant fellow I know (on
university staff) I know still reformats and reinstalls windows every year
because that was considered by some to be a good practice back in Windows 95
days. I doubt he will ever stop doing this.

I optimize and rejuvenate PCs all the time and in ten years have probably
had to reformat and reinstall a dozen times. That's generally caused by a
bad infection that someone else tried and failed to remediate, not because
windows needs it. He doesn't care because some "expert" recommended that he
do what he does and I'm certainly not as much of an expert because I don't
have my PhD.




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