On a more positive note...

[KenHigg]

Correct in where it came from. To clear things up:

Ken said that even though something looked bad on the outside, everything is good on the inside. I countered this with a song that sounds good, but was sung by a Hitler Youth; my point being that NOT everything is good on the inside, actually most things look good but are rotten to the core. Take, par example, politicians.

I did not mean to sound anti-jewish, anti-german, or whatever. I only meant to sound anti-headintheclouds

I did not originally state all of this as I was trying to be subtle and didn't want to turn this into a Hitler party while still making a valid point...maybe I failed horribly

Hum... Pretty good stuff. Well played Tass'

 

[Ron_dK]

Correct in where it came from.

How many bonus points would that be ?

I did not mean to sound anti-jewish, anti-german, or whatever. I only meant to sound anti-headintheclouds
I did not originally state all of this as I was trying to be subtle and didn't want to turn this into a Hitler party while still making a valid point...maybe I failed horribly

Point taken

 

[Tasslehoff]

How many bonus points would that be?

Instead of a check, you get a check plus with a smiley sticker to boot.

Back on topic...Happy Thoughts:

Getting a college midterm paper back with no grade, but a check plus and a smiley sticker that smells like cherries if you scratch it.

Listening to Metallica's version of "So F*cking What?"

"Bunkering" someone in paintball (Bunkering=running right up to where someone is hiding, surprise them and shoot them from like three feet away)

Being unfortunate enough to be Bunkered in paintball, but fortunate enough not to be hit in the sensitive spots.

My happiest thought: playing Final Fantasy 7 again for the hundredth time

 

[Rich]

"Bunkering" someone in paintball (Bunkering=running right up to where someone is hiding, surprise them and shoot them from like three feet away)

Being unfortunate enough to be Bunkered in paintball, but fortunate enough not to be hit in the sensitive spots.

I'd suggest that you take Kenny along but he doesn't like the thought of being shot back at, too old or something

 

[KenHigg]

I'd suggest that you take Kenny along but he doesn't like the thought of being shot back at, too old or something

You're more observant than I once suspected

 

[Rich]

You're more observant than I once suspected

That's because I'm British

 

[KenHigg]

That's because I'm British

Not to worry, we will try and not hold it against you...

 

[Rich]

Not to worry, we will try and not hold it against you...

You couldn't, unruly mobs have tried and failed before, next!

 

[KenHigg]

Bill Gates

Love him or hate him, he sure hits the nail on the head with this. To anyone with kids of any age, here's some advice . . .

Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about 11 things they did not and will not learn in school. He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.


Rule 1: Life is not fair -- get used to it.

Rule 2: The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

 

[Bodisathva]

go, Bill, go!

The world needs more speeches like that...

 

[KenHigg]

go, Bill, go!

The world needs more speeches like that...

Of course I have no idea if he really said the stuff but I thought it was pretty good -

 

[ColinEssex]

Of course I have no idea if he really said the stuff but I thought it was pretty good -

Its certainly a whole lot better than the usual sickly sweet American stuff that induces vomiting that you have posted here

Col

 

[Kraj]

Of course I have no idea if he really said the stuff but I thought it was pretty good -

I can pretty much guarantee he didn't. Not only is nothing in there particularly original, but... Bill Gates? Giving the keynote speech. At a high school? Sorry, but how gullible does this author think people are? Sheesh...

And I just have to comment on a couple of them:

Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

A car phone? One of the most business-savy men in the thechnology industry is talking about car phones? I don't think so. What's next? Warning us of the dangers of spending money on luxuries like Laserdisk players?

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

In my humble experience, the percentage of stupid/incompetent/power mad/mean people is actually much higher among teachers than bosses. Bosses generally want you to suceed because it means less work for them and they want you to be happy because it means they don't have to waste time and money replacing you. It is not uncommon for teachers, on the other hand, to create artificial barriers to success based on the fantasy that such things prepare you for the real world. The irony is that the vast majority of people - especially those with a high level of education - do not work in union jobs and do not have such a thing as tenure. For most people, incompetence in the workplace will not be tolerated long (regardless of what most of us think about our superiors) - a condition that teachers are immune to.

 

[KenHigg]

Its certainly a whole lot better than the usual sickly sweet American stuff that induces vomiting that you have posted here

Col

Almost as sickly as the 'God save the Queen' vomit inducing stuff that you do -

Guess we're just two sappy old men...

 

[KenHigg]

I can pretty much guarantee he didn't. Not only is nothing in there particularly original, but... Bill Gates? Giving the keynote speech. At a high school? Sorry, but how gullible does this author think people are? Sheesh...

And I just have to comment on a couple of them:

Hum... I think you're picking it apart, missing the point. Besides it could be a true story but that's kind of secondary here...

A car phone? One of the most business-savy men in the thechnology industry is talking about car phones? I don't think so. What's next? Warning us of the dangers of spending money on luxuries like Laserdisk players?

Again, you're just trying to pick it apart. It could have been 15 years ago that this happened... This basic message is still true today...

In my humble experience, the percentage of stupid/incompetent/power mad/mean people is actually much higher among teachers than bosses. Bosses generally want you to suceed because it means less work for them and they want you to be happy because it means they don't have to waste time and money replacing you. It is not uncommon for teachers, on the other hand, to create artificial barriers to success based on the fantasy that such things prepare you for the real world. The irony is that the vast majority of people - especially those with a high level of education - do not work in union jobs and do not have such a thing as tenure. For most people, incompetence in the workplace will not be tolerated long (regardless of what most of us think about our superiors) - a condition that teachers are immune to.

Pick, pick, pick...

I think the message was that in school you fail, no big deal, you take the class over. In business you fail, you might lose your job...(Unless you work for the NHS... )

 

[ColinEssex]

In business you fail, you might lose your job...(Unless you work for the NHS... )

Sadly no longer the case.

The prime target of the various NHS hospital Trusts now is to make a profit, and hit the stringent government targets. Its all money orientated, the patient's care is now of secondary concern. Many Trusts (including mine) have huge deficits to make up, and redundancies are very possible here. In Oxford or somewhere, they have made 300 staff redundant as have many others, just to try to balance the books.

Almost as sickly as the 'God save the Queen' vomit inducing stuff that you do

Only an American would accuse another nation of having a "sickly" national anthem. Perhaps you can indicate exactly where I quoted the National Anthem of the United Kingdom, and which part made you "induce vomit"? I don't recall it at the moment.

Col

 

[KenHigg]

Sadly no longer the case.

The prime target of the various NHS hospital Trusts now is to make a profit, and hit the stringent government targets. Its all money orientated, the patient's care is now of secondary concern. Many Trusts (including mine) have huge deficits to make up, and redundancies are very possible here. In Oxford or somewhere, they have made 300 staff redundant as have many others, just to try to balance the books.

Why not just keep the inefficient system in place as it is and pay for it through some more gas tax...

Only an American would accuse another nation of having a "sickly" national anthem. Perhaps you can indicate exactly where I quoted the National Anthem of the United Kingdom, and which part made you "induce vomit"? I don't recall it at the moment.

Col

Trying to wiggle out of yet another corner? I said nothing of any anthem thing - you know what I was talking about. Which makes your 'Only an American' statement that much more self incriminating...

 

[Kraj]

Sorry if you feel I'm picking it apart, but I think if you're going to aim a message at young people it only makes sense to use terms that are relevant to them. Teaching them life lessons through references to outdated things sends the signal that your lessons are outdated. I realize your audience is actually the members of the Watercooler, but then, well... the message really becomes nothing more than reminding ourselves how pleased we should be that we've learned this wisdom. Sorry if my reaction is cynical, but hey that's the way I am sometimes.

If bringing up Bill Gates is irrelevent, then dropping his name in the first place must have been irrelevant to the message. Which it is. Which irritates me. If the message is good enough to stand on its own, let it stand on its own. Don't try to artificially enhance it with appeals to authority. In other words, just because the message might be good is not an excuse to lie. *Glares at the anti-drug people* (BTW, I'm speaking rhetorically here. I know you didn't write this, Ken.)

And as far as the boss v. teachers thing, yes that's certainly one way you could look at it and you're quite correct, but you're also reading a lot into it. The "rule" as stated referred specifically to the experiences of being subordinate to people in different roles, not to the ramifications of failure in different environments. To me, it looked like a rephrasing of the plattitude "if you think school is hard, wait until you get into the real world", which is drilled into your head from the time you enter school until the time you leave it. And frankly, such things simply piss me off because they are complete lies.

I know you post these to add more positive messages to the 'Cooler environment, but so many times the positive messages that get circulated contain negative ones in disguise. And I don't like it when people are tricked into accepting bad messages along with the good ones. I don't think it is unreasonable to root such things out.

 

[ColinEssex]

Why not just keep the inefficient system in place as it is and pay for it through some more gas tax...

because we pay for it through our National Insurance contributions

Trying to wiggle out of yet another corner? I said nothing of any anthem thing - you know what I was talking about. Which makes your 'Only an American' statement that much more self incriminating...

*sigh* - "God Save The Queen" is the name of the British national anthem, how can you say "I said nothing of any anthem thing"?????. You said (and I quote)

Almost as sickly as the 'God save the Queen' vomit inducing stuff that you do

- I merely asked where I had mentioned our national anthem, and as usual, in keeping with most US posters you ignored my question. Which makes my "only an American" statement even more true

I repeat (for clarity) "God Save The Queen" is the name of our British national anthem - got it????? or shall I repeat it again? where have I mentioned it?

Col

 

[ColinEssex]

I can pretty much guarantee he didn't. Not only is nothing in there particularly original, but... Bill Gates? Giving the keynote speech. At a high school? Sorry, but how gullible does this author think people are? Sheesh...

Just to say that Mr Gates has given many speeches at schools and universities in the UK.

Col