The hateful pricks get that way when they stay somewhere too long or feel like they have no options. I'm closer to being old than being young and I LOVE having that youthful energy around me. It keeps me enthused about the stuff I love (and sometimes forget to love because I'm mired in the bureaucracy that is required to make it possible).

On the wrong day, it sounds like bitching, but, really, it's like a horse chopping at his bit: Come on, you old bastard, LET'S DO THIS. I want to do it, I really do, but give me a chance to do the paperwork and get my old bones moving.

This is how a civil society survives. It takes a generation to enact a radical new idea, because the oldsters resist the change long enough to let the youngsters really think it over. Progress can be good, but it can also be bad. It takes time to learn that.

The young people get pissed because patience is not innate, it is learned. Eventually, (hopefully) the young will get to be old and the cycle repeats itself.

I had to chuckle at this - it's as though the parent thinks that people learn to be bigots when they get older. It's like religion: beaten into you in your youth.

Large corporations have, largely, ignored IM until it could be managed like Lync (or O.C.). Yes, XMPP and the like have been around for years, but uptake has been, mostly, limited to smaller corps. AIM, ICQ and other externally hosted IM services are taboo is larger environments (due to data exfiltration concerns).

I've made it personal policy to not return unexpected emails immediately. I might read the email, but I won't immediately respond to it or address it if it is not a priority by my reckoning.

I don't even decline last-minute unsolicited meeting requests until the next working day. As a salaried professional in upper management, I believe that I've earned the right to manage my time and resources as I see fit. Fortunately, I work for an executive staff who agree with me, so the others who disagree with MY standards for time management are, invariably, told to pound salt.

I also hate phone conversations that will set some sort of precedent. I'm perfectly content to collect data to make a decision via phone conversation (I will often also rehash the conversation via email to give the other party an opportunity to clarify or readdress my perspective), but I do not like to debate a position in a voice conversation unless I'm very well prepared. It's probably just my communication style, but I'm aware of my fallacies and try to adjust my processes to minimize their impact.

Of course, having said all that, true emergencies exercise all potential exceptions. Again, I've earned the authority to determine what constitutes an emergency. My CEO might complain about the order in which I address his concerns, but he grants me the discretion to do so. (Yes, I know I'm very fortunate in that regard.)

Except they posted AC.

Try to take over the world!

You must be new here.

Because the Chamber of Commerce is nothing but a nationwide business cabal? (not that I'm anti-business, but the Chamber(s) are anything but altruistic)

Maybe we do it because Jag mechanicals are garbage?

Or is troubleshooting flaming wiring harnesses and non-existent oil pressure part of the Jag mystique?

So far, you're the only one who gets it. Take one nice example and stick it in a museum or tour the shows with it (whatever it is). Crush or upgrade the rest.

Old cars and computers are garbage, simply because the market drove manufacturers to improve their game. There might a styling or nostalgia angle to an old product's appeal, but no one wants to live with a stock Model A in today's environment. However, that same Model A with a modern drivetrain, chassis and interior provides the best of both worlds. And can be very pleasant to gaze upon...

A perfect example is when Ford bought Jaguar. They tossed all the unreliable and overly complicated crap and replaced it with production-ready hardware, while keeping most of the kitsch that people seek. Never in my life have I seen so many 10+ year old Jags still on the road (and not on the side of the road) and it's simply because there's a plain old v8 engine sitting in the front and decently-engineered technology beneath the knick-knacks.

Wil Wheaton, is that you?

+1 Hillbilly

Burmashave?