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Overgrown kids
Aug. 12th, 2004 11:03 pmEveryone must read "Mama Makes Up Her Mind" by Bailey White. You may not talk to me again before you have read this book. You will laugh until you cry, I promise you.
Another thing that made me laugh until I cried: Paleoentomology feuds. I mean, we're talking grown men here, refusing to lend each other samples, specimens, or data, all because of grudges that have been held since the beginning of recorded time. Today, for example, my boss finally received an amber specimen that he's been requesting for almost four years.
"Why did it take so long?" I hear you ask.
Well, apparently, the owner of the amber was writing papers on Dominican Amber, as was a colleague of his. Their identifications and descriptions began to overlap, so instead of working out a compromise like normal schoolchildren, they insisted on stepping all over each others' toes. Naturally, this led to Bad Feelings Which Persist for Ages.
So my boss writes a non-amber-related paper with the second guy, publishes it, and then - get this: years later - asks for a scientifically important specimen from the first. But nooooo, The Grudge must remain in place or the world might spontaneously cease to rotate.
(Side Note: At this point in the story, I had rolled my eyes precisely nine times. By the time the story was over, I had an eye-rolling headache. It's a well-documented overuse injury that results from excessive stimulation of the muscles employed in expressions of sarcastic incredulity.)
Four years pass, and my boss asks for the specimen on a more or less bimonthly basis. Enough excuses to fill a small encyclopedia are all that the other man returns. Finally, for reasons known only to greater powers, my boss' boss intervenes, sends a letter (which he doesn't let my boss see), and gets the specimen.
You'd think that highly intelligent scientists with multiple degrees could find something better to do with their time than acting like physically mature nine-year-olds.
( 33 - Nine Words Probably Not Ever Found in Personal Ads )
( 34 - Some Reasons I've been Fired )
Another thing that made me laugh until I cried: Paleoentomology feuds. I mean, we're talking grown men here, refusing to lend each other samples, specimens, or data, all because of grudges that have been held since the beginning of recorded time. Today, for example, my boss finally received an amber specimen that he's been requesting for almost four years.
"Why did it take so long?" I hear you ask.
Well, apparently, the owner of the amber was writing papers on Dominican Amber, as was a colleague of his. Their identifications and descriptions began to overlap, so instead of working out a compromise like normal schoolchildren, they insisted on stepping all over each others' toes. Naturally, this led to Bad Feelings Which Persist for Ages.
So my boss writes a non-amber-related paper with the second guy, publishes it, and then - get this: years later - asks for a scientifically important specimen from the first. But nooooo, The Grudge must remain in place or the world might spontaneously cease to rotate.
(Side Note: At this point in the story, I had rolled my eyes precisely nine times. By the time the story was over, I had an eye-rolling headache. It's a well-documented overuse injury that results from excessive stimulation of the muscles employed in expressions of sarcastic incredulity.)
Four years pass, and my boss asks for the specimen on a more or less bimonthly basis. Enough excuses to fill a small encyclopedia are all that the other man returns. Finally, for reasons known only to greater powers, my boss' boss intervenes, sends a letter (which he doesn't let my boss see), and gets the specimen.
You'd think that highly intelligent scientists with multiple degrees could find something better to do with their time than acting like physically mature nine-year-olds.
( 33 - Nine Words Probably Not Ever Found in Personal Ads )
( 34 - Some Reasons I've been Fired )
