Conference back40::soapbox

	Right-sizing ..............%^{

    
    "opportunity"
    
      bb

    Digital vs. DEC
    

	Cash flow................

	Lean and mean.

	Re-organizing...........





	Kinda hard when you weren't organized to begin with. %^)

    "lame duck"

    	Wonk.

    Angst.

    
    I wish I'd said that.

misfeature



Chele

    right fit

    Lidagation.....

    
    And what exactly is "lidagation", pray tell?
    

 Sounds like a medical procedure

Empowered.

Individual Contributor.

Resource.

Teaming.

Partnering.

	" profit "

    
    as in body parts...
    
    or fetal tissue...
    

| <<< Note 223.2 by GMT1::TEEKEMA "The ultimate experiment gone bad !!" >>>


| Right-sizing ..............%^{


	For you that would spell....




              I	   M	P	L	A	N	T

	More like R E D U C T I O N .........%^)

| <<< Note 223.23 by GMT1::TEEKEMA "Tip toeing through the Tulips......" >>>


| More like R E D U C T I O N .........%^)


	We're already talking microns... you wanna go smaller than that?

	Tapes ?, What Tapes, I have no idea what you are talking about
Glen................%^)

	Is your kneww metal or plastic? I need to know which torch to bring in.
One to mealt, or one to weld....

	Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaccccccccchhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.....

    Another note impervious to Newt, check item 6 from the Society that has
    the official duty of determining the word(s) of the year.
    
    -- Jim
    -------------------------------------
From:	US3RMC::"[email protected]" "American Dialect Society"  9-JAN-1995 21:19:51.89
To:	Multiple recipients of list ADS-L <[email protected]>
CC:	
Subj:	Let the word go out

Thanks to Natalie's nimbleness, y'all know already the choices we made for
Word of the Year at our Coronado confab. But I thought you might want to see
(and perhaps improve) the press release I'm preparing, to make available to
those in the media who belatedly inquire.

'CYBER'  AND  'MORPH'  CHOSEN
AS  NEW  WORDS  OF  THE  YEAR  1994

 In a tie vote at the American Dialect Society's annual meeting Dec. 29, both
"cyber" and "morph" were chosen as New Words of the Year 1994.
 "Cyber," pertaining to computers and electronic communication, was
recognized not only for itself but because of the hundreds of compounds it
has produced, such as "cyberculture," "cybercrime," "cyberhype," "cybersex,"
"cybersurfer."  It is not brand new, but newly prominent.
 "Morph," meaning to change form, is also not a brand-new word but was
similarly prominent in 1994.  Children already know it from the Mighty
Morphin Power Rangers; politicians learned about it as they were "morphed" by
enemies in the elections of November 1994.
 Preceding the final vote on New Word of the Year, members and friends of the
American Dialect Society, meeting at Le Meridien in Coronado, Calif., also
chose these winners in six particular categories:
 1. Most beautiful: "sylvanshine," the newly discovered night-time
iridescence of forest trees.
 2. Most imaginative: "guillermo," an e-mail message in a foreign language.
 It is a bilingual play on words:  the Spanish name Guillermo has the
nickname "Memo."
 3. Most trendy: "dress down day," also known as "casual day," a workday
(usually Friday) when employees are allowed to dress casually.
 4. Most euphemistic: "challenged" as a polite way of indicating an
undesirable or unappealing condition, in combinations like "abdominally
challenged," "classically challenged."
 5. Most promising: "Infobahn," a new short term (with a play on the German
"Autobahn") for "information superhighway" or the Internet.
 6. Most useful: "gingrich," to deal with government agencies, policies, and
people in the manner of newly-elected U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich.  It
is most often used in the passive, to say that an agency, for example, is in
danger of being "gingriched."
 "Cyber" was the nomination of John and Adele Algeo, conductors of "Among the
New Words" in the American Dialect Society quarterly journal American Speech.
 "Morph" was proposed by David Barnhart, editor of the new-words quarterly
Barnhart Dictionary Companion. This year's categories and nominees were
determined by 18 American Dialect Society members and friends in an open
meeting of the New Words Committee the day before the final vote.

>Most imaginative: "guillermo," an e-mail message in a foreign language.
>It is a bilingual play on words:  the Spanish name Guillermo has the
>nickname "Memo."

I have 1 new message.

(Somehow, I don't think this will catch on.)

<chuckle>

My whiteboard used to feature the "Weaselword of the Day"

some of my favorites...

"deliverables"      I never have been able to get a definition of this word
                    from any source, particularly its users. I'm occasionaly
                    required to list these, whatever they are, on reports.
                    
"speak to"          as in "I can't speak to that subject". Why would you
                    *want* to speak to an abstract concept?
                    
My observation has been, the less real work someone does, the more they use
these things.

  "speak to" makes me want to hurl.

    A Deliverable can usually be equated to a CDRL (Contract Data Requirements
    List) in a U.S. Government contract.  It usually means a report or some
    other document(s) that are required to be delivered under the contract.
    
    Welcome to the wild, wooly, exciting world of Government Contracts.
    
    Dan

    .33
    
    BZZT!!!!
    
    A deliverable can be anything.  My current deliverable is a filter to
    convert mu.dOATS-macro-coded *roff source to HTML.

    I'll take that as a deliverable and speak to why folks would do that.  

>    A deliverable can be anything.

Yah, that's pretty much the definition I've gleaned from context...

This crap is everywhere in DEC, uh, Digital... I just got a mail message from
the "PC Competency Training Center". Anything wrong with "PC Training Center"
as a name?

My group's stated goal is "world-class customer satifaction". Seriously.
"Satisfied" seems like a binary concept to me: on or off.

 At least they don't seem to be using "peel back the onion" or "Its like
 trying to nail jello to the wall" or "Its like trying to solve world hunger"
 around here anymore.  Man, I used to cringe everytime I heard those.




 Jim

    
    "Its like trying to nail jello to the wall"
    
    	I think the real problem here is one of force dispersion [or lack
    	thereof].  Like a stiletto heel poking through an airplane's floor,
    	the narrow nail is cutting right through the Jell-O.
    
    	If you were to use a very wide nail, the force of the nail against
    	the Jell-O would be dispersed over more of the Jell-O's surface
    	area and therefore it would be more likely to hold it up.
    
    	Maybe we can organize a task force to speak to this issue.  After
    	a few roundtables, maybe we'll be able to peel back the onion on
    	this problem and solve it quicker than world hunger.
    

    
    Best In Class
    Best In Class
    Best In Class
    Best In Class
    Best In Class
    Best In Class
    Best In Class
    Best In Class
    Best In Class
    Best In Class
    Best In Class
    
    AAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!
    

    
>  At least they don't seem to be using "peel back the onion" or "Its like
>  trying to nail jello to the wall" or "Its like trying to solve world hunger"
>  around here anymore.  Man, I used to cringe everytime I heard those.
    
    I think we could probably solve world hunger if we'd stop nailing all
    the jello to the walls!
    
    :-)
    

RE:       <<< Note 223.38 by BUSY::SLABOUNTY "Holy rusted metal, Batman!" >>>

Yeah, but what are the deliverables around this and who will we 
empower(BLECH) to deliver on these deliverables?

  are these over-arching concerns?

    
    	The REAL over-arching concern is wondering who will foot the bill.
    

               "CORE COMPENTENTCY"

               ('prolly spelled wrong)

    
    	Spelled very wrongly, yes.
    
    	"Core competency" - a trustworthy "core" or "people base" which
    			    you can build a business around [8^)].
    

    this doesn't look like a very supportive string.
    
    Teaming:  Makes me think of sharks surrouonding a bleeding carcass.
    
    meg

    watershed management

    pipeline management

    stovepiping

  knowledge aquifer

    Synergy

    
    
    Politically correct
    
    
    
    
    (If someone put this in already, my appologies.  If not, I'm very
    surprised it took this long to show it's face!)
    
    
    
    Terrie
    

    
    I can't speak to the subject of deliverables. My knowledge aquifier on
    watershed and pipeline management limits my synergistic abilities in
    the core competency of the subject, but I think an over-arching
    consensus can be reached by a teaming of Boxers.

    interest to kill the tree
    
    good rope to grab
    
    sitting in the weeds
    
    back pocketwear

    
    <-----
    
    huh?

    precisely.

    
    Stop calling him Priscilla.....
    
    
    
      He prefers Prissy

    Not to worry Di, methinx TopMgmt finally got wise to the web & realized
    it was funding a buncha suits designing the irrelevant by studiously
    ignoring the obvious.  They are mostly fired or redeployed by now.
    

    	On my most recent Performance Appraisal my manager wrote that I
    	was politically correct.
    
    	I made her change that to "corporately correct".  I knew what she
    	meant, but I didn't want others to misconstrue.

 I cannot stand the word "paradigm"...drives me absolutely nuts.

  .58 

  <look of glee>

    I was encouraged to step out of my paradigm at a meeting once. 8^p

    
    You do know, of course, that "digm" does not equal "trousers" in any
    language?
    
     

    re: .58
    
    I had a pair of Paradigm speakers...they were quite nice.  

 Thud

    
    Shift your pardigm elsewhere.
    
    

    I hate macro level discussions. 
    
    8^p

    
    > 	On my most recent Performance Appraisal my manager wrote that I
    > 	was politically correct.
    > 
    > 	I made her change that to "corporately correct".  I knew what she
    > 	meant, but I didn't want others to misconstrue.
    
    So Joe, does that mean she doesn't like you or what ?
    
    :-)

    re .66
    
    Corporately correct
    
    sounds pretty morally relativistic to me
    
    

    	re .67

    	"Joe is Corporately Correct and will do anything for the
    	team and for the Company provided it is ethical and does
    	not compromise his good judgment."

    Educators' jargon blasted in Conn.
    
    STONINGTON, Conn. - Fed up with the educational jargon spoken at School
    Board meetings, an author has withdrawn his candidacy for a seat on the
    board.
    
      Ronald Florence Monday singled out Stonington High School Principal
    Thomas Jones for his use of "convoluted, pompous gibberish" to explain
    below-average SAT scores.
    
      As an example, Florence said Jones explained that low verbal SAT
    scores require "monitoring implementation of those learning out-comes."
    (AP)
    

           <<< Note 223.68 by CSC32::J_OPPELT "Wanna see my scar?" >>>


	Your boss actually wanted that to read "politically correct"?

Jim

    
    I don't know about you Joe, but if somebody called me "politically
    correct" or even "corporately correct", I'd consider that an insult.

    To the Corporation?

    Screw deliverables.... you got "too much on your plate".

 I  heard "peel back the onion" and "Let's not re-invent the wheel" today.



 Jim

	My husband and I were talking about buzzwords the other
	day, and I suggested we begin our own list of buzzwords.

	We'll just start using them in meetings as though everyone
	knows what we are talking about, and see how long they take
	to catch on.

	Anyone else wanna play ?

    "You can take that to the fishmarket."
    
    "Let's not drive upside down here."
    
    "But in the other peck of apples..."
    
    "If we're going to hunt zebras, let's make sure we're using the right
    truck."

    "but that's pickin' the fly <waste> from the pepper"

    Oooh, that's a good one.

	I just *knew* this would be fun!

	(unfortunately, I can't remember the one I created that started
	the whole idea!)

 A favorite of a former boss:


 "We kinda got our foot stuck in our underwear on that one"

    
    "Caught in the zipper."
    

  .81  you were at the Big E too?

    
    .82
    
    No, but I went to the CNE, and I did NOT ride The Zipper, because
    it scares me, yes it does.
    

    
    "Go up my behind with a fine tooth comb."
    

    
    Some real ones:
    
    	"Got yanked in the pantywaist".
    
    	"He/She can squeeze a nickel and make the penny next to it scream".
    
    	"Makes ants crawl up my butt".
    
    	"Love your cookin', but hate your butter".  (i.e. good news, but I
    	hate your delivery of it)
    
    Whaddya expect, it's Texas.

    >No, but I went to the CNE, and I did NOT ride The Zipper, because
    >it scares me, yes it does.
    
     Now way! That's a GREAT ride! Whassamatta? You don't DO Gs?

    
    Hey, I did the roller coaster, and the Spider, but the zipper...that
    ride is not for me (except to hang around below it and catch the
    loose change that falls out of people's pockets).
    

    
    	I just heard "peel back the onion".
    
    	I feel so priviledged.
    

 So, you're in the loop, eh Shawn?

    
    	Hell, no ... I heard it come up in conversation in the next
    	cubicle.
    
    	If it were said to me I probably would have lost it.
    

 Oh...so, you're not in the loop, eh?

    a conversation in the next cube may have been mentioning a
    topic started in another widely read notes conference just
    yesterday, topic title that phrase.
    
    DougO

      <<< Note 223.88 by BUSY::SLABOUNTY "Act like you own the company" >>>
>>    	I feel so priviledged.

    privileged
    

    
    	Hmmm ... that's what I had at 1st, but it didn't look right so I
    	changed it.
    

	Clothing consultants...... wow.... what a stretch!

    Well, at least they should be able to take a dressing down from angry
    customers.

groan....

    Didn't OJ's dream team have a "glove expert"?

	They had a condom expert at the trial?????

	bzzzzzzzzzzzsnarf!

>                   <<< Note 223.95 by BIGQ::SILVA "Diablo" >>>

>	Clothing consultants...... wow.... what a stretch!


      Yeah, I heard that one on a radio commercial the other day.

       Sorta like Barry and Elliot's "Sleep technicians".

       Or "Pre-owned cars".


       A rose by any other name........would stink just the same.



                                                     BMG

| <<< Note 223.101 by CONSLT::GRIFFITH "Shaker Jockey Extraordinaire" >>>


| >	Clothing consultants...... wow.... what a stretch!

| Yeah, I heard that one on a radio commercial the other day.

	That's where I heard it!

| A rose by any other name........would stink just the same.

	Hey!!! Leave Rose out of this! She don't stink!

    
    massage the truth
    

Excerpts from: "The SBU Manufacturing and Distribution Performance Management
Guidebook", spelling and punctuation intact.

   "Breakthrough Strategies are business priorities where leveraged resources
   are required to achieve stretch targets and significant results."

   "Reduce manufacturing cost through focus on internal, non-value added
   costs and persue all supplier-based cost opportunities."

   "Create value-added business opportunities and improve products by
   investing in productivity gains."

The fact that anyone can write the above seriously, with a straight face,
explains much about Digital over the last few years. Hmm, I have a great
idea!  Let's use ENGLISH:

   "Breakthrough Stategies are risks taken for large potential gains."

   "Reduce manufacturing cost by reducing waste and seeking bargains."

   "Seek new business and increase productivity."

    
    "quick & dirty"
    
    

    <- Defined as: "The way you get to work when you have no heating oil"
    
    <rapidly raises umbrella>

    
    I can wait.
    
    

 heard in a meeting today: "It's not rocket scientry"

Apparently, eh?

I was intrigued to read (in another conference) of someone who had their
"interest peaked" by something or other.  (Boredom must follow, surely?)
I guess "interest peeked" would probably get them arrested.


\C

	Depends on where they were when their interest peaked...;-)

	Heard a commercial last night that used the word:

	Gigaloads (as in information)

		BARF!!!!
	

    People talk to slides now. It's very strange.
    
    They also talk to the dollars.

 But is it "planful"?  

    
    	As my meeting ran overtime yesterday afternoon, and several
    	folks tried diligently to keep me in the room, I finally said,
    
    	"Well, I'm doing the 'Dance of the seven coffees', so we'll have
    	to wrap this up."
    
    	I think it'll catch on.
    

<--- BWAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAAHAH!

 Good one, Karen ;-)

    
    
    If we ever meet, Karen, I'll want to see your rendition of the dance!!
    
    :)
    

    
    	Why ?  Have you something to compare it to ?
    
    

    
    
    Absolutely!!!!
    
    Although mine doesn't take as many coffees to accomplish!!
    
    :)
    

    
    	Well, then it's not the "dance of the seven coffees" then, is
    	it ?
    
    

    
    
    How do you confuse a Polack?
    
    hand him a card that says...
    
    "See other side"
    
    Turn it over and it says...
    
    "See other side"
    

    I always thought that was how you keep a Polack busy all day.

    
    Andy's lawyer will be in touch.
    

    I have a manager who constantly asks me if I have any "spare cycles".
    What the hell is a cycle?  How many in a day?  How many in an hour?
    Why can't she just ask if I have any extra time? 

    one per month.

Tell her it's padlocked to the stand outside the front door, Chris.

 "scrub the numbers down" is one I've been hearing lately.





 Jim

    >I have a manager who constantly asks me if I have any "spare cycles".
    >What the hell is a cycle?  
    
     A CPU cycle.
    
     Next time tell her that you've got the cycles, but your cache is full,
    and you don't have enough memory. See if she gets the picture. :-)
    
     We use this kind of talk all the time. Being hardware engineers, it
    doesn't seem as ridiculous as it might if we were doing something else.

    Geek alert!

    We use 'cycles' in software engineering, too.
    
    Where did the notion of tasks being 'things on his/her plate' come 
    from, though?
    
    We use this one, too, but it still sounds strange to me.  (Doctah,
    I've seen you use this one in here, so apparently it's used in
    hardware engineering, too.)

    so, the next time she asks about my spare cycles, the response should
    be, "sorry, I've got too much on my plate right now"?

    >so, the next time she asks about my spare cycles, the response should
    >be, "sorry, I've got too much on my plate right now"?
    
     Yes, that's perfect.

    >Where did the notion of tasks being 'things on his/her plate' come 
    >from, though?
    
     Dunno, but its use is widespread 'round these parts. 

>    so, the next time she asks about my spare cycles, the response should
>    be, "sorry, I've got too much on my plate right now"?

     ..but perhaps you could talk to the numbers.

    people who say "talk to" need a good talking to, IMO.

    spare cycles, is that
    motor-
    uni-
    bi-
    tri-
    kilo-
    mega-
    tera- (or kilomega- for the real old tymers)
    

    saw some reference in the Digital Notesfile about TFSO/layoff being
    called "reprofiling".
    
    a skunk is still a skunk, no matter what one calls it.

    I've been around longer than most of you and "Too much on my plate
    right now" is something I've heard all my life.
    
    
    
    joan

    Maybe it's related to the saying "biting off more than you can chew".
    Instead, too much is piled onto your "plate" for you.
    
    Maybe so?

    .140
    
    Could be, one of these days I am going to get myself one of those
    "Everyday sayings, everyday phrases" books and find out why we say what
    we say.
    
    
    joan

    Good idea, Joan - my graduate school's library has a book like that
    (I noticed it when I was going through some elaborate dictionaries
    there awhile back.)

 decisioning.

    You've got to be kidding.

 No, sir, I wish I were, but I'm afraid I'm dead serious.  Serious as a 
 heart attack, m' boy.  I have a memo in my possesion that uses the 
 "word", "decisioning".



 Jim

    
    	Bill Johnson uses the "verb" "aggregated" in his presentations
    	quite frequently.
    
    

    that really aggregates me.

    
    	That sums up how I feel.
    

>         <<< Note 223.146 by CNTROL::JENNISON "It's all about soul" >>>

     i don't getcha.  it is a verb also.
    

    
    	It is ??  Omigawsh!  I thought it was an overused adjective
    	that got "verbalized" (yuk yuk) into a buzzword.
    
    	guess one doesn't have to be "naturally" blonde ;-)
    

>         <<< Note 223.150 by CNTROL::JENNISON "It's all about soul" >>>
    
	Guess it depends on how it was being used.  It's an adjective,
	a noun, a transitive verb, and a dessert topping.

>    	guess one doesn't have to be "naturally" blonde ;-)

	{half-hearted glare}      

    a gag aggregate?   agagagagagag

   she's totally fed up.

    1996- Whatever!

    Okay, so now everybody in management is sliding in the phrase
    "economies of scale" whenever possible, or even not possible. They say it
    and then they all nod in agreement that it was a good thing to say.

    There is probably a good Dilbert strip somewhere that would apply.  :)

    My spoo has too much fleem.

Has anyone tried making up acronyms in the staff meeting?

    What's the buzz on the nod?

    nods a re no-no's.