Posts matching to humor
Truth is better than fiction
We have just returned from a wedding in Delhi. My wife’s second cousin got married to a Sikh. Since the wedding lasted almost a week we met some cousins (on my wife’s side) that we had never met before. One of these was an interesting guy called Arezoo
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Meet the Writer
Not every day does a man walk out of a cliffside, so I paused in my stroll along the beach and approached the fellow. As he mechanically dusted his robe off, he was blinking in the sunlight and looking back and forth between the sea and the fresh opening he’d emerged from. There was a hole behind him which seemed to stretch backward to daylight maybe half a kilometer away. In his hand...
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Ten Surefire Ways to Impress a Potential Employer
If you are like most of the world right now, you either are reading this because you are unemployed or assume that soon you will be, since you actually have the time to read this article.
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Stories of Customers, Colleague and Documents - A Great Evening
December 24 2008
(edited 3 year, 2 month ago)
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As many of us are contemplating what the downturn in the economy is going to do to us next, it was good to get together to exchange stories, especially humorous ones. Actually we bounced back and forth between funny episodes and the brass-tacks of how best to deal with the current job market (link to photos).
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Milestones: Does the concept of Project Management Exist in Israel?
When do I stop being considered new? Probably never. Our cousin Yossi, the tour guide says that to be considered old in Israel,something has to be at least 200 years old.
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Why am I the nerd?
In today’s world, no one can know everything. Expertise is a relative term. In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. When I walk into some people’s office I am the computer & internet guru. In other offices, I am the worker bee and others still, the new kid on the block.
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Traveling there & here: Part 2
June 22 2008
(edited 3 year, 2 month ago)
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Having lived in NY for a number of years where the closest thing to a moose is some animal that escaped from the Central Park Zoo, worrying about moose vandalizing our motel room seemed rather cute to us, but it was no joke to the motel owners. Here in Israel, my wildlife issues consist of mosquitoes and spiders, but traveling around Israel is a relative breeze,
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Traveling there & here: Part One
June 8 2008
(edited 3 year, 2 month ago)
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I know from my Jewish history courses in college that the stereotype of the wandering Jew is not really based on the Jews’ desire to travel as much as out people’s forced travels and relocations, depending on the whims local governments. I, however, love to travel, whether by plane, train or automobile. I really thrive on the excitement of exploring new places and meeting new people. Give me my map & I am on the way!
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To work or not to work, but will ever I get paid?
May 22 2008
(edited 3 year, 2 month ago)
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While I search for that elusive holy grail of the perfect full-time, flex-hours, well-paid, work from home job that is both interesting and challenging, but does not have me tearing my hair out or staying up 3 nights a week, I have managed to pick up some part time work and a few freelance projects. But I am beginning to wonder if I will ever actually get paid.
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Adventures in Shopping
May 8 2008
(edited 3 year, 2 month ago)
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Part of the fun of learning to “be Israeli” is learning how to shop here. Years ago, I was told that if you do not try to bargain, the shopkeeper will be offended. I think those days are long gone, but I have learned that thing are a lot more flexible here than you might imagine.
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Joining the official Merry-Go-Round: Job Networking
April 21 2008
(edited 3 year, 2 month ago)
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Finding work in Israel is not easy. A while back, before we finally decided to make aliyah a reality, and not just a \"in a few years\" thing, close friends made aliyah and ...
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On learning Hebrew (In Hebrew and English)
April 7 2008
(edited 3 year, 2 month ago)
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This article will be shorter than some of my previous ones because I decided to write it in both English and Hebrew. Since the Hebrew (see below) will take more time (to put it mildly) and require the assistance of my current ulpan teacher to “check”, I hope you will forgive the relative shortness of this article.
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A funny thing happened on the way to the electrical store, or shocking truths about Israel
Ok, so being that I worked for years as an electronics technician, I should come as no surprise that my favorite food item in Israel the new drink, Shocko.
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Aliyah organizations 101
March 7 2008
(edited 3 year, 2 month ago)
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For some reason (probably because I don’t like getting flamed) today’s article has been avoiding the word processor for several days. I finally realized that I was looking at the whole thing wrong.
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“You have to be out of here with in two weeks or your stuff will be out on the sidewalk by next Friday.”
February 22 2008
(edited 3 year, 2 month ago)
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No, I did not assault the Em Bayit, or even yell at the Director of my Absorption Center.
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Welcome to Chelm!
Moving to Chelm
Making aliyah is supposed to be the fulfillment of my of your Jewish identity, so why does Israel make it so difficult? Wasn’t it bad enough in America being the only one who did not hunt for Easter Eggs or bring presents to exchange for the “holiday” party. Now the shoe is on the other foot, and suddenly I have the funny accent, and my skills “are not specific enough”. Laugh and cry with a recent olah as she navigates Israeli bureaucracy.Read more...
God and the Technical Writer
And in the beginning there was nothing. And then one day a huge bang was heard that echoed round the universe and when the smoke had cleared, all that could be seen was a giant Product Manager and a petite Technical Writer
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I Do Not Understand HR People
I had an appointment to speak to the technical writing manager...
I arrived 10 minutes early for the meeting with the HR lady and was told to sit in the foyer and wait. That is what I did - for more than an hour. Eventually...
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I arrived 10 minutes early for the meeting with the HR lady and was told to sit in the foyer and wait. That is what I did - for more than an hour. Eventually...
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Did It Work Out?
February 28 2007
(edited 3 year, 2 month ago)
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...on my last day there I told him that in my humble opinion the machine was under priced and the panel was really ugly
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The point of my existence
I had a marvelous encounter yesterday which simply begged to be written down and shared with other technical writers.
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How I Got Started
February 15 2007
(edited 3 year, 3 month ago)
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I had spent most of my working life as a mainframe service engineer at IBM and the thought of sitting in one place the whole day was scarier to me than bungee jumping over a crocodile infested swamp.
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My First Day as a Technical Writer
He poured two glasses and we wished each other l’Hayim and a sort of blessing on the new book. Technical writing suddenly took on a completely different structure and I could definitely get used to this.
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Baby Steps
I’m not saying that I have it that badly coz I don’t. Nobody chains me to my desk and sticks hot skewers up my nose.
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Stream of Mumpyness
This article fuses the "Stream of Consciousness" literary technique with the world of technical writing. The end result is best viewed after taking mind-altering drugs.
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Things that Made me Laugh This Week
November 8 2006
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(edited 3 year, 2 month ago)
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My boss stood over my shoulder while I was sitting down working on my computer. All of a sudden I realized that there was a buzzing sound coming from his trousers.
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Rosh Katan
I’m going to be a Rosh Katan from now on. For those of you who don’t speak Hebrew, a Rosh Katan is somebody who does the minimum that they can get away with and doesn’t make any extra effort.
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Do you know what makes me angry?
Do you know what makes me angry? I mean, do you know what makes me really, really, really angry?
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Ahhh Good Times
Have you noticed how they always say that on reality TV shows even though they haven’t gone anywhere? ... Is it my fault that I enjoy writing up features, should I apologize for running with glee to document bugs; do I need treatment for my pathological enjoyment of sitting with R&D developers?
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Brilliant Ideas
So my boss wants me to come up with something “new” in time for the Sales Conference at the end of October.
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Pick your Battles
In case you hadn’t picked up on it, the Mumpy is a sensitive soul, and gets offended at the slightest provocation. When you look up the phrase “water off a duck’s back” in the dictionary, you will never see a photo of the Mumpy.
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The Art of Loitering
At long last, I have the answer to the question that has baffled technical communicators for years. The question is, of course, what makes a good technical writer.
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Take No Responsibility
I sent out some Release Notes for review the other week. In the Release Notes, I had documented a new feature which posed some risk to the customer’s organization if they were not very careful with their configuration. A leading support engineer emailed me back asking me to include the following note:
[Company Name] takes no responsibility for the following feature.
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[Company Name] takes no responsibility for the following feature.
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Nothing melts a Mumpy more
Just when I thought it was all over and I was going to resign from my job and become a wet nurse, something unexpected happened to me. I was sitting in a meeting with my team (Product Management) – minding my own business and lost in a pleasant daydream about George Michael, when I heard my name mentioned.
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Information Teaser
My boss is an information-teaser. Picture the scene. I am sitting in my boss’s office, notepad in one hand, pen in the other, and a look of intensely, earnest concentration on my face. My boss is standing by the white board discussing a white paper he wants me to write about subject X.
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Have You Marinated Your User Guide Lately?
The other day somebody sent me a funny sentence taken from an advert for a technical writer published on Jobnet. The advert stated they were looking for a technical writer who was good at writing, editing and marinating technical articles.
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Don't Ask
Things Not To Say to a Technical Writer and How to Respond
But nobody ever reads the manuals anyway. As said by a Product Manager in a large meeting. The correct response to this does not involve extreme injury to certain body parts. The recommended course of action is
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But nobody ever reads the manuals anyway. As said by a Product Manager in a large meeting. The correct response to this does not involve extreme injury to certain body parts. The recommended course of action is
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