Don’t believe me? You’re probably in the 75%. It’s amazing to me how “educated” people survive. Most people learn a trade or a profession and maybe a single hobby, past that, they’re out of their realm and haven’t a clue. Being clueless is a way of life, especially in America, where if you’re middle class or above, everything is basically handed to you. I am only 33 years old at the time of this blog entry. I can’t say that I walked two miles, up hill, in the snow, to school and then back home, up hill, 3 miles in a blizzard…. but I can say… I had to “fix it” myself when I was growing up because we didn’t always have the money to afford little extra things…. like someone fixing the starter on my car, like hiring a carpenter to fix a window on the house, like hiring a plumber to fix a busted pipe. I learned everything, basically on my own, because I HAD TO. Guess what? I am better off from it.
The reason that people “can’t do” probably goes back to not trying. If you don’t rip things apart, sometimes breaking them, sometimes leaving parts out when you put them back together, you’ll not learn how to work on things. This doesn’t just apply to physically working on something with your hands. It’s the same with mental exercises also. It’s like the old saying, “..if you don’t use it, you lose it.” Whether you’re using your mind or your hands, if you don’t try, you’ll fail, if you don’t practice, you’ll fail also. “Practice makes perfect.” If you’re not willing to fuck something up, chances are, you’ll not learn a damn thing.
I was formally trained as an Electronics Technician. I went through Electronics School and many other “schools”. Frankly, I was trained in one of the best ElTech schools in the country…. however, I wasn’t prepared enough to go out into the field and immediately start fixing this or that. That’s not how it works. Ok. Most of us know this…. Why I am I going on about it? It’s simple: The look on the faces of “interns” or new-hires at professional organizations, when they first come out of college or trade school with all the piss and vinegar still running through their veins. See, it’s a wake up call when you arrive at your new job only to learn that just about everything taught in the core elements of your chosen profession are thrown out the window and new material is jambed into your head. If you’re not willing to adapt, move out of the way because someone like me will run up your back, poke you in the eyeball and make you cry your way back to mommy. That “look”, the day they finally “get it”, when you’re looking at them and it dawns on them that they’re relatively stupid…. heh. I love it. “The Look” is priceless.
Every day, I deal with support issues on computer systems, networks, servers, from the basic end-user to admins alike, in several different job roles. As stated elsewhere in this blog, I work several different jobs during the day…. not all of ’em are *real* jobs, however, they’re all “full time”. I do computer consulting work for small businesses, basically I am a contracted IT person for small, mom & pop businesses, doctors offices, lawyers, etc. I also help out a friend that owns an Outfitter company where he runs a campground, ATV rentals and guide services for outdoor activities. I am a volunteer fire fighter, which I run as many calls as I possibly can… usually, I run the most out of all the members at our station… we run around 350 per year or so, I usually average 50% or higher per yer… And the guy that owns the outfitter company also is into a lot of other things, like he owns a body shop and does hauling for folks… so I go with him…. all over the place really… Then there’s my night-job, as I call it… working online for yet another company… and I also do web development, domain hosting… “on the side”. So, as you can see, I keep myself very busy. Yes, I am into a lot… no, I do not have a family. Just me, the girlfriend, two dogs and two cats. We’re a happy lot :-) The point is… I get to see examples of some very stupid fucking people. Every day, I deal with some of the dumbest “smart” people you’ve ever met. I have a couple clients, Magna Cum Laude from law schools and from medical schools. It’s a wonder they can wipe their own asses. Ah hell, I am not complaining that they need help with _everything_, I am just theorizing how much money these people could save if they’d get their heads out of their asses long enough to just think about things for just a minute, take the time to learn how to do something on their own and quit paying people like me big bucks to do the most minute tasks for ’em. It’s really pitiful.
My rant boils over concerning computers. It’s amazing to me how the marketing power of Sears (selling those god-awful Packard Bells way-back-when), Microsoft, Gateway, Dell, HP, Staples, OfficeMax, Circuit City, Walmart, among others, have set the impression into the average American Citizen’s mind that _anyone_ can operate a home computer. Listen folks, XP is easy… fine.. it’s easy to turn on, log into, and point and click at the pretty little colored things…. however…. using a fucking recovery CD isn’t tech support…. and that’s what damn near _all_ computer manufacturers are resorting to. Why? Because the average computer user is too goddamn stupid to do anything else. Now, you’ve used the recovery cd and reverted back to the original installation… you’ve lost everything on the computer. You’ve wiped out all updates you’ve done (if you’ve done _any_ that is). You’re on dialup and you need to update your system…. What’s the current count for XP updates? Something like 130 meg or so? All the while, your vanilla install of XP is running Windows Messaging (spam popups anyone?) and completely vulnerable to what? Something like 30 or so root exploits? How the hell is Mr. Joe Average-Dumb-Ass suppose to keep up with this? Jesus. If you simply ask a person to “double click My Computer” you’ll get a “what’s that?”. People are fucking computer stupid.
