slightly OT: preventing user stupidity

[Michael Sr.]

As Bill Vermillon keenly pointed out:

"The way you phrased that it almost seems there is some gender bias
there.  At one site where I did work as an outside consultant
one of the women there was the best programmer I think I've ever
met."

Well when you worked dang near all of life at a place and people come 
in, blow smoke up the CEO's ass to make themselves larger than life, and 
the untrained eye asks "What the hell are they doing over there trying 
to run the place in the ground?", it's SHE.  Now it could of been HIM 
except he did a better job of standing hisself up against a wall and 
saying fire than could be imagined.

Now this is true.  There were a husband & wife team, SHE was MIS and he 
was head of electrical engineering.  He quits and goes to a competitor. 
  Well having no reason to stay she just quits, I mean SHE was it, no 
one else could manage or understand the system and SHE is gone.  In 
addition SHE had to have a hookup from home so she could do work from home.

Moving right along......  This competitor beats us out on this good size 
job with roll force cylinders.  These control the thickness of the steel 
(strip) you are running on a rolling mill.  Thin stuff .030 to .100. 
With computer control the cylinders are much better at reacting to hold 
size (gage) than a mechanical screw and nut especially when the 
cylinder, like our design, worked in the open and close directions.  No 
one in the world made them like us, not even Japan, until he left us.

At the trial they put up their drawing of their roll force cylinder, the 
guys that beat us out on a job.  We got their drawing from the company 
that bought the cylinders.  Anyhow, man that thing looked like a Bliss 
drawing, I mean our drawings were really great.  So they put theirs up 
on a stand, then they flip over a clear copy of our drawing of a 
cylinder.  Well saying it was an exact match don't cover it, it was 
closer than that.  He was so smart to steal the drawings and steal the 
work, but not smart enough to change the drawing around at least a 
little bit. Fools the lot..................

Considering for the last five years I have exceeded in paying more in 
taxes each year than I used to make, I ain't real mad any more, but I am 
a half Polock and we Hunkies never forget.

Best Regards,
Mike McAvoy