Long time ago in a land far away, there lived a walking time bomb.
He wasn't born a time bomb; he was specifically modified by powerful people to become their deadly political tool.
Not only was he equipped with heightened sensitivity to the environment, he was also dangerously smart and designed to be absolutely relentless when presented with a target.
However, for some unknown reason, instead of assigning the time bomb to a mission so that he can fulfill his destiny, he was simply unleashed on to a unsuspecting public to fend for himself.
He was lost and confused, but yet acutely aware of his lethal potential and his inability to control the explosive power within.
To avoid hurting innocents, he attempted to hide away from the crowds.
But society, unaware that he was not really human, constantly tested his patience.
Like a live grenade that is thrown about by unknowing children, he was subjected to one hard knock after another.
In response, he appeared to be meek and quiet, and the people around him mistook that behaviour of incredible restraint as a sign of weakness.
Then one day, a brash young man, high from his recent career success and wealth, decided to provoke him.
The time bomb tried to defend himself, but the young man was neither interested in fair play, nor the truth. He just wanted to attack the bomb to show off to his friends, and for kicks and giggles.
He continued hurling accusations at the bomb.
The bomb immediately signalled his retreat.
But the young man was not satisfied yet.
To cut off his escape route, the young man got his friends to gang up against the bomb, surrounding him completely and keeping up a constant barrage of abuse.
The young man believed that superior numbers would guarantee his safety.
Human beings tend to think this way.
But his opponent was not human.
The thin thread of control that was holding back the detonator pin finally snapped.
A ticking sound started.
Pale with fear, the bomb tried to warn his attackers to run away from imminent doom, but of course they simply laughed as they continued beating up their victim.
Even if they did listen, it was already too late.
From a distant vantage point, an observer watched as a brilliant flash of light engulfed the entire city.
When the fireball finally subsided, not even a fleck of dust remained.
Nodding approvingly, the observer wrote something into his notebook and left the scene.
Tuesday, 16 December 2008
Tuesday, 3 June 2008
A Tale Of Two Bottles
A long long time ago, there was a factory that made soft drink bottles.
At first, the bottles were made of plastic.
For many years, the plastic bottles were sterilized by heating them in a giant oven.
The bottles were always capped before they went into the oven. Nobody remembered the purpose of this step, but the company had always done this.
Sometimes a few bottles will be deformed during the sterilization process.
Employees will examine the results and lower the heating temperature or duration to reduce the number of deformed bottles in the next batch.
One day, new management arrived and they were not satisfied with the performance of the company. Glass bottles had become very popular on the market. They wanted to expand their product line to include glass bottles.
Employees were hastily informed that a new production line for glass bottles is being constructed and some of them would be immediately re-deployed to the new line.
However, in order to cut costs, the same sterilization oven would be used for both plastic and glass bottles.
To step up the production volume, the time that each batch of bottles spent in the oven had to be reduced. The temperature was raised to compensate for the shorter heating cycle.
Employees were told to use the usual procedures to sterilize both types of bottles.
When plastic bottles were subject to the higher temperatures, their deformation rate increased and wastage went up immediately. Some of the bottles were so horribly bloated that the employees were alarmed. They alerted the management immediately.
In contrast, the rigid glass bottles kept their shape and there was no wastage at all.
Management winked at each other with glee.
They realized that a plastic bottle will show signs of distress when subject to slightly more heat and pressure. It is a weak material.
On the other hand, a glass bottle can withstand high temperature and pressure while remaining perfectly shaped. It is a strong material.
A strong company is built from strong materials.
Management loved this symbolism. The employees were ordered to switch to glass bottles and increase production volume to unprecedented levels.
Profits went up.
Since every new batch of glass bottles looked physically unaffected by the sterilization process, the oven was set to higher and higher temperatures.
Then one day, something went horribly wrong.
The entire sterilization oven exploded, showering the factory with deadly glass shrapnel. A number of employees standing nearby were killed and many more were injured.
The temperature had been set so high that the air pressure inside the glass bottles caused them to explode in unison.
An investigation revealed that the procedure of capping the bottle before sterilization was responsible for the tragedy.
Management absolved all responsibility because this procedure was a company tradition that predated their arrival.
Instead, they blamed the employees for negligence and not exercising common sense.
Some of the employees who didn't die in the tragedy were thus slapped with a fine and a demotion.
The accident scene was quickly cleaned up and a new sterilization oven was ordered. Employees were ordered to go back to work.
The profits this year was much higher than last year's, so the management gave themselves a generous raise.
At first, the bottles were made of plastic.
For many years, the plastic bottles were sterilized by heating them in a giant oven.
The bottles were always capped before they went into the oven. Nobody remembered the purpose of this step, but the company had always done this.
Sometimes a few bottles will be deformed during the sterilization process.
Employees will examine the results and lower the heating temperature or duration to reduce the number of deformed bottles in the next batch.
One day, new management arrived and they were not satisfied with the performance of the company. Glass bottles had become very popular on the market. They wanted to expand their product line to include glass bottles.
Employees were hastily informed that a new production line for glass bottles is being constructed and some of them would be immediately re-deployed to the new line.
However, in order to cut costs, the same sterilization oven would be used for both plastic and glass bottles.
To step up the production volume, the time that each batch of bottles spent in the oven had to be reduced. The temperature was raised to compensate for the shorter heating cycle.
Employees were told to use the usual procedures to sterilize both types of bottles.
When plastic bottles were subject to the higher temperatures, their deformation rate increased and wastage went up immediately. Some of the bottles were so horribly bloated that the employees were alarmed. They alerted the management immediately.
In contrast, the rigid glass bottles kept their shape and there was no wastage at all.
Management winked at each other with glee.
They realized that a plastic bottle will show signs of distress when subject to slightly more heat and pressure. It is a weak material.
On the other hand, a glass bottle can withstand high temperature and pressure while remaining perfectly shaped. It is a strong material.
A strong company is built from strong materials.
Management loved this symbolism. The employees were ordered to switch to glass bottles and increase production volume to unprecedented levels.
Profits went up.
Since every new batch of glass bottles looked physically unaffected by the sterilization process, the oven was set to higher and higher temperatures.
Then one day, something went horribly wrong.
The entire sterilization oven exploded, showering the factory with deadly glass shrapnel. A number of employees standing nearby were killed and many more were injured.
The temperature had been set so high that the air pressure inside the glass bottles caused them to explode in unison.
An investigation revealed that the procedure of capping the bottle before sterilization was responsible for the tragedy.
Management absolved all responsibility because this procedure was a company tradition that predated their arrival.
Instead, they blamed the employees for negligence and not exercising common sense.
Some of the employees who didn't die in the tragedy were thus slapped with a fine and a demotion.
The accident scene was quickly cleaned up and a new sterilization oven was ordered. Employees were ordered to go back to work.
The profits this year was much higher than last year's, so the management gave themselves a generous raise.
Monday, 10 March 2008
National Hero
In the small island state of Eurapagis, a new national hero emerged.
Born into a rich family, he eventually became richer.
Trained in the highly technical subject of word-play, he succeeded in the field of administration, a profession that was dominated by women. This was considered a rare feat because he did not engage in any office politics.
He avoided office politics by bootlicking while others were currying favour, and currying favour while others were bootlicking.
Thus, he was considered to be both creative and bi-talented, notable skills that were highly valued in Eurapagis.
Eventually, he un-politicked his way to the top by bootlicking a large and powerful country, which coincidentally was the country that the government of Eurapagis had always wanted to bootlick.
As a result, he earned enormous gobs of money which he respectfully and unapologetically flaunted to the public by buying expensive goods like luxury cars and boats.
A summary of his contributions to society:
1. Exemplar of the classic rich-to-richer story
2. Bi-talented in both bootlicking and currying favour
3. Creative switching between bootlicking and currying favour
For his outstanding wealth, bi-talented talents and creativity - he was hailed as the Eurapagis Man of Year by the government.
The crowds cheered their new hero.
Born into a rich family, he eventually became richer.
Trained in the highly technical subject of word-play, he succeeded in the field of administration, a profession that was dominated by women. This was considered a rare feat because he did not engage in any office politics.
He avoided office politics by bootlicking while others were currying favour, and currying favour while others were bootlicking.
Thus, he was considered to be both creative and bi-talented, notable skills that were highly valued in Eurapagis.
Eventually, he un-politicked his way to the top by bootlicking a large and powerful country, which coincidentally was the country that the government of Eurapagis had always wanted to bootlick.
As a result, he earned enormous gobs of money which he respectfully and unapologetically flaunted to the public by buying expensive goods like luxury cars and boats.
A summary of his contributions to society:
1. Exemplar of the classic rich-to-richer story
2. Bi-talented in both bootlicking and currying favour
3. Creative switching between bootlicking and currying favour
For his outstanding wealth, bi-talented talents and creativity - he was hailed as the Eurapagis Man of Year by the government.
The crowds cheered their new hero.
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