We’re always quickest to doubt people who have a reputation for being honest.  — Psycho

It is amazing how quickly we can tear people down once the whispering begins.  No matter how righteous, honest, and ethical a person is, all it takes is someone to say an unkind word in the right ear, and pretty soon their reputation is shot.  Gossip has killed more careers and ended more relationships than almost anything else.  It’s amazing how few people are willing to go to the person who is being slandered and ask for the truth.

If my answers frighten you then you should cease asking scary questions.  — Pulp Fiction

I’m always tickled by the bubble-people who ask controversial questions and are then shocked to get controversial answers.  It’s always a sign of an echo chamber when those who don’t hold the same opinions as others have to be scrutinized like a bug on a pin.

If you’re not ready to hear my opinion, don’t ask for it.  I will, on occasion, throw a hand grenade in your henhouse.

Me and the Kaiser, we are both fighting. The only difference is the Kaiser isn’t here!  — All Quiet On The Western Front

I’ve heard this put two other ways:  “Rich man’s war but a poor man’s fight” and “Old man’s war but a young man’s fight”.  Both express the feeling that those who start wars and profit from them rarely share the danger of actually participating in them.  I think, for the most part, this is valid.  It’s been a very long time since a senator or a president would feel shame for not sending their own children to war with the children of the rest of us.  Where is Lieutenant Clinton, or Sergeant Bush?

This is a symptom, one of the earliest, that our society has lost its sense of duty.  I’m not saying that each and every person needs to wear a uniform, but I do believe we need to give back.  Not with your taxes or your support for social programs.  I mean giving up your time and energy to make the nation stronger.  Maybe you join the Marines, or maybe you volunteer a few hours a week at the soup kitchen.  No matter what, from the top of the ivory tower to the bottom of the gutter, we all should have skin in the game.

We’d better get back, ’cause it’ll be dark soon, and they mostly come at night… mostly. — Aliens

There are parts of Louisville that are perfectly fine during the day, but being there after dark is a less than optimal situation.  No feasible number of policemen, cameras, or political speeches are going to change that.  I tend to avoid those places, if I can.  If I can’t, I try to be smart about when I go, where I go, and who I go with.  And unless I am absolutely forbidden to carry in the places I visit (mostly government buildings), I always make sure that I’m armed.  Doing so won’t keep trouble away or guarantee that I’ll be able to handle anything that happens, but it’s better than harsh language and hoping for the best.

Why do we even *have* that lever?  — The Emperor’s New Groove

There are two things about technology that infuriate me – The Good Idea Fairy, and kruft.

The Good Idea Fairy is the mythical being that causes normally rational and logical engineers and programmers to go off on flights of fancy.  His work usually begins by whispering in their ear “Wouldn’t it be cool if…..”.  Then, requirements be damned, things that are usually either awesomely neat or completely useless start sprouting off of the side of projects.

Kruft is the stuff that used to be important, but has been overtaken by business requirements and new technology.  It’s like your system has a vestigial tail that’s still taking up precious resources.  These are worse than being a waste, because you still have to maintain them.  If it’s a bridge, this could be the pedestrian lane that needs to be made wheelchair accessible, even if nobody walks on the bridge anymore because it’s not safe.  If it’s software, it’s a dependence on an old protocol that’s insecure and is written in a language that only people who qualify for Social Security know how to effectively code.

Either one of these showing up in a project are enough to have me pulling out what remains of my hair.  Both showing up makes me regret the demise of the two-martini lunch.