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[Patrick Maupin]

On Apr 1, 12:50 am, Steve Holden <st... at holdenweb.com> wrote:
> > I can well imagine that everybody who has to work with you thoroughly
> >  enjoys proving you wrong as often as possible.
>
> I am glad I wasn't drinking when I read this. Liquid in one's nose is so
> uncomfortable.

Well, in that case, I'm glad you enjoyed it.  It's hard to know when
to put a disclaimer on these things.  Others might not find the same
sorts of things funny, and the very act of putting a disclaimer often
promises more than it delivers, so I think it's pretty much just
"caveat reader."

> I guess we have to value the good that's in Steven (few would deny that
> he *is* technically very competent) and try and ignore his more annoying
> side.

Well, I suppose there are two coping strategies.  Ignoring him (yes, I
need to do that more), and also, reading more carefully before
posting.  The latter is always a good thing, but on the other hand it
takes more mental effort.  Yes, it's better for posterity, but someone
reading the thread later and seeing what is written in context will
probably figure out what is meant, even if there are a few mistakes.
The extra effort shifts the balance from "will this help the OP?" to
"if this email were read completely devoid of external context, how
many ways are there to mis-interpret it, and how much time am I
willing to spend reducing that number, when it's impossible to get it
to zero, anyway?"

> I have toyed many times with the idea of giving a presentation at PyCon
> called something like "Humanity 101". It would include such advice as
> "When I say 'use soap' I am not talking about the Simple Object Access
> Protocol" and "Being wrong is usually survivable; offending a homicidal
> maniac often isn't".
>
> Perhaps I should just add it to the Holden Web course schedule?

Well, I haven't killed anybody yet; OTOH a few events from my
childhood taught me that there are really only two kinds of people:
those who could kill under the right circumstances, and those who
haven't figured it out yet.  So, yes, that might be a good idea ;-)

Regards,
Pat