Fresh from the greenhouse.

Work update #1: I guess I really am learning a lot of new things at this job. Today, for example, not only did I manage to make the mass spec (check the price tag) do something it's never done before, but I've learned to enough to list at least a dozen ways in which this new problem shouldn't even physically be possible. Ah, never a dull moment.

Work update #2: My division at work received the following e-mail from one of our own:

>From: Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx
>To: Xxxxx Xxxxx, Xxxxx Xxxxxxxx, Denton Froese, Xxxx Xxxxx, Xxxxxx Xxxxx
>Subject: group photo, 9-11 microns
>
>Hello all,
>
>At some point this summer I'd like to take a group photo for possible use
>in presentations. Just for fun, I'd like to use the thermal imager.
>Who knows: between nine and eleven microns, maybe
>Denton's pant legs will match?*/

I will be forever grateful for this e-mail, for nothing else could have allowed the following reply.

>From: Denton Froese
>To: Xxxxx Xxxxx, Xxxxx Xxxxxxxx, Xxxx Xxxxx, Xxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx
>Subject: Re: group photo, 9-11 microns
>
>I hope you're not asking me to wear my hot pants...
>
>-Denton

Some days, my life is a better one than I deserve.

I draw the line at buzzwords.

And so ends the 2006 Ottawa expedition. As always, I love visiting the city, and it's always good to see old friends. As for the training itself...

It was a fun time, and I met some really nice people... However, was it worth it? No, of course not. Did I gain a new respect for my job? None I didn't have already. Did I learn anything useful to my job? Nope. Did I learn anything useful at all? Nothing that can't be gleaned from a day of idly surfing everything the government's already built for that purpose.

Did it make me a more effective public servant? Surprisingly, yes.

My options were simple. Either I learn something from this mandatory course, or I don't. One option makes the program a total waste, the other doesn't. So, even though I didn't learn anything particularly motivating, I am going to make myself work harder than usual this Monday.

I guess it's a lesson learned through bad example.