I just overheard a conversation between a co-worker on my team and a member of another team nearby.
They were talking about me. I spend most of my day in a computer room with about 20 pc’s. It’s a windowless box with a lock on the door.
The visitor asked why I spend all my time in here. My co-worker replied; “We keep him in here because we don’t want him distracted. He’s our ’secret weapon’. When we need something to work, he does it. We keep him in here so that no other managers try to steal him. When people see the software we use, they ask; ‘Who wrote that? Can he write stuff for us?’”
I’ve been hearing a lot of comments like that lately. I like that.
(My stated reason for spending all of my time in this room is so that I can hear when jobs fail. Typically, if an operator has a problem and I’m available, I can walk over and help out immediately. If I’m not here, they may make a poor choice, delay doing anything, or have to leave their work to come find me. All are unacceptable. It may seem like I’m a mother hen, but when you are dealing with Production, being perfect is the only acceptable outcome.
I think I’ll have a good day. 
Hey are you still at * or at another company?
– still here
Huh…
I thought they kept you locked up so that you wouldn’t eat people’s livers with some fava beans and a nice Chianti
I’m not a big fan of liver.
But brains….. mmmm
It’s nice being appreciated.
That reminds me… I still have a harddrive and an Elvis CD to send you.
Heh. Think they learned their lesson(s) when they dumped me so unceremoniously? I know some of them did … Rock on, dude. Keep the place together.
nope.
Those people are still around. And they are still idiots.
I just have good management now that shelters us from them.
that’s really good to know!