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Feb 07Brevity Is Important
by in Error'd on 2007-03-30Paul likes brevity, so he was discouraged when he received a really long and confusing error message. For those unfamiliar, "brevity" is defined by Merriam-Webster as a shortness of duration, or a shortness or conciseness of expression. To elaborate, it is the ability to describe a potentially complex idea in as quick a way as possible, leaving out extraneous details that would serve only to confuse the listener. If extra details are needlessly left in, listeners' eyes will glaze over and they'll stop paying attention to your message, which is why it is of the utmost importance that an idea be expressed clearly and quickly. Also, be sure to phrase your message in simple language. Overly uburbulous words will klologe readers if they have deblionic vocabularies. When trying to write humor, knowing when to end a joke is important, too. God damnit, here's your screenshot.
Document management is tricky. Personally, I'm anal about keeping documents organized in the most intuitive way I possibly can. In practice, though, that means I spend hours wringing my hands and ultimately wind up saving documents wherever I feel like saving them.
Ahh, to be young and in IT. In my younger days I was full of big dreams of being like the tech guys in action movies. You know, opening a socket to download a protocol so I can run a core dump on the secret agent's wristwatch.
Upgrading database server software is scary. I worked at an organization that spent just shy of a year upgrading Oracle 9i to Oracle 10g. But that's Oracle, and 
Remember being a kid, collecting Bazooka Joe wrappers to get a sweet knife that you could use to have dangerous, life-threatening fun with your friends? Then waiting by the mailbox for an agonizing six to eight weeks?
Congratulations, reader, you're now an IT "expert!"
Y2K. Second only to 
Hopefully after getting out of college, most of us have matured past drawing dude parts on passed-out roommates. Now, I don't mean to imply that I've matured beyond that point, just that I hope you have.