Off-topic is about the only way to categorize this.
Next week, our organization starts teaching a new class of Tier 1 technical support agents. This is an additional duty assigned to existing employees; because there aren't enough IT people to go around, it's been tradition since the early 90s to train and accredit a person or two in each office to handle minor annoyances (patch management, printer jams, etc.).
Every few years, the Aloof Headquarters re-names the program ... it's been called an "Information Technology Manager," a "Workgroup Manager," a "Client Support Administrator" ... and a month ago it was changed to a "Client Systems Technician." Whatever; same job.
This morning, one of the ultra-high-up types called down to our campus and issues quite the unexpected thrashing over the user of the (brans new) name "Client Systems Technician." Supposedly, no one is allowed to use that name. Ever. We can re-name our in-house technicians "anything else."
Anything? WHAT?!
You're got to be freaking kidding me ...
In a fit of pique, I suggested to the team that we ought to re-name these folks the "Raging Purple Unicorns" (since we couldn't guarantee that everyone would have a high enough Int score to qualify as a 3rd level wizard). No one caught the gaming joke, but (much to my astonishment), folks loved the "Raging Purple Unicorns" idea. Et voila: "Raging Purple Unicorns" it is.
We just finished frantically changing all of the course materials so that we've expurgated all traces of the FORBIDDEN TERM. That's done. Now, we're looking around for a decent picture to throw on the front of the book that captures the ridiculousness of it all.
If anyone is feeling especially bored this weekend, whip up a graphic of what you think a "Flaming Purple Unicorn" looks like (just shy of R rated, please). Zap it over. If it's especially hysterical (and original), I'll find a way to express our organization's appreciation.
Cheers,
KH
Silver Crescent Publishing
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If I had any artistic talent at all I would be all over this! The "ultra-high-ups" are probably just exercising their authority for no apparent reason, but purple unicorns? Awesome! Though I would expect these same guys to come back saying "we really didn't mean ANYTHING else..." still, run with it while you can!
If anyone is feeling especially bored this weekend, whip up a graphic of what you think a "Flaming Purple Unicorn" looks like (just shy of R rated, please).This can't end well...
Go CJ go! :D
If I had any artistic talent at all I would be all over this! The "ultra-high-ups" are probably just exercising their authority for no apparent reason, but purple unicorns? Awesome! Though I would expect these same guys to come back saying "we really didn't mean ANYTHING else..." still, run with it while you can!
Yeah, that's how we expect it to play out.
It's taken three full-time employees the better part of the day to run the political gauntlet on this irritation. As best we can tell, the "offending term" is tied in to some long-term political campaign that involves shifting personnel between departments on a national scale. WHATEVER.
So far, the local team here is hysterically behind the Raging Purple Unicorn idea. It's been a running stream of pithy comments all day long. I'm loving it.
I know I got distracted while finishing the post ... what we started as "Raging Purple Unicorns" morphed into "Flaming Purple Unicorns." Whoops ...
Bleep it ... we can go either way with the idea. Heck, combine the two. Go nuts.
No matter what, it'll horrify some folks from the head office something fierce.
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Barring any actual art submissions, howabout this beauty I just lifted from somebody's blog? The unicorn's eyes seem to say, "WaaauughhuuglarblepffzzzzT!" but it's flowing rainbow locks tell you this is also a beast who thoroughly enjoys the scent of toner. I believe the repetition of the floating "unicorn" text represents the creature's determination and single-minded pursuit of glorious combat. It's like he's silently chanting his own name as he charges into a laundromat. Perhaps later he will relax by kicking birds' nests into a nearby river but right now he has a folding table to destroy and he doesn't give a damn if you've got a wedding to get to...
...*sigh.*
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Barring any actual art submissions, howabout this beauty I just lifted from somebody's blog? The unicorn's eyes seem to say, "WaaauughhuuglarblepffzzzzT!" but it's flowing rainbow locks tell you this is also a beast who thoroughly enjoys the scent of toner. I believe the repetition of the floating "unicorn" text represents the creature's determination and single-minded pursuit of glorious combat. It's like he's silently chanting his own name as he charges into a laundromat. Perhaps later he will relax by kicking birds' nests into a nearby river but right now he has a folding table to destroy and he doesn't give a damn if you've got a wedding to get to...
...*sigh.*
...t it's flowing rainbow locks tell you this is also a beast who thoroughly enjoys the scent of toner. I believe the repetition of the floating "unicorn" text represents the creature's determination and single-minded pursuit of glorious combat.
In ten minutes, I will walk into a conference room to chair the weekly trouble-ticket wrap-up meeting. This unicorn ... and this glorious text ... will go with me. All will know the diaphragm-spasming joy that was Velcro Zipper's post. Huzzah!
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Client Systems Technician = Hacker?
And when you say your Department would like a Logo with a Flaming Purple Unicorn...you mean you want a purple Unicorn...set on fire? a Head mounted on a pole and set on fire? A corpse of a purple unicorn set on fire?
Would you prefer a Dog with a carry handle wound up its butt?
Client Systems Technician = Hacker?
Not necessarily, no. They're meant to be the folks around the office with enough tech savvy to figure out why the printer isn't printing when it's out of paper. Not exactly hacker territory.
...you mean you want a purple Unicorn...set on fire?
I'd accept that. Or just a seriously pissed off unicorn.
Would you prefer a Dog with a carry handle wound up its butt?
Hmmm ... tempting, but no.
So... What happened?
It was ... in a word ... awesome.
Turned out that the class was as amused by the predicament as the rest of the staff was. We showed the previously-mentioned gibbering unicorn at the beginning of the event and got some snickers. Once we got through teaching the blocks that explained the "pseudo-matrix organizational structure" that caused all of the brouhaha, the Raging Purple Unicorn thing became a running joke. One of the instructors started sketching angry, horned, pony-like creatures (that couldn't possibly have resembled anyone's trademarked insipid toy line ...).
As the suggestions started to roll in for new names for the program, a few gamers started to reveal themselves. One guy even suggested that the troubleshooters should be called "warlock 1s" since their instruction got them a continual-use power ("shut up and reboot") with no real understanding of how it functioned (much like 3.0's warlock basic class).
That, in turn, spawned a long discussion about whether being a novice IT guy was more like a wizard (because you have to study dusty tomes)(by O'Riley) or more like a cleric (because no matter how many times you've done something, you have to call the Help Desk every time to remember how to do it again -- just like praying for spells).
Awesome.