Code, nerd culture and humor from Greg Knauss.

The Peter Principle in Action: First in a Series

I'm at the drive-through and they ask me for my order and I say, "A chicken sandwich and a small chocolate shake, please," and they say that the shake machine is broken and I say, "OK, then I'll have a chicken sandwich and a medium Dr. Pepper instead."

Now, fast-rising employee, would you interpret the "instead" to mean I'm replacing the entire order, or just the shake? Do I want "a chicken sandwich and a Dr. Pepper" or "a chicken sandwich and a chicken sandwich and a Dr. Pepper?"

If you answered the former: Congratulations! You've been promoted to management!

If you answered the latter: You're not familiar enough with conversational convention to have read this far, are you?

And if you noticed that I'll blindly pay whatever amount they ask me for without thinking about it: You're a smart-ass.

Hi there! My name's GREG KNAUSS and I like to make things.

Some of those things are software (like Romantimatic), Web sites (like the Webby-nominated Metababy and The American People) and stories (for Web sites like Suck and Fray, print magazines like Worth and Macworld, and books like "Things I Learned About My Dad" and "Rainy Day Fun and Games for Toddler and Total Bastard").

My e-mail address is greg@eod.com. I'd love to hear from you!

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