I have been working for my company for the past 20 years. Even though we go through periodic purges of antiquated equipment, there is still a lot of old stuff hiding away in an unused cubicles. Recently, the company has begun filling those convenient storage areas with newly hired people fresh out of college. "Fresh out of college" is management’s preferred employee --- someone who has some training yet can be paid as close to minimum wage as possible. "We'd love to pay you more but unfortunately you just don't have the experience yet. Don't worry. When you do, we'll find your cheaper replacement."
Last week, a new recruit was cleaning out one of the dungeons of despair, I mean, cubicle to make room for her new office. She picked up one of those "Velo binding" machines and looked at me as though I was the museum manager of ancient artifacts. I ended up explaining that, once upon a time, presentations weren't done with a high definition LCD screen in front of an bored audience. We actually had to print up booklets, assemble them with fancy bindings, and then hand them out so we could all turn the pages together while someone in the front of the room would read to us. It was considered a good meeting if the booklets were in color. It was considered a very good meeting if food was available. It was considered a great meeting if you didn't have to attend. In fact, at the end of the year, you would have a file cabinet full of written memorabilia so you could relive the hours that you wasted in meetings. Ah, good times, good times. Nowadays, you have only memories. And if you're lucky, they will file themselves in those irretrievable places in your mind. Ah, better times, better times...
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