dum-dums and droopy drawers…

I’ve just had to send off a note to an outside contractor, yet again to tell them that their work wasn’t up to snuff and that it needs improvement before submitting again. This is a document conversion to html probably from pdf. One of the leads has been calling me to ask for guidance on this or that, and I was ok fielding these calls in the beginning, since it meant trading off a few minutes on the phone for less work for me after they came in. But I just had to draw the line. Over time the comments they were making were getting on my nerves, like “the longer this sits unfinished, that means I don’t get paid!” or “you made me look really bad when you said that the files weren’t up to your standards.” and most recently “now it’s a matter of honor that we get them right.”
I didn’t think it was truly necessary to say to this person, “if you take on a job, you best be darn sure that you know how to do it before you do. it isn’t my problem that you don’t get paid when you submit inadequate files in the first place.” But that may be w
hat they need to wake up about it, thankfully/unfortunately, I can’t say such things. But I did send back a recent submission (20+ times as many errors as pages) and said that from here on out to go through the client, the gov’t webmaster or my manager of the web team since my current projects make it difficult for me to take time out to speak to them one on one.
Isn’t it also pretty sad when one guy can do the work of your “conversion team” on his own, in less time and with better quality? I guess it is a matter of honor after all.
And now teh funny: Droopy Drawers Drive Va. House To Distraction. About the recently passed $50 fine in Virginia on anyone found “wearing pants low enough that a substantial portion of undergarments is showing.” Two paragraphs stick out to me:
Virginia yields to no state in its protection of individual rights. This year, the legislature has stood tall against the threat to freedom posed by the use of cameras to enforce the law against running red lights. Lawmakers made certain that Virginians would not be barred from entering a day-care center with a loaded gun. And the House is poised to reject an effort to restrict teenagers’ use of cell phones while driving.
But there is an odd gap in Virginia’s protection of your liberties. Somehow, these same legislators are only too happy to get inside your marriage, your bedroom and even your pants.