Lust for inanimate objects!

Why are we so enamored with a television set? Here’s the back story. My job requires that I monitor the performance of thirty-some call centers (no I am not on the phones!) and these call centers are located throughout thirteen different states. Well Weather can be an impact to both the level of attendance in said call centers and the volume of calls into the same. The first part is easy to understand, you get snow in an area like North Carolina or a Hurricane in Florida and naturally people have problems getting to work, or at least a convenient excuse to say that they are. The second part of driving up call volume is a little bit more abstract. It must have part to do with the same idea of people off work at home, with more time to complain about their phone service. In addition local phone service is frequently impacted negatively by the weather, downed lines or water in the old copper lines. There you go long way around. All this mean that I must keep abreast of the weather in virtually the entire United States (our local territories are spread all over). I manage to do this quite well with the resources available on the internet NOAA or Weather imagine that! Well this method is not sufficient for some of the members of my extended group, so they have been lobbying for a Television and access to the Weather channel for some years before I got here (I have only been in this position for 7 mo). Well now they have their wish! A Television set with satellite access was installed last week. Oh joy. Does it enable me to perform my job with any increase in efficiency? No! What does it do that looking at the weather on the internet did not? You ask. It brings in more lookie loos into see the television. With brilliant commentary like “oh T.V., you gonna be watching your soaps in here?” and “alright cool, you got T.V in here. You get ESPN on that thing?” of course I am sure that here are lots of jobs in the world where people are paid exurbanite amounts to watch television programming of their choice. If I were to give that thing even more than a disinterested glance I am sure I would be caught in the act by a passing Vice President and immediately labeled a terminal slacker, and thus blackballed from all future monetary increase or career advancement.

With all this said don’t mistake my attitude toward television I have no animosity for it. in fact it’s quite the opposite at home, asks my lovely wife she hates it and I can’t live without. Hey sign my guest book, or map thingy!