Give me some double dutch

I'm sad. Lately, I haven't gotten much respect from my colleagues. Not because I did something wrong or scandalous, but for reasons I believe to be unfair. And when I'm sad, I buy good food to console my tortured soul. Give me some double dutch.

So today...

I was programming when I got to the office and making existing code prettier. It's a normal thing. To get more things done in the same amount of time, I have to either work harder or smarter. Given the choice between something that is a matter of laziness or stupidity, I'd go for the former. Better a lazy genius than a hard-working idiot.

Then out of nowhere, I get a notice that we have to set up videoconferencing equipment just for the plain purpose of testing if the equipment works. There's two things that came to mind here:

1. Technology has never been on our side. Even management admits this. We do all the trials we want in practice and get it right every time. When it comes to the actual implementation, a myriad of problems crop up.
   
   
2. It's one thing to test if you've never done this, but if this has been done over 30 times, that's another issue. Our office has only one web developer. One. The rest who dabble in it are a far cry. And it's a smart thing to expect that developer to do the same as someone who is actually competent in setting up online conferences? Further on, is it also logical to blame that person for the problems encountered when they do happen? Ever heard of Judas, you pig?

Unfortunately, we weren't able to solve the problem that cropped up. So after getting blamed and gotten a "you're worthless" look, I just contemplated in silence with my other developer colleague. After all, how much should you expect from two programmers when it comes to corporate video conferencing?

If I've learned anything at all, it's that our management doesn't know how to take care of its IT people. The said people are treated no differently than utility people, even though as few as they are, they can hold up many systems in the organization -- equipment, offices, initiatives, programs. As long as such abuses are tolerated, I doubt that its core business will flourish the way they want.