Burn the ships! ...?

Okay, so we all know that I am NOT by any means a history major. But even I managed to pick up a few things while sleeping/doodling/passing notes in history class. Mainly, that conquistadors were BAD. Right? These are people that came from another country (usually Spain, duh), and they murdered, raped, and pillaged their way through whatever unfortunate shore they happened to land on and take a liking to.

So my Dilbert-like management, in all their infinite wisdom, decided to use the example of Hernando Cortez as a model for successful sales. For reals, y'all. They forwarded an email that talked about how when Cortez landed in Mexico, he commanded his men to burn their own ships, thereby eliminating any chance of their retreat. It was succeed or die, and if they were to sail back to Spain it would have to be in the enemy's ships. Ok, if you're a conquistador, and your job is to, uh, kill people, take their stuff, and succeed at all costs, that's an ok model. However, if you're a middle-aged, technologically disinclined software salesman, is that really an ok example? Is it appropriate to use that as a motivator, ever? Regardless of the down economy and lack of pipeline, is that acceptable?

Cortez' history is debatable. Some people extoll his virtues as a leader and conquerer, other say he committed many atrocities against the indigenous people of Mexico, and was one of the first to import thousands of African slaves onto this continent.

I, personally, think it's ridiculous and as my dear friend J said to me, a very "WASP-centric view of the world" to use that as any kind of positive example.

Another dear friend/coworker J said, rather hilariously, that next week when he arrives at the customer site with our sales management and CEO, he's going to burn the rental car they drove in just to be a team player. At least I got a good laugh out of that one.

bike week

Yes, believe it or not, the software nerd went to Daytona Bike Week. The Other Half has a good friend from Miami who came up to stay with us for the weekend specifically for the purpose of attending Bike Week together, and I was pressured into it. (Of course, it was a sunny, 80-degree day, and I was disinclined to lay around the house anyway.) This is one of the reasons why I love my husband. Where surely thousands of other husbands were trying to convince their wives to stay home so they could get into mischief in Daytona, mine was almost begging me to go. Love that.

It was really quite interesting, if you're into motorcycles or sociology. Just people-watching there was amazing. Such a cross-section. Rich, poor, young, old, whatever. Bikers don't seem to care as much about the rider as the ride.

My favorite part was driving down Main street right at sunset, and realizing suddenly that we are part of the spectacle. It's like a 5mph parade right down insanity central, with people and bikes piled up on the sidewalk in a major traffic jam. Everyone is gawking at everyone else and taking pictures of cool rides (and cool riders). That was pretty neat. I'm really only ever relaxed on the back of a bike when we're going 5mph and any type of crash (short of a gravity attack) is virtually impossible.

The ride down there was, in my eyes, harrowing. My dear husband thinks that 85 mph is a perfectly reasonable speed to assume on a bike, to keep up with car traffic. In reality, we were passing everything on the road. So somebody got a stern talking-to when we landed -- I mean, arrived -- about what is and is not reasonable when one has a large chicken as a passenger on one's bike. I reminded someone why he frequently has to attend these events alone, and informed that same someone that I would happily take the bus back to Jax if he didn't keep the speed under 70 mph on the way back. Or better yet, take the A1A, enjoy the ocean view and breezes, and go 45 mph. Which we did part-way, and I was really enjoying it. Then we picked up 95 again, and ... oh, well. We made it back. And he did keep it at 75, which was a compromise for both of us.

I'm glad I went, it certainly made the most of a beautiful day and was the most interesting people-watching (and unfortunately, smelling), but now that I've seen that I can probably cross it off of my bucket list. Depsite our proximity (90 miles really isn't that close, when you hate every second of the commute), I may not be attending again next year now that I know what I won't be missing.