From the NYT obituary of JG Ballard
“His fabulistic style led people to review his work as science fiction,” said Robert Weil, Mr. Ballard’s American editor at Norton. “But that’s like calling Brave New World science fiction, or 1984.”

Apparently if it's good it can't be Science Fiction.

Heard anything else smugly patronising and completely wrong lately?
( The Light in Chains don't touch the Pope's boner, Tue 21 Apr 2009, 17:58, 6 replies, latest was 16 years ago)

Email at work yesterday.
I'd been asked something I couldn't answer, it having absolutely bog all to do with me, and so referred it to my superior, whom I knew was dealing with the matter in question.

I got copied into the reply, and then received a separate email saying that I should try to answer the question myself as my superior is very busy and doesn't have time to deal with every query that comes her way.

So I replied and pointed out that the reason I referred it was because I didn't KNOW the fucking answer, having had fuck all to do with the matter in hand in the first fucking place.

Or words to that effect.
( Davros' Granddad a voice of calm reason in a world of spastics., Tue 21 Apr 2009, 18:17, Reply)

Ya gotta love it
I did it myself yesterday. I went over to the test manager, heaved a dramatic sigh and said "The test environment isn't set up properly so I can't do this test."

I had read the start of the test document as "the following things will need to be done before testing can commence", but it was actually more like "the following things will be done by the tester before commencing".

Which was then pointed out to me with ill-concealed glee.

I did then apologise for being an arse.
( The Light in Chains don't touch the Pope's boner, Tue 21 Apr 2009, 18:27, Reply)

Ballard's dead?
When did that happen?

*wikis*
Oh, Sunday.

I read Empire of the Sun a couple of weeks ago. I didn't get into it at all.
( Boss Keloid Got your mother's maiden name tattooed on my arm, Tue 21 Apr 2009, 18:57, Reply)

I read it the other way round
As a compliment.

He's saying that things like Ballard's work, Brave New World and Nineteen Eighty-Four (hi Enzyme!) are so good that they transcend science fiction, or any other sort of genre fiction you might try to pigeonhole them into.
(username1, Tue 21 Apr 2009, 19:39, Reply)

Clearly you're not familiar with the way mainstream treats SF

( The Light in Chains don't touch the Pope's boner, Tue 21 Apr 2009, 20:20, Reply)

Yah.
I'm told that here at the office I'm considered to be "a good helper".

I'm an engineer for fucks sake. You know what I've done over the past week? Re-typed some comments we got back on a submittal and put together some submittal documents, and corrected a Bill of Materials.

Yeah, I'm doing helper work, because that's all I'm being fed! I'm a glorified clerk.

Fuck.
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Tue 21 Apr 2009, 20:39, Reply)