How do you tune out chattering morons?

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the fucking ignorami who work around me are going on and on about things they don't know or understand, and I fear that I will snap and tell them exactly what I think of them, which would not be good for my livelihood.
any coping tips?

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Tuesday, 29 April 2003 13:46 (twenty-two years ago)

if they think little of them do not reward them with your opinion, that is for people who matter

― gareth (gareth), Tuesday, 29 April 2003 13:47 (twenty-two years ago)

Is this about guitars again, Horace?

― Nordicskillz (Nordicskillz), Tuesday, 29 April 2003 13:48 (twenty-two years ago)

you could hold their noses so they have to use their mouths for breathing

― duane, Tuesday, 29 April 2003 13:50 (twenty-two years ago)

Ho ho ho. I had to listen to computer guy sniggering about how he was going to put "lie-nux" on his "apple" the other day (YOU DO NOT EARN ENOUGH TO OWN ONE, fuxx0r). I did not take him up on this. Neither did I take him up on it when he said "I use the run line to load things up quickly but that will be too complicated for you". I have the urge to hit him round the head with my C book.

Still, at least he was funny. I'd take that over the people who bring their bloody BABIES and resultant squealings into the office anyday.

― Sarah (starry), Tuesday, 29 April 2003 13:56 (twenty-two years ago)

Gareth, that is similar to what the Moon Men say on Aqua Teen Hunger Force!

― Ally (mlescaut), Tuesday, 29 April 2003 13:59 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm gonna blow up.
I wish it was over guitars, instead it's this Dr.Phil-based indictment of unions.
I'm not sure if the war (remember, the one in Iraq?) has brought out the ditto-headedness in some of my co-workers, or if it's made me more of an intolerant liberal, or just heightened my sensitiviy to these polarities.
I mean, I some of my best friends are pro-business, so I'm not bigoted or anything.

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Tuesday, 29 April 2003 14:11 (twenty-two years ago)

Horace - I feel your pain. The method I have developed is to lull myself into a semi-meditative trance that I have come to affectionately term, The Zone. I prime myself for entrance into this state on the train into work and by the time I roll in, I am in a trance-like semi-conscious state whereby the dull barbs off inanity bounce off the husk of my character without leaving a mark. I drift through the day like a dead man, eyes glazed and mind barely flickering, and through this disjoined state of suspension, I protect myself from the unceasing barrage of suicide-inducing banter that erupts all around me, and simultaneously protect the people around me from latent psychopathic impulses that await, Kraken-like, to be unleashed.

Alternately, you could ram your head through your computer monitor – that would surely give them pause for thought.

― Alex K (Alex K), Tuesday, 29 April 2003 14:14 (twenty-two years ago)

Headphones. I cannot stress this enough. Headphones and good music cure 80% of annoying colleague stress!

― kate, Tuesday, 29 April 2003 14:15 (twenty-two years ago)

ahh the zone - the first two hours at work and the final one - me time a time for reflection and a lack of irritation.

basically Horace the world is full of idjuts - dont let them affect you by working on developing your zone and living comfortably within it

― james (james), Tuesday, 29 April 2003 14:29 (twenty-two years ago)

Linux simply SHOULD be pronounced Lie-nux. It's only geekazoid gimps with no comprehension of linguistics who have chosen to get it wrong (yes, Mr Torvalds, I'm talking to you, and your army of the undead).

― Mark C (Mark C), Tuesday, 29 April 2003 14:36 (twenty-two years ago)

ugh. it just got worse. someone on the otherside of the office just announced they're pregnant. everyone (minus me) gathered around her desk and there was great whooping and ado.
when it died down, the moron whose desk is closest to mine (and thus the source of the majority of my cringing), says "did you hear...XXXXXXX is pregnant!"
Because it was easy to miss the last 20 minutes of fireworks and doves being released and Cirque du Soleil-style acrobats descending from the panelled ceiling.

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Tuesday, 29 April 2003 14:37 (twenty-two years ago)

At first I thought this thread was about "chattering mormons." Damn them.

Anyway, I got some good suggestions here:

This is the thread where we come up with ideas for how I can get my co-worker to SHUT THE HELL UP!

The latest on my world is that I've decided the co-worker probably has psychological damage from doing way too many drugs back in the day (it's Ann Arbor... what do you expect??). He has almost entire conversations with himself -- asking questions and answering them! -- and seems to really be totally oblivious to the fact that he's talking out loud. So I've decided to cut him some slack. And now it's sometimes entertaining, in a Office Space's Milton sort of way.

― Aaron W (Aaron W), Tuesday, 29 April 2003 14:42 (twenty-two years ago)

Ha ha, that really made me laugh! My thoughts are with you Horace.

― Pinkpanther (Pinkpanther), Tuesday, 29 April 2003 14:42 (twenty-two years ago)

Incidentally, I thought this *had* to be a thread about ILX itself...

― Mark C (Mark C), Tuesday, 29 April 2003 14:45 (twenty-two years ago)

my advice is to take up smoking. smoke so much that your skin stinks. this is your best defense.

― kephm, Tuesday, 29 April 2003 14:59 (twenty-two years ago)

Oh my god, I have the exact same problem. Coworkers who get all their knowledge of the world from Fox News and think that gives them the ability to deliver insightful commentary on the world's events. What I do is go into another room, where I can't hear them, and pretend like I'm doing something important in there until they change the subject. I empathize, yo.

― Nick A. (Nick A.), Tuesday, 29 April 2003 15:01 (twenty-two years ago)

I like to listen closely to what they're talking about, mentally sample the good-bits, and steal it for song lyrics! (most recent acquisition-from-a-frustratingly-dense-overheard-convo = "it's already started, why protest it now?")

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Tuesday, 29 April 2003 15:04 (twenty-two years ago)

i say challenge them on there ignorance, i do this regularly with co-workers, especially the uber-n@zi i used to sit next to at my previous job. They never listen but you can vent your spleen to your hearts content - use a couple of big words and then explain these big words - this often works for me

― james (james), Tuesday, 29 April 2003 15:05 (twenty-two years ago)

Incidentally, I thought this *had* to be a thread about ILX itself...

C'mon folks; it's not THAT hard to skim over Hongro's posts...

― Jody Beth Rosen (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 29 April 2003 15:07 (twenty-two years ago)

If you do wind up getting into the discussion, the stance to take is "concerned seeker," not "guy who actually knows his ass from his elbow." Phrase everything as a question that sounds like it stems from genuine interest (rather than from deep contempt for dumbasses) and watch people's minds start to change. NB I have training as a psychiatric nurse so this is somewhat easier for me to do than it is for some foax.

― J0hn Darn1elle (J0hn Darn1elle), Tuesday, 29 April 2003 15:09 (twenty-two years ago)

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