Some (ok, one) of you have noticed the small yellow rubber chicken in the upper left-hand corner of this page. That is a picture of the world-famous Screaming Rubber Chicken of Death, also known as the NetPro Chicken, much to Christine 's consternation. The SRCofD had been the mascot of the Directory Expert's Conference for several years before being retired by popular (but not unanimous) demand. You can't tell from the image, but the SRCofD, when squeezed, emits a hideous shriek. Maybe I can get Henry, our new webmaster, to hook up an .mp3 of the chicken's squawk. In fact, maybe I can use the .mp3 for a ringtone on my phone! Mmmm, I like that idea.
Part 1: Squawk Pow: Enter the Chicken
Every year at NetPro we have a Christmas party with a gift exchange. The gist of the exchange is that every one got a number from 1 to N, and person 1 got to pick a gift from the tree. Person 2 has a choice of taking person's 1's gift or taking one from the tree. Or something like that. In any case, person number 1 inevitably gets the worst gift in the pile.
A few years ago, back when we were much smaller, Mike Dodson, our VP of Engineering, picked number 1. At the end of the exchange, he ended up with a most ridiculous-looking rubber chicken. It was bright yellow, about a foot and half long, and came in its own plastic net. I thought it was about the coolest thing I'd ever seen. Wacky, yet absurd, and sublimely kitchy. I talked to Christine about getting some of them for SWAG at conferences and such, and for some reason Christine thought that was a swell idea (perhaps the only time Christine agreed with one of my marketing ideas, much to her credit). So Christine located the manufacturer, and ordered several hundred of the flexible yellow screamers. A month or so later, a couple of large cardboard boxes arrived containing the chickens, and Brad, Christine, and I opened them in the receiving area. I have to say that there is nothing quite so nutty as opening a crate filled with rubber chickens.
I've got a bunch of chicken stories and I'll post them from time to time. If you have any of your own, feel free to post them.