The Three Rules of Budgeting

1. If it's a task that you know how to do, you're going to under-budget it.

2. If it's a task that you don't know how to do, you're going to under-budget it by a lot.

3. The client always follows Rule 2.

Aphorism of the Day

"I used a standard technique" is just another way to say "I didn't think at all."

Tech Support Allegory

So I go to my doctor, and I say “Doctor, when I stand up, I get this pain in my chest.”  And the doctor says “Well, let’s see about that.  Does this happen when you stand up from a sitting position?”

“Yes,” I say.

So the doctor sits down in a chair and then stands up.  “Hm,” says the doctor, “I don’t feel anything.  There’s no problem as far as I can tell.”  And he walks out the door.