Category Archives: Miscellaneous

Two Decades of Tough Times for the Oompa Loompas

Long time readers will know that Sourcing Innovation has been covering the plight of the Oompa Loompas ever since some of them gave up chocolate for code (at Coupa). And it hasn’t been good. Fifteen years ago there was E. Coli at the Nestle Plant (link). Five years ago, there was potential Hepatitis A contamination with Kentucky QVC Chocolate (link). Today, Lindt is facing a lawsuit over lead levels. (Source)

Hopefully some day they can go back to Chocolateering in peace.

Blinded By The Hype!

To the tune of Blinded by the Light by Bruce Springsteen.

Madman, PR, bummers
Marketers in the summer with a teenage solution
In the dumps with the mumps
As the adolescent pumps his way into the chat
With a boulder on my shoulder, feelin’ kinda older
I tripped the merry-go-round
With this very unpleasin’, sneezin’ and wheezin’
Calliope crashed to the ground

Some all-hot half-shot was headin’ for the hot spot,
Snappin’ his fingers, clappin’ his hands
Some bespot mascot was caught doing the robot trot
with a whatnot in its hand
Now young Scott with a slingshot finally hit a tender spot
and throws his vendor in the sand
Some bloodshot forget-me-not whispers, “Legal’s within earshot,
save the buckshot, buy on the lamb”

But they were blinded by the hype
Revved up like a deuce, another Gen-AI ectype
Blinded by the hype

They got down but they never got tight
They just won’t make it alright

Some brimstone, baritone, anticyclone, rolling stone
Preacher from the West
He says, “Replace the reporter”, hit me in the funny bone
I thought it was all in jest
And some new-mown chaperone was standin’ in the corner all alone
Watchin’ the young ones code
And some fresh-sown intern was messin’ with the data files
And all the while hoping it wouldn’t implode

Yeah, he was blinded by the hype
Oh, revved up like a deuce, another Gen-AI ectype
Blinded by the hype

He got down but he never got tight
He won’t make it alright

Some silicone sister with a manager mister
Told me they got what it takes
She said, “I’ll turn you on sonny to something strong
If I use the prompt with the funky break”
And desk-bound Aneed was checkin’ out the chatbot feed
To see if it was safe to go outside
And little Early-Pearly came by in his curly-wurly
And asked me if I wanted to try!

Oh, some hazard from Harvard was tripped on hype,
playin’ bacykard financier
Yes, and Dragon’s Den was trying hard,
they sent some dude with a calling card
He said, “Do what you like, just use AI here”
Well I jumped up, turned around, spit in the air, fell on the ground
Asked him which was the way back home
He said,” Take a right at the light, keep goin’ straight until night,
and then boys, you’re all on your own”

And now in the bazaar, a shootin’ star was ridin’ in a side car
hummin’ a lunar tune
Yes, and the architect said, “MVP, but first remove the cookie crumbs,
we’re gonna teach those boys to buy too soon”
And some distressed pro-buyer was complainin’ his system caught fire
from an AI he tried last night
Well, I purged his system cache as his drive I flashed,
I saw him calm and hoped that he’d be alright

But he was blinded by the hype
Revved up like a deuce, another Gen-AI ectype
Blinded by the hype

Mama always told me not to look into the eyes of a sage
Woah, but mama, that’s where the truth is, oh yeah

They were blinded
They were blinded
They were blinded
They were blinded

They were blinded

Post-ZIRP World!

Inspired by THE REVELATOR and Alan Buxton. (See the post AND the comments!)

To the tune of Perfect World by Huey Lewis and the News.

Everybody’s afraid of
the Post-ZIRP world
Where you can’t have
everything your heart desires
The perfect pitch won’t get the big raise
And the perfect plan won’t set the world on fire

Well, what you gonna do,
when one and one makes two
And the vision of the future
is low utility fees
No Co’s perfect,
not even a perfect fool
If you can’t serve results
They won’t keep the faith in you

Ain’t no bullsh!t in a post-ZIRP world
There weren’t no ZIRP world anyway
Ain’t no bullsh!t in a post-ZIRP world
But keep on dreamin’
of living in an all ZIRP world

Everybody’s got secrets
Now you know that it’s true
They talk about AI
They talk ’til they’re blue
Something happened to the pledges of trust
Down through the years, they began to rust

Now here we are, amid the fears and the laughter
Still waiting for our happily ever after
They’ll keep on dreamin’ as long as they can
Try to remember and you’ll understand …

Terror Squirrels are Now Targeting Civilians Directly With Their Sabotage!

They’ve been targeting power (sub) stations for decades, as first reported on SI over a decade ago and most recently reported last weekend.

The Terror Squirrels of Reading upped their game when they forced the evacuation of a Gatwick Train last month.

Now they are sabotaging civilian automobiles in Queens, New York. All they have to do is gnaw the right wire the right amount and your car will randomly stall. Now, they can’t be sure where, but if they can sabotage enough cars in the same way, some will unexpectedly stall in busy intersections and others on the interstate …