there’s no rehab for stupidity.

people often throw around the phrase “once in a lifetime” and don’t really mean it literally.  several years ago, my ex-roommate from college, who became an NASA astronaut, invited me to a shuttle launch from the Kennedy space center at cape canaveral.  back in those days, i was super busy with “real” work and declined because i couldn’t get days off from work. at the time, i was thinking that i would simply go to his next launch.

needless to say, i missed a once in a lifetime opportunity that i regret to this day. now that the space shuttle program is basically dead, every time i see NASA news, it just reminds me again of my error in judgment.

what’s the life lesson here? if you’re not smart enough to realize a once in a lifetime opportunity when they present themselves, at least surround yourself with smarter people that can make you aware of the mistake you are making.

when i was in college, i had a summer job and my boss asked me if i could recommend any other students that would like to work there because they had other positions available. i told him i’d look around at the computer science center.

after asking around, i finally found a student that wanted a programming job at my work. however, i only knew him from one class and hardly knew him at all. but this student was very persuasive and convinced me to take him to work with me so that he could apply for the job.

he got the job and started working right away. i remember him commenting that he was very happy that he got that job because he needed the extra money. at first, everything seemed okay but soon after, it became apparent that this person had some serious issues and was almost impossible to work with.

the other employees started coming to me complaining about his behavior and asking why i had brought him to work with us. it was about this point that i realized that i had made a big mistake. not only did i not do my boss a favor, it was turning into a nightmare for me as well.

on one occasion, i was testing a date module that he had written and noticed some peculiar results. i noticed that his code was obviously not correct and indicated that there was only 30 days in august. i told him about this problem, thinking that he would tell me that he would fix it, but instead he argued with me and tried to convince me that there was only 30 days in august. even after showing him a calendar, he still insisted that there was only 30 days in august. what a nut.

it was at this point that i realized that i had to ask my boss to fire him, even though i knew the student needed the job badly for the money. when i talked to my boss, he seemed to already know about the problem and quickly informed me that the student would be let go.

what’s the life lesson i learned? never vouch for somebody you don’t know very well. in fact, it’s probably a good idea to never vouch for somebody period. vouching is not something that should be done without considerable deliberation first. it’s serious business. seriously.

the old cliche is so true. A friend of mine was very frustrated that her friend did not want free legal help from her lawyer boyfriend. instead of getting help, her friend just ignored everything and now has a warrant for her arrest for failing to take care of her DUI.

there’s nothing you can do to help somebody that doesn’t want help.