Tom Parker (1)
Author of Rules of Thumb
For other authors named Tom Parker, see the disambiguation page.
Works by Tom Parker
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I really enjoyed perusing a page or two now and then until re-reading this quirky compendium of rules sent in by postcards and other correspondence. Images of the postcards include a hand-decorated one by Robert Crumb. This selection of rules gives a sense of the flavor and gamut:
I like this snarky attitude
This is the type of thing that is practical and feels like wisdom distilled from experience.
Also distilled from experience?
Similar vibe and feels like passing along a life lesson.
I dubious of the ones tied to closely to monetary figures.
Anything that rhymes is great
There is one I keep coming back to as it I see it realized in software development projects. When estimating time to deliver a project, double the time and move up to the next unit. So, "three days" means "six weeks", etc. show less
I like this snarky attitude
show more
806. THE COLD RULE OF TWO If your doctor treats your cold, it will go away in two weeks. If you leave it alone, it will go away in fourteen days.
Gloria Silverstein, trivia maven, Ithaca,
New York
This is the type of thing that is practical and feels like wisdom distilled from experience.
807. GETTING A CONSULTING JOB Personal contacts are best for getting consulting jobs. Twenty leads should produce one assignment.
Dr. Jeffrey L. Lant, Jeffrey Lant Associates, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts
Also distilled from experience?
808. SMOKING HASHISH Good hashish should make you cough on the first hit.
Anonymous hashish smoker, Poplar Ridge, New York
Similar vibe and feels like passing along a life lesson.
809. PROOFREADING STATISTICS Always expect to find at least one error when you proofread your own statistics. If you don't, you are probably making the same mistake twice.
Cheryl Russell, demographer
I dubious of the ones tied to closely to monetary figures.
810. BUYING A HOUSE Don't pay more than twice your average annual income for a house.
Scott Parker, Beaumont, Texas
Anything that rhymes is great
811. IDENTIFYING A SEDGE Sedges have edges (round rushes have none).
Scott M. Kruse, Yosemite National Park, California
There is one I keep coming back to as it I see it realized in software development projects. When estimating time to deliver a project, double the time and move up to the next unit. So, "three days" means "six weeks", etc. show less
I thought these were selected, collated, or edited by the author, and they might have been, but it reads like just about anything anybody submitted. You will probably find a few of interest, but many of these rules of thumb are not very insightful or even silly.
I picked this up on a whim at a Borders closing and I am totally glad I did. Some of the rules are just common sense, but others are so obvious that it's really a wonder I never thought of them before. Super Funny!!
This book is full of odd bits of knowledge and advise, along with the occasional wry or humorous comment. Good bathroom book!
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- 6
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- Rating
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