far, but what else did he expect on a weekend.
He did, however, get an email from Bill Rybold.
From: (Bill Rybold) [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Good to meet you
Date: December 19, 2004 1:10 a.m. MST
Dear Alex,
Enjoyed meeting you at the reception. Hope I didn’t get you in hot water with your chief, but I think I probably raised your standing in the department.
By now, you suspect that I know your situation with the department. I know that your salary is actually coming out of an equipment budget because of the police union and I think that’s emblematic of not only the department’s view of you, but also the attitude of many government agencies and businesses. We disembodied — and yes, between you and me and others like us, I don’t hide my status — have to stand up for our rights, otherwise we run the danger of being marginalized. (Did you see The New Yorker article: “Dispossessed and disembodied”?)
Sorry, didn’t mean to get up on the soap box.
Now, I’m also sure that you know that I want to hire you, but you don’t know for what. Why do I require the services of a homicide detective? Well, I don’t require a detective, but I do need your brain (rubs hands and chortles maniacally). I need people who match a certain profile and have certain abilities to work for a start-up company, but I don’t want to go into the details now.
Also, your next step is to do some research on me, and I’d like you to be informed before our next meeting.
If you’re amenable, contact my secretary, Phyllis (see below), and let’s set up a meeting.
Again, nice to meet you.
Bill
So Munroe researched Bill Rybold. He found several pictures from before Rybold’s death and saw that his avatar did not at all resemble him. In life, Rybold was short, dumpy and plain. Well, who wouldn’t want to look better after their death? He was 54 when he died.
Although not much to look at, he was apparently a very good businessman, rising up the corporate ladder in the very competitive Denver telecommunications world, and then surprising everyone by taking the top job in a relatively minor player in the field. But Rybold took ClearView Cable (now ClearView Broadband) into the Fortune 500 quickly.
His business expertise wasn’t his only achievement, however. He was a bona fide geek, with several patents to his name in the telecom field. And Munroe found news profiles of Rybold that applauded his business and his management skills. When he took over ClearView, he didn’t fire everyone and install his own team, but worked with what he had. There were several quotes from employees, from upper management to cable installers, which praised Rybold.
Unfortunately, he was saddled with a board of directors who wanted to take a buyout offer from a competitor, which Rybold successfully fought until his death from some kind of freak pancreatic cancer, after which Rybold was removed as CEO and chairman.
After his death, Rybold didn’t fight the removal and seemed to vanish until a few months ago when a columnist in the Rocky Mountain News spotted his avatar at a fund-raising dinner. Since then, Rybold came back with his new persona in a big way by sponsoring the reception. Munroe couldn’t find any information on the man Rybold had hired to be his avatar.
All in all, Rybold seemed like a decent, if possibly vain man. Of course, if I looked like that, I think I’d want to find someone better looking.
He thought about Rybold’s assessment of his situation within the department.
God knows he’s right. What am I to the department besides their latest crime-fighting tool? What do I owe them? But the chief did give me a break when he hired me. And maybe I made some progress tonight and they’ll think of me as a person.
Munroe found the secretary’s email address and phone number. He added the information to his address list. Then he saw Yamaguchi turn over and get out of bed for the sixth trip to the
He did, however, get an email from Bill Rybold.
From: (Bill Rybold) [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Good to meet you
Date: December 19, 2004 1:10 a.m. MST
Dear Alex,
Enjoyed meeting you at the reception. Hope I didn’t get you in hot water with your chief, but I think I probably raised your standing in the department.
By now, you suspect that I know your situation with the department. I know that your salary is actually coming out of an equipment budget because of the police union and I think that’s emblematic of not only the department’s view of you, but also the attitude of many government agencies and businesses. We disembodied — and yes, between you and me and others like us, I don’t hide my status — have to stand up for our rights, otherwise we run the danger of being marginalized. (Did you see The New Yorker article: “Dispossessed and disembodied”?)
Sorry, didn’t mean to get up on the soap box.
Now, I’m also sure that you know that I want to hire you, but you don’t know for what. Why do I require the services of a homicide detective? Well, I don’t require a detective, but I do need your brain (rubs hands and chortles maniacally). I need people who match a certain profile and have certain abilities to work for a start-up company, but I don’t want to go into the details now.
Also, your next step is to do some research on me, and I’d like you to be informed before our next meeting.
If you’re amenable, contact my secretary, Phyllis (see below), and let’s set up a meeting.
Again, nice to meet you.
Bill
So Munroe researched Bill Rybold. He found several pictures from before Rybold’s death and saw that his avatar did not at all resemble him. In life, Rybold was short, dumpy and plain. Well, who wouldn’t want to look better after their death? He was 54 when he died.
Although not much to look at, he was apparently a very good businessman, rising up the corporate ladder in the very competitive Denver telecommunications world, and then surprising everyone by taking the top job in a relatively minor player in the field. But Rybold took ClearView Cable (now ClearView Broadband) into the Fortune 500 quickly.
His business expertise wasn’t his only achievement, however. He was a bona fide geek, with several patents to his name in the telecom field. And Munroe found news profiles of Rybold that applauded his business and his management skills. When he took over ClearView, he didn’t fire everyone and install his own team, but worked with what he had. There were several quotes from employees, from upper management to cable installers, which praised Rybold.
Unfortunately, he was saddled with a board of directors who wanted to take a buyout offer from a competitor, which Rybold successfully fought until his death from some kind of freak pancreatic cancer, after which Rybold was removed as CEO and chairman.
After his death, Rybold didn’t fight the removal and seemed to vanish until a few months ago when a columnist in the Rocky Mountain News spotted his avatar at a fund-raising dinner. Since then, Rybold came back with his new persona in a big way by sponsoring the reception. Munroe couldn’t find any information on the man Rybold had hired to be his avatar.
All in all, Rybold seemed like a decent, if possibly vain man. Of course, if I looked like that, I think I’d want to find someone better looking.
He thought about Rybold’s assessment of his situation within the department.
God knows he’s right. What am I to the department besides their latest crime-fighting tool? What do I owe them? But the chief did give me a break when he hired me. And maybe I made some progress tonight and they’ll think of me as a person.
Munroe found the secretary’s email address and phone number. He added the information to his address list. Then he saw Yamaguchi turn over and get out of bed for the sixth trip to the
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