2005's Most Overused Corporate Term

Alright, every year a word rises to the top of the Corporate lingo ladder. This year the winner of that dubious title is "vet/vetting/vetted". (Obviously there are different tenses and so forth, the the root word is "to vet". It is a verb, and here is the definition from Dictionary.com:

2. To subject to thorough examination or evaluation: vet a manuscript.

Can I begin to explain how tired I am of hearing that word. If you listen to any technology news or game news, you will hear that word at least 12 times a day.

The problem I have is this. Where was this word 12 months ago or even 6 months ago? There is nothing like the corporate community and their word fads. From the people who brought you "ramp up", another favorite of mine, comes vet.

"We're not ready to release this program from beta, it hasn't be fully vetted." "The fuel cell won't be ready for public consumption until it has been completely vetted." Vetted? Give me a break! What is wrong with tested? Some goof ball in a cubicle in San Francisco got out a Thesaurus and found some defunct word, it got legs and now my skin is crawling.

MurDog
I don't know if there are any typos in this blog, it hasn't been completely vetted. It is still in beta.

Mary Hadley Begins School Today

Today is Mary Hadley's first day of school. I haven't felt much emotion about it, and I figured I would get a free pass. But, it is 6:49 and in around an hour we are going to take her to her first day of Kindergarten and I am starting to feel it. Megan knew for a long time that she was going to be emotional, but it is becoming clear that this is going to be an emotional day for me too.

It is a great day, and a big milestone in Mary Hadley's life. We're not getting this one back so I am going to enjoy and celebrate the experience. I won't let it slip by.

MurDog