Tuesday 6 May, 2003 at 2:52PM (Nereus)  ::  permalink  ::  comments (3)

A man is floating around in a hot air balloon and realizes he is lost. He reduces height and spots a man down below. He lowers the balloon further and shouts, "Excuse me. Can you help me? I promised my client that I would meet him half an hour ago, but I seem be lost. Can you tell me where I am?"

The man below says, "Yes. You are in a hot air balloon, hovering approximately 30 feet above this field. You are between 40 and 42 degrees N. latitude, and between 58 and 60 degrees W. longitude."

"Well thanks, I should've expected an answer like that," says the balloonist sarcastically, "you must be an engineer."

"I am," replies the man. "How did you know?"

"Well," says the balloonist,"everything you have told me is probably technically correct, but I have no idea how to use your information, and the fact is I am still lost."

The man below says, "Ahh ..so you must be a manager."

"I am," replies the balloonist, "but how did you know?"

"Well," says the man below, "you don't know where you are or where you are going. You have made a promise which you have no idea how to keep, and you expect me to solve your problem. The fact is you are in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but now it is somehow my fault."