>I was a technical project manager Why apologize? One of my favorite former colleagues ever was a PM. I loved working for/with him. When he was around, he was

>I was a technical project manager Why apologize? One of my favorite former colleagues ever was a PM. I loved working for/with him. When he was around, he was a bit like having a personal concierge/bouncer. If anyone else in the company bothered someone who was working on one of his projects, he'd chase them away, post haste; most of the time nobody ever even got close. He wore sneakers, crappy cargo pants, and tshirts. HR hated him. He could be a bit stubborn about technical decisions when he thought they were within his area of competence, but he was a knowledgeable guy. When he wasn't needed, he left the engineers alone. Anyway, I was happy to work with this guy and I never felt like he was "above me" even though he certainly was in terms of pay. PS I like old Mercedes diesels, when you see one, don't be angry, that car is helping to bridge the economic divide. No, really, they are dirt cheap cars, and pretty well built.