About 11 or 12 years ago-- Kay Bailey Hutchinson was an important factor in my decision to mute live sessions of congress. I have done this almost without exception during these last 12 years and few congressional members lift that mute. I am often surprised by dialects when I do hear a face I have looked upon for years.

That is why, for the last two weeks some maybe surprised to learn I have been watching congressional hearings with the sound. It is not important why, I chose to do this at this time-- however I will say it was not to humor congress.

Over the years, why have I watched live congressional hearings muted on occasion, anyway? Early in my "why Me" search-- in an effort to figure out what was going on-- I began to watch a lot of live news and congressional sessions. So it is habit. That said-- I work a lot and the television is really on to kind of keep me company without distracting me. That is, watch market tickers march across the screen or note who is having a congressional session when I look up.

Who might get me to lift the mute on a C/Span session? In the past, Generals, Robert Mueller, Eric Holder, the Supremes-- or their predecessors. I normally ask of the judicial or legal types-- "are you looking for me"-- in that I want to believe I have interactive communications with some elements of live programming. It would be very easy in this day and age to do this.

In early January 2012, I had reason to believe DOJ and FBI maybe more involved than I originally thought-- so I have been paying attention more.

That said, this past week once again reaffirmed why I mute most congressional hearings. On, a female who claimed a technology background that seemed exceptional given her toastmasters skills [albeit she was seated] and non-teaching credentials. Also at the witness table several males claiming mostly the same credentials. What I found interesting about the female-- was at one point she said something similar to quote I provided in a Q's Wire blog post years ago.. In my blog post-- I wrote an older co-worker at Rockwell once said-- the IBM 386 PC sitting in my office was more powerful than the computer onboard the spacecraft that went to the moon. I took physics, deferential and partial deferential equations in college-- so when I thought about it-- I did say-- oh yes, I get ohms burn. Is this why I am in this situation?

The female-- looked into the camera-- in what appeared to be an arrogant and condescending manner-- and said her smart phone was more powerful than the computer that went to the moon. She was condescending to me? I initially thought she had no idea I write/wrote Q's Wire. Then I thought she may have only read the part where I repeated what the co-worker had said and not my summary conclusions based on coursework and solar power limitations. However, I did this re-analysis in the why me time frame [trying to understand what I felt the many Naval Academy Grads and Pentagon Pilots I had known in the workplace as a young computer programer, really not a call girl -- wanted me to tell] and did not question NASA's early claims when I did the coursework in college.

Another theory I came up with for her attitude? She was about 30-35 and one of her friends told her about my blog post and she had no idea who I was? Like most females of her generation sitting next to a lot of men with the same credentials she claimed-- they tend to try to prove more and in doing so- come off less smart. I worked with a lot of smart men. I never mind being the least knowledgeable in the meeting. If I have a question-- it is normally a sound question. I do not over report my resume-- and my resume is impressive. I have 14 years of corporate experience, c, x-windows, rebuilt pcs, etc. I have a lot of experience. I also wear stockings and suits-- with skirts. I have briefed tasks, proposed tasks, documented, written code, a lot of things. I do not like standing in a full house and pretending I have toastmaster skills. I do not. That said-- you would want me at the meeting. Should you read this as defensive on my part? NO. You should heed my warning. Why? I would not allow this type of braggart to waste my time nor my client's time. I call it being female in a man's world. I never mind being the girl in the room and I never feel I am competing with men. Girls-- save it for someone other than me.

Dude I would prefer not to have to humor in this arena again. I took notes [post tile] and tried to listen in the second voice. All voices sounded more arrogant than they should.