The Indian restaurant that my apartment sits on top of is still proudly displaying an award received in 2005. They have a right to be proud, but it makes me wonder if the quality of the food and experience has deteriorated in the past eight years.

Has nothing remarkable taken place since then? Were the judges bribed with unlimited Mango Lassis that year? Was the 2006 batch of bribe drinks so awful that not even cheating could win them an award?

On a similar note: I sometimes review resumes for people who find them useful. Occasionally, I’ll see an award or distinction that’s the professional equivalent of saying “I was in the boy scouts and caught a fish one time!”

Cute, but cut it out.

If there’s nothing you’re proud of that has taken place in the past quarter or year and you’re not working on a product or project that will get you there, then what exactly is it that you’re doing?