In the field of nonprofit technology, there is no higher honor than the Dirk Award. I'm not really in that class, but today my esteemed colleague Wayne Glynn decided to show appreciation for Third Sector New England's information systems team (of which I am an adjunct member), and the award that I garnered was "Death With Big Pointy Teeth."
According to ThinkGeek, the distinguished purveyor of this item,
...it’s just a harmless little bunny, isn’t it? How could a cute
thing like that bite anyone’s head off? Well, be warned – and be
afraid. Straight from the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail
comes this furry harbinger of doom. Cute, furry, soft, and completely
deadly. Look at those teeth – they weren’t made for vegetables. No,
this rabbit has an appetite for only one thing: human flesh!
According to Wayne, I have merited the Killer Rabbit Award by bringing a certain vendor to a state of abject submission, all in the cause of defending the interests of my esteemed client.This is a plush life-sized version of that famed beast of destruction. It looks like a cute little bunny, but pull open its mouth to reveal its hideously deformed teeth. And if that’s not enough, squeeze its leg (if you dare!) to start its evil red eyes flashing...
I am delighted and honored! After the presentations (in which Neil Currie and Arthur Prokosch received hilarious ThinkGeek t-shirts), I teased Wayne that at least my award was not a chum bucket. We often joke that he uses me as blood in the water to attract vendors with software solutions that Third Sector New England might want to consider. And perhaps that summarizes life as a conscientious Cyber-Yenta, working on behalf of nonprofit clients: some days I'm the chum bucket, and some days I'm a killer rabbit.
Postscript: It took me a little while to figure out the deja vu I experienced as I tucked my award into the crook of my arm - this fluffy bunny strongly reminds me of the daemons in Philip Pullman's trilogy of novels, His Dark Materials.
