Free Nonsense

Babble and jokes

By Mário Couto*

After appearing in the “Limelight” section in the previous edition of BIP, here I am again, this time in the “Free Nonsense” section. I admit that I’m not used to all this commotion and I enjoy being discreet. However, I could not disregard this task, which as everyone knows, is extremely hard. I was told to be funny, to babble and throw in some jokes.

But even though I accepted the invitation to write the article, I wondered the reason why I was chosen. I conclude that this is nothing but an attempt from the Communication Service, responsible for BIP, to damage my image. First, in the September edition I am nominated for the “Limelight” section, which represents an image of hard work and seriousness; however, right the following month I’m asked to write nonsense, which means that my reputation is on a downwards spiral, just as the national GDP. My state of grace was shorter than the government’s coalition.

This scam, planned by the Communication Service, may have helped tarnish my image; however, I had to put a brake on it so that the damage wasn’t greater. Even worse, they asked me again to take a picture with a black background, only this time they wanted me to put on a clown nose or possibly dress as a court jester! I was told: “We want an innovative image for the free nonsense! We would like for you to show up in a hilarious situation, something that would be more adequate for the section, and you would be perfect for it!”. I did not accept it. I thought it would harm my reputation too much. Apparently, that would be impossible anyway because purchasing the nose and the jester’s clothes would weigh heavily on this year’s budget. By the way, don’t forget the Tax Cut Law: 1/3 on the side of revenue and 2/3 on the side of expenditure.

After this quirky start, I remembered that some people at USE [Power Systems Unit], more specifically those who work closer to me (José Iria, Nuno, Meirinhos and Henrique), have said that they wanted to do something similar. I recall that Meirinhos and Nuno have said that they would like to take a few pictures with the typical clothes of their areas of residence. Meirinhos wants to wear his “Pauliteiro” costume of Miranda do Douro, while Nuno would like to show his brilliant uniform of the Tarouquela Marching Band, and he’s even willing to play Rachmaninoff on his oboe, accompanied by  Ivo (also from USE) on the piano. Henrique and José Iria already have a routine rehearsed but they don’t want to reveal what it’s about. Another element from USE, Miguel Heleno, also has a few ideas for some parties which seem quite bold, and so I do not dare to describe them. I hope that the BIP team uses some of these ideas in future editions of the Bulletin, thus promoting the creativity of INESC TEC’s collaborators. It seems to me that this material is good enough for the annual Multicultural Party.

Because these are my last days at INESC TEC, I want to leave a few messages. I will never forget INESC TEC because this is where I started my professional career. Without a doubt, I believe that my experience at INESC TEC was positive on all levels. Obviously there are people, situations and moments that I will always remember, but I will not mention them here because I don’t want to get nostalgic. I’d like to believe that the best is yet to come: little by little, just further ahead.

I would like to say goodbye, and I leave my best wishes to the entire INESC TEC community, especially to USE.

So long INESC TEC!

*Collaborator at the Power Systems Unit (USE)