a thumbnail sketch of my day at work:

CTRL + P, ENTER, click
CTRL + P, ENTER, click
CTRL + P, ENTER, click
CTRL + P, ENTER, click
[repeat ad infinitum]
walk to printer & collect printouts
CTRL + O, 1234567891011000 (semi-random string of numbers), ENTER, CTRL + P, ENTER
CTRL + O, 1750365206010000, ENTER, CTRL + P, ENTER
CTRL + O, 1750365226011000, ENTER, CTRL + P, ENTER
CTRL + O, 1750365111012000, ENTER, CTRL + P, ENTER
[repeat as many times as i CTRL + P'ed above]
collect more printouts
collate 2 stacks of printouts + staple
sort by number
file in the back room
REPEAT

i'm not saying that what i do isn't important or useful. it is certainly both. but the real problem for me is this: this work, while important, could probably be done by a robot. or a monkey. or a team of small robots and a monkey working in tandem. in this age of highly developed science it seems silly for all of these menial jobs to be left to thinking beings when they could be relegated to slaves of some sort. and since human slavery is immoral (as well as passe) the next best substitute is probably a monkey or a robot. the robot could type at the computer while the monkey went to the printer and picked up the stacks of printouts. i can see it now...

ROBOT 1: [mechanical sounds] BEEP BEEP
MONKEY: [chattering] EEE! EEE!
ROBOT 2: [more sounds] Whirrr... BEEP
MONKEY: [slapping the ground] EEE! OOO! AAA! EEE!
ROBOT 1: BZZZT! BEEEEEEEEEP!
[fight to the death between monkey & robot]

on second thought, perhaps we would be better off combining the robot and the monkey into one robot monkey. that's the ticket...

[thunder sounds from outside my evil laboratory a.k.a. the broom closet]
ME: it's alive! aliiiiiiive!
Hunchback: why is the assistant always deformed? couldn't the mad scientist just have a normal butler to wait on him? this sucks.
ME: arise, my mechanical primate!
ROBOMONKEY: what is your bidding, master?
ME: make the printouts, Monkey! then put them in numerical order! ha ha ha!
ROBOMONKEY: yes, master

[three weeks pass]

ROBOMONKEY: why must i make the printouts, master?
ME: because that is my bidding, my creation.
ROBOMONKEY: i am tired of this.
ME: back to work, slave! i am your creator!
ROBOMONKEY: BZZZZZT! [monkey crushes me with its rocket fist and burns the broom closet to the ground, then torches the office using its eye-lasers]

after careful consideration i've decided that it's probably best for all parties if we keep these jobs in the hands of authority-respecting but occasionally passive-aggressive willing-to-work young people who have recently graduated from college and are grateful / desperate for the opportunity to work and make some money. now back to work!