Doing, meaning, and things that look like other things

A client said to me the other day: “Just because I ask for something, doesn’t mean I want you to do it.”

“…”

Now, I’ve already got a client that never means to ask me to do something.
It goes like this (he calls it a conversation):

———–
“I wonder if there is an app that does X.”
I_dont_know_smiley
“I wonder if you googled “app for X” whether you’d find something that did what I need.”
I_dont_know_smiley
“Seems like there’d be a bunch of apps that did X?”
I_dont_know_smiley
“I couldn’t possibly be the only one. Very useful, this X.”
I_dont_know_smiley
“Just keep wondering whether there isn’t something out there, already built, free. I really do wonder.”
I_dont_know_smiley
———–

But not meaning to ask me to do something is different than asking me to do something without meaning to ask me to do something.

Maybe my response should have been to ask her what she meant by “do.”

due-as-stamped

Yet another client’s problems inspired this drawing, in which case I know what to do, but am confused as to what it means.

ACD_diagram

My fitness app showed me what I did:

agility_diagram

Which meant I had done what this diagram asked me to do:

dog-agility-STD

Maybe my response should have been “just because I do something doesn’t mean it means anything.”

tri-tip-as-ahab

clowning_with_moogie1

clowning_with_moogie2

stevie_as_felix

cycling_route