I'm reading in bed while I wait for the Nyquil to kick in, and the book is "jPod," by Douglas Coupland -- almost a sequel to his Microserfs (which is one of my favorite books). I just reached this passage:

"You know, I once visited someone out in the building where you work. Out in Burnaby."
That was odd. "Really?"
"Yes, I had to, er...influence somebody."
"Somebody up high?"
"No. At the bottom of your food chain. In quality assurance."
"Oh, Q/A. Everybody tortures the guys in Q/A. It's like being hazed for a living."

Remind me to write a mash letter to Douglas Coupland, because Microserfs is one of those books I never wanted to end. It was full of funny stuff that really appeals to geeks (pet mice named "Look" and "Feel!", but also to some very deep shit that could really make you think. The bottom line was no matter how randomly fucked up all these people were, they really loved each other and were loyal to one another.