…I just had a realisation. I’m becoming that cranky/cantankerous geek that growls at people.

Just now, I was on a meeting with someone from work, and a few outsourced/vendor folks who are building an application for another area at work.
They wanted to find out if I could modify one of the applications I own, and we were throwing around technical ideas, there were several different approaches discussed, ranging from fairly simple, to rather complex.

Vendor: “So, can you do these modifications?” (not having picked any specific alternative)
Me: “Yeah, sure - I’ve got plenty of experience with [all these technologies]”
Vendor: “So, will this be able to be done by [our timeframe]?”
Me: “I can’t answer that, it’ll depend on a number of factors, and whether I’m assigned to do the work.”
Vendor: “So…. How long will these changes take?”
Me: “I can’t answer that until the decisions have been made as to the final requirements.”
Vendor: [rephrases previous questions]
Me: “That’s not up to me, [our rep], would need to go through the process to get me assigned. My Manager(s) assign me work, and that’s what I work on.”