Clem Cole:

  I believe the line was:  *"running **DEC Diagnostics is like kicking a dead
  whale down the beach.*"
  As for who said it, I'm not sure, but I think it was someone like Rob
  Kolstad or Henry Spencer.

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The nearest I can remember encountering before was a somewhat
different quote, attributed to Steve Johnson:

Running TSO is like kicking a dead whale down the beach.

Since scj is on this list, maybe he can confirm that part.