The company I work at standardized on a server platform long before I signed on. That platform? The *ell 2850 multiprocessor PowerEdge server. I'll refer to the builder as *ell, since this Austin, Texas based computer supplier is not flattered by what has been going on in my life.
Anyway, the 2850 was a reliable old server. The build process included these steps:
1. Stick in the Windows 2003 Server CD and turn on the server
2. Hit F6
3. Load the disk array drivers from a floppy
4. Complete the OS install
5. Get on with life, content in a job well done
And then, *ell discontinued the 2850. It was replaced with the 2950. Upgraded hardware is awesome, right?
Ok, so I started building it, got to the floppy part (heheheh . . . floppy part) and -- There is no floppy drive on the 2950.
Crap.
I tried USB drives, loading the drivers from a CD, and using default Microsoft drivers. Nothing worked.
In desperation, I tried the *ell supplied "Install Media". This disk contains all the drivers and sets up the computer for the installation. It also loads a bunch of unnecessary crap, but I was out of options.
The CD booted as expected, cached the install media, started the Linux build kernel and . . . "Input Out of Range". The display just died.
I downloaded new install media and tried again. "Input Out of Range"
I called *ell and explained the issue. They claimed immediately that my monitor was obviously low-quality and that I should get a better one. I asked which rack-mounted *ell-branded LCD was recommended and they rattled off a model number.
I told them that was the rack-mounted *ell-branded LCD monitor the server was attached to already. We have all *ell stuff.
They were at a loss.
As we were placing an order for 40 more *ell servers for Disaster Recovery, the sales rep (ever so helpful when you are buying 40 servers) offered to send out a tech to educate us on the 2950.
You know what? He couldn't get it working either. He gave us a hacked work-around.
He was helpful and seemed concerned, but in the end took the story back to *ell escalated support for resolution. They sent this to me today:
From: B*********************s@*ell.com
Sent: Monday, October 30, 2006 2:50 PM
To: ****,Garrick
Cc: R*******************t@*ell.com; D**************n@*ell.com; *******,Shane; W**********************y@*ell.com; D*************l@*ell.com
Subject: RE: RE: *ell Support Services: Incident # 1627770
Garrick,
Was informed by D******l that you should be made aware of the following info that I had requested to continue troubleshooting this issue and why:
Dan,
This is the NOS analyst assigned to assist Brian ****** on this issue. I instructed Brian ****** to request the info needed in order to escalate this case due to the requirements that IPS has when performing an escalation. Upon reviewing two other PSE cases with the same issue:
http://olympus.us.dell.com/tools/forum/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=620
http://olympus.us.dell.com/tools/forum/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=441
You will see that IPS needs SPECIFIC info on type of monitor being used,refresh rates tried,firmware version, and basic troubleshooting (ie..changing of different equipment,monitors,DSA ISO cd versions). If we cannot perform these basic procedures and provide sufficient info, we CANNOT escalate to IPS and even if we did ignore proper escalation procedures and escalated, IPS would refuse to work the issue and reject it upon grounds of lack of info/insufficient data. Dan, in order for us to provide the best customer service and efficiently and quickly resolve issues, we need the customer to be willing to work with us on gathering data/troubleshooting this issue.
In addition to asking for this info; it is to be stated that IPS is well aware of this issue and have been working on a DSA beta that will address this issue. Planned scheduled rollout on this DSA Beta is MAR 2007.
________________________________
Capitalization and tone were unedited by me.
I forwarded it to my manager with the subject line "WTF?" By then, I was too angry to not reply.
First, they again blamed our equipment while somehow also admitting that there is a known issue with the install media? Holy crap!
________________________________
From: ****,Garrick
Sent: Monday, October 30, 2006 3:33 PM
To: *****, Dan
Cc: *******,Shane
Subject: FW: RE: *ell Support Services: Incident # 1627770
The build seems to be fine with the work-around you provided.
The part number on the dongle is OUF366 Rev. A00.
Is Mr. ****** aware that everything attached to this server is a *ell-branded product?
The fact that I haven't provided model numbers and refresh rates is the direct result of my never having been asked them and in any event has no bearing on the known issue currently being worked by IPS.
Does he really need the refresh rates from me? I can dig them up, but if this is a known issue with the DSA I can't understand how it would help.
Thanks,
Garrick
________________________________
I didn't curse. I blame the "Respectful Workplace". You know, I can understand wanting to close tickets and move on, but there is a global issue with no resolution until March of 2007! Holy crap again!
The response from the tech who visited us on site:
________________________________
-----Original Message-----
From: D********@*ell.com
To: ****,Garrick
CC: **********,Shane
Sent: Mon Oct 30 15:37:43 2006
Subject: RE: RE: *ell Support Services: Incident # 1627770
Yes, I had give Brian ****** info on you using all *ELL branded components like *ELL branded 2160AS KVM switch, *ELL branded flat panel monitor, etc.) for *ELL rack. Since issue could be caused by resolution and refresh rate, they would need to know this information.
Thanks for the other information.
D**************l
*ELL, INC.
Systems Engineer
(832) 555-9231 (Work)
(832)555-5275 (Cell)
Email: d************@*ell.com
How am I doing? Please contact my manager J************************t at j****************************t@*ell.com with any feedback.
_________________________________________________________________________
For the record, I did not contact anyone's manager.
Ok. Whew. I hate Dell. Ah, crap. Forgot the "*".
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Monday, October 30, 2006
So, Friday I realized the extent of my ever growing paranoia.
My boss stopped by my cubicle just after lunch. He told me that if there wasn't much going on, I should leave at 3:00 p.m.
Of course, I immediately freaked out. My panicked mind wondered if my badge would work Monday. Did they just want an extra hour to disable my network access? Did my boss think I'm not busy enough? There isn't enough work?
As soon as he walked away, I dashed to a neighboring cube and barged in without knocking - to hell with the "Respectful Workplace".
"Did he tell you to leave early?" I tried (unsuccessfully) to keep the stress out of my voice.
"Yes. It is sort of a standard Friday afternoon kind of thing."
"Really?" I (in no way) casually responded.
"He likes to leave early, too. He is just sharing the love."
"Ok. That is what I figured," I lied.
I'm apparently completely broken. I can no longer accept going home early on a Friday as something normal and not a reason to sweat and twitch.
How did I get to this point? Why would I instantly assume I'm fired?
I need to find that baby furnace, people. Until I uncover the dark underbelly of this company I'll never find peace here.
My other paranoid moment came from the time change.
I suspect the first working day following the change has a lot of people glancing, pre-coffee, at their dashboard clocks in a split-second of panic. Mine came from opening the garage door to be greeted by the first thin rays of a beautiful sunrise.
My moment of panic came from my instant realization that the sun (long an enemy of my fair-complexioned people) had discovered my secret of leaving before he arrives in the morning.
Obviously, logic told me that the sun was trying to kill me.
I have a tradition of burning generally once a year, blistering and peeling, and then exposing a layer of geek-flesh pastier and paler than the layer just burned off. I've learned to avoid the sun and, until this morning, I'd assumed the sun was avoiding me as well.
My brief flash of fear at the sun's obvious escalation of hostilities was also sad, but not as sad as being told to kick off early on a Friday and instantly hitting the corporate Intranet looking for information on COBRA.
My boss stopped by my cubicle just after lunch. He told me that if there wasn't much going on, I should leave at 3:00 p.m.
Of course, I immediately freaked out. My panicked mind wondered if my badge would work Monday. Did they just want an extra hour to disable my network access? Did my boss think I'm not busy enough? There isn't enough work?
As soon as he walked away, I dashed to a neighboring cube and barged in without knocking - to hell with the "Respectful Workplace".
"Did he tell you to leave early?" I tried (unsuccessfully) to keep the stress out of my voice.
"Yes. It is sort of a standard Friday afternoon kind of thing."
"Really?" I (in no way) casually responded.
"He likes to leave early, too. He is just sharing the love."
"Ok. That is what I figured," I lied.
I'm apparently completely broken. I can no longer accept going home early on a Friday as something normal and not a reason to sweat and twitch.
How did I get to this point? Why would I instantly assume I'm fired?
I need to find that baby furnace, people. Until I uncover the dark underbelly of this company I'll never find peace here.
My other paranoid moment came from the time change.
I suspect the first working day following the change has a lot of people glancing, pre-coffee, at their dashboard clocks in a split-second of panic. Mine came from opening the garage door to be greeted by the first thin rays of a beautiful sunrise.
My moment of panic came from my instant realization that the sun (long an enemy of my fair-complexioned people) had discovered my secret of leaving before he arrives in the morning.
Obviously, logic told me that the sun was trying to kill me.
I have a tradition of burning generally once a year, blistering and peeling, and then exposing a layer of geek-flesh pastier and paler than the layer just burned off. I've learned to avoid the sun and, until this morning, I'd assumed the sun was avoiding me as well.
My brief flash of fear at the sun's obvious escalation of hostilities was also sad, but not as sad as being told to kick off early on a Friday and instantly hitting the corporate Intranet looking for information on COBRA.
Friday, October 27, 2006
My Desk Chair Has a Seatbelt
Yesterday was "Safety Training Day" for me.
I learned to always bring my shoes in the event of a high-rise crisis. Wait. I learned that from Die Hard.
What I learned yesterday is about the different types of fire (A, B, C, D and sometimes K) and to not grab a fire extinguisher and just start spraying the flames. I should leave that to the highly-trained fire wardens on my floor. Unless they are on vacation, in which case I'm to turn rapidly in place to brown evenly.
Rotisserie-style geek. Mmmmmm . . . Caffeinated meat.
I also learned my personal cube-fitted coffee maker is in violation of building codes. I'll show them violations of building codes.
Ok. Crunch time.
I sort of set up my profile on NaNoWriMo.org. For everyone brave/dedicated/bored enough to play along, please use my email address to add me as a commiserating writing buddy.
I may log in more often than I do to my MySpace account. Then again, I've got 50,000 words to write next month.
If you use FireFox, you can install the word count extension found here, for extra constant pressure.
I've selected a working title and intend to polish my notes over the weekend. I may do the whole thing in an online word processor. I hate MS Word.
I chose the category "Science Fiction" though I personally prefer "Speculative Fiction". It sounds a little (tiny bit) less dorky.
Plans for today include enjoying my jeans (I know my officemates who have not yet attended "Respectful Workplace" training enjoy them) and resolving some stupid application issues which have been causing people to call me too often for my own comfort. I'm generally all about my own comfort.
I learned to always bring my shoes in the event of a high-rise crisis. Wait. I learned that from Die Hard.
What I learned yesterday is about the different types of fire (A, B, C, D and sometimes K) and to not grab a fire extinguisher and just start spraying the flames. I should leave that to the highly-trained fire wardens on my floor. Unless they are on vacation, in which case I'm to turn rapidly in place to brown evenly.
Rotisserie-style geek. Mmmmmm . . . Caffeinated meat.
I also learned my personal cube-fitted coffee maker is in violation of building codes. I'll show them violations of building codes.
Ok. Crunch time.
I sort of set up my profile on NaNoWriMo.org. For everyone brave/dedicated/bored enough to play along, please use my email address to add me as a commiserating writing buddy.
I may log in more often than I do to my MySpace account. Then again, I've got 50,000 words to write next month.
If you use FireFox, you can install the word count extension found here, for extra constant pressure.
I've selected a working title and intend to polish my notes over the weekend. I may do the whole thing in an online word processor. I hate MS Word.
I chose the category "Science Fiction" though I personally prefer "Speculative Fiction". It sounds a little (tiny bit) less dorky.
Plans for today include enjoying my jeans (I know my officemates who have not yet attended "Respectful Workplace" training enjoy them) and resolving some stupid application issues which have been causing people to call me too often for my own comfort. I'm generally all about my own comfort.
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Respectfully
Yesterday I spent all morning in a "Respectful Workplace" seminar.
"What makes you feel respected at work?" was the initial question.
I answered that I'd been at a job with no funding where we had to rob homeless people for office supplies and that my half of a box of mechanical pencils ( 0.5mm) made me feel pretty good about coming in everyday. People laughed.
Sadly, I wasn't kidding. Mechanical pencils just make me happy.
So we learned about the various forms of harassment and prejudice and discrimination. We learned the difference between behaviour that is "Unprofessional", "Prohibited" and "Illegal".
When we were divided into groups, I was in the "Unprofessional" group. Neat!
We watched a movie detailing the evils of forwarding joke emails, hating on foreign programmers and discriminating against people based on gender, age, national origin, religion, and sexual orientation.
And then, right after training, the tests began. We are expanding the server room and the new racks arrived from Dell. The racks are very nice.
A co-worker was playing with his hardware under his desk.
A new user account set up was ordered for Mohammad A****akar.
What am I supposed to do with that?
How can I implement a respectful workplace when they throw material at me?
I got a call from someone who had been in class with me and, after trying to troubleshoot over the phone, I said, "Are you in your cube? I'll be right there."
I hung up without saying goodbye!
I officially suck at the whole "Respectful Workplace" concept.
From the film, I did learn some new and exciting ways to annoy my co-workers and what the limits are on unprofessional behaviour. Apparently, you can jump all over unprofessional behaviour as long as you don't cross the line into prohibited or illegal behaviour. Game on!
"What makes you feel respected at work?" was the initial question.
I answered that I'd been at a job with no funding where we had to rob homeless people for office supplies and that my half of a box of mechanical pencils ( 0.5mm) made me feel pretty good about coming in everyday. People laughed.
Sadly, I wasn't kidding. Mechanical pencils just make me happy.
So we learned about the various forms of harassment and prejudice and discrimination. We learned the difference between behaviour that is "Unprofessional", "Prohibited" and "Illegal".
When we were divided into groups, I was in the "Unprofessional" group. Neat!
We watched a movie detailing the evils of forwarding joke emails, hating on foreign programmers and discriminating against people based on gender, age, national origin, religion, and sexual orientation.
And then, right after training, the tests began. We are expanding the server room and the new racks arrived from Dell. The racks are very nice.
A co-worker was playing with his hardware under his desk.
A new user account set up was ordered for Mohammad A****akar.
What am I supposed to do with that?
How can I implement a respectful workplace when they throw material at me?
I got a call from someone who had been in class with me and, after trying to troubleshoot over the phone, I said, "Are you in your cube? I'll be right there."
I hung up without saying goodbye!
I officially suck at the whole "Respectful Workplace" concept.
From the film, I did learn some new and exciting ways to annoy my co-workers and what the limits are on unprofessional behaviour. Apparently, you can jump all over unprofessional behaviour as long as you don't cross the line into prohibited or illegal behaviour. Game on!
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
250 posts, everybody! A personal blogging milestone! To commemorate, I've blatantly ripped off the Chicago Sun Times.
Ladies and gentlemen of the class of '06:
Play games.
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, gaming would be it. The long-term benefits of gaming have been proven by geeks on internet forums, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than the latest re-imagining of the Original Trilogy. I will upload this advice now.
Enjoy the power and caffeine of The Dew. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and caffeine of The Dew until they've faded. But trust me, in 20 minutes, you'll log into Unreal 2003 and feel like your hair is on fire and every fiber of your being is alive. You are not as fast as you imagine.
Don't worry about the last three Star Wars movies. They will never be made. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum -- and I know that some people who read this blog are extremely good at algebra. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, like Keanu Reeves coming out in support of relief for refugees in Darfur -- instantly invalidating a concept that otherwise made a lot of sense.
Do one thing every day that scares people around you.
Blog.
Don't be reckless with other people's dice. Don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.
Hack.
Don't waste your time on n00bs. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. On the internet, the argument thread is long and, like a race in the Special Olympics, even the winner is retarded.
Remember The Empire Strikes Back. Forget Jar Jar. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old hardware. Throw away your old floppy disks.
L3@rn 1337.
Don't feel guilty if you never saw the final level of Yar's Revenge. The most hardcore gamers I know have seen it once, maybe. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know don't believe it exists.
Get plenty of XP. Be kind to your parents. You'll miss them when they make you move out.
Maybe you'll get the rail gun, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll get team killed, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll camp a spawn point, maybe you'll take a rocket grenade for a teammate you met two minutes before the match. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Berate that 12-year-old who thought he was so 1337 until you fragged his ass into next week.
Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Just close the blinds first. Some of us are trying to have a society here.
Dance, especially if you have one of those sweet, hard-sided Dance Dance Revolution controllers.
Read the directions, but go online for the walk-through.
Do not read computer magazines. The information is available for free on the magazine's web site.
Get to know your data. You never know when it'll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings. It isn't their fault they didn't get the geek gene.
Think hard about who you'd switch teams for, but think even harder about who you'd double back for.
Game on old hardware once, but log out before it makes you hard. Game on an OC3 once, but log out before it makes you soft. Trash talk in both situations.
Accept certain inalienable truths: Processor speeds will rise. Windows will crash. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, your 386 was faster, Starbuck was a man and children could solve their own printing problems.
Learn how to resolve printing problems.
Don't expect anyone else to support you. Especially if they have recently outsourced the support desk.
Don't wash your black t-shirts too often or by the time you're 40 they will look 85.
Be careful what internet sites you visit, but be patient while the pages load. Ebay is a form of nostalgia. Using it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth. Especially if the action figures have been played with until the arms fall off.
But trust me on the gaming.
Ladies and gentlemen of the class of '06:
Play games.
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, gaming would be it. The long-term benefits of gaming have been proven by geeks on internet forums, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than the latest re-imagining of the Original Trilogy. I will upload this advice now.
Enjoy the power and caffeine of The Dew. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and caffeine of The Dew until they've faded. But trust me, in 20 minutes, you'll log into Unreal 2003 and feel like your hair is on fire and every fiber of your being is alive. You are not as fast as you imagine.
Don't worry about the last three Star Wars movies. They will never be made. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum -- and I know that some people who read this blog are extremely good at algebra. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, like Keanu Reeves coming out in support of relief for refugees in Darfur -- instantly invalidating a concept that otherwise made a lot of sense.
Do one thing every day that scares people around you.
Blog.
Don't be reckless with other people's dice. Don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.
Hack.
Don't waste your time on n00bs. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. On the internet, the argument thread is long and, like a race in the Special Olympics, even the winner is retarded.
Remember The Empire Strikes Back. Forget Jar Jar. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old hardware. Throw away your old floppy disks.
L3@rn 1337.
Don't feel guilty if you never saw the final level of Yar's Revenge. The most hardcore gamers I know have seen it once, maybe. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know don't believe it exists.
Get plenty of XP. Be kind to your parents. You'll miss them when they make you move out.
Maybe you'll get the rail gun, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll get team killed, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll camp a spawn point, maybe you'll take a rocket grenade for a teammate you met two minutes before the match. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Berate that 12-year-old who thought he was so 1337 until you fragged his ass into next week.
Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Just close the blinds first. Some of us are trying to have a society here.
Dance, especially if you have one of those sweet, hard-sided Dance Dance Revolution controllers.
Read the directions, but go online for the walk-through.
Do not read computer magazines. The information is available for free on the magazine's web site.
Get to know your data. You never know when it'll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings. It isn't their fault they didn't get the geek gene.
Think hard about who you'd switch teams for, but think even harder about who you'd double back for.
Game on old hardware once, but log out before it makes you hard. Game on an OC3 once, but log out before it makes you soft. Trash talk in both situations.
Accept certain inalienable truths: Processor speeds will rise. Windows will crash. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, your 386 was faster, Starbuck was a man and children could solve their own printing problems.
Learn how to resolve printing problems.
Don't expect anyone else to support you. Especially if they have recently outsourced the support desk.
Don't wash your black t-shirts too often or by the time you're 40 they will look 85.
Be careful what internet sites you visit, but be patient while the pages load. Ebay is a form of nostalgia. Using it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth. Especially if the action figures have been played with until the arms fall off.
But trust me on the gaming.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Chumps come up to me all the time and ask "Excuse me, Pretty Geek, sir, but can you tell me what it takes to be a true player?" I usually have my bodyguards gently escort them face-down onto the sidewalk, because a player is nothing if not busy. I've always got places to go, and platinum dub-sixes to polish, and empty Cristal bottles to fill with generic sparkling wine. But since I like you, I'll let you in on a few secrets. Observe closely as I illustrate the aspects of being a true player.
First, ignore the player haters in the Boy Scouts. Currently, California troops are eligible for a Copyright patch. This "activity" (not merit badge) patch is sponsored by, among other entities, the RIAA. It rewards scouts for not stealing music and movies off the internet.
While it doesn't help you attain Eagle Scout, the badge supplied does sport the © logo to ensure that the ladies will leave you alone to do whatever else you might want to do with a perfectly good broadband connection. It is earned through visiting movie studios to see all the people impacted when a person skips the $8 bucket of popcorn and through producing anti-piracy PSAs.
Since third parties are apparently allowed to provide "activity" patches, the staff at Pr3++yG33kyTh1ng has developed its own. Our patch is completely "ladies-friendly" and is earned through having all the latest media and zero-day applications. Demonstrating a preference for a specific BitTorrent client is optional (but recommended) as well as producing an original Brokeback Mountain parody promo out of stolen media clips. I also think the badge looks cooler.
The Internet Piracy activity patch would be at home on any scout's sash. All the fun of true piracy, but none of the scurvy.
First, ignore the player haters in the Boy Scouts. Currently, California troops are eligible for a Copyright patch. This "activity" (not merit badge) patch is sponsored by, among other entities, the RIAA. It rewards scouts for not stealing music and movies off the internet.
While it doesn't help you attain Eagle Scout, the badge supplied does sport the © logo to ensure that the ladies will leave you alone to do whatever else you might want to do with a perfectly good broadband connection. It is earned through visiting movie studios to see all the people impacted when a person skips the $8 bucket of popcorn and through producing anti-piracy PSAs.
Since third parties are apparently allowed to provide "activity" patches, the staff at Pr3++yG33kyTh1ng has developed its own. Our patch is completely "ladies-friendly" and is earned through having all the latest media and zero-day applications. Demonstrating a preference for a specific BitTorrent client is optional (but recommended) as well as producing an original Brokeback Mountain parody promo out of stolen media clips. I also think the badge looks cooler.
The Internet Piracy activity patch would be at home on any scout's sash. All the fun of true piracy, but none of the scurvy.
Monday, October 23, 2006
I blog a lot, I think.
This week I'll hit my 250th post.
For anyone who has been reading from the beginning (or who has gone back and read them all), thanks.
I don't know at the moment which post actually is the 250th. I need to figure out the numbers, taking into account deleted and phoned in posts.
People have commented that the blog is a little more geeky and a little less pretty, lately. I hope that isn't a bad thing that makes this whole project unreadable.
Friday the scope of our Disaster Recovery project shifted into a modified Business Continuity project. I say modified because the new plan involves moving the production services to Phoenix and having our current equipment operational but secondary. The thought is, with enough bandwidth, no one in the company would miss our current data center if it were struck by a meteor.
I like the idea, and not just because I'm such a huge fan of meteor strikes.
I'm a big time supporter of the theory of "ninja tech". Under cover of darkness, employing smoke and mirrors, making the user forget the help desk phone number because things are running so beautifully smoothly, ninja technologists are working in all the best companies. They minimize downtime, shuffle services and hack registries to solve problems before they happen.
I'm also a big fan of "pirate tech", which is like ninja tech but more flamboyant. Also, I suspect it involves slightly more rum.
Anyway, since we are facing the same deadline we had for the Disaster Recovery plan and the end of the year chaos that all companies face, getting all vital services (Data retention, email, web services, freaking everything) actually moved a time zone west, the next couple of months (which include NaNoWriMo) should be a complete and total hoot!
This morning as I passed through the laundry room on my way to the garage I heard a very sad sound. At first, I thought it was our Siamese complaining at me in her extremely pathetic sounding way. Then I noticed she had followed me in and the noise was repeating and she wasn't moving her mouth.
Flipping on the light and opening the dryer, I found our orange cat (afraid of both confined spaces and the dark due to a traumatic incident in her kitten-hood) pretty anxious to get out.
Apparently, she climbed in at some point after the clothes were dry but before they were removed from the dryer. I have no idea how that happened, but I don't think anyone has ever been as happy to see me.
I think everyone should rescue someone first thing in the morning just to have a few moments of feeling like a super hero -- even a superhero like Aquaman. Of course, mathematically (not counting cats) that would mean 50% of people would need to be in peril first thing in the morning to make that work even half way.
Tomorrow is my peril day. I'm going to take one for the team and . . . Well I guess I drive through Houston traffic every morning. That is peril enough.
Hopefully, someone can get that rescuer feeling by not shooting me after I merge onto them or cut them off.
This week I'll hit my 250th post.
For anyone who has been reading from the beginning (or who has gone back and read them all), thanks.
I don't know at the moment which post actually is the 250th. I need to figure out the numbers, taking into account deleted and phoned in posts.
People have commented that the blog is a little more geeky and a little less pretty, lately. I hope that isn't a bad thing that makes this whole project unreadable.
Friday the scope of our Disaster Recovery project shifted into a modified Business Continuity project. I say modified because the new plan involves moving the production services to Phoenix and having our current equipment operational but secondary. The thought is, with enough bandwidth, no one in the company would miss our current data center if it were struck by a meteor.
I like the idea, and not just because I'm such a huge fan of meteor strikes.
I'm a big time supporter of the theory of "ninja tech". Under cover of darkness, employing smoke and mirrors, making the user forget the help desk phone number because things are running so beautifully smoothly, ninja technologists are working in all the best companies. They minimize downtime, shuffle services and hack registries to solve problems before they happen.
I'm also a big fan of "pirate tech", which is like ninja tech but more flamboyant. Also, I suspect it involves slightly more rum.
Anyway, since we are facing the same deadline we had for the Disaster Recovery plan and the end of the year chaos that all companies face, getting all vital services (Data retention, email, web services, freaking everything) actually moved a time zone west, the next couple of months (which include NaNoWriMo) should be a complete and total hoot!
This morning as I passed through the laundry room on my way to the garage I heard a very sad sound. At first, I thought it was our Siamese complaining at me in her extremely pathetic sounding way. Then I noticed she had followed me in and the noise was repeating and she wasn't moving her mouth.
Flipping on the light and opening the dryer, I found our orange cat (afraid of both confined spaces and the dark due to a traumatic incident in her kitten-hood) pretty anxious to get out.
Apparently, she climbed in at some point after the clothes were dry but before they were removed from the dryer. I have no idea how that happened, but I don't think anyone has ever been as happy to see me.
I think everyone should rescue someone first thing in the morning just to have a few moments of feeling like a super hero -- even a superhero like Aquaman. Of course, mathematically (not counting cats) that would mean 50% of people would need to be in peril first thing in the morning to make that work even half way.
Tomorrow is my peril day. I'm going to take one for the team and . . . Well I guess I drive through Houston traffic every morning. That is peril enough.
Hopefully, someone can get that rescuer feeling by not shooting me after I merge onto them or cut them off.
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