Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow
I’m in my office and I overhear Simone begging the facilities guy to turn the AC off. She is shivering at her desk and actually has a blanket. She says she only sticks her hands out to type. The facilities guy is sympathetic, but tells her there is not a lot he can do.
Why you ask?
Most everyone in the “South Wing” has blocked off their ceiling vents because one person kept the AC so cold. One by one they blocked off their vents, forcing all the cold air through the remaining vents.
Now there are just two working vents: The one blowing into the office of the person that started this mess by cranking the AC all the way down weeks ago. And the one vent in the big open area that blows directly down on Simone, the skinniest smallest (shyest) girl in the office.
She should start TheGrumpyOfficeWorker.com blog if you ask me.
HACKED!!
This happened months ago, but I was thinking about it tonight, so I have decided to post it before I forget again.
I'm sitting in my office minding my own business when Martie comes to my doorway with an emergency. I follow her to her desk as she explains.
"My PC is beeping and that usually means it has been compromised," she says.
"Compromised?", I ask, holding back the laughter.
"Yes, it is beeping, which means I've probably been hacked," she explains.
Sure enough, I get to her cube and there’s beeping.
Well, I begin to listen and follow the sound. I leave her cube and head toward the kitchen. The beeping gets louder. I make my way across the kitchen and find the source of the beeping:
The five thousand dollar fancy stainless refrigerator.
Apparently, it beeps if the door is left open for an extended period of time. Beep....beep...beep. Damned refrigerator hackers.
Choices
Today I get saddled with cleaning up after two users who have been using two different versions of an obscure program to create different databases. They want to bring the two databases into one.
Well, as in most businesses the Admin is supposed to know how to fix PCs, teach any application, build servers, know everything Cisco and Microsoft, design webpages, fix phones, install security cameras, and work with databases. Did I miss anything?
One user is a consultant, who I had to start a remote session with to get access to a trashed home PC. To digress, this consultant had "Yahoo for an ISP". I had to explain the address bar in Internet Explorer. The consultant has been using the Yahoo search page for years, that's right f'ing YEARS, instead of the Explorer address bar. Anyway, after about 30 minutes I was able to pull the database back off of this person's spyware infested PC. (Wait until you hear about the ink in the printer......)
Well, I needed to make it clear that I want to help, but don't know what I am doing here with the databases and sure could use some guidance.
To make along story short, here is my email to the full-time user in charge of this mess:
*************************
[User],
I now have both databases.
However, I don’t know how you want them combined. Basically, since I don’t use this program, I don’t know what I don’t know.
Would you like to work directly with [the vendor] to combine the databases in a manner you see fit, or would you prefer to tell me your goals and have me work with them?
*************************
The users response:
OK
That's right. One word. Two letters. WTF does "OK" mean? I don't know what to do anymore with these people.
