What are you doing today?

[Deleted member 199]

As a developer, don't think the problem is confined to you. I get "the site is slow". How slow? Slower than what? It looks fine to me. Slow since when? Or "The member can't see their claims". Ok, which member and which claims?

For my own mental sanity, I've long since come to the conclusion that they know no more about my job than I do about theirs. I've had to ask some dumb questions in my time, so I just send something super nice asking for more details. It almost always goes very well.

Now the buttheads at the Help Desk on the other hand SHOULD know better. I know because we've told them over and over what information we need in the ticket. THEY should be asking the questions we've told them to ask and get those details in the ticket. They should know better. And most of them do. All except for "Sally". "Sally" has been with the help desk for years. 'Sally" is useless. "Sally" is still around and no one knows why because there have been many complaints about "Sally" over the years, yet she's still putting in "The site is slow". And "Sally" is NOT easy on the eyes, so it's certainly not that!

I feel your pain.

One of our other Developers had never even heard of ZenDesk and how we use it (it's only been in production for 8 months now!) When I pointed out we've spoken about it enough times in our all hands staff meetings we have bi-weekly he responded with "I tend to zone out of those".

So I mentioned that comment to our shared VP today - "this is what happens when people think they don't need to care about the business," was his response followed with "Yeah, let me speak to him about that."

He's also going to speak to the other dev about that ticket I mentioned yesterday thankfully...

I suppose I ask for too much: Having worn Management, Development, security, sys admin and Data hats during my ~35 year career I guess I try to think of everything before speaking and be cognizant of other folks needs. Folk today probably specialize in one small area and so just don't understand...?

Back when I worked in support, I used to make a point of wearing this shirt, when visiting friends (and more importantly, family of friends):

Did. Not. Work.


I'm not saying that's why I moved first interstate, then to a different state, and then overseas..... but I'm also not not saying that.

 

[MEJHarrison]

Did. Not. Work.

"Mom, I write software, I don't know why your network isn't working. I'm not a networking guy. Recheck all the connections, unplug it all and plug it in again, then call the tech support number. That's all I can do. If I drive all the way out there, I won't be able to do anything except help you find the tech support number."

More often than not, I ended up visiting my mother on those days. 20 seconds to say "this is the thing I was telling you to plug into the place" or some variation of that, an hour or two of visiting and another 30 minutes at the door saying "I really need to go mom".

 

[Deleted member 199]

"Mom, I write software, I don't know why your network isn't working. I'm not a networking guy. Recheck all the connections, unplug it all and plug it in again, then call the tech support number. That's all I can do. If I drive all the way out there, I won't be able to do anything except help you find the tech support number."

More often than not, I ended up visiting my mother on those days. 20 seconds to say "this is the thing I was telling you to plug into the place" or some variation of that, an hour or two of visiting and another 30 minutes at the door saying "I really need to go mom".

… I guess I could have tried that… I’m not sure they’d remember my diploma says “network engineering” on it….

honestly the worst support wise were at work though - people would literally move their issued pc from one campus to another - then ring us up and ask us to make it work again when they fuck it up.

never mind that we’d then have to issue them a new one from the new campus pool and drive the old back where it came from. “They we’re just trying to help”.

There is a reason I got out of support pretty quickly.

it is still kind of crazy though how many developers whose work depends on the internet, don’t have a basic working knowledge of networking fundamentals

 

[hulugu]

Speaking of network problems:

Over the last couple of days our internet connection has been shaky. Occasional stutters on Netflix, etc. So, I check and realize that I'm dropping packets, and pings are fast then slow.

WTF?

I just replaced the cable modem before we went on vacation because it quit working, so can't be that. Hmmm...let's look at the connection. I go out and discovered this asshole woodpecker's been trying to Glasgow kiss his way into our porch for termites—separate problem, yay!—and he's been using the cable line as a shelf. The little Woody has clawed through the cable.

So, I patched that piece out, and now everything's zippy.

 

[MEJHarrison]

honestly the worst support wise were at work though - people would literally move their issued pc from one campus to another - then ring us up and ask us to make it work again when they fuck it up.

Early in my career, I'd ask what color their computer was. Because if you asked them Mac or PC, more often than not, they didn't know. But beige == Windows. And I literally had a call where the computer didn't work. I asked about the power cable multiple times. Finally walked over to her office and of course it was unplugged. And she just said "Oh, THAT power cord! I thought you meant this other power cord". I think it might have been the monitor that was plugged in. Because why wouldn't the thing on the desk also power the box under it?

it is still kind of crazy though how many developers whose work depends on the internet, don’t have a basic working knowledge of networking fundamentals

That's me. Web developer who knows just enough about the boring stuff to do my job and no more. Back when I was a PC guy, I'd spend a month doing intensive research and know just what to buy, then build my own PC, then not even think about the guts of the machine till it was time to do a month of intensive research again a few years later. But if I need it for my job, I know it or learn it.

 

[Alli]

I went to school on Tuesday so I could start recruiting participants for my study. So guess what else I did while I was there? Teach them how to clear cache on their browsers. <sigh> It’s like I never left.

 

[Deleted member 199]

I was woken up being asked to go "deal with" a snek across at MIL's house (not actually in her house... this time).

Looks like it was another green pit viper, but they're apparently very hard for mere mortals to identify properly anyway, so the outcome was pretty much inevitable.

 

[Apple fanboy]

I went to school on Tuesday so I could start recruiting participants for my study. So guess what else I did while I was there? Teach them how to clear cache on their browsers. <sigh> It’s like I never left.

I thought all teenage boys knew how to do that!

 

[Deleted member 199]

I was woken up being asked to go "deal with" a snek across at MIL's house (not actually in her house... this time).

Looks like it was another green pit viper, but they're apparently very hard for mere mortals to identify properly anyway, so the outcome was pretty much inevitable.

To clarify this, the outcome I meant was for the snek, not for anyone who came into proximity of it (here at least).

I previously relied on the 'bucket of water' method for dealing with geckos, but honesty the French revolutionary method has a lot of positives, and is probably the only practical solution for danger noodles. The 'lock' on the tool doesn't hold the jaws (of the catching tool) closed quite as tight as when it's gripped very tightly (i.e. by a hand), so the slightly looser hold may allow said danger noodle to wiggle free if left unattended, as would be the case when relying on the bucket method.

 

[DT]

This ...

QR Restaurant Menu

 

[hulugu]

This ...

QR Restaurant Menu

This all sounds good.

I'm trying to get new reporter spun up with CMS (shakes fist at coders who built it!), and getting my ears lowered.

Tonight is a meet-up of reporters at our favorite dive bar, and I've got to pack to take kiddo camping tomorrow.

 

[Deleted member 199]

getting my ears lowered

Say what?

 

[hulugu]

Say what?

Getting a haircut.

 

[User.45]

IRB finally improved an (industry) trial of mine. It only took like 8 months.:/

 

[User.45]

Went through and emptied a couple of boxes from back when we cleared our late mother’s house.

I’m happy to say that I finally got the new facts about marijuana (propaganda booklet anno 1970).

View attachment 6688

Sneak peek:
View attachment 6689

The Berkeley thing cracked me up. It's truly really very super liberal, LOL. Just search naked run Berkeley on youtube. The only video I've seen uncensored nudity on youtube like ever...and I've heard about this from an otherwise super shy friend who went there.

 

[Deleted member 199]

Wifey got a phone call from my regular barber this morning, asking if my/our sons hair is long enough to cut, because he's gonna shut up shop for a while, and he knew we're pretty much hermits anyway so we're lower risk customers. There's no official closure in our province, but BKK & surrounding provinces will go back into curfew from Monday.

It's still hard to believe how badly it's turning out here - at the end of October last year Thailand had 3.6K cases total since January. 3.6K cases in 9 months. Yesterday was 9.3K cases in 24 hours.

So, I had a haircut slightly earlier than I'd expect.


And, this afternoon I tried to put the hedge trimmer back together with the new bearing that arrived... only to discover one of the carbon bushes has just shit the bed while sitting on the shelf.

 

[Alli]

IRB finally improved an (industry) trial of mine. It only took like 8 months.:/

Good lord! I’m glad I’m in education and not medicine.

It's still hard to believe how badly it's turning out here - at the end of October last year Thailand had 3.6K cases total since January. 3.6K cases in 9 months. Yesterday was 9.3K cases in 24 hours.

I’m so sad to hear that. This thing is not going away any time soon.

 

[Deleted member 199]

Good lord! I’m glad I’m in education and not medicine.

I’m so sad to hear that. This thing is not going away any time soon.

I mean, who could have possibly predicted that

(a) corrupt immigration/border police taking bribes to allow people in without any quarantining, or
(b) telling people it's fine for millions of unvaccinated people to make cross-country trips to go see family for the traditional New Year during a pandemic without requiring any quarantining on arrival; would lead to a massive spike in infections?


The vaccination situation is frankly beyond ridiculous - literally the only positive in all of this, is that it's the first time I've read/heard about real across-the-board acknowledgment in society at large here, that corruption, nepotism and incompetence are bad.

 

[DT]

This all sounds good.

It was goddam delicious and their cocktails were amazing, let's see, we had:

BISCUIT AND BELLY **
Buttermilk biscuit (GF!) with braised pork belly, hot sauce honey, Lil Moo cheese, fancy mustard, and Bourbon-Apple Butter. You could easily make this your main meal, but it's more fun to share!

FRIED GREEN TOMATOES
Cornmeal-dusted fried green tomatoes served over spinach with green tomato relish, house-herbed ricotta, and basil aioli

'N GRITS**
Choice of blackened Fresh Catch, FL shrimp or tofu over creamy goat's cheese + Congaree and Penn purple rice grits, topped with ginger-passionfruit reduction, Citrus Cucumber Salsa and house queso fresco.

'N WAFFLES **
Slow smoked BBQ pulled pork served with our crunchy cornmeal waffles. Topped with bourbon-brown sugar fruit, local honey, house buttermilk ricotta and candied pecans. Sweet and Savory.


The catch was fresh flounder so the wife chose that for her 'N grits, er, so I guess it was Flounder 'N Grits The waffles, if you didn't notice were cornmeal, based, holy hell, so good.

Brought home 1/2 the entrees, but they didn't make it past midnight


Oh yeah, tried these, both were excellent:

Swamp Pony
Diplomatico Matuano Rum/ Muddled Mint and cilantro/ Cocchi Bianco/ Ginger syrup/ Lime/ Soda water/ Angostura Bitters
AKA ' Mojito Caballito'. Very similar to the traditional but better. For fans of mojitos, Spanish Military Soldiers and their small horses.

Summer Babe
Vodka/ Mango-Citrus Cordial/ Lillet Blanc/ Aperol/ Lemon/ Ginger Syrup/ Soda Water/ Lavender Bitters
A most refreshing Summer Spritz! Born of the Mediterranean seaside, refined for your new world imbibing pleasure. For fans of Vodka Soda, Lemonade and Pavement. 'In an abandoned houseboat, I'll wait there. I'll be waiting forever.'

 

[MEJHarrison]

So, I had a haircut slightly earlier than I'd expect.

I've not had a haircut since maybe February of 2020? Who the hell am I going to impress down in the kitchen? Plus having some longer hair helps me forget that I'm still half bald. I last trimmed my beard June 14th, 2020.

That said, I've had about enough of both. I saw some coworkers earlier this week for the first time since this started. I got nothing but compliments. But I remember when a friend in college talked me into getting a perm. I got tons of compliments then too. Until I cut it all off. Then all the "oh, that looks good" turned into "Yeah, that's MUCH better". So I no longer trust "oh, that looks good" and just assume they're being nice.