Posts by Bruce Ordway 375 posts • joined 22 Apr 2007
After powering up a test system I heard an awful humming, shut everything down before any damage.
Turns out that all extension cord reels in the shop had been installed with reversed polarity.
I stuck with wall outlets from that point without any problems.
I also notified the building manager but I'm not sure they were rewired (or if he understood what the problem was).
You could also replace the first 3 words with "Enterprise IT projects".
I don't know about others but I personally have not seen an IT project that has actually lived up to its expectations, where people felt like it was really worth the trouble.
Best results, systems with minor disruptions, worst... barely functional.
But, landscapes are changing so fast, companies are damned whether they do/don't take on these projects.
Slightly different - where my house was built in the 1920s and it is waaay back on the lot.
The city was replacing gas lines recently and first they used a tool to check/measure the existing pipe. Unfortunately their tool had a limited reach, designed for modern homes located nearer the front of the lot. They finally ended up estimating from the location of the meter.
Luckily it doesn't interact with my cable (at least I don't think it does).
>> I do no always remember to take a phone
Just send me an email - clearly stating the task/issue.
I always respond, usually under 4 hours, evenings and weekends (but never mornings).
I keep my overhead and rates low - so companies are happy to accept my schedule.
Or if they aren't, I really don't want to work with them anyway.
If I remember the Windows 10 launch correctly, it was announced as the "last" version forever?
Now we have a better idea of how MS defines "forever".
I'd be happy to see the version where MS finally cleans out some of the schizophrenia.
Some consistency in the areas of computer admin, settings, etc... would go a long way in winning back some of my original affection for Windows.
(Which I lost at Windows 8 and have not found since).
>>Murphy has a better imagination than you
This remind me of an upgrade where (I believed) I had every potential for failure fully accounted for.
I swapped out an HP K400 with an L1000 over the weekend.
Sunday afternoon... congratulations all around.
Monday morning.... chaos, no file access for users.
I quickly discovered that a power supply for an unrelated file server had failed early AM.
Even though a coincidence... this and any other issue was blamed on that weekend upgrade for several days.
Lesson learned... I now avoid making public announcement of IT upgrades/projects.
So that I'm more likely to get credit for "the fixing" rather than "the breaking".
>>Shopping for books used to be a.... sociological expedition
Yes... once upon a time,
I used to go to the library every Saturday so I'd have a fresh stack of books at home. For good measure, on the way back home I'd also check out the used bookstore by the university. I gave up the habit sometime in the 90's and reclaimed quite a bit of living space when I donated (almost) all my books. The way I get/store reading materials today may be more efficient but not very many "fond memories" generated along the way now.
>>>That happens to me periodically, but I'm on a VPN
Apparently Google doesn't like my VPN anymore.
the last few months, whenever I try to use Google search I'm confronted with multiple image selection challenges. What irritates me is that there doesn't appear to be no rhyme or reason to the number of challenges I must complete before I'm allowed to proceed to my search results.
(On average must deal with 10 challenges... talk about madness)?
So... I've set my default search provider to DuckDuckGo.
Occasionally I still want to run a search thru Google and just deal with the related annoyance.
At least picture challenges work eventually whereas text based captchas never seem to end (for me, my VPN)
Took a couple of days once to figure out why a site had started seeing random user problems.
Finally tracked it down to a rogue DHCP server that had been enabled on that switch.
Oops.. it was the spare switch I had grabbed from the equipment room earlier in the week when I needed a few extra network connections at my test bench.
Now before installing any gear that has been "lying around", I ALWAYS reset to factory default and configure as needed
Nobody realized I had been the cause, were just happy it was resolved.
In addition to being kind of lazy and not liking exercise, I have worked remotely in front of a PC for years.
Not exactly obese but would definitely like to look a little more trim/fit.. without having to change or put in any extra effort.
This reminds me of "inverse" exercise machine.... one of my fantasies.
Where I could sit/lie down and the system would cycle thru a set of mechanical motions.
This in turn could move specific parts of my body... while I could offer some resistance but otherwise be perform my "work".
Next... I'd just need to figure out a way to boost heart rate?
>> people failing to understand 64bit apps are actually for
At one site with a "mission critical" driver, currently 32 bit.
User often request application upgrades to 64 bit.
The matter is dropped after they learn the price of the new 64 bit version of the driver.
It has always been interesting to hear peoples ideas about what 64 bit is, why they need it.
>>The clearest skies I have ever seen... too cold.
Northern Minnesota for me ( I'm sure it does not get as cold at what Eclectic Man saw but still... )
Now I have to go pretty far north to really see much these days,
Around Minneapolis I can only see a handful regardless of time of night.
On a related note, I have often wondered if there is a practical way to add sensors to the types of lighting systems used by cities? Where n individual light would be able to quickly/efficiently fire up and power down as a person/object approaches and recedes?
In the late 80's I worked briefly at Perkin-Elmer in Minneapolis.
A long commute for me but, it was one of the "cooler" places where I spent any time. They were building a lot of "neat stuff" (I thought), including some of the Hubble components.
Last I heard Perkin-Elmer has become "a shadow of it's former self"
Too bad if that's true.
This brings back memories.
Instead of IT, I actually started out in engineering where everyone smoked. We all worked in one big room filled with drafting tables and old steel desks on the left. After lunch you could always count on the thick, low hanging cloud of smoke building up. I switched from cigarettes to cigars when I decided I was going to quit smoking... it actually worked for me.
The thing I remember about Wyse terminals is that it was common for them to lose their configurations. Either due to power loss or users accidentally entering certain sequences. Once I started tinkering with the tech, I was hooked and have never looked back.
".... a yes/no question referendum about something so complex"
What always seemed even crazier to me was that it only took a simple majority?
Here in the USA, every once in a while I've heard that some percentage of the inhabitants want their sate to break from the union. I'm pretty sure nothing like that will ever be put to a similar vote but... the past few years have reminded me that I should never to say "never"
I have only worked onsite a handful of times over the last 10 years.
Even when some physical access is needed, then I can usually just walk someone thru the steps.
I'm already past retirement age so can only wonder. how "everything remote" will change people and society in the future.
Up until lately I've believed the more a people socialize, the better the outlook for us as a whole.
Now... not so sure.
I was onsite IT support back in the 90's just as people were discovering the internet.
So... in addition to be asked to fix A LOT of home PC's, I also fielded questions about what had been read on the internet and if it was true.
My go to site back then was the Snopes site, and I still rely on it today for my personal sanity.
e.g. quick search of Snopes for Covid testing...
https://www.snopes.com/news/2020/05/06/coronavirus-tests-are-pretty-accurate-but-far-from-perfect/
>>disagree
Me too... sort of.
I have also been working remotely for about 10 years, and for the most part things go pretty smoothly for routine operations. Simple email for assigning tasks and reporting hours worked.
However, I think it can be harder when kicking off new/collaborative projects remotely.
Especially where some members of the team are more used to being spontaneous and improvising while onsite. I know I have wasted plenty of hours on remote projects, mostly due to specs being just a little vague or ambiguous.
>>some people who need the social element
Yeah... while I'm a fan of remote work, can't forget to address this part.
I still remember seeing my first demo of Macromedia Director.
Along with Fractal Design Painter, it became a favorite of mine.
Later, when Flash became available I did spend a good about of time learning the basics
However, I lost my appetite for working Flash pretty quickly.
I can't remember today, exactly why I didn't like using it.
It wasn't too long that I also started looking for ways to actively block Flash from running on my systems.
The reasons for this are fresher in my memory, security issues but mostly just didn't like the way so many web sites with Flash were slow and trashy.
Oh well, at least my love for Painter has survived the test of time.
(now from Corel instead of Fractal Design).
PhotoShop? Pft.. you're kidding right?
Now that I think about it, there's not much from Adobe that I really care for anymore.
>> fake news, misinformation, and offensive content
Yes, I have mixed feelings about this.
When I was a kid, people with "fringe" might have a small storefront and pass out pamplets on a corner.
Now everyone has the ability to publish anything, and with instant, international exposure.
Luckily, for all of us it's not against the law to be an asshole...yet.
I'm all for freedom... of speech, to be an idiot if you want, etc...
But there sure seem to be a lot more individuals going beyond the reasonable lines all the time... and that look to ruin things for all of us in the future?
I'm not sure how the government can ever handle individuals who lie, incite, etc... without some changes to the protections to the enterprises that provide the publishing platforms?
>> why people think it’s ok to cover things like fans or vent holes.
Not computer related, just reminded me of a "e" vent from the past.
My friend was remodeling his house (100 years, very old for this part of the US).
Everything was fine until winter came.
Whenever the heat kicked on, the whole house felt like it was shaking apart.
I finally noticed he'd covered a vent in the living room with new flooring.
Turned out that old vent was actually the source of the intake air for the old heater (not to code).
After ripping a square thru that new flooring and returning the old vent cover, no more shaking.
Eventually, when that old heater had to be replaced, a proper intake vent was put in place.
>>alternative data sources are often superior than traditional credit assessment methods
I don't think that is saying much.
30 years ago I took out my one and only loan, to buy a new truck.
Even though I had a steady job, owned a house and had plenty of money on hand, it was difficult to get that loan, due to no lending history.
I realize credit may be necessary but... I prefer to accumulate funds and pay as I go.
I believe credit rating is overrated and I'm not a big fan of credit anyway.
Here in the US, I have the feeling people are trained from an early age that going into debt is a good thing.
>>But I think that's the point: what's the company supposed when the employee leaves
Yes, this is what I have been seeing.. more than companies getting rid of people.
Where ( I think ) personnel just tend to move on - especially SMB's.
Right off the top of my head I know of several sites where either IT personnel has voluntarily moved on and/or senior management/company ownership has changed.
i.e. normal evolution that is leading to vulnerability... and it's low on their awareness scale.
I personally hate "as a service" but... I have recommended it.... to some sites.
These are smaller outfits that (often don't even know they ) struggle to maintain a capable workforce to run their current IT systems.
e.g. site running that 15 year old ERP system and they only have one (usually old) employee who has any idea what to do if anything goes wrong.
So my advice to those outfits is that the next time they think about an upgrade.... also look at "as a service" options.
This is purely from a disaster recovery angle other than anything else.
>> implement in ACCESS
Now that you mention it, I also like/use Access.
Again, as a personal tool, not so much when shared with other users. ( And I prefer 2003 before MS started deprecating some of nicer features, added the ribbon, etc... ).
Where I like Excel for handling numbers & math for accounting and Access for quick and dirty data queries, manipulation.
These days when users need a database they can share in the workplace, I've been steering them towards MS SQL Express and in some cases even VS Community. So far..so good.
>>beancounters...licenses
This has happened to me on several occasions, numerous license types MS Office but Dynamics, tools, etc...
At least I (usually) don't have to dig around too much before I find the point of failure.
As for Excel, a LOT of people REALLY love it. Sometimes I think that is the only application people really know how to use. I really do like it as a personal tool but anything beyond that.... not so much.
One of my pet peeves with Excel is surprises from copy/paste. I've been bitten more than once when Excel "guessed" on a data type and changed a few values along the way.
>> solved a silly problem, but spared the user from office-wide embarrassment
I worked with a guy who would do just the opposite of this.
This person was very creative in the ways he could make printers (and just about anything else) fail.
He would then take much joy in exposing the next user (victim) to as much scrutiny as possible.
No one was off limits and surprisingly everyone enjoyed his shenanigans.
Yes....Google search also routinely objects to my use of a VPN.
The anti-robot testing seems very erratic too. Sometimes the challenge may be matching 3 images and the next time it could take 20 image matches before a successful "Verify".
Due to this, I also use DuckDuckGo occasionally. In general I'm not a big fan of their search results or the connection to Bing.
>>at least intermittently not "intelligent"
Yes but rather than lapses or mistakes, I'm more interested in decision making that is based on things like humor, creativity, boredom, etc...
When I played chess, sometimes I'd choose one move over another simply because it looked more "interesting" or appropriate for the current setting, opponent.
A computer may already exist that can do this but I haven't personally seen one.
Reminds me of a theory called Inverse Incompetence.
I first heard of this at a site in the 90's used to understand the retention of some managers. It explained that people with bad enough plans who can execute them poorly enough may end up achieving something unintended, even beneficial. Superiors, not (never) familiar with details end up basing opinions of the individuals competence and effectiveness on misleading results.
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