Take it from me, you do *not* want cats in your production network environment. You especially do not want them in charge of cabling. Heck, you don’t even want them *present* during cabling. Although, I do confess that they make for good temporary heat sinks. They like to sit on warm equipment and soak up the energy. Even so, cats are not good in the server room.
Guy calls… Caller ID shows “Unknown Number”… I’m game. I answer.
“Hello.” Already I can detect the Bihari accent. This guy’s from India. “My name is John Peterson.” Lie. “I am from the technical support department for the Windows operating system.” Big lie. “Am I speaking with Mr. Webb?” Oh-ho! He’s got a directory!
“Yes,” I reply.
“We have been receiving notifications of many problems from your computer as you attempt to access web sites. We are calling to resolve those issues with you.” Oh really? I did not know that. How wonderful for him to have called me! “Are you at your Windows operating system computer?”
“Yes.” This promises great fun and sport, I can sense that already.
“What version of Windows Operating System do you have?”
“I have one computer with XP, one with Vista, and one with Windows 7.”
“Are you at your computer?”
“Yes.”
“Do you see, in the lower left corner, a button that says ‘Start’?” I guess that’s how he can make sure I don’t have Windows 8.
“Yes.”
“Please apply the left-click on that button.”
“OK.” And, yes, I did apply the left-click to the start button.
“Do you see a list of options?”
“Yes.”
He then proceeds to read off a list of options that I don’t have because I’ve configured my start menu to be like classic Windows. I know what he’s reading to me is for the default config on Windows 7. I don’t have that here. I tell him that I don’t see those options.
“Do you see a list of programs?”
I click on “Programs” and, yes, I do see a list. Three columns wide. No way am I reading all those off, even if I was a chump. “Yes, a long list of programs. Lots of them.”
“Do you see an option for ‘My Documents’ or ‘Computer’?”
Lucky me, I don’t. “No, I don’t have options for those.”
“Are you sure?”
“I am sure. Those options are not there.”
“Well, let us try a more direct method or way. Look at your keyboard. What button do you see in the lower left corner?”
“CTRL.”
“And what button is next to that? FN?”
“No, it’s ALT.”
“And what button is next to that?”
“The spacebar.”
“Don’t you have a key with a Windows logo on it?”
“No.” OK, so that’s a bit of a lie, but I prefer using keyboards without a Windows key, so since he’s lied to me, I get to play make-believe with him.
“There is no keyboard that does not have a Windows key!”
“Mine doesn’t have a Windows key.”
“You have to have a Windows key! Every keyboard made for the Windows operating system has a Windows key!”
“I’m telling you, I don’t have a Windows key. I’ve been using Windows since 1993, and the keyboards back then did not have a Windows key. My keyboard right now does not have a Windows key.”
“You have to have a Windows key! I am smarter than you!”
“Really?”
“Is your mother there?”
What does he need my mother for? “No, my mother is not here.”
“Are you at you at your mother’s computer?”
“No, this is my computer. My mother does not live here. I live here. This is my computer.”
“This is your computer?”
“Yes, this is my computer.”
“Well, I am calling from the Technical Support Department. Now you must listen to me!”
“The Technical Support Department from which company?”
“I have told you.”
“No, you just said you’re with the Technical Support Department. You didn’t say which company you’re with.”
“I’m with the Windows Operating System.”
“The Windows Operating System isn’t a company. Microsoft is a company. Hewlett-Packard is a company. IBM is a company. What company are you with?”
“I’m with The Geek Squad.”
“Hmm… I don’t have a Geek Squad account. Is this free support?”
“No.”
“So this is pay support? How much will it cost?”
“No, it won’t cost you.”
“Wait, so you’re giving me free support and not free support?”
“Stop confusing yourself! Listen to me! Minor problems we fix for free: major problems, big bucks!”
“So what is a major problem?”
“We will find out! Do you have an icon that says ‘My Computer.’?” Nice redirect, Mr. Non-Peterson. I’ll play along.
“Yes.” Looks like the blind squirrel found a nut.
“Please to right-click that icon and read to me the options.”
I right-click it and read the list, as I see it: “Open, Explore, Search, Map Network Drive, Disconnect Net-”
“Please click the option that says ‘Manage’.” Rude! He interrupted me!
Just as well. I didn’t have a ‘Manage’ option. I told him that.
“You have no ‘Manage’ option?”
“No.”
“Is this a special computer that your employer has especially built for you?”
“No.”
“And somehow, you have the *only* Windows Operating System in the world that does not have a Windows key, a Computer option or a Manage option?”
“It’s not the only one that doesn’t fit that description, you see-”
“Why don’t you go use your mother’s computer, you [obscene gerund followed by an obscene noun]!” And then, before I could reply, he hung up.
Pity. I was wanting him to ask me to click on something so I could rattle off one of the many Blue Screen of Death messages that I’ve memorized.
Oh well, now I have to let my mom know that a very angry Indian chap has ordered me to use her computer. Right before Mother’s Day, too. How thoughtful of the guy!
I make no mystery of it: I love taking tests that I’ve studied for. I appreciate a well-written test with difficult, yet doable, questions. I read up for the test, do labs, do my homework, do practice labs, and then I go for it.
This year, I’ve taken three tests so far. After starting my studies in January, I set a goal to have two CCNA certifications by the end of April. I am happy to say that I attained that goal. Now, I’m planning to do four more tests in the next three months to earn my CCNP-Security. These are tests that have a minimum pass score of 80% and the tests themselves are no slouches. They remind me of the AP exams in terms of depth and difficulty – and if a test-taker knows what he’s doing, they’ll drain him of information. No topic goes uncovered.
As a teacher, I’ve told countless students that reading, study, and practice is the key to successful learning. Now, I have another chance to apply that in my life. I believe I can do this. True belief leads to actions based upon that belief. Therefore, it’s time for some actions on my part. Onwards to the CCNP!
Long, long ago, when there was a stock market boom, lots and lots of people wanted to work at Microsoft. Its stock was going ever higher, and the company was famous for its generous stock options. True, there was the dreaded “stack rank” review procedure that turfed out a lot of good people, but, hey, the stock! Look at the stock! People signed on for the ride and enjoyed it greatly.
Then, the stock market turned. MSFT was no longer synonymous with magic or even growth. Microsoft had become a mature industry, and its stock price leveled off after dropping hard in early 2000. Microsoft kept its stack rank procedures, but now, there wasn’t any options fun to balance out the terror of a policy in which a certain percentage of the workforce was to be fired each year, usually because they didn’t have good relations with managers they didn’t report directly to.
Without the incentive to stick around in the form of stock options, a lot of talented people left the company. A LOT. Not all of the talent, but a significant chunk of it. New talent didn’t gravitate to Microsoft. Now, I hear people talking about it they way people used to talk about Novell… how it’s a shadow of what it used to be. It’s not the big industry mover that it was in 1999, that’s for sure.
What could turn the company around? Ideas. Where do ideas come from? Bright people that don’t want to be massacred by a stack rank policy in a car accident. The problem is that the policy is entrenched, the management doesn’t really listen to the workers when they complain about it, and the company as a whole suffers.
Moral of the story: don’t fire people for the sake of firing people in order to create a false sort of competition between workers. It doesn’t work.
I love finding music that I like. The latest round of searching took me to Hungary, in the 1970s. There was some great rock and roll there and then. I’m enjoying the bands Locomotiv GT and Skorpio. I’ve even learned some Hungarian so I can know the titles and sing along.
The best thing I take away from this is the joy of self-directed learning. Assign yourself homework to not just enjoy something, but to learn about what you enjoy so you can enjoy it even more.
Yesterday evening, a fertilizer plant in West, Texas exploded as a consequence of a fire there. The tragedy is real, and it is bitter to see.
My heart and prayers go with the injured and survivors. For those not from this part of the nation, under normal circumstances, West is a beautiful, happy town famous for its Czech culture and food. If I’m ever on I35, I always try to find a reason to stop by and share in the joy that town produces. I know they’ll recover and rebuild.
Bůh s vámi, krásné město, West. Bůh s vámi.
Just watched “Il Divo”, an Italian political thriller about Giulio Andreotti. Fantastic, mesmerizing portrayal of the seven-time PM of Italy, complete with his alleged ties to the Mafia, neo-Fascists, the Vatican, crooked bankers that wound up murdered, and even a goodly dose of clandestine Masonic lodges. Crazy thing is, this ain’t no Dan Brown novel: this is reality in Italian politics. “Il Divo” thrills all right, but it’s a biopic, not a fiction created from whole cloth.
The acting is top-notch, the soundtrack frequently delights, and the suits are AMAZING. First rule of Italy: look fantastic. Morals and ethics can come after that… The cinematography deserves a special mention for its stylization. It creates the proper feel for the film and never lets up. As a whole, the film is immersive, compelling, and – at the end of the day – great entertainment.
I had the film on my shelf, but hadn’t watched it until now, when the Vatican came under fire in its latest scandal, coupled with the election turmoil in Italy. I can’t say that I totally understand Italian politics now, but the insights from this film are most welcome and relevant.
Which do we live in? Apparently, according to the Texas state standards for social studies content taught in the classroom, or TEKS, we no longer live in a democratic society. It’s a constitutional republic. The word “democratic” has been scrubbed from much of the TEKS, to be replaced by the word “republic.” The partisanship behind this change is obvious. And while students still need to “analyze and evaluate the validity of… information… for bias, propaganda, point of view, and frame of reference”, every previous mention of “propaganda” has been struck from the TEKS. Are we to apply the study of propaganda to the TEKS themselves, then?
Given that the TEKS ask that we study the “leadership” of Nixon and Reagan and only the impeachment of Clinton, I think there are grounds to view the TEKS as a platform for right-wing propaganda. In them, America was never imperialistic and McCarthy was spot on in his witch-hunt… even though Americans previously decried our imperialistic adventures and the Venona documents show that McCarthy was dead wrong about most of his charges.
My biggest question is if I have to teach that we have always been at war with Eastasia or that we have always been at war with Eurasia.
I just filled out a so-called confidential survey for my employer. It’s really not confidential. Aside from some details about me that could be gleaned from my comments, the survey asked for my location, gender, ethnicity, years at my employer, total years of experience in the profession, and for my specific department. Well, if that doesn’t triangulate exactly who I am, I don’t know what will. Even if it narrows things down to one or two individuals, I’m still in trouble if I don’t parrot the party line and say things a potentially vindictive superior doesn’t want to hear.
I’m not surprised. I’m not shrieking about the loss of the right of free speech: that ship sailed long, long ago. My point is that, nowadays, these surveys seem to be less about informing the higher-ups of what’s good and what’s not so good and more about giving them dictatorial-like approval ratings from employees that are too scared about their futures to come forward with anything other than “very satisfied” evaluations for their bosses and work environment.
Allow me to supply the Devil’s Dictionary definition of “confidential survey”: a measure of what percentage of one’s employees are living in fear.
