Re: Tales from Techsupport
So we found out yesterday that, due to our landlord decommissioning our building, we will be moved to one of their other properties.
This is annoying for a few reasons, not the least of which is that I now have the second shortest commute in the office, and my commute will, depending on the new location that is selected, be tripled (at least).
But there's also this little conversation between me and my "senior tech" counterpart, who was, up until he moved to bumfuck PA (and hence started working from home 3-4 days a week), the primary network contact here.
Me: So I haven't gotten any new information about the move, other than it could be at any of three or four locations in (Town1 and Town2). I kind of wish we had some kind of input on which to select, based on network infrastructure support.
Him: You know, I really can't give a rat's ass about the move. I'm just not interested.
Me: Is there any particular reason why?
Him: I don't work there often enough to care
Me: But the health of the infrastructure directly affects you, and if it's hard to rebuild or causes us problems in the new place, it's going to be even worse than the problems we have now
Him: But I won't have to deal with it. And I won't have to move it, they contract out for that.
Me: Be that as it may, we still have to ensure everything's working. How often have contractors fucked shit up for us?
Him: It won't matter anyway.
buh wtf
Then there's the whole "this will take place within 4 months", the next 4 months of which are two of our busiest seasons during the year...
Re: Tales from Techsupport
he deserves no right to be called a senor tech. Hell you could apprentice a geek out of high school who would give more shits about the network than that guy does from the sounds of that conversation. Glad hes not a surgeon, "Its not my heart so I don't give a fuck."
Re: Tales from Techsupport
Sales Manager: I need a projector for a conference
Me: I don't have any projectors
SM: Yuh huh, (Other Sales Manager) gave it to you this week
Me: No, she didn't
SM: Yes, she did
Me: No, she didn't. The only one I have access to is an old Optoma which you refused to take on your last conference. It's still in the box.
SM: I bought that for the company in Fresno last year
Me: So why didn't you want it
SM: I don't remember
Me: Well, that's the only one I have.
SM: Well that's not good enough
Me: Well, I don't have any others.
3 hours later
SM: The other manager gave it to one of the Admin Assistants
Me: So... I still don't have it
SM: Well you need to get over there and get it and test it out, because apparently the other manager left it in her car trunk all summer long
Me: *facepalm*
Me: Hello Administrative Assistant, I need the projector that Other Sales Manager gave you
AA: No you don't
Me: Yes I do
AA: How do you know I have it?
Me: SM told me you do
AA: Damn him. Well why do you need it?
Me: SM told me where it was missing for the last 4 months, so I need to test it out
AA: Damn him. I still don't understand why you need it.
*head desk* *Head desk*
Re: Tales from Techsupport
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Salamane
How does a power outage ever cost more than a few hours of work? People suddenly forget the basics of source control systems?
Some folks just love to argue with me because winning the argument is more important than being right. And if I recommend X, they'll do not-X. Although I like Alikat's explanation.
Re: Tales from Techsupport
Well Wednesday must have been movie night at the AA's house.
Re: Tales from Techsupport
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Tangurena
Some folks just love to argue with me because winning the argument is more important than being right. And if I recommend X, they'll do not-X. Although I like Alikat's explanation.
And this is how a Deepwater Horizon happens, People who know their jobs tell people who are in charge "This shit is broken we need to fix it" People in charge who always want to win arguments "Well it has not broken fully yet so keep the systems online." and then when it does break they bitch at the people who know what they where doing for not preventing it.
In IT the skilled IT people are almost always the losers, Management does not like preventive work because downtime to them is lost money in their eyes, Then when the shit hits the CPU fans they again bitch out IT for not fixing it faster. Of course had the work been allowed it would have been a smooth failure because the UPS systems would work and allow a proper close of the system instead of a hard shutdown and lost data that now requires restoration from tape.
Re: Tales from Techsupport
Caller: I need to install your most recent programs.
Me: Okay, let's go out to the website. Note that for your computer (win7) you need to save the installers to a folder, right-click and Run As Administrator.
Caller: Okay.
...
Me: Now that they've finished downloading, let's open them by right-clicking and Run As Administrator.
Caller: Okay
Caller: They're gibberish
Me: What do you mean gibberish?
Caller: I mean the words are all gibberish
Me: (thinking she has a bad installer) We can download it again
Caller: No I don't want to make you wait again, let me try again
Caller: Nope, still gibberish
Me: Can we do a remote session?
Caller: NO, I want to try once more
Caller: Nope, still gibberish. *mumbles* Let me close Word and try Acrobat...
Me: What about Word and Acrobat?
Caller: Oh, I opened it in Word, and it came up as gibberish...
Me: ...
Me: Ma'am, the file you downloaded isn't a document. It's a program that installs our application. You need to open the folder you saved it to, find the file you downloaded, click the right-mouse-button on that file, and choose "Run As Administrator."
Caller: But they're tax forms
Me: Actually they are programs that display special tax forms that calculate and print what you need.
Caller: But they're tax forms.
Me: ...
Me: Could we please do a remote session so that I can get you up and running?
Caller: Fine. (hear mumbling in the background of her talking to herself or someone else saying "this damn fool doesn't think I can do it")
Me: I just want to make sure everything goes where it needs to go, instead of losing client data.
Caller: Fine.
So I remote into her computer and find out that, not only does she have single-click shortcuts enabled (who DOES that anymore? ffs, I haven't seen that since 1998) but she's got over a dozen shortcuts to various program installers on her desktop, including those I support.
Me: I can delete these shortcuts that don't go to our program, if you like.
Caller: But how will I know where the program is? I need the buttons to run my forms!
Me: When I'm finished installing, you'll have all of your... buttons.
Caller: I just don't understand why you can't let me use your forms in Word.
Re: Tales from Techsupport
OMG and this is the dumb bitch who is gonna be doing their company's taxes using your stuff.
Re: Tales from Techsupport
Testing Manager: Hi, we're all using this new remote connect application that you can launch the connection directly from an IM window
Me: Okay
TM: Mine stopped working after the first use
Me: I've never heard of it, never received any emails about it, never saw it, and don't know what you're talking about
TM: So you can't fix it for me?
Re: Tales from Techsupport
So I remote into a workstation to do some program troubleshooting for a third party piece of software.
Holy crap is this machine slow.
Oh look, only 306mb free on the C:\ drive.
Download SequioaView (A program that displays files visually where the size of the block is related to the size of the file as a whole.)
Run it on C:\ (so this image is the whole c:\ drive)
Laugh Uproariously.
http://www.mages-tower.com/images/my_dumps.png
Almost 3/4 of the (20 gig. grr) hard drive taken up with .hdmp files. 14.6gb/20, comprised mostly of 12.x MB files.
Re: Tales from Techsupport
Found an electrician today who didn't understand Positive vs Negative DC voltage.
He installed a 24V DC transformer to power an amplified speaker. The speaker amp had a lead for -24V & grnd. He said "Where's the positive? I think you'll need the positive...."
Re: Tales from Techsupport
I have to admit I had to Google negative DC power, As my experience with DC was working on a 1995 pickup truck where I just had the power from the battery to the Amp and then ground which I just bolted to the frame of the truck itself.
Re: Tales from Techsupport
Quote:
I have to admit I had to Google negative DC power, As my experience with DC was working on a 1995 pickup truck where I just had the power from the battery to the Amp and then ground which I just bolted to the frame of the truck itself.
Are you an electrician though?
Re: Tales from Techsupport
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Melcar
Are you an electrician though?
Nope but I can install fixtures, speed controls for my ceiling fan, breaker panels are straight forward too.
What type of electrician was he? Going to guess he was expecting it to be like most DC feeds where there is a POS and NEG lead. I am going to have to do more research now to find out what a negative voltage lead is, As I have always figured you can only go down to zero volts.
Re: Tales from Techsupport
Quote:
What type of electrician was he?
At least a Journeyman - if not master...
Quote:
I am going to have to do more research now to find out what a negative voltage lead is, As I have always figured you can only go down to zero volts.
Nope... 0 is just the reference, the important is basically difference of potential & direction of current flow.
Basically, with DC if you just reverse your leads you'll get Neg voltage -- take for example a battery - got a positive pole & a negative pole - take a multimeter, put the red lead on the positive, black lead on the Negative, you get a +1.5v
Now reverse it, black lead on Pos, Red lead on Neg, Read the -1.5v
Re: Tales from Techsupport
ahh wow I just did that using a 12v wall wart, and sure enough I did get negative . So on that Amp if say the power supply had a red GND and a black +24v you would just hook the PSU's Negative to the -24 on the amp and the positive to its GND
Re: Tales from Techsupport
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Melcar
Are you an electrician though?
To be fair to this guy, electricians generally aren't masters of all things electrical. There are huge differences between commercial and residential, much less AC and DC.
Re: Tales from Techsupport
Quote:
I think speakers and amplifiers always will be negative, or you'll get feedback.
It's so the voice coil energizes properly.
Voice coil is an electromagnet inside the large static magnet - if the polarity is wrong the voice coil pulls in the wrong direction. Speaker will still work, but yeah, increased distortion.
Re: Tales from Techsupport
so a voice coil is just like a DC motor then, wire it for negative and it "spins" the other direction. Yes I know speakers have nothing that spins but I know DC motors have a permanent magnet and then the armature is an electromagnet. flip the feeds and it goes in reverse.
Going to guess on a speaker you want the power to push the cone rather than pull the cone?
