http://www.twoweeks.com

Boss was on vacation and business trip for a combined timespan of two weeks. I have never got so much done and worked harder (and surfed the net) in my life. Why did this happen?

Be good to yourself and think inside the box.

Joe

Server 2003 not servin'

I have been tasked to get a backup up server going for our production box. It was all supposed to be so easy. The server has been up and running for the last year and it's just sitting there. I could NOT get this thing to serve up the home page of a web site for the life of me. I had to install the .Net framework which is supposed already be part of the OP System. MS Server 2003 comes with the new IIS version 6.0, YeeeeeeeeHaaaaaaaw!!
Well, I tried everything and pulled a couple of people in on it. The decision was made to reload the OP System and start afresh. I just can't have anything Nice. This SUCKED!! I hope that it goes better after the reload.

Here is the Wallpaper I'm using on my computer at work.



Take care of yourself, Think inside the box.

Joe

Are those sirens I hear?

I am on call this week and had the opportunity to field a problem ticket that involved a printer in Florida not printing Job Control Documents (Much need docs for the dept down there).
Our process builds and spools the documents. Two hours of research on our side showed everything was OkyDoky. The ticket went from a priority 2 to a full-fledged PRIORITY ONE!! A company-wide (for the top players that is) notification goes out.
When I got the person on the phone that was my point of contact in Florida I asked if everything was plugged in and on ("Are the lights on where you are"? sort of thing). I was assured everything was in proper order. I had to ask since we are dealing with machines that run on electricity.
Long story short... the network cable from the printer to the wall plug was a bit loose and needed plugged in and replaced really. A huge todo over an unlugged printer, I love it.

Be strong, think for yourself, think inside the box.

Joe

Buffet....

Today was all about finishing up the last few touches on my final application for the big project. It was a very beautiful day and hard to stay inside. I followed CN to drop off his vehicle for some auto glass replacement and brought him back to work. Today was the meet at the buffet restaurant for a baby shower for J&C F. We ate and had presents, did I mention we ate? The rest of the day we all tried to stay awake which really wasn't that hard considering.
The boss is gone tomorrow and Monday, cubeville will be rocking!! Actually we'll all be working very hard.

Here is what I'm using for my wallpaper:


Till next time, Keep it real and think inside the box.

Joe

He's back, It's back and new blood

Aragorn has returned. Our three positions have been filled. An old guy came back, we are getting a transfer from another part of our company and another is coming from outside the company. I can't wait to see what happens over the next month. the dynamics are going to be interesting.
I've just passed the 88% mark on my last application on a big project. Today is Tuesday, or atleast it was 30 minutes ago, and I promised boss that I would be done with it by Friday.
Things are going pretty well in the cube I had a bit of a depressor yesterday but new news today sorted things out a bit. The 30 second DAT/JOB FTP delay will either go in later this month or not at all, I've heard both. I've got full support of the test team and they say when things go in. Besides, one of them is coming to our team. 6 hours and 19 minutes till I'm back in the box, better go.

Yabba Dabba Do !!

I was hauled in the office yesterday. The news turned out not to be so bad although I was a little nervous for just a second. I was tasked with putting in a 30 second delay between two FTP jobs so that the first file has a nice long chance of getting settled on the UNIX box before the second file gets there. The second file showing up is what triggers the processing of the first file. I was told to get it on the test box ASAP and get it tested. After a little bit of research I found the code "System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(30000);". I compiled my application and sent the .dll's to the test box and alerted the tester. It worked like a champ. This sounds like nothing but the program I had to change is very complicated to test. I ended up having a tester test it on the Dev box.

All's well that ends well.

Think for yourself, Think inside the box.

Joe

He's Baaack !

The three positions we have for our team are now just two positions. We are getting a fellow back that left the company about 6 months ago, we'll call him WoolahKulee. He will be a 'welcome-back' addition to the team. He is the senior hire with just two junior positions left to fill. Things are happy around the isle. He actually called during our Monday staff meeting. Our boss's cell phone rang, he looked at it and left the room saying that he had to take the call. It was WoolahKulee calling to accept the offer that was offered. He'll be back in two weeks. Big geek news in the big geek world.

Look out for yourself, think inside the box.

Joe

New blood's a coming

Three backfills to come and we couldn't be more excited. One is to be a Senior position and the other two should be just like me: under paid and under important. The project flow has been going well. I just handed off the on call pager yesterday. It was a really quiet week. There were a few tickets opened up Friday morning right after Friday morning doughnuts. We got those handled in short order and the pager handed off by Noon and all was well.

It's Raining, It's Pouring...

The old man is snoring, that's for sure. It be a very rainy Tuesday. In the good land of cubicles I have put to bed another application. A few last DB logging tweaks and some TabIndicies I'm feeling pretty good. A dupe app and a report app to go and we'll be shipshape by the test date.

...and another thing...

Can the true nature of man (or woman) be fully revealed from within the bounds of a pale blue steelcase cubicle. Nowhere have I seen or have found people stuck (by their own free will) in a box and behaving normally, let alone being happy and productive. It has been said by many a comedian: How can they expect you to think outside the box when you are in one all day?
My point is this: the cubicle is a non-creative space in my opinion. I would rather be locked away in an office with a door and walls that go all the way to the ceiling. Walls that only go up high enough to block your site but not high enough to afford you any real privacy is a bit maddening. It is like you are being teased. You can't see your neighbor but you can sure as hell hear him/her breath and chew and hear everything they say on the phone. Gross!
But all is not lost, when I leave work I can actually feel my soul ease back into my body as I drive out of the parking lot heading home to the reasons why I go to my box Monday through Friday.

Staff Meeting

Today's staff meeting was delayed by 30 minutes. It left me with a little more time to... you know, get stuff done. I worked on some things and got them done.

Help, they walled me in....

It is only 7 hours 19 minutes and 20 seconds until I will be back in my cubicle wearing out my keyborad a few 1000 keystrokes at a time. Until then my friends...