an experiment
This is the first entry written on my mobile - it'd be great if it
worked, 'cause we don't even have internet hooked up at the house yet.
worked, 'cause we don't even have internet hooked up at the house yet.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Friday, August 24, 2007
google ticker
Today being Friday, it's time for more workplace stories...
One of the developers that I work with had once been tasked with implementing a "Google ticker" - a way to see all the queries used in intranet search. The project was a success, and the management even decided to prominently show the ticker on a large display close to the cafeteria. People walking by would see a stream of words come scrolling through the screen, and leave with the impression that lots of very important work is taking place within the company.
Now, it's time to introduce an important character in the story - one of our project managers, who happens to be a very nice, proper, and extremely soft-spoken lady. One day, she happened to notice "something wrong" with the ticker, as she put it, and rushed to tell the developer.
Unfortunately, she couldn't quite bring herself to tell the developer what she saw, so she had to resort to IM. It turns out, somebody started running a barrage of searches with very, very dirty words in them, so dirty that she couldn't even say them out loud.
Later, the culprit was found. He claimed that he was researching the use of profanities in intranet documents, and that was the end of that. The ticker didn't last for much longer.
One of the developers that I work with had once been tasked with implementing a "Google ticker" - a way to see all the queries used in intranet search. The project was a success, and the management even decided to prominently show the ticker on a large display close to the cafeteria. People walking by would see a stream of words come scrolling through the screen, and leave with the impression that lots of very important work is taking place within the company.
Now, it's time to introduce an important character in the story - one of our project managers, who happens to be a very nice, proper, and extremely soft-spoken lady. One day, she happened to notice "something wrong" with the ticker, as she put it, and rushed to tell the developer.
Unfortunately, she couldn't quite bring herself to tell the developer what she saw, so she had to resort to IM. It turns out, somebody started running a barrage of searches with very, very dirty words in them, so dirty that she couldn't even say them out loud.
Later, the culprit was found. He claimed that he was researching the use of profanities in intranet documents, and that was the end of that. The ticker didn't last for much longer.
Monday, August 20, 2007
green day
The other day, I decided to drink my own cool-aid, and try living in an environmentally-friendly way for a change. So, I tried taking a step forward by biking to work.
I still had to use my internal-combustion-powered car to drive over to the new place to fetch the bike, and to inflate said bike's tires, but after a few minutes I hit the road. It's been about a year since I've biked last, which soon became evident as my butt no longer fit the seat all that well (perhaps I should bike more, eh?) This minor inconvenience soon turned into slight agony, but hey, at least we're saving gas here.
The road turned out to be a little narrower and more hilly than I remembered, but what can you do. Surprisingly, I made it to work in about 10 minutes - and felt great (minus the butt part). I soon realized that I had to bike home during my lunch hour to meet with the oil furnace guy (yup, still dependent on those damn fossil fuels), so the back-and-forth trip turned into a back-and-forth-and-back-and-forth. But you know what - if more Americans biked to work, we'd be in a much better place...
I still had to use my internal-combustion-powered car to drive over to the new place to fetch the bike, and to inflate said bike's tires, but after a few minutes I hit the road. It's been about a year since I've biked last, which soon became evident as my butt no longer fit the seat all that well (perhaps I should bike more, eh?) This minor inconvenience soon turned into slight agony, but hey, at least we're saving gas here.
The road turned out to be a little narrower and more hilly than I remembered, but what can you do. Surprisingly, I made it to work in about 10 minutes - and felt great (minus the butt part). I soon realized that I had to bike home during my lunch hour to meet with the oil furnace guy (yup, still dependent on those damn fossil fuels), so the back-and-forth trip turned into a back-and-forth-and-back-and-forth. But you know what - if more Americans biked to work, we'd be in a much better place...
Monday, August 13, 2007
more work stories
Once in a great while, the hallway loudspearkers at my company are used for enterprise-wide announcements. Apparently, the controls that operate them are very complex, as it sounds like the speakers toggle on and off a few times before the announcer's voice comes through. I've been told that this complexity has once had "unintended" consequences.
A long time ago, way before the Stan era, the announcer tried to do his job, but aparently the message was interrupted a few times by him fumbling with the controls. Thinking that the microphone was finally off, the announcer exclaimed, "Well, I f@#ked that up!"
Heh. The microphone wasn't off, so the whole company heard the poor guy's self-assesment.
Wish I was there.
A long time ago, way before the Stan era, the announcer tried to do his job, but aparently the message was interrupted a few times by him fumbling with the controls. Thinking that the microphone was finally off, the announcer exclaimed, "Well, I f@#ked that up!"
Heh. The microphone wasn't off, so the whole company heard the poor guy's self-assesment.
Wish I was there.
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
let the house improvement begin!
Well, we're done buyin', now it's time to start fixin'. Susan is modeling here with the roller, priming the fireplace:
The old and disgusting rug is all ripped up, underlayment removed, so we'll be ready to work on the floor soon. Fun.
The old and disgusting rug is all ripped up, underlayment removed, so we'll be ready to work on the floor soon. Fun.
Sunday, August 05, 2007
suburban adventure
Susan and I spent the day painting, hammering, and pulling up old carpet, so around midnight we felt that we could use a well-deserved drink. Off we went: we jumped into our car, since that's what suburbanites do, and drove down to Chili's. Even though there were people inside, the door were closed. No drink there. Slightly disappointed, we drove to Outback (closed), and then to a bar at a shopping plaza that Susan remembered (also closed). Uh-oh.
Our night ended at a McDonald's, and our hope for entertainment - somewhere along the way. Gotta love the suburbs!
Our night ended at a McDonald's, and our hope for entertainment - somewhere along the way. Gotta love the suburbs!
Thursday, August 02, 2007
phew
It's official. I'm a homeowner. A homeowner who's living in his in-laws' house, but a homeowner nevertheless.
Wow this was a long time in the making.
Wow this was a long time in the making.
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
jay kay time
Ah yes, Jonas picked a great weekend to visit. He got a chance to observe the apartment shedding stuff at an alarming rate, and even found a unique opportunity to participate in the process by carrying boxes down three flights of stairs in 90+ degree heat. Very nice.
But, as much as I would've loved to let him practice his packing abilities, we had places to go. One of them was Kennebunkport, home of the Maine lobster and Bush Sr. There, Jonas got his first chance to touch the Atlantic Ocean:
He also got a chance to touch some beer, and I must say, I was proud - it's the first time I've seen him finish more than 3/4 of the pint on his own. Maybe if he stayed longer, we'd see him go all the way, who knows?
But, as much as I would've loved to let him practice his packing abilities, we had places to go. One of them was Kennebunkport, home of the Maine lobster and Bush Sr. There, Jonas got his first chance to touch the Atlantic Ocean:
He also got a chance to touch some beer, and I must say, I was proud - it's the first time I've seen him finish more than 3/4 of the pint on his own. Maybe if he stayed longer, we'd see him go all the way, who knows?