[Continuation] Dear Users… (A thread for Sysadmin, Technical Support, and Help Desk people) Part 11 - Page 6

a_unique_person · 30th August 2023, 10:39 PM

Originally Posted by TragicMonkey

Me: Are you sure you want the date fields to be varchar?
Them: Yes.
Me: What format should I put the dates into?
Them: Oh, any is fine.

I don't think they're actually going to use this data at all.

They will get back to you and ask why they can't sort by date.

Norman Alexander · 30th August 2023, 11:51 PM

Originally Posted by Wudang

Originally Posted by catsmate

Ah, TLAs.....

And if it's longer, it's an XTLA - eXtended Three Letter Acronym.

You could be looking at FLA's - Four (or even FIVE!) Letter Acronyms.

Wudang · 31st August 2023, 06:15 AM

Originally Posted by TragicMonkey

Me: Are you sure you want the date fields to be varchar?
Them: Yes.
Me: What format should I put the dates into?
Them: Oh, any is fine.

I don't think they're actually going to use this data at all.

I think Hijiri dates would be nice.

novaphile · 31st August 2023, 03:57 PM

Originally Posted by Wudang

I think Hijiri dates would be nice.

Nah...

Make them type in Julian dates.

Does anyone still have the one page per day desk calendars that included the Julian date on the bottom of the page?

In many different Public Service jobs, I heard people asking "what is this number" about those calendars...

JimOfAllTrades · 31st August 2023, 05:11 PM

Originally Posted by novaphile

Nah...

Make them type in Julian dates.

Does anyone still have the one page per day desk calendars that included the Julian date on the bottom of the page?

In many different Public Service jobs, I heard people asking "what is this number" about those calendars...

How about Unix dates? What is it, number of seconds since January 1970?

arthwollipot · 31st August 2023, 05:55 PM

Oh come on. We have enough trouble with American dates.

novaphile · 31st August 2023, 06:48 PM

Originally Posted by arthwollipot

Oh come on. We have enough trouble with American dates.

Yeah, but only because they don't know if they should tip or not.

Boom-boom!

arthwollipot · 4th September 2023, 07:56 PM

Just had a look at a summary of upcoming changes to our MFA system. While it's nice to get a heads up about what's changing before it actually changes, I was a bit concerned about the page that said "MFA fatigue is increasing" and went on to describe how the MFA is going to be made more annoying.

TragicMonkey · 4th September 2023, 08:49 PM

All change is good!

...he said, facing another thirty hours at least of rewriting vast portions of complex SQL to accommodate a sea-change in how a critical data element is defined. By itself it wouldn't be so bad, but unfortunately while I'm in there in fifty bajillion stored procedures I'm "might as well"ing some improvements in joins and stuff for efficiency, and falling into vast rabbit holes. Then when trying to account for where all the time went I realize, as I did on Friday, that I spent four or five hours chasing down what I feared was a vast logical flaw in some SQL I had in lots of different vital things but was actually just skewed results from the accidental duplication of a single entry on a temp table. It's amazing how the smallest things can produce the biggest errors, and how incredibly difficult it can be to figure out why things are happening. But so satisfying when you do. I feel like such a genius for figuring out the solution to the mystery of the problem I created myself without realizing it, and for realizing it was a problem when I changed a thing I didn't need to change, and then wasting all that time to end up exactly where I was before I started. I quite feel like I ought to be rewarded for all that!

Norman Alexander · 4th September 2023, 09:04 PM

Take a free lunch out of petty cash.

The Man · 5th September 2023, 07:57 AM

Originally Posted by arthwollipot

Just had a look at a summary of upcoming changes to our MFA system. While it's nice to get a heads up about what's changing before it actually changes, I was a bit concerned about the page that said "MFA fatigue is increasing" and went on to describe how the MFA is going to be made more annoying.

Well, a more intense and visceral hatred of the MFA system should counter the fatigue.

"Let the hate flow through you."

Trebuchet · 5th September 2023, 09:59 AM

I saw "MFA" and thought "Master of Fine Arts".

BowlOfRed · 5th September 2023, 01:46 PM

I thought "Mixed Fine Arts". One person is throwing a bust at their opponent who is holding a palette and flinging pointed paintbrushes.

arthwollipot · 5th September 2023, 06:13 PM

Lol. Multi-Factor Authentication.

arthwollipot · 6th September 2023, 01:21 AM

I just completed all of my Mandatory Training refreshers. After this many years, it's become pretty easy.

Norman Alexander · 6th September 2023, 02:58 AM

Originally Posted by arthwollipot

I just completed all of my Mandatory Training refreshers. After this many years, it's become pretty easy.

I'm nearly retired. So no more of that for me.

novaphile · 6th September 2023, 03:59 PM

Originally Posted by Norman Alexander

I'm nearly retired. So no more of that for me.

I do find myself wondering how I will survive now that I don't have to attend all staff mandatory courses about how to blow my nose and how to wash my hands.

We could understand this for 16 year old recruits, who may have never seen a shower before...

... but for adults, managers and professionals?

I finally twigged that they're just a scam to use the training budget on paper so that no one can get any training that is actually valuable.

quadraginta · 6th September 2023, 06:00 PM

Originally Posted by Darat

Trackball user for decades now - always throws anyone trying to use my PCs.

Originally Posted by novaphile

Same here, (Logitech TrackMan Marble) ever since I was told to 'stop playing the violin' back in 1996.

(Rotator cuff injury caused by mousing, no less, I'd never even tried to learn how to play a violin)

Started with Logitech's first Trackman and never looked back. Using the MX Ergo+ right now.

Both my young 'uns began using computers as soon as they could climb into the chair at the desk, and had to unlearn using a trackball when they started using computers at school.

quadraginta · 6th September 2023, 06:02 PM

Originally Posted by Trebuchet

I saw "MFA" and thought "Master of Fine Arts".

That was my second (or so) thought. My first was much more bleepable.

(Too many years in construction.)

arthwollipot · 6th September 2023, 06:07 PM

Originally Posted by novaphile

I do find myself wondering how I will survive now that I don't have to attend all staff mandatory courses about how to blow my nose and how to wash my hands.

Interesting. Mine were about privacy, fraud, and FOI.

quadraginta · 6th September 2023, 07:16 PM

Originally Posted by arthwollipot

Interesting. Mine were about privacy, fraud, and FOI.

First Aid wi. CPR, Trenching and Excavation, Scaffolding and Fall Protection. etc. You get the idea.

TBH, most of the classes were pretty good. Even the ones that were repeats. Rules and regs. change, and the people giving the courses worked hard to keep people engaged. Well ... as much as they could with a bunch of good ol' boy superintendents and foremen.

The OSHA class was three days. The T & E class was two days. And we got to play with real dirt. And water. Yes, we made mud pies ... sorta. One of the scaffolding courses came with a somewhat dismal punch line which we were sworn to secrecy about, so the next folks taking the class wouldn't be spoilered.

TragicMonkey · 6th September 2023, 07:40 PM

Healthcare has tons of annual mandatory training, even for people who don't go near a patient. I think I counted this year's total at 26 online "courses" total, most of which were "watch this video and then take a test on it". We had everything from "lift with your legs not your back" to "if the hospital is on fire don't throw patients out the windows" to "just because you're working from home doesn't mean you can't sexually harrass someone" to "if Mary in accounting looks up her neighbor Fifi's medical records because she heard a rumor about Fifi having an STI is that okay" (the real question is who the hell is named Fifi) to "should you click on suspicious links in emails and give them your credit card number".

The real fun is when someone makes a mistake and assigns the real clinical courses to people, like the time I got assigned a slew of courses "to maintain your certification in infant cardiac care"; I know I sometimes forget I got certified in ITIL and Lean 6 Sigma years ago but I'm pretty sure I'd remember that one.

My favorite is the fire safety one from years back, someone did Flash animations for it and had adorable cartoon people running back and forth while engulfed in flames. They stayed on fire until you answered the question underneath.

eta: least favorite: Infection Prevention. The takeaway is that basically every surface everywhere is filthy with deadly germs and there's only a small degree of mitigation possible, and you'll probably **** it up and do it wrong anyway. That one was unpleasant pre-Covid, after Covid it's downright scary.

JoeMorgue · 7th September 2023, 06:19 AM

No I'm not installing a new workstation where your solution to the fact that you want a workstation nowhere near any outlets is to daisy chain 3 cheap, Office Depot quality surge protectors end on end and stretch them out across the floor AND you've already plugged a space heater into the far end.

I'm not putting my finger prints on THAT train wreck.

JoeMorgue · 12th September 2023, 08:32 AM

*Sighs*

I'm done. I am no longer going to bother with CYA if CYAing doesn't actually C my A.

I've talked before about how having a client/provider system you have to follow is super-frustrating if the client is going to get their way in the end no matter what and both sides know it.

I keep getting stuck in this loop where a client tells me to do something that's not part of our procedure, I don't do it, and I get "Well your not wrong for not doing it..." (wait for it... wait for it... wait for... "... but" (there it is) and then just get a vague, glib speech about "Okay but we still have to keep the client happy" which just functionally loops back to "You should have just done it when they asked."

My direct supervisor (who is a genuinely decent guy and I don't think this is coming from an intentional place of "Let's put the guys in a no-win situation") has basically started falling back on this for everything to the point where we functionally don't have procedures to follow. I mean we have them but they are meaningless because "Keep the client happy" renders them all moot.

TragicMonkey · 15th September 2023, 02:31 PM

I actually had to explain to someone why, when trying to match lists of names to what's stored in the database, I am more confident in the match on the name "Waafhodster, Brynlythette Xerella" than I am on the match on the name "Smith, Mary".

catsmate · 16th September 2023, 05:46 AM

Originally Posted by TragicMonkey

I actually had to explain to someone why, when trying to match lists of names to what's stored in the database, I am more confident in the match on the name "Waafhodster, Brynlythette Xerella" than I am on the match on the name "Smith, Mary".

Try geneological research for Nolans in 1900s Dublin....

novaphile · 16th September 2023, 06:48 PM

Lets have a moment of silence for the help desk personnel at TPG group.

(Internode, TPG, OzEmail, iiNet, WestConnect).

Apparently the parent company has decided that email is not 'core business' for an ISP, and they are dropping this functionality so that they can concentrate on trying to flog mobile phones on Australia's ********* network.

Imagine the response from their customers and the calls they're receiving...

arthwollipot · 17th September 2023, 08:59 PM

I don't use my TPG mail address anyway.

Dabop · 18th September 2023, 03:47 AM

Here's a case of 'not knowing your business' programmers...

Our local rural store now requires customers to log in to access their account/order stuff etc- but what has changed is they now require '2 factor authentication' to log in- you type in your password and it sends an SMS you need to enter before it lets you access your account...
Um- did I mention its the local RURAL store (hay, fencing supplies etc)
As in it's kinda- you know- rural- as in the country???
90% of their clients don't even HAVE a mobile phone (as they work in town and about 5-10km outside of town- then its an hours drive to get to the next spot it works...)

Most of them have to basically drive almost to town to get reception to make an online order- in which case- they would just keep driving and do it in person...

A good proportion of them are STILL on dialup even- its basically that or 2 way sat internet...
And that adds a new level of issues- too many websites now include video, or have a massive amount of data needed to even just load- and on dialup- it can take a half hour or more for some websites to even load!!!
:-O

TragicMonkey · 18th September 2023, 06:31 AM

I like how the Amazon app on my phone uses 2FA by sending a text to the same phone I'm already on and using. So secure!

Darat · 18th September 2023, 07:34 AM

Originally Posted by TragicMonkey

I like how the Amazon app on my phone uses 2FA by sending a text to the same phone I'm already on and using. So secure!

That happens a lot on my iPad. It's the only Apple product I own so it often gets me to verify it's me on itself.

Wudang · 18th September 2023, 09:28 AM

Originally Posted by Darat

That happens a lot on my iPad. It's the only Apple product I own so it often gets me to verify it's me on itself.

Perhaps their head of security is Rastafarian. I and I using this phone.

arthwollipot · 18th September 2023, 08:00 PM

No, caller. After a request has been approved, you do not get to make changes to the details of the request without getting it re-approved.

Filippo Lippi · 18th September 2023, 10:58 PM

Originally Posted by arthwollipot

No, caller. After a request has been approved, you do not get to make changes to the details of the request without getting it re-approved.

Man, if we could only say that with any authority

arthwollipot · 19th September 2023, 11:35 PM

Things I Wish More People Understood #9372: Email Is Not Necessarily Instantaneous.

Sometimes it takes a couple of minutes for an email to be delivered. Sometimes it takes longer, especially when automation is involved. Once we have sent an email, we no longer have any control over it.

30th August 2023, 10:39 PM	#201
a_unique_person Director of Hatcheries and Conditioning Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Waiting for the pod bay door to open. Posts: 45,710	Originally Posted by TragicMonkey Me: Are you sure you want the date fields to be varchar? Them: Yes. Me: What format should I put the dates into? Them: Oh, any is fine. I don't think they're actually going to use this data at all. They will get back to you and ask why they can't sort by date.
	__________________ *Continually pushing the boundaries of mediocrity.* Everything is possible, but not everything is probable. “Perception is real, but the truth is not.” - Imelda Marcos

30th August 2023, 11:51 PM	#202
Norman Alexander Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: Dharug & Gundungurra Posts: 15,717	Originally Posted by Wudang Originally Posted by catsmate Ah, TLAs..... And if it's longer, it's an XTLA - eXtended Three Letter Acronym. You could be looking at FLA's - Four (or even FIVE!) Letter Acronyms.
	__________________ _{...our governments are just trying to protect us from terror. In the same way that someone banging a hornets’ nest with a stick is trying to protect us from hornets. Frankie Boyle, Guardian, July 2015}

31st August 2023, 06:15 AM	#203
Wudang BOFH Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: People's Republic of South Yorkshire Posts: 15,774	Originally Posted by TragicMonkey Me: Are you sure you want the date fields to be varchar? Them: Yes. Me: What format should I put the dates into? Them: Oh, any is fine. I don't think they're actually going to use this data at all. I think Hijiri dates would be nice.
	__________________ "Your deepest pools, like your deepest politicians and philosophers, often turn out more shallow than expected." Walter Scott.

31st August 2023, 03:57 PM	#204
novaphile Quester of Doglets Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Sunny South Australia Posts: 5,607	Originally Posted by Wudang I think Hijiri dates would be nice. Nah... Make them type in Julian dates. Does anyone still have the one page per day desk calendars that included the Julian date on the bottom of the page? In many different Public Service jobs, I heard people asking "what is this number" about those calendars...
	__________________ We would be better, and braver, to engage in enquiry, rather than indulge in the idle fancy, that we already know -- Plato.

31st August 2023, 05:55 PM	#206
arthwollipot Observer of Phenomena Pronouns: he/him Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Ngunnawal Country Posts: 84,444	Oh come on. We have enough trouble with American dates.
	__________________ A million people can call the mountains a fiction Yet it need not trouble you as you stand atop them https://xkcd.com/154/

31st August 2023, 05:11 PM	#205
JimOfAllTrades Graduate Poster Join Date: Aug 2011 Posts: 1,264	Originally Posted by novaphile Nah... Make them type in Julian dates. Does anyone still have the one page per day desk calendars that included the Julian date on the bottom of the page? In many different Public Service jobs, I heard people asking "what is this number" about those calendars... How about Unix dates? What is it, number of seconds since January 1970?

31st August 2023, 06:48 PM	#207
novaphile Quester of Doglets Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Sunny South Australia Posts: 5,607	Originally Posted by arthwollipot Oh come on. We have enough trouble with American dates. Yeah, but only because they don't know if they should tip or not. Boom-boom!
	__________________ We would be better, and braver, to engage in enquiry, rather than indulge in the idle fancy, that we already know -- Plato.

4th September 2023, 07:56 PM	#208
arthwollipot Observer of Phenomena Pronouns: he/him Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Ngunnawal Country Posts: 84,444	Just had a look at a summary of upcoming changes to our MFA system. While it's nice to get a heads up about what's changing before it actually changes, I was a bit concerned about the page that said "MFA fatigue is increasing" and went on to describe how the MFA is going to be made more annoying.
	__________________ A million people can call the mountains a fiction Yet it need not trouble you as you stand atop them https://xkcd.com/154/

4th September 2023, 08:49 PM	#209
TragicMonkey Poisoned Waffles Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Monkey Posts: 66,989	All change is good! ...he said, facing another thirty hours at least of rewriting vast portions of complex SQL to accommodate a sea-change in how a critical data element is defined. By itself it wouldn't be so bad, but unfortunately while I'm in there in fifty bajillion stored procedures I'm "might as well"ing some improvements in joins and stuff for efficiency, and falling into vast rabbit holes. Then when trying to account for where all the time went I realize, as I did on Friday, that I spent four or five hours chasing down what I feared was a vast logical flaw in some SQL I had in lots of different vital things but was actually just skewed results from the accidental duplication of a single entry on a temp table. It's amazing how the smallest things can produce the biggest errors, and how incredibly difficult it can be to figure out why things are happening. But so satisfying when you do. I feel like such a genius for figuring out the solution to the mystery of the problem I created myself without realizing it, and for realizing it was a problem when I changed a thing I didn't need to change, and then wasting all that time to end up exactly where I was before I started. I quite feel like I ought to be rewarded for all that!
	__________________ You added nothing to that conversation, Barbara.

4th September 2023, 09:04 PM	#210
Norman Alexander Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: Dharug & Gundungurra Posts: 15,717	Take a free lunch out of petty cash.
	__________________ _{...our governments are just trying to protect us from terror. In the same way that someone banging a hornets’ nest with a stick is trying to protect us from hornets. Frankie Boyle, Guardian, July 2015}

5th September 2023, 07:57 AM	#211
The Man Unbanned zombie poster Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Poughkeepsie, NY Posts: 18,195	Originally Posted by arthwollipot Just had a look at a summary of upcoming changes to our MFA system. While it's nice to get a heads up about what's changing before it actually changes, I was a bit concerned about the page that said "MFA fatigue is increasing" and went on to describe how the MFA is going to be made more annoying. Well, a more intense and visceral hatred of the MFA system should counter the fatigue. "Let the hate flow through you."
	__________________ BRAINZZZZZZZZ

5th September 2023, 09:59 AM	#212
Trebuchet Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Port Townsend, Washington Posts: 37,642	I saw "MFA" and thought "Master of Fine Arts".
	__________________ Cum catapultae proscribeantur tum soli proscripti catapultas habeant.

5th September 2023, 01:46 PM	#213
BowlOfRed Master Poster Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Silicon Valley Posts: 2,383	I thought "Mixed Fine Arts". One person is throwing a bust at their opponent who is holding a palette and flinging pointed paintbrushes.

5th September 2023, 06:13 PM	#214
arthwollipot Observer of Phenomena Pronouns: he/him Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Ngunnawal Country Posts: 84,444	Lol. Multi-Factor Authentication.
	__________________ A million people can call the mountains a fiction Yet it need not trouble you as you stand atop them https://xkcd.com/154/

6th September 2023, 01:21 AM	#215
arthwollipot Observer of Phenomena Pronouns: he/him Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Ngunnawal Country Posts: 84,444	I just completed all of my Mandatory Training refreshers. After this many years, it's become pretty easy.
	__________________ A million people can call the mountains a fiction Yet it need not trouble you as you stand atop them https://xkcd.com/154/

6th September 2023, 02:58 AM	#216
Norman Alexander Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: Dharug & Gundungurra Posts: 15,717	Originally Posted by arthwollipot I just completed all of my Mandatory Training refreshers. After this many years, it's become pretty easy. I'm nearly retired. So no more of that for me.
	__________________ _{...our governments are just trying to protect us from terror. In the same way that someone banging a hornets’ nest with a stick is trying to protect us from hornets. Frankie Boyle, Guardian, July 2015}

6th September 2023, 03:59 PM	#217
novaphile Quester of Doglets Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Sunny South Australia Posts: 5,607	Originally Posted by Norman Alexander I'm nearly retired. So no more of that for me. I do find myself wondering how I will survive now that I don't have to attend all staff mandatory courses about how to blow my nose and how to wash my hands. We could understand this for 16 year old recruits, who may have never seen a shower before... ... but for adults, managers and professionals? I finally twigged that they're just a scam to use the training budget on paper so that no one can get any training that is actually valuable.
	__________________ We would be better, and braver, to engage in enquiry, rather than indulge in the idle fancy, that we already know -- Plato.

6th September 2023, 06:00 PM	#218
quadraginta Becoming Beth Join Date: May 2009 Location: Central Vale of Humility (USA, sort of) Posts: 27,259	Originally Posted by Darat Trackball user for decades now - always throws anyone trying to use my PCs. Originally Posted by novaphile Same here, (Logitech TrackMan Marble) ever since I was told to 'stop playing the violin' back in 1996. (Rotator cuff injury caused by mousing, no less, I'd never even tried to learn how to play a violin) Started with Logitech's first Trackman and never looked back. Using the MX Ergo+ right now. Both my young 'uns began using computers as soon as they could climb into the chair at the desk, and had to unlearn using a trackball when they started using computers at school.
	__________________ "A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep." "Ninety percent of the politicians give the other ten percent a bad reputation."

6th September 2023, 06:02 PM	#219
quadraginta Becoming Beth Join Date: May 2009 Location: Central Vale of Humility (USA, sort of) Posts: 27,259	Originally Posted by Trebuchet I saw "MFA" and thought "Master of Fine Arts". That was my second (or so) thought. My first was much more bleepable. (Too many years in construction.)
	__________________ "A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep." "Ninety percent of the politicians give the other ten percent a bad reputation."

6th September 2023, 06:07 PM	#220
arthwollipot Observer of Phenomena Pronouns: he/him Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Ngunnawal Country Posts: 84,444	Originally Posted by novaphile I do find myself wondering how I will survive now that I don't have to attend all staff mandatory courses about how to blow my nose and how to wash my hands. Interesting. Mine were about privacy, fraud, and FOI.
	__________________ A million people can call the mountains a fiction Yet it need not trouble you as you stand atop them https://xkcd.com/154/

6th September 2023, 07:16 PM	#221
quadraginta Becoming Beth Join Date: May 2009 Location: Central Vale of Humility (USA, sort of) Posts: 27,259	Originally Posted by arthwollipot Interesting. Mine were about privacy, fraud, and FOI. First Aid wi. CPR, Trenching and Excavation, Scaffolding and Fall Protection. etc. You get the idea. TBH, most of the classes were pretty good. Even the ones that were repeats. Rules and regs. change, and the people giving the courses worked hard to keep people engaged. Well ... as much as they could with a bunch of good ol' boy superintendents and foremen. The OSHA class was three days. The T & E class was two days. And we got to play with real dirt. And water. Yes, we made mud pies ... sorta. One of the scaffolding courses came with a somewhat dismal punch line which we were sworn to secrecy about, so the next folks taking the class wouldn't be spoilered.
	__________________ "A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep." "Ninety percent of the politicians give the other ten percent a bad reputation."

6th September 2023, 07:40 PM	#222
TragicMonkey Poisoned Waffles Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Monkey Posts: 66,989	Healthcare has tons of annual mandatory training, even for people who don't go near a patient. I think I counted this year's total at 26 online "courses" total, most of which were "watch this video and then take a test on it". We had everything from "lift with your legs not your back" to "if the hospital is on fire don't throw patients out the windows" to "just because you're working from home doesn't mean you can't sexually harrass someone" to "if Mary in accounting looks up her neighbor Fifi's medical records because she heard a rumor about Fifi having an STI is that okay" (the real question is who the hell is named Fifi) to "should you click on suspicious links in emails and give them your credit card number". The real fun is when someone makes a mistake and assigns the real clinical courses to people, like the time I got assigned a slew of courses "to maintain your certification in infant cardiac care"; I know I sometimes forget I got certified in ITIL and Lean 6 Sigma years ago but I'm pretty sure I'd remember that one. My favorite is the fire safety one from years back, someone did Flash animations for it and had adorable cartoon people running back and forth while engulfed in flames. They stayed on fire until you answered the question underneath. eta: least favorite: Infection Prevention. The takeaway is that basically every surface everywhere is filthy with deadly germs and there's only a small degree of mitigation possible, and you'll probably **** it up and do it wrong anyway. That one was unpleasant pre-Covid, after Covid it's downright scary.
	__________________ You added nothing to that conversation, Barbara. Last edited by TragicMonkey; 6th September 2023 at 07:42 PM.

7th September 2023, 06:19 AM	#223
JoeMorgue Self Employed Remittance Man Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Florida Posts: 45,240	No I'm not installing a new workstation where your solution to the fact that you want a workstation nowhere near any outlets is to daisy chain 3 cheap, Office Depot quality surge protectors end on end and stretch them out across the floor AND you've already plugged a space heater into the far end. I'm not putting my finger prints on THAT train wreck.
	__________________ "If everyone in the room says water is wet and I say it's dry that makes me smart because at least I'm thinking for myself!" - The Proudly Wrong.

12th September 2023, 08:32 AM	#224
JoeMorgue Self Employed Remittance Man Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Florida Posts: 45,240	Sighs I'm done. I am no longer going to bother with CYA if CYAing doesn't actually C my A. I've talked before about how having a client/provider system you have to follow is super-frustrating if the client is going to get their way in the end no matter what and both sides know it. I keep getting stuck in this loop where a client tells me to do something that's not part of our procedure, I don't do it, and I get "Well your not wrong for not doing it..." (wait for it... wait for it... wait for... "... but" (there it is) and then just get a vague, glib speech about "Okay but we still have to keep the client happy" which just functionally loops back to "You should have just done it when they asked." My direct supervisor (who is a genuinely decent guy and I don't think this is coming from an intentional place of "Let's put the guys in a no-win situation") has basically started falling back on this for everything to the point where we functionally don't have procedures to follow. I mean we have them but they are meaningless because "Keep the client happy" renders them all moot.
	__________________ "If everyone in the room says water is wet and I say it's dry that makes me smart because at least I'm thinking for myself!" - The Proudly Wrong.

15th September 2023, 02:31 PM	#225
TragicMonkey Poisoned Waffles Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Monkey Posts: 66,989	I actually had to explain to someone why, when trying to match lists of names to what's stored in the database, I am more confident in the match on the name "Waafhodster, Brynlythette Xerella" than I am on the match on the name "Smith, Mary".
	__________________ You added nothing to that conversation, Barbara.

16th September 2023, 05:46 AM	#226
catsmate No longer the 1 Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 29,319	Originally Posted by TragicMonkey I actually had to explain to someone why, when trying to match lists of names to what's stored in the database, I am more confident in the match on the name "Waafhodster, Brynlythette Xerella" than I am on the match on the name "Smith, Mary". Try geneological research for Nolans in 1900s Dublin....
	__________________ As human right is always something given, it always in reality reduces to the right which men give, "concede," to each other. If the right to existence is conceded to new-born children, then they have the right; if it is not conceded to them, as was the case among the Spartans and ancient Romans, then they do not have it. For only society can give or concede it to them; they themselves cannot take it, or give it to themselves.

16th September 2023, 06:48 PM	#227
novaphile Quester of Doglets Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Sunny South Australia Posts: 5,607	Lets have a moment of silence for the help desk personnel at TPG group. (Internode, TPG, OzEmail, iiNet, WestConnect). Apparently the parent company has decided that email is not 'core business' for an ISP, and they are dropping this functionality so that they can concentrate on trying to flog mobile phones on Australia's ********* network. Imagine the response from their customers and the calls they're receiving...
	__________________ We would be better, and braver, to engage in enquiry, rather than indulge in the idle fancy, that we already know -- Plato.

17th September 2023, 08:59 PM	#228
arthwollipot Observer of Phenomena Pronouns: he/him Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Ngunnawal Country Posts: 84,444	I don't use my TPG mail address anyway.
	__________________ A million people can call the mountains a fiction Yet it need not trouble you as you stand atop them https://xkcd.com/154/

18th September 2023, 03:47 AM	#229
Dabop Graduate Poster Join Date: May 2015 Location: Oz Posts: 1,005	Here's a case of 'not knowing your business' programmers... Our local rural store now requires customers to log in to access their account/order stuff etc- but what has changed is they now require '2 factor authentication' to log in- you type in your password and it sends an SMS you need to enter before it lets you access your account... Um- did I mention its the local RURAL store (hay, fencing supplies etc) As in it's kinda- you know- rural- as in the country??? 90% of their clients don't even HAVE a mobile phone (as they work in town and about 5-10km outside of town- then its an hours drive to get to the next spot it works...) Most of them have to basically drive almost to town to get reception to make an online order- in which case- they would just keep driving and do it in person... A good proportion of them are STILL on dialup even- its basically that or 2 way sat internet... And that adds a new level of issues- too many websites now include video, or have a massive amount of data needed to even just load- and on dialup- it can take a half hour or more for some websites to even load!!! :-O
	__________________ It's a kind of a strawman thing in that it's exactly a strawman thing. Loss Leader 'When you're born into this world, you're given a ticket to the freak show. If you're born in America you get a front row seat.' George Carlin

18th September 2023, 06:31 AM	#230
TragicMonkey Poisoned Waffles Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Monkey Posts: 66,989	I like how the Amazon app on my phone uses 2FA by sending a text to the same phone I'm already on and using. So secure!
	__________________ You added nothing to that conversation, Barbara.

18th September 2023, 07:34 AM	#231
Darat Lackey Administrator Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: South East, UK Posts: 111,118	Originally Posted by TragicMonkey I like how the Amazon app on my phone uses 2FA by sending a text to the same phone I'm already on and using. So secure! That happens a lot on my iPad. It's the only Apple product I own so it often gets me to verify it's me on itself.
	__________________ I wish I knew how to quit you

18th September 2023, 09:28 AM	#232
Wudang BOFH Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: People's Republic of South Yorkshire Posts: 15,774	Originally Posted by Darat That happens a lot on my iPad. It's the only Apple product I own so it often gets me to verify it's me on itself. Perhaps their head of security is Rastafarian. I and I using this phone.
	__________________ "Your deepest pools, like your deepest politicians and philosophers, often turn out more shallow than expected." Walter Scott.

18th September 2023, 08:00 PM	#233
arthwollipot Observer of Phenomena Pronouns: he/him Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Ngunnawal Country Posts: 84,444	No, caller. After a request has been approved, you do not get to make changes to the details of the request without getting it re-approved.
	__________________ A million people can call the mountains a fiction Yet it need not trouble you as you stand atop them https://xkcd.com/154/

18th September 2023, 10:58 PM	#234
Filippo Lippi Illuminator Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 4,463	Originally Posted by arthwollipot No, caller. After a request has been approved, you do not get to make changes to the details of the request without getting it re-approved. Man, if we could only say that with any authority
	__________________ You can't defeat fascism through debate because it's not simply an idea, proposal or theory. It's a fundamentally flawed way of looking at the world. It's a distorting prism, emotionally charged and completely logic-proof. You may as well challenge rabies to a game of Boggle. @ViolettaCrisis

19th September 2023, 11:35 PM	#235
arthwollipot Observer of Phenomena Pronouns: he/him Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Ngunnawal Country Posts: 84,444	Things I Wish More People Understood #9372: Email Is Not Necessarily Instantaneous. Sometimes it takes a couple of minutes for an email to be delivered. Sometimes it takes longer, especially when automation is involved. Once we have sent an email, we no longer have any control over it.
	__________________ A million people can call the mountains a fiction Yet it need not trouble you as you stand atop them https://xkcd.com/154/