greyduck.net

Looking For Quacks In The Pavement

  • Workload Whinge

    So my homelife isn’t really the sole reason I haven’t been writing much lately. To elaborate, I’ll give you a partial list of what’s on my plate at the office, in no particular order:

    • Complete IIS web cluster for Corporate Internet group. (Begun last night, hopefully completed tomorrow night.)
    • Rebuild not one, not two, but three studio PCs. (Prod 1, Prod 3, News 1.)
    • Create a joint email account for new job-share partners. (And discard their “old” separate accounts.)
    • Develop automated backup system for new fileserver. (You know, the server I rolled out a month or so ago? Yeah, I’m still doing backups manually. When I have the time to do so. Which isn’t often enough by far.)
    • File paperwork. (Discard old papers, sort and file new, print out things that need printing. Yadda yadda yadda.)
    • Figure out how to set up access to the admin interface of a website we just brought in-house last week. (The interface currently relies on a hostname in the old host’s domain. Not good.)
    • Replace floppy drives in two Account Exec’s computers. (Not a priority of course, but this one’s been on the task list for the entire year.)
    • Sort through CD-ROM library, weeding out obsolete materials and organizing the remainder. (Yadda yadda yadda.)
    • Install GM’s new computer. (It’s prepped, and it’s sitting under his desk alongside his old computer. I’m just waiting for the go-ahead from him.)
    • Prep and install new computers for two promotions staffers, five traffic staffers and a sales assistant. (That’s not counting refurbing existing computers for two new sales hires.)
    • Meet with AS/400 specialist to determine the best way to ensure a complete and useful backup. (Turns out the backups I’ve been making every three weeks aren’t worth the tape they’re spooled onto. Uh oh.)
    • Come up with a good way to back up the email server. (Nope. Haven’t been doing this for a while now, ever since the new office server became a nightmare project from hell.)
    • Put a sound card into one of the music office computers. (The built-in sound system isn’t working, and I’m not interested in shipping the thing back to HP for repairs. Easier to just slap a Soundblaster PCI into the damned machine.)
    • Replace the CD-ROM drive in one of the digital audio workstations. (This task has been on the list for about four months now.)
    • Install new video card drivers and TV player software onto one of the broadcast studio GP computers. (At least, I think that’ll fix the crashes they’ve been having all year.)
    • Test “bad” batch of RAM. (Actually, I think the RAM sticks are fine. I think the computers we tried to upgrade with them are pieces of crap. See “traffic staffers” above.)
    • Set up spare computer for interim PD over at the other building. (So he can check his email without using “webmail,” which is clunky. And so I don’t have to try reinstalling his music-scheduling software, which would be a major PITA.)
    • Clean, clean, clean. (My work areas are a mess, and that’s no joke.)

    There’s more, of course, and that’s just the stuff I know about. Surprises come daily.

    And yet, any attempt to improve the staffing level of the technical department gets immediately shot down. Well, at least I have job security. Right?

  • Happy Birthday To You, Anyway

    Happy Birthday, you.

    Another year older, several years wiser, a few pounds lighter, a bit more self-confident, more emotionally scarred, less emotionally crippled, and generally making progress as a mother, a believer, a person, if not any longer as a spouse.

    I wish you well. Yes, even now. And I always will.

    Okay everybody, it’s your turn now. Go wish Wendi a happy birthday.

  • Past, Present, Future – Round Twenty-one

    PAST: Nobody’s going to get angry at you about it now. So go ahead and tell us how old you were the first time you got a taste of an alcoholic beverage. You didn’t really wait until it was legal, did you?

    PRESENT: I don’t have anything against drinking, I just don’t want to be a drinker. What about you? Do you abstain, go wild or just have a sip of wine from time to time?

    FUTURE: Continuing the “what would you call it” thread, create a mixed drink and give it a name. Fanciful ingredients are encouraged, of course!

    As always, if you’re even thinking about answering, please comment accordingly with a link to your website. And when you link back, link not to this specific entry but to http://greyduck.net/ppf instead. Thank you!

  • For the 21st century corsair.

    In honor of the recent swashbuckling movies to hit the theaters…
    Ahoy, desklubbers!

  • The Official Position

    You may have noticed my recent silence here and elsewhere (though not everywhere). In large part my lack of updating was caused by a lack of anything to say, pure and simple. A smaller part of the problem, however, is an increasing desire not to get caught in some nasty crossfire.

    You may have noticed a certain level of vitriol between various involved parties who I won’t name at this point. My policy up to now has been: I will, in no way, attempt to dictate the content of anyone’s personal website. I will not take sides or attempt to excuse the behaviour of people over whom I have no authority. I encourage everyone to write what they believe to be true, or necessary to say for their own personal well-being.

    To this I must add a new policy.

    I would appreciate from all involved parties an agreement to at least attempt to deal with relevant accusations and recriminations in some private manner before airing such content publicly. Certain factual errors have crept into various postings that are not helping the situation one tiny bit.

    The truth is that many of my friends’ perceptions are unalterably colored by months of negative commentary I made in private correspondence. This has damaged whatever positive relationships may have originally been possible. I habitually took my venting too far out of line without also dealing with those frustrations in a direct and responsible fashion with the party involved.

    I can’t take back the things I’ve said or done. I can only apologize to everyone involved for making things ten times worse than they ought to have been. And before you think I’m being whiny and overly apologetic, I will state for the record that at this moment I am in a relatively clear state of mind, and I’m not beating myself up. I’m stating cold hard indisputable facts.

    There are several months yet during which I need to be able to live somewhat comfortably under the same roof as the woman I married and still care about. I’m still not going to tell anyone they shouldn’t write what they feel they truly must. I’m only asking for some forebearance, for my sake if nobody else’s, on the topic of the breakup.

    Anyone who knows me could tell you that one thing I can’t stand to do is directly impose on another human being. Well, I’m going to attempt an imposition now:

    If you have something to say about anything that’s been said or done by myself, herself or anyone directly associated with either, please do so in private first and take it public only if there’s real cause to do so. This world wide mudslinging isn’t helping anything.

    Thank you.

  • PPF means so many things…

    Looked through the referrers just now. I’d like to point out that it’s not Friday yet, you wonderful meme-junkies. But that’s okay, I appreciate visitors from far and near, no matter when or why they come.

    What really impressed me is that someone found this place by searching for “ppf.” Turns out that Past, Present, Future is only 2nd on Google for that search. That’s right, folks, the Pakistan Press Foundation is out in front. At least I beat the Professional Pilots Federation though. Yeah, something to be proud of. Take that, People & Planet Friendly!

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