Useless Conversation

[Nevermore]

Aren't men already men?

We are Devo.

Do you whip it?

[Morat20]

Hey, anyone got any tips on how to vet a Family Law lawyer? What to look for or ask about? Reasonable rates? (No, I'm not divorcing or anything, but my family is likely to need some legal advice and/or representation in the future.).

[Paelos]

If you know any CPAs in the area they likely have several connections to lawyers. We tend to run in the same circles.

[Merusk]

Protip: When hiring a helpdesk guy avoid people who were in the public sector previously.  Ours came from a school.  He isn't happy he only gets 3 weeks vacation to start and has told users to 1) install program patches themselves, 2) "it's a known bug you just have to live with it." 3) apparently told our mac-loving graphic designers we're getting rid of macs.   

He's not long for the company, I fear.

[Chimpy]

That guy sounds more like he is just an overall ass than that his being a former public sector employee makes him one.

[Morat20]

That guy sounds more like he is just an overall ass than that his being a former public sector employee makes him one.

Yeah, I'm afraid that's a bit of a leap. I mean, he obviously left the public sector for a reason, for one.

The IT folks at my wife's school are generally pretty put together, although they work under a really tight budget most years. They're quite good at getting the new toys set up and supported if a teacher or school gets a technology grant. (Best invention for teachers of the last 20 years? Pendant microphones. Second best? Any variant of "clicker" -- lets teachers ask questions, toss up quick multiple choice questions, and get instant statistical feedback from the class. Absolutely fantastic, 30-second method of seeing if they really understood what you just said or you need to keep on it).

[Merusk]

That guy sounds more like he is just an overall ass than that his being a former public sector employee makes him one.

No, he's just been trained to be one. He only worked for the system for 3 years but, oh man, the awful habits he picked up from his former supervisor.  On top of those are:
1) Trying to handle everything with a reimage. Which was procedure at the schools.
2) Asking to save a list of the user's passwords for when they forget
3) Having conversations via lync instead of face to face when not busy.
4) Closing tickets without a conversation on them.

Yeah, it might not be ALL public sector but it's at least this school system locally.  He's only just 30 but needs some work if he's going to make it.

[Morat20]

School system IT services vary really widely, because school districts are self-contained.  It really depends on the size, who was in charge when they started teching up, the budget they have, etc.

One of my local universities, in the late 90s, was notoriously bad. They were a small campus of a larger university, but the IT staff was independent. IP addressing was static, to MAC addresses (mostly, I still believe, to keep the lazy ass admin who set up their network in the first place in a perpetual job, because only he had access to and understood what arcane stupidity he did to the network, so you couldn't plug a damn computer in without him doing actual work, so even swapping out a broken box or moving a working box from a broken network jack took days, because he had to hand alter his IP/MAC Address tables).

[schild]

A guy called Whiteqube is opening for VNV Nation. Hes terrible.

[IainC]

A guy called Whiteqube is opening for VNV Nation. Hes terrible.

There were two openers in Madrid, one local Spanish band who were shit and Solitary Experiments who were much better.

[Ingmar]

That guy sounds more like he is just an overall ass than that his being a former public sector employee makes him one.

No, he's just been trained to be one. He only worked for the system for 3 years but, oh man, the awful habits he picked up from his former supervisor.  On top of those are:
1) Trying to handle everything with a reimage. Which was procedure at the schools.
2) Asking to save a list of the user's passwords for when they forget
3) Having conversations via lync instead of face to face when not busy.
4) Closing tickets without a conversation on them.

Yeah, it might not be ALL public sector but it's at least this school system locally.  He's only just 30 but needs some work if he's going to make it.

#3 is totally normal!

[Viin]

Yeah, it might not be ALL public sector but it's at least this school system locally.  He's only just 30 but needs some work if he's going to make it.

Like being "only" 30 is some kind of excuse! Kick his ass until he shapes up.

[WayAbvPar]

That guy sounds more like he is just an overall ass than that his being a former public sector employee makes him one.

No, he's just been trained to be one. He only worked for the system for 3 years but, oh man, the awful habits he picked up from his former supervisor.  On top of those are:
1) Trying to handle everything with a reimage. Which was procedure at the schools.
2) Asking to save a list of the user's passwords for when they forget
3) Having conversations via lync instead of face to face when not busy.
4) Closing tickets without a conversation on them.

Yeah, it might not be ALL public sector but it's at least this school system locally.  He's only just 30 but needs some work if he's going to make it.

#3 is totally normal!

Exactly! I talk to people who are 50 feet away with Lync all the time. Also makes it less likely for someone to wander over to my cube and realize I am working from home again 

[Chimpy]

I talk to people in the next cube on lync, usually to have conversations my boss can't chime in on.

[Merusk]

File it under "things you don't do in a creative firm."

Also if you don't want to be filed away only as a problem, not a person.  It's psychological manipulation. Put a human face on the problem, it's harder to just go, "Goddamn Technology group never helps ANYONE."  If they see you at desks on the floor, that's not going to happen.

[Ingmar]

We've actually seen the opposite since we started using chat (WebEx Connect in our case.) We solve problems faster, people are happier, even though we're in their offices less often. It's very much easier for both us and the end user to get an incoming chat request, say "do this", and be done than to do it the old 'file a ticket, wait for someone to wander upstairs to your office, etc.' way in a lot of cases.

[Paelos]

Our entire IT consulting firm does everything via remote logins and phone. It's a lot easier than having them come in. Call, they take over the computer remotely, fix, done.

[Signe]

I don't even know what a Lync is but now I want one!

[WayAbvPar]

I don't even know what a Lync is but now I want one!

Oh wait, that is an ocelot.

[Ingmar]

Our entire IT consulting firm does everything via remote logins and phone. It's a lot easier than having them come in. Call, they take over the computer remotely, fix, done.

Yep, that's the other major benefit - remote control. No more touching nasty keyboards, etc.

[Ironwood]

I don't even know what a Lync is but now I want one!

It's Skype.

[Merusk]

Gee it's almost as if a different business segment works differently. As if creatives somehow weren't the same as accountants engineers and business people. Who'd  have thought that?

I've been in my position 6 months, the consistent statement from my users is it's nice to see a face vs what the previous guy did:  everything you all are advocating.  If I had to deal with more than one building, yes, it would be a necessity.  Not with my users or setup.

I'm short. You're just wrong here.

[Ingmar]

I'd bet it's more of a Midwestern culture thing.

[IainC]

I'm short. You're just wrong here.

What does your height have to do with anything?

[Viin]

They probably like you in their office so much because you dress like your avatar.

[Hawkbit]

After researching US to metric conversions for our ingredient database, I've decided the US really just needs to man up and switch to metric.  Stat.

[Nebu]

After researching US to metric conversions for our ingredient database, I've decided the US really just needs to man up and switch to metric.  Stat.

You're preaching to the choir.  Try being a scientist in the US.  We're WAY behind when it comes to units.

[WayAbvPar]

That isn't the only thing we are way behind on, even academically. We are rapidly devolving into a third world state whose only exports are religious zealotry, ignorance, and military power. 

[Pennilenko]

That isn't the only thing we are way behind on, even academically. We are rapidly devolving into a third world state whose only exports are religious zealotry, ignorance, and military power. 

As someone that appreciates the history of empires, I think it is fairly safe to point out that just about every great empire ended in that way.

[Miasma]

Even your military power uses the metric system.

[Furiously]

Even your military power uses the metric system.

Blame NATO for that.

[Ironwood]

Hooray for stalking women from an anonymous Gmail account.  Well done mate, you're a credit to the male species, you utter fucking cockmonkey.

Ahem.

[Merusk]

After researching US to metric conversions for our ingredient database, I've decided the US really just needs to man up and switch to metric.  Stat.

You're preaching to the choir.  Try being a scientist in the US.  We're WAY behind when it comes to units.

Too much wrapped up in industrialization and construction for it to happen here any time soon.

I'm ok with it because Imperial just "feels" better for human-centric stuff. Metric chairs and desks have been pretty uncomfortable when I've sat in them. I can't own any furniture from Ikea, for that reason. It's weird.

[Paelos]

Hooray for stalking women from an anonymous Gmail account.  Well done mate, you're a credit to the male species, you utter fucking cockmonkey.

Ahem.

That term is offensive to monkeys everywhere.

Also, what?

[HaemishM]

I'm assuming he had to provide evidence about a co-worker of his doing very naughty things to another co-worker.