Useless Conversation

[Strazos]

We got 10 inches where I live. Apparently much less about 20 miles away where I work, and towards where most of my coworkers live.

They thought I was kidding when I said I was calling out because I couldn't get my car out of the space. This is after I made a Herculean effort to go in on a day last year when the snow was just as bed, less people showed up, and I nearly got hit twice.

[Yegolev]

Guess which one of these characters most closely represents me!

[Oban]

Mordac?

[Rishathra]

Well, going by this:


I'm going to assume this one.

[Yegolev]

Yeah, time to change that avatar.

[Righ]

Catbert?

[Cheddar]

Its official, my son not only goes apeshit over TOOL but he is a fan of H.I.M.  I am so proud!   

[stray]

But is he a fan of the RZA, the GZA, and Ghostface Killah? And the Carpenters?

[Selby]

Guess which one of these characters most closely represents me!

We all call each other legacy trolls at work now due to changes in management directions and company focus.  Our future's bleak, ain't it neat?  You can almost see the tension and animosity in the air as you walk around the place.

[Engels]

well, my gf just survived a round of layoffs after living in fear for the last 2 months of not knowing if her name was on a short list. Yego, did you get the boot bro?

[Yegolev]

Yego, did you get the boot bro?

Not the boot, really.  That's not civilized, and we are on the Dow 30.  Appearances an all that since we (or the stockholders, more accurately) don't want the stock price to drop any faster than it already is due to a market correction that has dick-all to do with 11% growth for 2008.  After the hastily-made slide where we learn The Company outperformed expectations thanks to us, we also are told that a RFP has been formally given to IBM to see what they can offer to solve whatever perceived problem our IT division has and that there are three possibilities :

1. The RFP is rejected and nothing happens.  Considering many factors under the lens of hindsight, this seems completely improbable.  Partly because only one vendor is being given an RFP.
2. We are subsumed into IBM as employees.  Quick thinking leads one to realize this "we" is a subset of the usual "we".
3. Knock knock.  Who's there?  Not you anymore!

Basically The Coca-Cola Company is using the "global crisis" (note that quotes are there because we had impressive growth in 2008) as an excuse to finally shed the IT division that the execs have not wanted for many years.  It is true that we have an amazing IT division for a company that is not actually in technology, so I can't say that it is a bad business decision.  Personally, it is a tad annoying for a variety of reasons.  This isn't in the papers yet, but Business Week was suspicious when our pension plan was modified recently and it will be out there soon enough.  There should be a clear plan laid out around April, at which point I'll know where I am in it, and the plan will be executed in June.  I'd say that the chances of me still making soda for a living in July are slim.

I would not mind working for IBM, actually.  It fits my profession much better.  I don't care for the uncertainty.

You can almost see the tension and animosity in the air as you walk around the place.

We are more of a "Those fucking dickbags!" and "Time to dust off the resume." and "I'm not buying any more Coke." sort of team.  Apparently.  Maybe some people are tense, but not the UNIX team nor those crazy-ass Windows people as far as I can tell.  Storage is a bit tense-slash-resigned.  Me, I'm still Wally.

[Lantyssa]

Gah!  Who will I tease about bringing back Lime Coke if things go wonky?

[Selby]

We are more of a "Those fucking dickbags!" and "Time to dust off the resume." and "I'm not buying any more Coke." sort of team.  Apparently.

I totally don't care.  If I lose my job, meh.  I'll survive even if it means in the backseat of my car.  Others are angry and hostile, others are just keeping their head so low you can't tell they are there.

Your situation is amusing because my company just announced how much money they are saving by actually bringing back our IT staff in-house, firing the outsourced team they hired 10 years ago, and hiring new people.  I must say, it's nice to get the IT department to actually support my projects and applications rather than saying "I cannot help you with that as it is not supported."

[Righ]

Me, I'm still Wally.

Oh, not Catbert then? Bad luck.

[Yegolev]

Oh, not Catbert then? Bad luck.

I felt bad for enslaving the wookies in KotOR, so I'm nowhere evil enough.  I wouldn't last a day in HR.  Hell, I don't think I could be a (good) manager either.

Your situation is amusing because my company just announced how much money they are saving by actually bringing back our IT staff in-house, firing the outsourced team they hired 10 years ago, and hiring new people.  I must say, it's nice to get the IT department to actually support my projects and applications rather than saying "I cannot help you with that as it is not supported."

It is indeed funny for precisely this reason.  Our in-house operations can do things far better and far cheaper than any outsource team.  KO is going to pay out the wing-wang to IBM for this, however it's been decided at this point and this is what we will be doing.

Cash doesn't really matter, it's making the board happy and the board is tired of all this IT bullshit.  Things like the out-of-region datacenter are rather unpopular (not just because Cincinnatti sucks), as is the use of the two ancient datacenters we have in the ATL.  One of those is half of an old brewery in Hapeville that we use to make concentrate, and there is contention for the space due to some Sekrit Projekt.  Also the IT division consumes an entire eleven-story building which I suppose will be backfilled with marketing or chemistry managers who currently live in cubicles or something.

The thing that I am trying hard to do is to avoid concentrating only on AIX positions.  Not due to money or competition, but because I might want to try my hand at something else.  I'll probably end up doing AIX (or some UNIX flavor) anyway.  Worst case, I end up doing linux or web support.

[Salamok]

State of Texas contracts IBM for all it's outside the firewall stuff and I for one think they suck.  Many meetings discussing issues then the entry level guy that was your IBM specialist in the meeting leaves IBM and you start all over again in 6-12 months when someone realizes that your IBM point person for that project isn't there anymore.

Also, woo hooo lotus notes!  We haven't migrated from groupwise yet (another failed mail delivery system) but the word from above is IBM only wants to support lotus notes going forward so the switch is inevitable.  With email systems like these it is no wonder that all these politicians are using freebie yahoo mail accounts.

[HaemishM]

One of my clients used IBM for big-time hosting services around the turn of the century, and their support suck balls. I don't expect much of that has changed.

[Yegolev]

IBM support varies based on how much money you give them.  However it still sucks since the number of companies that can do the scale they can are limited.  Who else, Siemens?  Drawing a blank on a #3.

We already use Lotus Notes and are primarily an IBM shop.  I'm using a Lenovo laptop.  We run linux on Bladecenters.  We run Windows on VMWare on IBM hardware.  We use TSM/TDP.  AS/400.  We are converting Oracle to DB2, which is obviously part of the deal.  We are not replacing the EMC frames, though.  Lots of theories on how deep the impact is, but mine is "total replacement".  Some others think this is unlikely.  Can't worry about it too much until April, or whenever, but I might as well start handing out resumes.

I suppose I should also get a haircut.

[Signe]

I suppose I should also get a haircut.

In related serious business, Spinal Tap starts a tour in April.  Somebody should say so in a better thread.  Not me.

[Yegolev]

In related serious business, Spinal Tap starts a tour in April.

I think Fran Drescher is hot.

[stray]

Yeah, I've had my gay moments.

I spent $110 on a haircut yesterday.


But Fran Drescher is hot, I agree.

[Oban]

I spent $110 on a haircut yesterday.

I hope it was a Korean barber shop.

[Endie]

Yeah, I've had my gay moments.

I spent $110 on a haircut yesterday.


But Fran Drescher is hot, I agree.

I've spent 110 pounds on haircuts in my time.  Bleached hair is painful to acquire in almost every way.

Vanity was a harsh mistress.

[Yegolev]

I spent $110 on a haircut yesterday.

You can avoid the gayness if you got "happy ending".

[Cyrrex]

 

places like that don't actually exist, do they?

[Signe]

Nothing makes sense in this thread anymore again.   

[NowhereMan]

places like that don't actually exist, do they?

The Vietnamese word for them translates to "hair cut hug". But then Vietnam has "Karaoke hug" as well...

[Cyrrex]

Thank you to be describing Karaoke Hug please.

[MrHat]

Thank you to be describing Karaoke Hug please.

Now I'm curious too.


I found a barber in Old Town that does a fantastic job for $20.  Much love right there.

[Trippy]

Thank you to be describing Karaoke Hug please.

It's a "hostess bar".

[NowhereMan]

That is my understanding. I guess if you like Karaoke and blowjobs it's pretty much the perfect night spot.

[Oban]

That is my understanding. I guess if you like Karaoke and blowjobs it's pretty much the perfect night spot.

Just go to a KTV pretty much anywhere in the world.

And yeah, places that give you more than just a shave and a haircut exist. Look for a double (or more) barbershop pole.

[NowhereMan]

Look for a double (or more) barbershop pole.

Kinky!

Also reminded me of being told about one of them by a drunk australian. He was reminiscing about the 'good ol' days' and was telling me how one of the bars had some barber's chairs in a room at the back with a few "hairdressers". The phrase he used was that guys would pay $20, go in and come out 5 minutes later with their hair not an inch shorter. I laughed and then realised that pretty much every man who's spent more than a couple of years in places like Thailand or Vietnam is creepy.

[Samwise]

I've spent 110 pounds on haircuts in my time.  Bleached hair is painful to acquire in almost every way.

Vanity was a harsh mistress.

 

When I bleached my hair, long ago, I paid $10 for a kit and did it at home.  It was quick and painless.  What were you doing, bleaching all of your body hair too?

[Merusk]

The rug's gotta match the drapes!