OK, if there is ONE thing I have learned here in Fort Wayne (over the past 11 years), it's that is something "ain't broke"...by ALL means, fix the crap out of it...a LOT!Oh, and in the process, do NOT tell a living soul when that fix will take place, or how much it will cost (eventually).
Now I like to sit down WITH THE MORNING PAPER, cup of coffee closely attending me, and peruse the cable network news for the inane, the unusual, and sometimes...the obvious.Well, I got me the coffee...
But it was after 0700, and the paper was about an HOUR LATE (so far). No problem. All I have to do is click over to Fox News, and get the latest...WTF?
Where IS the bloody news channel?
For that matter, where in God's name is my HISTORY CHANNEL, or SCI-FI, or (shudder) even HSN (hoo-boy, the missus WILL be pissed when SHE gets up)?
Seems sometime during the night (another covert ops, no doubt), Verizon has seen fit to muck up ALL the channel listing ABOVE #50!!! Well, that's going to give me something to do this morning, isn't it?
OK, so by 0730, my paper man come down the block, and he tells me that the J/G website had a software problem that crashed the entire system, and that means all those nice, new computer-operated presses went DOWN faster than a $5 whore! He was lucky, because he was one of the few carriers that actually GOT papers this morning, so I now have a paper to read.
Now, all I have to do is figure out ALL my "favorite" channels AGAIN (third time in one month), program them back INTO the "Remote With 1,000 Buttons" (good title for a new horror flick) and have at it anew.
At least I still have my coffee...
Now I don't know WHY the software wasn't properly debugged or at least sim-tested BEFORE implementing it into the mainframe for execution. Cripes, even in the Post-Jurassic period of computers that I once lived in (the bad old 1970s), we ALWAYS ran multiple debugs and test runs before incorporating the programs into the daily routine. And we sometimes had a crash, but nowhere to the frequency we see today. Everything is seemingly interconnected into one huge, honking web of interdependent software manufactured to need constant updates, changes, and revisions. Be interesting to see HOW MANY people would kill themselves if an EMP took out all their electronic devices and they had to rely on THEMSELVES of (God forbid) OTHER PEOPLE for a change.Just like my wife's car that proudly tells us (via the idiot light on the dashboard) EVERY 100 or so miles, that we need to CHANGE THE OIL. And it has JUST BEEN CHANGED less than 2 months ago, with no loss of oil, no particular matter in it, and no smell of being burnt.
Go figure, hmm?
We create the (to use the hackneyed phrase) "perfect storm" time and again with our technology...and we don't bat an eye when something goes amiss. Oh sure, we piss a fit, or gripe about the state of affairs, but we're becoming more desensitized to it (as we are to other more important aspect to the human condition), and we soon forget the problems that bring us ALL this marvelous technology. We're too damn busy seeking that next "rush" of "what's new"....forget that something innocuous might screw it all up.
But anyway, my wife got up a few minutes ago, and comes sauntering in saying "You;'re not going to believe what happened"? I thought she heard something on the news channel about our area (in which things occur with frightening frequency and severity (often at the drop of a sideways-worn ball cap).
She proceeds to tell me that all the channels have been changed.
I react in a typical deadpan manner saying "Well I think there's only ONE thing to do about this". I follow her into the family room and say "Looks like it's time to use the newly numbered list I made with all the channels you watch." and handed here the updated list I had written earlier this morning.
Smiles all around now, people.
A happy wife is..well, a lot less RPIA wife, that's for sure...LOL!
Seriously though, it WOULD have been nice to be NOTIFIED about the changes. I mean the TV Guide from yesterday's paper is only so much for the cats to piss on now, because that is NOT updated with the new channel numbers.
Yep...STILL have my coffee.
Now the LINCOLN MUSEUM (downtown) is finally CLOSED...another smack in Fort Wayne's already bruised face. They "say" the museum "might" reopen again...(let's all hold our breath, shall we?). And to add insult to injury, the museum CLOSED THEIR DOORS before 5PM yesterday (they closed an hour earlier), so people were left out (aren't we ALWAYS in this city?) standing along the sidewalk.
Next up, we have had yet ANOTHER shooting in the city near the 100 block of Branning St. overnight. Guess that "gun amnesty" program is working real well for them all (as I've predicted). The vic is in critical condition, and 3 suspects have been hauled in for questioning.Here we go again...let's hope this time the "retribution" (read fallout) is less severe than a few months ago, eh?
And of course, the 4th of July looms in the wings, waiting to pounce like some half-starved carnivore. We've been hearing "gunshots" (read fireworks...or are they?) for the past MONTH anyway, so we know we have just SO MANY damn patriotic people that LOVE to celebrate the independence of this fine nation (translation: We've got a bunch of lazy-ass, non-working ethnics with too much time on their hands and too many fireworks I'd just love to shove up their boomcar-driving asses). Yeah...that's it.
Still, it could always be worse......just not by all that much.
Lemme know when that "morning" paper arrives, OK?
And have a happy time re-reprogramming your Verizon FiOS channels today, people!
(been there - done that already this morning)
When it comes down to it...gimme LOW tech ANY day...
Mr. Coffee to the rescue once again...how about a cup Mr. Lincoln?
Seems you have some TIME on your hands these days.
5 comments:
Sir, your comments on how dependent we are on electricity hit home with me. Omaha has within the last week (as of July 1, 2008) been hit with a major storm that knocked out power to about 125,000 people.
I myself was 'living Amish' for 4 days, and it was quite the eye-opener to how reliant on a constant supply of power and gadgets that run on it we all are!
Thanks for the comment...
And yet to think how independent we USED to be before all this came along....it boggles the mind.
Maybe we need this wake-up call, perhaps..finally to get our collective butts in gear.
ANd it would have been nice to pursue other forms ofenergy like wind & solar power....DECADES ago, and not when (all of a sudden) we need it.
B.G.
Technology is great—when it works. I’ve been looking for a job recently. I wanted to apply at the Starbucks located in the Meijer’s at Lima Road. Someone at Starbucks said to apply at the Meijer computers located a few feet away, but warned me they were slow. I try to apply on the store computer, but it won’t let me. The guy at the customer service counter can’t help me, nor can he locate anyone to help me. So I go home and try to apply online. I have the same problem at home applying as I did at the store. So I go back to Starbucks and tell them I really need a job and leave my name and phone number. I don’t get a call, because I was told before I attempted to apply that everything is done “electronically.” Gee, then why did they post horribly-designed flyers asking for help wanted at the entrances to the Meijer bathrooms? If someone NEEDS a job, and you NEED employees, wouldn’t you call the chick who comes in asking for a job? Especially if she gives you her name and phone number?
I also worked for a dog magazine and the editor/publisher would immediately pounce on the cut-rate overnight service if they delivered packages late, even like a couple minutes late. I guess I grew up listening to my mom’s suggestion to think positive, but prepare for the “what ifs”. I try NEVER to leave things to the last minute, especially if there is a deadline, like taxes. Because those overnight places guarantee delivery by 10 a.m. the next day or whatever, but S!#% happens, and if the van has a flat tire, or there’s a weather delay at the hub or the staff is short handed, sometimes they CAN’T deliver. I’d rather send a package three or four days in advance, than leave it to the last minute and then send it. But then, my editor was so hell-bent on getting stuff for free (every late delivery meant she got the next one free) it was almost embarrassing.
You'd be surprised at the jobs available when you sit down and makes lists of your strengths, weaknesses, likes and silikes.
That is a MAJOR step in determining what YOU are suited for and how YOU can excel in aposition that is worthy of YOUR talents
And don't be afraid to "update" it from time to time...we're ALL works in progress.
You will find something...and soon. People just need to wake the hell up and realize your potential and desire, that's all.
(I tell 'em all that about ME...all the time...LOL)
;)
B.G.
I mean DISLIKES...damn typo demons.
B.G.
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