Well, last week, much to the shock and surprise of everyone around me (no, not really), my company laid off about 60-75% of the current workforce and announced plans to close the place down in about 2 months or so. When the site director made the announcement, I think he was a little shocked at the reaction he received (which was not one of shock, or awe, or sadness, but joy, cheering and laughter), since we all pretty much knew it was coming despite management's insistence that it would not happen and that the site would remain open for a long time to come.
It's funny too, that one of the guys on my team kept saying - "We'll be closing by the end of July". Another one, 6 months ago said we would not survive another 6 months based on having gone through the same thing at other locations. And a former manager had told me just after his own layoff that he suspected there would be more layoffs in May, or the announcement that the place was closing down by then. Obviously these people all had good insight, or good contacts. Myself, I was just running on rumours, as were most of the people.
The problem with it all is that there were announced layoffs last spring, to the tune of 10% of the then-current workforce over the next year. At first it looked like things were going that way, but then strange things started happening: more people than expected being laid off, sudden changes in management, sudden shift changes, people getting pulled from phone calls to be given their walk of shame. And then whole teams and their managers were getting moved from one department to another only for the manager to suddenly be missing a few days later. People were offered the option to be laid off or demoted, choosing demotion and then being let go a month later. There were just so many uncertainties that it had become an extremely unpleasant place to work over the last little while. Stress levels were high, and every day was started with "I hope they just get it over with and axe me today." We still helped our customers and did it better than anyone else (according to the numbers that management gave us, but considering their inability to tell us anything else with honesty, I now wonder about that as well), but we all just wanted someone to come out and say that "yes the rumours were true and we were all about to be canned", or "no, the site is strong and we have no need to worry", or even "there will be some changes, but the site is going to go on". Something that would at least have let us know.
Instead, we heard constant rumours of this date or that date; this department, or that team; we would all be moved to a new line of business, or the overnight shift would be abolished. Always rumours that were denied by our manager until our meeting on Monday of last week. At that point, he finally conceded that the overnight shift might be ending, but that we would be moved to day shifts instead.
But one guy on the team insisted he would see us all at the bar on Wednesday after the massive layoffs he heard coming down the pipe. Of course, he had said things like this before and so we didn't believe him.
On Tuesday, we came into work. My shift started at 8, going until 7 in the morning. Two of my colleagues had been scheduled for training at 6:30, so they were to be leaving early this day. Except that training had been mysteriously cancelled for no particular reason that anyone could say. And, we all had these mandatory meetings scheduled for anytime between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. the next day. Considering we leave at 7 a.m. and are supposed to be asleep by 9-ish, this was kind of a big deal to us, but it was at that point that someone found an article online that the information had been leaked about a massive layoff, and extra security being called in for the meetings. That's when we knew, Buddy had it right! DAMN! ;)
I guess at that point we all kind of decided that we had been screwed over enough times for too many things; too many promises had been broken, and too many times we had been disappointed with the choices that the managers and the executives and higher-ups had made. Plus, we were all about to be let go, so we started giving away the store. "Computer won't start? Might be memory or the motherboard. I'll send you both!" Happy customer. "Your monitor doesn't work? I can't find the exact information based on that serial number, but what the heck - have a new one!" Happy customer. "Third biometric unit that's not working? Let's exchange that system for a new one - it's probably something else, but let's not bother with troubleshooting to figure it out since you have been at this for over 2 weeks now!" VERY happy customer. For that one night, this particular company had some very happy customers. (Yes, I am purposely not mentioning the name of the company or even making any particular clues as to who they are - I have nothing against them; they had a business need that we fulfilled and that business need was now too expensive to be profitable. It sucks, but it happens).
Anyway, the next day we were let go with very comfortable severance packages. I didn't mind so much that I only had 4 hours of sleep in about 40 hours or so (after getting laid off, I decided to go watch my daughter dance at her competition. I was supposed to meet some of my colleagues at a neighbour's house after, but I was so exhausted, I just went to sleep when I got home at midnight.
So now, I am trying to figure out what to do. I have some options. I could jump right back into the fray and get another job which means that the severance is all extra money; I could take a couple of weeks to de-stress and get back into a daytime mode (since I have been on night for about 10 months); I could take the summer and work on a few other things, and then start looking for work in earnest while on EI. I have some people telling me not to wait and to get right back into it, but I don't know. I have other things I want to look into and do. I have a course I am trying to get finished as soon as I can, a website's navigation to fix up (paying job), another website to completely re-write (paying job), and I want to see if I can write, or at least partially write one of the 4 books I have started. Having paid time off makes this the perfect time to do it. And since I do seem to have this proliferation of words that I seem to like to spill out onto the page, perhaps I can actually get it done and submitted. At least at that point I can find out whether or not I actually have what it takes to become a successful writer.
And on that note, I think my fingers are telling me I have other things to do so I had better stop typing and get to those other things. Thanks for reading, and hopefully you will come back and read me some more sometime.
Cheers!
Slyde
Monday, April 28, 2008
Monday, April 21, 2008
Battlestar Galactica shockers! ***SPOILER ALERT***
So I watched those 2 episodes of BSG this weekend, and then got the 3rd ep which I watched just today. If you haven't seen them and don't want to know what's going on, read no further, please...
OK, onto my thoughts:
OMFG!!!! I think I wet myself...
OK, so let's start with some of the early things that everyone has long wondered.
Some of the stuff about Kara just doesn't make sense. There's all this chatter on various BSG forums where she (Katee Sackhoff) has claimed that the venerable Ronald Moore has no less than come out and told her she (Kara Thrace) is not a cylon. Yet, she (Kara Thrace) believes, after a two month hiatus, that she has been gone for around 6 hours, despite the fact that she has apparently instantly transported to and from Earth that quickly, in a brand new Viper that looks like it is straight out of the factory. The whole idea of her being able to "feel" the way back and all of that is odd, to say the least, but there has always been something a little different about Starbuck. Something a little more than human, but certainly not cylon.
I did think that Adama letting her take a ship and crew and try to find the way back was a little odd, but it was an obvious direction of the plotline - it had to go somwhere so that they could resolve that whole issue of her impending madness. And, of course, the media getting hold of it weeks later was kind of hard to believe since it seems that when a sewage treatment vessel goes missing, someone would be swimming in shTuff, and it would seem pretty obvious that the sewage treatment vessel is no longer helping out... But that makes sense to me, maybe not to everyone...
Anyway, I think that Gaeta is going to lose it and try to kill her, and then Anders is going to end up taking him out and accounting it to an accident... Or to suicide (*OK, so that's not terribly original, considering...) Then again, Anders may end up losing it too, and I have this strange feeling he is going to out himself to Kara at some point, and Thrace is gonna pop the toaster/skinjob.
I do like the character of Tom Zarek, and the way he has turned from a badass activist to a political pot-stirrer. For a while, I thought he was going to turn "good" (that whole saving of Roslyn and all), which just didn't seem right, but then he came back full force as the vice-president, and reversed engines to stir the pot and actually get the process of democracy back in action. And now he has Apollo - an all-too-willing candidate - to take his causes up for him and make himself look bad while Zarek appears to be the president's right-hand.
It was funny as well, that when he mentions how the President doesn't actually like him, he didn't say that old addage (though I think someone may have said it at one point about this particular relationship): Keep your friends close and your enemies even closer. Yet, as close as he is to the President and under her eye, he still manages to manipulate her through others. Classic!
Now, the plot-line that has the Cavils and the Sixes, basically, battling each other, was something I didn't expect, but it does make for an interesting side story. First, that the Cavils feel the Raider's need to be lobotomized because they are thinking too autonomously was not entirely shocking, especially considering what they did that seemed out of the ordinary to him. But it still makes me wonder, if a Raider knows one of the Final Five, how come the other 7 don't? If Raider's are simply tools, why would they even be programmed with the knowedge of the Final Five, who are not to even be thought of by the main 7, let alone be able to recognize one of them? And then, being tools and non-autonomous machines, why would they call off the attack themselves, instead of requesting permission to disengage? It is all very strange, but very interesting as well.
However, I agree with Cavil's comment that Six has opened up a real can of worms by removing the personality supression chip from the Centurions. That fact became quite clear when she told a Centurion to escort Cavil from the ship and it paused until she said please.
Then, however, when they made that plan to jump elsewhere with the Resurrection ship to reinstate the D'Anna line, and it turned out to be a plan to destroy the Sixes, Leobens and Sharons, it was quite a shock. Interesting that Brother Cavil, who appeared at one time to be somewhat a spiritual leader of the cylons would say to Sharon - who was obviously distressed at the final deaths of her "sisters" and the others, at least clinging to the hope that their souls would continue on even after their deaths - that cylons don't have souls; they are just machines.
An analysis of the first three episodes, of course would not be complete without mention of Baltar's new status as the Jesus Christ of the Colonial Fleet. It's interesting that he is preaching the cylon's belief of one God instead of a pantheon as the Colonials believe, and that there are others who are following this worship and even seeing him as some sort of saviour. His prayer to save the child was heartfelt, however (I know he's just an actor playing a part, but I was feeling it!), and that only added to the whole Jesus idea as I was watching it. It was as though he truly wanted to repent for his sins and allow the child to live, and he was certainly prepared to die. This, of course, will only lend further credence to his legend and it won't be long before he is being hailed as a religious hero. And when he is assassinated, he will be a martyr and live on forever.
Of course, him talking to himself instead of to Subconcious Six was a little strange, as they spoke of him wanting to get it on with Tory. I don't quite get where that is going, but it is a bit of an interesting change in things.
But, the most shocking part of all was the storyline around Callee and the Chief. You could see that she was losing it, and of course, we all remember the love-hate relationship they have had with each other for so long now. I do find it interesting that no-one has really picked up on the fact that Nicky (the baby, not the actress playing Callee) is another hybrid. You would think that one of the Final Five would have picked up on that somehow.
I was curious to see what would happen when Callee decided to just bust the three she now know are cylons, but I guess I should have seen that she would lose it, being on anti-depressants and such, and would attempt to take her own life. I thought, at first, that she was just going to get rid of Nicky, knowing what he was with Galen being a cylon. Then I saw she intended to kill herself as well, and for a moment, I thought she would take Tory out with her. But as soon as Tory asked her to hand over Nicky, I knew that was it, and Tory was going to try to kill her. I seriously thought that someone would stop her, though, and I was deeply shocked and saddened by the brutal and sudden death of Callee as she was blown out the launch tube... *RIP Callee Tyrol* *sniffle*
So, having seen all of that, I am most interested to know what will happen next. Kara can't take too long to find Earth (but she will and will test the limits of the patience of her crew); Baltar will get cocky and likely become a powerful figure, or a martyr - I predict the latter, however; Apollo will become Zarek's whipping boy, and willingly so; the President will begin to lose her power and her influence at Zarek's direction; the cylon's are going to enter a period of civil war, and it's going to be a frakking mess, if there are any Sixes, Leoben's and Sharon's left anywhere to take up the fight once the massacre is revealed.
I CAN"T WAIT!!!!
That is all for today...
Cheers!
Slyde
OK, onto my thoughts:
OMFG!!!! I think I wet myself...
OK, so let's start with some of the early things that everyone has long wondered.
Some of the stuff about Kara just doesn't make sense. There's all this chatter on various BSG forums where she (Katee Sackhoff) has claimed that the venerable Ronald Moore has no less than come out and told her she (Kara Thrace) is not a cylon. Yet, she (Kara Thrace) believes, after a two month hiatus, that she has been gone for around 6 hours, despite the fact that she has apparently instantly transported to and from Earth that quickly, in a brand new Viper that looks like it is straight out of the factory. The whole idea of her being able to "feel" the way back and all of that is odd, to say the least, but there has always been something a little different about Starbuck. Something a little more than human, but certainly not cylon.
I did think that Adama letting her take a ship and crew and try to find the way back was a little odd, but it was an obvious direction of the plotline - it had to go somwhere so that they could resolve that whole issue of her impending madness. And, of course, the media getting hold of it weeks later was kind of hard to believe since it seems that when a sewage treatment vessel goes missing, someone would be swimming in shTuff, and it would seem pretty obvious that the sewage treatment vessel is no longer helping out... But that makes sense to me, maybe not to everyone...
Anyway, I think that Gaeta is going to lose it and try to kill her, and then Anders is going to end up taking him out and accounting it to an accident... Or to suicide (*OK, so that's not terribly original, considering...) Then again, Anders may end up losing it too, and I have this strange feeling he is going to out himself to Kara at some point, and Thrace is gonna pop the toaster/skinjob.
I do like the character of Tom Zarek, and the way he has turned from a badass activist to a political pot-stirrer. For a while, I thought he was going to turn "good" (that whole saving of Roslyn and all), which just didn't seem right, but then he came back full force as the vice-president, and reversed engines to stir the pot and actually get the process of democracy back in action. And now he has Apollo - an all-too-willing candidate - to take his causes up for him and make himself look bad while Zarek appears to be the president's right-hand.
It was funny as well, that when he mentions how the President doesn't actually like him, he didn't say that old addage (though I think someone may have said it at one point about this particular relationship): Keep your friends close and your enemies even closer. Yet, as close as he is to the President and under her eye, he still manages to manipulate her through others. Classic!
Now, the plot-line that has the Cavils and the Sixes, basically, battling each other, was something I didn't expect, but it does make for an interesting side story. First, that the Cavils feel the Raider's need to be lobotomized because they are thinking too autonomously was not entirely shocking, especially considering what they did that seemed out of the ordinary to him. But it still makes me wonder, if a Raider knows one of the Final Five, how come the other 7 don't? If Raider's are simply tools, why would they even be programmed with the knowedge of the Final Five, who are not to even be thought of by the main 7, let alone be able to recognize one of them? And then, being tools and non-autonomous machines, why would they call off the attack themselves, instead of requesting permission to disengage? It is all very strange, but very interesting as well.
However, I agree with Cavil's comment that Six has opened up a real can of worms by removing the personality supression chip from the Centurions. That fact became quite clear when she told a Centurion to escort Cavil from the ship and it paused until she said please.
Then, however, when they made that plan to jump elsewhere with the Resurrection ship to reinstate the D'Anna line, and it turned out to be a plan to destroy the Sixes, Leobens and Sharons, it was quite a shock. Interesting that Brother Cavil, who appeared at one time to be somewhat a spiritual leader of the cylons would say to Sharon - who was obviously distressed at the final deaths of her "sisters" and the others, at least clinging to the hope that their souls would continue on even after their deaths - that cylons don't have souls; they are just machines.
An analysis of the first three episodes, of course would not be complete without mention of Baltar's new status as the Jesus Christ of the Colonial Fleet. It's interesting that he is preaching the cylon's belief of one God instead of a pantheon as the Colonials believe, and that there are others who are following this worship and even seeing him as some sort of saviour. His prayer to save the child was heartfelt, however (I know he's just an actor playing a part, but I was feeling it!), and that only added to the whole Jesus idea as I was watching it. It was as though he truly wanted to repent for his sins and allow the child to live, and he was certainly prepared to die. This, of course, will only lend further credence to his legend and it won't be long before he is being hailed as a religious hero. And when he is assassinated, he will be a martyr and live on forever.
Of course, him talking to himself instead of to Subconcious Six was a little strange, as they spoke of him wanting to get it on with Tory. I don't quite get where that is going, but it is a bit of an interesting change in things.
But, the most shocking part of all was the storyline around Callee and the Chief. You could see that she was losing it, and of course, we all remember the love-hate relationship they have had with each other for so long now. I do find it interesting that no-one has really picked up on the fact that Nicky (the baby, not the actress playing Callee) is another hybrid. You would think that one of the Final Five would have picked up on that somehow.
I was curious to see what would happen when Callee decided to just bust the three she now know are cylons, but I guess I should have seen that she would lose it, being on anti-depressants and such, and would attempt to take her own life. I thought, at first, that she was just going to get rid of Nicky, knowing what he was with Galen being a cylon. Then I saw she intended to kill herself as well, and for a moment, I thought she would take Tory out with her. But as soon as Tory asked her to hand over Nicky, I knew that was it, and Tory was going to try to kill her. I seriously thought that someone would stop her, though, and I was deeply shocked and saddened by the brutal and sudden death of Callee as she was blown out the launch tube... *RIP Callee Tyrol* *sniffle*
So, having seen all of that, I am most interested to know what will happen next. Kara can't take too long to find Earth (but she will and will test the limits of the patience of her crew); Baltar will get cocky and likely become a powerful figure, or a martyr - I predict the latter, however; Apollo will become Zarek's whipping boy, and willingly so; the President will begin to lose her power and her influence at Zarek's direction; the cylon's are going to enter a period of civil war, and it's going to be a frakking mess, if there are any Sixes, Leoben's and Sharon's left anywhere to take up the fight once the massacre is revealed.
I CAN"T WAIT!!!!
That is all for today...
Cheers!
Slyde
Friday, April 18, 2008
New Battlestar Galactica season, and other TV shows
Alright, so I don't really have much to say on this particular subject quite yet, as I have been unable to watch the two episodes of Battlestar Galactica Season 4 that I managed to download, and I haven't downloaded the next one yet either. Or were there two? Well, anyhow, however many there are, I have yet to watch them.
I had hoped to watch them at work during the periods of slowness that I have had lately, but for some reason the files are not playing on this computer. So, for now, I must wait and hopefully watch the two I have tomorrow (well, today now. I may not get much sleep, just so I can watch them!)
Surely, I am not the only one who is a fan of the show who has had all of the questions about "Who's the 5th cylon?" and "Is that REALLY Starbuck, or a copy, or is she a cylon"? Didn't she die last season getting sucked into that planetary storm, chasing a phantom cylon raider, when Apollo was trying to rescue her? So how is it that during that cool rendition of "All Along the Watchtower" at the end of the season, she should appear out of nowhere, fly up to Apollo and tell him she's been to Earth?
For the 5th of the silent cylons, my best guess is Baltar. I think it's kind of a copout, but it makes the most sense based on the way that he and Caprica Six have that subconcious manifestation of each other that talks to them in times of need. Hopefully it isn't Adama, because that would just be ridiculous, and I think that President Roslin would be a bad choice as well.
Dee (Anastasia Dualla) or Mr. (Felix) Gaeta, though. One of those two could indeed be the 5th cylon. I don't really have a compelling argument for Dee, but for Gaeta - like the Chief, Anders, and Tigh, at least; I'm not sure about Tory's involvment - he was specifically and directly involved in the fight against the cylons on New Caprica. It's interesting that those other 3 were so directly involved, and happen to be of this particular "outcast" offshoot of the humanoid cylons, yet so deeply ingrained is their humanity, that they do not turn from their duties aboard the ship and seek to almost prove that they are human, no matter that they now realize the truth about themselves. It makes me wonder about the exact nature of what happened to create these other cylons that they first seven won't even talk about, and how they relate to the other seven. Or if there is any relation at all?
Too many questions...
Then, in the between-seasons movie, Razor, first we learn a lot of different things about Carpica and Kane's relationship - kind of a shocker there, but it explains a few things as well. And, of course, there is that single sentence that really makes you wonder: "Starbuck will lead humanity to it's downfall." Does this mean that they are going to find Earth to discover that it is already barren, lifeless and empty, humanity already long gone by poisoning itself, or simply leaving again and heading elsewhere? Or, do the cylons come, find it, and decide - this is OURS, and goodbye humanity, soon thereafter levelling the civilizations on Earth and the "ragtag fleet" before taking the Earth as their new home?
Yes, still too many questions...
Well, I guess once I start to watch the series, some of these things will begin to take shape and clear up, and then, there may be even more questions still. I am alos looking forward to the new series Caprica that I have read about here and there on the net. Sounds very delicious!!! Can't wait!
Other TV shows I like that I have been watching lately include Survivor (fan since season 2), How I Met Your Mother (discovered it in season 2 and became an instant fan when I found a YouTube clip of the slap bet and a whole thing on Barney Stinson - Legen - wait for it... wait for it... DARY! Yeah!), Criminal Minds (though I am still trying to get caught up on Season 2 and then get into Season 3), and Stargate Atlantis (seen about half this current season, but I have missed a few of the middle episodes for the same reason I have yet to watch the new season of Galactica - darn codecs on these work computers!!!).
I have missed a couple of episodes of Survivor so far and will need to download those. I was really looking forward to this season with the Fans vs. Favorites, but when Johnny Fairplay came and went in a puff of thin white smoke, with no attempts to finaigle his way into the million dollars and the hearts and hates of all the world, I was very disappointed. The one character - for that is what they are, at the heart of the matter - who would have really shaken things up, was nothing more than a footnote, not a headline. Even now (or at least in the episode I last watched), the best they have are Ozzy and James. James, yeah, very likeable guy, but being romantically involved with Parvati, I have a feeling he won't last long, and Ozzy is going to dig his own grave soon as well. Cirie, while a likeable character before, is actually annoying me this go-round. Everyone is bowing to her whim, and she has really dictated the way things have gone (keeping in mind, that I am about 2 ep's behind, so this could be old news now).
Yes, I am behind on all of my shows. One of the pitfalls of the night shift, I guess, is that it is hard to keep up on all of those shows that I like to watch. Perhaps someday I will get into a day shift again and can catch up, or watch the shows as they were meant to be watched - sitting on the couch with a can of beer and a bag of chips, yelling at the kids to SHUT THE HE... no, not really.
Anyway, since I really have nothing at the moment, and I keep getting calls (it's been a busy night with only 6 of us staffing the phones tonight) I guess I will go and try to do some actual work... ;)
Be good, take care of yourselves, and don't forget to brush your teeth!
Cheers!
Slyde
I had hoped to watch them at work during the periods of slowness that I have had lately, but for some reason the files are not playing on this computer. So, for now, I must wait and hopefully watch the two I have tomorrow (well, today now. I may not get much sleep, just so I can watch them!)
Surely, I am not the only one who is a fan of the show who has had all of the questions about "Who's the 5th cylon?" and "Is that REALLY Starbuck, or a copy, or is she a cylon"? Didn't she die last season getting sucked into that planetary storm, chasing a phantom cylon raider, when Apollo was trying to rescue her? So how is it that during that cool rendition of "All Along the Watchtower" at the end of the season, she should appear out of nowhere, fly up to Apollo and tell him she's been to Earth?
For the 5th of the silent cylons, my best guess is Baltar. I think it's kind of a copout, but it makes the most sense based on the way that he and Caprica Six have that subconcious manifestation of each other that talks to them in times of need. Hopefully it isn't Adama, because that would just be ridiculous, and I think that President Roslin would be a bad choice as well.
Dee (Anastasia Dualla) or Mr. (Felix) Gaeta, though. One of those two could indeed be the 5th cylon. I don't really have a compelling argument for Dee, but for Gaeta - like the Chief, Anders, and Tigh, at least; I'm not sure about Tory's involvment - he was specifically and directly involved in the fight against the cylons on New Caprica. It's interesting that those other 3 were so directly involved, and happen to be of this particular "outcast" offshoot of the humanoid cylons, yet so deeply ingrained is their humanity, that they do not turn from their duties aboard the ship and seek to almost prove that they are human, no matter that they now realize the truth about themselves. It makes me wonder about the exact nature of what happened to create these other cylons that they first seven won't even talk about, and how they relate to the other seven. Or if there is any relation at all?
Too many questions...
Then, in the between-seasons movie, Razor, first we learn a lot of different things about Carpica and Kane's relationship - kind of a shocker there, but it explains a few things as well. And, of course, there is that single sentence that really makes you wonder: "Starbuck will lead humanity to it's downfall." Does this mean that they are going to find Earth to discover that it is already barren, lifeless and empty, humanity already long gone by poisoning itself, or simply leaving again and heading elsewhere? Or, do the cylons come, find it, and decide - this is OURS, and goodbye humanity, soon thereafter levelling the civilizations on Earth and the "ragtag fleet" before taking the Earth as their new home?
Yes, still too many questions...
Well, I guess once I start to watch the series, some of these things will begin to take shape and clear up, and then, there may be even more questions still. I am alos looking forward to the new series Caprica that I have read about here and there on the net. Sounds very delicious!!! Can't wait!
Other TV shows I like that I have been watching lately include Survivor (fan since season 2), How I Met Your Mother (discovered it in season 2 and became an instant fan when I found a YouTube clip of the slap bet and a whole thing on Barney Stinson - Legen - wait for it... wait for it... DARY! Yeah!), Criminal Minds (though I am still trying to get caught up on Season 2 and then get into Season 3), and Stargate Atlantis (seen about half this current season, but I have missed a few of the middle episodes for the same reason I have yet to watch the new season of Galactica - darn codecs on these work computers!!!).
I have missed a couple of episodes of Survivor so far and will need to download those. I was really looking forward to this season with the Fans vs. Favorites, but when Johnny Fairplay came and went in a puff of thin white smoke, with no attempts to finaigle his way into the million dollars and the hearts and hates of all the world, I was very disappointed. The one character - for that is what they are, at the heart of the matter - who would have really shaken things up, was nothing more than a footnote, not a headline. Even now (or at least in the episode I last watched), the best they have are Ozzy and James. James, yeah, very likeable guy, but being romantically involved with Parvati, I have a feeling he won't last long, and Ozzy is going to dig his own grave soon as well. Cirie, while a likeable character before, is actually annoying me this go-round. Everyone is bowing to her whim, and she has really dictated the way things have gone (keeping in mind, that I am about 2 ep's behind, so this could be old news now).
Yes, I am behind on all of my shows. One of the pitfalls of the night shift, I guess, is that it is hard to keep up on all of those shows that I like to watch. Perhaps someday I will get into a day shift again and can catch up, or watch the shows as they were meant to be watched - sitting on the couch with a can of beer and a bag of chips, yelling at the kids to SHUT THE HE... no, not really.
Anyway, since I really have nothing at the moment, and I keep getting calls (it's been a busy night with only 6 of us staffing the phones tonight) I guess I will go and try to do some actual work... ;)
Be good, take care of yourselves, and don't forget to brush your teeth!
Cheers!
Slyde
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Vista bitching, vacation and Leaf-haters
OK, after almost a month, I am back to blog here again. I have a multitude of topics to talk about, from the latest in "I hate Vista - save XP" stuff, to recent vacation memories, to hockey talk and the hate-on that Ottawans have for the Toronto Maple Leafs (I am a Leafs fan, so... be prepared).
So first - the whole Save XP campaign - this whole issue just stinks and really irks me. See, I was around back in the days of Windows 3.1, Windows 95, and Windows 98. Yes, I even had the "pleasure" of experiencing Windows ME. Then Windows XP came along.
I had a lovely talk with someone back in the 98 to XP conversion days, with someone who was absolutely convinced that Windows 98 was the next coming of Christ, and Windows XP was the Devil himself holding out shiny things that looked pretty but were completely worthless. I begged to differ. He denied my request and told me I was basically an idiot because a friend of his who was a computer technician told him that XP was a piece of crap (he is probably one of the people holding onto XP and involved in this Save XP thing that I mentioned above, now). I have been working with computers for many years, and while not an expert in all things Computer, I do have a slight inkling of what is going on. I was of the opinion that XP was a good next step in the evolution of the PC Operating System, and it appears that I was, in fact, correct.
Granted, there were issues with XP - hardware that didn't work properly, software that didn't work at all, etc. - but all-in-all, XP had a lot of features and abilities that Windows 98 simply did not possess. I jumped on the bandwagon right away and ran into many of these roadblocks, but eventually, they were resolved, and Windows XP SP2 is the de facto standard now and it runs like a charm!
So, enter Windows Vista to the picture. Look at that glitz and gloss and all of the pretty new features and security. But wait! It is slower than XP and it doesn't work right - there are hardware and software glitches. I guess a lot of people have forgotten how the same issues were prevalent in XP when it first came out, and they only see how it works fine now, not how it was when it was first released.
Here's my take on it: Vista is the next evolution in the Operating System for the PC. It works fine when configured properly, when used with the correct hardware and software, and yes, it is slower than XP in many ways, but it is also a much more powerful system, so requires more resources to run at it's peak. Windows 98 ran faster on my Pentium 266 MMX than XP did, but would I have gone back to it? Never in a million years. Why stay locked into something that doesn't have all of the newest and greatest features (3D gaming, full control over my computer, etc.)? And look at the way it worked once I put it on a dual-core system with 2 Gigs of RAM. Far better than it did on that P266 or even my P3 850 that is still running it today. The same goes for Vista, and as soon as I can backup everything I need on my current computer, I will be moving to Vista. XP has had it's time, and it was a good run, but it's over. It's old and antiquated and Vista is the next step. Get over it. Or, go back to Windows 98 and live in the past where everything was all roses and sunshine and the world was a wonderful place to text chat and play sidescrolling games. Yippee...
I could go on, but I don't feel like wasting my time. Vista will have lovers and haters just like XP, until one day, everyone again forgets and starts whining about Windows 7 or 8 or whatever the next advent is that replaces Vista completely. Maybe Vista will be the new Windows ME, and Windows 7 will be the next XP. But for now, I think Vista works just fine. My brother-in-law built his own system and installed Vista and has had no problems with it. 'Nuff said.
So, I recently went on vacation to Collingwood, Ontario, and I can say nothing bad about that trip except that it was cold. I have to say that I am glad my wife and I invested in a timeshare back when we did, because nothing beats staying at a timeshare for $200-odd dollars a week instead of the $500 for 3 days that some of the other people paid for their short vacations.
We went for my eldest daughter's dance competition (Bedazzled), and she did wonderfully while there, getting 3 high-golds and an emerald award - and first places in all of the dances she did. The dancing was very good, the competition fierce, and I think they all had a good time while there.
So, the place we stayed was the Club Intrawest at Blue Mountain. What a great place. Again, $200+ for the week and we had a two-bedroom apartment, basically, with an ensuite in the master bedroom with a soaker tub, and the girls had their own bedroom with twin beds, and a separate bathroom. The living room/dining room/kitchen area was huge, and we had a porch that let out to a small playground, was right next to the family hot tub (which we partook of on several occassions, despite the cold weather) and the gym room and games room. It was a little slice of heaven and a great way to spend a vacation - despite the very slow wireless access for the computer - but I won't get into that. It was a lovely time away and a good vacation for all of us, I believe.
Finally - the Leafs haters.
I was listening to one of our local radio stations a week or two ago, and they were talking about the lack of enthusiasm on the part of the local hockey team, the Ottawa Senators. It seems that whenever the Toronto Maple Leafs or the Montreal Canadiens are in town, their fans are as loud or louder than the Sens fans. And I agree, at a recent game that I attended, I was surrounded by Leafs fans (much to my delight and the dismay of my brother-in-law and his cousin, both Sens fans) who drowned out the Sens fans and helped spur on the Leafs to a 5-4 win (coming back from a 4-2 deficit in the second period).
So, the thinking of this particular radio jock was that Sens fans should threaten to spit in the food/drinks of the opposing team's fans if they cheered louder than the home team's fans. WTF??? Are you kidding me??? You would stoop to such a disgusting level just to lower the volume of the fans of a visiting team? How irresponsible and illogical can you be to suggest that to the public at large, some of whom may actually take your advice and do so!?!? Besides which, how DARE you presume to punish fans for their pride in their team.
Here's a better option - threaten to spit in the food/drinks of the fans who are NOT cheering for the home team! Seriously, if it's that important to them, shouldn't they be screaming and yelling and cheering on their team? And if they are not, why aren't they? Are the embarrassed? Or are they simply bandwagon fans, only cheering for the team because they are the home team, not because they truly like the team? Or what? Rather than lowering the volume in the place to something that Sens fans are comfortable with (I guess they have sensetive ears), maybe you should try raising the roof like the fans of your opposition tend to do that you hate so much. You don't like the noise? Then make more! PROVE that you are bigger fans by being louder, not by being stupid and disgusting.
I cheer for the Leafs because I like the Leafs, have always liked the Leafs and always will like the Leafs. I cheer for the Leafs, and anyone playing against the Sens. Why? Because Sens fans hate the Leafs so much for no particular reason other than the fact that they are the Leafs. I don't hate the Sens, I just choose to ally myself with the team that I like that the Sens fans all seem to hate. It's more the fans that I am against, as opposed to the Senators themselves. They are a good team - of that there is no doubt (well, OK, maybe this year they kinda tanked at the end of the season, and the post-season - OUCH! Out in 4 straight? *shudder*) - but their fans are so hardcore against the Leafs specifically, it just bothers me to even want them to do well at all.
Anyway, that's my rant.
Cheers!
Slyde
So first - the whole Save XP campaign - this whole issue just stinks and really irks me. See, I was around back in the days of Windows 3.1, Windows 95, and Windows 98. Yes, I even had the "pleasure" of experiencing Windows ME. Then Windows XP came along.
I had a lovely talk with someone back in the 98 to XP conversion days, with someone who was absolutely convinced that Windows 98 was the next coming of Christ, and Windows XP was the Devil himself holding out shiny things that looked pretty but were completely worthless. I begged to differ. He denied my request and told me I was basically an idiot because a friend of his who was a computer technician told him that XP was a piece of crap (he is probably one of the people holding onto XP and involved in this Save XP thing that I mentioned above, now). I have been working with computers for many years, and while not an expert in all things Computer, I do have a slight inkling of what is going on. I was of the opinion that XP was a good next step in the evolution of the PC Operating System, and it appears that I was, in fact, correct.
Granted, there were issues with XP - hardware that didn't work properly, software that didn't work at all, etc. - but all-in-all, XP had a lot of features and abilities that Windows 98 simply did not possess. I jumped on the bandwagon right away and ran into many of these roadblocks, but eventually, they were resolved, and Windows XP SP2 is the de facto standard now and it runs like a charm!
So, enter Windows Vista to the picture. Look at that glitz and gloss and all of the pretty new features and security. But wait! It is slower than XP and it doesn't work right - there are hardware and software glitches. I guess a lot of people have forgotten how the same issues were prevalent in XP when it first came out, and they only see how it works fine now, not how it was when it was first released.
Here's my take on it: Vista is the next evolution in the Operating System for the PC. It works fine when configured properly, when used with the correct hardware and software, and yes, it is slower than XP in many ways, but it is also a much more powerful system, so requires more resources to run at it's peak. Windows 98 ran faster on my Pentium 266 MMX than XP did, but would I have gone back to it? Never in a million years. Why stay locked into something that doesn't have all of the newest and greatest features (3D gaming, full control over my computer, etc.)? And look at the way it worked once I put it on a dual-core system with 2 Gigs of RAM. Far better than it did on that P266 or even my P3 850 that is still running it today. The same goes for Vista, and as soon as I can backup everything I need on my current computer, I will be moving to Vista. XP has had it's time, and it was a good run, but it's over. It's old and antiquated and Vista is the next step. Get over it. Or, go back to Windows 98 and live in the past where everything was all roses and sunshine and the world was a wonderful place to text chat and play sidescrolling games. Yippee...
I could go on, but I don't feel like wasting my time. Vista will have lovers and haters just like XP, until one day, everyone again forgets and starts whining about Windows 7 or 8 or whatever the next advent is that replaces Vista completely. Maybe Vista will be the new Windows ME, and Windows 7 will be the next XP. But for now, I think Vista works just fine. My brother-in-law built his own system and installed Vista and has had no problems with it. 'Nuff said.
So, I recently went on vacation to Collingwood, Ontario, and I can say nothing bad about that trip except that it was cold. I have to say that I am glad my wife and I invested in a timeshare back when we did, because nothing beats staying at a timeshare for $200-odd dollars a week instead of the $500 for 3 days that some of the other people paid for their short vacations.
We went for my eldest daughter's dance competition (Bedazzled), and she did wonderfully while there, getting 3 high-golds and an emerald award - and first places in all of the dances she did. The dancing was very good, the competition fierce, and I think they all had a good time while there.
So, the place we stayed was the Club Intrawest at Blue Mountain. What a great place. Again, $200+ for the week and we had a two-bedroom apartment, basically, with an ensuite in the master bedroom with a soaker tub, and the girls had their own bedroom with twin beds, and a separate bathroom. The living room/dining room/kitchen area was huge, and we had a porch that let out to a small playground, was right next to the family hot tub (which we partook of on several occassions, despite the cold weather) and the gym room and games room. It was a little slice of heaven and a great way to spend a vacation - despite the very slow wireless access for the computer - but I won't get into that. It was a lovely time away and a good vacation for all of us, I believe.
Finally - the Leafs haters.
I was listening to one of our local radio stations a week or two ago, and they were talking about the lack of enthusiasm on the part of the local hockey team, the Ottawa Senators. It seems that whenever the Toronto Maple Leafs or the Montreal Canadiens are in town, their fans are as loud or louder than the Sens fans. And I agree, at a recent game that I attended, I was surrounded by Leafs fans (much to my delight and the dismay of my brother-in-law and his cousin, both Sens fans) who drowned out the Sens fans and helped spur on the Leafs to a 5-4 win (coming back from a 4-2 deficit in the second period).
So, the thinking of this particular radio jock was that Sens fans should threaten to spit in the food/drinks of the opposing team's fans if they cheered louder than the home team's fans. WTF??? Are you kidding me??? You would stoop to such a disgusting level just to lower the volume of the fans of a visiting team? How irresponsible and illogical can you be to suggest that to the public at large, some of whom may actually take your advice and do so!?!? Besides which, how DARE you presume to punish fans for their pride in their team.
Here's a better option - threaten to spit in the food/drinks of the fans who are NOT cheering for the home team! Seriously, if it's that important to them, shouldn't they be screaming and yelling and cheering on their team? And if they are not, why aren't they? Are the embarrassed? Or are they simply bandwagon fans, only cheering for the team because they are the home team, not because they truly like the team? Or what? Rather than lowering the volume in the place to something that Sens fans are comfortable with (I guess they have sensetive ears), maybe you should try raising the roof like the fans of your opposition tend to do that you hate so much. You don't like the noise? Then make more! PROVE that you are bigger fans by being louder, not by being stupid and disgusting.
I cheer for the Leafs because I like the Leafs, have always liked the Leafs and always will like the Leafs. I cheer for the Leafs, and anyone playing against the Sens. Why? Because Sens fans hate the Leafs so much for no particular reason other than the fact that they are the Leafs. I don't hate the Sens, I just choose to ally myself with the team that I like that the Sens fans all seem to hate. It's more the fans that I am against, as opposed to the Senators themselves. They are a good team - of that there is no doubt (well, OK, maybe this year they kinda tanked at the end of the season, and the post-season - OUCH! Out in 4 straight? *shudder*) - but their fans are so hardcore against the Leafs specifically, it just bothers me to even want them to do well at all.
Anyway, that's my rant.
Cheers!
Slyde
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Thriller 25 (and other music)
Recently, I was just sort of browsing through a random set of blogs here and there and I ran into a posting about a new version of Michael Jackson's "Beat It" featuring Fergie, in the same type of vein as what Natalie Cole did with "Unbelievable", singing along to the original recording. The poster mentioned that it was horrid and not worth listening to - so of COURSE I had to hear it for myself! (I am a firm believer in listening to anything at least once, just to see how good or bad it is in your own opinion. I have heard some songs that people love that I despise, and the reverse has been true as well.)
Now, first, I guess I should mention that despite his personal tastes and the various scandals surrounding him, I do appreciate M.J.'s music. It has soul and style, and in it's time was rather unique. Even now, I don't think anyone ever did anything quite like it, though I am not a musical historian, so I could be wrong on that account. Still, despite my upbringing of 70s rock, 80s New Wave and then eventual appreciation/love for hair bands, and then my progression to various forms of alt/metal/prog/hard rock, I always did appreciate the music of M.J. My brother was a huge fan, collecting every album and recording he had ever done, and even had the signature red fleather zipper jacket. So I can remember doing renditions of "The Girl is Mine" and "Beat It" (complete with the air guitar solo) with my brother, when I was in my early teens, and he was a late single-digit age.
So, I went to YouTube - the place everyone should go to get a glimpse/listen to something that they are interested in - and found a recording of the song in question. Remarkably, I was not disgusted by the song, and actually enjoyed it, listening to Fergie stretch her vocal chords to hit the high notes. The music sounded a little bit different as well, if I am remembering the original correctly, so it was kind of an interesting find.
Now with YouTube, they always seem to have that little sidebar menu that shows you other related videos, and I saw that there were other songs, including "You Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' 2008" with Akon. That one was impressive! The slow start with Akon's light, lyrical voice was a different take on it, and then the upbeat swing to the song just made it take off. It was a toe-tapper for sure, and I was definitely listening to that one with a close ear.
There were a couple of others that I remember as well, I think "P.Y.T 2008" was one, with Will.i.am that wasn't too too bad, and another with Will.i.am that I actually didn't like at all, but I can't remember the name (oh yeah, it was The Girl is Mine - the original was far better, in my humble opinion). And then one with Kanye - "Billie Jean 2008"? - that one I didn't like. It was too slow, and all it really was, was a more modern hip-hop or R&B rhythm added to the song, which really didn't add anything useful in my opinion. It certainly didn't make it better, and actually lessened my enjoyment of the song.
Still, what I heard definitely made me want to go buy the album, and I may do that at some point in the not-too-distant future.
So all of this reminded me of a few other remakes that I have heard in the last few years that I actually liked. I was a fan of some of Genesis's later stuff, and Phil Collins's work as well. One song that was always one of my fave's from Genesis was "Land of Confusion", and a couple of years ago, I guess, I heard the version by Disturbed. I was taken aback! I didn't expect a song like that to come out of Disturbed (though "Shout" was an equally shocking remake that they did and was also quite good, despite the "Ice-ice, baby!" remark in it which still makes me laugh), but they did a great job doing justice to the song, both making it their own, and paying tribute to the original. I remember the video from Genesis with the puppet characters from that show in the 80s... I am currently searching Google for the name of it... Spitting Image! That's it! Right, so it had the Spitting Image puppets for the video, and the one by Disturbed had some sort of anime-type video that was a lot grittier and less humorous, and maybe more representative of the overall tone of Disturbed. It was a good choice, I think, and I don't think a direct remake of the video with caricaturized versions of the band would have worked out. This was a good choice by the makers of the video.
The other one that really hit home with me was an old song by the great Ronnie James Dio, from his band Dio, the album and title song: "Holy Diver". The band Killswitch Engage did a great cover of the song, and even tribute to the sadly produced video done by Dio. If you have never seen the video (or if you don't know the song at all), go YouTube it. Watch the Dio video first. It's a classic for the heavy metal genre (the song), and the video is something that should not be missed (ahem!). I simply have no words that describe how much the video disturbed me - not for the content, but the simple fact that I could have produced the same thing with $50, a couple of random people, and a borrowed video camera - and I am talking about in 1983-ish or whenever it was made (I would have been 13 at the time). The one by Killswitch Engage takes some of the cheesiness of the original and adds an extra bit of humour to the whole thing. I couldn't help laughing while I watched it, but the actual song itself is quite well done.
Anyway, I think that is all I have to say on all of this for now. If you read this and have anything to say, please drop in a comment or two. I'd love to hear what other people think.
Cheers!
Slyde
Now, first, I guess I should mention that despite his personal tastes and the various scandals surrounding him, I do appreciate M.J.'s music. It has soul and style, and in it's time was rather unique. Even now, I don't think anyone ever did anything quite like it, though I am not a musical historian, so I could be wrong on that account. Still, despite my upbringing of 70s rock, 80s New Wave and then eventual appreciation/love for hair bands, and then my progression to various forms of alt/metal/prog/hard rock, I always did appreciate the music of M.J. My brother was a huge fan, collecting every album and recording he had ever done, and even had the signature red fleather zipper jacket. So I can remember doing renditions of "The Girl is Mine" and "Beat It" (complete with the air guitar solo) with my brother, when I was in my early teens, and he was a late single-digit age.
So, I went to YouTube - the place everyone should go to get a glimpse/listen to something that they are interested in - and found a recording of the song in question. Remarkably, I was not disgusted by the song, and actually enjoyed it, listening to Fergie stretch her vocal chords to hit the high notes. The music sounded a little bit different as well, if I am remembering the original correctly, so it was kind of an interesting find.
Now with YouTube, they always seem to have that little sidebar menu that shows you other related videos, and I saw that there were other songs, including "You Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' 2008" with Akon. That one was impressive! The slow start with Akon's light, lyrical voice was a different take on it, and then the upbeat swing to the song just made it take off. It was a toe-tapper for sure, and I was definitely listening to that one with a close ear.
There were a couple of others that I remember as well, I think "P.Y.T 2008" was one, with Will.i.am that wasn't too too bad, and another with Will.i.am that I actually didn't like at all, but I can't remember the name (oh yeah, it was The Girl is Mine - the original was far better, in my humble opinion). And then one with Kanye - "Billie Jean 2008"? - that one I didn't like. It was too slow, and all it really was, was a more modern hip-hop or R&B rhythm added to the song, which really didn't add anything useful in my opinion. It certainly didn't make it better, and actually lessened my enjoyment of the song.
Still, what I heard definitely made me want to go buy the album, and I may do that at some point in the not-too-distant future.
So all of this reminded me of a few other remakes that I have heard in the last few years that I actually liked. I was a fan of some of Genesis's later stuff, and Phil Collins's work as well. One song that was always one of my fave's from Genesis was "Land of Confusion", and a couple of years ago, I guess, I heard the version by Disturbed. I was taken aback! I didn't expect a song like that to come out of Disturbed (though "Shout" was an equally shocking remake that they did and was also quite good, despite the "Ice-ice, baby!" remark in it which still makes me laugh), but they did a great job doing justice to the song, both making it their own, and paying tribute to the original. I remember the video from Genesis with the puppet characters from that show in the 80s... I am currently searching Google for the name of it... Spitting Image! That's it! Right, so it had the Spitting Image puppets for the video, and the one by Disturbed had some sort of anime-type video that was a lot grittier and less humorous, and maybe more representative of the overall tone of Disturbed. It was a good choice, I think, and I don't think a direct remake of the video with caricaturized versions of the band would have worked out. This was a good choice by the makers of the video.
The other one that really hit home with me was an old song by the great Ronnie James Dio, from his band Dio, the album and title song: "Holy Diver". The band Killswitch Engage did a great cover of the song, and even tribute to the sadly produced video done by Dio. If you have never seen the video (or if you don't know the song at all), go YouTube it. Watch the Dio video first. It's a classic for the heavy metal genre (the song), and the video is something that should not be missed (ahem!). I simply have no words that describe how much the video disturbed me - not for the content, but the simple fact that I could have produced the same thing with $50, a couple of random people, and a borrowed video camera - and I am talking about in 1983-ish or whenever it was made (I would have been 13 at the time). The one by Killswitch Engage takes some of the cheesiness of the original and adds an extra bit of humour to the whole thing. I couldn't help laughing while I watched it, but the actual song itself is quite well done.
Anyway, I think that is all I have to say on all of this for now. If you read this and have anything to say, please drop in a comment or two. I'd love to hear what other people think.
Cheers!
Slyde
On the Night Shift
So I work the night shift. It's nearly 3 a.m. and, while I am actually sitting here waiting for a call to come through, I am not actually doing anything at this particular moment.
Don't get me wrong: I like the fact that I can sit here and type away about stuff in the middle of the night, but it doesn't happen often, so I am taking advantage while I can. The work I do is not as easy as I long ago thought this type of job would be, so any break that comes along is welcome relief to the drone and drear of doing phone tech support for 10 hours at a stretch (with lunch thrown in, so I am actually "at work" for 11+ hours a day).
I can remember when I thought that people who worked on tech support didn't really have the skills to do anything more, and that it was a low-end job in the high-end field of IT. I used to work as a consultant, and a programmer, and even as a systems analyst, so I was sure that the jobs I did were better than tech support. But I didn't realize just what a difficult job those tech support folks had. Talking to people who don't know much about computers, and guiding them through the process of figuring out what is wrong and then fixing it is not a simple task at times. Then there's the issue of irate customers who want to yell at you because their computer is not working the way they think it should, or it isn't working at all. It's stressful!
Now, granted, not everything that I do is using my full potential, but just as I have a new respect for people in the custodial field (after doing custodial work for a couple of years), I have a new respect for anyone who answers a phone on a technical support line.
This isn't to say that everyone who works as a phone support technician is good at what they do, and I have run into incompetence in both those I have had to call for support, and those I have had to clean up after once they had given bad support advice. But for those who are good at it, and do it well, my hat is off to you (and to myself - I do alright! ;)
For two years, I have taken calls from people who have systems that don't start, whose sound doesn't work, who have just upgraded to a new operating system, who have broken system components, or who have virus/malware issues with their systems. There have been those who are very understanding about the fact that this kind of thing happens sometimes, and some who are completely incensed at the idea that the manufacturer of their computer is not responsible when they go to some site and accidentally pick up an infection on their system. People who fall asleep at the wheel, so-to-speak, and people who don't listen, or who interrupt constantly when you are trying to speak to them, some who swear at you and call you some of the worst names... The list goes on and on, I guarantee you.
The worst part of it is being called incompetent or stupid, or whatever because you can't figure out the solution to the problem. Yet, here I am working my tail off, trying to find a solution and coming up with a blank or coming up with the information that others have found before me that there simply is no fix for the particular situation.
Anyway, that's just my little take on tech support. And, I work the night shift where some of the most... "interesting" people can occassionally reach you. People who are drunk or stoned, or who have forgotten to take their medication should not be calling tech support at 3 in the morning. Seriously. "I'm an IT guy, and I know compluters, and I am an expert and my ssound doesn't work. Fiksh it!" Yes, sir, let's unmute your sound and try again. "Oh... uh... thanksh... how did that happen?"
How, indeed?
So, there, now you know a little more about me. I am a hardware phone tech support person for a large computer manufacturer, and I used to be a programmer. And a janitor. And I work overnights. 10(11) hours at a time.
Next time you talk to someone on phone tech support (internet, phone, computer, cable company, etc.), remember that they are people too, and they are doing their job (hopefully) to the best of their abilities. And if you can do a better job yourself, don't call us and blame us for the world's ills. Please. Just do it yourself, or give us the benefit of the doubt that maybe we know what we are doing and are going to do whatever we can to help you out.
That is all. Thank you.
Cheers!
Slyde
Don't get me wrong: I like the fact that I can sit here and type away about stuff in the middle of the night, but it doesn't happen often, so I am taking advantage while I can. The work I do is not as easy as I long ago thought this type of job would be, so any break that comes along is welcome relief to the drone and drear of doing phone tech support for 10 hours at a stretch (with lunch thrown in, so I am actually "at work" for 11+ hours a day).
I can remember when I thought that people who worked on tech support didn't really have the skills to do anything more, and that it was a low-end job in the high-end field of IT. I used to work as a consultant, and a programmer, and even as a systems analyst, so I was sure that the jobs I did were better than tech support. But I didn't realize just what a difficult job those tech support folks had. Talking to people who don't know much about computers, and guiding them through the process of figuring out what is wrong and then fixing it is not a simple task at times. Then there's the issue of irate customers who want to yell at you because their computer is not working the way they think it should, or it isn't working at all. It's stressful!
Now, granted, not everything that I do is using my full potential, but just as I have a new respect for people in the custodial field (after doing custodial work for a couple of years), I have a new respect for anyone who answers a phone on a technical support line.
This isn't to say that everyone who works as a phone support technician is good at what they do, and I have run into incompetence in both those I have had to call for support, and those I have had to clean up after once they had given bad support advice. But for those who are good at it, and do it well, my hat is off to you (and to myself - I do alright! ;)
For two years, I have taken calls from people who have systems that don't start, whose sound doesn't work, who have just upgraded to a new operating system, who have broken system components, or who have virus/malware issues with their systems. There have been those who are very understanding about the fact that this kind of thing happens sometimes, and some who are completely incensed at the idea that the manufacturer of their computer is not responsible when they go to some site and accidentally pick up an infection on their system. People who fall asleep at the wheel, so-to-speak, and people who don't listen, or who interrupt constantly when you are trying to speak to them, some who swear at you and call you some of the worst names... The list goes on and on, I guarantee you.
The worst part of it is being called incompetent or stupid, or whatever because you can't figure out the solution to the problem. Yet, here I am working my tail off, trying to find a solution and coming up with a blank or coming up with the information that others have found before me that there simply is no fix for the particular situation.
Anyway, that's just my little take on tech support. And, I work the night shift where some of the most... "interesting" people can occassionally reach you. People who are drunk or stoned, or who have forgotten to take their medication should not be calling tech support at 3 in the morning. Seriously. "I'm an IT guy, and I know compluters, and I am an expert and my ssound doesn't work. Fiksh it!" Yes, sir, let's unmute your sound and try again. "Oh... uh... thanksh... how did that happen?"
How, indeed?
So, there, now you know a little more about me. I am a hardware phone tech support person for a large computer manufacturer, and I used to be a programmer. And a janitor. And I work overnights. 10(11) hours at a time.
Next time you talk to someone on phone tech support (internet, phone, computer, cable company, etc.), remember that they are people too, and they are doing their job (hopefully) to the best of their abilities. And if you can do a better job yourself, don't call us and blame us for the world's ills. Please. Just do it yourself, or give us the benefit of the doubt that maybe we know what we are doing and are going to do whatever we can to help you out.
That is all. Thank you.
Cheers!
Slyde
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
A Place to Rant
Hello anybody. I have decided to try out blogger for a new blog, and see if I can manage to keep myself going with it on at least a semi-regular basis. I used to have a blog elsewhere, but after a while, I found that no-one was reading it, no-one was commenting on my posts, and that basically made me decide to stop using it. It's not so much that the people who read it didn't appreciate it; the problem was there were only about 5 people who ever looked at it, and only 2 who ever commented on it.
So, here I am, starting over and attempting a new blog. First off, I guess I should tell you a little bit about me.
I was born in the late 60's (so late, it was just days to the 70's) in a small town not too-too far from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. I grew up in and around Toronto until I was around 16, then moved a few hours north to the town of North Bay. After completing high school and college, I moved to Ottawa (Canada's capital) to work as a computer programmer and systems analyst, then moved to the states briefly (Omaha, NE and Seattle, WA) before returning to Ottawa to be with the woman who eventually became my wife.
In between birth and now, I have been to a few places, seen a few things, experienced a few experiences, and developed an opinion on many things. I do find that some of my opinions are fluid, and I can occasionally see both sides of an argument, but every so often, I see my side and I am convinced I am right. I know, that's called being human! I do enjoy writing, and find that most of the time I speak in a very loose prose, especially when blogging and that kind of thing. I like to just say what I would say if I was talking to someone and just opening my mouth and letting the words spill out until there was nothing left. I do occasionally edit what I write, but for the most part, it comes out just the way I wrote it the first time. And, I usually don't plan what I write for my blogs to much extent - I have ideas of what to say, and I start with the idea and expound upon it like there was no tomorrow. Like this paragraph. Time to stop!
OK, interests (what is this, a dating interview?): hiking, biking, inline skating, playing piano, writing music, recording music, listening to other people's music, learning new instruments, reading other people's stories, writing my own stories, playing computer games, watching sci-fi movies and TV shows, watching other TV shows not sci-fi (and a few movies in that "genre" as well - there are two genres: sci-fi, and not sci-fi). I am a cat person, though I do like dogs too and have owned dogs before, but for me, a cat is truly a best friend or a bitter enemy (I may blog about that some day). I'm a Capricorn, love the colour green, and... OK, yeah, this is starting to get silly now.
At this particular moment in time, I don't have anything else but this introductory post to offer, but I may come up with something to just drop in here later on. If no-one looks at this post, then no-one will ever know! If anyone drops in, be sure to come back sometime and see if there was anything interesting that I may have had to say. I will talk about current events, news of the weird, the local radio station (the morning show used to read my old blog when I talked about them - mayhap I will get them to drop in here sometime as well), the TV shows I like and watch, music... you know, whatever! And if you have anything to say about anything I have to say, I always enjoy hearing other people's points of view.
Catcha on the flip side!
Cheers!
Slyde
So, here I am, starting over and attempting a new blog. First off, I guess I should tell you a little bit about me.
I was born in the late 60's (so late, it was just days to the 70's) in a small town not too-too far from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. I grew up in and around Toronto until I was around 16, then moved a few hours north to the town of North Bay. After completing high school and college, I moved to Ottawa (Canada's capital) to work as a computer programmer and systems analyst, then moved to the states briefly (Omaha, NE and Seattle, WA) before returning to Ottawa to be with the woman who eventually became my wife.
In between birth and now, I have been to a few places, seen a few things, experienced a few experiences, and developed an opinion on many things. I do find that some of my opinions are fluid, and I can occasionally see both sides of an argument, but every so often, I see my side and I am convinced I am right. I know, that's called being human! I do enjoy writing, and find that most of the time I speak in a very loose prose, especially when blogging and that kind of thing. I like to just say what I would say if I was talking to someone and just opening my mouth and letting the words spill out until there was nothing left. I do occasionally edit what I write, but for the most part, it comes out just the way I wrote it the first time. And, I usually don't plan what I write for my blogs to much extent - I have ideas of what to say, and I start with the idea and expound upon it like there was no tomorrow. Like this paragraph. Time to stop!
OK, interests (what is this, a dating interview?): hiking, biking, inline skating, playing piano, writing music, recording music, listening to other people's music, learning new instruments, reading other people's stories, writing my own stories, playing computer games, watching sci-fi movies and TV shows, watching other TV shows not sci-fi (and a few movies in that "genre" as well - there are two genres: sci-fi, and not sci-fi). I am a cat person, though I do like dogs too and have owned dogs before, but for me, a cat is truly a best friend or a bitter enemy (I may blog about that some day). I'm a Capricorn, love the colour green, and... OK, yeah, this is starting to get silly now.
At this particular moment in time, I don't have anything else but this introductory post to offer, but I may come up with something to just drop in here later on. If no-one looks at this post, then no-one will ever know! If anyone drops in, be sure to come back sometime and see if there was anything interesting that I may have had to say. I will talk about current events, news of the weird, the local radio station (the morning show used to read my old blog when I talked about them - mayhap I will get them to drop in here sometime as well), the TV shows I like and watch, music... you know, whatever! And if you have anything to say about anything I have to say, I always enjoy hearing other people's points of view.
Catcha on the flip side!
Cheers!
Slyde
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