Back At Ye

When our network architect came in, it was during a time I had to support a maintenance application that one of our branch bought. The branch is located an hour drive from HQ and if there was training or anything related to the maintenance application, I'd hitch a ride (or myself going) to the place and do my job.

I hated it. It was inneficient for me. I'd sometime end up wasting 2 hours driving to do a 30 minutes work.

Luckily, there are times I could just settle stuffs remotely. Either via YM or talking to the server from my place here or remotely accessing a PC there.

Anyway, when the network architect came in, the responsibility of server handling and all infrastructure goes to him. Death Star, in all it's glory is in his capable hands. And he is truly capable.

The occasional problem is that, a downfall of many geeks, with great power (and knowledge) comes annoyance.

So it begins.

The maintenance application has this one line setup thingabob (simply put: giler senang thing la) that you have to do to make life easier for everyone. This small setting basically allows 3 people to open up an MS-Access file at the same time without locking you out for some funny reason. So I asked him if we could do this 1 line change and probably live happily ever after. No, he said, talk to the vendor to change the application.

I shrugged. You're the Yoda. So there I went, talking to the vendor and doing the changes to get that thing working properly. It kinda bothered me that I had to setup every PC that was going to use the app. This includes setting up a password for every user. Which I always try to ignore the fact they NEVER ever remember passwords. These are the type of people giving a surprise look if I asked them to type in the password to their corporate email account: they don't even know it had a password.

For this reason I would always win the "Just because he's (a politician) an engineer/doctor/lawyer (!!), he'll solve all the country's problems.".

Anyway... this decision (to change the application instead of the one liner thingy), resulted several visits to the branch office, frustrating password resets, calling up the vendor and wondering why is there only one gal working there (not including cleaners la).

That was about 2 years ago.

I think it was a month ago that we were upgrading the PCs in the branch so the horrible steps of re-configuring the user PCs for that maintenance application cropped up again. I told Yoda about this during lunch time. Understandably he asked why I had to go all this trouble. He wouldn't remember the problem (I myself remember vaguely the technical story of it).

"Oh... just setup that [*insert that one line setup I told you about here*] la. Then all you have to do is instruct the users on how bla bla bla".

Geez that was annoying. 

I took the small comfort of knowing I was right all along and considering the pinch of knowledge I have about the whole stuff, its always cool to know you'd win, if there be an arguement, against a behemoth.

I am remembering this thing today because I couldn't get to my mail and in the very same tone of "Oh just do this or that" 2 years ago, he is suggesting something that doesn't work. I'm not getting my mail. I know there was this setting we had to get our mail running on streamyx (streamyx somewhat block some email servers if they don't do some stuff it requires), I asked that from him but he annoyed me by picking at my lack of correct definition to explain and then giving me something that doesn't work. Uber-geeks does this sometimes. They assume they know your problem upfront by just reading body language and so ignore most of the explaination of symptoms you have.

I'm a geek too so and is guilty of this as well. So I know laaaaa.

See! He did it again!

Yoda: I can get in just fine.

Me: I can't

Yoda: So it must be your network then.

Gosh...

Well... today's a Friday and it's the holy month of Rejab... and I did ask for strength and patience... so I guess I'm in the process of getting it now. hehe.