new blog 26 October, 2007 at 9:39 pm
I’ve added a new blog (and added it to my list on the side there)
It’s for crypto stuff. I decided to separate them. Thank you, that is all.
Exercises in Futility at 9:38 pm
Admittedly it’s the most exercise I get most weeks, but not the point.
So, there’s a process that runs monthly. Person A does a bunch of manual data manipulation and sends the results to person B who goes through a long detailed checklist of actions that summate as “load into database using load button”
I was given the task to automate what Person B does. Right. B. Not A. And I was given the work that someone else had started before me. And that’s when I found out exactly what B does (nothing) and how much it would take to automate (it IS automated, she just clicks ‘load’ fer cryin out loud after uploading the files!!!)
Turns out C (my predecessor on the task) had started work on automating what person A does. Which is great, since apparently thats what was really wanted, despite what I was told. And C was nearly done. When I looked at the scripts, they didn’t do anything.
One of them went through ~200 lines of setup and then just printed “file processed”. There was no actual work done. Just a lot of code to get ready to do work. There was no file ever referenced. It was kindof majikal! Thats when we decided that C had somewhat misrepresented how much he had done when he left. But I worked with D and we got everything lined up, we now read the same files that A gets to begin with, we process them, and we spit out the answers. But we put it directly into the database, finishing the automation of B.
I’ve been testing this process once a month when A/B do their run, so we can make sure it all works. There’s been a few kinks. This month was supposed to be the final test b/c I finally got a meeting I’d been asking for ~6 months to happen. And got the answers I needed. And now things appeared to line up, with one exception because I didn’t have access to the unrestricted files that A had. So we got those, and then we were gonna do the Oct test. B/c the data files get overwritten daily, so I couldn’t go back and retry Sep.
I run the test Monday. And it doesn’t line up. Oh, he must have activated that new bit he was talking about (and that I found out by pure accident since i happened to get that meeting). I fix that, re-run. Same # of entries, same IDs, great. Further checking, and a bunch of column X doesn’t match. WTF? do some back digging. back some more. my datafile doesn’t have the data needed to get the answers (it has 0 instead of a useful number)
I came to that conclusion tuesday, around lunch. I have since run the process a dozen more times, I have gotten four alternative files (I now copy the entire distribution directory, and have access to most of it, so i have a few files to try, plus i got a file from A, although he does data manipulation on the original before throwing it away, so i could only work from his modified file, which didn’t match my original and had good data rather than my junk data) (all my alternative files had the same junk data)
Thursday’s solution was to quit using the datafiles and hook directly into a database that I can look the answer to X up. Which is great, except the logical piece to look up the answer for X with is X. Which is garbage. So I have to use W, which I could have used locally, except it doesn’t come up with reliable answers b/c the data format for W is non-absolute. Which means the database lookup won’t help, really.
So, basically, I’ve spent a week now trying to debug, defuse, and dodge around a data corruption error. In code. I’m trying to use code to get answers that I can’t get b/c the data is corrupted.
It’s a data corruption error! it is unreasonable to expect any amount of sane reasonable code to ‘work around’ the problem Especially since any code that gets past it will, by definition, work badly for non-garbled data. B/c the garbage is what I SHOULD use to get my answers.
And who’s to say the part I use instead isn’t going to be garbaged in 3 months instead? eesh. It’s not like it’s even that VITAL, IMO. It’s not like I’m crashing a rocket. It’s more like putting an undyed fruit loop in the box. Call it a special promomtion and get over it!
New Section? 14 October, 2007 at 6:16 pm
So, I’m thinking of starting to do some indepth crypto stuff and i’m trying to decide if I should put it all in this blog and just make it a category, or if i should fork that off into a new blog …
Given teh general run when i chat with people and wax technical and geeky (the general run being people running me off to go talk to myself so they don’t get headaches), i figure it might make sense to break it off.
OTOH, there’s what like 4 of you reading this anyway, so maybe it doens’t really matter. give us your opinion.
(Un)Help Desk (2 of 2) 4 October, 2007 at 8:58 pm
Tonight I called support for the XBox.
In July the console was sent in for the Ring of Death issue. It was subsequently replaced and shipped back. Great, no problems with that. But then the XBox Live Arcade games that we’d downloaded suddenly started springing issues on us.
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Help(less) Desk (1 of 2) at 8:26 pm
Few days ago I called a help desk, to provide the “more information” they requested in a uspost letter. They’re request for information was in response to my sending them a letter with information in it. They were unable to identify the Reference Number (Which I had copied off their previous correspondence for just such an eventuality). So I call to give it to the guy on the phone.
He asks for the reference number. I have 3 numbers from their stuff, which is “reference”? It starts with zeroes. OK, great. “SRN00″ “No, it starts with zeroes” “Right. SRN0-” “The reference number” “I know. SRN: 0″ “No sir, I need the number that starts with zeroes.”
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PetsHotel — No Occupancy 2 October, 2007 at 9:21 pm
So, I didn’t post about this at the time b/c it really pissed me off. Then for two weeks we were out of town on vacation (different post).
We went to kiir’s cousin’s wedding and left K at camp/overnight whilst we were gone. B/c he couldn’t really just chill at the house, he could run out of water or hurt himself (ok, so except for a hamstring pull while he’s chasing something in his sleep, it’s unlikely, but he could choke or something).
When I dropped him off, they told me they don’t allow plush toys anymore, b/c the dogs could rip them open (check), pull out the stuffing (with me so far?), and choke on it … uh … gee, he’s never done that before … but they let him take his toy for the weekend b/c we didn’t know about the rules change
Additional things we didn’t know: The manager we liked? quit. The new managers? corporate yes men (well, the asst manager. I have yet to see the new manager manager ; and our manager quit ~3mo ago it seems ; we thought she’d just been on vacation or just in at different times). The staff we liked? gone. Toys they’re allowed to bring: None. All they can have is nylabones and kongs (hard rubber). Oi.
So, when we went to pick him up we found out new stuff.
K-Line has been permanently banned from camp. Because he apparently bit another staff member (it’s happened a few times lately, the trainer’s been trying to work with him). “He bit her on the way up this time” wtf does that even mean? Upon futher investigation, he jumped up, and his mouth hit her pants, left no mark inside her pants, and probably wouldn’t've been noted at all except i think the new asst was watching.
But K is too “agressive” for camp. He’s “dangerous” to have around other dogs. When I asked about that one, she pointed out that a month ago they called us b/c he got into a fight with another dog. “Uh, from what I understood, the other dog antagonized him, and he just defended himself” “Well, yeah” “Uh?” “Some dogs would have just laid down and taken it” … so he’s in trouble for not being a complete pushover?
And as for the people, this is why he’s always supposed to be taken out of camp first by your predecessors rules, so this DOESN’T happen. But apparently someone else was checking out and they just figured it wouldn’t be a problem. Uh? Well, what about the option of tieing him up while you get the other dog out, since that was the other standard option for restraining him? APPARENTLY they can’t take the time to tie him up every time someone comes in or out (i guess they have a constant stream or something? I never realized they had people in and out that often. and as he doesn’t give a shit if you don’t try to close the door, stepping into the attached and enclosed bathroom for the mop isn’t a problem unless you try to close the door and leave)
Of course, the trainer had trained most of the old staff on how to act and how to control K verbally. Apparently the new manager decided they didn’t need no stinking training when they could just ban dogs that didn’t just lay there.
Bleah. And I had to take him in for our vacation, since this all occurred two weeks prior, so there wasn’t any time to look for an alternative (mmmm 12 days stuck in a fucking room ; we got him a couple “double play” sessions (one hour of playtime … it used to be either 2 1-hr chunks or 2 30-min chunks; i think it started at 2 1′s and then became 2 30′s, and then they recently (new management) combined them into a single 1hr chunk … which causes me to question the term “double” play …), and asked the trainer to “work” with him whenever she had time (that was also the first she’d learned of his banishment, and she knows it isn’t K))
He’s gotta go back this weekend (christening event), mid november (baby naming), end of november (t-day) b/c there just isn’t time to find an alternative really. Although i may try ringing up the trainer, seeing if she’d take him for the same $$$, since i know he’ll get more fun there :o (and the old trainer was taking him before the hotel opened up)
But 23$26$/night is outrageous for him to sit there, IMO. yeah, it was 39$/day for him to have the overnight and 8hrs of play, but at least it would run him down. without the play, i can get it cheaper IMO. And they raised prices apparently.
You might be white trash when … at 8:45 pm
So, we went to a wedding (ok this is ~ a month out of date posting, whatever)
The groom seems decent (military man), and the bride is a friend and cousin of kiir’s. The wedding was on her father’s farm. Now, first off, I kept expecting the man to call out for a mint julip or something. I swear, he could’ve been colonel sanders in a different suit :o But he seemed nice.
After driving ~3hours to get there, we were completely ignored, except by my wife’s family (and frankly, i was still ignored, b/c family doesn’t see past the baby, no big). The groom looked relieved when another cousin grabbed his arm and dragged him (literally) over to introduce to everyone that was related to the bride beyond her parents.
But as for the title of this post …
You might be white trash when …
You have karaoke at your wedding
You spend more time hanging out with the djs than the guests (or the groom)
You play “Baby Got Back” at your wedding
You SING “Baby Got Back” at your wedding as a dedication to your mother, with the karaoke setup
(You totally don’t know the words to “Baby Got Back” while singing it as a dedication at your wedding …)
Someone else sings “Time Warp” (from Rocky Horror?)
Lets go back to having Karaoke at a wedding
Someone sings “Redneck Woman” at your wedding (I don’t think that was the bride … )
Actually, I also found it amusing that the first dance song … was apparently something from Ghost. Except, the words I was able to hear were basically about one person leaving the other … uh …
Baby on Rotisserie 4 September, 2007 at 9:07 am
So, desmond’s decided he likes rotisserie. He rolls himself over all the time now, so about half the time i put him down on his back on the floor and figure he’ll roll over and play if he wants to. or lay there and watch us, if he’d rather.
The annoying part is that he’s taken to the same thing at diaper time. and it’s hard to put a diaper on a baby that’s trying to roll over. especially a cloth diaper. with snaps :o first there’s trying to lift him up while i slide the diaper under him, then there’s holding his legs down while i try to situate it. then there’s holding HIM down so i can snap it … oi
He’s also rolling over during the night. we’re going to try moving his packandplay upstairs, see if it’s easier for him to roll over. maybe he won’t wake up quite as much. and it’s not like he sleeps in it downstairs, he just sleeps on the floor. passed out for two three hour periods yesterday. apparently he was tired.
Petty and Vindictive. Cool! 16 August, 2007 at 7:50 am
I AM
67%
STARSCREAMTake the Transformers Quiz
Starscream has delusions of grandeur. He chose to resemble an F-22 jet because it’s the pinnacle of human technical achievement. He serves Megatron but longs to fill his shoes.
Like Starscream, you are not compassionate and harbor evil thoughts. Your leadership skills are weak at best. You will never be the commander of the Decepticons. In addition, you enjoy being one step ahead of your friends as far as trends and technology.
Missing Update :o 10 August, 2007 at 2:18 pm
So
tuesday night we noticed the house was hella hot. when i checked, there was no airflow. Further investigation revealed that the air filter was soaked and holding water :o
We freaked a bit, but wednesday it turned out to be just condensation. Spent a bunch getting a guy out to check it out. He looked, blew out the drain to be sure, and after looking at the filter we decided it had been more than 3 weeks since i changed it. based on how dirty, he’s guessing closer to 3mo :o that restricted the airflow enough that the coils were getting too hot, which meant there was more condensation, which meant it started dripping more, which meant the drainage pan overflowed, which poured it onto the filter, which reduced airflow …
until it reached the point where i found it at ~0 flow :o
we had shut it off tuesday night to be safe (my first thought was the upstairs shower draining into the ducts :o) . wednesday morning we turned it on, since we would be home and awake if anything happened. guy was there around noon. it was still 78 wednesday night. But i think it did a wonderful job maintaining, since it was 100+ outside :o by thursday evening it had shut itself off in it’s normal manner b/c the house was cool finally!
i need to start replacing the filter every month. Or maybe more.