One of you is gonna fall and die, and I'm not cleaning it up!

Mal ,'War Stories'


Natter 66: Get Your Kicks.  

Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, pandas, duct tape, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.


Zenkitty - May 27, 2010 2:42:50 pm PDT #2081 of 30001
Every now and then, I think I might actually be a little odd.

Sometimes I include what I think I know too.

The other thing I've learned? Don't provide too much information. Don't explain or give the background. Counter-intuitive, I know, but people who won't read the whole goddamn email will invariably get lost in too much information and default to, again, responding only to the first question they see. Corollary: put the most important thing first. I learned that from my sister.


P.M. Marc - May 27, 2010 2:44:31 pm PDT #2082 of 30001
So come, my friends, be not afraid/We are so lightly here/It is in love that we are made; In love we disappear

When people say pigtails, do they mean twin ponytails? What if someone says "a single pigtail", do they mean a braid? Or a single ponytail?

I mean what you mean, and the rest of you are all crazy.


§ ita § - May 27, 2010 2:52:41 pm PDT #2083 of 30001
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.

Zenkitty's system is the one I use. Sometimes I include what I think I know too.

I think I might do bullets too. But if I'd been in the office I'd have just turned around and asked him, which would have exacerbated the documentation problem, since he's technically supposed to be the one maintaining that sort of info. I'm gonna have to lay down the law on that one. I can't find any documents more recent than Feb.

But I did say "I thought A and it seems B" and his answers were all C, and WHY DID HE GO HOME ALREADY????

It's possible my work day is effectively over and I should just watch Leverage S2.

At least I got one call in where I was told by senior management I'd done exactly the right thing. Otherwise I'd be uber-frustrated and feeling useless right now.

And I have a meeting tomorrow carried over from previous PM where people haven't even bothered to decline. When I asked their PM about it, he told me to just document who showed up. One of his guys is showing up! Just one! Exert some influence! FORCE THEM! Or...let me cancel. There's something I'd rather be doing online at 11 tomorrow.

Okay, it appears I've pent some stuff up. Leverage it is.

tommy, for the good of everyone, start writing things down!

I have a boxcutter on my keyring. I used to keep a Leatherman with a decent blade in my car. I wonder where that is.


Calli - May 27, 2010 2:55:30 pm PDT #2084 of 30001
I must obey the inscrutable exhortations of my soul—Calvin and Hobbs

Oy. Work has really ramped up, leading to little 8-5 Buffista time.

I kind of like when I'm busy, though, as it makes me feel like I'm useful.


tommyrot - May 27, 2010 2:57:25 pm PDT #2085 of 30001
Sir, it's not an offence to let your cat eat your bacon. Okay? And we don't arrest cats, I'm very sorry.

tommy, for the good of everyone, start writing things down!

That's what the source code is for.

Well, I did write a guide on what to do if the server dies and everything has to be rebuilt.....


§ ita § - May 27, 2010 3:04:32 pm PDT #2086 of 30001
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.

That's what the source code is for.

I...I think I hate you.

But of course your source code is totally thoroughly documented, right?


Zenkitty - May 27, 2010 3:04:35 pm PDT #2087 of 30001
Every now and then, I think I might actually be a little odd.

I think documentation exists on our software, but no one gave it to anyone who actually has to use it. When they rolled out the new workflow management software 2 years ago? They gave us a 30-minute training session and no instruction manual. We were *lost*. On a fucking island with a smoking monster. It was epic.


Daisy Jane - May 27, 2010 3:04:52 pm PDT #2088 of 30001
"This bar smells like kerosene and stripper tears."

I swear, ita, it seems like you work at my company doing my job. I can't prioritize if no one shows to tell me the effort and implications.

Also, the day before the push and I can't find my developers? Not on.


NoiseDesign - May 27, 2010 3:07:43 pm PDT #2089 of 30001
Our wings are not tired

I will just be happy to get back home to Los Angeles for a couple of weeks. This winter/spring has involved altogether too much time away from my beautiful wife and wonderful home.


tommyrot - May 27, 2010 3:10:17 pm PDT #2090 of 30001
Sir, it's not an offence to let your cat eat your bacon. Okay? And we don't arrest cats, I'm very sorry.

But of course your source code is totally thoroughly documented, right?

Yep. Stuff that's weird and not obvious, anyway.

My boss's stored procedures, OTOH....

But it's really up to the client. They could pay us for us to do documentation, but they prefer to hire someone to come hang out with us and do it. But then, they're having my other boss do documentation for the big program he developed and maintains, so I don't really understand their logic.