The past two days I have been re-installing everything on my work computer. It’s been hell. Thirty some apps to manually install, on top of the plethera of other work apps that are deployed by the network on first run. Today I plugged in my ipod and was appalled to see the message “iTunes has detected an iPod in recovery mode”. I panicked. Thankfully I refused to believe this was the case, as I had just used the iPod hours before and it was working fine. I did some searching on the net, and found Apple suggests that when this happens you should let it completely wipe your iPod. My response… NO… They then tell you if after wiping your iPod, you still get the message, try changing the drive letter assignment in windows. DUH! OF COURSE! I went into disk manager changed the drive letter assignment, detached and re-attached the iPod, and viola, all is well.

Why wouldn’t they list the least destructive fix 1st?

So where exactly does one list “god” at on their resume?

While working on re-imageing a few computer this afternoon the campus was hit by a mighty power surge/dip event that casued a nubmer of the computers in the library to reboot.  This event also caused some of the lights to go out and other quirks.   What bothers me is the looks i recieved from the students in teh library.  A number of them had seen me placing out of order signs on the workstations I was re-imaging.   These same students all turned around and gave me a look of absolutle disgust when the power fluxuated. As if the outage was somehow my fault.   “Why Yes, I am John the god of all electrical power… I have chosen to smite you and your computer for your transgressions against me…”

Get a grip people, the world will not end because you got kicked off of myspace.

I realize it is early in the day to pick a favorite, but I think this one is going to be tough to beat.

I was walking down the hall and a student walked past and just as she passed me yells out:

“Did you feel the cervix?”

Only in the nursing building would it be even close to normal to hear somone yell that…

One of the I.T. staff stopped by while in the process of doing a physical inventory of fax machines.

“You know, I get the impression this hasn’t been done in a very long time.”

“Really? What makes you say that?”

“Well, I have 3 fax machines here listed for Collins 126″

“Hmmmm, I’m not familliar with 126… what room is that?”

“That’s the womens restroom…”

“HHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

“You know, if they can have fax machines in thier restrooms, we should get network jacks in ours… ”

(if you ask me, that would bring a whole new definition to I. P., or rather an old definition… )

Side note,
If he is correct, this would mean this inventory he is working from was taken before the remodel and renumbering 13 years ago.  I actually think it was done more recently. I would bet it was performed on paper, and when it was entered in the computer the really bad penmanship was misread…  It’s happend before…

Wow,  I’ve been updating our public internet stations out in the library the past few work days.  Normally I avoid those stations like the plauge.  Mainly I do so, becasue I am avoiding the students.  Today I once again realied why I avoid the students.  They are incipid, mindless creatures who seem to lack the ability to form a sentince that does not contain the work “like” or a profanity.   One highlighted converstion between three students, 2 female, one male is as follows:

Girl 1: “She’s such a B _ _ _ _!”

Girl 2: “Oh I know! I Like can’t believe it, she like sucks in her flab even in pictures to try to look hot!”

Girl 1: “What a B _ _ _ _!”

Guy: “Oh come on shes like a total hottie!”

Girl 2: “Shut the F _ _ _ up!”

Girl 1: “You are like such a buck chuck!”

Guy: “What the F _ _ _ is a buck chuck?”

Girl 2: “Total buck cuck!”

Guy: “B _ _ _ _ what is a buck chuck!?!”

Girl 1: “You are!”

Guy: “I am not!”

Girl 1: “Oh yeah, then what does it mean!?!?”

Guy: “You!”

Girl 2: “Yup total F _ _ _ _ _ _ buck chuck”

Ahh I have such faith in the human race…  no wait… no I don’t…

Well, the librarians took my picture from last week and played with it and came up with the following for one of thier offerings for Banned Books Week.  What do you all think?

(more…)

The nautical garb came to work today.  The librarians wanted to take photos of peopel reading banned books.  I couldn’t help but take the opportunity to throw them for a loop, so I donned the nautical garb and grabbed Moby Dick.    The picture turned out pretty well I think.  I had a great number of compliments on it.  I even had a few of the non library staff give me a wide berth when they saw me.  ARrrrrrr!!!      I really think I should have left it on for the remainder of the day.  What better way to attend a “Brand Identity” presentation than dressed like a pirate?   I think one of these day’s I’m goign to have to come in in a kilt too just to really throw them for a loop.

Today I was informaed that I would be needed in the new science building.   I spent the day sorting molecular model kits, and labeling tons of chemicals.   I am so sure that was worth the tax payers money.

I really love paperclips.

Ok, stop looking at the screen so funny.  I almost never use a paperclip for holding paper together.  I just love the convienece of paperclips when I need small pieces of stiff wire.  Yesterday, quite by accident, I got pulled in to consult on a damaged color laserjet 4650.   The paper pickup assmbly had been damaged by improper removal of a paper jam.  During that jam removal part of the printer that holds a paper guide door (comes into play when duplexing) was broken off.  After some time Ron and I found all three pieces of the guide while Calette was looking up the replacement part on HP’s website.

While looking the broken part over I decided I could probably fix it with a little ingenuity.  I came back to my desk grabbed my locktite superglue like compound, and returned to the broken printer.  Once there I “cut” a paperclip into small pieces the right size to act as support “splints” and glued them on the sides of the broken assembly. Just to make sure the rough areas where the breaks occured didnt cause anything to bind, I then coated the inside with a piece of book tape. (really heavy duity, scotch tape) We then left the glue to dry overnight. Around 11 today  I reassembled the printer. (The repaired part slid right into place perfectly. I was worried that it might break again while trying to get it into place.)  Then after a little mishap with popping a door spring loose that then required the printer to be dismantled even more than the 1st time, I re-assembled the printer again. Once the diagnostics, and calibration finished, I ran the paper path tests and held my breath.   “Ok everyone, cross your fingers”.  You know, it’s really funny to watch an office full of people simultaniously cross their fingers…
The printer quietly printed the 1st side, and without missing a beat, printed the second side of the page as well.

So, as I said in the beginning, I love paperclips.

I didn’t get a chance to post any progress reports on my mod_perl experiments.  Friday at 4:20 I managed to perform a succesful single sign on to our catalog thanks to mod_perl.    I need to do some clean up, and a little optimization probably but so far it really works.

It may be a bit round about, but the over all gist is this:

If you have logged in on our site to any of the existing Cold Fusion, or PHP based login required areas, the user credentials are stored within the php session.  (Yes, I have PHP sharing data back and forth in cold fusions session space)

Later when a request comes in to the catalog mod_perl does a quick read of the PHP session space via SOAP to check to see if the user has previously logged in, if they have and their session has not expired, perl sets the environment variable needed by the catalog and the catalog acts as if the user has logged in on it as well.

I’ll definitly have to do some checking for security flaws, but I don’t think it should be vulnerable to any form of attack.  Communication between PHP and Perl is internal, as is the communication from perl to the environment space.   There isn’t anything that has any contact with the user at all except the session id for PHP, and that I am doing validity tests on.

Thank God It’s Four Thirty…  GAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!

Must leave before I hurt someone…

This week I ahve been working on migrating the photo gallery at work to the latest and greatest version of “gallery”. The photo gallery software I used for my home gallery.  The home gallery wasnt to big of a deal becasue I don’t really care if it doesnt look exactly like it used to. Work on the other hand is a different story.  I really want it to look as if it belongs in the library website.   I sat down and started learnign their API and started developing a theme that should mimik the site layout for the library.  While working on that I discovered I woudl also have to learn their plugin API to add in the library menu properly so that future upgrades would not be a problem.  Afer a little hair pulling and a LOT of code deciphering I succeded in adding in the library menu tree as a plugin module.  I even got a little carried away and added configuration options into the gallery site admin page.   Once that was done and I had a working menu, I discovered that the CSS is still not right and my fonts and list indents and bullets are all missing.  They are all being overridden SOMEWHERE in the gallery theme. somewhere i have yet to find.   I have the horrible feeling that i will end up spending two to three times the amount of time I spent on writing the plugin and learning to API, to debug the stupid CSS.

CSS is EVIL!!!

I give up… Where are you hiding at Rod Serling?  I know you are around here somewhere waiting to step out from behind a corner or something to explain how I’ve somehow entered the Twilight Zone.

Today, I wandered through the computer lab as a shortcut.  I NEVER go in the lab so noone there should have any clue who I am, or what I do.  Least of all no one should approach me for help.  That might be the case in other realities, with other people, but apparently not in my reality… As I was just walking out the door to leave the building I became aware of someone running up behind me. I turned to come face to face with a midle-aged student.

“Can I ask you a quick question?”

“Sure…”, I responded cheerfuly while wondering in my head why the heck this keeps happening everywhere I go…

A very confused look came across her face, “Uh.. Wait… You’re not an instructor or anything… never mind…”

The expression on her face turned to one of uter confusion as she turned around and walked away. I can only assume she was trying to figure out why she came running after me…  I almost went back to  her to see if I could help anyway, but I know if I open that door in the lab I’ll ruffle a number of feathers on campus.  It’s just funny to me that she picked me and not my co-worker who was standing right next to me.  I’m beginning to wonder if its the beard or something… Do I just look the part of a professor?  Do I need a tweed jacket and pipe next?

Ok, library was dead…  No one here at all, hasn’t been all morning…  Its a dead week on campus anyway…  I walk out to the desk to check something in the circulation system…  45 seconds later I hear the all to fammiliar sound of someone walking through the gate… he proceded to walk to the desk… “Where is the internet?”

I mean really…  All I needed was a minute at the desk to check the status of something… Nope… I stand there they come…  My co-worker at circ just sat there shaking her head laughing…  I swear it’s some Trumanesque  thing going on in my life…  Now where are those cameras…

It’s Friday… It’s almost 4:30… and it seems like there should be a post here for some reason…   So here it is, the official pointless post marking the nearing of the end of the work week.  Yep, I’m definitly nuts…

Goodbye Vern.

I guess I don’t need to decide on a smartass card to send you now… oh and by the way… there’s still some lights out up here… Get to work!

So, there hasn’t been more than 5 or 6 peopel in the library all day.  I walk out to the desk to talk and waste some time for the end of the day on a friday in between semesters.

While I was out there for no more than 15 minutes…

I helped four patrons in person,  and took two phone calls…

I don’t get it.