Back when we were first starting this web application up, I wrote a stored procedure that on the first of every month would move the active cars over from the previous account month to the new one. Doing so required a lot of inserts into the database, and so I heeded the wisdom of my more experienced co-workers and issued a "commit" command every 200 cars.

Two years later, the Data Base Administrators (DBAs) were reviewing my stored procedure and saw the commit rule. "Oh no," they tut-tutted. "That's far too long a time to wait until you commit. Let's change that so you'll commit after every TWO cars. Much better."

And now we come to today. I need to tweak the procedure so that when trouble occurs, it will send out a condition code that will trigger an alarm. I hand it to the DBAs for their wisdom. They offer advice, and then add:

"Why are you committing every two cars? Wait until the process is complete before you do a commit!"

Tags: geekery, work

We have a silly little game going on at work. It started when one guy left a few pennies atop his cubicle cabinet (which is visible from the aisle). Someone else left a few pennies, then another, then another...and it's reached the point now where there's enough loose change sitting there that you can write short messages with 'em. The initial point was to see how long it would take before someone would steal the change, but it's taken on a life of its own.

At one point someone left a few Canadian coins, to the bewilderment of us all. I walked by just now and one new coin caught my eye. "That's a 'Chuck E Cheese' game token!" I said to the owner.

"Yeah, and you must be a parent, because you're the first person to know exactly what it was," he replied.

JSM

Tags: family, work

Spent most of the weekend blowing my nose. Literally. Why can a cold take hours to really hit you and days to get rid of?

Work is...bitchcakes. That's a good word. They've pulled the guy who was supposed to be my backup to another area. So I'm back to square one. Not only that, but I have to brief the new systems architect on how all this works, just like I was doing with Mr. Backup. Deja vu. Nothing to report on the new job front.

Got everything together for the new car CD unit and headed over to Best Buy. "Uhhh...we can install this, sure, but you don't have the control units for your air and heat, so you're out of luck there." I don't know what's worse--the fact that I missed this nugget of info or that the insurance adjuster missed it. He's looking into that today. Bitchcakes again.

Venture Brothers really sucked. You could tell Publick and Hammer didn't write this one. Bitchcakes a third time.

But the Redhead flies in on Thursday for four days. THAT is something to look forward to.

*****

I made a promise to myself when I started this LJ: no politics, no personal attacks. So while I could say a great deal about the current state of affairs, I will decline. But I still vividly recall the fear on 9/11 when I realized that the Federal Reserve was in that area, and our dear friend Sharyn worked there. Phone lines were naturally jammed; I finally managed to leave a message on their home phone, and some time later her husband Michael let us know that she was safe.

I remember driving by the shopping mall and restaurants and almost shivering at how quiet and empty they were. I recall the long lines to get gas because everyone knew that price-gouging and shortages were in our futures.

The one thing I was sure of: nothing was ever going to be the same. Looking back, I'm saddened at how right and how wrong I was about that prediction.

JSM

Tags: fandom, life, work