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Socoder -> Off Topic -> Office politics venting |
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| Thu, 21 Feb 2013, 06:44 | |
waroffice
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If anyone didn't know I work for an ISP, I'm a network engineer and responsible for the entire ISP network, not individual customers but the infrastructure they run on. One device alone in this network could buy 2-3 houses on my street! We are a small team in Network Operations, 5 Network engineers and 5 systems admins. The senior engineers 2 network 1 systems have Apple Macs, all the systems engineers and 1 networks use Linux and 2 of the 3 network engineers use windows. The corporate domain is a windows domain naturally. 90% of the business use windows 7, all they need to do is look at a browser or ordering system etc and emails. Us engineers are responsible for the entire company when we are on call (around 1 every 5 weeks give or take) so you would expect some freedom in the tools you use. Our IT department (known as internal systems) responsible for just the office network are being utterly 2 faced about who can have what device or privileges. for example my colleague does same job as me but is more used to OSX, they are refusing him access to one, saying they will not buy any new ones, if one breaks out of warranty they will not replace it if there is no spare. A couple of weeks ago, one of the senior engineers macs fails, out of warranty. They come up with a plausible story that it still had apple care or something. anyway forgetting we have access to the purchase ordering system we can clearly see they have spent thousands on a new mac book pro for the guy! outragious (i personally dont want a mac). It all boils down to one persons personal view as to what user experience is and what constitutes adequate tools for the job. We need to be reactive, god only knows what the network will throw at us in the middle of the night. One example of where my locked down W7 laptop has caused problems. We had a DLAM problem in one of our exchanges, i needed to connect to the console port but had no serial port on the laptop, i was meant to be issued with a usb to serial adapter but "they are on order" no problem i thought, i have my own. I couldnt however install the driver needed due to no admin rights. in the end i drove back to the office and dragged my docking station to the exchange, hardly ideal but got the job done. I got a usb adapter within a couple of days  Other things like access to a native terminal, their solution was a virtual machine only they used virtual box. terrible if you want to do more than test out the software. I have 4gb of memory, should be plenty for one OS but splitting it across 2 is painful so I still rely on a server on our network. Shit hit the fan recently, especially due to the purchase of the MBP, IT dont want to help us and change the rules all the time. They said we can go native linux like the other guys and after a colleague taking the plunge one afternoon they said "oh by the way, we are not letting anyone new on the OpenVPN platform" so why the F*ck did they let him install linux???? madness. anyway, i just wanted to rant this somewhere, anyone else have similar issues? 
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| Thu, 21 Feb 2013, 08:32 | |
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waroffice
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turns out i can request admin access too my laptop, which is another policy change, have been asking for this since i started this job 18 months ago. I wish they would just make up their minds or at least stick to the same story
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| Thu, 21 Feb 2013, 10:20 | |
Dabz
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They do it this sort of bollocks because 1) They can, and some people like to know they can and 2) Their are... Top and bottom of it... C**ts! In my game, construction, when I've worked for companies (Self employed now), they have a nasty habit of sending you to the arse end of the region, and then send someone from said arse end of the region to where you live. I've had many many many many arguements in the past about this, why... Why send me to Redcar which is 40 miles away from my house, then send someone from sodding Darlington to Spennymoor (Where Spennymoor is only 9.7 miles from my house) and we are going the same sodding type of work!?! They all do it, doesnt matter which construction company you work for, they always piss about like that. Middle management is, quite generally, a pain in the arse... Project managers get my end up, nowadays, these people graduate from college without an inkling of experience on a building site, they are armed with a laptop, and they are about as helpful as a chocolate fireguard when you've got a problem... PM: "Tell me Mick, why couldnt you get that wall built?"... Me: "Well, you never give me a key, so I was expecting there was an outside tap, which there wasnt, so I tried to ring you and you werent available, so I rang the housing association and they said you give them the key back"... PM: "Right... Well, did you not go and get the key?"... Me: "I asked if I could pick it up, and they needed you to contact them to put in a request for the key again"... PM: "Right... Right... Well, go down and tell them you need the key pronto or it'll not be done"... Me: "They'll not give me the key, you need to request the key from them" PM: "Just go down and tell them you need the key" Wasted journey later, he isnt available on the phone, so I head back into the office, go over to his desk where he's keeping the chair warm, and voila... He's talking to the missus on Messenger! Same company, we did all the maintenance for nursing home outfit called Anchor Homes, their head maintenance fella Brian was a smashing bloke, but, the office used to take the piss out of him, not return phone calls, or send certificates for electric work or gas etc etc, they used to add a 10% charge on the invoice, his gaffers used to ask what the 10% was for, as the quote they give didnt include it, he asked, they told him it was a case handling charge (Whatever that meant), so, he told them to lose the 10% in the quote, and invoice them the same as the quote... Nope, 10% added on later. Me and a brickie were talking to him one day, the contract was coming to an end, and Davey said "Rok getting it then?", Brian said "No, they arent, listen lads, if the bosses let me, I'd love to set up our own maintenance team, but they wont, but if it was me, I would, and I'd set on Rok lads tomorrow, the simple fact is, Rok is losing the contract because we have had enough of your office, there's nothing I or anyone else can do, your management have killed it for you, sorry lads, its a no go!" We know the score on that anyway... So, Rok put in for the contract, and, as we knew, they lost it... It was a big contract and worth a hell of a lot of money, and puff... It was gone! So, one morning, I got to the office to see where they were sending me for the day, all the lads were there, they'd been summoned in, and their was a big meeting on, I was with an agency so technically a subby and wasnt allowed in on the meeting, the management dragged the lads into a training room, which, had a glass wall, but a diffuse strip in the middle, so, couldnt see much, but 5 minutes in, I heard it... There was absolute hell on!!! Basically, the management (Mostly team leaders, area managers and project managers, with one or two bigwigs taking a seat) pointed the blame of Rok losing the contract because apparently... Apparently, the workmanship and attitute from the lads was apparently "abysmal", and was the sole reason why they lost it! Basically, trying to transfer the blame onto the trades, when in fact, like I mentioned, it was them. About 30 minutes after sheer hell on, they came out... I could see Davey, he had one of them "I'm serious as fuck faces" on him and came marching over to me:- "Mick... Listen everyone... Mick... When we were at Sunderland, can you remember, and we were talking to Brian, didnt he tell us we werent getting the contract then?" I thought "F***ing hell!"... So I said "Aye", then he went... "So Mick... What reason did he give why we wouldnt get the contract"... I sat there in this office, managers everywhere, I could indeed see the writing was on the wall and there would be layoffs, with me being agency, I had no reason to lie and as such, would be down the road anyway"... So I said "The office!"... Which at that point Davey went into a rant, and literally told them straight that in future, before they decide to pull other peoples work to bits for no reason, they should check whats happening with their own. See, a tradesman doesnt like being told his work is shit, and 9/10 will take great offence at such an accusation! I thought I was doomed then mind, but, I wasnt, layoffs did come, a lot of people got the boot, happily, they sent the spear through middle management and it filtered above and below that, I escaped, others didnt, others didnt take too kind that I was agency and being kept on... But, apparently, I used to make them a lot of money, was very flexible with stuff I can do (Plastering, bricklaying, groundwork, you name it, I'll do it... Hence the nick name Dabhand). I did leave in the end, on my own accord, but as it goes, when it comes to this middle management tomfoolery, Rok were indeed, the bestest at it, bar none! Dabz -=-=- Intel Core i5 6400 2.7GHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (8GB), 8Gig DDR4 RAM, 256GB SSD, 1TB HDD, Windows 10 64bit
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| Fri, 22 Feb 2013, 02:32 | |
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waroffice
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I used to work for a civil engineering company as their sole IT dude. Saw lots of guys come and go because the bosses daughter was a cow and a bully. She was unemployable by any other company, she was though, because she was the spawn of the devil, a damn good lawyer! dabhand is a cool nickname! better than mine, doghousedean! anyway, I had a few beers at the weekend and someone fell into my shower screen, can you advise on how i fix it and what stuff i need to buy? 
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| Fri, 22 Feb 2013, 02:55 | |
Jayenkai
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Builders Rule #1 : Never let anyone know you're a builder, lest you be inundated with DIY queries! I learned that tip from my Uncle Jimmy, who hates visiting relatives because every time he does, there's an odd-job waiting for him. -=-=- ''Load, Next List!''
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| Fri, 22 Feb 2013, 03:12 | |
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waroffice
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sorry dabz, im after advice not the job doing  My thoughts are fill it with a waterproof filler and redrill it when its set? If anyone needs some networking advice, just ask
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| Fri, 22 Feb 2013, 10:25 | |
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Dabz
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 My thoughts are fill it with a waterproof filler and redrill it when its set?  I would probably take out the old plugs, redrill the existin g holes a little bit more and slide new ones in before filling, just in case while redrilling you pop the new filler since its only a ickle bit. Dabz -=-=- Intel Core i5 6400 2.7GHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (8GB), 8Gig DDR4 RAM, 256GB SSD, 1TB HDD, Windows 10 64bit
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| Sun, 24 Feb 2013, 05:14 | |
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waroffice
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I remove the old plugs and loose bits to find a bit of a cavity, plasterboard on brink. Wedged some paper in it to give the filler something to stop at them surrounded a new plug with filler, used the shower screen hung as a guide, as its not holding weight it will be fine.  --- This also made me notice I need to reseal the bath
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| Sun, 24 Feb 2013, 05:58 | |
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Dabz
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Well, if it's just a stud wall, then, no wonder it popped so easily, probably the tile itself being the only thing that's really stopped it from coming off in the first place, and how thick is a tile, about 3mm thick or something... Not exactly a "solid" fix... When I do bathroom stud walls myself, or even kitchens... I put in timber pattresses to fix to, generally though, builders dont go to that extent unless it's taking a boiler or something really heavy. Me though, I appreciate a solid fixing, which is why I do it, which ultimately makes it easier for people following on for me, like a plumber or kitchen fitter. I'm a bit of a knacker like that, I even to to the extreme when dot and dabbing plasterboards to walls, I always solid dab the piece above windows, not many do that either... But it makes putting up curtain poles 1000000000% easier then trying to get a decent fixing to 12.5mm of plasterboard and fresh air!  Dabz -=-=- Intel Core i5 6400 2.7GHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (8GB), 8Gig DDR4 RAM, 256GB SSD, 1TB HDD, Windows 10 64bit
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| Sun, 24 Feb 2013, 06:15 | |
steve_ancell
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Dabz When I do bathroom stud walls myself, or even kitchens... I put in timber pattresses to fix to, generally though, builders dont go to that extent unless it's taking a boiler or something really heavy.That's probably coz you take a lot more pride in your work than other builders do. 
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| Sun, 24 Feb 2013, 10:08 | |
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Dabz
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That's probably coz you take a lot more pride in your work than other builders do. Maybe, but that stems from when I was an apprentice, basically, it was nailed into me that when I do work, at the time, plastering... I should do it as if it was in my house, and if it's good enough for my house, its good enough for any! Granted, there was times as an apprentice I obviously never had a wall shining like a shit house door, or a wall wasnt plumb... Ian, who I served my time with would come into the room, look, check my floating with the derby or a feather edge straight edge, and if it wasnt up to his spec, he'd make me do it again... And I tell you what it is, you sharp get sick of being told to replaster something you've just finished! He was the same with the consistency of the mixes, he showed me once, give it the "Right, thats how I like it, any more sloppy or stiffer and you'll be mixing it again".... True to his word, I've seen me carry two buckets of render up flights of stairs only to be told to carry the sods back down and get it right! No doubt the majority of kids nowadays would go in the huff, get their parents to ring the college saying their little angels were being bullied or whatever... But, I got my head down, knuckled in, he was a fair fella, I could see what he was trying to do, which was ultimately make me a good plasterer, hard, but, fair... And it paid off... Walls, as shiney as shit house doors FTW!  Dabz -=-=- Intel Core i5 6400 2.7GHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (8GB), 8Gig DDR4 RAM, 256GB SSD, 1TB HDD, Windows 10 64bit
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| Mon, 25 Feb 2013, 00:56 | |
rockford
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If only more people took the same pride in their work
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| Mon, 25 Feb 2013, 04:33 | |
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waroffice
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the youth of today want their jobs on a plate and to be treated like royalty. my missus works for connexions, youth advice service with careers advice thrown in. She sees all the bad ones and in fact likes the hard cases. but all she gets is "im not going on no crappy course, just stamp my form for my money" she refuses outright to give these kids cash on a plate. sends them on and chases them up b ut the trouble comes from the job centre. they are too soft and just go "oh no your mum kicked you out so you need some money" if they bothered to look in to it the mothers have no idea whats going on because they are drunk layabouts too. Its a generation of folk thinking they can walk in to an executive job and not have to work their way up. there are a few though, a minority that are coming up the ranks to rescue humanity from insanity. I cut my teeth in my dads computer repair shop, making brews for him and his mates that came around, picking up the trade by observation. the talent that went through that shop obviously rubbed off!
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| Mon, 25 Feb 2013, 09:04 | |
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waroffice
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To bring this back on topic and as an update:
A wild mac has appeared on my colleagues desk, no idea where or who it came from but he seems please, its an oldish one apparently but hes not fussed Also I have been granted trustworthy enough to be allowed admin access to my laptop. finally some ground has been made but the war is not over
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| Tue, 26 Feb 2013, 08:56 | |
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waroffice
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I now have admin access to my laptop, but apparently its audited. should I risk Blitz3D?
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| Tue, 05 Mar 2013, 05:25 | |
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waroffice
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Well in today's team meeting we invited the internal systems chaps along to explain the policy and what we can do to progress. Basically they have no experience with linux, so no one can use it. We have 5 talented sysadmin dudes who support our entire Linux platforms for the ISP, only the internal, staff stuff is windows apart from one system which has a dedicated team. Yet they are not qualified to manage the patching and security of the OS. One solution would be to run a windows 7 machine with Linux in a VM! whut? how is this more secure/efficient than native linux. They claim for the 2% that dont use linux are a security risk because its not in the defined standard build, change the standard or have 2 standards!!!! /rant
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