Whiteboard Jungle: The Clean Underwear Server Rule

Yesterday, I came to realize that the Clean Underwear Rule (you know, always wear clean underwear in case you're in an accident, which really makes no sense, because they probably wouldn't be all that pristine after an accident) needs an edit: always wear clean underwear and always configure all your servers in a clean, maintainable way, because if you're in an accident (or get fired/laid off/transferred/abducted by aliens/etc.), the person who ends up getting blessed with the responsibility of migrating those servers to a new location won't be faced with an undocumented, nuclear-fallout-zone, steaming-pile-of-horse-shit setup and thus will be saved from coming to the inevitable conclusion that you're either lazy, incompetent, or an idiot, or maybe even all three.

And if that person who gets to clean up your mess just happens to be me (and it's always me), you will be saved from worrying that she will also strongly consider making a voodoo doll dedicated to you.

News: Boss Kitties, Part n

I don't know about you, but I need some cute kitty overload to battle stress right about now.

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  see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!
  This cat has evolved beyond needing paws with opposable thumbs.
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  see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!
  I still like the Enterprise from some time ago more, but that's one boss kitty hangout.
• I nearly died laughing when I saw this greeting card, because it reminded me of Pandora. The biggest boss kitty of all time.
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  see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!
  That kitten would totally pwn me. Little spotted kitty belly!
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  This cat is most definitely not feeling in charge. That's pretty much Dip's take, too, by the way she howls the entire way *anywhere*. (Granted, I think she's reacting more to being in the carrier, but she'd just freak if I let her out.) Spoon, being rather doglike to some degree, is pretty damn mellow in the car as long as he's not closed in a carrier and can see me. He'll just lie there, meowing once every few minutes to remind me he's there.

News: Braaaaiiiiiinssssss

Thought for the day: Stupidity must be contagious because teh st00p1d I've been dealing with has been killing my brain cells. Well, if not directly, then because it's driven me to drink more.

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  Actually, I have 9:30-noon blocked off.
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  see more Monday Through Friday
  We all know just how much I loooooooooove Apple, right? But that's not my MacBook. Yet.
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  me == Credible She-Hulk
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  see more Monday Through Friday
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  Unfortunately, this is me.

All of which leads to...


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... except with the kittens as co-irkers.

Knittin' Crap: The World's Most Dangerous Hobby

A web search seems to think the world's most dangerous hobby is cave diving or base jumping, but the warning label¹ on the new DPNs² I got for finger puppets³ might make one think otherwise.



Or maybe they're not worried about accidental injury to the knitter, but rather by the knitter to the annoying clods she has to deal with on a daily basis so she can get paid and buy more yarn. Speaking hypothetically, of course.

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¹I'm pretty sure this is the first set of knitting needles I've purchased with a warning label about something other than knitting gauge.
²Double Point Needles
³The old 6" bamboo size US4s I'd been using had an annoying habit of gripping the Berroco Comfort DK too much. These 5" metal needles should move more smoothly and quickly.

Whiteboard Jungle: The Offer

Last week at work, I masqueraded as an event planner, making arrangements for the local presence of the corporate hacking event. Dammit, Jim, I'm an engineer, not an event planner! And, because I had misread the on-call calendar, I was also on-call. Oh, and my damn work Mac didn't shut down gracefully one night, so when I got a page at 7AM the next morning, it refused to configure the network properly because something had gotten corrupted, so I couldn't use the VPN system and had to get it reimaged. Oh, and I forgot my RSA token the next night. I was also pretty sleep deprived by the end of the week, and generally less warm'n'fuzzy than normal. Yeah, who would have thought that possible?

Saturday, I sent this email to my group:

In appreciation of putting up with me in the chaos of event prep stuff, I am making the following offer: I will make each of you a Star Trek finger puppet of your choice. Please note the following:

1. You can choose any character from Star Trek (The Original Series only). If you ask for Jean-Luc Picard, I will take that as an opt-out. If you ask for the Zoe Saldana version of Uhura, I will take that as an opt-out. If you ask for Princess Leia in the metal bikini, I will pretend you don't even exist. (The anonymous Red Shirt is a valid option.) If you're not sure if it's a ST:TOS valid character, check imdb.com or ask someone you trust with your shameful secret.

2. You will get your finger puppet when you get it. Unless [my manager] is going to give me a week where my only Sprint task is knitting them, they'll have to jostle for time along with everything else. Asking if your puppet is done yet will get it moved to the bottom of the list. Asking more than once will be considered, you guessed it, an opt-out.

Request #2: Geordi LaForge. face->palm