Tag: work

Youre a pain, Cingular

I’ve been having some problems at work.  It’s a really long story that I won’t go into because it’s not that interesting, but the end result is that I need wireless internet access for my work computer.  I did some brief research, and decided that online reviews suggest that Sprint has the best internet service.  Corporate tech support vetoed Sprint.  “We would prefer not to use Sprint”, they said.  Whatever.  Verizon was pretty expensive, and they have this really cool reputation for selling “unlimited” access and then cutting off service for people who use too much bandwidth.  Plus they’re trying to kill Vonage over some ridiculous patents (Search Techdirt if you want more info), which makes me salty.

Anyway, we went with Cingular.  The only other option was TMobile, and everything I’ve ever heard about them suggests that they are the Hyundai of mobile phone providers.

The Cingular card has been basically unusable.  I tried to download a large text file today and the connection cut out.  I tried to remote login to our server back at the main office to tweak some settings and the connection cut out.  I can’t talk to my wife on GTalk because it keeps signing me in and out.

To top it off, I need the wireless number attached to the card to even be allowed to speak to tech support.  I don’t have that because I didn’t buy the card, work did.  And work tech support took the day off today or something, so I couldn’t get the number I need.

In any event, I have my work laptop at home, and I’m seriously considering doing some work from here, where I have a reasonable internet connection.  But we’re going to have to figure this out, because I can’t work from home all the time (Not that I would mind).

So, Cingular, your tech support will get its chance to try and help me, but if you tell me to reinstall the connection software, I will seriously come to your house and do something really awful, like use your restroom and leave the toilet seat up.

Stop your long commute

The Informed Reader – WSJ.com : The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Commuter

The number of people who travel 90 minutes to work — deemed an “extreme commute” by the Census Bureau—has doubled since 1990, reaching 3.5 million.

I can tell you from personal experience that my commute stress level has gone from below average to nearly nonexistent since I stopped driving and started Metroing to work.  I had a 25 minute drive, very pleasant as DC Metro area commutes go.  Now I have a three block walk, 25 minute Metro ride, and then 2 minute walk to work.  I’ve only been at this new job since March 26th, and I’m reading my third book.

Currently, actually, I’m reading Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, by Robert Putnam, quoted in the above article.  I’m still trudging through the 150 pages at the front of the book where he reels off statistics, but I expect to get to the good parts soon. 

As an aside, if you ask anyone who knows me, you will find that any amount of statistics that I find excessive is REALLY EXCESSIVE.  I enjoyed Bill James’ Baseball Abstract in my early teens.  This is, for those who don’t know, the book where you can find out who the backup third basemen for the Pirates was in 1967, and what he hit on Tuesdays against left-handers in his home ballpark.

The point here is that these commutes are ridiculous.  As usual, I don’t know what the solution is.  Better public transportation would certainly be helpful.  I mean, I’ve taken my commute, which used to be a total waste of time, and turned it into nearly leisure time.  Not everyone has the flexibility to be able to move near work, or the willingness to live in a “transitional” neighborhood in the city to be near public transportation.  But there has to be some middle ground.

New job, crazy rules

I don’t have permission on my new work computer to even change the desktop theme from the stupid Windows XP theme back to the “Windows Classic” theme that I much prefer.  I’m not sure how anyone is expected to do a job on a computer without admin access.  Certainly there are people who don’t know computers well enough to safely be granted that sort of power over their machine.  However, I think that computer classes, not ridiculous restrictions, are the answer there.

I honestly can not do my job on a computer without admin access.  I just can’t do it.  Even if you forget about the convenience issues of being able to install the helpful software, there are real roadblocks that can not be overcome without admind access.  It’s ridiculous.

I can’t even use the Windows calendar because they have no “view only” mode.  I just want to see whether May 13th is a Saturday, but I can’t. 

And I have to use Internet Explorer.  The horror.

SNOW!!!!

As usual, the DC Metro area has officially flipped out because we got a little snow yesterday.  I’m the only one at work.  There are usually at least two people here by 6AM.  It’s a good thing I remembered my password to turn off the alarm.  Last time I had to open, I set it off and had to call Honeywell to reassure them that nothing horrible was happening.

It’s funny – I’ve heard two phones ring this morning, both belonging to people who are NEVER here this early.  One was my boss’ phone, and someone might be telling him that the scary wet roads are keeping them at home.  The roads were much worse last night.  The last mile before our place was a sheet of ice at about 4:30PM.  But this morning, the roads were just wet and a little slushy.  I had no trouble getting to work.