Comment On Nobody Does Business on December 31st!

i hope he commented his "fix"...

"An email will land in Steve's inbox, and the source of the email is always who started within the past year or so" is another beautiful example of the high level of proof-reading.

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Submission attempt 2.

Is this a write your own "WTF punchline" adventure? Ooh...I love the interactivity of this web two-oh thing. Let me give it a try:


...and then Steve woke up from his pleasant dream. The phone was ringing and with blurry eyes he took note of the clock; it was 3:13 am. It was Jeff. Again. "Hey Steve, it's an emergency! We're pulling an all-nighter for year-end processing and cell R671 in excel spreadsheet FY927-901 is throwing some sort of VBA error. I tried tweaking it but that seemed to only make it worse, and I overwrote the whole file! Could you run over to our offsite location and grab the tape..."

I expect the code for Steve's fix will be tomorrow's WTF

Bah bean counters and all the weird things they do, we have a 13th period here as well. The bad part is that all of our units (over 300 in total) all have different fiscal year ends so the 13th period is different among a large majority of them. So when they refer to 13th period it could be any of the months in the year not a specific date like Dec 31st, so Steve is lucky imho.

Has anyone really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like?

So is TRWTF that despite such an egregious error occuring year after year no-one can recall it from the last time it happened?

Accounts being out by $1.3 million isn't something that anyone can remember f*$% me no wonder there was a banking crisis.

attempt 4

vasiliys:

Has anyone really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like?

Ow, my head hurts!

Every year since I moved to California there have been massive forest fires and mudslides. And every year the newspapers, tv news, and politicians claim act mortified and claim they've never seen anything like it before.

December 31, 2010 - Oh no! Friday the 13th period!

I was getting ready to post this same sentiment, but I'm glad to see someone beat me to it.

Well, the solution is OBVIOUS!

Just change the code so stuff posted on DECEMBER 32 goes into the special category 13.

Do I have to do all the thinking around here?

krupa:

While he never got a direct answer to that question, Steve eventually found out through more that it everything seemed to be good right up until the end of December.

There are other clunky sentences at the end, but this one just kills me.

It's the wlhoe ccnpoet taht the itranel odnirerg of wdors dsnoe't mttear as lnog as the bngeniig and end are crrcoet.

The same applies to letter :)

Drew:

krupa:

While he never got a direct answer to that question, Steve eventually found out through more that it everything seemed to be good right up until the end of December.

There are other clunky sentences at the end, but this one just kills me.

That totally the whole post. I.

I was going to post this but I accidentally on my keyboard.

vasiliys:

Has anyone really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like?

You've got to be kidding me. I've been further even more decided to use even go need to do look more as anyone can. Can you really be far even as decided half as much to use go wish for that? My guess is that when one really been far even as decided once to use even go want, it is then that he has really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like. It's just common sense.

Abrelt:

It's the wlhoe ccnpoet taht the itranel odnirerg of wdors dsnoe't mttear as lnog as the bngeniig and end are crrcoet.

Atlaulcy taht ccnpoet is dmtrnlbsoaey fsale. The whole concept breaks down as soon as words get to about 7 letters or above. Hence "dmtrnlbsoaey".

But what should this 13th Month be called? According to wikipedia Undecimber I think we can do better.

Anonymous:

Abrelt:

It's the wlhoe ccnpoet taht the itranel odnirerg of wdors dsnoe't mttear as lnog as the bngeniig and end are crrcoet.

Atlaulcy taht ccnpoet is dmtrnlbsoaey fsale. The whole concept breaks down as soon as words get to about 7 letters or above. Hence "dmtrnlbsoaey".

I scanned demonstrably just fine - does that make me smart, lucky or insane?

I vote for insane btw...

Bet the catchpa wouldn't accept the reordered version...

gus:

Well, the solution is OBVIOUS!
Just change the code so stuff posted on DECEMBER 32 goes into the special category 13.
Do I have to do all the thinking around here?

sounds great but they may be putting the date through some object-oriented Date() parser that doesn't allow invalid dates

pete:

But what should this 13th Month be called? According to wikipedia Undecimber I think we can do better.

I think you'll find it's "Smarch".

Sounds like they fixed the glitch.

Brillant!!

Bob:

Anonymous:

Abrelt:

It's the wlhoe ccnpoet taht the itranel odnirerg of wdors dsnoe't mttear as lnog as the bngeniig and end are crrcoet.

Atlaulcy taht ccnpoet is dmtrnlbsoaey fsale. The whole concept breaks down as soon as words get to about 7 letters or above. Hence "dmtrnlbsoaey".

I scanned demonstrably just fine - does that make me smart, lucky or insane?

I vote for insane btw...

Bet the catchpa wouldn't accept the reordered version...

That would be great if it weren't for the fact that the word was not 'demonstrably'!

So? Inherit from the Date parser, and override the parse method so that is accepts December 32 as a valid value...

Steve (yes, the real Steve):

In regards to the occasional missing word, I pass that credit on to the webmaster of the site. Anyone wanting to see the content of what I submitted originally can email me directly at seskeet at prodigy dot net. I hope this isn't coming off as sour grapes because I love some of the flair that was added to build up the excitement. However, rest assured that the original submission was flawless in grammar and spelling.

And while I have not officially implemented the fix (because I can't get anyone at Corporate to respond that my idea is acceptable -- even though it's just what they end up doing every year), rest assured that if and when it goes in, it will be meticulously documented. Ask ANYONE that I work with and they'll validate that.

So you don't hear what we say behind your back. Oh good.

SCB:

pete:

But what should this 13th Month be called? According to wikipedia Undecimber I think we can do better.

I think you'll find it's "Smarch".

I thought it was "Rocktober"

ducks and run:

So? Inherit from the Date parser, and override the parse method so that is accepts December 32 as a valid value...

The date parser is a sealed class. Now what do you do?

Anonymous:

Abrelt:

It's the wlhoe ccnpoet taht the itranel odnirerg of wdors dsnoe't mttear as lnog as the bngeniig and end are crrcoet.

Atlaulcy taht ccnpoet is dmtrnlbsoaey fsale. The whole concept breaks down as soon as words get to about 7 letters or above. Hence "dmtrnlbsoaey".

Demonstrably works there. Deos cadbheoneilptimry eunrde spuspnoig an uartannul louioctn mdous onerdpai cinaoinntg eissxvece chaecrtar qtiatenuis is steecled? Doitoomsspicn cotseruy http://james.padolsey.com/scripts/expi/jumble/

It seems that is too much 'nonsense' content for Akismet's spam filter... Maybe if I babble on for a while here it will let the comment through?

Matt:

vasiliys:

Has anyone really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like?

Ow, my head hurts!

i can't even to what you happen there!

Anonymous:

Bob:

Anonymous:

Atlaulcy taht ccnpoet is dmtrnlbsoaey fsale. The whole concept breaks down as soon as words get to about 7 letters or above. Hence "dmtrnlbsoaey".

I scanned demonstrably just fine - does that make me smart, lucky or insane?

I vote for insane btw...

Bet the catchpa wouldn't accept the reordered version...

That would be great if it weren't for the fact that the word was not 'demonstrably'!

Ah it was lobstermandy then?

Lewis Dodgson, eh? Is this Initech or Biosyn?

This seems industry-typical. A problem that shows up only once a year that takes a mere couple of hours to sort out will not be prioritised.

Reminds me of our public-holiday routine (back in the days when our apps were FORTRAN on the VAX). We used to hold the days of the year which were public holidays hidden in the depths of our s/w libraries, and at the turn of every year when the first program crashed through out-of-bounds errors, the message went out: "We've got to update the public holidays!" This involved hoicking out the routine, adding in the new PHs (hardwired), recompiling and then relinking all the routines which used the same (ahem) common block. A nightmare that took several tedious hours to accomplish.

I made the suggestion that we amend it so as to store the dates in a simple text file that can be edited by hand as and when the time was appropriate. Vetoed, of course.

the real wtf fool:

Anonymous:

Bob:

Anonymous:

Atlaulcy taht ccnpoet is dmtrnlbsoaey fsale. The whole concept breaks down as soon as words get to about 7 letters or above. Hence "dmtrnlbsoaey".

I scanned demonstrably just fine - does that make me smart, lucky or insane?

I vote for insane btw...

Bet the catchpa wouldn't accept the reordered version...

That would be great if it weren't for the fact that the word was not 'demonstrably'!

Ah it was lobstermandy then?

Exactly! Lobstermandy false! Glad someone's paying attention.

SCB:

I think you'll find it's "Smarch".

Lousy Smarch weather.

Anon:

ducks and run:

So? Inherit from the Date parser, and override the parse method so that is accepts December 32 as a valid value...

The date parser is a sealed class. Now what do you do?

Actually, its quite simple. The sealed class returns FILE_NOT_FOUND when you check if DEC 32 is a valid date.

Steve (yes, the real Steve):

In regards to the occasional missing word [...] rest assured that the original submission was flawless in grammar and spelling.

Priceless.

It's "regarding", "as regards" or the ever so popular "with regard to", never "in regards to".

DES:

Steve (yes, the real Steve):

In regards to the occasional missing word [...] rest assured that the original submission was flawless in grammar and spelling.

Priceless.

It's "regarding", "as regards" or the ever so popular "with regard to", never "in regards to".

Heil mein fuhrer of all that is grammatically correct. We praise you for your contribution to this post.

According to the PHB, it's "Floopuary".

Steve (yes, the real Steve):

Anyone wanting to see the content of what I submitted originally can email me directly at seskeet at prodigy dot net.

I received the original, and am quite disappointed at not only how much was removed, but also at how much was added. It was certainly able to stand on its own, but the amount and degree of editing is ridiculous and shameful. This is not what an editor should be doing.

amischiefr:

DES:

Steve (yes, the real Steve):

In regards to the occasional missing word [...] rest assured that the original submission was flawless in grammar and spelling.

Priceless.

It's "regarding", "as regards" or the ever so popular "with regard to", never "in regards to".

Heil mein fuhrer of all that is grammatically correct. We praise you for your contribution to this post.

Oh, I don't know. It's always worth checking your grammar before posting a grammar bleat. The phrase 'in regards to' should be consigned to the dust-heap of history.

As for your amusing -- indeed, Godwinian -- allusion to the Hitlergruß, you might at least have spelled it correctly. It's not difficult. You have two choices:

* Heil, mein Führer!
or
* Heil, mein Fuehrer!

But, to DES's point. The English language is a wonderful thing, and should not be disfigured by arthritic phraseology such as "in regards to."

"Regarding" conveys precisely the same meaning, and makes one sound substantially less of a twat.

I commend it to all grammar anti-Nazis out there.

That's what we do! Though in fact Period 13 doesn't have to be December; rather it is the last month of the financial year, so we use the 32nd day of whatever than month is.

Steve (yes, the real Steve):

because I can't get anyone at Corporate to respond that my idea is acceptable .

I can't tell from the article what change you're trying to sell corporate, but unless you provide a way to make end of year journal entries that are easy to audit (which the extra month provides), and you show that this is better than the existing solution (and not just for you) you can count on never getting the response you want.

We use the 0th day of the 0th month for special whole year dates. We use the 0th day of the first month of the quarter to refer to the quarter.

Hardly elegant, but better than reusing an existing day (we've tested to ensure 00-00 != 12-31)

pete:

But what should this 13th Month be called? According to wikipedia Undecimber I think we can do better.

How about Gibacember. Or is it Gigacember. One or the other.

Captcha: jumentum - Something that was intended. ex. "Jumentum to go into period 12"

Anon:

SCB:

pete:

But what should this 13th Month be called? According to wikipedia Undecimber I think we can do better.

I think you'll find it's "Smarch".

I thought it was "Rocktober"

ITYM "Zeptember"?

The wonderful thing about the english language is that nomatter what you do with it, so long as it conveys the intended meaning, it is still perfectly valid english.

Only old shrill english teachers and jackasses think otherwise.

pjt33:

"An email will land in Steve's inbox, and the source of the email is always who started within the past year or so" is another beautiful example of the high level of proof-reading.

vasiliys:

Has anyone really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like?

krupa:

While he never got a direct answer to that question, Steve eventually found out through more that it everything seemed to be good right up until the end of December.

There are other clunky sentences at the end, but this one just kills me.

Aw, come on now, guys, this is the LEAST bowtyched article in MONTHS!

dpm:

Steve (yes, the real Steve):

Anyone wanting to see the content of what I submitted originally can email me directly at seskeet at prodigy dot net.

I received the original, and am quite disappointed at not only how much was removed, but also at how much was added. It was certainly able to stand on its own, but the amount and degree of editing is ridiculous and shameful. This is not what an editor should be doing.

Right, but Mark's not an editor... he's a creative writing major!!1!

And he does computers!

Yay! \:D/

pete:

But what should this 13th Month be called? According to wikipedia Undecimber I think we can do better.

I once read somewhere or other that before Julius Caesar reformed the calendar, the Romans sometimes inserted a "leap month" to resynchronize their calendar with the seasons, and that they called this month "Meridinus". I nominate Meridinus as the name for period 13.

Why not use February 29th as your 13th period. That could never cause a problem, right?