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Who doesn't want a tech support call to handle a leaking printer? Enjoy this noir-flavored story from August. Original.--Remy
Everyone's got workplace woes. The clueless manager; the disruptive coworker; the cube walls that loom ever higher as the years pass, trapping whatever's left of your soul.
But sometimes, Satan really leaves his mark on a joint. I worked Tech Support there. This is my story. Who am I? Just call me Anonymous.
You may have heard the advice "join a union", but nobody meant it like this. Original. --Remy.
The end of the quarter was approaching, and dark clouds were gathering in the C-suite. While they were trying to be tight lipped about it, the scuttlebutt was flowing freely. Initech had missed major sales targets, and not just by a few percentage points, but by an order of magnitude.
Heads were going to roll.
It's time to look back on a rough 2025, and wonder where we'd be if we missed any more red flags. Original. --Remy
Fresh out of university, Remco accepted a job that allowed him to relocate to a different country. While entering the workforce for the first time, he was also adjusting to a new home and culture, which is probably why the red flags didn't look quite so red.
The trouble had actually begun during his interview. While being questioned about his own abilities, Remco learned about Conglomcorp's healthy financial position, backed by a large list of clients. Everything seemed perfect, but Remco had a bad gut feeling he could neither explain nor shake off. Being young and desperate for a job, he ignored his misgivings and accepted the position. He hadn't yet learned how scarily accurate intuition often proves to be.
To be honest, math works the same way all year 'round. At least, it's supposed to.
"My Stack Exchange Inbox is Less Than Empty" declared Mike V. "I guess this happens when you read a notification twice!"
How many times does it take to make something a tradition? Well, this is our third installment of Christmas in the Server Room, which seems pretty traditional at this point. Someday we'll run out of Christmas movies that I've watched, and then I'll need to start watching them intentionally. I'm dreading having to sit through some adaptation of the Christmas Shoes or whatever.
In any case, we're going to rate Christmas movies on their accuracy of representing the experience of IT workers. One 💾 grants it the realism of that movie where Adam Sandler fights Pac-Man, while 💾💾💾💾💾 tells us that it's as realistic as an instructional video about the Turbo-Encabulator.
The holiday season is an opportunity for employers to show their appreciation for their staff. Lavish parties, extra time off, whatever. Even some of the worst employers I've had could put together a decent Christmas party.
But that doesn't mean they all go right.
We've talked about the For-Case anti-pattern many, many times. And while we've seen some wild variations, and some pretty hideous versions, I think we have yet to see the exact example Ashley H sends us:
for (int i = 0; i < 4; i++) {
if (i == 0) {
step1();
} else if (i == 1) {
step2();
} else if (i == 2) {
step3();
} else if (i == 3){
finalStep();
}
}
Many of us who fly for business and/or pleasure are all too aware of the myriad issues plaguing the 21st-century airline industry: everything from cybercrime targeting ailing IT systems and Boeing's ongoing nightmare to US commercial airline pilots being forced to retire at age 65, contributing to a diminishing workforce that has less of the sort of wisdom that can't be picked up in a flight simulator. The exact sort of experience you want your flight crew to have if, say, your aircraft loses an engine during takeoff.
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