• gosse (unregistered)

    cooling fail.

  • Anonymous (unregistered)

    What they obviously need to do to fix this problem is build a robot.

  • SR (unregistered) in reply to Anonymous
    Anonymous:
    What they obviously need to do to fix this problem is build a robot.

    I vote for a monkey butler.

  • SR (unregistered) in reply to Anonymous
    Anonymous:
    What they obviously need to do to fix this problem is build a robot.

    I vote for a monkey butler.

  • (cs)

    Dave was a big fan of the build process.

  • uiv (unregistered)

    they already had mainframes in 1994?

  • Steve the Cynic (unregistered)

    "Nobody ever thought to..."

    Apparently, even David didn't think of it. Sigh.

  • SR (unregistered) in reply to SR
    SR:
    I vote for a monkey butler.

    Oh cool. After weeks of needing to send 3 times to comment, now I send once and get 2.

  • SR (unregistered) in reply to Charles400
    Charles400:
    Dave was a big fan of the build process.

    [applauds]

  • Steve the Cynic (unregistered) in reply to uiv
    uiv:
    they already had mainframes in 1994?

    s/already/still/

  • (cs)

    Is this the origin of the term "fanboy"?

    And over all that time, nobody ever thought to vent A/C directly to the machine room, or a build machine that wasn't so temperamental, or at the very least, buy an electric fan.
    I don't think I would have the guts to submit a story with such an admission in it. I mean, for about twelve bucks you can get a little fan at Walmart... if I couldn't convince management to kick down for one, I'd be willing to do it myself.

  • !? (unregistered)
    And over all that time, nobody ever thought to vent A/C directly to the machine room, or a build machine that wasn't so temperamental, or at the very least, buy an electric fan.

    Not even David!?

    ...no more comments.

  • (cs)

    I guess that's one to keep in shape while working a desk job.

  • Warren (unregistered)

    Sadly this is only the extreme outcome of the same mentality that plagues us all:

    "If it's too much effort to do properly, tell everyone how to do it the stupid way."

  • (cs)

    You should see what they have to do when they send an email.

  • Anon (unregistered) in reply to Code Dependent
    Code Dependent:
    Is this the origin of the term "fanboy"?
    And over all that time, nobody ever thought to vent A/C directly to the machine room, or a build machine that wasn't so temperamental, or at the very least, buy an electric fan.
    I don't think I would have the guts to submit a story with such an admission in it. I mean, for about twelve bucks you can get a little fan at Walmart... if I couldn't convince management to kick down for one, I'd be willing to do it myself.

    Perhaps there wasn't a spare outlet?

  • Anon (unregistered) in reply to akatherder
    akatherder:
    You should see what they have to do when they send an email.

    Tie it to a pigeon?

  • (cs) in reply to Anon
    Anon:
    Perhaps there wasn't a spare outlet?
    You are standing in a room, holding a fan. There is an old computer with the covers off here. There are no spare wall outlets.

    What do you do now?

  • Incourced (unregistered) in reply to Anon
    Anon:
    Perhaps there wasn't a spare outlet?

    And on all the room moves, they never thought to spec another socket/multi adapter?

  • (cs) in reply to gosse

    Alright, so the OP is the WTF in this story for not buying a $10 fan right?

  • (cs) in reply to Incourced
    Incourced:
    Anon:
    Perhaps there wasn't a spare outlet?
    And on all the room moves, they never thought to spec another socket/multi adapter?
    I imagine those are sold pretty close to the fans in Walmart.
  • RBoy (unregistered)

    Fantastic...

  • Max (unregistered)

    Come on, people. You should be smarter than this.

    Fans do not actually cool down air. They just move it. The story said that they fanned air from the hallway into the warm room. The open door is the key, not the fan.

    So the real solution would be to just chock the door open...

  • (cs)

    An electric fan would actually have raised the average temperature in the machine room.

    Blowing the dust out of the case and CPU fans (and vacuuming it up so it didn't go right back in) and putting the frickin' case cover back on would have gone a long way.

  • MRAB (unregistered) in reply to DES
    DES:
    An electric fan would actually have raised the average temperature in the machine room.

    Blowing the dust out of the case and CPU fans (and vacuuming it up so it didn't go right back in) and putting the frickin' case cover back on would have gone a long way.

    "Dust and dirt swirled in the room", so the machine's fans were probably already clogged.

  • justsomedude (unregistered) in reply to DES

    Clearly they should be using a script to slosh the cd tray back an forth, and just tape the cardboard to that...

  • Anonymous Organ Donor (unregistered)

    Hunnert bucks fer a new ac wood do it. Too hunnert (this hurts to type) wood git a bigger juan. Cupel hunnert more fer a big ol' unit that'll take care of it reeaaaaal gud.

  • eViLegion (unregistered) in reply to justsomedude

    Very nice.

    I would have suggested a complicated system of levers and pulleys.

  • notme (unregistered) in reply to DES
    DES:
    An electric fan would actually have raised the average temperature in the machine room.

    Not as much as a human fanning with a piece of cardboard...

  • (cs)

    I think more of us could use some exercise during the work day. Perhaps this is not as stupid as it sounds.

  • teh jav (unregistered)

    The "whole room filled with dust" bit makes me think no one ever actually this before the OP. Then when his co-workers released just how dumb he was they continued the pretence just to see how long it lasted.

    Quite some time from the sounds of it.

    Attempting to get past the DailyWTF error page:

    This is not spam. The Real WTF is the forum software. I would have posted first if I did not have to fan the DailyWTF IIS server. <simpsons/> Last post (correct at time of posting). I love Paula.

  • Richard (unregistered) in reply to Code Dependent
    Code Dependent:
    Anon:
    Perhaps there wasn't a spare outlet?
    You are standing in a room, holding a fan. There is an old computer with the covers off here. There are no spare wall outlets.

    What do you do now?

    Invent USB ports so I can use a USB fan. :-)

  • Mike (unregistered) in reply to Code Dependent
    Code Dependent:
    Anon:
    Perhaps there wasn't a spare outlet?
    You are standing in a room, holding a fan. There is an old computer with the covers off here. There are no spare wall outlets.

    What do you do now?

    KILL COMPUTER You can't do that here...

  • Anon (unregistered) in reply to Mike
    Mike:
    Code Dependent:
    Anon:
    Perhaps there wasn't a spare outlet?
    You are standing in a room, holding a fan. There is an old computer with the covers off here. There are no spare wall outlets.

    What do you do now?

    KILL COMPUTER You can't do that here...

    KILL COMPUTER WITH SWORD You don't have the sword... GET SWORD You don't see the sword here...

  • Adrian (unregistered) in reply to Charles400

    Dave was the big fan in the build process.

    There, fixed it for ya!

  • (cs) in reply to Anon
    Anon:
    Mike:
    Code Dependent:
    Anon:
    Perhaps there wasn't a spare outlet?
    You are standing in a room, holding a fan. There is an old computer with the covers off here. There are no spare wall outlets.

    What do you do now?

    KILL COMPUTER You can't do that here...

    KILL COMPUTER WITH SWORD You don't have the sword... GET SWORD You don't see the sword here...

    COMPILE You have been reading too much xkcd

  • (cs)

    The real WTF is that even David didn't think to buy a fan or at least bring in a vacuum to clean up all that dust. If not a big box fan by the door, how about another fan installed inside the tower case?

    I don't think people should be afraid to spend a minimal amount of their own money on things to make the workplace better (for yourself, at minimum, but if other people benefit, all the better). Here at my desk those brilliant IT guys gave me a PC with a DVI-capable graphics card, a DVI-capable LCD monitor, and a VGA cable with DVI-to-VGA adaptor. They wouldn't buy me a DVI cable because it wasn't strictly necessary, so I bought my own.

  • (cs)

    I like how the build gets compiled twice. In case the first time it isn't compiled enough.

  • eliac (unregistered) in reply to teh jav
    teh jav:
    The "whole room filled with dust" bit makes me think no one ever actually this before the OP.
    You accidentally the whole sentence...
  • Grump (unregistered)

    Removing the case only makes the problem worse...it helps to channel air flow over the components to aid cooling. Dumbasses.

  • Grue (unregistered) in reply to Code Dependent
    Code Dependent:
    Anon:
    Perhaps there wasn't a spare outlet?
    You are standing in a room, holding a fan. There is an old computer with the covers off here. There are no spare wall outlets.

    What do you do now?

    You have been eaten by a grue!

  • (cs)

    "one of the batch jobs failed and we had to manually update about 1,500 transactions. Exciting stuff!": isn't it already a WTF? What can be exciting about manually updating 1.500 transactions? Didn't they invent computers exactly to avoide repetitive actions?

  • (cs) in reply to Code Dependent
    Code Dependent:
    Anon:
    Perhaps there wasn't a spare outlet?
    You are standing in a room, holding a fan. There is an old computer with the covers off here. There are no spare wall outlets.

    What do you do now?

    TURN AROUND

    You see the machine room door before you. In the background, you can see Tom sitting in front of his monitor, about to copy his compiled software to a network directory.

    You should get ready to cool the build machine if you want to stay employed.

    RUN

    You run out of the building. In the background, you hear your former co-workers shout "fire!". From far, you hear sirens from fire engines approaching, and just for a second, you remember what you learned about the Doppler effect back in school.

    KEEP RUNNING

    You keep running until you reach home. When you read the newspaper the next day, you learn that the Initrode Global headquarters burned to the ground.

    YOU LOST.

  • (cs) in reply to derula
    derula:
    YOU LOST.
    I dunno, sounds like a win to me.
  • JoJo (unregistered) in reply to Max
    Max:
    Come on, people. You should be smarter than this.

    Fans do not actually cool down air. They just move it. The story said that they fanned air from the hallway into the warm room. The open door is the key, not the fan.

    So the real solution would be to just chock the door open...

    and put the fan in the doorway...

  • SR (unregistered) in reply to SR
    SR:
    Anonymous:
    What they obviously need to do to fix this problem is build a robot.

    I vote for a monkey butler.

  • (cs) in reply to BentFranklin
    BentFranklin:
    I like how the build gets compiled twice. In case the first time it isn't compiled enough.

    "He said compile twice."

    "He likes compiling."

  • Derek (unregistered)

    Old Cobol Bill knows how to solve this problem...

    [image]
  • (cs)

    TRWTF is that Tom and coworkers managed to keep straight faces for YEARS while David and other young hires continued to believe in the "fan the computer to make it work" prank.

  • (cs) in reply to justsomedude
    justsomedude:
    Clearly they should be using a script to slosh the cd tray back an forth, and just tape the cardboard to that...
    We have a winner!

Leave a comment on “Fan or Die!”

Log In or post as a guest

Replying to comment #:

Log Out

« Return to Article