Episode #10 - Why did I get up this morning...

It's way too long to go into, but I really wonder why I got up this morning. Short version: Attended a meeting that I don't know why I was invited to, just to be told that I'm not supposed to do things that I already know I'm not supposed to do. It had no resolution to incidents in question, and now everyone is even more alienated than before. And to top it off, I think that I'm getting sick.

Episode #9 - And they wonder why people don't give more to charities.

So we cleaned out our spare room for the holidays. In the process we decided to sort things out and donate the things that we don't need or use anymore. It's the holidays, I'm in the giving spirit.

I take the two baskets/bins full of things to GenericCharityNameHere. I pull around the building. I notice the donation box outside, but there are large barrels (of something) around it; blocking the hole to put things in. Plus I have some larger items that won't fit in the hole. So, I proceed into the store and inquire from the nice older woman up front as to where I should put my donations.

Me: "Could I get someone to help me bring in several large boxes of donation items?"

Worker: "There is a bin outside to put them in, honey."

Me: "Yes, but it's being blocked by large items and I can't get to it."

Worker: "Let me ask. JOE!" (Joe is the manager that proceeds to ignore the nice old lady and walk away)

She asks another manager nearby.

Manager: "Well, just bring them in here if you can, we don't have anyone that can go out and help you."

Me: "OK"

I go out, unload my car and, one at a time, bring the two large baskets/bins and futon pad into the store. As I bring in the first item...

Me: "Where do you want me to set this?"

Manager: "Grab that guy in the green and he'll your stuff to the back."

Me (to guy in green): "The manager told me that you could take these to the back for me."

DumbGuyInGreen: "And what does she want me to do with them?"

Me: "I'm donating them, she just told me to grab you and you could help me."

DumbGuyInGreen(with blank stare) goes to speak with the manager in question.

Manager: "Just take them and put them in back, she's trying to donate them."

DumbGuyInGreen: "OK, but...blah blah blah, supposed to be doing something else, other manager said...blah blah blah...more excuses."

Manager: "Just take them."

So he took it, I went back out to carry in the other two baskets/bins. He didn't even offer to help hold the door open. I didn't even want to go through more of an ordeal to get the one nice bin back. I just left it there and took off.

Next time, we call the charity to come get it from us.

Episode #8 - They Piss me Off, I Piss Them Off

People are moving at work. Workers from the third floor are moving down to the second floor. They've sat in their third floor spaces for years... and I have sat in my second floor space for five years. Never before have I seen people in their 40s and 50s cry and whine as much about lame things like walls not being tall enough and lights not being bright enough.

First they made me move everything out of my file cabinet. "We're getting rid of it." So I move everything... and then they say they are keeping it, and fill it with their junk so there is no room for mine. I exit out of a door yesterday and i hear, "Hey! You can't use that door!" and I respond, "It says EXIT" and walk out. Yes, I am very sick of these miserable crybabies.

So today, just on principle, I say, "I don't like the printer being outside of my cubicle. It's distracting. Too many people passing by and too much movement in my line of sight. You need to move it. How about there? Or there? Just NOT HERE." Now I am the unreasonable one, but it feels good, and everyone's pissed. MWAHAHAHA!!

Episode #5 Weblogic sucks

Weblogic sucks. Ok, so it isn't as much as a who, as a thing... And that things sucks.
Oh yah: major nerd alert.

For those of you who don't know about J2EE Application Servers with JSP and EJB containers, BEA Weblogic Server (WLS) was the one of the first ones out there, so many companies use the damn things. Our app is basically an ear file, and can install on WLS... but the database connections, data sources, application, usernames, and security are all taken care of by configuration on the WLS Server. And for whatever reason, there is a difference in the JNDI lookups for things like the datasources between Windows and Unix (Solaris/Linux/HPUX) So when ever we install on a widoze box, someone has to go in an manuall change the jndi names for the data source connections. No big deal, about a minute worth of work, and a bounce of the server later, and your done. If that was my only complaint about WLS, then I wouldn't be posting to this pissypants blog.

I suppose the problems start with a fresh clean install. We have a normal install-anywhere style installer... it is kinda complex, asking for database connection information, data and index tablespace sizes, schema names, etc... by default we install with a wonderful open source J2EE server: Jboss. Jboss Rocks, Weblogic sucks. Installs with Jboss are almost always successful. Once the install is done, drop the license file in the classpath, and jboss can be started right up. Simple. But then weblogic comes around. Besides the normal db stuff, there is a section that asks to connect to the WLS admin server on a port, in order to run a configuration script. At one point in the install, after the majority of files are copied over, the WLS Admin server has to be restarted with our specific files and directories in the classpath. So this means, if the admin server is running, it has to be stopped, the startup script (.cmd or .sh) has to be editied, and then the thing restarted... but wait, ... no really, wait until the admin server is up and running again before the install can complete. Sysadmin don't like to wait for things... and I'm the one they complain to about this, since I'm the most senior person out there that can help with this shit, and I'm the only one in the company that's been the bea training. Suck.

After the installer is complete, the install isn't done yet. You have to login to the admin console and target 6 Data sources and 6 connections. Ok. So that isn't that bad either. But it isn't documented, and noobs, or clueless sysadmins bitch up a storm. Still with me?

If you want to do an application upgrade, there is a whole new level of pain. Now, maybe not for me, but for the noobs. You have to delete a buch of temp folders, and a folder named... .wlNoDelete. That's right. We delete the folder called don't delete during an upgrade. I get asked about this quite frequently. My latest answer donesn't go into the technical details of the architecture of the EJBs in relation to the java vm... I now just say "just delete it... i'll answer your question later." I never do.

Lastly, there is a bunch of FUD out there about BEA being faster. It isn't ... infact it is 20-30% slower than Jboss. But a bunch of PHB's have it in their head that WLS is fast. When I show them the load test results we get, they normally say "hummm" but keep weblogic around. All except one company... they were in a pre-production mode, and were balking at the price of BEA. When we showed them the test results, they dropped WLS faster than OJ dropped the glove.

I lied... one more thing. Price. WLS is something like $5000 a CPU. Jboss is free. We spend more time on WLS support than jboss... and the customer usually calls us first for support... us being the good guys, research and spend a buncha-time finding an aswer, and it turns out to be a wls problem. Ok. I'm done. And I still hate Weblogic.


Posted by DMZ++ but reposted for order by Shellie

Episode #4 - R-E-S-P-E-C-T

That's all I really want out of my job.

Today's Staff Meeting
Boss: The director wanted to know why no one came to the last "Friday, movie day"?

Me:(w/help from others in group) When our staff meetings (few & far between as they are) consist of "let's play a game", "who do I think is stupid this week", and "let's watch some movies during work hours", it's no wonder that no one thinks we do anything around here. To be fair, we don't mind the occasional fun time for a little pick me up or to celebrate some accomplishment. We're social people, we like to relax and have some fun. But that seems like all we ever get.

We never hear about the progress of things that we requested (unless we continue to ask, over and over and over and over again until we forget or give up). We get glimpses of where our management thinks our department is going and what BIG plans they have for us, but after they get our hopes up, we hear NOTHING.

Give us bad news with plans for what you're going to try and do instead, it would be better than no news and more frustrations. Stop playing games and start doing your jobs. If you treat everyone with contempt, that's all you're going to get in return. Be honest, stop trying to undermine people behind their backs. Stop trying to please everyone and instead pleasing no one. Get a pair of balls! Sorry if that hurts your feelings.

Does that answer your question?

Boss:(like a deer caught in headlights) Well, I've got to go to the airport. I'll bring this up to the director.

Thinking to myself: Like that will help, If you hadn't noticed, he's the problem.

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To quote Wonda: "If I didn't piss some people off, then I wouldn't be doing my job."

Episode #3 - sick. sick. sick.

i am utterly horrified. a bunch of my colleagues just voted against giving domestic partners employee benefits because "marriage is between a man and a woman."

did i ask about marriage? no.

i asked for them to recommend that our university system acknowledge that legally certified domestic partners (same or opposite sex) should be granted benefits.

so when did this become a religious issue? oh right. when jesus wound up in the white house. exactly where he doesn't belong.

now i have to go tell the other senate chairs that, even though every campus in the state passed the resolution, our administrative unit did not because they are too ignorant to recognize anything beyond their religion when discussing legal issues involving others.

Episode #1 - The first person who pissed me off ... today

I'm pissed off at Wonda today for ordering in this cold weather. I'll have a better blog later. Love ya Wonda.