title: Twisted Metal Office
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category: work
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    <p>Today I got to work to discover a train wreck.</p>

    <p>Well, it wasn't really a train wreck, even though there are
    train tracks a stone's throw away from the building where I
    work.  But it was like a train wreck.</p>

    <p>And before I realized what I had just clicked in my web
    browser, I had signed up to untangle it, find the bodies, and
    send them to appropriate medical care.  Or, in other words,
    find the reports that were supposed to be sent out yesterday
    but didn't make it due to said train wreck, and send 'em again.
    It wasn't an easy process, but I was able to automate it somewhat.
    Fortunately, some of our log files are actually written in a
    manner that greatly simplified my task.  I hope the suits who
    requested this work are happy with what I did; I couldn't finish
    the job entirely without some severe contortions which I am
    ill-qualified to perform.</p>

    <p>But there was to be another (figurative) train wreck.  And
    this time, I was invited.</p>

    <p>The Senior Director of Engineering and one of our newest
    hires -- an software architect type, apparently -- called me
    and my group into a meeting where we were supposed to discuss
    how a new project is to be deployed.  (Why is she Senior Director
    if there are no other Directors?  Maybe she was an actor in a
    previous occupation.  But I digress.)  Of the 50 or so minutes
    in the meeting, I think actual deployment covered minutes 36
    to 41.  The rest of the time was spent watching Director and
    Architect have a discussion over what was basically semantics.
    They almost speak two different languages, neither of which is
    the one my group speaks.  They want their project in production
    in two weeks?  Not bloody likely at this point; it doesn't even
    look like they know how to get it running as a proof of concept
    yet.  Sure, that timetable was set by the CIO but he'll be a
    lucky sumbitch if he guessed right.</p>

    <p>Pardon me while I pick the metal out of my teeth.</p>