Dashed hopes and fading memories are my daily Tech Supp uniform

I dunno if I'd call it weird, but some might find it strange ... for over 5 decades I have regularly worn my leathers to "emergency" calls. Here in the Bay Area, the bike is often the fastest way to get somewhere ... and I'm not splitting traffic without armo(u)r.

Note that splitting is perfectly legal here in California.

"Note that splitting is perfectly legal here in California. "

You obviously spend too much time reading comments below Youtube vids of motorcyclists.

Just for the record, I have never watched a Youtube vid of motorcyclists, and don't plan on starting any time soon ever.

I do, however, regularly host motorcyclists from all over the US, and indeed the world.

I had done the same so many times (off-site visits in leathers) that when people visited my 'normal' office (shirt [and sometimes tie]) a number of them didn't even recognise me!

And to find the petaQ who screwed it up!

Today is a good day to dye (sublimate)

Sounds like a Phaser printer

My weekends of Dark Ages reenactment occasionally intersected with my weekend tape swapping duties in the 90's. Period clobber normally mostly hidden under a 20thC coat though, although sword and larger pieces of armour frequently hanging off my backpack. The only witness being the security guard as it was the weekend and he was far too cool to mention anything.

I damn near killed an idiot who we discovered had been commenting code in Klingon[0] ... Normally, I wouldn't have cared, but the comments popped up during a surprise visit from the CEO with a couple clients in tow looking to see how their customized version of the code was coming along. The customer knew Klingon. Including the cuss-words. He found it funny, thankfully.

[0] The Klingon only appeared in bits of assembler embedded in C ... quite fitting, actually.

And it wasn't picked up in the code reviews?

Coat as I know that most of this audience either chose not to, or aren't allowed by the manglement/bean-counters, to do such things.

Was an early SillyConValley startup, in roughly mid-1986. Code reviews as we now know them didn't really exist as yet.

Okrand's book The Klingon Dictionary had recently come out and many of the local nerds were trying to figure out if the then minimalist language was usable for anything. You can probably find examples from the Usenet of the era; I'm absolutely certain somebody has that old stuff up on a web page somewhere. Trekkies are like that.

"The customer knew Klingon."

It would be a toss up what was more incredible: that the client could read Klingon or that the client could read inline assembly. I suspect the latter.

It was one Silicon Valley startup talking to another Silicon Valley startup, in roughly 1986. Many of the principals were still young, and educated at Berkeley or Stanford ... and some were still grad students (for example, look up the history of CROMEMCO). Chances are good that they all knew at least a smattering of both. In that era and place, most of us cut our eyeteeth on BSD, C and assembler ... and were Star Trek fans.

[1]KLINGON GUIDE To Writing Perfect Code

Number 4: “A TRUE Klingon programmer does not comment his code!”

Although I prefer #6 for the Klingon mindset: "Debugging? Klingons do not debug. Our software does not coddle the weak.”

[1] http://www.aumha.org/a/klingon.php

I recall a certain antivirus vendor providing a Klingon version of their AV product. Don't ask how I know...

"Luckily, it was a very quick fix – just a printer config problem – and I felt this incident would enhance my reputation as someone who could fix things quickly"

Really? The only reputation it would enhance would be that you will be remembered as a complete and utter stupid twat!!!

But, I also fall into that "stupid twat" category. Indeed I am also a fucking hypocrite because until a few years ago I was a member of our local TISWAS club. Infact, I was one of the founder members...

Compost Corner!

As a PFY i worked for a company that made hotel management software and was sent to install and configure it, in a time before internet access was widely available, which meant travelling to various places. In a hotel in Cuba, I worked by the pool bar (using an ethernet connection from the adjacent building to my luggable) setting all configs in my swimming trunks, flip flops and sunglasses.

As a bonus, there were only 2 flights a week joining Cuba from my location so I spent 4 days there for a one day job. One of the best work trips I've had.

I was diverted from a 'quick trip' to Dubai to go and resolve an 'urgent' problem in Hong Kong as it was 'on the way' by somebody's reckoning. A great flight, seated in comfort, upstairs in a 747.

The customer was surprised at the quick response. So much so that they weren't in fact ready. I resolved the problem-that-wasn't-there and flew home to the UK after a few days sight-seeing only to return a couple of weeks later to complete the commissioning of new plant.

Ah, that reminds me that one of my sparky BiL's numerous jobs was field* service with a manufacturer of some sort of bathing pool plant and bathing attire was essential.

* Maybe not the best term in this case.

Sitting by a canal in Oxfordshire wasn't quite as glamorous!

I did, however, complete the necessary work with the laptop connected to a mobile over an IrDA connection (shielded from the sun) whilst at a boat rally. The alternative would have been to go home for a few hours which would have seriously interfered with the drinking time.

Shortly after that the company decided to stop the half day off in lieu we used to get for doing what was, essentially, bean counter work so we passed it back to them - mysteriously the work that "must be done on a Sunday" could then be completed on the Monday.