I had promised some more details about the new job. 

I’ve written two whole posts over the last 3 or 4 months (slight exaggeration) and despite my absence from the online world, I got a record 3,755 comments (slight exaggeration), and have converted 16 people over to Staunch Conservatism (major exaggeration).  I’d say that’s a win by anyone’s count, especially if anyone is bad at math.

In a nutshell, I left my IT Director job at a nationwide ISP to focus on a single discipline to become Network Manager for a gaming company.  I’m in my second week.  While the move made me a little anxious for a few reasons, any trepidation or concerns I had about the change have been completely replaced with confident resolve and verve.  I didn’t just pick “resolve” and “verve” because of their preponderance of the letter “V”; they directly define my attitude towards the recent shift.

My new company makes a few games that game players recognize (Dragon Age, Mass Effect, Jade Empire, Sonic Chronicles, Baldur’s Gate, Neverwinter Nights, etc), but our entire studio here in Austin is devoted to a game that’s not even released yet, and won’t be until some time next year: Star Wars: The Old Republic.

(click to embiggify)

Now, I’m not what you’d call a game player.  I’ve never played an MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online) game before, but I have heard of them.  I know a little about World of Warcraft and have quite a few friends who play it regularly.   This new Star Wars-based MMO is set roughly 3000-4000 years before the movies and chronicles a tumultuous conflict between the Jedi and the Sith.  If you go to swtor.com and view some of the trailers, it really is fascinating to watch the story develop.

About the only games I play with any true passion are Guitar Hero related… and a few others.  Some of my favorites are Treasure Planet, Simpsons Hit and Run, and Simpsons Road Rage.  Singstar is fun in a group.

For a great ~12 minute overview of the game, including some video and cool effects, you can watch an interview with our two GM’s.  Even just the first 3-4 minutes is worth catching some of the sequences and characters, including a juicy trailer.

So, I’ll be doing a bunch of really cool networking stuff to support a really cool game.  I mean, hey.  It’s STAR WARS. (vocal emphasis performed by James Earl Jones)

The company itself is amazing, with high-caliber talent lining all the hallways, engaging artwork and storyboards getting tons of focused attention, sound effects studios colorfully enhancing the aura of the place, and uber-smart programmers passionate about their work.  I particularly enjoy a smorgasbord of benefits, such as, well, a smorgasbord.  Breakfast is provided every morning.  Healthy breakfast.  The commute is 5-7 minutes shorter.  Great vacation policies.  Free games.  Affordable healthcare.  Plenty of appropriate equipment and tools to do my job.  Covered parking.  Did I mention free breakfast (and breakfast tacos on Fridays)?

It’s difficult to leave some things behind from my old job.  You know, like clout.  History.  Being “the guy” who built a lot of what we had.  An Old-Timer, so to speak.  I had the familiarity of environment and a solid reputation.  I had control over most everything IT-related and it was enjoyable being on top.  Now, however, I’m the New Guy.  The outsider.  Someone who has to be brought up to speed and ask all the questions. 

I’ve always been a Star Wars fan… and now I get to experience it like never before.

[pause]

This reminds me of the first time I heard of the MS Exchange site.

Back in 2002, a co-worker of mine said “Wayne, you gotta go to this link! I’m learning SO MUCH!” and then AIM’ed me http://msexchange.com.  It pops up on my screen and look.  I look again.  Then I yelled back “look, Jack, there ain’t NO way I’m going to ‘em’ sexchange dot com!”

He hadn’t even thought of the URL that way.  We had a great laugh over that one.

MS Exchange means Microsoft Exchange – one of the most popular corporate email systems on the planet.  And I did learn that the site was a great resource to help with our Exchange infrastructure.

Remind me sometime to tell you my whitehouse dot com story…

Yesterday was an interesting day for me. 

It all started when I got a notice from HR a month or so ago that I *had* to take some mandatory company class.  I’m thinking “uh-oh,” another sexual harassment training or rah-rah session on goals, objectives or maybe a facilitator class.  I thought I left that all behind me when I left the Big M or the Big I or even the Big G.

I am not a fan of instructor-led classes.

They go too slow.  The classes are boring.  Most instructors are failures in REAL life, so they go around and teach.  There are enough other failures running government, so they send themselves to training as a requirement, and as a result the whole training process atrophies.  I fall asleep unless I contribute.  The content is material for a professional hypnotist to practice with.

When I showed up to Creative Leadership for Managers, I ready for the same-old same-old.  At least the class was 9am-4pm, with a healthy 1hr lunch and not a lengthy all-day thing.  I might survive with nary a nap!

The instructor looked a little like Drew Carey, and made a point of coming around before the class and shaking hands, introducing himself, asking who we were, where we were from, and providing general chitchat.  I was positive that he was gathering intel for the onslaught of mediocrity that surely lay in wait for me.  So I decided I needed to bare my teeth and show I am not your typical prey.

The class got underway and first off, I was unimpressed with the projector screen (booorrringggg!), as well as a mispelling in the workbook!

Look! there even seems to be an extra space between “Leadership”and “Skills”.  If it’s one thing I cannot stand, it’s improper use of white space. 

I also wondered at the apparent insult my company lobbed at me from nowhere – what are they saying?  I’m NOT a creative leader?  I need help with this stuff?  What, I’m a clown to you?!?!?  What happened to the days when if you didn’t do a job, you just got fired for it?  Why do we have to hold everyone’s hand with everything, coach them and teach them, and help them to be the best them they can be (the preceding italicized words are meant to be said with a fake little girly voice, intending a high level of mockery.  It helps if you envision me doing fake quotes in the air with my fingers as I say each set.)

Fortunately, I was disappointed.  I loved the class!  The speaker rocked!  Or more accurately, the speaker turned out to be phenomenal, armed with fantastic content.  I picked up some great tips on leading vs managing, how to address conflict, stay on agenda, reward employees in more creative ways, and keep track of delegation better.

So, as a result, today I informed one of my employees (leading) that he was to attend the next class for me (delegation).  When he objected and threw a fit (conflict), I informed him of the business impact to the company (stay on agenda), and I told him he could continue receiving a paycheck if he goes (reward in creative ways).  Win-Win!

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If you’re looking for coaching or want excellent training to come to your company, I can’t recommend Bill Gordon highly enough.

Bill is an experienced Certified Enpowerment Coach who is credentialed by the global International Coach Federation. He is an effective, well-seasoned trainer and facilitator who regularly receives accolades for life-changing experiences for learning participants. His generous spirit, sense of humor, and ability to connect with individuals within the learning environment make a sought-after speaker internationally.Bill is a Maine native living in Chicago, IL

This week’s major project at work is recabling one of our communication rooms.  I got to work pretty early today (before 5am) and just took my first break, and I have a good 5-6 hours planned tonight since a lot of the cabling changes either have to be done after hours, or they require a special maintenance window for the items connected to those cables.

Here’s my original “before” picture:

I’m hoping to have a good “after” picture by end of week.

Wish me luck!

It’s the most… wondERful time… of the year…

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This week’s LOLcats

I only bring you the best. DUH.

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MegaPath Press Release

Click for the whole enchilada article

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Optical Illusions, Round (increment number here)

I’ve done a couple of optical illusion posts and they’re all still very cool to look at, wonder about, ponder and then forget for a couple of years and then show someone new HEY! LOOK AT THESE COOL PICTURES!

Here’s a new one (to me), recently emailed to me.

my caption: “I know what she’s thinking”

I admit it. I’m pretty messy, especially at work.  I’d like to attribute it to how well I multi-task, but mainly, I’m a slob.  I’m not slobby by way of leaving food out to rot, stacking up drink cans or peeing in my work area, but I leave a lot of stuff hanging around because I’ll “get to it eventually.”

There are a few reasons for this

• I really really dislike throwing anything away. 
  Because I honestly think I’ll probably need it eventually.  I think the problem is that I equate the concept of “eventually” to hundreds if not thousands of years, and assuming I’ll actually live that long because we’ll find a way to extend our lives before mine ends.
• I’m a procrastinator
  So I’ll stick whatever gadget there, thinking I’ll get to it soon, but frankly, after two years of having a twist-on BNC adapter on my desk, am I really ever going to get to crimping it on that other gadget over there in the corner?  YES!
• I’m, um, “opportunistic”
  When faced with something I *have* to do vs something I *want* to do, sometimes the latter gets the upper hand.  Hey, maybe I should delegate more of the crap jobs?

Now for my new and improved work area.  The first section is some excess space that was available, to make the work area more inviting.  On second thought, that’s probably not a good idea, because do I really WANT more people staying longer to bug me?

How sweet is that.  Some potpourri, candles, pictures.  Oh, and the network cables look so inviting.  btw, if you look real hard, the three pictures on the left still have the factory models in them; I still haven’t put my own pictures in the frames.  For shame, for shame. 

Now for the actual work area: 

1. Avaya 4620 IP Phone
   I love my phone.  I use a headset all the time, and I use speakerphone every once in a while because the Avaya IP phones actually have great full duplex speakerphones.  I can record calls, run our company calls, dual-connect my cell phone, see phone system alarms and more with my phone.
2. Family Picture
   What desk is complete without a family picture or two?  I probably will put more, maybe up in area #7
3. Evacuation Supervisor Fireman’s Hat
   I’m the building’s facilities manager and evac supervisor.  I make sure people leave the building on time during our test runs.  I do sweeps and check that people aren’t sitting there browsing MySpace when they should be out in the parking lot so we can pass our certification.
4. 8-port KVM Switch
   No REAL IT Director is complete without their KVM switch.  This one is old-skool, with no USB or speaker connectivity – just PS2 keyboard, mouse and VGA.  I don’t like having to move monitors around when I test laptops, desktops or whatever, so I just hook it up to an available cable and share one set of keyboard/video/mouse for as many systems as I need to test. 
5. Fridge
   Yup, I keep my fridge right at my desk. I can’t tell you the times I had a need for emergency Pepsi infusion and my life was spared because as I fell to the floor in my withdrawal-induced shock, I was able to miraculously open the fridge on the way down and grab a shot of sugar and caffeine.  It’s also a good container for ketchup and mayo for when the local fast food chains forget to put them in my bag.
6. Printer
   Another electronic testament to my laziness; I click print and do not need to get up to pick up the printout.
7. Wide Open Space for more crap
   Soon, I’ll be able to put up posters, signs, pictures, funny comic strip cutouts, New Orleans Looter photoshops, mirrors, action figurines and all sorts of stuff to make the place truly “mine”.  Heck, I’ve been here seven years; might as well start acting like it.
8. Kung Fu Squirrel
   Please, for your own sake, don’t mess with me.  My ninja squirrel who sings “Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting… WHUUAH!” in a chipmonk-style voice will lay waste to anyone who crosses me.  And beware, he has no volume control.
9. Toolkit
   Just in case. 

If you’re interested in the before pictures, click for the extended entry.  You know you want to!

(more…)

I’m pretty happy right now.  You might think I got a new toy or something (and there are some toys out there that would qualify) but mainly I just got my old and busted toy fixed.

As some of you know, I depend on my Blackberry 8700c – it’s my phone, my PDA, my email, calendar, tasks, contacts, SMS, picture browser, web browser, etc.  I’ve had it for a while – another friend of mine was able to snag one for me FREE at the RIM Launching event in San Francisco – Thanx guys!

Not only do I depend on the absolutely cool unit, I love it as well.  I love having one device on my belt (well, other than my SwissTool), having everything together, and having access to everything all the time – not to mention updating info/contacts and having immediate access to corporate and personal email.

However, recently I’ve had horrible cell phone reception.  The blackberry data service (EDGE in uppercaps vs edge in lowercase) worked fine, and I could always send/receive phone calls, but while I’m talking to someone I had horrible volume problems and every 2nd or 3rd word was interrupted/dropped or otherwise lost, so I did a lot of “what?” in most of my conversations.  And I don’t mean the type of “what?” I would say when I hear someone saying “I’m going to crawl through the phone and pull your nose hairs until I get the info I want, Mr. Hall”  I mean instead of that sentence I would hear something like “I’m (burble) to cr(burble) through (burble) own and pull (burble) airs until I get (burble) all”

I attribute the bad cell stuff to the incessent dropping that the unit has suffered under my hands.  I’m guessing the internal antenna has become dislodged or something so that the signal strength isn’t so good.  Also, the “water damage” indicator underneat the battery cover (small square that’s either red or white) says RED, meaning, it’s seen it’s share of moisture and the phone is no longer covered by insurance.  I don’t know how much I believe that sticker, but still, the manufacturer has to protect their interests too, I guess.

So now for the happy-happy-joy-joy part — I GOT A REPLACEMENT PHONE!  YAY!

And ooooh, the new one is chrome instead of dark grey.  Kind of looks better methinks.  Plus, the CPU seems faster, but that might be because I haven’t loaded it down with all my data.  Also seems lighter, but maybe it’ll get heavier when I load more email on it.

Here’s how it happened – another coworker needed a blackberry, so we ordered a new 8700c.  However, the person does NOT need a phone plan with it – just the blackberry.  And since my blackberry works fine as a blackberry but not-so-fine as a phone, this awesome person agreed to swap devices with me so I could have a WORKING PHONE.

THANK YOU BLACKBERRY GODS!

(plus, this person has promised me her McDonald’s Monopoly codes.  How much better could this person get?)

I still haven’t had a single positive online support chat experience.  I’ve tried it with several companies, and I guess I still haven’t learned my lesson because I keep trying.  My brain continues in it’s annoying wondering way that maybe, just maybe, I’ve just been unlucky in the past and maybe it isn’t as bad as it seems.  Maybe some company out there has actually mastered the art of online chat support.

But I never learn.

Question for you: have you EVER had a positive chat experience with tech support or customer service?  Have you ever even tried online support?

So this week we had a Dell W4201HD plasma TV break.  We hit the power button, and the power button lights up, but the TV itself is dead.  No noises but two small clicks that all my favorite plasmas make, but pretty much, “it’s dead, Jim.”  I decide to go online and find out my warranty status (woohoo 650+ days left of “Complete Care”!). 

 

After I click for Technical Support, I see the option for “chat support” just taunting me, daring me to click it and try it out. 

At first, I declined it’s invitation.  I’ve been down this road before.  Like Charlie Brown and his highly-documented nemesis, Lucy Van Pelt and her football shenanigans, I’m not going to get fooled again.  It’s just a trick!  Dell offering me help in the form of canned clicks and slow responses is a ruse to waste my time and delay my call.  Because I know that if I take 20 minutes trying to chat with a non-existent person, chances are the problem will either A) go away or fix itself, B) get fixed by me in the meantime or C) become unimportant enough to take EVEN MORE TIME to get help on the phone, where I’ll end up talking to someone in India who knows no English other than “what is your case number?” and “have you tried resetting your box?”

But it KEPT BECKONING ME.  They’ve even gone to lengths to customize the portal for me:

I really wanted to click on the “Call Dell Technical Support” icon so I could get the phone number and start my lengthy phone call, but my traitorous mouse changed course and suddenly clicked on the “Chat with an expert” icon!  Oh no!  I didn’t know what to do. 

Quickly I tried to move my mouse to the little [x] in the upper right-hand corner to stop, but no, my computer joined in the mutiny and actually answered the question of “do you want to initiate a chat session for support?” question that almost made me puke.  I couldn’t believe my peripherals were against me.  I eventually had to go to my blackberry to type this blog entry because every time I started typing these facts about them, they’d visit non-work-friendly web sites and download unsavory videos and then blame *me*. 

Someone must have been watching out for me up above, however, because even though Dell offered the chat, and my mouse accepted the offer, and the computer clicked that I was sure that I wanted to enter into chat, I ended up with a “nothing” experience anyway:

PRAISE THE INTERNET GODS.

Minor note: when I called the number, it informed me that I’ll be holding for more than 10 minutes.  And every minute or so, it reminds me that I should “go online and chat with a support agent and have my problem resolved more quickly.”  This is so wrong.  For one, they shouldn’t OFFER CHAT if chat is unavailable!  On the phone or on the portal!

Oh, and when the agent answered (after 34 minutes of hold time), *I* informed *him* that “our call may be recorded for quality assurance.”  He stammered and paused, I’m sure wondering why I said that.  It feels very good to be able to record my calls – I just hit a button on my Avaya IP Phone, and the conversation is saved into my voicemail box.

And in case you’re wondering, it still took another 20 minutes to get to where I knew we’d be all along – they’re shipping a new TV to us overnight.  I mean, I should have some sort of geek credential dripping through the phone that says to the support agent “The person calling you is smarter than you.  He’s smarter than your Tier III support.  He already has done the 50 things on your checklist and 20 things NOT on your checklist.  Treat him with respect; you might learn something.”

Well, yesterday was a fun day, starting off in the morning.  I frequently stop by Whataburger on the way to work to pick up my favoritest breakfast of all time – the Potato Taquito with EXTRA cheese.  By the time I *get* to work, I’m usually done with the meal.  So I have an empty whataburger bag with wrappers and the empty drink cup as I’m driving up to work, and we have a convenient dumpster right outside the back door.  One is for recycling and one is for normal garbage.

Interestingly enough, and related to the story unfortunately, I keep my proximity badge in my wallet.  That way I can conveniently unlock the door by just passing my wallet over the badge reader.

Because I’m just walking from the car to the dumpster to the door, I keep my wallet handy.  I typically get to the dumpster, throw the trash into the recycling dumpster and then get to the door with my wallet ready to unlock the badge reader.

(process that a little bit)

Yup, I threw my wallet in the dumpster, with the trash.

So now I can’t get in the office unless I get into the dumpster.  A coworker saves me a little and lets me in, so I get a chair, climb up into the dumpster (fortunately it’s just cardboard and paper), grab the wallet and jump out.  Nothing like a little physical exercise to get your blood pumping.

Then I remember – we have digital video cameras all around the office.  16 of them – 14 inside, 2 outside.  I set them up 6 years ago.  It automatically records everything and just keeps the last 3 months or so, such that the disks are always full and it auto-replaces the oldest video.  I can get myself a little video of me getting my wallet in the dumpster, having to jump in and retrieve it, and then I could post the video on my blog and laugh at myself.  HA HA HA.  Wouldn’t that be hilarious?

Yes, it *would* be.  Except when I go check out the video server, it’s not recording.  It has all the video from about september last year up until january this year, and is showing live video from the 16 video feeds, but nothing’s been recorded since.  CRAP.  I guess my story will have to be enough for you all, and you do NOT get to see video of me hopping in a dumpster.

So a lot of today was spent trying to find out what’s going on with the video server.  It is old (6 years), and it has 5 75GB hard drives that it keeps the video on, and it seems one of them died.  ARGH.

I’ll leave you with one of the pictures we snapped of Harry Potter’s Owl.  I’m sure he’s been missing it since the most recent movie.   (Note: the cameras record when it detects motion – it’s so cool that it snapped an owl picture!)

The following press release hit businesswire.com not too long ago.  I had blogged about the start of this back in August 2006, and I’m still excited about it.  In general, this completed acquisition lets our company (MegaPath) provide higher quality service in a specific area of the country.  My role as IT Director has thus far been in the behind-the-scenes integration of the two companies, like corporate networking, email, application access and the like.  Because our team has done a couple of mergers already, this one went pretty smoothly.  It always helps to have experience!

As a side note, I’d also like to say I’m absolutely thrilled to see a press release use the word “effected” correctly.

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Merger of DSL.net Into Subsidiary of MegaPath to be Effected at Close of Business Today

- DSL.net Common Stock Has Ceased Quotation on OTCBB at Market Close Today -

WALLINGFORD, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–DSL.net, Inc. (OTCBB: DSLN), a nationwide provider of broadband communications services to businesses, today announced that its merger with and into MDS Acquisition, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of MegaPath Inc., a privately held Internet service provider and DSL.net’s indirect parent company, will be completed at the close of business today. Since all outstanding shares of DSL.net’s common stock, other than shares held by MDS, will be converted into the right to receive cash upon the merger, MDS has requested that the quotation of DSL.net’s shares of common stock on the Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board service cease today, at market close. The merger is being effected by MDS as the Company’s greater-than-90% stockholder, without any action on the part of DSL.net’s board of directors or stockholders, in accordance with Delaware law, to be effective at 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, today. MDS, as the surviving company, will change its name to “DSL.net, Inc.” at the time of the merger. MDS intends to then file a Form 15 with the Securities and Exchange Commission, seeking the deregistration of DSL.net’s shares of common stock.

As a result of these actions, DSL.net will merge with and into MDS, and MDS will survive under the name “DSL.net, Inc.,” as a wholly-owned subsidiary of MegaPath, and there will no longer be a public trading market for the Company’s shares of common stock.

About DSL.net

DSL.net, Inc. is a nationwide provider of broadband communications services to businesses. The Company combines its own facilities, nationwide network infrastructure and Internet Service Provider (ISP) capabilities to provide high-speed Internet access, private network solutions and value-added services directly to small- and medium-sized businesses or larger enterprises looking to connect multiple locations. DSL.net product offerings include T-1, DS-3 and business-class DSL services, virtual private networks (VPNs), frame relay, Web hosting, DNS management, enhanced e-mail, online data backup and recovery services, firewalls and nationwide dial-up services, as well as integrated voice and data offerings in select markets. For more information, visit www.dsl.net, www.getduet.com, e-mail info@dsl.net, or call 1-877-DSL-NET1 (1-877-375-6381).

About MegaPath

MegaPath is a leading provider of managed IP communications services in North America. MegaPath leverages its wide selection of broadband connectivity, Virtual Private Networks, Voice over IP (VoIP) and security technologies to enable businesses to lower costs, increase security and enhance productivity. Businesses of all sizes can easily and securely communicate between their headquarters, branch offices, retail locations, mobile workers, and business partners.

To learn more about why over 18,000 companies have chosen MegaPath’s managed IP data, voice and security services to improve their business communications, visit www.megapath.com or call 1-877-MegaPath (638-4342).

This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and, to the extent it does, these forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond DSL.net’s control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in these forward-looking statements. For additional information regarding these and other risks faced by DSL.net, see the disclosure contained under “Risk Factors” in DSL.net’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005, which has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

DSL.net is a trademark of DSL.net, Inc. Other company names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

50 Barnes Park North, Suite 104, Wallingford, CT 06492
Tel: 1-877-DSL-NET1 Fax: 203-284-6102

Email: info@dsl.net Web: www.dsl.net www.getduet.com