Author: Dan Dickinson

Categories
Enjoyed Happened

Work Anecdote 1: Speedy Delivery

Yesterday, I was told that one of the 250GB drive modules in one of our Xserve RAIDs had apparently gone kaput. While this is the first time I’ve seen this happen in two years, and it doesn’t affect production (horrah for hot spares!), we did need to get it replaced.
Today, at 2:45, I called Applecare Enterprise Support. 10 minutes later, I had a case number and a dispatch number.

At about 3:15, I got a call from the service courier, who wanted to confirm that I had the dispatch number, give me their number, and told me they’d be in touch Monday about scheduling a pickup for the dead drive.

I took a few minutes to run up to the unit in question and swap out the dead 250GB for a spare 400GB, just as a temporary lest we have another failure over the weekend.

At 4:40, I got a call from our front desk, saying that there was someone here with a package. I scratched my head, not putting two and two together (for reasons to be detailed in the next anecdote), and told the desk where to send them.
Five minutes later, a courier appeared with the drive module.

Literally two hours from when I called, I had my replacement hardware in hand.

I realize this is not typical, but man oh man, that was lightning quick. Kudos to Applecare Enterprise.

Categories
Found

Covers Make Everything Better

Confession time: I have, since her first album came out, enjoyed Nelly Furtado’s music. It has a nice folk-y pop feeling, she had nice vocal range…I had no complaints. *Folklore* was also quite enjoyable, save a couple of tracks. I didn’t pursue her albums, but I didn’t mind if stuff came on the radio.

But when I recently heard her new single, *Promiscuous*, I had only one thought: *who on earth told her it was a good idea to dump everything she had and do an impersonation of the worst of the Black Eyed Peas?*

One of the great things about the music industry is that the right cover can heal all wounds. To give the most classic example from last year, [Ted Leo’s cover of Since U Been Gone](http://a.wholelottanothing.org/2005/03/this_weeks_best.html) made the original song considerably more tolerable for me.

So with that said, [via brooklynvegan](http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2006/06/gnarls_barkley_5.html): [Nelly Furtado covering Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy”](http://this.bigstereo.net/2006/05/31/nelly-furtado-gnarls-barkley/).

The wounds are healed – at least for now.

(If Nelly’s not your style, it’s also been covered by [Ray Lamontagne](http://www.ezarchive.com/moteldemoka/AlbumSpace/26HBX6IZH4/ray+lamontagne+-+crazy.mp3) and [The Kooks](http://www.ezarchive.com/moteldemoka/AlbumSpace/26HBX6IZH4/The_Kooks_-_Crazy.mp3).)

Categories
Debated

Unshy Advertising

I begin this post with the strongest disclaimer I have ever written.

If you are any of the following:

– Under 18.
– Of any familial relation to me, by blood or by law.
– One of my coworkers.
– A prude.
– Against pornography in any form.
– Unable to deal with strong language.
– At work, or school, or anywhere else you may lose your lot in life for reading the wrong links.

**You really should not read the rest of this post.** The post that follows will be discussing a fairly edgy advertising campaign and its implications on the world in general. While there is no direct link to the advertising site in question, there is certainly information on how to get there. If you decide to read the rest of the post, you agree to not hold me liable for any trouble reading it may bring you, especially if you decide to visit said site.

(I realize a warning like this is like the forbidden cigarette, where by telling someone repeatedly they cannot have something, they want it more. Trust me, friends, this is for your own good.)

Continue reading “Unshy Advertising”