The beaver is a proud and noble animal

Woke up at 3:30 this morning, completely fucked up, having work-related nightmares again. In my dream, I was trying to figure out what was wrong with the friggin server I'm trying to install. I hate it when that happens.

Those dreams seem to vivid, and they're really frustrating. it's the sort of dream where you have to get something done, but everything is working against you, and you feel like the world will end if you don't get it to work… I woke up really tense, with a nasty pain in my shoulder – the one I usually get when I'm turning into a big stressball.

Must seriously contemplate a career change.

Today will be the suck.

How do I know this? Because I'm doing something innately stupid and time-consuming. Bossman found us a client. Of course, he gave impossible deadlines for little money. Go boss… The project isn't all that hard. We need to port a commercial website written in ASP running in IIS and based on MS SQL Server to one written in Java/JSP in Apache/Tomcat based on mySQL. For those of you who aren't that tech-savvy, it's no big deal to do.

Except that, bossman being well… a boob, he told the guys we'd be willing to host their servers at our office. The only windows machine we had was a coworker's desktop – really not the best place to host a production website! So we buy a new windows box, and I've been assigned to install all the crap that needs to run on it. Now bear in mind that I've never worked with IIS/SQL Server, but I figure I'm smart enough to muddle through the basics.

So after walkies yesterday with Josie and MJ, I get back to the office, roll up my shirtsleeves and have at it. Install XP, no worries. SQL Server, no problem. IIS, simple. Migrate the old website to the new box, fairly straightforward. Try to migrate the database from the old machine to the new one? All hell breaks loose.

Seriously.

My coworker and I – whose cumulative experience with SQL Server is roughly 6 hours in total – encounter the most frustratingly weird set of problems we've ever come across. Things that should work… don't. Things that work one way don't work in another. And to make matters worse, in our tinkering to try and get the new server to work, we killed the old one. You could beat us to death with a stick and we wouldn't be able to tell you what we did wrong. Which, considering WE'VE NEVER WORKED WITH THOSE TECHNOLOGIES, is quite normal.

And, of course, the only two people who have worked with them are not in the office and probably won't be until monday. *throws hands up in the air*

So today, I am starting the whole process from scratch, and hopefully I will get the damn thing to work. Honestly, I don't really care if I do. That's a problem…

So I'm coming out of the metro at Peel this morning, head in a book as usual, when I catch the perfume of some random person in the train. It was delicate, flowery…. feminine. I couldn't help but smile, and now I'm in a good mood.

Go perfume!

Which Office Moron Are You?
Rum and Monkey: jamming your photocopier one tray at a time.

If someone doesn't know UNIX, you laugh at them. If they lose their password, they laugh at them. If they visit a website using Microsoft Internet Explorer and their computer succumbs to an Internet worm, you laugh. Then you take a swig of your Coke, and with another hearty chuckle tell all your friends on IRC about the idiots you have to deal with.

hehehe, true, true…

   

It's been a while since I posted comic goodness. There are a lot more new ones at the

At the worse possible moment EVER, the thunderstorm caused a blackout. Bye bye wireless router.

SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT!

I've found the route I'll take for my daily lunchtime walk. I just came back from it, and it's going to be doable.

Basically, I leave the office (corner of Stanley & StCath) and walk along St-Cath up to McGill College. Turn towards McGIll, walk up the Roddick Gates, and cut across campus until I reach corner of Pine and University. Turn left on Pine and walk all the way up to McIntyre Medical (Peel & Pine), then it's straight down Peel all the way to Maisonneuve, and then back to the office.

It's about equal amounts of flat, uphill and downhill. Enough to degrease the old system anyway :)

Wish me luck! (and thanks for all your support)

The Grand List of Overused Science Fiction Clich

http://enphilistor.users4.50megs.com/cliche.htm

NEW YORK – It's not about sex. It's all about the touchy-feely experience of snuggling up to perfect strangers wearing pajamas. The grab fests are called cuddle parties, and since they started in New York in February, hundreds of people have paid $30 each to touch and embrace others in intimate gatherings.

Everyone needs to be cuddled, especially in lonely New York, say creators Reid Mihalko and Marcia Baczynski who say it's a good way to meet new and interesting people. But the rules are clear. The PJs stay on the whole time and participants are reminded of Rule No. 7: “No dry humping!”

In case things get too steamy, a small chime is kept on hand. Before the cuddling begins, the chime is struck several times so everyone gets the message. “We've never used it,” said Mihalko, who said sexual arousal does occur, and that participants shouldn't be turned off or scared by erections. “They happen.”

The idea for cuddle parties loosely came about after Mihalko, a 14-year masseur, began giving massages to other masseurs who never got the chance to receive them.

Signs that people need to be touched were brought home one day when Mihalko said he noticed a woman bawling from the emotional release that a massage provided her at an outdoor stand in midtown Manhattan.

“It started out as a joke,” said Baczynski. “Now we talk about cuddling all the time. It's just been amazing.” Curiosity is a big driver for people who attend cuddle parties, and it is a better way to meet people than going to a bar, getting drunk and spending the night with someone just because of the need for some affection, she said. A cuddle party is really about communication and not therapy, say the organizers.

Before any touching begins, participants gather in a circle to hear the rules and voice any questions or concerns. The first rule is that the event is not clothing optional, pajamas must stay on and sex is not permitted.

Participants team up into pairs and to ensure the boundaries of what is permissible are clear, they practice saying “no” to the question, “May I kiss you?”

An introduction to cuddling ensues, first by hugging three people. People then get in a circle on their hands and knees, rub shoulders and moo like cows. After a bit of swaying, everyone falls to their side, which puts them into an easy cuddling position.

[Rc's note: MOO?]

Cuddle parties are intended for people who are emotionally sound. People in therapy or who are seeing a mental health professional are asked to consult their doctor before signing up for a party and to tell organizers of their situation.

satisfactoraly.

That is all.