Work WTF
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Right, despite being a highly qualified IT wonk with 20+ years experience, I work as a mechanic and chairlift driver in a ski resort. Most of the people I work with don't realise at what level I operated, but today I think a few of them got an idea.
Currently, when we run a lift, there's a bunch of regulatory (literally) paperwork that needs to be done by the driver, saying "I have checked this and that" etc. So we can tell who was responsible on day X, who carried out task Y, etc. There is, however, a move to make this "paperless", mainly because it will, in theory, save a couple of hours transcription work per day in the office.
We're also taking the opportunity to replace our current maintenance tracking system, which can best be described as "less discoverable than knobBB".
This summer, we're (subsequent to me convincing the boss it might be a good idea) twinning paper and paperless system. So, today started with a training session.
The new system is, admittedly, slightly more intuitive than the old maintenance tracking system. But it is implemented in node.js with a non-relational database back end.
You should probably be cringing right now.
In a 3/4 hour session, whilst more or less following the instructor's instructions, I managed to:
- enter duplicate, inconsistent and conflicting data.
- "sign" a set of important checks on a lift as having been done by my boss, another set as having been done by "nobody", and another as having been done by someone working for another resort entirely.
- indicate that I had closed my lift for -3 hours.
- get the system into a totally unresponsive state locally, requiring a browser preferences tweak and restart
- get the system into a totally unresponsive state globally, not only locking out my machine, but all the other machines in the training session, and, it appears, all of the other client machines running on other sites.
It's gonna be fun.
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But it is implemented in node.js with a non-relational database back end.
You should probably be cringing right now.
Actually, here's a picture of my reaction
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despite being a highly qualified IT wonk with 20+ years experience,
Uhuh...
I work as a mechanic and chairlift driver in a ski resort.
Wait a minute...
During Ulrich’s days as an undergraduate, he landed a part-time gig at a nuclear power plant.
New Years 2000 rolled around, he made sure he was far, far away at a ski resort
.....
.....
Is @tufty actually Ulrich !??!?!
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@Tsaukpaetra Nah, never done nukes. Done plenty of financials, a load of telecoms, and quite a lot of airworthiness, but never nukes.
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Also,
node.js
a ski resort.
I'm guessing @accalia wrote this software?
nah.
if i wrote the software it would have slapped @tufty for attempting to enter .... well any of that bad data, and it wouldn't have crashed for him, let alone globally.
i may write in javascript, but i have Fucking Pride in my work.
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In a 3/4 hour session, whilst more or less following the instructor's instructions, I managed to:
enter duplicate, inconsistent and conflicting data.
"sign" a set of important checks on a lift as having been done by my boss, another set as having been done by "nobody", and another as having been done by someone working for another resort entirely.
indicate that I had closed my lift for -3 hours.
get the system into a totally unresponsive state locally, requiring a browser preferences tweak and restart
get the system into a totally unresponsive state globally, not only locking out my machine, but all the other machines in the training session, and, it appears, all of the other client machines running on other sites.Careful. Some people like to shoot the QA testers.
Filed under: Here's looking at you,
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indicate that I had closed my lift for -3 hours.
That was my favorite "feature" in Lotus Notes, calendar appointments with negative durations.
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I'm guessing @accalia wrote this software?
I think you meant @Yamikuronue didn't get to test it.
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The new system is, admittedly, slightly more intuitive than the old maintenance tracking system. But it is implemented in node.js with a non-relational database back end.
Open question for everybody: what are the benefits of a non-relational db and when is it a good idea?
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benefits of a non-relational db
when is it a good idea
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@fwd If you're crunching on garbagey data with inconsistent schemas and no guaranteed referential integrity and need to draw nebulous conclusions from it. Basically, where it shines is dirty assed social media data and crap like sentiment analysis, where you only need a vague idea of what people think, and exact accuracy isn't needed.
Anywhere with a well formed schema or accuracy requirement exists, it's useless.
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Open question for everybody: what are the benefits of a non-relational db and when is it a good idea?
I've answered that question like 57 times on this forum and I'm sick of answering it.
Yes, non-relational databases have uses.
No, you're not one of the projects that should use them. If you are, believe me, you know it. If you're even asking the question, you ain't.
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@blakeyrat Yup. If the problem CAN be sanely solved without them, it should be.
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@blakeyrat said in Work WTF:
No, you're not one of the projects that should use them. If you are, believe me, you know it. If you're even asking the question, you ain't.
What if you're making a desktop search app with random random functionality?
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@blakeyrat said in Work WTF:
indicate that I had closed my lift for -3 hours.
That was my favorite "feature" in Lotus Notes, calendar appointments with negative durations.
If you schedule a meeting for -3 hours, do you get 3 hours more of work done?
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@Maciejasjmj No; your Palm device crashes next time you sync and you have to call the IT department to fix it.
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@blakeyrat said in Work WTF:
@Maciejasjmj No; your Palm device crashes next time you sync and you have to call the IT department to fix it.
Still more productive than a meeting.
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@blakeyrat said in Work WTF:
That was my favorite "feature" in Lotus Notes, calendar appointments with negative durations.
Was? If you are under the impression that Lotus Notes is no longer around, permit me to disillusion you.
Indeed, I'm in the position of wishing I had access to Lotus Notes at work, since in its absence I am not permitted any email or IM on the network I can do work on. (I have email on the network I can access the internet on, but never the twain shall mix.)
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I think you meant @Yamikuronue didn't get to test it.
No, I was just trolling @accalia since she lives in a state where skiing is a thing and works with Node.
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If you are under the impression that Lotus Notes is no longer around,
I'm not. Nor did I ever say that.
I just can't speak authoritatively to the most recent version (8? 9?) because I only used 5.4 - 6.1.
Given it's Lotus Notes, I'm sure this bug still exists, but since I don't know for sure (and I sure as fuck ain't gonna download it and check!) I used the past-tense.
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Open question for everybody: what are the benefits of a non-relational db and when is it a good idea?
The second half of the question: "almost never". See that great story about the people who did a TV Guide in Mongo and then discovered--and explained why in detail--they'd chosen poorly. The lesson is generalizable.
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@ben_lubar said in Work WTF:
What if you're making a desktop search app with random random functionality?
If a database is an applicable technology you should still use a relational dbms.
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@blakeyrat said in Work WTF:
No; your Palm device crashes next time you sync and you have to call the IT department to fix it.
From anyone else I'd assume that was a joke. I have a feeling you're serious.
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wishing I had access to Lotus Notes at work, since in its absence I am not permitted any email or IM on the network I can do work on.
If you're going to wish for that you might as well wish for a better client. Or a pony.
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@ben_lubar said in Work WTF:
What if you're making a desktop search app with random random functionality?
If a database is an applicable technology you should still use a relational dbms.
Looks like you need to catch up on some reading:
https://what.thedailywtf.com/topic/6458/nobody-shares-knowledge-better-than-this
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@ben_lubar said in Work WTF:
Looks like you need to catch up on some reading
I knew you probably meant swampy. That doesn't change my answer.
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@FrostCat Mostly I wish for Axis2 to never have existed. And by that I don't mean that I want to be using its predecessor instead.
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@FrostCat Link!
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@Tsaukpaetra Nah, never done nukes. Done plenty of financials, a load of telecoms, and quite a lot of airworthiness, but never nukes.
Twat.
filed under: hey, it's fun! :D
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Twat.
filed under: hey, it's fun!
One day I may be able to physically . It seems to be a unanimously smiled upon pastime favorite.
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@Tsaukpaetra said in Work WTF:
Twat.
filed under: hey, it's fun!
One day I may be able to physically . It seems to be a unanimously smiled upon pastime favorite.
Well, I can't recommend it enough! (Although the few hundred thousand billion hours of porn can, of course!)
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few hundred thousand billion hours of porn
Stay out of my browser history.
Mine doesn't say too much about me, TBH...
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@Tsaukpaetra said in Work WTF:
few hundred thousand billion hours of porn
Stay out of my browser history.
Mine doesn't say too much about me, TBH...
Yeah. Uh. Mine either. cough
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@Tsaukpaetra said in Work WTF:
few hundred thousand billion hours of porn
Stay out of my browser history.
Mine doesn't say too much about me, TBH...
Well, I think it says you're TRWTF.
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few hundred thousand billion hours of porn
Stay out of my browser history.
Yeah, I'm not that kinda guy.
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@Tsaukpaetra said in Work WTF:
few hundred thousand billion hours of porn
Stay out of my browser history.
Mine doesn't say too much about me, TBH...
Well, I think it says you're TRWTDWTF.
FTFY.
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@Tsaukpaetra said in Work WTF:
@Tsaukpaetra said in Work WTF:
few hundred thousand billion hours of porn
Stay out of my browser history.
Mine doesn't say too much about me, TBH...
Well, I think it says you're TRWTDWTF.
FTFY.
Well, nope. You use Chrome. I meant that.
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Well, nope. You use Chrome. I meant that.
Oh. Well, the site doesn't work very well in IE6, and I don't have FireFox or Midori or whatever hipster browser you might think of here at work, so...
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@Tsaukpaetra said in Work WTF:
Well, nope. You use Chrome. I meant that.
Oh. Well, the site doesn't work very well in IE6, and I don't have FireFox or Midori or whatever hipster browser you might think of here at work, so...
PaleMoonLightVivaldiConkeror was the correct answer. But thank you for playing, you almost took part.
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@Tsaukpaetra said in Work WTF:
Well, nope. You use Chrome. I meant that.
Oh. Well, the site doesn't work very well in IE6, and I don't have FireFox or Midori or whatever hipster browser you might think of here at work, so...
BTW, you're stellar work? What crazy hours do you work?!
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@Tsaukpaetra said in Work WTF:
@Tsaukpaetra said in Work WTF:
few hundred thousand billion hours of porn
Stay out of my browser history.
Mine doesn't say too much about me, TBH...
Well, I think it says you're TRWTDWTF.
FTFY.
Well, nope. You use Chrome. I meant that.
Someone down voted me for that?! I'd understand if I commented "twat" to a @tufty's interesting post ( hey, I did that!), but for this? I can't even…
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@Tsaukpaetra said in Work WTF:
Well, nope. You use Chrome. I meant that.
Oh. Well, the site doesn't work very well in IE6, and I don't have FireFox or Midori or whatever hipster browser you might think of here at work, so...
BTW, you're stellar work? What crazy hours do you work?!
I'm not sure what you're asking. I work when I can. This typically means ~10a-5p.
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@Tsaukpaetra said in Work WTF:
@Tsaukpaetra said in Work WTF:
Well, nope. You use Chrome. I meant that.
Oh. Well, the site doesn't work very well in IE6, and I don't have FireFox or Midori or whatever hipster browser you might think of here at work, so...
BTW, you're stellar work? What crazy hours do you work?!
I'm not sure what you're asking. I work when I can. This typically means ~10a-5p.
Well, you took that screenshot at 12 AM…
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@Tsaukpaetra said in Work WTF:
@Tsaukpaetra said in Work WTF:
Well, nope. You use Chrome. I meant that.
Oh. Well, the site doesn't work very well in IE6, and I don't have FireFox or Midori or whatever hipster browser you might think of here at work, so...
BTW, you're stellar work? What crazy hours do you work?!
I'm not sure what you're asking. I work when I can. This typically means ~10a-5p.
Well, you took that screenshot at 12 AM…
I... did? I thought it was like 3:15 or something quarter hour ago...
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@Tsaukpaetra said in Work WTF:
@Tsaukpaetra said in Work WTF:
@Tsaukpaetra said in Work WTF:
Well, nope. You use Chrome. I meant that.
Oh. Well, the site doesn't work very well in IE6, and I don't have FireFox or Midori or whatever hipster browser you might think of here at work, so...
BTW, you're stellar work? What crazy hours do you work?!
I'm not sure what you're asking. I work when I can. This typically means ~10a-5p.
Well, you took that screenshot at 12 AM…
I... did? I thought it was like 3:15 or something quarter hour ago...
Well, it's half past midnight. I'm drunk but not that drunk!