Weird weather

We're not closed, but we're supposed to telecommute. I came in anyway, and I was the only one here for a while. I set off the burglar alarm and forgot the code. Fortunately I remembered the verbal password, so I called the security company.
I hate security system codes! They are quite literally the only 4 digit number I have trouble remembering. You want to know the PIN from a company debit card from 2005? Gotcha covered. Security code you literally just told me? Sorry, can't help ya. I keep them in my wallet.
 

fade

Staff member
You know, I think any IT guy must cringe at computer security in video games.

All the employees carry their passwords in their pockets or on nearby bulletin boards.

Or at best via some easy to guess clue like a note in a book that says, "oh this book always reminded me of how SECURE we were together. How we'd PASS the time with nary a WORD between us...".
 
You know, I think any IT guy must cringe at computer security in video games.

All the employees carry their passwords in their pockets or on nearby bulletin boards.

Or at best via some easy to guess clue like a note in a book that says, "oh this book always reminded me of how SECURE we were together. How we'd PASS the time with nary a WORD between us...".
3 years in IT (1 of them in infosec, 2 in desktop support) taught me that those games are super-unrealistic with how competent users are portrayed as.

Granted, all that follows is for a low-security open campus but... I once found every single password needed to take over a PhD's life (email, banking, retirement, payroll, etc) taped to the desk, underneath their keyboard. I've lost count of how many users did the post-it-on-the-monitor thing (after being repeatedly told not to). "Hello, you called IT?" is all I need to get someone I've never met before to give me unfettered access to their logged-in work machine--they'd often blurt out their passwords unbidden (they've been told repeatedly that IT has no need for their credentials)... I wore my name badge maybe once a semester (when helping outsiders), not that anyone ever demanded identification (other than campus police and maybe one user/year).
 

Dave

Staff member
I used to have a user whose password was the same numeric digit pressed 4 times.
I had to reset a password for a guy who kept leaving abusive messages. I finally set it at "|l1||lI1|||l" or something equally obnoxious (in our system the l, |, & 1 all looked really close - you had to KNOW what you were looking for). We also told him that we were limited to 1 password reset every 30 days for security purposes.

His boss finally came and said, "Yeah, he's as ass, but could you please...?" His boss was totally cool so we did it.
 

fade

Staff member
You did the weather conversation thing.

Our flux is usually the other way. We had some summery 85 degree days a few weeks back.
 

fade

Staff member
Man, I'm no stranger to cold--i was living in Boston when I joined this crowd. But this is cold. The real problem, though is the freezing rain coating everything like thick glass.
 
Man, I'm no stranger to cold--i was living in Boston when I joined this crowd. But this is cold. The real problem, though is the freezing rain coating everything like thick glass.
I think it's safe to say, no matter where you are, once ice getting involved, everything is shitty nightmare.
 
You know, I think any IT guy must cringe at computer security in video games.

All the employees carry their passwords in their pockets or on nearby bulletin boards.

Or at best via some easy to guess clue like a note in a book that says, "oh this book always reminded me of how SECURE we were together. How we'd PASS the time with nary a WORD between us...".
IRL flip the keyboard over.[DOUBLEPOST=1516155582,1516155524][/DOUBLEPOST]1/4 inch of ice and an 1/8 inch of snow and my office is shut down for two days. Of course none of it melted.
 
Nothing melted here yesterday (120 miles north of Fade), but luckily we didn't get any precipitation after about 1pm. So we're in better shape than they are, roads and bridges are clear of ice.
 
I think it's safe to say, no matter where you are, once ice getting involved, everything is shitty nightmare.
Well, I called that, unfortunately.

I was taking Li'l Z to school this morning and lost control of the car. Thankfully, I had 3 things going for me:
1) In this weather (it's currently a snowing/slushy mix), I tend to drive much slower than usual.
2) It's only a two-lane road, but there was no oncoming traffic and the person behind me was a good distance away.
3) I let Li'l Z bring a book with him in the car, so he didn't realize what was going on until he heard me go, "Shitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshit!".

I was coming around a turn, albeit slowly, but not slowly enough because the back of our car decided it wanted to go it's own way. I took my foot off the gas and tried to get straightened out, but it decided to go all over the road and someone's lawn before getting control again. Thankfully, it's a spot with no trees, fences or ditches. So anyway, we're all okay, the car's okay, Li'l Z's safe at school and I'm done having adventures for today.

(Maybe a big "fuck you" to the township who decided not to salt, brine, or plow this time.)
 

GasBandit

Staff member
Last night I left some bottles of water in the car. It got down to 14 degrees, but the bottles didn't solidify. So this morning I got to entertain myself with the old "tap the cap and shake it and BOOM bottle of ice" trick.
 
Super cold for two days, super nice for two days, now its raining again because South Jersey is the center of chaos and madness. Also pretty sure it messes up my sleep schedule, I don't know why but it does.
 
We were supposed to get absolutely walloped by a big cold front - tons of rain, high winds, the lot. It's kinda been a fizzle so far, but preparation never really goes to waste, so at least the house is warm and toasty.
 
We were supposed to get absolutely walloped by a big cold front - tons of rain, high winds, the lot. It's kinda been a fizzle so far, but preparation never really goes to waste, so at least the house is warm and toasty.
They keep bumping the winter weather warning out.
 
Yeah, and I finally did a detailed examination of the topography between us and the ocean, and realistically it's probably going to take one of those 50 or 100 year storms for us to get hit hard by a storm. The way our valley curves, combined with the prevailing wind patterns, and our location in relation to Cape Blanco, means we're sheltered from most of the worst of the wind.

Edit: All that being said, it rained sideways most of the day today and the power just gave me a hard blink, so with the worst of the wind being forecast for starting shortly, I think it's time to save all my docs/games, and make sure my tablet is charged (the phone was topped off an hour ago), before I bring some wood upstairs and get to heating the stove back up.
 
Last edited:
Cloudy, with a chance of zombie



The city public information officer, Ben Kerr, told Gizmodo this has been a reoccurring issue. “We first became aware of the zombie messages during Hurricane Irma,”
 
Some programmer or systems engineer is snickering quietly to themselves while trying to keep a straight face explaining that they can't find the root cause, or why their last "fix" didn't resolve the situation.
 
Some programmer or systems engineer is snickering quietly to themselves while trying to keep a straight face explaining that they can't find the root cause, or why their last "fix" didn't resolve the situation.
Aye. They need to sack the whole crew.


. . . of course, that'll just lead to møøse alerts.
 
It is currently 89 here in the East Valley, and humidity is at about 36% with winds around 15 mph... and OMG.

We have the windows open, and I'm just shocked at how different it feels than the last month or three.

I'm trying to imagine how @Terrik manages to live like this...
 
It is currently 89 here in the East Valley, and humidity is at about 36% with winds around 15 mph... and OMG.

We have the windows open, and I'm just shocked at how different it feels than the last month or three.

I'm trying to imagine how @Terrik manages to live like this...
I suspect @Terrik doesn't have to manage living in 36% humidity that often.
 

GasBandit

Staff member
89 degrees and only 36% humidity sounds like heaven about now, here in Texas, where most of this week it has been 95+ degrees with 80%+ humidity.
 
I'm in Western Kentucky and have been having similar weather as Gas - lowest our humidity seems to be going is 50% overnight - makes the "RealFeel" in the low 100's even if the actual temps aren't in the 100's. Lots of rainstorms too because of the humidity.
 
Last edited:
That humidity hit the dew point this morning. We had a nice long rain.

One weird thing, though - even when it rains here in the Valley, and even when it's cloudy, it's still brighter than it ever was back in WI.
 
That humidity hit the dew point this morning. We had a nice long rain.

One weird thing, though - even when it rains here in the Valley, and even when it's cloudy, it's still brighter than it ever was back in WI.
Yeah, I die when the humidity gets above 20% because my body no longer knows what to do when there's water in the air. :p
 

figmentPez

Staff member
My local college is still rebuilding from the flooding caused by Harvey. Here are some pics of how things looked after remediation, but before reconstruction started.

This was the library:

So many books lost. :(


The theater, and those seats were nearly new. They and the carpeting had just been replaced a year or so before. Probably all of them at least need new upholstery, with a few rows being gone completely.

All of the costumes in the costume shop were lost. Much of the furniture and props.

He is some of the office spaces:


The theater building is last on the list to be rebuilt, and it won't be done until 2020 at least.
 
Top