31 January, 2006

Never work with children or Cow-orkers

Argh. They're trying to set up a secure download site for distributing software here, and one of the things I've been asked to do is test it out before it goes live. Apparently the Cow-orker is too busy to test the links to see if anything downloads, so it falls to me.

I click a link. A file downloads. There is rejoicing in the streets that this complex and delicate task has been completed.

Then a nagging voice of doubt makes me decide to check the files that have actually downloaded. One of the packages consistes of only two files, neither of which appear to be executable. I email the Cow-orker to ask if this is correct, seeing as she supposedly has the master copies of the software from which the downloadable files were compiled, and should be able to tell me.

An email comes back. "I don't know. In fact I don't even know if I used the right files or the right software in the first place, and I'm not going to check for you now. Maybe you should download a few gigabytes of data from the software vendor themselves and compare it directly. But you'll need to contact them for a username and password. And I'd like us to go live with this tomorrow. Do you think that's possible?"

I'm starting to suspect there's an ulterior motive in asking me to do this: it's punishment for trying to leave. Although my contract expires again in a week, so if they don't get a move on at sorting that out their plans to make me suffer may well fall through...