Updates!

A sudden rash of updates has taken place, going back to (I think) the 2nd of July. Just thought I'd mention that here and save you having to work all the way back one at a time.

Pincer movements

I've been caught between a stupid client incapable of making even a token effort at helping themselves ("Give someone information that will let them solve my problem? Why would I want to do that?") and Ted E. ("I'll fix it all up for you, right up to the point where I realise I don't understand what I'm doing. Then I'll make it someone else's problem, and not tell anyone.")

The ideal solution is one where they destroy one another, but I'm not sure that's actually achievable with the resources at hand.

Still, having had Ted E. pass this to me without warning, there was some satisfaction to be had from reminding him that he was the last one to have been involved with this, and asking him how far along he'd got with it.

In some cases, careless talk costs nothing.

Faux pas for the day: discussing staffing levels within the unit, and gesturing at Ted E.'s vacant desk with the comment "...someone in that position pulling their weight" just as Ted ambles back in from lunch.

Oops.

But not a terribly sincere "Oops", I fear.

A Ted E. triptych - watch the patience diminish

Ah, Ted E. ... how it amuses me when you try to make other people's lives difficult (because, as we all know, that's the key to masking deficiencies in your own performance) and manage a 75% failure rate in doing so ...

A little later.

Having said that, I'm still not convinced that simply putting out a hit on Ted E. wouldn't be the most elegant solution for all concerned.

... and later still.
And, while I'm on a roll, what the hell is the point of asking everyone else but me the kind of questions that I'm the only one in the position to make a decision on?

I mean the former acting team leader of the remote desktop support group? I like the guy and thought he did a good job in his acting role ... but what is the frikking point of enlisting his support for a half-arsed idea that's outside his area of expertise and responsibility?

Ted E. vs The Environment

Some licence has been taken with the following conversation. But not a lot.

Manager: Now, Ted, what we're doing is installing a small client on each machine to monitor how much power it draws, so we can get some metrics on how much power we can save by using policies that power down all the computers over the weekend.

Ted: It's not my fault! I have a laptop, and I undock it at the end of each day and put it in the cupboard!*

Manager: I know, but we're just gathering some data so we can extrapolate some figures.

Ted: Laptop! Unplug! Not my fault!

Manager: We're not worried about how much power you're consuming personally, just how much we can potentially -

Ted: It's not me! Other people leave their computers on all the time, but not me!

Manager: *sigh* Ted, I'm just going to install this, okay? It won't do anything at all if you're computer's not - "

Ted E.: NOOOO! Not "if" - "WHEN". Other people BAD - Ted GOOD!

Manager: Okay, that's done. Oops, look at the time! Gotta run!

---

* Ted E. and the laptop ... where to begin? Let's not, and just write it off as one of those management vision things. But I will just say that watching Ted E. grapple with the laptop dock for the first few weeks was a regular afternoon highlight.

And the outcome is...

Meeting went broadly as expected, with Ted E. deciding the best way to defend himself was to attack anyone and everything else in sight and insist "I disagree strongly" because, y'know, that by itself invalidates anything anyone else might have to say.

I'm slightly disappointed by the ouctome of the meeting, because I'd have liked more fireworks, but at least he's now been formally asked to lift his act in a couple of areas and knows what's expected of him. The other meeting we probably need to have - about his treatment of other team members - will have to wait a little for now.

Ted E's facial tic was back, though, albeit not quite so extreme as during last week's team meeting. Again, it's satisfying to see that he's feeling some pressure.

And, coming up soon, we have the Stress Fiend to manage...

Against the forces of stupidity.

Meeting with Ted E. and my manager sometime within the next few minutes as a follow-up to Ted's antics from last week. Would have taken him aside myself, but he decided to raise the stakes by escalating things to management when (from his position) they should still have been mild and manageable. I think we'd have gotten to this point eventually, but Ted E. very helpfully got us there much faster with his injured innocence act.