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Y'know what really grinds my gears?

Started by Link Prime, 12 April, 2014, 01:47:44 PM

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TordelBack

While by no means a vague acquaintance this is an ongoing problem with my father-in-law.  He has an ancient laptop which he uses in an... idiosyncratic manner, and I have for some reason become the perceived panacea for all its ills (I suspect he's been casting around for some use for me for a quarter century now, and despite no obvious indications to support his conclusions has hit on this).  I keep telling him it's old, and he can't keep pasting multiple 10MB photos into an MS Works document to make brochures for his craft business and hope it will still whisk merrily on, but despite a sharp technical mind he cannot grasp the idea of compressing his images, or using a more capable DTP, or a lighter OS, or buying a new computer

So at every family gathering I get manoeuvred into a corner and forced to commit to resuscitating it. Again.  I've updated XP as far as it'll go (he won't budge), I've jammed in as much ram as I can, I've upgraded the HDD, I've shifted his voluminous files to external storage, I've redirected his insane nest of legacy email addresses, I've pared back the errant toolbars and extensions and background processes, I've scoured it for viruses and malware and unneeded doo-dads... and left explaining that this is just a quick tidy-up, the days are numbered, and one day he will have to move on. 

Until the next time.

And that's not even getting in to keeping his bloody tablet running.

But i appreciate that this is not the 'presumption of a vague acquaintance' situation to with Pops refers.

(Actually in typing all that I've realised how much I enjoy doing all this compu-necromancy, and actually being regarded as useful by man who is otherwise somewhat (if utterly justifiably) judgmental of the ruin I've brought down on his daughter - so it's not really a gear-grinder at all, is it?).

JayzusB.Christ

#991
As a professional mural painter, I used to get something similar quite a lot; generally involving being asked to work for free in exchange for 'exposure'. I have since learned to ask the would-be benefactor if he or she would ask a mechanic, electrician or even painter / decorator the same thing; or even if they themselves would do their own job for nothing.
The odd thing is, now that I have quite a bit of 'exposure' through paid work, it's very rare that people ask for free stuff any more.
"Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest"

Definitely Not Mister Pops

Heh, the last thing I want is "exposure" as a reliable IT guy, that would only make my problem worse. The whole "exposure and publicity in lieu of remuneration" seems to be a regular problem for a lot of my musician friends. Ignoring all the all hours of lessons and practice they put in to make their skills marketable, it completely ignores the fact that amps and drumkits etc are big, awkward and/or heavy, so transporting and setting them up is both time consuming and difficult.

And Tordelback, my Dad lectures in computers, so he has taken the mantle of Family IT Guy. He also gave me some of the best trouble-shooting advice ever: Never use possessive pronouns.

So don't say:

"Your problem was caused by all your porn"

Instead say:

"The problem was caused by all this porn"

Although it would probably be best to say nothing where your father-in-law is concerned. ;)
You may quote me on that.

sheridan

Quote from: Mister Pops on 15 November, 2015, 07:37:48 PM
He also gave me some of the best trouble-shooting advice ever: Never use possessive pronouns.

So don't say:

"Your problem was caused by all your porn"

Instead say:

"The problem was caused by all this porn"

Although it would probably be best to say nothing where your father-in-law is concerned. ;)

Put to best use in Fight Club, of course :-)

sheridan

Quote from: Mardroid on 15 November, 2015, 05:08:08 PM
.... People who are noisy eaters. I understand when peoples jaws move there will be bit of sound. And crunching stuff doesn't bother me much. It's that 'squelch-squelch' sound suggesting a person is eating with their mouth open. Yuck.

Yep, basic hygiene / etiquette to keep your mouth closed while chewing.

Quote.... people who boil the kettle, then go somewhere and don't use the water when you want to make yourself a cup of tea. It's like... okay... do I take your water? Do I wait for you to come back and use it? I'm thirsty! Grrr.

Either at home or at work I'll use the water and refill the kettle to a similar level (or as far as it needs filling based on how many prepared cups there might be present).  Though actually, if I'm at home I'll just make the other person's tea/coffee/hot chocolate/whatever.

sheridan

Quote from: Mister Pops on 15 November, 2015, 06:08:53 PMThat would never happen would it? Unless you replace "plumbing/wiring/car" with "computer". Then that kind of situation happens to me every month or so.

Many of my more creative friends get this, from visual artists being asked to design or illustrate something for free, to musical friends being asked if they can provide one of their songs for a soundtrack (advert, animation, short film, etc) gratis.  I've also had writerly friends see their content being used on so-called respectable websites (struggling to remember which ones - I think the Daily Heil was one) without a) permission or b) compensation.

SuperSurfer

Free/favours/voluntary work are the bane of my life.

I have a couple of times been referred to as 'the person who does our IT'. No I don't I just happen to use a computer as do millions of other people in their jobs. In fact I did my job for a while in offices that didn't have a single computer in them.

And of course anyone can do my job if they learn Photoshop. Which people seem to think is the only program I use.

If I ever learn how to use Microsoft Word I will become an author.

Jim_Campbell

Quote from: SuperSurfer on 15 November, 2015, 11:57:32 PM
Free/favours/voluntary work are the bane of my life.

I maintain a gmail address solely as a contact method from my blog — I never give it out, and (to the best of my knowledge) it's not listed anywhere else. That means that in order to contact me using it, the contactee must have at least found my blog and clicked on the mail to: link contained in a paragraph of text explaining what I do, and that I won't do it either for free or for 'back end' payment.

So, inevitably, I get an email on that address every couple of weeks that demonstrates that the sender either has no idea what I do, or asking me to do free or back end work.

Bah!

Jim
Stupidly Busy Letterer: Samples. | Blog
Less-Awesome-Artist: Scribbles.

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Quote from: SuperSurfer on 15 November, 2015, 11:57:32 PMFree/favours/voluntary work are the bane of my life...

I hear you. With a background in IT, I'm our family's 'go-to guy' for any kind of computer problems, and most of the time I don't mind as that's what families do.

However, now my (sort of) father-in-law has decided to treat himself to a new computer for Xmas, and has asked me to choose one for him, but I honestly don't know where to start. It used to be relatively easy—budget vs. Windows/Mac, desktop/laptop. Now though, there are desktops, laptops, tablets, hybrids, Windows 7, Windows 10, Android, Mac, iOs etc. etc..

I know all the questions to ask (what do you use it for? do you type a lot? etc.) but even with that I'm so stuck as to what to recommend. A Windows 10 machine would seem to be the straightforward choice now, but I think it would be so very confusing to an octogenarian...

JayzusB.Christ

Dublin Bus: an odd combination of one of the most expensive bus services I've seen, and one of the worst. Turning up late,  not turning up at all, drivers being pricks to the passengers who pay their wages,  and in a couple of instances I've witnessed,  racism towards black people.

I've missed important meetings and been embarrassingly late for work, friends and dates thanks to Dublin Bus. I try to use them as little as possible, which really shouldn't be the case in a city that's trying to thin out its traffic.

Stick your free Wi-Fi up your arse, Dublin Bus,  and spend our astronomical fares on teaching your drivers manners and how to tell the time.

"Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest"

DaveGYNWA

Ah Dublin Bus - oh how I don't miss thee.
Peas sell. But who's Brian?

TordelBack


paddykafka

Whoever writes up the Dublin Bus Time-tables should be given the Pulitzer prize for Fiction.

JayzusB.Christ

I've started a policy of emailing them immediately to demand compensation whenever they turn up insanely late or not at all. They generally send a 20 Euro bus voucher. Please do the same - might as well charge the fuckers for your time.
"Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest"

DaveGYNWA

Peas sell. But who's Brian?