🚀 go-pugleaf

While I worked for `a previous employer', I heard a tail about a field
service problem. Not even FOAF, so this is REAL folklore.

The scenario:

	A warehouse, with loads of shelves of stuff.  A few terminals in
	the warehouse.  When an item is removed from the shelves, the
	information on its tag is entered into the computer. There's a
	chart on the wall behind each terminal which has the code to enter
	for each part. The computer then knows whats in stock. Easy really.

	So... the system has been working for a while, and then
	the support team receive a telephone call from them.
	``We're getting spurious spaces on one of our VDUs, can
	you send a chap round to fix it?''

	Now, these VDUs are RS232 at 9600 baud, running at about the
	limit of their range. So, the field engineer expects that its
	noise on the line, so he follows the routing, unwraps the wire
	from various hazards (you know the sort of thing, electric motors,
	fluorescent lights, telephones, the usual problems with long serial
	wires). Having made sure that the cable is now well protected from
	external magnetic fields, only earthed at one end and all that
	jazz, he leaves.

	And the system is fine.

	For a week.

	Then the support engineers are phoned again:
	``Those spurious spaces are back.''

	So, in goes a new VDU. The wire is replaced. The serial interface
	card is replaced. The operating system is upgraded (one visit to
	the sight for each modification).

	By now the support guys are getting worried. The customer is getting
	a bit p****d off. Words are being said. You know the sort of thing.

	Eventually, a field service engineer is sent to watch for these
	spurious spaces. So he waits near the VDU, watching.

	The warehouse people take items off the shelf. Most of them know
	most of the computer codes already, so just go to the VDU and
	tap in the code. Sometimes, someone looks up a code.

	And then it happened.

	One of the ladies comes upto the VDU with several items.
	Now, she's a big girl (now what I mean?) and she put here
	little collection down beside the VDU, sat down, picked up
	each one in turn, and typed it's number in. Then she picked
	up one she didn't recognised, *leaned forward* to read the
	number from the list on the wall, and the VDU started beeping.
	Her bosoms had made firm contact with the space bar....

+-------

	And then there's the MD that I heard about, who had to send a
	memo to all the WP staff, asking them not to wear nylon panties
	at work, as the wriggling of the nylon on the typist's chairs
	created enough static to blow the WP line driver chips up.
	No-one knows if the MD checked all the WP staff himself.....

	(MD: Managing Director - very important chap in UK companies.)
	(WP: Word Processing [I believe thats something like using
	vi and troff])

+-------

-- 
     "These opinions are made up on the spur of the moment, and bear no
      relationship to my actual beliefs, let alone those of Specialix"

Jon Brawn, jo...@specialix.co.uk  (or for you bangers: ..!mcsun!ukc!slxsys!jonb)