Runcible Blog

Here's a summary of what my work day:

mail# ps aux

ns2# ps aux

db# ps aux

dave# ps aux

Sometimes I alternate between ps aux and top. I'll also do a tail -100 on every log I can find. I'm not looking for anything in particular -- just filling time by constantly checking what all those boxen are doing.

On very slow days, the tedium is unbearable. But there's so much down-time because of poor management/no goals or direction/low morale, etc. And when I do have something to do, I'm usually finished much quicker than expected (not to honk my own horn).

At least when I worked in that box factory for a week, when I finished one thing, there was always something else to do. But it wasn't a rushed feeling. It was more like, "Ok, you did that. Now do this thing." So, no matter what pace you work, there's always something in the pipeline. With this job, I spend my downtime wandering in the wilderness, wasting away. And frankly, I don't care enough to search for things to do.

That's another observation about my job: nearly everything that I've done which has helped someone or the company has been something that I've done on my own or was told not to do. It's sad that in order to do any good there, you have to stay under the radar and be sneaky about everything. Otherwise, the political territoriality and massive egos crush any potential for progress.