» Bad Management

School Daze
Okay, so here goes.

I have been working as an IT Technician in a Bristol School for two months and I am already having enough. The job itself isn't too bad and my boss and co-worker is pretty decent but there are other problems that exists. The big thing that's going on now is that we are having a new school build through the government's building schools for the future programme, which means we'll have a £30 million shiny new school come september. This is where things have started going wrong.

- Our project manager who is supposed to be in control of the whole project has told us very little abou whats going on and my boss has regular meetings with her to find out what the hell is going on and what we're getting. She also has an amazing ability to make you feel inferior to her and make you think something is always your fault.

-The specification for the IT system was drawn up the deputy head and a teacher, who later on said she knew nothing about computers. We are getting a very nice shiny new network with VMWare and IPTV and Digital signage but which is a bit overkill for a school.

-With the aforemented IT system, we aren't getting any training. Day 1, we'll get the blame when things go wrong because we don't know what we're doing an having to wing it.

-Masses amounts of money have been wasted. Our first cartridge spend for the school year was going to just over £70,000. Our current spend, for a year, is about £7000. Money have been spent on £90 seinheiser heaphones which will get stolen within the first few weeks and no money has been set aside to replace them. The school is getting ~300 desktops and MORE THAN 500 LAPTOPS. To me, this is retarded but the consultants (who are a bunch of lying btards) says we need this and the school has gone along with it. A website will also be bought for £3000 when I would happily do it myself.

So, bad management? Hell yeah. Ton's of unhappy teachers, kids who couldn't give a shit and Senior Management who think this will be the end of all our problems.

EDIT: Moar to come in another post.
(Thu 10th Jun 2010, 12:12, More)

» Bad Management

another one in the "School Daze" saga
(for previous, see: www.b3ta.com/questions/badmanagement/post751369)

Of all the things I've seen in my nigh-on 21 years on this earth this is going to be the worst.

As mentioned before we are getting a new school with servers and IT network. We will be having a main server room with all the servers, HP Blade enclosures, 60% of the switching equpiment, backup servers, storage NAS, Buidling Management, CCTV and Telephone servers as well as UPSs for the whole lot. Total worth is about £100,000 and if destoryed would cripple the school.

Guess what fire suppression system we've got?

Sprinklers. Mo-foing sprinklers in a server room "to comply with regulations".

Apparently they'll only come on if the room gets to a certain temperature but no-one know what temperature so if the air con goes off over the weekend we could come in monday morning to find the servers have had a nice bath all weekend. No-one also knows if there is a time delay so when the kids set the fire alrm off (an they will) if there is a time delay or the fire had to be confirmed before the sprinklers come on.

What's wrong with gas ffs?
(Fri 11th Jun 2010, 9:02, More)

» Professions I Hate

the God Squad.
I don't know if it's a profession, but they don't seem to do anything else so here's my input.

There's a guy in town (Bristol, some people may know) who spends his days shouting about the coming of christ and how we will all die for our sins. There's normally someone else handing out leaflets telling us how to redeem ourselves and such rubbish.

Now, I haven't got too much of a problem with believers (i'm atheist) but I get enough opinion forced down my throat as it is and quite frankly, if I'm a sinner and destined for hell, then I don't care. No do the rest of the people walking past wishing that he would shut the hell up.
(Thu 27th May 2010, 13:47, More)

» Buses

passengers from HELLLLL
Here in Bristol, UK, First Bus has a monopoly on bus travel. I've
been using their buses on a daily basis for more that three years and
I've encountered a few...interesting passengers in my time. I've got no problems with the buses...much...just the people on them.

- The guy who was on his phone for a good 45 minutes talking about
some godforsaken pointless thing in a high-pitched loud voice. When
he got of the bus there was several sighs of relief, let me tell you
that.

- The people that have (as I call it) SAD: Social Anti-Awareness
Disoder. This is, they talk to you...for ever...about stuff you dont
care about, want to know about, or hold the slightest bit of intrest
into knowing. I don't care about your kid's operaion or your cat's
problem. Just...please...fuck off.

- The HOLY FREAKING HELL most umpleasant women I have ever had to
deal with. The first time I "met" her she had just go onto the (very
full) bus and was stood next to the door. As an old lady walked past
her she said "wheres your manners" under her breath, to which I
replied "wheres yours?". I recieved a torrent of foul-mouthed abuse,
saying how I should respect older people (like her? pah!) claimed she was pregnant and demanded my seat. A cold stare works a treat. As she
got off the bus a couple of people cheered and as people walked past
me to get off they said "good for you" and such...which was nice.

- Next time she stood in front of the doors as they opened and got
smushed. Then she started having a go at the driver "mumble shoud be
be fucking working here, taking our fucking jobs blah blah". a couple
of people piped up, "dont like it, fuck off and walk" and "he's only
doing his job". She looked at me again and after a friendly (ha)
disagreement I said "pull a stunt like that again and I, along with
several others, WILL remove you from the bus". She said "you wouldn't
dare touch me" to which I replied "you're right...I dont' know where
you've been". When she got off I gave her a little wave. She gave me DEATH STARE 101. The bus driver said thanks.

Sorry, suppose you had to be there.

length? more than three years of hell.
(Thu 25th Jun 2009, 13:55, More)

» Absolute Power

I am an IT Technician
In a school.

Odd satisfaction wattching someone play a game through VNC, block the site, refresh the page (so the game comes up blocked) and watch them panic and try and get back on the game. It's a lessen, hello? Work?

It's evil. And I don't do it all the time, just to the ones I don't like (not that as support staff I'm supposed to show favourism).
(Fri 9th Jul 2010, 9:56, More)