FARK.com: (7154470) We laid off 40 percent of our IT staff and refused to upgrade outdated equipment...let's watch what happens

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		We laid off 40 percent of our IT staff and refused to upgrade outdated equipment...let's watch what happens (blog.al.com)		347
		More: Fail, Jefferson County, information technology, Emergency Management Agency, computer crashes, county manager, equipment

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38644 clicks; posted to Main » on 09 Jun 2012 at 11:15 PM | Favorite | share:

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tuna fingers		2012-06-09 06:52:21 PM

You laid off Ford Prefect?
That was a bad idea.

Ceteris Paribus says		2012-06-09 06:56:08 PM

That's symptomatic of severe financial distress

basemetal		2012-06-09 06:56:35 PM

Since Tuesday, the hardware problem has slowed or stopped transactions in the finance, treasurer and purchasing departments, preventing vendor payments and deposits and delaying preparation of the fiscal 2011 audit, according to county officials.

They don't care if their payments are late and that it effects small businesses. You, however, better not be late with your payments to government.

basemetal		2012-06-09 06:57:27 PM

Ceteris Paribus says: That's symptomatic of severe financial distress

Yes, yes it is.

Earguy		2012-06-09 07:08:47 PM

Keep your ear to the ground for new work.

eraser8		2012-06-09 07:10:46 PM

Earguy: Keep your ear to the ground for new work.

Everything's about ears with you, isn't it?

Earguy		2012-06-09 07:15:51 PM

eraser8: Earguy: Keep your ear to the ground for new work.

Everything's about ears with you, isn't it?

You haven't seen me in sports threads, have you?

/ears are important

Mark Ratner		2012-06-09 07:17:09 PM

Just wait for Y2K..shiat will hit the fan

2wolves		2012-06-09 07:30:24 PM

"and delaying preparation of the fiscal 2011 audit, according to county officials."

Not that I'm cynical or anything.

optikeye		2012-06-09 07:37:39 PM

Geeze, from the comments apparently they where using a 486 for the server---you'd would have think they would have upgraded that in the couple of decades.

xanadian		2012-06-09 07:41:25 PM

optikeye: Geeze, from the comments apparently they where using a 486 for the server---you'd would have think they would have upgraded that in the couple of decades.

WHAT!??

When I first started working at the place I'm at, 7 years ago, they were still using computers that had Pentiums in them. Not Pentium 4, or 3, or 2, or even MMX. PENTIUM. It was running WIndows for Workgroups 3.11.

O.o

Needless to say, everyone has either XP or Win 7 now.

I love being able to drive the technological bus where I work...

Cake Hunter		2012-06-09 07:41:51 PM

To ears!

BarkingUnicorn		2012-06-09 07:43:32 PM

This is the same county that filed bankruptcy because it sold its soul to JPMorgan?

reported		2012-06-09 07:43:51 PM

Workers were able to restore the server but are looking for a way to load SAP programs and data, Petelos said. "If successful, SAP should be available within 24 hours," he said. "If unsuccessful, a complete rebuild of the system will be required and could take up to five days."

Translation: Our backups are probably crap and we'll have to reinstall and reconfigure everything from scratch (assuming there's anyone left who knows how to do it).

xanadian		2012-06-09 07:47:59 PM

Also: this is kind of a strange thread to greenlight, but ...whatever.

PreMortem		2012-06-09 07:56:40 PM

Its not just county governments that are cutting on infrastructure and people. The company I work for is just about putting out fires now, not preventing them. They save in the short run, pay out the nose when shiat hits the fan. People say the same for places they work.

/not a fireman or otolaryngologist

MisterTweak		2012-06-09 07:57:19 PM

basemetal: Since Tuesday, the hardware problem has slowed or stopped transactions in the finance, treasurer and purchasing departments, preventing vendor payments and deposits and delaying preparation of the fiscal 2011 audit, according to county officials.

They don't care if their payments are late and that it effects small businesses. You, however, better not be late with your payments to government.

Sorry bub, government isn't any different from anyone else. They'll be pushing the fire truck to the next fire. Assuming it hasn't been repossessed.

Elmo Jones		2012-06-09 08:09:03 PM

A wheel in the ditch, and a wheel on the tracks.

cretinbob		2012-06-09 08:21:02 PM

Babwa Wawa		2012-06-09 08:21:25 PM

SAP is a beast not to be f*cked with.

IamKaiserSoze!!!		2012-06-09 08:23:27 PM

xanadian: Also: this is kind of a strange thread to greenlight, but ...whatever.

I've given up trying to figure out the plan for randomly greelighting TFD threads.

bmr68		2012-06-09 08:30:54 PM

I shipped a dog for my girlfriends sister last month. The airline I used still had Windows 3.11 systems.

Weaver95		2012-06-09 08:36:48 PM

for a second there, I thought this was a story about my now former employer....

Personally, I wish 'em the best of luck but they're not reinvesting in their infrastructure and laying off people with years of experience, and those of us who DIDN'T get laid off are retiring fast as they can.

BarkingUnicorn		2012-06-09 08:37:15 PM

Well, the system's back online as of Friday. Tune in again Monday for more of The Great Alabama Server Meltdown.

GAT_00		2012-06-09 08:53:32 PM

Hey, what do you know, Republican government policy is completely idiotic and fails horribly.

Weaver95		2012-06-09 08:55:59 PM

GAT_00: Hey, what do you know, Republican government policy is completely idiotic and fails horribly.

what I don't get is why organizations don't maintain their infrastructure. you can only outsource so much before things fall apart. and lemme tell ya - SAP is a right bastard if you don't maintain it.

GAT_00		2012-06-09 08:59:26 PM

Weaver95: what I don't get is why organizations don't maintain their infrastructure

Where's the direct profit in it?

That's where free market ideology falls apart.

ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha		2012-06-09 09:00:35 PM

Yes, Black Betty, the mainframe. Boy, oh, boy. We thought about replacing her years ago, but then we thought, "Well, why not just cobble our new systems to the old one, with untold miles of spaghetti code and obsolete co-ax cable?" It was an executive decision. We figured it would save money in the short run, and only later plunge the company into darkness, after we executives had all left for other companies.

cman		2012-06-09 09:19:35 PM

GAT_00: Hey, what do you know, Republican government policy is completely idiotic and fails horribly.

Same can be said for every government policy in existence

LasersHurt		2012-06-09 09:20:00 PM

You will never, ever go wrong by paying a little extra for a good IT staff and the equipment they need.

You will, however, be a giant dick when you don't give them what they need, then biatch at them when something goes wrong.

GAT_00		2012-06-09 09:35:01 PM

cman: GAT_00: Hey, what do you know, Republican government policy is completely idiotic and fails horribly.

Same can be said for every government policy in existence

You're ex-military. So you're saying, you are, or rather were, part of the problem?

Di Atribe		2012-06-09 09:49:31 PM

This is what happens when you cut taxes over & over & over. People lose their jobs & technology suffers & vendors don't get paid. Remember that next time you're biatching about your tax bill.

cman		2012-06-09 09:51:27 PM

GAT_00: cman: GAT_00: Hey, what do you know, Republican government policy is completely idiotic and fails horribly.

Same can be said for every government policy in existence

You're ex-military. So you're saying, you are, or rather were, part of the problem?

Oh of course I was

GAT_00		2012-06-09 09:56:23 PM

cman: GAT_00: cman: GAT_00: Hey, what do you know, Republican government policy is completely idiotic and fails horribly.

Same can be said for every government policy in existence

You're ex-military. So you're saying, you are, or rather were, part of the problem?

Oh of course I was

I've had this same conversation recently with someone who is not only currently working for a university and government entity as I am, but has worked for a city government in the past. He didn't understand why I said he was a hypocrite for complaining about government inefficiency WHILE he was on the clock working for the government.

Basically, I don't think you should be allowed to complain about government inefficiency if you were part of the problem. Particularly when you're actively working for the government or taking money from them.

cman		2012-06-09 10:01:51 PM

GAT_00: cman: GAT_00: cman: GAT_00: Hey, what do you know, Republican government policy is completely idiotic and fails horribly.

Same can be said for every government policy in existence

You're ex-military. So you're saying, you are, or rather were, part of the problem?

Oh of course I was

I've had this same conversation recently with someone who is not only currently working for a university and government entity as I am, but has worked for a city government in the past. He didn't understand why I said he was a hypocrite for complaining about government inefficiency WHILE he was on the clock working for the government.

Basically, I don't think you should be allowed to complain about government inefficiency if you were part of the problem. Particularly when you're actively working for the government or taking money from them.

There was absolutely nothing that I could do about government inefficiency. I wasnt some big time leader in charge of ensuring that financial reports were sent out on time; I was a small time soldier who's major responsibility was ensuring that all the feces was burned in the shiat barrels and to ensure that the fire was out before I put the barrels back inside the shiat shack.

namatad		2012-06-09 10:03:33 PM

Di Atribe: This is what happens when you cut taxes over & over & over. People lose their jobs & technology suffers & vendors don't get paid. Remember that next time you're biatching about your tax bill.

this is also what you get when you are alabama

GAT_00		2012-06-09 10:12:28 PM

cman: There was absolutely nothing that I could do about government inefficiency.

I find that hard to believe. If it's inefficient everywhere, why are you incapable of improving anything?

teto85		2012-06-09 10:15:17 PM

Yep. Get new servers and hire the old IT staff as contractors at an increased rate and prove again how stupid you are. Most of the companies and organizations I have worked in have learned the hard way that "If IT ain't happy, nobody ain't happy."

cman		2012-06-09 10:15:58 PM

GAT_00: cman: There was absolutely nothing that I could do about government inefficiency.

I find that hard to believe. If it's inefficient everywhere, why are you incapable of improving anything?

If you put it in that way, then the only inefficiencies that I could improve would be so small that they would not be worth my time of even typing them out.

GAT_00		2012-06-09 10:20:39 PM

cman: GAT_00: cman: There was absolutely nothing that I could do about government inefficiency.

I find that hard to believe. If it's inefficient everywhere, why are you incapable of improving anything?

If you put it in that way, then the only inefficiencies that I could improve would be so small that they would not be worth my time of even typing them out.

But anything is better than nothing, right? Every little bit helps, especially if it's something repetitive and common.

You get the point I'm making here, right? I'm just finishing a bottle of Moscato that I started like two hours ago so I should probably say it right out.

You worked for the government. I'm sure you found things that could have been improved, otherwise your assertion that the government is inefficient at everything is bullshiat right from the get-go. What I get from you is that you knew it sucked, never bothered to try to fix or improve everything, and now biatch about how bad everything was.

If you never try to fix something that's wrong, you're to blame too. Because not only did you see something was wrong, you intentionally refused to fix it. And to me, that's worse, to see a problem and refuse to fix it, and then biatch about it like it's all someone else's fault. If you're involved, you're to blame too.

FishyFred		2012-06-09 10:28:36 PM

Di Atribe		2012-06-09 10:30:40 PM

cman: There was absolutely nothing that I could do about government inefficiency. I wasnt some big time leader in charge of ensuring that financial reports were sent out on time; I was a small time soldier who's major responsibility was ensuring that all the feces was burned in the shiat barrels and to ensure that the fire was out before I put the barrels back inside the shiat shack.

Then maybe you should direct your ire to those decision-makers instead of saying that all government is inefficient (or idiotic or fails horribly). When you talk about "government" like that, you're talking about everyone who makes a living working in the public sector. And that ain't right, man.

Snarcoleptic_Hoosier		2012-06-09 10:34:43 PM

ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha: [images.wikia.com image 250x217]
Yes, Black Betty, the mainframe. Boy, oh, boy. We thought about replacing her years ago, but then we thought, "Well, why not just cobble our new systems to the old one, with untold miles of spaghetti code and obsolete co-ax cable?" It was an executive decision. We figured it would save money in the short run, and only later plunge the company into darkness, after we executives had all left for other companies.

The keyword is keyword

/Damn you

GAT_00		2012-06-09 10:41:22 PM

FishyFred: GAT_00: If you never try to fix something that's wrong, you're to blame too. Because not only did you see something was wrong, you intentionally refused to fix it. And to me, that's worse, to see a problem and refuse to fix it, and then biatch about it like it's all someone else's fault. If you're involved, you're to blame too.

Have you ever worked in government?

Did you miss the part where I said I'm currently working for one government institution and a state school?

DeltaPunch		2012-06-09 10:54:32 PM

cman: GAT_00: cman: There was absolutely nothing that I could do about government inefficiency.

I find that hard to believe. If it's inefficient everywhere, why are you incapable of improving anything?

If you put it in that way, then the only inefficiencies that I could improve would be so small that they would not be worth my time of even typing them out.

We accuse Democrats of spend spend spending, but then Republicans like Tony Petelos cut funding, force IT to lay off their staff, and now Jefferson County is effectively crippled. It's just like the Republicans in the House -- they absolutely refuse to pass any spending measures for infrastructure. If they keep getting their way all of America will be effectively crippled as well. The approach that any and all spending is evil sounds nice ideologically -- and may even score a few political points -- but it's just not a realistic solution for our country.

jimmyego		2012-06-09 11:03:44 PM

You turn into Cuba?

Fista-Phobia		2012-06-09 11:18:26 PM

Yeah. Service Desk ass reaming followed by some Lean Six Sigma project managers with capes.

/Did you reboot?

Babwa Wawa		2012-06-09 11:18:33 PM

GAT_00: If you never try to fix something that's wrong, you're to blame too. Because not only did you see something was wrong, you intentionally refused to fix it. And to me, that's worse, to see a problem and refuse to fix it, and then biatch about it like it's all someone else's fault. If you're involved, you're to blame too.

Hey now. I normally agree with you, but it seems you're being a prick here. Everyone has their sphere of influence. If you make everything within your sphere of influence as efficient as possible, you've done all you can.

I've been in jobs where we've done all we can to gain efficiency, but we're sitting around with our thumbs up our asses. In that case, the thumb up the ass is excused. Sometimes your job is to babysit an empty store. Sometimes it's to sit in a kitchen where nobody's ordering food. Sometimes it's to occupy a hill that nobody's trying to take that particular day.

Lay off.

fragMasterFlash		2012-06-09 11:18:37 PM

OMG, this can only end badly! Unless management gets a bonus, that is...

The Beatings Will Continue Until Morale Improves		2012-06-09 11:22:43 PM

I think this qualifies as irony: you cut your IT staff to save money and that causes your financial software to collapse which causes you to lose money.

But I'm sure the folks in charge of the cost-cutting were probably saying something like "Hold mah bawr and watch this!" when they made the decision.

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