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Fark NotNewsletter: The story behind THAT "server down" pic, plus an update on our TotalFark/BareFark promotion
Posted by DisseminationMonkey at 2018-06-05 1:25:06 PM, edited 2018-06-05 2:27:35 PM (36 comments) | Permalink
More: FarkBlog

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5210 clicks; posted to Main » on 05 Jun 2018 at 8:00 PM (4 years ago)   |   Favorite    |   share:  Share on Twitter share via Email Share on Facebook



________________________
 
A message from Mike, Fark's server monkey:  
________________________   
 
On occasion, I get asked what the origin of the Fark "beerspill" photo is. I figured the 10-year anniversary of its taking would be a good time, especially because it's turned up without attribution in a few weird spots lately.
 
I don't remember offhand what prompted us to do this, other than we needed something funny for our error page. I'm sure the "we spilled beer on the server" error message we had since day 1 was an inspiration, but beyond that, I can't remember anymore. "Spilled beer on the server" became "spilled bourbon on the server because, well, unlike Drew, I don't actually like beer.
 
Around June 10, 2007, I took this shot in the data center we were renting a rack in (we've since moved to another, since that data center has since been converted to a hotel). Obviously, that one wasn't that great. So, trying to improve on that pathetic effort, my friend and I decided to stage the passed-out-drunk picture on June 21, 2008: (Oh, and I found the uncropped originals, which have never been made public until now, probably because of the jorts -- 2008, remember: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12)
 
We used an empty Supermicro case we'd just bought to use for a pending database server upgrade. After the photo, we transplanted a board out of an old 4U case into it. Hardware for the database server has been upgraded twice since that, but this 10-year-old system is (sadly) still in use, as a FreeNAS box.
 
We discovered pretty quickly that bourbon doesn't photograph well and is hard to keep from dripping onto motherboards, so the spilled bourbon is really maple syrup. The reason the floor tile doesn't look like a data center is because, well, it isn't -- it's actually the laundry room of the house we were renting at the time -- it was the only uncarpeted room big enough, and bringing maple syrup into a live data center is generally frowned upon. The maple syrup was put in the freezer to make it more viscous (spoiler -- it won't freeze solid). Not all the hard drives in the shot even fit in the case -- see if you can spot the EIDE drive that doesn't fit in a SATA enclosure. What really, really dates the photo, though, is the Palm Treo 650 -- well, that and the goofy shirt, which I still have. And we didn't use the guinea pigs (stars of many previous "h4x0r3d by p1g5" April Fools gags) because they hated the smell of even empty bourbon bottles. Also, my friend had to stand on the washing machine to get far enough away to take the picture.. but she managed to do it without spilling her drink, which is always a bonus.
 
It's time to make a new one of these. We have some ideas. (I have permission to borrow p1g5 for it.) Stay tuned.
________________________
 
A message from Drew Curtis:  
________________________ 
 
Happy June, everyone!  Last month we held a TotalFark and BareFark subscription drive with a chance to be chosen at random to be interviewed for the Fark NotNewsletter.  We chose at random from all of our members. Congrats to Sin_City_Superhero - if you'd like us to interview you for the weekly email email me, if not, we can pick someone else at random from the list of new subscribers. Thanks everyone who signed up!
 
Also, let's do some Fark parties in Iowa in July!  My friend Buck Wolf from the Huffington Post has talked me into riding RAGBRAI this year; we've put together a team of seven people.  It's a bike ride across Iowa from July 22 - 29. You ride 50-70 miles a day and stop in a pre-selected town along the way, apparently so you can drink the town out of beer - or so I'm hoping.  I also hear there's pie. Lots of pie. Anyhow, the towns this year are Onawa, Denison, Jefferson, Ames, Newton, Sigourney, Iowa City and Davenport. I've already had conversations with folks in Davenport, but I figure there are Farkers living in the other towns as well.  Plus nearly 10,000 people do the ride itself, so odds are there are some Farkers that will be out on the road with us as well. Let me know if you'd be up for a Fark party or just want to catch a beer on my way through. I haven't seen much of this part of Iowa so let me know what I should look for on the way!
________________________
 
We now return you to your usual Fark NotNewsletter.
________________________  
 
Comment Mentions
 
Puerto Rico - 121
Roseanne - 1764
Ambien - 454
Feckless - 229
Samantha Bee - 333
Spelling Bee - 8
 
 
Comment Votes
 
Some of the top-voted smartest and funniest comments from the past week
Funny:
naughtyrev answered the question, "What would Jesus ride?"
dj495ufj3 had a different headline about Roseanne Barr in mind
laststarfighter had an idea to continue "Roseanne" without Roseanne Barr
Ambivalence pointed out the problem with firing unmarried people for having sex
Wadded Beef discussed plans to see the new "Star Wars" movie
Keyser_Soze_Death explained why Subway's undersized "6-inch" subs are still a bargain
Instead of Roseanne's Katrina, Morning Horsefarts had a different idea
elvisaintdead saw bigger problems for a woman being sued by a gynecologist
RJReves made a new "welcome to Fark" image
Rapmaster2000 reacted to people accusing Roseanne Barr of being racist
 
Smart:
Norad appreciated one thing that Roseanne Barr did
Schroedinger's Glory Hole noticed another thing that Americans can't get enough of
Iowan73 looked at Roseanne Barr's tweet from another angle
bikkurikun asked a question about playing the national anthem
Angry Drunk Bureaucrat had an idea of what Jesus would do if he were here right now
AlwaysRightBoy found a good reason to have a festival dedicated to rhubarb
buzzcut73 saw damning evidence against a litigious gynecologist
Tawdry Hepburn explained why it's a problem that a police officer posted on the internet that he hoped a Parkland shooting survivor would be run over by a car
vegaswench mentioned the worst part about the "Roseanne" reboot being canceled
naughtyrev answered the question, "What would Jesus ride?"
 
TotalFark Discussion:
Note: This section can only be accessed by TotalFarkers   
Funny:  doglover was very uncomfortable with a discussion topic
Funny:  meg12279 requested tips on proper food storage
Funny:  merrillvillain was planning ahead for a fun, safe time in Chicago
Funny:  flucto was tempted to be a cheap date
Funny:  Badafuco took care of a problem with a carbon monoxide detector
 
CSB Sunday Morning: That time you went to the race... or whatever you do on Memorial Day in your neck of the woods
Smart:
  Recoil Therapy told us how a local scout troop observes Memorial Day
Funny:  basho had a furry family member join a family Memorial Day picnic
 
CSB [Cool Story, Bro] Sunday Morning is a thread where Farkers share stories based on a weekly topic. If you have a topic idea for a CSB Sunday Morning thread, please submit it on Saturday afternoon/evening (you'll want to write out your intro first so you can copy and paste it in for the Boobies), or email dugitman.
 
Politics Funny:
AdmirableSnackbar (replying to the previous post) heard you like fan clubs
Gubbo decided to try out an interesting drug combination
Boo_Guy knew what Donald Trump can do if Melania moved out
ValisIV figured out who another Farker really is
fragMasterFlash gave a reason to not be worried about Melania Trump
 
Politics Smart:
kidgenius responded to Trump's complaint that Obama didn't do anything about the Russia meddling in the U.S. election
wademh discussed how Obama tried to address Russian interference
LowbrowDeluxe compared Trump's treatment of different people accused of crimes
NeedlesslyCanadian countered the argument that a sitting president can't be subpoenaed
Unobtanium suggested a solution to insurance companies refusing to cover armed teachers
 
 
Contest Votes
 
Some of the top-voted contest entries from last week, listed from highest number of votes down
 
Photoshops:
Wrongo showed a guy admiring a woman's coat
wickedfish found Yoda's cousin
wickedfish erected a silly statue
James_Corn gave this fighter a custom shield
ionthrust showed us what Interrupting Cow looks like
verchad did a makeover for MST3K's Crow
Yammering_Splat_Vector chose the wrong week to quit racing cars
Herb Utsmelz hopefully didn't guess Roseanne Barr's next TV show
ElectronChaser made a very helpful separation for Fark
Alligator discovered a strange prison
 
Farktography:
kyuzokai won Farktography Contest No. 682: "Living History 2" with a little old tree
 
Farktography is Fark's weekly photography contest. If you would like to suggest a Farktography theme, you can contact Elsinore or stop by the Farktography Forum.
 
 
Upcoming Fark Parties
 
See Farkers up close in their unnatural habitats 
 
Saturday, June 23: Chicago Fark Party
Wednesday, July 18: 6th Annual Farks In The Wild Party at the Buffalo, NY Zoo
 
Fark Weird News Quiz Results (brought to you by ox45tallboy)     
 
Bit of a tough one last week, as no one made it to the 1000 club. BATMANATEE came in first with 919, followed by geocacherphil with 899 and hochstmm in third with 844.  Cardinal Ximenez made fourth place with 842, and SecondaryControl rounds out the top 5 with 834.
 
The hardest question on the Hard Quiz was about where Wyndham Resorts was considering putting a new Margaritaville resort. Only 24% of quiztakers caught the story about the planned 21-story building across from Centennial Park in Atlanta. Because when I think Jimmy Buffett, I think of acres of traffic backed up around 87 different streets named "Peachtree" and not a body of water in sight. Then again, those things do make me want to drink tequila, so....
 
The easiest question on the Hard Quiz was over what additive to cattle feed is showing to reduce methane emissions by causing cows to burp less. 83% of quiztakers caught the story about giving cows a bit of seaweed with their feed in order to limit the burping. Nothing like cows with good table manners.
 
The hardest question on the Easy Quiz was over the world's largest video game company. Only 51% of quiztakers knew that Chinese investment company tencent is so powerful it often winds up competing against itself because it owns so many stakes in various companies with similar games. And their username doesn't check out; as of now, their stock is hovering just under $54.
 
The easiest question on the Easy Quiz was over the retirement gift for a Findlay, Ohio intermediate school principal. 92% of quiztakers knew that his students buried him under an avalanche of gift certificates for his favorite burrito joint, which he ate at every Tuesday. I wonder if he had the heart to tell them that after 20 some-odd years, he's a little sick of burritos and recently discovered a nice little Korean BBQ place just off the courthouse square.
 
Congratulations once again to this week's winners. If you missed last week's quiz, you catch up on it here
 
 
Fark Headlines of the Week (brought to you by blythe)
 
Thanks again to all our submitters and to our TotalFark voters!  Special shout out to the Business tab submitters this week - you've made it our new favorite tab.  Here are a few of our favorite headlines, take a look at the full list of Fark Headlines of the Week. Enjoy!
 
Main:
40,000 gallons of paint spills onto freeway. Although most vehicles stopped, witnesses swear they saw a van go
 
Sports:
Sting and Shaggy to appear before Stanley Cup game 3. No word yet on Scooby
 
Geek:
Lightning bolts colliding, very very frightening me. Video
 
Entertainment:
Tom Arnold has to seek medical help for a shiat eating grin that has lasted more than 4 hours
 
Politics:
The Spanish voters could feel the canned heat in their heels
 
Business:
I'd Like to Teach the World to ... Drink Alcoholic Beverages
 
Discussion:
We asked people to describe the drunkest they've ever been in just 6 words. Surprisingly, the word Farker never appears
     
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Voting for headlines is one of the perks of being a TotalFarker. You can join TotalFark here.
· · ·

Voting Results (Smartest)
View Voting Results: Smartest and Funniest

 
2018-06-05 1:36:27 PM  
11 votes:
"o the spilled bourbon is really maple syrup"

I always thought it was one of those gag 'spilled drink' things. Like you would find in an
Archie McPhee catalog.
 
2018-06-05 1:28:39 PM  
9 votes:
Heads up, this renders like shiat on mobile.
 
2018-06-05 1:59:50 PM  
5 votes:

BeotchPudding: 10.0.0.1: SnowPeas: your data center had linoleum flooring in it? there is some sort of southern trailer park joke here...

LOL I had the pleasure of using what was previously a bathroom converted to a server room.  One day the boss man asked me for a drawing of the layout, so I used a toilet instead of a desk chair.

You worked for Hillary?


Legit question, do you actually think that is funny?
 
2018-06-05 3:58:52 PM  
5 votes:

netizencain: Explain this photo then...
[img.fark.net image 640x480]


Please realize that SCSI also requires you to occasionally sacrifice
a rubber chicken or other similar trinket for correct bus operation.


http://h41379.www4.hpe.com/wizard/wiz_7275.html viz. http://catb.org/jargon/html/W/wave-a-dead-chicken.html
 
2018-06-05 1:33:24 PM  
3 votes:

SnowPeas: your data center had linoleum flooring in it? there is some sort of southern trailer park joke here...


reading is fundamental.
 
2018-06-05 2:08:29 PM  
3 votes:
"What really, really dates the photo, though, is the Palm Treo 650 "

Hey, I had a treo 650.
 
2018-06-05 1:29:56 PM  
2 votes:

STDMan69: Heads up, this renders like shiat on mobile.


Mike's obviously drunk.  Again.
 
2018-06-05 1:38:16 PM  
2 votes:
I can't be the only one that expected to find the Rock in the list of uncropped originals, can I?
 
2018-06-05 1:40:58 PM  
2 votes:
Whoa dat mobile formatting
 
2018-06-05 1:46:18 PM  
2 votes:

STDMan69: Heads up, this renders like shiat on mobile.


i0.kym-cdn.comView Full Size
 
2018-06-05 1:58:34 PM  
2 votes:

10.0.0.1: SnowPeas: your data center had linoleum flooring in it? there is some sort of southern trailer park joke here...

LOL I had the pleasure of using what was previously a bathroom converted to a server room.  One day the boss man asked me for a drawing of the layout, so I used a toilet instead of a desk chair.


You worked for Hillary?
 
2018-06-05 2:30:15 PM  
2 votes:
Explain this photo then...
Fark user imageView Full Size
 
2018-06-05 2:36:01 PM  
2 votes:
CSB-My grandma was born in Onawa, Iowa

Even Cooler: The Eskimo Pie was created in Onawa in 1920 by Chris Nelson, an ice cream shop owner.
 
2018-06-05 2:42:45 PM  
2 votes:
When you replace the pic, there will be complaints, but we'll get over it :-)

/thanks for the laughs, tho
 
2018-06-05 4:21:58 PM  
2 votes:
What a server monkey out on the town might look like

Fark user imageView Full Size
 
2018-06-05 5:29:05 PM  
2 votes:

lordargent: "o the spilled bourbon is really maple syrup"

I always thought it was one of those gag 'spilled drink' things. Like you would find in an
Archie McPhee catalog.


This +100.  If someone ever made a Fark employee award, I envisioned a plaque with that affixed to the front of it.
 
2018-06-05 6:45:31 PM  
2 votes:

geocacherphil: first time in a newsletter, now thing will start to happen!!


Stay away from the cans.
 
2018-06-06 11:08:26 AM  
2 votes:

SansNeural: DisseminationMonkey: Mike: aaaaaand there's someone else that didn't read it

Welcome to my world, Mike.
[img.fark.net image 790x682]


Fark user imageView Full Size
 
2018-06-05 1:30:34 PM  
1 vote:
It's Fark, why apologize?
 
2018-06-05 1:38:49 PM  
1 vote:

olapbill: reading is fundamental.


https://www.rif.org/

"For over 50 years, RIF has built a legacy grounded on the basis that all children have the right to learn to read."

// but apparently they're fine with illiterate adults :P
 
2018-06-05 1:43:03 PM  
1 vote:
All this time, I never noticed the spilled drink on the computer.

Fark user imageView Full Size
 
2018-06-05 1:48:29 PM  
1 vote:
I always thought the spilled drink was one of the gag spilled drinks they used to sell years ago. They had all types of drinks, beer, hard liquor, fruity mixed drinks and I think milkshakes. They looked pretty good from a distance like in the picture.
 
2018-06-05 2:16:28 PM  
1 vote:
Hey Drew, glad to here that you are doing RAGBRAI. Rumor is that you are a beer fan (W00tstout anyone?). As you are doing RAGBRAI, you will see the Iowa Craft Beer Tent (google it) twice a day. I encourage you to stop by and see what Iowa has to offer. I will be serving beer at the second stop each day (AKA the party stop). Stop by and say hi!
 
2018-06-05 2:31:14 PM  
1 vote:

netizencain: Explain this photo then...
[img.fark.net image 640x480]


Given the euphemism that plays off, I think I'd rather he didn't, thanks all the same.
 
2018-06-05 2:33:52 PM  
1 vote:

supek:  stop by and see what Iowa has to offer. I will be serving beer at the second stop each day (AKA the party stop). Stop by and say hi!


Having visited my family in Iowa and the Iowa Craft Beer Tent at the Iowa State Fair I can attest to the quality of the fair state's brewing offerings.  Back when I was an Iowanian our local options were Dubuque Star and, well, Dubuque Star is the only Iowa brewed beer I can remember.  I still haven't tried all the new offerings but there are some excellent beers being made.  Bless you and your brewing compatriots for making Iowa sudsy again.  You're truly doing God's work.
 
2018-06-05 2:59:23 PM  
1 vote:

Sim Tree: "What really, really dates the photo, though, is the Palm Treo 650 "

Hey, I had a treo 650.


And he dated you. QED.
 
2018-06-05 3:26:13 PM  
1 vote:

Sim Tree: "What really, really dates the photo, though, is the Palm Treo 650 "

Hey, I had a treo 650.


Me too, me too
 
2018-06-05 3:30:40 PM  
1 vote:

netizencain: Explain this photo then...
[img.fark.net image 640x480]


There were temperature and light sensors in the beak, and an Arduino Nano in the ass to gather the measurements and send 'em to Nagios.

Yes, really.
 
2018-06-05 4:15:16 PM  
1 vote:

Mike: Twilight Farkle: Please realize that SCSI also requires you to occasionally sacrifice
a rubber chicken or other similar trinket for correct bus operation.

That was kinda the idea, except I thought it should work for a living too, hence the sensors/Arduino.


The rubber chicken was the sacrifice to the SCSI gods. The SATA gods were not amused. (The EIDE god just wandered around bumping into things).
 
2018-06-05 4:32:39 PM  
1 vote:
Fascinating.  When I first saw that photo (not long after Mike took it, apparently), I just assumed that the "spill" was some sort of novelty plastic item, much like rubber vomit or what have you.  Frozen maple syrup is a lot more trouble than I'd have expected to have gone into that photo, for sure.
 
2018-06-05 6:31:11 PM  
1 vote:
Fark user imageView Full Size
 
2018-06-06 12:01:52 AM  
1 vote:

DisseminationMonkey: Mike: aaaaaand there's someone else that didn't read it

Welcome to my world, Mike.

Fark user imageView Full Size
 
2018-06-06 1:07:55 AM  
1 vote:

TheOtherGuy: Mike: TheOtherGuy: Frozen maple syrup is a lot more trouble

Wasn't frozen.

He said he put it in the freezer.  That's "frozen", even if it didn't solidify completely.  He applied freezing to it.


You're replying to the "he" that you're talking about. ;)
 
2018-06-06 4:28:13 AM  
1 vote:
Have fun on RAGBRAI, Drew

There should be quite a few farkers who went to Iowa State (in Ames) or Iowa (in IC) who can give you the insider info.

// csb, I was a service driver one year, meaning my friends rode their bikes across Iowa. I had to drive to the next town, knock on a random door and ask if we could sleep in their yard, set up camp and start drinking. Was fun, but by Friday it was officially a weeklong bender.
 
2018-06-06 1:58:59 PM  
1 vote:

HairBolus: i was wondering why  Photoshop these bombardiers https://www.fark.com/comments/10042623 was greened one day after my submission rather than sitting in the queue for several days where it might have attracted more submissions from the regulars.

[img.fark.net image 174x230]


... and I "won" the votes for that thread and didn't see my name in lights in this newsletter (again).

/meh
 
2018-06-06 4:08:34 PM  
1 vote:

DisseminationMonkey: Mister Pleco: ... and I "won" the votes for that thread and didn't see my name in lights in this newsletter (again).

/meh

You got 40 votes for that Photoshop, but the lowest number of votes listed this week was 43. It's not the winners from each contest that are listed, but rather it goes by votes across all the contests. But since that contest was listed on Saturday, if most of the voting took place Sunday or after, there's a chance it could be listed next week.


...but don't count on it.  PS contests in that time slot get fewer "eyes on" than the ones that go live at 8am Mon-Fri and most other times.
 
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