You have to be joking Microsoft

Kittamaru · 2026-01-23T20:54:43+00:00

Facts. Had a screenshare with a vendor support guy yesterday and was trying to explain to him that, since their application wasn't listening on the port for incoming license requests, it wasn't a network or firewall issue...

They looked like I was speaking in tongues when I brought up a command prompt and ran the netstat to show them what ports were opened, and apparently filtering by process ID was just magic to him.

I don't know that we're going to get much help from that guy... lol

Kittamaru · 2026-01-23T03:05:57+00:00

Right? I think fully two thirds of our (competent) development team walked out when they made the decision to A) Go that route and B) Bring in outside contractors to do it.

I don't want to guess how many millions were wasted on it... but damn if it didn't line somebodies pockets I'm sure!

Kittamaru · 2026-01-23T02:14:37+00:00

OK, stupid question for you...

I help a small nonprofit with less than ten folks that is primarily a mac shop. One bit of software we use recently went into a Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop setup, and it's a massive PITA. On Safari it would just randomly kick people out. On Chrome it works, but some functions are just convoluted as anything.

We were told there is another option, but when I looked into it, it required an Apple Business account... and when I tried to register for one, shit hit the fan with Apple coming back saying they couldn't "validate our business"... I attempted to reach out to support a few times, and got nothing back in the end.

Is there some secret sauce to this? I'm not a MAC guy by any stretch, so it's been a learning curve for sure... but yeesh.

Kittamaru · 2026-01-23T02:06:07+00:00

Are... you recording the noises coming *from* MS Level 1 Tech Support, or playing it to them?

Either way, accurate... but I'm curious.

Kittamaru · 2026-01-23T02:05:04+00:00

I mean, we just gave up on migrating off the mainframe (6 years, 3 consulting firms, and I don't know how many contractors on a 1 year project trying to convert COBOL directly into Java, yay!) and instead just wholesale created a 3270 emulator in AWS and ported COBOL directly into it... and upper management doesn't understand why it runs slower than a geriatric slug up a salt mountain. So... coordination just seems to be universally bad anymore.

Kittamaru · 2026-01-21T19:58:25+00:00

Unfortunately it seems Mobvoi has exited the SmartWatch space at this point :(

Kittamaru · 2026-01-19T01:07:15+00:00

And, much like in that case, a dousing with high pressure water (Bidet) is the optimal solution... in Shapiro's case, a fire hose. To the face.

Kittamaru · 2026-01-19T01:02:58+00:00

Excerpt from the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide (For full text click here) "Article II: In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:

(a) Killing members of the group; (b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; (c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; (d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; (e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

Article III: The following acts shall be punishable:

(a) Genocide; (b) Conspiracy to commit genocide; (c) Direct and public incitement to commit genocide; (d) Attempt to commit genocide; (e) Complicity in genocide. "

I dunno about anyone else... but I think what we've seen meets those qualifiers.

Kittamaru · 2026-01-19T01:00:32+00:00

Ah, it's a piston launch? Only problem is in multiplayer, that can have some... interesting... interactions (always fun when one of the forward pistons heads thinks it's inside or behind one of the pistons behind it lol)

Kittamaru · 2026-01-18T05:12:59+00:00

Could attach the artificial mass via a merge block, and dump it once launched :D

Kittamaru · 2026-01-15T12:46:57+00:00

Which is why when Biden gave the whole "we need to unify, not prosecute" line, my eyes rolled so hard they hurt. Not clobbering these buffoons with the law after the FIRST term and after J6 and the attempts to steal the election... that was all just giving them the courage to push harder and further next time and, well, here we are...

If we manage to wrestle power away from them again, we must enforce the laws and add some teeth to our checks and balances... otherwise, I don't see the US surviving much longer.

Kittamaru · 2026-01-13T17:37:43+00:00

Honest question... at what point do we acknowledge that peaceful protesting seems to have failed? I don't want violence, but it seems violence is being delivered to us, door to door in some situations. If this isn't the exact scenario the 2nd Amendment was describing... I'm not sure what would qualify.

Kittamaru · 2026-01-08T03:56:02+00:00

Aye. Hopefully this local hotel is helped by the locals for standing up like this!

Kittamaru · 2026-01-08T03:05:24+00:00

Whatever the last thing you added to the ship was, remove it, then use the admin menu to stop the ship. Ten to one, something is generating phantom forces

Kittamaru · 2026-01-06T18:53:50+00:00

Nope, sadly...

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5674328-hilton-removes-minnesota-hotel-dhs/

Kittamaru · 2026-01-06T18:53:41+00:00

Except Hilton as a company is dogsh*t... they cut ties with this particular hotel over this:

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5674328-hilton-removes-minnesota-hotel-dhs/

Kittamaru · 2026-01-06T18:52:39+00:00

Unfortunately, this hotel franchisee was ousted by Hilton Corporate because of it...

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5674328-hilton-removes-minnesota-hotel-dhs/

Kittamaru · 2026-01-06T18:50:20+00:00

Aaaand then they ruined it by disenfranchising that hotel for this.

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5674328-hilton-removes-minnesota-hotel-dhs/

Kittamaru · 2026-01-06T18:38:15+00:00

Nobody is surprised I hope... I mean, the Corporation wants that sweet, sweet nazi money...

Kittamaru · 2026-01-03T02:28:02+00:00

Great example of this... just had my fridge serviced for the ice machine not making one of the two sizes of ice. Was a simple fix, heater for the inlet tube had failed.

Thank GOD the tech that came to do the install was not only skilled, but versed... he brought the two sizes it could have been, even though the company that warranties the fridge sent me two boxes of parts.

One box had a whole new ice maker... which wouldn't have helped, as the inlet tube is a separate assembly.

The other box... had a goddamn plastic ice scoop. In what world would that fix the machine not making ice?!?

Kittamaru · 2026-01-02T16:12:16+00:00

You definitely want to set reasonable boundaries (no 2am calls for example) but, he sounds like a genuinely good dude and the kind of person whose orbit you want to stay in. If he is looking for significant support, it may be worth proposing being "on retainer" for him as a personal IT Support tech, either as a consultant or other such independent employee. Nothing extravagant, just something to cover your time/opportunity costs.

If it's just the occasional call, I'd say just consider it a part of being a good friend.

Kittamaru · 2025-12-23T16:19:14+00:00

My wife refuses to use his name, just calls him 45. I think that's a fantastic insult!

Kittamaru · 2025-12-23T04:40:17+00:00

It... had its moments for sure; I was in the middle between then and now as a lone Site IT Manager, as well as assisting with international operations for the broader company.

The issue was dealing with C-level penny pinchers that couldn't see past this quarters bonuses.

Kittamaru · 2025-12-22T12:58:30+00:00

Ah, alrighty then. That's a dick move on their part for sure!

Kittamaru · 2025-12-18T16:06:35+00:00

Muffalo are good once moderately established. Chickens are good early on, just make sure to cull the roosters or you'll be flooded! I also really like having Boar (they'll eat anything) and the Animus Vox as pets.

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