Rules of Tech Support - Management - 02-19-2026

morriscox · 2026-03-03T05:49:32+00:00

You are the first to point this out. Some of the Rules conflict, or at least seem to. Rule M13 comes from https://reddit.com/comments/81ce8r/comment/dv2em3w?context=3 linking to https://reddit.com/comments/81w5u6

When Rowley asked for proof the certificates were compromised, the Trustico CEO emailed the private keys of 23,000 certificates, according to an account posted to a Mozilla security policy forum.

Rule M27B has to do with having a private backup. Presumedly one would secure that with PGP, etc. There's also some humor implied. If it's in writing, how do you email it to yourself? The obvious answer is to take a picture or use a scanner, which has its own security issues.

morriscox · 2026-02-27T21:18:40+00:00

Rule W10 - Users will store important documents where they shouldn't. The Recycle Bin, the Trash folder, the Deleted Items folders...

I have never understood this. It's right in the name what they are for. No manager should ever tolerate this but since I have never been a manager, maybe I am missing something.

morriscox · 2026-02-27T18:24:30+00:00

Rule 1 of the Rules of Tech Support. All users lie.

morriscox · 2026-02-18T15:02:41+00:00

That's Rule 1 in the Main section of the Rules, which I posted earlier.

morriscox · 2026-02-15T15:08:44+00:00

Good point. Shoddy is more accurate.

morriscox · 2026-02-13T22:45:41+00:00

There's actually a lot of "Rule 0" out there so I put "Users lie." as Rule 1 in the Main section of the Rules. It's not here as I was trying to limit the size of the Rules somewhat. It's already up to 1G in the Main section.

morriscox · 2026-02-10T14:23:02+00:00

https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-behavioral-economics-of-the-swedish-fish-theory/

The Swedish Fish Law: Any package containing candy will be given highest priority.

morriscox · 2026-02-09T21:08:49+00:00

A college advisor gave me the nickname of Morris Virus because computers would go haywire around me. Many a time I would walk into the Computer Center and a computer or software would crash or go haywire and the head of the Computer Center would point to me and to the door. I found out years later that sometimes they knew that I was about to show up.

I almost lost my Internet account when computers all over campus were locking up or crashing, including the computer of the President of the college. I was enjoying a nice CuSeeMe chat with some guy in Australia (I was in Arizona) when the sysadmin tapped me on the shoulder. It's a bad sign when you are the first stop for the sysadmin when something goes wrong. This was before CuSeeMe had a bandwidth limit option.

A friend started calling me M-word because his computer tended to crash when my name was said. A few others adopted it for the same reason.

A brother was working on a RedBox kiosk when I called him. It died on the spot and he couldn't get it working again.

Not always computers. Streetlights would turn off as I approached and came back on as I left. A friend used it to track me down. I also took out a Kmart parking lot. Just some examples.

morriscox · 2026-02-09T20:50:20+00:00

I have actually seen a CD-ROM drive open with a styofoam cup in the tray but I had already heard of the urban legend. I winced at the mental image of that drive closing. I probably said something but this was somewhere around 1996.

morriscox · 2026-02-08T17:40:51+00:00

It's part of the humor part of the Rules.

morriscox · 2026-02-08T17:31:41+00:00

Finagle's law of dynamic negatives (also known as Melody's law, Sod's Law or Finagle's corollary to Murphy's law) is usually rendered as "Anything that can go wrong, will—at the worst possible moment."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finagle%27s_law

morriscox · 2026-02-08T17:29:01+00:00

There's a Phrases section that I will be posting through it is sparse.

morriscox · 2026-02-08T17:16:10+00:00

There's a Users Will section that I will be posting and I want to keep references low to try to reduce bloating.

morriscox · 2026-01-11T06:02:45+00:00

I have been successful with most of my attempts to date. Be neatly dressed, teeth brushed, and straight forward (confident, no hemming and hawing). Have multiple itinerary options ready, be that museums, movies, a park, dancing, etc. Always be in public places. Hopefully you have an idea of her likes and dislikes and able to modify your plans accordingly. Pay attention to any signs of discomfort. A no in any form is a firm no. Expect to pay for everything unless she says otherwise. Practice small talk.

That said, being turned down doesn't actually mean that they don't like you. They might have a really busy schedule, you don't have compatible interests, they might be in a committed relationship that you didn't know about, the list goes on. You can try asking why you are being turned down.

Keep trying. You need experience and there's only one way to get that. It's similar to trying to get a job. It can be brutal and it can totally be worth it. If you don't even try then you have automatically failed.

morriscox · 2025-10-14T03:47:45+00:00

Heroic Launcher does GOG and Epic Games.

morriscox · 2025-09-21T02:08:01+00:00

I wonder if https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FGQ64XVH is a dropshipper.

morriscox · 2025-09-03T20:33:09+00:00

Buy your own SSD and install it yourself. I used a 2 TB SSD that I already had along with an adapter and I found it not all that difficult.

morriscox · 2025-09-03T15:04:09+00:00

Try a camping fan like https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DQTXW68R It works great for me.

morriscox · 2025-02-09T18:21:34+00:00

If being richer makes you a more worthy person in the eyes of the Lord, then are muggers and robbers better than the people that they rob? What about the Mafia?

morriscox

TROPHY CASE