Day off yesterday was great and tiring. Cheltenham's nice - but quite far, unfortunately. Not sure when next I'll be down there.
Today kicked off mainly with the team meeting at 1000. This focused mainly on getting me up to speed on the planned PC installations in KW215 and KW216 and how I would go about this. A brief, preliminary crash-course, one might called it.
For the actual role, I'd be shadowing Jamie, learning to create bootable USB drives and 'basing' the PCs (Windows only, KW215, for now). This was my main focus of today and I feel pleased that I've been able to assimilate and engage with so much in one day. I'm sure when I go in tomorrow to pick up from where we left off (because of error messages), the procedures will still come to me naturally.
I've finally got my Staff ID Card: hooray. It doesn't 'work' yet but I'm not panicking just yet. It comes with a new swipe technology which is being piloted at the moment, to be introduced University-wide as the year progresses. So keep your eyes (and ears, if you can) open.
Notes of Today:
+ ES
--"Sopranos musician loses laptop containing decades of his work"
===[idee: Pull-down server; Migration transparency; 'Wooden handle" toothbrush]
--'"How Britain can win in the new global economy"; Chuka Umunna (Shadow Business Secretary) ===['The Plain Engish Words]
--"The bonus gap"
----"If there is a lack of transparency in the process of determining bonuses, it's hard to check for and mitigate such bias"
-----..."the current, widely-used system of determining pay and bonuses disadvantages...."
-----"Companies have a responsibility to collect data and compare whether they are paying people with the same level of experience and skills equally"
---------Laptop---Horse-carriage (Objectified)
---------The Fox and the Porcupine (Objectified)
--UK Cards Association
--Andre Schurrle, Chelsea FC
Wednesday 20 August 2014
Monday 18 August 2014
Day 12 - Dead Feet
*Yawn*
*Scratches back of the head*
Hi.
Hope you had an eventful day. I think mine was.
I just got in a couple of minutes ago (overtime work) and my feet are dead. My back feels meh. And I just want my bed! But I'll spare a few keyboard strokes for you.
Just for heads up, it would seem the next couple of days will involve those mischievous, mini tasks which everyone would like to avoid doing but needs to be done. And that streak has already begun. Hence, my whiny post.
But, if anything, I'm grateful that I atleast have something doing. Also, I know that if I do these well now, it will save me having to go through as much struggles as now. :(
Anyway, I'm taking a day off tomorrow. Got a place I want to go see.
Don't wait up.
Sign-off today: 2100.
Themes of Today: Oliver Bonas;Sabre Holdings; City A.M; Jackson Hole; Mervyn King; Paul Volcker; Jean-Claude Trichet; Online Banking; Paul Aitken; KW116[065-080]; Cable-Ties and Cabling; Equipment organisation; KW102[001-031]
zZZ.
*Scratches back of the head*
Hi.
Hope you had an eventful day. I think mine was.
I just got in a couple of minutes ago (overtime work) and my feet are dead. My back feels meh. And I just want my bed! But I'll spare a few keyboard strokes for you.
Just for heads up, it would seem the next couple of days will involve those mischievous, mini tasks which everyone would like to avoid doing but needs to be done. And that streak has already begun. Hence, my whiny post.
But, if anything, I'm grateful that I atleast have something doing. Also, I know that if I do these well now, it will save me having to go through as much struggles as now. :(
Anyway, I'm taking a day off tomorrow. Got a place I want to go see.
Don't wait up.
Sign-off today: 2100.
 |
| Snap from City A.M: Oliver Bonas (Oliver Tress); 'Intelligent Design' |
Themes of Today: Oliver Bonas;Sabre Holdings; City A.M; Jackson Hole; Mervyn King; Paul Volcker; Jean-Claude Trichet; Online Banking; Paul Aitken; KW116[065-080]; Cable-Ties and Cabling; Equipment organisation; KW102[001-031]
zZZ.
Friday 15 August 2014
Day 11 - Waste Pane
Had about five and a haf hours sleep. And then brooding news in the morning. (tut, tut).
It would seem my accounts are all sorted by now: yay! Not had time to check though... Time's kinda cruel, you know.
Very hands-on today, all the way. Just think: KEYS. Loads of unpaired keys and locks.
(sigh)
On Monday, the toil continues.
1700 sign off.
Themes of Today: TESCO 'IPOs', Zoopla Record IPOs; Silver Fix; Asking the RIght Questions; Motorola Martin Cooper; Peter Drucker; Stelios Haji-Ioannou; KW116-PC Lock-down The Great Keys Sorting (to be continued on Monday); 'Mr' George 'Lucas'; Boonana-half and Aisha; Emergency Poppain;European Championships A.Gemili 200m Gold.
It would seem my accounts are all sorted by now: yay! Not had time to check though... Time's kinda cruel, you know.
Very hands-on today, all the way. Just think: KEYS. Loads of unpaired keys and locks.
(sigh)
On Monday, the toil continues.
1700 sign off.
Themes of Today: TESCO 'IPOs', Zoopla Record IPOs; Silver Fix; Asking the RIght Questions; Motorola Martin Cooper; Peter Drucker; Stelios Haji-Ioannou; KW116-PC Lock-down The Great Keys Sorting (to be continued on Monday); 'Mr' George 'Lucas'; Boonana-half and Aisha; Emergency Poppain;European Championships A.Gemili 200m Gold.
Thursday 14 August 2014
Day 10 - Four-Day Visitors and the Dark Knight Rises
It's getting hot here!!! Work was abundant today. (if that's an appropriate word for it)...
As you can see, this is a last-minute post, racing against time to be published before midnight.
Today was on a high, not too different from yesterday; so busy, I haven't checked certain messages which I should by now... Sorry, guys. :(
Finanlly managed to move ALL the cupboards (read: the whole counter itself) into its new designated bay. Today served as affirmation of the well-worn fact that Time flies when you're having: Had to be forced to pause working and go for lunch at 1400. (LoL).
Although as today was a 1700 sign-off, I found myself working quickly against time to:
Question is: on whom? ;)
Bonne nuit.
As you can see, this is a last-minute post, racing against time to be published before midnight.
Today was on a high, not too different from yesterday; so busy, I haven't checked certain messages which I should by now... Sorry, guys. :(
Finanlly managed to move ALL the cupboards (read: the whole counter itself) into its new designated bay. Today served as affirmation of the well-worn fact that Time flies when you're having: Had to be forced to pause working and go for lunch at 1400. (LoL).
Although as today was a 1700 sign-off, I found myself working quickly against time to:
- Lock down the Counter PC;
- Collect and pack away all the Counter Keys;
- Pack away all valuables into the cupboard. Literally, 'packed' away; Guess we all know what I'll have to be doing tomorrow then.
Question is: on whom? ;)
Bonne nuit.
Wednesday 13 August 2014
Day 9 - Fancy
Ah. What a day.
So buzzy and hype, I didn't find time throughout the day to make notes for this blog-post. So I'm just going by memory (God, help me!).
Nah, I'm too sleepy to start constructing prose here. So, here -
Themes of Today: Multimedia equipment scanning out; Client 'Kay'; 0935-1045; Brainstorm with JP and Amrik; Personal brainstorm [Requirements Gathering, Problem Definition]; Moving of counter area [PCs, Equipment, Cupboards and Tables!]; Forgot fruit yoghurt at home (Don't forget it for tomorrow!); Lunch 1330 - 1430; Jamie on winstalls; No time to read City A.M during the day; First Linda;
1700 (ish) sign off.
(Yawn). Okay. 'Night. Time is one slippery bastard.
So buzzy and hype, I didn't find time throughout the day to make notes for this blog-post. So I'm just going by memory (God, help me!).
Nah, I'm too sleepy to start constructing prose here. So, here -
Themes of Today: Multimedia equipment scanning out; Client 'Kay'; 0935-1045; Brainstorm with JP and Amrik; Personal brainstorm [Requirements Gathering, Problem Definition]; Moving of counter area [PCs, Equipment, Cupboards and Tables!]; Forgot fruit yoghurt at home (Don't forget it for tomorrow!); Lunch 1330 - 1430; Jamie on winstalls; No time to read City A.M during the day; First Linda;
1700 (ish) sign off.
(Yawn). Okay. 'Night. Time is one slippery bastard.
Tuesday 12 August 2014
Day 8 - Initiation
Whirlwind of a day. Off to a strong start, worked on completing lock-down work leftover from yesterday. Two members in charge of multimedia kits aren't in today with us; so that more or less leaves yours truly with the rudder to steer. Not an experience I'd call 'smooth-sailing'; but I'd like to think I enjoyed the experience, nonetheless. (Note to Self: Barcodes. Tut, tut. Those barcodes...)
From brainstorming with management about improving the current Equipment Loaning System, a few trial pilots are being proposed. Although, I feel a few of these might be too strong- I'm convinced there is a way to work around what's already in place. Thankfully, the issue has been laid out open on the table and everyone's being encouraged to give the problem some thought. Oh, Ideas, ideas, ideas... I summon you to meeeeee...... Nah, I think it'll take more than a short, dry chant to strike gold here. But I'm excited about this new development.
Today was my 1st baptism of OVERTIME! It was good, actually. Quite productive, I'd say. A huge reshuffle and maintenance/installation tasks are currently on-going, which is why I've had a late day today. Lifting, Moving, Cabling, Locking, Clearing, Lifting, Moving, Cabling... you get the gist.
The YouTube app, which would later drain my battery en route home, helped supply the music that pushed any sense of time to the background. And this is much appreciated.
2030 sign off today, so this post has been put together and perused by tired hands and eyes. Or an eye.
Bonne nuit.
Themes of Today: Bakkavor; Most peaceful countries; Chiquitta; Fyffes; Allianz; PDF rules, Paper...; Obama; Kurds; Peshmerga;
City A.M; p.17: "Every leader I have interviewed used the future to drive the present. Those that were most inspiring painted a vivid picture of success, often describing the future in both rational terms (the numbers) and emotive terms (how it would feel for all concerned). This bringing together of the rational and the emotional was key to inspiring people. Fusing the future vision (what success will look and feel like) to the purpose (what improtant thing we are here to do) and to the values (how we do it) was what stirred hearts and minds."
From brainstorming with management about improving the current Equipment Loaning System, a few trial pilots are being proposed. Although, I feel a few of these might be too strong- I'm convinced there is a way to work around what's already in place. Thankfully, the issue has been laid out open on the table and everyone's being encouraged to give the problem some thought. Oh, Ideas, ideas, ideas... I summon you to meeeeee...... Nah, I think it'll take more than a short, dry chant to strike gold here. But I'm excited about this new development.
Today was my 1st baptism of OVERTIME! It was good, actually. Quite productive, I'd say. A huge reshuffle and maintenance/installation tasks are currently on-going, which is why I've had a late day today. Lifting, Moving, Cabling, Locking, Clearing, Lifting, Moving, Cabling... you get the gist.
The YouTube app, which would later drain my battery en route home, helped supply the music that pushed any sense of time to the background. And this is much appreciated.
2030 sign off today, so this post has been put together and perused by tired hands and eyes. Or an eye.
Bonne nuit.
Themes of Today: Bakkavor; Most peaceful countries; Chiquitta; Fyffes; Allianz; PDF rules, Paper...; Obama; Kurds; Peshmerga;
City A.M; p.17: "Every leader I have interviewed used the future to drive the present. Those that were most inspiring painted a vivid picture of success, often describing the future in both rational terms (the numbers) and emotive terms (how it would feel for all concerned). This bringing together of the rational and the emotional was key to inspiring people. Fusing the future vision (what success will look and feel like) to the purpose (what improtant thing we are here to do) and to the values (how we do it) was what stirred hearts and minds."
Monday 11 August 2014
Day 7 - New Technical Head
Another day gone by- quickly. Enjoyed it though.
The earlier part of the day was spent rummaging through the keybox, testing and trying them on the army of Kensington locks that lay before me. I'd discovered three PCs that still needed to be 'locked-down' :( .
Shout out to +Code With Chris for providing that extra little nudge to get me practising my iPhone App Development. Currently working on the Dice App. (Might post a screenshot when I'm done).
--Oh, and @M&S Sultana Scones - Gawwwd! :)
No Themes for Today. :( Sorry.
1700 sign off.
Looking forward to watching Dragons' Den later tongiht.
The earlier part of the day was spent rummaging through the keybox, testing and trying them on the army of Kensington locks that lay before me. I'd discovered three PCs that still needed to be 'locked-down' :( .
Shout out to +Code With Chris for providing that extra little nudge to get me practising my iPhone App Development. Currently working on the Dice App. (Might post a screenshot when I'm done).
--Oh, and @M&S Sultana Scones - Gawwwd! :)
No Themes for Today. :( Sorry.
1700 sign off.
Looking forward to watching Dragons' Den later tongiht.
Friday 8 August 2014
Day 6 - How much did Netflix pay for that algorithm?
Today has been mostly exploratory: it's the deadline day and most of the staff have their hands full. It's quiet on my part and I should be pretty chilled but I make a shocking discovery while wading through my 200+ (personal) emails: So it was Busuu that debited that £59.99 from my account!!! Dammit!
I spend the next hour or so, intermittently responding to their Customer Service attendant, Rosa, to whom my email queries of complaint were being directed. I get a feeling she's a nice lady. Although, I still don't get to have my refund after cancelling the PayPal subscription...
Oh well. I guess you can't win it all.
Themes of Today:Netflix; CineMatch algorithm; Overfitting; Busuu subscription; Paypal; First-class Derek; (goo.gl/63G541 ; goo.gl/uwQTql) ; Steve Jobs; edX online courses; udacity UX design for mobile developers; idee: Design table and lamp; Tuwon shinkafa fingers; Instagram; GTB; chefzeelicioussss; Google's Material Design; 'Objectified' docume; Apple Inc.; Braun; Dieter Rams; Greg Christie; Jony Ive; "Play to your strengths"; Java: Scanner; Netbeans: Glassfish; Mozilla Contribute
1700 sign off.
I spend the next hour or so, intermittently responding to their Customer Service attendant, Rosa, to whom my email queries of complaint were being directed. I get a feeling she's a nice lady. Although, I still don't get to have my refund after cancelling the PayPal subscription...
Oh well. I guess you can't win it all.
 |
| Excerpt from the ES-yesterday: Notting-Hill Carnival: Untold Story |
1700 sign off.
Thursday 7 August 2014
Day 5 - The Three Princes of Serendip
The panic morning-commute delays can cause: Oh God!
No problems at work though. As I forecasted yesterday, I was well-occupied today with the MACs. Retrieving the MAC addresses of 30 MACs, which also involved wire-cutters and recabling, was no trivial exercise. Neither is it too challenging to manage. With a bit of Adele, Katy Perry and R2Bees keeping me company (yes, boss!), ain't worr'd 'bout nuthin...
 |
| Clockwise: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner. That lunch made me sleep... |
Themes of Today: 0912; Bus late:0812; Finished ES on train!; Hold ALT on Mac for Boot menu; 1021 GSO call; 1048 Contract signed; Passport tomorrow; Lunch nap; 1607 Done MACs; Buckyrooms PHP; LCodeTHW; Serendipity; Adderall Society; KhanAcademy Finance.
1700 sign off.
Wednesday 6 August 2014
Day 4 - Deloitte-ful Day
Was at bus-stop for the start of my journey till 08:01 and still I arrive work at 8:55 - Interesting. Seems I'm the first at the counter today. Few moments later, Amrik drops by to check whether paperwork regarding my employment has been finalised: an email needs to be sent out...
As this is still the holiday season, the labs are quiet as usual. I'm going to try and cultivate the habit of reading the Evening Standard from the evening before, every morning. It's again on my to-do list for the second day running; I think I'm starting to actually enjoy this new morning ritual.
Lunch was about the same time as yesterday (should I make that my standard time?), during which I popped into Dreadnought to get this book
Themes of Today: Creating a Disk Image; 'disk part'; bootloader; deloitte; consulting; qualifications; Li Ka-Shing (Hutchison Whampoa); NS&I premium bonds; Blackberry thorns.
As I wrote previously, let 'Themes of Today" pass over your eyes as if they were nothing.
Tomorrow, I have a major task to do: manage KW102 room and KW103 Macs (#kw103-000x).
I will be quite busy tomorrow.
17:00 sign-off.
As this is still the holiday season, the labs are quiet as usual. I'm going to try and cultivate the habit of reading the Evening Standard from the evening before, every morning. It's again on my to-do list for the second day running; I think I'm starting to actually enjoy this new morning ritual.
Lunch was about the same time as yesterday (should I make that my standard time?), during which I popped into Dreadnought to get this book
 |
| Book taken out from Dreadnought today. |
Themes of Today: Creating a Disk Image; 'disk part'; bootloader; deloitte; consulting; qualifications; Li Ka-Shing (Hutchison Whampoa); NS&I premium bonds; Blackberry thorns.
As I wrote previously, let 'Themes of Today" pass over your eyes as if they were nothing.
Tomorrow, I have a major task to do: manage KW102 room and KW103 Macs (#kw103-000x).
I will be quite busy tomorrow.
17:00 sign-off.
Tuesday 5 August 2014
Day 3 - How high is a basketball hoop?
Arrived 8:45 but, this time, I decide to sit outside and compile my daily To-Do list which I didn't have time to do before I left home. The weather's alright - nothing fancy...
Today's shift was mostly a quiet one. But I actually didn't mind since I had important things to catch up on. First, I had an Evening Standard to finish reading (believe it or not, that was an item on my To-Do list. Yeah.). Then there was my Industrial Placement Handbook which I still had to go through. To some these might not sound like a lot to keep one busy but, believe me, it kept me occupied.
That being said, I did learn a few things today directly relevant to the job. Scanning out camera equipment with James allowed me learn about the Scanner software program (and its relationship with Capslock), the cupboard keys, Macbook power plugs, and an impressive utilisation of Notepad in the workplace. Later on in the day, I learnt (by shadowing Jamie) how to top-up printing credit for students and how this is accounted for (limp pun intended).
Unfortunately, I didn't get to have my accounts (no pun here) set-up, but I understood why. The team target now is to get this sorted by Friday. Also, Jamie's offered to get me up to speed on installations and testing of specialised software in preparation for the massive, building-wide deployment planned for next week. Bring it on!
At 1700, I was off to join the Tube rush-hour home.
Today's shift was mostly a quiet one. But I actually didn't mind since I had important things to catch up on. First, I had an Evening Standard to finish reading (believe it or not, that was an item on my To-Do list. Yeah.). Then there was my Industrial Placement Handbook which I still had to go through. To some these might not sound like a lot to keep one busy but, believe me, it kept me occupied.
That being said, I did learn a few things today directly relevant to the job. Scanning out camera equipment with James allowed me learn about the Scanner software program (and its relationship with Capslock), the cupboard keys, Macbook power plugs, and an impressive utilisation of Notepad in the workplace. Later on in the day, I learnt (by shadowing Jamie) how to top-up printing credit for students and how this is accounted for (limp pun intended).
Unfortunately, I didn't get to have my accounts (no pun here) set-up, but I understood why. The team target now is to get this sorted by Friday. Also, Jamie's offered to get me up to speed on installations and testing of specialised software in preparation for the massive, building-wide deployment planned for next week. Bring it on!
Finally, here's a tip of what an idea I came up with today will seek to manage (Hint: they're themes of the day I had to omit for relevance):
If said idea doesn't make sense at all to you (I would be surprised if it actually did), just pretend you didn't see that.
- Dreadnought; Lunch 1347 to 1447; Marvel; Basketball; Overtime; Jiu-jitsu; Rugby; Rufus Leonard; Lyndon Lea; James Caan; ('Algortihms of the Intelligent Web','Google Blogger for Dummies').
At 1700, I was off to join the Tube rush-hour home.
Aug 4th - Second day - Monday
Left home 7:45.... Got into work 8:45 - yes!
James is already at the desk when I arrive. Jamie arrives later, clearly looking (and sounding) like he'd recovered from the cold and cough he'd been battling with on Friday. Andrew arrives later after Jamie. Amrik and JP are in their office as I walk past and wave: Later, I telll myself, you can speak to them.
With Andrew, I set about continuing from where we'd left off with the PC-locking-down. Some hadn't been secured with Kensington locks and needed to. Then the PC layout-numbering order of KW103 had to be amended.
Lunch: 13.50 to 14.50. Bumped into Ade at the library. Chatted with him for a significant quarter of this time. Oh well.
Returned to continue locking down the PCs of KW103; only this it no longer involved securing them, but rather cabling (a.k.a. connecting) them. Quite a learning curve for me, as 'hardware' is exactly my strongest suit. That's one of the reasons why I took on this job in the first place.
From casual conversations, I learn more about the office keys, printer paper, role assignment differences for Part-timers and Interns, sick-leaves and some other stuff I might have missed out on here. SIDENOTE: Caught up with Farzina's friend (sorry, I didn't catch your name! ), who "can't be bothered" to go get an extra 5 grand for her teaching scholarship - Lazying about FREE, legit money I'm entitled to? Yeah, I need to speak to her more about that.
Debriefing as the time ticks coser to 17:00: I should be set up on the 'accounts' tomorrow and I'll be working closer with Jamie as Andrew is off.
James is already at the desk when I arrive. Jamie arrives later, clearly looking (and sounding) like he'd recovered from the cold and cough he'd been battling with on Friday. Andrew arrives later after Jamie. Amrik and JP are in their office as I walk past and wave: Later, I telll myself, you can speak to them.
With Andrew, I set about continuing from where we'd left off with the PC-locking-down. Some hadn't been secured with Kensington locks and needed to. Then the PC layout-numbering order of KW103 had to be amended.
Lunch: 13.50 to 14.50. Bumped into Ade at the library. Chatted with him for a significant quarter of this time. Oh well.
Returned to continue locking down the PCs of KW103; only this it no longer involved securing them, but rather cabling (a.k.a. connecting) them. Quite a learning curve for me, as 'hardware' is exactly my strongest suit. That's one of the reasons why I took on this job in the first place.
From casual conversations, I learn more about the office keys, printer paper, role assignment differences for Part-timers and Interns, sick-leaves and some other stuff I might have missed out on here. SIDENOTE: Caught up with Farzina's friend (sorry, I didn't catch your name! ), who "can't be bothered" to go get an extra 5 grand for her teaching scholarship - Lazying about FREE, legit money I'm entitled to? Yeah, I need to speak to her more about that.
Debriefing as the time ticks coser to 17:00: I should be set up on the 'accounts' tomorrow and I'll be working closer with Jamie as Andrew is off.
Aug 1st - First day
I'd say nothing too technical happened on this day. JP took me around to meet the team in KW (Jamie, James, Alex, Stuart) and QM4 (Darren, Skatesy, Liam). Skatesy showed me around the Server Room on QM4, and promised to also show me the bigger one in Dreadnought.
After lunch at about 1pm, during which I got to practice on Duolingo and learn French Grammar, I returned to continue 'locking down' the PCs in KW103 with Andrew.
At 5pm, I was off.
After lunch at about 1pm, during which I got to practice on Duolingo and learn French Grammar, I returned to continue 'locking down' the PCs in KW103 with Andrew.
At 5pm, I was off.
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