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Memory-Lane Monday: Maybe someone should have asked

opinion
Feb 17, 20201 min
Data Center

Why did anyone think that was a good idea?

Computerworld  |  Shark Tank
Credit: Computerworld / IDG

This pilot fish has a business that specializes in keeping data centers clean, which usually means keeping the dust out of sensitive equipment. No heavy lifting.

One day he gets a call from a customer who reports that there’s been a serious accident in his server room.

Serious, yes. Accident? Certainly not a natural disaster.

“Turns out the whole place was being renovated, and the construction workers on the floor above that day had the task of cleaning up,” says fish.

“Seems they found what they thought was an unused hole in the floor. So instead of sweeping up loose dry wall, nails and other construction waste and bagging it, they dumped it all down the hole.

“It landed right on top of racks and racks of servers.”

Help Sharky keep your true tales of IT life from vanishing down the memory hole. Send them to me at sharky@computerworld.com. You can also subscribe to the Daily Shark Newsletter.

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Questions that Sharky gets a lot

Q: What's a pilot fish?

A: There are two answers to that question. One is the Mother Nature version: Pilot fish are small fish that swim just ahead of sharks. When the shark changes direction, so do the pilot fish. When you watch underwater video of it, it looks like the idea to change direction occurred simultaneously to shark and pilot fish.

Thing is, sharks go pretty much anywhere they want, eating pretty much whatever they want. They lunge and tear and snatch, but in so doing, leave plenty of smorgasbord for the nimble pilot fish.

The IT version: A pilot fish is someone who swims with the sharks of enterprise IT -- and lives to tell the tale. Just like in nature, a moment's inattention could end the pilot fish's career. That's life at the reef.

Q: Are all the Sharky stories true?

A: Yes, as best we can determine.

Q: Where do the Sharky tales come from?

A: From readers. Sharky just reads and rewrites and basks in the reflected glory of you, our readers. It is as that famous fish-friendly philosopher Spinoza said, "He that can carp in the most eloquent or acute manner at the weakness of the human mind is held by his fellows as almost divine."

Q: Do I have to write my story in Sharky-ese?

A: No. Not at all. Just be sure to give us details. What happened, to whom, what he said, what she said, how it all worked out. If Sharky likes your tale of perfidy, heroism or just plain weirdness at your IT shop, he will supply his particular brand of Shark snark.

Q: I've got a really funny story, but I could get fired if my old trout of a boss found out I told you. How confidential is what I send to Sharky?

A: We don't publish names: yours, your boss's, your trout's, your company's. We try to file off the serial numbers, though there's no absolute guarantee that someone who lived through the incident won't recognize himself. Our aim is to share the outrageous, knee-slapping, milk-squirting-out-your-nose funny tales that abound in the IT world, not to get you fired. That would not be funny.

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Q: Where are the Sharkives?

Tales of old can be found in Sharky's archive.

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