The sysadmin oxymoron

/* This has been gathering dust for quite some time now */

“The cost of communication waste” made me think of the standard oxymoron in our line of business:

“We are forced to kill our children to make our point” says a fellow sysadmin. This is the case where, although the system administrator has recommended an update, upgrade, improvement etc. this is denied thus forcing the system to degrade slowly (or fast sometimes) no matter the effort put against decay by the administrator. Who will finally be forced to let the system die proving the point along the way. But this is no victory. System Adminitrators derive no joy by being right when disaster strikes; they want to have resources for their systems not to fail or at least abandon them properly.

As system administrators we build systems that are supposed to support certain operations for our employer. We build stuff, automate processes and generally walk a path, that the untrained eye thinks it leads to eliminating the necessity of our services. In essence we build our own obsolescence. When things do not work, users (sometimes rightly) believe that we do a lousy work. On the other hand when we sit idle in our offices, we are not needed and may sometimes even be considered a burden, a cost center. Why would one pay a system administrator, if he seems idle all the time? The contradiction is clear: When the systems do not work, it is because we do a lousy job. When the systems work, our services are supposedly not needed.

Fat behaviors rule the IT workplace (IT Gestapo, toxic meetings, pointless report generation) and BOFHs are equally guilty of this. This is the balance we have to keep up with daily, but when running systems with a lot of responsibility but without authority, we have to find ways to make management not only listen, but also act. Because management takes a bet: Things won’t break while they are in office. Since we have to either leave or live with that, we either take the same bet or we make damn sure that our technical points are permanently recorded.

Lean vs Fat behaviours and the Public Sector

“Lean behaviors” is a fantastic paper written by Bob Emiliani. If I was to use a highlight marker, I could easily paint the whole paper.

“[an organization] must possess an ability to change how it thinks, which requires a culture characterized by trust, shared responsibility and openness to experimentation without fear of failure“.

“Lean behaviors are defined simply as behaviors that add or create value. It is the minimization of waste associated with arbitrary or contradictory thoughts that leads to defensive behavior; ineffective relationships, poor co-operation, and negative attitudes. […] [“fat” behaviors] include the display of irrational and confusing information that results in delays or work stoppages, or the articulation of unsubstantiable subjective thoughts and opinions. Fat behaviors are recognizable as lots of talk where nothing has actually been said, or indirect words whose meanings are subject to variable interpretations”.

What an accurate description of the Public Sector!

[The cost of communication waste]

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

At my good friend’s S.B. suggestion I read “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time“. Although I am biased, this is easily one of the best books I have ever read. The main character of the book is a teenager on the autistic spectrum, who upon discovering a neighbor’s dead dog, makes it his mission to find out who killed the dog. This proves to be an adventure far more complicated than he expected and the hero is forced to deal with situations he is not accustomed to.

On the surface people may find this book entertaining, reading the narrative from the point of view of the hero and how he reacts to different stimuli (and how and why his reactions are different than what “normal” people would do). But this is not a teenage autistic version of Sheldon Cooper. This is not fun. This is not cool even though Christopher (the hero) can understand the Monty Hall problem or Conway’s Soldiers better and faster than you. This is the life of a high functioning autistic and it takes its toll on him and his supporting environment. And it shows how totally unprepared (and prejudiced) “normal” people are when needed to deal with people with slightly different wiring in the brain. It is also a story of trust, how easily it can be broken and how hard it is to build it up again.

You will enjoy the chapter numbering though.

If you have friends (or extended family) living in the problem, read the book. It will help you understand their situation. The book has been translated in Greek as “Ποιος σκότωσε το σκύλο τα μεσάνυχτα;” and it will take you a couple of days to read it. I read the English ePub version. For a shorter version in understanding what goes on in an autistic mind you may read “Ο Αυτός“.

Happy Sysadmin Day today!

Yes! It is this time of the year again. Sysadmin Day is today. So off your desk and walk towards that guy who is taking care of your network and machines and is required to perform magic when your PC is damaged, the network is not responding and your work is lost. Give him a hug, say “Thank you“, buy him coffee, a book, do a small gesture of appreciation, for if you reflect back in the past 364 days, you surely had a chance to thank them and you did not.

When treated properly at least once a year, sysadmins do not bite!