These days, it is slackery overdrive.

Project Goosefood is going ... I don't know, it is going very fast, very directly towards a red brick wall, topped with broken glass. This way, even if the wall were to give, the glass would rain on all of us (the unlucky staffers --- think of geeks riding in a convertible), and do grisly things.

Seeing that our gig is rapidly going down, even the unflappable Miss Nice is getting depressed. Recently she went into a three-day weekend jag of drinking and smoking. This means that yesterday she was cutely exhausted. Still nice as ever. But her professionalism is proving not to be the iron-cladding she thought it; this place has a way of etching its ways into you.

The Lesser Kahuna is acting a bit random. I keep her as happy as possible. Recently, in a fine example of Mexican Democracy we were invited to "give our contribution" to another smelly fuckup ... I went to a couple of meetings, and, seeing that I had nothing to contribute, I left that to good cares of Engineer Moleman. He enjoys sitting around at meeting and saying things, and looking in charge. Good for him.

Surrealism abounds. They show me a network map showing ATM over OC-3 microwave links, 135 Megabits/second. Says I "Cool". Says the dude "Yes, and then we have the switch, and the tape robot and this and that ...".
I was impressed. Subsequently, I realized that:

  1. After doing a somewhat belated line of sight analysis, they had realized that the microwave antenna dish needed to be 65 meters (200 feet) in the air: but the architects warned them that the building would fall to the ground, if they tried to stick that on top (did I mention that this is Mexico City, were earthquakes are not a fear: they are a certainty ?). So they decide to build a big honking tower that today, 1 day after the official ribbon cutting with the Really Important Man and his God-Boss, is still at the stage of foundation block !!!
    So you ask, how did we do the demo ? With 3 Mbit spread spectrum links. Of course, three piddling megabits are not a lot for a place that wants to do streaming video. Which in turn means, that the inauguration was just a show, and operation will begin in February, with luck.
  2. The tape robot is really *cool*. It is a pity that it currently contains only about 400 Gigs of tapes, being good for, like, one thousand times that.
  3. They don't have engineers ! They don't have computer scientists ! or system administrators ! Who do they think will keep the machines up, the Tooth Fairy ?
My SO is in a sour mood, because her back is acting up again. We have a guest, these days, which brings much happines to our house.
A friend of mine is going to do a PhD in New York or in San Francisco --- I deeply envy him. I am still in time for doing something similar, but I wonder if I have the ability to decide.

Good things: someone lent me the Propaganda - A Secret Wish CD. I listened to it, and was happy.
Yesterday rained, even if it is not the rainy season.
I am looking for a job. Do you have a job for a Unix/Linux/Internet/Web dude ? Write to me at baffo@orbis.org.mx. I hope this is not in violation of Everything policies.

What else ? A William Yeats poem !

Wine comes in at the mouth
And love comes in at the eye:
That's all we shall know for truth
Before we grow old and die.
I lift the glass to my mouth,
I look at you, and I sigh.
Today I made the stupid mistake of following through the "punch thyself" node. It was educational, though painful.