Where Did Those Emails Go?

Not a message you want to see pop up on your screen!

Lately I have been having some issues with my computer… again. I stepped away from my computer just before noon on Monday and when I got back to my desk the automatic updates had already kicked in. Normally this is just an annoyance so I decided to take a lunch break and resume the multitude of projects immediately after. However, when I returned the icon on my laptop was still swirling… this was followed by error messages and a frozen screen. An hour and several expletives later and I was finally back on the home page backing up all the files… almost like I knew what was going to happen next.

Shortly after I finished the data dump onto my external hard drive, the screen went blank and my laptop nearly sailed across the room and through my window. After informing IT about the problem (still waiting for the laptop to be fixed by the way), I was able to resume my work on the office backup computer (i.e. the old laptop of a former coworker). Even though I had all the files I needed I still had to deal with web access for email and rely on the small Seagate to retrieve all of my documents.

However, two issues persisted. The first is the fact that when Outlook and my computer crashed, all the emails that I had written and sent over the past hour never made it to their destinations and I couldn’t find them in the outbox, drafts, or sent files. Basically I lost half a day of work and had to redo all the edits and responses that should have been communicated. There are also limitations in Outlook functionality between desktop and web access which is proving to be an ongoing issue. 

The second issue I am still dealing with which some would consider minor while others understand the frustration that this can bring about… I am now typing on a completely different keyboard. While it still does the same job, many of the keys are in a slightly different place and so the typos have increased along with a significant decrease in the speed of my typing and subsequent productivity. Furthermore, my work computer also serves as my personal computer which is proving to be a pain in the you know what.

This isn’t the first time that I have had issue with a computer. I can’t even recall how many laptops I have gone through over the years. I have had issues with email, applications, and I have burned out computers in the past. I guess it is about that time anyway so I really should have seen this coming… Well, at least I already had an external hard drive ready to go which was actually fairly up to date. I have also been dumping documents onto the server as of late so I am better off this time than I have been in the past.

It is still annoying and a complete time suck… especially when there is no progress from IT and the broken laptop is still sitting on my desk doing nothing. However, while no other information seems to have been lost beyond the confines of email, I am still taking another step to combat the inconvenience. It is time to get another personal computer. Actually, since I won a DELL Venue Pro tablet (with Windows 8.1 already on it) last month at the Philly Tech Week Signature Event, I think I will go that route and simply add a wireless keyboard. 

That’s right, somehow I keep getting new technology for free… first a Kindle and now a DELL tablet. At least my wife wasn’t there when I won the second one and now I will be better prepared moving forward. So while I transition over I am going to try not to toss (with great vigor) my old laptop into a wall… and do my best to not slam my fist into the keyboard of the one I am writing on currently. This is despite the fact that those where reasonable ways to fix a computer 20+ years ago. Darn dainty temperamental modern technology.

Pulling The Cable Tow Into The 21st Century

I was out of the apartment and on the road by 6:00 am yesterday on my way to spend the day in Elizabethtown. You know it’s early when it is still a dark August morning when you start the car. It has been oddly cool this summer so the mist on the windshield stubbornly held on for about a half hour not completely streaking off until I hit the 70 MPH zone on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. All told, including a 20 minute delay due to a nasty car fire just outside of Lancaster, it took about an hour forty five minutes to get to the Masonic Conference Center. Just in time for the day long IT training to begin.

Surrounded by what are now familiar faces, it was an interesting delve into a completely overhauled online membership ad banking system that the Grand Lodge will be rolling out in due time. While we were definitely experimenting with an early version of the site, there are a number of things that, in the end, will be a huge upgrade to a currently antiquated system. Of course, with that said, there are countless holes and many things that will need to be adopted by lodges before the new tools and be fully leveraged.

It was a nearly ten hour day fully of demonstrations and explanations of how the completely unique system and overall way that things are done in a lodge is now being integrated in what is normally a one size fits all Salesforce model. While adjustments have been made, many of us familiar with the company can see where things didn’t quite fit and take note of how various programs and allowances were changed. Needless to say, it will be interesting playing the role of IT support specialist for the district once this is rolled out to all the Masonic lodges in Pennsylvania.

It was also interesting to watch a young group of presenters get up in front of the room and do their best to explain all the systems, capabilities, and programs that they normally pitch to a large company. This was not a crowd they were used to (but handled pretty well) and many of the questions and concerns were pushed back or handed off to Grand Lodge officers. Again, we are a unique fraternity with a system that goes back hundreds of years trying to pull the rest of our brothers into the 21^st century. It is going to be a task and a half.

In the end, this is going to be much more than an IT support specialist role that we all play. We are going to basically have to sell this to our fellow brothers. We have to show them, no matter how long they have been a member of this fraternity, the benefits that this new system will bring to freemasonry in the state, the lodge, and especially to them. It is going to be a long haul with a lot of extra work, especially for Secretaries, importing, collecting, checking, and verifying all the data needed to ensure that we all get the greatest benefit possible from this new system. I guess it will just be a matter of time , most likely years, before this actually makes my job easier.

Playing Catch Up

The past couple of weeks have provided me with a seemingly endless stream of work. The kind of heavy flow that leave you searching for the cut off valve. While nothing that needs to be done is of any significant size, the volume of the work is what keeps growing.

The greatest hindrance to the whole thing really isn’t the things that I know that need to be done it is the collection of all the things that I keep forgetting about. The tasks and projects that have been put aside temporarily in order to take care of the faux urgent. Today was a perfect example of this as I was knocking things out at a pretty steady pace with what looked like an end point in site. Then my mind began churning and bringing to the forefront items that had been blocked out for days.

This really isn’t anything new. Sometimes it is what needs to be done in order to focus on more pressing matters. Sometimes it is because my mind is wandering about while I am typing. On the rare occasion, it is because I just zone out and things evaporate. Of course, there are the occasion where all of these fun things come into play as they play tetherball with my gray matter allowing me to catch a quick glimpse of a thought before sending it back to the forgotten files in the corner.

Is this a problem? No, not really. It doesn’t get in the way of getting things done on time. Maybe the occasional lapse of time between communications but nothing that would entail missing a deadline. In fact, it is my minds way of making sure that things get done. Even the best juggler has limits as to how many things they can keep afloat. Yes, it’s a cliché and I used it. If I tried to keep everything going on within easy mental reach it would be impossible to get things done. Even simple things would be a chore and choked with the thoughts of other unrelated projects. It would be like Bill Clinton at a sorority house slumber party… at some point you just freeze up and not be able to function even though you know what to do.

Basically, in order for some people to remain productive, you have to become stupid. I am talking about a liberal dose of stupidity that ensures you mind has a singular, however ridiculous, purpose. You have to do this while maintaining a damn good mental hard drive to pull things back up when needed. One project at a time because even the best computer can crash if you let it overheat (usually if you open up too many programs at the same time).

If needed, don’t be afraid to shut it down and smack the crap out of it… old school IT support is sometimes the best solution. With that said, time to revisit the land of the simple minded where liberal doses of stupidity are the norm and everything has a blue tint to it. Without all that pesky thinking I should be able to catch up sooner than I thought possible.