7/11/12

Remember how I was about to go meet with the Whitlock service tech about an audio issue yesterday?  Here’s THAT story.  Monday morning I went into the TOB (Technology Office Building) Large Conference Room A to get someone set up for a meeting.  T’was to be a simple “hookup the computer to the projector and hand out a microphone” job… or so I thought.  When I went to test the mic, I flipped the switch and waited for the light to turn green, turned up the main volume control on the board, turned up the mic’s volume control, and began talking.  I could see lights on the board but there was no sound coming out of the speakers.  I went to look at the rack to see if I could finger out the issue.  Sure enough, the Polycom unit (basically the telephone for the room) had flashing lights and an error message.  I yanked its power cord and counted to fifteen.  I plugged it back in and had a look at the front of the unit.  It was doing its song and dance number of restarting so I fingered all was well.  I headed back to the board.  I flicked on the mic but still got nothin’.  I tried the phone from the touch panel and got nothin’ there either.  “Ok,” thought I, “The Polycom is dead.  I'd better call service.”  I called and was referred to the tech that covers for me when I take vacation.  We chatted about the issue and it was decided he needed to come take a look.  We scheduled for him to come out Tuesday at 0900 h.  I ‘splained to the lady that she was just going to have to talk loud today and she was cool with it.  The group on the other side were already talking loud so I fingered they already got the memo.  I booked the room for myself and headed off to do what the hell ever it is I do during the course of a day.  Tuesday morning I headed back to the room to meet the tech, as I alluded to in the rant.  When I walked in, I hit the button on the touch panel to turn the room’s system on.  It made an electronic feedback squeal/honk sort of noise.  “Hmm,” thought I, “That is interesting.”  I tried a mic.  It worked.  I tried the phone.  It worked.  I went next door, to side B if you are keeping score, and tried the mic there.  It worked.  I tried the laptop connection’s sound with my phone.  Big Audio Dynamite came flowing out of the speakers.  I sat down to wait for the tech with music playing over the system.  He walked in and gave me that look… you know the one.  The “Why the hell did you call me out here when the system is obviously working?” look.  I ‘splained what I'd done and my theory that I just hadn’t shut down and rebooted the WHOLE system after rebooting the Polycom so it never got the word to configure itself to flow audio.  He nodded agreement that that was probably what solved the issue.  We went ahead and downloaded the software from the unit to his laptop so we could say he didn’t make the trip in vain.  We then wasted a couple hours “servicing” other rooms so he didn’t have to drive out to Not Texas.  See, he lives a few miles away from BNSF and didn’t want to hump all the way back to Not Texas if he didn’t have to.  I sympathized and so we had a mutual off-goofing day.  Today I had a different tech, an installation tech, here to install a new projector in one of the meeting rooms.  We spent the morning doing that.  Well, he did that, I sat there and looked pretty.  Speaking of looking pretty, at lunch I got an e-mail from a super hottie in the marketing building asking for a projector.  Had I known who she was when I read the e-mail I would have bragged to the rest of the guys at the “Dirty Old Man Table” about having to meet her.  Unfortunately she had a dude’s first name as her last name and I misread it as… oops, I almost typed her name.  Anyhoo, I read “Dude-name (comma), Plausible-as-a-last-name-chick-name” as BEING “Dude-name Plausible-as-a-last-name-chick name” rather than “Chick-name Apparently-a-last-name-dude-name.”  Of course as soon as I saw her I realized my error and further realized she was one of the new young hotness we leer at from the “Dirty Old Man Table” during lunch.  Now, why did I tell that story?  I dunno.  I guess I… HOLY CRAP!  It is 1605 h already!  I'm out of here!  I may talk to y'all tomorrow.