You know, sometimes I laugh when I hear people describe computer maintenance as voodoo. A friend recently forwarded me a great description of how to install Linux on a dead badger that brought it to mind. Obtuse instructions and mysterious sounding phrases are standard fare for techies, but they’re actually quite logical once you’ve gotten used to them.
On the other hand, I remember that when I was working in Tech Services, we had a rubber chicken on the pegboard next to the rest of the tools. When all attempts to fix a recalcitrant machine failed, we’d get that down and give the box a few whacks.
And the scary thing is, sometimes it’d work.
There’s a current project I’m working on that’s got me thinking about voodoo. I’m home today, sick with some sort of stomach thing, so I’ve been playing with the new OS X release of Xtension. It’s basically a brain for the home automation system. I’ve discovered that I’ve got something odd about the power lines in my house. Basically, there’s one outlet upstairs that isn’t responding to commands when they’re issued by the computer. It works fine if the command comes directly from the remote control downstairs, but it can’t seem to see commands from an outlet just around the corner. It’s got to have something to do with the way that the electricity was run when the former owner expanded the upstairs.
Fixing the problem would probably involve ripping out all the wiring in the house and replacing it with new stuff, and that’s something I’m not even going to think about doing. Yet. After all, I’ve got all sorts of stuff to do without getting involved in a big electrical job.
Maybe I should just hang a rubber chicken by the fusebox.
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