White or Blue?
Topic(s): Miscellaneous Bait
Submitted by: Anonymous – Tue, 10/27/2009 – 17:00
About a year ago, prior to a possible hurricane land fall, all IT equipment had been removed from a site that would be in danger of flooding due to storm surge or the very heavy rain that comes with a hurricane. That hurricane ended up as a fairly mild rainstorm thankfully. After the storm ad passed, several of the IT staff members and I were sent to set the site back up. Since the IT guy who was in charge of the site knew where all the computers went, we had him stage all the computers and cables for us at the desks. We followed behind setting them up and making sure they had network connectivity. While setting up one of the computers, I noticed that I had been given the wrong type of video cable. I needed a DVI cable and had a VGA. The conversation with the site IT guy went something like:
Me: Hey Ralph (name change to protect the guilty), I need a DVI cable for this setup. You left a VGA cable.
Ralph: Oh sorry. Do you need a cable with blue or white connectors?
Me: Ralph, DVI cables have white connectors and VGA have blue connectors.
Ralph: So you need white?
Me: Yes.
So, I get my DVI cable and give him back the VGA cable. A little while later while setting up another computer, there is once again a wrong video cable. This time, I have a DVI cable and needed a VGA cable. I tell Ralph I need a VGA cable. Guess what he asked…"blue or white?".
Comment: I agree for a beginner, but this shouldn't be forever.
Yes, some remember easier by colour - but eventually you have to know the meaning too.
Think of someone who grows up in Canada - yellow coin $1, two-coloured coin $2; for notes blue is $5, green is $20, purple $10, and brown for $100; you can get away with it if you live here only.
But the day you move to the U.S., where they are all green - what do you do?
In the same way, eventually you have to know what each one is by name instead of shape and colour.
asitnik – Wed, 10/28/2009 – 15:37
Comment: IT?
He said the guy was IT. Shouldn't he know the difference between VGA and DVI?
attol7 – Wed, 10/28/2009 – 10:33
Comment: my point is...
It seems to me he knew the difference. He just remembered the difference using color, rather than name.
I guess I am sympathetic to the guy because I know something about poor memory. I may very well know the difference between things, but the technical difference is not always the first thing that comes to mind when I think of them.
fish – Wed, 10/28/2009 – 11:12
Comment: In charge
He also said the guy was "in charge". When they put you in charge they remove the brain cells that store technical crap.
Coupe de Ville – Wed, 10/28/2009 – 13:32
Comment: RE: In Charge
Now, that explains why some do not want to be promoted to management.
The promotion comes with a free lobotomy.
Fatman – Wed, 11/04/2009 – 10:09
Comment: Qualified?
It's possible the guy has practical and not theoretical knowledge about such things. But then one womnders how he had all the cables connected before the hurricane threat. Guess he was having a little mental crisis (I hope u understand I don't mean anything negative).
afaolek – Thu, 10/29/2009 – 05:10
Comment: Hurried = harried?
"Guess he was having a little mental crisis"
If the pressure was on, and I would guess that it was given the circumstances, people tend to stop thinking in "advanced mode." Simplification is key when the stress level rises. The guy was using a simple, yet effective, way of distinguishing between the two cables - a visual: white connector or blue connector. I actually try to do that where I work, because I know when I'm already running late, the last thing I want to do is have to do critical thinking. I want to use a visual clue - are the right files in place? Do they all have the same time stamp? yep, then they are correct - otherwise, if they were wrong, they'd all have a different time stamp.
Really, in crunch time, visual clues can only help.
-- vrooomed --
vrooomed – Thu, 10/29/2009 – 07:17
Comment: double checking
Perhaps he has a very low opinion of you, doesn't trust that you know the difference between VGA and DVI. Next time ask him by color and see if he still asks for verification.
If he thinks your the one that doesn't know what he is talking about ... your opinion of him will only make things worse.
frozfish – Tue, 11/17/2009 – 17:25
Comment: so, your point is?
It would probably be easier for me to remember DVI or VGA than blue or white, but regardless, I have sympathy for the guy. If the easiest way for him to remember is "blue or white", who cares? He knows there is a difference, but they are both video cables...
It seems you look down on the guy just because he remembers things one way, and you use the technically correct way to remember them. I think you should cut him a little more slack.