BASTARD SYSTEM MANAGER FROM HELL #15 - How To Make A Good Impression
====================================

Onward and upward that's what I say.  Staff shortages meant I had to move on to
another company.  Seems that we were having trouble hiring operators due to a
few fatalities amongst those flunkies.  I don't know, what people expect from a
job nowadays; they seem to expect to be able to go home at the end of their
shift.  I don't mean go home on time, just go home.  Well, most of my operators
got to go home.  Permanently.  They probably didn't enjoy it much though. 
Especially once their corpse started getting a bit whiffy.

Anyway, to look to the future, I've now got some system managers to do my
bidding.  I wander in before eleven as I'm eager to make a good impression.  To
let everyone know that life has changed I call a meeting with the system
managers and, just before joining them, I set off a job that suddenly gets
every VMS box to rattle its disks like crazy.  As expected, the mains cricuit
breakers flip and we're onto UPS.  Only the UPS generator seems to have a
problem as its fuel pump runs off of a three pin plug.  That just leaves the
one hour UPS batteries.

Two hours later, we return from our meeting to find total pandemonium.  The
operators are doing their headless chicken routine.  The standards of operators
have dropped dramatically; there was a time when they would have caused the
power outage so that they could get a bit of shuteye.  The Ops Supervisor grabs
me by the lapels.

"You...I knew it was you...You bastard."

I wait five seconds as the Big Boss trundles up.

"Er?  Is there a problem?  Why didn't you call me?" reply I calmly whilst he's
still grasping my jacket.

The Big Boss inquires as to why the Ops Supervisor has me by the lapels.  The
Ops Supervisor claims that I was responsible for the power outage and for the
lack of system managers at the time.  I respond by pointing out that the
meeting was needed for me to meet my system managers and that I had mailed
everyone with the contact details if there was a problem.  I had actually, but
the job was due to run just before power failed, so nobody would get a chance
to read the mail, however, the time of the mail message will strangely not
reveal that.  The Ops Supervisor is not stupid, he has realised that I am fully
entitled to my reputation and that he has foolishly grasped my lapels.  He lets
go, trying to nonchalently flick a piece of invisible fluff off of them in the
hope of maintaining his dignity.  The Big Boss comments on his aggressive
attitude and how people must take responsiblity for their actions.  Finally he
adds a comment about seeing the Ops Manager later to discuss this issue.

The Ops Supervisor crawls off on his belly into the Ops Goldfish Bowl and locks
the door.  He obviously has heard some unsavoury things about me as for the
next three weeks he refuses to open the door, just sending the occasional
operator out to get him some food - always from a different restaurant, just in
case.

I, of course, do nothing.  I don't need to as the air conditioning for the
Goldfish Bowl has been pumping around some interesting biological organisms. 
It's amazing how certain life forms can florish in sealed environments.