Why unplugging things at random is not a good idea when you work for a tech firm

Ever since I've worked here (and I'm guessing long before), there's been a horrific snarl of cords under my desk. Most are power cords for the truly astonishing array of electronic gadgetry I use every day in the office (computer with two monitors, adding machine, fax machine, old Blueberry iMac, etc.), and some are network cords to connect all of it to the internet/phone network, and some (I recently discovered) don't go to anything in particular but are relics of older setups that never got fully removed. I had two power strips and a good twenty-something cords under there, all tangled together more or less beyond relief.

Today, however, when I asked Wade to pick up a plugstrip (for an entirely separate set of gadgetry), he came back with a huge powerbox-type thingy with all kinds of plugs and indicator lights and whatnot. Therefore, I decided it was time to de-tangle the Cord Snarl That Ate New Jersey (or was threatening to, anyway) and replace the strips with the powerbox. I start by unplugging both of the original plugstrips, which seems the reasonable thing to do.

Unfortunately, plugged into a hub that was on one of those strips was the monitor for our (very tetchy, hence why we have a monitor) network that goes all over Juneau. I very nearly gave BD a heart attack when he came down and saw half the monitor red, and both his and Brian's cell phones were buzzing as the thing frantically sent messages saying that this or that wasn't responding. Fortunately he saw me trying desperately to untangle the mess and figured out what'd happened.

But in the end it's all worked out for the best. The monitor cord is plugged straight into the wall with a big "Monitor - Do Not Remove" tag on it now, and the mess of cords has been tamed, with each cord labeled and squared away. If nothing else, I can now put my feet under the desk without fear of kicking something apart.

All in another day at J&W, I suppose...

Why unplugging things at random is not a good idea when you work for a tech firm

Ever since I've worked here (and I'm guessing long before), there's been a horrific snarl of cords under my desk. Most are power cords for the truly astonishing array of electronic gadgetry I use every day in the office (computer with two monitors, adding machine, fax machine, old Blueberry iMac, etc.), and some are network cords to connect all of it to the internet/phone network, and some (I recently discovered) don't go to anything in particular but are relics of older setups that never got fully removed. I had two power strips and a good twenty-something cords under there, all tangled together more or less beyond relief.

Today, however, when I asked Wade to pick up a plugstrip (for an entirely separate set of gadgetry), he came back with a huge powerbox-type thingy with all kinds of plugs and indicator lights and whatnot. Therefore, I decided it was time to de-tangle the Cord Snarl That Ate New Jersey (or was threatening to, anyway) and replace the strips with the powerbox. I start by unplugging both of the original plugstrips, which seems the reasonable thing to do.

Unfortunately, plugged into a hub that was on one of those strips was the monitor for our (very tetchy, hence why we have a monitor) network that goes all over Juneau. I very nearly gave BD a heart attack when he came down and saw half the monitor red, and both his and Brian's cell phones were buzzing as the thing frantically sent messages saying that this or that wasn't responding. Fortunately he saw me trying desperately to untangle the mess and figured out what'd happened.

But in the end it's all worked out for the best. The monitor cord is plugged straight into the wall with a big "Monitor - Do Not Remove" tag on it now, and the mess of cords has been tamed, with each cord labeled and squared away. If nothing else, I can now put my feet under the desk without fear of kicking something apart.

All in another day at J&W, I suppose...