Re: Fear and Loathing, Part 2

["Mike O." <obie1121 -at- yahoo -dot- com>]

Bruce Byfield wrote:
> I strongly suspect that the instructions were patched together 
> without any attempt to actually do the installations. How else 
> could such a mess have been created?

Well, your predecessor is probably everything you say and more.

But 'not attempting to do the installations' isn't always the writer's
fault. Most clients seem genuninely surprised and unprepared to hear
that I expect to work with their product hands-on.

I am currently tasked with writing a similar install/config guide, for
the same type of system you described (Linux/Apache/Java/Tomcat,
etc...). A few weeks ago I requested a spare PC so I could do the
installation. Now it is slowly dawning on me that they have no
intention of ever providing the hardware. No outright denial; just
inaction.

So now I'm off to eBay, to pick up an off-lease Dell. For which I will
have to eat the cost. Which I don't mind; after all I am a consultant;
but it's just one more insight into the mind of a manager. 

And if their admins notice my unapproved PC connected to their network,
it's entirely possible I could even get in trouble. But at least I'll
have a nice install guide in my portfolio...

Mike O.

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