The doughnut of doom

This afternoon I chose to leave the Fish Factory early. I could of stayed but purposefully decided not to. My life is overly dominated by failing computer systems. Systems which just do not work at all. Brand new systems, brand new software, state of the art, nearly. So fish sit at their desks and then as they process the next batch of sprats they stand and watch a little blue revolving doughnut. It is the doughnut of doom, of gloom, the doughnut which tests the ultimate threshold of human patience. There are times when industrious fish sit there and wonder how to react. Do they a) throw the computer out of the window, b) cry c) huff, puff, rant, swear, groan, moan, anything which is an expel of breath and frustration or d) make up a poem and rename the Fish Factory the Frozen Fish Factory because everything is going nowhere fast. One of my favourite expressions is to say it is "like walking uphill through treacle." The extent of how thick this treacle is depends on the day.

In this day and age, going forward has become a matter of going backwards. The computer system of 5 years ago though more basic was faster, it didn't have as many whistles as this one has but it definitely worked.  In principles of LEAN management, you do not invest in new technology if the new technology is no better or advantageous than the old technology.  Personally I am wary about buying anything which has just been developed. It's always best to get the older model, because everybody else can tell you the faults. If there are too many faults then skip it and wait for a few more models to come out. I still do not own a smart phone and am proud I don't. But when I upgrade you can bet I'll work out how to use the smart phone and what all the pros and cons are in a short time.  For I'll just look at the reviews of others, they would of done all the hard work.  Not to mention the immediate expense of a new object.

Today's temporary reprieve is an escape from the doughnut of doom, but no doubt it will be there again tomorrow.

Note: here the doughnut of doom is used to fondly describe, the rotating blue icon which pops up when IT systems go slow.