journal for 2002-09-19

work

As I continue to work on Project VICI (the reunification of our strangely fractured production database), I’m getting more of an idea about how gracefully our information systems could be designed and interwoven. I think that our processes have a lot of potential for optimization through these kinds of systems, and as I start to sketch out how they will work, it’s like I can see clear to the horizon: I could work on these systems for years and never stop making them better.

Then, I remember that I’m being sent to the UK, because the system we use isn’t able to be remotely programmed with any efficiency. Then, I remember that it’s such a ridiculously complex system that it’s expected to take three weeks to write a single (relatively simple) report. Then, I remember that several key pieces of what could be our grand unified data system have been rejected in favor of further development of the ERP system. Why do we keep shooting our own feet?

I’ve often said: I don’t care if I don’t get to do it. Just do it right. Despite my pleas, the company seems to have a pathological aversion to analyzing its process logically and acting on those analyses. I’ve been working on a open memo explaining how our disregard for proper programming is going to come back to haunt us.

The “I don’t care if the code is full of snails, if it looks nice” attitude makes me sick. Once the nice-looking program is exposed as difficult to customize and extend, no one will remember that I tried to save them. Just call me Cassandra.

animal crossing

Gloria’s been getting more settled into our Animal Crossing town, and we’ve exchanged a few letters. I’m glad to know someone can take care of things while I’m away. I’ll be sad to miss the Harvest Festival, but I think I can deal.

It turned out that Tom only wanted to know my roof color so that he could paint my roof after making my living room huge. It didn’t matter much, since Freya painted my roof again before the end of the day. I’m in the hole by over a quarter million Bells, so I might be paying this debt off until Thanksgiving! That’s alright, though, as it’s incentive to keep playing. I was hoping to catch some cool insects of fish, today, but no luck. I did get a new painting, but I’m keeping it; it matches the fruit motif in my house.

Written on September 19, 2002