Days when technology hates you

[NinjaRabbit]

Does anyone else ever get days where technology clearly hates them? I had one today, with my usually well-behaved sewing machine. This might not sound retro-computing/gaming related, but it is. Honest. I was working on something geeky!

I was starting on a new project. I got all of my fabrics marked and everything. So far so good... But the second I powered the sewing machine on, it was like the universe was out to get me.

This took place over the course of an hour: First, the machine stalled a bit when I started running it (no idea why, because it then stopped and it didn't happen again), then it got stuck once or twice a bit later (not a big deal - just needed to turn the wheel a bit and it was ok again), *then* it jammed pretty hard, and, after getting it un-jammed and it working as fine as it usually does for quite a bit, it oh-so-kindly tore up a piece of my work ( :-o ), and then the needle broke! It was a clean break of just the tip, and I was lucky that it was the part with the needle's eye on it, because otherwise it would've very likely flipped upwards and taken one of *my* eyes out (as it was, it just got tangled up in the thread that was threaded through it).

I have no idea why it did any of this. It's a reliable machine, and I've worked with that same fabric many times before, and until today it's never thrown a hissy-fit about it.

To add insult to injury, stupidly I don't have any spare machine-needles around (I have no idea why - this is just dumb), and my needle-nose pliers (required for turning the bolt that holds the needle in) have disappeared off of the face of the Earth, so I've had to order new ones of each. Not a huge outlay, but a bit annoying because it introduces a hold-up.

It's really not been my day, at least as far as that machine goes. Thankfully, my computers are all behaving just fine, and I did get enough of the vital sewing done that the project in question can be continued by hand, so that's something.

This project had better be worth it...

Anyone else ever get days like that, especially when trying to work on a project they really want to work on?

 

[commodorejohn]

Yep, it happens to all of us from time to time, I think. Actually, our first PC (a Pentium II - we had 68k Macs before) just plain had it in for my younger brother. Like any Windows 95 system, it was a bit crashy, but man, when my brother was on, it was just constant. It did not do that for any other member of the family, and he was doing the exact same stuff I was doing. That thing hated him, and there was simply no other explanation. One of the reasons I can never believe in a purely deterministic, mechanical universe...

 

[Merlin]

I had this on Saturday evening. The wife was out at a friend's for the weekend, so I thought I'd take a look at my networked laser printer that was making some odd grinding sounds.

I cleaned the paper feed and still the noise persisted, so my attention turned to the gear train that drives the paper feed. I removed the side cover then as I carefully took off the drive train cover, I was suddenly met with gear cogs bouncing all over the bench! !!! :wooha:

After about two hours of online reading of service manuals, advanced swearing and struggling, I had cleaned, lubricated and managed to get the gear train put back together again as best I could. I switched the printer on and watched in horror as a small curly wisp of black plastic came out from the side of the cover, accompanied by a horrible sound of gear teeth buzzing together and a flashing paper feed light!! Double !! Fortunately, I couldn't see any major damage to the gears once I had removed the cover, so I picked up the gears and started all over again.

Another hour and a half of mortal combat with the printer and I had it back together and used my best guess as to where the feed gear should be at rest. I crossed my fingers and switched on, to hear the sound of normal printer function and a ready light. I pressed the 'Go' button and a test page came out perfectly.

I needed a lie down, several coffees and some headache tablets after that little battle.

 

[sir_beaker]

All the time these days with c# projects. I get the software working fine in the dev environment, package it up and install it on a DIT rig where I spend a couple of days testing it, then finally release it to QA and it falls over immediately. I am sure it never used to happen with my Delphi projects. For some reason I always get optimistic when I release an RFC to QA even though I know deep down that it won't work.

Microsoft Visual Studio 2003 just used to crash for no reason.

PVCS back in the early noughties that we were using for version control just used to lock up for no reason.

Whenever someone is on my back for some information, my machine decides to go on a go-slow.

I wanted to print something out the weekend before last on the Mac and OSX died. I tried restoring from a backup and the restore started going past 100%, so I had to reinstall the OS and then restore the backup.

The internet connection is forever dropping out.

And now my PS3 is seeing my PC as a media center, shows me the files but I can't access them

That's why I love technology. Every day is like going to war

 

[AndyLandy]

Oh, goodness! All the sodding time!

The number of times I've had a job "This'll only take five minutes on the PC" which turns into three days of having to pull the machine apart, replace whatever component's failed this time, reinstall Windows and Linux, then put on all the software I need to do the task.

:double

 

[roy_bates]

what sewing machine is it?

domestic or industrial? if its industrial,see if you can get a mechanic to look at it

it might be a timing problem or bur on the foot or plate(have a feel with the foot off or with the foot lift up while its off ),if it persists

 

[Ed.D]

Might just be in need of a quick lube job if its sticking.

 

[demolition]

I've had times like that. I remember one week about 3½ years ago when my washing machine decided to malfunction in the same week as my NAS threw two drives from the RAID (so stopped working) as well as some other third electronic thing broke (atm can't remember what that was). It felt like everything was just breaking down faster then I could fix it.. I did manage to find the problem with the washing machine (nothing major), but it took me 2-3 weeks to recover the files from the NAS, find the problem and fix it (was a software problem). It has been behaving ever since, and so has the washing machine.

Sometimes you get a bunch of stuff happening in a short period of time, but luckily there's also long periods of smooth sailing (although those periods are probably harder to remember).

This morning some bicyclist crashed into the side of my car, knocking the cover on my side mirror off and scratching the front door. Not exactly sure who's fault it was, but the cyclist wasn't injured and the damages to my car turned out to be minor (should be able to polish away the scratches). It is less than 5 months ago that someone knocked apart the same side mirror when my car was parked in the street. I think some other car's mirror must have hit it while passing. I hope it is not a recurring incident with the side mirror every 5 months.

 

[McVenco]

My signature pretty sums up how I'm feeling everyday

(and I'm only a computer USER - though I sometimes know more than the IT 'specialists' I encounter at my job)

 

[demolition]

My signature pretty sums up how I'm feeling everyday

Are you sure this is the right forum for you then?
I could suggest something else to spend your time with which might be more relaxing.

 

[McVenco]

Sadly, I have to spend about 8 hours each day behind a (horribly slow Windows) computer, can't do my job otherwise....

I *do* enjoy my miggies and other retro stuff though, at least as long as they are working - I can't stand it when I can't get a piece of hardware to work correctly. The fun in (retro) computing for me is the use of the software, not tinkering around with hardware

 

[NinjaRabbit]

what sewing machine is it?

domestic or industrial? if its industrial,see if you can get a mechanic to look at it

it might be a timing problem or bur on the foot or plate(have a feel with the foot off or with the foot lift up while its off ),if it persists

It's just a domestic one manufactured by Brother. I'd had to stop using it for a couple of months after hurting my wrists a bit during my previous couple of projects, so I wonder if it was just being finnicky because of that, to be honest.

Might just be in need of a quick lube job if its sticking.

Once it got going (before the needle broke and stopped me in my tracks), it was fine, so hopefully it's ok now. I'll know once my new pliers arrive and I get a new needle fitted (the replacement needles are already here, amazingly). Maybe I'll keep the broken one as a souvenir, haha...

I think it possibly might have just hated me for neglecting it for a bit.

 

[Buzzfuzz]

I don't know why you even bother to get upset about it, it's just part of your day.

This Saturday I went to someone else to help them with their ADSL, but after a while it seems the power-lan short had also clipped their telephone line.
So I said call KPN and have them check the line, probably a fuse in their circuit box a few streets down.

Yeah, that meant no internet for them and that is so horrible for some.

 

[NinjaRabbit]

I don't know why you even bother to get upset about it, it's just part of your day.

Actually, I just had a laugh about it, since it was one thing after another in quick succession. It was way outside of the norm.

 

[Nobby_UK]

Does anyone else ever get days where technology clearly hates them?

Yup --- Somedays it is not safe to get out of bed



That's my excuse anyway

 

[moijk]

Yesterday, my satelite disc stopped working. Either the lnb or the switch that has gone bonkers i presume. I'll play a monkey one day this week to fix it.

today, my newly installed fiber network is down. been down for two and a half hour at least (how long i've been awake). i've delivered a complaint by phone, so hopefully fixed at one time.

I'm scared what will happen tomorrow..

 

[NinjaRabbit]

Unbelievably, when I went to fit a new needle to my sewing machine today, it slipped whilst I was tightening the bolt, and fell into the machine! icard I had to take off the plate that covers the feed-dogs and bobbin tray (and then hang a little LED torch keyring on the needle assembly so I could see what I was doing) to get it out again.

I'm (humourously) taking this as a final warning to stay away from the machine for this project.

 

[Paul_s]

Windows computers
Attempting to use an Apple device within a corporate environment

FFS things are supposedly easier in this century but if anything it's like performing brain surgery! Older computers make more sense and are purely LOGICAL!

Ah glad I got that off my chest

p.s. always remember that no answer in a M$ exam is the correct answer - they are but optional possibilities of total illogic!

 

[MeatPie1200]

LOL in the last 6months i have lost 4x £150 pc motherboards. thats 4! All due to the dodgy electric supply to the are that I live in. And yes I have a UPS, and all other sockets surge protected. Yet still it happens. Decided I am going to throw most of my old PC away, and when I do buy a new board, get a new psu, ram, hdds etc. So I don't just have "one of those days", I have "The Jonah Effect".

If it happens then, I am just going to get rid of the PC and do everything on my Amiga1200.

If only everything in life was as reliable as an Amiga....

 

[roy_bates]

Windows computers
Attempting to use an Apple device within a corporate environment

FFS things are supposedly easier in this century but if anything it's like performing brain surgery! Older computers make more sense and are purely LOGICAL!

Ah glad I got that off my chest

p.s. always remember that no answer in a M$ exam is the correct answer - they are but optional possibilities of total illogic!

it might sound silly,but it might be worth getting a anglepoise lamp for the head of the machine,ive got a few there really handy.(the ones that clamp to the bed)
no, i dont use domestics