 Occupational Hazzards, part 2, a funny thing happened at work today... |
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 Mar 9 2005, 01:45 PM
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#26
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Moving Target  Group: Members Posts: 248 Joined: 26-February 02 From: Note Calonna Member No.: 241  |
RFID is like an electronic barcode. It can store a decent amount of information on it, and requires no batteries and is very small. It doesn't require direct line of sight to a scanner, so it can be molded into the product. When it receives an RF signal from an RFID scanner, it uses the energy it receives to turn itself on and reply with its unique identifier. Large retailers like Wal-Mart are interested in the technology as it can save them an enormous amount of money in inventory management and control. An employee could walk down the aisle of the store with a hand held scanner and do an inventory of what is on the shelves, deciding what needs to be re-stocked very quickly.
It hasn't been adopted by retailers much yet for a variety of reasons, mainly due to opposition by people worried about the privacy implications. |
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Mar 9 2005, 01:53 PM
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#27
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It's for winners Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 523 Joined: 8-February 05 From: Wiltshire with da shooty stuff Member No.: 7,067 |
aah, i think the identachip works on the same lines, its a barcode of sorts put in a capsule under an animals skin, it can be scanned by a hand helled device to check identity ownership etc! cool really, they were talking about using it on children at one point, just think of it...... policeman 'ok what your name?' kid ' not tellin ya' policeman ' right come here' Scanner 'beep' policeman ' right Jhon your nicked!' Kid ' shit!' hehe hours of fun could be had! torz x :D |
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Mar 9 2005, 01:54 PM
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#28
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 334 Joined: 17-November 03 From: Texas Member No.: 5,828 |
I work in Law Enforcement. My job comes up all the time .....
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Mar 9 2005, 01:55 PM
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#29
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 248 Joined: 26-February 02 From: Note Calonna Member No.: 241 |
Yep, that's an RFID transceiver. |
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Mar 9 2005, 02:08 PM
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#30
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It's for winners Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 523 Joined: 8-February 05 From: Wiltshire with da shooty stuff Member No.: 7,067 |
cool i want one!
they would notice if i took one from work! torz x ;) |
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Mar 9 2005, 02:26 PM
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#31
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Manus Celer Dei Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 17,011 Joined: 30-December 02 From: Boston Member No.: 3,802 |
They might also notice if you started reading as a Terrier of pedigree.
~J |
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Mar 9 2005, 02:30 PM
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#32
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Dragon Group: Members Posts: 4,664 Joined: 21-September 04 From: Arvada, CO Member No.: 6,686 |
But we don't want her getting taken to the yard (sorry, bad american attempt at brittish humor) by someone if they find her wandering about without a leash, now do we?
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Mar 9 2005, 02:38 PM
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#33
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Incertum est quo loco te mors expectet; Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 6,546 Joined: 24-October 03 From: DeeCee, U.S. Member No.: 5,760 |
I work in government as a web monkey. Mostly my job comes up when dealing with either the number of forms you need to fill out to do something legally, or whenever you're talking with an office worker : P
Being a computer geek means NORMALLY I'd bring in a lot of my techy knowledge, but since SR runs in a world where computers are actually run by tiny gnomes, I've sort of lost some of my edge. I do Information Security, though, so some issues still come up (like having a DMZ, etc.) Occaisionally I use some of my old work experience (entymology) to bring in something really freaky. |
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Mar 9 2005, 03:30 PM
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#34
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 288 Joined: 3-December 03 From: Boston, Mass Member No.: 5,874 |
As a sys-admin for EDS I'm thrown into all sorts of companies. While working at Boston Scientifc I remember I was remoted into a end users computer. On his desktop he had a folder marked clearly "BLACKMAIL". I was sooooooo curious but I figured the less I know the more secure my job was.
What would happen if during a routine maintence a sysadmin eeerrr decker came across some files he shouldn't have...Then what. What do you do? Sell it? What would happen if they found out from logs that you viewed the contents and made a copy.......That could make a fun run.....What happens if that server's backup tape happens to go missing? One hazzard from the early 90's Heyline gas (msp?). Sucks all the 02 out of the air during a fire in a server room. It's a hazard now but with the power of megacorps have it could come back into fashion. Even better what if you caught an high level executive looking at kiddie porn.....That could make a for a fun game as well. Sysadmins - they see everything that goes on, and are the first to get canned.....Funny thing was that during a security review 4 dummy accounts were found at my last site before leaving. Who knows if they're any more.....Luckily I don't have any grudges.......Although I know folks who did. In college I heard a rumor about a kid who was getting thrown off a project he worked on for the last 3 or so years. He warned his boss that there would be repricussions. He had been the UNIX power user for the project. University lab somewhere. Well when they removed his account the system crashed. And kept crashing. They had to finally restore from a 5 year backup before getting it back up and running....Be carefull who you trust. |
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Mar 9 2005, 03:42 PM
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#35
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 586 Joined: 22-November 02 From: Gordonsville, Virginia, U.S.A. (or C.A.S.) Member No.: 3,630 |
kryton: That's "Halon", BTW. :) And I think it's been around quite a bit longer. The stuff's heavier than air, so it literally suffocates a fire by displacing the oxygen. If you saw Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991), they weren't exaggerating about the hazard to humans, either. In a sealed environment, as shown in the film (or in a similar sequence in the 1985 movie Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins, although the type of gas supposedly used in that scene was never mentioned specifically), the stuff can cause fatal asphyxiation. And I don't think that wearing a gas mask will save you, either--unless it's the kind attached to a bottle of compressed air or oxygen. If ithe gas was supposed to be Halon, the special-effects folks on both films made the same mistake; Halon is both ODORLESS and COLORLESS. --Foreigner This post has been edited by Foreigner: Mar 9 2005, 03:49 PM |
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Mar 9 2005, 03:45 PM
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#36
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 401 Joined: 7-June 02 From: Living with the straw sheep. Member No.: 2,850 |
Halon gas.
Me, I just started keeping track of where nice improvised weapons like fire extinguishers and stuff are in my office... I'm a linguist and technical writer, so I don't bring work into SR much. Most of my players would kill me for wrecking their brains if I did. [ Spoiler ] Edit: My kung-fu is weak. Foreigner beat me to it. |
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Mar 9 2005, 03:55 PM
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#37
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Man In The Machine Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 2,264 Joined: 26-February 02 From: I-495 S Member No.: 1,105 |
Working in an architectural office gives me loads of plans. I got to run food fight with a real convience store. And I even knew where things where located. And yes, someone shot up the slushy machine.
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Mar 9 2005, 03:56 PM
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#38
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 586 Joined: 22-November 02 From: Gordonsville, Virginia, U.S.A. (or C.A.S.) Member No.: 3,630 |
Demosthenes:
Speaking of improvised weapons... I saw a film once-- I don't recall the title, but it was another one of those "terrorists/criminals take over a school" flickss, like TOY SOLDIERS, but not as well-made--in which a student took out a baddie using the following-- he put a fistful of nib-style fountain pens (the kind that are usually seen in a holder atop a wooden block) into the funnel-shaped discharge nozzle of a CO2 fire extinguisher, and waited; when the terrorist got close enough (about 6 feet), he pressed the plunger. Said terrorist ended up looking like a human pincushion, with about a dozen pens embedded in her lower chest and abdomen. As is usual in such films, she started to swear (something nasty in Spanish, IIRC), then collapsed in mid-insult. :P --Foreigner This post has been edited by Foreigner: Mar 9 2005, 03:57 PM |
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Mar 9 2005, 03:57 PM
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#39
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Manus Celer Dei Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 17,011 Joined: 30-December 02 From: Boston Member No.: 3,802 |
Moreover, it's heavy enough that most human lungs cannot clear it. I'd imagine you might be able to tip upside down and let it drain out, but it's still very bad mojo. I would not be surprised if, for safety, they added some things to it to give it colour or odor (similar to how they treat household natural gas). Given how much denser than regular air it is, you could probably also see the difference even if it is completely clear. ~J |
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Mar 9 2005, 04:13 PM
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#40
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Neophyte Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,073 Joined: 23-August 04 Member No.: 6,587 |
Many gas products have orders deliberately mixed into them. For example the smell of natural gas (as is piped into most homes) is artificially added as a safety precaution. The colour of petrol is likewise added to distinguish it from water. I would expect a gas based fire suppression system to have a odour added so people would know when they had to get out or die of asphyxiation. The colour could be the same but probably comes from the fact that in movie land if you can’t see it and it doesn’t make a distinctive sound it doesn’t exist. Edward |
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Mar 9 2005, 04:07 PM
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#41
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 288 Joined: 3-December 03 From: Boston, Mass Member No.: 5,874 |
They used to use Halon in server rooms but I heard the practice was considered too dangerous. I wouldn't be surprised if OSHA considered it an unexceptable risk. At the last site I worked at they didn't invest in a chemical based fire restardent like foam or something in there server room. The sprinklers just shot out straight water. I don't know if that's industry norm. Anyone here work in a bank server room or at a Iron Mountain facility? I figured chemical sprayers that were non conductive would be friendlier to the servers. With the amount of water droplets and the large number of fans in a standard server rack your going to get a rather crispy server farm after all the boards start shorting out.
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Mar 9 2005, 04:14 PM
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#42
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Manus Celer Dei Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 17,011 Joined: 30-December 02 From: Boston Member No.: 3,802 |
Holy… water?!? They really like replacing servers.
~J |
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Mar 9 2005, 04:20 PM
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#43
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Man In The Machine Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 2,264 Joined: 26-February 02 From: I-495 S Member No.: 1,105 |
That just sounds like someone being a cheapscate. Even dry fire supression would work, but water? Sheesh...
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Mar 9 2005, 04:29 PM
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#44
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Chicago Survivor Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 5,079 Joined: 28-January 04 From: Canton, GA Member No.: 6,033 |
We have both Water and gas suppression. Depends on the situation. The water is in there because of how the fire codes are written, but it has to be activated, fire won't set it off that I am aware of.
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Mar 9 2005, 04:34 PM
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#45
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 288 Joined: 3-December 03 From: Boston, Mass Member No.: 5,874 |
Yeah. They were pretty cheap. They'd spend $100,000 for a load balancer for 20 to 40 users but wouldn't upgrade they're routers. They're a funky company. Case in point, in back of one of the server rooms they had some systems over heat. They have a huge AC system but didn't bother to do any engineering on how to get flow through the room. So they bought a mobile AC system with a blow out hose that goes into the basement or somewhere and a 2 dollar thermometer from radio schack. When it starts to over heat they turn on the AC.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. I was happy to leave that place. REAL happy. They also spent God only know's how much money on a Diesel backup generator. They ummm forgot to fire it up once a month for just basic maintence. So when we did have a power outage the engine hadn't been fired up for like 18 months and the puppy wouldn't turn over......Yeah never give folks who consider themselves "computer illiterate" or "not technically savy" (to be nice), oversight of you IT budget. Reminds me of a King of the Hill moment, "Bobby...You can bring an ass to water but you can't make him drink"....... |
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Mar 9 2005, 04:55 PM
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#46
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Dragon Group: Members Posts: 4,664 Joined: 21-September 04 From: Arvada, CO Member No.: 6,686 |
We have no fire supression for our server room other than a small 15lb fire extinguisher (rated for electrical). So, basically, unless only one board randomly sparks and catches fire, its done.
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Mar 9 2005, 04:47 PM
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#47
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Freelance Elf Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 7,324 Joined: 30-September 04 From: Texas Member No.: 6,714 |
I think some companies work like that because they have no idea how to budget money -- they'll say yes to the $100,000 load balancer, then have no money left the next week when someone asks them for (insert item here), so they get a cheap (instert item here). Then, the next year, they'll sink a hojillion dollars into a backup generator, but have no money left to hire someone that knows how to use it right (so it's worthless). Etc, etc. Peaks and valleys of budgeting and knowledge tends to cause it; throw money at an issue by buying better than you can possibly need for one thing, then they're out of money so end up with a wholly substandard other thing.
Which could easily spill over into Shadowrun by having a group of security guards with no appreciable skill or training (but a billion nuyen each of hardened armor and top of the line weaponry), or a group of security guards with 8's across the board, but nothing but flak vests and light pistols, or something. ;) |
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Mar 9 2005, 04:59 PM
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#48
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Manus Celer Dei Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 17,011 Joined: 30-December 02 From: Boston Member No.: 3,802 |
SOTA CCSS network run by a non-rigger in captain's-chair mode.
Ares Sentinel-P with bad track layout. Massive, comprehensive track layout with a single lone Sentinel-P. Red-Hard host with little IC and no security deckers. ~J |
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Mar 9 2005, 09:02 PM
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#49
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Running Target Group: Members Posts: 1,088 Joined: 8-October 04 From: Dallas, TX Member No.: 6,734 |
Heh I tend to work in churches and have visited many a cathedral's innards. They too are maze like (especially the big ones) and can be creepy when you're alone in it.
Of course most runners never end up in churches, so the knowledge isn't very useful. *sigh* |
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Mar 9 2005, 08:56 PM
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#50
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Manus Celer Dei Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 17,011 Joined: 30-December 02 From: Boston Member No.: 3,802 |
If Runners don't end up in churches, the GM is the only one to blame.
~J |
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