Help desk pilot fish gets a call from a group of programmers about a printer problem that's stumping them. "The programmers said they had checked network connections, the print queue, the print server configuration, all away to the power supply and paper feed," fish reports. "They said the printer needs replacing. A support tech is sent to investigate. They were missing the ink cartridge."

Why me?

Third-tier support pilot fish gets a call at 2 a.m. User: "I'm sorry to wake you up, but System X is broken. Fish (who knows System X is important but also knows just enough about it to spell its name): Why did you call me? User: "I wanted to know if I should call Wally" -- the engineer who works on System X. Fish: Do you realize what you just asked? User: "Oops, sorry!"

Just talk

"Does my boss have a voice recorder on his laptop?" user asks IT pilot fish at a manufacturing plant. "Whenever I walk into his office, he hits a key on his keyboard and then begins talking to me. I think he's recording everything I say." Fish explains that most laptops have built-in microphones, but with the lid closed, it likely wouldn't pick up much. "That seemed to make him happy, and he went on his way," fish says. "But it made me wonder what he was saying."