This IT shop has a big project to make sure everything is updated with daylight-saving time patches, reports a pilot fish on the scene. "In an effort to make sure the patch won't affect one application, a tech asked to apply the patch on a test system but postpone the production patch until March 13, 2007," fish says. "This would give the tech ample time to test the patch. The request was denied."

He does now

Pilot fish is working on a factory's data network when he spots a self-proclaimed "super tech" fiddling with a Unix machine in the computer room. Why did you just change that workstation's IP address? fish asks. "I just think it's neat that you can do this while the workstation is running," Super Tech replies. Fish: You know that this is our only DNS server? "At which point," sighs fish, "Super Tech ran out of the computer room without saying a word."

That didn't help?

Tier 1 tech sends a PC and accompanying trouble ticket up the line to this support pilot fish. The problem, according to the ticket: "System will not re-image after being caught in reboot cycle." And under "Troubleshooting Steps Taken," fish finds a little more detail: "Attempted to re-image. System will not accept. Had a Mountain Dew and tried again. Still not responding. Requested replacement."