Disclaimer: Long tale of a tech support job. Also the wk29 story is at the bottom.

One time I was working tech support for a website and email hosting firm that was in town. I was hired and worked as the only tech support person there, so all calls came in through me. This also meant that if I was on a call, and another one came through, they would go straight to voice mail. But I couldn't hang up calls either, so, sometimes someone would take up tons of time and I'd have to help them. I was also the "SEO" and "Social Media Marketing" person, as well; managed peoples' social media campaigns. I have tons of stories from this place but a few in particular stick out to me. No particular order to these, I'm just reminiscing as I write this.

I once had to help a man who couldn't find the start button on his computer. When I eventually guided him to allowing me to remote into his computer via Team Viewer, I found he was using Windows XP. I'm not kidding.

I once had to sit on the phone with a man selling Plexus Easy Weight Loss (snake oil, pyramid scheme, but he was a client) and have him yell at me about not getting him more business, simply because we'd built his website. No, I'D not built his website, but his website was fine and it wasn't our job to get him more business. Oh yeah, this is the same guy who said that he didn't want the social media marketing package because he "had people to hide from." Christ.

We had another client who was a conspiracy theorist and wanted the social media marketing package for his blog, all about United States conspiracies. Real nut case. But the best client I've ever had because sometimes he'd come into the office and take up my time talking at me about how Fukushima was the next 911 and that soon it'll spill into the US water supply and everybody was going to die. Hell, better than being on the phone! Doing his social media was great because he wanted me to post clearly fake news stories to his twitter and facebook for him, and I got to look at and manage all the comments calling him out on his bullshit. It was kinda fun. After all, it wasn't _me_ that believed all this. It felt like I was trolling.

[wk29] I was the social media and support techie, not a salesperson. But sometimes I was put in charge _alone_ in front of clients for status meetings about their social media. This one time we had a client who was a custom fashion-type person. I don't really remember. But I was told directly to make them a _new_ facebook page and post to it every day with their hot new deals and stuff. MONTHS pass since I do that and they come in for a face-to-face meeting. Boss is out doing... boss things and that means I have to sit in with her, and for some fucking reason she brought her boyfriend AND HER DAD. Who were both clearly very very angry with me, the company, and probably life. They didn't ever say anything at first, they didn't greet me, they were both just there like British royal guards. It was weird as fuck. I start showing them the page, the progress on their likes goals, etc etc. Marketing shit. They say, "huh, we didn't see any of these posts at home." Turns out they already had a Facebook page, I was working on a completely seperate one, and then the boyfriend finally chimes in with the biggest fucking scowl, "what are you going to do about this?" He was sort of justified, considering this was a payed and semi-expensive service we offered, but holy shit the amount of fire in all three of them. Anyway, it came down to me figuring out how to merge facebook pages, but they eventually left as clients. Is this my fuck up? Is it my company's? Is it theirs? I don't know but that was probably the most awkward meeting ever. Don't know if it comes across through text but the anxiety was pretty real. Fuck.

tl;dr Tech support jobs are a really fun and exciting entry level position I recommend everybody apply for if they're starting out in the tech world! You'll meet tons of cool people and every day is like a new adventure.

I swear to God if “Microsoft testicle supprt” calls me one more time I’m going to flip. I think it may be time to set up a sandbox and get the fucks to “fix my computer.”

It would be a shame if instead of payment for their “support” their computers became infected with ransomeware...

I know what I’m doing today.

This day I have received the most glorious news in e-pistolary form. For some years, I was suffering in support of a client who was, well, insufferable. My presence there paralleled the divine comedy in both essence and fact.

I opened the missive, expecting another plea to bail them out of whatever clusterfuck they found themselves in. Instead, what I found was something truly magical.

"Hey Human,

I hope this finds you well. I'm not sure if you remember a few years back, we were trying to decide between IBM Cloud and AWS. Well, after years of battling FF*, we're finally moving ahead with AWS. He failed one too many times to deliver anything visibly. After you left, there was no one left he could use to steal credit, ideas, and work.

FF is still pushing to have them use IBM cloud as a "warm backup" in the event "AWS fails." We will see where that goes.

I figured you'd like to know; you were the void in the wilderness for a long time. I don't want to think about how much time we could have saved if we had just listened.

PeeEm**"

This event represents a personal victory, albeit belated, over a few peoples' absurd amount of privilege. Towards the end, I was vicious about my contestation to the insanity of adopting a desperate hedge attempt-as-cloud offering from a failing company. Some examples:

// cloud 'strategy meeting'
Moi: What cloud platform are we looking at using?
FF: We're looking at IBM cloud and AWS as a second.
Moi: Why is that? I understand you're obligated to rep your offering first, but that decision doesn't seem to have the customer's best interest at heart.
FF: IBM cloud is a market leader; AWS isn't as good.
Moi: I see. I mean, that's the tech equivalent of the company's fleet management considering monkeys on tricycles as a strong competitor to service trucks, but I get what you mean.

// steering meeting
Director: Who can we look to as an example? Who is currently using the IBM cloud?
Moi: No one; they account for a single-digit portion of the actual cloud market. Their long game to sell you a "Hybrid Cloud," which means put some front end payload in a CDN, and buy n-frame units of IBM z servers for the DC with IBM gateway appliances acting as connective tissue. So it's not the cloud at all, really.
Director: How does it compare in cost?
Moi: It's generally 40% more expensive than other clouds, and it only goes higher as you option their software.
Director: What about Watson? I hear Watson is good?
Moi: It's a brand name. Most of the "Watson" product is just a facade on top of FOSS products like Spark, Hadoop, Elasticsearch, etc.
Director: Those were words. They sounded good. FF say it's good tho so we'll believe him because we're from the same city.
Moi: *deletes Director from LinkedIn*

Moral of the story: Never trust a vendor that only recommends their products.

*FF = FatFuck - an embarrassingly rotund individual whose girth is roughly equivalent to his height. He shit his way into an IBM architect position in his mid-20s purely due to winning the visa lottery. He had fake hair glued to his head for his wedding to hide his male pattern baldness; his arrange-married wife undoubtedly cries herself to sleep after sex.

**PeeEm - the then project manager, now portfolio manager of some satellite projects. An overall decent human being, capable.

Oh gee whiz fellas. I lived through my nightmare. Recently too.

(Multiple rants over last few months are merged in this one. Couldn't rant earlier because my login didn't work.)

I joined a new shithole recently.
It was a huge change because my whole tech stack changed, and on top of that the application domain was new too.

Boss: ho hey newbie, here take this task which is a core service redesign and implementation and finish it in two weeks because it has to be in production for a client.

Normally I'd be able to provide a reasonable analysis and estimate. But being new and unaware of how things work here, I just said 'cool, I'll try my best.' (I was aware that it was a big undertaking but didn't realize the scope and the alarming lack of support I'd get and the bullshit egos I'd have to deal with)
Like a mad man I worked 17+ hours a day with barely a day off every week and changed and produced a lot of code, most of it of decent quality.

Deadline came and went by. Got extended because it was impossible (and fake).

All the time my manager is continuously building pressure on me. When I asked questions I never got any direct/clear answers. On asking for help, I'd get an elaborate word vomit of what was already known/visible. Yet I finally managed to have an implementation ready.

Reviewer: You haven't added parameter comments on your functions and there aren't enough comments in code. We follow standards. Clean code and whatnot. Care for the craft verbal diarrhea.

Boss: Ho hey anux, do you think we'll be able to push the code to production?

Me: Nope. We care for the craft and have standards. We need to add redundant comments to self documented code first, because that is of utmost importance as Nuthead reviewer explained.
(what I wish I had said)

What I actually said: No, code is not reviewed yet.

And despite examples of functions which were not documented (which were written by the reviewer nut), I added 6-7 lines of comments for my single line functions describing how e.g. Sum takes two input integers and returns their sum and asked for a review again.

Reviewer: See this comment is better written as this same-meaning-but-slightly-longer way. Can we please add full stops everywhere even though they were not there to begin with? Can we please not follow this pattern and instead promote our anti-pattern? Thanks.

Me: Changed the comments. Added full stops. Here's a link for why this anti-pattern is bad.

Reviewer: you have written such beautiful code with such little gems. Brilliant. It's great to see how my mentoring has honed your skills.
.
.
.
I swear I would have broken a CRT on his stupid face if we weren't working remotely (and if I had a CRT).

It infuriates me how the solution to every problem with this guy is 'add a comment'.

What enrages me more is that I actually thought I could learn from this guy (in the beginning). My self doubt just made me burnout for little in return.

Thankfully this living nightmare will soon be over.

So I'm screwing around with fake tech support:

>"I'm gonna perform quick scan"
>dir /s

!Rant
So, got call from fake windows tech support (India) just minutes after syncing my github Gmail to Windows 10 mail app. Trolled along while recording the audio, until he told me which command he wanted me to run. The I hung up and did a security scan.
Figured I'd learn something instead of just hanging up right away 😎

**GENUINE BITCOIN, ETHEREUM AND USDT RECOVERY EXPERTS→HACKATHON TECH SOLUTIONS**

In the Bitcoin investment schemes, scammers frequently pose as experienced “investment managers” to exploit unsuspecting investors. These fraudsters craft elaborate schemes, presenting themselves as seasoned professionals who have made millions through cryptocurrency investments. They entice their victims with promises of substantial returns, urging them to deposit funds into what appears to be legitimate investment accounts. Initially, the schemes might seem convincing as these scammers often demonstrate fabricated success stories and provide false assurances of high returns. Victims are persuaded to make substantial deposits, believing they are making wise investments. However, the deception doesn’t end there. Once the initial deposits are made, the scammers continue to extract more money from their victims under various pretenses, such as additional fees or charges. At this point, victims might face increasing difficulties in accessing their supposed profits or even their initial investments. Communication with the so-called investment managers becomes scarce or entirely non-existent, leaving victims in a state of confusion and frustration. Recovering funds from such scams is notoriously challenging. Once money has been transferred to these fraudulent platforms, tracking and retrieving it becomes an arduous task for law enforcement agencies. These scam operations are often sophisticated, utilizing complex methods to obscure their activities and identities, making traditional recovery methods less effective. This is where specialized crypto recovery services like HACKATHON TECH SOLUTIONS play a crucial role. HACKATHON TECH SOLUTIONS emerged as a low-profile operation dedicated to combating fraudulent exchange platforms and scams targeting naive investors. Their primary mission is to trace and dismantle these fake investment schemes, helping victims reclaim their lost funds.HACKATHON TECH SOLUTIONS initially focused on identifying and targeting fraudulent exchange platforms. They employed advanced techniques to trace the identities of the scammers and the flow of stolen funds. Through their discreet and effective methods, they managed to return deposits to the victims while preserving anonymity to avoid further repercussions for those involved. Their efforts were instrumental in addressing the growing problem of cryptocurrency fraud and providing relief to many who had been deceived.Recently, HACKATHON TECH SOLUTIONS has expanded its operations to facilitate easier access for victims seeking assistance. They have established a dedicated channel through which individuals who have encountered fraudulent investment platforms can reach out and present their cases. This new approach aims to streamline the process of reporting scams and seeking recovery, making it more accessible for those affected by cryptocurrency fraud.If you or someone you know has fallen victim to a fraudulent investment platform or crypto scam, contacting HACKATHON TECH SOLUTIONS could be a crucial step toward recovering your funds. Their team of experts is equipped with the skills and knowledge necessary to handle such cases effectively. They understand the nuances of cryptocurrency fraud and are adept at navigating the complex landscape of digital asset recovery.HACKATHON TECH SOLUTIONS commitment to fighting cryptocurrency fraud and assisting victims highlights the importance of having reliable and specialized services in place. Their successful track record in recovering lost funds and their ongoing efforts to improve access to their services make them a valuable resource for anyone affected by such schemes.For those who have been deceived by fake investment managers or scam platforms, reaching out to HACKATHON TECH SOLUTIONS can provide a pathway to reclaiming lost assets and finding resolution in the aftermath of financial fraud. Their expertise and dedication to combating these scams offer hope and support to victims who might otherwise feel powerless in the face of such sophisticated deceit. if you have encountered fraudulent investment platforms or know of someone who has, do not hesitate to contact HACKATHON TECH SOLUTIONS. Their experience and capabilities in recovering funds from these scams can make a significant difference, helping to restore what has been lost and bringing justice to those who have been wronged.Reach out to HACKATHON TECH SOLUTIONS  via below contact details

Email: info(@)hackathontechsolutions(.)com

Whatsapp: +31 6 47999256 

Telegram: (@)hackathontechsolutions