Friday, March 03, 2006

Moment of Supreme Power or How I crashed an entire corporations' email system

My fellow computer users may find this amusing:

I have an external email address at work for volunteer recruitment – volunteer@city.kitchener.on.ca.

Three years ago, I had our computer blokes set up an automatic response to this email address, stating to anyone writing that I had received their email and would respond shortly – a courtesy thing.

Today, my automatic response hooked up with a sender’s out of office notice, and got into an endless loop. I went to lunch at 12 noon, got my hair cut, did office errands, came back at 2 pm and there were 30,959 emails in my inbox. To make matters worse, the endless loop had crashed the entire email system of the Corporation – including internal and external emails. I.T. could not alert anyone about the problem because they couldn’t send an email either. Neither could the mayor, the CAO or anyone else. Everyone in our department was in a snit, running up and down the halls complaining.

I noticed my inbox immediately, and called IT and they tried to fix it. But only after they tried to blame me for the problem. Until I pointed out that they had set up the protocols for that automatic response themselves - I had nothing to do with how it was set up.

When I left at 5 pm, I still had 9059 emails left in that inbox.

I never did tell the people in my department the reason why their emails didn’t work. Or anyone else, for that matter, except I.T.

LOLOLOLOL

Upon reflection, I realize that today was the one day, the one moment, actually, when I actually had real POWER for the first time since I started working there in 1982 … Smile…

Little Lulu strikes again...

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

Power to the people!!!!

That is soooo funny, Lulu. But maybe I am laughing because it didn't happen here, to my little home computer and set-up.

I have had up to 2000 emails in my inbox, but I have never hit 5 digit numbers!

Anonymous said...

aha...I think it went further than COK (City of Kitchener). The whole North American system was running slower than ususal.

It was the LuLU (loops within loops) syndrome causing losses in the TSE and the DOW.

Smiles..of course that didn't happen. But it is a funny story about how little LuLU brings corporations down to their knees..

and what can be said..."WHOOPS I did it Again"..

Which for you Louis Armstrong fans was his words and music long before Britney Spears...

Anonymous said...

Leslie, you are stronger than Mighty Mouse!

WE used to tease my then three year old daughter. She thought Mighty Mouse was the strongest in the whole universe. If we dared mention that someone else was stronger, she exploded into fits of protest. But hey, I don't think she'd give me an argument now.

I added a comment on parallel universes, some questions I would like anwered by whoever wants to oblige me. Not on the universe but some technicalities about editing and deleting.

Larry Keiler said...

What's this about a loop?

Larry Keiler said...

What's this about a loop?

Larry Keiler said...

What's this about a loop?

Larry Keiler said...

What's this about a

Larry Keiler said...

What's this abou

Larry Keiler said...

Wha

Anonymous said...

Very loopy, Larry!

Oh, btw, thanks for the books! Sorry I missed you.

You know, I found the books in a plastic bag on my coffee table and said to Sam, this is a coincidence, Larry was just talking to me about this author... thinking the appearance of the books must be one of those odd synchronistic Tan Neutrino incidents...

And then I find out it wasn't Mr. Tan Neutrino at all (who lives in a bungalow just down the street from me), but Larry in the flesh! I was quite surprised, actually, because I was beginning to suspect that Larry was a figment of cyber imagination. My apologies!

When I finish reading William Gibson, I will post my impressions.

Anonymous said...

Please write anything else!

Anonymous said...

Thanks to author.

Anonymous said...

Hello all!

Anonymous said...

Thanks to author.

Anonymous said...

Wonderful blog.

Anonymous said...

Magnific!

Anonymous said...

Nice Article.

Anonymous said...

Hello all!

Anonymous said...

Thanks to author.

Anonymous said...

Magnific!

Anonymous said...

What is a free gift ? Aren't all gifts free?

Anonymous said...

I don't suffer from insanity. I enjoy every minute of it.

Anonymous said...

Beam me aboard, Scotty..... Sure. Will a 2x10 do?