Super Heros

Initially this post was about a game of dice called craps as many have been a little curious and confused about my yahoo/msn nickname 'sNaKe EyEs'. But then thought the Osgoode IT Helpdesk techies need a mention. Specially since they make me look good! The Obiter, Osgoode's newspaper did a feature on the IT Department this week. Here is the direct link to the Online Edition Obiter Dicta

For those of you who dont have access to highspeed or really dont want to go through the whole thing.. here is the article:

Ten Reasons Why Osgoode's IT Helpdesk Staff should have Superhero Complexes

1. Their superior communication skills. Can you come up with thirty ways to explain how to find the "Start" button on your computer's desktop? No seriously…try…I'll give you a minute. What if we offer you a prize? Still nothing? 'nuff said.

2. An uncannily cheery disposition. Despite being holed up in a windowless fish bowl-like headquarters, you'll always be greeted with a smile within thirty-seconds of when you first tap on the glass (now compare this with other window services at Oz).

3. Mystery headquarters element. Although the fish bowl seems innocent enough you have to ask, what is that discreet back room for anyway? With space at a premium the way it is at Oz, it must be important.

4. Ability to make the impossible possible or leap tall buildings with a single bound. Like that time you needed to print your 150-page Ph.D. thesis in the ten minutes before it was due, using only the performance-challenged Smalley-Baker Lab printer, or that other time you showed up late for your exam and couldn't get your summary to print.

5. Courage. They'll fix or at least try to fix anything that is wrong with your computer that doesn't involve use of a screwdriver. There are some pretty screwed up ways to make your computer stop working.

6. They're not law students. This instantly makes them more charming, more interesting, and more entertaining to converse with as they diagnose your computer. Plus contact with the outside world is good for us, I promise.

7. Crisis management instincts. They regularly and civilly deal with excessively high-strung individuals for whom laptop failure is as emotionally scarring as your parents forgetting to show up for your kindergarten holiday concert. As a high-strung law student, was this my fate, I would have, more likely than not, broken down and assumed the foetal position while rocking in the corner incessantly whimpering "I hate my life."

8. Two words: super-hero uniforms. The now infamous IT t-shirt clearly demonstrates their superiority and distinguishes them from their Clarke Kent alter egos.

9. Their mysteriousness. Aside from seeing them swoop in and out of the technology challenged professor's classroom, nobody understands the hidden depths of the front line IT staff.

10. Upstanding moral fibre…this one is selfexplanatory.

That being said, thank you Amanda and team for their kind words to the humble minions at the desk. The bastard child of Oz ITS salutes you and will make sure that your 2 new dells are installed and fired up as early as possible.