OT - Big Brother is living in Florida

[gregebowman]

I haven't been able to logon at work, for those who've noticed I haven't posted lately. Big Brother has now arrived in Tallahassee. They've installed a blocker program that not only blocks us state employees from going to certain sites (mostly porn and hot-mail sites), but also tracks us if we go to non-work related sites. So it's been pretty boring for me at work now since I can't logon when I have a few spare minutes. I think since everyone was tracking the hurricanes this summer, it bogged down the system, and this is their way to try to make sure that the system won't get tied down so much. God forbid they should buy new computers that can handle increased usage. So if I seem kind of scarce, that's the reason. My home usage is still limited, but I'm going to try to change that.

[Arkcon]

Humpf. That stinks. I mean to say, its good to block porn sites, and hotmail and stuff are potential sources of viruses, and all that.

But scanning where you go, while perfectly fair, just seems a little mean. If they don't like the work you're doing, they can reprimand, then fire you. Till then, you should surf away. If you're the best worker there, you can surf a little without hurting the bottom line.

If it were me, I'd surf all the more, but only to work related sites. And tell the boss what little known regulation you've discovered.

I remember browsing though the safety files at work, and deep in I found a report on a hydrogenation procedure that seriously failed, resulting in a "conflagration". Aw, I laughed about that for days afterward. "Conflagration" so much nicer than "big hydrogen-fueled fireball"

Think of the gems you could find at your work. And bring them up in conversation. Often.

[Kamog]

That's too bad. I have internet access at work and occasionally use it for non-work related purposes, but I have to be careful because the boss checks up on me often.

When I do use it, I usually have a couple of other windows open containing work: a report, a spreadsheet, source code, etc, so my screen looks busy. I open my browser in a small window at the bottom of the screen and adjust the size so only 5-6 lines of text are visible at a time. I set the background color to white and the font to the smallest setting so that it's hard to tell what it is from a distance. Then I read the forum by scrolling up and down within the little window.

Also, I set the desktop color to black and leave a corner of the screen open. It provides a reflective surface so I can see people coming up from behind - but it doesn't work that well.

[Will]

Sounds like you need one of these.

[gregebowman]

Thanks, but I don't that that program would work. I just have to grin and bear it. Or send more curses to those "geniuses" in Tallahassee. Anybody got a voodoo doll that would work on state governments?

[narf poit chez BOOM]

Yep. Unfortunatly, all pigs within a fifty mile radius feel minor discomfort when it's used.

[mottlee]

I worked at a place that did that as a norm, where ever you went on the web there was a record of it..as long as you stayed away from the porn sites you were cool.

[Randallw]

I remember (though not very well) that a game I used to play (Doom I think) had a hotkey that would bring up a imitation spreadsheet. I don't think you could do anything with it but it was supposed to fool your boss when he appeared.

[Possum]

Randall, I remember that!

[Kamog]

What we need is a mod for SEIV so that the game looks like work. Have ships and planets that look like words and make the background into a picture of a spreadsheet or something.