[ale] RAID recovery

[Scott Castaline]

Geoffrey wrote:

>Jim Popovitch wrote:
>  
>
>>Geoffrey wrote:
>>
>>    
>>
>>>Robert L. Harris wrote:
>>>
>>>      
>>>
>>>>You have no idea :>
>>>>        
>>>>
>>>Oh, but I think I do. :)   Back when I was working for AT&T, I worked 
>>>with a fun group of pure geeks.  Anyway, you didn't dare leave your 
>>>workstation without locking it, even for a cup of coffee, because when 
>>>you got back, things just wouldn't work just right. :)
>>>      
>>>
>>Geoffrey, (note: I am not picking on you by saying this, as you did not 
>>indicate above that you actually participated in that foolishness), I 
>>think what you describe is just more fodder to frustrate a lot of people 
>>who have spent years disgusted with the price they pay for the service 
>>they get from telcos.  Clearly there were better things for your peers 
>>to be doing than to be horsing around with their peers computers.  Sadly 
>>AT&T has had to layoff a lot of good people over the years, perhaps if 
>>their was less playing and more paying attention Ma Bell would be more 
>>than just a division of SBC these days.
>>    
>>
>
>I think AT&T had bigger problems.  They made some critical errors and 
>I'm not exactly sure they've known where they were going for about the 
>last 10 years.  Since I left them, I've not had any idea what their 
>direction was, or what they thought their business was.  Let's see, I'm 
>not sure I've got the order right, but it's from memory:
>
>Create cellular phone technology
>Give away cellular phone technology
>Buy NCR
>Spin off NCR
>Create your own aol/msn look alike
>Get into the internet business
>Get in the local phone service
>Dump your aol/msn look alike
>Buy cable company
>Get into the cellular phone business
>Get out of the internet business (dialup)
>Get into the dsl business
>Sell cable company
>Get out of the local phone service
>Sell cellular phone business
>
>That being said, you would have to have known the group I worked with. 
>The 'horseplay' was not wasted time, anymore then folks talking around 
>the 'water cooler' or other such social issues in a work place.  They 
>were all highly skilled and put in more then their share of hours.  It 
>was a highly tense environment as we were supporting and creating time 
>reporting/payroll systems that were used throughout the AT&T 
>corporation.  We were on call 24/7 and had clients all over the country 
>as well as in Mexico.
>
>I'll admit, I was part of the foolishness.   Then again, I've often seen 
>folks stop in the halls and spend 20 minutes talking about non-work 
>related stuff.  Everyone needs their break, that's how we handled ours. 
>  It was the best development group I have ever worked with.
>
>  
>
I can remember back in the 70's working for Harris Computer Systems in 
Ft. Lauderdale, FL. The OS was called VULCAN and when the system was 
shut down the console would say  "VULCAN Quiescent" and the LEDs on the 
control panel would be flashing in a set pattern. One day a couple of 
use wrote a routine that would make the system appear as though it had 
been shutdown, but was actually running jobs. The routine was loaded 
into this one tech's test system and activated. When he returned , he 
thought that the system had been actually shutdown, so he did the 
Halt/Reset and powered down. It took about 5 hours to do the 
"Sysgen"........