Observations of a Lab Aide

I work in the Davis Camus Information Commons. It's more commonly known as the computer lab.

Here are a few things I've observed:

1. The old "Which key is 'any' key" joke isn't just a joke among techies...it really happens.

2. Mac users don't know how to log off.

3. Neither do PC users. But they're better at logging off than Mac users are.

4. If you left your floppy disk in a machine and left, odds are about 50/50 that you'll ever see it again, IF you come back for it. Most lost floppies never get claimed, and I get to destroy old ones periodically.

5. If you left your Zip disk in a machine and left, kiss it goodbye. They don't get turned in. They just walk away.

6. If you left a textbook in the lab, it's surprisingly likely you'll get it back.

7. Nobody claims pirated music CDs from the lab's lost and found.

8. Almost no one knows how to push in a chair, even when all the chairs have wheels on them.

9. If the printer makes you wait more than a few seconds, press "Print" a few more times. Especially if there's a line at the printer.

10. When a floppy disk suddenly dies, it will take the user completely by surprise. And it's probably missing its little sliding door.

11. If you've stupidly lost your document because you didn't save it, yell at the lab aide. That will definitely help. And lab aides don't hold grudges.

12. If you're using a school PC to look at porn, don't bother switching windows when I walk by so I don't see...I already know.

13. Ditto for warez sites.

14. Don't bother being sneaky about copying pages from your textbook on the copier...I don't care.

15. The lab charges $1.00 for a floppy disk or a blank CD. It's a tax on people who are bad at remembering storage media. Put some discs in your bag so that when you need one, you'll have one.

16. Better yet, get a flash drive. They cost a little more, but they're well worth the extra money.

17. Nobody in the lab knows what a blog is.

18. About 40% of lab cell phone talkers don't understand what the sign that says "Please Go Outside To Talk On Your Cell Phone!!!!!" means.

19. But when I ask cell phone talkers to leave, they're usually pretty cool about it.


Funny...right after I wrote those last two, I asked a guy to take his call outside the lab. He was an asshat about it. Ah, well.