March 10, 1995
Dear Everyone:
We spent most of last week training the "Designated Users" (a leftover
CRMIS term for End Users) in “Pleasant Hill”, although some of them came
from as far away as “Martinez” and San Francisco.
In all, we got about 80 people
trained, eight half-day sessions with 10 people per session (the most
the room could accommodate).
We had the usual mix, ranging from "Speedy", who's already skimmed
through the User Guide and gone into the System while you're still
showing the others how to change directories; to "PC-Challenged", who
sits with her hands in her lap, staring dumbly at the screen while you
gently repeat, "Press your Tab Key… Press your Tab Key… Press your Tab
Key." Eventually, she gets the
message and then stares at the keyboard, wondering what a "Tab Key" is.
Now that we have actual End Users in the System, the fun really begins.
Inevitably, you get someone who
hits the Enter key a few too many times and inadvertently checks a Box
out to himself, while the Box remains sitting on the shelf because the
Records Center never got the message that this guy wants the Box.
And there is the lady who
requested a Box, then decided to cancel her request after the Records at
Center had pulled it, with the result that the System checked the Box
out to (blank) i.e., nobody.
Nevertheless, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
In time,
Versatile will shake out and
become more or less routine. There
will be the usual requests for this Report Format and that Sort
Combination, but once the initial upheaval is over, things should become
calmer and I can start thinking about going home at a reasonable hour.
And, since SpectrumPlus, the next big Conversion for the FAST group
won't happen until next spring, I'll have time to consolidate my new
position as Queen of the Systems.
But first, there's the last big push next week, the Great
Versatile Trip to “Hobby”, “Lafayette”, “Austin” and “Oklahoma
City”. I already have some books
that have been recommended as "good airport books".
And I've borrowed a luggage
carrier from a co-worker in San Francisco that will allow me to wheel my
bags to and from terminals and hotels. So
don't call me on my birthday next week, because you'll just end up
talking to the machine. “Jeannie”
and I will go out to dinner after I get back.
Movies…
Finally saw the new Paul Newman movie,
Nobody's Fool.
“Jeannie” informed me that it was
filmed in the neighborhood of
Hyde Park, New York, where “Alice”,
“Kelly” and “Park” live. It looks
very cold. It's a nice saunter
through a few days in the relatively uneventful life of a regular guy in
a small town. Made me appreciate
the fact that I've never had to live in a small town.
No privacy.
Also saw
Shallow Grave, a
British film the got a rave review in the
Chronicle.
Very strange "Hitchcock-ish"
story of three friends who discover a big chunk of money and decide to
keep it, with disastrous results. It
takes place in Scotland, and within five minutes of the start, two women
got up and left the theater, apparently unable to handle that particular
brand of English. As for us,
after 20 years of Shakespeare, a Scottish accent didn't seem too
difficult.
You can see from the attachment “Mimi’s” friend has been "surfing the
‘net" again. The "applications"
came from other; I just tidy them up a little and change the names to
protect the innocent.
Love, as always,
Pete
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