On Thu, 30 Jun 2011 14:17:02 -0400, Kurt Ullman
wrote:

In article ,
"chaniarts" wrote:


try reading for comprehension. the E911 site's computers go down. EMS calls
my company for service. i'm sitting 1500 miles away and don't get the call
because i happen to be sitting in the same restaurant that you're using your
jammer in. the E911 site computer stays down until I service it. the people
in the E911 area don't get a LEO dispatched for 10 minutes rather than the
30 seconds it would normally take.
You are the only person in the entire world 24/7 that can answer
this call? What happens if you, yourself, are incapacitated. My
contention was that for most people (there may be a few exceptions and
you may even be one of those), there is no need for them to bother me.
They can just do things when someone else is on first call or make
arrangements to cover for them for awhile.

Whether anybody else can take the call is beside the point.
When you're on call you're on call.
It's not nice to rely on the backup if you're lucky enough to have a
rotating call list.
Many IT systems are complex to the point where getting them restarted
is a chore and can be easily screwed up.
I supported one system for nearly 2 years as the primary call, and the
only one who could handle problems expeditiously.
The others on the list were practically useless.
I was on call even while on vacation.
And another system for less time on much the same basis, but even more
extreme.
Management decides. My input was to agitate for more staff and
training, quit, or squeeze for more salary.
I did the latter, and was satisfied with the outcome.
The only time I got really ****ed was when the phone rang, the DVD
was loaded, and the pizza delivery man showed up all at the same time.
But I had made my own bed.
Anyway, a vibrating phone or pager gets rid of the "disturb" problem,
so it's only an issue with rude people.
If they don't have a phone, they'll just cough and fart a lot.

--Vic