On Monday, our internal Exchange e-mail server decided it was time to go where old servers go to die. Unfortunately, it was a very untimely death. After calling IBM for support, we were told the warranty expired on December 18th. Doh, no support for you! Kyle Senak, our LAN Administrator, narrowed down the problem to a bad RAID controller that caused two of the hard drives to fail. We had spare drives on hand to replace the bad ones, but a replacement RAID controller was something we didn’t have on hand, nor did IBM.
Since the failure, e-mail access is fairly intermittent with Kyle practically nursing the server to keep it running so we can check mail periodically. We ordered a new server which was supposed to be here today, but unfortunately our supplier did not get it configured in time to make their FedEx pickup. Knowing that our current server can completely die at any time, I made the decision to have the replacement put on an airplane and get here as quickly as possible. It’s scheduled to be delivered to my house just as the ball drops in Times Square. I’ll then lug it to our Shavertown office where Kyle will spend New Year’s day configuring, replicating and hopefully restoring all our mailboxes, calendars and contacts.
Up until this failure, I never knew how addicted I am to e-mail. It’s a freakish feeling! It’s like leaving the house without pants. Most of my day is spent “doing e-mail.” To make it worse, my calendar and contacts are all tied into my e-mail account. So I don’t know people’s telephone numbers, have no idea if I’m supposed to be in a meeting, simply put… I’m lost! I find myself sending things that normally would have been sent via e-mail through instant messenger or text messages on my cell phone. I’ve even picked up this thing called a “phone” that sits on my desk and dialed a number and spoke to someone rather than dialogued via e-mail. It’s like going back in time.
While everyone else is watching Dick Clark (does he still do the Times Square thing?), I’ll be looking for the FedEx Custom Critical truck which will be holding a very valuable piece of equipment that acts more than just a communication device, it’s a part of our digital lifestyle.
Posted by Scott Sanfilippo on Dec 30, 2008
That’s the way I feel at around 5pm on Christmas day. “All of this work and stress for what?” Before you start saying Bah Humbug, let’s look at this a little deeper. Count up the hours you spent shopping and wrapping gifts, cooking and baking, entertaining, then look back on Christmas day [...]
Posted by Scott Sanfilippo on Dec 24, 2008
Seinfeld fans, me being one of them, recall the episode in which George Costanza’s father, Frank, invented his own holiday after being sick and tired of the commercialism associated with Christmas and Hanukkah. The holiday, known as Festivus, is celebrated on the 23rd of December and involves such activities as “The Airing of Grievances” [...]
Posted by Scott Sanfilippo on Dec 22, 2008
The judges made their way into the office today to review the departmental Christmas trees put out by the Solid Cactus team. The winner will be announced during our holiday luncheon on December 23rd. Special thanks to the folks from Tree Design Studio for taking the time to judge! Here is a [...]
Posted by Scott Sanfilippo on Dec 20, 2008
Friday, December 19th proved that Mother Nature can still pack a punch when it comes to winter storms. About 8″ of snow is piled up in the backyard here at Solid Cactus in Shavertown and about 6″ at our call center in Wilkes-Barre. Plus, another 2 to 4 inches is planned for Sunday [...]
Posted by Scott Sanfilippo on Dec 18, 2008
They’re the “first couple” of Solid Cactus and they’re on video today. Katrina Domkoski is the manager of the Solid Cactus Call Center in Wilkes-Barre and her husband Joe is a Project Manager with our custom programming group at HQ in Shavertown. Learn the secrets behind a married couple working for the same [...]
Posted by Scott Sanfilippo on Dec 17, 2008
Today I sit down and talk with Jeff Stolarcyk, Sr. SEO Account Manager from our Internet Marketing department. Jeff has been with us about a year and does a great deal of writing for both clients and Solid Cactus. With multiple blogs, client work, eBiz Insider articles and wordsmithing eBiz Insider copy before [...]
Posted by Scott Sanfilippo on Dec 16, 2008
Many of you have asked to learn more about some of the incredibly talented people who work at Solid Cactus. So, I decided to create a segment called “Six Questions With….” where I will randomly select one team member without notice, whisk them off to a conference room and blindside them with six questions [...]
Posted by Scott Sanfilippo on Dec 16, 2008
Today, I’m featuring the Christmas tree from our Project Management department. Project Managers, or PMs, are the ones who work with our customers when they have an active project with us. They take care of everything from the kick-off call to presenting mock-ups, going over programming features, scheduling work, and ultimately pushing the [...]
Posted by Scott Sanfilippo on Dec 15, 2008
For those that want to see what it’s like inside the Solid Cactus Technology Center, here is a 5 minute video tour through some departments. So kick back, grab some popcorn (unless you have dentures) and enjoy.
Posted by Scott Sanfilippo on Dec 15, 2008
So last week I blogged about the new “pool” at the Solid Cactus Technology Center in Shavertown. Many wondered how we were able to get the heavy equipment INSIDE the building to dig out a huge concrete slab and dig 10 feet into the earth to accomplish such a feat. Some even asked [...]
Posted by Scott Sanfilippo on Dec 12, 2008
This afternoon, we were shooting video for a holiday e-mail blast we’ll be sending out to our customers. During the filming, Beth Hartman mistook me for Santa Claus and took her turn on the fat man’s lap! (That’s John Dawe standing there blocking the view.)
We were filming in the purple hallway which has [...]
Posted by Scott Sanfilippo on Dec 12, 2008
When it’s cold and snowy outside, what better to do than go for a dip! Last week we opened the pool inside our Technology Center in Shavertown. Many a Cacti can be seen during the day lounging around for a few quick moments while tranquil, tropical sounds play overhead. A quick dip [...]
Posted by Scott Sanfilippo on Dec 11, 2008
Continuing with highlighting the various departments contributions to the Christmas tree contest here at Solid Cactus, today I’m going to show you what the creative folks in Internet Marketing have done. In yesterday’s post, I showed a picture where the tree *was* and how its featured spot was replaced with a Google ad. [...]
Posted by Scott Sanfilippo on Dec 11, 2008
“I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!”
It’s a feeling we all seem to share these days with the government bailouts that are going on. Banks get federal money (aka our money) to supposedly stop foreclosures and they spend it on bonuses instead. The Boscov’s Department Store chain gets $35 million [...]
