DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Everything Else... 14 Cop Pet Peeves

For a little fun in truth:

http://www.humanizingthebadge.com/blogs/...w-about-in-2016


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Everyone has behaviors, people, phrases or actions that irritate the living crap out of them. Cops, of course, are no different. We experience particular behaviors so regularly that they easily develop into full blown pet peeves that we disdain with the passion of 1,000 suns. The list could be longer, but here are 14 of the things that you should be aware will most likely make a cop want to call down meteors from the sky:

The played out joke: This is when you walk into a random establishment, whether for a business check or a report call and you hear, "I didn't do it", "He's over there", "It wasn't me", "Don't shoot" or "Hey Dave, they're finally here for you." Just move along to the window washer and tell him "he missed a spot." I'm sure he hasn't heard it.

The traffic stop Interruption: When you're on a traffic stop and someone is uncontrollably compelled as if by demonic possession to either stop their vehicle next to you or walk up to you (while you're conducting your traffic stop) and ask you a completely unrelated question or give you some very non-emergent information that is apparently critical for you to "be aware of."

The "I only know one way home" routine: No matter how many road signs are posted, flares patterned, cones organized or officers in bright yellow vests with bright flashlights are there informing folks that the road is closed, SOMEONE IS GOING TO ASK TO COME THROUGH OR JUST OUTRIGHT TRY IT. You do not know the depths of depravity/stupidity in mankind until you have directed traffic. It's science.

The "Do you know so and so?" This is the assumption that all cops know every other cop in existence. For example, If I'm on a traffic stop in Michigan I may get asked, "Hey, do you know my cousin Chad? He's a cop in Florida. He really likes it."

"Oh Chad, yeah, great guy....*eye roll*"

The name drop: Closely related to the "so and so" routine, this version assumes that because the offender knows a name to drop, that they have carte blanche to drive recklessly or do whatever they please.

The bad parenting technique: Because parents are either too lazy or too ignorant, they decide they will let imaginary policeman raise their kids for them by referring to them in negative ways. Examples include: "If you don't eat your vegetables, we're calling the police." "Oh look Billy, there's the police, they're gonna take you to jail." "You better be good sally or Mr. Policeman is gonna take you away forever!" Later in life when a cop then smiles at that kid and says hello, a little pee trickles down their legs from years of pre-emptive and naïvely inaccurate sentiments about you.

The person who doesn't get over: Cops generally try to get to legitimate calls as soon as they can (hence the blue and red flashing lights, etc.). But as sure as the sun rises in the east, the moment you turn on LED lights (flashing so much it would give most people a seizure), get your siren blaring, there WILL BE a driver who doesn't get over, stops immediately in front of you in the same lane, or just slows and never stops.

The please take him to jail but can I bond him out I love him girl: And before people flip out over legitimate concerns of fear in victims, I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about the folks that fight on purpose and then tattle on each other like undisciplined 3 year olds and force our hand to take someone to jail. Before you even get him out of the house, she asks about bond money and yells out that she loves him. Then as soon as he gets out of jail, they go on the Maury Povich show together (is he the father? find out after the next commercial). The struggle is real. 

The I should make a police report RIGHT NOW caller: I'm not sure what leads up to this, but it happens regularly. Someone decides that at 0315 hours, it is now time to call the police to report that suspicious incident or problem that occurred 2-3 weeks ago. They cannot be bothered to come to the station, you need to come to them and their kids need to be sleeping and everyone must whisper and the entire thing must be utterly useless. Yes it happened a while ago, yes the details are sketchy and yes..it just now became urgent enough to call. Why wait til everyone is awake?

The "Is everything OK" guy: You know those times where it is slower out on patrol and several cars show up for a relatively low priority call to a residence? Tell me that you will not be approached by someone who must walk into the mix to ask "Is everything OK?" or "Is there something I should know about?" Well sir, didn't you get the voice mail we left making sure you were aware of everything we were doing and every place we were going? I mean, we tried several times to make you aware of something we needed you to know about....

The "I know my rights" lady: Let's be honest: you most likely don't. What is certain is that I don't want to hear about it. What's even more certain is that I wish you would definitely exercise your right to remain silent. What little you probably do know is inaccurate at best, opposite of reality at worst. This pet-peeve is cousin to the honorable mention pet-peeve: "I'm gonna have your job" statement. Sorry, long line; forms at the back.

The abuse of 911 crowd: If you've ever thought "Who calls 911 because someone said something mean about them on Facebook?" or "Would someone really call 911 because a family member ate the last chicken wing?" then you're in the percentage of the population that would be normal. Believe me, there's a significant portion that is not.

The unoriginal insult: The standard insults related to all things appearance and donuts and "you're not so tough without a badge and a gun" is actually pretty boring. If you're going to insult us, you're gonna need to be original for it to stand a chance at getting a response. I will generally give full credit to the guy or gal who insults me with some semblance of intelligence or humor and congratulate them for getting a good shot in.

The cops/dispatchers who love the sound of their own voice and story over the radio: It's not just weird citizens or criminals that stress us out. We have all heard these unnecessarily long droning radio transmissions that are not only eating up valuable air time but kill the brain cells of those receiving the transmission. Every time this happens I feel like the principal in Billy Madison:

"...what you have just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul."

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Keep your hands on the steering wheel, be courteous but saying nothing unless asked, and be respectful. And under no circumstance should you ask: "Is that a real gun?"

I can really relate to the frustration of directing traffic that you mentioned. People are nuts!

Hey it wasn't me.

Great read! Very entertaining and relatable.

quote from above:

"What's even more certain is that I wish you would definitely exercise your right to remain silent."

LOL (only if I really did - again, twice) Great stuff.

The manner in which I deal with cops is to tell the truth and not offer any info that isn't asked of me. It's a simple practice to adhere to and has never resulted in negative consequences for me.

I always yell "youll never take me alive copper" then speed off firing into the air.

LOL.. I see this one all the time on the interstate. Cop comes racing up, obviously looks like he has somewhere important to go, every car slows down to the speed limit and drives in a pack, not letting the cop get through. The car in front of the cop is afraid to go 5 mph over the speed limit so he can pass the car beside him and get over... cracks me up every time. If you think the cop is coming for you, pull off the road, if you don't, then get the hell out of the way.

This one I could understand though. A few weeks ago, we had 6 cop cars and a helicopter fly over our relatively quiet neighborhood, while a dozen guys on the ground pulled out various pieces of assault weapons, because a guy got drunk and caused some sort of domestic dispute. After they tasered him and dragged him out in an SUV, wouldn't everyone in the neighborhood WANT to know if everything is okay? Are we living next door to a domestic terrorist? Is there going to be another potential fire-fight for a second person indoors? I mean it's not like you knocked on our door and warned us about the first standoff that occurred while our kids ran around in the backyard. And while you may not think it's "our business" to know what's going on at all times, you're not the one that has to continue to live next door to him and his angered domestic terrorist roommates.

If there were 2 cop cars in our neighborhood my wife would want me out there figuring out what is going on...

But I get the point.. he's talking about a few cops standing around or sitting in their cars talking... way different than helicopters and visible assault weapons..

DUDE!! this made me LMAO, thank you!!

Oh, I see you were driving through Excl's neighborhood.

quote above by Arps:

"I always yell "youll never take me alive copper" then speed off firing into the air."

LOL (that's 3 times from this thread)

He's such a rebel.

EVERY Dawg should post one of these professional 'pet peeve' things. We musos have ours. We get it all the time. It's cool to read others' issues.


My cello case looks like this:





Years ago, I took on a new student. A talented kid with a fresh mouth on him. I guess he was testing me up-front to see who'd be the "Alpha" in this relationship. As soon as we'd shaken hands, he looked at my case and said: "Who's in the coffin?"

[Me/straight-faced]: "The last student who showed up to one of my lessons without practicing." (His Pops slipped me a 'low-five' behind his back.)

_______________


"Hey! That thing sure is big. Don't you wish you chose the flute?"
"No... because then, I'd have to actually PLAY a flute."

"IS that thing a bass?"
"Yes. This is what they look like without steroids."

"So... you're a musician?"
"Yep."
"So- what do you do to make money?"
"I'm a hit man. I specialize in stupid... and your boss just paid his deposit. See you soon."

"Why did you pick that monster instead of the violin?"
"Because size actually DOES matter. Your wife just doesn't want to hurt your feelings."

I've been at this for 40 years. I don't take crap from folks who don't anything about my job.
Don't be a 'low-info smartass,' and I won't treat you like a 'low-info dumbass.'

...and yes- I know how to fight, if I must. Never had to, though. Most of those pretentious suits are too humiliated to take the next step.

Weird. The "tool" may change - for you it's a cello, and you're trying to teach a know it all kid.

I had the opportunity a few years ago to teach a kid how to shoot. This kid had been told by his parents, over and over and over how he was the best wrestler. He was the best basketball player, he was the best quarterback, he was the best pitcher, probably going to get a scholarship to MSU, he was the best shortstop...but his dad kept saying he was the best catcher ever, and that's where his dad, and sometimes coach, wanted him to play because that was the position he would make the major league in.

Anyway, teaching the kid how to shoot, he was all "I own the target. Dead on". Then I explained to him that he was shooting a shotgun. With shot, not slugs. "Dude, if you didn't hit the target from 30 yards with what you were shooting, you'd suck and I'd never have you back."

He didn't do very well shooting clay pigeons. He did worse shooting slugs at a target.

Kid learned he wasn't all that, even though his mom and dad insisted he was awesome. At everything.

He doesn't wrestle. He doesn't play basketball (all the coaches fault, right?) He's not a catcher. He's got no scholarship.

And he's not a good shot either. Only target he can hit is an exploding target. If he uses my .223 which is dialed in for me - and I let him shoot it.

Pampered kids don't do much for me. I don't care much for the drama. My daughter is a better shot than this kid, and she sure doesn't gloat about it.

This isn't as much a pampered kid story.. but in my younger days I was a decent athlete, nothing special... but every time I came across somebody who loved to tell me stories of what a great athlete they were, I'd always bring the conversation around to golf and just wait for them say, "Golf is for non-athletes, how hard can it be?"...

8th grade.

Pops and me were on our way to Bloomington, IN. My first venture into The World outside my town. 3-week summer music clinic at IU.

We'd just crossed the state line... and I was telling him how I was gonna CRUSH all the kids who were there. I was gonna slay the competition, and FORCE Janos Starker to take me on as his student... because My Game was too fierce to be ignored.

Pops said nothing for the first 20 miles into Indiana.

When I finally came up for air... this conversation took place:

[Pops]: "Are you the best cello player of your age that you know about?"
[Me]: "Well... yeah. I Think I am."
[Pops]: "Are you the best cello player two grades older than you?"
[Me]: "Yes. I play better than High Schoolers."
[Pops]: "That's because you ain't been nowhere yet... and ain't seen nothing yet. It's one thing to be a 'big fish in a little pond.' It's a whole 'nother game when you're swimming with the sharks, son. When I come back to pick you up, we're gonna have this conversation again. I can't wait to hear how you answer these same questions."

Arch- I blew him off on the way to that clinic. I got my "day of reckoning" on our way home.

*For the record: I just BARELY made it into the top ensemble, but was one of the lowest-ranking kids who got there... and I played my ass off at the placement auditions. It was the most humiliating- and inspiring- events in my early education )

[Pops]: " So... did you 'bust'em up' like you bragged you'd do?"
[Me] "No, sir."
[Pops]: " Did you get your private session with that Starker dude?"
[Me]: "No, sir."
[Pops]:"Are you gonna go back next year?"
[Me]: I don't think so..."
[Pops]: "So... I've raised a quitter?"
[Me]: "Well.... "
[Pops]: "Nope. You're gonna go back there... and show them that you belong."


I love the way I was raised.

__________

I went back 2 times more...

On my last trip to I.U., I'd worked my way to the front of the class, and cemented my place in the 'Summer study' hierarchy. I played for Starker. He 'green-lighted' me to study at IU after I graduated from high school. I made a different choice (for my own reasons), but I accomplished what My Pops wanted to see me achieve: I became someone who could swim with the sharks.

I was never coddled.
I was never led to believe that I was someone 'special.'
And because of that upbringing, I've become someone who has enjoyed 'special' perks... even though I'm just another 'regular guy.'

When all is said and done.... that's pretty 'special' in its own right.

Trying to catch up after a couple days:

Whenever I work the Halloween detail a lot of the college students drop the "Are you a real cop?" That's worth the hassle cuz you get to see what all the co-eds are wearing that year..

People not getting out of the way: This one frustrates me probably the most. I know 40 has seen it... you're going lights and sirens and you slow down before going through the intersection... people will have on hand on the wheel, one on their phone (I swear these are the ONLY people who still use a cell phone to TALK, look you dead I the eye... then punch the gas to beat you through the intersection... then you have the people who have 3 clear lanes and choose to stop instead of moving to the right...

It's a good thing my dashcam footage isn't made public lol. It would definitely have to be rated R

But it is kind of funny in the course of normal patrol duties to watch people prove they are obeying the traffic laws by driving 5 miles below the speed limit.

I'm surprised I haven't generated any citizen complaints from doing traffic direction... when people decide to blow right by you and almost hit you.. there may or may not be a few doors out there with a boot shaped dent...

And to "is there anything I should know"...

We get the concern people have when they see a police car in the neighborhood. And for the most part we try to inform a resident of what was going on, but some calls we aren't going to share much or nay information on: I'm not going to tell you that your neighbor's kid is having a mental health crisis, or get in to specifics about a medical emergency.

A lot also comes in how that question is asked (and when). It's one thing for a person to ask on behalf of the neighborhood speaking in "we" vs. a person who walks up, right in the middle of everything and asks if they, as an individual should be aware of what is going on...this is the busy body not the good neighbor.

I like Clems suggestion: anyone else have any job related Pet Peeves??

Devil I like you man and have shown my son your posts about how you conduct yourself on your profession...I'm not employed now, I'm retired though I still check on things where I still have money/interests involved....but just one thing about the police.

Why is it they feel the need to question everything...and it seems like there is a serious problem with respect my authority with police in general.

My last couple encounters...Ive been asked if I'm on papers...they look at the tats...saw I was in freaking riding gear...and then tell me I'm in the wrong part of town and what am I doing there...do I do drugs...have I been arrested/papers.

It usually happens when I'm stopped eating a power bar or drinking something...minding my own business....and they pull up or ride up on a bike/motorcycle...and the interrogation/fishing begins. I used to just go along and then leave kind of pissed off over the interaction and just try to avoid Dayton all together...but why should I alter my course over them.


So here is my pet peeve...I hand them my ID and in the politest way I can be...tell them its really none of their business what I'm doing and would like to go on my way...and the butt hurt that ensues...and asking me what my problem is and if I have nothing to hide I would answer their questions.

I'm not answering crap anymore..other then my name and asking if I can go...

Its probably going to cause more problems then its worth but damn I see why people or should I say a certain sect of people are sick of it...I dont know how I'm going to handle things if I run across a johnny lawmen on a real power trip and decides he is going to make me have a real bad day...and I hate to say this...maybe make up some bull charge.

I did notice it got better when they noticed I had the go-pro running...but damn man there needs to be more with an attitude like yours...ugh..I'm just rambling the way the police deal with me/public is troublesome to me and I think I'm just venting.

I dont envy your job...but their is something really wrong going on in this country...and I'll admit I could be part of the problem with how I'm dealing with the popo now.


What is your thoughts as a policeman who would encounter someone like me...who wont answer jack...but give you his ID and has been in no real trouble?? What about some of your fellow officers how would they deal with it??

Honest question man I'm genuinely curious.

Funny story.

Last year we were driving across Ohio on 80/90 toll road. We were in the stretch that is speed limit 70. There is a cop in the far left lane doing like 68. Then there is a whole line of cars in the center lane piled up that refused to pass. My wife had her cruise set at 75 and passed the whole lot of them in the far Right lane...balls of steel
We didnt get pulled over, and nobody else would pass. It was pretty funny.

Quite a few years ago, 4 of us were coming back from Bristol Tennesse fresh from a NASCAR race. We were probably doing about 85-90 mph (65 was limit then) the entire way back. As soon as we were crossing into Ohio, I told my friend at that time to slow down because State Patrol is seemingly everywhere near Marietta. He did not heed my advice and a few miles in, sure as you-know-what, he got popped.

Now in our car was all sorts of NASCAR stuff. Hats sitting on the dash, wearing NASCAR shirts, etc. He asked my friend driving, do you know how fast you were going?

Friend said, “Yeah.” But he said it in a “you got me and I am ashamed” type of resigning voice.

The Trooper then said, “NASCAR? Coming back from the race?”

At that point I figured we might as well have fun with it and maybe have a chance to get out of the ticket. I was in passenger seat.

Me: “Yes sir. You have to excuse his driving. He is a Jamie McMurray fan and...well….you know.”

Trooper: “Well I am not much of a McMurray fan.”

Me: (Wearing my Dale Earnhardt gear) “Junior fan?”

Trooper: (Straight faced) “Hell no.”

Driver friend: “Rusty?”

Trooper: “No.”

Girlfriend in back seat: “Tony Stewart?”

Trooper: “No way.”

Me: “Well who?"

Trooper: “Kyle Petty.”

Me: “Kyle Petty?”

Then all four of us in the car at the exact same time: “WE LOVE KYLE PETTY!”

Trooper busted out laughing. He then gave my friend a warning slip, told us to slow it down and have a nice day.

First of all, when there's a cop driving down the road, I'll drive as fast as the cop. If he's not flying down the road, he's just driving.

As I am a network engineer, my pet peeve is when I get a call and told, "I think there's a problem with the network." Just a bit more of an actual problem description would be nice. When you have a large network, there are so many things that could be wrong at any certain time.

One of my work pet peeves

I am a warranty administrator at a high end 5th wheel company. At least once a day someone yells "DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I PAID FOR THIS THING" It gets old

LOL, that's like when we get a "Suspicious Persons" call... but that's all the citizen says. "I'd like to report a suspicious person.. they are walking down the street, I've never seen them before. No, I don't want the officer to call me".

No description of what they look like, or what they are doing that is suspicious.

Along the lines of "cop story". My daughter got her permit last Wednesday. We take a county road to school each day. This morning, as we turned onto that road I made the comment "Oops, somebody got in trouble", as I could see the blue lights a ways ahead of us.

As we neared the cop I was telling Sooga what to do: No traffic coming towards us, so slow down, use your signal, go into the other lane, pass, use your signal after we're past the cop, then come back into our lane, and then speed up. She did fine. It was a highway patrol officer.

1/2 mile later, we pull up to a stop sign and there sits a deputy sheriff. He was stopped before we were, so he proceeded through and I made the comment "Wow, their all over this morning."

Once she stopped at the sign, and the dep. went past, she pulled her hands off the steering wheel and said "dad, my hands just got real sweaty".

That was my grin of the day.

I'm a DB admin among many of the computer related things I do, and I get stuff like that all the time. "I can't log onto the Database tool". No description of the error message, no screenshot ... and half the time, it's just them using the wrong URL. Sometimes I wonder if they think we have an "Eff with system users" switch that we like to toggle back and forth. I could get into Admin pet peeves, but I might need a week or two to type it all up.


As for cop stories ... One time in college, we were at a small party and everyone wanted more beer. I was the only one who hadn't had anything to drink, so someone gave me the keys to their car and 3 or 4 drunk girls (1 or 2 were under drinking age) hopped in to come along, naturally bringing their open containers with them.

So, I got pulled over doing 38 in a 25, I didn't have the insurance or registration info, because it wasn't my car. I think one of the tail-lights was out on the car as well. The girls in the back were all drunk and kicking their glass bottles and cans under the seat to the point that they were clinking around on the floor. The car probably smelled like booze at that point because their beers were pouring out onto the floor. The officer even shined his light into the backseat, saw one of the cans and asked about it. The girls were like, "Oh these are all just empty cans". I was about ready to spend the night in jail when the officer came back and just warned me to keep my speed down. To this day, I wonder if he got a radio call about an active bar fight or something and decided to let me go.

Once again, we have proven that the most detrimental part of any network is the damn user.

Those darn id-10-t and PEBKAC errors.

Well, as you know I can't speak to every cops motivations or reasons for their behaviors, but I'll try to share some of my observations.

First, having to be a Type A personality to be a cop is a myth. Absolutely there are times where you have to demonstrate a Type A, take charge kind of personality, but most of the ones I know aren't like that in their normal lives. I said before I'm just a little guy, so for me it's not about trying to go out and rough up as many people as I can, which is why I've learned how to talk to people. EVen if I was built like a linebacker, I still wouldn't because anytime you go hands on there's a risk that you or them might get hurt. Now don't get me wrong, I've kicked in doors to stop an assault, then wrestled with a guy who was 5'07" 220lbs for over 5 minutes until my back up arrived, and I've had a few moments where I look at a guy, sigh, and say to myself "F$#%, this is gonna hurt..." then go to work.

But you get a lot more information from someone by having a conversation (if you can) than you do smashing their face in to the hood.

I'll PM you later if I can with the basic philosophy I do my job by.

As to why you get, let's face it, stereotyped: it could be many reasons.
-If these guys are from the same agency, it could be one of those places with poor standards and ethics.

-If it's a range of different agencies (they could all be bad OR) what is the biker scene like around Dayton? Do they have a lot of run ins with biker gangs like the Hells Angels, Pagans, Mongols, etc.? If that is the case, you'll tend to see more cop initiated encounters with those types. Now I don't know you from Adam, but when you ride in all your gear, do you wear clothing similar to members of those gangs? Basically, if I put you next to one of them, would the average person be able to tell if you were one of them, or a member of a local, neighborhood riding club? Which feeds in to my next question...

-What level of training do those agencies get in regards to biker gangs? Do those officers have access to training that helps them learn to distinguish between a Wild Hog (funny movie!) or a 1%er?

-Biker stuff aside, how much training do they get in general or have access too? Someone refusing to answer questions may make me suspicious as hell, but it's not on the list of things that would lawfully be considered "reasonable suspicion crime may be afoot".

-Training also factors in to an agencies level of professionalism

-Or maybe you just have bad luck and keep encountering the stereotypical guy who was picked on in high school or bullied people in high school, or saw Smokey and The Bandit and has a Buford T. Justice pin up tattoo on his chest with the words " ...and I am in HAWT pursuit" across his stomach.

-I think I've noticed a recurring thing in those open carry videos where the cop gets unhinged. There's usually one of 2 types: the older cop who is clearly more concerned with his ego, or the younger, inexperienced cop who is under the belief that he has to do "Something" because someone called 911. I can tell you that unless that ego cop comes from a crappy agency, he's probably not well liked by his squad mates either. as for the younger cop, many rookies come out of the academy ready to put bad guys in jail, and like I said they are under the impression that if someone calls, they have to do something. I think agencies let younger officers run with that because they are afraid that if you tell them that there isn't always something that can/should be done, they may not take appropriate action when they need to. That's why typically as a rookie you aren't going to let most people off without a ticket. Your training officer wants to see that you a) can recognize the appropriate enforcement action and b) are willing to take it.

-About the only other thing I can add is that just like the different Branches in the military go about things differently, different types of agencies will as well. As a city cop from a pretty good sized agency, when I need it, I can have back up with a minute, pretty consistently. We tend to have a bit more of a group approach which some people won't believe, but it's actually safer for us and the uncompliant citizen we are dealing with. Deputies, especially from rural agencies, will probably be a bit more laid back, but they'll also be quick to give you a thumpin. But that's also just how country folk are anyway. State Troopers though, they generally don't have a lot of time for jokes and conversation. They are probably the quickest to go hands on because for them, seizing the initiative holds more significance because they're closest back up may be 20+ minutes away.

Man, after all that, I probably didn't actually answer any of your questions! SOrry

Oh sure and I am tall, dark, handsome, and smart.

Oh crap I wonder which one of those statements folks will believe.

What's so hard to believe about that?

If you were going to lie about what you do for a living... would you make yourself a DB administrator?

You really should read the original "Bastard Operator from Hell" archives


And, as a former Network Admin - yes, we do/did occassionally mess with users It was not unheard of to randomly unplug a cable from one of the switches, count to some random number, then plug it back in

Man, this brings back memories.

I administered the network for the dealership I worked at many years ago, and the parts department manager completely fouled up his computer. He "had to have" AOL on it, and downloaded all kinds of garbage, including viruses galore.

It took me hours and hours to reset his computer, reinstall all of the stuff necessary to carry out dealership operations, and get it all back up and running.

I talked to the son who ran our dealership, and explained what had happened, and asked him if I could lock the computer down so that they couldn't download all of their crap. He said that this was exactly what I should do.

The parts manager went whining to the old man, and he called me and told me to unlock that computer immediately. I tried to explain why I did it, but he went way, way back with the parts manager, and I was told to give him access to everything.

Sure enough, within a few weeks, the computer was all fouled up again.

So, I was told to repair things again, and since I couldn't restrict his activities at the computer level, I just went into the router and blocked AOL and other sites he was frequenting at that level ...... and then played dumb when he couldn't get through to all of his favorite websites. (no one else could either, but no one else complained about it)

We also had one computer that was situated in a little side office, and the guys would go in there and play games. I would sometimes use .... man it's been a long time .... I think it was called net send .... and I would pop up messages on the computer like "I don't want to play anymore. Please go back to work." or "I'm tired, and you're keeping me awake."

hahahahah! net send messages were AWESOME!

Did you know that they worked without any authentication at all, even across the internet?

So, yes, if you had the IP address of somebody back in the day (which was easy in the days of dial-up when nobody had routers), you could send messages to someone.

Freaked more than one person COMPLETELY out with that one, hehehehehe

I thought it was net send. Man, it has been a long time since I did tech work, and it is amazing how quickly you forget when you aren't dealing with things every day. (especially more than a decade later)

It's more fun to set the interface to 10/half and let them wonder.