Spider without a Web

Not quite my usual office!

Back to work at the University. Not just me the entire place is back on today. Just missing the odd student or two but they will pop in sometime next week I expect.

However today all is not as it usually is at the University of Southampton due to the Information Systems Services department switching off the entire University network. That being everyone’s file store, e-mails, websites and the network connection which means that you can’t access the internet anywhere in the University.

This of course makes this cyber based clergyman’s job quite hard. I can’t blog for a start. Nor can I use other essential tools of my trade, such as facebook for example.

It does seem to be a strange thing for the computer department to do, just switch the entire thing off.

Here in these parts whenever ISS is mentioned talk always gets political. You wouldn’t think it would you? Here we have one of the finest Electronics and Computer Science departments in the world. So good in fact that it was a real shame when someone accidently burned it down a couple of years ago. Still they are rebuilding it so don’t let that put you off applying for a place. Many people (most of them students because, let’s face it, they have the time to have these conversations) suggest that there is something of a rivalry between ECS who research, study and teach it and ISS who do it.

Interestingly enough while most departments of the University; Geography, Maths, English, Chaplaincy, have all their computer needs met by ISS. ECS take care of their own.

My own mole deep inside ECS emerged, blinking myopically in the sun shine last week and over a pint of larger he scratched his furry face and complained grumpily. He reckons this is ISS’s way of reminding everyone what they do, after all if you switch on your computer and the internet is just there you sort of take it for granted don’t you? So now we all know what they do. Apparently they also want some new fangled backup thingy-ma-jig servery whattsit. Whatever that is? I admit I had a bit of trouble keeping up with the conversation at this point due to it being held with a highly train and computer literate individual, who was also a mole- I’ve never been very good at communicating with the fauna and flora. You need Bill Oddie if you want that job doing properly.

Myself, as I finished my pint, and the mole began to slowly dig through the floor in order to get back to ECS, I was much less convinced by this bitter talk. I mean if you want a realistic idea of Liverpool’s performance this season you don’t ask a dyed-in-the-wool Everton fan do you?

No I think this is essential maintenance and it’s perfectly reasonable to shut down the entire network, in fact, I think ISS do a simply marvelous work. Hard working, technically skilled always there when you need them. This gives us all a chance to talk more. Go and see people rather than send an e-mail. What’s more the carpet in my other office is thicker. Yes well done ISS! Three cheers for ISS! Hip hip. HORAY!

Did I mention, by the way, that they take care of all the chaplaincy computer needs?