This is a prime example of why I never want to deal with people and their computer issues.

People have little clue about how anything works but expect it to work the way they think it should.  It should take no effort on their part to learn how to actually use anything or comprehend why it works.  When they do things to then break it (or in this case have it removed) they expect that someone else can work magic and get it back working.

And the problem is you fix said thing and the person thinks that it’s nothing that you did and so easy. If that’s the case then why couldn’t you have done it for yourself? My favorite response is “Well I don’t get this computer stuff.” That has got to be one of the lamest excuses ever.

Oh well, done ranting. Just had to get this out there. I’ll stick to doing my programming stuff and telling people I don’t run Windows (I do but keep it quiet.)

That is why I hate helping people with technology!

Cascade Server is on our short list

I’ve been using that system since 2007 and it’s not really that good.  So I posted a nice giant response over with at the my side company blog here -

My views on Hannon Hill’s Cascade Server CMS

I’ve then received feedback through a number of different channels both agreeing and disagreeing with what has been said.  What I think is funny is that it seems that the more technical people tended to agree with everything I said while the less technical disagreed.

The most interesting one (link is in comments of the original question) basically tried to blast our setup on the technical side while admitting he wasn’t very technical.  Now partially that was my fault for not making it clear that my general complaints were over arching of the system as a whole and that later the ones that I said were specific were about our setup.  Though it was also wrong on his part to assume that since I said something was an issue that we were still doing it regardless of said issue.

He then based his entire argument on why I had “missed” with my complaints on this one wrong assumption he made.  Because of this assumption he then used only his own setup to justify that we were wrong.  Funnily (that was for @FoodieMamaNWI), he’s not aware that this is common for everyone and has been discussed openly a few times on the HighEdCascade Mailing list.  So in one small swoop everything used as a defense is now gone.

I also love it when non-technical people try to make judgments on things on that are facts.  I didn’t make my comments on the update times being forever because I was guessing but I could see the process running on the mysql server.  This topic will be delved into more on a post on Innovative Visionary in the future.

But really what does this all come back to, some systems just aren’t what they are cracked up to be.  Sales people will say what you want to hear to make the sale, and just because there is a check-mark next to a feature doesn’t mean it does what you think that check-mark means.  And sadly there is a lot “enterprise” software out there that is the same way.  That’s another one of those topics that will be on IV in the future.  Unfortunately we seem to go out of our way to find these horrible 3rd party companies to work with (and trust me, by the bar they set Hannon Hill looks amazing because we have some real losers.)

So go back and read my review and you can find out why…

That is why I hate Cascade Server CMS by Hannon Hill.

The original intent of the day was to honor a man who was killed standing up for the rights of people who were being discriminated against.  If you were to ask anyone on the street what this day represents and they would give you a pretty similar wording. Back when it was created there was still racial tension and overall there was still a great racial divide.  But today what does this day really stand for?

From what I can tell the biggest thing that seems to come of it is that White People can basically use this day to feel better about themselves.  They can use this one day to really go all out on their “embracing” of ethnic diversity to make up for how they act for the rest of the year.  Kind of like those people who only go to Church for Christmas or Easter.  While it may make them feel better about themselves and not as guilty, it doesn’t actually change them in any way.

This day isn’t opening a new world to people that they didn’t know existed.  They aren’t really gaining new knowledge about the world.  I know I learned about MLK on days that weren’t MLK day, it didn’t take having a specific day for me to learn about this and I doubt it’s truly helped anyone gain knowledge that there is ignorance and bigots in the world.  I’ve been served better by HBO documentaries at seeing how behind the times some areas are then by anything that has come from MLK Day activities.

As well as pretending not to be racist, politicians and businesses use this day as a giant PR stunt so they can pretend to be concerned about these issues.  This to them is something where they can go out and make a speech full of BS and everyone will just eat it up with a spoon.  It’s used as a marketing tool and not for helping anything other then themselves (gets back to the making themselves fell better.)

What also comes of having a national holiday, people getting the day off.  First schools, would MLK Jr. really have wanted kids to not be in school learning and bettering themselves that at home playing video games or doing anything else.  Next is people getting the day off of work.  Most people who would get this day off are not going out and doing good things or even trying to better themselves, they use it as any other day off.  How does that really help? Someone going to be less racist because MLK hooked them up with a day off?

I won’t even get into the people that feel that it should be a holiday for only black people or that they should get special treatment on that day because of the color of their skin, cause that level of ignorance is off the charts.

AND THE WORST OF THEM ALL – the stupid MLK Day sales.  You can’t get any worst when it comes to profiting off something like that.  I’m looking at you Value City Furniture.  Nothing says racism is dead like a sale on a bed set.

I really feel this all truly goes against what MLK Jr “dreamed.”  He said -

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. ” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

But what we are actually doing is helping to keep this divide by reinforcing it. We need to treat that as a day to honor a man who did/said great things. We need to accept that by doing all the extra things that it’s not going to change anything, and maybe even make things worse.  You make it hard to judge someone by their character when keep pointing out the color of their skin.

I believe the day is savable but that we need to take it away from the people are using it for self gain and not to really honor a great man.  We need to get this day to be more about the actual message and give less opportunity for others to take advantage of it.

That is why I hate MLK Day (and not MLK )