Finding a Help Desk Ticketing System

So, I'm tasked with pre-screening helpdesk ticketing systems, because my new employer is ready to make the jump to Something Better.  Here's what I've discovered.

SysAid - dedicated sales people, who appear to be in the US, and will talk to you on the phone, and be happy to customize a demo to your requirements, to help you decide if that's what you want.

ConnectWise - dedicated sales people, who appear to be in the US, and will talk to you on the phone, and be happy to customize a demo to your requirements, to help you decide if that's what you want.

Autotask - dedicated sales people, who appear to be in the US, and will talk to you on the phone, and be happy to customize a demo to your requirements, to help you decide if that's what you want.

JIRA - I could not figure out how the Hell to get to a person. I could demo the product, and a-la-carte order anything I wanted, or view demo video, after demo video to my heart's content, all through the website, but pre-sales human?  Yeah, this one dropped right off my list.

Manage Engine - Look, I know India has a lot of really brilliant people, and they will eventually compete with China as the two Superpowers (displacing the current UN Security Council entirely),  but outsourcing your pre-sales demo to India?  Come on.  I need a sales person who can tell me how the product will work for ME, and my "special needs," not walk me through one of the online videos, and choke if I try to go off-script.  The online demo is absolutely brilliant - I've shared it to show what a real "activity management" product should be.  But, that's about the limit of what I want from Manage Engine right now.

Request Tracker - just don't do it.

Spammers not even trying

Except for the part where this spam message appears to have actually originated from a Microsoft server (OOPS), these spammers aren't really even trying.

Tacoma Nature Center - break the daily routine

At the Tacoma Nature Center today. I've been to Cheney Staidum dozens of times, and somehow never knew the Nature Center was here, tucked right in the middle of Tacoma, preserving what must be a sliver of what the forest here looked like before modern civilization arrived. In hindsight, I've even driven past the Nature Center before, but didn't register it. It's amazing how much of our daily lives are dominated by routine, that discovery somehow slips to holidays and special occassions.

My extensions to the Rules for Dating My Daughter

So, I was reading a "rules for dating my daughter," recently, and I felt there was something missing.

So, here are my personal extensions to the "rules for dating my daughter":

New Rules for Dating My Daughter

Rule 1:  Once upon a time, I was a teenage boy. I know what you’re thinking;

Rule 2:  I’m older now – not only do I know what you’re thinking, I’ve had more thoughts than you can possibly imagine, and I know exactly how to tell if you’ve had them, and I already know what will happen to you if those thoughts ever leave your head;

Rule 3:  If you make her cry, I will make you cry;

Rule 4:  You should Google “Rules for Dating My Daughter” – it won’t help you escape, but you might realize how deep you’re already in it;

Rule 5:  When in doubt, remember Rule 1.

Polyglot Park

I love this area.  I'm in Orting at the park and it's interesting hearing the number of families that mash English with another language when talking to their kids. I've identified three different languages, although i couldn't tell you what they were.

Orting of all places ;)

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Main City Park is a Community Park located in our downtown area, right off of the main street through town!  This park features two sections.  The first section located at 101 Train St SE has a play area with a big toy and swings, built by the volunteers, public restrooms, benches, picnic tables, trees, plantings, horse shoe pits, a memorial wall, a gravel parking area and a covered area that is available for reservations.  The second section located at 102 Train St SE is the area where the basketball court is, with trees, plantings, benches, our lovely tree carvings and the gazebo that is available for reservations.  This park is also a place where you can park and walk on the Foothills Trail.   Many events happen right in this park!

Sound Transit - I'm Commuting Now

I've always found watching the world through a train window to be a bit surreal. Like watching a toy set on the table of a toy train set.  It always has that slightly surreal dream-like quality to the visual.  Always.

Never really been a public transit commuter before.  Started a new job this week. Oh sure, I've used buses and trains, but that was when on vacation or for film fests. This isn't glamorous; this is daily grind.

Taking the Sounder (light rail) this mornkbg for the first time. Nice clean trains.

Of course, being able to write this while commuting means less of my life simply wasted by traffic. That's pretty cool.

Daffodil Festival In Orting

Orting, Washington, is this pretty little town that has had explosive population growth as the Seattle workforce moves farther and farther into the suburbs.

They participate in the Daffodil Festival and also have a great little park that my little one enjoys playing at


We have several great parks within about 5 minutes of our house.

Today, we're in Orting enjoying the sunshine and the small town feel.