I met with the engineering team in Paderborn, Germany. Unlike their Irish counterparts, these engineers worked at our customer site, Cumulo Corp.
During our discussions, we determined the customer could reduce the video resolution problem by adjusting the manual settings of the remote KVM session. However, the project lead, Peter, demanded a permanent, automated solution because he did not want his end customer to make manual adjustments.
During our discussions, we determined the customer could reduce the video resolution problem by adjusting the manual settings of the remote KVM session. However, the project lead, Peter, demanded a permanent, automated solution because he did not want his end customer to make manual adjustments.
We conferenced in their server operating system experts in Augsburg and determined that I'd have to see what they were working on in Augsburg, if my US team couldn't figure out the problem.
I wasn't sure if all German customers were like this, but the management team at Cumulo had a way of making us look foolish with more than one "top priority" problem open at a time, especially if they weren't satisfied with the progress we were making on a particular problem. I had gotten used to the cultural or business relationship difference I was not accustomed to it.
I briefly talked with the lead BIOS engineer and discussed a separate issue related to the KVM device not being recognised properly during the BIOS bootup sequence. We looked at some traces via WebEx and decided that the BIOS team would need to rework the timing of the bootup sequence.
After that conversation, I found out that my team back in the US would be able to include a default set of video resolution settings with the next firmware release that would please well over 90% of the customers. Peter was satisfied that the settings would be accepted by his customers and requested that we include a detailed writeup of these default settings in the new firmware release. I instructed my team to make the changes and then left the Cumulo Corp office a little early in order to catch up with Summer.
At the hotel that evening, I typed a few notes on the laptop computer:
Strong electrical storm passing through area.
Listening to Mysterious Traveler by Weather Report
on the laptop speakers. Window open so I can also
listen to the thunder and smell the rain in this
Bavarian town of Schwaig-Oberding.
Oh well, the rain is blowing too hard so I’ve had to shut the window.
“Do I really talk with a slight lisp?” asked Summer.
I looked up from the laptop to see Summer was leaning on the chair, looking over my shoulder at the trees, which were performing calisthenics in the storm, perhaps doing their part in preparation for the winds of winter.
“Did I say that?”
“Yeth, you did.”
“Well, can I take it back?”
“Maybe. I don’t know. Do you still want to go out tonight?”
“I was thinking maybe not.”
“Me, too. I think I’ll watch TV.”
I cringed but Summer didn’t notice. I wondered what the fascination could be. Here was a woman who had hiked through Ecuador, across the Cape Verde Islands, and up and down the mountains of Nepal yet here she was with nothing better to do than sit and watch TV. But then again, I was sitting and watching my fingers throw black characters up on the screen. Was one better than the other?
“Looks like the storm is passing.”
“Yeth, I see that.”
“There you go again.”
“What?”
“You just said ‘yeth’.”
“I did? I think you are imagining it.”
“Maybe. Or maybe it’s just the way some Germans speak English. Seems like today I heard several Germans with the same lispy sound to their words.”
“Okay,” Summer said, her interest waning as she turned back to the TV.
I heard the quiet roar of an airplane taking off from the München airport.
I stood up and opened the window again. I looked at the empty, wet soccer field below, only minutes before thriving with small children pretending to be world-class strikers.
The bells of a nearby church struck 8:45 p.m. I turned around and wondered why there was a woman reclined on one of the double beds watching TV in my room. Hard to believe that all the hotels in the area were booked, considering that the fall tourism season was not as heavy as usual. Maybe a lot of travelers were like Summer, needing a hotel close to the airport in order to catch an early flight out. I had not shared a hotel room with a woman before and wondered how it should work out.
I stood up and opened the window again. I looked at the empty, wet soccer field below, only minutes before thriving with small children pretending to be world-class strikers.
The bells of a nearby church struck 8:45 p.m. I turned around and wondered why there was a woman reclined on one of the double beds watching TV in my room. Hard to believe that all the hotels in the area were booked, considering that the fall tourism season was not as heavy as usual. Maybe a lot of travelers were like Summer, needing a hotel close to the airport in order to catch an early flight out. I had not shared a hotel room with a woman before and wondered how it should work out.
“Do you want to go out? The rain has stopped and it’s a lot cooler now.”
“Are you wanting to go out?”
“Not really but I thought you might.”
“No, no. I am just happy here. If you want to go out, you can go without me.”
“I might do that. I’d like to take the Alfa Romeo GT I rented out on the autobahn.”
“Okay. I will be asleep when you get back, probably. So it will be good for you to enjoy yourself for a while.”
“Great, thanks.”
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