@SecureOwl

at one point, we were doing rack installs in 28 cities and we subcontracted to fujitsu.

they dressed and wax laced everything. they cut coax to custom lengths so that they all lined up perfectly. they dressed power cables. it was art.

cable management done right is a true thing of beauty.

@paul_ipv6 @SecureOwl

Wax lacing is the pinnacle of cable art.

Fuji did good work in that area, especially if you were west of the mississippi or New England ... They had lots of old Bell installers.

For the best of it, you really needed an old guy from Nortel, they'd pronounce router as rooter and go off on three day benders exploring the warmth that was a Texas winter -- but they could turn two miles of cat 5 cable into perfectly square stitched bricks with clean terminations at both ends, and a beautiful stacked coil of service loops at either end.

@johntimaeus @SecureOwl

i was lucky enough to hire a former ESS install certified tech as our computer room "czar". i tried to learn wax lacing but never got to that level. but i sure did love looking at it.

@paul_ipv6 @SecureOwl

Outdated certifications I actually have...as well as Nortel DMS 100/200/500 switch supervisor. All of those and five dollars won't buy you anything at Dollar Tree.

I learned lacing from the old Canadians, and some SW Bell wire dogs who ran the CO for an actual clicker-switch. Wirewrap terminations with solder on the MDF.

@johntimaeus @SecureOwl

wow. wire wrap. i was actually pretty decent at that. we had to get T3 as ABAM with wire wrap distribution panels. that's when i still had a 66 and 110 block punch tool. learned what grasshopper fuses were. it was quite a learning period for me.

@paul_ipv6 @johntimaeus @SecureOwl when I was doing backbone work at Sprint, our switch offices were still mostly staffed by The Old Guard. I learned so much from them. There was so much pride in the quality of work done, especially cabling.

Also, do not touch the shiny bus bar.

@petrillic @paul_ipv6 @SecureOwl

Especially do not touch the shiny bus bar with an un-insulated tool that's touching the _other_ shiny bus bar.

@johntimaeus @paul_ipv6 @SecureOwl this was when I learned about why some tools are red and yellow.

Fortunately, I've never had to deal with any truly high voltage stuff where arc flash is a problem. That sh*t scares the bejeezus out of me. Partially as I have a friend who lost his dad to an incident with a 345kV power line.

I guess it's "good" that it's unlikely the even knew what happened.

@petrillic @johntimaeus @SecureOwl

DC always scared me because AC will kick you out of the circuit. DC just cooks you until you're all tender and done.

@paul_ipv6 @petrillic @SecureOwl

Unless you short the unfused bus bars and turn a 12 inch #1 screwdriver into a 4 inch melty stub. Then it'll kick you out.

Had a newb do this while I was walking investors thru the new ~$30M data center on a dog and pony.

He didn't have job the next day.

@paul_ipv6 @petrillic @SecureOwl

-48v will arc flash, given enough amps.

A room full of batteries and un-fused 300 MPM is pretty much enough amps to vaporize anything.

When Bobby crossed the streams, it shortened a screwdriver, and put an orange sized hole in a 10mm copper bus bar. The kick knocked him against a wall breaking his arm. I suspect his eyelashes and eyebrows grew back eventually.