Friday, August 26, 2011

Machine error (or the tale of the jutting cheek)


I was in a very high-tech medical investigation lab.  Two of the engineers were working on a touch screen that was obviously attached to the vast array of equipment seen in the room.  I was very near them.  One man worked on the touch screen looking at patterns on the monitor and making rapid hand movements.  As the man worked further I could feel my right side cheek begin to move outward.  It continued to move outward until the cheek was completely stretched to its limits and stuck out a good three inches while my mouth became a tiny slit of an opening. 

The man working let the tension in his shoulders relax and it appeared that he had done what his work asked of him.  At that time I made a sound and tried to speak.  Both of the men looked over at me and gasped just the smallest amount.  The man handy with his hands at the board said I can get that.  He began looking at patterns on the monitor again and his hands slowly worked as what it appeared he was doing was looking for the faulty bit of code.  In a flash of a moment and with little sound all equipment ceased to work, lights went out and we were now without power. 

They two men were aggravated and not at all pleased.  After a few moments power came back on.  Handy hands said to the other technician I can get it.  I could hear the other man say, "That is extremely difficult."  "But I can get it" answered handy hands.  Again the screen was full of patterns, of what I wasn't sure as I just could not see from my distance the fine detail.  However I could see information written on the monitor that flowed in patterns of clumps, strings and dots of information.  At that moment handy hand exclaimed "that's it".  He took his hands and surrounded on the monitor a small bit of information and began to pinch and remove it.

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