The hum of silence….

Its 11:45PM and I’m sitting in a server room in Little Rock, AR watching my server import several years of data. For people who have never experienced a “Server Room” it is an interesting experience. Those IBM commercials where engineers are in those completely white rooms with cool windows, clean floors and perfect walls is a total pipe dream. I’ve spent a good part of my professional life in server rooms that usually reside in the basement of old buildings with un-used steam pipes protruding from the walls and unorganized cables hanging from the ceiling. The weirdest thing about server rooms in the hum. Electronic devices (usually fans and hard drives) produce a humming sound that you usually block out after a few hours. But when you leave after a 12 hour day and get your first bite of silence, suddenly you realize just how much your ears are hurting. It usually takes me a few hours for my ears to stop ringing after I leave. I’m coming on a 14 hour day so I’m guessing my ears will be ringing into the night. No worry, Friday is quickly approaching!