Pilot fish is just starting in IT at this big pharmaceutical company, and he gets a call from an executive admin with a problem.

“She said her monitor had mysteriously gone blank and she was afraid she had lost what she was working on,” says fish. “I told her not to touch anything and I would be right over.”

When fish arrives on the executive floor, the admin is talking on the phone, but she points to her PC for fish to take a look.

Fish can see that the computer’s power light is on, but the monitor’s isn’t. A quick scan of the back of the machine makes it clear that the video cable is screwed in tightly on both ends.

Quietly, so as not to disturb the phone conversation, fish asks the admin to slide back so he can check under her desk.

And it doesn’t take long to spot the problem. “Dangling between her stockinged toes was the power cord to her monitor,” fish says.

“I bent down and again quietly asked if she minded if I took the cord back.

“She immediately broke out laughing, and yelled into the phone, ‘Mom, you’ll never believe what I just did!’”

Sharky lost that wide-eyed innocence long ago. Now I’m just looking for true tales of IT life. Send them to me at sharky@computerworld.com. You can also subscribe to the Daily Shark Newsletter.