So I am working at this dotcom in New York — our main datacenter is a few subway stops away from the office. Our cage in the datacenter is one of those standard cages made of out if the really thick steel mesh type stuff with a sliding door.
Bob (not his real name) goes off to go install some new gear in the datacenter and I take the subway over to Grand Central to take the train home. I’m sitting on the train about to pull out of the station when I get this frantic call from Bob — it went something like this”
“Warren! You’ve got to help me!”
“Ok,calm down — whats wrong?!” (I’m picturing flames shooting out of routers, etc a this point)
“I’m STUCK!”
“Huh? What?”
“So, I got someone to open the cage for me…”
“Ok..”
“And then I had to move the router over, so I slid the door shut…”
“Ok…”
“and now the lock is jammed! I’M STUCK!”
At this point I lose it and start giggling manically. I explain that he just turns the knob on the inside of the door, but he says it is jammed. I suggest climbing over the top of the cage wall — apparently its too high and Bob is sounding fairly freaked by this point. I suggest lifting a floor tile or shouting, but he is not longer listening to me, so I tall him I’ll call the datacenter and get someone to come rescue him. I hang up with him…. as the train pulls out of the Grand Central stations and is underground for about 1/2 an hour — with no cell phone reception.
Eventually I get cell phone reception back and call the datacenter owner — “Ok, once you stop laughing, could you please go let Bob out of cage 19-314? Apparently he has locked himself in….”