04.16.09
Snakes on a Roll
This past weekend, my family and I were among the last of the guests to leave one of Florida’s most famous theme parks. Our last stop was the bathrooms before going to our car. I was outside sitting on a bench waiting on my wife to come out. During the day, thousands of people pass by this location and many stop at the bathrooms. At this time, it was almost deserted.
It was a typical setup. Men’s and women’s restrooms adjacent to one another with a water fountain in the middle and benches outside for waiting. There was also one of the open air phone booths with a pay phone and on a shelf below a telephone book.
One of the attendants in the park came up to me and said, “Sir, would you mind getting up from the bench? There is a snake underneath it.” That question and explanation moved me into immediate action. Now standing, I watched as the attendant captured a three foot harmless rat snake. Then he said, “Stay away from the telephone. There appears to be a nest in with the telephone book.” He told me that he had spotted a snake in with the telephone book when he was walking up. Then he realized that there was more than one and then he saw the one under my bench.
It is that time of year for snakes to make more little snakes. They usually select secluded places to start and grow their family, so why not nest inside an outdated technology? Apparently most everyone at the park that needed to use a phone used their cell phone. If they needed to locate a phone number, they used their cell phone. Imagine someone’s surprise if they had used that telephone book.
This story is a good parallel to older software technologies where the snakes come on a roll, a duct tape roll. Over time, the quick and dirty duct tape solutions find great nesting places in the software developed using older technologies. This occurs because there are those that do not understand the original designer’s concept or simply do not take or have the time to understand it. They apply as little duct tape as is possible to get the results they are after.
In time, the duct tape solutions of the older software build up. They breed and wait like snakes in a telephone booth to surprise the next developer that disturbs them. Some of the duct tape solutions may even move out to other software components. This may be required to keep the nest alive. This is much like the snake under my bench out for a late evening snack.
So be aware! There is no such thing as one snake and there is no such thing as one duct tape solution.
Matt Gunter said,
May 19, 2009 at 9:28 am
Great (and disturbing) Story!
…..if only duct tape was as revolting as snakes!