The Lost Weekend

After a busy Friday moving the Annoy-a-tron around Big J's office (behind his monitor, on his bookshelf, underneath his chair) while it continued to chirp its happy electronic song, I decided to give it a rest yesterday. His recurring status reports detailing the "hunt for the beep" confirm that the noise is never far from his mind. My goal now is to prevent him from giving up in disgust and simply filtering it out. I need to keep him on the cusp of discovery, always feeling just a step behind tracking down the source of his dismay.

So Monday, I took to carrying it around the office and turning it on and off intermittently, spreading the annoying wealth to the entire company. I also had hoped that Big J would start to think the noise was pandemic to our office at large. However, wrapped up as he was in a milestone, he didn't seem to notice.

This morning, I shall replace and reactivate the 2-tone device, and may God have mercy on his soul.

???

"Discovered source of beeping: x360 devkit!"

Oh really?

Pimpin' ain't easy...

But moving the Annoy-a-tron around is. Big J doesn't seem interested in trying to locate it any more, so I amuse myself by sneaking in and moving it around his office, cycling between the different bloops, turning it off for an hour or two at a time. I get a warm feeling every time I'm near his end of the building and I hear a chirp or beep.

The return of the status report

Lawls:

"Continuing to determine source of beep in my office."

Quiet desperation

Day 2 begins. I forgot to turn the 'Tron off last night before I left, so it's still going today. Like clockwork, it went off during the morning programmer's meeting. Big J sighs and looks at the wall, where he now thinks the beep is coming from. "Yes, the beep is still with us," he says resignedly. "I'm going to turn everything off today and wait to hear it again. Maybe I can figure out where it's coming from." Briefly, I feel pity for him, then I start laughing and struggle to stay silent. By the time he looks my direction, I'm under control again. I screw my face up to look like a guy who's curious and amused (but not too amused) by his plight.

I'm considering switching it to the other beep today (the 2kHz one without 'static') just to mix things up. I also had fun imagining the chaos that would ensue if I could somehow get the device into his car, or even better, his backpack. "The noise-- it follows me!"

More to come.