If you also use Instapaper, like I do to read from my Kobo, I made a CSV you can import.

URL,Title,Selection,Folder,Timestamp,Tags
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-01-the-inventory-control-numbers,1. The Inventory Control Numbers,,Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership,1784646485,[]
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-02-the-warning-light,2. The Warning Light,,Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership,1784646545,[]
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-03-the-thief,3. The Thief,,Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership,1784646605,[]
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-04-the-stakeout,4. The Stakeout,,Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership,1784646665,[]
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-05-the-runaway,5. The Runaway,,Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership,1784646725,[]
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-06-the-fall-of-man,6. The Fall of Man,,Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership,1784646785,[]
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-07-the-land-speed-record,7. The Land Speed Record,,Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership,1784646845,[]
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-08-the-locker-swap,8. The Locker Swap,,Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership,1784646905,[]
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-09-the-screaming-noise,9. The Screaming Noise,,Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership,1784646965,[]
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-10-the-proletarian,10. The Proletarian,,Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership,1784647025,[]
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-11-the-key-box,11. The Key Box,,Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership,1784647085,[]
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-12-the-warning-sign,12. The Warning Sign,,Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership,1784647145,[]
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-13-the-off-road-excursion,13. The Off-Road Excursion,,Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership,1784647205,[]
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-14-the-language-barrier,14. The Language Barrier,,Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership,1784647265,[]
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-15-the-destruct-o-tron-2000,15. The Destruct-o-Tron 2000,,Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership,1784647325,[]
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-16-the-fill-up,16. The Fill-Up,,Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership,1784647385,[]
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-17-the-turf-war,17. The Turf War,,Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership,1784647445,[]
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-18-the-server,18. The Server,,Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership,1784647505,[]
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-19-the-placebo-effect,19. The Placebo Effect,,Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership,1784647565,[]
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-20-the-friends-and-family-deal,20. The Friends and Family Deal,,Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership,1784647625,[]
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-21-the-outlook-rule,21. The Outlook Rule,,Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership,1784647685,[]
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-22-the-fire-part-1,22. The Fire (Part 1),,Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership,1784647745,[]
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-23-the-fire-part-2,23. The Fire (Part 2),,Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership,1784647805,[]
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-24-the-stash,24. The Stash,,Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership,1784647865,[]
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-25-the-weak-connection,25. The Weak Connection,,Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership,1784647925,[]
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-26-the-exodus-part-1,26. The Exodus (Part 1),,Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership,1784647985,[]
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-27-the-exodus-part-2,27. The Exodus (Part 2),,Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership,1784648045,[]
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-28-the-exodus-part-3,28. The Exodus (Part 3),,Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership,1784648105,[]
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-24b-the-aerial-maneuver,24-B. The Aerial Maneuver,,Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership,1784648165,[]

Edit: that didn't import cleanly. Looks like a bug in Instapaper. If you use a kobo you'll probably want to go into the instapaper web app and convert the folder to a tag.

URL,Title,Selection,Folder,Timestamp,Tags
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-01-the-inventory-control-numbers,1. The Inventory Control Numbers,,,1784649759,"[""Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership""]"
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-02-the-warning-light,2. The Warning Light,,,1784649819,"[""Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership""]"
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-03-the-thief,3. The Thief,,,1784649879,"[""Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership""]"
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-04-the-stakeout,4. The Stakeout,,,1784649939,"[""Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership""]"
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-05-the-runaway,5. The Runaway,,,1784649999,"[""Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership""]"
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-06-the-fall-of-man,6. The Fall of Man,,,1784650059,"[""Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership""]"
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-07-the-land-speed-record,7. The Land Speed Record,,,1784650119,"[""Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership""]"
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-08-the-locker-swap,8. The Locker Swap,,,1784650179,"[""Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership""]"
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-09-the-screaming-noise,9. The Screaming Noise,,,1784650239,"[""Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership""]"
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-10-the-proletarian,10. The Proletarian,,,1784650299,"[""Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership""]"
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-11-the-key-box,11. The Key Box,,,1784650359,"[""Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership""]"
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-12-the-warning-sign,12. The Warning Sign,,,1784650419,"[""Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership""]"
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-13-the-off-road-excursion,13. The Off-Road Excursion,,,1784650479,"[""Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership""]"
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-14-the-language-barrier,14. The Language Barrier,,,1784650539,"[""Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership""]"
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-15-the-destruct-o-tron-2000,15. The Destruct-o-Tron 2000,,,1784650599,"[""Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership""]"
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-16-the-fill-up,16. The Fill-Up,,,1784650659,"[""Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership""]"
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-17-the-turf-war,17. The Turf War,,,1784650719,"[""Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership""]"
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-18-the-server,18. The Server,,,1784650779,"[""Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership""]"
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-19-the-placebo-effect,19. The Placebo Effect,,,1784650839,"[""Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership""]"
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-20-the-friends-and-family-deal,20. The Friends and Family Deal,,,1784650899,"[""Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership""]"
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-21-the-outlook-rule,21. The Outlook Rule,,,1784650959,"[""Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership""]"
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-22-the-fire-part-1,22. The Fire (Part 1),,,1784651019,"[""Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership""]"
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-23-the-fire-part-2,23. The Fire (Part 2),,,1784651079,"[""Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership""]"
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-24-the-stash,24. The Stash,,,1784651139,"[""Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership""]"
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-25-the-weak-connection,25. The Weak Connection,,,1784651199,"[""Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership""]"
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-26-the-exodus-part-1,26. The Exodus (Part 1),,,1784651259,"[""Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership""]"
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-27-the-exodus-part-2,27. The Exodus (Part 2),,,1784651319,"[""Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership""]"
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-28-the-exodus-part-3,28. The Exodus (Part 3),,,1784651379,"[""Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership""]"
https://36055512.vercel.app/stories/tfducd-24b-the-aerial-maneuver,24-B. The Aerial Maneuver,,,1784651439,"[""Tales From a Dishonest Used Car Dealership""]"

Yeah, the talesfrom[job] subs were fun to read. Tech support was my favorite of those type though. I looked for them here when I migrated but didn't find anything (besides bots reposting from reddit)

I'd read the u/airz_23 ones, but I didn't know they had a second account. I'll have to go back and read those, thanks.

If you can, I highly recommend the stories from u/airz_23 and u/airz_24

Awesome reading, thx op. That's exactly the kind of content I miss from reddit.

Yes, I wouldn't have realized it myself if I hadn't owned a Pentium myself, which already came with a (still small) fan.
All the other 486 type machines I had seen before only had some kind of passive aluminium radiator.
But one of those didn't suffice any more for the 100MHz beast I had acquired... :-)

Huh. If it was one of the first to require one its a little bit less daft. And if I search my soul and answer honestly I have probably done something equally stupid in the name of "whats that for? Why would I need that?"

Ok, mine is somewhat ancient.

In the mid nineties I bought a used computer to be used by my parents.
It had a fast 486 CPU and worked surprisingly well, given that the architecture wasn't quite state of the art any more.

But the thing was, after some time it would just regularly crash. Short bluescreen or so, boom, gone.

After first trying other things, I opened it up again and had a close look at all the hardware components.
I noticed some peculiar dust markings on the heatsink.

Reading of specs confirmed it: This had been one of the first x86 CPUs with a mandatory active cooling requirement.
And apparently the seller had just removed the fan and sold it without telling.

Took some discussion, but in the end we settled that at least he would cover the cost of a new fan.

That solved the crash problems, PC ran until the early 2000s, when it was replaced by something newer.

One of them moments where you choke back frustration and mutter the famous lines, "I fight for the users"

If you have spare servers, then yes, that is quicker.
My idea is for the case that you just have the servers you already manage available.

I wouldn't need to go that far. Just give him a server with no GUI and he'd be stuck.

When he asks again for hosting on the server don't bother asking him about his software. Just do malicious complience: create a new user on the server, no sudo rights, ssh enabled and install Podman. Podman is like Docker but fully confined in the user.
This way he can play around however he wants (installing packages in a container, exposing unprivileged ports, ...). And you don't have to think about his stuff anymore but can watch the struggle.

I really like the sandbox idea. He gets to fuck it up and everybody can watch it. Worst case scenario...he actually learns something. And the bosses can see I tried to give him the tools to work his "magic". He'll talk shit once in a while but I couldn't care less what he says now. I've lost any respect I had for him.

You should have kept the USB as evidence, or copied the evidence of attempted theft off of it. You’re unlikely to be able to prove it again now if you let him leave with it, and you just let him know one more thing to try and hide.

It was his USB. I couldn't keep it. But of course I copied it, I thought that was a given.

That was not available outside of our internal network, and what you actually managed to grab does not pose any risk

It wasn't even anything. It was my development version running on a browser with placeholder data. The app is my property (sure of it, not getting into details) and was running on my own personal home server (and there's a good chance it will stay that way). There was nothing there to hide, no sensitive data. He's so stupid he actually thought it was anything important and that he could even get anything useful by saving it to his USB. It's quite funny if you don't take it too seriously.

Start keeping a journal of all your interactions with him. Neutral, positive, and negative. Time, date, and one to three short dispassionate sentences.

Will do. But I don't think he's asking anything else after I put my foot down. Maybe I'll follow u/Optional advice and set him a sandbox to fuck around. When do you think I should show that journal to our boss? What's the line he needs to cross?

That’s your answer. You do the admin work, Jimmy does . . . whatever Jimmy does. Do not agree to manage him. Other than that, give him a sandbox and let him shit in it all he wants. He’ll get some taped-together shit to show off and people will find out it doesn’t work.

When he comes to you to fix it, be like;” I dunno man, have you asked ChatGPT? That’s a real headscratcher there. Well, gotta get back to my stuff.”

Just own your space and let him own his. When he comes for help, you can kind of rubber-duck it with him but thats it.

“Man, I dunno, but good luck. Sounds cool.” And - out.

I mean, keep your work explicitly separate, don’t let him touch your stuff and don’t help him with his, and wait for him to blow himself up.

After a bit they’ll come running to you to find out what happened. Just reload the back up and advise them he should not be on the server. He’ll talk them into getting back on the server and then he’ll break it again, and from there you can write your own ticket.

Guys like that I just can’t with anymore. “I know so much more than you” Sure thing, Dude. Now all I got for them is

You should have kept the USB as evidence, or copied the evidence of attempted theft off of it. You're unlikely to be able to prove it again now if you let him leave with it, and you just let him know one more thing to try and hide.

Anyway...

You can probably find a way to word the type of stuff you've posted here in a less technical and more detached manner, which would help. Focus on facts, and if you have to make statements that appear to be a matter of judgement, ensure you have a way to back it up with evidence that is explainable in management speak.

If you have email evidence of his bad tone with you, use that. If it's not present in writing, considering it sounds like he speaks incredibly rudely to you face to face, I would look into the recording laws where you're at.

If you have friends at work who have sent you emails, texts, or IMs along the lines of "he's badmouthing you again", hold onto those.

Unless your bosses are absolutely braindead, "it's his fault for not securing it" will go over like a sack of bricks.

"That was not available outside of our internal network, and what you actually managed to grab does not pose any risk."

Companies can't survive with a culture of "theft of other employee's work is fair game".

Start keeping a journal of all your interactions with him. Neutral, positive, and negative. Time, date, and one to three short dispassionate sentences. KEEP THIS SECRET FROM HIM AT ALL FUCKING COSTS

Met to deploy his solution for X. Did not deliver a a working solution. Could not answer basic questions about what was provided. Contained files from my solution despite refusing my assistance.

Remember: dispassionate, high level as possible, and straight facts. As if this will be read in court (because it could be).

You could backfill with previous interactions, but I would label those as such and probably keep those separate.

Emphasize the difference in experience and tenure. Your repeated attempts to collaborate, include, teach, etc with him contrasted with his responses (refusal, belittling your experience, claiming your ideas as his own to other employees and management). His refusal to accept any work begun by you as up to task.

Of course he's badmouthing me. But what can I do about it? If I go down to his level he'll beat me out of experience and sheer talent.

Maybe you are right, and leaving a paper trail with complaints can be helpful, especially in a larger entity. But in a smaller place, with these kind of games, the one who blinks first looses. So...I don't know what to do.

I'm a public worker, they can't fire me without cause. The boss likes him but he knows how much I know about IT. He always comes to me when something is serious. If Jimmy goes against me in a IT matter the boss WILL listen to me first. Unlike Jimmy, the boss knows jack about IT...but he knows how little he knows.

Frankly, at this point you're going to need to start job hunting.

If the boss is like him, odds are he's already bad-mouthing you to them. And no amount of actual facts is going to improve your situation.

Find someplace else to work. And don't be surprised if they fire you over this, even though you're the one in the right.

If the bosses don't like you complaining about something as critical as a dumbass vibecoding garbage and being completely hostile about it, then those bosses don't deserve your support, either.

I’ve been through this situation before, multiple times. He can do a lot more than annoy you, especially when you’re letting shit like this slide and assuming he isn’t badmouthing you to those same people who like him.

But you do you.

He has no access to anything critical. And he never will unless the bosses tell me to. Until then, I AM stopping him. If they tell me to give him access he will break stuff but then it's not my problem. But somehow I think they're not as stupid as forcing me to give him access. They might like him but I think they know better than to mess with my directions regarding IT.

They won't suffer consequences because he is not even competent enough to break anything I work on. Short of actually physically breaking it. I have everything quite secure. My own development code only runs on my home server and all the commits are documented on github. My work laptop is always locked and, even if it wasn't, he wouldn't even know where to look in a Laravel project. The stuff in production runs on site in machines only I have access. They could make me give it to them, but then it would be off my hands. Even with credentials he wouldn't be able to navigate a headless Debian server.

The most he can do is annoying me. This isn't so much on what he did, but what he had the intention of doing. I'm tempted to make a complain to the bosses but, as you all know, sometimes the ones who complain get labeled as the trouble makers. This is my dilemma since I know he is well liked by the leadership. And while they respect my capabilities he might've already convinced them he's on the same level. By complaining I'm taking a chance.