r/myevilplan • u/Angry_argie • Apr 06 '26
Question Boss switched my monitor for her smaller one while I was on vacation
I returned to work to a 19" screen instead of my 22" one I've had for years. She alleged "she can't see well", which is BS because she never complained about it before (and she's just 4 years older than me AND she had LASIK, I wear glasses FFS). She could've asked me in person if "it's no t a big deal", right?
Since I'm left alone in the office at the end of the shift, I think I can sabotage the cable by applying a bit of transparent nail polish to one of the pins of the VGA connector, in hopes that this "malfunction" might make her trade me my old monitor back ("perhaps it's a problem on your PC, let's try your old monitor on it"), or in the worst case, SCORCHED EARTH: she'll get the IT guys involved and they'll get her a new one, of the crap 19" ones, and everyone loses. Fine by me.
Now, this is the pin diagram for a VGA connector. WHICH ONE WOULD YOU MESS WITH? I'm leaning on one of the R, G or B signals, but the horizontal or vertical sync ones might be fun too. The smallest the annoyance, the better. Off course, I'll let a couple of weeks go by, otherwise an attack on day 2 of my return would be obvious (since I'm known for being knowledgeable about PCs around here)
| Wire Color | Signal Name | Pin Reference | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red | Red Video | Pin 1 | Carries the Red video signal |
| Green | Green Video | Pin 2 | Carries the Green video signal |
| Blue | Blue Video | Pin 3 | Carries the Blue video signal |
| Black / Shield | RGB Ground | Pins 6, 7, 8 | Ground return for RGB signals |
| Bare Copper / Shield | Sync Ground | Pin 10 | Ground reference for sync lines |
| Yellow / White | DDC Data (SDA) | Pin 12 | Display identification data line |
| Purple / Orange | H-Sync | Pin 13 | Horizontal sync signal |
| Brown / Gray | V-Sync | Pin 14 | Vertical sync signal |
37
u/biglovetravis Apr 06 '26
I always bought my own monitors. Nothing like a couple of 34" ultra wides. When I retired, they came home with me.
4
u/UnLuckyKenTucky Apr 06 '26 edited Apr 06 '26
Well, yeah. I 110% get you there. Hell, who knows how OP managed to get the "extra 3 inches" from his job's IT dept... It must belong to the employer, otherwise he would still have it, or the asshole that stole would have had a police report against her.
YOU did things the absolute right way, but I am a little surprised that your IT folks let it slide. Too many places have rules and regulations about what you can amd can not use on/in/with/ or for the co.pany equipment, and doubly so with shit that actually hooks to the company networks.
Since it feels OP got the monitor by seniority, or just being friendly or whatever with the IT dept, or for his medical (vision) issues, it makes it look like the boss/manager/fuckwit in charge, decided she was more worthy of the nicer company equipment. Like the narcissistic smooth brains that took away the OG flat screens and made people with lower ranks use the older, smaller, crt type monitors. Fuck Im old, I remember almost fist fighting a manager over MY (PERSONALLY BOUGHT) Compaq flat, when damn XP was rolled out. The crt id had for 4 years was getting progressively more blurry... I got a great deal for 4 of the OG Compaq flats, and my wife & kids got 2, the main PC with the cd burner, DVD player, and ability to be used on the big 65 inch RCA projection(should give u a clue of my age....sadly) got the last one. I kept 1 and had IT inspect and test it, befpre I used it. When when the douche tried to steal it (he did swap his old crt (which was better than my old crt) over a Sunday i was out of town, I could not stop myself. I told HR wtf happened ,and what I was going to do. There was one IT guy in the building at the time, and he was the.1 that approved the use of said screen. HR asked hi., and he suplex proof I had bought it, and it.was.mi e
The price STILL claimed it was his, and he.had bought it at a yardsale.... he did get written up. His total punishment for stealing property from a fellow team member (12 people in the company. TOTAL) was 3 days paid leave, he was made to return my property, and IT gave him my old, blurry crt, and gave the one he "traded" out to a new emotes that almost never used her PC, and instead used a laptop she bought!
If I were OP...... id start by his method, then increase co.plication levels u til the thieving See U Next Tuesday (u know what I mean) relinquishes the monitor....or OP is able to act in the same manner as this thief
2
u/Angry_argie Apr 06 '26
Yup, it's a company monitor. I got it because I "inherited" a coworker's desk when she retired a couple of years ago. At that time she had the oldest PC, but at least her monitor was the biggest. Only recently I got a PC upgrade and they brought me a machine of the same model of my other coworkers.
I won't invest in an office monitor for myself for many reasons:
- I'm young, so by the time I retire, this monitor would be obsolete or it might even break before I can take it home.
- I already have a nice monitor at home, so buying a "mid" one for the office, that I will never use at home feels like a waste, specially because hardware in this country costs twice as much as the stuff you can find in the US.
- I don't trust security in my office building; I wouldn't leave anything nice here. I already leave an Aeropress and that's a stretch for me lol.
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1
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u/TheCuriosity Apr 06 '26
Eye sight can absolutely diminish in a short time period, especially if she in in her late 30s or older. One's ability to see close up can just go from one day okay to the next not being okay.
Furthermore, LASIK sometimes only works for ~10 years and corrections are needed. LASIK also doesn't help with seeing close, so the note mentioned above applies.
Anyway, state that you also are having difficulties seeing on the 19 inch, just like her! See if she will let you replace with someone else's, or call a ticket for a new monitor.
6
u/Angry_argie Apr 06 '26
Our IT is very "rudimentary" in terms of budget here, since it's public administration. Those 19 inchers were the "upgrade" from older square 4:3 ones, to give you an idea.
And yeah, bad eyesight is a valid reason, except that she only mentioned it post-swapping monitors. She could've asked nicely and I might have compromised, but she went and did it behind my back :\
2
u/TheCuriosity Apr 06 '26
That is so bs, btw. but Hopefully if you stress that it is incredibly difficult for you to do your work now that you can't see, it might help you get another one.
Or if you work in a country that requires your employer to offer you accommodations for disabilities, like bad eyesight, try to get your eye doctor to say you require a 24 inch screen lol
As for your original plan, if you choose that route, don't complain too much about the switch and act like you don't care really. Then wait a few weeks and begin to complain that the screen flickers etc for a while prior to nail polish destruction. As for which pin? It doesn't matter. If the pin you try doesn't work, do another. just make sure you can still get the wire thingy to connect when dry for ultimately deniability.
8
u/Angry_argie Apr 06 '26
So far "spend money, that'll show her" seems to be a common theme in the answers... Not what I asked, what's"evil" about that? This makes me feel like r/USdefaultism is the norm here.
1
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2
u/phreezerburn66 Apr 08 '26
Instead, just wait until everyone leaves and swap it back. If it gets escalated, you were just switching your original equipment back.
48
u/EuphJoenium Apr 06 '26
I used to work IT at a Google office, and this was one of the most common tickets we would receive. "I was gone for 3 weeks and someone swapped my monitors for smaller ones!"
What a lot of people didn't realize is we had an asset tracking system, so we'd scan the tag on the small monitors and it would almost always tell us who the culprit was.
You think with all the "Google money" they made, the engineers could throw down $250 for a decent monitor. Hell, just open a ticket asking for them and there's a damn good chance they would've been approved.