Hot and Fishy (Part 2): AC Resets, Fingerprint Paradox, and a Scapy-Powered Attendance Prototype

Picking up right where the morning left off—just after Dhuhr prayer.

If you thought dealing with AI paywalls and sluggish morning AC units was enough for one shift, the afternoon had a completely different script written for it.

The Midday Circuit Breaker Relay

Right after getting back up post-Dhuhr prayer, I discovered that all of the AC units in the office had decided to throw in the towel and shut down. Naturally, I made my way straight to the electrical panel.

As I stood there weighing my options, HR walked by and offered a wonderfully straightforward suggestion: "Why not just open the panel and flip the breaker switch for the ACs?"

I gave it a shot, and just like that, power surged back through the lines and everything hummed back to life. A quick follow-up call to engineering cleared up the rest: I switched the specific IT AC breaker off and on again, and it automatically kicked back into stable operation. Crisis averted, I settled back at my desk to review some pending reports while letting my mind wander.

The Fingerprint Paradox

That brief moment of quiet thinking was quickly interrupted by HR, who stopped by to discuss attendance tracking.

Here is the underlying issue with our current setup: our attendance relies entirely on a physical fingerprint scanner. To clock in or out, you have to physically press your thumb against the reader. The catch? I usually arrive early at the office around 9:25 AM. However, the fingerprint machines are located either inside the warehouse or the retail store—both of which remain locked until 10:00 AM or 11:00 AM. Only once they roll up the shutters can I physically log my entrance.

Doing the math makes it painfully obvious: I'm sitting at my desk working productively for over half an hour, yet the system logs me late simply because the hardware is behind locked doors.

Automating Attendance with Python and Scapy

Conversations like that usually spark ideas, and this one hit me instantly. Since I'm managing IT infrastructure here and knee-deep in software engineering automation every day, why are we relying on clumsy physical bottlenecks?

Why not build a lightweight Python automation script using Scapy to handle check-ins and check-outs automatically via Wi-Fi?

The logic is clean: 1. Sign-In: Whenever an employee enters the office or store, their device automatically connects to the office Wi-Fi network. That instant connection event can serve as an automated, friction-free sign-in signal. 2. Sign-Out: Conversely, the sign-off signal can be registered based on the last recorded timestamp of active connection on the office network before departure. 3. Log Rotation: Daily activity logs for every single person in the firm can be automatically rotated and archived at midnight.

Between Dhuhr and Asr, our IT head came into the office. I pitched the concept to him on the spot, showing him a quick proof-of-concept script running right from the terminal. He loved the direction, noting that while we need to bulletproof the sign-off logic and final script reliability, it's an idea solid enough to eventually take straight to the CEO.

Down to Level 3 (Underground) and Wi-Fi Firefighting

No sooner had I wrapped up my Scapy prototype than I was summoned down to the 3rd level underground warehouse by my engineering head.

The mission? Coordinate with the warehouse operations leader to scan a fresh batch of garments returned from the retail shops. I scanned everything into the system, verified serials, and double-checked the counts manually to guarantee absolute alignment. Once the numbers were airtight, I secured sign-off confirmation from the warehouse manager and hand-delivered the audited reports straight to the finance manager.

With the financials cleared, my afternoon turned back toward network firefighting: * Resolving persistent Wi-Fi connectivity dropouts for users up on the 8th floor. * Heading back down to the subterranean warehouse to clear out lingering connection issues there.

By the time the final network handshake cleared, the clock read 7:15 PM. Shift complete, permission secured, and sign-out finalized. Another chaotic, code-filled, infrastructure-juggling day in the books.