Once every few weeks I get a personal request for computer help or troubleshooting. And about 50% of the time, the person starts to show me the issue only to have it not appear. They then exclaim “but it wasn’t working a few minutes ago!” or “Oh wait… that’s the problem!”. I literally don’t say a word, and the problem is fixed.
Afterward I usually make some comment about computers being scared of me, fearing my wrath and thus ‘shaping up’ when I’m called in. I also reassure the person that I don’t think they are crazy – I believe they had a problem. Some of the most vexing problems are the transient ones that pop up, annoy the user, and go away just as mysteriously as they came. And the magical force of Jon is not always permanent – sometimes problems do come back since they never really went away in the first place.
But in that golden time where the solution is immediately clear or the problem vanishes, I’ll gladly appear supremely awesome.