diff --git a/launch.py b/launch.py
index 6b19b350405b2694fe6c6b5dcdd2de4bb0d5614f..ab42b797514069ce161f660bae7c2e86a0f47623 100755
--- a/launch.py
+++ b/launch.py
@@ -548,8 +548,13 @@ class Scheduler:
             if len(items) == 2:
                 try:
                     value = int(items[1].strip())
+                # FIXME: there has to be a more elegant solution than this ugly
+                # hack...
                 except ValueError:
-                    value = float(items[1].strip())
+                    try:
+                        value = float(items[1].strip())
+                    except ValueError:
+                        value = items[1].strip()
                 setattr(self, items[0].strip(), value)
 
     def init_state_log(self):