Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[Specmaster]

We are only in it for the money ...

This job is not what I would consider fun

Get out of it then and do something that is more fun, thats been my motto because you spend a huge amount of your life working and it is a hell of a lot easier if you actually enjoy your work.

[Andrew_Debbie]

This must be a hint to shift the latest arrival from the kitchen table, that's a loaf defrosting. 

Better move it, otherwise you might find the toaster taking up residence on top - or worse still, a doily and vase of flowers.

As long as the toaster is in cal and instrumented, I don't see a problem.

[bd139]

We are only in it for the money ...

This job is not what I would consider fun

Get out of it then and do something that is more fun, thats been my motto because you spend a huge amount of your life working and it is a hell of a lot easier if you actually enjoy your work.

Most people can't earn a living wage doing something that is fun or enjoyable to them and sometimes when you do something because you have to it ruins it for you. I have always found that it's best to keep the two parts of your life separate.

A fine example is electrical engineering. I found the corporate side of it to be absolutely horrible and at the time I didn't know enough to start a business and go solo. Now I know enough about business, having run one, that I don't want to mix something I enjoy with the business. I also understand that I probably don't know enough about electrical engineering on a professional level now to risk it either. But I can now enjoy it with no consequences either way other than burning some cash occasionally.

Ergo the only option is efficient use of energy versus return of investment which means looking for something where there is a high demand for skills, a low supply of skills, a low entry cost and a low risk from failure. Some parts of the IT sector are absolutely perfect for that 

[tggzzz]

We are only in it for the money ...

This job is not what I would consider fun

Exactly that.

Edit: must add that I know three people who retired at the state retirement age here and died within 5 years in poor health. They fell for the carrot on a stick life. I'm not doing that. I'm screwing the IT sector, doing the bucket list NOW, retiring early and starting on a new bucket list then. It might cost me my sanity but I was never sure of that anyway 

In my first week in a job, back in the late 70s, I asked a personnel (not HR!) person how long the company pension was paid on average. The answer, 18 months, has stuck in my mind, even if life expectency has risen dramatically.

As a counter example, one of my tall, fit and thin colleagues was out on a walking weekend with his friends. He got into the taxi afterwards, and didn't get out: a heart attack.

Oh, don't be too optimistic about freedom and lots of time when retired

[tggzzz]

Most people can't earn a living wage doing something that is fun or enjoyable to them and sometimes when you do something because you have to it ruins it for you. I have always found that it's best to keep the two parts of your life separate.

For >75% of my career I was lucky in that respect, or made my own luck

Nonetheless I always kept work and home separate, on the principle that it was unlikely both would go wrong simultaneously.

[Cerebus]

 It might cost me my sanity but I was never sure of that anyway 

I find it a bit rich that a man who chose to marry a redhead claims to ever have possessed something called "sanity". 

[med6753]

We are only in it for the money ...

This job is not what I would consider fun

Exactly that.

Edit: must add that I know three people who retired at the state retirement age here and died within 5 years in poor health. They fell for the carrot on a stick life. I'm not doing that. I'm screwing the IT sector, doing the bucket list NOW, retiring early and starting on a new bucket list then. It might cost me my sanity but I was never sure of that anyway 

In my first week in a job, back in the late 70s, I asked a personnel (not HR!) person how long the company pension was paid on average. The answer, 18 months, has stuck in my mind, even if life expectency has risen dramatically.

As a counter example, one of my tall, fit and thin colleagues was out on a walking weekend with his friends. He got into the taxi afterwards, and didn't get out: a heart attack.

Oh, don't be too optimistic about freedom and lots of time when retired

Exactly. I know many IBM execs who were the type "A" personality who retired and within a year were dead.

Since IBM decided to retire me in 2009 they have been paying me a pension. So I beat those odds by a considerable amount.

And yes, don't bet on a long lifespan after retiring. I've been totally out 2 years now and I make everyday count. Even with my recent medical issues. 

[beanflying]

I had a first mid life Crisis at 35 and ran away from the big smoke to Fly Kites and Play with toys for well over a decade. Being a wage slave SUCKS.....

[med6753]

 It might cost me my sanity but I was never sure of that anyway 

I find it a bit rich that a man who chose to marry a redhead claims to ever have possessed something called "sanity". 

You obviously have never experienced one to understand. For the longest time you are thinking with the wrong head but suddenly you wake up one day to the reality of it all.     

[beanflying]

 It might cost me my sanity but I was never sure of that anyway 

I find it a bit rich that a man who chose to marry a redhead claims to ever have possessed something called "sanity". 

You obviously have never experienced one to understand. For the longest time you are thinking with the wrong head but suddenly you wake up one day to the reality of it all.     

I found myself Engaged to a Redhead a couple of years after running away before a narrow but still costly escape a little later

[Specmaster]

Hmm, that does not ring quite true to me, to be able to learn the skill set required to get involved in IT, must require a person to at least have an interest in that subject in the first place, much the same as someone who becomes a surgeon, doctor, lawyer, vet, pilot etc. You don't just leave school and think about which jobs pay the most, and then learn the skills in order to gain employment in that sector. Yes, I accept that there are many thousands with the attitude that they only work as a means to an end and those people normally can't be arsed to learn anything special as it normally requires years of very low pay while learning and also involves either going to university or college and loads of evening course work while their friends are out on the town.

[BU508A]

Exactly. I know many IBM execs who were the type "A" personality who retired and within a year were dead.

Since IBM decided to retire me in 2009 they have been paying me a pension. So I beat those odds by a considerable amount.

And yes, don't bet on a long lifespan after retiring. I've been totally out 2 years now and I make everyday count. Even with my recent medical issues.

Do you mean by any chance 2019?  *scratching head*

[Specmaster]

 It might cost me my sanity but I was never sure of that anyway 

I find it a bit rich that a man who chose to marry a redhead claims to ever have possessed something called "sanity". 

You obviously have never experienced one to understand. For the longest time you are thinking with the wrong head but suddenly you wake up one day to the reality of it all.     

Arh yes, the dreaded trouser snake, the head of which will always be willing to lead its owner into various battles if its owner's head is not strong enough to hold it in check. My Dad always used to say that it will draw you further than gunpowder will blow you, which I take it is an old army saying seeing as he served in many of the great desert campaigns in WW2.

[med6753]

Exactly. I know many IBM execs who were the type "A" personality who retired and within a year were dead.

Since IBM decided to retire me in 2009 they have been paying me a pension. So I beat those odds by a considerable amount.

And yes, don't bet on a long lifespan after retiring. I've been totally out 2 years now and I make everyday count. Even with my recent medical issues.

Do you mean by any chance 2019?  *scratching head*

Nope, I was retired as an active IBM employee in 2009. I went back to work for IBM as contractor working for Manpower Corp from 2009 to 2019.

[Specmaster]

I can honestly say that I really did enjoy my job as I was employing my knowledge of electrical engineering in designing lighting schemes (no not the layout and illumination schemes) but taking someone else's layout and then developing a control strategy for the lighting circuits and where possible further pushing the envelope to integrate the system with building management, intruder alarms, fire alarms and generally coming up with other novel ways of control in response customer requirements or wish lists. What I didn't like was all the bloody management politics and shenanigans going on behind the scenes.
 

[GreyWoolfe]

Some good news for me at last with my medical issues.

Yesterday saw the surgeon for post op check and he said everything was great and I could resume normal activities within reason. I figure I'll give the Type 547 another week at least.  The damn thing is still mocking me on a daily basis. 

One thing that I have not shared is that this entire time I have been wearing a catheter. Yes, since March 24th. There were at least 5 attempts at removal prior to the hernia surgery on July 2nd and I could not go. I did finally get all the doctors to agree that the hernia itself was playing a role since it was pressing on my bladder. Well today I had the cat removed and I'm happy (and relieved) to report that I can now piss up a storm on my own.  I had to go back this afternoon for a bladder scan and it's EMPTY as it should be. At long last there was light at the end of the tunnel. 

I figured that out a while back but decided that enough was enough and that I wouldn't continue to take the piss out of you about it. I mean, why should I when I've got a catheter doing my job for me? 

You must be relieved not to have it tugging at your mind any more. It must have been a drag, well more of a dribble really I suppose. No more ringing up the urologist and being asked "Can you hold on for a minute?". No more worrying whether someone will find the catheter packets in the trash, read them, and think "That sounds rather small?". No more getting seasick from the sound of sloshing as you walk. No more panic if you feel something squish when you sit down, and then relief when you find it's just a pack of Twinkies.

It's OK, I got my coat in advance...

And no more waking up in the middle of the night and quickly discovering that the catheter bag drain somehow opened and you are laying in piss. At least 3 times I wet the bed. 

I almost wish I had your problem of not pissing.  After 42 days of having my prostate blasted with high energy photon beams, I go way to easy now.  I go from no urge to holy crap I am about to piss myself.  I have had a few dribble accidents just pulling up to a customer's site and moments away from a bathroom, fun times.  Night time is the worst.  The oncologist put me on Flowmax but I still get up multiple times a night.  Before all this started I almost never got up during the night to pee.  Now, it is typically twice a night and throw in that I don't sleep particularly well and take a long time to get back to sleep with the addition of the hormone therapy that the number 1 side effect is fatigue, life has truly been a pain in the ass.  What has helped was that Mrs. GreyWoolfe and I have decided to get off our rusty dusties and now we do some sort of exercise every day, whether it's walking the dogs around the sub division, riding bikes or going to the gym, it does ameliorate the tired some. 

[Specmaster]

We are only in it for the money ...

This job is not what I would consider fun

Exactly that.

Edit: must add that I know three people who retired at the state retirement age here and died within 5 years in poor health. They fell for the carrot on a stick life. I'm not doing that. I'm screwing the IT sector, doing the bucket list NOW, retiring early and starting on a new bucket list then. It might cost me my sanity but I was never sure of that anyway 

In my first week in a job, back in the late 70s, I asked a personnel (not HR!) person how long the company pension was paid on average. The answer, 18 months, has stuck in my mind, even if life expectency has risen dramatically.

As a counter example, one of my tall, fit and thin colleagues was out on a walking weekend with his friends. He got into the taxi afterwards, and didn't get out: a heart attack.

Oh, don't be too optimistic about freedom and lots of time when retired

Exactly. I know many IBM execs who were the type "A" personality who retired and within a year were dead.

Since IBM decided to retire me in 2009 they have been paying me a pension. So I beat those odds by a considerable amount.

And yes, don't bet on a long lifespan after retiring. I've been totally out 2 years now and I make everyday count. Even with my recent medical issues. 

I know people who I used to work with and were looking forward to retiring, putting their feet up and relaxing after years of active work, and when that time came, they did just that, and then they were gone within a year as well. I on the other hand, did not want to retire, l knew that I needed to keep my brain active, or I would be gone through sheer boredom.

I would be still be working if I had my way, doing what I loved doing, if it was not for management shenanigans,  refusing to accept that their methods were out of date. I have now been retired for 5 years and enjoying it because I enjoy the TEA life now and keeping my creative side busy.

[nfmax]

I'm worried. People are starting to talk about their failed marriages and describe their illnesses in unnecessary detail, while bemoaning the shitshow the world has turned into these days. Are we all becoming - hams? 

[Saskia]

Yes.

[bd139]

Hmm, that does not ring quite true to me, to be able to learn the skill set required to get involved in IT, must require a person to at least have an interest in that subject in the first place, much the same as someone who becomes a surgeon, doctor, lawyer, vet, pilot etc. You don't just leave school and think about which jobs pay the most, and then learn the skills in order to gain employment in that sector. Yes, I accept that there are many thousands with the attitude that they only work as a means to an end and those people normally can't be arsed to learn anything special as it normally requires years of very low pay while learning and also involves either going to university or college and loads of evening course work while their friends are out on the town.

The thing that frustrates me really is your last point. I knew a guy who worked for EON in a call centre. He was proud of his job, which is fine. But at the same time whined about how everyone else had stuff he doesn't and about how much money he didn't have. The guy has some serious organisational aptitude. I suggested he does some skills building and goes on some courses and he immediately complains that he's not being paid to do it so why the fuck should he? Quite happily throw £500 a month down the shitter in the pub and on smokes.

Self-imposed cognitive dissonance keeps us all as slaves.

[Saskia]

Yarp. Bossman just ordered a Xilinx VCK 5000 for me for farting around ...

[Cerebus]

 It might cost me my sanity but I was never sure of that anyway 

I find it a bit rich that a man who chose to marry a redhead claims to ever have possessed something called "sanity". 

You obviously have never experienced one to understand. For the longest time you are thinking with the wrong head but suddenly you wake up one day to the reality of it all.     

You forget that I nearly married one back in the 80s.

[med6753]

I'm worried. People are starting to talk about their failed marriages and describe their illnesses in unnecessary detail, while bemoaning the shitshow the world has turned into these days. Are we all becoming - hams? 

In order for us to become hams we must be hobos first like this guy. I can't imagine any of this civilized group resembling him. 



And I promise. After this parting shot no more talk of piss bags. 

[Cerebus]

Hmm, that does not ring quite true to me, to be able to learn the skill set required to get involved in IT, must require a person to at least have an interest in that subject in the first place, much the same as someone who becomes a surgeon, doctor, lawyer, vet, pilot etc. You don't just leave school and think about which jobs pay the most, and then learn the skills in order to gain employment in that sector. Yes, I accept that there are many thousands with the attitude that they only work as a means to an end and those people normally can't be arsed to learn anything special as it normally requires years of very low pay while learning and also involves either going to university or college and loads of evening course work while their friends are out on the town.

What, you've no Indian lads and lasses in Essex who trained to be Doctors/Lawyers/Accountants because that's what mom and dad pushed them to do because "It's a nice solid respectable career"? Newham's chock-a-block with them, and those careers are chock-a-block with people (of all ethnic backgrounds) who had no particular interest or aptitude but wanted a nice respectable, lucrative, thoroughly middle-class career. It's the middle-class equivalent of the upper class politics/military/church destiny for No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 sons. It's also the reason why there are so many crap Doctors/Lawyers/Accountants out there.

[AVGresponding]

EDIT: It's a shame you didn't have an 820kΩ in your parts bin Med    

Glad I wasn't the only one doing some mental resistor wrangling...   

(You can't help it, can you...)

I did but it had to be 1% or better.

I'd have thought good tempco/stability would be more important? Though ofc such resistors usually have good basic tolerance to start with.