Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[tggzzz]

True about HR droids.

We usually just toss them on a hosed windows 10 box that barely works, "so you're a python guy yeah? well i want you to solve this problem using Haskell. You have 3 hours". Then sit back and observe what happens.

30% of people refuse and get all pissy. 50% of people fail at the first hurdle. 20% of people piss themselves with excitement. It's the 20% we need even if they don't completely succeed.

Edit: most successful guy actually wrote a decision tree down as he was doing stuff and walked it on paper while he was navigating the maze of problems. Unfortunately Google snapped him up before we did 

For the second half of my interviews (i.e. after I've found what the candidate has achieved elsewhere) for an embedded job, I'll ask something along the lines of "a toy car/road manufacturer wants to introduce some traffic lights into his toys. What do you say and how do you proceed?". The decent ones realise that can't be answered on that information, so try to elicit wants/needs/wishes etc. Then I get them to move onto suggesting a range of implementation technologies and their advantages/disadvantages. The poor ones only come up with one technology, the good ones come up with at least three. Then I push to see how they would proceed with their favoured technology.

[mnementh]

...I'd also ask questions to see their general theoretical knowledge, and push them to see how they think, and expect them to say "I don't know but here's how I would find out". Ditto practical experience.

Interestingly, that "I don't know for sure, but let's find out!" attitude when asked a question is one of the key factors that separates a great teacher from the run-of-the-gristmill "rote cadavers"...

mnem
Don't think outside the box. Fuxxor the box; set it on fire and actually THINK.

[Specmaster]

True about HR droids.

We usually just toss them on a hosed windows 10 box that barely works, "so you're a python guy yeah? well i want you to solve this problem using Haskell. You have 3 hours". Then sit back and observe what happens.

30% of people refuse and get all pissy. 50% of people fail at the first hurdle. 20% of people piss themselves with excitement. It's the 20% we need even if they don't completely succeed.

Edit: most successful guy actually wrote a decision tree down as he was doing stuff and walked it on paper while he was navigating the maze of problems. Unfortunately Google snapped him up before we did 

Perhaps you ought seek out this Indian guy called Steve Wilson 

[bd139]

Ahh I've seen that. Hilarious 

So bored

[Specmaster]

He's at it again, todays blog

Edit. Apparently we must also be part of the scam because we don't believe him 

[mnementh]

"Don't talk out loud; you lower the IQ of the whole damned street." ~Sherlock

mnem
I refuse to have a battle of wits with an unarmed person.

[Mr. Scram]

He's at it again, todays blog

Edit. Apparently we must also be part of the scam because we don't believe him 

Why are we sharing garbage? We can't be that bored yet.

[bd139]

It's what happens when you cage animals 

[mnementh]

True about HR droids.

We usually just toss them on a hosed windows 10 box that barely works, "so you're a python guy yeah? well i want you to solve this problem using Haskell. You have 3 hours". Then sit back and observe what happens.

30% of people refuse and get all pissy. 50% of people fail at the first hurdle. 20% of people piss themselves with excitement. It's the 20% we need even if they don't completely succeed.

Edit: most successful guy actually wrote a decision tree down as he was doing stuff and walked it on paper while he was navigating the maze of problems. Unfortunately Google snapped him up before we did 

mnem

[mnementh]

True about HR droids.

We usually just toss them on a hosed windows 10 box that barely works...

Does that really work with HRDroids...?  Now if you were to drop a hosed Win10 box on the HR Droids... preferably from a great height...

mnem
Lets all just go install FreeBSD.

[Specmaster]

Ahh I've seen that. Hilarious 

So bored

Hopefully my RS and Bitbox deliveries will both arrive tomorrow to give me something worth while to do 

[bd139]

Indeed. I am waiting on the following weird selection of items:

A kitchen spatula. A t-shirt. some lenovo trackpoint caps. some CR2032's. a phone case for my eldest. one plastic camping cup. A large box of coffee bags. a Lenovo charger. A lenovo replacement key. some bic lighters. A chinese PLC.

The CR2032's are quite frankly bloody annoying. I ordered GP brand ones off the usual crap shifter accounts. Nothing after 2 weeks. So I complained. Seller updates it with a tracking ID that doesn't work at all and isn't the correct format intentionally (I checked his feedback and this was usual practice) and asks me to close the case. So I left the fucker negative feedback!  Case still open... £2.39 so I can afford to lose it worst case.

I stopped watching the 34401A I was watching as it wasn't a particularly tidy specimen and has been bid up to £255 already.

[Wolfgang]

@mnementh our former CIO once called the workforce renewable resources ...

I

The largest renewable resource to mankind is *stupidity*, not people.

[bsudbrink]

The most common elements of the universe are Hydrogen and stupidity.  (but not necessarily in that order)

[Mr. Scram]

Bollocks, I just shot a spring into low Earth orbit while disassembling my cheap wonky ratchet. I guess now it's really time to buy a new one.

I just won the lottery. As I was tidying up the approximate area I lost the spring I thought to look for it and there it was, right at my feet. Wonky ratchet lives another day. I didn't even lose the screws in the mean time. Though admittedly it's been more than decent for the money. The quality of cheap tools seems to have improved a lot, though that too is a bit of a lottery.

[bd139]

That’s a pretty good outcome. Congratulations.

I think expensive tools are a lottery too. The ratchet on my wera socket set is getting cranky and that was not cheap 

[Specmaster]

Indeed. I am waiting on the following weird selection of items:

A kitchen spatula. A t-shirt. some lenovo trackpoint caps. some CR2032's. a phone case for my eldest. one plastic camping cup. A large box of coffee bags. a Lenovo charger. A lenovo replacement key. some bic lighters. A chinese PLC.

The CR2032's are quite frankly bloody annoying. I ordered GP brand ones off the usual crap shifter accounts. Nothing after 2 weeks. So I complained. Seller updates it with a tracking ID that doesn't work at all and isn't the correct format intentionally (I checked his feedback and this was usual practice) and asks me to close the case. So I left the fucker negative feedback!  Case still open... £2.39 so I can afford to lose it worst case.

I stopped watching the 34401A I was watching as it wasn't a particularly tidy specimen and has been bid up to £255 already.

I usually get my batteries from this seller, pretty good response times normally just a couple of days.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-x-Energizer-CR2032-3V-Lithium-Coin-Cell-Battery-2032-DL2032-BR2032-SB-T15/112449626945

[bd139]

Thanks for the tip off. Have ordered some 

[Mortymore]

Those were quite helpful to someone that has started studding UML 

[Kosmic]

True about HR droids.

We usually just toss them on a hosed windows 10 box that barely works, "so you're a python guy yeah? well i want you to solve this problem using Haskell. You have 3 hours". Then sit back and observe what happens.

30% of people refuse and get all pissy. 50% of people fail at the first hurdle. 20% of people piss themselves with excitement. It's the 20% we need even if they don't completely succeed.

Edit: most successful guy actually wrote a decision tree down as he was doing stuff and walked it on paper while he was navigating the maze of problems. Unfortunately Google snapped him up before we did 

Perhaps you ought seek out this Indian guy called Steve Wilson 

In the same line, I really like this one https://youtu.be/ZOkY6UOLax0?t=1430

The fun start at min 24 

[Specmaster]

He has done a few of these videos but this one is the best one so far as the scammer really got sucked in. 

[nixiefreqq]

Indeed. I am waiting on the following weird selection of items:

A kitchen spatula. A t-shirt. some lenovo trackpoint caps. some CR2032's. a phone case for my eldest. one plastic camping cup. A large box of coffee bags. a Lenovo charger. A lenovo replacement key. some bic lighters. A chinese PLC.

The CR2032's are quite frankly bloody annoying. I ordered GP brand ones off the usual crap shifter accounts. Nothing after 2 weeks. So I complained. Seller updates it with a tracking ID that doesn't work at all and isn't the correct format intentionally (I checked his feedback and this was usual practice) and asks me to close the case. So I left the fucker negative feedback!  Case still open... £2.39 so I can afford to lose it worst case.

I stopped watching the 34401A I was watching as it wasn't a particularly tidy specimen and has been bid up to £255 already.

a plastic camping cup?  young man......you have some explaining to do.

edit bought the pack, the sierra cup, and the other cup in 1978.  still use all 3.  good god man.....picture yourself sitting by the fire sipping black label Jack from a plastic cup.....it should be against the law.

edit 2  if you look carefully at the area on the flap between the cups you see what looks like a patch.  it is a patch.  that's where a porcupine chewed in during the night to steal a bottle of syrup that my buddy frank recovered a little way up hill from our site the next morning (on the loyalsock trail. probably in about 1986)

[Mr. Scram]

That’s a pretty good outcome. Congratulations.

I think expensive tools are a lottery too. The ratchet on my wera socket set is getting cranky and that was not cheap 

Agreed, I almost added that to my post. I've been disappointed a lot lately even though I tend to go for the quality options. Shoddy quality control or flat out corner cutting is a plague. Spending the money definitely isn't any kind of guarantee.

[Cerebus]

I have this Coleman insulated stainless steel mug that I've had since I can't remember when, at least 20 years, probably much longer. It's sufficiently good that I sometimes use it for drinking coffee at home when I want something that'll keep hot for a bit longer than a standard ceramic mug. Best thing about it is that it has a nice thin lip so you don't get that "drinking out of a tin mug" feeling when you're using it. Also indestructible, it's been dropped down almost as many hillsides as me.

[attachimg=1 width=700]

BTW, the fluffy red blanket is covering the black beast (aka Lab ESD testing technician) who is sleeping for the first time in about two weeks somewhere other than the Digikey box that's too small for her that an FPGA board came in.

[Mr. Scram]

a plastic camping cup?  young man......you have some explaining to do.

edit bought the pack, the sierra cup, and the other cup in 1978.  still use all 3.  good god man.....picture yourself sitting by the fire sipping black label Jack from a plastic cup.....it should be against the law.

edit 2  if you look carefully at the area on the flap between the cups you see what looks like a patch.  it is a patch.  that's where a porcupine chewed in during the night to steal a bottle of syrup that my buddy frank recovered a little way up hill from our site the next morning (on the loyalsock trail. probably in about 1986)

I know what you're saying. It's better than red label but that's about it.