SIGforum
Things that make you say "Dang, I'm old".
May 24, 2019, 01:39 PM
PHPaulThings that make you say "Dang, I'm old".
On a motorcycle board I hang out on, a guy was doing some home-brew research on problems associated with modern digital electronics on older bikes with pre-digital electrical systems/alternators/regulators, the main problem being voltage spikes killing sensitive digital stuff.
So anyway, he posted some pictures of his methodology. For the non-techie types, an oscilloscope is an electronic device that lets you "see" electricity and capture snapshots of very short duration events like, say...well...voltage spikes.
In the early 70's, when I was a bench tech, this was a pretty standard o-scope. Tektronix 535, weighed around 50 pounds, came with it's own little cart to roll it around on.
This is what he was using.
Jesus, I'm old...
Be careful when following the masses. Sometimes the M is silent.
May 24, 2019, 01:57 PM
tsmccullAnd worse yet, all those books on the shelves behind the Tektronix will likely fit in a cellphone’s local memory!
May 24, 2019, 01:59 PM
PHPaulquote:
Originally posted by tsmccull:
And worse yet, all those books on the shelves behind the Tektronix will likely fit in a cellphone’s local memory!
And be keyword searchable instead of leafing through 40 pounds of paper trying to find what you're looking for!
Be careful when following the masses. Sometimes the M is silent.
May 24, 2019, 02:01 PM
Fed161So I am at Panera Bread grabbing a bite to eat. I look over at a table and there are 7 college age kids that just started to eat. All of them had their faces buried in their phones. My wife and I did not hear them say one word to each other during the entire meal until they got up to leave.
May 24, 2019, 02:20 PM
.38supersigThe digital doodad works great for desired voltage output, but not as likely to read measured output when the circuit is properly loaded. I'll choose an old fashioned d'Arsonval over a pack of numbers that erratically fluctuate any day.
May 24, 2019, 02:22 PM
Lord VaalicWhen you are hiring guys who were born after you graduated high school....
Don't weep for the stupid, or you will be crying all day May 24, 2019, 02:28 PM
PHPaulquote:
Originally posted by Lord Vaalic:
When you are hiring guys who were born after you graduated high school....
Similar to one of the reasons I decided it was time for me to retire from the Navy: Fully half of the kids working for me hadn't been BORN when I enlisted...
Be careful when following the masses. Sometimes the M is silent.
May 24, 2019, 02:30 PM
PHPaulquote:
Originally posted by .38supersig:
The digital doodad works great for desired voltage output, but not as likely to read measured output when the circuit is properly loaded. I'll choose an old fashioned d'Arsonval over a pack of numbers that erratically fluctuate any day.
Yup, I'd imagine they're fine for basic troubleshooting, but when you're working with short duration, high frequency signals and trying to capture ONE specific pulse, I suspect they may come up a bit short...
Be careful when following the masses. Sometimes the M is silent.
May 24, 2019, 02:31 PM
PHPaulquote:
Originally posted by Fed161:
So I am at Panera Bread grabbing a bite to eat. I look over at a table and there are 7 college age kids that just started to eat. All of them had their faces buried in their phones. My wife and I did not hear them say one word to each other during the entire meal until they got up to leave.
And very likely texting the person sitting next to them...
Be careful when following the masses. Sometimes the M is silent.
May 24, 2019, 03:24 PM
LeemurI work with mostly 20somethings now and some of the things that come up really highlight the age difference (I’m about to hit 47). One of them was having car trouble and from the description it sounded like a starter that had seized up. I told him to have someone tap it with a hammer while trying to start the car. They laughed. One of the only other guys my age told them I was serious. There were plenty of jokes about “that must be how y’all worked on them Flintstones cars when you were young.” Guess they got desperate cause the next day the guy tried it and it worked....
May 24, 2019, 04:43 PM
tatortoddThe average new-hire was 2 years old when the movie Office Space came out. They work in Corporate America, but don't get any references to the funniest work movie ever.
Another one, it's been this way for a few years now and for the rest of my life almost every college grad was born after I graduated college.
Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity
DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer. May 24, 2019, 05:29 PM
PeteFWhen you are busting a co workers chops about having college co-op groupies.
When he reminds you he is closer to their age than yours, and then reminds you, he is closer to my daughters age than mine
May 24, 2019, 06:55 PM
sig operatorWhen you make a movie or tv show reference to your 55 yr old neighbor, and he never heard of it.
May 24, 2019, 08:38 PM
FredwardLook on the bright side. When you were young you actually met women and maybe slept with some. The kids text them and get naked lady pics.
May 24, 2019, 08:47 PM
vthokyquote:
Originally posted by Lord Vaalic:
When you are hiring guys who were born after you graduated high school....
We just hired one who was born three years after I finished grad school. He's really sharp and I'm glad to have him as part of my crew, but some days he does make me feel pretty old.
God bless America. May 24, 2019, 09:21 PM
MikeNHI'm 34 so I don't think I'm old but at my last job I was one of the youngest in my department. Now I'm one of the oldest. Half of the install crew I work with is 24 and while ten years isn't as big a gap as some of you guys mention, it does get in my head here and there.
It also makes me feel bad for making age jokes at my last job. haha
May 25, 2019, 05:59 AM
LS1 GTOquote:
Originally posted by PHPaul:
quote:
Originally posted by Fed161:
So I am at Panera Bread grabbing a bite to eat. I look over at a table and there are 7 college age kids that just started to eat. All of them had their faces buried in their phones. My wife and I did not hear them say one word to each other during the entire meal until they got up to leave.
And very likely texting the person sitting next to them...
About the old couple oogling them
Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.
"If dogs don't go to Heaven, I want to go where they go" Will Rogers
May 25, 2019, 07:30 AM
PHPaulquote:
Originally posted by LS1 GTO:
quote:
Originally posted by PHPaul:
quote:
Originally posted by Fed161:
So I am at Panera Bread grabbing a bite to eat. I look over at a table and there are 7 college age kids that just started to eat. All of them had their faces buried in their phones. My wife and I did not hear them say one word to each other during the entire meal until they got up to leave.
And very likely texting the person sitting next to them...
About the old couple oogling them
Be careful when following the masses. Sometimes the M is silent.
May 25, 2019, 08:12 AM
oddballWhen they do not know who the hell Eric Clapton is, or they really do not know what Paul McCartney did to be so famous.
"I’m not going to read Time Magazine, I’m not going to read Newsweek, I’m not going to read any of these magazines; I mean, because they have too much to lose by printing the truth"- Bob Dylan, 1965
May 25, 2019, 08:33 AM
Fed161About the old couple oogling them[/QUOTE]
Oogling? They were sitting right next to us. Hard not to notice. I think I have a fairly thick skin, but that seems a little harsh. I don't oogle.