What did you do before?
Older Martial Artists
- Thread starter Steve
- Start date
IBM software designer (computer programmer).
Kind of figured it's in high tech. I was manager of EE before, I retired in 2005. It's a lot of pressure and life is too short. They called me back to design the new generation system, I contracted with them for 1 1/2 yr in 2015 and that was enough. Because of me working, my wife's Medicare went up big time. I quit!!!
What language you used? I am mostly on analog RF side of things, I just learn C++ last year because my grandson who's a CS major said he need some motivation. So I asked him how's motivation if grandpa nipping on his heels!!!!
.So I spent 7 months learning C++ from a book from cover to cover!!! that's what is so good about retirement, I can spend time on anything I want, even for the hell of it. I believe in exercise, even exercise for the brain. I spent a few years designing and building extreme high end hifi power amps, I am getting tired of it, I have no intention of going into business. I was going to go deeper into graphics and animation with C++, but then I got into stick fight and here I am. I am still looking for other hobby when I get tired of stick fight.
Ha ha, since I got into stick fight, I spent quite a bit of time on exercise, so when I am not exercising, I got into catching up all the movies. I very seldom watch movies, I have not watched 99.9% of the movies after 2000. I decided to catch up with movies. The last few months, I watch a whopping 215movies!!!
.!!! Yes, I am not kidding. I am catching up with all the Marvel movies!!! I am getting a little tired of movies now, so I am looking again for something new.
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Java, SOM (system object model), C++, C, PLS.
IBM WebSphere was the last project I involved.
I started out as programmer between 79 to 81 in Assembly and Pascal, also designing hardware with 8085 and Z80 micro-processor. But I soon realize things change so fast that one has to constantly learning new technologies and languages. I was in late 20s, which is fine, but how about if I am in the 50s or older, you get obsoleted so easy in that field. So in 82, I decided to switch to analog and RF. They have a much steeper learning curve, BUT once you master it, it really doesn't change much, physics is physics. Since then, only thing close to programming I did was programming FPGAs. That's the reason I retired 10 years and when the company call me up, I could jump right back in and did the project.
Like even C++, if you program in 2003, it's quite different in the new C++17 or newer. I learned my lesson. I am born cheap, I bought the older version(NOT THAT OLD) of the C++ text book because it's so cheap. I learned the whole book. But then when I move to another book, hell, I have to relearn a lot of the syntax. That was maddening.
dvcochran
Grandmaster
Ah, we have things in common. I am also an EE (MSEE, MSEM). I gravitated to the control side from the beginning and own and control, automation, and consulting company.
Good, we have some high tech people here too. You still working?
The most interested project that I had involved was the "Object Builder". On the desk top, there is a toolbox (this is why I always like to use the term toolbox in MA). You take tools out of that toolbox and create user interface application. One time I use the 1st generation object builder to create the 2nd generation object builder. I then use the 2nd generation to create the 3rd generation. Of course the performance got worse and worse. I could not figure out how many generations down the road that the new object builder would be too slow and not useable. I then tried to generate a mathematics model to predict the percentage decrease performance. I didn't know how much value that my project study could be. Until few years later, the Apple company came up a PINK operation system. The PINK is a pure object model that each object is built on top of another object (such as a character is an object. A word is an object built by characters. A sentence is an object built on words, ...). I assume if I could shared my Object Builder performance experience with the Apple company, they probably won't waste that much money to develop their PINK. I believe nobody is using the PINK today because the performance is just too slow.
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It's so funny that from the EE point of view, a fast microprocessor is just to make your waiting loop to run faster.
Repeat do nothing
until the user presses a button:
dvcochran
Grandmaster
and, or, not, nor.
dvcochran
Grandmaster
I have had to use object-oriented motion control software a few times (client's software). I was not a fan because out of the box it is very coarse and you spend too much time setting up the objects to get the needed PID, bandwidth, etc.... Which is subject to change in manufacturing.
It looks 'cool' on the screen but not very functional from the programmer's side.
dvcochran
Grandmaster
Every day, literally. We also fulltime farm.
With a true multithreaded multitasking OS, input delays just free up clock cycles for other processes.
Ha ha, I understand some of it, I am really not that familiar with software, they have all the terms I don't get use to. The closest to software is I designed hardware using micro-controller like HC11 and gave the spec on what bits and read out of the ADC of voltage values. I am really far away from software. My engineers deal with all those. I am mainly on the front end of the system where it is low level signal detection and all that.
All I know is they keep changing stuffs in software like what you said, it's hard to keep up. Like I said, even in C++, the syntax changes with time( a few years only). I don't know whether that is similar to what you are talking. Like the older book of graphics call to use some graphics software, it's not even around anymore today!!! The latest book by John Horton calls to use SFMF for graphics, inside, you have to learn all the things about SFML to use it. Few years later, other graphics( I don't even know what it calls, is it "graphics engine"?) might be more popular, then you have to learn those again. It is tiring to keep learning like this. It's like even if you write with the same language, but you have to change all the interface routine to interface with the new graphics engine as the old one might not be around or not good enough. Maybe that's what you are talking about last generation codes running the next generation code just because it's existed already, and keep going and going until one day, it got so slow it's useless.
Where analog electronics, It's very hard to learn, I had to studied even Partial Differentiation in order to study the more advanced physics to understand. Took quite a few years to learn, BUT after getting the foot in the door of analog RF, things doesn't change. You pay the steep price once and you are pretty much smooth sailing. It's like I got into designing hifi power amp, it's part of the analog electronics, it's just a big discrete OP-AMP which I studied and designed before. So studying the book is just like reading novels, not that big a deal. All the physics and calculus I learn before still apply in the modern world. The company that hired me to do the design 10 years after I retired actually commented "Wow, don't seem to miss a beat!!". That's analog RF, I don't think you can do it in software or even normal hardware design.
I think if I want to, I can still easily find a job. But, I am happy where I am at, I still have a business that doesn't take up much time to earn money, why go through the ringer again.
One thing I never understand, the faster the processor and electronics, the slower everything is now a days. I hate the modern electronics, I have two Sam Sung tv, the older one is 5 years old 65" and the newer one is 1 1/2yr old 82". The old one respond very fast to the remote, the remote is much simpler, it takes a lot less steps to do the same thing as the newer tv. I can even use the old remote to control the new tv!!! The new one, you have to go through pages to get to where you want. They really seem to program delay loop to delay the response. I have very fast fingers, I have to slow down, really push and hold the button for the tv to respond. The older tv is much faster.
It's all software problem, why do people want to make it like that?
Same as cars, We have two of the same brand, one is 2014 SUV one is 2018 normal car. The 2014 one responded so fast, never get confused. Never even been in the shop other than routine maintenance. The 2018 was in the shop over a month in the first 5 months. They have technician came to our house and still cannot program the remote to work with our garage door. We finally had to buy a small remote instead. Then, the computer gets confused, more than once, I had to pull the the side of the road, put in park to make the control came back.
They make it so fancy, you have mouse pad on the left and right side of the steering wheel, then you have joystick in the center console doing the same thing. Your sleeve accidentally touch the mouse pad, strange things happens. Some people are just into techky stuffs. They think if they know how to work those electronics, then they actually know technology!!! I regret buying the 2018.
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Anyone saw the movie "Fate of the Furious"? How they can take over your car and drive it? It is quite scary. When I bought the 2018, I actually had to order one that didn't have parking assist, lane change assist stuffs. I don't want any artificial intelligence to control my car on driving. I don't worry about hacking, more worry about it goes crazy.
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dvcochran
Grandmaster
The old control guys (like me) will tell you it is all about the memory mapping. The rest of it is just window dressing.
isshinryuronin
Senior Master
So, a lot of you guys are electronic/computer wizards it seems. I read the last dozen posts and gained nothing from them. Of course, I understood them about as well as I understand Japanese. Not really. I understand Japanese better.
When in my 30's, I decided to learn the mysteries of computers. I got the highest grade in my 50 person college level computer science class. But that was before Windows. Since then I have learned that 28 font results in bigger letters than 6 font. But 28 font uses too much ink and 6 font is too small to read, so I don't use either.
I studied international business (straight A's) and got in the import/export business and distribution. But I don't understand how to import/export images on my laptop. I use my cell phone to make phone calls. Weird, huh?
My car has memorized settings for the seat and mirrors, heads up windshield display, wipers that detect rain and self activate, as well as heated seats, and a few other things the owners manual tells you about, except how to make these mostly useless things work.
I'm glad I'm old and have an excuse not to clutter my brain with such things. My limited cognitive resources are applied to karate, my family, and to figure what I'll have for supper tomorrow. Life is good.
When in my 30's, I decided to learn the mysteries of computers. I got the highest grade in my 50 person college level computer science class. But that was before Windows. Since then I have learned that 28 font results in bigger letters than 6 font. But 28 font uses too much ink and 6 font is too small to read, so I don't use either.
I studied international business (straight A's) and got in the import/export business and distribution. But I don't understand how to import/export images on my laptop. I use my cell phone to make phone calls. Weird, huh?
My car has memorized settings for the seat and mirrors, heads up windshield display, wipers that detect rain and self activate, as well as heated seats, and a few other things the owners manual tells you about, except how to make these mostly useless things work.
I'm glad I'm old and have an excuse not to clutter my brain with such things. My limited cognitive resources are applied to karate, my family, and to figure what I'll have for supper tomorrow. Life is good.
Good for you, technology is not that crack up to be. You will notice the older electronics stuffs ( not too old, like 5 to 10 years old) are better, might not be as fancy, they are more reliable and made to last longer.
I just gave away a 71" Mitsubishi rear projection tv that was bought in 2005. It lasted to the day I donated away. The newer SamSung flat screen sounds fancy, believe me, the color is not as good, I am on the 3rd in 10 years already. The first 55" broke after just 5 years, the second 65" is starting to act funny. It is really true they don't make things like the older days.....And this is from a high tech person for the whole life.
When come to high tech, really, LESS IS MORE.
I am itching to replace my 2014 SUV, but there are absolutely nothing I want and the old one is not giving me problem at all and has only 15K miles only. I'd dump the 2018 in a heart beat.
You don't even know how many printers and scanners I went through in the last 5 years. We have a small business, we had a HP all-in-one from 20 years back, it costed a lot, but it last and last and worked beautifully for 15 years. It broke down and I though no big deal, the new ones are better and cheaper. I recycled it. THAT WAS THE BIGGEST MISTAKE WE MADE. We bought another HP, it was slow, inconsistent. Everytime there's a software update, the operation changed. We bought a Cannon, the first one was consistent, but if did not last, only like 2 years. Then we started the musical printer/scanners. 4 more Canons, it's just horrible. My wife use them for crafts, it's so typical I heard screaming upstairs, as usual, the printer acting up again. I had to go through software update and monkey with it to make it work. Then they break down again and again. I even got free replacement from Canon.
Finally I got a very primitive Epson, slow, simple, but knock on wood, it's almost one year, very few screaming and yelling upstairs so far!!!
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isshinryuronin
Senior Master
I think that technology and "better" do not necessarily go hand in hand. I think it is a mistake to have that mindset. Oftentimes they do, but certainly with no mandate to do so.
Often, technological change is merely expedient for one specific group or another. It may save money and work for a company and aid in record keeping (CYA), but deliver inferior customer service. There is a trade off sometimes where it benefits one element, but at the cost of another.
I think this applies to martial arts as well. As in the "telephone game" where a chain of people relate a story from one to another, to another, and so on down the line - the story changes till, at the end, the point of the original story is lost.
To change something just because we can (to indulge our imagination or cleverness, or agenda) is shortsighted and usually has unintended consequences. We can increase our speed in a punch, but at a cost of becoming unrooted or out of position.
Before any change or technological "advance" we should take a step back and evaluate the root function or benefit the original way provided. If this is lost, perhaps change is not really an improvement. Much of this is also applicable to government's addiction to making new laws to appear they are doing something in the guise of "progress."
My moral for this story - Keep your eye on the root before branching off into technological or other changes.
