I've always been a little surprised that very few
engineering/software companies actually have you demonstrate your
skills to them in a hands on
test/design situation. Surely if you want a job as, e.g., a welder
they make
you put down a few beads first? If you're a carpenter or
electrician they take you out to a job site and have your pound a
few nails or wire up a couple of outlets?
The last sentence sums it up. That's all that matters. And sometimes
even that doesn't. Many of the great movers and shakers in
electronics never graduated.
It is sort of strange. At least Cornell doesn't have athletic
scholarships, and athletics are strictly on top of a full academic
load. US college football and basketball are a disgrace.
I'd love it if she was interested. Eventually I'll have to turn this
mess over to somebody, or liquidate it. Liquidation would be a
waste, because we have customers and "goodwill." and the thing could
continue to grow. Too many small businesses die because there's no
provision for succession, or because the kids get greedy and start
squabbling. I'll probably hire her when she graduates next spring,
and see what happens.
Of course, I'll need a lead technical guy too. She could maybe do
the biz/money/management stuff, but has no instincts for
electronics.
Interesting, I've never met a female circuit designer. Lots of
programmers, lots of scientists, lots of managers, but no electronic
designers.
John
John Larkin wrote:
[...]
I've never quite understood this obsession with sports at American
universities. In Europe we had none of that. When you were at a
technical school you learned engineering stuff and that's it. If
you wanted to play league-level soccer, fine, but then you had to
join a local club outside academia for that.
It is sort of strange. At least Cornell doesn't have athletic
scholarships, and athletics are strictly on top of a full academic
load. US college football and basketball are a disgrace.
I've met some of the results of that. They strike it big in sports,
make money, become famous and then at 35 the joints are all worn
out. So the first career is over. "Ah, but I've got an education!"
Then you deal with people who have landed high level positions
because of their celebrity status or whatever but don't have the
foggiest how to run the new show.
So, will she become president and CEO of Highlandtechnology after
you retired to the islands?
I'd love it if she was interested. Eventually I'll have to turn
this mess over to somebody, or liquidate it. Liquidation would be
a waste, because we have customers and "goodwill." and the thing
could continue to grow. Too many small businesses die because
there's no provision for succession, or because the kids get
greedy and start squabbling. I'll probably hire her when she
graduates next spring, and see what happens.
Or they die because of death taxes. IIRC that's what wiped out Sam's
Town. You might remember it from drives up to Tahoe, on the right
side, Cameron Park exit. It was "the" place to stop for lunch for
families with kids and tour buses.
The inheritance taxes are insane, and it takes a lot of bizarre,
expensive planning to dodge them, life insurance and charitable
trusts and all sorts of crazy schemes. The inheritance tax is the
perfect mechanism for killing US businesses.
Can you groom one of your own engineers into that direction?
Actually, I recently did at a client. She does a lot of the designs
many other engineers wouldn't touch with a 10ft pole, including
switch mode supplies.
Dang, I'm already married!
John
[snip]On Thu, 27 Sep 2007 22:44:09 GMT, Joerg
[snip]Or they die because of death taxes. IIRC that's what wiped out
Sam's Town. You might remember it from drives up to Tahoe, on the
right side, Cameron Park exit. It was "the" place to stop for lunch
for families with kids and tour buses.
The inheritance taxes are insane, and it takes a lot of bizarre,
expensive planning to dodge them, life insurance and charitable
trusts and all sorts of crazy schemes. The inheritance tax is the
perfect mechanism for killing US businesses.
Of course the Democrats want to roll-back to previous rates (as in
INCREASE) the "death tax".
The real trick is to transfer as much wealth as possible to your
children BEFORE you die.
Is there ANY Democrat here (setting aside any of your pansy war
issues) that believes that Democrats are better for the economy than
Republicans?
...Jim Thompson
Jim said:On Thu, 27 Sep 2007 07:12:54 -0700, Joerg
[snip]
As Rene said if you fail the repeat test that's the end of it.
Heck, I failed Dynamics at Tulane. It was an incredibly tedious 8AM
course with mountains of silly homework, and I had other things on
my mind at the time. I took it again in summer school, with a
different instructor and a lot of truck-driver-type classmates, and
got a B.
John
I had to endure Samuelson's leftist weenie economic crap at MIT.
First time through, "F", second time through I slept less, "D" (but
only because "N" read it and explained it to me ;-)
Being in the honors EE program at MIT I had to take various
courses,
including Dynamics, with those people majoring on that area. But I
found Dynamics interesting and got an "A".
I could barely cope with Atomic Physics, because I couldn't grab
those little SOB electrons and take a good look at them... "D" :-(
I sat in courses for MEs because I thought it was important to learn
about structural engineering, stress fatigue and all that. Took the
exam. Passed with flying colors. BIG mistake. The credit assignment
computer errored and spit out my student ID number and that of two
others as "non-belongers". They read us the riot act.
RST said:It is a completely dead facility. Sierra College is dickering to buy it and
turn it into classrooms.
JosephKK said:Joerg [email protected] posted to
sci.electronics.design:
Yep. Also in a very real sense that is part of what HR is looking
for; do you have the perseverance you need to complete a task?
JosephKK said:Jim Thompson [email protected] posted to
sci.electronics.design:
On Thu, 27 Sep 2007 22:44:09 GMT, Joerg
[snip]
Or they die because of death taxes. IIRC that's what wiped out
Sam's Town. You might remember it from drives up to Tahoe, on the
right side, Cameron Park exit. It was "the" place to stop for lunch
for families with kids and tour buses.
The inheritance taxes are insane, and it takes a lot of bizarre,
expensive planning to dodge them, life insurance and charitable
trusts and all sorts of crazy schemes. The inheritance tax is the
perfect mechanism for killing US businesses.
[snip]
Of course the Democrats want to roll-back to previous rates (as in
INCREASE) the "death tax".
The real trick is to transfer as much wealth as possible to your
children BEFORE you die.
Is there ANY Democrat here (setting aside any of your pansy war
issues) that believes that Democrats are better for the economy than
Republicans?
...Jim Thompson
Personally i am decidedly against large inherited wealth. It corrupts
your children, helping them to think that the wealth was their own
creation when it was yours. It is far better to sell the company to
the employees, most of whom have contributed to it's success.
As for charity, Melinda Gates has shown us that performance based
giving is the way to go.
JosephKK said:John Larkin [email protected] posted to
sci.electronics.design:
John Larkin wrote:
[...]
I've never quite understood this obsession with sports at American
universities. In Europe we had none of that. When you were at a
technical school you learned engineering stuff and that's it. If
you wanted to play league-level soccer, fine, but then you had to
join a local club outside academia for that.
It is sort of strange. At least Cornell doesn't have athletic
scholarships, and athletics are strictly on top of a full academic
load. US college football and basketball are a disgrace.
I've met some of the results of that. They strike it big in sports,
make money, become famous and then at 35 the joints are all worn
out. So the first career is over. "Ah, but I've got an education!"
Then you deal with people who have landed high level positions
because of their celebrity status or whatever but don't have the
foggiest how to run the new show.
So, will she become president and CEO of Highlandtechnology after
you retired to the islands?
I'd love it if she was interested. Eventually I'll have to turn
this mess over to somebody, or liquidate it. Liquidation would be
a waste, because we have customers and "goodwill." and the thing
could continue to grow. Too many small businesses die because
there's no provision for succession, or because the kids get
greedy and start squabbling. I'll probably hire her when she
graduates next spring, and see what happens.
Or they die because of death taxes. IIRC that's what wiped out Sam's
Town. You might remember it from drives up to Tahoe, on the right
side, Cameron Park exit. It was "the" place to stop for lunch for
families with kids and tour buses.
The inheritance taxes are insane, and it takes a lot of bizarre,
expensive planning to dodge them, life insurance and charitable
trusts and all sorts of crazy schemes. The inheritance tax is the
perfect mechanism for killing US businesses.
Of course, I'll need a lead technical guy too. She could maybe do
the biz/money/management stuff, but has no instincts for
electronics.
Can you groom one of your own engineers into that direction?
Interesting, I've never met a female circuit designer. Lots of
programmers, lots of scientists, lots of managers, but no
electronic designers.
Actually, I recently did at a client. She does a lot of the designs
many other engineers wouldn't touch with a 10ft pole, including
switch mode supplies.
Dang, I'm already married!
John
I am available. Sacto area.
JosephKK said:Jim Thompson [email protected] posted
to sci.electronics.design:
On Thu, 27 Sep 2007 16:45:01 -0700, John Larkin
On Thu, 27 Sep 2007 22:44:09 GMT, Joerg
[snip]
Or they die because of death taxes. IIRC that's what wiped out
Sam's Town. You might remember it from drives up to Tahoe, on the
right side, Cameron Park exit. It was "the" place to stop for
lunch for families with kids and tour buses.
The inheritance taxes are insane, and it takes a lot of bizarre,
expensive planning to dodge them, life insurance and charitable
trusts and all sorts of crazy schemes. The inheritance tax is the
perfect mechanism for killing US businesses.
[snip]
Of course the Democrats want to roll-back to previous rates (as in
INCREASE) the "death tax".
The real trick is to transfer as much wealth as possible to your
children BEFORE you die.
Is there ANY Democrat here (setting aside any of your pansy war
issues) that believes that Democrats are better for the economy
than Republicans?
...Jim Thompson
Personally i am decidedly against large inherited wealth. It
corrupts your children, helping them to think that the wealth was
their own
creation when it was yours. It is far better to sell the company
to the employees, most of whom have contributed to it's success.
As for charity, Melinda Gates has shown us that performance based
giving is the way to go.
Tithing? That concept has been promoted much, much earlier. In the
bible.
60 due north of SAC (Sacramento Executive Airport)in Grass Valley.
No, I'm not married, but my yf is {;-).
Jim
JosephKK said:Joerg [email protected] posted to
sci.electronics.design:
JosephKK wrote:
Jim Thompson [email protected] posted
to sci.electronics.design:
On Thu, 27 Sep 2007 16:45:01 -0700, John Larkin
On Thu, 27 Sep 2007 22:44:09 GMT, Joerg
[snip]
Or they die because of death taxes. IIRC that's what wiped out
Sam's Town. You might remember it from drives up to Tahoe, on the
right side, Cameron Park exit. It was "the" place to stop for
lunch for families with kids and tour buses.
The inheritance taxes are insane, and it takes a lot of bizarre,
expensive planning to dodge them, life insurance and charitable
trusts and all sorts of crazy schemes. The inheritance tax is the
perfect mechanism for killing US businesses.
[snip]
Of course the Democrats want to roll-back to previous rates (as in
INCREASE) the "death tax".
The real trick is to transfer as much wealth as possible to your
children BEFORE you die.
Is there ANY Democrat here (setting aside any of your pansy war
issues) that believes that Democrats are better for the economy
than Republicans?
...Jim Thompson
Personally i am decidedly against large inherited wealth. It
corrupts your children, helping them to think that the wealth was
their own
creation when it was yours. It is far better to sell the company
to the employees, most of whom have contributed to it's success.
As for charity, Melinda Gates has shown us that performance based
giving is the way to go.
Tithing? That concept has been promoted much, much earlier. In the
bible.
No. Not tithing at all. The charity says it will accomplish some
betterment, if it does not achieve that it does not get any more
money. In fact if it does not have any track record of truly
accomplishing its stated goals, it is not likely to get any money in
the first place.
Joerg said:A degree from a tough university certainly shows that. Else I'd probably
have thrown in the towel and started making money earlier. >>90% of the
knowledge I use for my work did not orginate at the campus and much of
that was known to me from before (hobby). But when HR or high level
managers really want to know whether you can remain functional and
productive under a heavy load of stress they look for other
accomplishments. For example whether the candidate has served in the
military. They asked my about that for my first job but they never
wanted to see the degree.
Following something Mike Terrel posted, I was curious to see what my
official military status was, so I sent in a request for my records!
See, I was in Army ROTC back in 74-75, so was officially 'enlisted' in
the army, but never finished the program. I transferred schools, and my
new school had discontinued the ROTC program at the end of the previous
year! Since Vietnam was winding down, they just 'discharged' me, and I
went about my business. But, I was always curious just what sort of
'official' status I had. Now I know - none! I was in, but released
from my service. No discharge, either honorable or dishonorable. It is
as though I was never really in, which for the most part, is pretty
accurate!
Charlie
Jim Thompson [email protected] posted to
sci.electronics.design:
[snip]On Thu, 27 Sep 2007 22:44:09 GMT, Joerg
[snip]
Or they die because of death taxes. IIRC that's what wiped out
Sam's Town. You might remember it from drives up to Tahoe, on the
right side, Cameron Park exit. It was "the" place to stop for lunch
for families with kids and tour buses.
The inheritance taxes are insane, and it takes a lot of bizarre,
expensive planning to dodge them, life insurance and charitable
trusts and all sorts of crazy schemes. The inheritance tax is the
perfect mechanism for killing US businesses.
Of course the Democrats want to roll-back to previous rates (as in
INCREASE) the "death tax".
The real trick is to transfer as much wealth as possible to your
children BEFORE you die.
Is there ANY Democrat here (setting aside any of your pansy war
issues) that believes that Democrats are better for the economy than
Republicans?
...Jim Thompson
Personally i am decidedly against large inherited wealth. It corrupts
your children, helping them to think that the wealth was their own
creation when it was yours. It is far better to sell the company to
the employees, most of whom have contributed to it's success.
Jim said:On Mon, 01 Oct 2007 10:50:15 -0700, Charlie Edmondson
[snip]Following something Mike Terrel posted, I was curious to see what my
official military status was, so I sent in a request for my records!
See, I was in Army ROTC back in 74-75, so was officially 'enlisted' in
the army, but never finished the program. I transferred schools, and my
new school had discontinued the ROTC program at the end of the previous
year! Since Vietnam was winding down, they just 'discharged' me, and I
went about my business. But, I was always curious just what sort of
'official' status I had. Now I know - none! I was in, but released
from my service. No discharge, either honorable or dishonorable. It is
as though I was never really in, which for the most part, is pretty
accurate!
Charlie
That's to keep you from having any benefits :-(
Jim Thompson [email protected] posted
to sci.electronics.design:
On Thu, 27 Sep 2007 16:45:01 -0700, John Larkin
On Thu, 27 Sep 2007 22:44:09 GMT, Joerg
[snip]
Or they die because of death taxes. IIRC that's what wiped out
Sam's Town. You might remember it from drives up to Tahoe, on the
right side, Cameron Park exit. It was "the" place to stop for
lunch for families with kids and tour buses.
The inheritance taxes are insane, and it takes a lot of bizarre,
expensive planning to dodge them, life insurance and charitable
trusts and all sorts of crazy schemes. The inheritance tax is the
perfect mechanism for killing US businesses.
[snip]
Of course the Democrats want to roll-back to previous rates (as in
INCREASE) the "death tax".
The real trick is to transfer as much wealth as possible to your
children BEFORE you die.
Is there ANY Democrat here (setting aside any of your pansy war
issues) that believes that Democrats are better for the economy
than Republicans?
...Jim Thompson
Personally i am decidedly against large inherited wealth. It
corrupts your children, helping them to think that the wealth was
their own
creation when it was yours. It is far better to sell the company to
the employees, most of whom have contributed to it's success.
The tax laws make that difficult. The employees won't have enough
cash to buy the company at the appraised price, and The Brat will
still have a tax liability that exceeds her liquid assets.
All the assets I have have already been taxed. Taxing them again is
just destroying a productive business and killing jobs.
John
