Thursday Chat

AlPacina

@AuroraRose41 - I'm an EE. I think I saw that's what you are too? I do long term planning for transmission lines. Hoping to move into substation project management in the next ten years. What do you do?

@LaPeanut1018 - If they really want to protect us, they should just let us all work from home until Ebola is eradicated worldwide!......... But yea. Essentially I'm not even close to scared of Ebola. And now that I have my flu shot, I'm not scared of the flu either!

AuroraRose41

@AlPacina Yep I'm an EE too. I work on semiconductors for the wireless telecommunications industry, but I did have an internship working on substations, so I am familiar with that side of things too. I'm a product test engineer currently, so I have to test the devices and compare actual yield to SPICE simulations from the designers, and then sign off on whether or not this device can go into a product. I hope to become a patent attorney in the next 5-10 years though. 

I know it seems like a complete 180 for a career change, but it turns out that you have to have an undergraduate degree in a STEM field in order to qualify to sit for the patent bar, which you need to become a patent attorney, and patent attorneys with EE degrees are highly sought after right now. 

ETA: Also, the reason that it is slow at work for me currently is that I have to wait for the devices to be manufactured in the fab before I can test them, and the next lot of devices won't be available to test for another week or two. 

Dignity100

@AlPacina - I totally had to look up what the poster looked like (I'm guessing it's the one from the CDC).  If it makes you feel any better, I worked at a bank's headquarters (not customer facing at all.. we were IT so they would NEVER put us in front of a customer) and they put >>THESE<< beauties up in all our bathrooms.

speakeasy14

@alpacina flu or ebola posters?! Wow, we just have the it's cold and flu season so wash your hands posters

@goldenpenguin yay for a house!!!! 

@swazzle yay for better news!  I completely understand not wanting to get your hopes anymore.  After the third time of moving the closing date, I refused to be excited until keys were in my hand.  

@phira making candy for the wedding sounds like a good stress reliever! And sending lots of good vibes for Birdo

@southernpeach89 I can't believe the mother is demanding her child be retested.  I could see if the school was saying the child needs to be held back and the mother demanded a retest, but that is just insane.  

@peaseblossom55 yay for the floors almost being done! Can't wait to see pictures!  Bf & looked at some samples, and we're 90% sure we're going to get slate gray tiles.

@500days can't wait to aw your engagement photos

@lmcooper86 that dinner sounds fun, but I would be ducking out early as well, I've been tired all day

@futuremrshistorian I think you have said it before, but what is your dissertation topic?  

Today is rainy and cold. I woke up super late for work because bf and my blankets were too warm and snuggly, and I've been in a tired funk all day. I just want to be curled up on the couch. 

lmcooper86

@AlPacina - HA I wasn't sure if anyone would get that.

@CocoBellaF - PIYO sounds awesome...I'd been wondering what you were talking about too. I might look for those videos, I miss going to my classes (nothing convenient and inexpensive enough around me)

@Swazzle - I watch Homeland!!! But FI and I are behind. We watched the episode from 2 weeks ago last night (where Saul gets into a situation that you just KNOW is going to be bad) but we didn't watch the episode from Sunday because it was getting late. Now I want to knoooooowwwww!!!!

Peaseblossom55

@speakeasy14 We looked at a type of grey slate flooring.  I liked it a lot, but H wanted tiling. Even though ours is tiling it looks like wood planks, I should have a picture up by the weekend.

phira

@alpacina We're making hard candy for our wedding favors. I need to calculate the exact amount we need, but we'll probably buy extra. I like making candy, so having corn syrup on hand after the wedding isn't a huge issue

@LaPeanut1018 We might look into that. Right now, there's just crap EVERYWHERE and we need to get organized. But for stuff like deep clean of the bathroom and kitchen ... Iiii might consider it a well-deserved wedding expense.

Thanks, everyone, for the birdo vibes. The news from the vet is very mixed. The verdict is that he's definitely overproducing estrogen (that's what's causing the weirdness on his nostrils), and it's probably a tumor. However, some birds respond very well to a particular drug (some have complete resolution of the cancer), so we're opting for that course of action. Fortunately, it's only about $40 per injection, and he needs three of them. He had the first one today.

I don't have to return the Zipcar until 4:30, and I rushed to get my work done before I left for the vet, so I'm chilling at home for an hour and a half with Birdo.

[Deleted User]

@phira - I hope your little birdo responds wonderfully to the injections!!!

Swazzle

@lmcooper86 - GO HOME AND WATCH IT TONIGHT! 

KeptInStitches

@phira, healing vibes for Birdo!

AlPacina

@AuroraRose41 - I don't think I could have dealt with small electronics as well. I remember building SPICE models in school and being terrible at it, so I'm glad that isn't something I've had to continue with. Although it helps not having to build the model yourself. I was also terrible at any kind of signal processing, haha. Power systems are nice because the modeling software is so easy to use. But, you're often relying on people in all other parts of the country that you never communicate with to keep their model as up to date as possible. That gets pretty annoying.

I totally get it, about being a patent attorney. Apparently engineering and law is a great combination. It's not the first time I've heard that.

@Dignity100 - Yes! It is the CDC one! And they have 3 posted along one tiny hallway. I'm starting to think it's the slightly kooky nurse for our building.She doesn't seem to be all there, and maybe went a little cray making sure people are informed............ We have Wash Your Hands signs, but MAN, at least ours don't feel the need to remind us of the words to "Happy Birthday"

phira

You guys, I asked what the side effects were, so we know what to watch out for, and the vet looked at me with an entirely serious expression and said, "Increased sassiness."

[Deleted User]

@speakeasy14 - I'm writing about how American Protestants respond to terrorism after World War II.  I could go into crazy detail, but I won't.  :-)

speakeasy14

@futuremrshistorian That sounds really fascinating! I'm currently writing a thesis on the current financial crisis, so I'm all about the historical papers!

500days

southernpeach89 said:

@GoldenPenguin YAY!!!! I love it! I'm so glad Violet approves of the yard lol!

Today is ugly and it's raining outside. H has a really big meeting at work today with a parent that has been causing a lot of stress with him and the county. Basically the county is going to start testing allll over again with her child because the mom isn't satisfied that her daughter is making straight A's. This is BS because she wants her child to have every accommodation in the book even though she has tested above average. My H, who is her teacher, feels that she is being held back for no reason and that if she is retested then it will prove that she doesn't need accommodations. Her mom is nutso.

After all that, H will probably come home tonight want to drink lots of beer. I'm going to make breakfast for dinner after CrossFit and then snuggle all night with H in hopes that he feels better after this meeting.

I wanted to comment on your H's situation at work earlier, but my prep period was ending. Sounds like this student doesn't qualify anymore for special ed services and mom is scared because it's a reevaluation year and she knows that her kid is improving, but not meeting her expectations. I hope they signed for a variety of tests and mom doesn't get an advocate...just makes everything messier and nobody wants to go to court! Hopefully the meeting went well for your H.

lmcooper86

@phira - That is hilarious! I hope you can share stories of a sassy bird tomorrow

[Deleted User]

@500days The meeting went well. The mom still isnt satisfied that her daughter basically isn't testing for special ed anymore...I don't know why she isn't happy about it. I know they are still looking into things but the county basically is taking control of the situation so my H doesn't have to do much besides provide documentation on the student's work and conversations he has had in past IEP meetings. It's all really ridiculous. I would be thrilled if my child tested out of special ed.