|
marchantia posted:Got a new job! Job with the state, slightly better pay (~6% raise) but way more stability and out of the dead end admin monkey path I was in. Instead of hedging around telling people what I do to avoid using dumb jargon and bullshit, I can now say just say that I determine if people are eligible for state disability benefits or not. Boom. Can you bike? I used to take the loser cruiser until I started biking. The last time I biked was grade 5, until now. Fortunately it was just like riding a bike.
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2014 02:45
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 15, 2024 20:43 |
|
|
Rick Rickshaw posted:Can you bike? I used to take the loser cruiser until I started biking. This is why people don't take the bus in America...it is looked down on. My bus has about 30 people on it each morning to go about 8 miles, 1 bus or 30 cars... The bus is great.
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2014 06:31
|
|
|
spwrozek posted:This is why people don't take the bus in America...it is looked down on. My bus has about 30 people on it each morning to go about 8 miles, 1 bus or 30 cars... The bus is great. I use that phrase ironically. I've never driven to work when taking the bus is an option. But you're right. Everyone looks down on the bus. I think the psychological problem is you're forced to stand on the side of the road and watch the people in cars go by. With rail, it's a completely different transportation method. No one is ashamed to take the train. Remember the movie Speed? Everyone had a sad story as to why they were riding the bus.
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2014 11:32
|
|
|
spwrozek posted:The bus is great. The bus is great. I used to bike every so often when I lived closer to work, but it's not really worth the trouble for me when this nice vehicle I don't have to drive will pick me up and take me where I need to go (provided it's on a bus line). I live in Madison, WI and even in the summer, the weather is unpredictable enough to making biking really unpleasant on occasion. Also, 7 months of the year is winter or basically winter, so that makes it tough as well. Plenty of people do it, but I purposely picked an apartment near a bus line to avoid having to do that. I can read a book or surf the forums (I'm on the bus RIGHT NOW) and destress in the morning instead of worrying about traffic and parking early in the morning. That being said, taking the bus is exceedingly easy in the summer, but when the temps are in the negative teens, waiting at a bus stop is not nearly as appealing. I will also have to walk a few blocks from the bus stop to get to my new workplace.  Somehow I will survive...haha.
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2014 14:02
|
|
|
Today I got a phone call with an offer I would be an idiot to refuse. So I signed some paperwork, wrote out my resignation and handed it in today.  New job sounds rad but I have never done this type of job before and I'm not sure if I will be any good at it. I am comforting myself with the fact that despite having no experience they're taking me on anyway.
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2014 16:16
|
|
|
froglet posted:Today I got a phone call with an offer I would be an idiot to refuse. So I signed some paperwork, wrote out my resignation and handed it in today. Consider it a breath of fresh air and enjoy the learning process! I've been feeling kind of burned out at work and looking at shifting the direction of my career, but that will probably require taking a pay cut for some time. At the same time my wife and I want to start a family, and we just bought a house. We definitely have a period coming up where money will be tight and probably on one salary, and so I'm looking at what I can cut spending on. I'm trying to figure out how to price my truck for sale compared to KBB/Edmunds pricing which seems high. On the plus side I owe much less than what those sites are telling me due to a significant down payment and getting a decent deal when I purchased it, so I figure I should still walk away with enough to buy a lightly used, fuel efficient vehicle even if I don't get the best price.
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2014 16:38
|
|
|
froglet posted:Today I got a phone call with an offer I would be an idiot to refuse. So I signed some paperwork, wrote out my resignation and handed it in today. You told us nothing. So I'm assuming you're new career is in porn. Good luck. This thread might help. My parents gave me a bigger-than-normal Amazon gift card for my birthday last week. I still can't find something fun to spend it on, only practical things. Does this mean I'm winning at BFC?
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2014 16:40
|
|
|
Rick Rickshaw posted:I use that phrase ironically. We use that phrase here to refer to a specific bus route, that takes the long way around through every one of the city's poorer area. And I mean long way around. Folly posted:Amazon gift card for my birthday last week. I still can't find something fun to spend it on, only practical things. Does this mean I'm winning at BFC? No, because you're spending 
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2014 17:14
|
|
|
spwrozek posted:This is why people don't take the bus in America...it is looked down on. - Ten times longer commute - Can't stay out late at night because the bus shuts down - Groping/flirting from creepy guys - Smelly people sitting or standing next to you - Loud people talking and/or playing music - lovely circuitous bus routes not going anywhere near my work - Overly expensive bus tickets
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2014 19:15
|
|
|
spwrozek posted:This is why people don't take the bus in America...it is looked down on. My bus has about 30 people on it each morning to go about 8 miles, 1 bus or 30 cars... The bus is great. Someone lives in a major city.
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2014 19:18
|
|
|
moana posted:That's like number one hundred on the list of reasons to not take the bus. Other reasons include: Sounds like you live in a lovely place. Or at least live and/or work in a lovely part of the aforementioned potentially lovely place. I couldn't imagine commuting to work by car everyday. If I did, it would be entirely self-imposed. It would be because I chose to live and work in places where it would be the only option.
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2014 19:52
|
|
|
Rick Rickshaw posted:Sounds like you live in a lovely place. Or at least live and/or work in a lovely part of the aforementioned potentially lovely place. If by lovely place you mean the vast majority of the United States outside of probably ten major cities, then I'd agree. I live 12 minutes away from work by car, it takes 33 minutes by bus (and my stops are less than one block away from my house and work).
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2014 19:57
|
|
|
Radbot posted:If by lovely place you mean the vast majority of the United States outside of probably ten major cities, then I'd agree. Seriously. I have 2 bus route options for my 15 mile commute. One is an express. It takes 40 minutes to cover what my car can do in 30, and the stop is about a mile away from my house. It works great, but it only runs twice a day 7am and 5pm. It costs an extra dollar each trip, or an extra $30 a month for the pass. The other is not an express. It runs every other hour, but I have to drive in 6.7 miles (of the 15 mile commute) to the closest stop. It takes an HOUR, and that's not counting my drive to and from the stop. I've taken the non-express route a few times when I knew in advance that I would be leaving work early. It sucks and I can outrun it on a bike.
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2014 20:26
|
|
|
I'm not even in America but the bus can eat a bowl of dicks. Used to live in what is supposedly a good showcase for public transport - small town where a bus takes you to a subway station, which I then took for a few stops to my work. The whole thing took almost 4 times longer than driving (~hour vs 17 minutes) and the bus was by far the worst part. Walk to the stop at least 5 minutes early so you don't miss it (otherwise you're late for work), wait there at least 5 but probably 10-15 minutes in the wind, rain, snow, or heat (covers most of the year). Get packed into the bus like loving sardines because many people start at 8:30-9:00. A couple of times I did this I was literally pressed into the bus' windshield. Enjoy the standing for half an hour in a packed smelly buss as it rocks around on lovely bombed-out roads. Pay as much in fees as gas cost for my 15 y.o. RWD autotragic luxobarge with AC and leather and cd changers and buttwarmers. Now that's BFC Bad with Money.
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2014 20:31
|
|
|
I am bad with money, I bought a starbucks coffee this afternoon because I'm having a lovely day at work.
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2014 20:42
|
|
|
Post highschool, I had never ridden the bus until last fall. My employer is downtown and I live 3mi away with a stop 3-5min from my door, with 9 busses, 6 of which go to 2 blocks from my work. 20min total commute on a bad day, 15 on a good day. When I drive, it takes 8min of driving and then a few minutes loving around in the parking garage - last time it was just over 20min. And then parking is $12/day or $205/mo vs $42/mo (pretax). I much prefer when my gf can drop me off and pick me up from work, which works out sometimes. If she goes in early (8 vs 9) I get a ride with her, and with summer hours (9x4, 4x1, flexible tho) I can catch a ride home with her, too. And she can easily swing through downtown on her way to/from work. Win-win!
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2014 20:44
|
|
|
Rick Rickshaw posted:I couldn't imagine commuting to work by car everyday. If I did, it would be entirely self-imposed. It would be because I chose to live and work in places where it would be the only option. Radbot posted:If by lovely place you mean the vast majority of the United States outside of probably ten major cities, then I'd agree. Yeah, America sucks poo poo for buses. When I lived in Vancouver I took public transit everywhere and it was awesome. NYC was okay but overcrowded. But San Diego? fuckkkkkk buses, every time I've been in a bus I've had a terrible time and been late to where I was going. moana fucked around with this message at 21:35 on Jul 9, 2014 |
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2014 21:33
|
|
|
moana posted:American bus systems do not work. Ya, and it doesn't seem accidental. http://www.wired.com/2014/04/tennessee-bans-bus-rapid-transit/ I'm usually pretty good at this game, but I can't figure out who wins in this kind of stuff. I mean, I guess car and fuel companies, technically. I just can't see it being worth the effort. But I've never had a multi-billion dollar empire, so what do I know? Here's a good example of American politics ruining a no-brainer of a good idea. http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/ufy3de/bridge-to-canada
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2014 21:51
|
|
|
Other places have buses that are about as bad, it's just that it's even worse for cars so buses look better in comparison.
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2014 21:53
|
|
|
Anyone who lives in a town with a bad bus system (not me!  ) should pick up a copy of Jarrett Walker's book and read it. Then you'll be fully prepared to make your local transit agency more BFC, aka more effective for less money.If you're a real BFC warrior you can ask your local library to order the book and just follow the blog.
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2014 23:00
|
|
|
It is very easy to live 95% public transit/car share programs in some cities, bloody impossible in others. While transit wasn't the only reason I moved, it definitely factored into my thinking and especially where we bought a house. I used to drive 1 hour each way to work, now I take the light rail 15 minutes to work and fill up my tank every 2-3 months. If you live in some godawful for transit place then there isn't a lot you can do, but keeping it in mind when moving should (imo) be huge. I have coworkers who paid 2x as much for their house so they could have a mcmansion out in the burbs but spend a huge chunk of their lives driving places. I think that not having to drive to work is one of the most important quality of life things for me now and is something that few people prioritize enough.
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2014 00:13
|
|
|
Radbot posted:Someone lives in a major city. Denver so yeah, We have pretty stellar public transportation. And F parking downtown, $10+ a day or park about a 20 min walk away for free. The rockies played today...only $30 to park near work.
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2014 00:49
|
|
|
Folly posted:You told us nothing. So I'm assuming you're new career is in porn. Good luck. This thread might help. That gave me a good laugh. No porn career, just a software testing job. I'm feeling a lot calmer now after rereading the job description - it looks like so long as I do as I'm told and try not to gently caress up too spectacularly, I'll be fine. I was freaking out a little because it pays more than my current position, especially if I get past the probation period, and I have little practical experience in software development beyond knowing how to code a little. The new job is in the industrial wasteland, so looks like my options for lunch shall again be BYO, greasy tuck shop or starve.
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2014 15:02
|
|
|
My realtor advised me to replace the carpet, we decided to go ahead and make a few repairs while we were at it. We listed the house for $152. The second offer is cash for $140 as is, no inspection, no repair request, without a realtor so I'll only have to pay my realtor. I'm sure I could get the guy to pay $143-145.  lesson learned. Put the house up for sale first then make improvements.
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2014 15:20
|
|
|
froglet posted:That gave me a good laugh. No porn career, just a software testing job. I'm feeling a lot calmer now after rereading the job description - it looks like so long as I do as I'm told and try not to gently caress up too spectacularly, I'll be fine. I was freaking out a little because it pays more than my current position, especially if I get past the probation period, and I have little practical experience in software development beyond knowing how to code a little. Yeah, software testing is a great field to get into with limited experience. Just be clear on repro steps and it should work out great.
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2014 17:26
|
|
|
What's repro steps?
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2014 22:25
|
|
|
Juanito posted:What's repro steps? reproduction steps. A lot of testers (especially offshore testers) do not describe the steps necessary to reproduce a bug or are really lazy about them. Then the developers have to fiddle around with it for a while or just close it as can't repro. It was more of a minor gripe about bad/offshore testers than anything relevant :P Typical bug report Repro: 1) Do X 2) Do Y 3) Do Z Actual: <insert observed behavior here> Expected: <insert what should have happened here> Environment: ABC Device: DEF Stack Trace: <insert lines of the stack trace here> What I've gotten in the past: I opened the XYZ part of the app and then it crashed.
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2014 23:13
|
|
|
Vilgan posted:reproduction steps.
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2014 23:22
|
|
|
Sephiroth_IRA posted:My realtor advised me to replace the carpet, we decided to go ahead and make a few repairs while we were at it. We listed the house for $152.
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2014 23:33
|
|
|
lol WTF I just got an offer for the price we listed the house at. $154k. The guy wants a quick sale too. I just remembered we got an 8k credit for buying the house at $140. Thanks Obama, this really worked out. Sephiroth_IRA fucked around with this message at 15:21 on Jul 11, 2014 |
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2014 15:14
|
|
|
Sephiroth_IRA posted:lol WTF I feel like I would be upset with a quick offer of asking price because I'd be upset I didn't list it higher.
|
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2014 15:22
|
|
|
three posted:I feel like I would be upset with a quick offer of asking price because I'd be upset I didn't list it higher. That's why you put your asking price at what you would be delighted to receive. If you get it, don't second-guess yourself.
|
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2014 15:23
|
|
|
Nocheez posted:That's why you put your asking price at what you would be delighted to receive. If you get it, don't second-guess yourself. That's what we did. Our neighbors house was much nicer than ours but they only listed for $149 and sold it for $148. We listed it for $154 and never thought we would get that. I'm wondering if its because our neighbors our also selling their house and this guy wants to both both so he can rent (I'm confident he plans to rent) two right next door to one another. Sephiroth_IRA fucked around with this message at 15:59 on Jul 11, 2014 |
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2014 15:57
|
|
|
Juanito posted:Cool. I do QA for a company that has web software for real estate agents. I am responsible for reporting all the bugs, verifying all the fixes. Worst part of the job is that I have to make things are okay in IE (we just dropped support for IE8 which is awesome). It isn't super technical, but I try to keep reports very detailed, and I always give exact steps. I've been with the company for awhile, and my position is secure, but I'm always wondering what else I could be doing to be doing my job better, or to get experience in an area that could help me with future job searching. Given this summary of what you do, it sounds like your next step is to go from being a good QA technician to becoming a good QA engineer. For my team a good technician is someone we can trust to run test passes and file bugs, provided we've setup some ground work, like having a test plan written up. This is what we would be looking for when hiring contractors. A QA engineer is someone who we can just turn lose and ignore. We trust they have the skills and mindset to ask questions, define boundaries, come up with a comprehensive test plan, and get the ball rolling. That is what we look for when hiring for full-time. I'm going to use an interview question to illustrate what this means: Given an elevator how would you test it? People who fail this question tend to do the following things: 1. They don't define the parameters. More often than not, people will just dive into generating test cases when the requirements are too vague. When my team is doing interviews, we want people who ask questions like: -What is the target market for this elevator? -Even if we only intend to sell to market X now, will we expand later to market Y? -What parts of this elevator are we responsible for testing? All of it? Or will the button panel be provided by someone else? So our focus there is actually compatibility of the panel with the elevator. And not the buttons themselves. -What is the expected life of the product -What is the schedule like for development to deployment. i.e. How much time are we going to have to actually test. -Are there any business documents? BRDS, tech specs, design documents, hell marketing plans. Preface: #2 may be more of an interview tip, but I'm hoping it illustrates the kind of thinking my team looks for in a QA engineer. 2. They don't layout groundwork. Which is to say, they don't make their life easier by doing something like getting out a piece of paper or going to the whiteboard and just writing some categories of test areas out. Which leads into #3. 3. And if they didn't do #2, it usually means they only think about functional and UX testing. So all the tests they come up with have to do with pressing a button and seeing that it moves to floor X. Or that the doors stay open when pressing the door open button. QAing a product doesn't just mean functional and UX testing. They don't consider anything else. So they ignore things like: -security testing (could someone trigger emergency controls with out the key) -accessibility testing (Are whatever feedback systems working? Voice announcing floor, dings to indicate door open/close, braille for numbers) -load testing (can the elevator function at max weight for several hours on end) -stress testing (can the elevator floor handle focused weight. i.e. someone in a really heavy electric wheel chair rolls in. They might be well under the max weight the elevator is rated for, but can the floor handle all that weight being focused in two small areas) -International testing (Are we adhering to international standards. Be it safety features or plugs/ports for using the elevator in a different country) On the more technical side of things, learn some basic coding skills. Soon or later you'll run into a situation where you need to be able to create automation. For my team, that apparently for means the following interview question, given a string how would you reverse it. Pseudo-code is acceptable. But we work off of a framework an SDET has created. I hope that was useful for you.
|
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2014 16:31
|
|
|
So I'm a doof and didn't change the payment settings on my Amazon affiliate account. Now I have like $1200 in amazon credit. Given that I don't really buy things off Amazon, is there an easy way to cash it out that I don't know about? (Amazon won't just send it to my bank acct, I've asked  )
|
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2014 16:56
|
|
|
Amazon sells so many things these days I'd just leave it there. Could use it for big purchases like a computer, or use it for gifts.
|
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2014 17:37
|
|
|
moana posted:So I'm a doof and didn't change the payment settings on my Amazon affiliate account. Now I have like $1200 in amazon credit. Given that I don't really buy things off Amazon, is there an easy way to cash it out that I don't know about? (Amazon won't just send it to my bank acct, I've asked SA mart buys Amazon gift cards at very close to face value. Might try that.
|
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2014 17:37
|
|
|
Cicero posted:Amazon sells so many things these days I'd just leave it there. Could use it for big purchases like a computer, or use it for gifts. You could probably convert the credit into gift cards and sell them, but you'd probably be selling them to friends at a loss and honestly I'd just keep the money in Amazon. It's 0% interest, which sucks, but you will eventually use the Amazon credit. I buy my dog food there, and $1,200 is about a year of their food delivered to my door, so I'd just write off that money and consider my dog food paid for a year. If you're looking for a more BFC answer and you cook a lot, Amazon also has some decent deals on bulk spices. My wife and I got into a cooking routine and identified the spices we use daily, and bought massive supplies on Amazon for much cheaper than local stores, including the smaller Indian/Chinese grocers.
|
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2014 17:44
|
|
|
Oh cool, hadn't thought about giving the credit away as gift cards. That would actually be an awesome idea, maybe I'll do little handmade gifts along with a gift card. And I will be needing to buy a new computer later this year, I didn't even think about that. Well, that'll probably take care of the $1200  Thanks for the ideas!
|
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2014 21:09
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 15, 2024 20:43 |
|
|
.Z. posted:Given this summary of what you do, it sounds like your next step is to go from being a good QA technician to becoming a good QA engineer.
|
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2014 23:45
|
|