dymt reloaded

[just brew it!]

Guess who now works in the UK experian IT department. Career change alert!

It's our Saint Imi returned after so long!!!

Boffo on the job.

Yup, congrats!

Random trivia: My current boss used to work for Experian.

[imi]

thanks all

[lilbuddhaman]

random question: I've been a pc builder, hobbyist, tinkerer since I was 8 years old. I decided at a young age that I didn't want to do "IT", so I never went after any "formal" training in the field (have a BS in Biology). I have found that extremely well versed in a multitude of software/hardware scenarios, can "learn" a new software thrown at me very quickly, and just "get" computer related activities naturally.....BUT I am terrible with the "book" definition/vocabulary of these things, as well as not having X, Y or Z certification/piece of paper.

Anyways, how do you guys word/describe on a resume / during an interview that kind of experience, especially without it sounding like I'm just some yahoo that is trying to thicken his qualifications section?

[superjawes]

random question: I've been a pc builder, hobbyist, tinkerer since I was 8 years old. I decided at a young age that I didn't want to do "IT", so I never went after any "formal" training in the field (have a BS in Biology). I have found that extremely well versed in a multitude of software/hardware scenarios, can "learn" a new software thrown at me very quickly, and just "get" computer related activities naturally.....BUT I am terrible with the "book" definition/vocabulary of these things, as well as not having X, Y or Z certification/piece of paper.

Anyways, how do you guys word/describe on a resume / during an interview that kind of experience, especially without it sounding like I'm just some yahoo that is trying to thicken his qualifications section?

Resume would be difficult without something to point to. A published article might suffice, as would listing a specific program OS under a skillset (if you can), but without something solid, I would not add anything.

At the interview, however, you might be able to sneak in the fact that computer stuff has been a hobby for some time. If you can point to your hobby helping you on a "real job," that would certainly get their attention (at least it would mine).

[ludi]

Depending on the type of employer to which you are applying, you might be able to tailor a version of your resume with a brief "Hobbies & Interests" section that includes your self-taught PC troubleshooting and building experience. Obviously you won't get an IT-centric job that way, but at some shops -- particularly the smaller ones where employees have to wear multiple hats -- it might alert your interviewer to the possibility that you can wear at least two.

[Captain Ned]

A truly geek marriage proposal. I likey.

http://www.popsci.com/diy/article/2013- ... e-proposal

[paulWTAMU]

It's amazing what happens when your city's cut off for 1-2 days O.o The grocery stores on Tuesday afternoon were as barren as I've ever seen a grocery story in my life (and I was working at one when the panic buying happened for 9/11!). Frigging blizzard.

[Captain Ned]

About to leave DMV with the daughter and her shiny new learner's permit.

I need a very stiff drink.

[DancinJack]

That sounds rough. The people, the lines, and an offspring driving!

[paulWTAMU]

Good luck Ned.

[idchafee]

All right, give me a hand here.

Each year, 75% of the teams make the playoffs
The past 7 years, this team has not made the playoffs once

What are the odds of that happening?

[JustAnEngineer]

If the team's players, coaches and management all suck, it's a pretty high percentage.

If the playoff berths were determined simply by randomly drawing the team names out of a hat rather than on the meritorious performance of those teams during the regular season, the probability would be (1/4)^7 = 0.006%.

[just brew it!]

All right, give me a hand here.

Each year, 75% of the teams make the playoffs
The past 7 years, this team has not made the playoffs once

What are the odds of that happening?

Well, if you are treating the outcome each year as completely random, I believe it would be 0.25^7, or 0.000061. That's roughly 1 in 16,000.

Of course in this case, there's probably a pretty high correlation between sucking one year, and sucking again the next. So it's not a purely random process.

Edit: Oops, JAE beat me to it!

[JustAnEngineer]

There's probably a pretty high correlation between sucking one year, and sucking again the next. So it's not a purely random process.

This is where the NFL's genius shows. The draft rewards the teams that miss the playoffs with the first shot at the best available new talent the next year. The schedule strength rewards the bad teams with an easier schedule the next year. The salary cap and revenue sharing ensure that the bad teams have the financial resources to compete with the good ones.

[druidcent]

And then you've got the management and owners to help guarantee that the team will suck again next year Glad my team isn't so bad...

[paulWTAMU]

This is where the NFL's genius shows. The draft rewards the teams that miss the playoffs with the first shot at the best available new talent the next year. The schedule strength rewards the bad teams with an easier schedule the next year. The salary cap and revenue sharing ensure that the bad teams have the financial resources to compete with the good ones.

Agreed. I kind of suspect that's part of what's helped make football more appealing again. It isn't just the same 2-3 teams for a decade at a stretch (although you certainly do have dynasties still).

[BIF]

Guys, are you talking about the National Frisbee League? Or maybe the Nuclear Flambé Lobbyist organization?

I really found the NFL this year to be very boring. I stopped watching right around week 8 and couldn't be bothered to watch the Superbowl until the end of the 3rd quarter, and even then only because I didn't want to see reruns of "The Golden Girls" or "Just Shoot Me".

[idchafee]

I was talking about the Chicago Sky, our local WNBA team. And before you go all LOL on me for following the WNBA, my mom and both kids love it. And even though the WNBA isn't my favorite sporting event to watch, it is sometimes nice to see an actual 5 on 5 basketball game, with pick & rolls, and strategy and all that. I like the NBA, but its really just 5 little games of 1 on 1.

EDIT: but yes, their management and coaching has been suspect almost since day 1

[Dizik]

I was talking about the Chicago Sky, our local WNBA team. And before you go all LOL on me for following the WNBA, my mom and both kids love it. And even though the WNBA isn't my favorite sporting event to watch, it is sometimes nice to see an actual 5 on 5 basketball game, with pick & rolls, and strategy and all that. I like the NBA, but its really just 5 little games of 1 on 1.

EDIT: but yes, their management and coaching has been suspect almost since day 1

Do you watch Futurama?

[just brew it!]

Finally into the home stretch for the Drunk Monk Challenge this weekend.

I'm 1/2 of the volunteer IT team (with a co-worker) supporting the web app entrants and judges use to register, and 1/2 of the team (with my wife) responsible for recruiting qualified judges and assigning them to flights. It's a challenging optimization problem: given 800+ entries, 100+ judges, and 3 judging sessions, figure out how to ensure that every entry gets judged by at least one BJCP judge of "Certified" rank or higher, that nobody is judging a beer they entered themselves (most people who judge in homebrew competitions are also homebrewers), and that nobody is assigned to judge a style of beer that they have indicated they do not want to judge.

We've successfully worked around all of the bugs (that we know of so far...) in the competition management web app, and judging assignments are done. Competition day is (mostly) the stewarding team's problem now -- they need to get each of those 800+ bottles of beer to the correct judge team, keep things moving along, and collect and tally all of the scoresheets.

I need a beer. Or three. But it'll be even more of a relief come Saturday evening, when this is all history. Who would've thought being a member of a homebrew club could be so much work?

[JustAnEngineer]

It's a challenging optimization problem...

With a decently-arranged spreadsheet, Solver will give you an optimum solution in seconds.

[BIF]

I'd say "TGIF", but it doesn't feel like Friday. It feels like I've already begun next Monday and I still have last Monday's work to do!

[derFunkenstein]

Not really original (since there are like 10 of these already) but I was tooting around in iMovie and this was my goal. I learned about splitting clips and selecting the right length so as not to screw up the timing. Not bad for my first project. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWAlfJdfyH0

[AMD64Blondie]

Not looking forward to DST.

Losing a hour of sleep will suck,big-time.

Bah humbug.

[just brew it!]

Not looking forward to DST.

Losing a hour of sleep will suck,big-time.

Bah humbug.

As one of the co-organizers of this event I've been running on fumes for 3 days. Now that the event is behind us, I slept in until around noon. So my internal clock would've been all messed up anyway!

[BIF]

I still don't quite know what time it is, so I just go by either my iPad or whatever person texts/IM's me asking "are you joining our meeting?"

[BluePanda]

My last review referred to a mouse that looked like a maxi pad -- those who actually read it didn't post about it

[MrBojangles]

EDIT BY MOD - Captain Ned - Please repost in The Bargain Basement. Note that the Basement has forum-specific rules.

[idchafee]

mmmmm....pepperjack

[steelcity_ballin]

A few years ago there was a NY Resolution thread with some gerbils pledging to lose and some to gain. I'm still gaining and I put together a more industrial toy last night.

http://i.imgur.com/dBDDQ54.jpg

Sorry for the crappy quality. My goal is a 1000 lb total (bench, squat, deadlift) within 3 years which I think is reasonable. My last setup was an Olympic bench/squat combo but didn't allow for safeties or adjustable heights to pre-set a number of other lifts I enjoy. This setup is much more robust It's rated for a lot more than I'll ever lift and it feels rock solid. Very thick metal and bolts. I'm currently at 162lbs at 14% BF and I restarted my bulk so 3500 calories a day or so. I don't mind getting fat as long as my lifts and size go up, I can shed the fat later rather easily. I use a few supplements but nothing illegal. I find working out is a great cure for the winter blues and I feel better than I ever have in my life, especially as I approach the big 30.