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Poll: What do you do for a living?

Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2004 12:22 am
by Jeff-20
I know it is a personal question, but what do you do for a living? I am just curious as to how this hobby relates/influences your chosen careers, jobs, professions. Anyone work in the tech industry?

Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2004 3:31 am
by carlsson
Currently web programmer (not designer - I'm not so good with graphics and colours) in the travel industry. I'm working with PHP most of the day.

Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2004 7:35 am
by vic user
for me, i think you are right, about this hobby influencing my employment.

although my background is in biology, because of my interest and non stop talking about computers, i am often the guy to go to, in the event something goes wrong with a computer at work (Candadian Hydrographic Service), and they don't want to call the help desk.

Eventually i got offered to run the Print On Demand shop, where i get to play with some amazing large format printers.

Still want to get back into the biology, but for now it's a cool job. unsupervised, my own office, my own hours, and plenty of gadgets!

Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2004 7:54 am
by carlsson
Do you have some scientific project where you can interface a VIC-20? Maybe you know it was rather popular for such projects, at least compared to the C64 which has more stuff going on and harder to interface timing critical stuff (I've heard). Ten years ago, about right after I had re-bought a VIC, I was asked by a pal to sell it to him to be used in some project.

Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2004 11:33 am
by vic user
i am still massively interested in hooking up the vic to external devices, like a digital thermometer etc..

i just picked up a book on how to make robots for the vic 20, so that should be fun to read.

actually, i just finished recording to file, all the vic 20 books, manuals, etc.. i have, and will be starting to scan them in, and then have them available for public download.

Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2004 11:55 am
by Schema
vic user wrote:i am still massively interested in hooking up the vic to external devices, like a digital thermometer etc..
Someone found a "Home Weather Kit" for the C-64 for sale at the SWRAP Expo, which was a little A/D board, several sensors that could be connected, and some software. I don't know too many details, but if it used the User Port (likely) it would probably work on the VIC-20.

The VIC-REL is an easy way to connect things to the VIC or 64, but it's only digital I/O. You could probably use the Paddle inputs to get analog data into the VIC though.

Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2004 12:03 pm
by Schema
Back on topic...As I mentioned before, I am a "Software Systems Engineer" at MD Robotics in Canada working on various space systems.

My VIC20 (and then 64) definitely led to a strong interest in computers and technology, encouraging me to to to University and get an Engineering degree.

Oddly enough, I don't actually write any software at work - I'm more on the planning side. So I get my coding kicks on the VIC and 64 whenever possible instead :wink:

Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2004 12:07 pm
by vic user
oh, that weather kit would have been neat!

be nice to find out all the things it monitored.

one nice thing about the user port, is that you have quite a bit of input and output lines you can use.

Posted: Sat Sep 11, 2004 12:38 pm
by Jeff-20
I'm a english (lit) professor at a college in downtown chicago. I'd like to think putting together a program is like writing a poem... But I am very far from the tech industry. I've always worked in the arts/humanities fields.

Posted: Sun Sep 12, 2004 4:49 am
by vic user
English prof!

Maybe you are not as young as I thought, but maybe you are. I thought for some reason you are in your mid twenties, and being an english prof by then would be pretty cool

Posted: Sun Sep 12, 2004 10:43 am
by Jeff-20
You're close... late 20s. I started teaching quite early.

Posted: Sun Sep 12, 2004 2:19 pm
by carlsson
-"Oooh professor, I would do anything to pass this exam!" *blinking eyes*
-"Really anything?" *sounds enthusiastic*
-"Oh yes professor, anything you tell me to do!" *give glimpse of breasts*
-"Then I suggest you go home to study some more."

Posted: Mon Sep 13, 2004 8:13 pm
by Jeff-20
yes... "Go home"... that's exactly how it happened (cough cough)...

I teach poetry courses so it is 95% female (no exaggeration). But getting the girls versus keeping my job is an easy choice (or at least that's what I keep telling my girlfriend).

Posted: Tue Sep 14, 2004 2:12 am
by carlsson
So, Mr. Poetry Prof, what are the good rhymes for "VIC"? :lol:

Code: Select all

grep ick\*$ /usr/share/dict/words | more
gives 564 choices, of which many are names or have several syllables. Some "words" are not even there (like d-i-c-k). At least we share the same endings as the Oric people.

Re: Poll: What do you do for a living?

Posted: Wed Sep 15, 2004 4:36 pm
by Leeeeee
I know it is a personal question, but what do you do for a living?
...
Anyone work in the tech industry?
Up until three weeks ago I was an electronics engineer but like a lot of jobs mine evapourated and I was made redundant.

Tomorrow I start work as an extra in the Demi Moore film currently being produced not too far from here.

Sunday and Monday I was an extra in a TV Drama, two days shooting for a total of three minutes of screen time.

So I guess now I'm an actor. 8^)=

Lee.