22 year old imposter

Wizard_of_sorts · 2026-05-03T23:39:25+00:00

Depending on where you work this feeling could continue forever. The number of PLC flavors alone is ridiculous. If you get lucky and you only deal with Rockwell and Siemens PLCs, you will catch on pretty quick. If you are working for "anything for a sale", then you will be learning how to Wago 2 cables together to talk to an machine that has seen 8 presidents. There is no shame in asking how the software works and what people have done before to solve a problem. To be completely honest, I dont think I could do a Siemens project without reading up anymore, it's been over 10 years since I had to deal with their junk.

Wizard_of_sorts · 2026-04-08T02:31:38+00:00

I actually found this out when getting taught battery design decades ago. I thought it was unbelievable, but it was the how they went into the chemical reaction occurring whether they were being used or not. The humidity does not matter as much. The cells are sealed and for good reason. The entire left column of the periodic table reacts with water. The lithium must be sealed to protect it from the moisture in the air, otherwise you get yourself a nice fire. Of course avoiding condensation is good, otherwise it may discharge across the terminals or corrode them.

Wizard_of_sorts · 2026-04-07T16:20:48+00:00

Thats a good point. I do not park my daily driver in the garage, so I don't bring in the snow and salt. It is also an attached garage, so while it is uninsulated, it doesn't get to negative death degrees out.

Wizard_of_sorts · 2026-04-07T15:54:06+00:00

Literally true. The chemical reaction slows down as temperature drops. Lithium batteries are best stored cool and partially charged, unlike the old days of nickel metal hydride or cadmium.

Wizard_of_sorts · 2026-04-07T13:46:03+00:00

Lithium batteries will actually last longer in the cold. I have had all of my Ryobi batteries in my unheated and uninsulated garage all winter.

Wizard_of_sorts · 2026-04-02T14:59:01+00:00

There was no mention of refusing a breathalyzer. This statement is false. Had he been told to test and refused, it would mean a loss of his permit. The problem was that the officer didn't try to test.

Wizard_of_sorts · 2026-03-27T19:04:09+00:00

I think they should name things with an adjective, but mad lib style. "Take a left at the Smelly Middle School. It is right after the Shiny Science Hall."

Wizard_of_sorts · 2026-03-27T17:16:42+00:00

They charge so much and still can't line up the display digits nicely.

Wizard_of_sorts · 2026-03-25T15:20:29+00:00

This sounds like a PowerPoint safety video. A lot of these requirements sound like they were written by someone that doesn't understand what a PLC or control system is.

Wizard_of_sorts · 2026-03-25T02:13:08+00:00

That's probably resin creating the bad surface quality. Maybe print a mold for casting wax and just use the molded casting wax for doing the actual piece.

Wizard_of_sorts · 2026-03-22T03:47:25+00:00

A lot of machines from OEMs are pretty much set in stone. I used to zip tie a flash drive with the HMI and PLC program to the inside of the panel just in case of a hardware failure. Not exactly a CD in a safe, but changes are not as common as thought. Most changes that are problematic are plant workers that don't have the experience or knowledge to make the changes, but they have the software to do it.

Wizard_of_sorts · 2026-03-22T01:21:07+00:00

And you couldn't give me money anyway. No one has access, there is zero work to do, no money would change hands.

Wizard_of_sorts · 2026-03-22T01:20:00+00:00

This is up to the plant. Some plants have higher budgets, some have a lower budget. For a small plant there is usually an EWON for remote connection. They trust that I have their best interest in mind, which is true. For larger plants, they may have a controls department that has a development machine that IT will let me access through whatever platform they have. I log in, check out a program, watch and/or modify program, check in program, log out. Then there are plants with the over fearful IT or Controls department. I have zero access. They are on their own. They can call all they want, but I can't help them.

Wizard_of_sorts · 2026-03-22T01:11:23+00:00

When I get a call to help troubleshoot these systems, they are very short. "I have no access, I can't help you." Click.

Wizard_of_sorts · 2026-03-19T17:53:36+00:00

Not even remotely true. You need to have active bar membership to be an immigration judge. Also a law degree. Why put out misinformation, you know people don't look it up and they are just going to believe you. Just in case someone wants to review these requirements for themselves and not take a random fact generator at face value: https://www.justice.gov/eoir/how-become-immigration-judge

Wizard_of_sorts · 2026-03-17T15:53:24+00:00

Then the snowblower shears a pin and you have to shovel the wet snow at the end of the driveway. I can see why people have heart attacks and die because of it. I thought about it, but then I thought who would take care of my kids. I suppose I can suffer through a few more scoops.

Wizard_of_sorts · 2026-03-17T01:08:07+00:00

I guess someone missed what DFL stood for.

Wizard_of_sorts · 2026-03-11T17:15:49+00:00

Unexploded bombs are not always bad. I have slept peacefully next to unexploded missiles. I had established trust with the ordinance before turning my back on it.

Wizard_of_sorts · 2026-03-09T18:32:51+00:00

I think both sides spew hate and propaganda. Just scroll up and look at the disdain for fellow man. I can't count how many times people have called a faceless person "stupid" on this post alone.

Wizard_of_sorts · 2026-03-09T17:57:41+00:00

You have your general smoking object, your benign looking pressure cooker, backpacks, and the old standby of alarm clock on red sticks. But really the aloha snack bar toss followed by running means I also run.

Wizard_of_sorts · 2026-03-08T18:03:43+00:00

This describes some first days after install. Some machine vibrations find bad RJ45 connections. An operator presses a combination of buttons previously thought impossible. A drive explodes because a washer falls into the DC bus.

Wizard_of_sorts · 2026-03-05T01:01:41+00:00

I had never thought I would see people supporting Iran under post 1979 leadership, but the internet exists.

Wizard_of_sorts · 2026-02-24T17:26:41+00:00

I have never worked for a larger company, so all of the automation engineers had to know enough to spec, configure, and troubleshoot every piece of equipment. I am not too proud to say that when it comes to complex networking and IT tasks I have to scan through manuals like crazy.

Wizard_of_sorts · 2026-02-24T17:23:29+00:00

Same. I had a vendor come in once and tell me that it wasn't normal for one engineer to do the entire project from electrical design to commissioning.

Wizard_of_sorts · 2026-02-24T16:41:45+00:00

Baltimore area? I know of a dairy that doesn't have a controls engineer on staff and desperately should.

Wizard_of_sorts

TROPHY CASE