The Whiteboard

user20683

9:00 PM

What sorts of things does one do? Design a better piston for thing x?

user55340

You never mentioned the stock price near him. Just don't. It was bad form. He could have had options at $0.05 or there abouts when the stock price was $150... tens of thousands of them of them.

Ampt

@WorldEngineer engine optimization, desiging higher stress parts, better manufacturing tooling, etc

a lot of it right now it on 3d printing and making more durable 3d printed parts

user41796

@WorldEngineer So mine was BME with a software focus

user41796

And I took an existing experimental neuronal model and extended it to more types of neurons. It started out being applicable to a very small set of neurons, and I expanded it to a much broader set.

Ampt

@GlenH7 you have a masters in mechanical engineering?

user41796

9:02 PM

@Ampt biomedical

Ampt

ah ok

thats an interesting field

user41796

But generally speaking, a suitable masters thesis in engineering would either be extending an existing process, inventing a new process for a small subset of ___, or possibly even evaluating potential approaches

user41796

A lot of the time, your thesis will be dictated by your advisor's field of research

user20683

@GlenH7 So pretty much the same as CS

enderland

^

user41796

9:03 PM

yes

user20683

@GlenH7 So the standard rule: Pick your adviser wisely

user41796

For example, you're not likely to do a thesis in linguistics when you have an adviser specializing in embedded algorithms (or whatever)

user41796

@WorldEngineer Yes, very much so

user41796

Pick someone who is researching an area that interests you

user41796

and interview them just as much as, if not more than, they interview you for acceptance into their department.

user20683

9:05 PM

One of the big reasons that I don't go get a Masters at Georgia State, all the interesting professors are emeritus or interested in my interests as a peripheral thing

user41796

@WorldEngineer yeah, sorry. That's gonna be a bad fit.

user41796

My impression of emeritus professors is that they don't wish to deal with the hassles of running a research group anymore. So you'll get short-shrift that way.

user20683

@GlenH7 Which is a pity because the Programming Languages guy at GSU is Dr. King of King's C Programming that is the bane of many a SO newbie

user20683

The software engineering guy is more interested in simulation

enderland

@WorldEngineer yes yes yes, this is by far the most important thing about grad school

Ampt

9:09 PM

thats a real bummer

user41796

Indeed. Life can be a bit bitter that way. OTOH, if he's willing to take you on as a student then it may be worth re-aligning what you think your interests are in... :-)

user20683

@GlenH7 unlikely

user20683

he's enjoying his semi-retirement

user41796

Shrug shoulders and move on... :-)

user20683

yep

user20683

9:10 PM

plan is to look a little farther north :)

user41796

@WorldEngineer If that's a "little" what's a "lot"?!

user55340

@GlenH7 ever watch "Ice Road Trucker"?

Ampt

@GlenH7 presumably russia

user41796

Nope, but I've heard about it. That's crazy

user20683

I know it's unlikely that I'll get to teach a class but I'd like to try if possible

user20683

9:13 PM

I've tutored people and I'm good at lecturing

user20683

one of those rarer CS types that actually likes people

enderland

@WorldEngineer with a MS probably not, but if you go PhD it's pretty easy

user20683

@enderland PhD is a trap

Ampt

@WorldEngineer but then people will call you doctor

user20683

Admiral Ackbar style

Ampt

9:14 PM

you know he did win that fight

user41796

@WorldEngineer Are you sure you want to be in CS then?! :-D

user20683

@GlenH7 Developer Evangelist or some such is the end end goal

user41796

I'm hesitant to recommend anyone who wants to work in industry to get a PhD.

user20683

I know too many PhDs to be fooled by that dream

user41796

Unless you follow the path of Get MS -> Go to work -> Earn PhD after working a few years

user20683

9:15 PM

I figure do PhD when my career is winding down

user20683

when I can just take my time and make a difference rather than being subject to publish or perish

Ampt

I've just got some stupid piece of paper calling me a bachelor.

what do I do if I get married?

user20683

@Ampt You're still a Bachelor

user20683

it doesn't mean quite what people think

user55340

-1

Q: Does a database update force index rebuild regardless of updated field?

With MySQL (InnoDB), I understand that having indexes slow down UPDATE queries. I would like to know if this happens regardless of what fields are updated. For example, if I have a table with 20 fields, the first 10 of which are referenced in either individual or covering indexes, is the speed o...

user55340

9:17 PM

Over to DBA.SE?

Ampt

> A bachelor is a man who is neither married nor cohabitating and who lives independently outside of his parents' home or other institutional setting.

?

user41796

@MichaelT not really a good fit here

user20683

@Ampt Look at word origin

user55340

@GlenH7 nope. Not a good fit here. The "how does this piece of software internals work?"

Jimmy Hoffa

@Ampt ...the paper says you're a baccalaureate... your fridge says you're a bachelor.

user55340

9:19 PM

@JimmyHoffa I read that as 'bachleorette' first and wondered.

Ampt

9:30 PM

Got the officially official paperwork... now the real fun begins.

user41796

@Ampt congrats!

Ampt

@GlenH7 Thank you!

user41796

Is it local, or will you travel there?

Jimmy Hoffa

@Ampt first management gig- time to stand in front of a mirror and master this phrase: You are the weakest link. Goodbye.

user41796

If you travel, stick to one airline so you can get status faster. And you'll want status.

Ampt

9:32 PM

@GlenH7 its a 3 hour drive from my house so they'll be putting me in a hotel/housing

Yeah.. no flying yet

user41796

Contact the preferred hotel of your firm and ask them about a business fast-track to status.

user41796

Most of the major hotel chains that have agreements with large firms will have a business fast track

user41796

Or when you sign up for your status program with them, ask about getting bumped early since you're going to be there for # months.

user41796

@JimmyHoffa That's only because the miles add up faster that way.

enderland

@Ampt for your interview? or your offiical job now :)

Ampt

9:33 PM

@GlenH7 I'm already a platinum member at marriot :) something about joining the company

user41796

Oy, that's awesome!

Ampt

@enderland official new 'project'. I still work for my current employer, but now I'm on a client gig

enderland

Sweet!

user41796

Embassy Suites usually has a free happy hour; worth considering

Ampt

@JimmyHoffa Mine's gonna be tiny then... :(

user41796

9:34 PM

But check the other ones in that area and figure out what works best for you

Ampt

I'm still nervous about being stuck in such a huge role but... I've rolled with the punches before and came out on top so I'm going to stay positive

@GlenH7 this is good to know

user41796

It also doesn't hurt to stay at the same hotel as everyone else. Good way to network

user41796

@Ampt Find the preferred hotel that everyone uses and use happy hour for networking.

Ampt

That is also a very, very good point

user41796

Get people to share their experience and help show you the ropes. They've all been in the same spot before and should be happy to help out.

Ampt

9:36 PM

gotta get my networking-face on

user41796

Yep

Ampt

@GlenH7 having someone who wants me on the project and helped me with a pre-screening shakedown helped a ton

he gave me a ton of talking points

user41796

That's excellent

user41796

Follow up with them for advice on next step. And make sure you buy them a beverage of their choice

Ampt

yeah. so I've got backup at least

user41796

9:37 PM

Do you get a per diem or a daily allowance? And what's your minimum receipt level for expense report submittal?

Jimmy Hoffa

@Ampt that's just the thing, keep your composure through everything and the reality is as we've mentioned in here many a time: Most this industry is hardly fit to operate a tackle box, it's unlikely you'll have trouble.

user41796

@JimmyHoffa I'd argue with that broad brush stroke you just painted, but .... yeah, I'd probably lose. :-)

user20683

►

user20683

Modernized Last Starfighter trailer

Jimmy Hoffa

@GlenH7 heh it's a stretch but self-actualization seems to be as good a technique as any for surviving managerial politicing

user41796

9:44 PM

It's one approach to avoiding that mess, yes

user20683

@JimmyHoffa I've found that one of the best assets I have is a firm handshake

Jimmy Hoffa

@WorldEngineer have you tried staring people down while you do this? They'll think you're a crackhead, not suggested.

user20683

@JimmyHoffa -.-

user20683

I've stared down real crackheads

Jimmy Hoffa

@WorldEngineer retail work must be weird

user20683

9:50 PM

@JimmyHoffa Urban environment. Various nutjobs and druggies wander in now and then

user41796

@WorldEngineer We'd get them walking into our dojo every now and then too.

psr

@Ampt Also, this one is important, try to remain tall.

user41796

it was midtown, not downtown. But it was fun guessing what the degree of impairment was. For some reason, no one ever asked for a fight... :-)

user20683

@GlenH7 crackheads usually aren't good fighters

psr

@GlenH7 Please tell me you took advantage of the chance to say "Young man, the only crack we do around here is with boards".

user41796

9:54 PM

@WorldEngineer And even the most wasted person gets a degree of awareness when they see 8 folk wearing all black gi's

psr

(picture J.D. from scrubs saying this)

user41796

@psr Nah, we were always polite

user41796

A lot of the time, it was just flat-out drunk folk walking in. And to be honest, we may have had a few come back and actually become students for a while.

user41796

It was in a midtown environment, and we had a history of helping out folk while they were getting clean.

user41796

Sorry to burst the bubble of all the hilarity that could have ensued...

user20683

10:00 PM

@GlenH7 Standard martial arts maxim: The best way to fight is not to fight.

user41796

Exactly

user41796

All of us were studying the martial arts because it led to a better understanding of other people

Ampt

10:26 PM

@psr "Don't shrink" - got it

Robert Harvey

11:22 PM

@MichaelT

@Rachel: I would favor renaming the site "The Whiteboard," and renaming the chat room to "The Blackboard." — Robert Harvey 2 mins ago

user55340

@RobertHarvey I'm still not clear which questions a name change would theoretically prevent that aren't at issue some other way.

Robert Harvey

Any name would be better than Programmers. Rachel is right; the site is not about that, although she is wrong about how it would improve question quality.

Jimmy Hoffa

@MichaelT I think it's the ers vs ing -> it's about emphasis. Programm ers emphasizes social questions.

Ampt

W.SE?

B.W.SE

Robert Harvey

"Software Engineering and Design"

Ampt

11:24 PM

SED.SE?

user55340

It would do nothing to prevent the "derp - text box" people which is where most of the off topic questions come from. It would do nothing to change the belief that anything without code goes to another site on SO.

Jimmy Hoffa

@RobertHarvey oh that would get us bashed by every fashion of engineering haha

Ampt

@JimmyHoffa PAH! Those stupid software guys think they're engineers now!

user55340

@JimmyHoffa we'd still get the "what should I study next" and the "what job should I take" questions.

Robert Harvey

@MichaelT No, it wouldn't do any of those things. That's the big lie: Oh, if this phrase in the Help Center were only bold, it would fix everything.

Jimmy Hoffa

11:26 PM

@MichaelT You're using the first part of your argument here as a truth to support the second part which lacks evidence- It would not solve the "derp - text box" problem, I don't know that most of the off topic Qs come from it, and if it is a majority I doubt it's a large one

Matt Giltaji

we should rename it to brogrammers, so that the questions we get would actually be on topic

user55340

@RobertHarvey I don't think that at this point, anything that that we would do to the title or design of the site would change what types of questions we get.

Robert Harvey

So your position is that the effect would be unknown, then?

Jimmy Hoffa

It may be true that it wouldn't help @MichaelT, but do remember we have no evidence of it's failure - granted name changes can't just be experimented, nor can it happen now because the google history

user55340

Software Design might have kept the "what is your favorite cartoon" and "what should I name my cat" or "who should the patron saint of programmers?" questions off the site.

user55340

11:27 PM

It would have possibly helped with focusing the early site to be what it is now without the great NPR -> P.SE shift.

Jimmy Hoffa

I find it logical that a name change may improve the quality a portion, a total solution? There are no silver werewolves. A huge portion? Unlikely. A worthwhile portion? I believe so, but it's debatable and that's the only point worth debating.

Robert Harvey

Or "Do you fart in the cubicle?" God, I miss Crazy Eddie.

Not.

user55340

But the questions that I see today would all still be asked under a Software Design and Engineering site.

Jimmy Hoffa

@MichaelT I think the change from ers to ing would get rid of all the career advice though, or at least a good portion.

This site is about an activity, not a population of people who practice said activity

Robert Harvey

People wouldn't even notice. "Oh, our er just became an ing?"

user55340

11:29 PM

@JimmyHoffa It works for Academia that they don't get any "what should I study" questions right? (they still do)

Jimmy Hoffa

@RobertHarvey historical people true, but it's new people who come here by google that post that stuff

@MichaelT Academia is not a verb

...programming probably isn't either...it's friday f u all I'm out

Robert Harvey

Do you really believe that the folks who come here and post their code dump, how fix questions care one iota what the name of the site is?

user55340

@RobertHarvey I don't think they care one bit. I think we'd get more code dumps with SDE as a name.

Ampt

@JimmyHoffa you see I was trying to academia this book but it wouldn't programmers it's knowledge into my brain.

Robert Harvey

The Whiteboard is the best name, then. Something that doesn't suggest that you can dump your code here.

Jimmy Hoffa

11:32 PM

@RobertHarvey I'm not addressing those, I'm addressing the social questions

@Ampt augh friday nooo cannot

Ampt

@RobertHarvey "Are there any good yellow markers that actually show up on a whiteboard?"

Robert Harvey

@Ampt Which yellow is the best for my IDE?

Ampt

@RobertHarvey solarized yellow, duh.

Robert Harvey

[I said IDE but I meant to say ID, because Freud didn't program computers]

Ampt

@RobertHarvey Freud didn't Academia

Jimmy Hoffa

11:39 PM

Programming is the past tense of a verb right? Or am I cocking it up again?

user20683

@RobertHarvey that sounds like an excellent UX question

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