What's your current headache?

NEW HEADACHE!

One of my projects at work went through a firmware issue that needed debugging, and as part of the debugging process they asked permission to remove some capacitors from the board to see if it would fix the issue. I signed off on it, to find out that not only did it not fix the issue but that they removed the capacitors from all five of our prototypes, not just one. So now we need to get the caps back on.

But whoopsies, once a component has been de-soldered it can't be reused, so we need to use new parts. But whoopsies again, we didn't order spares during the initial prototype builds, so we need to place a new order. And whoopsies again, we're an enormous corporation so everything is paperwork. We need to prove that we don't favor one supplier over another so we have to put out a request-for-quote and let multiple suppliers bid on it, then supply chain needs to select a supplier based on the quote analysis, and only then can we place an order. Our supply chain rep estimated about a month.

One month project delay.

For $3 worth of components.



Shouldn't be my problem, but I already needed to put in a mouser order for pedal stuff. I dropped the parts in my cart and they'll be here in 2 business days.
 
As many of you know, the federal workforce was ordered back ibto the office and stripped of the ability to telework. What I did not realize at the time was that this apparently meant I would also be ordered back into an unofficial career in facilities management.

Because I am the only person in our office with acquisitions training, property accountability experience, and facilities management clearances, I have somehow become the unofficial facilities lead for both my office and our sister office.

This year's adventure: acquiring a printer.

Simple enough, right?

Attempt One began with an approved purchase request for an HP printer. The device arrived, I unpacked it, set it up, contacted Property Management to assign an NIH decal, and dutifully accepted responsibility for it under my name in inventory.

IT arrived to connect it to the network.

Except , surprise , the printer will not function unless HP’s proprietary application is installed. Said application requires account creation and attempts to funnel users into an ink subscription service.

Naturally, this software is not authorized for installation on federal government networks.

So the printer had to go back.

To remove the item from my name, Property required the return authorization documentation, and Procurement had to locate the government purchase card transaction to prove the refund posted.

Excellent.

Attempt Two: never again, HP.

I ordered a Brother printer.

It arrived. Property inventoried it under my name. I connected it. IT came to install it.

Except the ethernet port had been disabled and removed from the network.

Two weeks later, the port was restored.

Victory?

No.

IT then informed me the newest available drivers for the printer date back to 2018 and therefore present a network security liability.

Also, small update, IT policy had an existing policy prohibits purchasing printers outside their preferred vendor and requests for printers must be approved by agency leadership on an as-needed basis.

Naturally, this information became available after the printer arrived.

So now I am once again coordinating a return, removing another asset from inventory under my name, and working with Property to locate literally any printer that may exist somewhere in NIH surplus.

At this point I am reasonably confident that the printer is not a device.

It is a philosophical concept.

I asked NIH property to give me whatever the hell they have in surplus. That was 2 months ago.
 
Pauleo1214 said:
As many of you know, the federal workforce was ordered back ibto the office and stripped of the ability to telework. What I did not realize at the time was that this apparently meant I would also be ordered back into an unofficial career in facilities management.

Because I am the only person in our office with acquisitions training, property accountability experience, and facilities management clearances, I have somehow become the unofficial facilities lead for both my office and our sister office.

This year's adventure: acquiring a printer.

Simple enough, right?

Attempt One began with an approved purchase request for an HP printer. The device arrived, I unpacked it, set it up, contacted Property Management to assign an NIH decal, and dutifully accepted responsibility for it under my name in inventory.

IT arrived to connect it to the network.

Except , surprise , the printer will not function unless HP’s proprietary application is installed. Said application requires account creation and attempts to funnel users into an ink subscription service.

Naturally, this software is not authorized for installation on federal government networks.

So the printer had to go back.

To remove the item from my name, Property required the return authorization documentation, and Procurement had to locate the government purchase card transaction to prove the refund posted.

Excellent.

Attempt Two: never again, HP.

I ordered a Brother printer.

It arrived. Property inventoried it under my name. I connected it. IT came to install it.

Except the ethernet port had been disabled and removed from the network.

Two weeks later, the port was restored.

Victory?

No.

IT then informed me the newest available drivers for the printer date back to 2018 and therefore present a network security liability.

Also, small update, IT policy had an existing policy prohibits purchasing printers outside their preferred vendor and requests for printers must be approved by agency leadership on an as-needed basis.

Naturally, this information became available after the printer arrived.

So now I am once again coordinating a return, removing another asset from inventory under my name, and working with Property to locate literally any printer that may exist somewhere in NIH surplus.

At this point I am reasonably confident that the printer is not a device.

It is a philosophical concept.

I asked NIH property to give me whatever the hell they have in surplus. That was 2 months ago.
Click to expand...
Solution:
1771599479740.png
 
BuddytheReow said:
Anybody else feel like they're just bored all the time with their job but you can't quit cuz, you know, bills? That's where I'm at.
Click to expand...

This is how I feel about just getting out of bed in the morning. :ROFLMAO:

(Probably because of how I've managed to blur the lines between day job, night job, and hobby)

What do you do for work? Design printed circuit boards for pedals
What do you do after work? Build pedals.
Ok, so what do you do for fun? Play with pedals.
 
Robert said:
This is how I feel about just getting out of bed in the morning. :ROFLMAO:

(Probably because of how I've managed to blur the lines between day job, night job, and hobby)

What do you do for work? Design printed circuit boards for pedals
What do you do after work? Build pedals.
Ok, so what do you do for fun? Play with pedals.
Click to expand...
Start taking pedal requests. Someone will come along and WILL break you.

 
vigilante398 said:
The number of times I have felt mentally engaged at my day job is not zero, but it is not a big number.
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This is what I love about my job (for now), though I am paid pretty sub par. Every day is a new learning experience, every day is different…but the best part is that every day that nothing happens is a great day. (support worker for folks with severe behavioural challenges/physical and mental disabilities). I’m really proud of the fact that I came into this job untrained a year ago and they are already trying to snipe me to be a program coordinator or senior resident worker. I’m in the zone.

But I have no time to build anything, so it kinda sucks there 😂
 
Speaking of Advil, my headache's gone. Finally got the Viceroy transistors where they should be (long story...we won't go into it). M'F***er this thing sounds good.

Getting clobbered on taxes this year. I swear I'm paying more than I made.
 
Cat teeth are an uphill battle. I have 8 cats and Sunday through Wednesday I chase them down one by one and brush their teeth.

The problem is two of them have gingivostomatitis. Literally their bodies are allergic to their own teeth, they dissolve from the inside and resorptive legions pop up. Burst helps but there is nothing you can do besides shell out money to have teeth removed.

I took Beaker in 6 years ago and he only had half of his teeth then. 6 years of brushing and I just spent $1,263 to have everything else except two molars removed.

Darn it if he wasn't so darn affectionate.
20260214_104431.jpg
 
Erik S said:
Bro, why u beefin w sandos?
Click to expand...
Not beefing with sandos so much as I am beefing with every sandwich being called a sando in a cringey attempt to appear fashionable.

In Japan, sando makes sense. It’s a linguistic adaptation; shorthand derived from how “sandwich” fits into Japanese phonetics (sandowicchi -> sando). When you order a katsu sando, you are ordering a very specific cultural object.

But go to some Cafe with Edison light bulbs and you're not ordering a turkey club sandwich, you're ordering a turkey club sando. Or a breakfast egg sando on a English muffin. Heaven forbid they call an Italian Sub a sando.
 
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