The most obsolete infrastructure money could buy – my worst job ever

Post by warfangle » Wed, Sep 02, 2015, 8:00 PM UTC

benihana wrote: post #153

jholman wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow. Their end-goal upgrade, the one that they've installed on one line, and are installing on everything else looks so antiquated. My city's subway/elevated train system will be 30 years old this December. Train control is fully automated ; there are no drivers on trains, and in normal operation there is no remote (human) operator either. It's been automated for 30 years. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SkyTrain_(Vanc…

Another thing about the NYC subway is that it runs 24 hours a day 365 days a year. Not many metros around the world can make that claim. Living in New York, the amazing thing about the subway system is how they keep it running. It's old and ridiculously complex, and despite what natives say, the MTA by and large does a good job running it. There's no political will to fix it right now. It's going to take trains becom…

Post by danielweber » Wed, Sep 02, 2015, 8:17 PM UTC

RyJones wrote: post #157

vacri wrote: post #120

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You're suggesting legally chasing a few weeks salary after nearly 20 years? That's quite a grudge you're encouraging, and likely to cost much more than it would gain, even if it could be proven.

In Washington State, the state will pursue them with glee and vigor free of charge (to you). I think 20 years is a little outside how old a debt they would track, though.

Post by photosinensis » Wed, Sep 02, 2015, 9:19 PM UTC

acomjean wrote: post #110

russell wrote: post #37

As soon as I saw the title, I thought of the furor when Gingrich and Clinton discovered that the FAA was using vacuum tube computers and radar in the air traffic control system. http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/npr/library/clinton.htm The foreign (sole) vacuum tube supplier that Clinton mentioned was Russia. Oh, the embarrassment! I knew that there were some delays in rolling out the the replacement system, so I did so…

Probably Raytheon's STAR program. I wasn't involved but one from inside it was rumored to be one of the biggest boondoggles there (and thats saying something). I think it inspired the "yesterdays technology tomorrow" motto.

Post by photosinensis » Wed, Sep 02, 2015, 9:37 PM UTC

artmageddon wrote: post #113

logfromblammo wrote: post #87

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Add "Crystal Reports" and "MUMPS" to the "do not put on resume" list. I never even actually worked with Crystal Reports. A long time ago, I made a bunch of similar resumes that each included one thing extra on them, because I was curious about what I could be learning to get better response rates. The Crystal Reports variant produced a deluge of the worst-sounding jobs touted by the most clueless recruiters. And that…

It seems like everyone wants resumes in Word format. The one time I tried to send a PDF the recruiter nearly treated it like it was some unknown format and asked me to resend as Word.

Post by Apofis » Wed, Sep 02, 2015, 9:38 PM UTC

Animats wrote: post #176

warfangle wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A similarly embarrassing state of affairs is the train traffic control system used by the NYC subway system: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mjx3S3UjmnA

They're showing a really old tower in that video. Most of the system does not use mechanical lever interlocking machines. It's mostly General Railway Signal NX, which is entirely relay-based. NX, (for eNtry eXit), is probably the first system with an intelligent user interface. The dispatcher has a track map, with lights showing which blocks are occupied. To route a train through the controlled area, the dispatcher p…