Interesting/Funny work /technology related stories - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: bearman
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2010, 10:43:08 pm
content: How about sharing some funny stories relating to work and technology.I will kick it off with a couple I recall.1) I am a Telecommunications Sales Engineer. I designed Nortel PBX systems and generated turnkey quotes for the Sales pukes. I was asked a question by a Sales gal after she actually read one of my proposals. She saw that I quoted a UPS system for PBX backup power. She looked at the UPS specs and went nuts. She screamed at me "what the hell is a hertz and why do we need 60 of them"? I laughed in here face and couldn't answer her for several minutes.2) In 1982 Pitney Bowes came out with one of the first non rotating drum style fax machines. We purchased several and we had problems with one of their new units. For several months they tried to fix it with American techs and it still continued to intermittently fail. Pitney Bowes finally flew a technician all the way from Japan to fix the unit. The Japanese tech had an entourage of 4 folks with him. The Japanese tech spoke no English. One member of the party was an interpreter. During the entire time he was there everything was being translated. Then came the crucial event. While the tech was disassembling part of the fax he dropped a screw into the guts of the fax. Then it happened. He mumbled "oh shit" with a Japanese accent. Everyone paused for a split second, looked at each other then broke out laughing. English vulgarity, the universal language.

author: NiHaoMike
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 30, 2010, 03:09:51 am
content: I think she actually had a point because telecom power systems are predominantly DC. No sense converting needlessly between DC and AC, especially when it's another source of noise in the system.As for funny stories of my own, my anthropology instructor lost one of my emails, and after resending a few days later because I didn't get a response, he claimed that the message must be lost on a satellite somewhere...Just yesterday, at an IEEE meeting with Maxim, they were giving away (among other stuff) "chip clips". Of course, I asked what packages and pin counts they are for. He said that it would work with any size package and it has no pins, much to the bewilderment of all the EEs at the meeting. Took me a while to realize that he was talking about clips for potato chip bags. (I now call those "connector clips" since they can be used to hold connectors while I solder wires to them and because my desire to be as skinny as Tiffany Yep means I probably won't use them for their original purpose.)

author: Mechatrommer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 06, 2010, 03:20:45 pm
content: bearman! where are the other stories, keep it coming, its fun!

author: rossmoffett
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 06, 2010, 10:24:46 pm
content: In school we would always make fun of a guy for a couple of weeks when he'd hook up 120VAC to a 24VDC input of industrial devices we worked with. One guy burned out a 24VDC bulb with 120VAC, replaced the bulb, and promptly turned on the system again for the same result. The instructor facepalmed and told him, "If you didn't change anything, why would you expect a different outcome? PLEASE don't make the same mistake on our touchscreen displays and multi-variable transmitters when it comes time to work with those." Guess who blew up a $300 touchscreen with AC power the next week?A couple of weeks ago a sales guy I work with handed me some industrial radios, one of which had been fried by 120VAC (12VDC devices). I laughed and asked how that happened, he replied that it was a customer, and an easy enough mistake to make. I related the above story, and he repeated that mistakes like that happen sometimes with the face of a man who had done so before.Fortunately, while I have blown up many devices, it has thus far not been because I didn't read the label on the power input.

author: Mechatrommer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 06, 2010, 10:39:06 pm
content: well, very hard to figure out ee related, but this is non ee, i hope it can be counted:in our language (malay):"tolong" means "help", pronounced "too long""sakit" means "pain", pronounced "suck it"so the story begins when an english guy married to our woman. during the 1st night when they are doing, err... you know what. the lady complain "tolong! sakit!" the guy translated it as "too long!, suck it!"o well, thats it!ps: gotta go to work, its been a long night with nescafe cup! see ya!

author: bearman
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 07, 2010, 08:41:33 am
content: Wow. Only a couple stories. Thanx all. Thought that there would be tons out there.Keep them coming.One more for the list.Being in telecom I worked on cutovers of large phone system with 5 thousand stations plus. These took entire weekends to cutover and test all sets so that on Monday AM everything was moved to the new system and tested.Well the first night we worked a cut and we kept having a problem with one T-1 facility. We would test it and call in a re-repair to have it fixed. This happened several times throughout the night. Well the vendor called and said everything was good to go. We made a test call and everything finally did sound great. Well my counterpart on the other end of the line said lets make one more test to confirm all is well. I agreed. He called and we started talking. Well it was 5 AM and everyone was punchy so I thought I would be funny. Well I grabbed an empty bag from potatoe chips and while I responded to my counterparts testing I began to crumple the chip bag into the phones mouthpiece. My conterpart said "what the "f#@k is that"? I responded "what are you talking about"? He exploded and started a fluid stream of vulgarity that I could clearly hear on the perfectly working circuit. I started laughing at him and he inquired what the heck was so funny. I then told him I was crinkling the chip bag in the handset. He swore me upside down and then joined in the laughter once the idea of what I did sank in. I still laugh about it today.EnjoyB

author: Mechatrommer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 07, 2010, 09:22:24 am
content: he watched too much horror movies i think

author: NiHaoMike
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 08, 2010, 04:44:05 am
content: Today, I was talking to a few of my friends for ideas on what to do for ECEN 489 networking class. I'm going to use the mbed in some sort of embedded application, probably a networked oscilloscope, logic analyzer, spectrum analyzer, or something like that. At some point, someone asked me if I really could do such an ambitious project. As a half joke, I replied, "I always know where to turn if my network doesn't work." while I showed the following picture:Invariably, he asked, "What do you mean?" I then said, "She makes the net work!" (That's a pun off some of the old Sun ads. She's a digital communications engineer.)

author: marianoapp
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 08, 2010, 04:55:35 am
content: you really have a crush on her.. do something![or at least keep posting pictures]

author: rossmoffett
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 08, 2010, 06:39:02 am
content: Speaking of telecom..One of my co-workers was out in the oil field last week installing automation equipment that my company manufactures/installs. Safety is key in places like this, so oil field workers are found in hard hats, safety glasses, safety toed boots and flame-resistant clothing at the least. Some guy drives up in khaki shorts and tennis shoes in a Ford Taurus (on well roads?? Off roading!) and gets out on the well pad. That's cute. He walks up to my co-workers and says, "I'm a telecom technician and our 850 MHz tower is getting lots of interference from something. Do you know if there's anything around here working around 850-900 MHz?They bust out laughing, can hardly stop.. they start pointing around, "There.. and there, there, there... over there, over here, there, there and there..."In the oil field, everything runs on 900 MHz spread-spectrum radios. There were hundreds in plain sight!

author: Mechatrommer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 08, 2010, 02:48:40 pm
content: Quote from: NiHaoMike on October 08, 2010, 04:44:05 amcute! but sadly, i dont get the joke, unless more pictures are provided for explanation

author: tecman
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 08, 2010, 03:03:05 pm
content: I spent a few years (on and off) at Cape Canaveral. We supplied a large system to lift a very large booster (rocket) from a horizontal transport vehicle to a vertical position on the launch pad. During design and startup it was known as the "erector". On the comms during setup and testing, you would hear "prepare for erection" or "start erection" and "erection complete". When the big shots at the large aerospace company heard about this, there was a corporate dictate that the system would henceforth be known as the "Verticator" Always nice when you can invent a new word to be politically correct.paul

author: NiHaoMike
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 08, 2010, 03:22:28 pm
content: Quote from: shafri on October 08, 2010, 02:48:40 pmNot only is she a digital communications engineer, you could say that she's built like the Internet!http://i51.tinypic.com/1snw90.jpg

author: Nermash
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 08, 2010, 03:27:33 pm
content: QuoteWish this was in my book when I learned about OSI modelSome layers are missing, but who cares

author: FreeThinker
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 08, 2010, 08:37:01 pm
content: I remember an IT story i was told many years ago about a customer who rang into support about problems with the software."send us a copy of the disc " was the reply.Yep next day a photocopy of a 51/2" disc arrived for inspection.The tech then had to phone the custard ( a tech friendly term for a customer who is a thick ba**ard) and explain I simple terms what was required.Next day the disc arrived neatly stapled to the covering letter!.This is a true story (allegedly).

author: Mechatrommer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 09, 2010, 07:07:34 am
content: Quote from: Nermash on October 08, 2010, 03:27:33 pmcan you suggest which "master" should i take for this subject? The "Verticator"? i'm going to catch up real fast!

author: logictom
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 14, 2010, 02:22:26 pm
content: My uncle told me a recent story about my grandfather who has been living in Spain for the last few years. He got a new mobile off a friend, so he takes it home and the battery is running low so he goes to plug it in but being a UK plug it doesn't fit the socket so in all his wisdom he doesn't go and find an adapter he think's he can do one better! He cuts the plug off the end and wires it to the correct plug. The mobile phone doesn't take kindly to 240V and proceeds to blow up coving the room with bits of mobile phone - that'll teach him lol

author: Excavatoree
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 14, 2010, 03:56:28 pm
content: Back in the days when "cellphones" were new and most folks didn't have one, we had landline phones that were known as "cordless" or "wireless." You'd plug the "base" component into your landline phone jack, and instead of the curly cord to the handset, you had a crappy FM transceiver and a cordless handset. Because some folks would carry their handset all over the house, they sold "charging cradles" to enable one to charge the batteries in a more convenient location. (upstairs or something)A lady came in to the shop with a handset and a charging cradle and wanted us to repair it. I asked for the "base unit." She said that this was all she had. I tried to explain that this was just half of the system -you needed the base unit to plug into the phone line."It's cordless." She replied.After trying to explain the difference, I finally gave up and said we couldn't fix it.

author: logictom
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 14, 2010, 04:00:49 pm
content: Just another quick one I thought of. I was waiting in the line in the bank a couple of days ago when a foreign student went up to the counter and was asked to put her card in the chip and pin machine, she put the card in the wrong way round so the cashier said she had to turn it around so the student goes and turns the chip and pin machine around to face the cashier, face palm! lol

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 15, 2010, 02:07:44 pm
content: I'll tell you one from my lift and lifting equipment safety engineer (he goes round inspecting stuff for faults)A new apprentice joined the company so he told him:"I'm glad you've started as that gets me off the hook now, it's the newest apprentices job to water the plant's in the foyer".2 weeks later one the the directors comes in and sees him duly watering the plants and asked:"what are you doing""watering the plants" he tells him, "it's my job"And the director replies:"their plastic you ****"My friend was then enlisted to help him drag the pots outside and empty 2 weeks worth of water.....

author: bearman
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 16, 2010, 09:41:33 pm
content: Keep them coming. Good stories.B

author: quantumfall
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 16, 2010, 10:00:29 pm
content: Several years ago I was an engineer at a computer dealers and we had a customer who had been having problems with a stand alone modem. We had found that the fuse internal to the equipment at line voltage 240Vwas not seated properly or faulty I can't recall now.One of the senior staff at the company came to our workshop to see what had caused all the trouble, we had the modem on the bench powered up with the case on it open, the chap walked up to the modem and poked his finger inside and put it right on the bare end of the LIVE fuse...We did not see him back in the workshop for a long time. He was going around telling everyone who did not have any need to come in the workshop to keep out as it was a dangerous place.

author: Zyvek
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 18, 2010, 08:01:07 pm
content: Quote from: Simon on October 15, 2010, 02:07:44 pmNow I have a something new to try instead of getting the new hires to wear a three piece suit to their first staff meeting.

author: quantumfall
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 18, 2010, 11:53:36 pm
content: Now I have a something new to try instead of getting the new hires to wear a three piece suit to their first staff meeting.Can you get them anymore outside of charity shops ? Do they know what you are talking about ?I was sent for a long weight, to the stores when I was an apprentice, which I did, I can't remember what happened. I probably waited a while the went back and said we had noneI've still got no patience.

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 19, 2010, 05:44:54 am
content: I have an interesting one that is still ongoing, I seem to remember Dave saying something about engineers not being able to spell:I had to write a process instruction on how to assemble a fan and pulley (large cast items that costs thousands and have very small tolerances).So it gets to the point of putting in the bevel washers, which I spelt as bevel, so the technical director changed it as the file is on the central server to bellville. ok so I went and looked it up, bellville is the name of a number of american towns, bevel (my version) is the washer, I've changed it back again, lets see what happens.....our MD spells "root cause" of a fault as "route cause"

author: Nermash
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 19, 2010, 06:33:02 am
content: Few years ago, cable TV industry started to boom in my country, and one TV station owner from a small town decided to jump on. I knew him before, and since we are selling the stuff, he started out with our gear. Few months later, he comes to me pick up some goods and starts to brag: "How about you start buying from me cheap indoor TV splitters, I buy them and rework them myself by taking out few things. Mine two way splitter has 0 dB loss, while all of yours have 3.5 dB!"I never even started explaining...

author: FreeThinker
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 19, 2010, 07:57:20 pm
content: Quote from: Simon on October 19, 2010, 05:44:54 amErrrm! I think your boss is correct, they are called belleville washershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belleville_washerPerhaps you can change it back again before he draws up your p45.

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 20, 2010, 06:39:34 am
content: thats odd, now look up bevel and belleville as separate words, wikipedia is contradicting itself as bevel is the one with a technical meaning, so why use the town name in conjunction with "washer" it's a total contradiction. Oh well whatever i give up and I bet it is going to be an american english versus british english thing.

author: Jon Chandler
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 20, 2010, 07:57:15 am
content: This is an example of a vendor not quite understanding his customers....In a past life, I did submarine noise trials for the navy. This involved both mechanical and sonar measurements, taken while the submarine was submerged and underway.Our local sales rep brought the manufacturer of a new spectrum analyzer to visit us. The analyzer supposedly had some new features that would make our surveys go faster. The vendor set up the analyzer and it was huge. Various members of the technical staff came in to see this guys pitch, but before he even got started, somebody looked at the thing and asked the pertinent question, "How big is it?"The guy rattles off a few numbers and before he could say anything else, nearly everybody walks out of the room. "But I haven't even shown you any of the features yet. Where is everybody going???" Even after one of the remaining guys explained "It's too big to fit down the hatch," the vendor kept trying to get somebody to look at all the nifty features. I guess he thought all the great features would make up for the fact that we couldn't get it aboard the boat!

author: david77
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 20, 2010, 08:38:51 am
content: Someone just wanted a MouseFET. I had trouble not to start laughing.

author: baljemmett
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 20, 2010, 10:16:31 am
content: Quote from: Simon on October 20, 2010, 06:39:34 am... or it could just be, as Wikipedia clearly states in the article's opening paragraph, that the washer in question was invented by a bloke called Belleville

author: Mechatrommer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 20, 2010, 03:06:10 pm
content: Quote from: baljemmett on October 20, 2010, 10:16:31 amso i guess, it should be put in the document as "Bellevile's Bevel Washer", to avoid further funny story coming in across countries.

author: Time
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 20, 2010, 03:27:19 pm
content: bevel and bellevill washers are 2 totally different things. I am sure they have both kinds of washers in both countries.

author: Excavatoree
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 20, 2010, 03:28:49 pm
content: Example: Bevel washerhttp://www.grainger.com/Grainger/Square-Beveled-Washer-2DE66

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 20, 2010, 04:46:11 pm
content: Quote from: Excavatoree on October 20, 2010, 03:28:49 pmthought that was a wedge washer, well learn something every day. Having a mix of people at work particularly engineers because the company bought out another company that became integrated (so yes we have two drawing systems) so different people always call things by different names, like collector plate and header plate on a radiator core, some call it a radiator core others a block.

author: DavidDLC
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 22, 2010, 02:37:15 am
content: Well this happened just today at the office:I was approached on my desk by two software guys, we needed to put a special connector to our product for debugging, so we needed to contact a girl in order to have that done, I opened our internal communicator and started to type to her:Me: "Hi, we need your help, can you come to my desk ?"She: "Ok, just give me a sex"Me: "Of course I can do that ! "She: "Sorry I meant: give me a sec"This is dangerous typo ! you can notice the X and C are close on the keyboard.

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 22, 2010, 06:33:15 am
content: I wish I got replies like that out of girls

author: Mechatrommer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 22, 2010, 09:05:48 am
content: Quote from: Simon on October 22, 2010, 06:33:15 amyea! with intentional typing, not typo error as above

author: FreeThinker
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 22, 2010, 10:49:45 am
content: Quote from: Simon on October 22, 2010, 06:33:15 amPerhaps you need to get out more?

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 22, 2010, 02:07:13 pm
content: Quote from: FreeThinker on October 22, 2010, 10:49:45 amerr well maybe, somehow I always manage to take a liking to girls that are insecure and don't want a bf or who will just sleep around, can't I find a healthy in between

author: FreeThinker
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 22, 2010, 02:18:54 pm
content: Ah the perfect woman! Don't think the spec has been written yet but keep looking.Had ten years of happy marrage myself.....not bad out of thirty odd!!.Look out she's back

author: Hewitson
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 27, 2010, 10:43:54 am
content: Quote from: SimonSounds a bit too familiar for my liking

author: SG-1
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 29, 2010, 03:50:25 am
content: Part of our testing requirement is a high voltage dielectric test. One of my co-workers forgot to connect the test set's ground conductor to the test speciment. As he dialed the voltage up toward 19 or 36KV he would begin to shake as the milli-amperes were finding a path back to the transformer through him. Tried to fry himself three times like that, before asking for help. Looking back he was never in any real danger, because you cannot kill a weed.

author: Time
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 29, 2010, 03:53:59 am
content: Quote from: SG-1 on October 29, 2010, 03:50:25 amHAHA!The safest hi-pot tester is a battery powered one.

author: SG-1
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 29, 2010, 06:19:15 am
content: Weed ah, I mean co-worker #2 is too lazy to take the High Voltage fuses out of the potential transformers. Later he the connects 120VAC to the output ( secondary side ) of the afore mentioned transformers to simulate their output. At some point he goes to the rear of the gear where the bus bars are located. They now have several thousand volts on them. He sets his shirt on fire and gets some pinholes in his arm.

author: Polossatik
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 31, 2010, 03:19:58 pm
content: Quote from: SG-1 on October 29, 2010, 06:19:15 amI never understood the people who claim there is no "current" proof for Darwin .