No, Pascal isn’t a commonly used language in automation. It’s far more common to use a proprietary language (Like S7 for Siemens) developed by the PLC Vendor.

You could taylor a cheeky CV which shows up in searches in Jobsite for PLC programmer, then start by doing the horrible jobs which no one wants to do? As places are busy at the moment, if they are flat out, the may take you on?

Can you pay for yourself to do a Rockwell / Siemens / DeltaV course? that might jump start your CV?

I’ve been working with DCS systems for over 20 years. IMHO it’s a great move. There is a lot of work around at the moment, and you should find it easy to break into it. Salaried roles are typically c.30K Junior, c.45K senior, depending on experience. Contractor rates are typically c.30-50p/h, DOE and the industry sector.

The most typical way to start is to work for a small integrator, and basically eat s*** for 2-3 years, then go contracting. This is typically not a comfortable time (you will be thrown in at the deep end), but it gets you up the learning curve. You may me able to jump straight into a contract role, but it will probably be boring, and difficult to get good experience. A good agent is a massive help.

Where are you located? Drop me a mail of you want to discuss anything away from the forum.

We went there years ago, they had put a bottle of wine on the table and asked us if we would like it opening as we were seated. I asked how much it was….£35. (Twice the cost of the average back then) that stunt cost them the tip.

I’m pleased…for once I find myself on the PC side of the STW moral compass. Reference to ‘fried chicken’ is about as straight up racial slur as I could think of….nothing less.

He knew what he was saying, it was meant to be racially derogatory.

Estate Agents appear to do very little for a large wedge of cash. Any differing views on that?

Yes…

Estate Agents appear to do very little for a large wedge of cash when they are not really interested in selling your house, they are a lot more interested in securing business for their in house financial advisors off the back of your sale.

haha, very good, but it misses the pointless underlining which they so love to use.

How would you go about finding a decent broker? (not disagreeing, I’m curious)

Shame on Channel 4, it was billed as a documentary, but it was really just cheap ‘reality’ TV.

The bit where the lad was ‘woken up’ telling his mum to ‘f*** off’…how many times to they think they rehearsed that? There was a camera crew in his bedroom FFS, is it likely he was really asleep?

I dunno if they were trying to make a political point, I think it’s just lazy program making.

Moneyweek, Daily telegraph and newspapers generally. Let’s be honest though, if there was a reliable website that told you exactly where to put your money to make a massive profit, we’d all be mega rich. :-)

Might have been Panamoz, but they have effectively stopped trading at the moment (they have deliberately priced themselves out of the market).

This ‘debate’ highlights a common feature of the pro-gun lobby…they start talking total bollocks right from the start to detract from the fact they arguing for something totally nonsensical.

What guitar is it?

No, I think you have done the first one. To do the second one you need an active crossover which splits the signal at line level and fit’s between preamp and poweramps.

Fair paly if it improved things in your system, to me, it didn’t make much difference.

I biamped a Linn system ages ago for a short while…it was expensive and offered little improvement over a single power amp. Going active was a big step up (i.e. bypassing the speaker crossover and using a dedicated amp for bass and treble).

I think the differences your hearing are more likely down to the effects of using the y-splitter…and those effects are not likely to be good ;-)

The icons are just bigger, and they are all across the screen instead of in the bottom right. Scary, I know.

It’s wouldn’t be scary, if this were true….but I don’t think it is. For example, the Skype app that runs on the start screen does not have all the functionality (and forces you to use a MS account) of the proper Skype app which runs on the desktop, so you need two separate apps. Internet explorer run from the start menu looks and behaves differently to the IE installed on the traditional desktop. The settings appear to be done in two places, there is the old style control panel and a new settings app under the metro start screen, but this can only be used for a subset of what you use the old control panel for.

I’ve only played with it for an hour or so, but to me it does not seem like it’s properly integrated into the OS, it’s just a bolt on, but at the same time, it’s taken away some of the useful functions in Win 7.

Best case, MS have been very poor at getting across to users how to get started with Win 8. I like the look of the Metro interface, but it looks like they have only done half a job in integrating it with the OS.

Break away from the stereotypes and visit

https://www.balticmill.com/

:-)

I went about 15 years ago. I preferred it to Windsor, by a mile. It’s expensive, the hotel was very expensive and upmarket. Probably changed quite a bit. Billund closed up by 8:30, and there ain’t much round there. Unless your over there, it’s a long way to travel.

We stayed at the Runnymead (?)…Nice hotel and the best part of the weekend.

Legoland was a wasp infested queue which I hated.

Might not be important to you, but the Galaxy S4 is very good at getting reception, and for me, it’s worth it’s weight in gold. It’s is always connected to the cell network, and my previous phones have struggled where I live. The Wi-Fi reception is the best device I have ever owned. It’s also fast, the battery life is good, you can easily replace the battery, add a memory card for more storage.

Yes it is a bit plastic, but compared to the HTC Sensation / Desire which I’ve had before, it’s a different league. Really pleased with it.

i went from contractor to full employee.

that’s where the problem lies :-)

You need a learned response…when the manager calls you in and tells you he likes what you do and he’d like you to become a full time member of the team, don’t get into discussions about a staff role.

There is one word you need to say, and that word is ‘no’.

Got an S4 last weekend…really pleased with it. Bit plastic, but other than that, it’s really good. Wifi and Cell reception appear to be very good.

FWIW, a lot of cobblers being spouted above, IMHO. I’ve driven and ridden motorcycles extensively in the states, and whilst cities and rush hour are possibly the exception (although still not as bad as their European equivalents), Stateside drivers are generally slower, calmer and more courteous to both other drivers and pedestrians. I think it’s probably something to do with lots of space and the relaxed driving style that a big lazy auto encourages.

Totally agree with this.

Get a Mustang, if only to see that engaging sport mode disables the econometer ;-)

I downloaded the US maps onto my Tomtom and took it. I think it was $15 a day from the hire company. I think the map for TT was c.£30.

I hired a ‘tang about 6 weeks ago and drove round California. It was dead easy, driving is pretty relaxed over there. There is a lot of surveillance on junctions in the city, so you have to be careful. The biggest problem I found was when using a sanav on the highways, you get a lot of junctions close together, so it’s easy to exit too soon.

Car was dead cheap to hire…not a lot more than a focus.

I am a cultural ignoramus, but I watched it, it ended, I didn’t understand any of it.

Music Radar?

I use extra grip tyres in Nottingham, they have been well priced, they are friendly and they balanced the wheels properly.

There is Yamaha LS6 for sale on music radar for 250 on music radar forum. Not that mellow, but really nice guitars, and won’t cost you much if you move it on.

Think they have some good offers for existing customers. Pretty impressed with the plugins (based on a couple of hours faffing last night.).

We did it about 10years ago. We booked in San Fran (it’s where we flew to), and Yosemite (accommodation gets booked up) The rest of it we made up as we went along. Dunno if we we lucky, but it was all really relaxed, never struggled to find anywhere to stay, and that was pre-mobile internet.

Best Holiday we ever had :-)

Joe, those pic’s from Yemen look great.

Nice one! I didn’t know that either.

Where abouts are you based? When you say ‘portfolio’, do you mean of contacts or are you looking for broaden you skills?

As stated above, 18-135mm won’t work on a 6D….and it’s pretty nasty by all accounts. The Tamron 24-70 F2.8 might be be an option if f2.8 is important to you.

I use a 24-105 f4 on Canon FF, for what I use it for it’s the best allrounder. It’s a great lens, it hasn’t got the best rep. for reliability, but it’s cheap (relative to Canon’s recent price hikes).

we got lost in Jo’burg and ended up driving through a few “wrong” neighbourhoods.

Were you using Apple’s maps Graham? :D

I don’t need to read an article in a magazine to tell me i’m f***ing miserable.

Don’t use either, a lens hood generally gives enough protection.

Better to damage a lens than miss a photo.

Totally agree with this, once your walking about, the lens cap should be off, and stay off until you go home.

I bought Nexus 7’s for the kids, performance wise they are good, but the screen on one has cracked, and replacements are currently v.expensive (I got quoted £165 to repair, which at a cost of £159 for a new one does not make a massive amount of sense).

Cracked screens appear to be a pretty common problem w/Nexus 7, with some people reporting they cracked with very light impact.