Best. Customers. Ever.

[chucky3042]

What really pisses me off particularly in Australia is the downgrading of the name "engineer". I was having my car rims illegally crack welded a few days ago and I was told "the engineer was looking at it".......Grrrr. Most spanner jockies/train drivers/ sparkies call themselves "engineer" down here.

Then after we stupidly scrapped our "free" education system created in the mid 70's by the Whitlam labor government it was then down graded to a mixed government subsidise loan system we have now in the early 80 by the stupid Hawke labor government. In essence its hard to flunk a student that's paying you money. Then they scrapped the real 3 year full time diploma and shortened the degree to 4 years 25 hrs class time from what I did was 5 years 35 hrs a week class time. Then they called technicians - diploma.

Then we were told we needed to be "the clever country" and we quadrupled our engineering graduates via this semi private university money train. Then we imported 4000 engineers per year in a country that had say 20 million people in it (good guys no doubt). Our own idiot Engineer "union" APESMA that I was once a member of supported this and must have been the only guys in the world that did not know the laws of supply and demand. It was a recipe for driving engineers pays down in a country with zero entrepreneur technical culture, we do real estate, rocks and sheep.

Also what is forgotten was that pre 1970 ish engineers wages were tied to medical "doctors" wages by a judge in the high court, that judge died and suddenly we were left to the forces of supply and demand. Over supply and no demand in our case.

Right now sports teachers/ nurses are payed around $120 K and stop/ go sign holders get $150 K, in the real non public service world engineers get around $90K (I got a net zero this year).

I interviewed 4 mechanical engineers recently- young guys 2 had "masters" qualifications and gave them a very simple problem of a battery of known charge powering a frictionless electric bike uphill at a fixed gradient with a specified passenger bike weight......how far would it travel up the hill. Not one could solve it in 20 minutes, one asked did I have a formula. I gave the same question to our Chris and Little Max both knocked it off in 5 minutes, Max did it whilst eating lunch! There really has been a downgrading of standards.

Diploma real engineers of the 70's are better than the degree guys now and the degree guys of the 70's are better than the masters guys now.

Now I suppose you might think I am a grumpy bitter old man......Um err yep. .

 

[Sonik Wiz]

What really pisses me off particularly in Australia is the downgrading of the name "engineer". I was having my car rims illegally crack welded a few days ago and I was told "the engineer was looking at it".......Grrrr. Most spanner jockies/train drivers/ sparkies call themselves "engineer" down here.

Then after we stupidly scrapped our "free" education system created in the mid 70's by the Whitlam labor government it was then down graded to a mixed government subsidise loan system we have now in the early 80 by the stupid Hawke labor government. In essence its hard to flunk a student that's paying you money. Then they scrapped the real 3 year full time diploma and shortened the degree to 4 years 25 hrs class time from what I did was 5 years 35 hrs a week class time. Then they called technicians - diploma.

Then we were told we needed to be "the clever country" and we quadrupled our engineering graduates via this semi private university money train. Then we imported 4000 engineers per year in a country that had say 20 million people in it (good guys no doubt). Our own idiot Engineer "union" APESMA that I was once a member of supported this and must have been the only guys in the world that did not know the laws of supply and demand. It was a recipe for driving engineers pays down in a country with zero entrepreneur technical culture, we do real estate, rocks and sheep.

Also what is forgotten was that pre 1970 ish engineers wages were tied to medical "doctors" wages by a judge in the high court, that judge died and suddenly we were left to the forces of supply and demand. Over supply and no demand in our case.

Right now sports teachers/ nurses are payed around $120 K and stop/ go sign holders get $150 K, in the real non public service world engineers get around $90K (I got a net zero this year).

I interviewed 4 mechanical engineers recently- young guys 2 had "masters" qualifications and gave them a very simple problem of a battery of known charge powering a fixed electric bike uphill at a fixed gradient with a specified passenger bike weight......how far would it travel up the hill. Not one could solve it in 20 minutes, one asked did I have a formula. I gave the same question to our Chris and Little Max both knocked it off in 5 minutes, Max did it whilst eating lunch! There really has been a downgrading of standards.

Diploma real engineers of the 70's are better than the degree guys now and the degree guys of the 70's are better than the masters guys now.

Now I suppose you might think I am a grumpy bitter old man......Um err yep. .

Wow powerful. Might have to read this again tomorrow.

 

[barfle]

What really pisses me off particularly in Australia is the downgrading of the name "engineer". I was having my car rims illegally crack welded a few days ago and I was told "the engineer was looking at it".......Grrrr. Most spanner jockies/train drivers/ sparkies call themselves "engineer" down here.

Then after we stupidly scrapped our "free" education system created in the mid 70's by the Whitlam labor government it was then down graded to a mixed government subsidise loan system we have now in the early 80 by the stupid Hawke labor government. In essence its hard to flunk a student that's paying you money. Then they scrapped the real 3 year full time diploma and shortened the degree to 4 years 25 hrs class time from what I did was 5 years 35 hrs a week class time. Then they called technicians - diploma.

Then we were told we needed to be "the clever country" and we quadrupled our engineering graduates via this semi private university money train. Then we imported 4000 engineers per year in a country that had say 20 million people in it (good guys no doubt). Our own idiot Engineer "union" APESMA that I was once a member of supported this and must have been the only guys in the world that did not know the laws of supply and demand. It was a recipe for driving engineers pays down in a country with zero entrepreneur technical culture, we do real estate, rocks and sheep.

Also what is forgotten was that pre 1970 ish engineers wages were tied to medical "doctors" wages by a judge in the high court, that judge died and suddenly we were left to the forces of supply and demand. Over supply and no demand in our case.

Right now sports teachers/ nurses are payed around $120 K and stop/ go sign holders get $150 K, in the real non public service world engineers get around $90K (I got a net zero this year).

I interviewed 4 mechanical engineers recently- young guys 2 had "masters" qualifications and gave them a very simple problem of a battery of known charge powering a fixed electric bike uphill at a fixed gradient with a specified passenger bike weight......how far would it travel up the hill. Not one could solve it in 20 minutes, one asked did I have a formula. I gave the same question to our Chris and Little Max both knocked it off in 5 minutes, Max did it whilst eating lunch! There really has been a downgrading of standards.

Diploma real engineers of the 70's are better than the degree guys now and the degree guys of the 70's are better than the masters guys now.

Now I suppose you might think I am a grumpy bitter old man......Um err yep. .

It’s an old joke, but I recall my dad saying that plumbers wanted to be called “sanitation engineers.”

Of course, I never operated a locomotive, either. Engineers all used to operate engines. Not sure how I ended up with the term.

 

[chucky3042]

It’s an old joke, but I recall my dad saying that plumbers wanted to be called “sanitation engineers.”

Of course, I never operated a locomotive, either. Engineers all used to operate engines. Not sure how I ended up with the term.

There was a push in Australia to rename professional Engineers to Ingineurs.........try to wrap that around your tongue, it never happened. I suppose we grew out of blacksmiths and train drivers in UK in the tech revolution in the 1800's. Medical "doctors" are not PHd's but I suppose PHd's is a more recent creation. We need better descriptors. My charming daughter is a PHd in quantum molecular computational chemistry.....whatever the hell that is.

 

[ar surround]

There was a push in Australia to rename professional Engineers to Ingineurs.........try to wrap that around your tongue, it never happened. I suppose we grew out of blacksmiths and train drivers in UK in the tech revolution in the 1800's. Medical "doctors" are not PHd's but I suppose PHd's is a more recent creation. We need better descriptors. My charming daughter is a PHd in quantum molecular computational chemistry.....whatever the hell that is.

Names of old professions:

https://homepages.rootsweb.com/~george/oldprofessions.html

It seems that profession of designer / builder of Surround Masters (and other fascinating electronic gizmos) didn't make the list.

 

[chucky3042]

Names of old professions:

https://homepages.rootsweb.com/~george/oldprofessions.html

It seems that profession of designer / builder of Surround Masters (and other fascinating electronic gizmos) didn't make the list.

I am more of a Duffer - Peddler

 

[Owen Smith]

It’s an old joke, but I recall my dad saying that plumbers wanted to be called “sanitation engineers.”

They're "heating engineers" in the UK, alas.

Of course, I never operated a locomotive, either. Engineers all used to operate engines. Not sure how I ended up with the term.

Engineer as the name of the train operator isn't a thing in the UK, in the steam days they were Fireman and Driver and now they're Drivers.

 

[barfle]

They're "heating engineers" in the UK, alas.

Engineer as the name of the train operator isn't a thing in the UK, in the steam days they were Fireman and Driver and now they're Drivers.

When you see a steam locomotive in these parts (in museums mostly), the driver is the rod that connects the steam piston to the wheels. Two great people separated by a common language.

 

[MidiMagic]

I recall a janitor being called a sanitation engineer.

 

[kfbkfb]

https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/pdp/hp-12c-english-calculator

Last Fall, I bought 3 of these (the pure RPN ones), one for upstairs, one for the basement and one for (maybe) work, I'm bored and seriously considering going back to work part time, they are fine for quick calculations.


SM 4 question - any changes to the variable matrix attack and decay time constants (after about a decade of real world user experience)?


Kirk Bayne

 

[chucky3042]

https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/pdp/hp-12c-english-calculator

Last Fall, I bought 3 of these (the pure RPN ones), one for upstairs, one for the basement and one for (maybe) work, I'm bored and seriously considering going back to work part time, they are fine for quick calculations.


SM 4 question - any changes to the variable matrix attack and decay time constants (after about a decade of real world user experience)?


Kirk Bayne

I have the new HP 35s scientific calculator and on my phone I have a fairly good "go41c" phone app. I am just incapable of using standard calculators......HP addicted me like a cigarette company but I love them.


Currently there are no plans to change the SM time constants as they were perfect in every way (but happy for suggestions).

 

[kfbkfb]

https://outhere-music.com/en/albums/music-surround-spectacular-tests

I may have posted about this situation before - however - Dolby Labs stopped allowing their Pro-Logic decoding system in A/V receivers in 2014.

It seems to me there's a marketing opportunity to promote the SM as a good way to fairly accurately decode Dolby Surround encoded content,, maybe show graphs of a Pro-Logic decode and then an SM (QS) decode on selected tracks from the linked Delos Music test signal program.


Kirk Bayne

 

[Overture]

https://outhere-music.com/en/albums/music-surround-spectacular-tests

I may have posted about this situation before - however - Dolby Labs stopped allowing their Pro-Logic decoding system in A/V receivers in 2014.

It seems to me there's a marketing opportunity to promote the SM as a good way to fairly accurately decode Dolby Surround encoded content,, maybe show graphs of a Pro-Logic decode and then an SM (QS) decode on selected tracks from the linked Delos Music test signal program.


Kirk Bayne

That would be a fairly dicey proposition, the idea of decoding PL and PLII without a license, even if they're not doing it themselves any more - they're nothing if not a litigious lot. At least, if we leaned fully into advertising it as a feature rather than it being a cheeky footnote, but happy to be told otherwise.

 

[chucky3042]

That would be a fairly dicey proposition, the idea of decoding PL and PLII without a license, even if they're not doing it themselves any more - they're nothing if not a litigious lot. At least, if we leaned fully into advertising it as a feature rather than it being a cheeky footnote, but happy to be told otherwise.

Actually I think done carefully and just stating the truth with evidence I think Kirk could be correct. It certainly a good discussion point.

 

[par4ken]

I don't know why this top[c keeps coming up. Who cares about Dolby PL and PLII! I have never heard any Dolby decoder that sounded any good. Dolby always sounds better decoded via QS, Involve or Tate SQ! I don't lament the death of Dolby decoding at all!

For those who insist on Dolby there is a glut of used equipment out there!

 

[Owen Smith]

I don't know why this top[c keeps coming up. Who cares about Dolby PL and PLII! I have never heard any Dolby decoder that sounded any good. Dolby always sounds better decoded via QS, Involve or Tate SQ! I don't lament the death of Dolby decoding at all!

Actually I rather liked PLII in Music mode and miss it on my new AVR. Dolby Surround (upmix) or DTS Neural:X are fine for TV and films, but when I want to enhance stereo music like the Proms I found PLII Music worked very well (Dolby Surround upmix puts too much in the Centre channel). Of course I never had a QS decoder, but with my new AVR being HDMI multi channel in only I have no way to connect one now anyway.

For those who insist on Dolby there is a glut of used equipment out there!

Not if you want an AVR that also decodes Atmos and DTS:X there isn't.

 

[par4ken]

Actually I rather liked PLII in Music mode and miss it on my new AVR. Dolby Surround (upmix) or DTS Neural:X are fine for TV and films, but when I want to enhance stereo music like the Proms I found PLII Music worked very well (Dolby Surround upmix puts too much in the Centre channel). Of course I never had a QS decoder, but with my new AVR being HDMI multi channel in only I have no way to connect one now anyway.

Not if you want an AVR that also decodes Atmos and DTS:X there isn't.

Then you need to use more than one AVR, just as some people run vintage quad alongside of a more modern system. I don't see it as a real problem and I love equipment, the more the better!

 

[Owen Smith]

Then you need to use more than one AVR, just as some people run vintage quad alongside of a more modern system. I don't see it as a real problem and I love equipment, the more the better!

I don't have room for a second AVR, it was hard enough fitting my current AVR into my space since it is larger than my previous one.

 

[par4ken]

I don't have room for a second AVR, it was hard enough fitting my current AVR into my space since it is larger than my previous one.

I love racks, you can stack equipment from floor to ceiling!

 

[kfbkfb]

My main idea is to show with some graphs (and/or drawings) that the SM decoder logic (in QS mode) will place sounds from Dolby Surround encoded content in the right locations (or close to it).

Maybe allude to Dolby Surround without using the word "Dolby" - something like "The Involve Surround Master in Involve/QS mode will provide accurate decoding of the most popular matrix surround sound encoding method used for a large number of movie and TV soundtracks".


Although Pioneer was a Dolby Labs licensee (for their cassette decks), I guess they wanted to avoid additional payments to Dolby Labs and carefully avoided using the word Dolby when describing their matrix decoder (in "Theater" mode).
https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/forums/threads/pioneer-sp-101-synthesized-surround-processor.31727/


Kirk Bayne