What milestone have I reached in my career?

[Ivan Seeking]

As I sit here working and popping in on PF from time to time, I find myself busting at the seams and unable to keep this to myself any longer. According to those who would know [and have the contacts], after twelve long, often gut wrenching, once or twice terrifying, always sleep deprived, often lonely years of working in my field, it seems that I have officially reached a new plateau - the top of the food chain! My latest project seems to have established me as a top level industrial systems integrator. Going into this project I knew that it would be a real stretch, but it never occurred to me that other people were watching in this way.

As of today I have the last and most difficult of five networks online. So for one, for the first time in two months I may dare to breathe a little, and, due to yet a second conversation to this effect today, this also seems to be a key moment in my career. So, please forgive my bragging but it feels like a party is going on in my head! Hopefully this means that eventually I can aim for something closer to a normal life again. Since I started my business over seven years ago, eighty hour weeks have been the norm. For example, I have had two days off in the last two months and have worked 14 to 16 hours a day...and loving it!.

 

[Evo]

WOOHOO! Way to go Ivan!

So, can I quit my job and come live with you and Tsu now?

 

[pattylou]

Congratulations! Great news!

 

[Smurf]

there's only one word for an occasion like this.

Awsomeness.

 

[hypatia]

Don't forget to send in the Merry Maids, mind parties can be so messy!

Congratulations, on a well deserved pat on the back! Might as well as add a "atta" boy too!

 

[Danger]

Good on ya, pal! It goes to show that with skill, perserverence, and sacrifice, even short, grey, funny-looking guys with weird eyes can be successful. Congrats!

 

[Math Is Hard]

That's great Ivan! Hooray! I always imagine you sequestered away, working tirelessly in a little shed, impatient helper-cat nipping at your toes. Now you can come out and get some sunlight on your grey alien hide!

 

[Astronuc]

Attaboy, Ivan!

Congratulations, and Well Done!

 

[ZapperZ]

Well, you know, there is only just ONE way for you to celebrate this: YOU HAVE TO GO TO DISNEY WORLD!

<now, show of hands for people who were not expecting me to say that>

Join me, Evo, and Moonbie this January, why don't you? I suppose Tsu could come along too if she wants to. :)

Zz.

 

[Gokul43201]

Congrats Ivan ! Good for you.

 

[Galileo]

Congratulations Ivan! Undoubtedly well deserved

 

[zanazzi78]

That`s fantastic news, after reading some of your posts where you were stressed beyond belief, i`m really pleased you are getting some positive feedback.

GOOD WORK FELLA

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Thanks all. Now if I don't screw something up before the start-up it will be a great week!

Zapper, one of the things on my list of things to do in life is to go to Disneyworld. I had hoped to time this with a shuttle launch, but perhaps I waited too long.

 

[Anttech]

Ivan what is it that you do? 'Industrial system intergrator' sounds interesting...

 

[ZapperZ]

Zapper, one of the things on my list of things to do in life is to go to Disneyworld. I had hoped to time this with a shuttle launch, but perhaps I waited too long.

Note to Evo and Moonbie: If our January trip goes well and we don't kill each other, let's make an effort to get Ivan and Tsu to go to Disney World in early Sept. next year! It will be another unofficial PF Gathering!

:)

Zz.

 

[Moonbear]

Note to Evo and Moonbie: If our January trip goes well and we don't kill each other, let's make an effort to get Ivan and Tsu to go to Disney World in early Sept. next year! It will be another unofficial PF Gathering!
:)
Zz.

I don't think we should wait for next September. C'mon Ivan and Tsu, join us in January! I think the more witnesses we have to Zz's insanity in Disney World, the more fun we'll have retelling the stories in lavish detail! Tell Tsu we're celebrating with green apple martinis!

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

Congrats Ivan! It sounds like you should take a vacation.


Adn I think that Zz, Evo, and Moonie all need to go to Disneyland instead because it's closer to Tsu and Ivan... and me.

 

[ZapperZ]

I don't think we should wait for next September. C'mon Ivan and Tsu, join us in January! I think the more witnesses we have to Zz's insanity in Disney World, the more fun we'll have retelling the stories in lavish detail! Tell Tsu we're celebrating with green apple martinis!

I wholeheartedly agree! What better reason to join us than to see me make a complete fool of myself in front of everybody? And I'll try my darndest to drag Moonbie and Evo into this too.

Just think of the pictures you guys would have!

:)

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

Congrats Ivan! It sounds like you should take a vacation.
Adn I think that Zz, Evo, and Moonie all need to go to Disneyland instead because it's closer to Tsu and Ivan... and me.

I'm going to Disneyland in June! You won't have an excuse not to meet up with me then!

:)

Zz.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

There are plenty of SoCal PFers too. Have you already been rallying them to meet you?

I haven't stepped into the Disneymania thread yet.

 

[ZapperZ]

There are plenty of SoCal PFers too. Have you already been rallying them to meet you?

Sorry, there's only so many I can turn into pillars of salt at one time. So I'm working through this slowly. :)

I haven't stepped into the Disneymania thread yet.

How can you resist? Do you have willpower? :)

Seriously, it would be a load of fun to meet up with other PF members there. I'm up for it. Unfortunately, this is the wrong thread to talk about this, so if you wish, we can carry this in you-know-where. Right now, this thread is about Ivan's terrific job and impending success (of which I have no doubt will come).

Zz.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Ivan what is it that you do? 'Industrial system intergrator' sounds interesting...

Its a mix of electronics and other engineering applications; lots of programming, and...how can I say this...figuring out how make different technologies work together. So it is very interesting! No two jobs are the same and I even get a chance to do some real physics from time to time. The flip side is that there can be a lot of liablity. In fact, recently I realized that one of the first jobs done for the state is now beyond the six year limit for liablity. This was really good to know since it was a pumping station designed to prevent about four-hundred homes from flooding. Imagine how big of a bill could add up if the system failed! I have also been on the hook for as much as $20,000-30,000 per hour on a job or two. So it can get pretty intense at times.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

As for Disney World, there is no way that we could make it in Jan but I do want to make the trip, so when we can...

 

[Anttech]

Nice job! Sounds very interesting to say the least. I love engineering communication solutions. I think the scope of what you do is much greater than just comms tho.

Do you use IP at the network layer for communications a lot? Are you even conserned with this? or are you hardcoding devices to communicate over serial connections?

Sounds like a very interesting Job...

 

[moose]

You 3ft tall creatures sure do work a lot O.O

Congrats!

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Nice job! Sounds very interesting to say the least. I love engineering communication solutions. I think the scope of what you do is much greater than just comms tho.

Do you use IP at the network layer for communications a lot? Are you even conserned with this? or are you hardcoding devices to communicate over serial connections?

I do some IP but usually for the main offices to monitor systems. Until recently IP wasn't really considered to be considered reliable enough for industrial apps. Then we have about ten proprietary protocols used over about a half dozen hardware platforms. We still do some serial comms. In fact I even have units in remote locations talking over a modem at 9600, and there is an old protocol called Modbus that can found buried within newer ones. But as is the case with most tech, the field is changing very quickly.

 

[Astronuc]

Sounds a lot like microprocessor based relaying.

 

[Anttech]

Are you involved in writing protocols for data exchange?

 

[Ivan Seeking]

No, with rare exception this is all applications level stuff.

edit: there have been a couple of times that I wrote my own protocol [very simple stuff by most standards] but that's certainly not a primary function of the job.

 

[honestrosewater]

Woo[/color]hoo! [/color]Con[/color]gra[/color]tul[/color]ati[/color]ons,[/color] [/color] Iva[/color]n![/color]!11[/color][/size]

 

[Anttech]

I see so you are porting what you do to propriatry layer 6 and down protocols...

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Mostly that is correct. And in my case the goal is usually either process control, instrumentation, or data collection, so the networking is a growing requirement for industry but still a secondary pain in the butt...I mean, concern, from my POV.

In fact, as the technology evolves I will probably have to worry about this aspect of things less and less; that is, as the various technologies used start to perform as advertised, and as standards like ODVA are implemented more generally.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

working tirelessly in a little shed,

My 400 sq ft shed with DSL, two phones lines, satellite TV, a microwave oven, a 1 inch water line, 22KW of power, new high efficiency windows, and comfortable furniture?

 

[Math Is Hard]

My 400 sq ft shed with DSL, two phones lines, satellite TV, a microwave oven, a 1 inch water line, 22KW of power, new high efficiency windows, and comfortable furniture?

My vision of you heading off to work was more like that of Yahoo Serious in Young Einstein. Ever see that? Remember when he decides to split the atom? He heads off to the little shed with a chisel in hand and a few minutes later you hear
cool person.. cool person.. cool person..

BOOOOM!

 

[Ivan Seeking]

My vision of you heading off to work was more like that of Yahoo Serious in Young Einstein. Ever see that? Remember when he decides to split the atom? He heads off to the little shed with a chisel in hand and a few minutes later you hear
cool person.. cool person.. cool person..
BOOOOM!

Seriously though, twelve years ago when I tried the first variation on my business, I started with a 1.5KW limit for power in my then semi-converted barn. The first winter down here I couldn't run the heater when I tried to solder or the soldering iron wouldn't get hot enough, and it was often near or below freezing during the winter months. So it was a real bugger in the beginning. The next year I got a wood stove and things improved quite a bit, but now I'm quite comfortable, and so far, no serious booms. Tsu does have instructions that if something happens, don't look, just call 911.

 

[Anttech]

And in my case the goal is usually either process control, instrumentation, or data collection, so the networking is a growing requirement for industry but still a secondary pain in the butt...I mean, concern, from my POV.

hehe.. well as RFC's become more modular especially with regards to the IOS Stack, you'll find you are able to port stuff easier and easier, to our (networking) lovely open sourced protocols ;-)

 

[Lisa!]

Congratulations, Ivan![/color][/size]
http://latvlegends.com/SheriffJohn/SherJ10.JPG
Listen
http://latvlegends.com/SheriffJohn/sheriffjohn.html
It could be like a birthday, am I right?

 

[Tide]

Yay, Ivan! WTG!

Just a guess but does Ivan Seeking = I-S = Integrated Systems or some variant?

 

[Ivan Seeking]

thanks, no, Ivan Seeking was a spontaneous choice...at about 3AM as I recall.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Wow, Sheriff John hasn't wished me a happy birthday [or anything else] since I was five.

 

[Integral]

I have had the distinct pleasure of entering the 400sqft office of Ivan's. Let me tell you it is a mess! A book shelf against 1 wall has range of fascinating titles, A couch, piled with books, sits in front of the book self, other shelfs are overflowing with a variety of hardware, wires, meters etc. Great stuff! Stacks of books and more stacks of books, his desk... there is a desk under there isn't there Ivan? Its not just a pile of books with your laptop on it,..is it? Then there is the ever present pot of coffee. Ivan LIVES on coffee, if something were to happen to his coffee supply he would be a total wreck, if you were to extract all of the caffeine from his system I bet he'd lose 30 lbs, and his hair would turn blond.

Even though I could drive right to the front door of his office I like to park by his house (where Tsu hangs out!) and walk the short road down to his office, this is just little bit of forest but enough to get the feel of the Oregon woods, magnificent, I envy Ivan his daily walk to work, what a way to start the day.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Ivan LIVES on coffee, if something were to happen to his coffee supply he would be a total wreck, if you were to extract all of the caffeine from his system I bet he'd lose 30 lbs, and his hair would turn blond.

Ain't it the truth! I've had a coffee cup in my hand since I was about ten years old.

You know it is funny. My biggest objection to converting the barn to an office was the distance from the house. But as it turns out I do love my walk to work. And when I need a break I can step outside and hang by the creek for a bit.

A couple of engineers from Boeing now love to work here. At first it was like a big joke. The first time the one person came here, he called a number of people that we both know just to ask, "hey, guess where I am...[pause]... [Ivan's] barn!" And then he would laugh hysterically. But it is such a productive and comfortable setting that they come here now whenever they can justify the trip. But boy oh boy you're right about the mess. This place needs a serious cleaning. The last two months have been such a push that I haven't even vacuumed.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

For those who can appreciate this... The suckers made me run the system for the first time with no debugging and in full auto mode! The company manager, the president, and even some investors suddently showed up. Apparently our start-up was anticipated by management, and as a result the project manager was getting pressure to put on a show. So I was informed that void of the planned dry run debugging, we were going full auto, now, with product! Anyway, things went pretty well but I can live without days like this...or maybe not... it is fun when things work out. But it was eight hours of maximum stress.

 

[Integral]

For those who can appreciate this... The suckers made me run the system for the first time with no debugging and in full auto mode! The company manager, the president, and even some investors suddently showed up. Apparently our start-up was anticipated by management, and as a result the project manager was getting pressure to put on a show. So I was informed that void of the planned dry run debugging, we were going full auto, now, with product! Anyway, things went pretty well but I can live without days like this...or maybe not... it is fun when things work out. But it was eight hours of maximum stress.

I guess since you are posting smilies and and screamies that all went ok.

You ready celebrate this weekend?

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Things went well and I definitely think a celebration is in order. We made product today with last of five systems to be tested. Less a bit of the standard follow-up, there are just a few bugs to check out and I'm outta there.

I need some time off soooooooooo badly...

 

[Ivan Seeking]

We had a few more modifications to make but finally, for the first time in [I think] seventy-two days, I'm off. But I had to post this as a final comment. The old system error was between 3 and 5% error. Our final numbers are coming in consistantly at about 0.3%. And since these have all been consistenly high I think we can do much better yet. The results are so good that the customer didn't even believe them at first. Only after numberous runs were they convinced that the results weren't a fluke. Now the primary contractor is presenting me with two even larger jobs.