Comments on: Got Me A Headache

By: Pete Ashton

Pete Ashton — Sat, 26 Feb 2005 03:27:57 +0000

It was eyestrain and I know it wasn’t a real migrain or anything, but I’ve also had a bit of a minor, low-level flu this last couple of days too, which might have had something to do with it. Back again next week so I will look into some new way of avoiding the focus issue. Maybe lining them all up on the desk for inspection before putting them all back in the tray again.

By: Pete Ashton

Pete Ashton — Sat, 26 Feb 2005 03:20:04 +0000

Rog: Your so right, but the economics of these sorts of jobs mean it’s usually cheaper to get some temps in for a few weeks that actually buy a piece of equipment. I’ve done numberous jobs like this, that should be automated but it’s not worth it in the long term. In this case it’ll cost too much to return the whole consignment back to the other side of the world so the supplier is paying for us to sort out the bads first. It’s doubtful the exercise will every be repeated again.

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Fri, 25 Feb 2005 17:56:13 +0000

That’s no migraine. It’s eye-strain. Which can be a trigger, but so can lots of things …

It sounds like it’s the zooms doing the damage, so see if you can figure out a way of doing this which doesn’t involve focussing on the tray — if nothing else, trying to figure out different ways of doing a mindnumbingly tedious task gives your head something to chew on.

I came up with a whole series of different ways to run the voucher-feeder on the bank computers. Including the optimal no-strain technique.

By: Rog.

Rog. — Fri, 25 Feb 2005 15:20:06 +0000

Tell the buggers to get a proper test system. There must be a dozen different ways to check how good a solder joint is – all of them more reliable than just looking at the thing.

By: brendadada

brendadada — Fri, 25 Feb 2005 06:31:51 +0000

Thing about readjusting your focal length is a good plan but if it isn’t working, it’s cos it’s not just about eyestrain, is it? And that kind of repetitive behavior is a good precursor to a migraine, iirc. So hey, not much comfort there, sorry, but I do sympathise.

By: Pete Ashton

Pete Ashton — Thu, 24 Feb 2005 20:08:21 +0000

Podcast: Yeah, it’s a little overdue. I might get one done this weekend. Glad you’re liking it, Mr Leaf!

By: leaf

leaf — Thu, 24 Feb 2005 05:54:16 +0000

Hey, Dad! Great site (focalplane) – I shall have a longer, leisurely read later, when time permits.

erm, sorry to disturb the flow of your comments thread…:-/

By: leaf

leaf — Thu, 24 Feb 2005 05:39:43 +0000

migraine? Nah, it’s all in your head, mate.

any more podcasts planned? I keep hitting my gofetch button but zip from Pete Radio. I enjoyed the last one (the only one?). you asked for feedback – so there you are.

By: Pete Ashton

Pete Ashton — Thu, 24 Feb 2005 05:13:06 +0000

Trust me, I was doing that. The advantage of being a smoker is you have an inbuilt system for getting up and going to the smoking room for five minutes, and the more tedious the job the more often it tends to happen.

And to be honest, the boss is cool about all this. She knows what an arse of a job it is. We can pretty much do what we want break-wise. It’s all being billed to the supplier of the things so there’s no rushrushrush.

By: Dad

Dad — Thu, 24 Feb 2005 03:45:37 +0000

Here’s a solution that really works. Every hour take a break and look out the window for at least minute, focusing on a distant object. No window? Call Brussels and tell them about it. No, seriously, you need to adjust your eyes’ focus regularly. I have noticed over the years that just about every geophysicist colleague wears glasses, brought on by the fact that they spend hours a day staring at squiggly lines. The simplest remedy is to take a minute and stare out the window. I know, management thinks that’s jerking off in the workplace but we all know about management. . . . (well, I do, I used to be one)