What does a revolutionary cashpoint machine do anyway? Take your money and redistribute it?Abitrary said:I almost took a job working on software for a revolutionary cashpoint machine. It was a challenging role but I turned it down because they wouldn't cough up to make it worth my while.
Looking back I wish I had. ATMs are intense.
Chuffy said:What does a revolutionary cashpoint machine do anyway? Take your money and redistribute it?
So basically, doing exactly what cashpoints do, only in reverse. And if you have OCR scanning technology, not exactly hard. When was this, the early 80s or something?Abitrary said:Well it wasn't a cashpoint in the way you know it. It was a machine you put money in, like for paying council tax, and it counted it.
It's not like spitting out ironed 50 quid notes - it's about trying to work out what people had actually put in.
Very, very challenging stuff. The office looked like dr who's tardis as well.
Chuffy said:So basically, doing exactly what cashpoints do, only in reverse. And if you have OCR scanning technology, not exactly hard. When was this, the early 80s or something?
Abitrary said:It was about 2 years ago. OCR yes would work for photocopied notes.
This was about detecting texture etc. Whatever, I turned the job down so I'm probably inventing half of this.
What do you do anyway chuffy? I'm not normally curious but you are questioning my skillz now, scruffy man.
Chuffy said:
Not your skillz (which I'm sure are silky) just your memory.
I'll settle for that!Abitrary said:What do you do chuffy? I always imagine you as some sort of kick-ass male avon lady.
Didn't you end up exploding sheep or am I confusing you with someone else? That always sounded like a very cool job...gbb said:At 17 i already had probaby the best job i've ever had with a Canadian seismic surveying company...double the wages of all my mates at that time, all the fun and messing about you could deal with, crosscountry driving in a landrover, using explosives...awesome job.
But some of the older guys i knew were working on drilling rigs, working the Vale of belvoir looking for coal deposits...a stage further on from where we were.
At that time, i was on £50 a week (1976)...a rea lot of money for a 17 year old.
But they were on £250 a week extraordinary money for a near 18 year old. They were driving Lotus Cortinas and Triumph Stags...the cars you dreamed of then
I was in line for a job with them....but for some reason ( gone in the mists of time now), it didnt quite come off
Gutted...
Sheep, cats, weasels, haybales, stoats, crows and rabbits...oh, and i got blowed up tooChuffy said:Didn't you end up exploding sheep or am I confusing you with someone else? That always sounded like a very cool job...
gbb said:Sheep, cats, weasels, haybales, stoats, crows and rabbits...oh, and i got blowed up too
And we blew up a farmers coal bunker once, fractured many a water main, got thrown off farmers land for throwing stones at his pheasants, wrote off a Landrover on the A1, blew the exhausts of two or three of them ar$ing about. At the end of some days, you could hardly stand for laughing
The coolest job you could ever imagine. Working with a bunch of psychos, pedal to the metal in a 3.5 litre Landrover, very little supervision and well paid to boot.
Did i honesty think it could get better ?