Something Random

Mercutio

Fatwah on Western Digital
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I just buy my lunch everyday. Sounds like a lot of work.

I eat protein bars or get a salad or sometimes chicken nuggets from McDonald's. Maybe once every couple weeks I'll go to the ridiculously cheap and good Mexican hole in the wall and get steak tacos, but that's kind of a treat.
 

ddrueding

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My office is out in the boonies; miles from anything. The closest food is a country club that my boss owns and I support. Good food, excellent service, and just as fast as driving a bit further to get drive-thru. The only catch is that I'd go broke eating there twice a day.
 

jtr1962

Storage? I am Storage!
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The only time I could afford to buy lunch was on days I had overtime. I'd treat myself to a BLT from the local deli. The rest of the time I made packs of Ramen soup which I bought from home. Every single day. I also walked 2.5 miles to/from the subway station to avoid double carfare. $8 a day for lunch might be reasonable if you're making decent money. In those days I was making $7 an hour. After taxes and carfare I was left with about $200 a week. Couldn't afford to spend 15% to 20% of my take-home pay just on lunch.
 

Stereodude

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I spend ~$8/day. It's worth it for the time savings and variety of food.
I get some Sushi every Tuesday from the restaurant in the building (they bring in a Japanese Sushi chef), and I rather enjoy my lunch even if it is very similar every day.
 

snowhiker

Storage Freak Apprentice
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Maybe once every couple weeks I'll go to the ridiculously cheap and good Mexican hole in the wall and get steak tacos, but that's kind of a treat.


- "ridiculously cheap."
- "good Mexican" food.
- "kind of a treat."

:scratch:

Why aren't you going there more often? Seriously?
 

Stereodude

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So I got my first bonus at this job today that I got late last year. The payout wasn't terrible at about 60% of nominal though I generally did better at my last job in terms of percentage of nominal, but I was still quite unhappy about the way it all transpired. After asking for the calculation behind the payout (I had to ask, it wasn't offered) I, for the very first time, found out what the formula used to calculate my bonus was and what apparent baseline expectations were. I only arrived at the baseline expectations by determining what would have to go into the formula to deliver a nominal payout. I'm really steamed because my actual job performance really only factors into 10% of a nominal payout. The other 90% are things basically beyond my control.

My boss, who was also in the dark on the whole thing, kept trying to steer it back to that I should be pretty happy with the dollar amount, but I wasn't really having it.
 

LunarMist

I can't believe I'm a Fixture
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So I got my first bonus at this job today that I got late last year. The payout wasn't terrible at about 60% of nominal though I generally did better at my last job in terms of percentage of nominal, but I was still quite unhappy about the way it all transpired. After asking for the calculation behind the payout (I had to ask, it wasn't offered) I, for the very first time, found out what the formula used to calculate my bonus was and what apparent baseline expectations were. I only arrived at the baseline expectations by determining what would have to go into the formula to deliver a nominal payout. I'm really steamed because my actual job performance really only factors into 10% of a nominal payout. The other 90% are things basically beyond my control.

My boss, who was also in the dark on the whole thing, kept trying to steer it back to that I should be pretty happy with the dollar amount, but I wasn't really having it.

What is your target, 10%?
 

LunarMist

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What do you mean? 10% of what?

I'm used to bonus target as % of base pay. For example if someone has a 10% target, they might get between 5-15% depending on performance (personal and company). Obviously someone on a PIP would be at 0, and the reality is that most people will be fairly close to the target.
 

Stereodude

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I'm used to bonus target as % of base pay. For example if someone has a 10% target, they might get between 5-15% depending on performance (personal and company). Obviously someone on a PIP would be at 0, and the reality is that most people will be fairly close to the target.
At this company it's not quite so cut and dry, but it's typically 33% for my position per year. A bonus is paid every half, so basically 33%/2 is the target per half.
 

timwhit

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My bonus is 100% tied to my practice and company's financial performance. More specifically if we are able to hit revenue and net profit forecasts. I know what the amount is going to be in advance and thankfully we've gotten 100% the last 3 years.
 

Will Rickards

Storage Is My Life
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My boss, who was also in the dark on the whole thing, kept trying to steer it back to that I should be pretty happy with the dollar amount, but I wasn't really having it.

Yeah this type of crap irks me to no end. Bosses who are clueless or play like they are clueless.

What your bonus is tied to depends on the kind of job you do. When I worked in straight up consulting it was totally based on my billable hours. Now I do the same job but because I work for the company instead of the consulting, it is mostly tied into the company's performance as a whole. Of course I have to hit my hours target to get the bonus but after that it is mostly out of my control. And it is only paid yearly whereas the consulting company paid me the bonus quarterly. The bonus thus has become less of a motivator and more like just part of my pay that I may or may not get.
 

Will Rickards

Storage Is My Life
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Random question: I was researching magnetic mounts and thought I had seen one that had little standoffs in the corners and then the metal plates had corresponding cutouts so that the phone wouldn't move around. But I can't seem to find it now. Anybody remember this or know what I'm talking about? My current magentic mount works but the phone gradually slides diagonally which is annoying. I thought this other mount would solve the problem.
 

Stereodude

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Yeah this type of crap irks me to no end. Bosses who are clueless or play like they are clueless.
Well it's not his fault. We're kept in the dark by the US head office in CA.

What your bonus is tied to depends on the kind of job you do. When I worked in straight up consulting it was totally based on my billable hours. Now I do the same job but because I work for the company instead of the consulting, it is mostly tied into the company's performance as a whole. Of course I have to hit my hours target to get the bonus but after that it is mostly out of my control. And it is only paid yearly whereas the consulting company paid me the bonus quarterly. The bonus thus has become less of a motivator and more like just part of my pay that I may or may not get.
At most of my jobs before this the bonuses have more been incentive plans. Here it seems like it's more of a bonus based on company performance. I don't have any influence on shipments / billings to forecast and that's >50% weighting in my bonus. My personal job performance (KPIs) is only 10% and the rest is design wins. However, due to the nature of the company, the global nature of the customer base, and the industry I'm in I have very little real influence in design wins. It's pretty much all about what price the overseas operation can offer for the product and the technical specs they can meet for it. How good I am at my job, or how well I do it can't really influence design wins. Once someone in my type of position passes a basic competence level it's basically a non-factor in customer considerations.
 

ddrueding

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Here the only structured bonus is a profit-sharing plan; once you are full-time and salary for more than 2 years you receive some percentage of net profits proportional to your base pay. This number is so far divorced from my performance that it has no impact on how I do my job.

I will, however, walk into the boss' office and ask for raises/bonuses when I feel they are deserved. There is no structured evaluation/raise structure in place; each employee needs to take it upon themselves to ask when they feel it is warranted.
 

ddrueding

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I've been consulting for years and I've never come across any situation where they give bonuses. I get whatever hourly rate or fee we agreed on, bill them for it, and that's it.

I think Will is talking about a situation where he worked for a company that offered consulting services to other companies. This is a fairly common structure in many engineering and legal professions.
 

timwhit

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I think Will is talking about a situation where he worked for a company that offered consulting services to other companies. This is a fairly common structure in many engineering and legal professions.

Yes, it is. I work for a consulting company and as I mentioned above bonuses are very common.
 

jtr1962

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So basically it's a situation where you're an employee of the consulting company which "rents" you out as needed. That makes more sense. I work as an independent contractor. The only time that's been slightly different is my present consulting gig. I bill a consulting firm for my hours which in turn bills the client I'm working for. The firm charges 10% overhead but they handle the payments, any needed drug testing, and so forth. I'm still an independent contractor with regard to the consulting firm in that they have no control over the hours, days, or where I do my work. I'm also responsible for all my taxes.
 

Howell

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Random question: I was researching magnetic mounts and thought I had seen one that had little standoffs in the corners and then the metal plates had corresponding cutouts so that the phone wouldn't move around. But I can't seem to find it now. Anybody remember this or know what I'm talking about? My current magentic mount works but the phone gradually slides diagonally which is annoying. I thought this other mount would solve the problem.

What about coating the one you have with a thin rubber surface?
 

timwhit

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So basically it's a situation where you're an employee of the consulting company which "rents" you out as needed. That makes more sense. I work as an independent contractor. The only time that's been slightly different is my present consulting gig. I bill a consulting firm for my hours which in turn bills the client I'm working for. The firm charges 10% overhead but they handle the payments, any needed drug testing, and so forth. I'm still an independent contractor with regard to the consulting firm in that they have no control over the hours, days, or where I do my work. I'm also responsible for all my taxes.

Think of Accenture or Deloitte. I guess you could call it "rented out", but for the most part at my company and in my practice we are staffed onto larger project teams from 2-30+ people doing projects or building products for companies of all size. Disclaimed: I don't work at Accenture or Deloitte. I just picked two of the larger consulting firms as an example.
 

Stereodude

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I got to my second batch of steamed eggs yesterday. I steamed three eggs. One for 14, 15, and 16 minutes respectively. I ate the 14 minute egg for lunch yesterday. The yolk was fully cooked and consistent in texture all the way through unlike the 12 minute eggs. No dark ring in the yolk. Today I will take the 15 minute egg to work.
So I'm not really sure if the 15 or 16 minute eggs were really distinguishable from the 14 or if it's just my imagination, but I really liked the 16 minute egg today. The yolk had a real nice texture that I didn't notice on the other 14 and 15. No idea if the time difference accounts for it or egg to egg variation. I will cook the next batch of eggs at 16 minutes and see how I like them to rule out a random fluke.
 

LunarMist

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So I'm not really sure if the 15 or 16 minute eggs were really distinguishable from the 14 or if it's just my imagination, but I really liked the 16 minute egg today. The yolk had a real nice texture that I didn't notice on the other 14 and 15. No idea if the time difference accounts for it or egg to egg variation. I will cook the next batch of eggs at 16 minutes and see how I like them to rule out a random fluke.

If I take 18 Advils every day?
 

mubs

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Somewhere in time.
18 Advils is a lot. A lot. Without a prescription, I think you're not supposed to exceed 2.4 gms per 24 hours. Ibuprofen (in Advil) can ruin your kidneys if you don't drink sufficient water. A doctor in the US I know almost died because of this and was saved at the last minute. Was touch & go for a while.
 

Mercutio

Fatwah on Western Digital
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I have decided to celebrate US Labor Day by not doing a damned thing. It's very nice outside and I have sat on my balcony and read a book. I have not put on pants. At some point, I will decide that I am hungry and I shall have to do something, but the longer this can be avoided, the more I will have won the battle against labor. And pants.
 

CougTek

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I wouldn't go on my balcony in underwear, but from what I've read about your neighborhood, it's probably called casual outfit in there.
 

Mercutio

Fatwah on Western Digital
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No one can see me out there. I have a whole bunch of plants blocking anyone's view. My legs actually got a little tan. I'm proud of myself.
 

Howell

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In a turn of events we spent almost all day yesterday inside waiting for the baby to come. One week over as of yesterday.
 
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