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Well, there is a standard: IEC 62700 - Wikipedia[^]
Whether anyone follows it is not part of my knowledge.
The connectors (round ones) are also standardized on both voltage and current spans, so as a rule of thumb, if it fits, you won't destroy anything. But you should obviously check the numbers and polarity just in case.
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I'm working for a guy I can't stand anymore. However, given my age and skill set, chances of finding another job are minimal. Have you ever been in that sort of position?
Hate the job but need the money?
ed
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Yup, several times. Job once and boss a couple of times.
What advice did I get? Suck it up until/unless you find something better.
One boss was dumb as a post so they promoted him shortly after he took over. Then he was someone else's problem. 
>64
Some days the dragon wins. Suck it up.
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theoldfool wrote: One boss was dumb as a post so they promoted him shortly after he took over. Then he was someone else's problem.
This reminds me of a gig at a real mess of a company. I was given such an out-of-date computer that I couldn't compile anything in the IBM OS (remember that POS?), and nobody would help me. I got canned after 2 weeks, but karma was great in that that guy that canned me got canned the day after me. Along with some employment quarters from before, I was able to get unemployment, and ended up making about 3X as much on the dole as I made at the cubicle, LOL.
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theoldfool wrote: One boss was dumb as a post so they promoted him...
Peter?
"One man's wage rise is another man's price increase." - Harold Wilson
"Fireproof doesn't mean the fire will never come. It means when the fire comes that you will be able to withstand it." - Michael Simmons
"You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him." - James D. Miles
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No. Scott Adams.
(See the Dilbert Principle)
EDIT: Aarrgh! I see that someone else referenced this before me.
Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.
-- 6079 Smith W.
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theoldfool wrote: One boss was dumb as a post so they promoted him shortly after he took over. Then he was someone else's problem
I believe Scott Adams calls this the Dilbert Principle.
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Yup. Back in the day, they were hiring anyone who could fog a mirror.
>64
Some days the dragon wins. Suck it up.
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When faced with a bad (or dumb) boss, I push the Dilbert Principle forward.
I look at him/her and say to myself, "My current job is to get you promoted ... so I can take your job."
Money makes the world go round ... but documentation moves the money.
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willichan wrote: "My current job is to get you promoted ... so I can take your job."
I'm not a job hopper, and admittedly I've had few bosses (I've been at the same company now for over 14 years)...but I've never had a boss whose job I wanted. I entered this field to write software; as soon as you get promoted so there's people working for you - your time writing software is at risk of getting greatly reduced.
No thanks. Even if the goal of getting promoted was to get someone out of the way.
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I get your position.
For me it isn't really about getting myself promoted, as much as it is setting my own attitude and mindset around my work. I have had good bosses, and I have had bosses that were horrible SOBs that were difficult to work with. Setting my own attitude to one of "I'm going to make you look so good that you will be promoted out of here" helped me to keep my thinking on maintaining the quality of my work (and teamwork), as opposed to the letting my own quality slide while blaming it on him.
In one case, my boss picked up on the fact that I was not looking for ways to trip him up, but was picking up where he dropped the ball. He admitted to me at lunch one day that his promotion to that position caught him off guard. He never pictured himself in that job, and felt himself inadequate, and trapped in his position. He still wasn't a good boss, but at least he made more effort to be one.
Money makes the world go round ... but documentation moves the money.
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I'm with TheOldFool, unless you are on good terms with your local hitman ...
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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Slow Eddie wrote: given my age and skill set, chances of finding another job are minimal
Personally I take the opposite approach to the whole agism thing claimed to exist in this field - nothing makes up for decades of experience...I don't know anything about you or your circumstances, but don't undersell yourself--too many people do that. Keep in mind that it's a job seeker's market right now - this could work out in your favor.
If you feel that strongly about it, start looking, but don't burn bridges until you have something else lined up.
Slow Eddie wrote: Have you ever been in that sort of position?
Hate the job but need the money?
I think that can be said for, oh, 90% of the workforce in any industry?
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This is the only sensible answer.
If you're unsatisfied do something about it and look for another job.
Maybe you're too old, maybe employers are dying to hire you, but you won't know until you try.
We have a saying in Dutch, you have a "no", you can get a "yes".
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Sander Rossel wrote: We have a saying in Dutch, you have a "no", you can get a "yes".
No only in Dutch 
Sander Rossel wrote: This is the only sensible answer.
If you're unsatisfied do something about it and look for another job.
Maybe you're too old, maybe employers are dying to hire you, but you won't know until you try.
Yeah, but as he says... do it low profile, you don't want to worsen things as long as you haven't found anything else.
M.D.V.
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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Yeah, don't go around shouting how you hate your job and are looking for a new one.
Although I did that once, quit my job before I had a new one and took a week of unpaid leave, that sent a message 
I still didn't burn any bridges though, and I'm still in occasional contact with them (in fact, the office I'm renting now is owned by the same guy).
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In my area there is a shortage of IT talent, so in spite of my age (I'm within a few years of retirement) and my not-at-all-up-to-date skillset I didn't have a problems finding a new job when my last arse of a boss switched the company's technical gears and had my position eliminated (which happened a month after he was let go... < /schadenfreude > ). Your chances might not be as bad as you think.
If you think 'goto' is evil, try writing an Assembly program without JMP.
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In Sweden where I live, age is not an issue when applying for a job as a programmer.
The shortage is too high... 
Anything that is unrelated to elephants is irrelephant
Anonymous
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The problem with quotes on the internet is that you can never tell if they're genuine
Winston Churchill, 1944
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Never argue with a fool. Onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.
Mark Twain
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I was like this after my last good gig in 2003. I had built up a nice nest egg, and then after a major hurricane flood and the Great Recession, I couldn't find work in my VC++ specialty anymore - to say nothing of the fact that with so many unemployed programmers, I determined that it was not possible to resurrect my career - so I decided to save my IRA and just file a 6-figure Chapter 7 bankruptcy, and travel abroad doing itinerant English language consulting.
With the "Great Resignation" now the meme, I had thought about getting back into the swing, but whom would I be kidding? Besides, I get an ACA subsidy that's worth about $20K after tax, so if I earn $30K north of $18K/yr, I'd end up with the same amount of cash. I'm too used to being early retired.
As internet philosopher Aaron Clarey says, I am "enjoying the decline".
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Slow Eddie wrote: However, given my age and skill set
"Experience".
Slow Eddie wrote: Have you ever been in that sort of position?
A few times; and always left as soon as I could. It hurts both sides to continue at that point.
Slow Eddie wrote: Hate the job but need the money?
Dunno how that is, I never needed the money that much.
There's a Dutch saying, that it is hard to capture hares with unwilling dogs.
Bastard Programmer from Hell 
"If you just follow the bacon Eddy, wherever it leads you, then you won't have to think about politics." -- Some Bell.
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Quote: Dunno how that is, I never needed the money that much.
You don't know my wife, or my debt level, primarily due to my wife.
You are alucky man
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I have an uncle who's now in a retirement home, entirely penniless very much because of his wife. Her spending habits could be described as some sort of mental affliction. Worst part is, she blames him for them being broke. I could write a book just about the horror stories I've heard.
Some in the family speculate she was put on earth as a precautionary tale for others.
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My girlfriend is in such a position. She doesn't hate her work per se, but she certainly hates the bosses (father & son, not quite a healthy relationship between them certainly doesn't help office atmosphere). But the money's good and she gets bonuses outside of her contract (such as the company paying for her commute ticket) and looking for another job RIGHT NOW is madness anyway.
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You could always take a Zen approach. Learn to observe your own reactions and find out where they come from. The people who annoy you the most are sometimes the best teachers. And no, you are never too old to learn that sort of stuff.
Failing that, another Zen approach, just give notice and see what happens.
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Slow Eddie wrote: I can't stand anymore
What do you mean by this? Is it lack of professionalism, knowledge of whatever the job needs? Or something personal?
If it is work related, I would objectively state how it is. There is nothing personal there. I do not know how your work environment is but where I am telling someone that they are objectively wrong, is quite acceptable. At one previous job I tried this and I was told "I do not want to work with you ever.". I was moved to another part of work. Win-win.
If it is personal, then may be a casual chat explaining how you are affected.
"It is easy to decipher extraterrestrial signals after deciphering Javascript and VB6 themselves.", ISanti[ ^]
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