| Jake Thampan |
| Jake was one of a flock of tecks we hired at ETM when the company was young. He provided me and others endless motivation by egging us on, and with his sense of humor. Being of Indian ascent, his only failing was actually more cultural than ethical: he came in a little late each morning. This was more than offset by his ability to discern technical subtlties for troubleshooting and design decisions. Jakes first notworthy contribution eased the troubleshooting of our relay logic. It was simple: trip all faults; one by one clear them, pushing reset each time. When you go to clear a fault and the "Check 24V" lamp lights, the diode is bad across the corresponding fault relay. I came to call it Jake's Impeccable Method. Many of Jakes other discoveries related to solving one-of-a-kind problems by noticing details that eluded everyone else. Perhaps his biggest contribution was to the camaraderie in final-test. This was instrumental in breaking records, over and over, in per-month unit shipments. Jake had everyone over for parties, including the big-wigs of ETM. He was also big on organizing extra-cirricular activities like raft trips and golf outings. After a stint with Portland State University, he came back as an EE. He worked with me on two programs for the Navy. His performance was stellar. Out of the probably tens of thousands of judgement calls he made, he only made two mistakes. He discusses them openly so that those who follow won't do what he did. |
| Jake once asked me: "Have you trimmed your duclaws today?" |
| Jakes roommate Tal got blotto and leaked out of one of those parties. It seems Tal was in someone's back yard when apprehended. A neighbor brought Tal back at gunpoint, asking Jake "Is this your's?" Jake thanked the neighbor and put Tal to bed. |
| Jake had the unfortunate experience of being targeted as an opponent by one of the lesser tecks. It wasn't a problem until Jakes nemesis got into a position of power, and started railroading him. I fought on Jakes behalf and narrowly averted his layoff. But knowing that his last check had been cut was too much for poor Jake. He resigned and moved back home, to Oregon; to seek a degree in engineering. |
| Jake has an air of sincerity that's quite rare. It's like the innocence of a child. I'll always admire that. |
| Jake was the teck on crowbarless 40 and 60KV units for Litton. The longevity of those units is testimony to his competence. |
| Jake was a major contributor to a highly successful pair of contracts ETM did for the Navy. He and I beat every one of those specifications, some by orders of magnitude. It entailed total from-scratch design. The Navy was so pleased with our first shipment they paid one day after on-site acceptance. The FDIC had clamped our credit-line because of the S&L crisis. Our corporate wages were attached. That signoff saved the day. But alas, Jake got no recognition at his review. He then left to join ETM's competitor, db Control. I felt like I was powerless to retain good people. I eventually left to pursue a degree in business management. |
| When reading your fortune-cookie aloud, try adding the phrase "in the bedroom" to complete it. These are Jake's earmarks! |