So You Want To Be A …
As the prospect of retirement begins to appear on the outer edges of my radar, I’ve been reflecting on this engineering career that has occupied a large chunk of my adult life. It’s been a rewarding journey and I have no regrets, but what was it that excited me about engineering in the first place? […]
Best If Used By 12-25-1995
When you consider the dreadful truth about food poisoning, you would expect a government-mandate for labeling the stuff we eat. There isn’t one. The FDA does require that baby formula have a “Use by…” date, but once you’re off the bottle, you’re on your own. The lack of a legal requirement hasn’t kept food manufacturers […]
Review: Target Funding by Kedma Ough
The cover image of Target Funding by Kedma Ough – an arrow hitting a conventional target – makes sense but doesn’t do justice to the vast array of funding sources that she is about to reveal; perhaps a needle in a haystack would be more accurate. Although there are multitudes of funding opportunities out there, […]
Beware the Lizard
“I’ve experienced many terrible things in my life, a few of which actually happened.” – Mark Twain A man driving his luxury car late at night becomes lost and slowly realizes that he is in a very bad part of town. When his car breaks down, the tension mounts. He is approached by a group […]
Obsolete
I remember when I got my first pager. Pagers were for special people who must always be available in an emergency, and so I felt important. The feeling was short-lived. I soon realized that it could go off at any moment, compelling me to drop whatever I was doing and head for the nearest phone […]
How Does That Make You Feel?
When someone asks you if robots are taking over our jobs, there are only two possible answers: (1) Yes and (2) I don’t know. If you chose (2), then your job will probably be one of the first to go. If in fact a robot does replace your job, you will not be alone; each […]
The Technology of Abolishing Jobs
“I will be the greatest jobs President that God ever created.” @POTUS Donald Trump campaigned with this and won, partially due to the job-loss-induced frustration in places like the Rust Belt. Building a border wall and introducing import tariffs will help some, but they won’t fix the problem. Technology is the real villain, and many […]
Thinking Outside the Book
As I was growing up, we had a kindly old family doctor who would make house calls if you couldn’t come to his office (yes, I’m that old). When he retired, his son took over the practice and took care of me during my anxiety-ridden teenage years. There was a time when I had difficulty […]
3.61 Degrees of Separation
That basketball game you really wanted to see is sold out? Relax, I have connections. You want the best price on a new car? No problem, my brother-in-law works at the dealership. Frustrated in your job search? Forget about patrolling the Internet – “networking” is to modern employment what “plastics” was to Benjamin. From entertainment […]
Darwin’s Business Plan
“If I had my life to live over again, I would have made a rule to read some poetry and listen to some music at least once every week.” Charles Darwin Charles Darwin was not an atheist, and he started out studying medicine and theology before finally settling on natural history. Nearly everyone associates his […]
