Measuring Up
For better or worse, we humans have been measuring things for a long time. In Genesis Chapter 6, God provides Noah with detailed plans for building a very large wooden boat – 300 x 50 x 30 cubits to be exact. Noah presumably knew how to measure a cubit, the distance from the elbow to […]
A Black Box for Everything
“The true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is watching.”
-John Wooden
It Doesn’t Take a Brain Surgeon
For many of us, college is that season of life when we are compelled to choose a career path, long before we have any idea of who we are or what we want. Back in my college days, many of my fellow students were the progeny of doctors, lawyers and engineers who saw no other […]
Sweet Dreams
It hit me one afternoon as I walked into our local CVS drugstore to buy mouthwash. While the automatic doors were opening before me, my phone buzzed with a text message. It was from CVS, with a link to all their current sales and coupons. As I looked around the store, my epiphany struck. My […]
Grappling with Tech
It is sometimes said that we don’t choose technology, it chooses us. It is certainly possible to live in today’s world without a cell phone, a computer, or a car but it would require individuality and resolve. Whether you are an early adopter, a late-comer, or a total Luddite, sooner or later technology will hunt […]
The Next Normal
People love lists. With little effort, you can find the 10 best movies, TV shows, books, albums, songs, plays or cheeseburgers. The 10 best places to visit, live, retire, or attend college are only a few keystrokes away. And of course no list of lists would be complete without mentioning David Letterman’s Top 10 Lists […]
Chasing the Ghost: Nobelist Fred Reines and the Neutrino – Review
Upon reading the title of this book, you might be tempted to judge it as too technical or perhaps too arcane to be of interest. If so, you would be missing out on a compelling narrative about an exceptional man and his lifelong quest to do something great. Chasing the Ghost – Nobelist Fred Reines […]
It’s Just a Game
I have never been much of a gamer, at least not since PacMan and Space Invaders disappeared from the arcades (shortly before the arcades disappeared from shopping malls, which was not long before shopping malls went out of favor). I have played Call of Duty a few times, but without my son’s Med Kit to […]
The Highlighted Route
It is in our nature as humans to plan. Some of us do it formally, writing down step by step instructions with a well-defined goal in mind. Others plan at a smaller scale, often thinking about step 2 after step 1 is underway. If you are out doing errands, advanced planning can save time with […]
Our Curious Habits
As an engineer, I’m often accused by my non-engineer brethren of being overly analytical. I confess that I can’t help scrutinizing some things (well…most things) to try and figure out how they work. This can lead to satisfaction and a boost in self-assurance when things work as expected, and a compulsive drive for further analysis […]
