To all of you who are Engineers. This is your week and I tip my hat to each of you. Thanks for all the things you do to make our world a better place to live.

For more info on Engineer's Week, visit:
Engineer's Week Homepage

 

I had an opportunity to be associated with Engineer's Week and the FutureCity Competition a few years ago. These 7 & 8 graders are AMAZING!!!!

The used SimCity to model a civilization based on a specific theme (My year it was recycleable societies). After the models the city with the software, they had to construct a part of their city using.......only recycled material.

I attended the national finals in D.C. as a guest of the FutureCities.Org (we did the web work for them at the time).

One group of kids LOST most their model in transit to the competition. They used FEDEX to ship the major pieces and carried the more "breakable" items in the personal luggage. Fedex mis-routed the shipment and all the had for their presentation were the "breakables"

Without missing a beat the future engineers set up what piece they had, and gave an outstanding presentation to the national panel of judges without missing a beat. These kids were calm, cool and collected!!!!!

They did not win the competition but they DID finish in the top 3!! outstanding.

We need more programs like this!!!!!

 

I'm soooo impressed every year when we go to the Engineer's Week banquet here and the kids who've been involved in various projects that are mentored by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the other Engineering Associations (Civil, etc.) are awarded for their various achievements. Those kids are unbelievable!! The math students make me look like Dumbo!!! I also appreciate very much those engineers who volunteer their time to mentor these kids and work with the various schools in the area to help prepare the kids for competitions, etc. The projects these students build are AMAZING.

 

My dad gave me a platinum band (ring) a long time ago. It is a simple band with x's etched in it.

On many occassions, I've been asked by people if I was an Engineer. Turns out that in Canada, engineers wear a silver band. It is to remind them of the importance of their work. There is a ceremony for the Iron Ring. It serves as a reminder of the Engineers obligations and has roots dating back to a bridge collapse due to poor engineering.

 

MS ELEN from Ok State U in 1969. Never had a real engineering job in the Air Force though. Funny how the military will train you for something then put you in a job that doesn't require the knowledge gained in school. I did enjoy flying in the old B-52 though and wouldn't change that.

 

My son is an electrical engr student at Ga. Tech. What a grind! I couldn't have done it. I hope he can make it to the end.

 

My grandfather worked for Boeing. He says he hoped his kids would be smart enough to not work for Boeing.

My dad is an engineer. He says he hoped his kids would be smart enough to not be engineers.

I'm an engineer working for Boeing.

 

Well, so what does that tell us about Y

 

I've worked side-by-side with many great engineers over several decades.

Engineers can also be funny:

Q: What is the definition of an engineer?
A: Someone who solves a problem you didn't know you had in a way you don't understand.

Q: When does a person decide to become an engineer?
A: When he realizes he doesn't have the charisma to be an undertaker.

Q: What do engineers use for birth control?
A: Their personalities.

Q: How can you tell an extroverted engineer?
A: When he talks to you, he looks at your shoes instead of his own.

Q: Why did the engineers cross the road?
A: Because they looked in the file and that's what they did last year.

Q: How do you drive an engineer completely insane?
A: Tie him to a chair, stand in front of him, and fold up a road map the wrong way.

You might be an engineer if ...
... choosing to buy flowers for your girlfriend or upgrading your RAM is a moral dilemma.
... you take a cruise so you can go on a personal tour of the engine room.
... in college you thought Spring Break was metal fatigue failure.
... the sales people at the local computer store can't answer any of your questions
... at an air show you know how fast the skydivers are falling.
... you bought your wife a new CD-ROM drive for her birthday.
... you can quote scenes from any Monty Python movie.
... you can type 70 words per minute but can't read your own handwriting.
... you comment to your wife that her straight hair is nice and parallel.
... you sit backwards on the Disneyland rides to see how they do the special effects.
... you have saved every power cord from all your broken appliances.
... you have more friends on the Internet than in real life.
... you know what http:// <http://> stands for.
... you look forward to Christmas so you can put the kids' toys together.
... you see a good design and still have to change it.
... you spent more on your calculator than you did on your wedding ring.
... you still own a slide rule and know how to use it.
... you think that people yawning around you are sleep deprived.
... you window shop at Radio Shack
... your laptop computer costs more than your car.
... your wife hasn't the foggiest idea of what you do at work.
... you've already calculated how much you make per second.
... you've tried to repair a $5 radio.

 

Not only does my resident engineer try to repair $5 radios, he is an ace with a roll of duct tape. I him. Our rule is as long as it works don't fix it, if it breaks try to fix it. Only when it has been totally stripped of all parts that may be able to be used in something else is any part of it discarded.