Thoughts on Engineering.

Published 2020/02/16

The Pros & Cons Of Cursing At Work

What the $#%& are you talking about? The amount of profanity that someone hears on a daily basis has increased even over the past decade. This was nowhere more apparent than sitting at home hosting a Super Bowl party and while watching a commercial hearing a guest exclaim: “can they really cuss in a commercial?“ Cursing and cussing have always been a part of human vernacular. We even have aphorisms describing the use of “salty” language. Saying someone curses “like a sailor” is simply stating that their spoken choice of verbiage is heavily seasoned with terminology that would make people in polite company blush. You peasant swain! you whoreson malthorse drudge! Shakespeare – The Taming of the Shrew, 4.1.62 There are even famous modern pop culture references to specific words that at one point were simply not allowed on television. A famous monologue by George Carlin from 1972, titled “Seven…

How Long Is A College Degree Relevant?

Published 2020/02/15

How Long Is A College Degree Relevant?

While reading resumes for an open position recently, an interesting thought surfaced: How long is a college degree relevant? This question may immediately make some people start to feel queasy. Specifically, the people that still have huge amounts of debt many years after that coveted piece of paper was awarded at some institute of higher learning. That queasiness cannot be helped by the realization that many years later much of the detailed knowledge that was imparted in those glory days of learning has started to fade. Yet, this is not an argument for or against a college degree. From the standpoint of an Engineering Manager, a college degree provides a great deal of value and information when reviewing resumes. The hiring process is all about guesswork and assumptions based on a very limited data set and, while it can be faulty in some cases, it does allow for many variables…

The Dangers Of Falling In Love During Software Development

Published 2020/02/11

The Dangers Of Falling In Love During Software Development

Spring is in the air! The birds are singing, the first flowers are starting to bloom and yet any good Software Engineer worth their salt is definitely not outside enjoying it. Their world has drawn down to a harshly lit fluorescent cubicle where the rapid clacking away at the keyboard is only interrupted by the guttural cries emitted every time a unit test fails. A singular goal exists in this state: to birth their software progeny upon the world. Yet, this act of creation is not borne out of a sense of duty or fulfillment. A deeper, more intimate connection has been established between this specific developer with this specific project. Yes, like the perils and pitfalls of that soft and squishy feeling that humans get upon first achieving romantic feelings for another of our species, Engineers also have the capacity to fall deeply in love with a software project.…

To Make The Jump From Engineer To Manager, Consider These Questions First

Published 2020/02/05

To Make The Jump From Engineer To Manager, Consider These Questions First

Great Odin’s Raven! Have you had it up to here with the Pointy Hared Bosses ordering you around? The constant tasks, deliverables, and timelines. Isn’t it about time that you stepped up and just did that job yourself? Think of all of the money, fame, and influence that you will have when you are a shiny new manager! It looks so easy, and there are so many perks. Besides, you have all of this Engineering mumbo-jumbo locked down right? Since you are so good at what you are doing now, that certainly has to at least imply that the next step up that corporate ladder will be just as easy since it is just a little bit more of the same stuff. By the beard of Zeus, it can’t be that hard, right? While the general thought processes around who would be a good manager and when that transition should…

How I Read 136 Books In 2019

Published 2020/02/02

How I Read 136 Books In 2019

That is not a typo. Last year I read 136 books throughout the calendar year. This post is not a humble brag. The fact is, reading is an incredibly important skill and should be a part of every human’s daily routine. This is not a statement intended to elicit motivation, or to shame you into reading more. There is only one simple goal with this messaging: Anyone can find the time to squeeze in a little reading every day. The amount that you want or choose to read is up to you. Reading give numerous benefits in cognitive function, mental stimulation, vocabulary and memory improvements, and sometimes you learn a thing or two while doing it. Unfortunately, people are doing less reading now than in the past. An oft-cited study from 2014 states the following: “…young people read less than ever, apparently, with people ages 25 to 34 reading eight…

The Broken Finger Paradox of Engineering

Published 2020/01/29

The Broken Finger Paradox of Engineering

A distraught man walks into his doctors office. “What is wrong with you today?” She asks. “Oh, I am miserable” said the patient as he sat in the doctor’s exam room. “Tell me what hurts” the doctor responded. The patient gingerly touched his right kneecap. “Ouch!” He then reached up and touched his left elbow with a grimace of pain. Then the tip of his nose, right hip, and finally his left pinky toe, all the while showing great discomfort. With a curt nod the doctor stood up and proclaimed, “I see what the problem is!” The patient looked hopeful. “We will get you some painkillers right after we put a splint on that broken finger!” How much time and suffering do we endure because we often focus on the wrong aspect of a problem or issue? The proverb tells us that there are more than one way to skin…

What Does An Engineer Look Like?

Published 2020/01/25

What Does An Engineer Look Like?

An argument for re-defining what (and who) makes a good Engineer Remember the story about Goldilocks? This originally was a fairy tale about an old woman, badly behaved, who broke into someone else’s house, sat on their furniture, ate their food, and ended up sleeping in their beds. When the owners of the house returned later the old woman jumped through a window, never to be seen again. (She was probably looking for her next house to defile) It was only in later revisions that the main character morphed into a sweet young girl and the owners into a family with a mom, dad, and baby. Yet, still, the main character stayed true to her breaking and entering ways. This story is very popular in many different cultures. The Wikipedia article on the tale discusses possible analogues to Snow White and a Norwegian tale about a princess entering a cave…

Why New Engineers Should Be Realistic About AI and ML

Published 2020/01/23

Why New Engineers Should Be Realistic About AI and ML

One of the most fulfilling programs that I have had the opportunity to build and work on is a co-op program in conjunction with a local university. This program is a wonderful opportunity for college students to get feet-wet in the real world. Over a period of 6 semesters they work every other semester with a local company. While I cannot speak for other organizations that participate in this program, for the young Engineers that come to work with my team, it truly is work as they are treated like any other teammate in regards to job duties and expectations. This extension of normal business practices extends all the way to the hiring process. These co-ops go through the same hiring practices that we use for any other Engineer on the team. Interview, normal HR onboarding, the usual company meet-and-greet. However, there has been one trend that has been more…

Hiring By Belief

Published 2020/01/22

Hiring By Belief

Recently I had an opportunity to re-watch a TED talk by a gentleman named Simon Sinek. Mr. Sinek is the author of a number of popular business tomes including Leaders Eat Last (Amazon referral) and Start With Why (Amazon referral). In the presentation, there is a concept that the best businesses start with a concept of “Why” and achieve greatness when people agree with the beliefs defined in the answer to the why question. In this talk there was ample discussion in regards to the successes of Apple, the Wright brothers, and also Martin Luther King, Jr. The talk is excellent and presents a very powerful message to any business . You can check it out below. However, one thought occurred to me after watching this video: Sure, we can run companies through belief and achieve great things in the same manner, but can we hire people through belief and…

Is Coffee Creative?

Published 2020/01/18

Is Coffee Creative?

When was the last time you went to a Starbucks? As ubiquitous as they have become, that last visit was probably not too long ago. In fact, as of 2019 there were 30,246 Starbucks stores worldwide with 6,188 in the United States alone. Besides the annual pilgrimages for the famed Pumpkin Spice Latte (disclaimer: no comment on this drink as the author has never tried one), Starbucks is continually rolling out new and inventive drink options. Per a statement in 2006 by a spokesperson for the brand, Lisa Passe, there are more than 87,000 inventive combinations possible at any single Starbucks location. But I digress, as the creative efforts of a worldwide coffee chain are not the answer to this question. Is this question better served to examine the effects of coffee on creativity? We could go back to Starbucks to dive into this analysis, as coffee shops have long…

Thoughts on Engineering. And Coffee. Posts