I was having dinner with family and some good friends, one of whom is an engineer several scores my elder. One of the topics that came up was how engineers see the world differently. This can be a potentially prickly question, especially since engineers are often considered to lack adequate social skills. I have always…
By Andrew Ferguson
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At first, it may seem very simply and obvious: the flange keeps the wheel on the track, right? Nope, that’s not the answer! To understand why, let’s first get some background on how train wheels are made: The primary take away from the above video is that train wheels are big and come together with…
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Not long ago a friend was looking to upgrade the mainstay[1] block and tackle system on his sailboat. The question was if the proposed system would provide the anticipated reduction in force. It was an interesting question that, while seemingly straight forward, does have a couple of gotchas. Block (pulley) and tackle (rope) calculations are…
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I will admit that, in general, I’m not a huge basketball fan. I know how to play, I know the rules, and I do sometimes enjoy watching it from time to time, but I couldn’t tell you the last time I’ve been to a game and I’ve never been to an NBA game[1]. Would I…
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Link: Microspeak: Science project →
Story of my life:
From blogs.msdn.com:A third type of science project is simply trying to solve a problem that nobody really considers to be a problem. You’re doing it just for the Gee Whiz factor. For example, “If you have a pair of Bluetooth headphones, and you walk back into range of your computer, the computer can automatically unpause your music.” Yeah, I guess you could do that, but it also means that while you are away from your computer, you’re walking around looking like an idiot because you’re wearing headphones.
…yet still so fun!
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Best trivia team names for the night: “North Korea blows” followed by “Lieutenant Dan”
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This is actually a pretty amazing application of engineering principles and worth watching for everyone. “An instrument that would not only provide inverse reactive current, for use in unilateral phase detractors, but would also be capable of automatically synchronizing cardinal grand meters. Such an instrument comprised of Dodge gears and bearings, Reliance Electric motors, Allen-Bradley…
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NB: I really appreciate the discussion that has occurred over the last week. Instead of addressing each reply individually, I am trying to collectively address some of larger issues I saw as I read through all the comments. I was discussing with some friends that the Supreme Court taking up constitutionality of same-sex marriage this…
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The events up to now: There has been a large contingent of people whom I am friends with on Facebook who have changed their profile picture to an image of an equals sign. Based on the context of my friend’s status updates and in light of the Supreme Court hearing oral arguments this week regarding…
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A mix of Frontine grit and Warren Miller story telling, Luke’s Change: An Inside Job, really has me believing there might be a bigger plot to Star Wars than meets the eye. via Alex King