Humor Random Comments Thread

[Linguofreak]

Those are really conservative, especially about their favorite CAD system. Once they manage to master one, its understandable that they don't want to learn a different UI monstrosity.

There seems to be something about the whole type of personality that goes for professions like engineering (whether physical or software) that is very crabby and stuck in its ways. We *can* learn new systems, but we *will* complain about it every step of the way. If we try something new and like it, however, we will evangelize for it strenuously until we've annoyed everyone around us.

"Holy wars" like vi vs. emacs are a dime a dozen among engineering types, and I've seen statistics that indicate that engineers are over-represented among combatants in *actual* holy wars.

 

[MaverickSawyer]

Oh, man. You want an example of that, turn a few engineers from Aerojet and a few from Rocketdyne into the same room and say "Diffusion bonding... Discuss." Apparently the results can be quite spectacular.

 

[Urwumpe]

Oh, man. You want an example of that, turn a few engineers from Aerojet and a few from Rocketdyne into the same room and say "Diffusion bonding... Discuss." Apparently the results can be quite spectacular.

Don't try this at home!

 

[Andy44]

Playing around with a plasma ball (got one a few days ago, marvelous thing), I get the smart idea of filming the inner electrode up close with my phone
So, after a few takes with my phone almost touching the glass, it goes black for a few seconds and then restarts. No lasting harm done, apparently. I should have thought of this..the induction currents around this thing should be pretty rad

I did this too once, and it did do some pretty weird things to my phone. I don't recall it rebooting, but maybe.

Oh, man. You want an example of that, turn a few engineers from Aerojet and a few from Rocketdyne into the same room and say "Diffusion bonding... Discuss." Apparently the results can be quite spectacular.

20 years after Lockheed merged with Martin to become Lockheed Martin, there are still a few old timers from each side of the company who clash, I've been told. This is said of McDonnel Douglas and Boeing, Northrop and Grumman, as well as many other former rivals that merged. The great mergers of the 1990s forced a lot of proud engineering teams into shotgun weddings around the aerospace industry.

 

[MaverickSawyer]

Yeah, NIH (Not Invented Here) Syndrome can purely suck.

 

[Andy44]

Yeah, NIH (Not Invented Here) Syndrome can purely suck.

That's too simple and flippant an explanation and puts the engineers in a negative light.

The fact is that there are different schools of thought and philosophies on how to design, build, and operate systems, driven by history, customer requirements, market forces, and background environment.

There is more than one correct way to build a rocket or a satellite or an airplane. Or a car, or an HVAC system, or even a microwave oven for that matter.

Two very large and famous railroad companies, the Pennsylvania RR and the New York Central, were once fierce rivals in the US. They developed very different ideas about how to operate a railroad and how to equip their machinery, and each was successful. When the rail business hit the skids they were forced to merge and become the Penn Central in the late 60s, and they could never quite figure out how to get past their interoperability issues before finally going belly up in the early 70s.

 

[PhantomCruiser]

I've found that when you get 3 (or more) engineers working on a project, the result is a work stoppage.

Since I'm a lowly wrench-turner my opinions/thoughts matter very little. Usually I go along with the conventional wisdom of "Well, we'll do it your way and get paid more". As I'm on the clock and they are salaried.

 

[NukeET]

Had I stayed in the NAVY, I could have retired last year with 30 years in.

At least I'm not the oldest one here :thumbup:

That point for me was 4 years ago.:rofl:

 

[MaverickSawyer]

That's too simple and flippant an explanation and puts the engineers in a negative light.

The fact is that there are different schools of thought and philosophies on how to design, build, and operate systems, driven by history, customer requirements, market forces, and background environment.

Though true, it still doesn't stop engineers from different backgrounds from arguing over which way is better. I've heard a lot of stories about that from my dad, who has been a manufacturing engineer for better than 30 years, and that negative light is sometimes very well earned... especially with engineers fresh out of school. :dry:

There is more than one correct way to build a rocket or a satellite or an airplane. Or a car, or an HVAC system, or even a microwave oven for that matter.

Yes, but some ways do turn out to be more efficient or produce more reliable products. That's where the NIH Syndrome really tends to rear its head.

 

[jedidia]

We *can* learn new systems, but we *will* complain about it every step of the way.

We have to. If we don't, we'll get a new unproven tech shoved down our throat every other week. By providing maximum resistance, we just make sure that new tools and technology at least get properly evaluated before anybody wants to go through the hassle of selling us on them. :lol:

 

[jangofett287]

Meanwhile, elsewhere on the internet...
[ame="http://twitter.com/gitlab/status/1003409836170547200"]GitLab on Twitter: "We're seeing 10x the normal daily amount of repositories #movingtogitlab https://t.co/7AWH7BmMvM We're scaling our fleet to try to stay up. Follow the progress on https://t.co/hN0ce379SC and @movingtogitlab"[/ame]

 

[jedidia]

Uhm... We were talking about a great migration a little prior, right? :lol:

In any case, I imagine a few panicked developers running around at Gitlab, cursing that they didn't give the devops pipelines more priority :lol:

 

[Linguofreak]

NASA is planning on establishing a dairy farm on the ISS. They call it the herd shot round the world.

In related news, a Colorado farmer recently was arrested for serving marijuana to his cattle. It's an unprecedented case and the steaks are high.

 

[C3PO]

Opinions on YouTube comment sections vary. :lol:

:hmm:
I like his take on the subject. Especially the [lack of] attention to trolls.

 

[Andy44]

Now here's something you don't see every day: a flying example of an Me-163 Komet.

Minus the scary dangerous rocket system, fortunately. Operates as a towed glider.

---------- Post added at 08:23 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:47 AM ----------

Last night listening to the radio a guy who reports on space stuff was saying how they have found microbes that actually feed on cleaners used to sterilize things, alcohol and so on, which makes it very difficult to get a spacecraft sterile.

Now that they know about it they can do something about it.

But there are two implications here:

1. Extremophiles exist everywhere on Earth, so it wouldn't really be a shock to find life living elsewhere in the Solar System. But...

2. ...this also means that if we find life we can't be sure it didn't come along for the ride from Cape Canaveral. At least not at first.

 

[NukeET]

Minus the scary dangerous rocket system, fortunately. Operates as a towed glider.

Wow! Where's the challenge in that?

 

[Andy44]

Wow! Where's the challenge in that?

You know, I was thinking about it. I wonder if you could refit an Me-163 to use a safer hybrid rocket engine like the one used in the Scaled Composites rocket planes. After each flight you just swap out the whole propulsion unit.

It would probably be better to build a replica aircraft rather than risk a historical relic airframe on such foolish awesomeness.

 

[MaverickSawyer]

Worked for the Me-262 replica project... they swapped the Jumos for J85s, with great success.

 

[Notebook]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-44393135

Move over Qatar, and back off Qantas. Singapore Airlines (SIA) is reclaiming the world's longest non-stop flight.
From October, passengers will be able to fly from Singapore to Newark, New Jersey - a journey that will take nearly 19 hours.
The longest non-stop flight available at the moment is Qatar's 17.5-hour Auckland to Doha route.
That's closely followed by Qantas' 17-hour non-stop flight between Perth and London, which launched earlier this year.

 

[tl8]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-44393135

Important to note that they used to run this route (or very similar) using A340s. It is also a polar flight that might surprise some people.