What’s In My Bag: Carmen Parisi
Unlike my college buddy who was endearingly nicknamed “Pack Mule” back in second year, I hate carrying around a bunch of stuff all the time. Once I have the basics covered (wallet, keys, phone, Leatherman) I always attempt to keep any additional stuff with me to a minimum. Here’s what I typically haul around with me on a daily basis to and from work: Swiss Gear Messenger Bag I bought this bag years ago when I was just a junior in high school for around $20 at a big box store and somewhat surprisingly it held up all through college with only minimal wear. The bag’s got all sorts of pockets and pouches inside, which I love, so I can perfectly organize whatever I’m carrying on a given day. You will never catch me with a single compartment catch all bag, I’m a stickler for a well organized setup. After…
Keeping It In House (by Carmen Parisi)
Back in 2008 I was out on my first co-op working as a production engineer making and documenting custom production test fixtures for a well established household name company. One of the great things about working for this company was that all the departments were housed under one roof – design, production support, marketing, quality control, production itself, and the machine shop – it was great. Whenever I had to ask someone a question or go on a fact finding mission everyone I ever needed to talk to was within walking distance. Not having to deal with pesky issues such as time zone differences like I do nowadays kept communication tight and efficient. I can’t seem to recall a time where I was sitting around waiting for a response from someone so I could move forward on a project. The full-fledged, well equipped, machine shop that was a stone’s throw…
The Art of Mathematics [Part 1 of 3] (by Carmen Parisi)
Some time ago while stumbling around online I came across a rather interesting essay about the state of mathematical education. Entitled A Mathematician’s Lament, it was written back in 2002 by Paul Lockhart who argues that there is next to no real math being taught at the K-12 level. His essay calls for a radical reform of the educational system to change the way the public perceives mathematics. Years later in 2009 Lockhart expanded the original 25 page essay into a 140 page book which is currently for sale. I find Lockhart’s essay to be thought provoking and though I agree with him on a few of his overall points, I take issue with a decent portion of his argument. In what’s to become a three part series I will discuss Lament and include my own objections to Lockhart’s argument. A Mathematician’s Lament opens with the hypothetical world wherein which…
A Natural Curiosity (by Carmen Parisi)
This is a guest post from Carmen Parisi of Fake EE Quips, a man of many hats. An engineer by day and blogger by night, he also considers himself an amateur connoisseur of craft beer, coffee, and toasted sandwiches. Recently, he moved down to Raleigh, NC and is experiencing his first winter sans snow. I’m the sort of person who will analyze–and possibly over analyze–damn near anything. I’m forever asking “Why?” and searching for answers. Whether I’m discussing traffic patterns on my way to work, a circuit problem, or pondering the cosmos, once I latch onto a subject I typically pursue it until I find an answer that satisfies my curiosity. My natural curiosity is something of a double edged-sword however; on one hand it doesn’t take much to entertain me and I feel I’m well rounded. On the other hand, I can get stuck on a topic and become “that guy” at a party…
School vs. Work (by Carmen Parisi)
This is a guest post from Carmen Parisi of Fake EE Quips. He’s the first of many guest bloggers who will be popping in to Engineer Blogs on a regular basis to add their opinions and insight into the field of engineering. Though I’ve only just recently joined the workforce and am still a pretty green engineer, I’ve noticed some differences between school and work. The differences between the two aren’t necessarily good or bad; they just take some getting used to. From the outset, I can name my favorite aspect: being able to leave work (both mentally and physically) around 5PM. Knowing I do not have to slog through hours of homework once I get back to my apartment is a fantastic feeling. I’d almost forgotten what hobbies were! The rest of the things I’ve noticed so far aren’t nearly as polarizing but still worth noting. Let’s have…
MCAD & ECAD… more trouble than its worth? (by Peter Francis)
This is a guest post from Peter Francis, who can be found on Twitter and DesignSpark. Do you currently exchanged data between systems or are you put off by the complexity? Most modern mechanical CAD (MCAD) systems have the capability of exchanging data with electronics CAD (ECAD) systems however this does have its issues and limitations. I though it might be useful to explore what is possible and hopefully demystify the process. First of all why would you want to exchange CAD data between ECAD and MCAD systems? The one of the main aims of any CAD system is accuracy of design information, for most part a sketch on the back of an envelope would surfice for most design work, however with the increasing sophistication of modern products and ever tighter size and performance constraints the connection between electronic and mechanical parts is ever more important. So why do we exchange CAD data?…
Where it all began…. (by Peter Francis)
This is a guest post from Peter Francis, who can be found on Twitter and DesignSpark. Welcome to my first post on Engineer Blogs. It seems traditional to start with a post describing who you are and how you got into engineering , so I won’t flout the tradition. My name is Peter Francis and I’m Head of Design at ebm papst UK Ltd where I’m responsible for a team of hardware / software engineers designing controllers and fan products for a diverse range of UK customers. I’m a Mechanical Design Engineer by training and have an interest in electronics and software as well as aviation and motorcycles. I’ve even been known to tinker with an Arduino occasionally. Enough about me , how did I get into engineering ? Well it started a long time ago… and by ‘a long time’ I mean 1966. It was the beginning of the…
How I Got My Start in Embedded Software (by Michael Barr)
This post is by Mike Barr, a guest author at Engineer Blogs and a regular contributor to Netrino.com and Embedded Gurus I don’t really know why I studied Electrical Engineering in college. I’m not even sure why I chose engineering generally–except that my father and his father had both been (mechanical) engineers. Unlike the majority of engineers I’ve met in my career, the only thing I’d done prior to college that resembled engineering was a bit of BASIC programming on an Apple ][e. I am not a tinkerer by nature. So it should not be too surprising that I reconsidered my choice of EE major about halfway through college. I had been working in a student computer lab and taking some elective Computer Science courses and thus contemplated a switch to CS. But I didn’t want to add semesters to my academic career or the bill, so ultimately decided to…