Wisdom for Life
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Wisdom for Life
The Silent Killer
By: Brandon Dailey
When embarking on a journey whether across town, across the state, or around the world to meet with a sponsor or customer one may ingest a variety of interesting foods, snacks, and drinks. These edibles can range from steak to ice-cream, candy to calamari. All I say is KNOW YOUR BODY. This is not so important in the trip up, down, over or to your destination, as the windows can be left down during the drive, and air planes usually have adequate ventilation. It is important to think about this when preparing to meet with your sponsor. This preparation begins the night before.
Upon arriving at your destination it is important to abstain from edibles that will cause uncontrollable consequences the next day. It is important to choose this night before meal very carefully. Sometimes it is inevitable that you may arrive too late to go out for dinner and you find that you will have to purchase edibles from the hotel lobby. Choose something that will cause the least indigestion the next day. Having said this, the BOMB GIANT FT. LONG BEAN AND CHILE BURRITO is a bad idea. This most certainly would cause an embarrassing moment to occur when in the wrong company. My advice would to stick to the basics and get the sandwich.
All we have is right now and today is what it counts
By: Zeraey Gebregziabher
All of us procrastinate about the things we don’t like to do; do laundries clean the bathroom, have a car maintenance done…extra. It is always something. With this kind of attitude it is not hard to understand what procrastination slides in into the things we would like to do. I had a “to do list” for things that should have been done over the spring break but instead I spend the spring break on doing noting. The time slips away and it is easier for me to complain than to reorganize them. But I realize that this is not going to take me any where so I reorganize things and work on it.
If you want to do something or be someone, the time to start is now. Don’t let this day pass by. Don’t do something that is not connected with your dream. Plane for the day in the morning and ask your self what you accomplish at the end of the day. If it is important for you to make something, you will make the time. The busier you are easier to it is, because of necessity, you learn how to manage your time.
Generally, all we have is right now and today is what it counts. Don’t wait for circumstances to happen; you make them happen. Every day, you are given one more day to reach your goal, one more day to fulfill your dreams, and one more day to be a better person.
Things do not appear as they are
By: Najmeddin Shafiei
In real life as well as the academic life, things do not appear as they are. Looking at an object from a distance makes it hard to guess what the real size of the object might be. Same concept applies to assignments in school or work environments, changes that may occur in the course of our lives, and anything that is related to an individual. As I was approaching graduation few semesters ago, I could not wait to reach the ultimate goal. The closer I got to graduation the more scared I got. I was concerned about the changes that will occur after graduation. Here I am now graduating in May 2006 and have no idea what will happen to me after graduation. What seemed to be relieving in the past is now a stress factor in my daily life. The question is what could have I done to make this stage of my carrier easier? Is there any thing that I have forgotten?
Preparation is one of the most important things that need to be considered before facing any changes in life. The same situation could be created in completing a project. Things may appear simple and easy at the beginning and as the time goes by things that were not of any concern could become major problems. I believe that nothing in life should be taken as granted and no book should be judged by its cover. No matter how confident we are and no matter how easy a task may appear we should always be prepared for the worst case scenario.
Beer and Engineering
By: Matthew DesJardien
Beer and Engineering don’t mix all that well. I know this because I have a decent exposure level to both beer and engineering. I “lost focus” right around the time I was taking a statistics class. That means that I tried to combine beer and math. Now, keep in mind that both beer and engineering are good in moderation. Beer is a lot of fun. It makes the time fly. Engineering is also fun, and if you make it through you can make a lot of money. Both can lead to sleepless nights, both can make you pass out at a keyboard. But in excess, or when abused, both can turn you socially awkward.
However, beer also makes calculus very, very hard. And it also likely makes class very, very hard to stay awake in; especially statistics classes with a teacher that doesn’t speak the best English. I fell asleep in Math 370, a lot. I went to class every day, took out my pencil and paper, and looked to the board, then “bam!” I’d fall asleep. I turned in what I finished of the homework, relying largely on partial credit and TA mercy. I stumbled through the tests. End result; I earned a less than optimal grade. I earned every GPA dropping point of it.
There is a lesson here, use the weekend for beer. Use the week for Engineering. Having a 12 day weekend can be fun, but it never really ends very well. Keep in mind, social development is an important part of the college experience; if it wasn’t, we would all take distance learning classes from Devry in our parent's basement. Also, if you focus too hard on engineering, you will go stark raving mad. Take a gymnastics class, get too drunk every once in awhile, and go to class. Plus, interaction with the opposite sex is generally fun.
When “I don’t know” is the best answer
By: Luke Walden
As I transition from a university lifestyle to a full fledged career, I have realized a lot about myself and other people. One of these realizations is that I don’t know everything and neither does anyone else. This simple fact has helped me in numerous situations.
For example, during an internship this summer, my boss asked me if I could label individual welds on assembly drawings. I said “I don’t know how to label welds. I’ve never had to do it before.” My boss then explained how to call out and label welds using several techniques. I listened carefully and was then able to finish the drawings. That simple answer, I don’t know, opened doors for me. It told my boss that I was honest about my capabilities and had a sense of humility. Also, after he explained the labeling procedure, he knew my willingness to learn and desire to detail drawings correctly.
My internship was very successful and I learned an incredible amount simply by admitting that I didn’t know. The same advantages hold true for job interview, presentations, and countless other applications. If you are asked a question you can’t answer admit you don’t know the answer. Nothing good can come from trying to make up an answer or excuse on the spot.
Bottom line: When you simply don’t know an answer or how to do something, say it!
Don’t Ever Give Up
By: John Bauer
The teacher had just returned the first graded exam in the class and I had received a 48% when the class average was 65%. Moments later he is standing at his podium looking around the class and begins his “No Hope” speech. Ultimately this is the speech that is supposed to get those who did really bad on the first exam to give up and drop the course. When it comes to taking exams I have never been an Einstein, and consequently I have heard this speech so many times that I laugh at the absurdity of the request. Life is not about succeeding every time or even on your first try. I know this well, but there are some who were able to coast through high school and have never dealt with defeat until college. They have no idea what to do when they stumble so badly or have any hope inside themselves to carry on. It is this reason that whenever I talk to a freshman, especially an engineering one, I tell that person “Somewhere along the lines, YOU will fail an exam. Somewhere along the lines, YOU will likely have to retake a class. This is not supposed to be easy; it’s meant to challenge you. Don’t give up!” Oddly enough, in my two internship I have received a similar speech from my mentors informing me that ‘Somewhere along the lines as a beginning engineer I am going to screw up, I am going to feel completely incompetent, and that every engineer has that moment and needs to overcome it.’ Someone once said “Heroes are not the ones that never fail, but the ones who never give up” and that is the recipe for success in life. Consequently, since I know your wondering, after I failed that exam I turned around and got a ‘B’ in the class!
Plan Ahead
By: Ryan Roache
One must always plan for the unexpected because the unexpected always occurs. It is always better to plan to complete a project earlier than later. In most cases, when a schedule is projected for a milestone to be completed before a deadline, something always pushes the completion date back.
For example, our group is working to design, assemble and test an automated titanium tube loader. We have worked diligently throughout the semester to plan for an on time completion. Ordering parts has created many unexpected delays that we should have taken into consideration. When making orders through the school, we learned that purchase orders turned in on a Thursday are sometimes not fully processed until the following Tuesday, thus losing five days of precious time. Moreover, University Shipping and Receiving can hold an item for days waiting for a group to contact them to indicate what location to deliver on campus. Also, specialty parts are not always in stock and take at least an extra week to ship. It is wise to contact a vendor at the earliest point in time to see if an item is in stock. If the parts are not, the vendor is an excellent reference to another source. In general, one must plan at least twice as long as the stated shipping time.
We have learned that schedules look nice on paper, but never go as planned. By working hard at the start of the semester, unexpected obstacles can be dampened and the chance of finishing a project in a timely manner is substantially higher. The idea of planning ahead is relevant to everyday experiences ranging from deadlines at work to scheduling a family vacation. The main idea is to set oneself up for completion and success no matter what challenges arise.
The Art of Writing BS
By: Scott Storm
While I would never recommend BS writing in any of your engineering classes, it is sometimes necessary to BS in less important classes so that more time can be spent working on important things. Say for instance that it is 10 pm and you are sitting in EE/ME 152. You have two assignments due the following morning. One is an English 402 paper on technical writing, while the other is your Spec for ME 416. I’ll tell you right now, screw the English assignment. Spend 80% of your time and effort on the ME 416 assignment. In order to do so, you still need to put together a presentable yet completely BS English paper. The following list provides some ways to write the “worst” paper you will ever get an A grade on.
1) Sound confident. It doesn’t matter if you have no clue what you are talking about. It’s English. You’ve been speaking it almost your entire life!
2) Take 5 minutes to proof read and check spelling. Spelling errors stick out like a sore thumb and draw too much unwanted attention to your paper.
3) Don’t write on anything too interesting. The more interested the professor is in the material, the more critical they will be.
4) Meet the criteria for the paper without leaving anything out, and without adding unnecessary information in.
5) Don’t spend more than 20 minutes per page. If you are going to dedicate more than 20 minutes per page, you obviously are not pressed for time, and you might as well not BS.
The most important thing to understand is that you should never put yourself in a situation where you need to BS in order to get all your work done. Start early to assure you have enough time to submit quality work. But if you are ever in a pickle, remember that your engineering GPA means more and that it is okay to BS papers in non engineering classes.
What You Really Should Put Off, Is Procrastinating
By: Andrea Jones
We’ve all been there. It’s 10:30 at night, and you just started studying for a test at 9 the next morning. You had convinced yourself earlier that day, yesterday, the day before yesterday, and even last week that this test would be cake, and combing through your notes less than 12 hours before the exam would be enough to get you a decent grade. Then it hits you: You don’t know jack about this material. So panic mode strikes, and all of a sudden you’re cramming like crazy until 3 in the morning. Next thing you know, the sun is shining through the blinds into your half open eyes, there’s a puddle of drool on your study guide, and you are praying to all the gods in the heavens that the clock doesn’t really say “8:49 am.” Immediately, you start to freak out as you grab your backpack and run out the door. When you get to the classroom, you’re gasping and sweating as the professor hands you the test. The combination of lack of sleep, zero breakfast, nervousness, and blanking on all the information you tried to cram is basically equivalent to tearing up the test before even writing your name down.
Ok, so not every situation turns out to be like this one when you procrastinate, but putting off studying or work until the last minute rarely results in the best work possible. I’m writing about procrastination because I myself have made it a bad habit throughout college. I seriously need to buy that shirt that reads “PROCRASTINATORS UNITE! … tomorrow.” Perhaps I’ve been like this because the usual way I find motivation to do work or study is when I have a fast-approaching deadline and I have no choice but to buckle down and go to town. Never have I told my friends “Sorry guys, I can’t go out with you this Friday night— got that Machine Design test next Wednesday.” Then again, I never stress myself about getting straight A’s, so when it comes down to it, your priorities will ultimately be the major factor in whether or not you decide to put things off until the last possible minute.
So now that we’re all getting ready to graduate, I’ve been rethinking this whole procrastination thing that I’ve practiced so many times throughout my 4 years at WSU. Once you start a career, it will be expected that you complete your assigned work in a timely manner and to the best of your ability. In order for both of these factors to be present, you must plan how long it will take to produce work of highest quality, and avoid not giving yourself that amount of time required. There are many aspects in life where this approach can be used. When you have enough time to complete a task, you are less stressed and the end result is almost always what you wanted.
It’s never too late to change from a procrastinator to a get-work-done-ahead-of-time-r. You’ll see how your grades will improve, your work produced will be of better quality, and overall you’ll be less rushed, stressed, and worried about trying to beat a deadline. Matter of fact, I think I’m going to take a stand and make those changes today! Well, come to think of it, maybe I’ll start tomorrow.
Details, Details, Details
By: Matt Manske
Engineering is often described as the application of science and technology to problem solving. This is the glamorous definition. Engineering is also complex critical thinking, constant evaluation of facts and assumption, and tedious attention to detail. It is this important attention to detail that many young engineers tend to ignore.
A common elementary school assignment is for students to write a list of for making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The student must think carefully and write down a sequential list of tasks that need to be completed in order to successfully produce and edible sandwich. Many students created a list of tasks that involved finding two pieces of bread, the jars of peanut butter and jelly, and simply combining these ingredients. My list involved locating the cupboard that the condiments were stored in, opening the door, retrieving the jars, opening the jars, opening the drawer containing silverware, retrieving a knife or spoon, dipping the utensil into each jar and spreading its contents on the bread. In short, my list took much longer to write than other students’. My teacher made a comment on my attention to detail and I thought that I done a very thorough job of describing the assembly process and materials resource planning for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Years later I still think about the PB & J assignment and how it relates to my current education. In many ways that assignment was my first form of technical writing. I think of how my list would be different today. I would include approximate serving sizes, knife-to-bread application angles, and proper planar orientation of the bread slices. My list would be even more detailed and thorough. The difference between my elementary school list and my college graduate list can be attributed to a greater understanding of technical writing, more developed planning skills, and the experience gained through the construction of innumerable sandwiches.
This mental development of planning and understanding of attention to detail is still underway in many college-age students. This process may take many years for some, giving context for the waiting period for professional engineering licenses. The purpose of this case study is to illustrate that experience will give many young engineers a better understanding of engineering design. But until then, we must all take the time to step back and evaluate our current work and pay more attention to the details.
Professionalism in a Group Setting
By: Mitchell Clark
Here we are, in the final semester of our senior year. Many of those graduating from Mechanical Engineering are headed off to work in the 9-to-5 world. They are ready to make some money, pay off those daunting student loans, and get real-world experience.
Along with the money and experience, comes great responsibility. The company hired you so you can make money for them, and if you don’t hold up your end of the bargain, expect to get canned. No longer can one decide to not turn in a homework assignment, or skip class to nurse a wicked hangover. Professionalism is defined as “standing, practice, or methods of a professional AS DISTINGUISHED FROM AN AMATEUR”. At this point, none of us should be amateurs, especially after senior design. ME 416 requires a certain amount of professionalism from everyone. If not, no projects would be completed, and ME 416 would not have the legacy that we all enjoy today.
In a group setting, like ME 416, professionalism is key to a successful project. In this class as in the workplace, one’s personal goals and desires must be set aside in order to accomplish the challenges to the best of the group's ability. We all need to be civil with one another, set aside our differences of opinion, and work toward a glorious conclusion.
So, in conclusion, get your game face on and distinguish yourself from the amateurs.
Job Interviews/Site Visits/Phone Conversations (professional dealings in general)
By: Knud Hendrickson
I have been given advice about how to behave in these areas when it finally came time to look for a job. I ignored it. Whenever you hear step by step, or listed, advice about how to behave with people it should be ignored.
Step by step directions and lists are for building things, or solving differential equations. These simply will not suffice for complex situations such as human interaction where the variables are endless.
Just as a batting slump can be broken by finally getting a lucky hit, a bad week can become a great month just because of a good day.
So like the hitter who breaks his slump with a hit and begins magically hitting good again, you will have a good day and things will seem to all have fallen into place. Resurrect the feeling of a good day within yourself and you will get what you want to get done as far as dealing with the professional world goes.
So all one can hope to do is find something to make their morning seem awesome and go into meet whoever you are to meet in a good mood. I have had people swear to me that their job interview went well just because they happened to turn the radio on before showering and heard a song that they thought was ‘awesome’.
Analysis is essential for engineering exams. Analysis causes paralysis before meeting professional people you want to impress. Just behave as you would naturally behave on a good day.