I Live in Iowa: Week 129

Pretty exciting week. I mean I transitioned to design engineer a little more. I spent most of the week training. I still haven't designed anything yet. Although I did get a phone call asking me a whole bunch of questions and kind of reporting the progress on a project to me. It was strange because I didn't really know it was something I had to do, and all of by sudden I'm responsible for it. The joys of a new position I suppose.

First impressions of design versus analysis:

• Far more social. We spend more time talking with each other and go to more meetings. 
• Far less technical. Many of the things we do and decisions we make are ambiguous and more towards the get-it-done mentality than the best-technical-solution. That being said, time is money. 
• Quite ambiguous. In finite element engineering there are projects to be done and reports to be written. In design there is an entire product to be produced, and it is not as simply broken down into projects and reports. There is also often no right answer. How much should an engine frame weight?

I ran! A whole quarter mile in 3:19, and it wasn't even painful the first 100 meters! 

On the coaching side we didn't have a meet, but I was at practice six days in a row watching, and sometimes bicycling along side. The team has been thinned down by attrition the last month or so, we are not what we were at the start of the season, just like every other team and every other season. The durability to get through a season, let alone several seasons in a row is not to be underestimated. Recovery is hard. 

Ambiguously, I made significant strides this week toward a long term (decade) goal. Probably exciting news to come in the next two months!

I hope you had a good week too.