[modeleng] Re: Engineers/machinists

Jesse & Bill,

We all start to sound,like vinager merchants with colon trouble, but the 
statements made by the members of this list, are true.
Here in Flanders, we still rank in the top 5 ,of the world, as far as 
education goes, but that is only because most of the world does worse! 
Not because we are so good (used to be...)
Now there are "new" types of engineering degrees,one can study: such as 
a degree in Engineering, meaning general engineering. What on earth is 
that is supposed to be. 20-30 years ago, it took 4 years to get a degree 
in one of the "big 4" (electronics, mechanics, electrics or chemistry) 
Nowadays it takes 4 years to get a degree that covers all 4...
Maybe we were stupid and dense, I don't know, but it seems to me, that 
it is not possible, to get a grasp on all four subjects, to the 
extent,that one can really do something usefull, in the same time as it 
took us , to cover one branch of the engineering sciences....
We now have people working in the IT industry, who are called 
"communication engineers"
These people have no programming skills, no electronics skills,some of 
them cann't even install the operating system on a server.... They are 
,on the other hand, very good at talking about the IT industry...so 
good, in fact, that you would almost believe their nonsense.
The mechanical departments of some of the industry ,now has to rely on,a 
handfull of people that already have the onset of Alzheimers and / or 
Parkinsons. Here and there, you will find the odd exception; a young man 
or woman that wants to learn and soaks in every bit of knowledge that 
crosses their paths. But they to are a very rare occurance. In some 
cases, they are even mocked, for "sucking up" to the "corps" that is 
still "littering" the shop floor, instead of given the support they 
should get.
Employers do not seem to have any grasp on reality as far as this 
dissaster goes. they too, will spend good money,taking on "talking 
heads" that waist the real engineers O2, instead of looking for that 
young man or woman,that wants for skill and knowledge and is prepared to 
be patronised for the next 5 years, by the "zombies" on the shop 
floor(if there are any left...).
A collection of beauties from the last month or two:

-After "grinding" a drill, one of the numbnuts was told that ,since it 
was as blue as the evning sky" it wouldn't cut anymore. The reply was: 
"that is a load of nonsense; the "iron" is hard or it isn't..."

After "making" a simple power supply(12V,400 Watts),another one, with 
delusions of adequecy, put a 2 amp fuse in the secundary of the 
transformer. The argument: it's the same current in both coils! If it 
were not, he would have solved the energy crisis...

-A "diesel- specialist" took the air for the intake of a scavenging 300 
HP diesel engine,out of the boilerroom; since it was heated up in the 
cylinder anyway, and thus would save energy....

-The same "specialist" insisted there was little difference between 
"glowcandles" and spark plugs, and that in some, though rare, cases they 
could even be interchanged...

-"When it freezes, it is OK to mix/blend diesel fuel with petrol in a 
50/50 ratio"

-"petroleum (the stuff used for Zibro Camin is meant) is the same as 95 RON"

-"In a short circuit, the current is never higher than twice the nominal 
current"

-"you can put tar on the exhaust, it good against corrosion"

-"Airfilters are only for fragile engines"

-"All AC leads should have the same color" (in a marshalling cabinet on 
a petrochemical site)

This,Gentlemen, is but a grasp,of the wisdom, of the "engineers" I am  
working with.
It is too sad to be funny, because I know, that some day, some of these 
people will be running the show.(what is left of it...)
All of the above "is secreted" by "engineers" under te age of 28.
These people are actually paid for their presence on the shop floor, 
some of them quite handsomeley.
All of them are also very fond of "meetings" and they like to 
"brainstorm". They than come up with the most inane "solutions" for 
"problems" that are none.
All on account of the fact that they are part of "solution-driven team"....

I feel one of my "heads" coming on...

Patrick
Flanders, sad...










Jesse Livingston wrote:

>Modelers,
>I have a friend and collaborator on some of my projects for Live Steam and 
>Outdoor Railroading (formally Live Steam).  Friend's name is Bill Bowser and 
>he is a retired ME living in Cincinnati, Ohio USA.  I have forwarded the 
>discussion that took place yesterday about the failure of our schooling 
>systems on to him and this is his reply.
>
>Jesse the Redneck in Tennessee
>
>Unfortunately there really isn't anything new here. This has been going on for 
>my entire career. Actually similar transitions have occurred throughout the 
>ages. Think of all the technology that was developed to build such things as 
>the pyramids in Egypt that has been forgotten. During the cold war I came to 
>the realization that in the event of a nuclear war the primitive civilizations 
>of the world would be the only ones to survive, partly because no one would 
>bother to bomb them and they didn't depend on modern technology to survive. 
>Without modern infrastructure modern societies would quickly perish.
>
>The fact that so many young engineers have no practical experience or aptitude 
>is particularly troubling. When I was in engineering school we had courses 
>which included work in a foundry, weld shop, machine shop, etc. Most of the 
>guys got an appreciation of how things were made, but some didn't seem to get 
>it. There was one guy in most of my shop classes who had a very high grade 
>point average who probably couldn't figure out how to pour piss out of a boot 
>if the instructions were printed on the heel. He usually would screw something 
>up big time, or wreck something if given the opportunity. I'll never forget; 
>his name was Wilmot George Brown. What a moron. I should Google that name and 
>see what I can find.
>
>Bill Bowser in Hudson, Florida USA
>MODEL ENGINEERING DISCUSSION LIST.
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>  
>
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