Monthly Archives: November 2021
Biomimicry
The science fiction legend Arthur C. Clarke coined the oft-cited phrase, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”. There have been many remixes over the years, and a new favorite is, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from nature” which came up in a podcast interview with Dr. Angus Harvey (who is the writer…
Composite joints
My last couple of projects at JPL have involved bonded composite joints and I’ve learned a few things about the topic: 1. Every design requires an engineering development effort. Composites and bonded joints are highly workmanship dependent, hard to analyze, and will likely break in the most unique way possible. 2. A picture is worth…
Vacation time
I recently took two weeks off from work. I didn’t answer any emails, nor did I turn on my work phone once. No one pressured me to work more, or to come in on one of the days I marked off. All this despite the fact that my project’s critical design review occurred halfway through…
Citrus Season
I sometimes mention that my favorite season is “citrus” when the topic comes up. It’s a joke but also very true. Southern California doesn’t have nearly as much seasonal weather variation as my home state of Nebraska so my wife and I find other ways to mark the changes, most notably with food. We primarily…
A Ten Thousand Dollar Day
I got married just last weekend. We spent over $10,000 on the day which, despite being well below national averages, still feels exorbitant to write down. The ceremony itself was small, intimate, and in a native garden. For lunch, we fed our guests a memorable four-course meal with fresh gelato to top it off. And…