All posts by ehilge
On Ice Cream
Life is short. Always get the waffle cone. If you really want to know how good an ice cream store is, get vanilla. Anyone can hide behind fancy flavors and chocolate chips, but it takes an expert to make a memorable vanilla.
Follow your passion?
Anyone who has ever done a google search about careers has inevitably come across the phrase “just follow your passion” which is almost no help whatsoever. I was interested in learning about engineering topics in college, but I certainly would not consider myself passionate about beam deflection theory or bolted joint calculations. For some time,…
Landscapes
I relatively recently discovered a sub-genre of nature writing that focuses on place or landscape writing. I find that focusing on landscape strongly appeals to my own topographic inclinations and reflects the way I think about the world. Of these landscape writers, I haven’t come across any better than Robert Macfarlane. I’ve been working my…
Therefore I am
Western thought might be best summarized by the oft repeated Rene Descartes statement, “I think, therefore I am.” The focus is on the individual, and one’s own thoughts are emphasized above all else. I recently came across a much different view. In a podcast interview, aboriginal author Dr. Tyson Yunkaporta made the claim that the…
Maps as stories
Two of the most memorable books I’ve read in the last few years are atlases. Together they are part of an exciting trend I’ve noticed, the use of maps not just as a source of information, but as a storytelling medium in their own right. Obi Kaufman’s California Field Atlas is a book like no…
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…