A fun read for engineers and scientists

Yesterday, there was a job posting for a print production specialist that paid up to $82k on USAJOBs. Alternatively, I found a posting for a supervisory general engineer that started at $84k. Both in the DC area.

That triggered some humorous exchanges with my navy colleagues. Then, I found the story below this morning:

http://spectrum.ieee.org/at-work/education/the-stem-crisis-is-a-myth

Apparently, people don't stay in STEM. And for good reason. The pay sucks when compared to required effort.  An excerpt from the story is provided above.

The rest of the story is a funny read.  Or depressing, depending on your outlook.  Funny because you may as well get a job at Kinko's rather than going to college.  Depressing in that most of us wasted a ton of time and money to get jobs we hate  and buy shit we don't need.

New do

Messed up the alignment on my first try. Will take more care next time and get it right.

Should match the tactical pants I wear to work every day. With the added benefit of scaring the living shit out of my cubicle neighbors.

Attack on Titan

Pretty gruesome Netflix anime - but I agree with its general world view. . . .

Now self destruction . . . . .

On track so far . . . . My exercise goals for 2014 are somewhat designed to inflict maximum pain.  After all, "I'd rather feel pain than nothing at all."

Exercise Goals for 2014:

Running:  650 miles (12.5 miles / week)

Biking:  1500 miles (29 miles / week)

Swimming:  100 km (~1 mile / week)

Complete 26 Sprint Triathlons (750m swim / 20km bike / 5km run) - 1 per pay period

Complete full 5X Devil's Basement in 1 hour (1000 pushups, 1500 situps / 110 pullups)

In addition, complete the following workouts as many times as practicable in 2014:

Carneal Cuatro:  Sprint Triathlon + 3x Devil's Basement (600 pushups / 900 situps / 66 pullups)

V for Vendetta:  1000 m swim, 5 mile run, 25 km bike, 5 X Devil's Basement Workout

Going with a theme

Jobs we hate. Now all I need is a couple more logos for my current and past jobs as an engineer.

The background is VT because I hate them most of all.

Perspectives

For the first time in a while, I don't hate my job.  I gave a presentation today to about 200 people.  Mostly engineers.  There were good questions at the end.  I was tongue-tied for the first slide or so, but warmed up after a bit.

I think I am over the whole decompression thing from my last job.  I guess, for a while, my ego was holding on to the whole lie of the American dream.  That effort is rewarded.

One look at my predecessor at the Navy would immediately absolve one of any such notion.

It also comes back to Wu Wei, but not exactly.   I don't think Wu Wei is achievable in a consumer-driven, capitalistic society.  The best you can do is a bastardized version, unless you are fortunate enough to have some nest egg to fall back on, which in effect negates the meaning.

It's also an ambition shift from work to personal life.  We all like to think that our work matters, but in almost every case this is patently false.  None of it matters, it's just noise.  A deep, insidious tone intended to rob you of your reason and keep your nose to the grindstone.

This is more difficult to accept than it sounds, even for a guy like me.

One unexpected side effect of lowering your personal expectations is the sudden appearance of freedoms you had not previously considered.  Without regard to income or perceived status, a huge number of choices appear.   Conversely, if one chooses to chase other misguided fools up an imaginary ladder, one has precious few options.   Worse yet, none of these options are appealing, at least to me, in any way. 

Up the ladder they are all the same, spewing the same putrid waste that I, personally, would rather not smell.

"Half your standard of living and double your quality of life."  PBS quote of the week.  That's what I need to do.  I have taken the first step, turning my back on advancement and embracing a more, let's call it "measured," approach.  I no longer object to the label mediocre.

The very idea of not lashing out at or caring about a world gone wrong.  It brings me peace.

To wrap up:  A call out to the ones who like to label themselves "exceptional" - come to me with your perspectives.  I'll break them in a week.

Those pesky kids shows

And their violent agendas . . . .

Synergy

The ever less rare collision of climate change and congressional stupidity:

Federal Flood Insurance Program Drowning in Debt. Who Will Pay?
by Christopher Joyce

NPR - January 1, 2014

Congress has tried to boost premiums on the cheap, subsidized insurance FEMA offers. But property owners in flood zones protested the rate hikes, and legislators backed off in 2013, calling for "further study." Meanwhile, a string of bad storms has left the program $24 billion in debt — so far.

http://www.npr.org/2014/01/01/258706269/federal-flood-insurance-program-drowning-in-debt-who-will-pay?sc=ipad&f=1001