Vacation Processes—Getting Ready

Growing up: My family regularly took a ski vacation in the Winter to the Adirondacks of New York. To balance the budget, we drove slightly shorter to the Berkshires of New York and camped at Taconic State Park right next to the small town of Copake Falls. When taking any extended trip my father had…

Review of 2017 Aspirational Quotes

Resolutions for the new year have long been abandoned by me. Instead, I find quotes that capture an attribute or life practice to which I aspire. Before choosing my 2018 quotes it seemed wise to reflect on last years’ quotes. It isn’t that they can’t see the solution. It is that they can’t see the…

All Dogs Cannot Be Male

You’re with me, right?  It’s biologically impossible for all dogs to be male. The general population knows that it takes a male and female dog to procreate. That’s how puppies are made. Then, why do ninety percent of the people who stop me when I’m walking Layla ask “What’s his name?” I respond “Her name…

Technical Speak- From the Weak Write Test Mode Saga

“You have excellent PowerPoint skills.” Joe Schutz had requested two slides on Weak Write Test Mode to include in a presentation to his manager. On loan to Joe’s microprocessor design team I reported into him via Doug Guddat who managed the memory design group. Joe had asked me directly for the slides and I delivered….

Traveling as I Turn 55

“Happy Birthday, Love and Hugs” greeted me first thing in the morning, a message from my sister Margaret. At 5:45 am Josh drives to me the airport, the plane to San Francisco departs at 7 am. I have a day filled with meetings ahead of me. Working on my birthday—a necessity for this self-employed engineer….

36 Views of Conversations with my PhD Advisor: View 2

Moments do exist in an engineering career when you question yourself. Am I in the right place? Am I good enough? Sometimes it gets bad enough that you fall into Imposter Syndrome. Firmly, I believe everyone has these moments. If they say they don’t then they are lying and don’t seek them for advice in…

Lessons Beyond Math

As part of my Gratitude Project I wrote the following letter to Mrs. Margaret Marcou which I share with her permission. Dear Margaret; I believe teachers teach more than their subject matter.  They may teach manners- i.e. how to behave in this classroom.  They also impart something of their own’s life lessons or experiences to…

Cloth Puzzles With Mom

Word Puzzles, Jigsaw Puzzles, Number Puzzles, Crossword Puzzles, Tangram Puzzles. All these puzzles involve solving a problem either with word clues, numerical plays on numbers or spatial proportions. Puzzles were part of our family upbringing. Both my parents liked tackling the New York Times crossword puzzle; often shuttling it between themselves during the weekday mornings….