The Pretentious Engineer

  Coming Soon...

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Moving Beyond Culture Shock, Trauma and Doubt as a Global Leader

Image
Welcome to your weekly 1 on 1 , where I tackle some of your most challenging questions concerning Engineering, Global Leadership, Life in Japan, Work Life Integration, and more. Today I'd like to offer a reflection on Fatherhood. I've always wanted to be a present father. I grew up in a relatively stable home with blue-collar parents who worked hard to provide financially while also being present with us. I remember my father working challenging hours as a plant manager at a Japanese ink company. Some of my most celebrated times with him would be on Saturday mornings when he would go into the plant to do extra batches of ink. I would often wake up early and go to work with him.  I would pack up my PlayStation 1 and Crash Bandicoot in a backpack and he would set me up on a small tube TV. He'd give me a couple quarters to buy snacks from a vending machine and I'd be set for the next 5 hours. While he was making ink and providing for the family, I enjoyed special time awa...
Read more

The Wonders and Horrors of Making Assumptions

Image
Welcome to your weekly 1 on 1 , where I tackle some of your most challenging questions concerning Engineering, Global Leadership, Life in Japan and more. Today I'd like to offer a reflection on "Assumptions" and why you should be weary of them in your career. It was one of my lazier, simple TikToks that got me in trouble. Now this isn't the first time I've ever "triggered" the internet... but most of the time that is a willful choice when I characterize "The Pretentious Engineer". One day, I found a video of what looked like a giant 3D printing architecture used to manipulate a concrete pouring nozzle. This marvelous invention was pouring concrete... well actually it was more like smearing frosting on a cake one layer at a time, to build walls. The video claimed that this was the future of home construction and the comments were equally enthusiastic. It was at that moment that I made a dangerous assumption. I didn't really see the futu...
Read more

The Idol of Time: Leading Projects within the Confines of Reality

Image
  Welcome to your weekly 1 on 1 , where I tackle some of your most challenging questions concerning Engineering, Global Leadership, Life in Japan, and more. Today I'd like to offer a reflection on how to navigate the "Idol of Time". I've always enjoyed working with my hands, particularly woodworking. It's a creative outlet that helps me detach from the pressures I experience at work. You see, any woodworking project is a process. It's not always linear, but still formulaic and culminating in something beautiful, functional, or ideally... both. I love the progression from an initial concept to eventually something that I can hold in my hands. But what drives me crazy, is that it is never fast. I always feel like any new project I take on expands in scope, complexity, and effort required to finish. Recently, I acquired a xTool D1 Pro 20w laser cutter to assist in some of my DIY activities. I was so excited about unboxing it and putting it through its paces....
Read more