I always support the right honorable Bryan Finster in his outbursts against government-associated lack of efficiency compared to the business world. Though compared to Bryan’s experience in the field, I cannot fully comprehend how bad things are and what can be done to improve them, but these days I seem to observe a fairly good example. As you …
As a teenager, I marveled over Stephen King‘s prose. I can’t even tell which book I liked more, though Christine, Talisman and Rose Madder probably stood out. As a junior programmer, I slightly disliked managers, despised QA, hated technical writers and couldn’t figure out why anyone for God’s sake needed graphic designers. The Fight Club scene about “efficiency” totally made my day. Did …
Back in 1989, Toyota was accused of copycatting Lexus from Mercedes. But as noted once in the Mary Magdalene incident, do not rush to throw stones – you may not be without sin either. “For a fistful of dollars,” a now-iconic 1964 Western movie, was a direct copycat of Akira Kurosawa‘s Yojimbo. According to Kurosawa, Sergio Leone had made “a fine movie, but it was my movie.” …
Once upon a time, Hollywood was a true Detroit for the souls. Movie marketing people of the 1960s figured that the audience enjoyed watching epic historical battles. Money poured in, and dozens of excellent movies were created, culminating in the majestic “Waterloo” in 1970. Movie marketing people of the 1980s discovered that the new generation …
There are a lot of secrets in this world, but not too many can compete with engineering know-how in terms of a strategic impact. In the 21st century that precious know-how is being stored in PLM systems and their digital twin siblings. CAD designs, material information, tooling – all these shiny pieces for Bilbo Baggings’s next adventure are sitting in your …
They say it is better not to know how sausages and politics are made. Similarly, when you like a song, sometimes it is better not to know the lyrics. I remember the moment I delved into “Smoke Over the Water” and suddenly realized it told a rather primitive story about a hotel fire in Switzerland. I tried …
My cousin served as a tank driver in the Israeli army about 20 years ago. Not that he was too excited about it, as he rather enjoyed slacking around, dating girls and playing the guitar. Instead, he found himself (and three other teenagers) locked in what felt like a mobile steel coffin, while complete strangers were regularly …
Driving to victory with older tanks and slightly obsolete PLM Read More »
In a classic 1992 black comedy movie, two ladies drank a magic potion, which made them immortal, although prone to various health issues, including at some point being technically dead. Maintaining their structural integrity and public appearance was becoming increasingly problematic. 40 years earlier, the B-52 strategic bomber was commissioned into the US military arsenal, joining a multitude of …
Meryl Streep, engineering data longevity and legacy CAD conversion Read More »
Ray Bradbury‘s prose is too dark and depressing. All he writes about are bad things happening to mankind, with no way out. I remember getting sad every single time I read his books, and I quit reading him completely as soon as I discovered Robert Heinlein. What a difference! Heinlein was a firebrand for the Age …
I remember strongly disliking my philosophy classes for their absolute irrelevance to everyday life. It took me 20 years to only start comprehending the infinite wisdom hiding in the murky writings of these predominantly old bald white males. Take Apophatic theology in its simplistic form – defining God by what God is not. Plato postulated that certain things have …
Plato, Aristotle, Dirty Harry, and the benefits of prototyping Read More »