2 posts tagged “college”

Their programs and departments are so huge though that it's a rare day when you feel you're contributing valuably to anything.  With projects of this complexity, most of engineers' time is spent checking numbers on minute components or working on tools that may augment existing procedures that may be used during the next product test if they are approved and they feel like using a new tool instead of the stuff they've used for twenty years.  Everything is overengineered and checked twenty times over because that's the only way we can ensure these massively intricate machines work well, and do not (unintentionally) kill people.  Big engineering isn't a problem; it does solve things.  The U.S. today is the only country that can singlehandedly support the development of a modern, heavy fighter aircraft, because it has the money and army of engineers to scour every dark corner of an awesomely difficult design task (Europe unioned, Russia's fighter tripped and fell, India and Israel abandoned theirs, while China and Sweden opted for light fighters).  For the individual engineer though, the person dragged along and perhaps never thought of, this type of work is seldom fun.  It's a job.  Near graduation, most students accept this, and I wonder what college (and the world) does to toss cold water on all of their freshmen ambition.  They don't start out like this.

Insomnia Cookies These guys deliver cookies from 8:00 PM to 2:30 AM at a variety of college campuses. It was founded by a UPenn undergrad a few years ago.  Cookies are baked and kept warm throughout the day, and if not delivered within three hours they're donated or given away.  And, they deliver milk.  Is this awesome y/n?

In a similar vein, The Goodness Tree delivers a variety of in-season fruit on the University of Michigan campus. In my last batch, I got a bunch of clementines, kiwis and grapefruits. They were good, but I'm not sure it's that much different from just buying from a grocer.  They're definitely more expensive.  I guess I don't jive all that well with the whole sustainable farming deal, though I don't deny it's a good thing.  I'm too practical though.