Beers with Engineers

Brogan Miller: Being Uncomfortable is Good

#59  – Brogan Miller: Being Uncomfortable is Good
Brogan Miller is the founder of Doula Studios where he bills himself, accurately I might add, as a doula for early stage hardware start-ups. We cover many topics, including our favorite beverage while camping and why manufacturing is more difficult than design.
Brogan is a Gaelic name
A brogue accent is mostly Irish but also in parts of Scotland
Brogan’s definition of engineer – they are innately curious and  try to actually explore that curiosity by using or creating tools within their local environment.
Went to Stanford and coaches students groups there.
He is a doula for early stage hardware startups.
He is both an engineering and emotional doula.
He needs his clients to be coachable.
Part of his job is finding out what their genius is.
Running a start-up involves balancing responsibilities to your employees and your capital providers.
Sometime good enough is good enough.
Spent some valuable and productive time in Vietnam researching companies.
More than 50% of manufacturing is cultural.
“I firmly believe manufacturing is more difficult that design”
He makes himself uncomfortable – it helps him grow.
Chocolate Bailey’s Irish cream is very good.
Brogan’s company - www.doulastudios.com
Bert’s Company – www.dexterityeng.com
Merchandise - www.beerswithengineers.shop 
 
Hat tip to Joseph McDade for free use of his music "Mirrors".

Wyatt Bonicelli: Birds - Natural and Manmade

#58 – Wyatt Bonicelli: Birds – Natural and Manmade
Wyatt is a structural engineer for Boeing in Oklahoma, helping maintain the KC-135 fleet. Unsurprisingly, he enjoys military aircraft, and we later learn of an affinity for more natural birds. Throw in a couple SEO companies that he operates and we had a lot of interesting things to talk about. Be sure to check out the SR-71 speed check story, which is mentioned but not told. It is worth it.
Prefers beers from Prairie Bomb! in Oklahoma.
We have learned a lot since the de Haviland comet.
Air Force One is whatever plane the president is on.
“Air Force One” movie from 1997. Harrison Ford was the president who was kidnapped.
Before doing SEO, he did rank and rent to help local contractors.
There’s white hat, black hat, and gray hat SEO companies.
Google’s motto was “Don’t be evil”
Google doesn’t want SEO, they want you to buy ads.
The fundamentals of SEO are keywords and link building
There is an A-12 airplane, similar to, but not an SR-71, at the Intrepid Air & Space Museum.
SR-71 speed check story
“A Higher Call” – World War 2 pilot story.
Another book - Skunk Works
Called skunk works because it smelled bad nearby.
Re-fueling the SR-71 is pretty hard and dangerous.
Wyatt enjoys leatherwork as a hobby.
“Listers” A documentary about competitive bird watching.
Wyatt’s Companies –  www.EvolveAgencyOK.com and www.churchSEOservices.com  
Bert’s Company – www.dexterityeng.com
Merchandise - www.beerswithengineers.shop 
 
Hat tip to Joseph McDade for free use of his music "Mirrors".

Dave Cooper: Navigating from student to engineer

#57 – Dave Cooper: Navigating from student to engineer
 
Dave Cooper went from barely graduating high school to teaching university engineering students. In between, he was a navigator for the Marines and worked on refrigeration systems for NASA. We also learn that Dave and Bert share an affection for animated cubic sponges with a palindromic name. He hopes to soon form a father/son engineering team.
Also:
After leaving Marines, he decided to study aeronautical engineering largely because it was first alphabetically.
Switched to mechanical because aeronautical engineering wasn’t available at the university he chose.
Loved learning in college; in high school, not so much.
Design project was a UAV.
As a teacher, Dave struggled with fighting cheating.
Students were more interested in the grade than in the learning.
He still has a sextant.
Started his own firm a few months ago and wants to work with his son.
A lot of the world suffers from short-term thinking.
Found his technical expertise was secondary to relationships.
Linked In is useful for networking.
Likes jujitsu and it is good for networking.
The more fun you are having, the quicker you pick up a new skill.
Dave and Bert both like SpongeBob SquarePants
Merchandise - www.beerswithengineers.shop 
Bert’s Company – www.dexterityeng.com
Hat tip to Joseph McDade for free use of his music "Mirrors".

Doug Katz and Gordon Downey: The Tony Stark of Adaptive Products

#56 – Doug Katz and Gordon Downey: The Tony Stark of Adaptive Products
Merchandise - www.beerswithengineers.shop 
Nulu Knives: https://nuluknives.com/  BWENULU2026 to save on a Nulu knife
Doug Katz – wouldn’t name children Alley or Tom
Gordon Downey considered April Fresh and Summer Breeze for his twins
Doug went to West Point
Gordon is an industrial designer but started studying advertising
Was also a commercial photographer.
Industrial designers need to know a bit about engineering BUT
Engineers need to know a bit about industrial design.
Their Nulu knife is based on the ulu knife used by eskimos.
Part of the motivation to make the knife was Doug’s shoulder problems.
It also works with people with mobility problems and vision impairment.
The Nulu requires macro body movement more than micro body movement.
Knife technique is very important to chefs.
Grip strength is a good indicator of life expectancy.
Looking to get into markets where people use knives all day long to prevent repetitive stress injuries.
One challenge is it is tough to sharpen.
Gordon plays guitar. Doug is a failed musician.
Steve Zhan would play Gordon movie.
Robert Downey, Jr would play Doug, who wants to be the Tony Stark of adaptive products and was an extra in “Rampage”
Nulu Knives: https://nuluknives.com/
Bert’s Company – www.dexterityeng.com
Hat tip to Joseph McDade for free use of his music "Mirrors".

Howard Silverstein: Sometimes it just Clix

#55 – Howard Silverstein: Sometimes it just Clix
Merchandise - www.beerswithengineers.shop 
Likes to drink a black and tan
Tonight, opening a bottle of 18 year old Macallan
Has a mechanical mind but is not handy with tools.
Likes to keep it simple.
“Yes if…” not “No because…”
The business card holder he worked on.
They invented “Clix” to fill boats with gas without spilling.
It’s more than just a funnel.
For some reasons boat openings are different from cars.
Also applies to construction vehicles and more.
“The day you stop learning is the day you start dying.”
Won Innovation Award of the year at the International Boat Builder’s Exposition.
All attendees were happy to see them win.
Never say no. Compromise? Maybe.
Three rules
Trust no one.
If you think you are perfect, you are not.
If when you do your job, you’re not making the next person’s job easier, you’re not doing your job.
He is a gamer. Likes Project: Gorgon
Would enjoy living in Israel or Ireland.
Howard’s product, clix – www.clixfueling.com
Promo code: 10OFF
Bert’s Company – www.dexterityeng.com
Hat tip to Joseph McDade for free use of his music "Mirrors".

Naeem Turner-Bandele: His Plan is Electrifying

#54 – Naeem Turner-Bandele: His plan is electrifying
Merchandise - www.beerswithengineers.shop 
Likes to drink Ginjinha, a Portuguese cherry liqueur
Wanted to be a professional soccer player.
Moved to Brazil and discovered power outages were frequent.
Then he got a serious concussion and pivoted to wanting to start an energy technology company.
From no interest in engineering to getting a PhD.
He is known for being a man with a plan
Dissertation topic was integrating renewables into the electric grid
His company, Latimer Enterprise, is named for Lewis Howard Latimer
About lights bulbs not lasting a long time: it was called the Phoebus cartel.
The power industry treats customers as load, not as a customer.
He works with the customers as customers and people.
Naeem ran track in addition to soccer.
200/400 double vs 400/800 double in track
Renewables are a challenge to the grid but the big issue is still storage.
Get an energy audit! Naeem can help.
Naeem is a big movie fan.
Recommends the movie “Sinners” – vampires in the Jim Crow south
Naeem loves “Citizen Kane”. Bert – not so much.
Naeem’s company and email: www.LatimerEnt.com, naeem@latimerent.com  
Bert’s Company – www.dexterityeng.com
Hat tip to Joseph McDade for free use of his music "Mirrors".

Josh Weaver: Engineers/Christmas

#B5 – Josh Weaver: Engineers/Christmas
Josh is Bert’s nephew for this Christmas themed podcast
Josh is drinking a Bell’s Lighthearted IPA.
Bert is enjoying a Bailey’s Irish Cream.
One semester as a computer science major.
A few years as a commercial painter but did not see it as a long term thing.
Started working for his step-father’s manufacturing company.
Forgive the dog sneaky toy in the background.
Josh “sequestered” the dog and the toy.
Works for Oster Manufacturing.
They make pipe threading equipment, not toasters.
Josh helped out a woman who sent them her can opener.
He spent about 15 minutes at Mt. Rushmore.
His wife makes an awesome cheesecake.
The Poochie story – Uschold family lore.
Josh enjoys rock crawler radio control cars.
He loves the classical Christmas songs and versions.
Bert hates Neal Diamond Christmas songs

Stan Leong: Engineering Your Finances

#53 – Stan Leong: Engineering Your Finances
Merchandise - www.beerswithengineers.shop 
Stan is a Buffalo Bills fan, like Bert.
Electrical engineer from Cornell
Likes how the simple things of electronics build into complex things.
Was laid off the week after he bought his first house.
Saw a financial job on Monster.com (remember that?)
Got all his clients through cold calling
So miserable his wife handing out resumes to engineering companies. 15:00
After a rough start, he now loves his career- and is still using his engineering skills.
Engineers are good with numbers, unless there is a dollar sign before them.
Don’t own too much of your company stock.
It is easy to buy stock, it is hard to sell it.
Great book – “Millionaire Next Door”
The threshold for an accredited investor hasn’t changed.
Is active in ju-jitsu and it’s the hardest thing he has done.
Right now he is cautiously optimistic about investing.
Stan’s book – www.engineeringyourfinancesbook.com
Get a free copy - stan@engineeringyourfinancesbook.com
Bert’s Company – www.dexterityeng.com

Therese Miclot: The Engineer Whisperer

#52 – Therese Miclot: The Engineer Whisperer
Merchandise - www.beerswithengineers.shop 
Drinking a Spotted Cow, available only in Wisconsin.
Observed her mom who struggled with bad bosses.
Got intrigued by the psychology of work.
First job at a heavy engineering company – Rockwell
Found leadership and communication skills lacking in engineers.
But both are important even if you don’t want to go into management.
“The Trusted Advisor” by Maister, Green, and Galford
Engineer should look at changing habits as expanding their range.
Dual career path options still exist for engineers.
Business cards aren’t dead yet.
Openness to receive feedback is a fuel for growth
Peter principle is still in existence, commonly in fast growing companies.
Therese gives the skill necessary to move into senior management.
Steve Jobs was a good leader despite being a jerk, not because of it.
Sometimes engineers need to be quiet
Milwaukee is a great town and a lot of manufacturing
Indianapolis is not bad either.
Fun activities at the racetrack
Daytona Speedway also has great activities.
Work on human interactions to future proof yourself.
Engineers are facilitators.
Therese’s website – www.ThereseMiclot.com 
Therese’s book – The Facilitation Advantage
Bert’s Company – www.dexterityeng.com

James Kell: Seven continents without trying

Show Notes
#51 – James Kell: Seven continents without trying
James lives on the beach in Bondi, Australia
He could be a wedding crasher without making up occupations
Likes to do fasting 36 – 72 hours
Studied engineering in Germany but went into construction
He eats Vegemite and teaches the secret of eating it.
Australians also check to see if water swirls the other direction in the toilet when crossing the equator.
Won an Australian Shark Tank contest.
His construction company built Apple stores
Scratchie app makes safety about reward and punishment
McDonald’s stores in Australia are using it.
He has been to all seven continents
Three tips for Antarctica
Go at start of summer
Go to Ushuaia, Argentina with no ticket and get an open seat.
Go to South Georgia, Island
We discuss Ernest Shackleton
“South: The Endurance Expedition” by Ernest Shackleton
“Adventure is just a lack of planning”
Volunteer lifesaver
Read Self Determination Theory by Richard Ryan and Edward Deci
 
James’s company - https://www.scratchie.com/
James’s email – james@scratchie.com
Bert’s Company – www.dexterityeng.com