Beers with Engineers

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 pad 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

Year 2 Jokes - Funny strange or funny ha ha?

Bonus Episode #4: Year 2 Jokes
Merchandise - www.beerswithengineers.shop 
In this bonus episode all of the jokes from the second year of the podcast are compiled in one place. I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed putting it together.  
Enjoy!
Bert's company - www.dexterityeng.com 
Hat tip to Joseph McDade for free use of his music "Mirrors".

Charles Gillis, P.E.: Engineering and Art

#50 – Charles Gillis, P.E.: Engineering and art
Merchandise - www.beerswithengineers.shop 
Drinking a Start Line IPA in honor of his hometown, Hopkinton, where the Boston Marathon starts.
His mom knew he would be an engineer long before he did.
Has an interest in art, but isn’t an artist
Artist and engineers both combine existing things in new and interesting ways.
Worked controllable pitch propellors
First job at Gillette.
Everything is fascinating if you look at it close enough
Bert gets corrected - Nypro was assembling Gillette, not Bic shavers.
The mystery of razor blade profit margin.
Has engineered several pieces of kinetic art around Boston.
To be a PE or not to be a PE.
Teaches GD&T – there is a big need for it – and related courses.
Was able to wean off of Gillette before going fully into training
Sometimes you should make your own datum.
Likes to write in his spare time.
Charles' Company www. dynamicdesignconsulting.com  
Charles blog www.thebasicdimension.com/
Bert’s Company – www.dexterityeng.com
Hat tip to Joseph McDade for free use of his music "Mirrors".

Scott Bruneau: A traditional non-traditional engineer

#49 – Scott Bruneau: A traditional non-traditional engineer
Merchandise - www.beerswithengineers.shop 
 an engineer is somebody who makes precise guesswork based on unreliable data provided by people with questionable knowledge.
Studied nuclear engineering in high school. Yes, high school.
Buuuut, got his engineering degree late in life.
An early position was in quality – to get to know the parts – because that group knows them best.
Worked on drill rigs – building and using.
Buying Delaware metals was a legacy decision, not a financial one.
AeroGrowth has helped his business grow.
Ownership will give you humility.
Quoting production jobs was a big learning curve
They are very transparent about prices and costs
Also wants to partner with other shops. Demand is high.
He’s working a lot of hours: his systems are good but not all the right people yet.
Needs good machinists, not just operators.
Interdependent, not co-dependent
Likes the mental discipline of golf
Not a fan of Nicholas Cage
Books:
“Good to Great” Jim Collins
“The Goal” Eli Goldratt
“12 Rules for Life” Jordan Peterson
“Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” Steven Covey
Scott’s Company – www.delewaremetals.com
AeroGrowth – www.aerogrowthllc.com
Bert’s Company – www.dexterityeng.com
Hat tip to Joseph McDade for free use of his music "Mirrors".

Bob Bouthillier: Innovation Requires Disobedience

#48– Bob Bouthillier: Innovation Requires Disobedience
Merchandise - www.beerswithengineers.shop 
Like father, like son. His father was an electrical engineer.
But started college as a pharmacist
Did quality inspection of guns – including a Howizter cannon.
He can assemble guns fast – not quite as fast as Forrest Gump.
Inspecting ball bearings – stains vs pits.
His podcast summarizes books on innovation.
Just as generals are well prepared for the last war, CEOs operate in a similar way.
You don’t get real innovation without disobedience.
Treat AI like an intern.
Gell-Mann amnesia Effect – be careful trusting AI.
His AI prompts are longer than the output.
Pro2Health – inspiratory muscle trainer
The Houston Rockets tested it.
Plays the piano – had played professionally in bands.
Neuro transformation therapy – cures PTSD
Recommendations for engineers
Learn python
Learn agile techniques
Learn to use large language model
Learn to build agents with LLM.
All the books:
“Apple in China” by Patrick McGee
“Blink” by Malcolm Gladwell
“The Happiness Hypothesis” and “The Righteous Mind” by Jonathan Haidt
“Switch” by Chip and Dan Heath
“A Higher Call” by Adam Makos
“Loon Shots” by Safi Bahcall
AI Human Fusion” by Leanne Shelton
Bob’s Podcast - “Innoguide”
Bert’s Company – www.dexterityeng.com
Hat tip to Joseph McDade for free use of his music "Mirrors".