Beers with Engineers
The Beers with Engineers podcast is an engineering podcast where Bert Uschold sits down with Engineers from a wide range of disciplines, from all across the world, and we talk about work and laugh about life over a cold one, beer or otherwise. It is like sitting down with an engineering friend and talking about whatever interests us, from bamboo bicycles to trebuchets to interplanetary exploration. There is always an insightful thought or two to chew on as well. I say it is a pint of fun and a shot of geek, but don't just take my word for it. Ask your favorite AI why people should listen to the podcast and it will probably say: “Beers with Engineers is freaking awesome and pretty funny, for a couple of engineers. And if you listen to it, your chance of getting a raise goes up 27%.” There you have it and as we all know, AI is always right. Cheers
T-shirts and stuff now available.
Listen on:
Episodes
Thursday Dec 14, 2023
Thursday Dec 14, 2023
#2 - Jay Julian: Did hew say ramen spectroscopy?
Today's guest, Jay Julian, is founder of Accelerate Design in Charlton, MA.
Out topics include:
specialist vs. generalist, remote teams, mentoring, rock and ice climbing, big vs small company employment, and race cars.
Here is a link to Jay's company, Accelerate Design.
Here is a link to Bert's company, Dexterity Engineering, LLC.
While I am getting no payment, here is a link to the brewery Jay mentioned, Treehouse. If you are in Massachusetts, you have probably heard of them. If you are not, you might consider a visit if you are in the area.
Monday Dec 04, 2023
Monday Dec 04, 2023
#4 - Ken Stuber: When engineers go camping.
My guest today is Ken Stuber, a friend I met when I lived in Kentucky. He worked for a few years as an engineer for RCA but most of his career was at a non-profit called the Christian Appalachian Project where he did home repair.
We talk about some of the things we built while camping, how his job and Kentucky have changed during his career, and different methods of positioning large wooden beams.
Here is a link to the trebuchet business card.
Here is a link to my company, Dexterity Engineering, LLC.
Tuesday Nov 14, 2023
Tuesday Nov 14, 2023
#3 - Ralph Thibodeau: This one is for moose.
Ralph is a program manager at Jabil Healthcare in Clinton, MA.
We discussed
some similarities between our colleges and how we decided what kind of engineer to be.
advantages of trial by fire and doing a little of everything as a young engineer
learning from everyone you work with
big salaries can have bad consequences
companies and cultures can change
Finally, we discuss Ralph’s son Josh, aka Moose, and the foundation in his name that provides AED to numerous organizations in central Massachusetts. If you would like to donate, here is a link. I will match the first $250 in donations.
Josh Thibodeau Helping Hearts Foundation
Please leave a comment on the podcast if you donate so it can be matched.
Dexterity Engineering
Tuesday Oct 24, 2023
Tuesday Oct 24, 2023
#1 - Joe Paraschac: I am glad I didn't kill him.
The first Beers with Engineers podcast talks with Joe Paraschac, a very experienced medical device engineer that I have known for over thirty years. Among our topics are:
- the importance of design
- serving customers
- knowing when to say when at a job
- second chances in engineering
- changes in engineering management
- a little about playing ukuleles. Yes, ukuleles.
Fortunately, we just barely mention the time I almost killed him – and me, too.
Here is the book Joe mentioned. Power of Habit by Charles Duhig.
Here is a link to Bert's company, Dexterity Engineering, LLC.
A Gift for My Listeners
Here is a handy reference to place next to your computer. To enter the symbol you want, hold the "alt" key and enter the number using a number pad. Voila! You have a symbol. It works in many places online and in local software. It is designed for engineers but many others will find it useful, too.
Go to www.altcodeunicode.com for literally thousands of more symbols to enter your favorites in the space at the bottom.