I suppose there are many engineers at PriusChat (not me though). I wonder what you think of this story: Right to speak freely about engineering is subject of 1st Amendment lawsuit | Ars Technica
1) this tells me that oregon is a strange state. b) a recent overpass was completed on a major highway here. when you exit the highway and follow the ramp to the over pass, there is a yield sign at the end. unfortunately, the engineers decided that it would be a good idea to build a mountain of grass in the cloverleaf, blocking the view of the oncoming traffic as you approach the merge. imo, they are the ones who should be fined. 2) but i suspect they are protecting their turf in oregon, and don't want the public to know that there are people not in charge, who are smarter than them.
Having an opinion, is not practicing engineering, any more than putting a band aid on your child is impersonating a doctor, or charging for doing nothing is acting as a lawyer. I routinely have opinions here, apply band aids until Patrick Wong diagnoses the real ailment, and mostly do nothing, repeatedly.
Where a structure is built, its failure or impaired operation could have negative public impacts. Oversight seems perfectly sensible. That each (US) state has its own engineering certification is also sensible (I guess) but may raise some faintly colored flags. For any state to use (lack of) certification as a cudgel, where no 'structure' is at issue, well that would seem to be a flag. Does anyone know of other similar cases in other states?
I know Nobel prize winning biochemist Linus Pauling had troubles where they claimed he was acting as a Doctor, not a researcher. Linus Pauling - Wikipedia
Pauling generated much controversy on these issues, but no lawsuits that I know. This was more of a science dispute, settled in a typical science way. Further studies failed to support megavitamin therapy claims. Which is not to say that no benefits are possible from vitamin supplementation. They need to be tested individually.
"Professional Engineer" (PE) is a state licensed title. It is illegal to represent oneself as a PE without that license. An "engineer" is generally not confused with a PE, except possibly in Oregon. Certain engineering fields require a PE stamp and signoff on certain documents and projects. Numerous other engineering fields don't have any need or use for PE approval, but use other regulatory schemes. Up where I live (and worked before retirement) in the greater Seattle-Tacoma-Everett metro area, there are many swaths of engineering where those PE stamps are wholly unnecessary, and most of us engineers never bothered. I've worked with only three engineers I knew to have PE licenses, all mechanical engineers, none in my own electrical engineering field. One of my siblings has a PE license as a chemical engineer, but it was obtained mostly as a matter of pride, half way through her engineering career, not out of any form of necessity. Maybe that Oregon board is why there is far more engineering work happening in the Seattle region than in the Portland region. .
That's exactly what I thought when I saw that article yesterday. They only hassled the guy because he was highlighting their mistakes. I wish we could get some publicity about the traffic engineering mistakes in this area. People are dying. Oh, and if you did't already know: Chemical engineers make weapons. Electronics engineers make weapons delivery systems. Civil engineers make targets.
Without naming people, I've met at least one "PE" who did not inspire confidence. But he was fairly meticulous in his work so I didn't mind. I had looked at the "PE" practice books and realized it was pretty much civil engineering with a smattering of other engineering disciplines. Being mechanical engineering trained, I was reminded that civil engineers make targets for mechanical engineers. Bob Wilson
As a Chemical Engineer, if we keep with the "Chemical Engineers makes weapons" analogy, Industrial Engineers are usual targets . But I have also been called a glorified plumber before .
In a broader perspective, when considering college majors, I've heard that science majors ask, "What is it?" Engineering majors ask, "How can we make it?" Business majors ask, "How much will it cost?" And liberal arts majors ask, "Would you like fries with that?"
I am just thankful that my liberal arts degreed (the very useful History and Political Science degrees then went into get a Masters Degree in History) wife was been able to get her employer to fit the bill when it was not applicable to her role. If that were not the case, she might have asked this customer service question: "Can I help you?"
Nice try. Remember how much chemistry is around you every day. Someone spent some time making it, then improving it.
The mechanical engineer makes what delivers what the electrical engineer makes. The difference is smoke: mechanical engineers design systems that make smoke and; electrical engineers try to keep their smoke in. Bob Wilson
Excellent timing! I had just taken another sip of my morning double espresso that came from a semi-automated espresso machine using the home roasted beans in the now smoky colored table top convections roaster of green beans bought from Smithfarms the Kona coffee grower and sold in 10 lbs bags delivered by USPS from an order made over the internet from: Smithfarms 100% Pure Kona Coffee | Established in 1988 and on the Internet Since January 1999! Fresh coffee, the very thing for OCD. Bob Wilson
You probably slept on a mattress last night (let's hope anyway). Polyurethane foam is present between the external covers. This is something I spent 7 years working on and improving. Onto bigger and better things now.
