“If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” ~ Sir Isaac Newton There seems to be a lot of misconception regarding the role of government spending in spurring innovation.  As someone who has spent 15 years in various roles at the Department of Defense; including research intern, military officer,…

The Internet.  The Information Superhighway.  A complex the system that seems to be constantly re-inventing every aspect of our world.  And for years the drive has been to make Internet access cheaper and faster.  But suddenly we’re hitting a wall propped up by corporate greed that threatens the neutrality that made the Internet what it…

There is a movement afoot by Eagle Scouts across the country to protest the recent decision by the national BSA leadership to uphold a policy of discrimination against homosexuals.  Many of us are writing letters and sending back our Eagle Scout award to the national council.  My letter is as follows: 24 July 2012To The…

I recently received an email from a fellow design engineer who is trying his hand at making a living doing what he loves.  I thought this knowledge might be useful for others so I am putting it here: There are three major types of contracts: Fixed Price:  You negotiate the total bill up front, if…

Unless you live under a rock, you are probably well aware of the Facebook “Like” button that allows you to go around the Internet and showing your approval of a people/place/thing by “Liking” them with a press of the aforementioned “Like” button.  There is a noticeable absence of a “Dislike” button.  After all when a…

“Fear is the path to dark side, feat leads anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering.” ~ Yoda The pint sized Jedi Master seems to have nailed the core of the issue that is facing the United States and the world at large in this period of global economic malaise.  Fear has crippled…

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results” ~  Author Unknown Recently read an article from Joe Kraus of Google Ventures.  It’s premise was to reject the commonly held notion that people learn best from their mistakes.   His position is that we tell ourselves that to simply…

“There’s something happening here, what it is ain’t exactly clear…” Mass production of goods is horribly inefficient, and hopefully soon it will be antiquated.  Instead of goods being sold, ideas and designs will be sold in a digital marketplace.  People will be able to purchase design files on the web, download them, and then print…