All posts by Jacob

About Jacob

Jacob likes airplanes. And Lego's. And Video Games. Jacob has a degree in Aerospace Engineering from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, and now works for a major defense contractor in sunny Florida, as an aircraft structural analyst.

New Job, New Town, No Time

A wise man once said to me,

There are only 3 kinds of friends: Moving friends, Airport friends, and Beer friends.  And the latter is debatable.

Truer words have ne’er been spoken.  And though I’ve said it before, I consider the members of the Paleoposse to be my friends… MOVING friends, even.

So…speaking of moving… are you guys free Saturday?

It’s not that far.  See? Only 2 cm on the map!

 

OK, OK, don’t get all nervous, I’m kidding.  Luckily, I already managed the move (with the help of a few friends – paid in beer and pizza), and am about to start my 3rd week of work at my new job in Jacksonville, FL.  Incidentally, you may have noticed that I haven’t made any blog posts in 3 weeks.  COINCIDENCE?

Today I would just like to send a shout out to any PaleoPosse members in North Florida (and even Georgia & Alabama), and see if anyone would be interested in a meet-up! Depending on where everyone is hailing from, we could meet in Jacksonville, Gainesville, or Savanna.

Shoot me an email at jacob@sciencesortof.com and let’s do this!

Share

Airport Science

Hullo, hullo PaleoPosse… *yawn*…

I’m sitting at Orlando International Airport right now, trying to sneak onto a flight that might have an empty seat, and I figured I’d brighten your day and mine with a little bit-o-AIRPORT SCIENCE!!

Incheon International Airport in South Korea

 

I’ve told you before how Jet Engines work, and how Stealth Technology works, so today I thought I’d give you a quick lesson on how airports work, from the pilots’ perspective.

Continue reading Airport Science

Share

WARNING: Politics

This is going to be short and sweet long and boring.

I know you shouldn’t talk about politics or religion with your friends…and you, PaleoPosse, are my friends… but with what’s happening in Wisconsin and some of the crap happening here in Florida, I feel the need to be a little political.  So forgive me if I cross any boundaries, and feel free to critique my opinions.

Continue reading WARNING: Politics

Share

Demo Sunday – A New Tradition

As some of you may be aware, I’m a fan of video games.  As a working adult, I don’t get to play as many as I would really like, and well… games ain’t cheap!

So this weekend I had a glorious idea which will fulfill my need to play a wide variety of games without being a burden on my oh-so-limited free time.

And here it is: Every other Sunday, I will be playing 1 or 2 game DEMOES, and transmitting my experiences directly into the collective brain-matter of the PaleoPosse!

So what are you waiting for? Let’s do this! Today I’ll be reviewing the demo for Epic Games’ new IP, BulletStorm.

Continue reading Demo Sunday – A New Tradition

Share

Why do Engineers prefer to think unscientifically? Part 2 of 2

Last week I ended the post by stating my belief that Engineers’ tendency to think unscientifically is caused by 3 distinct factors: Education, Job Functions, and Career Advancement.

Today, I’ll dive into each of those areas in an attempt to support my own (admittedly biased) root-cause analysis.

Oh and while I’m at it, Ayn Rand still sucks, and it turns out she’s a hypocrite.

Oh the irony…

Continue reading Why do Engineers prefer to think unscientifically? Part 2 of 2

Share

Why do Engineers prefer to think unscientifically? Part 1 of 2

This is a topic I’ve been mulling over for quite some time.  It’s a hard concept to express, since it hits so close to home for me.  But after recently reading a discussion about the topic on Reddit, I felt I needed to use my “bully pulpit” and speak my mind.

So here’s the issue.  Engineers are, without a doubt, trained in hard science.  My education consisted of math topics up to Partial Differential Equations, and physics topics ranging from chemistry, thermodynamics, materials science, aerodynamics, and space physics.  I think it’s safe to say that most engineers understand Newton’s Laws of Motion, along with many other core scientific theories outside of their personal scientific discipline.

With that being said, why is it that engineers often fall into the logical traps of the un-scientific mainstream media and pseudo-scientific topics?  This is, in fact, a quantified effect, and has been given a name, “The Salem Hypothesis”, and is discussed in various forums online, including RationalWiki.

This is part 1 of 2 of my analysis of the assumptions in the Salem Hypothesis, and let me just begin by saying that I, for one, blame Ayn Rand.

FYI - She's batshit crazy

Continue reading Why do Engineers prefer to think unscientifically? Part 1 of 2

Share

The Curious Case of the Disappearing Ski

Namaste PaleoPosse! I have returned from my winter-walkabout a changed man; changed in the sense that I have been SAVED by the power that is SCIENCE! PRAISE SCIENCE!

Er, actually, I haven’t been saved myself, but my ski has!  Today I’ve come to tell you a tale about how Ryan and I used SCIENCE on the slopes of SnowShoe Ski Resort in West Virginia, to find my missing ski!

Continue reading The Curious Case of the Disappearing Ski

Share

WTFudge is Net Neutrality?

Happy Monday, Paleoposse!

 

First of all, let me apologize for missing a blog post last week.  Work is hectic, but that’s no excuse!

 

Secondly, let me apologize in advance for today’s post, for it is sure to bore some of you (and there are no pictures).

 

Today’s post is about Net Neutrality: What it means, and why you should care.

 

Share