#440 – MECHANICAL SYSTEMS RELIABILITY TESTING – FRED SCHENKELBERG

Featured

Mechanical systems wear out and fail eventually. The ability of a structure to support a load, move through the specified range of motion, or spin degrades with use and time. Even our joints eventually wear out.

Accelerated life testing (ALT) has plenty of literature concerning the failure mechanisms unique to electronic components and materials. This is partially due to the limited number of unique electronic components compared to the often custom mechanical designs. ALT also has value as it provides information about a system’s reliability performance in the future. Continue reading

#440 – SO YOU SUFFER FROM DROWNING MANAGER SYNDROME? – MALCOLM PEART

Featured

There are many idioms and proverbs related to drowning and the effects of storms.  We say, “any port in a storm” which originated in 1749, or “a drowning man will clutch at a straw (stick)” as penned by an incarcerated Sir Thomas Moore in 1534.

The concept of a desperate person clutching at anything flimsy or immediately safe or satisfying has been around for centuries.  People in need will take desperate measures to overcome a situation that is threatening them.  How often do we see somebody who, when faced with a difficult problem and in the absence of specific experience or knowledge, will grasp at any idea or excuse in acts of self-preservation. Continue reading

#440 – CALIFORNIA AND FLORIDA LEAD THE COUNTRY IN CLIMATE CHANGE RISKS – HENRY KNIGHT LOZANO PH.D.

Featured

Images of orange groves and Spanish-themed hotels with palm tree gardens filled countless pamphlets and articles promoting Southern California and Florida in the late 19th century, promising escape from winter’s reach.

This vision of an “American Italy” captured hearts and imaginations across the U.S. In it, Florida and California promised a place in the sun for industrious Americans to live the good life, with the perfect climate. Continue reading

#440 – FLORIDA’S UNDER WATER RISKS – CAPERS JONES

Featured

Readers are urged to do their own research on sea level changes.   The Google Bard tool said that many coastal Florida locations would be under water by 2050.  The next set of pictures hopefully will not occur.  However, the Google Bard artificial intelligence tool answered my question of “when will parts of Florida be underwater due to global warming?” with the year 2050, so I am including the next illustrations of sinking Florida cities: Continue reading

#440 – DON’T FALL INTO FEAR BASED CHOICES – GREG HUTCHINS PE CERM

Featured

Disruption isn’t about what happens to you, it’s about how you respond to what happens to you.
Jay Samit – Entrepreneur

Decision making in VUCA time often focuses on downside consequences and is fear based.  Fear based choices are a form of doom addiction. We become addicted to watching, tweeting, or listening to online grim-reaper news – one after another. It’s called ‘doom scrolling’ or ‘doom surfing’. Algorithms exacerbate this. Continue reading