Engineers as Story Tellers

Contributed by: Mr David T.E Lim BE (Civil) 1977 (taken from Melbourne Uni website)

Engineers are story tellers. They may not know this, but they are.

When I landed my first CEO job, I told this story to my staff. Two men are walking in the woods. Suddenly they hear a rustling in the leaves, and see a bear charging at them. One of them stoops to tie his shoelaces. The other, bewildered, tells him he's wasting his time. "You can't outrun the bear", he declared. The other man, having finished tying his shoelace, replies, "I'm not trying to, I'm just going to outrun you!"

I tell this to illustrate what competition in the 'real world' is like. The customer buys one car, one TV, one laptop at a time. If he buys your competitor's product, he doesn't buy yours. We are all trying to outrun the other fellow, and we start our training young. In school, you want to be higher up on the grade curve than the other guy. At work, you want that promotion faster.

But there is another element to this story. It's about the shoelaces. The man who tied his laces was obviously an engineer. First, he defined the problem: the bear wants to eat me. Second, he explores it further: I don't have anything to fight off the bear. And the bear can run faster than me. Third he begins to think of possible solutions. Perhaps they can both fight off the bear - two are better than one. Or they could run in different directions. Fourth: he evaluates the solutions. Even together, they could not possibly win the fight - the bear is too big. And if they run in separate directions, one of them will still get eaten, and it could be him. Neither are good solutions, so he goes back to step three. Are they other possible options? Yes, he can try to outrun the other guy. One of them will get eaten. It's only sensible that he doesn't leave that to luck. Finally, he implements his solution. To outrun the other guy, he's got to make sure he's got an advantage. He notices that their shoelaces have come loose from all the hiking on uneven ground. That presents an opportunity. He stoops to tie his shoelaces. And then he runs like the wind.

All this analysis, and only in a wink of an eye.

But this is what engineers are trained to do. They solve problems in a systematic, calculated way that carefully examines the problem, considers the various alternatives to solve the problem, and picks an option to implement.

Practiced long enough, it becomes second nature. We do it intuitively, in every circumstance, and not just in the field we specialise in. Yes, we figure out how to build longer bridges, taller structures, smaller devices, faster computers, harder plastics, stronger fibres and so on. But beyond all this, we are also good problem solvers in life - solving conflicts in community, providing leadership in social organisation. For the essence of our training is analysis and choice.

My career has taken me away from engineering per se into all kinds of fields - software development, economic development, port operations, shipping, industrial park development, corporate management - even politics! But in every new situation, I found myself stepping through the same paradigm - defining and exploring problems, generating and evaluating solutions, and then taking decisive steps to deal with the matter at hand.

Of course, 'real life' is not just about outrunning the bear. It's not all about competing and winning. In the end, we probably wouldn't have just run off. We might have stayed together to fend off the bear, or run in different directions, or perhaps we might have stayed put to let our friend get away. But you get the idea - we begin with the best of engineering solutions, and then we need to layer that with our values and beliefs. That's what makes us a really good engineer.

a day thinking of you...

thinking of you,
day and night,
missing of you,
without fear or fright,

wish you could be there,
to care and pamper me,
anytime now right here,
to hug and kiss me,

there are up and down,
norm in a relationship,
let not be frown,
as we steer clear our ship,

time is our essence,
as we seek our understanding,
assumption is our menace,
as it caused misunderstanding,

as i ponder,
what life will be without you,
you make me feel wonder,
just another day thinking of you...

Our Attitude Defines Life

Our Attitude Defines Life

Life is Best for those who want to Live it,

Life is Difficult for those who want to Analyze it,

Life is worst for those who want to Criticize it,

Our Attitude Defines Life...

Enjoy Your Life,

Laugh so Hard That even Sorrow Smiles at You,

Live Life so Well That even Death Loves to see you Alive,

Fight so Hard That even Fate accepts its Defeat.....

Our Attitude Defines Life

Our Attitude Defines Life

Life is Best for those who want to Live it,

Life is Difficult for those who want to Analyze it,

Life is worst for those who want to Criticize it,

Our Attitude Defines Life...

Enjoy Your Life,

Laugh so Hard That even Sorrow Smiles at You,

Live Life so Well That even Death Loves to see you Alive,

Fight so Hard That even Fate accepts its Defeat.....

The Mayonnaise Jar

When things in your life seem , almost too much to handle, When 24 Hours in a day is not enough, Remember the mayonnaise jar and 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class And had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, He picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.

He then asked the students, if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.
The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open Areas between the golf balls.

He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.
The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous 'yes.'

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

'Now,' said the professor, as the laughter subsided, 'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things - family, children, health, Friends, and Favorite passions – Things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, Your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, house, and car.
The sand is everything else --The small stuff.
'If you put the sand into the jar first,' He continued, 'there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life.
If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, You will never have room for the things that are important to you.

So...

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play With your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner.
There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal.
'Take care of the golf balls first -- The things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.'

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.
The professor smiled. 'I'm glad you asked'.
It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.'

How to say I Love You in 100 Languages

English - I love you

Afrikaans - Ek het jou lief

Albanian - Te dua

Arabic - Ana behibak (to male)

Arabic - Ana behibek (to female)

Armenian - Yes kez sirumem

Bambara - M'bi fe

Bengali - Ami tomake bhalobashi (pronounced: Amee toe-ma-kee bhalo-bashee)

Belarusian - Ya tabe kahayu

Bisaya - Nahigugma ako kanimo

Bulgarian - Obicham te

Cambodian - Soro lahn nhee ah

Catalan - T'estimo

Cherokee - Tsi ge yu i

Cheyenne - Ne mohotatse

Chichewa - Ndimakukonda

Chinese

Cantonese - Ngo oiy ney a

Mandarin - Wo ai ni

Comanche - U kamakutu nu

(pronounced oo----ka-ma-koo-too-----nu) -- Thx Tony

Corsican - Ti tengu caru (to male)

Cree - Kisakihitin

Creol - Mi aime jou

Croatian - Volim te

Czech - Miluji te

Danish - Jeg Elsker Dig

Dutch - Ik hou van jou

Elvish - Amin mela lle (from The Lord of The Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien)

Esperanto - Mi amas vin

Estonian - Ma armastan sind

Ethiopian - Afgreki'

Faroese - Eg elski teg

Farsi - Doset daram

Filipino - Mahal kita

Finnish - Mina rakastan sinua

French - Je t'aime, Je t'adore

Frisian - Ik hald fan dy

Gaelic - Ta gra agam ort

Georgian - Mikvarhar

German - Ich liebe dich

Greek - S'agapo

Gujarati - Hoo thunay prem karoo choo

Hiligaynon - Palangga ko ikaw

Hawaiian - Aloha Au Ia`oe

Hebrew

To female - "ani ohev otach" (said by male) "ohevet Otach" (said by female)

To male - "ani ohev otcha" (said by male) "Ohevet ot'cha" (said by female)

Hiligaynon - Guina higugma ko ikaw

Hindi - Hum Tumhe Pyar Karte hae

Hmong - Kuv hlub koj

Hopi - Nu' umi unangwa'ta

Hungarian - Szeretlek

Icelandic - Eg elska tig

Ilonggo - Palangga ko ikaw

Indonesian - Saya cinta padamu

Inuit - Negligevapse

Irish - Taim i' ngra leat

Italian - Ti amo

Japanese - Aishiteru or Anata ga daisuki desu

Kannada - Naanu ninna preetisuttene

Kapampangan - Kaluguran daka

Kiswahili - Nakupenda

Konkani - Tu magel moga cho

Korean - Sarang Heyo or Nanun tangshinul sarang hamnida

Latin - Te amo

Latvian - Es tevi miilu

Lebanese - Bahibak

Lithuanian - Tave myliu

Luxembourgeois - Ech hun dech gaer

Macedonian - Te Sakam

Malay - Saya cintakan mu / Aku cinta padamu

Malayalam - Njan Ninne Premikunnu

Maltese - Inhobbok

Marathi - Me tula prem karto

Mohawk - Kanbhik

Moroccan - Ana moajaba bik

Nahuatl - Ni mits neki

Navaho - Ayor anosh'ni

Ndebele - Niyakutanda

Norwegian

Bokmaal - Jeg elsker deg

Nyonrsk - Eg elskar deg

Pandacan - Syota na kita!!

Pangasinan - Inaru Taka

Papiamento - Mi ta stimabo

Persian - Doo-set daaram

Pig Latin - Iay ovlay ouyay

Polish - Kocham Ciebie

Portuguese - Eu te amo

Romanian - Te iubesc

Russian - Ya tebya liubliu

Scot Gaelic - Tha gra\dh agam ort

Serbian - Volim te

Setswana - Ke a go rata

Sign Language - ,\,,/ (represents position of fingers when signing 'I Love You')

Sindhi - Maa tokhe pyar kendo ahyan

Sioux - Techihhila

Slovak - Lu`bim ta

Slovenian - Ljubim te

Spanish - Te quiero / Te amo

Swahili - Ninapenda wewe

Swedish - Jag alskar dig

Swiss-German - Ich lieb Di

Surinam - Mi lobi joe

Tagalog - Mahal kita

Taiwanese - Wa ga ei li

Tahitian - Ua Here Vau Ia Oe

Tamil - Nan unnai kathalikaraen

Telugu - Nenu ninnu premistunnanu

Thai

To female - Phom rak khun

To male - Chan rak khun

Informal - Rak te

Tunisian - Ha eh bak

Turkish - Seni Seviyorum

Ukrainian - Ya tebe kahayu

Urdu - mai aap say pyaar karta hoo

Vietnamese

To female - Anh ye^u em

To male - Em ye^u anh

Welsh - 'Rwy'n dy garu di

Yiddish - Ikh hob dikh

Yoruba - Mo ni fe

Zazi - Ezhele hezdege

Zuni - Tom ho' ichema