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• This week on the show, we had some unfortunate audio issues, as Jeff says in the introduction. If you can get past the sound this week, the content is good!
• Chris has been working with his sawzall of late. Sometimes you have to stop measuring and just “cut into the wall”.
• Problem sets in school do not approximate the real world. There are no curves that fit most problems.
• Sometimes you’ll need to use bodge wires and duct tape in order to accomplish your goals, especially after you make mistakes.
• Chris mentioned a Tacoma Narrows bridge, which was discussed on the 99percent podcast last week. Click through for an amazing video.
• Jeff knows an engineering professor who had a student respond to an optimization question with the answer: 76.4 blades. Too much focus on equations.
• Cost, Speed, Quality: Pick 2. All part of the Project Management Triangle.
• Why are engineers lamented as being cold and clueless when many situations mandate that engineers not be emotional creatures?
• The Pareto Principle, as applied to design and engineering schedules.
• Jeff insists on well written specifications while consulting in order to be realistic about feature creep.
• Designing often requires safety factors and margin of error. This will depend on your confidence in incoming specifications.

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Thanks to dianaholga for the seesaw picture