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Adam, Brian, Carmen and Jeff discuss the activities they enjoy when escaping the workplace for a few days.

• Brian enjoyed reading Michael Lewis’ book “The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine” on a recent vacation.
• Adam’s vacation time is more likely spent making home repairs than traveling to the beach.
• Vacation spots of possible interest to engineers (with apologies for being so US-centric):
  1. Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.
  2. Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire, England.
  3. The International Spy Museum in Washington, DC.
  4. Sierra Nevada Brewery Tour, in either Chico, California, or Mills River, North Carolina.
  5. Boeing Plant Tour in Everett, Washington.
  6. A rocket launch at Kennedy Space Center, located on Merritt Island in Florida.
  7. EAA Airventure in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
  8. Chili Pepper Institute Garden in Las Cruses, New Mexico.
  9. Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia’s National Radio Quiet Zone.
  10. Mercer Museum in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.
  11. Kansas Underground Salt Museum in Hutchison, Kansas.
  12. The Humongous Fungus in Malheur National Forest, Oregon.
  13. Arecibo Observatory in Arecibo, Puerto Rico.
  14. When it opens, the Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe in Shoreham, Long Island, New York.
  15. Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
  16. Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site in Baddeck, Nova Scotia.
  17. Maker Faire (multiple locations).
  18. Volkswagen’s Transparent Factory Tour in Dresden, Germany.
  19. Hamvention in Dayton, Ohio.
  20. Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan (suggested by listener Allen).
  21. National Atomic Testing Museum in Las Vegas, Nevada (suggested by listener Eric).
• A 2013 issue of Popular Science magazine offered a list of the 25 Best Nerd Road Trips.
• Pepper aficionados are familiar with the Scoville Scale.
• EDN magazine offered a list of 11 Summer Vacation Spots for Engineers in 2014.
• A Rick Steves forum discussed European Attractions for an Engineer.
• U.S. workers get less vacation time than individuals in most other industrialized countries.
• On average, Americans only take half their paid vacation.

Thanks to Chris Reed for use of the untitled beach photo. Opening music by John Trimble, and concluding theme by Paul Stevenson.