Once you get to Europe and successfully say hello to the customs agent in their native language, you have some options as to how to get around. Most Americans are preferable to the good ole automobile, and usually choose to rent cars when travelling. I would advise that you do not rent a car. Why?…
Like many millennials, I did a semester abroad in college and now think I know everything about travelling. Of course, on the spectrum of exotic locations for a study abroad, Europe is pretty far to the "tame" side. I would have gotten more white person cred if I went to South America or Africa, but…
I get asked this question a lot from my non-engineer friends and family members, and I've probably done a pretty bad job of answering it over the years. To be honest, it was a question that I myself once had, even after a few years in engineering school. I knew what I was doing in…
We've seen them in our Facebook feeds, in news stories, in YouTube comments, and even sometimes in real life. We ask ourselves, "how can someone be so stupid?" "How can someone be so ignorant?" "Why do they not see the world as I see it?" We rant about these people to our friends. We talk about how…
There are countless adages that praise hard work and determination, and for good reason. America, in particular, seems to always tout itself as a great nation of "hard working" people. There's nothing wrong with hard work, in fact it is quite a good thing to have hard working people in your life or community, but…
It's almost the end of March, and if you're like most people, then your new year's resolution is probably dead in the water. A few posts ago I talked about how I got into powerlifting over a year ago and some of the progress I had seen with it. Now, let me be clear that…
Randolph Engineering is an American Eyewear manufacturer that specializes in sunglasses for fighter pilots, so naturally I had to get a pair. I've been fond of sunglasses for quite some time, and since I live in a very sunny climate and am also a pilot, sunglasses are very important for me. Not to mention I…
I was talking with a coworker the other day and somehow the topic of conversation came to a man he knew who had been married (and divorced) quite a few times. My coworker's comment on the subject was excellent: "at some point, after you've been divorced that many times, you have to start looking in the…
One time in college, I was discussing something with a friend of mine and he said "dammit Zach, it's so annoying that you always have to play devil's advocate." It was one of those odd, eye-opening experiences for me, as I never actually realized that I did indeed tend towards playing a devil's advocate. It depends…
In my last post I talked about how I've been powerlifting for the past year. While I would like to say that I am doing this because I just want to be a healthier, more resilient individual, it's also because I just want to look better. Sure, powerlifting is not the ideal workout method for…