Random Rants XLIX - IT CHAFES MY ARSE!!!

[SouthernKing]

So apparently I have an inflamed cornea, which means I can't wear contacts for at least a week. This wouldn't be an issue if it weren't for the fact that I hate wearing glasses outside of my house, since I feel extremely uncomfortable in them and have the urge to clean them literally every 5 seconds.

 

[JohannaK]

Glasses are the master race. Down with contacts!

Inb4 I start wearing contacts 4 the lolz

 

[Kennigit]

contacts are much better for sport and many practical uses (eg not having to get prescription sunglasses or those transition glasses)

otherwise it's a fashion/comfort thing.

 

[choxorn]

Glasses are the master race. Down with contacts!

Inb4 I start wearing contacts 4 the lolz

You show doubt to the Glasses Master Race!? You must be punished!

 

[JohannaK]

My mom presses me to wear contacts because she says I look better without glasses. D:

 

[Takhisis]

One day she'll find out you don't care what women think.

 

[azzaman333]

Glasses or contacts, you're still inferior to those of us that require neither.

 

[Arakhor]

One day she'll find out you don't care what women think.

Hehehe. *sniggers conspiratorially*

 

[SamSniped]

always good to see the kids follow bokonon

all part of the cfc granfalloon

I thrive upon the foma that I read here.

Glasses are the master race. Down with contacts!

Inb4 I start wearing contacts 4 the lolz

contacts are much better for sport and many practical uses (eg not having to get prescription sunglasses or those transition glasses)

otherwise it's a fashion/comfort thing.

Glasses look better, but are not made for comfort in footy.

 

[JohannaK]

But I do, I'm such a fashion victim.

 

[Arakhor]

That's because you're fabulous, darling.

 

[ReindeerThistle]

You dated Mrs. Hobbsyoyo?

:rofl:
Hardly. She would be 43. Her hubby's name is Thad. He was s rocket scientist in 1992.

Sent via mobile.

 

[Farm Boy]

bah i don't want to date one :s

Ah I see, "date" would be the incorrect verb.

But ya, I wasn't a big fan of the greek structure in university. They didn't like my dormmates' and my Gamma Delta Iota shirts. But some of 'em really aren't too terrible. Especially the ladies if you get to interact with them separate from their henhouse.


Link to video.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

It has been a pretty rough week for me.

To begin with, there is basically just me and 2 other guys working on this thruster project. The problem with that is that we're all equally-credible idiots. We all have our own ideas on how to do things, but none of us has the experience or authority to override the others. So we spend a lot of time going around in circles. What's worse is that for a while we were talking to some more senior members to get input and it turns out they don't know anything more about the problems we encounter than we do. But they have an air of authority, so we'll ask for help and they will come in and trash a week's worth of work, start us on a new path, only to turn around and tell us to go back to what we had been doing.

So we've basically shut out the design process to outsiders, not because we don't want help, but because 99% of the help has been incredibly counterproductive, even harmful to our work.

Compounding the problem is that one guy in the triad acts like he's a more credible idiot than the other two (including me). So he frequently disagrees and at times he's just disagreeing to disagree or because the other two have decided to do something he doesn't agree with - even though he has exactly zero reason to think his method is better. I realize the dangers of groupthink and it's not like I am interested in cutting out dissenting opinion. To the contrary, it's very important to have someone constantly pressing us to do better and to rethink our assumptions.

But it's quite another issue when they are disagreeing without brining any credible information to the table. He just disagrees because he has 'gut feelings'. It's aggravating as hell! There's two important rules to this project we have to keep in mind, and he violates both of them pretty wantonly. They are:
1) We have to work fast - we have a deadline of this Wednesday to produce a preliminary design
2) We will worry about optimization after we've produced a preliminary design. We have to have something tangible to show the rest of the team that we're actually producing useful designs, but also we have to submit a paper on our design for a contest. We don't have to have a perfect design to submit, but we have to have a working design. So we're supposed to get something out the door and then go back and optimize it.

Well this guy throws monkey wrenches in the process and slows things down. So for example, we have to design a tank for this thruster. Based on the geometry that we have to work with, a rectangular tank will offer the maximum delta v for the design. However, the thing is that characterizing the stresses on a pressurized rectangular tank is much, much more difficult than characterizing the stresses on a cylindrical one with spherical ends. We currently do not have the engineering know-how to design a rectangular tank and we're going to meet with some professors to sort it out and also run some tests. Eventually, we do plan on designing and building a rectangular tank, but there is no way we can do that before our deadline to submit.

So the three of us decided to go ahead and build a cylindrical tank because that's something we can do right now. It is suboptimal and we will go back and get rid of it, but for now, it's something we can design in literally an hour. So we decided to do this, but the third guy had a 'gut feeling' about this method of doing things, so even though he agreed, every single freaking day he's tried to go back and argue against us. It's goddamn annoying as hell. He's violating the 'get things done quickly' rule and he's trying to optimize things up-front instead of at the end like we're supposed to.

I just don't know what to do with this guy, I'm really sick of having to reargue the same thing every day because he disagrees because reasons.

Anyone have any suggestions on how to handle this?


I also developed a cold, which has really set me back. I don't feel well at all.

Sorry that was tl;dr

 

[Farm Boy]

Heheh. Thruster project.

Unfortunately Hobbs, that sounds like what group work is going to be forever. At a certain point if the other member agrees with you on the spherical tank you'll both have to say something like, "Look, we have a deadline and don't know how to design a proper rectangular tank in time. We agree that we'd rather have one that's rectangular but we can't swing it right now and we need a tank of some sort rather than no tank at all. If you can design a proper one right now(or by tomorrow or whenever) we'd be happy to use it."

Basically tell him to knock himself out, but to do it after the other stuff he's working on is done. It doesn't always work. But I've found it's a good sort of approach because a) you are agreeing that his idea is right so he gets to feel smart, b) you are offering to let him show that he can do it so you have trust in his ability to do work, c) hopefully he'll bow to reality if indeed such a tank cannot be designed in time. D) This might not be great if he designs a horrible rectangular tank that you and the other team member have to nix - but then you'll have something to work from upon revision.

Then again, he's an engineer, he might not pick up on the clever nuances of trust and/or reality. So all bets might be off if he's a nar-nar about it.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

Well, to clarify, this isn't how engineering group work usually goes and we're under a very special set of circumstances. Basically, the subsystem lead was absent all summer and even though he's back now, he's put in essentially zero effort to help us (he's not one who's tried to help and made things worse, he's one who hasn't helped at all). Normally, small groups have a clear leader to appeal to, either within the group or without. But we don't because our leader's been absent and also because no one else outside our group has any relevant experience. So that creates this problem where we have no one to settle disputes and it's an acute problem because this one guy basically doesn't accept the group consensus - which is probably fair seeing is how there's only 3 of us; it's not like there's 20 other people telling him he's wrong, it's just the two of us.

But I have been toying with your suggestion and just telling him to go ahead and try and design his tank. The cylindrical tank is simple enough that I could do it myself pretty quickly, so it's not like his input is vital. The problem is that if we decide to let him do his thing, then we're losing his effort on other aspects of the design because he's focusing on trying to solve a problem he's technically incapable of solving. We all need help on the rectangular tank and that help won't be available until after this deadline. So if he's off tilting at windmills, then I'm not sure we can expect him to work on other aspects of the design that he could be working on.

Plus, giving in and letting him do his own thing might set precedent and I'm awful wary of inflating his ego. I certainly don't want him thinking that letting him do his own thing gives him license to do that in the future or gives him the impression that we value his work above our own and thus he can continue to needlessly challenge and de facto overrule us in the future.



There's no easy way to get him off his high horse it seems. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Farm Boy]

"We need your help on X by this specific time, but if you can also do Y before that time that'd be cool." "We need you on X more."

Inflating an ego isn't a problem if you can sort of steer it. It's one the best approaches I know to engineers.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

True story, though he doesn't like to be steered. We will have to see.

 

[Farm Boy]

True story, though he doesn't like to be steered. We will have to see.

Moar spur. Or perhaps sexual favors instead of spurs. Or beer? Dunno.

 

[Verarde]

I could have a free weekend to do stuff, but no...studying and work.