Engineers' Terminologies

1. A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT APPROACHES ARE BEING TRIED
We are still pissing in the wind.
2. EXTENSIVE REPORT IS BEING PREPARED ON A FRESH APPROACH TO THE PROBLEM
We just hired three kids fresh out of college.
3. CLOSE PROJECT COORDINATION
We know who to blame.
4. MAJOR TECHNOLOGICAL BREAKTHROUGH
It works OK, but looks very hitech.
5. CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IS DELIVERED ASSURED
We are so far behind schedule the customer is happy to get it delivered.
6. PRELIMINARY OPERATIONAL TESTS WERE INCONCLUSIVE
The darn thing blew up when we threw the switch
7. TEST RESULTS WERE EXTREMELY GRATIFYING
We are so surprised that the stupid thing works.
8. THE ENTIRE CONCEPT WILL HAVE TO BE ABANDONED
The only person who understood the thing quit.
9. IT IS IN THE PROCESS
It is so wrapped up in red tape that the situation is about hopeless.
10. WE WILL LOOK INTO IT
Forget it! We have enough problems for now.
11. PLEASE NOTE AND INITIAL
Let's spread the responsibility for the screw up.
12. GIVE US THE BENEFIT OF YOUR THINKING
We'll listen to what you have to say as long as it doesn't interfere with what we've already done.
13. GIVE US YOUR INTERPRETATION
I can't wait to hear this bull!
14. SEE ME or LET'S DISCUSS
Come into my office, I'm lonely.
15. ALL NEW
Parts not interchangeable with the previous design.
16. RUGGED
Too damn heavy to lift!
17. LIGHTWEIGHT
Lighter than RUGGED.
18. YEARS OF DEVELOPMENT
One finally worked.
19. ENERGY SAVING
Achieved when the power switch is off.
20. LOW MAINTENANCE
Impossible to fix if broken.
Laugh with Civil Engineering
The Six Rules of Civil Engineering

  1. If it moves, it's broke.  
  2. You can't push on a rope.  
  3. Water runs downhill and stands in low places.  
  4. F=ma.
  5. Dirt plus water makes mud.  
  6. If in doubt, increase the safety factor.
                                                                      
                               taken from Justin Calvarese's site
The designers of human body
Three engineering students were
gathered together discussing the
possible designers of the human
body. One said: "Actually it was a
Civil said: "Actually it was a Civil
Engineer. Who else would run
toxic waste pipeline through a
recreational area?"through a
recreational area?"recreational
area?"area?"
Mechanical vs. Civil
Engineers

What is the difference
between mechanical
and civil engineers?
Mechanical Engineers
build weapons, civil
Engineers build targets.
Graduates

The graduate with a science degree asks: "Why does it work?" The graduate with an
engineering degree asks: "How does it work?" The graduate with an accounting degree aks:
"How much does it cost?" The graduate with an arts degree asks: "Do you want fries with that?
Dirt or Soil?

Q: What's the difference
between soil and dirt?

A: Soil is what comes
into the lab and dirt is
what we throw out.


About Geotechs

At ten I played with dirt.
At 40 I get paid to play
with dirt
Engineer and women 2

An engineer was crossing a road one-day when a frog
called out to him and said, “If you kiss me, I’ll turn into a
beautiful princess.” He bent over, picked up the frog and
put it in his pocket. The frog spoke up again and said, “If
you kiss me and turn me back into a beautiful princess, I will
stay with you for one week.” The engineer took the frog out
of his pocket, smiled at it and returned it to the pocket. The
frog the cried out, “If you kiss me and turn me into a
princess, I’ll stay with you an do anything you want.” Again
the engineer took the frog out, smiled at it and put it back
into his pocket. Finally, the frog asked, “What is the matter?
I’ve told you I’m a beautiful princess, that I’ll stay with you for
one week and do anything you want. Why won’t you kiss
me? The engineer said, “Look, I’m an engineer. I don’t have
time for a girlfriend, but a talking frog, now, that’s cool!”
Engineers and fracture

Normal people believe that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Engineers believe that if it ain’t broke, it
doesn’t have enough features yet!

Women vs. Lab

An architect, an artist and an engineer were discussing whether it was better to spend time
with the wife or a mistress. The architect said he enjoyed time with his wife, building a solid
foundation for an enduring relationship. The artist said he enjoyed time with his mistress,
because of the passion and mystery he found there. The engineer said, “I like both.” “Both?”
Engineer: “Yeah. If you have a wife and a mistress, they will each assume you are spending
time with the other woman, and you can go to the lab and get some work done.”
Engineers & Women

Two engineering students were walking across campus
when one said, “Where did you get such a great bike?” The
second engineer replied, “Well, I was walking along
yesterday minding my own business when a beautiful
woman rode up on this bike. She threw the bike to the
ground, took off all her clothes and said, “Take what you
want.” The second engineer nodded approvingly, “Good
choice. The clothes probably wouldn’t have fit.”
Argue with Engineer

Arguing with an Engineer is a lot like wrestling in the mud
with a pig: After a few hours, you realize the pig likes it

Optimist, Pesimist, Engineer

To the optimist, the glass is half full. To the pessimist, the
glass is half-empty. To the engineer, the glass is twice as
big as it needs to be.
The Top 10 Things Engineering School didn't teach

10. There are at least 10 types of capacitors.
9. Theory tells you how a circuit works, not why it does not work.
8. Not everything works according to the specs in the databook.
7. Anything practical you learn will be obsolete before you use it, except the complex math,
which you will never use.
6. Always try to fix the hardware with software.
5. Engineering is like having an 8 a.m. class and a late afternoon lab every day for the rest of
your life.
4. Overtime pay? What overtime pay?
3. Managers, not engineers, rule the world.
2. If you like junk food, caffeine and all-nighters, go into software.
1. Dilbert is a documentary.
Engineer, Doctor and Pastor

A pastor, a doctor and an engineer were waiting one
morning for a particularly slow group of golfers. The
engineer fumed, “What’s with these guys? We must have
been s with these guys? We must have been waiting for 15
minutes!” The doctor chimed in, “I don’t know, but I’ve never
seen such ineptitude!” The pastor said, “Hey,here comes
the green keeper. Let’s have a word with him.” [dramatic
pause]
“Hi George. Say, what’s with that group ahead of us? They’
re rather slow, aren’t they?” The green keeper replied, “Oh,
yes, that’s a group of blind firefighters. They lost their sight
saving our clubhouse from a fire last year, so we always let
them play for free anytime.” The group was silent for a
moment. The pastor said, “That’s so sad. I think I will say a
special prayer for them tonight.” The doctor said, “Good
idea. And I’m going to contact my ophthalmologist buddy
and see if there’s anything he can do for them.” The
engineer said, “Why can’t these guys play at night?”
Engineer in Hell

An engineer dies and reports to the pearly gates. St. Peter checks his dossier and says, "Ah,
you're an engineer -- you're in the wrong place." So the engineer reports to the gates of hell
and is let in.
Pretty soon, the engineer gets dissatisfied with the level of comfort in hell, and starts designing
and building improvements. After a while, they've got air conditioning and flush toilets and
escalators, and the engineer is a pretty popular guy.
One day God calls Satan up on the telephone and says with a sneer, "So, how's it going down
there in hell?"
Satan replies, "Hey, things are going great. We've got air conditioning and flush toilets and
escalators, and there's no telling what this engineer is going to come up with next."
God replies, "What??? You've got an engineer? That's a mistake -- he should never have
gotten down there; send him up here."
Satan says, "No way. I like having an engineer on the staff, and I'm keeping him."
God says, "Send him back up here or I'll sue."
Satan laughs uproariously and answers, "Yeah, right. And just where are YOU going to get a
lawyer?"
How Tall Is That Hotel?

The physics student went out, purchased some
stopwatches, a number of ball bearings, a calculator, and
some friends. He had them all time the drop of ball bearings
from the roof, and he then figured out the height from the
time it took for the bearings to accelerate from rest until
they impacted with the sidewalk.
The math student waited until the sun was going down, then
she took out her protractor, plumb line, measuring tape,and
scratch pad, measured the length of the shadow, found the
angle the buildings roof made from the ground, and used
trigonometry to figure out the height of the building.
Of course, with all that was involved in getting this
experiment done, they were up plenty late studying for
other courses' exams. These two students bumped into the
engineering student the next day, who looked quite
refreshed. When asked what he did to find the height of the
building he replied:
"Well, I walked up to the bell hop, gave him 10 bucks, asked
him how tall the hotel was, and went inside for happy hour!"
Retired Engineer

There was an engineer who had an exceptional gift for fixing all
things mechanical. After serving his company loyally for over 30
years, he happily retired.
Several years later the company contacted him regarding a
seemingly impossible problem they were having with one of their
multi-million dollar machines. They had tried everything and
everyone else to get the machine fixed, but to no avail. In
desperation, they called on the retired engineer who had solved so
many of their problems in the past. The engineer reluctantly took the
challenge.
He spent a day studying the huge machine. At the end of the day, he
marked a small "x" in chalk on a particular component of the machine
and proudly stated, "This is where your problem is".
The part was replaced and the machine worked perfectly again. The
company received a bill for $50,000 from the engineer for his
service. They demanded an itemized accounting of his charges.
The engineer responded briefly:
One chalk mark: $1
Knowing where to put it: $49,999
It was paid in full and the engineer retired again in peace.
Engineer's Dictionary

Major Technological Breakthrough - Back to the drawing
board.
Developed after years of intensive research - It was
discovered by accident.
Project slightly behind original schedule due to unforseen
difficulties - We are working on something else.
The designs are well within allowable limits - We just made it,
stretching a point or two.
Customer satisfaction is believed assured - We are so far
behind schedule that the customer was happy to get
anything at all from us.
Close project coordination - We should have asked
someone else; or, let's spread the responsibility for this.
The design will be finalized in the next reporting period - We
haven't started this job yet, but we've got to say something.
A number of different approaches are being tried - We don't
know where we're going, but we're moving.
Test results were extremely gratifying - It works, and are we
surprised!
Extensive effort is being applied on a fresh approach to the
problem - We just hired three new guys; we'll let them kick it
around for a while.
Preliminary operational tests are inconclusive - The darn
thing blew up when we threw the switch.
The entire concept will have to be abandoned - The only
guy who understood the thing quit.
Modifications are underway to correct certain minor
difficulties - We threw the whole thing out and are starting
from scratch