2003-05-14 - 5:19 p.m.

When the Boss Is Away

Unfortunately no. I've had a bit too much keeping me busy these last few weeks before I head out to Europe. I've wasted several months of my time and other people's tracking down what is somebody else's mistake. Basically I set up a new simulation on my computer using somebody else's project as the backbone for mine. Their simulation was messy, so I spent some time cleaning all their files up and getting everything placed in a logical way.

Why? Easy. Any work I do should be easily repeatable. If I make a change, it is always documented, so any other engineer can understand what I changed and recreate that change.

Apparently the people I got my basic structure from had changed some of the base grid information, but didn't really document these changes. It has taken me months to track down and find a change they made that was causing the (computer) models I use to crash.

I'm not going to get my work done, but having found the source the error, I can now set up the base and alternative simulations well enough that anybody comfortable with computers can finish my work while I'm away. And just in case they mess things up, I'll make a secret backup.

Do I sound paranoid? Probably. But the truth is, my paranoia and attention to small details makes me one of the better environmental modelers around.

Finding mistakes in other engineer's work actually makes me feel good. It probably shouldn't, but it does. It validates all the years I spent in school. It makes me feel that me being an engineer isn't a waste. Most importantly, it makes me much more confident when I need to tell people, "Hey, this isn't just my opinion. I'm actually a licensed engineer, which means my opinion is considered expert opinion." But it isn't the license that allows me to speak out, it is my growing confidence in the abilities of the holder of that license.

LISTENING TO: V/A Diva X Machina

-=-

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