Leaderboard

Whoa, whoa, whoa. We're tolerant of a lot of things here, but we draw the line at architect.

As a professional with an intersectionalist identity (Black and a Woman), I give the community a D. Have you gone to a professional engineering/construction orgs national conference, attended the opening plenary, and actually LOOKED AROUND!?!? Balding. White. Males. EVERYWHERE! It's not nearly a fraction of representation of the population in no way, shape, or form. I'm in the room and at the table for a number of design reviews. And on more than one occasion, I've had to say "as a woman and a mom, I am telling you this isn't going to work. I'm not asking, I'm telling you." Slowly but surely, we're getting more people of color involved in the industry but I'm not meeting them on the executive levels. I'm also watching how young women join our ranks and they eventually teeter out into Business Development, Marketing, etc. and not really staying on the technical side. I can tell you that there's a lack of mentorship at many firms. I grew up with the old African-American soundtrack of "You need to work twice as hard to get half as far" because I'm Black and a woman. I knew that I had to work hard. But it wasn't until I had a mentor (wonderful Bald White guy lol) who told me to make sure I knew my stuff frontwards and backwards and nobody could mess with me. So when I was in the field, and new to engineering, I came up against lots of older men who didn't like receiving direction from a "kid" or someone who was "younger than their daughter". Instead of doubting myself, I leaned in and told them how many ways they were wrong and the one way to fix it. It helped me to build a level of confidence in my management style and in my craft that no one could break down. So I stayed. But watched a number of young women eventually shy away from the field to hide away in the office.

My best mentoring relationships happened naturally. I was very fortunate to run across people who just took interest in guiding me and giving me opportunities. All were men and almost all were white. I had a client who was a Black man - stern, retired Army Colonel who loved war history. Other than us both having brown skin, I never really thought much about us having anything in common. The one thing I really admired was how deliberately he made his decisions, and in the consultant world this was rare - he actually stuck with his decisions, unless more information was provided and he was asked to change his decision. So anyway, I was leaving my company and this project, and that man pulled me aside and gave me some amazing advice about leading senior level professionals and how to navigate on a few different levels, one being race. He actually told me to always look around and see if your team is as diverse as your community. If not, fix it. Everybody brings something to the table. I rushed to my car and started downloading everything he told me into OneNote on my phone. I never wanted to forget it. I had one formal mentor, a woman. She was okay. She mentored me into wanting a new job. I knew I didn't want to end up like her. She did that thing where she learned to mute herself and the things about her identity that gave her a unique voice. She just operated like everybody else and didn't want to make any waves. Boooo! Even if I don't have a formal mentor, there's one thing that I always try to do. I pay attention to communication styles, and other stuff, and I pick up on it, try it on and see if it suits me. I learned de-escalation techniques from a woman that I worked with when I was an intern in construction. When things got heated in a meeting, she didn't use cheeky charm or anything like that. She used the word "we" a lot. "It seems like there's a miscommunication on what is being asked and what's being understood by everyone. We can work through it and figure out what we need to do." I notice that the CEO of my org asks a lot of questions before making a decision, similar to the client I mentioned above. He also takes physical time to think before asking another question. I've had other leaders think, and then say "I can't make a decision right now. When do you need it by?" Just that straight forward controlled honesty. Keeps everything clear. So watch the people you work for and the people you work with. Pay more attention to the good qualities rather than the bad.

I'd like to try to give the new guy a flyer for the first day or two. We seem to lynch the FNG on day 1 a lot, so uhh, let's try to avoid that this time please.

I am in for the next round if there is still room

*brakes* So, I can answer this (rhetorical) question. You're welcome in advance. lol I've mentioned mentoring before and to be honest with you, it starts before college... or at least the encouragement part does. It's so important for kids to see themselves in our profession. I try my best to speak at events for middle schoolers and high schoolers as much as I can. I'm also involved in hands-on volunteer opportunities, going into city schools and introducing kids to the fun side of our industry. Last Fall, I went to a high school and introduced a bunch of young Black and Brown girls to aviation by building gliders, and having a contest to see whose could fly the farthest (tbh, I have way more fun than they do). I talked to some of them about their kids (yep! some of the 15 year olds had kids) and I just treated them like...people and not a charity case or anything. I also talked about where I grew up, what inner city schools I went to and what it was like in college. I'm honest. I tell them that it was hard and I didn't see many people who looked like me. I also told them that I was one of two Black women who graduated in my program and that I didn't let it stop me because I was focused on my goal. Kids sometimes feel defeated before they even start so I try to offer them a real life version of a possibility. I'm the "what if?" factor. I also tell them stories about all of the lovely microaggressions from other White people who "didn't see color". Why? To show them that it happened and I survived it. I didn't run away. Here's some of my favorite hits: 1. I had a Calc 3 teacher write a letter of disapproval in place of a requested letter of recommendation for college. I went to a predominantly Black STEM high school btw. I was 17. 2. I had a Chemistry prof in college accuse me of cheating on my labs because I "couldn't possibly write that neat". Again, I went to a STEM high school where it was DRILLED in us to write in block lettering for everything...even non-engineering/architecture classes. She ran it up the flag pole and demanded that I receive a failing grade. I was dumbfounded. I was 18. 3. I had a the University Police Officer stop me on a college campus where I was taking summer classes because someone "reported that a Black woman was casing the offices and looking for something to steal." I was trying to find the badging office so that I could get my campus ID before classes started and I was lost. I was shaking and crying and the police kept yelling at me while their hands rested on their holster - "CALM DOWN! CALM DOWN OR WE WILL HAVE TO TAKE YOU IN!!!!" I was 19. 4. An oldie but a goodie! (and please, if you do this, just stop) "OMG! In the summer, I almost get as brown as you!" (whips out arm and places it up to my arm to compare and giggle). Cringe-worthy for sure. Btw, I'm not even 40 yet so these incidents didn't happen that long ago. Back to what I was saying before... so I know that sitting in a room where nobody looks like you isn't easy. It should go without saying but for those of you who are saying "everything is great! I don't see color!" yeah, it's awesome...for... you. But for those of us who have to face these ridiculous micro-agressions every day or almost every day, well, it's exhausting. We have to stay calm, don't make everybody uncomfortable, do our work, be the best, in some cases represent an entire race of people or a particular gender, and act like nothing bothers us. It's a lot.

Sorry guys. I crashed a little after dinner because I didn't get much sleep last night. Final vote 3x @RBHeadge PE (JayKay, Cheby, Salty) 2x @JayKay PE (chart, RB) @RBHeadge PE was killed by the town. While the undertaker was processing his fishy body. They found lots of mafia tats... so they decided to flush him down the toilet.

Science has progressed tremendously since the 1918 influenza pandemic. The microorganism that caused it was unknown at the time. That influenza is caused by a virus wasn't discovered until the 1930s, and a vaccine wasn't available until the 1940s. The actual strain of H1N1 that caused the 1918 pandemic was not fully identified until 1997. The SARS-2 coronavirus that causes COVID-19 was identified and fully sequenced within 2 months of its first known emergence, and vaccine candidates were developed within days of that. Even Anthony Fauci believes that more than one of them will work and be available around the end of the year. But knowing how the virus affects the human body and spreads can still only be determined by observation, and statistical analysis of those observations. Unfortunately good statistics requires a lot of observations, and even more unfortunately these observations are often in the form of deaths, and especially rare outlier deaths that indicate some of the more unusual ways the virus kills, which take even more time to accumulate. And until a vaccine is available, the only way to reduce the spread of infection and deaths is through the age old practices of isolation, quarantine, and social distancing. The effectiveness of certain specific measures such as masks, surface disinfection, eating in restaurants etc. can also be measured only after the accumulation of even more data, often much more subtle and difficult to obtain than deaths. But hey, yeah, let's just throw away our public health infrastructure because their experts haven't been 100 percent correct on a brand new disease and in an instantaneous fashion, or have had to go back and revised recommendations after more data has been collected. Things worked just fine back before science, right?

Oh yeah forgot. IN FIVE FOUR THREE TWO ..... "wait Im on now... **** (slurps down rum and diet) Hi welcome to extreme mafia home edition, I am your host chart. This week we are making over the home of @tj_PE and @JayKay PE while they spend the week in their beautiful work offices. Normally it would be a beach vacation, but the show is not that popular, big shock I know. (stumbles over his shoes a little) While they are gone, our talented... well um our work crews will begin to change their dated, ugly (who picked out those drapes...) home into a well better home." *UPBEAT MUSIC* Announcer: MEET OUR CREW From the forest in some mountain, the bear that doesn't care, @blybrook PE After a swim in the wrong pond, he now sees in threes, @RBHeadge PE Whenever people get drunk, they perform his dance please put your hands together for @ChebyshevII PE The only scientist drunker than our host, @SaltySteve Some say he is TOO LIT AF, @squaretaper LIT AF PE Boop him and he will love you for life... @DuranDuran His plans to take over the world lead to pain and misery everytime please welcome @NikR_PE He once missed the olympics by oversleeping, and it WASNT THE SNOOZE @jean15paul_PE the wolf that WONT blow your house down @Roarbark and FINALLY PLEASE WELCOME....."wait... are you serious?? well were the ****************** is that ********** " Please give a hand to our wonderful crew!!! @Audi driver, P.E. was found in the dressing room with a nail gun to the head.

Whew! Dodged that bullet...

Make your bed Chart. Why is the towel laying on the floor? Do you think I exist to clean up after you young man? There you go. Mom post.

Shared with a few others on this board, wanted to share it here too. I’m at the 6 month mark today, and I got this sweet before/after pic. Top is 294 on 12/14/2019, bottom is 247 this morning. Fair warning, shirtless pic incoming...

Credit to @Dexman PE PMP. Lol.

That's usually the reason why people vote for me. I'm not sure if I should feel jealous or not.

You bloomed as a lingonberry bush. I refuse to let that pivotal moment in your life be-be-swept under the carpet! Next Mafia Round JK Mods: Plant edition. @tj_PE will be a beautiful amaryllis. @ChebyshevII PE, a delightful dogwood due to their spread. @squaretaper LIT AF PE would be a Korean fir because something something ornamental cones. @Audi driver, P.E. will be crab grass. Because no matter how much we mow/cover them with manure they somehow keep coming back...

So I’ve been working on a thing. I wanted to get the smoker out of the garage but wanted to keep it protected from the elements since it’s electric so I made me a miniature (~6’ tall) outhouse. Still not finished, got a few bits of trim to do and figure out what I want to do for the door handle, but figured it was close enough.... Got all fancy and did a drawer for the smoker to sit on and found a f-to-m connector at, of all places, Cabelas so it’s got a place to plug the female end of an extension cord In on the back and then plug the other end in like normal.

@JayKay PE and @NikR_PE walk into @MadamPirate PE's "Tarot and Hookah Emporium" admiring the beautiful glasswork on some of the Midwest's finest hookahs. "Can I help you?" @MadamPirate PE says with a smile. She always made it a point to great her guests... good karma and everything. "No, just browsing." @JayKay PE replies, returning the smile. @NikR_PE continued browsing the various Tarot card sets. While @JayKay PE seemed intent on finding a hookah that was both beautiful and large enough for her daily constitutional. @chart94 was already at the checkout futon asking @MadamPirate PE about new arrivals. He always claims to be waiting for the perfect pipe, but @MadamPirate PE knows he just likes to hang out. That's fine, she's in it for the people, not the money. That's why she doesn't have counters, she didn't want anything separating her from the customers. She didn't choose this career; the universe chose her. Though @NikR_PE and @JayKay PE were on opposite sides of the store with their backs to each other, as the last customers leaves, they simultaneously turn and approach the checkout futon. "Actually we do have a question," said @NikR_PE. "We hear that you offer additional services... not listed on the placard?" "Where'd you hear that?" "Online." @MadamPirate PE is pretty sure that she knows what the internet is, but she never goes online. She prefers in-person interaction. "What do you need?" she asked. @JayKay PE jumped in, "Our Grammie recently passed. We need to talk to her. Unfinished business to resolve." "I didn't have you pegged for siblings." @MadamPirate PE inquired. "Cousins," said @NikR_PE abruptly. "That must be it...... Follow me." @MadamPirate PE really didn't enjoy doing seances because they rarely result in closure. But again, the universe chose her for this life. "Did you bring a personal effect?" @MadamPirate PE asked as the two strangers followed her to the seance room. "We have her pocket watch. She always wore it." "Ok, sit here," @MadamPirate PE instructed as she lit the incense and candles, and turned off the lights. @MadamPirate PE proceeded with the standard incantations, calling upon spirits and blessings the universe. Slowly a shadowy figure begin to appear. @MadamPirate PE suddenly cut off her chants as she realized that she was staring at a large multi-ocular minnow. "That is not your Grammie!" @JayKay PE and @NikR_PE completely ignore her. "@RBHeadge PE, what do we do?" "You're so close. One more kill and you have enough power to control the town." "STOP IT! THIS IS NOT COOL!" screamed @MadamPirate PE "But who should we kill?" "It doesn't matter. Any townie will be one less vote to worry about." "YOU'RE TAINTING ALL OF OUR KARMA!" Slowly both @NikR_PE and @JayKay PE gazed fixes upon @MadamPirate PE. "Nope!!!" exclaims @MadamPirate PE. Then she dashes for the exit. The resulting struggle woke @SaltySteve, who lives in the apartment above the store. But by the time he got downstairs all that was left was a broken hookah, @MadamPirate PE's body, and a growing pool of blood. "I wonder if she cashed my rent check yet?" @SaltySteve wasn't the emotional type. @MadamPirate PE was killed by the mafia. MAFIA WIN!

How would you address a man in that situation?

Guys. GUYS. I might be starting to get a bicep! Also, did pull ups and chinups yesterday, as well as a bunch of other 'arm' exercises...I feel they'd be much easier if I had less weight to hold up.

In

I mean, when the choice boils down to "White Guy A" and "White Guy B, but with a beard", of course no bias is going to be seen.

Luckily the 3rd mafia player was like the flavor in LaCroix. I mean its there, but is it really there?

Say it louder for the people in the back. lol

I like that you think I needed your advice.

Cause Texas keeps trying to claim they are the largest state. In truth, They were until 1949 when Alaska became a state and forced Texas to change their state song! There's a long standing animosity between the two states. I still remember getting very strange looks when I was in Texas and stated that I'd support cutting Alaska in half and make Texas the third largest state. Alaska also has the following shirts (among others):

we are at the I can't possibly clean my room all by myself stage.

Me: "stop doing that or you'll get a timeout. 3 y/o: "I like timeouts." 3 y/o: cries entire time during timeout

My rules of conduct are to treat all women the same way I want my wife and two daughters to be treated.

I'm guessing by their name, and without the sexual innuendo.

And HOW did AUDI last longer than Duran or I?

Okay Morning review. Got to do this quick since contractor and training is today (kill me). Confused about Duran not retaliatory voting for me, but he's usually spot on for early game stuff. Is Audi actually playing/are they a character? Prob a townie, since it's audi, but knowing my luck they're actually mafia. Uh. Not liking that late vote from RBH, it was retaliatory but also super late in the day, and Salty seems to know stuff (since they weren't killed by the townies first round, I assume they're townie or JoAT). Shit. This is really hard to do when it's after stuff happened. @jean15paul_PE, I vote for @RBHeadge PE this morning, because nobody is supposed to actually vote with me, which means they're prob mafia. And I'm super sad @blybrook PE was killed. You can't shoot bears!

If it makes you feel better ... On Day 0 (yesterday) the @mafia farted and blamed the dog. @MsLady was so offended that she left the town. The JoaT(s) were sleeping and didn't get to investigate the fart. 😆

Pretend you're sitting on one of those office ball chairs that were all the rage a while ago. You know, the bouncy ones that make your abs ache a little after a while due to all the little shifting and clenching of your body trying to naturally balance itself. Only make it a little more difficult and don't let your feet touch the ground for balance, the 'ball' has an attitude , and you have to tell it what to do silently using a combination of your heels, ass, and soft, gentle, hands. It has to look like you're doing nothing and the 'ball' sometimes decides it wants to kill you today, because that plastic bag is scary or because it needs to fart, so you'll be dealing with a 'ball' that is bouncing around while you're trying to stick to it like glue. Tbh, I know a ton of people who don't think it's hard when they first get on/are only walking, and then the next day their legs are total crap. It's pretty much a half-squat position, dropping all your weight in your heels and gripping with your thigh, while sitting on a live animal that has a brain and may, just may, decide to not listen to you.

You should combine the two. Kickbox with the horse. You can probably win if you stay in front. But if you end up behind the horse, WATCH OUT!

I wouldn't even worry about studying for the Power Exam. It's one of the easier PE exams. Most should be able to pass without any studying or experience.

This seems SO legit.

Time!!! Vote Update: 4x @vhab49_PE - (JK, nikR, chart, jp) 2x @JayKay PE - (vhab, MP) vhab was lynched by the Town. Fortunately the town managed to accidentally kill a mafia member this time. Everyone in the town was starting to think that maybe they were mafia and just didn't know it. @vhab49_PE was mafia. The remaining players are: @jean15paul_PE @chart94 @MadamPirate PE @JayKay PE @NikR_PE Dead @vhab49_PE (Mafia member lynched by the Town) @ptatohed (died of the 'Rona) @ChebyshevII PE (Dismembered by the Mafia) @DuranDuran (Lynched by the town over an 8 ball) @RBHeadge PE (Poisoned by the mafia) @squaretaper LIT AF PE (Committed Suicide by jumping in front of a roller coaster) @SaltySteve (Killed by mafia on Day 0)

Great thread idea and conversation. I've been a white guy in engineering for almost 30 years now, and definitely fell into the "I don't see color" camp when I was younger. I also felt like I got myself to where I am purely on my own accord, and that everyone in America has the exact same opportunity I have had, and they only fail because they don't work at it hard enough. It's only been in the past few years that I have realized that none of this is true, and like others have said here, it has only served as an excuse for me to continue ignore my own prejudices and, especially, the plight of others and my role in ignoring the problem. I'd give the engineering industry a C- or even a D for diversity, personally. I base this in part on simple statistics that I have observed: the nationwide, governmental organization I currently work for is amazingly diverse. I am sure this stems from years of helpful policies that have made it an accepting place for all. However, when you split out the engineers (about 400 of us), it's a totally different story. We have some diversity, but nowhere near the rest of the professions. Of those 400, I can think of only 3 that were black. I don't know where to lay the blame for that, but I am sure it is more reflective of our industry than my organization. And honestly, it was only in the past two weeks that I started to see the problem from a different perspective. Someone I know on this very forum said something about the people rioting, that they must be insane because they keep doing the same thing (rioting) and expecting different results. And it hit me all of a sudden that WE are the ones who must be insane, because WE keep doing things the same way yet expecting things to change. Now that I am thinking in this way, the problems all look very different to me. I think that's the same situation with engineering diversity. We need to stop thinking that the profession will just become more diverse because we are good people, or don't see color, or whatever. Well, it hasn't happened yet and it isn't going to unless we do things differently. I'm just not sure what those things are, at this time, but I am willing to approach the problem with my eyes and ears open now. (and for what it's worth I agree with @mudpuppy that it probably has to include fixing the disparities in the education system, which basically means our entire society.)

I'm really hoping that with some muscle buildup I'll be able to change my name to "Megacheb."

As a female engineer (still white) .... I can say that I was lucky not to be harassed more, probably in no small part to meeting crews as part of a group rather than arriving alone to a site. I have been hit on and harassed multiple times to the point where it is something I can expect and shrug off when it happens. To me it's a sort of an eyeroll reaction: 'Oh no, here we go again.' Let's be real: this general experience is common for women, whether or not they are at work. Men just have a hard time respecting that I am trying to do a job here and no, I don't care how attractive you are, or that you just want to 'shoot your shot' because you only see me at work -- work is not the place for that. Wait until the end of the day after your shift! Give me an out! I cannot tell you how many times the whole 'having someone try to figure out whether I might or might not be interested' is just ... couldn't you have waited? To be honest I'm never interested in anyone that approaches me while I'm working because I find it so offensive. The number of mildly or overtly misogynistic comments, the times when people turn a room or a meeting into a 'boys club' environment (because for them that's inclusive, that's bonding) ... the number of times my male colleagues complain about having families or about keeping a wife happy, or ask me if I have children (spoiler alert: childfree), or make comments that are "just a joke." I have developed a potpourri of equally joking responses to all of this nonsense: "Sir, you're telling me you can operate an excavator, but a washing machine is too confusing for you?" It's just mind-boggling. And I love my job. Don't get me wrong. My job is the best job in the world. I hate how those comments and awkward moments ruin my day at my awesome job and make me feel like I don't belong. Solid C- from me for the industry. Because at least I have my awesome job, even with some crappy days. And I will put up with all the stupidity in the world to be able to do what I love.

My favorite takeaway at this time, and always will be, is this: People are the problem.

I'm not playing.

I've now got a local guy trying to sell me a 2018 Santa Cruz Tallboy Carbon for basically 1/2 of list price. He upgrades every two years. In really good shape other than normal cassette/chain wear. Mrs. Supe will kill me if I do it...

Thanks for asking I've been better, but I have a feeling all of us are in the same headspace at the moment

I honestly wouldn't give the engineering industry even a C-. If I'm going by "school grades", a "C" is considered adequate. A "B" is above average. And an "A" is the top. So by that metric, I'd give the engineering industry (based on my experience and general understanding) a D-. I cannot fathom how the industry is anywhere NEAR "acceptable" or "adequate" in terms of racial diversity. What even is "acceptable"? Is it even a 50% White / 50% BIPOC mix? I don't know. This has entirely everything to do with the American white supremacist society that I (and all of us) live in, and that I, personally, have benefited from, as a cis white woman. I have definitely experienced sexism, that's for sure. I've seen very little female leadership in my 8 years in this industry. I can think of maybe two companies in the area I'm in that are run by women. That's not a lot, for where I live. Currently, I think I work in a relatively diverse office in a pretty NOT diverse company. Of the 40 people in our office, we are close to 50/50 in terms of racial diversity (white and BIPOC). There is only one Black person in my office, and much of the diversity comes from Asian (Chinese and Indian, primarily) or Asian-American people, whom there are a lot of in the SF Bay Area; we also have three Mexican and Mexican-American engineers, who are all young and a few years out of college. There are seven women in my office, two of which are admin, two of which are on our drafting team, one who is new out of college, one who is in upper-management managing her own three person team, and me (and mid-level, not management). Our office is led by the two older white men who founded it. I fully understand that my experience is completely influenced by where I have worked, which has nearly entirely been in very white areas of either the city I was living in, or the general region I was living in. But again, this speaks to the broader racial injustices that this entire country has been built on since its very beginning. There will be no fixing the diversity issue in the engineering industry until broader changes are made in the way society is run, the way laws are written, the urban planning is designed, reparations are paid, etc.