Awkward Engineer - Blog

The AwkEng Stays Off the Internet

Books That Were Game Changers

Hi all, Today's blog post is about game changers. These are the books that literally changed my game, meaning they changed my approach to problem s...

The AwkEng Builds a Better Mouse Trap Catapult

The AwkEng Builds a Better Mouse Trap Catapult

Hi all, Today's post is about advancing the state of the art in mouse trap driven catapult design. We'll meander for a bit and talk about the backs...

The AwkEng Tries to Ask (Scientists) the Right Questions

Hi all, Today's post is about working with scientists and finding appropriate ways to report status and drive communication in larger groups. I've ...

AwkEng Calendar, 2023

AwkEng Calendar, 2023

Hi all! I've long been fascinated with calendar visualizations, particularly ones that make it easier to correlate physical distance with temporal ...

New AwkEng Poster - System of Eroding Goals

New AwkEng Poster - System of Eroding Goals

Hi all, Today's post is about Systems Thinking, and a systems diagram that resonated with me on a personal level, after reading a book called The F...

AwkEng Update - Hodgepodge and Jobs Edition

AwkEng Update - Hodgepodge and Jobs Edition

Hi all, Lots of odds and ends in today's post. Jobs Update - Helping Friends Within my personal network, I've had a good handful of people I know t...

The AwkEng Enjoys Fall in New England

The AwkEng Enjoys Fall in New England

No post today, just photos from a trip to western Mass this past weekend.

The AwkEng Crowd Sources an EE Consult

The AwkEng Crowd Sources an EE Consult

Hi all! Clock Update The pre-programmed microchips I wrote about last week arrived. I took a live, working Clock on my desk from a previous batch a...

The AwkEng and Supply Chain

Hi all, We're back today with an update on Voltmeter Clocks and a brief foray into supply chain. The Vickrey auction is over, we've collected funds...

The Awkward Engineer Origin Story

Hi all, Every now and then, someone points out that I'm not *that* awkward, and then they ask me how I picked the Awkward Engineer name. First, I u...

Better Backlogs, or The AwkEng Makes JIRA Hurt Less

Better Backlogs, or The AwkEng Makes JIRA Hurt Less

  Hi all! Today's post is about software backlogs, why they often turn into quagmires, how to fix them, and better yet, how to prevent quagmires in...