New Job, New Weapons

We'll start with some fun. Any angsty post can wait until tomorrow.

Since I now work for Adams Golf, it makes reasonable sense that I should be playing Adams equipment. In the past, I've always bought (or been given for Christmas in earlier times) clubs piecemeal. I'd get a driver 2008, wedges, 2009, new irons 2011, etc.

I've hit Mizuno irons for six years now, and loved both sets I've had. I've hit Cleveland wedges for several years. A Callaway driver since 2008 & a TaylorMade for the two years before that, and Cleveland before that. TaylorMade 4-wood since 2001 (!), TaylorMade putter 2001-2010, Odyssey putter 2011. Hogan hybrid 2006-11. YADDA YADDA YADDA. So long story short, to be able to play a full bag of a specific brand will be new. Due to the scattershot nature of my purchases, some of my clubs were more current than others. My 4w, which I've loved for over a decade, is admittedly very old in golf club years. My driver is also old in golf club years as drivers change rapidly. YADDA REDUX. This list is a hot mess of industry competitors. (Also entertaining is some of the other subject matter in some of these linked posts. Like Matt Garza).

Mizuno Hybrid (contest prize) - October 2011
Mizuno 53 irons - May 2011
Odyssey Putter - March 2011
Cleveland Wedges Take 2 - December 2010
Callaway Driver - May 2008
Cleveland Wedges Take 1 - January 2007
Hogan Hybrid - August 2006
Mizuno 23 irons & TaylorMade Driver - December 2005
TaylorMade 4w - April 2001
TaylorMade Putter - April 2001
Cleveland Driver - April 2001
Hogan Wedge & TaylorMade irons - April 2000

Of course, it's appropriate last year was my most heavily invested year. New irons (7 clubs), new putter (1), new wedges (3). Purchased separately, but all saw their first season of play in 2011. I guess what that means is I a nice backup set.

The new set is 72% done. 10 of 14 clubs are built, with a driver, a fairway wood (like a 4w), a sand wedge, and a putter left to go. The driver and putter are especially crucial to a golfer's set of clubs, and I'm taking more time to really figure out what works best for me in the Adams lineup.

What I did build in the machining/assembly area today is the following...a 21* XTD Super Hybrid, the IDEA Pro A12 irons (4-iron-Gap Wedge), and a 60* M. Pugielli wedge.

Unassembled components

Assembled clubs, wedge on left, irons in middle, hybrid at right

Clubs

Pugielli wedge

Pro A12 irons

XTD Hybrid

All in all, as fun as a Saturday at work can be, I think. I hope I play as well with these clubs as I have with my previous models. That's probably more up to me.

Voices, Jobs, & Bowls

Thanks to the Super Bowl, and thanks to Florida, I can yet again delay any politically oriented posts.

First, it's been a month today that I've been in Plano, and things have settled into place nicely. I am happily comforted by the fact that it looks very unlikely I'll start speaking with some sort of Texas twang. From what I gather, Plano is not exactly Lubbock. I hear my fair share of notable drawls, but many of my R&D coworkers are also transplants, including several from the Midwest, which will go a long way to preserving my herculean ability to drop any concluding 'g' from my sentences. So yeah, that's goin' to be good.

Second, I recently completed this.

I found it an entertaining and worthwhile read. Isaacson did occasionally beat a point he was trying to make into the ground, but considering the book was about 600 pages, I guess that'll happen occasionally. I definitely gained a greater appreciation for Jobs, who had more to do with Apple's success than I ever realized. Steve would probably have rued the fact that I read an actual book, instead of buying it for my (non-existent) iPad, but what can I say? One day my house will have at least a den-sized library, and with the amount of books I own, it will be a pretty damn good one.

I am only a slightly integrated Mac user. I've owned three different iPods and certainly appreciate iTunes. On the other hand, I've been with T-Mobile forever and have no problem with an HTC or Samsung phone running Android, and while I love playing around on an iPad, I haven't bought one. Maybe when the iPad 3 is announced this spring. I'm also old enough (I feel strange using that phrase) to remember the late 90s and first couple 00 years when Apple was in the tank. School was a lineup of Macs and Netscape Navigator, and neither did much for me. I did play Number Crunchers, Odell Lake, Wonderland Puzzles, and many other games on the Apple IIGS computers my elementary school had back in the early 90s, but overall, I've grown up on PCs.

Am I missing a more enjoyable user experience? Probably so, especially on the computer front. But the Toshiba laptop I bought last Spring for $429.99 has worked great so far, and the Dell I had before that made it all the way through six years of college. I can't complain with what I've had.

Still, it was good to read about Steve Jobs.

Third and finally -- the Super Bowl.

After the Championship games, I figured the Giants were going to beat the Pats. Now, so many people have joined on the Giants bandwagon that I can't help but feel that the Pats are going to pull it out. If there is one game Belichek and Brady would be burning to win, it would be a rematch against the team that wrecked their year of destiny. On 1500ESPN.com's pick'em contest, it's 51/49 Pats, so who knows. I think the game will be entertaining, and that's all I really can ask for as a fan of neither team. Well, I guess I could ask for another U2 or Prince halftime instead of the Michigan Brit. Maybe I'll fire up YouTube.

With no Vikings to cheer for, my rooting interests are as follows...

• Patriots victory. I picked them in the ESPN contest, and I'm currently in the 98th percentile among participants. This game is worth 16 points (an entire week of regular season games) so I could easily jump up over the 49% of Giants backers. 
• Prop bet rooting interests...
• Big Wes Welker game. 8/75/1 or better would be nice. If he catches the first Pats pass or first Pats TD or both, so much the better.
• Kelly Clarkson anthem > 1:34. I read an article that actually analyzed this, saying that in the 10 years she's been singing it she's only averaged 1:31. This is the Super Bowl though. That's good enough to hang onto a couple notes.
• One nice Cris Collinsworth discussion of the Andrew Luck scenario. Then cut to Peyton a couple times.
• Blue gatorade dumped on winning coach. Please. Pleaseeeeeeeeeeeee.
• I have a few others, and all are for small wagers (<= $3). It's enough to keep me interested, and enough to actually win a little money if a couple of the longer odds (Gatorade, Brady sneaks in the first TD) somehow hit, but if I miss everything -- unlikely since I spread the money around on about 15 different props -- I lose a tank of gas. Not tragic.

Burger Showdown

I had originally planned for this post to be politics oriented after Newt Gingrich won the SC primary. However, recent events have taken me off the panic button and I think I'll save that post for next week after Florida has cleared some things up.

So, what's as important as national politics? Or probably more important? Burgers.

In 'n Out Double Double

Five Guys

Two years ago a Five Guys moved into Dinkytown, and converted me into a fan of the occasional tweener burger. Better than the straight fast food (although IMO the new Wendy's burgers are very good for 100% fast food), and a bit more convenient than an actual great local burger place, most of which were in St. Paul, like The Blue Door Pub and The Nook. My standard was the Five Guys bacon double cheeseburger and an individual cajun fry. Good food, extremely unhealthy, and a touch on the expensive side ($9.04 for the burger and fries, although anyone who's eaten at Five Guys knows they go crazy on the fries).

Now that I'm in the Dallas/Plano area, I felt I owed it to myself to try In 'n Out. The western/southwestern/southern rival to Five Guys, and from all the comments I hear apparently an institution in this part of the country. Today I had the Double/Double (2 patties, 2 cheese slices), fries well done, and a Dr. Pepper.

The breakdown...

Burgers: Tiny Advantage Five Guys
I know, my first comparison is a hedge-your-bets. That's the fair rating for me though, as each had perks. 5 Guys has a ton of options with their burgers, but In 'n Out is just ridiculous. More options than I'll ever eat. What I liked about In 'n Out was the thousand island sauce (a nice touch), the carmelized onions could come whole instead of chopped, and you could get the bun done extra toasted, to ward off burger juice. All nice features in my book. What I like about Five Guys is that the burgers seem a touch bigger, and bacon is a featured option. I do love bacon. Since the burger is the most important part of the comparison as a whole, this sets the stage for a close call. In 'n Out could take the lead if I'm ever stupid enough to order the 4x4. That just sounds like excessive fun (4 patties, 4 cheese slices).

Fries: Major Advantage Five Guys 
I ordered a side of cheese fries well done at In 'n 'Out. They were a nice compliment to the burger. Cheese was hot and tasty, fries were very similar to McDonald's in texture, perhaps a bit crunchier since I went well done on them. Solid. Problem is for In 'n Out, I absolutely crave the cajun fries at Five Guys. It's not a contest. Cajun wins.

Drink Options: Major advantage In 'n Out
First, you can get a chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry shake at In 'n Out for the same cost as a large pop. You can also get combinations of any two or all three. Second, In 'n Out has Dr. Pepper, which has been my favorite pop for a decade with no close second, and Five Guys doesn't. Choice is clear. 

Convenience & Fun Factor: Advantage Five Guys
Both places are a bit quirky in an 1950s diner sort of way, but I like the fact that Five Guys has a glass area where you can watch them cook your burger, and although I beat the giant line today by about five minutes, the In 'n Out I was at did have a giant line form at 3:00 in the afternoon. That's ridiculous. Drive thru helps In 'n Out here, but that line was also crazy long. I don't like lines.

Price: Advantage In 'n Out
Meal with pop at In 'n Out today -- $6.71. Burger and fries at Five Guys -- $9.04. More fries at Five Guys, but still probably 20-25% more expensive.

My pick -- Five Guys by a nose. After all, my fridge is stocked with Dr. Pepper.

The New Job (& Apt)

It seems like I'm blogging once a month. So I've asked myself, at that rate, is it worth still blogging? After all, Facebook timeline seems to know more about my life than I can remember myself. At this point, the answer is still yes. I enjoy having a non-FB space to ramble on and enjoy having a forum longer than 140 characters to ramble with. So the ongoing resolution will be to get on here and add some material once a week. That's a far cry from the old output, but 50ish posts a year seems like a more than reasonable ratio.

Since I posted about Orlando, there have been some big life changes. Namely, I am now writing this from my residence in Plano, TX! I moved down here 15 days ago in preparation to take a Design Engineering job with Adams Golf, which I started on the 9th. Adams has about 20 people in its R&D division, split into a few groups. I am part of the irons group, and will be doing design work on irons going forward.

My first two weeks on the job have been both busy and fun. Some things I've been learning to do...

• Mass Property analysis on clubs -- this consists of such things as dimensional measurements, center of gravity calculations, MOI calculations, and the like. Basically, data on the physical composition of each club is taken for later comparison with CAD designs of the club.
• Robot & Player testing procedures and analysis -- I've participated in and helped run a couple different testing sessions, both with the automated robot swinging the club at the range and with individual feedback from various golfers. Here test scenarios are formulated for generating data and opinions for various pre-production and pre-market designs, both from Adams and from competitors. Spending a day at the driving range and calling it 'work' is certainly not too bad.
• Club Assembly -- exactly what it sounds like, this is me learning to make a finished golf club from its components, the club head, the golf shaft, and the grip. It's a process of several careful steps, from ensuring the correct length and lie angles, to zeroing in on the correct swing weight (how heavy the club feels when you swing) to gripping the club properly. Using the grinding belt and throwing sparks is of course the coolest part. I'm up to six different assembled clubs, all for various player tests. Soon I will assemble my personal set of 14, which is an awfully fun way to complete assembly training.
• CAD -- this will eventually become the meat and potatoes of the job, where I along with the other design engineers design new club models using CAD. I'm currently learning NX7 in my free time between other tasks. 

Of course, there are more things to go, including vendor relations, patent processes, drafting and design, and more in-depth CAD work. I'm happy to be busy, and I'm happy to be working with a group of people who clearly care about the work and care about golf. Everybody in R&D is a golfer, and many are very good, including at least half a dozen who would be giving me shots on the course. All in all, it's a very satisfying culture that is in place.

Here are some pictures from my first couple weeks here in Plano.

Changes

Wow, it's been over a month since I've posted. In the last month I've taken a vacation in Florida. I'll throw some pics up in a separate post. I've also got a job!!! That will definitely require its own post. I start on January 9th, in Plano, TX. I will be working for Adams Golf as a Design Engineer in their R&D division. **Flordia post is below

Long Overdue Post #1 - Orlando Trip (Backdated 12/8-12/12)

Even though I'm posting this on the 4th of January, 2012, I'm cheating and making it a bit more calendar accurate. This past January (2011) I was fortunate enough to win a $1000 travel voucher for (long story short) a fantasy football contest. Long story longer, I picked a weekly lineup against the host, Paul Charchian , beat his lineup in a week when few people did, and thus one of my contest entries was drawn. I was invited to dinner at Manny's Steakhouse with the rest of the winners, and Grain Belt gave out a monetary prize and my travel voucher as things to win.

I finally cashed my voucher in, and I was able to get four days in Florida out of it. I turned it into a collection of 'things I'd like to do if I had a free travel voucher' -- Universal Studios (specifically the Harry Potter theme park), Kennedy Space Center, and the World Golf Hall of Fame comprised days 1, 2, and 3. Day 4 was Sunday, and I watched football and ate a ton of Buffalo Wild Wings.

All three tourist-type days were very fun. Harry Potter world was extremely well done by the Universal Studios people. Places to visit / things to do included touring Hogwarts castle (the talking pictures, Sorting Hat, and Triwizard Cup were extremely well realized), going on the escape-on-a-broomstick simulation ride, which was sort of like an indoor roller coaster in front of a huge IMAX screen, ride two different (actual) roller coasters, see a sorting ceremony in Ollivander's, eat at a gigantic Three Broomsticks replica, and visit other shops such as Zonko's and Honeydukes. Even minor locations such as Scrivenshaft's Quill Shoppe were realized in non-visitable form.

Kennedy Space Center is obviously a destination location for an Aerospace Engineering major, and it didn't disappoint. The highlights were lunch with an astronaut, seeing the shuttle Endeavor in the building in which all the launch vehicles dating back to the early rockets were assembled, and seeing a complete Saturn V rocket, which is 363 feet long. The Saturn V had its own building to be displayed in, but the assembly building where it was built (and the shuttles later on) is over 520 feet tall, and has two massive cranes in it, one of which can lift something like 360 tons. (Exact weight is in one of the pictures). It was rather incredible, and the engineering that had to go into such a design is mind-boggling. Guys in the 1960s building a rocket that was longer than a football field, in order to launch a vehicle to the moon, using slide rules, protractors, and the like.
 

Finally, I drove up to the World Golf Hall of Fame in St. Augustine. Because, you know, duh.

All in all, not a half bad way to spend four days in December!