What's everyone's background?

[trebuchet03]

Finishing up a BS in Mech E - not entirely sure what I'm going to do with myself once I graduate.

I've spent my summers working for start ups - ranging from web apps to web2.0/engineering for young adults to product development.

I'm looking for consulting work while I'm in school - something to spend some cycles on - I like working through problems to come up with {the occasionally novel} solutions.

I make human powered vehicles - maybe one day you'll buy one
I also ride a recumbent - isn't that weird?
Collegiate Meals - 20+ recipes to keep scurvy away
Impractical Straws
Repairs and Food on and with my car

Uspeakable things to the occasional red meat I enjoy

And yes the rumors are true, I did indeed appear in a women's magazine: Real Simple Dec 2007 (print version had a picture too o.0)

I rent a room in a house - owned by a McDonald's executive... We call it the McHouse... I'm glad I don't own the house

A little birdie told me that I might be making a brief appearance in a book coming out soon... Shhh

[jman]

I do automotive collision repair for a living.

[ASV]

hello all
I thought this would be a good place fore my first post
I was a R&D machinist but now I work at UPS pushing packages
I like to build thing in my head in fact I cant seem to stop
I have been reading through this forum fore a few weeks now
And I thought I may be able to give some small contribution

[IndyIan]

I've got my BS in Geography and I'm currently a GIS/Mapping tech for the bus route planning group of the school board.
My Dad is a mechanical engineer so I've learned a few things from him and I'm interested in how stuff works.
My wife and I bought 100 acres and built a house in 2003 and we play farmer with some goats, chickens and some livestock guardian dogs which gives me lots of chances to build and tinker with things. We are very interested in local food and for the most part eat seasonally and sell some eggs. We also hunt and ice fish a bit mostly for food, not trophies.
I seem to have a bit of a racing/speed addiction and have done some downhill and XC mountain bike racing, autocross, motocross, generally riding/driving slow things fast(I like to play near the limit without really painful or expensive consequences). Also being a good canadian boy, I play rec hockey.

We almost went off grid with our house so I know a bit about that and I'm also a recreational forestry/wood guy. Sometimes I cut and sell fence posts and rails, and lumber occaisionally. I also try to substitute my wood for other materials as I can control the whole lifecycle. I just built white oak feeders for our goats, hopefully they will last 20+ years, probably longer than a metal feeder and using a tiny fraction of fossil fuels to produce compared to metal.
Ian

[Denis]

HI, I'm french and live in Normandy. I work for an engineering firm (software/hardware) in the city of Caen. I am currently documenting a test laboratory for radio frequency ID certification.

I'm what we call in France a "caviar leftist" : I drive a 1984 Mercdes S-class 280S with a four speed manual and crank operated windows but I am so "green" that my objective is to get a "clean", low pollution, economical car out of this. I am also unionized and involved in environmental issues.

My "green" (what else ) Mercedes already runs on E85 by my converting the Solex 4A1 carb and timing. Next is HHO and MSD ignition followed by some weight (junk the A/C - useless in France) and drag reduction (lower car, add underbody panels in front. I want a 28US mpg car that keeps about 165 hp ...

Denis
Lion sur Mer
France

[groar]

Bienvenue sur EM.com Denis. J'adore ton prénom

My cars aren't so old (see them in the garage), but I'm also trying to get the lower CO2 emission from them.

The first thing to do is to have a fuel log, it shows you where you are and how you are improving. This is so motivating. Register your car in the garage and fill your log tank after tank.

In my part of France, near Toulouse, an A/C is useful several times in the year.

What about showing us some pictures of your 280S ?

Do you plan to eco-mod your car with front grill block, rear wheel skirts or anything else ?

You should think about an MPGuino
I do not have the skills to modify anything under the hood

Have fun,

Denis.

[Denis]

Hi groar

I have always liked these big, solid, safe, quality S class Mercedes. I think that the W126 Mercedes is one of the best looking classic sedan cars ever designed. This car (1979 design) still has gutters but they are diminutive and flush with the roof. The wipers are semi-hidden,the rear fenders curve inwards at the back so that it is narrower that the main body portion and the overall shape was actually win tunnel tested for a Cx of around 0,36.

I intend to fit the car with Lorinser rims and Continental tires that ensure top roadholding and fill the wheel arches correctly -flush with body. This will also require lowering the car. I am thinking of an aluminum pan at the front and closing up the grille at the base of the bumper. Air for front brakes will still be sufficient and this car is not a mountain car but a "go to paris" car or a "go to Hendaye" beach car for vacation.

Did I mention that I take a bus to work ? Saves gas but for traveling, this is a TGV on wheels and one of the most relaxing cars i have ever driven.

I chose the 280S because it "only" has a 2,8 liter engine with a carburator - very good for ethanol mods and HHO supplement system. I will be doing these mods. The problem in France is that the lawmakers are not very favorabke to this but we ARE also Europeans and Brussels is into greener, cleaner, more economical transport with less CO2 emissions.

I want to not only save gas but lower all types of emission : CO, Nox, particules and other less-known pollutants (formaldehyde !).

The 280S has a rather advanced twin cam engine. I am currently fine tuning the engine in standard form.

And yes, I also agree A/C is useful in Toulouse but in Lion sur Mer, I just go for a swim at the nearby beach. For those that do not know, these beaches are exactly where D-day happened...

I will keep people posted on my progress.

As a baseline this 280S is said to do 9,5liter per 100 km at 110 kph. After taking a trip to Angoulème and Quimper during the summer, these figures check out completely ! So my goals are really not that ambitious. I just want to be realistic. Achieving in credible figures once is not very significant, it's the average that counts.

Cheers

Denis

[Intrigued]

Hey, Denis!

I don't know if the Mercs have the same issues or not, but a lot of American cars have issues with converting to alcohol. There are some gaskets/seals/rubber-type bits in the fuel system that do not like alcohol, and I have heard horror stories about the results. I'll keep my fingers crossed!

Anyway, my Dad had his own auto repair shop when I was a kid, and I hung around and helped when I could. Learned a lot there. After high school I went to college - Aviation Technology - for two years, but discovered that job pressures took away the fun. Also that planes falling out of the sky often landed on the mechanic...

Came back home and was a 'maintenance engineer' at the school system I had graduated from. Learned about plumbing and house wiring the hard way. Wanted more money, so went to work at the GM dealership. Got my ASE Master's certification, but after 8 years the job pressures led me to get the job for the Postal Service as a rural carrier. Made good money there since I could do virtually all the repairs on my car myself. Sure enough, was disabled in an accident at the lumberyard I was working at to fill in until I got my own route - and I was next in line.

Sooooo... am going back to college - again - and am a Senior working for a Bachelor in Business Administration. Hoping to go back into automotive, but this time with something more green and eco-friendly. I'd love to mess with one of Trebuchet's human-powered bikes, only battery powered since my feet are messed up. I'd be grinning like that 13-year-old that used to fix lawn mowers for his Dad so many years ago...

[Denis]

Hi intrigued?

Your question on ethanol is a good one. I will answer it but not in this thread, see ETHANOL PROBLEMS ? elsewhere.

Just to conclude, it's interesting to see how many folks here have at least some sort of avaiation background. I, for one, was a tech writer on the Canadair RJ100 project back in 1991-92. Spent a lot of tim einteh wooden mockup (were all kids really).

Au revoir

Denis
Lion sur Mer
France

[Intrigued]

Thanks for the ethanol note - I'll go there and check it out! I guess I should be careful about saying "alcohol", since that may be more of a racing term...