A New Day, A New Year, A New Decade

In all that is new, some things are still the same. 2019 was yet another year of advancing technology — globally — and also in the micro sphere here at Synthesis. A decade of engineering from our perspective. Now what will this next New Day / New Year / New Decade bring for you? For us?

It’s not very often we get to celebrate a new decade. In some ways the 10 year mark seems so long, and at the same time so very short. What has happened for you in the past decade? I look back 10 years and think about a lot of great inventions and super projects we have been privileged to work on. I think about several patents we’ve received and many happy customers. Great projects to share and to celebrate. Those are why some things that are just the same will continue. Getting in each day with a drive to figure out the next challenge. Smiling as we greet each new person we meet.

We can’t stop the calendar pages from turning, but we can certainly refuse to grow up. I often feel like a kid in the candy store as I approach a new customer challenge. It’s like a new puzzle to solve or a new thing to experience.

Looking Back

In my first engineering job I remember working with some of the “old” guys that were nearing retirement. For many of them (not all) it seemed like they were just doing the time and counting the final couple years. How sad I thought that was. At the time, I was just new in engineering and I was so eager to learn and to contribute. So, it was somewhat frustrating to me when I had to work with some of the ‘short-timers’ because they didn’t share the enthusiasm. I suppose they’d been beat down or maybe just tired. Whatever it was, it made me sad.

There were, on the other hand, some who inspired me. Stan was nearing retirement, but you’d never know it by the way he jumped into new challenges. Bob was another, though not as close to retiring, was a super example. These two showed me how powerful some experience behind the knowledge really is.

Well, I’m still a long way from tired — or retired. It’s hard, of course, to judge yourself and see yourself clearly over the years, but I still have an excitement for diving into the next project. They say if you love what you do, then you’ll never work a day in your life. For me, that’s pretty true.

There are, of course, things I don’t like. Things like invoicing, organizing for taxes, cleaning the shop, and the like are a chore. I like creating the chaos much more than cleaning it up. But that’s such a small thing.

Looking To A New Decade Of Engineering

So, for the future, at Synthesis we expect (and hope for) much more of the same. More fun projects with technical challenges to conquer. More exciting invention and, of course, the patents that follow along. Even more wonderful customers to meet. It’s all good, and for that we’re just as excited for the new decade of engineering as we were for the last.

For you, expect more on this website and more at Mechanical Elements too. Creating and sharing are still a passion. We love talking about improving business and helping entrepreneurs. We’ll likely continue our calls for peace in our society — like challenging us all to look closer at stopping gun violence and helping children improve their future.

If you have great things happening in the new decade, particularly if it’s a decade of engineering, please share in the comments below. We always like the perspective of our friends, readers and customers.

Happy New Year! . . . Happy New Decade!
We hope your 2020 is wonderful.

– By the way, for those that don’t like calling a 0 (zero) year a new decade . . . preferring instead the 1’s . . . to us, a decade is 10 years and it’s kind of arbitrary where you start it. The convention of 0 might not be exactly true (due to the count starting, supposedly at 1) but it’s all good. We roll with either discussion. Have a wonderful new year.

August 4th Update

– How could we have known what 2020 had in store. Crazy times to stay inside, be productive and avoid the Coronavirus. Worse, in the middle of a pandemic, the protests of stupidity continuing on and on now hijacked for rioting. It’s terrible that people can’t get a long — even worse now than the lack of intelligence in solving disputes we’ve discussed before. We sure hope your 2020 is not on a collision course with any of these, or the weather and other natural disasters. Stay safe.