This is an update of an article I wrote almost two years ago. There are a few things I've wanted to change and so I'm taking the time now to expand the original. I hope this will be of some use to budding engineers and college students who are trying to wrap their head around the big picture. This is how I understand what an engineer does, but not necessarily how other engineers see things.

According to various sources across the internet, Americans consume approximately 3.7 billion barrels of oil per year. With a little math we see that's around 10.1 million everyday. If oil were at $40 per barrel, this comes out to $148 billion oil consumed every year. Obama's new regulations were designed to, 'save 2 million barrels of oil per day'. This works out to 8.1 million barrels per day, or about 3.0 billion barrels consumed per year. If oil is at $40 per barrel this is about $120 billion per year.

My philosophical studies have finally taken me to their final leg of the journey: the psychological turn. I have spent years understanding the nuances of metaphysics, logic, society and ethics. I have now reached a point where I feel that my understanding of the universe and of people can help me understand myself and to reach of ultimate goal of being happy and content with my own life.

What is your purpose? Do you do anything that's important to society? Do you do anything that's important to you? Think about happiness. What makes you happy? Does happiness just happen to you? I doubt that and what I'm about to propose supports that it does not. If you have ever been happy in your life, and then at some point later you did reach a state of happiness, then happiness didn't just 'happen'. Either someone did something to you or for you, or you did something yourself that lead either directly or indirectly to your happiness.

I recently became interested in human development and the stages of life. There are a few theories out there and some seem very practical and reasonable. It got me thinking how my life has gone through so many changes and I thought it would be an interesting exercise to write down those stages.

When I reflect on my life, such as it has been so far, I see very distinct periods. Periods that are always ended or created and joined by major life events. I have given a word (or sometimes two) to each.

Synopsis
I recently upgraded my router from Debian Sarge (3.1) to Debian Etch (4.0). Debian is a fairly ideal platform for building routers. It includes all the software you need. The packaging is fantastic and most of it integrates fairly well. The Debian infrastructure is unsurpassed and so are its ideals. Here, I will share with you the steps required to build a professional router. I will also point out bugs and problems I had during the installation. Places where Debian could provide better integration and be more seamless.

Motivation

In school, your studies inevitably boil down the the following:

While most schools are good at giving you the theoretical picture, most of it has nothing to do with reality. After graduation you realize that theory is only one part of the puzzle and for many, the least important, as only a small portion of engineers spend their time designing.

GDP

IMF interactive charts

Balance of Payments (Trace Deficit)

Economic Indicators
Index of Leading Economic Indicators

Emplyment and Inflation Statistics

Deficit/Budget

The economy and the housing crash is on everybody's mind these days and it's getting plenty of media coverage. I couple of weeks ago Bush published his draft FY2009 budget and I had a question. Is it possible for the government to provide free housing for all of its citizens?