I love post-apocalyptic movies. My first introduction to the genre may have been the original Planet of the Apes I watched with my father as a young child. Today I will admit to really enjoying The Walking Dead. Most of these shows assert a disaster happened that was often man-made. While Hollywood scares us in an entertaining fashio...
The price of gasoline is at a record high. What is going on? How long will it last? Unlike in recent years, today there are some easily identifiable world events and trends causing this. And refining is a big one. That is the main reason that refining company Valero Energy has the second-best growth among S&P 500 stocks in 2022 (as of May ...
Wow, have things changed a lot in the last two months! Russia's unprovoked attack on Ukraine in February has literally changed the world. Our hearts and prayers go out to the Ukrainian people who are experiencing unimaginable suffering. Tens of thousands of people have died and many more have had their lives upended. Now two months later Sweden and...
In 2018 I attended an ASME conference where I met Igor and his son Andrii. They were the first and only Ukranians I have ever met. Both were very likeable and smart. When Russia attacked Ukraine last month I thought of them and their safety. At a conference dinner one night I was sitting next to Igor and asked him a question I often do when I meet ...
Be forewarned that today I am going into full on geek mode and talk about equations for transient compressible flow. These equations are in the form of hyperbolic partial differential equations (PDEs'). If that did not scare you away yet, then you may be as much of a geek as I am! With some fancy mathematics, three PDE's can be converted into six o...
In the modern world there are many things we take for granted – especially in first-world countries. Among them are the reliable availability of water and electricity. To our homes. To our workplaces. Just about everywhere. Engineers also take things for granted. One of those is reliable data on the properties of steam and water. But it was not alw...
A few weeks ago, a major milestone was passed when AFT Impulse experienced it's Silver Jubilee - which is another word for 25th Anniversary. On November 21, 1996, AFT released the world's first visual waterhammer modeling software for Windows. This is significant for a few reasons including a reminder to me that I am getting really old! At the mome...