Freaky Friday

Posted Fri Aug 27, 2010 in Engineering

This might be a running entry, or it might not. I’m starting early — it’s about 0600 as I write. I’m also starting tired. The last couple of weeks are beginning to tell.

There won’t be enough coffee to get me through the day, because caffeine will only be a support. Like the last few repetitions in a strength-training session, getting through the day will require just gutting-it-out. I love how Bill Phillips describes the last few repetitions in his book. He talks about how he stops focusing on training the muscle group and focuses on inner strength. It’s about disciplining oneself through the discomfort of the lactic-acid burn and the muscle fatigue to reach the goal — momentary muscle fatigue where the muscle refuses to contract one more time.

This is where I am mentally. I started really pushing on this project about ten days ago. The software didn’t work as it was supposed to. I wasted a few days trying to resolve the issue, but it would not resolve and had to be tabled in favor of a work-around. At least I can generate a HEC-RAS project, run the model, and return the inundation zone to the mapping software. But, the delay was costly and now it’s pay day.

So, today will be the day to grind through the last structure. I started a few minutes ago and am working on laying out the first hydraulic model prototype. I’ll be able to reuse a good part of my work yesterday, which means I only have to create a subset of the entire reach. This should speed up things a bit… or at least take a little of the mental load off. My little pea-brain is tired. I’m not whining (yet); just stating a fact.

Now I’m off to get another cup of coffee and turn my attention to the problem at hand. There will be more as I track progress through the day.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention the image. That’s the draft zone of inundation for one of the structures. There are no details on the map (which is appropriate), but it’s a graphical depiction of what I do. The results will be used to assist development of an emergency action plan for the structure, which is used to guide parties responsible for emergency management in the (unlikely) event the integrity of the structure should be compromised.