Zoooooom!

Last weekend, Scott and I headed out of town in search of a very large race track with cars going very very fast. Why? Because that's the kind of adventure-seeking thrill junkies we are! Plus we had free tickets. And we haven't left the 1 mile radius around our apartment for the last month. But also: thrilling!

We drove and drove, and the freeway dwindled to a highway, which dwindled to a two-lane road, and still there were no signs of the race track. We were just starting to feel a wee bit concerned that we'd taken a wrong turn, when we rounded a bend in the lane and saw our destination on the horizon.
Or rather, we heard it. Those cars are LOUD! As Scott said when I pointed this out to him (you know, in case he'd missed how REALLY LOUD these cars were), "Who needs a muffler if you're not driving on real roads?" Right.
Zoom!
Wheee!!! This was the only Ferrari racing that day. Since it was also the only car that I could identify with reasonable consistency, I decided to cheer for it the loudest.

If you've never been to a race like this, allow me to enlighten you. The cars go really really fast around a track. The car that does the most laps within a certain time period is the winner. This track is a road course, meaning that it has left- and right-hand turns, hills, straight aways, and curves (as opposed to the oval-shaped track you see in Nascar).

The cars that look more like regular cars are regular cars, but with various modifactions to make them speedy and awesome. The cars that look like slinky spiders are prototype cars, and they are not at all like regular cars. The regular-type cars are only racing against other regular-type cars, and the prototypes are only racing against the other prototypes. But they're both racing on the same track at the same time.

"But that's silly," says Emma, "It's like if people were playing a football game and a soccer game on the same field a the same time!"

"And how awesome would that be?!" says Scott.

Ah. Right!
This was a cool swoopy part of the track. The cars are accellerating like crazy on the straight-aways, and then have to hit the brakes to make the turns. Some of them don't quite make it.


Sweet, back in the game!

About this time, I spotted this woman's shoes:

Needless to say, I was impressed. I am definitely not woman enough to wear pointy-toed faux-snake skin stilletos to a hilly, un-paved, rock-strewn fairground.

Later on, we used our Super Sweet Honda Employee Passes to get into the gated area where the teams have their trailers. We were actually able to go right up to the pit area. Each team has a little section of the pit area, and it's set up with a million computers and monitors and extra parts and tires. It was almost as impressive as that lady's shoes.

We saw this SPEED TV gear abandoned nearby, and briefly contemplated some improv broadcasting.

These guys were leaving the area because their car off-roaded in that same swoopy area from above and it couldn't get back on the track. It's racing days were OVER! Or, at least, over for this particular racing day.

Also, I thought their little jump-suited, techie-belted derriers were awfully adorable.

Speaking of adorable:

Adam, we saw this mini and thought of you.

And look, Jesse, a whole FLEET of s2000's! Zoom!And how bad-ass would you look on a Ferrari scooter?

I'll tell you: very bad-ass.

Zoom!

Suburbia, Driving, and Honda

This past weekend Emma and I had some serious adventures in Suburbia, and confirmed our love...of living in the city. In case you forgot, we're staying just northwest of the city in a town called Dublin. It's certainly not the smallest town I've ever been in, but the little things all add up. For example! One thing we like to do on weekends is walk to get some coffee and/or breakfast. In JP this was a snap. We could throw a rock and hit a few coffee shops, and at least one breakfast place (yes, I really threw a rock to see if I could hit any of them. I have a deceptively strong pitching arm.). Out here, not so easy. One of the appealing things about our new place is that we are within walking distance of things like coffee, breakfast, and a bookstore (Emma assures me the bookstore thing is totally a coincidence. Totally.).

So this weekend we realized there was a Panera near our current apartment. Great! It's better than the gas station coffee, and they have breakfast sandwiches too! We head out and walk to Panera on a nice Sunday morning. First issue: Panera is in a mall. Ok, not everything can be nice storefront space as is more common in Boston. Second issue: Panera, in the mall, is on the other side of the highway. Third issue: there is no sidewalk on the bridge over the highway, making for a very uncomfortable walk. Fourth issue: our bikes are still packed in storage, so we can't ride to Panera. But we're determined to not be beaten! Plus, we're hungry and by this point we are drooling for a fried egg on a bagel. (Note: we did not have bagels at home, otherwise we would have had a solid Plan B). So we decided that a 1/2 mile walk in the middle of traffic was not a nice Sunday morning activity. So we walked home, got in the car, drove the 1/2 mile to the mall, parked, went in Panera only to find that they stop serving breakfast food at 11:00. I know! Have they never heard of brunch? So we have lunch-type food, and at least we stopped being hungry, although we both still wanted eggs.

We are both excited to be closer to things by foot and bike. And for getting our bikes out of storage. We should also just get some bagels and make eggs at home I guess.

And now onto Honda. I've been there about a week now, which means of course that I am an expert on the place. So let me tell you: it's not too shabby. The first week was a lot of the standard paperwork and orientation kind of stuff. The last half of the week I got to work with some of the test engineers. We ran some transmissions on the dynomometers and then tore them apart to see what kind of things happened on the inside. Honda automatic transmissions are different than what I have seen before, so it was good to get to see them all opened up. The mechanic in me was also extremely jealous of the facilities that the test engineers get to work in. It sure makes a job fun and easy when you have all the fancy tools you need, an arm's length away, and everything is clean and kept in good shape, and you have all the space you need.

My second day on the job there was a "managers meeting." This is where all the group managers (about 60 of them) get together to go over what's going on in the company. And they make the new employees stand up in front of the group and introduce themselves. So I end up being first to go. My boss introduces me to the group, and I walk up to the front and give my little speech about how I just graduated, excited to be on board, I like long walks on the beach, etc. As I'm talking, the guy leading the meeting asks me to move closer to the microphone, because this is a teleconference meeting. With Japan. And then I noticed the woman at the front, translating everything into Japanese. I admit, when you are talking and it is being translated into another language, it makes you sound important. Or at least, it makes you hope that you are not making a fool of yourself in front of 2 continents worth of Honda engineers. I haven't heard back from Japan yet.

Security is pretty tight at the facility. No cameras whatsoever, ever. So during orientation I asked what about my cell phone, since it's kinda handy and I would like to have it and not have to leave it in my car every day. No problem, I'm told by the orientation leader. I'm going to give you your company cell phone in a few hours. Sweet. Next to having my words translated, getting issued a cell phone made me feel pretty important too. And there were business cards too. I admit, I'm easy to please.

This week is all CAD training on CATIA V5 (engineering design software). It's a week long training class, with a big thick book of tutorials. It's an entirely different software package than SolidWorks or Pro/Engineer, which I have used at other jobs. CATIA is handier in some ways, and not so handy in other ways, which is about what I expected. But no matter what the software, when you see an entire car as an assembly, with everything from the body panels down to the valve springs, it's impressive.

I work in the transmission design group. This is a pretty small group compared to other groups; there are only about 8 of us who are design engineers, and then we have our managers. By comparison, the biggest group has about 100 engineers. My boss is my age, and the other engineers range from about 24 to early 30s. Everyone seems to get along well, and seems to have a good personality. It seems to be a low-stress environment, but everyone is getting plenty of work done. Maybe I'm just overlooking the stress, since I am not assigned to any projects yet. Our workspace is a big, open design floor that is about as long as 2 football fields. We sort of have cubicles, but the walls are only about waist high. So I feel like I have my own space, but I don't feel closed in, and I feel like I have easy access to the other engineers. Somehow I figure that Honda planned it that way.

Oh, I just found out today that in the next few months I'll be taking the Honda driver training class, which will give me a license to drive test cars on the test track. This includes the high speed test track (zoom!), the skidpad, and a bunch of specially designed roads and tracks to put the car through some of those gruelling tests you might have heard about.

I guess that's about it for Week 1. So far, so good. I think I'll stay for a bit. And for those of you wondering, the commute is currently about 35 minutes, and I don't find it that bad. There's no traffic, so I just set the cruise control and go to sleep listen to NPR.

The Arc of an Automotive Engineer

Today I start work. Actually, I keep reminding myself that I'm starting a new career. As long as the auto industry doesn't entirely collapse (insert awkward panic laugh), I imagine I'll be working at Honda for a while. This weekend I've been reflecting on how I got here. It has certainly been an interesting journey for me, and for those of you keeping track at home, here is a summary of how it all went down:

Fall 1993: Apply to colleges. On my applications I put myself down for the mechanical or electrical engineering programs. Went to Carnegie Mellon with Chris Demas to check out the school. Met with one of the mechanical engineering professors. He showed us mathematical models of air flow inside jet engines. I remember thinking that was "cool."

May 1994: Graduate from high school (yeah CHS!).

Sep 1994: Go to UMass as an engineering major.

Oct 1994: Transfer out of engineering program and become a math major.

Feb 1995: Drop math major and become a sociology major.

Summer 1997: In South Africa, I was riding in a car with some friends on a long trip. Their Honda CRX suddenly stops working. We find a mechanic who says he can fix it. I remember thinking "I wish I knew how to fix it."

Spring 1998: During my last semester at UMass, I "volunteer" to help out at a local Midas shop. I offer to sweep up and help clean the shop if they'll teach me things. Surprisingly, they were fine with that. And they taught me some things.

June 1998: Graduate from college (Part I).

July 1998: Start working for Jiffy Lube. Official title: "Lubrication Technician." Amazingly, I still can't think of any jokes about that title. Upon getting hired, the boss told me my sociology degree made me a "good candidate for management."

July 1999: Move to Phoenix, AZ for car school.

July 2000: Graduate from car school, move to Portland, OR to work for Ferrari.

Nov 2000: Ferrari career comes to an abrupt halt.

Dec 2000: Start working at Jim Fischer Volvo. Basically I do oil changes, install roof racks, and inspect new cars before customers take them home. 

2001: Get promoted to full mechanic at Volvo. Get to do new things like timing belts and brakes.

2002: Become an ASE certified Master Mechanic as well as and ASE certified Advanced Engine Performance Specialist. I also got certified as a Volvo Master Mechanic.

2003: Get to do bigger jobs at Volvo, including pulling transmissions and cylinder heads.

Dec 2003: Move to Boston, MA and decide I want a change. Decide to work for "ze Germans" and take a job with Audi.

Mar 2004: Back to work for Ferrari, this time at Ferrari of New England, Newton MA.

Jan 2005: Get to rebuild the engine in a Ferrari 355. And it worked after I was done (bonus!).

Feb 2005: Get introduced to a customer who brought his car into our shop. He happens to teach in the mechanical engineering department at Northeastern University in Boston. I'll call him Prof. Ferrari.

Sept 2005: Head to Northeastern University for another undergrad degree. This time I stay with mechanical engineering all the way through.

Spring 2007: Take a class on internal combustion engines with Prof. Ferrari.

Summer 2007: Prof. Ferrari tells me he has an invitation to attend a conference with Honda over at MIT. He can't go. Would I like to go? Sure. He gives me his invitation. When I get to the conference, I find my nametag, "Scott Heines, Northwestern University."  Eh, close enough. I meet a design engineer in the suspension department. We talk for a while. We are both a bit unsure of why we are at this conference.

June 2007: Email Mr. Suspension Engineer at Honda. He puts me in touch with someone in the Honda HR department. I email Ms. HR Department and tell her I'd like to do an internship with Honda in 2008. I get an interview, but I don't get the internship.

Oct 2008: I email Ms. HR Deparment again, reminding her who I am, and saying I am still interested in working for Honda after I graduate. She says my timing is good; they are getting ready for interviews and she'll put my resume in the pile.

Dec 4-5 2008: Honda invites me out to interview. During the 2 days I built a tower out of marshmallows and toothpicks, played some Wii Bowling, and won a stuffed Stewie doll.

Dec 23 2008: After a whirlwind of a week, I accept the offer from Honda to be a design engineer in the automatic transmission department.

May 1 2009: Graduate from college (Part II).

Personally, I like "Design Engineer" better than "Lubrication Technician."

(Special thanks to Chris Demas for getting me interested in cars in the first place.)

This is Scott's Fault

We've been here about one week now. We're still alive, but very short on supplies. We've been trying to communicate with the outside world via this homemade transistor radio. We are almost out of batteries. If anyone can hear us...please send food. The natives have been wandering closer to our secret campsite. I fear that soon we will be discovered, and then our true identity will be revealed. Everything will have been for naught.  Wait. I think I hear someone coming.

So Emma has been detailing some of the early parts of our Ohio move.  But really this whole ordeal is my fault.  I can't outrun the truth.  Today was the first day where I accepted my responsibility for what I have done.  So like any adult would do, I took Emma out to see Honda.  

Plus I needed to see how long my commute is going to be.

We're currently living in the northwest area of Columbus. Technically we're in a town called Dublin, just barely outside of the Columbus city limits. We scoot out of our apartment and head over to I-270N. We're only on this road for one exit, then we jump onto I33 West. I'm fairly confident that 33 runs more North/South, based on my ability to read a map, but who am I to question these things? After about 20 miles, we see signs of civilization:

That's right, Honda has its own parkway. We continue onward. Before we get to Honda R&D, we pass the manufacturing center. This is the main manufacturing plant for all of Honda's North American operations. Everything that I will eventually design for Honda will get made in this beast of a facility. Parts are assembled in various plants around the country, but everything gets designed in my building, and then made here.

Honda Manufacturing is so big that it has at least 4 entrances. We drove past Gates A-D, but the biggest building is here at Gate C. And here it is:

This picture does not do justice to the sheer enormousness of the plant. Hopefully this next picture will help.

I'm not sure how big this actually is. I'm hoping they tell me that during orientation next week. But there are about 7 train tracks leading into the place. The light colored section behind the train tracks is a sea of Hondas ready to go somewhere else. Behind the car ocean is the plant itself. Maybe you'll just have to see this to believe it. Not the most subtle carbon footprint.

Finally we get to where I need to go: Honda R&D Americas, Inc.

Here is my business card (not to scale):

I can't get into the building yet because I don't have my employee ID yet. I decide not to rassle with the security, so this is as close as we got.

I'm pretty sure that the security was the same when I drove to Montreal a few years ago.

Hopefully I'll be able to give you some more pictures at a later time. The grounds are actually quite impressive. In addition to the main building, there is a lake with walking path around it, 2 tennis courts, a basketball court, gym, test track, car wash, and a full service shop to service employee's cars as well as do work on the race cars.