Category Archives: Professional

Stories related to my careers

Buccaneering BIM/Geoengineering

Posted on April 21, 2010 by Ed Medley

It is with increasing amusement that I peruse the subject lines of emails containing the acronym BIM. Many years ago I coined the acronym bimrocks (block-in-matrix rocks). The bim bit has prompted gleeful scribbles over the years, what with bimbo … Continue reading →

Posted in Bimrocks/Melanges, Geopractice, Professional | Leave a comment

N.T.U.A, N.T.U.A….

Posted on March 25, 2010 by Ed Medley

Between March 20 and March 31 2010, I was  a guest on a 12-day European Grand GeoOdyssey: Engineering Geology in Engineering Works in Greece-Italy-France-Switzerland with Emphasis on Case Histories of Great Failures. The trip leader was Prof. Paul Marinos, guiding … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Failures, Geopractice, Professional | Leave a comment

Hard Hats (1982)

Posted on March 21, 2010 by Ed Medley

Hard hats are often awkward, sometimes inconvenient and occasionally dangerous. Nowadays hard hats are compulsory in construction. But in 1982 they were less common, especially when working in the jungle. They probably have rarely been useful as a means of … Continue reading →

Posted in Geopractice, Olde History, Professional | Leave a comment

Ok Tedi

Posted on March 12, 2010 by Ed Medley

Ok Tedi (pronounced “Ock Teddy”) is a river (ok) in the Western Provinces of Papua New Guinea (PNG) near the border with Irian Jaya, Indonesia. The river runs through the most remote part of the country. I worked at Ok … Continue reading →

Posted in Geopractice, Olde History, Professional, Vagabond | 4 Comments

What THEY Didn’t Teach GAR at Engineering School

Posted on February 15, 2010 by Ed Medley

In 1992 I wrote an essay: What THEY Didn’t Teach Me in Engineering School. Just this week I found a 1995 letter from my dearest and best friend, Dr. Gretchen A. Rau, PE, in which she gave me her own … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Professional | Leave a comment

PE/BE

Posted on September 2, 2009 by Ed Medley

Like all US licensed civil engineers I have had to take and pass licensing exams. They are not fun: in California a licensed Civil PE (Professional Engineer) has to endure about 21 hours of exams.

Posted in Olde History, Professional | Leave a comment

Best Employers Should Have Best Restrooms

Posted on July 19, 2009 by Ed Medley

Being now unemployed I have started to pay attention again to the Want Ads and the like. Browsing the web, I read an odd web article recently that caught my attention Most Common Ways to Strike Out During an Interview.

Posted in Professional | 2 Comments

Excellence is Not Convenient

Posted on July 19, 2009 by Ed Medley

I had a recent project which demanded some very long hours from myself and a younger colleague. I had to cancel a long-planned holiday weekend to meet the deadline, one that had already been pushed back a few times. The … Continue reading →

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Dissed Off

Posted on June 11, 2009 by Ed Medley

Dissed is a lovely word, originally Jamaican slang, but I play with it a little here. I have been dissed a lot recently. Let me display the ways:

Posted in Family/Friends, Just sayin', Professional | Leave a comment

On First Encountering Melange

Posted on February 7, 2009 by Ed Medley

My life and career lurched abruptly  in early 1989, when I first encountered a melange.  Melanges are heterogeneous mixtures of strong rock blocks embedded within weak rocks, often sheared shale. Actually: melange is shorthand for “melanges” which like most other rock-types tend to be … Continue reading →

Posted in Bimrocks/Melanges, Geopractice, Olde History, Professional | 1 Comment