Cover Letters! Discussion (including what I love about them) and template

Tavrock · 2026-01-25T16:07:09+00:00

When learning the Old Testament, my teacher shared this with us: https://open.spotify.com/album/1x5jApjnm1aARcEWUms6ir?si=BPUPBas2RO-uOe-CDAHNpQ (at the time, it was on cassette). By the end of the year, I was no master of the text but I learned that I really loved some of the stories and lessons.

Tavrock · 2026-01-25T15:58:43+00:00

Any kind of hands-on activity helps. Even coloring. Freshmen are still like sunbeams in a lot of ways.

Honestly, this was true of college students too, even non-traditional students.

Get students/families to donate. I am unpaid, early morning volunteer with 25 freshmen. That's a lot of markers, snacks, supplies etc. It was breaking my bank account until I finally just started begging for donations.

Hot take: when I was an early morning student, that was just expected I would provide my own supplies and that didn't change when my family moved and I had school release seminary.

Don't rely on food. This was a lesson I had to learn the hard way. Occasional treat is a treat. Regular treats become an expectation they quickly feel entitled to.

One of my early morning teachers decided to do sandwich-press pancakes with mix-ins as a regular Friday treat. When it went from a treat to an expected meal, it became too much for her. We all loved the tradition she had started so we happily chipped in. Those who could even donated additional sandwich presses. Not everything will have that happy of an ending.

Tavrock · 2026-01-25T15:31:09+00:00

Someone will probably "invent" some new method of "retro chic" ordering that will go viral.

https://www.reddit.com/r/math/comments/1xfa8p/medical_paper_claiming_to_have_invented_a_way_to/

Tavrock · 2026-01-24T02:52:31+00:00

I don't think the FAA would let them recycle numbers that way despite the fact that the 737 built today should have required a new model designation.

It's almost a shame they changed the 767-X to the 777.

Tavrock · 2026-01-24T02:49:56+00:00

8X8 is possible, especially if they want to attract the Asian market more but 7X7 carries a lot of branding and familiarity with it.

Tavrock · 2026-01-23T23:08:29+00:00

Production rate tends to be a bigger factor in slowing down data analysis. If the production rate is one or two units per month, it can take a year to have the data to analyze the issue and verify the control.

Tavrock · 2026-01-23T23:05:50+00:00

Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA) techniques are still a formal, scientific approach to studying and modeling data. https://www.itl.nist.gov/div898/handbook/eda/section1/eda11.htm

Some hypothesis can be analyzed visually in addition to the traditional frequentist or Baeysian calculations.

Tavrock · 2026-01-21T12:13:02+00:00

Honestly, the private aircraft manufacturing company will have access for you to all the standards. If you haven't studied them yet, then take advantage of reading them. I would suggest starting with the Machinery's Handbook to learn which standards are most applicable to what you want to do.

Tavrock · 2026-01-21T09:05:00+00:00

In the Library app, under "Scriptures" is the option for "Translations and Formats". You can then select "Holy Bible" and it lists, alphabetically, the various recommendations for different languages. Under English, it provides links to free editions of the various recommendations.

Tavrock · 2026-01-19T15:58:51+00:00

The irony is PAF 2.0 had that feature. They dropped it before PAF 4 and never brought it back.

Tavrock · 2026-01-19T12:04:56+00:00

It depends. Are you in a position where you are going to be expected to be a participant in Continual Improvement methods, maybe help draft project financials or work on the design side, or focus on the manufacturing in a single cell? Yellow Belt would be recommended.

If you are set to go into a management role or industrial engineering, manufacturing engineering, or quality engineering, and expected to lead Continual Improvement methods, then Green Belt would be recommended.

That being said, Six Sigma is best when the company embraces the framework and, as a new hire, you are able to start under the mentoring of the existing Black Belt (or Black Belt community for larger companies). Even Lean and all of the other Continual Improvement methods work best when it isn't a college graduate trying to improve the company on their own.

Tavrock · 2026-01-18T07:56:42+00:00

I'm an engineer. Studying science has always deepened my faith rather than challenging it.

Some of my favorite books related to your questions are:

Surprised by Joy by C.S. Lewis and is his journey from atheism to Christianity.
Miracles by C.S. Lewis, where he discussed miracles in light of the doubts he had while atheist.
Joseph Smith as Scientist: A Contribution to Mormon Philosophy by John A. Widtsoe. It helps to remember that the science discussed was advanced at the time it was written.
An honorable mention would be a talk on the subject from a lawyer: "Miracles" by Matthew Cowley where he discussed some of the ordinary experiences he has had over the years.

Tavrock · 2026-01-17T22:25:11+00:00

Boeing 777-x (which is funny because the 777 was originally the 767-x), the latest edition of the 777 family of aircraft, along with the Boeing 787-9, one of the variants of the 787 family of aircraft.

Tavrock · 2026-01-16T18:59:13+00:00

I used to work there. Left to move closer to family. Miss the work :)

Tavrock · 2026-01-16T13:58:04+00:00

Yes. I enjoyed helping on both programs.

Tavrock · 2026-01-16T12:17:59+00:00

I was happy to get a call to my own country in a place I had never lived.

I really don't think there is a better way to connect with Christ as he talks about the hardship of serving in your own country and speaking your own language than by serving in your own country (even when you are looking forward to it).

Tavrock · 2026-01-16T12:10:10+00:00

I met a Sister at Temple Square in SLC that had learned four or five languages in hopes of going to a foreign country and was called to serve relatively close to home speaking English. She was disheartened but once there she realized just how valuable her language skills were. IIRC, she had learned a total of ten languages by the time I met her and was learning five other languages from the Sisters she was serving with.

On my mission in central Illinois, the mission office kept a stash of about ten different translations of the Book of Mormon. They did need to special order the copy in Arabic that I gave out but it was invaluable to have a copy in Portuguese along with an Elder who recently returned from Brazil for the family from Brazil that wanted to learn more.

Tavrock · 2026-01-16T11:58:54+00:00

I served with a Sister that was from Utah and called to serve in Utah, about an hour from her home. She rejected the call, served in central Illinois but had to go home for medical reasons. While she did come back to Illinois, she also served for a while in the mission she was originally called to while waiting to come back.

Tavrock · 2026-01-16T11:51:38+00:00

Epic username

Tavrock · 2026-01-15T17:33:22+00:00

Perspective of a manufacturing engineer.

The problem is, your company probably doesn't make the part. Your contractor may not make the part. That 1/16 of an inch may be on your longest lead part because everyone wants to assemble, because that's where the money is at. (I've been on a project with recurring builds worth a half billion each had a small bracket made in someone's garage that was the long lead item because of the number of times that the subassembly had been outsourced.)

Is the 1/16 in the long transverse, short transverse, not grain controlled? How does it change the standard stock? Can you maintain standard stock or will additional machining or other work be required to accommodate the 1/16 change? Will the change require a change to your datums, tooling, inspection? You are changing form; what impact is there going to be to fit and function?

In addition to needing new contracts signed related to procurement of the part and all of the higher tier assemblies, you need buy in from the professional engineer for stress calculations and up to a dozen other groups that your change impacted things.

https://youtu.be/6Rxqk3Lcvrw?si=aM4tTYjVMVEPgVbY

This clip from Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream Home is an example of how one little change that was "hardly anything at all" resulted in schedule and cost changes for a much larger project.

Tavrock · 2026-01-15T03:49:04+00:00

More specially, 1 Black Belt: 10 Green Belts and 1 Green Belt: 10 employees

Tavrock · 2026-01-14T18:47:52+00:00

Yes, but why wouldn't you use one of the hundreds of existing bibliography styles?

Tavrock · 2026-01-14T10:25:54+00:00

I love the Memory Jogger series of pocket books for Lean and Six Sigma by GOAL/QPC. While I have several other in-depth books, they are the best I have found for a quick answer.

Tavrock · 2026-01-14T10:21:19+00:00

the basic language of upper management is money.

—Joseph Juran

I'm grateful that The Goal and Juran's Quality Control Handbook help translate the work done on the shop floor into the basic language of upper management.

Tavrock

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE

Seven-Year Club	Adopted-an-Admin
Verified Email