Category Archives: engineering

The Technical Writer as Engineer

Posted on May 16, 2013 by

My career path is supposed to be impossible. I’m doing engineering work and technical writing for an aerospace company without an engineering degree or much strength in math or science. That’s not supposed to happen, but here I am. How … Continue reading →

Posted in careers, engineering, technical writing | Leave a comment

App Design and Other Strange Tasks

Posted on February 18, 2013 by

New things keep crossing my desk, not all of them typically within the technical writer’s purview…at least in my previous life. Welcome to life outside of the Matrix. One of these tasks was eminently doable, the other one not so … Continue reading →

Posted in engineering, technical writing, Technology | 1 Comment

Speaking Upper-Level Geek

Posted on February 9, 2013 by

As I noted earlier this week, I was rapporteur at the Tennessee Valley Interstellar Workshop (TVIW), taking notes for the benefit of the organizers and (as a nice side-benefit) myself, as I find the idea of deep-space travel fascinating. Did … Continue reading →

Posted in audience, engineering, personal, presentations, science, science fiction | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Cool Kids of the Future

Posted on January 23, 2013 by

A couple weeks ago, I had the privilege of helping judge the FIRST Tech Challenge, a Lego-sponsored competition for high school students to develop robots. These robots had to move a bunch of plastic rings from one set of hooks … Continue reading →

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I See the Future and It Will Be…

Posted on December 30, 2012 by

I’ve seen the future and it will be…I’ve seen the future and it works. If there’s life after we will see… –Prince, The Future So I’m a little shy of four months into my sojourn with Zero Point Frontiers. There’s … Continue reading →

Posted in engineering, fiction writing, personal, philosophy, science fiction, Technology | Leave a comment

Editing for Scientists and Engineers

Posted on July 7, 2012 by

It is easy to be underestimated as a technical writer/editor, especially in high-functioning organizations like IT or aerospace engineering. Just because you don’t have an engineering degree does not mean that you are ill-equipped to correct scientists or engineers when … Continue reading →

Posted in editing, engineering, science, technical writing, workplace | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Website Usability

Posted on January 9, 2012 by

I have already written a great deal about print document usability here, and for the most part the guidelines I suggested there also apply to reading on the web. People still read top to bottom, left to right (at least … Continue reading →

Posted in audience, documents, engineering, technical writing | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Science or Engineering?

Posted on October 6, 2011 by

The nature of NASA technical writing is that if you hang around long enough, you usually end up writing for scientists and engineers. One thing became clear to me, at least regarding NASA people: scientists and engineers are NOT the … Continue reading →

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How I Learned Rocket Science (The Real Story)

Posted on October 2, 2011 by

Okay, can you keep a secret? I am not a rocket scientist. I’m sure you can guess that by reading my resume, but sometimes it bears repeating, especially around my NASA customers. Yes, I did research on the topic, including interviews, … Continue reading →

Posted in education, engineering, research | 2 Comments