Significant perhaps. More important than almost anything else? Doubtful. When you hear “iceberg 2x the size of New York...” that gets you going doesn’t it? That’s big. But it’s also nowhere close to the largest ice berg that’s broken off Antarctica. What’s more- the largest recorded ice bergs to break off were over 100 years ago. So it isn’t a case where suddenly massive ice bergs are breaking off. Scientist who study geology and oceanography and glaciology have pointed out that there’s only enough data for speculation on the causes of this recent iceberg.
Two important notes- the major impact of events like this largely goes unreported- through the last 3 Antarctic winters scientists on the Brunt ice shelf have had to leave the station because the cracks threaten the safety of the ongoing research. In other words- the major unreported impact of these cracks is we lose data and several times research has been interrupted as the station moved to a new safer location.
The other note is that while the calving of ice from the ice shelf is dramatic- it makes good photos and we can say things like “an iceberg the size of Miami broke off...!” Which sounds very impressive- the scientific community still debates the impact of any, climate change is having on the natural process of ice claving which has been part of Antarctic history for as far back as know - and speculated to go back to the beginnings of the ice continent. On the WEST side of Antarctica- researchers are largely conclusive that loss of ice is being effected by climate change- but in the West, the warmer ocean water has been basically melting the ice from the bottom of the shelf- THAT is a huge sign of climate change and a threat. But a bunch of melted water you can’t really see lacks the drama of falling icebergs the size of NYC so that does t generally get the same level of attention.
Hey I’ve been reading your comments here for almost 3 years (I think) now. Just out of curiosity, and if you don’t mind me asking you this, what do you actually do? As in professionally. Because you seem to just be an endless sea of information :)
Hi @kcat.That’s a tough one to answer without being too specific or too general. They don’t really have a title for what I do. Internally I have 4 titles that are used interchangeably. I serve as a translator of sorts. Our board and C level hand me general directives. I take those directives and make a plan and assessment of them. I talk to any Vice Presidents involved and collect their requirements and get an idea what their issues are so the plan can be tailored to work for them. Then I work with department heads or directors to secure the people needed for the projects and assign them tasks. I track and coordinate the progress of the various teams and report back to executive management with updates as needed. If any team faves an issue I identify it and help keep them moving.
When the project is finished I go over the results and certify that they work as desired and approve them for release, then I get a team together to implement the changes and coordinate the window for their launch, approve and edit training etc, and follow up to make sure everything went well.
The bigger the project the more granular I have to get- and on some things I might even need to create and conduct the training myself. I announce the changes and make sure all support staff have materials and training as well, and I source and vet external companies who might be able to help us on projects. Part of my job is that I must be able to do every other job in my company- from answering phones or working the loading docks, to sales, programming, etc. I identify and solve problems so people can do their jobs better or so systems can be more efficient as a primary part of my job. We aren’t a technology company but we develop our own technology within a branch of our company which we use to serve customers, and I work primarily within that group.
But I’ve done a bunch of stuff. I just sort of wound up here because I had a role in a company that supplied my current company and received an offer to work in a department which used specialists from our customers industries to create a tool we use for customers. From there I just ran out of work to do and saw an opening internally for a job that looked like it paid more- so I took it. Lol.
Lol. Can’t be that much work- I’m here all the time! I kid. It can be. But it gives me a lot of free moments while I wait for meetings to start or wait to get reports in etc. stress... there’s a bit. But stress is what we make of it. Impressive? Thank you- but not particularly. It’s just a job like any other. It’s just very hard to describe especially since I have to protect both my identity as well as my companies and it’s trade secrets lol.
Sorry. Lol. I tried. But as for knowing stuff- reading and movies are a great source of questions as are hobbies and tinkering. It all starts with questions. Life is full of things we don’t know- even simple stuff. How exactly does it work once I hit the button? Research leads to more questions. Ok- for this part why use this machine- how does that work? Who invented it? Wow. They got what disease as a kid? What’s that? Oh. It effects this part of the lymphatic system? How’s the lymphatic system work? What does that part of it do? What if you effected this part? What medicine treats it? How does that work? Who invented it..... and so on. Always more questions. Find questions, look for answers, find more questions. Live life- that gives life experience. Go where the trail leads, you’ll likely see a lot on the way. And have more questions.
Aw yes I’m gonna try this. I love learning new things but between going to full time work on top of college leaves me with very little time (which I waste on funsub haha) but I’ll try incorporating this more into my life thank you!
Lol. I wish you well with that. Hopefully when you’re out you can settle in to something that will give you a good work life balance. Especially in tech it can sometimes be hard to get the control you’re hoping to get back- but it can be done.
Thank you! I don’t think I’d mind long hours at work and all but currently my work has very little to do with programming which means I constantly have to switch between the two. Once I finish my degree and get a job related to it I can at least stop stressing about two completely different paths and focus on one :D
Comments