GE CEO, Jack Welch, who raped and pillaged RCA, dead at 84.

[benman94]

Unfortunately management styles only seem to become worse with time. MBA ought to stand for "Mindless But Arrogant".

I briefly worked in the area of my undergraduate degree, biomedical physics, but purposely went back to earn a PhD in mathematical physics to better insulate myself from the idiocy of the Fortune 500 type executives. The work wasn't too bad I suppose, but it definitely didn't look as future proof as something in academia or at a national laboratory.

I'm currently working on problems in geophysical inverse theory and enjoy it immensely; the pay is decent, I get to work on problems that are more intellectually interesting, and most importantly, funding for my work has been relatively easy to attain.

I wouldn't go into engineering right now for anything. Far too easy to outsource and half decent engineers are a dime a dozen not only here, but in India and China as well.

[bgadow]

We just bought a new refrigerator; the number of noises it makes are amazing, all considered "normal". The manufacturer went to the trouble of posting YouTube videos to demonstrate this, and keep you from complaining. Ours makes one noise that certainly couldn't be normal, a "gong" sound like a ball-peen hammer hitting a large bell, every time the compressor cycles. Repairman came out and listened, said they all do that now, the new "normal". He blames it on the replacement of experienced engineers with recent college grads who've never owned a refrigerator before.

[AlanInSitges]

Originally Posted by bgadow

We just bought a new refrigerator; the number of noises it makes are amazing, all considered "normal". The manufacturer went to the trouble of posting YouTube videos to demonstrate this, and keep you from complaining. Ours makes one noise that certainly couldn't be normal, a "gong" sound like a ball-peen hammer hitting a large bell, every time the compressor cycles. Repairman came out and listened, said they all do that now, the new "normal". He blames it on the replacement of experienced engineers with recent college grads who've never owned a refrigerator before.

Mine is two years old and sounds like there is something alive inside and trying to get out. Maybe whatever it is woke up when it saw the light coming through the three holes that rusted clean through the "stainless steel" construction.

I came across a video on YouTube a few weeks ago of a Canadian TV show investigating the fact that all new appliances are junk not made to last more than a couple of years. The biggest culprits were American brands like Kenmore, Maytag, and GE.

[JohnCT]

Originally Posted by AlanInSitges

I came across a video on YouTube a few weeks ago of a Canadian TV show investigating the fact that all new appliances are junk not made to last more than a couple of years. The biggest culprits were American brands like Kenmore, Maytag, and GE.

My tenant is an appliance repair shop, and I fix a lot of the control boards that new appliances have for them when I can, and let me tell you, LG and Samsungs are the biggest offenders.

Aside from that, the biggest problem is that in order to make these refrigerators more efficient, all modern refrigerators and freezers have complicated compressor inverter boards, and they are filled with cheap electrolytics, so you can guess what the biggest problem with these is.

In the back of my shop, I have a 1947 GE refrigerator that we bought used back in 1971 from the side of a road for $20. It's been running continuously since then. It's never been apart.

It's a very simple machine to be sure, but it's also extraordinarily well built. How an electric motor and a compressor can be in continuous duty for over 70 years is beyond me, and this is not an extreme example. Most of these have been scrapped out because they're inefficient, but there are a lot of these in basements that are used for backup.

John

[Tom9589]

I definitely agree about appliances. I still have two of the last "Newton" models of Maytag washer and dryer. The Newton models were built in Newton, Iowa. I can easily repair them, but fortunately haven't had to do so very often. They are approaching 30 years in age.

I also own a 2009 model Whirlpool refrigerator. The manual in bold print mentioned that this model would make more, different noises than my old refrigerator. After owning it 6 years, it quit cooling. The problem was the discharge line from the compressor that was routed in the condensate tray. The line corroded and sprang a leak. Since I do all of the AC work on my vintage cars, I had the equipment needed to splice the line and recharge the refrigerator. Still running fine 5 years later.

Finally, I worked for a company that was taken over by a Jack Welch disciple who came from Schenectady. He turned a great place to work into a miserable place to work which eventually started to lose a lot of business.