Hand in

After an 11 hour day on Monday and 3 hours this morning, almost £50 worth of printing, and more than one swear word, one project has been handed in. This is the culmination of 6 people and 9 months of effort, we are designing a racing car, you see. Personally, I wouldn't have put myself on the design for the brake system, but as a team, I think we may have pulled it off. We'll have the marks by the time they find it doesn't work anyway. I'll be long gone when the car is taken to Germany, only to find the brake pedal is so small no-one can press it down without simultaneously flooring the throttle, or that the wheels fall off due to the ludicrosly underspecified bolts holding them on. Details, thats what they are, mere details. At least when we handed the report in the lecturer in charge complimented us on the folding of the drawings. "Ooh, thats very neat". Technical. I pointed out to the rest of the team that I was the one who folded them, and that they should take it into account when rating my performance for the peer assesment. They just laughed at me. I was actually being serious too. 4 years of education, and at the end of it I can confidently fold a drawing. Don't say that isn't worth it.

Still, in an age where education is increasingly driven by "Is this marked?" it's good to know I have some practical skills. Practical skills that may come in useful when we come to build the car in the coming weeks. It's going to be hard work, but it'll be worth it. To see at the end, the finished article shining, shimmering, splendid. Racing round a track at high speed, feeling a welling up of pride and thinking - "I built that"


Sod that, I've just heard the practical bit doesn't count towards the mark.