The Goodbye

Finally we reach the first position in our top ten ranking list and how could it be otherwise, this position is for the Wright brothers, Wilbur (1867 – 1912) and Orville (1871 – 1948). They were the first to develop an aircraft heavier than the air, that was able to fly controlled in its 3 axes and powered by an internal combustion engine. The flight of the “Flyer” took place on the Kitty Hawk beaches December 17, 1903, although they had previously tested different gliders, they built an aerodynamic tunnel and they even built their own engine with the invaluable help of their partner and mechanic, Charlie Taylor, who developed it in 6 weeks.

Their spirit and initiative make that Orville and Wilbur Wright will stay in the first position forever.

Today, as we reach the end of our list, it is time to say goodbye. During eleven weeks we have tried to give a unique message for a very special kind of people. As we said in the presentation of our blog, we have tried to address, on the one hand to those people who, despite their wide professional experience, still have the ability to get excited, and on the other hand, to the youngest engineers which, after finishing their studies, find a whole new world full of uncertainty.

From the beginning we wanted this blog to be a forum for sharing experiences. It wasn’t about doing some more or less amusing comments about certain aspects of life in the companies. This should only be the spark that started the wick.

Unfortunately we have not achieved our aim because, although we had many readers, even from countries we could not imagine, we did not reach to the goal we set.

We aren’t sad, because it was a difficult task and also because we really had a good time writing about facts that are very close to us, about the common engineering and, in short, about all these small events that throughout working life leave in you a vision, may be a little distorted, of the daily reality. If there is something that has become clear in this blog, is that we love our work. We firmly believe that there is another way of understanding engineering and this is where we have tried to focus. Often, the solution to a problem is not related to the knowledge but to the attitude and this, for us, this factor of personal effort, of confidence in our own possibilities, is what makes the difference.

In this last post I want to explain the meaning of the pseudonym “Albero Engineer” which we have used to sign this blog. For those who are not used to the bullfighting terminology, the “albero” (Spanish) is the soft yellow sand that covers the bullrings. With this in mind, a person who works in the albero (as for example the bullfighter) is someone who is ready to risk everything to reach his 15 minutes of fame, a moment that he has been preparing his entire life and that, in itself, justifies all the risks taken and the efforts he made.

This literary license is not mine and I owe this to my good friend and, even better professional, Francisco Lagares, with whom I talked, during coffee breaks, about the possibility of writing a book about all this; what he called the “Albero Engineering”. I would like to express my appreciation for you, for your sense of humor and your great humanity.

I also want to express my gratitude to Lufe Gimenez and Paco Martínez, my friends and colleagues, who encouraged me to write this blog and helped me during the preparation. Without them this adventure would not have been possible. Thanks to you, fellows.

I don’t like farewells so we will not say “adios” but “hasta la vista”. Maybe in the future we resume this idea and we meet again. Who knows.

My name is Rafael Fradejas and I am an engineer.

A poem: (traslate from the original spanish)

When the road is finished
don’t think that it’s the end
there is always another frontier,
another challenge, another place.

When the road is finished
don’t look behind
you only will find nostalgia
of what will not come back.

When the road is finished
life, starts again.

Be brave!

Visit www.dip-solutions.com  for more information of what we do.