MYER - making big investment in new website

The Australian retailer "MYER" is making a big investment in their website, totally revamping it in its entirety. They are investing a whoppin' $9 million on their new website, which only generates about $5 million per year presently.

This really touches on the point of 'connected-ness' that the modern world offers that was a big discussion piece as we investigated the idea a 'homogeneous global culture'. Not only are we more in contact with each other and those of differing cultures, backgrounds and ideas, but we are more connected with businesses and we see that today's business models reflect that with such things as investing $9 million in improving a website. And, this is done because people are likely to spend $35 billion more a year on this website in making it that much more attractive and easier to use. Why go out shopping when you have an international marketplace just a click away?

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/companies/myers-9m-bet-on-website-build-it-and-customers-will-come/story-fn91v9q3-1226138251804

Chunnel Project

I think that both the French and British engineering culture have good qualities. But they can also be bad. The French always have to have a plan before they start working. This is good because it ensures that everything will be organized and everyone will be on the same page. Having the plan can help them avoid major issues. However, issues always arise and you won't always have the option to sit and make a plan, sometimes actions need to be instantaneous. Now the British are opposite, they tend to just go with it and think on the spot. This can be good because if a problem does arise, they are able to think on their feet and get right to fixing it. But, it can also be bad because without a plan, it is easy to overlook little details, like what happened with the Chunnel. When they were building the Chunnel, the French side of the tunnel was able to withstand different conditions, however the British side was not. The water caused a major issue for the British, but luckily, since they were able to play with their strengths and find a solution right away, without much planning time. This showed where their lack of planning set them back, but it also displays how their engineering culture has the advantage when it comes to needing a quick fix.

Hydrogen

Finally i decided on ' Hydrogen as Future fuel ' as my topic for my four English papers for this semester. On this one topic i have to write a personal narrative , literature review , interview and argumentative essay. I am currently working on personal narrative . In this I have to write what i know about the topic without referring to any source of information. There were two reasons behind choosing this topic. Firstly , I should tell you that i want move into the field of energy studies after graduating as a chemical engineer. So, I personally want to know about hydrogen as a future fuel and how it can help or effect us in the future. Secondly, it is the least talked about source of energy when we talk about future sources of energy or renewable sources of energy. By working on this topic i want to put bring this topic into limelight at least in my class .

For my first dart I just took few definitions from web just to give some concrete introduction . I didn't want to consult any book for my personal narrative because i feel, if i consult any book then i won't be left with any new matter for my further papers. Currently i know very few things about my topic but i think as the semester progresses , i will be able to learn new and amazing facts about hydrogen. And i also hope that at the end of semester i will be able to answer many questions in my mind right now and i also hope that i will able to big some information to my fellow students.

Chunnel's inspirational influence

Watching the 'chunnel' clip made me think a bit about one of the big elements of engineering. The question as to whether something actually does help and prove to be a worthy investment of time, money and hard work in the 'long run.'

Nowadays, companies employ statisticians who do this for them, but even with statisticians, it seems with a project this massive and expensive, it's hard to see it 'paying for itself' in years to

come, and the amount of money that will come back from it, but I see a supplementary value in the simple having accomplished a feat of such immense engineering, and simply being able to have the 'we did it' feeling afterwards, and a sense of having reached an international engineering milestone.

I feel like these kinds of projects are those that push us to keep reaching further, and inspire engineers and the engineering discipline as a whole to keep taking steps forward, and look beyond simple engineering of 'what sells.'

Chunnel

After watching the Channel tunnel video, I am amazed at what can be done with the technology at hand. I did not even know that they had built a tunnel already. I always thought that it would be a good idea to connect England and France in some way. I guess I was not the only one who thought this though. It is a very smart design, especially how the service tunnel can act as an escape tunnel as well. I had no idea that this sort of engineering project could be done. I thought we were years away from building such an extensive underground tunnel underneath a large body of water. Little did I know that we already have done it, and not only that, but it was done years ago. I just do not understand how I have never heard of this huge tunnel before, especially with the magnitude of influence it has on engineering.

Sand Volleyball

I played volleyball all throughout high school and I wanted to continue playing at Purdue. But sadly when I checked online for when the club tryouts were, I saw that they happened the first day of classes. Really? They're just going to hold tryouts before you even know where you're going for classes. I had no idea that they had happened already and I am not exactly sure how anyone would have known. Luckily I was reading the website and I saw callouts for intramural volleyball and intramural sand volleyball. I either wanted to be challenged or have a lot of fun. so i threw out the idea of intramural volleyball and went with sand volleyball. I am excited to get started this Monday. Unfortunately the "regular season" of sand volleyball is only three games long. Once again a disappointment, but I guess that just means that my team has to go to the championship right?

First Day At Work

Finally the day came when i was dying to work in a kitchen . I have this weird fascination towards working in a big kitchen. When i entered the Ford dinning court i was a bit nervous because it was my first time working somewhere . When i was having my dinner , i met an Indian guy. He asked my name and i asked him what are the easier counters to work on. he said either go to salad one or do the dishes in the kitchen :) .I quickly had my dinner and went to the International counter of the Ford. The chef was preparing the food and i didn't even try to ask what to do because i was so scared to ask her that what i have to do . She was so dedicated to her work that i was enjoying to see her tossing vegetables . After few minutes , my supervisor came and told me what i had to do. Then came one Malaysian guy , who was also working on my counter. It was his second week at Ford and first time at my counter. Talking to me gave me some confidence. After serving some noodle soup i was working with full confidence . After some time my friends came to my counter to cheer for me . They said that i was working with dedication that i didn't even notice them while serving the food. Whenever an hour passed i thought i have earned this much and got happy every time . It was a big deal for me as it was my time that i was working . As i love to cook food , I was so happy to serve even that day because I was in the kitchen . I love that place. That i was feeling excited and was not at all tired after working for five hours. My first day at work will be special moment in my life because i always dreamt of working in a big kitchen like a Ford's big kitchen .