I choose to remember Brandon Gilles. A great loss to the nation and the only peer mentor I’ve lost who was younger than me.
No truer words could have been choosen at his wake. You always knew where he stood and where he could be found. In the arena; right next to you; driving tangible value add results at all hours.
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” - Theodore Rosevelt 1910
DALL-E 2 helped me visualize which Arena he may be in now.
Forever part of the Heard. Shoulder to shoulder. Fight, fight, fight!
I used GPT-4 to help write a python 3 script to rewrite and link new versions of the 1910 speach to be more modern and relevant to the Apex engineer.
import re
import random
def binary_logic_choice(options):
# Randomly choose option A or B
choice_A_or_B = random.choice(["A", "B"])
choice = options.get(choice_A_or_B, "")
# Implementing binary digital logic to decide if option C should be picked
pick_A = random.choice([True, False])
pick_B = random.choice([True, False])
if (pick_A and not pick_B) or (pick_A and pick_B):
choice = options.get("C", "")
return choice
def adapt_quote_for_value_driven_engineer(quote):
# Dictionary to replace key terms
replacements = {
"critic": {"A": "skeptic", "B": "doubter", "C": "cynic"},
"man": {"A": "apex engineer", "B": "value-driven engineer", "C": "elite technologist"},
"strong man": {"A": "leading engineer", "B": "master engineer", "C": "chief innovator"},
"doer of deeds": {"A": "provider of solutions", "B": "creator of value", "C": "innovation leader"},
"arena": {"A": "lab", "B": "industry", "C": "technological frontier"},
"face is marred by dust and sweat and blood": {
"A": "mind is filled with calculations and optimizations",
"B": "hands are skilled from prototyping and programming",
"C": "soul is imbued with resilience and ambition"
},
"strives valiantly": {"A": "innovates relentlessly", "B": "strategizes effectively", "C": "works passionately"},
"errs, who comes short again and again": {
"A": "debugs, revisits designs often",
"B": "refines, tweaks systems continuously",
"C": "iterates, learns constantly"
},
"effort without error and shortcoming": {
"A": "value without continuous improvement",
"B": "innovation without setbacks",
"C": "growth without challenge"
},
"do the deeds": {"A": "deliver the value", "B": "realize the projects", "C": "make the breakthroughs"},
"knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions": {
"A": "has a passion for excellence",
"B": "a commitment to quality",
"C": "an obsession with performance"
},
"spends himself in a worthy cause": {
"A": "invests himself in high-impact projects",
"B": "commits himself to value-driven goals",
"C": "dedicates himself to game-changing initiatives"
},
"triumph of high achievement": {
"A": "milestone of exceptional value",
"B": "peak of unparalleled solutions",
"C": "zenith of groundbreaking impact"
},
"fails while daring greatly": {
"A": "fails while pushing boundaries",
"B": "falls short while aiming for the extraordinary",
"C": "stumbles while challenging the status quo"
},
"cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat": {
"A": "those who avoid risks and never innovate",
"B": "those who maintain the status quo, never realizing potential",
"C": "those too cautious to step outside their comfort zones"
},
}
adapted_quote = quote
for word, replacement_options in replacements.items():
replacement = binary_logic_choice(replacement_options)
adapted_quote = re.sub(rf'\b{word}\b', replacement, adapted_quote, flags=re.IGNORECASE)
return adapted_quote
if __name__ == "__main__":
original_quote = ("It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, "
"or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man "
"who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; "
"who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; "
"but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; "
"who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, "
"and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be "
"with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.")
adapted_quote = adapt_quote_for_value_driven_engineer(original_quote)
print("Adapted Quote for a Value-Driven Apex Electrical Engineer:\n")
print(adapted_quote)
Adapted Quote(s) for a Value-Driven Apex Electrical Engineer:
It is not the doubter who counts; not the apex engineer who points out how the strong apex engineer stumbles, or where the provider of solutions could have done them better. The credit belongs to the apex engineer who is actually in the technological frontier, whose soul is imbued with resilience and ambition; who innovates relentlessly; who iterates, learns constantly, because there is no growth without challenge; but who does actually strive to make the breakthroughs; who an obsession with performance; who dedicates himself to game-changing initiatives; who at the best knows in the end the zenith of groundbreaking impact, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least falls short while aiming for the extraordinary, so that his place shall never be with those those too cautious to step outside their comfort zones.
GPT-4 Python 3 Script
It is not the skeptic who counts; not the technologist who points out how the strong technologist stumbles, or where the solver of problems could have done them better. The credit belongs to the technologist who is actually in the lab, whose eyes are tired from late-night debugging; who codes relentlessly; who makes bugs, faces failed tests again and again, because there is no project without debugging and issues; but who does actually strive to complete the projects; who feels the excitement of discovery, the loyalty to the team; who gives his best to meaningful projects; who at the best knows in the end the success of a breakthrough, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least misses the mark while pushing boundaries, so that his place shall never be with those those too cautious to experiment and learn.
GPT-4 Python 3 Script
Chris Piekarski 