Toasting Design

Welcome to Toasting design where we talk about engineering design, Burt Russell, Chef Jeremy and hypersonic trains that educate children about the importance of sarcasm. Timestamps for future reference: The good stuff: 0:00 Host introductions: 01:38 Purpose of podcasts: 03:48 The Design Process: 08:48 Hosted for the first time, 62 episodes in, by M. Boer and S. Schekman on 14th July 2020 Keys: Int...

Working from home has advantages and disadvantages. It is also not for everyone or every business. Many, if not most, of you would say the police force cannot operate in a work from home type setup but why not? What is the purpose in a police station in this day and age? Pursuing ideas like this are, at the very least, a good way to stretch ideas and perceptions of what you know. We are not saying...

To guess or not to guess and to what level and why to guess and when to guess... that's the quote right? If not then it's mine. Guessing is a big part of design but there are skills that are needed and times for which it is inappropriate. Not to be taken lightly. Hosted with our left feet in, our right hands out and shaking that nonsense all about by M. Boer and S. Schekman on 17 June 2020

What incentive is there to recap the previous years course work when starting a new year of study? Would it be helpful to get introductions to course material before the course started? Would you do it if the cost of getting it wrong might result in you flying off the edge of a cliff?  All retorical questions obviously, you would have to do it.  Hosted using claymation and stop motion ph...

No, we are not reviewing the tv series and we are similarly not deciding if the british or american versions are better. Instead we are considering how one would make an office more social distance friendly. How do you get around Martha who insists on leaning over you, cheek to cheek and prodding your monitor? How do you avoid those awkward passes in the hallway with that employee who you are sure...

Knowing that the never leave home will need to consider work, family life, recreation and health where do you then start? Do you rush into it or plan it out? Do you get rid of the family so that your design development becomes similar? Why not quit your job at the same time? Ok, that might affect mental health (not having an income and all), so maybe don't do that. Also family is important so prob...

Knowing the problem is one thing. Knowing what to do about the problem is the second thing. But two unconnected things (get your head out the gutter) drift apart. The link between the "why" and the "therefore" is almost just as important. Imagine you were told that students cheating in exams is the problem and therefore the problem will be solved but chemically altering the brains of students to s...

It is likely that you don't want to be kept in lockdown and required to remain within your home for extended periods of time. If you were required to, however, is there a type of home or design of a home that would allow you do so comfortably and without the negative effects such as cabin fever, isolation and unproductive. While we won't strictly look at solutions, we tackle how to begin this sort...

While it is unlikely you are going to be sent back in time to implement or carry out designs, as an exercise the implementation of systems in different environments. On the other hand if you are being sent back in time, please do something more than just get rich making home coffee machines. There are waffle irons too! Hosted by way of worse code digitally altered to sound like voices by M. Boer a...

Right back into the coffin-rotisserie. A series of surveys were conducted and people were quite fond of the name. Things changed for the worst when informed of the intended purpose of the revolver beds so those responses were deleted from the survey in order to preserve the good form first drawn up. Also those persons that were still in favour of the name after finding out the function have now be...

When you put it as a coffin-rotisserie-for-patients this idea may not seem like the best one. So don't word it like that. Instead see it a medical-ferris-wheel-on-wheels. That almost sounds fun if it werent for the pandemic, emergency or fact that you are technically in a coffin on a rotisserie (minus the open flame and knife sharpening chef). Hosted by way of carrier pidgeon and wire joined tins...

So the washing machine is broken. You whip out your trusty swiss army knife adamant that this is your time to prove to the world that you are capable and able to support yourself.  Long story short is that good news, the machine wasn't broken, you just needed to plug it in. Bad news is that it is now most definitely broken (its a set of wires, not a vine covered door Indiana! next time lose t...

In this second part of a pentalogy that will only have two parts released, the use of tools (again the inanimate sort) are discussed. On a side note would the use of an artificial intelligence as a design tool count as (a) cheating, (b) just begging for Terminator to become a reality, (c) manipulation, (d) rude, they are people too or (e) I like cheese.  Hosted remotely by M. Boer and S. Sche...

Sport is an interesting topic from the perspective of design. The problems that call for solutions tend to be more difficult to nail down or substantiate. The solutions involve a lot of the fluffy side of design such as aesthetics and public opinion. In this way they force budding engineers to consider factors that are likely to be outside of their design experiences or teachings. Also they are a...

There are many types of tools and tools can themselves use tools. To undertake design with your bare hands (though they are themselves tools - i.e. to undertake design without tools) is arguably very inefficient. So don't be a tool and instead use tools (the inanimate sort - manipulation is not part of design). Hosted remotely by M. Boer and S. Schekman on 28 April 2020.

Is your Ostrich always getting sick? What do you mean you don't have an ostrich? Without an ostrich how are you reliably making south african toast? Enough questions. Enjoy the episode Hosted online by M. Boer and S. Schekman on 21 April 2020

Do you need more than that title? Well other than the disclaimer that by hoverboard we mean a board that hovers not some annoying gadget that mimics a segway. Hosted online by M.Boer and S.Schekman on 21 April 2020

Lockdowns are "great" but it is also nice to be able to get out. But what is out? What does out mean? What would one want to do while out? Why do cars have cup holders but not toast holders? Would you buy groceries from a person in a bubble suit? Is it worth going to a hardware store when you cannot walk around and try find the tool you haven't yet bought? If going out meant having to exercise wou...

Picture the scene, the TV flashes a solid red background followed by a yellow then green. A mad scramble, the hollow sound of a loose plastic wheel, slipping and scuffing broom handles on the floor. Frantic screams as Mom's favourite takes an early lead but then Dad's team turns on their "secret weapon" and the dull whirring of the leaf blower takes over. Around corner 4 the Dachshund puts an end...

When studying design it is easy to envisage or want to create those designs that work towards the betterment of mankind, the type of thing that ends world hunger, prevents deaths in traffic accidents or saves us from a oncoming asteroid impact. But there are also those designs that are less "impactful" but are nevertheless applicable and worth pursuing. Sports and designs related around sports are...

A screw driver can be used for a number of different applications and very few of them were envisaged. While it may be overkill I think it adds a little something extra (grease?) when you use one to butter your toast. So why are we not designing our screw drivers to butter your toast, slap that annoying mosquito or act as a powerbank for your cellphone? Alternatively why is your cellphone not just...

If a person crashes their bike in the middle of the desert and no one sees it, should you (a) post your thoughts on youtube, (b) discuss it in a podcast, (c) eat toast, (d) ignore the person, eventually they will just go away or (e) make sure they have metal in their gear and pass a giant magnet over the desert until the rider is collected. The answer is of course (f) because design is not one of...

When considering the design of a power generator for your island holiday home you would not immediately start moving into the design of the start button's shape. Well rather, you should not immediately do that. There are far bigger concerns and factors that should be considered first. Not whether global warming will result in your holiday home needing to be submersible or what colour the harnesses...

Apparently clothing is required on Mars. The design of a washing machine for Mars is not a problem worth solving. This tumble drier discussion (20 minutes on cool) covers the problem of clothing for the lucky folks going to live on Mars. The Zebra car-wash provides no solution! The overall clothing concept that was designed; cleans, protects and introduces physical exercise simultaneously. End of...

Not everything is meant to work, you are though. So work! Some things work by failing in a planned way. This makes no sense, but it is true, particularly for advanced complex systems. Modern cars are actually a post-accident safety cell that looks cool when the accident is reversed. So how do you start with a safe protective ball of suspension bits that encases the fuel tank and get great cornerin...