Machine Windings and The People Who Care

Goeie dag!

What a beautiful day it was again in sunny North West. Or at least, that's what they told me, since I basically missed the entire thing.

Why?

Because my favourite lecturer in my favourite university module took us on a field trip. Field trips thus far was entirely the domain of school and social events, and never did I even suspect that on university level such a thing could be done to me. How tragically naive I was.

Ok, but first things first, since I'm being confusing. I am an aspiring electronical/computer engineer,and not particularly succesful in it. I enjoy and do well in the subjects I have an interest in, but am useless and completely lazy in the ones I do not. First and foremost of these is Machine Theory, a horrible excuse of a subject that is the proverbial Goliath to my nameless soldier that dies gruesomely. It deals with electrical machines, under which falls generators, motors and transformers. The stuff that makes the modern world go round, and that I couldn't give half a toss about.

Well, in exactly this subject then our lecturer (a primate that looks as if he permanently lives on invisible plakton with a set of foreteeth that wouldn't embarrass a horse) organized a day-long field trip to the quaint and homely heavy industrial area of Johanesburg. And not only that, but I also had to get up at 5 am to finish a pointless assignment that had to be handed in when getting on the bus.

And now for the scary part of the story; I actually did find the day interesting and even might have enjoyed it. This is very very scary, since this means that my core values, of which my hate for anything to do with machines is a part of, is changeable! A paradigm shift I did not expect to make on a factory floor, but there it is.

The entire process of the construction, rewinding and fitting of the machines was fascinating, and even more so the more minute supporting processes that went on all around the main event. Now I know, it all sounds boring and off-putting, but being there and seeing the monster machines being gutted and refitted and generally subjugated to the will of man was awesome.

I'm truly shook by actually enjoying this day, and I'm going to need time to get back to my pre-trip disgust of anything electrical. What a bother.