Has There Been Any Serious Discussion About A Think Tank?

If there was any they probably took it offline to the local community which in turn means we would not know and if we knew then it probably was not a local community think tank discussion but an open public forum discussion kind a like the CR4 community.

I think: its a good idea if you get it to run. Some third world countries but not only them would benefit from it and so might be the local guy that can think like or is an engineer.

Our think tank discussion start in a bar most of the time. We have saved the world hundrets of times.

That reminds me to book Friday again before the Misses books something in . . . .

(rushed off to think about it over a beer . . .)

Some of my best ideas came while sipping a refreshingly cold adult beverage. That's what I'm talking about, a group of engineers getting together, tossing back a few cold ones and saving the world, AGAIN!!

Now I just have to find a few people willing to try it out?

Thanks

"Some of my best ideas came while sipping a refreshingly cold adult beverage." Therein, sort of, lies the problem.

For a think tank to accomplish anything, some sort of goal must be somewhere. Without some direction, any gathering of great minds could simply be called The Friday Night Card Game, or maybe The United Nations.

Great minds at the United Nations?

Yes, but they were only looking for the restroom.

All the think tank discussions at my house and workshop are catered with lots of beer too. What brand should I stock in the spare fridge?

Has there been any serious discussion about a think tank?

What do you think this forum is?

Texasron,

What I'm getting at is, I appreciate this online forum and get a lot of assistance with engineering issues I face on a daily basis.

However, I have also really enjoyed getting together with like minded people to discuss "whatever" the topic turns out to be. Being face to face, trading sketches, being able to hold a prototype in your hands, feel it, see how it operates, maybe even have access to a workshop. You cannot deny that the physical aspect holds a lot of weight and is better at times than a 3D model on a computer screen or drawings.

I guess what I'm getting at is I miss the group discussions where you are able to see someone's reaction, good or bad.

OK, FINE..... I just don't like to type!!!! That's my point.

Texasron,

After reading through the posts I've realized you are very correct. This happens to be one of the best forums for this type of discussion and I really enjoy it. Maybe I should have titled it something else like:

• Discussion group
• Local discussion group
• or
• Hey, let's drink beer and shoot the bull in Las Vegas

But it seems like that's all that happens here in Vegas. Booze, Broads and B.S.

GA

best ideas come when your relaxed and have your mind off of work.

Pretty interesting. If light speed is possible. Like what's the challenging agenda?

Lunar X is a big challenge

Light speed is possible. Photons do it all the time. OTOH, getting them to hold still is not so easy.

seriously?

What's the difference between a think tank and a drunk tank?
To the respective participants, none.

I think there is, the latter seems inevitable.

a drunk tank is a place you sleep it off... usually at the county motel.... (jail)

What about a drunk think tank???

Sounds like an oxymoron to me.

Its better than a Drink Tank!

That leads to the old quantum mechanical problem of "a drunk in a box (tank)".

The group I participate in (away from work), operates mostly by telephone, email, and an occasional Skype video session. That suits me just fine. Besides, very few of us in this group live anywhere adjacent, except two, with actually an international range...so face-to-face meetings will be few and infrequent.

KrisDel industries

LynDoor industries

...

A thinking tank, now that could be very dangerous. Have you heard about Cyberdyne industries Skynet project?

This is fiction right? Just like the 2 AI war fighter planes on the hollywood movie. This technology is still underdevelopment, Morgan Freeman tell us so.

Just as long as it works better than this:

yes there has.

and if you search here there was an intense discussion about what can be done when the earth quake hit Port-a-Prince here. It became a learning experience to quite a few with the issues of lack of infrastructure as well as political red tape. but a few members stuck with it as long as they could.

People are spread all over the US and world, what about just organising a think tank based on a group Skype video conference system (everyone would obviously have to provide their own beer).

Modern age technology and all that.

This was meant to address the op....

The biggest issue about it, of which there are (2)

1.) there needs to be an incentive to carry to carry this through.

there are times when a constant grind will wear down al enthusiasm, this have to be countered. And good will only goes so far.

2.) and there needs to be resources to make this happen.

Expenses happen to do a job.

Of course I did not include a purpose, that needs to be determined.

To start, it would be best to start a charter or business plan to establish direction.

I know that with all the technology today, video conferencing, e-mail, and internet discussions we have less of a need to travel to a specific place to discuss an engineering problem / solution. I would like to meet other people in my area that are like minded and would like to meet occasionally to discuss whatever the topic may be. To tell you the truth, Las Vegas really does not have a very large engineering community as compared to say Los Angeles or New York and it is difficult to find technical people.

Anyone is welcome.

BYOB

There is a lot of engineers in Vegas... of varying discipline as well! Most of them are inside the Casinos... Either for leisure and livelihood or both! Those that I know of are there for both reasons..

...and when you get the group together, they will all sit around with their heads burried in a laptop or phart-smone, looking at CR4!

In our small town we have many "committees" that discuss the problems to be solved in the town. Volunteers do a lot of engineering, and work to keep everything going on a limited budget.

The cool forum members, the ones you'd really want to talk to, are spread all over the world. (My opinion only)

And with an average participation rate of 100 members at any one time, the odds of five of us being in the same location are low.

I know of maybe 10 members who live in Arizona, so it just doesn't make sense to try to meet.

Interesting idea and I wish it would work.

We still could thrash your place, pending an invite.

I bet some would even get there from fart fart away!

Come on over.

This is the he city of lost wages. Most everyone is going to travel through here at some point in time?

"This is the he city of lost wages." Exactly!

I quite enjoy a card game with friends... I don't care too much about winning, I just like to play.

Organized gaming is an entirely different kettle of fish. Those enormous temples beckoning the "I'm feeling lucky" crowd to play their generous games were not financed by consortia intending to lose money.

Temples to large number mathematics.

"Temples to large number mathematics."

You bet!

I would suspect that on the bottom line of a typical large casino balance sheet, the dollar sign and the decimal point are not crowded together.

Those pages are printed in landscape mode.

We've heard different versions of the story... I actually know this guy!

Drove down to Vegas, feeling lucky. Went there in his $30,000 dollar Buick.
He played. He played BIG.
He came home in a million dollar Greyhound bus.

Casinos.

Thank you Lyn.

The think tank type of people are afraid to get together because there might be someone there who seems more intelligent than them.

During my formal scholastic period I always got better grades on my lab reports after a few fish bowls of lager at the Brass Rail.

Good Luck, Old Salt

We were looking at forming a think tank where I work but after a quick survey of our workforce we decided a drunk tank would be more effective at this time.

This sidebar discussion about gaming is really on topic:

How many "Think Tank" type groups have been assembled over the centuries to cure the (as called by some) social illness that is gambling.

And, the impact of the decisions of those groups?

Question: How many "Think Tank" type groups have been assembled over the centuries to cure the (as called by some) social illness that is gambling

Answer: a lot.

next question please

Think tanks are the thing of the past with Atlantic City, NJ. Remember when there were so many think tanks led by Steve Wynn, Donald Trump and the likes? They were figuring out how the town, and especially themselves would prosper if they helped AC out from being the then "murder capital" of the East Coast beach areas. They saw big profits for themselves and tons of money for the city as the think tanks thought deeper and deeper. They began the "improvement" of the city in 1978 with the Resorts International Casino.

Now look at the place! Numerous casinos closed (the Show Boat being the latest), several on the brink of foreclosure and several other by-products of the think tanks! The city no longer has murder as the most frequent crime, changed over to armed robbery of the few gamblers left.

The ironic part of it is Steve and the Donald bailed out before the purge, thanks to their newer think tanks.

Good Luck, Old Salt

their think tanks was based on not so much to solve a problem as it appeared, but to make $.

Basically it was a marketing meeting.

I like to add some things to this, 'sidebar'

Being from Wisconsin, I noticed a correlation between Indian Gambling Casinos (or Casinos in general) and Cash Store places.

I have heard gambling described as "Hope for the hopeless."

I should talk... I just made a wager with a 1 in 258,890,850 winner odds... against.

^{I hope I win... I'll keep you guys posted.}

I love '21'. it been so long, I'm going to have to 'pay' a visit to the local casino.

I'm sorry Doorman, what were you saying.

on a serious note, I went to college with some of the tribe. And what they said, is the tribe hates bad press and will do anything to avoid it.

It's unbelievable about that unreported crime that follows the casino, a lot right in the casino's own parking lot. Mostly assaults with deadly weapons.

I'm thinking of posting this off-topic. but actually it turning in to a think tank discussion.

kinda like going to a fight and a hockey game breaks out.

THINK TANK = a collection of diverse IQ's brought together to produce a lowest-common-denominator answer to obvious problems.

(Notice that I never mention 'solution(s)' to problems)