What to get an engineer for his birthday tomorrow?

[Loren Booda]

My girlfriend's engineer cousin has his birthday tomorrow, her mother on the 13th, and her sister-in-law shortly thereafter. Do you have any suggestions for gifts in the $20-$40 range?

 

[Danger]

Hmmm... lessee now...
A good porn video for the cousin, since engineers don't have girlfriends...

 

[wolram]

My girlfriend's engineer cousin has his birthday tomorrow, her mother on the 13th, and her sister-in-law shortly thereafter. Do you have any suggestions for gifts in the $20-$40 range?

A set of whitworth spanners, a 1 to 2 inch mic (digital), a bead blaster, a second hand lathe, a milling machine, a parts washer, cad cam software.
a second hand garage, beer, a book of engineering tables, beer, a slim line
whitworth socket set 3/8 drive, beer, no socks, or mayhaps a nice dinner out.

 

[BobG]

A slide rule.

Of course, that's going to take some perusing of thrift stores and antique stores. A Post 1460 is a good general purpose slide rule that runs around $20-$50 on Ebay. At the upper end, it had better be in good condition with the leather case included. They're so common you can always find a reasonable price if you're willing to wait.

Of course, you could always go up to the $150 to $275 range and get one of the special purpose Electrical Engineering or Chemical Engineering slide rules.

 

[Moonbear]

Hee...I knew Bob would recommend a slide rule. Though, that is a nifty gift for an engineer. Any gadget...engineers love gadgets...if it's shiny, beeps, has lots of buttons or knobs, and has absolutely no useful function whatsoever, it will keep them entertained for hours on end.

*ducks and runs from the engineers*

 

[z-component]

The Sharper Image is good for gadgety things.

 

[wolram]

Hee...I knew Bob would recommend a slide rule. Though, that is a nifty gift for an engineer. Any gadget...engineers love gadgets...if it's shiny, beeps, has lots of buttons or knobs, and has absolutely no useful function whatsoever, it will keep them entertained for hours on end.

*ducks and runs from the engineers*

I will have you know that my right angled obstruction ratchet ring spanner with 12 inch extension is invaluable, but knobs and buttons will keep most engineers happy for a while.

 

[Loren Booda]

Gadgets - where else in addition to The Sharper Image?

 

[wolram]

Gadgets - where else in addition to The Sharper Image?

Is this guy a down and dirty muck under the finger nails engineer, or a paper engineer? if he is a guy that likes to rebuild engines, do not buy him a gadget, it will end up with all the rest in a forgotten draw, may be you should think more on a non work related gift.

 

[z-component]

Try Brookstone as well.

 

[Loren Booda]

What books would you recommend?

 

[brewnog]

A Leatherman?

As for books, I'd highly recommend "Flying Buttresses, Entropy and O-Rings", by James L. Adams, on Harvard Press.

 

[Volumunox]

www.Thinkgeek.com

all your geeky needs :P

actually they have some pretty neat things. :D

 

[BobG]

Hee...I knew Bob would recommend a slide rule. Though, that is a nifty gift for an engineer. Any gadget...engineers love gadgets...if it's shiny, beeps, has lots of buttons or knobs, and has absolutely no useful function whatsoever, it will keep them entertained for hours on end.

*ducks and runs from the engineers*

Hey! I'll have you know I can transform three dimensional Cartesian coordinates to spherical ADBARV coordinates on a slide rule, both for position and velocity, a lot faster than anyone I know can do it on a calculator. How could anyone consider that as "absolutely no useful function whatsoever".

 

[rhuthwaite]

Umm why do you need to get an engineer something to do with his work for his birthday? I am sure his life doesn't evolve just around engineering and he has other interests. Why don't you ask peopl that know him for ideas?

 

[DaxInvader]

How about a nice Birthday Card...

 

[Loren Booda]

We ended up getting him two books about castles in Britain, where he had just vacationed. Holy crenelation, Alfred!

 

[turbo]

If you felt compelled to get him a present but waited until D-day to think about giving him a present, perhaps you should have tried to get him relatives who give a damn. Just a suggestion.

How about giving him some of your time, and a nice experience (maybe an appetizer and a drink or two at a nice place) or at least SOMETHING to show that you care?

 

[Moonbear]

Hey! I'll have you know I can transform three dimensional Cartesian coordinates to spherical ADBARV coordinates on a slide rule, both for position and velocity, a lot faster than anyone I know can do it on a calculator. How could anyone consider that as "absolutely no useful function whatsoever".

Sorry, I didn't actually even mean it that way. The bit about useless gadgets was a separate thought from slide rules, I just didn't put in a sufficiently large space between those thoughts to indicate they were separate.

 

[Cyrus]

Micrometer, Chalk, and an Axe. Trust me, he'll get it.

 

[BobG]

If you felt compelled to get him a present but waited until D-day to think about giving him a present, perhaps you should have tried to get him relatives who give a damn. Just a suggestion.

How about giving him some of your time, and a nice experience (maybe an appetizer and a drink or two at a nice place) or at least SOMETHING to show that you care?

Gee, that's kind of harsh.

I've forgotten my own birthday before. Seriously. Someone at work said happy birthday to me in the morning and my first impression was, "What the heck are they talking about?". My second impression was, "Oh, that must be why my daughter invited me over to her house for dinner tonight."

I think people should just celebrate their birthday on the nearest holiday. It would make it easier to remember. Dang! Now that you mention it, my wife's birthday was Tuesday. I probably should have called her.

 

[Danger]

Now that you mention it, my wife's birthday was Tuesday. I probably should have called her.

Damn it, is everybody after my badge now?

 

[arildno]

My girlfriend's engineer cousin has his birthday tomorrow, her mother on the 13th, and her sister-in-law shortly thereafter. Do you have any suggestions for gifts in the $20-$40 range?

Well, if you won't give him a screw or a shaft or anything of that nature, you might try to get hold of a planimeter. That is a cool invention.

 

[Lisa!]

Dang! Now that you mention it, my wife's birthday was Tuesday. I probably should have called her.

Her lawyer hasn't called you?

 

[KingNothing]

The same thing you can get any man, ever. FOOD!

 

[Equilibrium]

A pirated autocad 2007 cd... its unlimited and cheap of course

Hmmm... lessee now...
A good porn video for the cousin, since engineers don't have girlfriends...

Yes indeed, i myself am a undergrad engineer and have few girls in class... i guess engineers don't have a love life

 

[moose]

Get him a queen CD... duh

 

[Danger]

I'm surprised that Arildno didn't suggest that (and ask for an address).

 

[Loren Booda]

The birthday brunch went well at one of the upscale restaurants in Potomac, Maryland. I was the youngest of seven, having a great time with the oldest - she's my girlfriend's and the engineer's aunt. At age 92, she had been a tenured professor at the University of Wisconsin - psychology, I believe. Her sister, my girlfriend's Mom, is super great to me. They treat me like family, going on four years. (Both of my parents died last millennium.) I'm not ready for a wife, though - when will I? The gifts seemed more a passing acknowledgment compared to the simple kindnesses present.