just been working in an office with "no coffee"
Made me wonder
Engineering seems to run on coffee and chocolate
Used to include cigarette..
How do we think the world would look without coffee
Over the decades I've been involved in many teams working an all nighter to get a chip design finished ,
Would they have been out without coffee's help ?

 

Over the decades I've been involved in many teams working an all nighter to get a chip design finished ,

I'm in the take it or leave it category when it comes to coffee. When I worked at HP, coffee was always free, but I tended to drink hot chocolate or lemonade instead.

When I pulled an all nighter when I was younger, I'd be more likely to get a cup of broth.

When I was older, I'd have a cup of tea.

Used to include cigarette..

I remember the days when we used to have air fresheners, the type with fans, in our cubicles. It was surprising how a few smokers could have such an adverse effect on the work environment.

 

just been working in an office with "no coffee"

Wot? No tea now!
Things Have changed in the 50 odd yrs I Have been away!

 

just been working in an office with "no coffee"

At my last job, we had a Starbucks just outside of the company cafeteria. When I had coffee, I opted for the free varieties the company offered (and free fruit).

People were spending so much time in line at the Starbucks that cameras were installed so the length of the line could be monitored from your computer.

 

just been working in an office with "no coffee"
Made me wonder
Engineering seems to run on coffee and chocolate
Used to include cigarette..
How do we think the world would look without coffee
Over the decades I've been involved in many teams working an all nighter to get a chip design finished ,
Would they have been out without coffee's help ?

I have a hard time relating to the question as I've never been a coffee drinker, so I have a hard time imagining there being a difference at all. My preferred caffeine delivery device has been Diet Pepsi for nearly four decades, though I go for months at a time without any of that, either.

I don't recall there being much demand for coffee anywhere that I've worked, but that could just be me not noticing it. A couple places had a coffee maker, but they almost never got used. The couple people that drank the stuff usually brought their own, either from home or from some place like Starbucks.

Our all-nighters seemed to go just fine without it. Occasionally we would order pizza, but that was hit and miss.

 

At my first job there was a senior engineer named Elwood and he and his circle of friends would gather in the AM for a coffee break. They would walk over to Elwood's desk and casually ask: "Hey Elwood, is it time to go fa' coffee". If the answer was: "Yah, it's time" then you knew you were "in" with Elwood to your everlasting benefit.

 

It’s not just engineering. One of my first jobs was at Chevron Overseas Petroleum Inc. COPI as we called it in downtown San Francisco. 575 Market Street. We young guys had coffee break at 09:30 every morning at Eckers the shop behind our office. Coffee and a donut usually, back to the office at 10:00. Fridays we went across Market street to the bar, Sutter Station, at 14:30. Had a martini. Dreamed away the rest of the afternoon until 16:30 time to quit. Despite all this fooling around we did manage to find enough oil to stay in business. I believe Chevron is still in business today.

 

I'm religious ... and it is one of my core beliefs that in heaven there's gonna be an unlimited supply of java in the mornings ... and beer in the afternoons ...

 

It’s not just engineering. One of my first jobs was at Chevron Overseas Petroleum Inc. COPI as we called it in downtown San Francisco. 575 Market Street. We young guys had coffee break at 09:30 every morning at Eckers the shop behind our office. Coffee and a donut usually, back to the office at 10:00. Fridays we went across Market street to the bar, Sutter Station, at 14:30. Had a martini. Dreamed away the rest of the afternoon until 16:30 time to quit. Despite all this fooling around we did manage to find enough oil to stay in business. I believe Chevron is still in business today.

Still paying a generous dividend to boot. Back to work!

 

I'm religious ... and it is one of my core beliefs that in heaven there's gonna be an unlimited supply of java in the mornings ... and beer in the afternoons ...

It was Bejamin Franklin who opined that "Beer was proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."

 

just been working in an office with "no coffee"

What does that mean?
There is no free coffee provided by the company?
There is no coffee pot available to use?
There is a policy in place that forbids brewing coffee in the office?
There is a policy in place that forbids drinking coffee in the office?

I have a feeling that the last option is what you are referring to, and it makes me upset.

I work from home most days but I do have an office at work and I have keurig machine in my office because I don't want to be subject to the "rules" of the office coffee pot.

Made me wonder
Engineering seems to run on coffee and chocolate
Used to include cigarette..
How do we think the world would look without coffee
Over the decades I've been involved in many teams working an all nighter to get a chip design finished ,
Would they have been out without coffee's help ?

I can't imagine "a world without coffee" because such would be the result of deliberate action to abolish it. Not that coffee is all important but freedom is. A "world without coffee" is "a world without personal choice." Why abolish coffee? Does it cause second hand lung cancer in nearby non-coffee-drinkers? Does any reasonable person find the smell of coffee so repugnant as to constitute an uninhabitable working environment?

If any freedoms are to be trampled in the name of appeasing Karen, let it be the freedom to microwave fish in the breakroom.

 

What does that mean?
There is no free coffee provided by the company?
There is no coffee pot available to use?
There is a policy in place that forbids brewing coffee in the office?
There is a policy in place that forbids drinking coffee in the office?

I have a feeling that the last option is what you are referring to, and it makes me upset.

I work from home most days but I do have an office at work and I have keurig machine in my office because I don't want to be subject to the "rules" of the office coffee pot.


I can't imagine "a world without coffee" because such would be the result of deliberate action to abolish it. Not that coffee is all important but freedom is. A "world without coffee" is "a world without personal choice." Why abolish coffee? Does it cause second hand lung cancer in nearby non-coffee-drinkers? Does any reasonable person find the smell of coffee so repugnant as to constitute an uninhabitable working environment?

If any freedoms are to be trampled in the name of appeasing Karen, let it be the freedom to microwave fish in the breakroom.

I'm sorry I was not explicit enough for you ,
May be its the lack of coffee :->
It's a loose flying thought, just wondered what others though,

You do highlight the deeper part of the question though
If we engineeres had no caffeine, would we have come up with different work practices or different solutions,

 

What? No coffee, water fountains have hot water so tea is possible. But no coffee lol