What is the perfect holiday gift for the tribologist who has everything?
TLT Sounding Board December 2011
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At the top of many tribologists’ wish lists were time home with the family followed by cash, a lucrative job contract, a TLT subscription, vacations, more cash, lifetime STLE membership and iPads. Many members said reference materials relating to tribology and/or lubrication engineering are good selections. Asked about the best holiday gifts they’d received, many readers said that as children they’d received toolkits and construction-type toys, perhaps foretelling careers in mechanical engineering. Under the Some Things Never Change Department, when we asked readers about their worst holiday gifts, their answers included socks, underwear, ties, coffee mugs—and a photo of a brother-in-law!
Money.
Viscometer.
A raise.
A day off.
A membership to the Jelly of the Month club.
Random acts of kindness.
Strobe light (for checking moving parts).
Lifetime STLE membership—all dues paid!
Basic Handbook of Lubrication.
Vacation.
TLT subscription.
Time with the family.
Anything with a lower case “i” in front of the name.
A trip somewhere warm to lubricate my golf game with some swing lube!
Chocolate.
Gold-plated grease gun.
An Oil Filter Patch Test Kit with Digicel Water Test cell.
Waterless hand cleaner or stain remover.
An iPad to read TLT on.
The perfect gift for a tribologist would be an invitation to participate as a consultant in some lucrative project. For example, resolve a lubrication problem with some equipment in the Great Coral Reef at a time convenient for the tribologist. The offer should cover travel expenses and an all-inclusive room for the tribologist’s family.
An adult beverage.
Golf clubs.
We all appreciate good, current reference books/ materials.
A Kindle.
A copy of TLT magazine!
A case of Mobil 10W-30 motor oil.
Respect.
Two weeks off around the holidays.
A chance to meet people in other countries.
A way to keep your mind focused and clear. A way to keep inner peace when everything refuses to come together.
Hats of any kind.
Lube-related literature/book.
Time off and more of it.
A Zebco combo fishing reel.
Everything is going according to plan.
Anything that doesn’t relate at all to machinery or lubrication. 12-year-old Scotch maybe?
IR thermometer.
Gear clock.
A little powder time on the slopes.
A universal machine wear test device.
Cologne.
Good reference material on lubrication engineering such as the
Basic Handbook of Lubrication or how to troubleshoot various pieces of machinery.
Does your workload increase or decrease during the holiday season?
Increase
36%
Decrease
39%
No change
25%
Based on results from some 13,000 TLT readers.
What is the best holiday gift you ever received?
Mrs. Claus.
Soldiers home for Christmas.
A radio-controlled car when I was a child.
Contract renewal for the next year.
A friend’s remission from cancer.
My first bicycle. I learned to ride it on Christmas afternoon.
A chemistry set.
Toolbox.
iPhone.
Four-night holiday to Singapore—accommodations and meals paid for.
Successful surgery for my spouse.
A trip to Mexico.
Racing car set.
Motorcycle.
A bottle of single-malt whiskey.
Vacation time in Hawaii.
Box of Omaha steaks.
My first digital camera.
A new bike when I was eight years old.
Cash!
A car.
My book of Molykote.
Shotgun from stepson.
A wristwatch from my wife. The wristwatch was inscribed with my birthday for that year.
Gift card.
Trip to see my mother five months before she died—just 48 days short of 101!
A specialist book of tribology.
“Caddyshack” movie on DVD.
A set of Craftsman tools (I was 15).
A multi-tool with interchangeable torque, Phillips head screwdriver, etc. It even had a build-in flashlight!
The best holiday gift I received was from my wife—viewing Yellowstone Park in December on the back of a snowmobile.
Mobile phone.
A friend sent a trip to Leavenworth, Wash., for three days for my family at Christmas. Awesome time, and my son proposed to his bride on that trip.
New Labrador retriever.
Singing and eating with my mom, dad and family before Christmas dinner.
Netbook.
All those Lego Technic boxes that opened up a new universe. Hockey tickets.
Jewelry.
Analog-to-digital turntable converter. Now I can listen to my vinyl LPs on my iPod!
A gas grill.
An overseas holiday.
Do your stress levels increase or decrease during the holiday season?
Increase
47%
Decrease
18%
No change
35%
Based on results from some 13,000 TLT readers.
What is the worst holiday gift you ever received?
Socks.
Tie.
A salt & pepper shaker.
Sweater.
Nothing is bad. It’s the thought that matters.
Coal from the kids as a joke!
Underwear.
A clock with a juvenile theme. Not appropriate for the age.
A six pack of Bud Light.
No contract renewal for the next year.
A car accident on Christmas. Nobody was hurt (thank God), but the trunk was smashed so we could not get the presents out. We had to switch cars and were hours late to my brother’s house.
Work when you can’t stay with your family.
When I was a child, I received a toy train that actually ran on railroad tracks. The problem was the smokestack emitted sparks. I almost set the Christmas tree on fire!
Hawaiian shirt from the Goodwill clearance rack. It was also too small and still had the price tag on it!
A free week’s stay with the in-laws.
A pair of brown fake leather slippers.
Red clown shoes.
There is no worst gift when people have taken time to think of you.
A household steam cleaner.
Coffee mugs. You have one—how many more do you need?
Fruitcake. Ugh.
Never had a bad gift, not even a gag gift.
I got nothing.
One of those digital organizers that likely came free with a
Time magazine subscription. My wife got a scarf (minus tags and with a hint of perfume on it). We had both been bitten by the regifting bug.
Credit card bill.
A book on tribology.
A leaking pen.
Poinsettia plant.
Peanut brittle.
A picture of my brother-in-law!
A case of Budweiser.
Every gift is special.
Editor’s Note: Sounding Board is based on an e-mail survey of 13,000 TLT readers. Views expressed are those of the respondents and do not reflect the opinions of the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers. STLE does not vouch for the technical accuracy of opinions expressed in Sounding Board, nor does inclusion of a comment represent an endorsement of the technology by STLE.