Kowalski Heat Treating Blog - Kowalski Heat Treating

Let’s Stay Curious

August 8, 2025/0 Comments/in Friday Afternoon /by Steve Kowalski

Curiosity is a great word. For me (and for the gang here at KHT), it’s our never-ending pursuit of wonder, knowledge, exploring, testing, and problem-solving. There are so many people throughout history who were driven by curiosity, from the mundane to the amazing discoverers. I love reading about remarkable adventures – those who “headed West” with a wagon and bunch of horses, or the folks grinding away in the lab. Over the past few weeks, I’ve really enjoyed some clear skies at night, causing me to “look up” and ponder the stars – it’s fun to find the satellites circling the earth. Today, August 8th, marks a historic achievement in the amazing discovery life of Galileo Galilei, known as just Galileo (think Tiger, Oprah, and Lebron, Michelangelo). When Galileo Galilei pointed his rudimentary telescope at the night sky on this day in 1609, there is no way he could have imagined that centuries later, humanity would be observing the universe from spacecraft and mountaintops with instruments so powerful they can see galaxies billions of light-years away. Here’s a little history about Galileo, along with a list of milestone astronomy achievements, as gradual technology improvements and good old “know-how” bring us to today’s far-seeing telescopes. (Be sure to watch the YouTube video below on the newest billion-dollar telescope in Chile – it’s truly amazing!!) The “know-how” and engineering that went into it is mind-boggling. Enjoy! And, feel free to dig deeper on each one with the links – amazing!!) Read more

Measure Up

August 1, 2025/0 Comments/in Friday Afternoon /by Steve Kowalski

The other day, I was reading a report on a new car about to launch, and the author expressed one of its features in horsepower (even though it was a hybrid). It got me to thinking about where everyday measurements like horsepower came from and how we measure things – something that’s critically important here at KHT, when we’re happily solving your PIA (Pain in the @%$) Jobs. From ancient rulers to internet routers, our need to measure and compare is deeply human. These units – scientific, historic, and occasionally silly – reveal not just how we understand the world, but how we interact with it. So, I went to the internet and found some interesting history and facts about random measuring – from the speed of a car to the spin rate of a golf ball (to help explain why my ball sometimes spins off into the woods). Not surprisingly, humans have invented all kinds of clever ways to quantify the world around us. Some systems are rooted in science, others in history, and a few are just plain quirky. Around both my home and here at KHT, one of my personal favorites is when I need to express a large amount of anything (It’s a Crap Ton!) Here’s a fun dive into fascinating units of measurement, how they came to be, and why they still matter. Be sure to click the links if something catches your eye so that you can dig a bit deeper into each one. Enjoy, and if you think of anything I’ve missed, shoot me an email at skowalski@khtheat.com. Read more

QWERTY

July 25, 2025/0 Comments/in Friday Afternoon /by Steve Kowalski

Doesn’t it seem like things we use all the time, we just take for granted, and don’t think much about their origin or original design? You know – things are just what they are – stoplight design hasn’t changed much since it’s inception, US cars have drivers on the left, TV’s have bulky, easy to misplace remotes, mobile phones barely fit in your pocket, two handle faucets have hot on the left, new shoes come wrapped in tissue paper, eggs are mostly sold by the dozen, butter sticks come in four packs, microwave ovens beep when they are done and almost all English language computers use the QWERTY keyboard layout. Looking down at my keyboard the other day, (not only do I peek sometimes when I type, but I’ve realized that I’m always wearing out the “E and R” keys first?) I remember early on that I struggled a bit to understand the logic behind the layout – I wasn’t the best typist in High School Typing class. Why does the top row begin with the letters Q, W, E, R, T, Y (followed by U, I, O, P.) Now, of course, the center row left to right makes sense: A, S, D, F, G, H, J, K, L – perfect logic there, right? And I’m not even gonna comment about the bottom row – Z, X, C … – YIKES! Found on nearly every computer, laptop, and smartphone worldwide (at least in countries that use a Latin-script alphabet), this seemingly random configuration of keys has an interesting history, though perhaps not the what you have been led to believe. Thanks to Wikipedia, historyfacts.com, techcrunch.com, invent.org and YouTube.com. Enjoy!