[boomer]

I have never lived in Alabama but visited the state 4 times. From what I have read, North Alabama or the Huntsville area is compared to be more like Tennessee than the rest of Alabama. I even read that state legislation, such as ALDOT (AL dept. of Transportation) is bias on how they fund roads, meaning Madison county seems to get screwed each year. It has been said that N. Alabama is full of transplanted engineers and space geeks and the rest of Alabama have more true alabamians. Is the culture and people different in North Alabama than the rest of the state?

[Southlander]

"North Alabama" - that's a pretty broad area. Some people think of it as mostly the counties bordering the Tennessee River...other people refer to Birmingham and Tuscaloosa as being part of North Alabama...
One way or another, I guess you could say North Alabama has most of the industry in the state, and the highest paying jobs, especially technical. South Alabama has more farming...although there is still a LOT of farming in North Alabama. And South Alabama has an awful lot of land just sitting, not being farmed, not even for trees. It's held by a lot of big corporations (paper, lumber companies etc) and the tax laws make it more profitable to let it sit.
And yes, North Alabama seems to suffer somewhat because so many of the state-level politicians are from South Alabama. I often kid that we ought to secede...if we could only take Baldwin and Mobile counties with us!
More opinions, please?

[harry chickpea]

There are too many variations in North Alabama to generalize it. Ft Payne and the Lookout/Sand Mtn. areas, Huntsville, Tenn River Valley agriculture, Decatur, MuscleShoals, hill country, Walls of Jericho. All of these are very different from each other.

[dbkeel1]

I agree with Southlander in most instances. Can you gerrymander secession like that, Southlander? If so, let's throw in Myrtle Beach, SC, and Boone, NC, too.

I'm wondering, Boomer, if you're viewing "transplanted engineers and space geeks" as a bad thing. Those folks drive the economy here and have been responsible for much of the development of every rocket that has put man in space or been in place, called upon or not, for U.S. missile defense for more than 50 years. I kind of like having them around.

And no, I'm not one. Just respect what they do.

[nalabama]

Good for ya, dbkeel1. I agree whole heartedly, but how many cocktail party discussions have you heard around hear around here that ends "Well, what did you expect Dear, they're an engineer aren't they?" Sometimes we talk about them like they're a different spcies LOL. Some of those folks are so smart they can scare you.

I've often wondered if Huntsville is so different because of the type of people who were drawn here in the Fifties and Sixties. Approximately 125,000 folks from all over the country suddenly decided they needed to pack their families up and move to a little ranch house in the middle of what used to be a red clay cotton field in in the wilds of North Alabama. You think maybe there's a lot of risk taker genes floating around in the air here? Food for thought.

[Southlander]

Originally Posted by nalabama

Good for ya, dbkeel1. I agree whole heartedly, but how many cocktail party discussions have you heard around hear around here that ends "Well, what did you expect Dear, they're an engineer aren't they?" Sometimes we talk about them like they're a different spcies LOL.

ROFLMAO!! Trust me....they ARE a different species!!!

[harry chickpea]

LOL! I've come to the conclusion that engineers' brains are wired differently, partly from the requirements of the job. I've met many engineers that just have no concept of humor. Those that do, have offbeat humor or react differently than you might expect. I got a taste of being on the other side a few years back when I was doing some heavy programming, and my thoughts started to become very linear: If I do this, then this will happen, then that, then I'll need to tweak a response here, etc. Wierd.

[zenjenn]

I got a taste of being on the other side a few years back when I was doing some heavy programming, and my thoughts started to become very linear: If I do this, then this will happen, then that, then I'll need to tweak a response here, etc.

It does alter your thinking. I did some programming briefly and all of the sudden when I'd play tetris, my score shot through the roof!

Anyways, it does depend on the type of engineer, too. I'm married to an electrical engineer who does more R&D work (emphasis on the R), and he's not as much a linear thinker as someone like, say, a civil engineer who builds bridges and it's all known territory. There is a lot of experimentation, exploring possibilities, and thinking outside the box in his case. His education is actually in physics. And he DOES have a sense of humor, in fact he has me in stitches on a regular basis.

To me there is no one more fascinating than a person who has a clear understanding of how the world works. And the most fundamental (and clear) way to understand how things work is to first understand how it works physically. I'm an artist, but my close friends have almost always been scientists, programmers, and engineers. Not everyone is really interested in hearing what they have to say, but they are fascinating people to talk to and be near.

"Geek" is word I have very positive associations with, personally. So much so that if I were, say, single and browing through personal ads in a matchmaking site, I'd probably even type 'geek' in the search box to see what came up. I love my geek.

And I also agree with dkbeel that engineers in the defense industry have done a tremendous amount for our country and for the world. My husband has done research on work that helps soldiers, pilots, and police officers do their jobs as safely as possible, and I couldn't be more proud of him for it.