But you already knew that. I did too, I'd simply forgotten during my unemployed period. And doing production line work is hard work- that I suppose I knew academically but now, from 2 weeks experience, I know it from the soles of my feet to my aching arms.
But it's not bad work, just different from what I've done before. In spite of the work being repetitive and very fast paced, there is also a ton of technical stuff to learn and know. Each of the machines has to be calibrated when models change over a couple times each shift and knowing the names of the calibration equipment and how it is used is a challenge. Seeing the Kaiban parts ordering system in operation, (and beginning to understand it) is interesting and challenging too. So I'm starting to feel at least competant on the job and that feels good. I'm not fast enough and I don't have the machines all figured out but I'm working on it.
I also got in close to 6 hours of overtime on Saturday so even more bills can get paid this week!
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Got my first paycheck in the mail today-
It's significantly smaller than the unemployment checks I was receiving and I had to bust my butt for 40 hours to earn it. But- it's a paycheck. And I'll have another one just like it next week and the week after that if I don't screw up.
The job- assembling automotive side curtain airbag inflator bottles, isn't actually too bad except for the production line aspect of it. Ther is actually a great deal of technical stuff to know and understand to prepare the machines to make the bottles correctly. Everything has to be tested and calibrated and adjusted to ensure the bottles come out right. I'm learning something new every night.
I just wish the check was twice as big as it really is!
The job- assembling automotive side curtain airbag inflator bottles, isn't actually too bad except for the production line aspect of it. Ther is actually a great deal of technical stuff to know and understand to prepare the machines to make the bottles correctly. Everything has to be tested and calibrated and adjusted to ensure the bottles come out right. I'm learning something new every night.
I just wish the check was twice as big as it really is!
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Did I mention that Wasted Electrons World Headquarters needs a new furnace?
Well it does. The furnace in the house is condemmed due to a cracked heat exhanger. A new furnace installation is right out due to cost due to our present circumstances.
I thought I had solved the problem, sort of, a few weeks ago when I purchased a once installed but never used, 95% efficient furnace for just $200 at a yard sale. All I needed was someone to install it.
Except that the furnace I bought is a downdraft model and I need an updraft model... Hooverdam!
So now I need to find someone to either buy this furnace or find someone that can swap this one for the right type. I've been too busy to actively chase down the HVAC dealers to see if a swap might be arranged but I'll be working on that effort in the coming weeks.
I thought I had solved the problem, sort of, a few weeks ago when I purchased a once installed but never used, 95% efficient furnace for just $200 at a yard sale. All I needed was someone to install it.
Except that the furnace I bought is a downdraft model and I need an updraft model... Hooverdam!
So now I need to find someone to either buy this furnace or find someone that can swap this one for the right type. I've been too busy to actively chase down the HVAC dealers to see if a swap might be arranged but I'll be working on that effort in the coming weeks.
Well ain't this a kick?
I've got a job! I start tomorrow afternoon, assembling widgets that will become part of nearly every automotive airbag screwed into every new car no matter the brand of car.
It's only been 18 months since I was laid off and went out of work. My unemployment payments ended 2 weeks ago and the BSU and I have been getting pretty desperate about how the blls were going to get paid but I start tomorrow and get paid weekly so by next week I'll be getting paid. The job is through a staffing agency and if I do a good job and stick at it for a few months, I should get picked up permanently by the company. When that happens, I may be able to work a transfer from the Brigham City plant 20 miles away to the Ogden plant just 4 miles from Wasted Electrons World Headquarters. In the mean time, I'll just make the drive everyday.
It is swing shift and that will be a huge adjustment for the household. I'm not used to being out of the house evenings nor is the spousal unit used to having me out late but I guess we will have to adjust. I'll have to learn to pack and carry a lunch bag but once again, we will adjust.
Most importantly, this means I am employable! I have read any number of reports that employers much prefer to hire new employees that are already working somewhere else instead of people out of work, especially long term out of work people like yours truly. There's lots of reasons but it boils down to people that are already working are presumed to be in the habit of getting to work on time and to have current skills. So while I'm not going to complain about this current work, I am going to keep looking for work more similar to my latest employment. And when I update my resume to show my current employment and send it out in the future, possible employers will know that I'm working and employable.
So a new chapter in this saga begins tomorrow. I'm nervous and anxious and excited.
It's only been 18 months since I was laid off and went out of work. My unemployment payments ended 2 weeks ago and the BSU and I have been getting pretty desperate about how the blls were going to get paid but I start tomorrow and get paid weekly so by next week I'll be getting paid. The job is through a staffing agency and if I do a good job and stick at it for a few months, I should get picked up permanently by the company. When that happens, I may be able to work a transfer from the Brigham City plant 20 miles away to the Ogden plant just 4 miles from Wasted Electrons World Headquarters. In the mean time, I'll just make the drive everyday.
It is swing shift and that will be a huge adjustment for the household. I'm not used to being out of the house evenings nor is the spousal unit used to having me out late but I guess we will have to adjust. I'll have to learn to pack and carry a lunch bag but once again, we will adjust.
Most importantly, this means I am employable! I have read any number of reports that employers much prefer to hire new employees that are already working somewhere else instead of people out of work, especially long term out of work people like yours truly. There's lots of reasons but it boils down to people that are already working are presumed to be in the habit of getting to work on time and to have current skills. So while I'm not going to complain about this current work, I am going to keep looking for work more similar to my latest employment. And when I update my resume to show my current employment and send it out in the future, possible employers will know that I'm working and employable.
So a new chapter in this saga begins tomorrow. I'm nervous and anxious and excited.
Wednesday, July 06, 2011
Conceited? Maybe the most conceited act ever
My local tv news just showed multiple YouTube videos of people who thought it would be cool to videotape themselves watching the reading of the verdict in the Casey Anthony trial yesterday. Somehow they thought it would be smart to set up the camera recording their reactions to the verdict.
Then they put these videos on the internet...
I can't think of a single more conceited act. Horrifying.
Red foreman had a name for people like this, you know what it is- dumbasses!
Then they put these videos on the internet...
I can't think of a single more conceited act. Horrifying.
Red foreman had a name for people like this, you know what it is- dumbasses!
Monday, June 13, 2011
Think you know how to ride a bicycle?
Not like this guy!
Make sure to click the HD button and watch this full screen. It's worth it!
Make sure to click the HD button and watch this full screen. It's worth it!
Sunday, June 12, 2011
I own a Kawasaki?
Well yes, as matter of fact, I do! It is a 1978 Kawasaki KZ650 C2, referred to back when it was new as a Custom. I actually bought this bike just before Christmas last year but because I failed to mention my purchase to the BSU until April, I hadn't mentioned it online. Yes, I got in BIG trouble with the spouse. I have made amends though and she is no longer upset with me.
Why a Kawasaki? Why this Kawasaki? Well, Kawasakis have generally been my favorite Japanese motorcycle brand since I first became aware of motorcycles and, believe it or not, I actually sold Kawasakis at 2 different dealerships in 1977 & 78 before joining the Air Force. And the KZ650 was one of those bikes that I sold that I really liked. This particular bike is beautiful, nicely cared for and very close to original condition. The color is original even though it is very attractive, the handlebars are slightly shorter than stock and the seat has a step in it the factory seat didn't have. I actually found it on night browsing through Ebay but the seller was just 10 miles down the road from me. It was too good to pass up! This bike is 33 years old and as you might imagine, the few that remain in the wild have seen plenty of "improvements" by 3 decades of owners. So finding a clean and (almost) original bike is pretty rare.
With a little help from the credit union I bought it and tucked it away in the shop for the winter. I had some small repairs and improvements to make that kept me busy for a few weeks but when riding season arrived, I had to face the music and spill the beans.
I've been riding it a couple weeks now and it is wonderful! It rides and acts like I remember motorcycles acting. It isn't a race bike or a cruiser or a long distance touring bike; it's just a motorcycle. It starts, stops and turns just as it should and I'm mighty happy with it. Being 33 years old, it does have a few minor things that still need my attention- the lights don't work in the instruments and the turn signal indicators are intermittent but that's small stuff. I've already installed a much brighter headlight assembly and added some electrical relays to the electrical system to make things run more reliably. A new LOUD horn may be the next modification I make to the bike as the stock one is really puny.
Want to see it? Take a look!
Ain't she pretty? As always, click the thumbnails to see the full size pictures!
Have no fear, Sleek Black Beauty still has a proud parking spot under the carport with the Kawasaki and I still enjoy riding her as much as I always did. Now I just have a choice when it is time to ride!
Why a Kawasaki? Why this Kawasaki? Well, Kawasakis have generally been my favorite Japanese motorcycle brand since I first became aware of motorcycles and, believe it or not, I actually sold Kawasakis at 2 different dealerships in 1977 & 78 before joining the Air Force. And the KZ650 was one of those bikes that I sold that I really liked. This particular bike is beautiful, nicely cared for and very close to original condition. The color is original even though it is very attractive, the handlebars are slightly shorter than stock and the seat has a step in it the factory seat didn't have. I actually found it on night browsing through Ebay but the seller was just 10 miles down the road from me. It was too good to pass up! This bike is 33 years old and as you might imagine, the few that remain in the wild have seen plenty of "improvements" by 3 decades of owners. So finding a clean and (almost) original bike is pretty rare.
With a little help from the credit union I bought it and tucked it away in the shop for the winter. I had some small repairs and improvements to make that kept me busy for a few weeks but when riding season arrived, I had to face the music and spill the beans.
I've been riding it a couple weeks now and it is wonderful! It rides and acts like I remember motorcycles acting. It isn't a race bike or a cruiser or a long distance touring bike; it's just a motorcycle. It starts, stops and turns just as it should and I'm mighty happy with it. Being 33 years old, it does have a few minor things that still need my attention- the lights don't work in the instruments and the turn signal indicators are intermittent but that's small stuff. I've already installed a much brighter headlight assembly and added some electrical relays to the electrical system to make things run more reliably. A new LOUD horn may be the next modification I make to the bike as the stock one is really puny.
Want to see it? Take a look!
Ain't she pretty? As always, click the thumbnails to see the full size pictures!
Have no fear, Sleek Black Beauty still has a proud parking spot under the carport with the Kawasaki and I still enjoy riding her as much as I always did. Now I just have a choice when it is time to ride!
I bought a new furnace for my house today-
for $200! How'z about that?
A few weeks back the BSU had a furnace repairman in to take a look at our (turns out) 18 year old furnace. And- there was carbon monoxide coming from the registers. The furnace has a burned out heat exchanger and was subsequently shut down, turned off and condemmed. The estimates the very nice repair guy leaves for a replacement furnace run from ~$3000 to $4000, none of which, I of course have. Adding a central air conditioning unit- high on the BSU's priorities, doubles those prices!
What to do, what to do? I pondered and I talked to some people. I even thought I had found a used furnace and a/c unit for sale from a guy on a fishing forum I frequent. Turns out to be much too large for the modest Wasted Electrons World Headquarters building. More pondering. Luckily, summer has finally arrived and I have a few months before reliable home heating becomes critical.
This morning I rode the Kawasaki to church because the BSU was staying home. (What, I haven't told you about the Kawasaki yet? Another post will be forthcoming on that topic shortly.) Anyway, at the bottom of the hill from my house, there's a guy that runs a semi-regular yard sale. And in his yard sale, sitting on a hand truck, there's a furnace...
On the way home I stop to look at this furnace. Turns out it is a new, once installed but never used York Affinity C.9 in the same btu rating as the repairman said I needed for the house. According to Consumers Digest,
The seller told me his asking price was $300 but would consider any offer. I came home with the details that I snapped with my phone, did a little online research and took the BSU's direction to go quit dithering and go buy the furnace. I got $100 from the ATM on the way and offered the seller $200 to buy his furnace which he quickly accepted. I'll be paying it off tomorrow and hauling it home.
$200! Can you believe that? I will be talking to an independent HVAC guy this week to arrange installation sometime this summer. I'm still not getting A/C right now but I scored a deal on a furnace that has me really tickled!
A few weeks back the BSU had a furnace repairman in to take a look at our (turns out) 18 year old furnace. And- there was carbon monoxide coming from the registers. The furnace has a burned out heat exchanger and was subsequently shut down, turned off and condemmed. The estimates the very nice repair guy leaves for a replacement furnace run from ~$3000 to $4000, none of which, I of course have. Adding a central air conditioning unit- high on the BSU's priorities, doubles those prices!
What to do, what to do? I pondered and I talked to some people. I even thought I had found a used furnace and a/c unit for sale from a guy on a fishing forum I frequent. Turns out to be much too large for the modest Wasted Electrons World Headquarters building. More pondering. Luckily, summer has finally arrived and I have a few months before reliable home heating becomes critical.
This morning I rode the Kawasaki to church because the BSU was staying home. (What, I haven't told you about the Kawasaki yet? Another post will be forthcoming on that topic shortly.) Anyway, at the bottom of the hill from my house, there's a guy that runs a semi-regular yard sale. And in his yard sale, sitting on a hand truck, there's a furnace...
On the way home I stop to look at this furnace. Turns out it is a new, once installed but never used York Affinity C.9 in the same btu rating as the repairman said I needed for the house. According to Consumers Digest,
"The 9 series is the best furnace on the market. Engineers tweaked the design, so this is now the most effiecient furnace you can buy."They also say the suggested retail price is $3895 and up!
The seller told me his asking price was $300 but would consider any offer. I came home with the details that I snapped with my phone, did a little online research and took the BSU's direction to go quit dithering and go buy the furnace. I got $100 from the ATM on the way and offered the seller $200 to buy his furnace which he quickly accepted. I'll be paying it off tomorrow and hauling it home.
$200! Can you believe that? I will be talking to an independent HVAC guy this week to arrange installation sometime this summer. I'm still not getting A/C right now but I scored a deal on a furnace that has me really tickled!
Wednesday, June 01, 2011
I'm not dead and I haven't quit blogging-
I'm just pretty busy right now, with lots of stuff going on and finding it hard to get my activities and thoughts converted into bits & bytes.
Maybe soon though!
Maybe soon though!
Monday, May 16, 2011
Too funny not to share!
With a hat tip to LawDawg for pointing this out, I have to break my blogging silence to share this cartoon. Check it out but don't be drinking anything when you click this link. This one comes with a liquids/monitor interference warning!
And for those of you that have missed my blogging insights- the one of you that has mentioned it, summer is a busy time for me and I'm preparing for a fishing trip so blogging is bound to be light. Limited free ice cream for a little while.
And for those of you that have missed my blogging insights- the one of you that has mentioned it, summer is a busy time for me and I'm preparing for a fishing trip so blogging is bound to be light. Limited free ice cream for a little while.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Unluckiest- or luckiest guy ever!
I can't decide if getting hit by lightening twice in less than a minute- and surviving means you are the luckiest or unluckiest bastard ever. Either way, this had to leave him with the mother of all headaches!
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Sunday evening and I'm tired-
We had a beautiful Easter church service this morning that was as nice as any Easter service I've ever attended. For the first time in several years our church bell was rung at the end of the service! Ringing that bell and letting the community know that St Peters is alive and welcoming has been a priority for me for several months now. After a bit of high altitude maintenance this week, it works and I rang it for all the world to hear!
I finally got the grass mowed here at Wasted Electrons World headquarters this afternoon! The weather and my other obligations have really conspired against my efforts to keep the grass under control and I finally got some hours and dry weather today. The front yard was so bad I had to mow it twice! But it's done and in spite of the Muse of Murray's reluctance to awake from winter slumber. Now I just have to get busy with some additional sprinkler work... I purchased a big bag of bulbs for the spousal unit to be installed shortly in an unwatered flower bed, so before we can plant, I have to pipe in some irrigation. I suppose that will keep me busy in a day or two!
And, in spite of my very best efforts, I'm still unemployed...
I finally got the grass mowed here at Wasted Electrons World headquarters this afternoon! The weather and my other obligations have really conspired against my efforts to keep the grass under control and I finally got some hours and dry weather today. The front yard was so bad I had to mow it twice! But it's done and in spite of the Muse of Murray's reluctance to awake from winter slumber. Now I just have to get busy with some additional sprinkler work... I purchased a big bag of bulbs for the spousal unit to be installed shortly in an unwatered flower bed, so before we can plant, I have to pipe in some irrigation. I suppose that will keep me busy in a day or two!
And, in spite of my very best efforts, I'm still unemployed...
Saturday, April 23, 2011
President Obama can kiss my carbon footprint!
So yesterday was Earth Day and Barry found it neccesary to issue a 2 page statement to highlight our country's efforts and needs to save the planet- all while burning 53,000 gallons of jet fuel plus gasoline for a 30 car motorcade during a 3 day fund raising trip.
Barry needs to shut the hell up about us common folk trading in our full sized vehicles for better mileage compacts! If he wants to prove he is serious about preserving the planet and America's demand for fuel, he needs to install one of those high tech big screens in his office that he was whining about not having last week and implement his fund raising through online conferencing!
Show us that you're serious Mr. President and stay home! Do your fund raising over the internet with video conference technology and I'll begin to believe you are serious about saving the planet! Until then, just be quiet!
Barry needs to shut the hell up about us common folk trading in our full sized vehicles for better mileage compacts! If he wants to prove he is serious about preserving the planet and America's demand for fuel, he needs to install one of those high tech big screens in his office that he was whining about not having last week and implement his fund raising through online conferencing!
Show us that you're serious Mr. President and stay home! Do your fund raising over the internet with video conference technology and I'll begin to believe you are serious about saving the planet! Until then, just be quiet!
Saturday, April 09, 2011
Missed it by that much...
Drove into Salt Lake today to see the boy and on the way back, through a blinding snowstorm, stopped in Centerville for lunch. Minutes after getting off the highway, this 17 car accident was taking place where I had just passed through. By the time I ate a burger at the In & Out Burger joint and got back onto the interstate, it was pretty clear that the highway was closed behind the northbound on ramp.
Sure glad I was on the front side of that accident! Now if the dang snow would just stop falling so spring can get underway things will be great! It has been snowing nearly non-stop for 3 days and I am quite ready for it to stop!
Sure glad I was on the front side of that accident! Now if the dang snow would just stop falling so spring can get underway things will be great! It has been snowing nearly non-stop for 3 days and I am quite ready for it to stop!
Friday, April 08, 2011
Worst movie ever!
Since the BSU is still away and I was pretty certain she wouldn't like it, I went to see Your Highness tonight. I'm not going to link to it because it's not worth it. If you're 20, maybe 25, this money might be funny and a good tale. If you are older than that, you're probably not going to love it.
I watched it and tried to enjoy the tale of knights on a quest to save the betrothed of one of the 2 brothers, one knight strong and honorable, the other a bumbler and layabout but I just didn't like it. It's vulgar and rude. It has pretty women in it- that's the only positive but the rest of the movie is trash1
I watched it and tried to enjoy the tale of knights on a quest to save the betrothed of one of the 2 brothers, one knight strong and honorable, the other a bumbler and layabout but I just didn't like it. It's vulgar and rude. It has pretty women in it- that's the only positive but the rest of the movie is trash1
Wednesday, April 06, 2011
Obama is awesome-
You're going to have to watch this video to find out why everything Barry does is right and awesome and why Bush was an idiot. It's pretty funny.
Hat tip to Tam for sharing where I would find it.
Hat tip to Tam for sharing where I would find it.
Sunday, April 03, 2011
Of women and haircare-
I love my BSU, make no mistake about it. I love most women for that matter but that's not important here. As some of you may know, the BSU is visiting her sisters and homeland of rainy, damp Oregon right now. As has been her habit for decades, preparations for a trip to Oregon requires that she go to the hair fixin place to get a permanent in her hair.
Now as I understand permanents, they are intended to make one's hair curly. The BSU insists that she doesn't pay for a "curly" perm but rather a "body" perm. Over the years these trips to the stylist's shop have generally involved much sobbing and fretting after the fact and the money's spent but the level of emotion has generally subsided over the past years. No matter, it's always a difficult time here at Wasted Electrons World Headquarters when the curliness of the spouse's locks are involved.
This time wasn't much different but it did involve a level of hilarity that I just couldn't pass up mentioning. As usual, a week before her departure she went and spent real money on a "body" perm then fussed over it everyday before she left. The night before her departure, she had a small shopping list of neccesities that they apparently don't sell in the People's Socialist Republik of Oregon and we had to go out. One of the things she needed was conditioner for her hair. Fine, we'll buy conditioner. Turns out though, she needed 2 different kinds of conditioner- 1 to rinse out and another to leave it after using the rinse out type...
Then, as if 2 kinds of conditioner weren't enough contaminants dumped on her cranium, she wanted to go back to the scene of the crime where the body permanent had been inflicted to buy another product that is guaranteed to add curl to her locks! She didn't want curl when she paid for the treatment but now she wants to pay for stuff that will add curl! I did the math, this tube of miracle curl is over $300 per gallon!
I told her before she left that she shouldn't be very surprised if the combination of all these chemicals, applied repeatedly to her hair doesn't spontaneously erupt in flames! And what if she confuses them, rinsing out the "leave in" conditioner and leaves on the "rinse out" model? What then, purple hair?
Sometimes it is just so good to be a guy!
Now as I understand permanents, they are intended to make one's hair curly. The BSU insists that she doesn't pay for a "curly" perm but rather a "body" perm. Over the years these trips to the stylist's shop have generally involved much sobbing and fretting after the fact and the money's spent but the level of emotion has generally subsided over the past years. No matter, it's always a difficult time here at Wasted Electrons World Headquarters when the curliness of the spouse's locks are involved.
This time wasn't much different but it did involve a level of hilarity that I just couldn't pass up mentioning. As usual, a week before her departure she went and spent real money on a "body" perm then fussed over it everyday before she left. The night before her departure, she had a small shopping list of neccesities that they apparently don't sell in the People's Socialist Republik of Oregon and we had to go out. One of the things she needed was conditioner for her hair. Fine, we'll buy conditioner. Turns out though, she needed 2 different kinds of conditioner- 1 to rinse out and another to leave it after using the rinse out type...
Then, as if 2 kinds of conditioner weren't enough contaminants dumped on her cranium, she wanted to go back to the scene of the crime where the body permanent had been inflicted to buy another product that is guaranteed to add curl to her locks! She didn't want curl when she paid for the treatment but now she wants to pay for stuff that will add curl! I did the math, this tube of miracle curl is over $300 per gallon!
I told her before she left that she shouldn't be very surprised if the combination of all these chemicals, applied repeatedly to her hair doesn't spontaneously erupt in flames! And what if she confuses them, rinsing out the "leave in" conditioner and leaves on the "rinse out" model? What then, purple hair?
Sometimes it is just so good to be a guy!
Saturday, April 02, 2011
Spring is here and I'm grounded...
Hooverdamm! Yesterday morning, the very first thing, I managed to throw my back out- gain. It was going to be a beautiful spring day and I was going to get Sleek Black Beauty out of the workshop and inspected for a new registration sticker but that was not to be. I spent the day taking pain relievers and muscle relaxers and wearing a heat wrap on my back. I napped most of the afternoon and went to bed plenty early.
Today hasn't been a bit more exciting... At least it's raining outside again and forecast for the next couple days so maybe my enforced rest won't feel like I'm wasting good days of spring.
Today hasn't been a bit more exciting... At least it's raining outside again and forecast for the next couple days so maybe my enforced rest won't feel like I'm wasting good days of spring.
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