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Get off my LAWN! "Grumpy Old Farts"
- Thread starter B-string
- Start date
- Status
Salutations to those of you celebrating either, or both, today and/or tomorrow. And may you not get caught up in Moving Day.
^^^2nd!
Didn't realize it was today. Happy Canada Day. It's good to have you as neighbors.
Didn't realize it was today. Happy Canada Day. It's good to have you as neighbors.
There's a thing in L.A. where, upon arriving at a 4-way stop, if you're a white hair, the other driver, if of a certain young age and attitude, "knows" you'll stop so they just roll through, taking advantage.
The funny thing about the over 55 year olds being threatened with layoff was that the whole crew was well over 45 years old.
The power plant we were working in was only one year younger than me in the original part. There were three active generating units, two of which had been converted from coal to oil fired operation. There was still plenty of left over coal dust, though.
I was an electrician. Working on the big stuff- up to 250,000 volts. The work was hard, hot, and sometimes a little dangerous. You had to have an attention span longer than a Facebook post. A lot of climbing (I was a fat spiderman).
WE COULDN'T GET ANY YOUNG GUYS TO WORK THERE.
Besides the dirty hard part was the drug test. Had to pee spring water or else.
So as a result we were making $100k+ a year. Hahaha. This was when $45 - 55k was decent pay for a blue collar job.
In my next post I will explain the other reason the pay was so high for a blue collar moke. Here's a clue: Deregulation shenanigan hush money.
The power plant we were working in was only one year younger than me in the original part. There were three active generating units, two of which had been converted from coal to oil fired operation. There was still plenty of left over coal dust, though.
I was an electrician. Working on the big stuff- up to 250,000 volts. The work was hard, hot, and sometimes a little dangerous. You had to have an attention span longer than a Facebook post. A lot of climbing (I was a fat spiderman).
WE COULDN'T GET ANY YOUNG GUYS TO WORK THERE.
Besides the dirty hard part was the drug test. Had to pee spring water or else.
So as a result we were making $100k+ a year. Hahaha. This was when $45 - 55k was decent pay for a blue collar job.
In my next post I will explain the other reason the pay was so high for a blue collar moke. Here's a clue: Deregulation shenanigan hush money.
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Not all of us are so lucky. I still have to work a few more years.
- Feb 12, 2006
- 61,038
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- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
Boiler stories, I have a good one about needing to be slid into and out under the burner racks of a 1000k BTU water tube boiler by a helper grabbing my ankles. Once we figured out this trick, the 8 hour job of cleaning and prepping the burner assemblies for the season was reduced to 2 hours and a lot less bitching. It used "crown of thorns" style burner rings.
Then there was the cooling tower maintenance, another special job that required a helper to get into and out of the service areas above the water spray racks that cooled the condensing coils. That system used 600 pounds of R-12, the system was so tight that 30 years I lost less than 1 pound per year which is trivial.
Both of these systems were installed in 1949 and only removed from service a few years ago, the refrigeration still met the original installation specs after probably 100,000 hours on this pair of 8 cylinder in line 40 ton compressors. They were production from a military design, intended to be installed on ships to keep food frozen, and to air condition the decks below. I toured a WW2 ship that had a set of 8 of these identical units installed, they were made to run 24/7 for as long as necessary. Really amazing pieces of machinery
Of course this is super tiny by even small power plant standards, but plenty big for it's job.
Then there was the cooling tower maintenance, another special job that required a helper to get into and out of the service areas above the water spray racks that cooled the condensing coils. That system used 600 pounds of R-12, the system was so tight that 30 years I lost less than 1 pound per year which is trivial.
Both of these systems were installed in 1949 and only removed from service a few years ago, the refrigeration still met the original installation specs after probably 100,000 hours on this pair of 8 cylinder in line 40 ton compressors. They were production from a military design, intended to be installed on ships to keep food frozen, and to air condition the decks below. I toured a WW2 ship that had a set of 8 of these identical units installed, they were made to run 24/7 for as long as necessary. Really amazing pieces of machinery
Of course this is super tiny by even small power plant standards, but plenty big for it's job.
The only good thing was they they let me have that early retirement even though I was injured and ultimately 100% disabled from that line of work. It was nowhere near the amount of money I would have made and the continued contributions to the retirement funds if I continued working to normal retirement.
Plus my ex got 50% of my private retirements, god bless her and anyone else who crosses her wake.
Plus my ex got 50% of my private retirements, god bless her and anyone else who crosses her wake.
Deregulation of the Electic Utilities.
One of the bigger scams in modern times.
Let me explain why and how with my view from the bottom up.
The electric utilities, at least in my time, were regulated by a government agency. One thing was the price was controlled and any changes had to go through a vetting process with the agency. The simple logic was that if you owned and controlled the only well in a desert community...you know the rest.
Deregulation was touted as a money saver for the consumer. The buzz word was Free Market Pricing. Repeated and repeated. So without discussion referendum or vote, we got it.
First of all my power plant was sold at auction, along with some sister plants. Each generation entity would now offer power at a certain price and the lowest would get the gig. Price driven by demand and GENERATION AVAILABILITY.
So not long after the dereg. took place I remember being up in the control room, joking with the plant operators how we would call our sister plant and decide who would have a "Problem" with our ability to generate power which would DRIVE UP THE PRICE. We could take turns.
AND THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED.
(To be continued).
One of the bigger scams in modern times.
Let me explain why and how with my view from the bottom up.
The electric utilities, at least in my time, were regulated by a government agency. One thing was the price was controlled and any changes had to go through a vetting process with the agency. The simple logic was that if you owned and controlled the only well in a desert community...you know the rest.
Deregulation was touted as a money saver for the consumer. The buzz word was Free Market Pricing. Repeated and repeated. So without discussion referendum or vote, we got it.
First of all my power plant was sold at auction, along with some sister plants. Each generation entity would now offer power at a certain price and the lowest would get the gig. Price driven by demand and GENERATION AVAILABILITY.
So not long after the dereg. took place I remember being up in the control room, joking with the plant operators how we would call our sister plant and decide who would have a "Problem" with our ability to generate power which would DRIVE UP THE PRICE. We could take turns.
AND THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED.
(To be continued).
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Let me finish the saga. Google "Enron" or "Dynergy" for the whole story. Dynergy was the parent of the company that owned us.
Before dereg. We were Connecticut Light & Power. To work for them was the Cadillac of blue collar jobs. Hard to get in. Quite a few family members at the plant. Lucky me came in the back door. Good bunch to work with. Pride of workmanship etc.
Soon after dereg some suits showed up and gave a presentation. Video, coffee, donuts, the works. Things were gonna be great. Riiiight.
Yeah, right!!!
A few months later we all got stock options (I cashed out as soon as I could). Then we got what was called "A gift of stock".
Before this the only bonus had been a gift certificate for a turkey at the local supermarket at Christmas.
This went on for a couple of years. One year I made $20k in bonuses. I bought the property in the Philippines were I now live. The blue collar boy was making out like a suit. Plus I was still getting a turkey!
Oh yeah, there was also some hefty pay raises too. I can only imagine what the supervisors and plant manager were getting for bonuses and pay.
Let me be honest here. This was hush money.
Nobody in their right mind was going to kill the proverbial goose. Plus, I know that I talked about it when people asked about dereg, but no one really listened.
Then the Dynergy scandal happened. Our owners declared bankruptcy. All that stock became worthless. (I had already cashed in all that I could for money to buy basses and travel and get married).
A lot of guys that were holding on to the stock lost hard, plus it was recession time. In 2008 I got seriously injured at work. You know the rest.
The End.
Before dereg. We were Connecticut Light & Power. To work for them was the Cadillac of blue collar jobs. Hard to get in. Quite a few family members at the plant. Lucky me came in the back door. Good bunch to work with. Pride of workmanship etc.
Soon after dereg some suits showed up and gave a presentation. Video, coffee, donuts, the works. Things were gonna be great. Riiiight.
Yeah, right!!!
A few months later we all got stock options (I cashed out as soon as I could). Then we got what was called "A gift of stock".
Before this the only bonus had been a gift certificate for a turkey at the local supermarket at Christmas.
This went on for a couple of years. One year I made $20k in bonuses. I bought the property in the Philippines were I now live. The blue collar boy was making out like a suit. Plus I was still getting a turkey!
Oh yeah, there was also some hefty pay raises too. I can only imagine what the supervisors and plant manager were getting for bonuses and pay.
Let me be honest here. This was hush money.
Nobody in their right mind was going to kill the proverbial goose. Plus, I know that I talked about it when people asked about dereg, but no one really listened.
Then the Dynergy scandal happened. Our owners declared bankruptcy. All that stock became worthless. (I had already cashed in all that I could for money to buy basses and travel and get married).
A lot of guys that were holding on to the stock lost hard, plus it was recession time. In 2008 I got seriously injured at work. You know the rest.
The End.
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I’m sorry for the pain you endured Brian.
Edited to fix Monday morning screw up!
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Thanks Paul, but I think it was Spankdaplank. Have a great day!I’m sorry for the pain you endured Will.
Lucked out big time. I even called human resources to remind them that I was injured and probably not coming back and might not be eligible for the early retirement package. Surprisingly they did the decent thing and let me take it.
A couple of other things happened after I was officially disabled. The plant was retired and replaced with gas turbines. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have been invited to that party. My right knee which had been a mess for a while finally bit it completely last year. The damage in that knee was entirely due to working on my knees on metal tread plate and concrete floors. I saw a welder with the same knee injuries get thrown under the bus when he tried to get covered by the company. Last year I got a shiny new titanium replacement knee courtesy of Medicare.
Once again I really lucked out, considering other possibilities.
One last lucky outcome: I was able to move to the Philippines, build a nice house and live fairly large on whats left of my retirement. If I had to stay in the USA I would probably be a greeter at Walmart and my wife would be working one and a half jobs for us to make ends meet. I believe Conecticut, where we were living, is the most expensive state to live in.
A couple of other things happened after I was officially disabled. The plant was retired and replaced with gas turbines. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have been invited to that party. My right knee which had been a mess for a while finally bit it completely last year. The damage in that knee was entirely due to working on my knees on metal tread plate and concrete floors. I saw a welder with the same knee injuries get thrown under the bus when he tried to get covered by the company. Last year I got a shiny new titanium replacement knee courtesy of Medicare.
Once again I really lucked out, considering other possibilities.
One last lucky outcome: I was able to move to the Philippines, build a nice house and live fairly large on whats left of my retirement. If I had to stay in the USA I would probably be a greeter at Walmart and my wife would be working one and a half jobs for us to make ends meet. I believe Conecticut, where we were living, is the most expensive state to live in.
OK, so I bought this 500 Watt mono power amp. Can you guys help me ID it?
No knobs. LED's are labeled P, T and L.
Pretty sure it's a mono amp.
No knobs. LED's are labeled P, T and L.
Pretty sure it's a mono amp.
Al Kraft
Supporting Member
- May 2, 2016
- 10,774
- 40,452
- Disclosures
- Mesa Boogie beta product tester and player support
Al Kraft
Supporting Member
- May 2, 2016
- 10,774
- 40,452
- Disclosures
- Mesa Boogie beta product tester and player support
Definitely mono and with only 1/4" speakers jacks...nothing I recognize. My guess is agedhorse will know instantly.
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