destruction of america

[paradime]

I understand the rhetoric, I just don't by into it the concept. I'd replace big government with multi-national corporation cuz they're the ones run'n this shit show.

 

 

 

 

Edited June 30, 2022 by paradime

[john510]

7 hours ago, paradime said:

 

Yeah, God damn those upitty new math lefty mother F'ers with their educated elitists Latin term for per person. 

 

We all come from child producing people, so why all the judgement about your "friens son" for his family? Cuz he's a union carpenter, he's not married with a stay at home mom, or them getting all that "free shit" government swag with 5 dependance?  

 

 

That judgement ? Believe me this couple shouldn't be breeding.Stupidity is hereditary.I know them,you don't.

[iceman510]

13 hours ago, Mattndew76 said:

I'm an engineer but also have many other masteries of trades. Versatility is always superior to single specialization.

 

 

Amen to that.  I am an engineer for a major automotive OEM, and it has for decades boggled my mind how many of my fellow engineers can't identify other car parts they don't work with.  I have been getting my hands dirty with Datsuns and others since '82 and practical experience has contributed tremendously to my knowledge.

 

My coworkers freak out I also know how to do flooring, tile, siding, plumbing, virtually any household work.  I wish I had more machine shop experience.  My limited exposure to that was back in the 80's.

[thisismatt]

On 6/29/2022 at 12:51 PM, paradime said:

 

Yes, and I like how you glazed over that the stat I used was "Per Capita" and not "highest number". The highest number means nothing when Cali has 68X more people in it than a state like Wyoming. Oh SNAP! 😁

 

I didn't. I still think it's a problem, especially when they are not equally distributed "per capita".  Just like it would be a different scenario if a state only had 10 citizens and 2 we're on welfare. High per capita, but different from millions...

[thisismatt]

I know how to do a lot of things, but eff if I can find something I enjoy doing well enough that also pays decent.

[datzenmike]

2 minutes ago, thisismatt said:

I know how to do a lot of things, but eff if I can find something I enjoy doing well enough that also pays decent.

 

Well this is the thing. Something you enjoy doing and make a living at it. I stumbled onto my bliss in my late 30s. They pay me to do this????

[thisismatt]

5 minutes ago, datzenmike said:

 

Well this is the thing. Something you enjoy doing and make a living at it. I stumbled onto my bliss in my late 30s. They pay me to do this????

 

I liked most things about my last job (great boss, great coworkers, cool projects), and it paid decently, but not enough for the insane cost of housing where we were, so we moved. Been trying to do the same kind of work in the new location, but the pay is much lower and the expectations/quality of construction are so much lower, so now I kind of hate it. No ideas for something better, though...

[bottomwatcher]

1 hour ago, thisismatt said:

 

I liked most things about my last job (great boss, great coworkers, cool projects), and it paid decently, but not enough for the insane cost of housing where we were, so we moved. Been trying to do the same kind of work in the new location, but the pay is much lower and the expectations/quality of construction are so much lower, so now I kind of hate it. No ideas for something better, though...

Your working in the wrong neighborhoods. There has to be some kind of wealthier enclave nearby. Every town has doctors and lawyers and folks that want perfect crown molding, custom closets, travertine bathrooms. Nobody seems to want to go in the trades anymore so there should be a decent demand. Even the current economy isn't putting much of a dent in the DRs paycheck. If you have the skills there are plenty of people willing to pay. 

[Duncan]

3 hours ago, thisismatt said:

I know how to do a lot of things, but eff if I can find something I enjoy doing well enough that also pays decent.

 

Funny.  I really enjoy doing auto body and paint, and although I've just started to do auto upholstery, I've already had people ask me to do things for them.  Generally, you can make some money doing paint and/or upholstery.  What makes it an absolute shit show is dealing with people who have no clue on how much work it is, or how much materials are, and they want to pay nothing for having the work done...

 

I was at the upholstery store a while back, and they have a job board.   Upholstery shops in the area looking for apprentices and starting pay is around $35-ish per hour.  

 

I know the expense of living here in So Cal really throws the bell curve off for pay, though.

 

 

 

 

 

[angliagt]

          $35 an hour? - and I'll bet they can't find any young people to apply.

Of course,it's not as important as working with computers.

[a.d._510_n_ok]

[thisismatt]

5 hours ago, bottomwatcher said:

Your working in the wrong neighborhoods. There has to be some kind of wealthier enclave nearby. Every town has doctors and lawyers and folks that want perfect crown molding, custom closets, travertine bathrooms. Nobody seems to want to go in the trades anymore so there should be a decent demand. Even the current economy isn't putting much of a dent in the DRs paycheck. If you have the skills there are plenty of people willing to pay. 

 

I thought, and others had said also, the same thing.  But, you'd be surprised by the general lack of quality around here.  Even the "nice" houses here are not that great.  There are older houses you can tell were built well originally, but it's like the class of people that once demanded high quality faded along with the skilled tradesmen - the wealthier people want cheap & quick like everyone else.  

[paradime]

For me, versatility has been the key to my survival and my bliss. There's no creative off switch on my brain, and if I don't indulge it everything else falls apart. I've had the good fortune of turning my personal hobbies into 3 divers professions, as a commercial advertising photographer, a design build contractor, and a counseling psychologist. As engineers, you guys have very specialized abilities that translate to into other practical skills and hobbies. While I HIGHLY value my own creative versatility, I recognize what works for me would not be the case for most of my friends and family.

 

If you're getting brain surgery, shooting a billion $ hunk of hardware into space, designing parts for a major automotive company, or hiring a finish carpenter for your job site, you want a specialist for that. For some people though, hobbies and other practical skills are inconsequential when their bliss and personal value comes from pushing themselves to perform at the best of their ability. As long as they'er good at what they do, I don't care if the person operating on my melon, or reproducing custom three element crown molding on my job site isn't a Harvard graduate and gifted pastry chef on their free time. 

[gh0stwerx76]

I just do things cuz......

 

[bottomwatcher]

21 hours ago, thisismatt said:

 

I thought, and others had said also, the same thing.  But, you'd be surprised by the general lack of quality around here.  Even the "nice" houses here are not that great.  There are older houses you can tell were built well originally, but it's like the class of people that once demanded high quality faded along with the skilled tradesmen - the wealthier people want cheap & quick like everyone else.  

Kind of the IKEAization thing. Funny thing is my folks live in one of these hoods mainly because they bought there 41 years ago but is now extremely expensive. It is patrolled by an endless stream of rich old folks trolling small dogs as a decoys to cover their nosieness of what the other neighbors are up to and brag about what is being done to thier house. My folks had a hard time finding a contractor that would combine their walk in closet with thier bathroom to make a giant walk in closet and build them a new bathroom by converting some of their porch. Silly stupid waste of money to me but it sure is a fancy place to take a dump! This took a contractor who lined stuff up and stopped by to make sure his two full time employees were on track with the the remodel nearly 3 months to finish. The next day after they were done with my folks they were parked across the street at a neighbors starting another long term project. Hardworking quality workers once the word is out don't even need advertising. This was about a year and a half ago so I don't know if those guys ever made it out of the neighborhood. 

My current situation in BFE Maine woods is I can't find anyone to build my polebarn. Too small potatoes for any real contractors and only one other has actually shown up and said yep has never returned my calls.

[paradime]

3 hours ago, bottomwatcher said:

Kind of the IKEAization thing. Funny thing is my folks live in one of these hoods mainly because they bought there 41 years ago but is now extremely expensive. It is patrolled by an endless stream of rich old folks trolling small dogs as a decoys to cover their nosieness of what the other neighbors are up to and brag about what is being done to thier house. My folks had a hard time finding a contractor that would combine their walk in closet with thier bathroom to make a giant walk in closet and build them a new bathroom by converting some of their porch. Silly stupid waste of money to me but it sure is a fancy place to take a dump! This took a contractor who lined stuff up and stopped by to make sure his two full time employees were on track with the the remodel nearly 3 months to finish. The next day after they were done with my folks they were parked across the street at a neighbors starting another long term project. Hardworking quality workers once the word is out don't even need advertising. This was about a year and a half ago so I don't know if those guys ever made it out of the neighborhood. 

My current situation in BFE Maine woods is I can't find anyone to build my polebarn. Too small potatoes for any real contractors and only one other has actually shown up and said yep has never returned my calls.

 

Like you said, a contractor with a good reputation can afford to turn down jobs they doesn't want to do and scale up in the process. On the surface, the building codes in Cali seem ridiculously tight ass and arbitrary, but at the same time that's what keeps shlocky loose ass workmanship from taking hold.

 

Unfortunately, the end result is that because of higher skilled labor costs, construction price per square foot is nearly 2x here than in other states. Folks on a tight budget are often talked into doing a "cheeper remodel without permits". More often than not, the end results are horrifically expensive to set straight. Can't tell you how many botched POS stair cases I've rebuilt in multi-million $ homes. And yes, I made ridiculous money doing it.

 

I've completely remodeled and added 500 sq ft to my own house for the cost of materials and permits. Projects like that are what keeps me sane, put's money in the equity bank, and we get to enjoy living with some of my very best work. That includes a custom built white oak and ipe spiral staircase.  

[thisismatt]

[Farmer]

Happy Freedom Day to those who live in the USA, Still the greatest nation in the world.

[a.d._510_n_ok]

[jbirds510]

Wheres Joe on this? 
 

 

No water and no power no crops. A biden legacy.

 

 

[datzenmike]

DROUGHT

 

Biden: "I did this"

[bottomwatcher]

6 hours ago, datzenmike said:

DROUGHT

Aridification

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aridification

Sad but fascinating to watch. Lots of YouTube's documenting this.

[john510]

I guess the drought is one thing we can't blame Biden for.The drought is Trump's fault.LOL. Seriously though,is there really a drought or just too many people now using up all the water ? 

[iceman510]

Sam Kinison once said something to the effect of "we have deserts in America, we just don't live in them".  I guess that's not true anymore.

 

 

[datzenmike]

1 hour ago, john510 said:

I guess the drought is one thing we can't blame Biden for.The drought is Trump's fault.LOL. Seriously though,is there really a drought or just too many people now using up all the water ? 

 

Bit of both. If the lake level is lower more water has to be dumped through the turbines to make the same power. At least the water isn't used up only dropped in elevation. Down stream does any even get to Mexico anymore???  

 

 

Should be easy enough to check precipitation records for this watershed area and subtract irrigation and aqueduct volumes above the dam. Water in has to equal or exceed water out. It's a sign of the times that things have got this bad with (on the surface at least) nothing done about it except wringing of hands.