This is what Ive spent the last couple days doing..then it flooded. Shrug. Only a couple inches deep though as it passed through
Before...
formatting link
After...errr..during
formatting link
Going back out in just a few minutes. There is slightly more than 1' of water on the other side of that roll up door at the moment. I tarped the bottom of it Monday..back filled with dirt. and its holding ok. Tommorow I fire up one of the 1 1/2" pumps Ive got and empty the end of the drive way. We have lots and lots more rain coming.
Since they closed the Grapevine (snow)..I cant get down to LA..so...time to get stuff done.
Gunner
The current Democratic party has lost its ideological basis for existence.
- It is NOT fiscally responsible.
- It is NOT ethically honorable.
- It has started wars based on lies.
- It does not support the well-being of americans - only billionaires.
- It has suppresed constitutional guaranteed liberties.
- It has foisted a liar as president upon America.
- It has violated US national sovereignty in trade treaties.
- It has refused to enforce the national borders.
...It no longer has valid reasons to exist. Lorad474
Ayup..sure was. Id taken in a BUNCH of stuff from a factory Id shut down and was selling and giving as much stuff away as I could, as fast as I could. Got it cleaned up pretty good too!.
Then I closed down ANOTHER factory...sigh..and it looks almost as bad..though not quite.
Arrghhh! This is not to be tolerated - he left a chisel leaning on the cutting edge! I just hope it's not on metal or concrete. Not so bad if it is resting on wood.
formatting link
B-) I know "can't remember everything." Blame it on the stroke.
- pyotr filipivich We will drink no whiskey before its nine. It's eight fifty eight. Close enough!
Frankly,,...you are absolutely correct. Unfortunately...I got a shitload of that stuff in lue of pay. They didnt have enough money to pay a crew..so they coughed up some cash for me..and gave me bunch of shit they had that I thought I could make some money on.
Anyone need a complete 15-18" tool post grinder? Dumore, with all tha accessories in the case. Great! Condition.
Probably gonna put it on ebay one of these days. Sigh.
All those 8' florescent fixtures Ive been putting up..and the 5 cases of
4' and 8' brand new tubes...have come in handy... Well..about half of them have...sigh....welding machines, etc etc etc.
When the people living in California dont have any money..they cant buy Stuff from me. They cant give me money..I cant pay all the bills on time. Sucks.
Local jobs..about $9 an hour. Right. Might work for a young single guy...but aint gonna do me much good.
Yabbut, I bet he knows exactly where everything is. Unlike me who has an orderly shop and can't find shit. I don't trust anyone with a clean desk or shop.
=============== While anecdotal "evidence," it is all we are likely to get.
The media has made it clear that California has serious socio-economic problems, but postings such as this indicate that their troubles go far deeper and are more serious than commonly reported. One of the major symptoms of a "sick" economy is a significant shift of economic activity to the underground/unofficial sector. A klaxon horn goes off when even the underground/unofficial economy begins to change from cash to barter transactions.
We now appear to be in the first stages of such a change [thanks for the "heads up" Gunner].
FWIW -- it should be noted that once a plant is liquidated, the employees are dispersed, the tools and machines sold, and the building/land converted to other uses, those jobs and manufacturing capabilities "ain't comin' back," no matter how much "stimulus" money is spent. This is a one-way street, short of total reconstruction/re-creation, and even then the trained/experienced manpower will not be available. An example of this was the severe shortage of "rough necks"/"floor workers" during the last U. S. oil boomlet a few years ago.
Unka George (George McDuffee) .............................. The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there. L. P. Hartley (1895-1972), British author. The Go-Between, Prologue (1953).
Dirt? Those are monitors Ive not had the time to test yet. They came out of one of the factories and I dont have a clue if they work or not. I think they do..but..shrug.
If they do, Ill give them away to people who need em.
Ive given hummm..probably 25 computers complete, away in the last 6 months, after wiping them and installing a modified Windows. Not a lot of money locally..and folks can always use computers for free.
He retired over a year ago. There is a new guy in charge these days...Barney or Barry or something or other. Doesnt have a clue what he is doing either.
George....California claims to have +10% unemployment.
The fact of the matter is that its well over double that. Most places its at least ..at least 16%. Someplaces..the Salinus (sp?) Valley..its almost 50%. Hell..even the wetbacks are packing up and going south, back to Mexico. I see them headed south whenever Im down in LA/Santa Ana etc etc.
A good indicator of the trouble we are in..is normal everyday traffic on the So. Cal freeways. It used to take me 1.5 hours to drive from Ontario down to Costa Mesa..and during the 4:45-7:30pm rush/crush..up to
3 hours.
Now it takes me 45 minutes to make the 45 mile trip. During the evening crush...it takes 1-1.25 hours.
That means there is a significant amount LESS traffic on the roadways. And that means a significant amount of people simply have no reason to be on those freeways. In California..its common as hell to work 50 miles away from ones home..and drive it twice a day.
Even truck traffic is way down. Ive been doing this for over 12 yrs, and have a good feel for traffic ...and it appears to be at least 1/3 smaller than Ive ever seen it.
Last report I read...Michigan was #1, and California was #3 on the worst hit states of the Great Depression Part Deux.
California, once a state that had the 7th largest economy in the world. Is now down around 25th or even lower.
Thats why I dont bother leaving the homestead unless I can get at minumum 2 jobs lined up. I simply cannot affort to drive the 140 miles down to LA, and then return. Hell..last two weeks I spend down there, because not one of my customers paid me COD and had to wait for one of them to cut me a check so I could get enough fuel to drive back north. I have my travel trailer parked on a friends property, so it doesnt cost anything to stay there but there is no water, sewage and damned little electricity. And without money..there is no food either. My dogs get to eat before I do. Fortunately Ive got the homestead pretty well stocked food wise..but when down in So. Cal....shrug
And I dont see it getting any better either. As long as the media is leftwing controlled..we are not going to see whats actually happening. They are going to water it down and "prevent panic"
Shrug
We do indeed live in interesting times.
Gunner
The current Democratic party has lost its ideological basis for existence.
- It is NOT fiscally responsible.
- It is NOT ethically honorable.
- It has started wars based on lies.
- It does not support the well-being of americans - only billionaires.
- It has suppresed constitutional guaranteed liberties.
- It has foisted a liar as president upon America.
- It has violated US national sovereignty in trade treaties.
- It has refused to enforce the national borders.
...It no longer has valid reasons to exist. Lorad474
================ Seems like a "no brainer" to install traffic counters on "strategic" routes such as the major interstates to monitor traffic flow, as a reliable real-time indicator of economic activity, which is why it was/is apparently never done. A second indicator would be consumption data for electrical power.
Unka George (George McDuffee) .............................. The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there. L. P. Hartley (1895-1972), British author. The Go-Between, Prologue (1953).
CHP used to have real time traffic flow information that the public could view on line George. I don't know if they do today or not but they know exactly what is happening because the regulate the inflow of traffic to the freeway system dynamically.
I worked as a crane operator on a drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico. The starter job roustabouts (laborers) in my crew could take classes, and move up to the floor for about $200 a week more. Most took it, but some didn't want anything close to that floor. A good "hand" (worker) takes a while to train, and IF they don't get mangled first, figure out fast that it ain't all it's put up to be on TV. Cold. Wet. Dirty filthy work. They then may go up to pump man, derrick man, or even driller or mud man.
It's hard to find men who are willing to put up with conditions like that even for what they pay. Which is pretty decent, yet with the disruptive on/off scheduling, and working two weeks out of four, it doesn't add up to as much as a decent job onshore. And then there's going away from wife and kids for a week or more at a time.
I'm speaking of the time frame I was there from '74 to '80 when it was like Gold Rush Days, and jobs were plentiful.
Never knew who would show up, who would stay, who would get hurt, so you just managed from there and did the best with what you had to work with.
It's very easy to lose body parts on a drill floor. The heavy metal is unforgiving, and everything is heavy.
And today, it is VERY difficult to find people who want to work HARD. I'd underscore HARD, but can't. It's hard to comprehend unless you've been there.
Ive worked floor, derricks, mud and pits Ive worked workover and drilling
Some rigs work harder than others..I always liked working with old guys. I learned a hell of a lot more about getting the job done, but not breaking ones back or losing a body part, then I ever did with a young crew.
And yes...its Hard work.
And Ive bailed out of the derrick of a triple on the safety wire, with the rig starting to blow and burn behind me.
Gunner
The current Democratic party has lost its ideological basis for existence.
- It is NOT fiscally responsible.
- It is NOT ethically honorable.
- It has started wars based on lies.
- It does not support the well-being of americans - only billionaires.
- It has suppresed constitutional guaranteed liberties.
- It has foisted a liar as president upon America.
- It has violated US national sovereignty in trade treaties.
- It has refused to enforce the national borders.
...It no longer has valid reasons to exist. Lorad474
=========== Unfortunately the data provided on these URLs seems to be the "average speed" of traffic rather than actual vehicle counts. However the average speed as a proxy for traffic density appears to be able to give some insight *IF* the historical data is available going back say 5 years, with fixed times or time periods, e.g 8AM, 9AM, 10AM to noon, 4PM, etc. for specific fixed locations to allow examination of the trends and to establish the [possible] correlation with employment and other economic activity measures such as GDSP [gross domestic state product].
I have submitted a request for the historical data to CalTrans. I will keep the group updated on any progress/results.
Unka George (George McDuffee) .............................. The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there. L. P. Hartley (1895-1972), British author. The Go-Between, Prologue (1953).
PolyTech Forum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.