Plans for today (2019-2022)

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No sorries, I begrudge no one their hard-earned retirement. Enjoy! That'll be me in a little over 2,200 days. :)

As someone who's been in IT for about 30 years, the career field has shifted, and I'd warn anybody out of it, or at least with a huge caveat of "be sure you want to work evenings, overnights, holidays, and weekends, because that's when you'll be working...as well as your regular day shift."

When I first started, 1988, "computers" were still largely a mystery, no one outside of the nerds in the computer room (me) knew how they worked, and it gave systems people a lot of power.

When I first started, IT told the user/business community when upgrades would happen, when the system would be down, when releases would happen, and we scheduled the maintenance, and it sure wasn't over the weekend if we could help it.

Now it's exactly the opposite, the users whistle and we dance. "The system can't be down during business hours!" Before everything became so system-reliant, there was always a manual way to complete a job, but now, no system, no work being done that day, so now we have to do any maintenance, releases, upgrades at night and on weekends/holidays, as well as work during the day for real-time issues.

We were once gods, now we're lower than peasants! Ok, I exaggerate, but not by much. :)

When I had the business I had 3 computers all linked and was always busy at end of month doing invoices and statements. My computer guy was someone I knew quite well socially. He was as been mentioned was available 24/7 if we had any issues. I paid him cash and it was quite expensive. He lived well on me for years, but we both benefitted. Win win. I don't miss the business.

Russ
 
My career has been in both the commercial and recreational diving industries, mostly recreational. I taught scuba for 12 years up to the instructor level as well as driving multiple dive boats including what we called "Cattle Boats", 24 passenger. Then I decided to get a real job working on high pressure compressors (up to 6000 psi) and gas systems for recreational diving and fire fighter breathing air. I have designed and built breathing gas systems for recreational diving, mostly mega yacht (70+ meters) dive programs. I now work on fire station breathing gas systems and part time doing mega yacht breathing gas systems service and equipment installation.

If you're doing specialist work, I hope you charge accordingly. I remember getting called to a job about 20 years ago, the company had broken a clogged timing belt on their corrugater. ( food packaging) a new one had to come through Singapore but machine was worth about 2k per hour when it was down. I measured and went back to work and made a belt that was a temporary fix. I charged them 3000 for two, (1 spare) . My cost was about 2 hrs labour. And belt was made from off cuts.
I saved the engineers job I reckon.

Russ
 
If you're doing specialist work, I hope you charge accordingly. I remember getting called to a job about 20 years ago, the company had broken a clogged timing belt on their corrugater. ( food packaging) a new one had to come through Singapore but machine was worth about 2k per hour when it was down. I measured and went back to work and made a belt that was a temporary fix. I charged them 3000 for two, (1 spare) . My cost was about 2 hrs labour. And belt was made from off cuts.
I saved the engineers job I reckon.

Russ

When it comes to mega yachts, they are the only folks that can afford the equipment. We made something we called the CY-Borg cube for a yacht that contained equipment to produce breathing air, Nitrox and oxygen. When all was said and done, the price was about $500,000.00.
 
When it comes to mega yachts, they are the only folks that can afford the equipment. We made something we called the CY-Borg cube for a yacht that contained equipment to produce breathing air, Nitrox and oxygen. When all was said and done, the price was about $500,000.00.

It's good you know your own worth :)

Russ
 
We got a serious snow storm moving in tonight and all through tomorrow.

I'm organizing the garage so I can put my car in there, yay. A couple friends are coming over so I can move a couple items to the basement - when I moved up here with the U-Haul, the ground was too muddy to pull that thing around back to unload my work bench and an oversized bookcase into the walkout basement. So, finally, today, friends and I will walk these objects around back. I'll be making a trash run - and then securing the chickens for "weather" - more tarps and such to keep the snow from blowing in too much into the one run. Bringing down three bags of feed that will be very hard to carry there in the snow (without breaking them down to smaller loads meaning more trips.). Setting up more watering stations to make my life easier carrying water in a backpack once I need to use the hiking poles on slippery ground.

Yep, a busy day.

If I want pork roast for dinner, I should thaw it out, now.

I'm not likely to have much satellite connection tomorrow.
 
Getting ready to go to the grocery store, later on we'll start watching the latest series of The Crown, probably fit a Christmas movie in there somewhere.

Appetizers for supper tonight (bacon-wrapped cocktail sausages) along with a salad, just to keep it healthy. :)

I'm off work all this coming week, so lots planned during that. I also managed to buy the wife a one-year membership to Ancestry.com - half-price. A couple of years ago, I got her the DNA test (99.999999999% German, surprise, surprise), and her friend is big into researching her own genealogy, so now they can share notes.

Weird thing was, when I pulled up the page, it showed the Black Friday price, but a big note that it was good only through Friday, but I clicked through and got the cheaper price.

Midway, though, I needed to look something up, so I called up their home page in another tab, and that offer was gone. Either way, though, I got it for 50% off. :)
 
I'm fixin' (as we say in Texas) to make the long, ugly drive home from Houston to Dallas. I really hate that drive, and being a holiday weekend, the traffic is going to be terrible. I don't make that drive in the MINI. There are too many idiots and trucks -- and idiots in trucks. I'm in a RAM crew-cab 4X4 pickup, so I have a fighting chance at survival. It is a 250 mile drive, and I will see at least to wrecks along the roadway.

CD
 
Checked Off:
Moved stuff from garage into either house proper (or with help), that last furniture to basement.
Went to dump to drop off trash.
Put car into garage, it fits!
Thawing out a steak (beef) rather than the pork I'd considered.

Now, to do chicken work. There are various things in the yard I ought to pull in, as well. Before I never find them again.
I guess I should put out some lights, too, but not a priority. That pine won't get decorated for the upcoming holidays.
 
I'm fixin' (as we say in Texas) to make the long, ugly drive home from Houston to Dallas. I really hate that drive, and being a holiday weekend, the traffic is going to be terrible. I don't make that drive in the MINI. There are too many idiots and trucks -- and idiots in trucks. I'm in a RAM crew-cab 4X4 pickup, so I have a fighting chance at survival. It is a 250 mile drive, and I will see at least to wrecks along the roadway.

CD
Stay safe! I remember driving from San Antonio to Wichita Falls and feeling nearly suicidal by the time I got there, it was such a long drive of virtually nothing.
 
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