Why is it?

[J Francho]

Thanks, and congrats on the new position.  Most of my day is spent removing impediments from the team, so I have a little practice in that area.

[Jigfishn10]

This sounds like a place in this thread where I say good bye. 
J, always a pleasure to hear the other point of view.

 

All good mi amigos!

[Bluegillslayer]

4 hours ago, moguy1973 said:

Well, kids now a days eat Tide Pods.

Roasted and steamed tide pods are a delicacy!! 

[BrianMDTX]

7 hours ago, DitchPanda said:

Why is it that a thing that's a tool is priceless but a person that's a tool is worthless? Kind of a funny observation

Tool is also slang for male anatomy. Ruminate on that and it'll come to you. No pun intended. 

[Columbia Craw]

7 hours ago, Jigfishn10 said:

Lot of truth to that

The roofers back then were amazing to watch. 

Hand full of roofing nails, flip a nail so that it's between your index and middle finger, one tap of the hammer to set the nail, one hard blow to set the nail into the roofing shingle. At the same time the final blow is made the hand holding the roofing nails was ready with a nail between their index and middle fingers.

 

Some of those guys were about as quick as a nail gun.

My dad was faster than most nail guns. 

[Bird]

Why blame kids when they are a reflection of their parents. 

Before I retired from a big company I became a trainer and had several youngsters that were extremely hardworking and impressive in their work ethic. 

Some are lazy but not all.

 

 

[flyfisher]

1 hour ago, Columbia Craw said:

My dad was faster than most nail guns. 

No he wasn't, it's the legend of seeing your dad do something usually at an age where you are very impressionable.  I am sure he was fast but it is impossible for any human to match the speed of a nail gun.

 

[slonezp]

6 hours ago, Jigfishn10 said:

Prior to the above quote I said they were amazing to watch.

 

I would love to get a young guy to teach and help grow just like the guys who helped me. I have no problem with that. Unfortunately, what we do is hard physical labor that takes a toll on your body. I see guys my age with bad knees, backs, hips etc. We have a long standing member on this site who was was forced to get out of the field  because of shoulder health issues so I don't blame those who don't want to get into the trades..

 

Guilty as charged.

 

Speaking of amazing to watch. A couple weeks ago I was at the bait shop waiting for my daughter to drop off my grandson for a day of fishing. There was a guy in the parking lot who, if I had to guess was pushing 70 years old, carving tree stumps into lawn statues with a chainsaw. He had a bear already completed and was working on an eagle. Unfreakingbelievable!

 

 

 

 

[CrankFate]

8 hours ago, Bubba 460 said:

Well my worthless drunk of a father left us for the last time when I was 5.

Trust me. That’s better than if he was around until you were around 19 or 20. My father was into heroin and whatever other drugs he could get. The alcohol was only for when there wasn’t any money for anything else.

[Columbia Craw]

44 minutes ago, flyfisher said:

No he wasn't, it's the legend of seeing your dad do something usually at an age where you are very impressionable.  I am sure he was fast but it is impossible for any human to match the speed of a nail gun.

 

 
Well it’s great being the son of a legend.

[slonezp]

@Jigfishn10 As you know I'm out of the field but still 100% committed to the trade. It's what I know. After bouncing around for a number of years after I got injured, I settled in with a company that respects my knowledge of the trade. When I say respect, I mean respect. I'm not just "a guy with experience" like I was with my 2 previous employers. The respect goes both ways. 

 

I deal with tradesmen every day. Tradesmen who live up to their premadonna attitudes and tradesmen who have no business turning a wrench. Apprentices come into the supply house with their journeymen and most sit and play on their phones but there are a few that listen to the chatter and once in awhile even participate in conversation.

 

In my trade, I think some of the "kids" don't understand how good they will eventually have it. A journeyman union pipefitter working 40 hours a week is a $100k a year job in Chicago. Add the employer 401K contributions and OT and you're at $150K a year and that doesn't include the pension benefits. Not too shabby if you ask me. 

 

I think the main difference with the the trades today versus 30 or more years ago is there are more career options today where one doesn't have to destroy their body to make a decent buck. My trade is hurting for help. Kudos to Mike Rowe for promoting the trades as a way to make a living and avoid college debt.

 

Here is one of my favorite "millennial" videos

 

[jimmyjoe]

   Prior to my retirement, I trained a replacement. Long story short, he didn't work out. They got me another guy. He was a little better, but he eventually left. They called me out of retirement to train a third guy. Smart and a hard worker. He's still there, thank goodness.

 

   From what I hear around town, one out of three ain't so bad.               jj

[Bubba 460]

10 hours ago, CrankFate said:

Trust me. That’s better than if he was around until you were around 19 or 20. My father was into heroin and whatever other drugs he could get. The alcohol was only for when there wasn’t any money for anything else.

 

 

Under the circumstances I agree with that. I met him for the first time 15 years after he had left. I was 20 years old and in my army dress uniform just before shipping out to Vietnam. There was not much of a man left, the booze had taken a terrible toll.

[CrankFate]

10 hours ago, Bubba 460 said:

 

 

Under the circumstances I agree with that. I met him for the first time 15 years after he had left. I was 20 years old and in my army dress uniform just before shipping out to Vietnam. There was not much of a man left, the booze had taken a terrible toll.

Well, If he’s still alive now, there will be even less left than there was back then. Believe me.

[Jigfishn10]

13 hours ago, slonezp said:

Guilty as charged.

Sorry bud, I wasn't sure if I should have mentioned you name in the post, didn't know if it was the right thing to do or how you'd feel about it...figured I'd go the cryptic route.

 

@Bubba 460...Thank you for your service.

[slonezp]

2 hours ago, Jigfishn10 said:

Sorry bud, I wasn't sure if I should have mentioned you name in the post, didn't know if it was the right thing to do or how you'd feel about it...figured I'd go the cryptic route.

 

@Bubba 460...Thank 

Doesn't matter to me. 

[12poundbass]

23 hours ago, slonezp said:

Kudos to Mike Rowe for promoting the trades as a way to make a living and avoid college debt.

This is the direction I’m trying to steer 6poundbass towards, preferably a lineman. Approximately $12k in schooling and by the age of 20-21 he’d be making $100k plus a year with excellent benefits. I wish I would’ve gone this route. 

[slonezp]

1 minute ago, 12poundbass said:

This is the direction I’m trying to steer 6poundbass towards, preferably a lineman. Approximately $12k in schooling and by the age of 20-21 he’d be making $100k plus a year with excellent benefits. I wish I would’ve gone this route. 

It's never too late.

 

I steered my son away from the trades. He went to college while I dropped out of high school. He's making 6 figures at 31 years old after following in my fathers and sisters footsteps. I had just left my truck driving career to get into the trades at 30 and was making $15 an hour at his age. My crippled dummy was fixing his air conditioner this week and I didn't even charge him... I Jerry rigged the A/C until I could get a new control board. He made a comment "How do you know all that stuff... Well I guess there's a lot of stuff I do that you don't know?"

We're going fishing on his lake tomorrow morning. I'll unload some whoopass on him. Will be plenty of payback.

[N Florida Mike]

I have a friend that is looking for help for his lawn mowing business. He’s paying TWENTY DOLLARS AN HOUR , and still cant find anyone. I said  , shoot , if I was 10 years younger…

[jimmyjoe]

13 hours ago, N Florida Mike said:

I said  , shoot , if I was 10 years younger…

 

   For twenty bucks an hour, I AM 10 years younger! ? ?                      jj

[slonezp]

18 hours ago, N Florida Mike said:

I have a friend that is looking for help for his lawn mowing business. He’s paying TWENTY DOLLARS AN HOUR , and still cant find anyone. I said  , shoot , if I was 10 years younger…

Does he have any openings in Chicago? I could always use a few extra bucks. 

[BigAngus752]

On 7/29/2021 at 11:00 AM, DitchPanda said:

Some truth in that but on the flipside how many 20 year olds can change a flat tire? Or oil?

It's funny, 10 years ago I would have asked the same question.  Now that my son is 18 years old I am very pleasantly surprised that not only can he change a tire, his oil, his brakes, and install all sorts of upgrades on his truck but so can most of his friends.  We tend to over-generalize when we talk about generations of humans.  

[DitchPanda]

10 minutes ago, BigAngus752 said:

It's funny, 10 years ago I would have asked the same question.  Now that my son is 18 years old I am very pleasantly surprised that not only can he change a tire, his oil, his brakes, and install all sorts of upgrades on his truck but so can most of his friends.  We tend to over-generalize when we talk about generations of humans.  

There's some truth to this I'm sure but all I can base it off are the people ive been around.

[N Florida Mike]

10 hours ago, slonezp said:

Does he have any openings in Chicago? I could always use a few extra bucks. 

St Johns Florida. You would think with all the people coming here he could find someone worthwhile…

[Catt]

On 7/29/2021 at 12:45 PM, DitchPanda said:

I think the issue is lack of work ethic and sense of entitlement. Alot of people feel like they are special and that there time is somehow more important than everybody elses.

 

Lot of people wanting $20 an hour with a $5 an hour work ethic!

 

After two hurricanes, an ice storm, & a historic flooding it's on full display down here.

 

Some of the most unscrupulous individuals & companies I've ever seen from all over the country. Add on top of that insurance adjusters that have never worked in the constitution industry. 

 

Next is lawsuits & lawyers

 

Wanna talk about FUBAR!

 

Rant over ?