Back from Training in Georgia.
Mar. 11th, 2003 09:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mrlichFinally got back home last night from Georgia. I think that the school went extremely well, and I made a bunch of friends (not to mention learning a thing or seven). I'm going to make one biiiiig ol' post here about the past 11 or so days. Some of this stuff will be of no interest to a lot of you, so feel free to skim. However, if you would like to know what it was that I did - read on. If you have any questions feel free to comment or email me with your throughts. And now? the post:
Saturday March 1st, 2003
Jeanine took me to the Lehigh Valley International Airport this morning at the ungodly hour of 6:30 am(ish). After waiting what felt like forever to get myself checked in and my luggage checked, I joined Andy and we made our way to the terminal. We waited a fairly short while and went to board our plane. As I went to board the plane, I was pulled aside for a random check. I was compliant as possible and the security guards were professional, friendly, and smiling. In no time, I was allowed to board the plane. I had the middle seat in a three seat grouping. There was no such thing as comfort, but that's okay - I managed to sleep for a while. Poor Andy finally figured out how to recline his seat just in time for the stewardess to tell him to put it back up - we were landing.
We landed in Charlott NC and headed straight for our terminal. As we mad our way we noticed the departure boards that our flight was delayed roughly 4 hours. We were less than thrilled, but we headed outside and caught a cab to the 'closest' mall. The mall sucked. It was ritzy and new, and the stores consisted of (almost exclusively) diamond jewelers and sunglass shops. We left the mall behind (on foot) and found a strip mall not far away. There, Andy went into a salon and got a haircut while I went to a Borders Books a few doors down. I got a kick out of the fact that the salon actually laid rose petals on the sidewalk in front of their doors. When he was done with his haircut and I was done at the bookstore, Andy and I had lunch at the Ruby Tuesdays that was part of the strip mall. When we were finished with our meal, we called A.B.T. (the cabby who drove us to the mall) and had him take us back to the airport.
We made our way to our gate and again Andy got stopped for security check again. While he was delayed, I thought that I would check the departure boards. It was then that I had the oh-so-great news. Our flight was cancelled. Now obviously I am being sarcastic about the 'good' news, but not entirely. I have to admit that I was a little excited by the fact that this was an opportunity for me to 'take charge' and prove that I could handle some tough spots. I called Mike immediately. Looking back, that doesn't seem like 'taking charge' really, but my intent was good- I knew what I needed to do, but I wanted to give Mike an update. After talking to Mike briefly we made our way to our terminal again. Talking to the folks there, we were told we had to go to the Customer Service desk and they would take care of us. Customer service got us a flight into Atlanta (instead of Athens) which arrived at 5:15pm (which was, of course, 15 minutes after we were supposed to be at dinner in Athens). They also gave us a voucher that was to get us a taxi ride from Atlanta to Athens.
We caught our flight (after I got myself a cup of coffee from a Krispy Kreme store) and had a much more pleasurable flight this time around. I sat in the window seat of a triple seat grouping, and was joined by an attractive woman (who apparently does yoga as well as knitting). Andy rode next to a pretty blonde who he apparently flirted with during the majority of the trip.
We ran into a little bit of trouble getting a taxi in Atlanta due to some questions about the voucher, but once that was taken care of we were on our way. The drive was pleasant and our driver was more 'fun' than "A.B.T.". We got to Athens, got checked into the hotel, and made our way to the American Fencing Association group in time to get into our groups and get registered with the AFA.
When the AFA meeting was finished, we headed down the street to a mini-mart for some dinner and brews. Now? Back to my room, where I met my roommate (finally) and got to work writing this. As a side note, my roomie is from Michigan and likes to hunt. He's ex-military and I already have forgotten his name.
Time for bed- need to shower and get some sleep - the alarm clock is set for 6:30am.
Sunday March 2nd, 2003
Woke up a little on the late side (though in plenty of time to make breakfast) and pulled on my clothes. My roomie was already up and moving. Breakfast was buffet style and very not bad. I even got to have grits for the first time in a long time and they weren't even bad. Met a few more folks including a guy from NJ and someone who 'used to do business with ABE' and is formerly from the Philly area (though he never did give us his name).
As a side note, I was surprised last night/this morning to note that there are in fact a couple of women here. I was more surprised to see that they aren't more manly than most of the guys.
First Aid Discussion
Safe Gate Operators lecture given by Buck Buchmann. Get this guy's business card! After hearing him talk I know that I have to talk to Mike about the Ross gate operator - it's a lawsuit waiting to happen.
Lunch was cold cuts, but I have never seen cold cuts done so elegantly. This place is really quite nice without feeling 'hoity-toity'. Lime pie for desert was really tart, but good.
Pride in fencing. I didn't happen to get this guy's name (yet) but he did one hell of a job doing motivational speaking. I found myself getting riled about fencing. Proud even (go figure). When someone commented at the end of his lecture that he should be a football coach, I thought that they hit the nail on the head.
CPR Training / Testing. There's not a whole lot of times in my life when I feel what I would call 'real' pride. In other words: I don't often feel like I do something that is worthy of my pride. Today I had the opportunity to excel like that. We did the standard CPR training movies, and then we got the chance to practice a little with the Annies. I was approximately the third to practice and I went straight from that to the 'testing Annie'. Not only did I pass, but I did well enough that the instructor's only comment was "give it just a little longer between breaths" and then when I finished: "Well done. Very well done." That felt really good. Good enough that I (basically) rushed right up here to my room to write about it. I even figure I will add an entry about this in my LiveJournal if I don't recopy all of these journal entries straight over.
Round Table Discussion - See my Round Table document, but I would like to point out that the man who held this discussion was the same man who gave the Pride lecture. A fairly strong motivational speaker, he seemed (to me) to loose control a bit here in this slightly more 'open' forum.
Monday March 3rd, 2003
Food for thought commentary this morning: "It pays to be profit minded. Dave Thompson spoke about how being oriented towards the benefit of your company benefits you as their employee. He spoke of pride in the workplace and in a job well done. He has proven himself to be quite the motivational speaker.
Notes: Wednesday night is the Gate Operator class with Buck Buchanan
Notes: Thursday night is the blueprint reading class (with Fred Venette?)
As a member of the Green Team I spoke about the topic "Slips and Falls" in our toolbox meeting at lunch and need to speak about Fire Extinguishers at dinner on Wednesday night (or during Wed. night wrap-up).
Personal Notes about fire extinguishers:
1. You should regularly inspect your fire extinguishers to make certain that they are:
a. fully charged
b. not worn or damaged
c. readilly accessible
2. The three different types of fires are (and each has their own type of fire extinguisher):
a. Class A: ordinary combustible materials - i.e. wood, paper, plastic
b. Class B: flammable liquids such as oil, grease, or gasoline
c. Class C: electrical equipment
Notes: REFERENCE PINS - something we should start doing!
I took special interest in the fact that Fred Venette made it sound as though string lines were taboo tonight during his lecture. Thus far I have been very impressed by Fred's intellect and his logic, so I thought that I would hear him out on the idea. What he had to say was pretty valid, though it was obvious that someone who lives in the Southwest- and not the Northeast said it. He pointed out that wind will blow a string line - that tumbleweed with push a string line (I told you...), and that even when you place a string line over a hill, what you're really doing is eyeing it up anyway -so why not do that directly with the posts? It seemed a valid point. I don't plan to use a whole lot of string lines when I get back. I think that they have their place, but not on every job.
Saturday March 1st, 2003
Jeanine took me to the Lehigh Valley International Airport this morning at the ungodly hour of 6:30 am(ish). After waiting what felt like forever to get myself checked in and my luggage checked, I joined Andy and we made our way to the terminal. We waited a fairly short while and went to board our plane. As I went to board the plane, I was pulled aside for a random check. I was compliant as possible and the security guards were professional, friendly, and smiling. In no time, I was allowed to board the plane. I had the middle seat in a three seat grouping. There was no such thing as comfort, but that's okay - I managed to sleep for a while. Poor Andy finally figured out how to recline his seat just in time for the stewardess to tell him to put it back up - we were landing.
We landed in Charlott NC and headed straight for our terminal. As we mad our way we noticed the departure boards that our flight was delayed roughly 4 hours. We were less than thrilled, but we headed outside and caught a cab to the 'closest' mall. The mall sucked. It was ritzy and new, and the stores consisted of (almost exclusively) diamond jewelers and sunglass shops. We left the mall behind (on foot) and found a strip mall not far away. There, Andy went into a salon and got a haircut while I went to a Borders Books a few doors down. I got a kick out of the fact that the salon actually laid rose petals on the sidewalk in front of their doors. When he was done with his haircut and I was done at the bookstore, Andy and I had lunch at the Ruby Tuesdays that was part of the strip mall. When we were finished with our meal, we called A.B.T. (the cabby who drove us to the mall) and had him take us back to the airport.
We made our way to our gate and again Andy got stopped for security check again. While he was delayed, I thought that I would check the departure boards. It was then that I had the oh-so-great news. Our flight was cancelled. Now obviously I am being sarcastic about the 'good' news, but not entirely. I have to admit that I was a little excited by the fact that this was an opportunity for me to 'take charge' and prove that I could handle some tough spots. I called Mike immediately. Looking back, that doesn't seem like 'taking charge' really, but my intent was good- I knew what I needed to do, but I wanted to give Mike an update. After talking to Mike briefly we made our way to our terminal again. Talking to the folks there, we were told we had to go to the Customer Service desk and they would take care of us. Customer service got us a flight into Atlanta (instead of Athens) which arrived at 5:15pm (which was, of course, 15 minutes after we were supposed to be at dinner in Athens). They also gave us a voucher that was to get us a taxi ride from Atlanta to Athens.
We caught our flight (after I got myself a cup of coffee from a Krispy Kreme store) and had a much more pleasurable flight this time around. I sat in the window seat of a triple seat grouping, and was joined by an attractive woman (who apparently does yoga as well as knitting). Andy rode next to a pretty blonde who he apparently flirted with during the majority of the trip.
We ran into a little bit of trouble getting a taxi in Atlanta due to some questions about the voucher, but once that was taken care of we were on our way. The drive was pleasant and our driver was more 'fun' than "A.B.T.". We got to Athens, got checked into the hotel, and made our way to the American Fencing Association group in time to get into our groups and get registered with the AFA.
When the AFA meeting was finished, we headed down the street to a mini-mart for some dinner and brews. Now? Back to my room, where I met my roommate (finally) and got to work writing this. As a side note, my roomie is from Michigan and likes to hunt. He's ex-military and I already have forgotten his name.
Time for bed- need to shower and get some sleep - the alarm clock is set for 6:30am.
Sunday March 2nd, 2003
Woke up a little on the late side (though in plenty of time to make breakfast) and pulled on my clothes. My roomie was already up and moving. Breakfast was buffet style and very not bad. I even got to have grits for the first time in a long time and they weren't even bad. Met a few more folks including a guy from NJ and someone who 'used to do business with ABE' and is formerly from the Philly area (though he never did give us his name).
As a side note, I was surprised last night/this morning to note that there are in fact a couple of women here. I was more surprised to see that they aren't more manly than most of the guys.
First Aid Discussion
Safe Gate Operators lecture given by Buck Buchmann. Get this guy's business card! After hearing him talk I know that I have to talk to Mike about the Ross gate operator - it's a lawsuit waiting to happen.
Lunch was cold cuts, but I have never seen cold cuts done so elegantly. This place is really quite nice without feeling 'hoity-toity'. Lime pie for desert was really tart, but good.
Pride in fencing. I didn't happen to get this guy's name (yet) but he did one hell of a job doing motivational speaking. I found myself getting riled about fencing. Proud even (go figure). When someone commented at the end of his lecture that he should be a football coach, I thought that they hit the nail on the head.
CPR Training / Testing. There's not a whole lot of times in my life when I feel what I would call 'real' pride. In other words: I don't often feel like I do something that is worthy of my pride. Today I had the opportunity to excel like that. We did the standard CPR training movies, and then we got the chance to practice a little with the Annies. I was approximately the third to practice and I went straight from that to the 'testing Annie'. Not only did I pass, but I did well enough that the instructor's only comment was "give it just a little longer between breaths" and then when I finished: "Well done. Very well done." That felt really good. Good enough that I (basically) rushed right up here to my room to write about it. I even figure I will add an entry about this in my LiveJournal if I don't recopy all of these journal entries straight over.
Round Table Discussion - See my Round Table document, but I would like to point out that the man who held this discussion was the same man who gave the Pride lecture. A fairly strong motivational speaker, he seemed (to me) to loose control a bit here in this slightly more 'open' forum.
Monday March 3rd, 2003
Food for thought commentary this morning: "It pays to be profit minded. Dave Thompson spoke about how being oriented towards the benefit of your company benefits you as their employee. He spoke of pride in the workplace and in a job well done. He has proven himself to be quite the motivational speaker.
Notes: Wednesday night is the Gate Operator class with Buck Buchanan
Notes: Thursday night is the blueprint reading class (with Fred Venette?)
As a member of the Green Team I spoke about the topic "Slips and Falls" in our toolbox meeting at lunch and need to speak about Fire Extinguishers at dinner on Wednesday night (or during Wed. night wrap-up).
Personal Notes about fire extinguishers:
1. You should regularly inspect your fire extinguishers to make certain that they are:
a. fully charged
b. not worn or damaged
c. readilly accessible
2. The three different types of fires are (and each has their own type of fire extinguisher):
a. Class A: ordinary combustible materials - i.e. wood, paper, plastic
b. Class B: flammable liquids such as oil, grease, or gasoline
c. Class C: electrical equipment
Notes: REFERENCE PINS - something we should start doing!
I took special interest in the fact that Fred Venette made it sound as though string lines were taboo tonight during his lecture. Thus far I have been very impressed by Fred's intellect and his logic, so I thought that I would hear him out on the idea. What he had to say was pretty valid, though it was obvious that someone who lives in the Southwest- and not the Northeast said it. He pointed out that wind will blow a string line - that tumbleweed with push a string line (I told you...), and that even when you place a string line over a hill, what you're really doing is eyeing it up anyway -so why not do that directly with the posts? It seemed a valid point. I don't plan to use a whole lot of string lines when I get back. I think that they have their place, but not on every job.
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Finally got back home last night from Georgia. I think that the school went extremely well, and I made a bunch of friends (not to mention learning a thing or seven). I'm going to make one biiiiig ol' post here about the past 11 or so days. Some of this stuff will be of no interest to a lot of you, so feel free to skim. However, if you would like to know what it was that I did - read on. If you have any questions feel free to comment or email me with your throughts. And now? the post:
Saturday March 1st, 2003
Jeanine took me to the Lehigh Valley International Airport this morning at the ungodly hour of 6:30 am(ish). After waiting what felt like forever to get myself checked in and my luggage checked, I joined Andy and we made our way to the terminal. We waited a fairly short while and went to board our plane. As I went to board the plane, I was pulled aside for a random check. I was compliant as possible and the security guards were professional, friendly, and smiling. In no time, I was allowed to board the plane. I had the middle seat in a three seat grouping. There was no such thing as comfort, but that's okay - I managed to sleep for a while. Poor Andy finally figured out how to recline his seat just in time for the stewardess to tell him to put it back up - we were landing.
We landed in Charlott NC and headed straight for our terminal. As we mad our way we noticed the departure boards that our flight was delayed roughly 4 hours. We were less than thrilled, but we headed outside and caught a cab to the 'closest' mall. The mall sucked. It was ritzy and new, and the stores consisted of (almost exclusively) diamond jewelers and sunglass shops. We left the mall behind (on foot) and found a strip mall not far away. There, Andy went into a salon and got a haircut while I went to a Borders Books a few doors down. I got a kick out of the fact that the salon actually laid rose petals on the sidewalk in front of their doors. When he was done with his haircut and I was done at the bookstore, Andy and I had lunch at the Ruby Tuesdays that was part of the strip mall. When we were finished with our meal, we called A.B.T. (the cabby who drove us to the mall) and had him take us back to the airport.
We made our way to our gate and again Andy got stopped for security check again. While he was delayed, I thought that I would check the departure boards. It was then that I had the oh-so-great news. Our flight was cancelled. Now obviously I am being sarcastic about the 'good' news, but not entirely. I have to admit that I was a little excited by the fact that this was an opportunity for me to 'take charge' and prove that I could handle some tough spots. I called Mike immediately. Looking back, that doesn't seem like 'taking charge' really, but my intent was good- I knew what I needed to do, but I wanted to give Mike an update. After talking to Mike briefly we made our way to our terminal again. Talking to the folks there, we were told we had to go to the Customer Service desk and they would take care of us. Customer service got us a flight into Atlanta (instead of Athens) which arrived at 5:15pm (which was, of course, 15 minutes after we were supposed to be at dinner in Athens). They also gave us a voucher that was to get us a taxi ride from Atlanta to Athens.
We caught our flight (after I got myself a cup of coffee from a Krispy Kreme store) and had a much more pleasurable flight this time around. I sat in the window seat of a triple seat grouping, and was joined by an attractive woman (who apparently does yoga as well as knitting). Andy rode next to a pretty blonde who he apparently flirted with during the majority of the trip.
We ran into a little bit of trouble getting a taxi in Atlanta due to some questions about the voucher, but once that was taken care of we were on our way. The drive was pleasant and our driver was more 'fun' than "A.B.T.". We got to Athens, got checked into the hotel, and made our way to the American Fencing Association group in time to get into our groups and get registered with the AFA.
When the AFA meeting was finished, we headed down the street to a mini-mart for some dinner and brews. Now? Back to my room, where I met my roommate (finally) and got to work writing this. As a side note, my roomie is from Michigan and likes to hunt. He's ex-military and I already have forgotten his name.
Time for bed- need to shower and get some sleep - the alarm clock is set for 6:30am.
Sunday March 2nd, 2003
Woke up a little on the late side (though in plenty of time to make breakfast) and pulled on my clothes. My roomie was already up and moving. Breakfast was buffet style and very not bad. I even got to have grits for the first time in a long time and they weren't even bad. Met a few more folks including a guy from NJ and someone who 'used to do business with ABE' and is formerly from the Philly area (though he never did give us his name).
As a side note, I was surprised last night/this morning to note that there are in fact a couple of women here. I was more surprised to see that they aren't more manly than most of the guys.
First Aid Discussion
Safe Gate Operators lecture given by Buck Buchmann. Get this guy's business card! After hearing him talk I know that I have to talk to Mike about the Ross gate operator - it's a lawsuit waiting to happen.
Lunch was cold cuts, but I have never seen cold cuts done so elegantly. This place is really quite nice without feeling 'hoity-toity'. Lime pie for desert was really tart, but good.
Pride in fencing. I didn't happen to get this guy's name (yet) but he did one hell of a job doing motivational speaking. I found myself getting riled about fencing. Proud even (go figure). When someone commented at the end of his lecture that he should be a football coach, I thought that they hit the nail on the head.
CPR Training / Testing. There's not a whole lot of times in my life when I feel what I would call 'real' pride. In other words: I don't often feel like I do something that is worthy of my pride. Today I had the opportunity to excel like that. We did the standard CPR training movies, and then we got the chance to practice a little with the Annies. I was approximately the third to practice and I went straight from that to the 'testing Annie'. Not only did I pass, but I did well enough that the instructor's only comment was "give it just a little longer between breaths" and then when I finished: "Well done. Very well done." That felt really good. Good enough that I (basically) rushed right up here to my room to write about it. I even figure I will add an entry about this in my LiveJournal if I don't recopy all of these journal entries straight over.
Round Table Discussion - See my Round Table document, but I would like to point out that the man who held this discussion was the same man who gave the Pride lecture. A fairly strong motivational speaker, he seemed (to me) to loose control a bit here in this slightly more 'open' forum.
Monday March 3rd, 2003
Food for thought commentary this morning: "It pays to be profit minded. Dave Thompson spoke about how being oriented towards the benefit of your company benefits you as their employee. He spoke of pride in the workplace and in a job well done. He has proven himself to be quite the motivational speaker.
Notes: Wednesday night is the Gate Operator class with Buck Buchanan
Notes: Thursday night is the blueprint reading class (with Fred Venette?)
As a member of the Green Team I spoke about the topic "Slips and Falls" in our toolbox meeting at lunch and need to speak about Fire Extinguishers at dinner on Wednesday night (or during Wed. night wrap-up).
Personal Notes about fire extinguishers:
1. You should regularly inspect your fire extinguishers to make certain that they are:
a. fully charged
b. not worn or damaged
c. readilly accessible
2. The three different types of fires are (and each has their own type of fire extinguisher):
a. Class A: ordinary combustible materials - i.e. wood, paper, plastic
b. Class B: flammable liquids such as oil, grease, or gasoline
c. Class C: electrical equipment
Notes: REFERENCE PINS - something we should start doing!
I took special interest in the fact that Fred Venette made it sound as though string lines were taboo tonight during his lecture. Thus far I have been very impressed by Fred's intellect and his logic, so I thought that I would hear him out on the idea. What he had to say was pretty valid, though it was obvious that someone who lives in the Southwest- and not the Northeast said it. He pointed out that wind will blow a string line - that tumbleweed with push a string line (I told you...), and that even when you place a string line over a hill, what you're really doing is eyeing it up anyway -so why not do that directly with the posts? It seemed a valid point. I don't plan to use a whole lot of string lines when I get back. I think that they have their place, but not on every job.
<Insert the illustrations that I have in my notebooks here - and add the photocopies that Fred said that he would get for me.>
Fred made the point that many state / federal jobs are now giving you the option for posts: put them in 3' down into concrete OR 4' down by driving them in. He explained that the concern here is where the post would sheer off if it were hit forcibly and that (with the additional foot down for driving) the sheer point is within only a few inches of the concreted version.
Illustration:
| |
|-sheer point |
------------|-------------------------------|----------- ground level
con | crete | - sheer point
con | crete |
con | crete |
|
Notes: The formula for setting a utility pole: 3'deep + 10% of the height of the pole. (i.e.- a 30' pole would be set 6' deep)
Notes: Archemides Screw (sp?) - ((look this up)) - from the ancient Greeks - pumps water out of a hole. We need to take GOOD care of our augers - as they rely on the same principles - they are not intended to 'screw' down into the earth - but rather - lift the dirt up out of the hole. Should the auger become worn (i.e.- the tooth worn off) into a 'screw shape' it becomes worthless- it must maintain the rectangular form when looked at in profile.
Herod the Great poured concrete under the water in the days of Jesus Christ and it's still there today. Fred talked extensively here about concrete and what gives it its strength. Most of what he talked about was for those who mix their own concrete though.
Notes: FILLING A POST WITH CONCRETE DOES NOT ADD ANY STRENGTH.
Notes: There is NO regulation for how far between terminals you can go with a straight level section. That is to say that, if you don't want to, you don't have to put in additional terminals along the stretch - just one at the beginning and the end. If there are grades along your section, you may want them in order to smooth out your work, but technically you don't have to put them in. This can bring down the cost for the customer.
<insert illustration of the proper method to cut a gate in order to deal with an 8" drop >
<Personal Note: everything prior to this point (for today) was predominantly about chain link fence work>
we started wood, but didn't get too far into it. The one thing that Fred did mention that I noted was: when working on wood gates, if the gate is under 3' you can use a 'Queen's Brace' (see illustration) but if it's over 5' then you must use a "King's Brace" (see illustration)
Quote from Fred regarding why he teaches his 'secrets' to his competition:
"Concider our brother the Wolf. When he hunts he kills the sick and the weak of his prey. In this way he benefits his prey - making the group as a whole faster and healthier. Through this, he himself must improve or die. What good would it do me to keep my knowledge to myself? Would I not become complacent and lazy? It's not all about money people. In the end what I take with me is what I've given away." --Fred Venette March 3, 2003
Okay. Now that it's after 8pm, I think that I will go get some dinner. Then I think my bed is calling me. I wonder where Andy and the others went? (And where they got the strength to go there?!)
Tuesday March 4th, 2003
All day in the field:
Hilights:
Welding Class
Deer Fencing with Woven steel mesh
After Class:
Above the Rim Alumni and Cheerleaders
Walk to town with the Green Team and Friends
Mardi Gras Celebration (returned to hotel room at approx. 2am)
Wednesday March 5th, 2003
All day in the field:
Hilights:
Mitre's on chainlink (with Equestrians in the background)
Toolbox - Fire Extinguishers
Military Style March for the Green Team:
(3 sets) stomp (we will rock you)
(2 sets)"green, green, go green go" ("left, left, left right left")
Our Employers sent us to fencing school...
The instructors here are really cool!
The grub you serve is really good...
The lessons learned are understood!
We learn about all types of fence...
This Green Team is real intense!
(3 sets) Green, green, go green go!
Buck's Class on Operators
This class alone was worth the money.
B - E - D
Thursday March 6th, 2003
Waking up this morning was a bit rough due to last night's festivities, but I managed all right, and since I eat faster than most folks, I even got breakfast in before we left.
Farm and Ranch - John Randal
Interwoven steel mesh with 8 foot wood posts and bracing. Interested in the mesh, and would like to look further into the use of John's post pounder.
Welding - Fred Venette
Worked on gate construction with Fred. I enjoyed working with / under Fred. He's an old-school fence builder, and his knowledge seems to flow from him in a way that makes learning from him easy enough that it doesn't feel much like a class, but more like hanging out with an old friend.
Lunch
Gate Operators - Classroom portion - Buck Buchanan
Learned a little more about the details of gate operator installation with Buck. He's obviously a man who knows his shit and loves what he does. I made certain to get him a business card and got one of his - I plan to call him and see if he has a copy of the manual for the Ross gate operator as he said he has quite a collection of operator manuals, and I think that it would do us a world of good to have a copy.
PVC Fence - Pat Sadler - Worked on PVC and I felt right at home. The product in this case, however, did vary slightly from our own. Instead of wide panels of privacy, this system worked with tongue-and-groove pickets for the privacy portion. Personally, I thought that these felt more 'secure' than the panels we use, though I am fairly certain that they are more expensive than the panels. Perhaps we could add this as an option? Pat was highly entertained by the comedic abilities of the Green Team. The rain hit again towards the end of our time with Pat, but it was nothing unbearable as we just stepped under the awning to do the cuts for a miter.
Friday March 7th, 2003
Ornamental Iron - Kevin Roberts - We worked with Kevin on the ornamental iron fence surrounding the Georgia Center itself. I liked the fact that we had a part in fencing in the building where we stayed even if I didn't like the fence itself (it seemed odd since it was only a couple of feet)... Kevin was, as one could predict, a lot of fun to work with. He's funny as hell and that makes him easy to work with.
Wood Fence - Dave Zima - We worked here with pressure treated wood that was coated with a black vinyl. It cut like wood, worked like wood, and had the durability of vinyl. I think that this might have to be something that we look into as a company. The product seemed great, and I presume it lasts quite a while. Those clients who are interested in PVC should probably be shown this product - especially since I haven't seen much of it around yet. Dave was another one of the fun characters to talk to.
Lunch
PVC Fence - Mark Knudsen - More PVC and again - I feel at home. It's amazing how quickly things feel comfortable when I have done them before. We were knee deep in muck at this site because (apparently) someone hit a water line in one of the previous classes. Red mud everywhere. I did not click personally with Mark. I think that he was tired, and ready to be done with the classes and/or wanted to move things along, but he would grab at my hand / tools while I was working. This, of course, frustrated me since I felt that I knew what I was doing.
Gate Operators - Don Parrin - Don seemed to be the best kind of installer - he knows what he's doing, he's comfortable with it, and he's not 'holier than thou' in any way. A real down - to - earth kind of guy. He made it clear how easy installing an operator should be. I liked talking to him. As to the product, the thing I found most interesting was the different type of limit switch that this operator had - it was external. In fact, it wasn't a limit switch at all (at least not as I know them). I was a block of sorts that you attach to the drive chain at the limits both open and closed. When this voltage (amperage?) kicks up because the motor is straining to pull the blocked chain through, the motor shuts off (due to safety triggers).
Went to dinner tonight at the Savannah Room downstairs. Mike's cousin (who apparently lives something like 1 hour away) came to join us. The meal was great and Christine (our waitress) didn't deserve the hard time some of the guys (Nic) gave her. I gave her a little extra in her tip and waited behind to tell her (and her boss) that she did a great job and that she shouldn't take their shitty attitudes personally. It seemed to make her happy, and I left.
The group had plans to go hit the town as a sort of graduation celebration. When I left the Savannah room after talking to Christine, the guys were gone. I figured Nic and the others were annoyed at me for taking so long, etc. and had decided to ditch me. I can't say that I was overly thrilled about the idea, but there wasn't a whole lot I could do about the situation. So, I made my way back to my room, grabbed my artist magazine and my sketchbook, and headed back down to the lobby. I figured one of a couple different things would happen. 1. The guys might return wondering where I was. 2. Christine would come out into the lobby after work and want to chat with the only guy amongst the group that treated her half decently. I have to confess that I was kinda hoping for the second option because there are worse things than making friends with an attractive woman in a strange town. Having a local guide for the area makes things sooo much easier.
What actually happened was neither of the above. Mike came back to change his shirt and saw me sitting in the lobby. I don't think that he planned on seeing me (just a vibe I got) but he asked where I went and did I want to go downtown. When I said yes, he told me that he was changing his shirt and that I should get rid of my stuff and meet him back down here quickly. I did. We jumped in his cousin's truck and made our way downtown. His cousin dropped us off and headed home. We found the rest of the guys in one of the bars we had been to before (except for Mike and Nic- they had headed back to Toppers). We hung out a little bit, but both Mike and I were not up for late nights and we made our way back to the hotel somewhere around 12:30 or 1am.
Saturday March 8th, 2003
Breakfast -
Evaluations -
Graduation Ceremony -
After graduation I volunteered some help finishing some of the ornamental iron fencing around the Center- it remained unfinished. We wrapped that up and I spent some time talking with some of the instructors about the business. It was fun, and I think that I impressed some of the instructors by offering up that time.
Sunday March 9th, 2003
I woke this morning (after my first decent night sleep in at least a week) and remembered my dream so I thought that I would jot it down.
At first my dream was heavily inspired by the commercials I have been seeing for Steven King's Dreamcatcher movie. I dreamt of infected human monsters that were after myself and one other person (who I was protecting). The other person was male, and I think was supposed to represent my father, though it looked nothing like my real life father. The human/monsters had deathly pale skin and claw/nails that were several feet in length. I was defending myself and this other person with a butcher knife as we tried to make our way out of the building.
The dream shifted once we escaped the building we had been in when the creatures attacked. I saw what I believed to be one of the creatures with their back to me standing beside a tree which stood near the car we were going to use to escape the area. Seeing that the creature was unaware of me, I chose to attack. What I thought to be a creature turned out to be Tzigane, who spun to face me (and stop my stabbing motion with the knife). Being out of view of my charge, I spoke briefly with Tzigane who was surprised that I hadn't 'wolfed out'. I explained that the person I was with didn't know about my lupine side and proceeded to get my 'father' into the car and out of harm's way.
Then I wolfed out and Tzigane and I went to kick ass.
Unfortunately, that's when my alarm went off and so the dream ended before we got to do any ass stomping, but I was quite certain that we would.
I am really looking forward to seeing Aunt Nancy and Uncle Chuck tonight around 7pm.
Went downstairs with Andy and bummed around trying to find something to do later. Finding nothing, we had brunch at the Savannah Room and saw my friend Christine again - she was hosting today. Andy foamed at the mouth over her and then bitched about the food.
After brunch, we went for a walk around campus to talk about what we had learned etc. and made our way (eventually) down to the bar strip where we roamed for a while. Andy stopped into a head shop, and we both checked out a couple of different shops - including some 'retro shops'.
Finally we made our way back to the hotel where I felt much like a sloth. Now, just waiting for Nancy and Chuck. I don't know really where we're going to eat, but I figured I would take them down to the strip and let them pick.
Saturday March 1st, 2003
Jeanine took me to the Lehigh Valley International Airport this morning at the ungodly hour of 6:30 am(ish). After waiting what felt like forever to get myself checked in and my luggage checked, I joined Andy and we made our way to the terminal. We waited a fairly short while and went to board our plane. As I went to board the plane, I was pulled aside for a random check. I was compliant as possible and the security guards were professional, friendly, and smiling. In no time, I was allowed to board the plane. I had the middle seat in a three seat grouping. There was no such thing as comfort, but that's okay - I managed to sleep for a while. Poor Andy finally figured out how to recline his seat just in time for the stewardess to tell him to put it back up - we were landing.
We landed in Charlott NC and headed straight for our terminal. As we mad our way we noticed the departure boards that our flight was delayed roughly 4 hours. We were less than thrilled, but we headed outside and caught a cab to the 'closest' mall. The mall sucked. It was ritzy and new, and the stores consisted of (almost exclusively) diamond jewelers and sunglass shops. We left the mall behind (on foot) and found a strip mall not far away. There, Andy went into a salon and got a haircut while I went to a Borders Books a few doors down. I got a kick out of the fact that the salon actually laid rose petals on the sidewalk in front of their doors. When he was done with his haircut and I was done at the bookstore, Andy and I had lunch at the Ruby Tuesdays that was part of the strip mall. When we were finished with our meal, we called A.B.T. (the cabby who drove us to the mall) and had him take us back to the airport.
We made our way to our gate and again Andy got stopped for security check again. While he was delayed, I thought that I would check the departure boards. It was then that I had the oh-so-great news. Our flight was cancelled. Now obviously I am being sarcastic about the 'good' news, but not entirely. I have to admit that I was a little excited by the fact that this was an opportunity for me to 'take charge' and prove that I could handle some tough spots. I called Mike immediately. Looking back, that doesn't seem like 'taking charge' really, but my intent was good- I knew what I needed to do, but I wanted to give Mike an update. After talking to Mike briefly we made our way to our terminal again. Talking to the folks there, we were told we had to go to the Customer Service desk and they would take care of us. Customer service got us a flight into Atlanta (instead of Athens) which arrived at 5:15pm (which was, of course, 15 minutes after we were supposed to be at dinner in Athens). They also gave us a voucher that was to get us a taxi ride from Atlanta to Athens.
We caught our flight (after I got myself a cup of coffee from a Krispy Kreme store) and had a much more pleasurable flight this time around. I sat in the window seat of a triple seat grouping, and was joined by an attractive woman (who apparently does yoga as well as knitting). Andy rode next to a pretty blonde who he apparently flirted with during the majority of the trip.
We ran into a little bit of trouble getting a taxi in Atlanta due to some questions about the voucher, but once that was taken care of we were on our way. The drive was pleasant and our driver was more 'fun' than "A.B.T.". We got to Athens, got checked into the hotel, and made our way to the American Fencing Association group in time to get into our groups and get registered with the AFA.
When the AFA meeting was finished, we headed down the street to a mini-mart for some dinner and brews. Now? Back to my room, where I met my roommate (finally) and got to work writing this. As a side note, my roomie is from Michigan and likes to hunt. He's ex-military and I already have forgotten his name.
Time for bed- need to shower and get some sleep - the alarm clock is set for 6:30am.
Sunday March 2nd, 2003
Woke up a little on the late side (though in plenty of time to make breakfast) and pulled on my clothes. My roomie was already up and moving. Breakfast was buffet style and very not bad. I even got to have grits for the first time in a long time and they weren't even bad. Met a few more folks including a guy from NJ and someone who 'used to do business with ABE' and is formerly from the Philly area (though he never did give us his name).
As a side note, I was surprised last night/this morning to note that there are in fact a couple of women here. I was more surprised to see that they aren't more manly than most of the guys.
First Aid Discussion
Safe Gate Operators lecture given by Buck Buchmann. Get this guy's business card! After hearing him talk I know that I have to talk to Mike about the Ross gate operator - it's a lawsuit waiting to happen.
Lunch was cold cuts, but I have never seen cold cuts done so elegantly. This place is really quite nice without feeling 'hoity-toity'. Lime pie for desert was really tart, but good.
Pride in fencing. I didn't happen to get this guy's name (yet) but he did one hell of a job doing motivational speaking. I found myself getting riled about fencing. Proud even (go figure). When someone commented at the end of his lecture that he should be a football coach, I thought that they hit the nail on the head.
CPR Training / Testing. There's not a whole lot of times in my life when I feel what I would call 'real' pride. In other words: I don't often feel like I do something that is worthy of my pride. Today I had the opportunity to excel like that. We did the standard CPR training movies, and then we got the chance to practice a little with the Annies. I was approximately the third to practice and I went straight from that to the 'testing Annie'. Not only did I pass, but I did well enough that the instructor's only comment was "give it just a little longer between breaths" and then when I finished: "Well done. Very well done." That felt really good. Good enough that I (basically) rushed right up here to my room to write about it. I even figure I will add an entry about this in my LiveJournal if I don't recopy all of these journal entries straight over.
Round Table Discussion - See my Round Table document, but I would like to point out that the man who held this discussion was the same man who gave the Pride lecture. A fairly strong motivational speaker, he seemed (to me) to loose control a bit here in this slightly more 'open' forum.
Monday March 3rd, 2003
Food for thought commentary this morning: "It pays to be profit minded. Dave Thompson spoke about how being oriented towards the benefit of your company benefits you as their employee. He spoke of pride in the workplace and in a job well done. He has proven himself to be quite the motivational speaker.
Notes: Wednesday night is the Gate Operator class with Buck Buchanan
Notes: Thursday night is the blueprint reading class (with Fred Venette?)
As a member of the Green Team I spoke about the topic "Slips and Falls" in our toolbox meeting at lunch and need to speak about Fire Extinguishers at dinner on Wednesday night (or during Wed. night wrap-up).
Personal Notes about fire extinguishers:
1. You should regularly inspect your fire extinguishers to make certain that they are:
a. fully charged
b. not worn or damaged
c. readilly accessible
2. The three different types of fires are (and each has their own type of fire extinguisher):
a. Class A: ordinary combustible materials - i.e. wood, paper, plastic
b. Class B: flammable liquids such as oil, grease, or gasoline
c. Class C: electrical equipment
Notes: REFERENCE PINS - something we should start doing!
I took special interest in the fact that Fred Venette made it sound as though string lines were taboo tonight during his lecture. Thus far I have been very impressed by Fred's intellect and his logic, so I thought that I would hear him out on the idea. What he had to say was pretty valid, though it was obvious that someone who lives in the Southwest- and not the Northeast said it. He pointed out that wind will blow a string line - that tumbleweed with push a string line (I told you...), and that even when you place a string line over a hill, what you're really doing is eyeing it up anyway -so why not do that directly with the posts? It seemed a valid point. I don't plan to use a whole lot of string lines when I get back. I think that they have their place, but not on every job.
<Insert the illustrations that I have in my notebooks here - and add the photocopies that Fred said that he would get for me.>
Fred made the point that many state / federal jobs are now giving you the option for posts: put them in 3' down into concrete OR 4' down by driving them in. He explained that the concern here is where the post would sheer off if it were hit forcibly and that (with the additional foot down for driving) the sheer point is within only a few inches of the concreted version.
Illustration:
| |
|-sheer point |
------------|-------------------------------|----------- ground level
con | crete | - sheer point
con | crete |
con | crete |
|
Notes: The formula for setting a utility pole: 3'deep + 10% of the height of the pole. (i.e.- a 30' pole would be set 6' deep)
Notes: Archemides Screw (sp?) - ((look this up)) - from the ancient Greeks - pumps water out of a hole. We need to take GOOD care of our augers - as they rely on the same principles - they are not intended to 'screw' down into the earth - but rather - lift the dirt up out of the hole. Should the auger become worn (i.e.- the tooth worn off) into a 'screw shape' it becomes worthless- it must maintain the rectangular form when looked at in profile.
Herod the Great poured concrete under the water in the days of Jesus Christ and it's still there today. Fred talked extensively here about concrete and what gives it its strength. Most of what he talked about was for those who mix their own concrete though.
Notes: FILLING A POST WITH CONCRETE DOES NOT ADD ANY STRENGTH.
Notes: There is NO regulation for how far between terminals you can go with a straight level section. That is to say that, if you don't want to, you don't have to put in additional terminals along the stretch - just one at the beginning and the end. If there are grades along your section, you may want them in order to smooth out your work, but technically you don't have to put them in. This can bring down the cost for the customer.
<insert illustration of the proper method to cut a gate in order to deal with an 8" drop >
<Personal Note: everything prior to this point (for today) was predominantly about chain link fence work>
we started wood, but didn't get too far into it. The one thing that Fred did mention that I noted was: when working on wood gates, if the gate is under 3' you can use a 'Queen's Brace' (see illustration) but if it's over 5' then you must use a "King's Brace" (see illustration)
Quote from Fred regarding why he teaches his 'secrets' to his competition:
"Concider our brother the Wolf. When he hunts he kills the sick and the weak of his prey. In this way he benefits his prey - making the group as a whole faster and healthier. Through this, he himself must improve or die. What good would it do me to keep my knowledge to myself? Would I not become complacent and lazy? It's not all about money people. In the end what I take with me is what I've given away." --Fred Venette March 3, 2003
Okay. Now that it's after 8pm, I think that I will go get some dinner. Then I think my bed is calling me. I wonder where Andy and the others went? (And where they got the strength to go there?!)
Tuesday March 4th, 2003
All day in the field:
Hilights:
Welding Class
Deer Fencing with Woven steel mesh
After Class:
Above the Rim Alumni and Cheerleaders
Walk to town with the Green Team and Friends
Mardi Gras Celebration (returned to hotel room at approx. 2am)
Wednesday March 5th, 2003
All day in the field:
Hilights:
Mitre's on chainlink (with Equestrians in the background)
Toolbox - Fire Extinguishers
Military Style March for the Green Team:
(3 sets) stomp (we will rock you)
(2 sets)"green, green, go green go" ("left, left, left right left")
Our Employers sent us to fencing school...
The instructors here are really cool!
The grub you serve is really good...
The lessons learned are understood!
We learn about all types of fence...
This Green Team is real intense!
(3 sets) Green, green, go green go!
Buck's Class on Operators
This class alone was worth the money.
B - E - D
Thursday March 6th, 2003
Waking up this morning was a bit rough due to last night's festivities, but I managed all right, and since I eat faster than most folks, I even got breakfast in before we left.
Farm and Ranch - John Randal
Interwoven steel mesh with 8 foot wood posts and bracing. Interested in the mesh, and would like to look further into the use of John's post pounder.
Welding - Fred Venette
Worked on gate construction with Fred. I enjoyed working with / under Fred. He's an old-school fence builder, and his knowledge seems to flow from him in a way that makes learning from him easy enough that it doesn't feel much like a class, but more like hanging out with an old friend.
Lunch
Gate Operators - Classroom portion - Buck Buchanan
Learned a little more about the details of gate operator installation with Buck. He's obviously a man who knows his shit and loves what he does. I made certain to get him a business card and got one of his - I plan to call him and see if he has a copy of the manual for the Ross gate operator as he said he has quite a collection of operator manuals, and I think that it would do us a world of good to have a copy.
PVC Fence - Pat Sadler - Worked on PVC and I felt right at home. The product in this case, however, did vary slightly from our own. Instead of wide panels of privacy, this system worked with tongue-and-groove pickets for the privacy portion. Personally, I thought that these felt more 'secure' than the panels we use, though I am fairly certain that they are more expensive than the panels. Perhaps we could add this as an option? Pat was highly entertained by the comedic abilities of the Green Team. The rain hit again towards the end of our time with Pat, but it was nothing unbearable as we just stepped under the awning to do the cuts for a miter.
Friday March 7th, 2003
Ornamental Iron - Kevin Roberts - We worked with Kevin on the ornamental iron fence surrounding the Georgia Center itself. I liked the fact that we had a part in fencing in the building where we stayed even if I didn't like the fence itself (it seemed odd since it was only a couple of feet)... Kevin was, as one could predict, a lot of fun to work with. He's funny as hell and that makes him easy to work with.
Wood Fence - Dave Zima - We worked here with pressure treated wood that was coated with a black vinyl. It cut like wood, worked like wood, and had the durability of vinyl. I think that this might have to be something that we look into as a company. The product seemed great, and I presume it lasts quite a while. Those clients who are interested in PVC should probably be shown this product - especially since I haven't seen much of it around yet. Dave was another one of the fun characters to talk to.
Lunch
PVC Fence - Mark Knudsen - More PVC and again - I feel at home. It's amazing how quickly things feel comfortable when I have done them before. We were knee deep in muck at this site because (apparently) someone hit a water line in one of the previous classes. Red mud everywhere. I did not click personally with Mark. I think that he was tired, and ready to be done with the classes and/or wanted to move things along, but he would grab at my hand / tools while I was working. This, of course, frustrated me since I felt that I knew what I was doing.
Gate Operators - Don Parrin - Don seemed to be the best kind of installer - he knows what he's doing, he's comfortable with it, and he's not 'holier than thou' in any way. A real down - to - earth kind of guy. He made it clear how easy installing an operator should be. I liked talking to him. As to the product, the thing I found most interesting was the different type of limit switch that this operator had - it was external. In fact, it wasn't a limit switch at all (at least not as I know them). I was a block of sorts that you attach to the drive chain at the limits both open and closed. When this voltage (amperage?) kicks up because the motor is straining to pull the blocked chain through, the motor shuts off (due to safety triggers).
Went to dinner tonight at the Savannah Room downstairs. Mike's cousin (who apparently lives something like 1 hour away) came to join us. The meal was great and Christine (our waitress) didn't deserve the hard time some of the guys (Nic) gave her. I gave her a little extra in her tip and waited behind to tell her (and her boss) that she did a great job and that she shouldn't take their shitty attitudes personally. It seemed to make her happy, and I left.
The group had plans to go hit the town as a sort of graduation celebration. When I left the Savannah room after talking to Christine, the guys were gone. I figured Nic and the others were annoyed at me for taking so long, etc. and had decided to ditch me. I can't say that I was overly thrilled about the idea, but there wasn't a whole lot I could do about the situation. So, I made my way back to my room, grabbed my artist magazine and my sketchbook, and headed back down to the lobby. I figured one of a couple different things would happen. 1. The guys might return wondering where I was. 2. Christine would come out into the lobby after work and want to chat with the only guy amongst the group that treated her half decently. I have to confess that I was kinda hoping for the second option because there are worse things than making friends with an attractive woman in a strange town. Having a local guide for the area makes things sooo much easier.
What actually happened was neither of the above. Mike came back to change his shirt and saw me sitting in the lobby. I don't think that he planned on seeing me (just a vibe I got) but he asked where I went and did I want to go downtown. When I said yes, he told me that he was changing his shirt and that I should get rid of my stuff and meet him back down here quickly. I did. We jumped in his cousin's truck and made our way downtown. His cousin dropped us off and headed home. We found the rest of the guys in one of the bars we had been to before (except for Mike and Nic- they had headed back to Toppers). We hung out a little bit, but both Mike and I were not up for late nights and we made our way back to the hotel somewhere around 12:30 or 1am.
Saturday March 8th, 2003
Breakfast -
Evaluations -
Graduation Ceremony -
After graduation I volunteered some help finishing some of the ornamental iron fencing around the Center- it remained unfinished. We wrapped that up and I spent some time talking with some of the instructors about the business. It was fun, and I think that I impressed some of the instructors by offering up that time.
Sunday March 9th, 2003
I woke this morning (after my first decent night sleep in at least a week) and remembered my dream so I thought that I would jot it down.
At first my dream was heavily inspired by the commercials I have been seeing for Steven King's Dreamcatcher movie. I dreamt of infected human monsters that were after myself and one other person (who I was protecting). The other person was male, and I think was supposed to represent my father, though it looked nothing like my real life father. The human/monsters had deathly pale skin and claw/nails that were several feet in length. I was defending myself and this other person with a butcher knife as we tried to make our way out of the building.
The dream shifted once we escaped the building we had been in when the creatures attacked. I saw what I believed to be one of the creatures with their back to me standing beside a tree which stood near the car we were going to use to escape the area. Seeing that the creature was unaware of me, I chose to attack. What I thought to be a creature turned out to be Tzigane, who spun to face me (and stop my stabbing motion with the knife). Being out of view of my charge, I spoke briefly with Tzigane who was surprised that I hadn't 'wolfed out'. I explained that the person I was with didn't know about my lupine side and proceeded to get my 'father' into the car and out of harm's way.
Then I wolfed out and Tzigane and I went to kick ass.
Unfortunately, that's when my alarm went off and so the dream ended before we got to do any ass stomping, but I was quite certain that we would.
I am really looking forward to seeing Aunt Nancy and Uncle Chuck tonight around 7pm.
Went downstairs with Andy and bummed around trying to find something to do later. Finding nothing, we had brunch at the Savannah Room and saw my friend Christine again - she was hosting today. Andy foamed at the mouth over her and then bitched about the food.
After brunch, we went for a walk around campus to talk about what we had learned etc. and made our way (eventually) down to the bar strip where we roamed for a while. Andy stopped into a head shop, and we both checked out a couple of different shops - including some 'retro shops'.
Finally we made our way back to the hotel where I felt much like a sloth. Now, just waiting for Nancy and Chuck. I don't know really where we're going to eat, but I figured I would take them down to the strip and let them pick.
