Journal Entries
B4 - NaJoPoMo 23 Nov 2011 - Time is Money
Posted Nov 24, 2011
Nowhere is that so evident than in large corporations. The more money they generate, the larger they can grow; the larger they grow, the more money they need to generate to be self-sustaining. The problem with accelerated continual growth, though, is it frequently leads to waste due to things "falling through the cracks." This is embodied in the time wasted, the resources gone fallow, the money squandered because there is not enough oversight in all the little corners of the organization to prevent the losses.
Looking at it from the viewpoint of the guys "down in the trenches," it's easy to understand how they can form a Trickle-Down Theory of Economics that looks something like this:
Poor or Lack of Planning
breeds
Confusion in Work
breeds
Wasted Time
breeds
Money
When employees work for an hourly wage, a company can mismanage its processes any damn way it wants. The more fractured the management and supervisory staff, the more chance for delays, the better the opportunities for workers to raise legitimate safety concerns, and the greater likelihood of calling a stop to a procedure that's in error. The more complicated and constricting the processes are, the more chance those same rules will prevent accomplishing the work required.
For instance, if NaJoPoMo was a project with a scheduled start date and a defined deadline and the Company (HooToo) contracted a variety of skilled Craftsmen (all of us) to perform the work (writing Journal Entries every day for the month of November), then they Company started levying a bunch of rules upon the Craftsmen, requiring them to only generate and post a new individual Journal Entry within a prescribed 24-hour period (not before, not after), and then allowed their contractors to have free rein to only perform their duties whenever their other commitments didn't impede them from working the Company (much like how we have our Real Life responsibilities we need to balance against our promise to this project), the success or failure of the whole project and the bonuses stipulated by the Company from the outset (books and trinkets, in this case) would be jeopardized by certain Craftsmen who didn't keep track of the deadlines and only managed to "squeeze in under the wire" some of their obligations to the whole project by finishing a particular Journal Entry right at the last minute and submitting it for the Company review at the last second. That would be how this one played out for me…
B4youcheckthetimestamponthisJE
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Latest reply: Nov 24, 2011
B4 - NaJoPoMo 22 Nov 2011 - Time is Money
Posted Nov 24, 2011
Nowhere is that so evident than in large corporations. The more money they generate, the larger they can grow; the larger they grow, the more money they need to generate to be self-sustaining. The problem with accelerated continual growth, though, is it frequently leads to waste due to things "falling through the cracks." This is embodied in the time wasted, the resources gone fallow, the money squandered because there is not enough oversight in all the little corners of the organization to prevent the losses.
Looking at it from the viewpoint of the guys "down in the trenches," it's easy to understand how they can form a Trickle-Down Theory of Economics that looks something like this:
Poor or Lack of Planning
breeds
Confusion in Work
breeds
Wasted Time
breeds
Money
When employees work for an hourly wage, a company can mismanage its processes any damn way it wants. The more fractured the management and supervisory staff, the more chance for delays, the better the opportunities for workers to raise legitimate safety concerns, and the greater likelihood of calling a stop to a procedure that's in error. The more complicated and constricting the processes are, the more chance those same rules will prevent accomplishing the work required.
For instance, if NaJoPoMo was a project with a scheduled start date and a defined deadline and the Company (HooToo) contracted a variety of skilled Craftsmen (all of us) to perform the work (writing Journal Entries every day for the month of November), then they Company started levying a bunch of rules upon the Craftsmen, requiring them to only generate and post a new individual Journal Entry within a prescribed 24-hour period (not before, not after), and then allowed their contractors to have free rein to only perform their duties whenever their other commitments didn't impede them from working the Company (much like how we have our Real Life responsibilities we need to balance against our promise to this project), the success or failure of the whole project and the bonuses stipulated by the Company from the outset (books and trinkets, in this case) would be jeopardized by certain Craftsmen who didn't keep track of the deadlines and only managed to "squeeze in under the wire" some of their obligations to the whole project by finishing a particular Journal Entry right at the last minute and submitting it for the Company review at the last second. That would be how this one played out for me…
B4isqueezeinthenextJEinthenextfewminutes
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Latest reply: Nov 24, 2011
B4 - NaJoPoMo 22 Nov 2011 - P.A.A.M.S.A.A.H.
Posted Nov 23, 2011
After almost two months of Night Shifts, is it any wonder? The way I feel every time I wake up is oddly disjointed and out of synch with the rest of the world. I'm reminded of Billy Pilgrim in the novel "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. I haven't seen any Tralfamadorian aliens, but my perception of our time-line is a bit fractured right now.
My day begins at 4pm with the alarm going off and/or my wife coming into the bedroom to wake me. I stumble to the shower, turn it on, then rummage in the walk-in closet for my work clothes. In 30-45 minutes I'm out the door, out the garage, in my Jeep and heading for work at the plant. There's 12 hours of fun and merriment every Night Shift, some of which I've shared with y'all here. What I haven't mentioned is the massive amounts of caffeine (via coffee and a variety of energy drinks) that keeps me going. I'm at an age now where I don't have as much "natural exuberance" to make it through the long haul, so the supplements help.
This poses a small problem in timing the boosts, so that when I get home I'm not "wired for sound." I don't want to stay up during the entire daylight cycle, because working nights seems to demand more uninterrupted sleep. It's good for me to be able to spend a few moments with my wife and my child-like-thing, so I have to balance the presence with the absence. I do get to drive my daughter to school in the morning when I come in, yet that's been a bit of a struggle for her to get out the door on time without an inordinate amount of coaxing. Time with my wife consists of preparing a cup of coffee for her, talking a bit about the previous day's activities, and then letting her tuck me into bed. (She's sweet that way. Oh, and sometimes there are benefits.)
Both A--- and I have tried to set up the environment for undisturbed sleep during the day. There's an extra sheet hanging over the curtains, though the louvered blinds cut out most of the daylight. A--- has loaned me a "blinder" type mask to block any last stray rays of sunlight. I wear earplugs I get from at work, the green rounded squishy kind, and I yank the lanyard out of them so I don't have to deal with it tangling on anything. It also removes one more disturbance if I should happen to roll over on either side. We've coached our daughter to keep the TV volume down to a reasonable level, and A--- ensures any guests that come over understand the Night Shift rules.
With all this preparation, you'd think I'd never have to say, "I feel like I'm burning my candle at both ends" (IFLIBMCABE). However, here I am, feeling like I've been "pissed at and missed, shit at and hit." Hence, the title.
B4thefinalweekgoesbyinatotalblur
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Latest reply: Nov 23, 2011
B4 - NaJoPoMo 21 Nov 2011 – Fractured Fairy Tales
Posted Nov 22, 2011
I understand from the guys down at the Weld Shop that when they install or repair a section of pipe, the circumference of the weld is actually stronger than the original components. It has something to do with how the welding material interacts with the two bonded metals, the heating and cooling rate, and the way the atomic compounds act in synergy with one another.
It can be analogous to how God helps us repair fractured parts of our life. His Word provides the foundation material to use in the repairs, the weld material, so to speak. (Psalm 12:6-7) When we allow the Word to be our standard of excellence and apply it correctly, it causes us to change for the better. (Ephesians 4:17-32) By standing in the gap for one another, by holding each other accountable, by treating your fellow human being with kindness, and by working toward a common goal we have a greater success. (Galatians 6:1-10; Luke 10:1-11 & 17-20; Matthew 22:35-40)
I was fractured. Certainly, I'd gone to church since I was a teenager, yet there were still things about this world and about God that I didn't understand. I'd been told to “take it on faith” concerning a number of different traditions of our church. It wasn't until I was shown the accuracy and integrity of the Word that all the disparate parts finally came together. I've since been able to change some of my not-so-good habits into better behavior and a more above-board lifestyle. (Philippians 4:13)
My wife, A---, was fractured. She had several issues from her childhood years that plagued her, even into adulthood. The problems were compounded after her father passed away, while she was still a sophomore in high school. When she was shown the true loving-kindness of God, she was able to reconcile the earlier transgressions and move on in her life. (1 John 1:5; Ephesians 4:32)
A young boy is fractured. I talked to him in a multiplayer on-line racing game (that I mentioned in a previous Journal Entry) using my Bluetooth headset. Another player had opened the conversation about God and how he didn't believe in such a divine spiritual entity. We discussed several differing viewpoints and covered a lot of ground. Then the young lad divulged his sister had been in a horrendous auto accident and been hurt severely. She'd had brain surgery and had recovered, yet the brother said he still had the image of her injuries so vivid in his memory that it hurts him to think about it. At one point, the boy asked “why would God let me see such a terrible thing and how come I have to deal with the pain of what I saw?” I had to give it a moment's thought, then I offered this up. I told him, “perhaps when you grow up you'll run into someone who has had something similar happen, and ~you~ will be the one to show the person how you overcame it and provide the compassion needed to help heal the person's heart.” It was his turn to take a moment to think. Then he let me know it helped in some small measure to consider it in light of what he could give in the future. We “friended” and I will offer my help to him as well.
There's a middle-aged woman who is fractured. I met her last night when A--- introduced us, because she was going to our church fellowship with us. As the evening played itself out, this lady confided in us a number of challenges she has faced, from her earliest years of youth even unto the present day. Despite all the turmoil in her life, she still remains hopeful and we saw her inherent strength. The thing she so desperately needed, though, was a true view of how God wants the best for her, too. And she needed to know there can be kind, gentle, sympathetic people around her that will help see her through all the situations she faces, so she doesn't have to feel like she's going it alone. We're there for her.
Who do you know that needs you? Who do you know that could stand to see God for the good heavenly father he truly is? Whose life can you touch in some small way to make it more pleasant and enjoyable? Okay, go spend some time with that individual, instead of reading my drivel.
B4isignyouupaspartofthe70whoaregoingonaroadtripinthenearfuture
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Latest reply: Nov 22, 2011
B4 - NaJoPoMo 20 Nov 2011 - A Mixed Bag
Posted Nov 21, 2011
----- Deer / Me -----
Gathering twilight. Movement in left peripheral vision. Brown body moving through headlights. Buck with good-sized antlers. Screech of brakes. Buck butt and right bumper miss by inches. White knuckles and rush of adrenaline. Quick prayer of thanks for collision avoided. And then I focused on the rest of the drive to work.
http://v11.lscache4.c.bigcache.googleapis.com/static.panoramio.com/photos/original/40640010.jpg
----- It Doesn't Pay to Argue with Your Spouse -----
Allowing ~any~ conversation to spiral out of control so either or the both of you are out-of-sorts is not a good thing. Slow down and give each other the opportunity to get peaceful. Don't let the problem hang for any length of time; clear it up, talk it out, get it settled. Be mindful of the love you have for one another and that NOTHING should get in the way of that one true value. Tell each other "I love you" and say it like you mean it. Things will work out.
----- Little Lost Forklift -----
http://www.machinerytrader.com/listingsdetail/detail.aspx?OHID=7565809&
How do you lose a big yellow Sellick SD-80 forklift that weighs almost 9 tons and can handle an 8,000-pound load? We usually park it inside the Protected Area, in the "lockdown area" parking beside the Turbine Building. It wasn't there when we needed it to move a large pump motor on a metal skid, from the other side of the Turbine Building to our Stores 2 storage location. We did a drive-around inside the plant area, then I had the distinct pleasure of trying to chase it down at the "out buildings." I used our little club car to check behind the CMB, in the OCA parking lot, in the old Fab Shop, behind the QC building, between the Cooling Tower and Circ & Service Water Building (and even inside the truck bay), and all the way around at the Water Treatment Plant. No luck anywhere. So, we had to make do with our smaller Clark forklift, with half the lifting prowess.
Update: It is the next Night Shift (at the time of ~this~ writing). I asked the whole working group, after our shift brief, if anyone had seen the Sellick. Yes, came several replies. It was found parked at the Switchyard (where we distribute the out-going electricity), where some other department had used the forklift to move some pallets of equipment, and hadn't bothered to return it to us.
----- Stairway to Heaven -----
http://www.foleyinc.com/assets/uploads/boom%20lift.jpg
Back to last Night Shift. I got conscripted to run a 30-foot Genie boom lift to assist in flow balancing observations, prior to our Reactor start-up. It required fetching the boom lift from in front of the Outage Maintenance Facility (OMF), driving it to the Turbine Building southeast truck bay roll-up door, and positioning it inside near the bathrooms. One of our Engineers, a young buck whose father still works here, brought a flow-sensing monitor, its coaxial cables, the pipe mounting harness, and the transmit / receive transducers. We climbed into the "basket" of the Genie lift and I carefully raised / extended the boom. It wasn't a straight shot, so I had to weave our way in-between a hanging fluorescent, a large steam pipe, and some hanging supports. Our final destination as a T-junction of pipes, 20 feet in the air, above the bathrooms, and just below some hanging scaffold built downward from the floor above. The Engineer was a bit skittish about the movement and bouncy-ness of the boom basket, but I assured him I'd take it slow, and I let him know what I was about to do ~before~ I made any moves. He settled right in and went to work, not having to worry any longer.
http://www.davis.com/catalog/large_image.asp?sku=3249964&img=32486_66.jpg
He used a clamping assembly with small linked chains and a set of adjustable hooks to span the circumference of the pipe. He then squirted some clear gel onto two separate triangular blocks (the transducers), placed them into their respective mounting brackets, and used thumb screws to lock them into place against the pipe. I asked if the slide brackets with measuring hash-marks on the bracket were to ensure proper distancing for the transmitter / receiver transducers. He confirmed it set the expected "echo" angle, as calculated for the diameter and thickness of the pipe. He then attached the coaxial cables each transducer and turned on the handheld flow sensor. It gave no readings, or erroneously low readings, for the duration of the test. The Engineer tried several configurations of cables, and even got a replacement set, all to no avail. He eventually had to concede to a loss on this exercise, so we packed up all the gear and I fished us back out and down to the ground. He conferred with others on his staff and they decided to try again later, on pipes that ran along a decking walkway on the next level up, where it would actually be easier to get at them to take the readings. Go figure.
----- Baby, You Can Drive My Truck -----
Shortly after coming down from the boom lift, we had a jump-up job for an "outside driver" to go to Labadie to retrieve a lockout relay.
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=176875&nseq=5
It took me half an hour to prep the truck to leave, to include grabbing the GPS, finding a credit card, and fueling the truck before I left. I headed out from the plant, taking the dirt road that winds southeast and downward to Hwy 94. I drove along the Missouri River bottom until I crossed the bridge into Hermann, then the road meandered through rolling hills. It was late night / early morning with sparse traffic; most sections of road were entirely deserted. An hour-and-a-half later, I was at the main gate and a foreman handed me the part. He also offered to give me a quick tour of the plant, if I had time. I made time, since it was a once-in-a-blue-moon opportunity. He showed me through the turbine deck and pointed out the four identical generators, each one producing half the megawatts our single turbine pumps out to the national grid. We passed by the conveyor belts that carry in 2 ½ trainloads of coal every day; 130 coal cars per train, 120 tons of coal per car. The foreman showed me the grinders that pulverize the coal to talc powder consistency, and the blowers that then send the fine particulate matter into the burning chamber. In the burner, the fine dust is ignited and the fireball constantly burns to heat the water in the boiler tube system. This constantly flashes the water to steam, which is blown across multiple stages of turbine blades, thereby turning the generator and producing the electricity. We also stopped by the Control Room and I saw the latest in electronic automation to keep all the plant systems balanced and running within proper parameters. I thanked him for his time, then headed back to our plant. The sun was just coming up as I passed through Hermann again, and I reached Callaway an hour-and-a-half after the end of my shift. I'm glad my supervisor pre-authorized the additional travel time as being on the clock, because it was a long trip with lots of energy drinks to keep me going.
http://missouricore.com/wp-content/themes/missouri_core/images/home/rotating/CallawayPlant.jpg
B4iregaleyouwitheverymomentofmyworkingcareer
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Latest reply: Nov 21, 2011
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