Good morning!!!!

[daugen]

Which means everyone else had to raise their prices, so you end up with net zero and high inflation.

only if it got us better service and a more enjoyable shopping experience.
my local neighborhood is very upmarket and seems to be able to tolerate just about any
price gouging going on. 20 miles South of here, very different situation.
All I'm asking is the choice of full serve instead of self serve and not feel like I'm in the penalty box
having a human being pack my groceries. Employees cost money, of course and I think we should pay for them, and hopefully
a living wage in that county. So add ten percent to the current costs.
Our government has pamphlets showing you how to do it...

 

[Bird]

I said, "Ain't Old Age great? Night before last, I just couldn't sleep and have NO IDEA why. Wasn't worried about anything, no special or new problems; just laid in bed awake. But as a result, I was really draggin' yesterday all day; felt like I had trouble getting around. So yesterday afternoon, I went to bed before 5 p.m. and except for a trip to the bathroom once, didn't get up until nearly 4 a.m. this morning.

I THINK I've recovered; sure hope so 'cause the yard needs mowing. Wish we didn't have this 93% humidity."

And ronjhall replied, "I get those days. That why I have conserve energy days. Wish I could get 11 hours of sleep to make for the bad night."

I've rarely been able to do it myself, but I reckon it worked this time. I mowed the yard this morning with the bagger, edged, trimmed, etc., got a shower, did a load of laundry, and went to Walmart, with a brief stop at the offices of the company that is going to be replacing our roof very soon. And I still feel better than I felt at any time yesterday.

 

[PJSprog]

Our projected start date of Wednesday came and went for the fence contractor. I pointed this out to The Wife yesterday morning, noting that because of the rain this week I was going to give him until Friday before contacting him. She sent him a text anyway, and he told her he was inventorying his supplies at the time and would be delivering them on Friday for a Monday start. True to his word, she told me earlier that they showed up about 09:30 this morning and dropped the stuff behind the barn.

Looks like we're getting the pasture fence installed after all.

 

[pennwalk]

they can't get help, no one wants to work.

I think another thing that is going on is that people are taking the better jobs. Around here there are hiring signs everywhere. There are a lot of crummy jobs out there and people may be able to do better. I know that the engineering company my wife works for has been losing people to competitors.

Chris

 

[rswyan]

Just got off the phone with "Season" at Chapin - apparently they had an issue with their tube-bending equipment and had a run where some tube parts were improperly bent.

Sounds like a good case for some additional QA ... and maybe a jig to spot check parts on.

In any event, some new, correctly bent parts will be on the way shortly (from Batavia, NY) ... could even see them before the end of next week which would be nice ...

 

[PJSprog]

I think another thing that is going on is that people are taking the better jobs.

I sure hope that's true. That's how it's supposed to work. Rather than complaining that my minimum wage job doesn't pay me $XX/hr, I go out and find a job that does pay $XX/hr. It used to be known as advancing your career. Seems these days too many people want an unsustainable wage for a job that's simply not worth that amount. There are jobs that were never meant to raise a family on.

 

[PJSprog]

Just got off the phone with "Season" at Chapin - apparently they had an issue with their tube-bending equipment and had a run where some tube parts were improperly bent.

Sounds like a good case for some additional QA ... and maybe a jig to spot check parts on.

(cringing)

Edit: That was not us, by the way.

 

[rswyan]

U.S. unemployment claims drop below 500,000 for first time since pandemic hit as hiring surges

The labor market isn't really tight ... yet.

If it were, you'd be seeing rising wage growth ... as businesses compete for a limited supply of something for which there is high demand (labor)

That's how it works in a market economy.

The Fed says that (rising wage growth) is not yet happening.

Beyond that, there are a number of reasons why some folks may have opted to not return to work (taking care of elderly family, young kids not back in school, fear of the vaccine and/or the virus ... or possibly both, etc.)

 

[rswyan]

(cringing)

Edit: That was not us, by the way.

Your recent post had me wondering ...

 

[RoyJackson]

We are a tube fabrication company. We have two main focuses here; one is tube bending, and one is stackable/returnable rack production. Most business on the tube bending side comes from the agricultural and lawn care industries. We bend a lot of steel handles and frame parts for a lot of well-known companies that get a lot of talk time on these forums. We also do a fair amount of business with the railroad tank car industry. The rack side gets most of our business from Tier1 and Tier 2 automotive suppliers and one of the big box home improvement stores.

Funny thing...I worked at a tube fab shop too...one in Hanover PA. The primary customer was (still is, I suppose) Harley Davidson...mostly the York plant, but not limited to the York plant. I was the Quality Supervisor (didn't have a managerial position
I produced the first electronic PPAP for the York plant.

Not sure if it's still this way, but the St. Louis plant was in dire straits a year or so back. Facility I'm at, in New Hampshire is pretty solid

 

[RoyJackson]

Just got off the phone with "Season" at Chapin - apparently they had an issue with their tube-bending equipment and had a run where some tube parts were improperly bent.

Sounds like a good case for some additional QA ... and maybe a jig to spot check parts on.

In any event, some new, correctly bent parts will be on the way shortly (from Batavia, NY) ... could even see them before the end of next week which would be nice ...

Outstanding!!!

 

[RoyJackson]

I don't see any kink.

The one side of the axle measures 25 5/8" from the top of the hopper to the center line of the axle, the other side measures 27".

That's nearly an inch and half difference ... which could make the unit prone to tipping, depending on which way it was facing when you traversed across a hill ... and doesn't even begin to account for the front-to-back variation of the axle placement ... .

A couple of pictures to illustrate:

First, using the normal lens setting on my iPhone:

View attachment 697619

Second, using the wide-angle lens:

View attachment 697620

Can't really get an pics of the front-to-back variation, due to the gearbox obscuring the view.



Interesting.

Personally, while I'm certainly no engineer, I would think that the variations I've described/shown, would make the unit inclined to bind and place unnecessary stress on components, such as the gearbox.

I have seen at least one report of at least one wheel locking up and being drug across the grass when it was empty (no weight) that would seem to indicate binding.

I agree...that's much worse then the minor tweak I had. Poor workmanship or QC.
Glad the company is taking care of you!
Chapin is very responsive to customer concerns...so is Agri-Fab

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

The talk of "raising wages" not accomplishing anything, I beg to differ.....

About 7 years ago, the EMS company that I worked for was a 'stand alone' subsidiary of a nationwide healthcare provider (hospitals, urgent cares, and even health insurer). The higher up bean counters decided that the EMS company should be grouped in with the emergency dept... , under a hospital 'director'.

Providing EMS on the street, serving a community of 700,000 people, and responding to 140,000 EMS calls a year, IS NOT the same as providing medical care in an emergency dept controlled environment. The new upper management (who never even considered it could be different), decided not to fill vacant positions and impose mandatory OT .... not just a few hours, but an additional full 13 hour shift weekly. It was said that it would only last for 3 months.

After the OT mandate lasted over a year, people were getting burned out. Call volume increased by 30%, 13 hour shifts usually turned into 14-15 hour shifts. Management started keeping track of how much time was spent on scene, how long you spent at the ER dropping off a patient, even how long it took before the truck moved when it was dispatched. They did this for every one of the 300 EMTs and Paramedics in the field, posting the times in a hallway on 2 - 4'x8' noteboards.

Needless to say, the job was extremely stressful to begin with... on an easy day. The added stress and call volume caused a "mass exodus" of employees. Some were top notch medics who had been serving for 15-20 years.

The new management held a 'briefing' about the situation.... it was standing room only. The crowd was not happy... many were talking about unionizing.
The new director said anything and everything she could against a union. She exclaimed "We could throw a $10 an hour increase to the base rates and it won't change a thing".... I thought it was going to turn into a riot!

Guess what? They could barely get any applications, and the ones they did get, were the bottom of the barrel applicants. They offered $5,000 sign on bonuses.... still could not fill positions.

4 months later, the new director was reassigned. Employee salaries were increased 15-25% ($3 to $6 an hour), based upon time of service and level of licensure EMT, EMT-I, or paramedic. The mandatory OT was stopped.

Instead of people leaving, they now stepped up to the plate, voluntarily filling OT slots, staying later after their shift end, and morale increased substantially. Applications started to increase, vacant positions could be filled. It was 'worth it' to come to work. There were always those few that really didn't want to do the job, but now they could be replaced.... because there were people that wanted to work and COULD MAKE A DECENT WAGE.

It is a proven fact that employees that make a good wage show up to work AND do a good job. There is no reason that CEOs of companies should get bonuses of millions of dollars when most of the workforce that is making the profit for that company, can't put food on the table or pay the rent. Granted, there are many cases of workers just 'milking it', but I believe that is a small percentage.

Should this country and its corporations just start doing 'sweat shops'?

OK, I have to get off my soap box.... rant over....

 

[PJSprog]

Not sure if it's still this way, but the St. Louis plant was in dire straits a year or so back. Facility I'm at, in New Hampshire is pretty solid

Those straits started back around the time I was there, 2010-2012. They had over 1800 employees at that facility when I started. That number had dropped to around 1100 when I left. Most of the business there relies on older aircraft programs that are slowly being phased out by the F-22 and F-35.

Some of the old guys used to talk about the old days when it was still McDonnell-Douglas, and that in its heyday there was somewhere in the neighborhood of 45,000 employees working there. Crazy. It was neat to see some of the legacy stuff from the early space program they had on display there.

 

[pennwalk]

All this talk about making the lazy work. A friend of mine used to joke that he liked McDonald's better when the PhDs worked there during the last recession. They were smarter.

 

[rswyan]

I agree...that's much worse then the minor tweak I had. Poor workmanship or QC.

Things happen ... but it's nice to see it when they step up to handle it and make it right.

Glad the company is taking care of you!
Chapin is very responsive to customer concerns...so is Agri-Fab

Very happy with the prompt and courteous service ...

 

[txdon]

While those numbers might appear to be rather dramatic, perhaps engendering an emotional response for some, they really aren't.

And for what should be fairly obvious reasons - assuming one is willing to do a little digging.

Notice this response was for the covid numbers months ago. Now it is used for those that die from the vaccine.

 

[rswyan]

Got a call a little bit ago from "Lisa" at the local UPS terminal while I was up putting the mealworms in the upper feeder, she's on it like a bone ...

Then got a call back from her a couple minutes ago - she still has more research to do but from the sound of it, it doesn't look like it was them. But she is going to reach out to the driver and see if they saw anything and whether the tracks in the lawn were there when they delivered the package.

Don's observation regarding a trailer possibly being involved is carrying some weight.

 

[rswyan]

Notice this response was for the covid numbers months ago. Now it is used for those that die from the vaccine.

Clarify ?

 

[txdon]

The before pic. It was muddy on the road after after last weekend's rain.

The after pic, after the last back drag.

The gravel is decomposed granite.