MikeF90 Our legislatively mandated transition to non-fossil fuel sources has resulted in very high electric rates here in Cali.
Our legislatively mandated transition to non-fossil fuel sources has resulted in very high electric rates here in Cali.
Other issues may be involved. The municipal utility for Georgetown TX (population of 80,000+) converted to wind/solar-generated electricity because they could obtain it at a much better rate than fossil fuels/nuclear. As an aside, the mayor of Georgetown is a full-time CPA and neither he nor the city council could be described as greenies. This is Texas, after all.
Balt,
I am shocked. Shocked I say!
Mac
Electroliner 1935One of my pet peeves was when I was in Engineering College, there was a big deal from the experts that we had to take some liberal arts to "round out" our education but I never heard them pushing any courses for their liberal arts students to learn anything about how things work.
IMO everyone should be required to have technical writing and basic economic courses, preferably in high school. The former is the foundation of clear written communication with peers, bosses, customers and possibly even politicians . By contrast, my high school English teacher mostly concentrated on useless 'literary criticism', and thereby accelerating my interest in engineering.
It isn't quite clear how some 'greenies' can be made to understand and acknowledge the economic implications of 'alternative' energy, based on personal experience with many relatives and friends. Our legislatively mandated transition to non-fossil fuel sources has resulted in very high electric rates here in Cali.
Likewise, most K-12 school districts abandoned vocational classes long ago. Some community colleges have picked up the slack, but mostly I see for-profit companies filling that gap. Every other show on 'FantomWorks' seems to feature a skilled tech troubleshooting, repairing or replacing an vehicle wire harness - so much for computerization.
The mention above of 'This Old House' building trade skills recalls the intersection with cosmology. Someone needs to investigate what universe home improvement contractors disappear into a few days after starting work; telephones, email and texting can't seem to bridge this communications gap .....
Links to my Google Maps ---> Sunset Route overview, SoCal metro, Yuma sub, Gila sub, SR east of Tucson, BNSF Northern Transcon and Southern Transcon *** Why you should support Ukraine! ***
Glancing through the carriers responses to the STB it seems like they were all written by the same ghost writer.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
blue streak 1 Deggestry -- Try finding a tube tester today. Know of only one for 40 miles around. If one is bad you have to buy that Russian junk if available .
Deggestry -- Try finding a tube tester today. Know of only one for 40 miles around. If one is bad you have to buy that Russian junk if available .
Johnny
IIRC, Edison even investigated placing a grid between the filament and plate.....
Murphy Siding Back to the point at hand- Why are regulators even involved in discussing railroad service issues? And other than gripe about it, what can the regulators do to make railroads run faster?
The Government still regulates railroads as they are a critical element of economic activity within the country and are thus Interstate Commerce. The Staggers Act did not give the railroads carte blanche power in the areas of deregulation.
When customers begin to complain 'enmasse' about the level of service they are not receiving those customers who provide campaign contributions to sitting legislators tend to get heard when the customers are unhappy.
The USA has the best form of government that MONEY can BUY - it gets bought and sold at all levels from Dog Catcher to the White House - every day, every way.
DeggestyOf course, some will ask "What's a tube?"
Oh, that's simple: a CRT terminal hooked up via Twinax to a mainframe or mini.
Greatest missed opportunity of the 19th Century: Edison not following up on the Edison Effect. (Second greatest, Tesla not following up either...)
Back to the point at hand- Why are regulators even involved in discussing railroad service issues? And other than gripe about it, what can the regulators do to make railroads run faster?
I suppose they could threaten some regulations, although I'm not sure I know what they would be. Just the threat might be enough to put the fear of you-know-who into them.
Maybe some sort of limitations on acquisitions by vulture capitalists?
Too, their involvement might suggest further official scrutiny, like from legislators.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
Ah, yes. when I was in high school, getting somebody's radio to play was seldom difficult. Usually, only a tube needed to be replaced (with all of the common AC-DC sets, that meant removing each tube and checking its heater until the burntout one was found). Once in a while, a resistor or capacitor had failed--and most manufacturers used standard values (Philco did not, but I would put in what I had, and the radio would work; if it was a tube, I did have to buy a loctal tube to get a Philco radio going)--so I had no problem in making the owner happy.
Of course, some will ask "What's a tube?"
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
zugmann Murphy Siding Why did you replace your flashy cartoon avatars with a portrait of Edger Allen Poe on a Monday morning at the office? That's Keith Flick from "B: The Beginning". New anime on Netflix.
Murphy Siding Why did you replace your flashy cartoon avatars with a portrait of Edger Allen Poe on a Monday morning at the office?
That's Keith Flick from "B: The Beginning". New anime on Netflix.
Murphy SidingWhy did you replace your flashy cartoon avatars with a portrait of Edger Allen Poe on a Monday morning at the office?
It's been fun. But it isn't much fun anymore. Signing off for now.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.t fun any
zugmann tree68 It's amazing how many folks have no idea how to solder a part into a circuit. Drop a Heathkit in front of them and they will have no idea how to proceed. And there's a lot of folks that have no clue how to sync their phones to their cars. Technology evolves.
tree68 It's amazing how many folks have no idea how to solder a part into a circuit. Drop a Heathkit in front of them and they will have no idea how to proceed.
And there's a lot of folks that have no clue how to sync their phones to their cars. Technology evolves.
tree68It's amazing how many folks have no idea how to solder a part into a circuit. Drop a Heathkit in front of them and they will have no idea how to proceed.
BaltACDThen you have the Millenial mechanic that is a parts replacer.
Not to mention that many items, including cars, are built to be fixed exactly that way.
Once integrated circuits found their way into electronics, individual part replacement became a non-starter. And that applies to anything that uses them.
It's amazing how many folks have no idea how to solder a part into a circuit. Drop a Heathkit in front of them and they will have no idea how to proceed.
When I had to have the engine in my truck replaced (long story), the mechanics misrouted one wire, which ended up grounding out. It took my usual shop a couple of visits to finally sort out the problem. The analyzer only knows what it sees, which may be only peripherally related to the actual problem.
ruderunnerBalt, going to have to call you out about your mechanic statement. It most definitely is not code blank means replacing part blank.
You have experienced knowledgable mechanics that have gained their experience with proper training as vehicles moved from the pre-EPA days through the introduction of computer aids to todays vehicles that are almost totally computer dependent - they have the knowledge and skills to fully diagnose and repair the problems.
Then you have the Millenial mechanic that is a parts replacer.
Balt, going to have to call you out about your mechanic statement. It most definitely is not code blank means replacing part blank.
Modeling the Cleveland and Pittsburgh during the PennCentral era starting on the Cleveland lakefront and ending in Mingo junction
Bear in mind that I'm not knocking liberal arts courses - I had to take them, too, and don't regret any of them.
As Electroliner points out, a liberal arts degree too often has little substance beyond those "arts."
Which is why I joke about underwater basket weaving.
The worst part about a LA degree is that many of them are building up huge debt, and still don't have a marketable skill...
One of my pet peeves was when I was in Engineering College, there was a big deal from the experts that we had to take some liberal arts to "round out" our education but I never heard them pushing any courses for their liberal arts students to learn anything about how things work. I don't resent taking some L.A. courses but I wish more "educated" people appreciated what is required to make things work properly. Doe anyone wonder where the FIU bridge designers went to school?
When I was in engineering school, we had to take at least 1 liberal arts course each semester. English was mandatory for both semesters of freshman year, plus 2 others that year. Most of us chose a couple semesters of Economics, because it was somewhat math-based and had some graphs.
Later on I did something else that was less structured (for sure!) and more people-oriented. As the Russian General Alekseyev said in Tom Clancy's book, Red Storm Rising: "Numbers have their own perfection, but people remain people no matter what we try to do with them."
But "I are an engineer" - see the Virginia Engineering T-Shirt at: https://photo.frostnet.net/chris/photos/2000_2001/imgc_20132b.jpeg.small.html
That said, my wife is involved in a program to get high school girls involved in the construction trades. It's universal that there's a shortage of people willing and able to do that kind of work. Mike Rowe of "Dirty Jobs" is doing a lot to persuade people of the value of those jobs despite his role in perpetuating that stereotype - especially the younger ones - as is the "This Old House" crew.
- PDN.
tree68 Hardly - More to the point is that a college degree shouldn't be seen as the be-all and end-all goal. As has been pointed out, oftimes it seems like going on to college is seen as the only acceptable goal out of high school. A BA in Underwater Basket Weaving may be a college degree, but it has limited application in the real world - unless your life goal is to teach underwater basket weaving. Somebody still has to hammer nails, milk cows, and dig ditches. Of course, we seem to have "outsourced" a lot of that, too...
Hardly - More to the point is that a college degree shouldn't be seen as the be-all and end-all goal. As has been pointed out, oftimes it seems like going on to college is seen as the only acceptable goal out of high school. A BA in Underwater Basket Weaving may be a college degree, but it has limited application in the real world - unless your life goal is to teach underwater basket weaving.
Somebody still has to hammer nails, milk cows, and dig ditches. Of course, we seem to have "outsourced" a lot of that, too...
I recently read a pair of articles/blogs/whatever (can't find them now) on liberal arts. One was lamenting the fact that STEM educations are lacking in the liberal arts. While the technical degree is useful, so are many of the more social sciences. May have been about dealing with people in general and people from other cultures - I forget the specifics.
Another one was (I think) about Penn State's school of medicine and its requirement for liberal arts courses. Same gist, pretty much. A complete education needs to be well rounded, IMO.
But as a parent I'm glad my kids are college bound. They can do whatever they when they're done.. but nobody ever regretted getting a degree in something practical they didn't have to pay for. My 21 year old nephew recently graduated from college, and he's making 80K as an engineer right out of the gate.. My own son is going the engineering route as well.. Daughter not so sure.. wants med school but a little early to tell. College is fine provided the student doesn't graduate with a ton of debt.. more than one or two microbiology PhDs driving truck to pay off their student loans.. not too smart in my opinion.
CSSHEGEWISCHI guess that means that four-year colleges should drop liberal arts and humanities and turn themselves into glorified trade schools.
tree68 Punchline to an old joke - "what does a college graduate with a liberal arts degree say? 'Do want fries with that?'"
Sometimes a family member may insist that a high school graduate go to college. A friend of my brother who graduated two years ahead of me began going to a trade school--and his aunt insisted that he go to college instead. I do not rememberf how long he went, but he did not finish. He began working his father's farm, and did well. A few years ago, he was the mayor of my home town (he took the two-year vocational agriculture course when he was in high school).
My brother also took the agriculture course--and went on to college and graduate school, and ended up in some physics work.
jeffhergertBut the "experts" always seem to still add in some way that a 4 year degree is best...
Punchline to an old joke - "what does a college graduate with a liberal arts degree say? 'Do want fries with that?'"
JPS1 charlie hebdo Though true in US for the most part, your remark is not true in the entire "Western world." Speaking for only my part of Texas, since it is the only place that I know a little it about, there numerous opportunities for young people to acquire technical skills training. When I was in school, many moons ago, we had a robust vocational education program. I spent the last two years of high school studying drafting and design. technology. Half a day was spent on the drafting boards, and the other half studying academic subjects. The programs that existed in the high schools when I was coming of age in the 50s are still around. But the location has changed. For the most part, at least in Texas, they have been moved to the community colleges and/or Texas State Technical College. The programs that they offer help people develop the skills for really good jobs.
charlie hebdo Though true in US for the most part, your remark is not true in the entire "Western world."
Speaking for only my part of Texas, since it is the only place that I know a little it about, there numerous opportunities for young people to acquire technical skills training.
When I was in school, many moons ago, we had a robust vocational education program. I spent the last two years of high school studying drafting and design. technology. Half a day was spent on the drafting boards, and the other half studying academic subjects.
The programs that existed in the high schools when I was coming of age in the 50s are still around. But the location has changed. For the most part, at least in Texas, they have been moved to the community colleges and/or Texas State Technical College. The programs that they offer help people develop the skills for really good jobs.
Yes, the community colleges do well with technical training. However, the high schools (at least here in Iowa, especially the smaller schools) focus more and more about sending graduates to 4 year academic colleges. Part is due to budgetary concerns, but a lot is the attitude you have to have a 4 year degree. .
Many articles in the newspaper have "experts" starting to concede that many don't need a 4 year degree and that more should be invested in community college and vocational tech training. But the "experts" always seem to still add in some way that a 4 year degree is best and everyone should still try to get one. It's really no wonder the "experts" feel this way. The ones usually cited in the articles are academics with an interest to keep enrollment in the colleges and universities up.
Jeff
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