Oh I can't believe it either... yesterday I actually walked around the garden... but I am still so sick I had no energy to do anything. well, I just hope snow does not stay long... did you guys read the farmer's almanac????
Less than 30 days now!! Spring is around the corner!
No AP courses when I went to school. Don't know how I avoided calc, but never had to take it, even with being a Bio. major. DH went to RPI with a Nuclear Engineering major. He was in the industry until 89, when his best friend died at age 39. Jeff rethought things and had always wanted to teach so went into teaching at a private Christian school for a few years then switched to a school in Delaware where he has been for 9 years.
We got the rest of the garden cleared yesterday. Good thing with the snow coming in.
Where did he work 'in the industry'?
He's been at Maine Yankee, Palisades - in Michigan, Donald C Cook in Michigan, and Salem Generating Station in NJ.
All pressurized water reactors. The fuel was no doubt tested by us at Columbia U. Did he work for the NRC or a manufacturer?
He worked for Combustion Engineering at two of them, then a private consulting firm, then by the utility. He moved around a lot at first, with Combustion, then the private firm. Then when we had our boys, he wanted to stay in one place so he joined the utility. He doesn't know where the fuel was tested. What did you do at Columbia? I know you said you had an engineering background.
We did loads of work for CE. I worked at a research lab called the Heat Transfer Research Facility (HTRF). Primarily, we performed a type of NRC mandated test on nuclear fuel called Critical Heat Flux testing. In simple terms, we pushed the fuel to failure to establish the safe operating margins. We simulated reactor conditions except that we heated the rods electrically, in place of the nuclear fuel.
I am an EE, so my primary responsibilities were power (we used huge Direct Current generators to bring up to 12 megawatts of power to the fuel), control, instrumentation and data acquisition.
Virtually every PWR fuel was tested at our facility, including that of the foreign companies. Now there are no longer any American PWR fuel manufacturers. We worked for CE, Westinghouse, Exxon, Siemens (German), Babcock & Wilcox, Framatome (French), MHI & NFI (Japanese), and others. We also did work for the NRC, Con Ed and the Department of Energy.
sounds complicated Victor!
speaking of math - took calculus in High School in Brazil... had no choice... don't remember anything... I decided to study Math again because of nursing school oh what a good challenge did't like everything but algebra is definetly my thing... hate word problems... can't make sense of it... lol...
speaking of snow, I saw this morning on CBS the physics professor at CALTECH that has taken pictures of snowflakes? so gorgeous... really cool!
sunny and still cold my way, I can live with the cold if the sun is shinning I just tell myself its warm and as long as I stay in the lie works hahahhaha
good morning victor and how are you today ?
mona
snow... snow... more snow... hope it goes away soon!
Mona, I agree with you... as long as the sun is out it makes it bearable!
yes and my seedling need it since I dont use grow lights
I can undestand why people worshiped the sun... lol... what a difference!
yes the sun!!! without it earth would be a dead planet so I see it as the main source of life
The Egyptians knew that
ya to bad most people dont ever understand what nature has given us, and keep destroying it without realizing it
Not so evident this morning!
I just had a lesson about using the snowblower and I plowed a good chunk of the driveway. My DBF is away next week and I'll hafta plow the driveway if it snows again then. I know, bite my tongue!!
lets not discuss next weeks enjoy todays weather next week is far away and weather man has a hard time getting tomorrow right so I never count on next week hahahah
I'll have Jeff look at your post, Victor as soon as he comes in from shoveling snow.
Kassia, how long were you in Brazil? I'm sure you have some good stories.
Sun just came out a bit ago. Now, I'm blinded by the 'white stuff'. :)
Sun??
Boojum, we are going to be in Vt as of Friday, so if you need help with the SB, just call or dmail me. I can run it, but DH actually likes doing it. Fool.
Too funny to see Combustion Engineering mentioned. My family's Oklahoma's company did lots of business with them. May still do, but I am out of the loop. Not nuclear stuff, but heat exchangers. Patti
Wow - that interesting, Patti. CE was bought by ABB (Swedes) about 20 years ago. The nuke division was bought by Westinghouse about 8 years ago. Westinghouse nuke was bought by the Brits - BNFL, which was bought by the Japanese - Toshiba!
And around we go.
British Nuclear Fuel Limited.
I get lucky some years and CE and others when they buy enough stuff from the family co. so that my one brother who still runs it sends me a check rather than just paying Uncle Sam more money in taxes. It is my mad plant money. Last year was good. In 2010, I will be lucky to buy seeds, if that.
It was my dad's hope to sell the company and retire, but he had a massive heart attack while on a business trip to some boiler company in Pa 1981 in his 60's. He was playing golf at the time, so he was having fun. I have never gotten over him not being
around. He loved trees, so I plant them in honor.
He came out to see our new baby boy that spring and saw our newly purchased property. When he saw the property all he wanted to talk about was the future landscape and gardens. He and I chopped through the briar's to see what was worth keeping. He loved the site and could see it's potential.
He never gardened himself, but had a keen eye for seeing a well grown tree or shrub in a nicely planned setting or in the wild and would suddenly pull off the road to admire a good garden or a tree. Our yard was just that, A Yard, with some nice trees, but I accept most of the blame as he gave me and my horse the biggest part, and then had a pool build for the boys. Generous man, miss him. Patti
ah but do they always remember to pay the employees that is what is important
Some of the employees are family. They live well, but I do question my brother about some of his standards of fairness for some of the shorter term workers. Many of his others have worked there for years, so I assume they are happy. I have brought up work standards and pay, but that is like trying to talk politics or religion with him. Best not to go there.
However a few years ago his daughter got in a bad situation with a major big box store company who she worked for in Human Resources. They screwed her big time when she got run down by a fork lift. on her way into her office. They fought her medical needs tooth and nail, and now 3 operations later she still hasn't got all the medical bills taken care of them. They just keep fighting it through the courts. But their CEO left with 210 million dollars. Fair, I don't think so. I think all this is causing him to reassess some of his politics and ideas about what is right is best ...for all....at least I hope so.
In the meantime, I wish the economy would get better for all no matter how anyone voted. Patti
he is handsome and talk a good talk but remember that it took many years to get this bad so no overnight fix in the near future.
18 more days, but it sure doesn't seem it today.
I agree with the economy. DH was bringing in 600 a week. Living like kings. Then he started to get laid off and get 159 bucks a week - who can live on that? Goes back to work and the hours are slashed. Now down to 400 a week. The ball keeps bouncing, work 1 week have 1 week off. I would love a part time job to help with the crunching of bills etc.
Good Grief - I will be down in NYC with a tin can asking for donations! Kidding!
I'm hoping all the greed and selfishness gets knocked out of this country and people are smarter about who they vote for in the future and kinder to one another. Back to basics is a good thing. And doing things out of fear really is a disaster.
Patti, lovely story about your memories of your dad. My mom died at 61 and never got to meet my redheaded daughter (her fav) or see my obsessive garden. She would have been so proud of my bravery to not give in to ridicule....
dont laugh when I lived in toronto this women which had been a fixture on a certain corner for many years with her little can and her dog
was found to live in a four thousand square foot house and drove a cady which she parked about two blocks away from her corner
big bucks if you can make yourself look bad enough for people to feel sorry for you
a busy corner in a large city can have 20 thousand people a day walk by if only 1000 give you a buck well looky looky that is 1000 per day at the end of the week that is 5 grand lol
Schicken, so sorry to hear of your woes. I get really mad some days that we've come to this in 8 years. But this is getting awfully close to political opinion, so I'll stop.
it was in the news last week that the sale of seeds in north america is up 20 per cent well let get back to the basics of canning jaring and freezing our food and then its cheaper to live right
hahahhahahahahahaha
Basics
Cook supper/dinner every night - no eating out (unless in the garden) and try to grow what you eat.
Hang your clothes on the line. Wash them with a wash tub.
No cell phone, computer, dishwasher or hair dryer or curling iron.
I am not a needy person. I like to be clean, you know take a shower everyday with clean clothes, brush your teeth. Some what clean house. Used to be better than it is now.
New clothes? Clothes dont make a person but I dont my pants down around my thighs or a shirt that is 1/2 way up my neck.
What have I missed? LOL
These problems started way before 2001, booj. All of the changes in the laws that resulted in the housing debacle happened in the 90's.
well I got a jacket this year on sale had not gotten a new one in 6 years I was due I wash in cold hand everything to dry in the basement by the furnace have 5 lines and that works for the winter summer line outside that is free lol I shop at produce depot where fruit and vegies are a quarter of the price of supermardets for the kids since they are growing and I have to dress them for school I shop off season at 70 per cent or more off
there are many ways of cutting cost but I still have to heat the house and pay mortage and property taxes, those till we die taxes for sure