Thread: One for the fridgies

Originally Posted by rick130

Change is the only constant in the universe.

It's taken me decades to learn to roll with it rather than fight it.

I recon its human nature to fight change,but yes you do learn to roll with it.

What i don't like is change that is not for the better,technology just for technologys sake,which is stupid and over complicates things.

SO then there is more to break down,making it less reliable.

Talking about change,when Garmin came out with their very first street finder,SWMBO asked me if i wanted one for the van.
My answer was i don't want one of those things.Complicated crap.Street directory is fine.
So she bought me one for my birthday,and it was absolutely fantastic,once i got used to it.

In fact most of the young ones today don't know how to use a street directory.

Originally Posted by rick130

Am I old school?


When I was young 'old school' meant you'd dealt with methyl chloride, SO2, etc.
R12, 22, 502 were state of the art.

I keep denying I'm getting older, but the crazy hours are catching up with me atm.
But the young fellas are struggling too, so then I don't feel so bad.

We all are Rick or haven't you noticed, every one of us is, unless there is a Time Machine that I haven't heard about.


Just accept it gracefully & with pride & just let it happen, 'cos you have done the hard yards & can look back at your achievements in your life.

[dips lid]



Sgd. Methuselah. AKA 4 bee.

In fact most of the young ones today don't know how to use a street directory.

Paul, just what is this 'Street Directory' that you speak of?

In my day directions were imparted by using a dry stick & scratching in the sand & using pebbles as Way Points & POIs.

Edit. 'er indoors recently told me about kids who cannot tell the time from an olde fashioned clock with hands but give 'em a digital & they are away.

No idea how they would get on if said clock face was in Roman Numerals. They'd be buggered walking down Adelaide's King William St without a digital clock in sight.

Adelaide Town Hall & the GPO are both Roman Numeral faces.

I guess they'd count the figures around the face edge & then what?

The pace of change in some industries huge indeed. I'm an (old school) IT tech and I reckon that my knowledge has a lifespan of about two years after which its obsolete. I started as an apprentce radio mechanic and fixed manual typewriters and ink duplicators (I reckon I could still overhaul and time a Gestetner machine), then golfball and electric machines, electronic typewriters and wet and dry first generation photocopiers.

From there I progressed to modern photocopiers and IBM XT and AT computers then had a career jump to Osborne Computers. I worked my way around the industry and worked with Digital Equipment Co, Compaq and HP, all at the same desk before moving to a Government job where I have had at least two careers, Storage and Cloud computing.

Of all the places I've worked the only company that still exists is HP and in a vastly different market to when I left.

All of this in a career that is still going after 36 years. Sometimes I wish I was in a trade where stuff doesn't change quite so fast but if you cant keep surfing that technology wave and then paddle back out before you get dumped its time to retire.


Regards,
Tote

Tote, that is a great example but I wouldn't be the only Fridgie in OZ that finds this work can be wearing on the body & other bits..

Lack of physical access & turning one's body & appendages inside out because of poor installation & to gain access to components.
Bruised & sprained limbs, minor accidental electric shocks & sometimes severe one as well just to keep one awake, cut fingers on badly cut & finished panels of all sorts & other bits (but thankfully not the male important parts although they probably came close to extinction at times) By the time one finished the job it was like a battle scene at Rorke's Drift in ZULU.
The work can also be heavy on , neck, arms, legs, feet, back & lungs., etc depending on the grade of work one has to endure, eg. Domestic or Commercial &/or air conditioning.
Breathing problems, due to localised **** in the air & a whole host of misc. hurts makes me appreciative of still being alive to tell the tale. I reckon I speak for the majority of Fridgies at work these days.

WH&S was never a big thing back then. I remember having to use a WW2 Military Gas Mask (with the Red filter) when working with SO2 which probably was never designed for that gas, but remarkably it seemed to work ok in the short term, so maybe it was. Breathing raw Sulphur without a Mask felt like one's lungs were bleeding but it had to be done, especially if there was a going gas leak on the premises. Don't even ask about a leak in a cellar especially with explosive inflammable Methyl Chloride. Ventilation? Where to?


Edit. Oh yes, to neutralise the SO2 we had to sprinkle Ammonia around the place which in turn created a thick white vapour & god only knows what that chemical mix consisted of? When you ran out of Ammonia, in you went with a wet cloth on your face but that didn't last long. So there you were holding a wet cloth on your face & trying to hurriedly use spanners & flaring tool in the remaining two hands etc to repair the leak. When it was all over you tried to consume many pints of milk which you were expected to purchase from the Shopkeeper.


With Methyl Chloride, it being explosive & inflammable, of course you used a Halide Torch which contained a naked flame & hot surfaces. No worries.

* Contact with liquid Methyl Chloride can cause frostbite and severe skin and eye burns, leading to permanent damage. * Breathing Methyl Chloride can irritate the lungs causing coughing and/or shortness of breath. * Higher levels can cause headache, dizziness, drowsiness, unconsciousness, convulsions, and death.

There was no accurate way of knowing whether you had a "Higher Level" If you could smell it you assumed it was but that wasn't a 100% method so you could have still died in a flash of flame & explosive.

Insulated clothing to work in Freezer Rooms was non-existent & if it was, it was very expensive & difficult to obtain readily. Usually it was a cotton work shirt with maybe a sack thrown over one's shoulders. When job was completed it was back out into 100 F temperatures & on to the next one.

Ah, the good olde days.

One's brain hurt when one endeavored to keep up with all the changes Engineering, Legal & Technical, from different manufacturers & Govt. Depts Refrigerants & other bits.
In fact it is hurting now. BUGGER!


Sorry, what was the question?



ED.

OH, ****ing great!

“Basically the situation is that the vast majority of WW2 gas masks contain asbestos in the filter, quite often blue asbestos, a category one carcinogen. ... A spokesman for The Health Protection Agency advises people not to wear WW2 gas masks because they may contain asbestos that can cause respiratory diseases.

Hmm, how things were! I think some of you old "gentlemen" must have started your apprenticeship with the iceman taking care of the horse!

I served my time as an electrical fitter, so most of my early experience was just with the motors. "Remember you stupid ******, it has to pull the compressor from the bottom".

But before that it was on the farm, "go and put some bloody kero in the fridge", "and don't turn the wick up too far or it will smoke".

In later years as both an electrician and even later, chief engineer, on oil rigs and ships I had to learn fast or incur the wrath of the crew!

Merry Christmas to all of you anyway, I really enjoy reading about some of your exploits.

Hmm, how things were! I think some of you old "gentlemen" must have started your apprenticeship with the iceman taking care of the horse!

Not quite correct in my case OF, but I do remember the Ice Man (he was also the Wood Merchant in Winter) Mr Reynolds,

with his steel ice calipers & his horse that followed him up the street to the next customer's house.


I reciprocate your Xmas Greetings.


Drive your ship safely & try not to use your mobile when at the wheel or they will do you, especially in NSW.

Originally Posted by Tote

The pace of change in some industries huge indeed. I'm an (old school) IT tech and I reckon that my knowledge has a lifespan of about two years after which its obsolete. I started as an apprentce radio mechanic and fixed manual typewriters and ink duplicators (I reckon I could still overhaul and time a Gestetner machine), then golfball and electric machines, electronic typewriters and wet and dry first generation photocopiers.

From there I progressed to modern photocopiers and IBM XT and AT computers then had a career jump to Osborne Computers. I worked my way around the industry and worked with Digital Equipment Co, Compaq and HP, all at the same desk before moving to a Government job where I have had at least two careers, Storage and Cloud computing.

Of all the places I've worked the only company that still exists is HP and in a vastly different market to when I left.

All of this in a career that is still going after 36 years. Sometimes I wish I was in a trade where stuff doesn't change quite so fast but if you cant keep surfing that technology wave and then paddle back out before you get dumped its time to retire.


Regards,
Tote

My Dad was a camera tech, back when they were purely mechanical devices. Once they becoming electronic, he went and did a TAFE course on the subject. The instructor told the class that much of what they were learning would be obsolete within a year. Fortunately, as he had a keen interest in electronics, he managed to master the subject with a grounding in the basics and reading the latest journals. He passed almost twenty years ago, I wonder if he could cope with the latest boxes and chips of trickery, if he was still with us.