Tank birthday, 47+ years

[Kmst80]

Thats what you call black humor. Btw. are you surrounded by supermodels or are they magically attracted to you?

 

[atoll]

I feel your pain Paul, well nearly. Construction is hard on your body. Lots of kneeling and bending as well as heavy lifting but then you know that. My back aches after sitting and I get up. My right ankle has a mind if its own and won't allow me to walk past super models, that's mostly likely from all the football I used to play. My hands have Arthur and I guess that's from using hammers and screwdrivers. Everything used is a power tool now, wel rarely used anything but hand tools back in the day.

 

[Paul B]

Would you say acupuncture helps?

No, not at all. It is just an exercise in ridiculousness for me but my wife feels it does something. I have had it 4 or 5 other times for various other things and it only seems to work on ancient Chinese people at the turn of two centuries ago. Some people feel great benefits from it but I don't. Maybe it cures ich.

Btw. are you surrounded by supermodels or are they magically attracted to you?

It's a curse. It seems there are Supermodels all over the place, many on this forum even though I have never seen any of you. (Also remember that I live in New York and we have 9 million people just in the City alone and half of them are females and I find the vast majority of them to be very nice and they smell better than most of the people on subways)

That or I just think most "Girls, females, women, Humans of the opposite sex" are just much better looking than me. (excluding Nancy Pelosi) That is probably not PC and being I was raised way before being "PC" was a thing. It is what it is and I am trying not to offend anyone. Well, almost anyone although today, that is hard to do. Except some politicians who I think should get acupuncture like all over.

My hands have Arthur and I guess that's from using hammers and screwdrivers. Everything used is a power tool now, wel rarely used anything but hand tools back in the day.

I am not sure who Arthur is but where you live that must be King Arthur and I have him all over my body also. You are correct, today construction is easy with all the power tools. Most commercial buildings are made of concrete and when I got into the business, to mount things to concrete we used a "star drill" which was a cold chisel with a star pattern on the end and you banged it with a sledge or lump hammer maybe 50 times to make a hole that you could insert a lead anchor. (I even forgot the name of the thing, Oh wait AJs, Ackerman Johnsons) Then you banged that in and put in a screw.

Now even a Sissy, Girly man (or person of any sex) can get a hammer drill and in 10 seconds make the hole. That is one reason I already had 30 surgeries. To fix all the things I tore, pulled or broke in those years.

But that is what separates us from Sissys and people who cry if they get a paper cut when they tear up their losing lottery tickets.

 

[atoll]

I still have my star chisel but haven't used it in years. We had no power tools on site not even electric drills back in the day. On site there was an electric planer and bench circular saw situated under a canopy that's all I remember.

I well recall having to cut through hefty joists using a cross cut handsaw. Using a brace and bit to drill holes and a hand planer. The only automatic well semi automatic really tool we had were pump screwdrivers. Today carpenters couldn't function without an array of power tools.

 

[Paul B]

Thats how it was Atoll. I worked on the construction of many of the buildings here in Manhattan that were built in the last 60 years including the Trade Center which of course unfortunately is no longer in the picture.

That 50 story building (One New York Plaza) all the way on the right with the black band around the center, I installed a 37,000 pound generator on the 20th floor which is set back 19 feet and sets out again two floors above. I also had to get the thing up there by hiring the largest mobile crane in the US at the time. (Circa 1990) It took two other cranes to put the boom on and we had to close the Lincoln Tunnel to Manhattan and insure the subway beneath it.

I was the General Foreman. Nice job. I have pictures someplace.

 

[atoll]

Thats how it was Atoll. I worked on the construction of many of the buildings here in Manhattan that were built in the last 60 years including the Trade Center which of course unfortunately is no longer in the picture.

That 50 story building (One New York Plaza) all the way on the right with the black band around the center, I installed a 37,000 pound generator on the 20th floor which is set back 19 feet and sets out again two floors above. I also had to get the thing up there by hiring the largest mobile crane in the US at the time. (Circa 1990) It took two other cranes to put the boom on and we had to close the Lincoln Tunnel to Manhattan and insure the subway beneath it.

I was the General Foreman. Nice job. I have pictures someplace.

Today they would just shake their heads in disbelief at what we did or had to do back in the day and what we had to do it with. People have become more like robots with all the aids they have.

 

[Paul B]

Thats correct. We also had to work in any weather and could work outside up to I think about 98 degrees and something like 6 degrees. Some jobs here in the winter we spent much of the day chopping ice or shoveling snow off the deck as the building went up so we could see what we were doing. Today they would sit there and text their congressman to complain from their Toyota Land Cruiser.

None of that ever bothered me for a couple of reasons. My Dad died when I was 10 and at 12 I worked in an auto wrecking yard cutting cars apart with an acetylene torch. (I always made money which I consider easy) Then in Viet Nam I lived in the Jungle for a year with no electricity, water, roof or any of those Sissy things.

Of course I don't recommend that and certainly don't want to see anyone go to war but those experiences create an attitude unlike most people who didn't have to do that and it makes you realize that you can do those things and get through it without complaining, to much anyway.

Yesterday I delivered a Pinball machine to our Daughters house in Nyack New York. She took us to this eclectic cafe for lunch. Really cool 150 year old building where the electric wires were kind of glued to the ceiling.

Anyway the people there were very nice but OMG all Snowflakes. I know it's me but there are a lot of people that you can immediately tell that if we were attacked by almost anyone, even Smurfs or animated Q Tips, we would be in trouble as there frail people would just hide under the table and cry.

Maybe it's to much college or Kenua (which tastes like dirt) The place didn't sell anything with meat in it and I also don't think there was any spices or anything that was not made out of grass.

It was fun and my Daughter always finds these places because she normally lives in Manhattan and that is all Snowflakes. But nice.

 

[Katrina71]

We need more men like you. Sincerely.

 

[MMcKenna1029]

Paul,

I recently took my family on a vacation on the coast of Maine. I ordered your book to have during that week and read it while digging my feet into the sand and hearing the waves crash every morning. It was quite fitting and a great read!

Thank you sir.

Matt

 

[atoll]

Our bodies are paying for those hard times Paul, your more than me. The only uniform I ever got to wear was a boy scout one and they didn't have girl scouts never mind super model girl scouts back then like they do now.

Coldest times I can ever remember were playing football in 2" of snow at school for an hour in nothing more than shorts and a football shirt while the PE teacher looked out of a classroom widows leaning on a radiator.

Another time working on site in a concrete shell of a block of flats in January putting in the window frames, minus something with the wind blowing through creating god knows what chill factor. Now that was cold and there were brass monkeys running everywhere looking for something they had all lost.

 

[Paul B]

I ordered your book to have during that week and read it while digging my feet into the sand and hearing the waves crash every morning. It was quite fitting and a great read!

If I knew the book would sell so well I would have added more pictures of me wearing a Speedo.



OK....Maybe not.

Atoll, maybe it's me but do young people today just look so young? I don't know but I was a Sargent in Nam at 19 and basically an adult. A 19 year old today, especially if he spent the last 2 years in college looks like a kid and if was thrown into a dangerous situation would be in trouble.

Not all of them thank God but the vast majority.

If you gave a 12 year old a job burning cars apart with a torch today you would get arrested and you couldn't find a kid who would do that anyway because they would be spending all their time on their tablet. Like my Grand Kids do.

I learned how to make money and take care of myself very early. My parents never gave me any money unless I worked for it like shining shoes, washing the car etc and although I was probably not happy then, it paid off.

I don't play the lottery or gamble because I feel it is stupid and I can easily make all the money I want. You just have to be a little more creative than the next person and go the extra mile, or at least foot.

Very few people take pride in their job any more. Once I had to go into work on a Saturday to Manhattan and install a transformer. I found out the next day I crossed a cable and it didn't work. I got paid double time for that and I called my boss and told him not to pay me for that day. I refused that money because it would have bothered me for the rest of my life. That would never happen today because there is no pride in your work and because of that, almost nothing is made here in the US anymore.

Here I am about 16 years old. I am the good looking one with the hair on the roof of this Simca. (little weird car)
I would buy cars like this for 8 or 10 bucks and sell them for a hundred or so dollars. That was a lot of money in 1967. Today you would be hard pressed to find a 17 year old who knows how to open the hood but they can text a tow truck and have Daddy pay for it.



I think it should be illegal to buy your kid a car. Let him work for it so he appreciates it. The same with weddings, houses etc. They will eventually get your hard earned money eventually but by then, maybe they will appreciate it and know the hardships we went through to earn it.

Maybe it's just me but it bothers me to see the country I love go downhill so far, so fast.

I am 19 here in Nam. This was on a large clearing in the jungle. I filled those mortar boxes with dirt as a blast wall.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

If I knew the book would sell so well I would have added more pictures of me wearing a Speedo.



OK....Maybe not.

Atoll, maybe it's me but do young people today just look so young? I don't know but I was a Sargent in Nam at 19 and basically an adult. A 19 year old today, especially if he spent the last 2 years in college looks like a kid and if was thrown into a dangerous situation would be in trouble.

Not all of them thank God but the vast majority.

If you gave a 12 year old a job burning cars apart with a torch today you would get arrested and you couldn't find a kid who would do that anyway because they would be spending all their time on their tablet. Like my Grand Kids do.

I learned how to make money and take care of myself very early. My parents never gave me any money unless I worked for it like shining shoes, washing the car etc and although I was probably not happy then, it paid off.

I don't play the lottery or gamble because I feel it is stupid and I can easily make all the money I want. You just have to be a little more creative than the next person and go the extra mile, or at least foot.

Very few people take pride in their job any more. Once I had to go into work on a Saturday to Manhattan and install a transformer. I found out the next day I crossed a cable and it didn't work. I got paid double time for that and I called my boss and told him not to pay me for that day. I refused that money because it would have bothered me for the rest of my life. That would never happen today because there is no pride in your work and because of that, almost nothing is made here in the US anymore.

Here I am about 16 years old. I am the good looking one with the hair on the roof of this Simca. (little weird car)
I would buy cars like this for 8 or 10 bucks and sell them for a hundred or so dollars. That was a lot of money in 1967. Today you would be hard pressed to find a 17 year old who knows how to open the hood but they can text a tow truck and have Daddy pay for it.



I think it should be illegal to buy your kid a car. Let him work for it so he appreciates it. The same with weddings, houses etc. They will eventually get your hard earned money eventually but by then, maybe they will appreciate it and know the hardships we went through to earn it.

Maybe it's just me but it bothers me to see the country I love go downhill so far, so fast.

I am 19 here in Nam. This was on a large clearing in the jungle. I filled those mortar boxes with dirt as a blast wall.

Very well put, sir.

It is sad with kids today. Mu sons both have friends that thought I was just a harda**. My kids had to work on the farm and earn their "keep" (so to speak). I paid them for their work and that is what they used to purchase their first vehicles. Luckily, they know how to repair their cars. As in, full engine swap or rebuild if needed. They also know the meaning of work and both have jobs. One is a Senior in High School this year and the other is a Sophomore in College.

But back to their friends. Both of them have had friends that their cars broke down and they say something about it on social media. One kid was so angry his parents parents didnt get back to him quick enough, as they knew he had made it to a store and would be fine until the Dad got off work and could come look at the car. Sadly the dad is not so mechanically incline, so it would have been "yup, no start call a wrecker".

Well, my sone decided he as off for the day and he would go check it out. He hopped in his truck, met his friend and figured out what was wrong with the car. Car being an almost new BMW 328i. (Dang spoiled kids lol). Well, in checking things, my son jumped it off and it ran until the jumper cables were removed. SO he dug in a little deeper and found that the serpentine belt broke. (Hard to see them in a Beamer with all of the plastic crap, electric water pump, etc.) He went to the local parts store, bought the belt, reinstalled it, jumped the kids car off and all of this before the dad arrived lol.

When the kid asked him where did he learn to do all of that, he said "My Dad and the Farm".

That kid now does not see me as a harda** lol.

 

[atoll]

I thinks kids look so young as they don't grow up till they are at least 30 years old now.
So many still live at home with their parents and contribute nothing financially or contribute to the household.

Gambling is a mugs game, work and earn your money don't expect lady luck to help you she is two faced when it comes to gambling.

I look at carpentry and I often don't see a carpenters work.EG. saw a wooden handrail fitted the ends were just rough saw no chamfer or sandpaper used. Same with new doors fitted. We always run our plane down the edges of the door called harrising to take the sharp edge off them and slightly beveled the leading edge to allow for the swinging arc of the door on closing. It's that little bit of thought, pride and the devil is in the detail.

A friend around the corner was going to buy a wooden gate from a DIY chain. They aren't fit to burn held together with staples or nailed with a nail gun. I made him one and fitted 2 posts for around the same price. That gate will out live him. I made a gate for a friend and fitted 2 concrete posts about 15 years ago it gets painted every few years and is almost as good as new still.

Here's the gate I made a couple of weeks ago for the friend round the corner.

 

[atoll]

I made this one for my daughter. Her husband is a wastecof time when it comes to doing anything in fact my daughter will have a go and does some really good work. She a couple off the old block they say.

 

[mmw64]

Unfortunately being "old" brings on some health issues. Not as bad as my wife but I have been having some back pain lately, like most people and I figured it was from my extensive habit of bungee jumping, back flipping and ball room dancing almost every morning before breakfast and sometimes after lunch.

But for the last 2 years the upper back pain extended to my shoulders. I originally thought it was from my 7 shoulder surgeries and that probably didn't help.

I have been going for acupuncture and pain Management shots mainly because both my acupuncturist and pain Mgt Dr. are Supermodels but after a while, even a Supermodel can't help. Not to much anyway but I still like to go.

The MRIs show that my back looks like it came from a blue leg hermit crab but the X Rays show it more like an arrow crab.

I stand pretty straight but my spine has a big curve to it which made the Neurologist think they made a mistake and took a picture of a boomerang.

About 8 disks are to degenerated to do anything about and are all bone on bone. It is what it is and will always be painful and I will get stiffer as time goes on (like all old people) and my fish don't seem to care at all even though I hung my X Ray in front of their tank.

(I have been taking short baths in Prizapro)

He said it can't be fixed unless he cuts out almost all my disks and installs rods which will make me walk like an Emu looking up in the sky for bald eagles or even eagles with hair which is not the look I was going for so I will keep my old back as I probably can't get a new one.

Of course my main concern is my Bride of almost 50 years because I do almost everything for her and putting her walker in my car is getting quite hard. But manageable.

The Neurologist told us it is from my job as a Commercial construction electrician because that is not a Girly job as most of the equipment was a thousand pounds and wanted to be mounted on the ceiling.

Unloading all that from tractor trailers for half a century probably was not the best thing so I imagine those Neanderthals bringing down a Woolly Mammoth must have kept Pain Mgt. Doctors pretty busy and it was probably even harder then to get an appointment.

Sorry Paul. As they say "getting old isn't for sissies".

 

[Paul B]

Getting old is interesting because you never know in the morning which part won't work. That is, "If" you get up.

But getting back on topic, I am 73 years old and so far no one has ever touched my house, cars, appliances, boat (except warranty work) or my wife.....Except maybe her Doctor and I am not in there for that and don't want to be.

If I can't fix it, it either isn't broken, or I don't need it.

Soon my cars will need brakes, I always installed them myself but now with a screwed up back and knees I will have to get creative to do that as it is getting tough lifting up one of those tires. But I will get it done because I will never let my family ride in a car that some Jiboni installed brakes on.

 

[Paul B]

I remember before I got into the electrical union and before my Army time my boss sent me to this huge apartment complex by myself. I had to remove this 5,000lb coal furnace and install a new gas fired one.

I had to break the sidewalk enough so the old furnace could be lifted out. Cut the old furnace apart with a torch then have some help lifting it out with a crane. Then I spent a week shoveling out the coal and hoisting it out of the hole (by myself) With help on the crane I installed the new furnace. Steam cleaned the coal room. Installed the plumbing and electric to the new furnace. Cemented up a new sidewalk. Insulated the new furnace with asbestos and painted it.

That job I did almost all by myself and I was about 18 years old.

This is that building

 

[Lowell Lemon]

No wonder you are fireproof since you wrapped yourself in asbestos early in life LOL!

 

[Goodersgold]

Some truly wonderful pictures and tales, although I have not been through every post, but a fantastic achievement both in your work and your hobby I would love to ask a crazy question if I may, In all the time you have been running your reef, how many heaters have you had?

 

[Paul B]

No wonder you are fireproof since you wrapped yourself in asbestos early in life LOL!

I spent much of my life either installing or removing asbestos, but it wasn't dangerous then.
Besides, I think, so far, the Agent Orange I am inundated with keeps it at bay.

Goodersgold, I don't go through many heaters and still have some from maybe the 80s. I find they last forever even my very old "coal fired steam Powered ones".