graham
Lieutenant
Posts: 4,155
|
Post by graham on Mar 6, 2024 12:55:15 GMT -5
On that note we are coming up on the 20th Anniversary of the day my little (bigger now!) company made our first roll of tape in Watertown. Congratulations! I recently celebrated 30 years of running my business :-)
|
|
|
Post by martycanuck on Mar 6, 2024 12:57:46 GMT -5
On that note we are coming up on the 20th Anniversary of the day my little (bigger now!) company made our first roll of tape in Watertown. Congratulations! I recently celebrated 30 years of running my business :-) Thank-you also! We employ 50 people there. Would be more but we can’t find people who want full time jobs these days. Sadly we are investing $4 million to expand and further automate because we can’t find workers willing to come to work. I honestly don’t understand the world since Covid.
|
|
frodi
Lieutenant
Posts: 19,551
|
Post by frodi on Mar 6, 2024 15:43:09 GMT -5
20 years, bah.
31st March 2024, 21 years in business for me.
Boo sucks
|
|
|
Post by martycanuck on Mar 6, 2024 17:07:30 GMT -5
20 years, bah. 31st March 2024, 21 years in business for me. Boo sucks Well we incorporated in 2003. But it took 7 months to assemble the equipment and begin manufacturing.
|
|
graham
Lieutenant
Posts: 4,155
|
Post by graham on Mar 6, 2024 18:24:29 GMT -5
We employ 50 people there. Ah, whereas I am "Chief cook and bottle washer" ;-)
There again, it makes life much easier for me because, for instance, I'm going for a week's skiing on Sunday having got a good last-minute deal following a fresh fall of snow in the Alps!
|
|
Rob
Lieutenant
Posts: 1,915
|
Post by Rob on Mar 6, 2024 18:26:31 GMT -5
30 and 21 years in business is also pretty badass.
|
|
Jim
Lieutenant
Posts: 2,060
|
Post by Jim on Mar 7, 2024 8:40:55 GMT -5
Congratulations! I recently celebrated 30 years of running my business :-) Thank-you also! We employ 50 people there. Would be more but we can’t find people who want full time jobs these days. Sadly we are investing $4 million to expand and further automate because we can’t find workers willing to come to work. I honestly don’t understand the world since Covid. What's your base pay for those positions? Most of the positions recruiters contact me about are barely paying more than minimum wage. It's hard not to laugh at them before declining any interest.
|
|
|
Post by martycanuck on Mar 8, 2024 7:31:02 GMT -5
Thank-you also! We employ 50 people there. Would be more but we can’t find people who want full time jobs these days. Sadly we are investing $4 million to expand and further automate because we can’t find workers willing to come to work. I honestly don’t understand the world since Covid. What's your base pay for those positions? Most of the positions recruiters contact me about are barely paying more than minimum wage. It's hard not to laugh at them before declining any interest. The pay rate varies by position. But even our entry level jobs are above minimum. A new hire can be packing finished tape in cartons in 10 minutes. It takes 2 years training to operate the Calender (the machine that makes the tape). Plus there are supervisory and management positions in the mix too. Tons of OT opportunity in the hourly rate jobs these days too. Shift premiums on evening and overnight shifts.
|
|
Rob
Lieutenant
Posts: 1,915
|
Post by Rob on Mar 8, 2024 22:01:05 GMT -5
This has been a rough week. I'd kill for a beer.
|
|
frodi
Lieutenant
Posts: 19,551
|
Post by frodi on Mar 9, 2024 14:11:52 GMT -5
Barkeep. A Guinness for the guy beside me.
|
|
frodi
Lieutenant
Posts: 19,551
|
Post by frodi on Mar 17, 2024 11:52:11 GMT -5
Lunch is served That doesn't include the four bottle that we finished off last night.* New Irish tradition (just invented by me) on St Patricks Day you must empty your drinks cabinet in preparation for the coming year. * We didn't actually drink them. It was dregs in bottle that than been open since pre-covid times.
|
|
frodi
Lieutenant
Posts: 19,551
|
Post by frodi on Mar 17, 2024 11:52:42 GMT -5
And for the days that in it
|
|
|
Post by martycanuck on Mar 26, 2024 20:24:13 GMT -5
Any of our peeps here in or from Maryland? I don’t recall but chime in if you are and can.
|
|
Jim
Lieutenant
Posts: 2,060
|
Post by Jim on Mar 27, 2024 6:20:41 GMT -5
Pretty sure Marla's in Maryland. Or at least she used to be.
|
|
|
Post by marm on Mar 27, 2024 10:50:29 GMT -5
I am. Traffic is gonna suck rocks (more than before) for probably the next couple years.
|
|
Jim
Lieutenant
Posts: 2,060
|
Post by Jim on Mar 27, 2024 11:31:24 GMT -5
From what I've read so far, the traffic issues will be the least of the concerns. Is the entire port shut down?
|
|
|
Post by martycanuck on Mar 27, 2024 11:40:21 GMT -5
I am. Traffic is gonna suck rocks (more than before) for probably the next couple years. That was one of the things I was wondering about for sure. What a mess!
|
|
MalcolmR
Lieutenant
Keeping the world turning.
Posts: 24,778
|
Post by MalcolmR on Mar 27, 2024 12:24:30 GMT -5
From what I've read so far, the traffic issues will be the least of the concerns. Is the entire port shut down? From what I've read, yes, and there are ten ships trapped inside. Commentators reckon that there is sufficient capacity at other NE ports to take the load.
|
|
|
Post by marm on Mar 27, 2024 13:32:10 GMT -5
It is - the port is to the inside of the bridge. There's a port just outside of the bridge that belongs to the now-gone Bethlehem Steel, but that's still a superfund site, so I doubt it'll see much use for anything beyond demo/construction equipment. That boat had been on its way out. A cruise ship is supposed to be back on Sunday, and Norfolk has already agreed to take up the slack on most of this stuff in the interim (shipped vehicles will run slower for them, since they don't have the same infrastructure for those trucks). Speculation seems to be anywhere from a month to six to clear out the debris, probably depending on how quickly water cranes get mobilized and the decisions of the army corps of engineers. Once the channel is cleared, the port will reopen for business, but I'm sure there will be a much more strict schedule for service, since they'll have to coordinate with construction.
ETA - Traffic is a much bigger concern than a lot of folks realize, because that was the 95 tunnel hazmat bypass - the tunnels don't even allow RVs with propane. Now it's an additional ~20 miles (30-odd total) around the west side of the beltway which, during rush, can take up to 2 hours to traverse from 95 to 95. Add in the additional commuters who would be taking that bridge to the tunnel, also, and it sucks. There's a lot of DC employees who live up here.
|
|
Gimpy
Lieutenant
Posts: 6,470
|
Post by Gimpy on Mar 27, 2024 14:05:46 GMT -5
Any thoughts why there weren't tugboats to assist until the port is cleared during regular water traffic times??
|
|
|
Post by marm on Mar 27, 2024 17:44:46 GMT -5
There's a clip of the marine traffic I'm linking below. You can see two small bluer icons when it leaves the dock. The tugs get the boats turned around, then leave once the ship is on the straightaway. I'm assuming policy has been to leave them there since it's a straight shot out. There's also a local pilot on board, and I believe they stay on board to the mouth of the Bay, since it's a tricky run that's only 50 feet deep.
|
|
|
Post by martycanuck on Mar 29, 2024 6:41:17 GMT -5
|
|
mank
Lieutenant
Posts: 8,403
|
Post by mank on Mar 29, 2024 7:03:00 GMT -5
Those cars are cool but the problem is most of them are trailer queens that you never drive. When I retire at the end of the next year I will buy a 1967 Pontiac Catalina that is in excellent shape if I can find one. That is the car that I learned how to drive on.
|
|
|
Post by martycanuck on Mar 29, 2024 7:55:03 GMT -5
Those cars are cool but the problem is most of them are trailer queens that you never drive. When I retire at the end of the next year I will buy a 1967 Pontiac Catalina that is in excellent shape if I can find one. That is the car that I learned how to drive on. Trailer Queen or not is decided by the owner. Someone wants to buy it and drive it that is up to them really. There are some where (if I won a massive lottery first) I would drive pretty sparingly, others I would just look at and keep for the collecter value investment they are and some I would drive. That Catalina looks really nice. Not my own cup of tea but still a cool car. Anyway just a dream. I probably can’t even get a seat to watch the auction let alone bid on anything. I have a lot of cars I’d love from that collection. The main drool for me was the 63 Vette Split Window. For my wife the white 1965 Shelby GT or either the Mercedes 300 convertible or gull wing. I was also a huge fan of the Aston Martin Vantage as a kid and of course the guy even has a 1965 DB5 - the original James Bond car.
|
|
mank
Lieutenant
Posts: 8,403
|
Post by mank on Mar 29, 2024 13:27:57 GMT -5
Marty,
You should watch the Mecum Auctions if you get a chance. I record them since they go from place to place and cars are auctioned off. They are on the Motor Trend network here in the states. There are some re-airs from the Glendale auction now but the next city they are going to is Houston on April 5th and 6th. Some of the cars like the 1963 Corvette go for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Usually the Mecum Auctions air their shows Thursday through Sunday inclusive. Thursdays are the cheaper cars that are considered drivable cars. I know I have seen early 90s Corvettes go for less than $15000. I think an original Mercedes gull wing car costs over a million dollars now. I am talking US dollars so the price is even higher in Canadian dollars.
If I won the lottery I would have some cars from the 1950s and early 1960s. I probably would restore a car myself but it would be a 1950s car. I think the older cars have so much more style than today's cars. Today's cars all look the same. I miss two-tone-paint schemes too. I am a car nut. I have put engines in cars, transmissions, exhaust, brakes, etc., etc. I don't do that these days but I do miss tinkering with cars. One of my past vehicles was an old 1972 GMC pickup with three on the tree and manual steering. It had a straight six. It had a burnt valve and I pulled the head and took it too a shop to have the valves redone; those were the days...
|
|
|
Post by martycanuck on Mar 29, 2024 21:28:40 GMT -5
Marty, You should watch the Mecum Auctions if you get a chance. I record them since they go from place to place and cars are auctioned off. They are on the Motor Trend network here in the states. There are some re-airs from the Glendale auction now but the next city they are going to is Houston on April 5th and 6th. Some of the cars like the 1963 Corvette go for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Usually the Mecum Auctions air their shows Thursday through Sunday inclusive. Thursdays are the cheaper cars that are considered drivable cars. I know I have seen early 90s Corvettes go for less than $15000. I think an original Mercedes gull wing car costs over a million dollars now. I am talking US dollars so the price is even higher in Canadian dollars. If I won the lottery I would have some cars from the 1950s and early 1960s. I probably would restore a car myself but it would be a 1950s car. I think the older cars have so much more style than today's cars. Today's cars all look the same. I miss two-tone-paint schemes too. I am a car nut. I have put engines in cars, transmissions, exhaust, brakes, etc., etc. I don't do that these days but I do miss tinkering with cars. One of my past vehicles was an old 1972 GMC pickup with three on the tree and manual steering. It had a straight six. It had a burnt valve and I pulled the head and took it too a shop to have the valves redone; those were the days... Haven’t seen those but have seen others, drawing a blank on the name. A guy I know built a clone of a Shelby Cobra GT that was super rare an took it to one of those in Vegas. Didn’t get what he hoped but that was possibly on him. The 63 split is one of my most drool worthy cars. There’s one in the auction I posted and the projected price is US$180-200k which made absolute sense to me. You could buy that in that range and possibly make a few bucks flipping it but maybe not a lot. Depends on the car of course. There weren’t a lot of details on this one versus some others but in the pictures it looked pretty original and in good shape but I think 85K miles on it? I’m very much in tune with the exchange rate. The list prices in this auction were in USD. There are other auctions on that site in UK pounds and also Euro’s. One in Monaco is by Jody Schekter, a Formula 1 driver and in the auction is the 1979 Ferrari F1 that he won Monaco GP, Italy, and one other and ran in 9 or 10 total races. Only 5 million Euros! But so cool. His Ferrari team mate that year was a Canadian named Gilles Villeneuve. I also agree with you on all cars looking the same now. I used to be able to tell a car from a long way off by the way the grill or tail lights or other feature. Now they are all the same overall shape and the fronts and backs lack distinguishing features. How many car brands now use a flattened circle (oval) shape logo now? 50’s aren’t so much my cars. I love a lot of mid to late 60’s cars. In the 70’s cars lost my attention because the designs were awful to my eyes. My favorite was always a 67 or 68 Camaro. That’s the car I loved most. Had a 68 for I while that I did a partial restore too. It was complete really but done on a budget of a guy without enough money to do it how it should really have been done but I like it while I had it. I’m more open to Vettes (The C3 63 -67 era) now too but the prices on those are pretty insane now.
|
|
frodi
Lieutenant
Posts: 19,551
|
Post by frodi on Mar 30, 2024 14:47:23 GMT -5
Some nice bikes in that collection as well. Again few og them will ever see real road again
|
|
mank
Lieutenant
Posts: 8,403
|
Post by mank on Apr 1, 2024 5:38:33 GMT -5
Some nice bikes in that collection as well. Again few og them will ever see real road again Frodi, Mecum does a huge bike auction in Las Vegas every year. The last one was on January 24th to the 27th. You can go to their website and see all of the bikes that were auctioned. There are some bikes being auctioned off in May at the Indy auction and then again in August at Monterey. Again, if you go to their website you can see the bikes for sale. You can register as a bidder and bid by phone or internet if you want! The same holds true for cars. You don't have to be there in person anymore.
|
|
frodi
Lieutenant
Posts: 19,551
|
Post by frodi on Apr 1, 2024 15:04:12 GMT -5
Some nice bikes in that collection as well. Again few og them will ever see real road again Frodi, Mecum does a huge bike auction in Las Vegas every year. The last one was on January 24th to the 27th. You can go to their website and see all of the bikes that were auctioned. There are some bikes being auctioned off in May at the Indy auction and then again in August at Monterey. Again, if you go to their website you can see the bikes for sale. You can register as a bidder and bid by phone or internet if you want! The same holds true for cars. You don't have to be there in person anymore. I couldn't justify spending that kind of money on a bike. One I never ride anything that I couldn't just walk away from after a crash. Two I have three rooms that need doing up in the house. Three I don't have any room left in the shed.
lastly. B wouldn't let me.
|
|
Stan
Smartass
Posts: 1,497
|
Post by Stan on Apr 1, 2024 15:10:37 GMT -5
Likewise.
I like looking at custom bikes. I owned some older bikes that were kinda fun; but required way too much maintenance for my taste.
My BMW was a little expensive; but it's comfortable, reliable, and paid for.
|
|