GraveYard Shift BS

X2

Stay safe at home! No jumping down the steps

 

Easy money night here ... Did all the weekend plans last night ... no new cargo ... Wait out the clock now.

Anybody else on shift?

 

My last night tonight.....go back on days Monday. Tonight is quiet in the plant so I'm on TW.

 

Hi Chris, how ya' been man? Yep, quiet here too. Pot of coffee and TW.

How often do you rotate between shifts?

 

Hey Rob ......same ole, same ole. We rotate weekly .....days for a week, then nights for a week. Seems that the older I get, the less I like night shifts.

 

Oh, I either missed that or forgot, that flipping back and forth sucks. Not so bad if you're able to stay on one or the other, or rotate between the two on long (2-3 month) intervals. I scheduled 3 month rotations when I was running op centers on active duty. When I first got into command and control the standard schedule was 2 days/2 swings/2 mids/3 off on 8 hr shifts, 2 days/2 nights/3 off on 12 hr shifts. That schedule absolutely sucked. Never established any kind of rhythm; my wife hated that schedule.

 

Howdy, team!

Anyone for an update? You are? cool!

Finally got the project truck on the road. After having this thing sitting in parts for close to 2 years, I was do. The results are it runs and drives like a new Gen 1 Tacoma. Let me tell you I was nervous. All in all, I couldn't be happier! And a bonus, the wife thinks it turned out great too!

This things was pretty effed up when I bought it. I buy these wrecked trucks because I love the challenge and I'm a bit of a degenerate gambler as well. How many people do you know that will willingly buy a wrecked truck without physically seeing the truck, let alone drive or hear it run. Other people just go to the casinos, I buy a wreck. The thrill is the same.

I still have a few things to take care of, but nothing that keeps me from driving it.

To do:

Replace driver side lower ball joint.
Deep clean interior,still a few blood spots from air bag deployment.
Replace passenger seat belt. Just found out yesterday that the belt had tension ed up in the crash. (now I know why my air bag light would not clear)
Wire fog lights.
Decide on some off road lights and purchase and install.
Replace passenger A-arm bottom bolt-bushing froze-can't align 100%
Decide if I want to install my spare stainless, TRD exhaust.
Apply second coat of bed liner paint to my homemade bumper.
Rebuild air conditioning system.
Repair cruise control.

A couple before and after pics.

 

Wow Kirk! That looks fantastic. Very cool! Good work man.

 

That is the most messed up schedule I have ever seen! I wouldn't take that schedule no matter what it paid.


Kirk,


WOW! Do you turn them around to make a profit or keep 'em?

 

Well, I wasn't given a choice. Once I chose to"give" myself to the Air Force, they made a lot of my choices for me. I like to think that once I got in a position to change things for my people, I did.

EDIT: Whenever I was in the Superintendent role, I ran my op centers on a 3 on/2 off/2 on/3 off schedule, either 8 hr or 12 hr dependent on number of controllers available. Rotated day shift or night shift every 3 months. That schedule makes every other weekend a Fri-Sat off. It was most fair and people seemed to like it the best.

 

Whats up Chris. How you been?

 

We normally keep them. The wife and I really like being payment free, so its kind of hard to get rid of them when they work so well.

This one was a very hard sell to the Mrs. She wanted me to go hunting for a GenII Tacoma, but I really missed my first 1st gen Tacoma. Even after putting together a 2nd Gen Tundra, I wanted to go old school. Plus I have all this knowledge on the 1st Gen tacomas that I would be losing.

 

Nice work man. I usually see buttloads of 1st gens being hauled to Mexico everyday coming from your way.

 

Good Rich! Headed to bed now......was a long, boring night.

 

First nite back and already I can tell that this is not going to go well.
Contractor was training another contractor for 2 weeks on my old job across the bay.
(Paint). Trainer is gone, trainees first nite by himself.
First thing sitting at my desk he comes up and says in a language I can barely understand.
"Why be dat duh machine be not werkin yo?, I gatz da doors shut but it not beez ternin on".
I walk over to the control board and push the big green button that says "ON".
He looks at me like I just did some kinda black magic, sorcery, juju. "Thx cuz"!!

 

Did you stab him afterwords and help the human race along?

 

No. Just left a bit bewildered. I really don't mind helping out as that used to be my old machine. Idk how they expect a young kid to perform satisfactory on a job he was trained for only 2 weeks.
He has to paint @ 3 mil, +/- 1. This isn't high quality automotive paint.
This is a 2 part system with crushed, powdered nickel mixed with paint. It's like adding sand and spraying it on a 2000lb chunk of steel.
Things should get interested here real soon.

 

Tight tolerances and a new operator means lots of scrap parts. Ah well.

 

You did the right thing with helping the new trainee.

Who knows, he could go to college and come back to be your boss until your retire. I mean his communication skills are out of this world.

 

Moved to nights a few weeks ago. Feeling weird! Was off 4 days, switched back to normal day schedule, now staying up all night to sleep all day and work monday night.

Mostly work nights and randomly scheduled occasional day shifts here and there. It's fun.