[WPRESTO]

Teachers are people who like to teach, there's no other side to that equation.

Yes, yes. Teachers generally love the knowledge and/or skills they have, love to share it, love to have students or apprentices who are eager to learn and share the teacher's love of knowing. We had a dean, deeply hated by many of us, who once started one of my annual reviews by telling me, to paraphrase as best I remember: "We all have to earn a living somehow, and teaching is what you thought you could do." He was one of several administrators we had, including the president of the college, who assumed that all the professors would do as little as possible, get away with as much as they could, unless they were watched constantly and their feet were held to the fire. It's the easy way for administrative or managerial people to take credit for what those under them accomplish: they work and achieve because we demand and watch; they fail because of their own incompetence and sloth.

[Racer X 69]

Piano?

Dang autocorrect.


Winblows 8 on a tablet Sux.


'nuff said.


Again.

[Racer X 69]

Teachers are people who like to teach, there's no other side to that equation.

A person must have a passion for what they do or they will fail at it.




I have held a number of jobs over the past 40 odd years. The jobs I did not like were short term and I did poorly at them. The jobs I had a passion for lasted many years, and I excelled in.


Out of college I entered civil engineering. Interesting and challenging work, but driving a desk just wasn't satisfying enough. And I gained weight like it was going out of style.


Managed to land an apprenticeship in vehicle maintenance at the local public utility. For 30 years I had a job that was very rewarding, challenging every day and active enough I didn't become a fat slob.


"Retired" from the PUD, I tried mechanic work in the private sector. Too much like work. Then there was that pesky economic slump of 2007/2008 which contributed to two lay offs in one year. Didn't help, for sure.


Put the commercial driver's license I had from the years as a truck mechanic to good use and spent 5 fun years driving big trucks all over the US and Canada, mostly moving airplane parts for Boeing, Gulfstream and the military. Five years and 800,000 miles was enjoyable, but only getting home once or twice a month wasn't. And the weight gain from sitting on my butt wasn't so great either.


Now I am hoping to finish out my working days as a wing structures mechanic in the World's Largest Building. So far it is proving to be enjoyable, challenging and fast paced enough. I was a bit afraid at first, thinking that working in a factory might be boring and monotonous, but nearly two years in I still look forward to each day. And I've lost 50lbs so far.


Yay.


Find a field you enjoy and have a passion for and you will never work a day in your life.

[Rupert]

I've had some good teachers...and some bad. Good ones inspire and you never forget them. Bad ones are a blight on the profession and cause long term damage with their lack of commitment.

My grades were very good, but I had social problems.....I liked to play more than learn. In High School a few dedicated teachers made all the difference. A few others constantly encouraged me to drop out. Administrators can make all the difference too. I liked to take off on Fridays. They were boring days and unless there was a critical test, I was out of there! Friday was pool day and I was a damn good pool player, and made some cash at it on Fridays. My Grandad owned a pool hall in Ft Worth and the mgr. let me play for free. I learned a lot there too!

Seeing that this was not conducive to graduation, the asst principal, a wonderful man, gave me a pad of excuse notes and he had signed every one. No longer had to slip around on Fridays or worry about Monday morning and being called in for skipping. Yep, it was not so much fun anymore and my skipping soon ceased. He knew me, and took the time to know me and correct my ways without running me off. To keep me in line, he gave me the coveted job of running the school store every morning before classes. Being that I got to see all my friends...and all the girls....I sure didn't want to miss a day!
Yep, good teachers and administrators can even make a difference in the life of "Rupert Types".

I'd tell you about my own High School teaching days (and nights...I worked nights too...very dedicated!) in the back seat of my '55 Chevy....but Mrs Rupert might come back here and take another look around. From her recent opinion, it is doubtful.

[WPRESTO]

Good and bad teachers, good and bad police, good and bad auto mechanics, good and bad drivers. Pretty much the same for every job, every class of people. Sadly it is too easy to fix upon and remember the bad and use them to justify stereotyping all. Students are good and bad too. The worst assume there is an adversarial relationship with all teachers, a situation presented too often in films, cartoons, etc. Bad teachers include those that assume than an adversarial relationship automatically exists with their students, or who use their knowledge versus the student's ignorance* to stroke their ego.

* Of course students are ignorant - that's why they are there to learn.

[Rupert]

Yep, good and bad everything. There was a local plumber that was notorious for cutting corners, yet he stayed in business many years. If there are enough "numbers" out there they can operate for ages and the word won't get around enough to shut them down. In a small town they don't last long.

I suspect there are a lot of reasons why bad performers get by. We see them all the time, I think they multiply faster than the good performers?

The plumber...I once went on a call where a lady had a leak in her yard somewhere between her home and guest house. She pointed to an area where she had a plumber do a repair a year earlier. We started digging. It was deep and hard ground. When we got down a few feet my helper said he had hit a giant rock. Turned out to be a sack of Sakrete cement that had been tossed over the leaking copper line. After busting it out the leak was a tiny pinhole and so easy to repair. I ran across the plumber in question a while later and asked him...why? He didn't have the right fittings to repair it with him that day but he did have a sack of Sakrete. It worked...sort of...for while. He was also notorious for connecting ice makers to the hot water supply if it was easier for him. Told the customers that "hot water freezes faster". I could write a book on his corner cutting....

Regards!

[tim60]

Yep, good and bad everything. There was a local plumber that was notorious for cutting corners, yet he stayed in business many years. If there are enough "numbers" out there they can operate for ages and the word won't get around enough to shut them down. In a small town they don't last long.

I suspect there are a lot of reasons why bad performers get by. We see them all the time, I think they multiply faster than the good performers?

The plumber...I once went on a call where a lady had a leak in her yard somewhere between her home and guest house. She pointed to an area where she had a plumber do a repair a year earlier. We started digging. It was deep and hard ground. When we got down a few feet my helper said he had hit a giant rock. Turned out to be a sack of Sakrete cement that had been tossed over the leaking copper line. After busting it out the leak was a tiny pinhole and so easy to repair. I ran across the plumber in question a while later and asked him...why? He didn't have the right fittings to repair it with him that day but he did have a sack of Sakrete. It worked...sort of...for while. He was also notorious for connecting ice makers to the hot water supply if it was easier for him. Told the customers that "hot water freezes faster". I could write a book on his corner cutting....

Regards!

Real bad. At my previous house I had copper pipes that were buried direct in clay and stone soil, no and around the pipes. Result, with movement a stone wore a hole in one of the pipes. Took a while to discover the place where the leak was. The cost of the leaked water was a lot.

[THoog]

Sadly, there are 'educators' who are not teachers, just as there are doctors who are not healers, or commanders who are not leaders. I'd like to think they are the exceptions. That "can't do, teach" saying has always bothered me - it's is just unfair and wrong. There are plenty of careers for those that can't "do" - if they are pretty, they can go into sales or politics, and if not, administration and finance.

Racer, totally hearing you on the weight gain. Mine has spiked the last couple years as I've spent more and more time behind the desk.

[Rupert]

Real bad. At my previous house I had copper pipes that were buried direct in clay and stone soil, no and around the pipes. Result, with movement a stone wore a hole in one of the pipes. Took a while to discover the place where the leak was. The cost of the leaked water was a lot.

That is very common...copper is not the material of choice it once was. Soil movement can cause leaks just as you described. I used a lot of Sch 40/80 PVC for ground lines. We don't have to bury very deep here but it is still a hassle if you have to dig up lines with pin hole leaks.

Now I am hoping to finish out my working days as a wing structures mechanic in the World's Largest Building.

A lot of us want to finish up our days working on wings...Hot Wings!

You won't lose weight with these though...


I could eat most all of those right now!

[MarkJerling]

Mmmmm . . . . sounds tasty!
Again, tasty!

Thanks!

It is harvest time there, isn't it? Lots of fresh and tasty bounty from summer's toil.

Harvest just about over. Prices are starting to climb again. Back up to $7/kg for peaches. Annoying! Grape harvesting around here at the moment.

And I bet you don't have any leftovers to share either, do you?

Nah! All gone.

[dansamy]

I was on Mrs Rupert's computer again last night and walked away with it open to this thread. This morning when she went to check her mail and read the news/weather she must have spent a little time looking at this thread. She asked me if this was a thread where the site requires "weirdos" to congregate or if we just flow here by our nature? She also asked if anyone had jobs or actually did anything productive in life?

I won't make that mistake again. It makes me look like an idiot...and my friends too. She probably isn't surprised by me, but finding that I have friends just as insane was sort of shocking to her.

I got a job! And I kind of count *trying* to raise a few citizens of the next generation as ding something sort of productive in life. At least I'm attempting it anyway.

[MarkJerling]

The plumber...He was also notorious for connecting ice makers to the hot water supply if it was easier for him. Told the customers that "hot water freezes faster". I could write a book on his corner cutting....

Wow!

I finished re-doing my daughter's bedroom this weekend, with the almost last job after the wardrobe wall changes, drywall and painting, and wardobe fit-out, being removal of the old (1950's) light fitting and replacing same with modern. Well, as I touched the fitting, the whole thing disintegrated - brittle old plastic. Then, of course, I realised that the wiring to that fitting was still the old rubberised stuff where the insulation falls off the copper. So, a small job became a large job to get rid of the dodgy wiring as I'd not particularly like to see the house go up in smoke.

[Racer X 69]

A lot of us want to finish up our days working on wings...Hot Wings!

You won't lose weight with these though...


I could eat most all of those right now!

Oh! My weakness is wings!


Every time I go past a Buffalo Wild Wings it takes all the willpower I can muster to keep from stopping and eating my weight in wings and drowning myself in beer.


Uff Da!

[Rupert]

I got a job! And I kind of count *trying* to raise a few citizens of the next generation as ding something sort of productive in life. At least I'm attempting it anyway.

Mrs Rupert will be so proud of you....now if you can just avoid "Rupert Types" you will be on your way to a productive life!

So, a small job became a large job

Happens more often than not. Worst case I can recall, though there are so many, was on a call I went on once years ago for a leaking bathroom faucet. One thing led to another and we ended up re-plumbing the entire home, a two week job. At least you got your job completed and can relax.......until next time!

Oh! My weakness is wings!

You don't even have to be weak to have Wing Weakness! We buy wings and Mrs Rupert makes Teriyaki Wings......I could eat a hundred of them, so delicious! Ever made those Racer?

Congratulations to Mark Jerling on his new position as Moderator! We know him as a good man, and even "Rupert Types" will do their best to make his job easier.

Let me put aside an ugly rumor I have heard that Mark became a Moderator just to get a shipment of that world famous Coopers BBQ. I don't even know if he likes Texas BBQ?.....and I don't have his address....yet?

Regards!

[robtcorl]

Congratulations to Mark Jerling on his new position as Moderator!

Didn't notice that, yes Congrats Mark!
Happy to see the job go to another Weber griller.

Here's a simple wing recipe:
50/50 mix of soy sauce and brown sugar
(add hot sauce if desired)
marinate the wings for a couple of hours
grill over direct medium heat, basting and turning often until done