Detroit Vs Japan

I suspect you'll discover that most folks aren't aware that a good smallblock could also easily hold in excess of 7,000 rpm all day.

Never lost a cam on a Datsun 2 liter, but changing the head gasket every other oil change or so got tiring after a while. The cam survived speeds well over 7000 rpm regularly, so did the bottom end which tended to use good old american 302 Z28 connecting rods.

L.W.(ßill) Hughes III proclaimed:

snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com proclaimed:

Yeah, I used to run a bored and stroked 427. Got my ass kicked by those "inferior" Mopars quite frequently. The early Nash vehicles were actually hotrods of the day, in particular the twin ignition straight eights with overdrive. As were also the 6 banger Hudsons. It wasn't until the mid-50's and the Ramblers that they went to the cheap side...but with rambler seats to help with the post-war population issue. And even then you had vehicles like the Nash- Healey to add muscle to the better-handling but underpowered Brit cars. The AMC 343/390 were quite competitive with body quality not really any worse than their Mopar rivals, but at least the AMC models still had ceramic coated exhaust systems. And were virtually unbreakable.

Ok, have fun, I will ignore you from now on.

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

Ruel Smith wrote:

i suppose things work differently in different geographical areas. i work in refrigeration (service and construction) and know many plumblers. the licensed plumber is sitting behind a desk. the unlicensed plumbers are out in the field working under his license, and theyre damn lucky if theyre pulling in $15 an hour.

fair enough. i had a union shop solicit me for employment recently offering $26 an hour and the look on his face suggested that he thought that was a tremendous offer. when i told them im already earning more than that, and i dont have to subtract union dues from it plus im getting benefits, paid vacation (which officially starts tomorrow :-), etc. his expression changed. i went on further to discuss how i was able to stand upon my own work ethic and abilities and didnt need the protection of a union to keep working, and he excused himself from my table.

you mentioned that you were considering IT and as i excuse myself from this conversation before mike hurts himself ill add this. if youre already a licensed plumber i would stay put (unless you dont like what youre doing). as the industry is becoming flooded with wanna-be administrators the real money will be reserved for only the best of the best. in fact, as more and more people rush into IT the demand in the service industry will only grow stronger. hvac/r, plumbing, electricians, controls, etc. will be in very high demand in the future. i myself am preparing to launch my own refrigeration business and it looks like im going to have to pay moving expenses and offer incentives just to find qualified help.

Perhaps if you read the link, you'd have seen:

Main Entry: 1 witch Pronunciation: 'wich Function: noun Etymology: Middle English wicche, ... 1 : one that is credited with usually malignant supernatural powers; especially : a woman practicing usually black witchcraft often with the aid of a devil or familiar : SORCERESS -- compare WARLOCK

The word 'SORCERESS' means that they are synonyms.... __ Steve .

Sorcery is a sub-type of witchcraft.

Let's recap - we have found that almost all of the major translations uses witch. Those that don't use sorceror. Bill, you can bluster all you like, but you are absolutely nailed on this, and frankly sir, you know it !

You'll have to provide a dictionary cite for that one, I'm afraid... at least it's steering back on-topic! __ Steve .

Actually, I already _was_ in IT, but was supposed to be a programmer. I programmed in Borland C++ Builder and helped maintain their small network for a company for a short while, but they laid me off right around the time of the dot-com collapse. I was taking Computer Science in college at that time. I couldn't find another job in the field, with it shrinking so badly, and me with that job as my only experience. I sold cars again for awhile, even installed commercial laundry systems for a little over 3 years, and eventually decided that I didn't want to be in another situation like the programming job where the entire job field just collapses like it did and decided to get into a trade. I'm now working on my journeyman's license as a union plumber apprentice here in the Cincinnati area, local 392. I'm pretty happy doing that.

I wanted to add... The union rate in my local is only the minimum. Our rate locally will be something like $27/hr for a journeyman in another week or so and an additional $1.50 or so an hour if you're a foreman but I know guys that are getting $32/hr, paid holidays & vacations, van/truck to drive and other perks. The companies are only required to pay you at least the contract rate. They're free to pay you more, and often do.

You do understand that unions fought and died for overtime pay, weekends off, vacation, 8 hour days, benefits packages, retirement benefits, etc., don't you? You're not totally on your own two feet. The reason non-union jobs paid them was to compete against union shops, in order to get workers.

I find it amusing when I talk to non-union guys on the job site, when they claim unions suck, but they like getting $6/hr. pay bumps for prevailing wage on state/federal funded jobs. And the most amusing thing I ever heard was a guy tell me that we need non-union people on jobs too, in order to keep the costs down. Now, saying I'm willing to do the same job for less money is like saying I'm willing to pay more than other people for a new car. It's retarded. I go where the money is. What he failed to realize is that his company bids the work as if he's paid what the union guys make. They just pocket the difference.

Oh...and the benefits are stellar. We just had a guy retire after 27 years of service and he'll receive $5200 a month in pension, and he took a 7% deduction for retiring at age 55. I've yet to find a 401k retirement plan that pays that well unless you're some executive in the fat money. There's Supplemental Unemployment Benefit (S.U.B), too, which is in addition to unemployment and compensates you the difference in what you made in a 40 hr. week working and what unemployment pays you (important in construction trades) and medical leave pay which pays you while you're off from work due to a medical problem not associated with your job. None of these are even available to non-union plumbers/pipefitters. That $27/hr. is what goes on the check. There's another $11/hr that goes to various benefits the union takes care of including ongoing education through the union's school for various certifications/licenses that's totally free as long as you're in the union. It's a pretty nice package...

BTW, our local is combined plumbers, pipefitters, steamfitters, _and_ mechanical equipment service, which is refrigeration/heating/air service.

just like affirmative action, once upon a time the union was necessary. just like affirmative action, that time has long since passed. the union is no longer out for the worker, the union is nothing more than self serving big business....the union is out for the union and the money that goes along with it.

i cant speak for unskilled labor because i applied myself in order to master multiple trades. perhaps dumb-asses who cannot survive on their own merit need a union to protect their jobs (the strong carrying the weak) but i choose to work in a free market place where only the strong survive and are paid accordingly.

i dont understand where that came from? im not at all suggesting that non-union can do it cheaper than union. in fact im paid nearly $5 an hour more than the union journeymen who work in my field (plus i get benefits/paid vacation/holiday pay/etc. and they get nothing beyond $26 an hour). im saying that typical non-union employees can do it _better_ simply because we stand upon our own merit. we have no other protection beyond our skills and work ethic.

certainly there are exceptions to everything ive said, but im talking realistic expectation at least for my geographical area.

I'll have to ask you what Tijuana has to do with Japan..

John

You must be awful frustrated in real life to be getting on here with random nastiness toward those who have opinions which you don't like.

Would you like to talk about it?

John

Nice to see that christian love at work..

Funny, you didn't ask what his country is- wouldn't Jesus be impressed if he happens to live next door to you? Love thy neighbor and all that rot that don't fit with the hateful christian, eh?

Wonder if Jesus reads usenet..

John

The truck v-6 diesel was a toad, they shouldn't have done that (diesel conversion of the 350 v-6 years ago).

The Olds diesel is a good motor (well, the DX block is, don't know if there's any D blocks left). As Bill said, if you feed it gasoline it's not going to like you but other than that I've found them to be very much worth having.

Got one in a Sedan deVille right now.. it's not any too much motor to haul that car around, but it does a good job. I guess mileage, with lock-up convertor, at around 25 or so on the highway, I see no problem with that.

John

I'm not against someone working non-union, but from my experience, non-union workers typically do not do it better in the construction trades. Many companies hire guys in and give them limited training. I've seen some pretty shifty work from non-union guys. I've seen some non-union guys do good work, but they tend to be the exception. I don't fault the workers themselves, necessarily, because relying on a company that's only out for its own profitability to provide training, sending them to trade schools, is not necessarily the best way. They tend to get the bare minimum and the companies often don't provide the necessary tools to get the job done properly. Usually, non-union guys are responsible to provide their own tools, and many times that means a minimal set of tools. Our companies provide us all our tools and we get all that we need to properly do the job.

I salute you for your efforts in your career, but my experience is different.

The union construction guys are very good sometimes and sometimes they aren't. Thye problem with the unions is they get bad leadership sometimes and once that happens getting them out is impossible.

The UAW did the auto industry no favors in the 60s and 70's which is why everyone bought Toyotas. I don't have a problem with them making the money they do, but I want first class workmanship for that much money.