Re: OT Isabel

On Thu, 18 Sep 2003 22:57:02 GMT, Gary left Mt Vesuvius in a state of jealous awe as he began spewing from the mouth thusly:

I work in RTP and I haven't heard of *any* companies doing any kind of hiring recently. I'm not saying they're not, but usually the word kinda gets around when a company is gonna do layoffs or hiring and I just haven't personally heard about any new hiring going on anywhere.

There are plenty of nerds around here and not enough jobs, too. I have a couple of friends I used to work with who got laid off. That was about 2 years ago. The last time I talked to each of them, they still hadn't found another job. Looks like the tech sector is starting to pick up again, though. Maybe before long they'll start hiring in this area again. Good luck.

-- Travis '63 VW Camo Baja...

that soak into your ears are whispered, not yelled.

:wq!

Hmm, i see that a lot of the jobs I see for AIX admins in the RTP area are contract, so perhaps there isn't any *real* hiring going on, then. In the past, contractors were used when it wasn't possible to locate a FTE to fill the job. I know in my mind that's not the case now, I just need to reeducate my gut to realize when I see contract work in a place, it doesn't necessarily mean work's picking up there. :/

Wow, I've been out of work for about 4 months - 2 years would drive me insane. I'm already trying to decide what other line of work I should consider. I'd be ready to be committed after 2 years, though. Wow... I'm not so disappointed that local talent was hired at RedHat rather than me, if things are like that there - that's rough.

RTP was beautiful, though. I just kept thinking "So many trees!". Haha, anyway. Thanks...

I'm seeing alot of companies that are hiring contractors to see if they work out. If they do, they are hired at the end of their contracts. If not, they are let go and another contractor or 2 are brought in.

I'm thinking about going into organic farming. Nope, not kidding. Maybe a little contract work on the side.

Randy

...tell the bums to get off their asses and try honest work for a change. ;-) There are plenty of jobs available in the area if you don't mind working for a living....when the market opens back up they can go back to their cushy jobs =-)

..Gareth (who has no sympathy for anyone who won't take a job because its "below" them)

On Thu, 18 Sep 2003 20:07:26 -0400, Gary Tateosian scribbled this interesting note:

If you don't mind the work...sometimes hard physical work, there is plenty of work to be had. Sure, some years are better than others (last year was a bit slim, for example) but in my current line of work I have more than I was really looking for. What am I doing as a result? Figuring a way to be semi-retired within the next five years, if not sooner. It can be done.

If you don't mind a bit of hard work!:~)

-- John Willis

That's a pretty good idea - a very good one, as a matter of fact.

"travis" wrote

Glad to hear that you made it through ok, Shag. Hope all other RAMVAites out there came through it ok as well. The very western edge of the storm just barely skirted our area. The wind got up a few times today but we didn't even get any rain. Ever since Hugo came through here in 1989 and ripped the place up, I get spooked when a hurricane comes in on that track ... and we're 200 miles inland!

-- Scott

Well John, I know that my back wouldn't hold up carrying bundles of shingles like I used to. I do hope that you are still pre-retirement when/if my house needs a roof. KWW

On Thu, 18 Sep 2003 20:07:26 -0400, Gary Tateosian left Mt Vesuvius in a state of jealous awe as he began spewing from the mouth thusly:

I'm happy to say that I'm not sure that this is the case since it hasn't happened to me, but I think the problem may be that they get used to making a certain salary so they get a big house, big cars, etc, etc. Then they get laid off but get unemployment (not sure for how long) so if they go and take a job making less than half of what they were making before then their pay is less than the unemployment benefits they get. Again, I'm not sure at all that this is the case, but I think that may be it. If you're making $100,000 a year and get laid off and the only way to make your mortgage payment is to get a similar job (and you are actively trying to do that) while collecting unemployment and eating beans instead of steak, then you'd probably do that rather than sell all of your "stuff" that you've been working for for so long and take an "honest job". For the third and final time, I'm not positive that this is the case because I've been very fortunate to not have to experience it, but it may be the reason for what you perceive to be someone thinking they're too good to take a job that's "below" them.

-- Travis '63 VW Camo Baja...

that soak into your ears are whispered, not yelled.

:wq!

..................You just hit the nail on the head Travis. You LOSE your unemployment benefits if you take a job, regardless of whether it pays anything close to what the earlier job paid or even if it pays a lot less than the benefits. This cut in income can impact an entire household in a disasterous way resulting in foreclosure of your home, repossesion of the family car, defaulting on loans for the kids' college costs and probably a lot of other bad things that I can't even think of. There are some instances of families that literally self-destructed in a situation like this with the kids dropping out of school, marital conflict resulting in divorce or even worse, being victimized by punks in a 'low rent' neighborhood after losing their home, etc. If you're a fifty something guy who has faced these possibilities after working and planning for a lifetime, it sure as hell doesn't make much sense to do anything other than collect your benefits while looking for a comparable job to what you had and planning what you're going to do after they've run out. Typically, at that point, you take whatever you can get, locally or in some other part of the country. I've seen plenty of guys working the late shift at Walmart or pushing stretchers at the hospital where I work who are trying to make an 'honest' living but who've lost nearly everything that they worked for while spending a large part of their lives at a place like IBM or GE.

I kind of think so. Chickens, eggs and some vegtables. True free range chickens & eggs are wonderful eats.

Randy

Diners are good. Before I got into the nerd biz, I used to manage an upscale dinner house. Lot of work but it was fun. Then when I went back to school to become a nerd, I worked as a bartender. Now, that was fun.

Randy

Wing recipe.

I have been using this and I like it very well.

12 - 18 oz of your favorite Hot sauce 1/4 cup of Honey 1/2 cup of Vinegar 1 stick of Butter

Now the secret to Hot wings is the butter. The butter controls the heat of the wings for your taste. The more butter you add the milder they will be and vice versa. It has to be butter too, margarine will not work.

The Vinegar is what opens your sinuses when you take a bite.

Put all sauce ingredients into a pot and warm till the butter is melted. Do not boil the mix or you will loose the vinegar. Just enough heat to keep the mixture liquefied. Be sure to keep the sauce stirred as the butter will separate from the other stuff if left to sit.

Mean while you deep fry your wings. No special procedure here, just cook them.

Now when the wings are done, have the sauce handy. Remove the wings from the fryer and put them straight into the sauce so they will soak the sauce all the way to the bone.

Remove from the sauce and watch them disappear.

I use Frank's brand hot sauce.

I should also add that I use a cast iron pot to cook in. Just add some oil of choice and a temp of about 350 degrees and you should be able to cook with the best. Cast iron seems to cook better and maintain temp better than anything else. I am not slamming the Fry Daddy as I have one of those too, but prefer the iron pot when deep frying. I also have a LP cooktop. Love to cook on a flame.

"TerryB" wrote in news:bkfho7$18u7k$ snipped-for-privacy@ID-46955.news.uni-berlin.de:

This edition of the cooking channel is brought to you by...

Yup, cast iron rules. Who'd a thought that bunch of gearheads would also be into cooking? I still like the idea of a RAMVA cookbook. I'm making pizza tonight, & will see about one of these wing recipes tomorrow. Bon appétit!

On 19 Sep 2003 19:16:14 GMT, cloud8 began spewing the following from their cake-hole:

I recently joined a cooking newsgroup and there are so many people talking about how great cast iron is that I got mine back out, cleaned it up really good, and then fried up a pack of bacon in it. I poured the bacon grease into a jar to save it but left a few tablespoons of it in the cast iron skillet and put it in the lowest rack of the oven to let it get "seasoned." My mom used to cook practically everything using cast iron stuff. Apparently it really is good stuff.

-- Travis '63 VW Camo Baja...

that soak into your ears are whispered, not yelled.

:wq!

I think I got heartburn just reading the ingredients!!! Way to hot for me. I am a wimpy sauce guy. LOL That statement should get some real comments.

Not only is cast iron great to cook with (even heating, slow to cool) it also has health benefits by adding iron to the food cooked in it......plus.....great for self defense:) Don't buy a new one if you don't have one yet, the new ones are WAY WAY too expensive and of poor quality.....you can find them in antique stores for $80-100 for a 13" fryer or 8qt dutch.....double that for a 16" or 12qt dutch.....or......go slummin' and pick 'em up for $4 at Goodwill or Salvation Army.....might be a little rusty but some SOS pads or a Brillo and it is ready to be seasoned:)

On Sat, 20 Sep 2003 00:59:21 +0300, "Olli Lammi" began spewing the following from their cake-hole:

I love hot food and usually make it a little hotter than most of my family can stand, but it's not a testosterone thing. :-) I think it's one of those things you build up to over time. If you like pretty spicy food and eat it often then eventually you're kinda numbed against it. I used to not be able to eat the kinds of foods I eat now but over time stuff that used to be hot to me isn't all that hot anymore. I thought the testosterone kinda thing was to see who could eat the most big macs. :-)

-- Travis '63 VW Camo Baja...

that soak into your ears are whispered, not yelled.

:wq!