Don't miss this. Just don't. Even if you have to sign in to read it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/ma...1&ref=magazine

--
Ed Huntress

"Ed Huntress" wrote in message
...
Don't miss this. Just don't. Even if you have to sign in to read it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/ma...1&ref=magazine

--
Ed Huntress


Thats the most interesting read I've had in a while. Thanks Ed.

On May 23, 7:28*am, "Nector" wrote:
"Ed Huntress" wrote in message

...

Don't miss this. Just don't. Even if you have to sign in to read it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/ma...ml?_r=1&ref=ma...

--
Ed Huntress

Thats the most interesting read I've had in a while. Thanks Ed.

Thanks, Ed, the writer describes the satisfaction of honest
intellectual + mechanical work as well The Soul of a New Machine and
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. I haven't read enough of
Neville Shute yet, only the description of designing the R100 airship
from Slide Rule: Autobiography of an Engineer.

I chose to be a lab tech instead of an engineer for similar reasons.

jsw

In article ,
"Ed Huntress" wrote:

Don't miss this. Just don't. Even if you have to sign in to read it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/ma...1&ref=magazine

--
Ed Huntress

I'd bet nobody is going to belittle _his_ intellect successfully simply
because he works with the tools.

Beautiful piece!

"Ed Huntress" wrote:

Don't miss this. Just don't. Even if you have to sign in to read it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/ma...1&ref=magazine


Excellent read! A good day at work is when I'm presented with an interesting problem to
diagnose and correct. I particularly enjoyed where he went into figuring risk / reward to
various approaches at a problem. Oh and the starter problem with the bushing and armature
dragging, been there done that, 1965 Biscayne sta wagn.

Wes

"Nector" wrote in message
...


"Ed Huntress" wrote in message
...
Don't miss this. Just don't. Even if you have to sign in to read it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/ma...1&ref=magazine

--
Ed Huntress


Thats the most interesting read I've had in a while. Thanks Ed.

Stories like that aren't easy to write. I wrote a couple of short ones on
that subject when I was younger, and it's very hard to avoid sentimentality
when you get into it beyond a few basic points. This author avoided it
pretty well until he got near the end.

I'm looking forward to seeing the book from which this essay is extracted.
The guy is trained in philosophy and analysis; he should be able to keep his
clear and interesting insights organized for a longer piece. If he has, it
will be a fine, and maybe an important, book

--
Ed Huntress

"Wes" wrote in message
news
"Ed Huntress" wrote:

Don't miss this. Just don't. Even if you have to sign in to read it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/ma...1&ref=magazine


Excellent read! A good day at work is when I'm presented with an
interesting problem to
diagnose and correct. I particularly enjoyed where he went into figuring
risk / reward to
various approaches at a problem. Oh and the starter problem with the
bushing and armature
dragging, been there done that, 1965 Biscayne sta wagn.

Wes

We'll have to keep an eye out for the book, _Shop Class as Soulcraft: An
Inquiry Into the Value of Work_. It's supposed to be published this week.

Regarding the starter on his motorcycle, I never had a starter problem on
three of my motorcycles. They didn't have electric starters. However, I had
a bad sprained ankle for six months on my kick-start side, which made life
interesting. g

I do recognize that bushing problem, however, because it was one of several
things I had to fix when I restored a '50s-era Mitchell high-speed movie
camera. Everything was shot, and you could actually feel the armature
grating against the stator when you turned it by hand. I replaced the
bushings with pieces I turned from a bronze propeller shaft that came from
an old boat -- my primary source of bronze bushing stock. With all of the
shallow sandbars we have in NJ, they're fairly common.

--
Ed Huntress

Very good read, Ed. Thanks.
Bob swinney

"Ed Huntress" wrote in message ...
Don't miss this. Just don't. Even if you have to sign in to read it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/ma...1&ref=magazine

--
Ed Huntress

Right on, Wes. It reminds me of a multi-Hp DC motor that operated on of the retarders in a large
rail yard. Our signal department had sent the motor out to a local electrical shop a couple of
times but it always came back, "no trouble found". In as much as this was a very large and heavy DC
motor, I suspected the shop had assumed it would have obvious and had not actually megged it.
Without a megger, I tested the various windings with a high-voltage DC current supply and soon found
leakage. We sent it back to the shop with a description of which winding was leaky.

Bob Swinney
"Wes" wrote in message news "Ed Huntress" wrote:

Don't miss this. Just don't. Even if you have to sign in to read it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/ma...1&ref=magazine


Excellent read! A good day at work is when I'm presented with an interesting problem to
diagnose and correct. I particularly enjoyed where he went into figuring risk / reward to
various approaches at a problem. Oh and the starter problem with the bushing and armature
dragging, been there done that, 1965 Biscayne sta wagn.

Wes

Ed Huntress wrote:

Stories like that aren't easy to write.

You might like L. Francis Herreshoff's approach to the subject in "H 28,
or the Building of the Snarke".
If your library doesn't have it, sent me a note and I'll loan you my copy.

Kevin Gallimore

"axolotl" wrote in message
...
Ed Huntress wrote:

Stories like that aren't easy to write.

You might like L. Francis Herreshoff's approach to the subject in "H 28,
or the Building of the Snarke".
If your library doesn't have it, sent me a note and I'll loan you my copy.

Kevin Gallimore

Ah, yes, a great one. I have read it. Also his _Rudder_ article, "Naptha
Launches," and a variety of his other old _Rudder_ pieces.

--
Ed Huntress

Ed Huntress wrote:
Don't miss this. Just don't. Even if you have to sign in to read it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/ma...1&ref=magazine

Spot on! The sentence that stands out is :
"For me, at least, there is more real thinking going on in the bike shop
than there was in the think tank."

The whole thing reflects my personal experience to a tee.

--
Michael Koblic,
Campbell River, BC

Enjoyed that very much!

In 1979 I was being seriously considered for my supervisor's job at
Varian. Had several suits from up the ladder come talk to me in my
welding booth, asking if I would be interested in going back to school
and obtaining an MBA. Varian would heavily subsidize this. Money-wise,
that would have been the smart move. But I like working with my hands
and making things, and frankly wasn't thrilled at the thought of having
to turn around and give reviews to all my friends there....

I declined and still have no regrets.


Jon

"Ed Huntress" wrote in message
...

"Wes" wrote in message
news
"Ed Huntress" wrote:

Don't miss this. Just don't. Even if you have to sign in to read it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/ma...1&ref=magazine


Excellent read! A good day at work is when I'm presented with an
interesting problem to
diagnose and correct. I particularly enjoyed where he went into figuring
risk / reward to
various approaches at a problem. Oh and the starter problem with the
bushing and armature
dragging, been there done that, 1965 Biscayne sta wagn.

Wes
Ed Huntress

Interesting article, though it is not the case that all who work in an
office must give up intellectual activities and honesty - but (as one who
actually gets paid for being in an office) I can say that having hand work
at home, where I can make things, is important - and any number of times
when told something was "impossible", I've been able to bring the impossible
thing, or someting close enough to it, back and rather solidly disprove the
point - without some understanding of "real world stuff" that would not have
happened. And, it is sooooo gratifying ("what part about this thing in
front of you is actually impossible, as you had said yesterday?")

"Robert Swinney" wrote:


Bob Swinney
"Wes" wrote in message news "Ed Huntress" wrote:

Don't miss this. Just don't. Even if you have to sign in to read it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/ma...1&ref=magazine


Excellent read! A good day at work is when I'm presented with an interesting problem to
diagnose and correct. I particularly enjoyed where he went into figuring risk / reward to
various approaches at a problem. Oh and the starter problem with the bushing and armature
dragging, been there done that, 1965 Biscayne sta wagn.

Wes

Right on, Wes. It reminds me of a multi-Hp DC motor that operated on of the retarders in a large
rail yard. Our signal department had sent the motor out to a local electrical shop a couple of
times but it always came back, "no trouble found". In as much as this was a very large and heavy DC
motor, I suspected the shop had assumed it would have obvious and had not actually megged it.
Without a megger, I tested the various windings with a high-voltage DC current supply and soon found
leakage. We sent it back to the shop with a description of which winding was leaky.


Don't ya hate it when you send something out to the 'pros' or call them in and still end
up solving the issue yourself.

Wes

On Sat, 23 May 2009 19:28:43 +0800, "Nector" wrote:



"Ed Huntress" wrote in message
...
Don't miss this. Just don't. Even if you have to sign in to read it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/ma...1&ref=magazine

--
Ed Huntress


Thats the most interesting read I've had in a while. Thanks Ed.



Interesting article indeed.

Gunner

"Lenin called them "useful idiots," those people living in
liberal democracies who by giving moral and material support
to a totalitarian ideology in effect were braiding the rope that
would hang them. Why people who enjoyed freedom and prosperity worked
passionately to destroy both is a fascinating question, one still with us
today. Now the useful idiots can be found in the chorus of appeasement,
reflexive anti-Americanism, and sentimental idealism trying to inhibit
the necessary responses to another freedom-hating ideology, radical Islam"

Bruce C. Thornton, a professor of Classics at American University of Cal State Fresno

"Ed Huntress" wrote:

We'll have to keep an eye out for the book, _Shop Class as Soulcraft: An
Inquiry Into the Value of Work_. It's supposed to be published this week.

You can preorder it at amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Shop-Class-Sou.../dp/1594202230

I just did. I have a book coming from Winston so It might take me a bit of time after
getting it from Amazon to read it. I could send the soulcraft book to you as a thank you
for sending me the NRA book. If Winston is interested in reading it, you can send it to
him and he can send it to me.


Regarding the starter on his motorcycle, I never had a starter problem on
three of my motorcycles. They didn't have electric starters. However, I had
a bad sprained ankle for six months on my kick-start side, which made life
interesting. g

I had a Honda CB500T, a sad choice of a motorcycle, the 450T would have been a far better
bike. The starter never failed but the internal bits seemed to fail quite often. Finally
I had enough. Pulled the starter off, inserted a rubber soft plug and closed off hole.
Not a bad bike to kick start.

I do recognize that bushing problem, however, because it was one of several
things I had to fix when I restored a '50s-era Mitchell high-speed movie
camera. Everything was shot, and you could actually feel the armature
grating against the stator when you turned it by hand. I replaced the
bushings with pieces I turned from a bronze propeller shaft that came from
an old boat -- my primary source of bronze bushing stock. With all of the
shallow sandbars we have in NJ, they're fairly common.

The typical symptom for me with a car starter was one time it started fine the next time
it drew 400A and didn't move. Generally temperature dependant. Might have also been
dependant on radial orientation of armature.

Someone's misfortune, your gain. Speaking of fishing, I hope you are getting some in.

Wes

"Wes" wrote in message
...
"Ed Huntress" wrote:

We'll have to keep an eye out for the book, _Shop Class as Soulcraft: An
Inquiry Into the Value of Work_. It's supposed to be published this week.

You can preorder it at amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Shop-Class-Sou.../dp/1594202230

I just did. I have a book coming from Winston so It might take me a bit
of time after
getting it from Amazon to read it. I could send the soulcraft book to
you as a thank you
for sending me the NRA book. If Winston is interested in reading it, you
can send it to
him and he can send it to me.

Thanks. I'll take you up on that offer.



Regarding the starter on his motorcycle, I never had a starter problem on
three of my motorcycles. They didn't have electric starters. However, I
had
a bad sprained ankle for six months on my kick-start side, which made life
interesting. g

I had a Honda CB500T, a sad choice of a motorcycle, the 450T would have
been a far better
bike. The starter never failed but the internal bits seemed to fail quite
often. Finally
I had enough. Pulled the starter off, inserted a rubber soft plug and
closed off hole.
Not a bad bike to kick start.

Better than my BSA Victor 441, I'm sure. If you hit that one stiff-legged,
it could launch you like a mortar shell if it was in a bad mood. g My
Honda CB350, on the other hand, kick-started so easily that I almost never
used the electric starter.


I do recognize that bushing problem, however, because it was one of
several
things I had to fix when I restored a '50s-era Mitchell high-speed movie
camera. Everything was shot, and you could actually feel the armature
grating against the stator when you turned it by hand. I replaced the
bushings with pieces I turned from a bronze propeller shaft that came from
an old boat -- my primary source of bronze bushing stock. With all of the
shallow sandbars we have in NJ, they're fairly common.

The typical symptom for me with a car starter was one time it started fine
the next time
it drew 400A and didn't move. Generally temperature dependant. Might
have also been
dependant on radial orientation of armature.

Someone's misfortune, your gain. Speaking of fishing, I hope you are
getting some in.

Wes

A bit. We're in between seasons. I don't fish for flabby hatchery trout, and
I haven't gotten up to PA yet. And the sal****er fishing is between winter
flounder and summer flounder.

--
Ed Huntress

On Sat, 23 May 2009 06:07:10 -0400, "Ed Huntress"
wrote:

Don't miss this. Just don't. Even if you have to sign in to read it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/ma...1&ref=magazine

Thanks for posting it. If I could give young people only one piece of
advice it would be this: If you ever get to live well then you will
probably have a lot of stuff. The more of this stuff you can fix
yourself, the less after-tax income you'll waste paying others to do
it for you. Becoming a DIYer will enable you to live better or work
less or both. Plus, you can save a lot of time and aggravation because
you won't be sitting around waiting for contractors to return calls,
or bitching about the grease monkey who didn't tighten your oil
filter, plumber letting your dog out, etc. :-) And the more DIY
knowledge you master, the more you'll grasp concepts that might
otherwise have eluded you, such as the safety of drinking tap water
instead of fu*$king bottled water... Better stop now, I usually
lose them once I start talking about doing my own haircuts. :-)

Wayne

On Sat, 23 May 2009 17:48:38 -0400, "Ed Huntress"
wrote:


Better than my BSA Victor 441, I'm sure. If you hit that one stiff-legged,
it could launch you like a mortar shell if it was in a bad mood. g

Hah! You haven't suffered unless you kick started a Norton Atlas every
morning in 40F temps. :-)

Wayne

On May 23, 4:05*pm, "Bill Noble" wrote:
...And, it is sooooo gratifying *("what part about this thing in
front of you is actually impossible, as you had said yesterday?")

I've never had to be that confrontational but I've kick-started
several interesting concepts by bringing in some practical home-made
hardware for them, to pass around in meetings.

jsw

"Ed Huntress" wrote:

I just did. I have a book coming from Winston so It might take me a bit
of time after
getting it from Amazon to read it. I could send the soulcraft book to
you as a thank you
for sending me the NRA book. If Winston is interested in reading it, you
can send it to
him and he can send it to me.

Thanks. I'll take you up on that offer.

You will get it shortly after I get it. I'll give you a heads up.



Regarding the starter on his motorcycle, I never had a starter problem on
three of my motorcycles. They didn't have electric starters. However, I
had
a bad sprained ankle for six months on my kick-start side, which made life
interesting. g

I had a Honda CB500T, a sad choice of a motorcycle, the 450T would have
been a far better
bike. The starter never failed but the internal bits seemed to fail quite
often. Finally
I had enough. Pulled the starter off, inserted a rubber soft plug and
closed off hole.
Not a bad bike to kick start.

Better than my BSA Victor 441, I'm sure. If you hit that one stiff-legged,
it could launch you like a mortar shell if it was in a bad mood. g My
Honda CB350, on the other hand, kick-started so easily that I almost never
used the electric starter.

The only good quality of the CB500T is it started easily. A strong cross wind as you
passed though a bridge at 78 mph (yes it could do it) would put you into a developing tank
slapper. Very scarey. I won't go into how the pegs buzzed.



A bit. We're in between seasons. I don't fish for flabby hatchery trout, and
I haven't gotten up to PA yet. And the sal****er fishing is between winter
flounder and summer flounder.

I need to buy a set of waders that fit me. The desire to do some wading is gnawing on me.
I've given up on fitting the old ones.

Wes
--
"Additionally as a security officer, I carry a gun to protect
government officials but my life isn't worth protecting at home
in their eyes." Dick Anthony Heller

Wes wrote:
"Ed Huntress" wrote:

We'll have to keep an eye out for the book, _Shop Class as Soulcraft: An
Inquiry Into the Value of Work_. It's supposed to be published this week.

You can preorder it at amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Shop-Class-Sou.../dp/1594202230

I just did. I have a book coming from Winston so It might take me a bit of time after
getting it from Amazon to read it. I could send the soulcraft book to you as a thank you
for sending me the NRA book. If Winston is interested in reading it, you can send it to
him and he can send it to me.

Yes, please.

--Winston


--

Don't *faff*, dear.

Winston wrote:

I just did. I have a book coming from Winston so It might take me a bit of time after
getting it from Amazon to read it. I could send the soulcraft book to you as a thank you
for sending me the NRA book. If Winston is interested in reading it, you can send it to
him and he can send it to me.

Yes, please.


Ed, Winston is next.

Wes wrote:
Winston wrote:

I just did. I have a book coming from Winston so It might take me a bit of time after
getting it from Amazon to read it. I could send the soulcraft book to you as a thank you
for sending me the NRA book. If Winston is interested in reading it, you can send it to
him and he can send it to me.
Yes, please.


Ed, Winston is next.

Wes, _Buyology_ has been in transit to you for 13 days now.
If it doesn't arrive in another week or so, let me know and
I will send another copy more directly.

--Winston

--

Don't *faff*, dear.

"Wes" wrote in message
...
Winston wrote:

I just did. I have a book coming from Winston so It might take me a bit
of time after
getting it from Amazon to read it. I could send the soulcraft book to
you as a thank you
for sending me the NRA book. If Winston is interested in reading it,
you can send it to
him and he can send it to me.

Yes, please.


Ed, Winston is next.

Got it.

--
Ed Huntress

Boy, can I relate to that article - I worked part way through college
as an auto mechanic. During 30 some years of physics teaching (which
I mostly loved), but by living modestly, I kept on my mind that I
could quit at any time and make a living as a mechanic - that limited
how much cr.p I was willing to put up with. I ran the university
machine shop because the professors of engineering felt it was below
their dignity - I leaned a ton from our machinist.

After I retired I taught math and science in a parochial high school,
but I made sure that all my kids could identify motor oil, brake
fluid, anti-freeze, transmission and rear axle oil and battery acid by
feel, smell, or taste, and knew how to take apart and fix a toilet.
The finest moment came when one of the not so motivated students
brought in the broken muffler from his scooter, and I ended up
teaching him the basics of stick and oxy-acetylene welding - he went
on to become a very motivated marine engine mechanic.

Now I want to re-read The Soul of a New Machine and Zen and the Art of
Motorcycle Maintenance.

Sorry for the long ramble.... Joel in Florida

Winston wrote:

Wes, _Buyology_ has been in transit to you for 13 days now.
If it doesn't arrive in another week or so, let me know and
I will send another copy more directly.

I haven't made it to the post office in a few days. I was shocked to recieve a shipment
from Harbor Freight today on a Saturday. I'd have thought Fedex would have taken this
weekend off. Not a bad grinder for 20 bucks.

Wes

On motorcycle starting. All my bikes were kick started till the
Hondas, but the worst was the Harley (Aermachi) Sprint H and the
Ducati 250 Diana. Both my Harley Sportster and FLH had kick and
electric, but if the tune was just right and you pushed them over by
hand to the right place, they would fire right up on the first kick -
the trick was using your weight and momentum. Then one of my Harley-
riding students said "Why are you doing that with your knee?" And he
was right... Joel in Florida, still with a bad knee (but that's
another story, involving a submarine)
==========
I had enough. *Pulled the starter off, inserted a rubber soft plug and
closed off hole.
Not a bad bike to kick start.

Better than my BSA Victor 441, I'm sure. If you hit that one stiff-legged,
it could launch you like a mortar shell if it was in a bad mood. g My
Honda CB350, on the other hand, kick-started so easily that I almost never
used the electric starter.

Wes wrote:
Winston wrote:

Wes, _Buyology_ has been in transit to you for 13 days now.
If it doesn't arrive in another week or so, let me know and
I will send another copy more directly.

I haven't made it to the post office in a few days. I was shocked to recieve a shipment
from Harbor Freight today on a Saturday. I'd have thought Fedex would have taken this
weekend off. Not a bad grinder for 20 bucks.

That's almost as good as Christmas!
OTOH, I just received a shipment from Northern Tool that was in transit for
10 (ten) days.

1) Man, am I ever spoiled by McMaster!
2) Makes you wonder if McMaster is a UPS subsidiary or vise - versa.

--Winston

A bit. We're in between seasons. I don't fish for flabby hatchery trout,
and
I haven't gotten up to PA yet. And the sal****er fishing is between winter
flounder and summer flounder.

--
Ed Huntress


Ed,
http://www.fishinnj.com/fishingreport.html

Just so you don't miss out on some good fishing.


If it weren't for the three hour ride each way Id be out there fishing every
day
Where abouts do you fish in PA ?

John

On May 23, 8:07 pm, "Ed Huntress" wrote:
Don't miss this. Just don't. Even if you have to sign in to read it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/ma...ml?_r=1&ref=ma...

--
Ed Huntress

Thanks Ed. another thoughtful piece that re-enforces my existing
prejudices, and in a wordy, literate, articulate manner that I am not
capable of. The paradox - the guy had to get a doctorate to write
about the dignity of labour?
Lots of bits resonated, especially the huge gap between theory and
practice - I am a self employed electronics tech, and no school can
ever prepare you for the reality of a dead piece of gear on your bench
that doesnt obey the rules!
Andrew VK3BFA

Don't ya hate it when you send something out to the 'pros' or call them
in and still end
up solving the issue yourself.

Wes


Wes,

Unless you have the name of the guy that is familiar with the piece of
equipment you need information on, all you will get is someone reading out
of the manual the same stuff you have already tried.

Repairing things is definitely a challange and gives you a sense of
satisfaction when the piece of equipment is again doing what it was designed
to do. I could have had a well paying job when I was young in broadcasting
but it was one of the most boring jobs I ever did, running a commercial
broadcast transmitter in NYC.

John

"John" wrote in message
...
A bit. We're in between seasons. I don't fish for flabby hatchery trout,
and
I haven't gotten up to PA yet. And the sal****er fishing is between
winter flounder and summer flounder.

--
Ed Huntress


Ed,
http://www.fishinnj.com/fishingreport.html

Just so you don't miss out on some good fishing.

That's tempting, but I don't fish on head boats these days. I used to fish
on the original Jamaica years ago, but my interests now are mostly surf and
jetty fishing. The blues have been in early; maybe they're on the beaches
now, but it would be very early if they are.



If it weren't for the three hour ride each way Id be out there fishing
every day
Where abouts do you fish in PA ?

John

My favorite area in PA is north-central: Young Woman's Creek, Pine Creek,
and the smaller brook trout creeks, like Cedar Run. Every few years I go to
the area closer to my old home, which was in Columbia County: Fishing Creek
and its little tributaries.

--
Ed Huntress

wrote in message
...
On May 23, 8:07 pm, "Ed Huntress" wrote:
Don't miss this. Just don't. Even if you have to sign in to read it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/ma...ml?_r=1&ref=ma...

--
Ed Huntress

Thanks Ed. another thoughtful piece that re-enforces my existing
prejudices, and in a wordy, literate, articulate manner that I am not
capable of. The paradox - the guy had to get a doctorate to write
about the dignity of labour?

It's not easy to write about. As I said earlier, it's too easy to get sappy
and sentimental, which will make any essay crash and burn. That's why I'm
interested to see if he pulled it off throughout an entire book.

The kind of research and writing one does to reach that educational level is
quite a training ground for a writer who leans toward original analysis, so
it does give him some powerful tools. It's also interesting to hear why he
made his choices, because, although he may have hit the job markets at
difficult times, he could have chosen to go in any of several directions --
academic, business, or whatever. So it makes his point of view inherently
interesting.

If it's a paradox, it's one that can tell us a few things. A guy with such a
philosophy background probably has given it a lot of thought.

Lots of bits resonated, especially the huge gap between theory and
practice - I am a self employed electronics tech, and no school can
ever prepare you for the reality of a dead piece of gear on your bench
that doesnt obey the rules!
Andrew VK3BFA

I know what you mean. Most good work requires a lot of thought.

My own point of view is not easy to project, which is that getting as much
education as one can handle is good no matter what you're going to do. And I
don't mean vocational training. I mean real perspective, something that
gives you a completely different view of the world from an angle that's
totally unrelated to the everyday facts of your work, like a motorcycle
mechanic with a PhD. in political philosophy. 'Wish I'd gotten one, myself.
g It's something like living abroad for a few years, only better training
for the mind.

--
Ed Huntress

"Ed Huntress" wrote in message
...

"John" wrote in message
...
A bit. We're in between seasons. I don't fish for flabby hatchery
trout,
and
I haven't gotten up to PA yet. And the sal****er fishing is between
winter flounder and summer flounder.

--
Ed Huntress


Ed,
http://www.fishinnj.com/fishingreport.html

Just so you don't miss out on some good fishing.

That's tempting, but I don't fish on head boats these days. I used to fish
on the original Jamaica years ago, but my interests now are mostly surf
and jetty fishing. The blues have been in early; maybe they're on the
beaches now, but it would be very early if they are.

The blues have been insane on the south shore of LI.

On May 24, 12:26*pm, "Ed Huntress" wrote:
wrote in message

...

On May 23, 8:07 pm, "Ed Huntress" wrote:
Don't miss this. Just don't. Even if you have to sign in to read it.

My own point of view is not easy to project, which is that getting as much
education as one can handle is good no matter what you're going to do. And I
don't mean vocational training. I mean real perspective, something that
gives you a completely different view of the world from an angle that's
totally unrelated to the everyday facts of your work, like a motorcycle
mechanic with a PhD. in political philosophy. 'Wish I'd gotten one, myself.
g It's something like living abroad for a few years, only better training
for the mind.
--
Ed Huntress

Ed. it would be utterly presumptuous for me to criticize his writing
(or thinking) - but then, if a philosophy doctorate doesn't teach you
how to collect and analyse information,.........BTW, what happened to
the time when universities were places where you went to learn how to
THINK....

He has paid his dues, he describes the moments where its really good
when you crack a difficult fault, you float across the room ..(you
want to tell someone about it, but, working for yourself, there's only
the dog, who thinks everything you do is wonderful anyway)

The times when there's a run of rotten jobs that take forever, you
lose money on them in terms of time,and sometimes parts you have put
into them. Get a long run, you start seriously questioning WHY you are
self employed...

The stepping back, having a smoke and a coffee to clear your head - do
that too - EXCEPT I HAVE BEEN OFF THE CIGGYS FOR 7 WEEKS NOW AND ITS
DRIVING ME NUTS....I WANNA CIGARETTE..

The sense you develop of the nutty customer(s) who you (gently)
decline to do anything for as you just instinctively KNOW their going
to be bad news....or someone who brings in a job so covered in crap/
dirt/grease, its an insult to expect you to work on it. (I have a
compressor and air gun just outside the door, I don't mind cleaning
the dust from INSIDE something, before it goes into the shop, but draw
the line at the crappy outside) And on this topic - manual work
doesn't have to be dirty - remember the saying,"if you work in ****
conditions then you do **** work". My mechanic charges me a nominal
fee for steam cleaning the engine etc when he does any work - fair
enuff, I wouldn't insult his professionalism by asking him to work in
crap. I got a shop vac for the floors , I clean down my benches
between jobs cause thats the way I was taught - that way, you know
whats on the bench MUST be from the current job....

One thing I would disagree with - he mentions having to drill out
screws (ah, sweet memories) from side covers as the 20 previous
owners had only a 10inch shifter as a tool - usually, an impact driver
will remove them, then replace with Allen head bolts..(you CAN be
lucky and the thread is not stripped..you wanna be real fussy, then
counterbore slightly to make it look shmick..)

Ed Huntress wrote:

"Wes" wrote in message
news
"Ed Huntress" wrote:


Don't miss this. Just don't. Even if you have to sign in to read it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/ma...1&ref=magazine


Excellent read! A good day at work is when I'm presented with an
interesting problem to
diagnose and correct. I particularly enjoyed where he went into figuring
risk / reward to
various approaches at a problem. Oh and the starter problem with the
bushing and armature
dragging, been there done that, 1965 Biscayne sta wagn.

Wes


We'll have to keep an eye out for the book, _Shop Class as Soulcraft: An
Inquiry Into the Value of Work_. It's supposed to be published this week.

Regarding the starter on his motorcycle, I never had a starter problem on
three of my motorcycles. They didn't have electric starters. However, I had
a bad sprained ankle for six months on my kick-start side, which made life
interesting. g

I do recognize that bushing problem, however, because it was one of several
things I had to fix when I restored a '50s-era Mitchell high-speed movie
camera. Everything was shot, and you could actually feel the armature
grating against the stator when you turned it by hand. I replaced the
bushings with pieces I turned from a bronze propeller shaft that came from
an old boat -- my primary source of bronze bushing stock. With all of the
shallow sandbars we have in NJ, they're fairly common.

Great article, It reaffirms what I've long felt, that the diagnostic
skills of a good mechanic are not far removed from those of a good
internist, and for the past fifty years or so I've watched with interest
the increased technological diagnostic aids which have become available
and are now practically indispensable to both those professions.

Me too on that starter bushing problem. I encountered it while helping
my son fix his TR-6 about 25 years ago. I made a new bushing for the
starter on my olde Stark lathe, from oilite bar stock. Occasionally,
while searching through the "hell box" on my bench I come across the
worn out starter bushing and proudly remember that "save" and the happy
and appreciative thanks I received from my son.

Jeff
--
Jeffry Wisnia
(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
The speed of light is 1.8*10^12 furlongs per fortnight.

On Sat, 23 May 2009 06:07:10 -0400, "Ed Huntress"
wrote:

Don't miss this. Just don't. Even if you have to sign in to read it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/ma...1&ref=magazine

A very interesting read. Thanks, Ed, for posting that.

My view is slightly different than his, but only slightly. For me,
satisfying work is that which produces something useful, improves
something, or solves a problem, fixes a defect, provides a remedy.
This certainly includes motorcycle repair, fabrication, etc but it
also includes some forms of "white-shirt" work. Examples:

*engineers who design useful things that work
*authors who write material that provokes thought
*editors who make material written by others more useful by making it
more readable, concise, etc. (You reading this, Ed?)
*physicians who only diagnose and prescribe. (vs surgeons
who are certainly "hands on")
*about any craftsman whose craft is useful to or enjoyed by others

I think satisfying work is work that engages and challenges one's
capabilities to achieve a result that is a contribution or is
"productive". Since most of us need income, it's nice when one can
find a way to enjoy a satisfactory income from satisfying work. When
my kids asked me to define success, that was one of the things I told
them. I also told them that only they could decide how much income
was "enough" or "satisfactory", and if they allowed the opinions and
ambitions of others influence that they were doomed to be frustrated.

The original essay from a few years back.

http://www.thenewatlantis.com/public...s-as-soulcraft

--
Cats, coffee, chocolate...vices to live by