Schedules and Other Money Grifts

Later in my construction career, schedules were required on TxDot projects, had to be in a format that conveniently allowed a software company to make money, and required someone to be paid to assemble the schedule. None were extremely accurate, most were impossibly optimistic, and the only people I found that were impressed were those that created the schedules, or were being paid to update the wish list. 

I don't like construction schedules. They take away resources better used for increasing the black ink summaries at the bottom of the leger, and take give bureaucrats more ammunition to snipe at contractors, when weather events cause delays. A good project manager has the information needed to complete a project in the shortest period of time, and doesn't need bean counters, or bureaucrats, to remind them of how those that push the paper are generally ignorant of the really important things. Schedules don't replace experience, or knowledge. They only give paper pushers more paper to push back and forth across their desks as they spend most of their time surfing the internet.  

Watching, and Waiting is a Waste of Time

 Federal laws describe the offense of misappropriation of funds. From what little the Communist media is allowing through, there are dozens that are not only guilty, there is absolutely no defense for their crimes. An honest, and aggressive U.S. Attorney wouldn't hesitate to prosecute, but where the worst of the fraud happens, the Federal officials are just as dirty as the criminals. Waiting for something to happen is a waste of time. 

**spit**

I'm Sure It Can Be Fun

I've watched curling on television. I'm thinking some of the viewing was Olympic events, and maybe on the old ABC Wide World of Sports. It looks like it can be fun, and the closest thing I've ever done that is similar is "corn hole", which is played with bean bags, and slanted boards with holes, although it's much warmer of a game, brooms aren't allowed, and there's little danger of falling on ice.

From what little snippets of news I've seen, there is some type of alleged cheating in the Olympics by curlers. I'm not sure what the cheating involves (And I'm not really that interested to research the articles), but the best solution is to have them fight it out. Let them brawl on the ice, serve beer to the spectators, and give the winners a banquet. Serve smoked brisket, potato salad, ranch style beans, and coleslaw. Invite the losers, and nobody give them a hard time. 

It's Not Great

There's some proclaiming that the economy is doing great. It's not. So much wealth was stolen over the last few year that the aggregate loss has hit U.S. citizens hard, and regardless of hype, there is no method to repair the losses in sight. While some are receiving raises, and others are making acquiring wealth from investments, those that were hurt hard by the Covid debacle are now suffering from the ridiculous economic policies from the last administration. Is there a cure? Of course, but it requires the government drastically cutting expenditures, hard line actions on corruption, and removal of all public funds from anyone, or company, that isn't owned by United States citizens.  

Oil Change and Tire Rotation

 Today I'll have the oil changed in the car, and the tires rotated. It's an occasional task, and it makes me think of today's costs. 

When I first started owning vehicles, the largest tires were 15 inch tires, and many of the vehicles I owned had 13, or 14, inch tires. They seemed to work well. That, and disc brakes were not common, nor anti-lock brakes. I don't know what the stopping distances were in comparison to vehicles today, but like anything, adjustments were made for what was available. I knew the limitations of the vehicle, and compensated for the limitation. Whether that's really that important today doesn't seem to be something so demanded, but I do know the larger tires are more expensive, and the electronics involved in brakes has increased the cost of vehicles. 

Oils have come a long way since I started driving. With the additives, and synthetics, oils don't break down like they once did. Where an oil change was demanded at 3000 miles in the past, the oils today can still have full lubricating qualities up to 15,000 miles. While I was working, we had a synthetic oil on one of our vehicles tested over time. The synthetic in the diesel truck we tested didn't show any degradation in performance until around 17,000 miles. 

Times change, and many of the changes are good. Where a vehicle in the past was basically shot at 100,000 miles, with good care and maintenance, some are still dependable at 300,000 miles. I know car companies would rather people buy more often, but with vehicles costing a substantial amount of a new homes, people just don't have the money and want to wait as long as possible before buying new.