Wednesday, December 5, 2018
Rambling
Rambling is an interesting word. It can mean lengthy, confused, or inconsequential. This ramble is without consequence.
Tuesday, December 4, 2018
Throwing Out Numbers
I was listening to a public service spot on the radio this morning, and the announcer stated 100 million was spent last year on untreated mental illness. That's a huge number, and I wonder what they're including in the data for the statistic. I might be wrong, but I have the feeling somebody just grabbed a number out of the air, and included it in the spot.
Saturday, December 1, 2018
Another One Gone
George H. W. Bush has passed. I'm sure those that called him nasty names in the past will now stand in line to eulogize him for some face time. It's part of the game, and part of the process of being a lying, backstabbing, political opportunist.
I voted for him, with some trepidation. He was far better than any Democrat, but his former CIA position was a little bit disturbing for a President. That, and he was definitely a political insider in the Beltway, where the denizens of the Ivory Towers look down upon the peons with disdain.
Anyway, his wife preceded him, and I can see where he was ready to go. Barbara Bush was a lady that didn't hold her punches - even when it was commenting on her children - and what words she spoke told me she was a patriot, really didn't care much for the bullshit in Washington, and would make the greatest of friend.
May he rest in peace.
I voted for him, with some trepidation. He was far better than any Democrat, but his former CIA position was a little bit disturbing for a President. That, and he was definitely a political insider in the Beltway, where the denizens of the Ivory Towers look down upon the peons with disdain.
Anyway, his wife preceded him, and I can see where he was ready to go. Barbara Bush was a lady that didn't hold her punches - even when it was commenting on her children - and what words she spoke told me she was a patriot, really didn't care much for the bullshit in Washington, and would make the greatest of friend.
May he rest in peace.
Friday, November 30, 2018
Probably a Bad Day
I have a friend that was working a "turnaround" years ago. What's a turnaround? It's when a unit in a petrochemical facility is brought down for maintenance, or repair.
Turnarounds are expensive; very expensive. Beside the coordination, multiple units involved, and the loss of product, the enormous cost is almost mind boggling. The labor costs are extremely high, since the hours demanded are 7 day weeks, with 10 to 12 hour days. Sometimes, the cranes alone to remove components take weeks to assemble, and the hourly rates are 5 figure numbers. With all the additional equipment and materials involved, a few million dollars can disappear in a week.
My friend was working for one of the contractors at the end of the turnaround. At that point, all the pipes were back together, things were being checked, and the manways were buckled up. It was time to start the startup procedure, which required a head count before proceeding.
They were missing someone. Double checking revealed no error, so the large scale checking began. Hours were spent, but they still couldn't find the missing man. The next step required removing manways to see if the missing man was inside the unit. That's when what I consider a bad day became worse.
The missing man, since there are so many involved, figured out he could slip through a fence, go home, and spend the day doing what he wanted. He would slip back in before quitting time, and nobody was the wiser....until that evening. When he appeared, and the head count became accurate, it was obvious he was the "missing man".
The man was fired, which didn't really make much of a difference. For all practical purposes, he was useless, and the contractor found their supervision practices under the microscope. The plant manager would have to do a report, and I know that was not a pleasant thing to turn in.
So it was a bad day for all involved, but the unit was brought back on line. If it was like most of these units, the revenue paid for the turnaround in a short period of time.
Turnarounds are expensive; very expensive. Beside the coordination, multiple units involved, and the loss of product, the enormous cost is almost mind boggling. The labor costs are extremely high, since the hours demanded are 7 day weeks, with 10 to 12 hour days. Sometimes, the cranes alone to remove components take weeks to assemble, and the hourly rates are 5 figure numbers. With all the additional equipment and materials involved, a few million dollars can disappear in a week.
My friend was working for one of the contractors at the end of the turnaround. At that point, all the pipes were back together, things were being checked, and the manways were buckled up. It was time to start the startup procedure, which required a head count before proceeding.
They were missing someone. Double checking revealed no error, so the large scale checking began. Hours were spent, but they still couldn't find the missing man. The next step required removing manways to see if the missing man was inside the unit. That's when what I consider a bad day became worse.
The missing man, since there are so many involved, figured out he could slip through a fence, go home, and spend the day doing what he wanted. He would slip back in before quitting time, and nobody was the wiser....until that evening. When he appeared, and the head count became accurate, it was obvious he was the "missing man".
The man was fired, which didn't really make much of a difference. For all practical purposes, he was useless, and the contractor found their supervision practices under the microscope. The plant manager would have to do a report, and I know that was not a pleasant thing to turn in.
So it was a bad day for all involved, but the unit was brought back on line. If it was like most of these units, the revenue paid for the turnaround in a short period of time.
Thursday, November 29, 2018
This I Did Not Know
A girls name, which is spelled Abcde, is a name I've never heard. A gate agent, who was probably amazed, took a picture of a boarding pass, and placed it on social media. The mother was upset. The little girl will be upset in the future. I'm betting she changes her name, and probably doesn't spend too much time with Mom. One thing is for sure, if the little girl manages to learn to spell her name, she's learned a substantial amount of the alphabet.
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