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Post by blueadzuki on May 10, 2017 17:30:05 GMT -5
When I was shaving (back when I was beautiful and wanted to be seen so), I never used lather or an electric razor, just cold water and one of Grandad's brass razors and double-edged blades; I never quite "got" adjustable razors (I admit that I'm not heavily-bearded; "Chinaman", as my Dad put it when he agreed that neither of us could grow one good side-burn even if we could put both sides together; guess we're just too highly evolved (smug attack). So I gather your avatar image is not accurate? But I can sympathize. My beard is by no means short, but it would fit in length with what someone would have after about 4-5 months of light trimming. Which would be fine, except it's actually the result of about 20 YEARS of not trimming AT ALL. It grows THAT slowly. And that means that trimming or cutting it is SERIOUS business. If I want it there for winter (when I need it to keep my chin from freezing) I have to leave it totally alone year round, since if I shaved it off, even if I wanted to grow it back, I'd be stuck with about 5 or so years of perpetually looking like I just forgot to shave in the morning. I REALLY sort of envy a guy I see every week, who can shave himself clean and then, in about two weeks, grow back a beard that is LONGER than mine. |
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Post by steev on May 10, 2017 19:32:46 GMT -5
No, my beard is less thick and orderly than that, also, I don't spike my hair with wood-glue, further, my eyes aren't that perfectly on the same horizontal, besides, I have wrinkles.
Damn! I've become a grotty old coot; didn't see that coming.
My current inadequate helper told me he's quitting on Friday; yesterday, I talked with a roofing/solar guy who bemoaned the scarcity of workers; today's fish-wrap had an article about farmers lacking labor for hand-worked/harvested crops. America's getting better so bigly; it's YUGE.
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Post by prairiegardens on May 11, 2017 8:46:14 GMT -5
The guy who helped bring out the first load of mulch and who told me he would let me know Monday or Tuesday when he could bring the rest of it texted me at 11:30 last night asking me to "like" his FB page offering his services. No word at all about finishing the job but the page included a photo of the load of hay saying he had "felt like putting on cowboy boots and having some sweet iced tea (?) but when works needs doing...... everything else has to wait. " What do you do?
Someone posted a moronic thing about refugees on a FB feed then whined I was a FB bully when I called her on it, I so hate ignorant clots who parrot hateful garbage, she'd just taken a page from some idiot in the US and put a different flag on it without even bothering to question if it's even remotely true. It started out saying that refugees got health care and Canadian seniors didn't, which is totally false, and someone had agreed it was certainly something to think about, which was even more upsetting. I told her we needed these people because at least they showed some initiative which is more than many (most ?) young Canadians will do and if it wasn't for immigrants the whole province if not the country would grind to a halt. Which is true. . Sigh. Too many people appear to have been dropped on their heads, when they were babies.
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Post by steev on May 11, 2017 12:59:47 GMT -5
"Helper" started today saying he won't be back tomorrow.
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Post by SteveB on May 11, 2017 13:20:27 GMT -5
Always a positive way to start the day....
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Post by steev on May 11, 2017 13:43:29 GMT -5
Slightly better than at the end of the day, at least I'm able to prioritize a bit.
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Post by prairiegardens on May 14, 2017 5:39:02 GMT -5
Steve have you ever had any luck with students? I realize availability is probably an issue other than in the summer holidays, but before I moved here I could usually find one who was eager to work, not so far the case here but this is a strange place. Never had enough work or money for university students and they are available lots earlier than high school kids No horticultural schools around, or botany students? Ag students unlikely, they all go home and work all summer, besides which almost all are trained to look for chemicals at every opportunity.
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Post by steev on May 15, 2017 1:23:28 GMT -5
In my experience, students have other concerns, like classes; my problem is that I need at least one 40-hour-per-week employee who will stay more than one year-round, so as to learn the rhythm of our seasonal work, the varying expectations of my clients, and my personal requirements (such as: put tools back exactly where you found them, when you're done with them, so we can see at a glance what hasn't gotten back in the truck and so we know where to find the tool without wasting time rummaging; never leave tools where a child, elder, or blind person could trip; if the house has a dog, always close the gate; if you have other business, let me know as far ahead as possible, don't just not show up; if you've stepped in dog-shit, don't get in my truck before cleaning your shoes; don't leave tools on the street when you're in the backyard, unless you want to replace them); I could go on, but I'm sure you understand. I'm running a landscaping/garden maintenance business, not a mow-blow-and-go business; dependability and resourceful expertise are the foundation of my business of the past 38 years; I have clients who've been with me more than 35 years.
As a posting carried from "Homesteading", but more suitable here: in the course of activating/trouble-shooting my sweetheart's irrigation, when I opened one circuit's valve, there was suddenly a drip-tube blasting like a hose; shutting off the valve, I found that the line had been cleanly cut, not torn or chewed, so somebody pruning the shrub under which the tube ran, cut it and then "repaired" it with a barb-coupling meant for smaller-diameter tube; granted, common hardware store drip tubing is all most people are familiar with, but this system is the more professional larger tube. To me, the color of the fittings (clearly visible throughout that system) is definitive of their diameter, quality, and provenance; I realize that not everyone has (or needs) that expertise, but the ease with which that barb-coupling slipped in might have been a clue as to how easily it was going to slip out, even if one didn't know how to test the "repair", and the color of the other fittings might have indicated what one needed to actually repair the break. Even stores that really only deal in the whole smaller-diameter system materials often have the larger fittings, knowing that sometimes somebody needs just one part for a repair.
While I'm bitching about this, I will also bitch about the decline of real hardware stores; I used to know five in my general area, where I could go and say "I need a dozen of this size cork" and they would go and bring them in a little paper bag, not say "We only carry this plastic-packed assortment, which has only one of that size {but you get all these other sizes, of no use to you}), or I could say "I have this problem; do you have the tool/part/material to fix it?" and they'd come through, with instructions, if needed. I think we're down to two, at most, these days. I'm not putting it all on computer-sales-inventory-control, certainly part of the problem, but also on cultural shifts that have led fewer people to "do it themselves", so failing to support real hardware stores. I think this is just another instance of a troubling trend away from practical knowledge/practice to more "prestigious/profitable" pursuits; for example, the dropping of vocational/shop classes from 8th thru 12th grades and the emphasis on "white-collar" data-entry work; if kids can't get vocational training before community college, if that's what they want, many drop out of high-school with no salable skills, nor much hope.
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Post by prairiegardens on May 15, 2017 17:57:32 GMT -5
I hear you about hardware stores! And it's infecting other stores as well. I went into a fairly large car parts / garage/ hardware store to ask about a screw to fasten the handle grip on the inside of the the hatch and was told I'd need to go to a dealership for it! I found one ...in the ubiquitous plastic bag holding a dozen, .11 of which I didn't need so spending several dollars more than necessary. I then tried another car/truck/tractor parts store to ask if they had any suggestions re a sticking gas pedal, and they looked bewildered. First suggestion was some sort of grease or maybe WD40; when I asked if it might not be a good idea to try to clean off possible gunk first, they said well that would likely be a good idea and suggested brake cleaner. When I asked if that might be a bit rough on the accelerator linkages they allowed as how it might indeed wreck something but that's all they could think of. Pretty sad when it's their business and they know less about it than I do, who knows nothing at all.
If as quite a few people seem to expect, the SHTF it's beginning to look like another dark ages on the horizon, with people "knowing " lots but unable to do anything useful.
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Post by steev on May 15, 2017 18:50:35 GMT -5
I think much of what drives the decline of real hardware stores is the ratio of sales volume to square footage and the increasing value of commercial real estate. so you get a smaller store with computerized inventory, serviced from a remote warehouse to maintain stocks only of what is selling fast enough. For many years, various Cali merchandise-chains have had warehouses in Nevada or Oregon, maybe Arizona, where land (and taxes) are cheaper.
Also, in Cali, we see large numbers of blue-collar jobs filled by Hispanics; I have no problem with this per se; these are the people trained/experienced in the work, so they are the right people to do it. What chaps my ass is that we have gone so far in eliminating technical training from our Middle/High schools that we waste the potential of many of our own young to work profitably and satisfyingly in blue-collar jobs; they so often wind up in ill-paid "service" jobs; instead, we let other countries invest their resources in rearing and training their young, which we can then employ; sort of the blue-collar version of the "brain-drain".
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Post by steev on May 18, 2017 20:46:08 GMT -5
I'm encouraged; found a worker who seems to actually know what we're up to, asks intelligent questions, doesn't keep his head up his cell-phone, and does good work; only down-side is that he's 73 (I won't be that damned old for another three months). Still, just having a competent helper will facilitate catching up and he'll be valuable in training/supervising younger workers; things are looking up.
COOT POWER!
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Post by steev on May 19, 2017 0:00:02 GMT -5
Those of us actually engaged in manual labor are seeing a continuing devaluing of our work (not to mention our expertise); I think this is SO not to the point; I mean, if you assume that the people dealing with your landscaping issues/maintenance are ignorant (and worth minimal wages), I think it's not unreasonable that you get what you pay for, including your expectations of inadequate work; so self-affirming.
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Post by steev on May 19, 2017 22:43:55 GMT -5
That guy didn't show up today; I have another (English-speaking) option out; I'll perhaps know tomorrow whether I need to seek another Hispanic, first thing Monday. One way or another, this will all work out in when I "retire".
I don't mind the work; it's dealing with people that wears me down; they all seem to have their own issues; things will be different, when I'm in charge.
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Post by prairiegardens on May 20, 2017 23:17:02 GMT -5
When I moved to Saskatchewan I was constantly being blindsided by people until I realized that here, people say what they think you want to hear, whether or not it has anything whatsoever remotely to do with their actual intentions. It sounds as thought you've got an outbreak of the same issue, it can be very discouraging. Best of luck.
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Post by steev on May 21, 2017 20:09:26 GMT -5
I've agreed to start a new helper Monday; I knew her from the bunny store. Should be an easier training, she being English-speaking. The learning-curve may be steeper for some of my clients: she's Upper-Branch Muskogee, a dyke, and has lots of ink, including facial. Well, they've adjusted to me, so I expect they'll manage.
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