Friday, October 31, 2008

Division Essay

What does it take to be the best at the position I am in where I work? I work in a high production machine shop, making front end parts, mostly tie rods, ball joints, stabilizers. My job title as of now is “group leader” my job title seems to change once a year, before that it was “setup technician”. Before I was a setup technician I was the “supervisor”, but after a year of supervisor I realize I did not want to be a member of the management team, and after a restructuring of the plant I become the setup tech. Now that I am a group leader my job duties consist of many other positions in the plant other then leading my operators. I am part quality guy, I am part maintenance guy, and I am part engineer guy. I put on these three hats as soon as I walk in the door, and prepare myself for what is to come.

Now being a quality guy, I need to check parts that operators are making to make sure they are in spec. I look for defects in parts after they are machined and before. I make sure all gages are calibrated, all measuring machines are working, and make sure all operators know what they are looking for when they look at their parts. I also take care of all our Tie Rod assembly machines so making sure all the checks are in place and the operators are looking at their parts and catching defects is an eight hour job within itself. Now a lot of times the inner quality guy, fights with the inner engineer guy, when I find what could be a possible defect. What happens is a part is made, and all the customers’ specification are fine, but it just does not look right. I will then find the part print, and make sure that everything is in spec, make sure all tools are setup right, and the machine programs are fine, and tell the inner quality guy to send them. Without the quality guy making sure everything is in spec. then defects would get to our customers, and without customers, then no job, so the quality guy is very important.

Being an engineer guy I make sure all programs are working right, make sure all the feeds and speeds are fine, the tool geometry is good, and machines are in working order. Tooling is a big, big, big expense where I work. Every month we spend about $35,000 just in tooling, and inserts for the tools, and anything else we use to cut metal. For eight hours a day I have to constantly make sure every tool is working the way it should, make sure it is cutting all the parts it can out of the insert it is using, make sure the tool is cutting the part to the print that the customer needs, make sure all the programs in the huge lathes are working the way they should, and try to figure out ways to lower our tooling consumption. I also try and make machines run faster so the operators can make more parts, to satisfy all the production people in management position so they will get off the operators back about making tons of parts. Being part engineer guy can take eight hours a day on bad nights, and five hours a day on good night, but without engineers the customers would not get their parts cut to the specs that they want.

Now being a maintenance guy is my favorite. My job duties as a maintenance guy consist of troubleshooting machine problems, fixing parts of the machine that break, everyday doing preventative maintenance to machines, changing over machines, troubleshooting broken tools and chipped inserts, and making sure all machine are running in tip top shape. This is my favorite part of my job because I enjoy troubleshooting problems, indentifying the problem and fixing the problem, it is very rewarding when everything comes together like that. If I can’t fix the problem or don’t have time to fix it I will get the real maintenance guys and explain to them what I found and let them take over. I can’t spend as much time doing maintenance as I would like to, because of the other positions I have, but every chance I get, I get inside the machines and look around, because without working machines we cannot make parts.

Being efficient in all three positions and add in a little leadership skills, and we have a good group leader. To be effective and do the job at the best of my abilities I need to be efficient in all three positions, because without one the others will not function right, it’s kind of like having a bad transmission, and only first gear and fifth gear works, I can still make the car move but when I need to change gears it will bog the motor down, spit and sputter and not run right. I have worked here for almost six years, and everything I have learned is because I have asked the questions and took the time to work with engineers and maintenance guys and suck out as much information as I can. I work with a couple of other group leaders that can do the same things I do, and there are a few that cannot and will not even try and it shows. So to keep my transmission working with all five gears I will keep asking the questions and learning more, because that is what it take to be the best group leader I can be.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Process Essay

Now I am going to let all who read this in on a little secrete. There is a certain way I get ready to go and catch the trophy Small Mouth Bass and I am going to tell you how you can do it as well. When you talk to different fishermen or fisherladies (whatever floats your boat) you will find that depending on what they like to fish for one is always harder to catch then the other. There is a silent war between Trout fishermen and Bass fishermen over who is a real fisherman. Now being on both sides of the war, because I do both, they are both easy to catch when they are hungry, but the trick is to find them and get the big ones to bite a hook even if they are not. Now I have many techniques for getting stubborn fish to bite, but I am only going to share with everyone the three easy steps for catching trophy small mouth bass. That’s right ladies and gentlemen three easy steps, gearing up, finding them, and giving them what they want. If you follow these steps then it is only a matter of time before you are reeling in the big ones.

Step 1 is gearing up. I have a separate tackle box just for Bass, and in it is about $300 dollars of lures and other tackle that I will never use, but I have it just in case. I take three different rods and reel with different size lines on them, because some lures are lighter than others so a smaller pound test line will cast better than others. I have an open face reel that has 10 lb test line on it, a bait caster that has 12 lb test and up until last year I had another bait caster that had 14lb test line on it. Yes I said up until last year I had a bait caster with 14lb test line, I should warn everyone once you have perfected these steps all of your gear will take a beating and it will break, catching three to five pound fish all the time is bound to take a toll. Every reel is attached to an ugly stick fishing rod. I only use ugly stick because the company says they will not break, and so far they have been right. If you only have one rod and reel then use 10lb test line (if it will take it) because it is able to cast all tackle that you will be using. And last but not least you are going to need a boat, or a canoe, or something that floats a can get you to a fishing hole.

Step 2 is finding them. Finding them is not always easy and sometimes it can be frustrating, but there are three things I do to try and determine where they are, and then I use Step 3, (I will get into that in a minute) to see if I was right. First thing I do is check the water temp. To do that I use a very high tech. very sensitive, instrument, called my hand. If the water feels warm then they are going to be deep, maybe in 8 to 25 feet of water, if it is cold then they could be closer to the shore, and if it is in between then your guess is as good as mine, they could be anywhere. The next thing I look at is the sun, but not for too long I might go blind. If the sun is high and bright with no cloud cover then the bass are going to be either deep or under something hiding from the sun, they say sunlight hurts the eyes of bass, I don’t know who “they” are or how “they” asked a bass that but they seem to be right about it. The last thing I am going to look at is where are all the bait fish? Bass are going to be where all the food is or in the area, because they are very lazy fish, until they have a hook in their mouth. Bait fish can usually be found at an inlet to a river or stream or an outlet to a river or stream, but they are all through the lake so it should not be too hard to find them.

Step 3 is giving them what they want. Now I have narrowed it down to four types of tackle that I use to get a fish to bite, and I will reveal them in the order that I try them, you may have better luck with something else. Deeping diving lures, all different colors and shapes. I start with a diver that goes about four feet deep, and I will keep putting different ones on until I am as deep as I can go, if I do not catch one then I will move on. Jig and pig is the next one, and all that is is a jig head with a hook and pork bait that is shaped like frog legs or a craw fish and I stick it to the end of the hook. I will for the most part use these next to the shore, and skip them across the bottom until they get to under the boat, the trick is to make them look like a frog swimming or a craw fish moving on the bottom. Next I will try Spinner baits and Buzz baits, and all those are is a long wire with a hook and different color skirts on it on one end and a spinner or spinners on the other. All I do with them is start near the surface and reel them in fast, the next cast I will let it sink a couple of feet and reel it in fast, then next cast go a little deeper then the last until it is almost snagging everything on the bottom. The last one is a five inch senco Gary Yammoto salt impregnated rubber worm, green pumpkin color. If the first three baits do not work then I always fall back to the worm hooked with a #4 hook in the middle, and all I do with that is let it slowly sink to the bottom, and slowly reel it in across the bottom. I have found that if there are Bass in there then the worm will not hit the bottom, they will have it way before it gets there. Now if none of that works then that means there were not fish in the lake to begin with, so I go to another lake, or I will try some of the other $300 worth of crap in my tackle box, it is all trial and error until I find the right combination.

Now picture this, you have all you gear, you have tested the waters, you are seeing red spots from looking where the sun was, you have gone through everything in you tackle box except for an old lure you found in a tree at the last boat launch you were at, and you cast it out on the edge of a bunch of lily pads next to a big log resting on a rock, and BOOM!!! Something just tried to rip the pole out of your hands, you drag is running and you can’t stop it, you’re starting to run out of line. Now don’t panic just set that hook like you never set it before and start reeling, you have 14lb test on your reel so there is nothing to worry about, crank that sucker in. You may start to get tired you may even want to give up, don’t be cry baby suck it up and reel. After about 15 min of fighting with the fish, the fish will get tired and give up, and there it is all your hard work, blood, sweat, and tears have finial paid off and you are looking at a very tired, 6lb, Trophy Small mouth Bass. So kiss the ugly thing, snap a few pictures and throw it back in. WHAT WHAT WHAT!!!!! I know what you are thinking, “throw it back, why would I want to do that?” Because if you throw it back, then the 6lb bass you caught this year will be a 7lb bass next year, and then the fun can start all over again.

So Happy fishing!!!

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Graf #10

Research, research, research, I have done so much research over the past 5 years after I moved into my house, there is no way I could remember and write it all down, but I will try. The main reason for all of my research over the past year was because of PRICE!! When I first moved into my house I had to research for the cheapest company that sold oil, the best garage in the area and what their labor cost was. When I was ready to buy a new car, I shopped around for the best gas mileage, the cheapest with the best quality, and the most reliable.

I think the most extensive research I did was a year and a half ago when I put new windows, siding, and a new metal roof. There were just too many choices for window. Did I want double hung, single hung, new construction, replacement, argon filled, blinds inside of the glass, with J-channel without J-channel, blah blah blah, I just wanted good, cheap windows that would keep the warm air in and the cold air out. Siding and roofing was a little easier, but I had to research what colors would look the best when together (all I did was ask my wife what color she wanted) what were the best brands, and what style of roofing I wanted. What is funny is about 9 months ago I did some research on laptop computers, only so I could get one home and do more research on the “world wide web” for home schooling stuff. Life is a research paper, I wonder who will write mine?

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Contrast essay

Every time I return to my parent’s house it is very strange the way everything looks. It has not changed too much, there are a few houses that were not there when I was growing up, the field across the street is starting to grow in because of the lack of very stubborn Black Angus Cows. The noticeable things that have changed since I was a kid are my old tree house where I spent most of my free time, my old hunting grounds, and my parent’s house. Its fun going home and walking around to all the places I spent the majority of my childhood, but it can be a little sad to see all the ways things change over the years as well. But one thing that can never change is what I remember about my childhood and all the fun I had.

I took my daughter to my old tree house and saw that most of it was still there, I guess it was not wrong to put twelve 16 penny nails in every board. My old rope zip line was still there with the bicycle handle bars I used to slide with were on the ground at the base of the tree. The big hole in the tree where my friend Chris and I put all our contraband in was now being used as a home by a porcupine, I wonder if he found my Redman chewing tobacco and my corncob pipe, I wasn’t going to reach in and find out. The strangest part of returning to my old tree house is everything now looks very small. The tree house was not as high as I remember when I was a kid I thought it was at least 40 feet high but returning I found that it was only about 10 feet, no wonder I survived so many falls off the top. The zip line that seemed to stretch a mile was only about 35 feet, much shorter then I remember. The walk to my old tree house was even shorter then I remember, but now when I walked I noticed it was all uphill, I don’t think it was all uphill when I was a kid, I’m not sure how I did that twenty times a day.

There is about 100 acres in front of my parent’s house that I always hunt in. The land surrounding my parents house was at one time all farm land, and there are stone walls all over the place marking ends of old fields, when I was kid I used them to keep from getting lost but now if I wanted to I can just use a GPS to find my way. I had and old tree stand that I built in a big beech tree, next to a small stream. I could see down the stream about 100 yards to an old granite bridge, and 50 yards up the stream I could see into the swamp that the stream started from. In front of me there was a small ridge about 100 yards away with an apple tree at the base of the small ridge, needless to say I had the perfect spot for a tree stand, even if it did not produce a Buck. But now I can’t even get to my old tree stand. Over the past ten years a couple of beavers have moved in and started damming up the small stream. At first it was no problem, but then the old granite bridge went under water and now the last year I went to the tree stand I could not get to it, because the ten acres that surrounded the tree stand was now under water. The gentlemen that owns the land put no trapping signs all around the area, so it is only going to get worse, but I guess I will have to go explore new territory for the perfect tree to put a tree stand in.

My parent’s house is no exception for change as well. My dad bought the house in 1982 for $6,200 and when he bought it, it was half a house and half a pig barn. After a bunch or remodeling we moved in. In 1990 my dad decided it was time to make the house bigger to accommodate five kids. My dad is very stubborn and does not change if he does not have to but there are things that are even out of his control. The hardwood floors are worn and breaking from the years of all his kids and now grandkids ridding there toys back in forth from the living room to the kitchen, they did shine at one time. My mom’s handmade cabinets were once solid as a rock are now starting to fall off their hinges and the counter top is starting to warp. The west side of the house has sunk about three inches because of the old granite foundation under the support walls. When my dad finished the rebuilding of the 150 year old house, with the original post and beam structure, he took great pride in saying he was able to make the entire house level and plum, and that is not easy.

I remember my friend and I in the tree house and the fun we had building it, cleaning out my dad’s good lumber and all his nails. I don’t like to hunt to much I would much rather fish, but most of the time I go out just to spend time with my dad, and when my dad and I get together in the woods we mostly walk miles exploring new territory, he says we are hunting so that’s all that matters. As for my parents house, I not sure that will ever change, unless my mom finally threatens my dad a stops feeding him until he replaces the floors and cabinets. I am not sure that will even work, my dad still refuses to drill a well and put in a toilet inside. I think once he gets too old to walk to the outhouse he will put one in. It is funny how years can change things, but there are things that will never change, like the memories of my child hood and I would never want to change one of them.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Intro #2 (contrast Essay)

I moved out of my parent’s house about 12 years ago, there are a lot of things that can change in twelve years. I go home all the time during the summer and on holidays, but most of the time we spend time at my sister’s house or at our camp. But when I go home to hunt with my dad I spend a lot of time in the woods by my parent’s house and get to see all the places I once explored when I was a kid. I had three sisters growing up and my brother was born 7 years after me so he was never big enough to keep up with me so I spent most of my time by myself. The tree house my friend best Chris and I built looks very different than it did when it was our fortress of solitude. When I go out hunting with my dad, I see many things that look different than they did, and what Ten years of beaver infestation can do. I don’t really hunt I mostly walk miles and miles having fun being In the woods with my dad. My parent’s house over the years has changed as well it is very different now than when I lives there, but something’s in my parents’ house will never change.

Intro #1 (contrast essay)

Every time I return to my parent’s house it is very strange the way everything looks. It has not changed too much, there are a few houses that were not there when I was growing up, the field we had cows in across the street is starting to grow in because of the lack of very stubborn Black Angus Cows. The noticeable things that have changed since I was a kid are my old tree house where I spent most of my free time in with my best friend Chris, my old hunting grounds, and my parent’s house. Its fun going home and walking around to all the places I spent the majority of my childhood, but it can be a little sad to see all the ways things change over the years as well. But one thing that can never change is what I remember about my childhood and all the fun I had.

Friday, October 3, 2008

Classification Essay

A little bit of brake, push in the clutch, downshift, gas to the floor, turn left and let off the gas, turn right and gas to the floor, E-Brake and feather the gas, E-brake off, turn left feather the gas, turn right, down shift, steady pressure on the gas and thank God he kept my car on the road once again. Driving in winter storms in Maine always keeps me on my toes and looking for the softest snow bank put my car in if needed, so far I have not had to, but I know it is coming. There are really only three types of storms that make me nervous. The typical snowstorm, sleet and freezing rain, and the storm that everyone loves to hate, the Noreastah!! Every one of them can challenge even the most experienced driver, and I thought after growing up in Maine, and driving in all types of storms and weather I was experienced enough, but every year I get humbled by one of these storms, and on bad years all three.

Now the typical snowstorm can be very beautiful, especially at night. I remember being a kid and imagining I was in the Star Wars movie and I was traveling through space to save the princess from Darth Vader, who am kidding I still do that. But when driving in one, there is danger around every corner. For me the biggest danger in a typical snowstorm are the other drivers on the road with me. Most people take it easy, but there are a few that think a little snow is no big deal because it has not yet stuck to the road. Last year I saw a 4x4 SUV pass me on the road only to go over a bridge and lose control because the bridge had frozen over. Some drivers still think they can take corners the same speed as they do when it is not snowing, I don’t know how many people I have seen go around a corner on the wrong side of the road and into the ditch, and I think some people just cannot drive at all in rain, snow, or sunshine.

With sleet and freezing rain there are many things that make my drive even longer then it all ready is. Well for starters it is hard to get the windshield clear except for a small opening in the bottom left corner or on the passenger’s side. If I don’t use my wipers the stuff freezes to my windshield and when I do use them it just kinds of spreads all over my windshield and freezes up. I have found finding the perfect mix of hot and cool air on the windshield makes driving much easier. Depending on the mix ratio of sleet and freezing rain determines how I will navigate home. More sleet then freezing rain means there is a lot of slush, so I will keep my car in fourth gear and try to stay near the middle of the road to anticipate the pull from a big pile of slush, and keep the gas at one constant pressure. More freezing rain then sleet, then I just grip the steering wheel tightly, go slow, and turn the radio up nice and load, because there is really nothing I can do but if the radio is loud there is a chance there will be a good song on when I go spinning out of control.

Now for the Noreastah, that has to be my favorite. The blowing snow, unplowed roads, snow drifts and white outs make my hour ride extra extra long. 15 miles of my drive is on the turn pike heading north and the other 35 are all back roads. Blowing snow usually isn’t too bad unless I get the hundred pounds that fell from a tree, that always jumps the crap out of me. Whiteouts are the worst. There are many nights on the turnpike when the only way I know what side of the road I am on is by what tire hits the rumble strip. The scariest times is when not being able the see two feet in front of me then the wind and snow blow a different way and I see that three feet in front of me is a trailer truck that I have been behind for the last ten miles, that will put anyone’s heart in their throat. I just love hitting a four foot snow drift, I can go from 45 mph to 15 mph in one second. I am not sure why some towns wait so long to plow the roads, there are some nights the snow is so deep that I end up plowing the road myself, and I travel mostly State roads, but for the most part the State truck do a very good job.

Needless to say my drive home is adventurous enough without throwing in some kind of snow storm. With danger around every corner or from the oncoming traffic, and behind every Big Rig, it’s just a matter of time that certain doom will fall upon me and I kiss a snow bank, a tree, or the worst of all another car. So every year around the first week in December I put my studded snow tires on my little Hyundai accent and load the back of the car with my Carhart insulated bibs, Carhart insulated jacket, my -70 degree boots, -30 degree gloves (the boots are nice and warn but the gloves are not) my thick wool hat, a wool ski mask, and a flashlight so I will be well prepared for a walk home in a storm 1:00 in the morning. Every trip I take in a storm, there is a chance that I will go off the road, but I learn from experience as well as mistakes, and so far I have not seen what inside a snow bank looks like, and with my wife and kids praying when they go to bed for me to return home safely, I hope I never will.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Outro (class essay)

I drive 104 miles every day, and get plenty of practice driving in all kinds of weather. I have put my little Hyundai accent to the test on many occasions as you have just read. I bought it in 2003 brand new and now it has 155,000 miles on it. I take good care of it, and I just hope when the engine die I will be able to give my car a heart transplant and put a new motor in it, because it is that good of a car. Every year sometime in the first or second week of December I put on my studded snow tires, and load the back of my car with my Carhart insulated bibs, Carhart insulated jacket, my -70 degree boots, -30 degree gloves (the boots are nice and warn but the gloves are not) my thick wool hat, a wool ski mask, and a flashlight. It’s no big surprise that I am well prepared for a meeting with a snow bank, and ditch, if I am going to have to walk home I want to be warm. So every trip I take in a storm there is that chance that I will go off the road, but I learn from experience as well as mistakes, and so far I have not seen what inside a snow bank looks like, and with my wife and kids praying when they go to bed for me to return home safely, I never will.