Lilum Registered User
Posts: 1416
(4/28/04 6:14 pm) Reply
I want to be a contractor they get cool toys
I work for the state of Kansas, more specifically I work for the Dept. of Transportation, inspecting materials to see of they're up to spec. I'm currently working on a job inspecting asphalt going on I-35. I get to the asphalt plant this morning to turn on my equipment, set up my computer, get the water bath up to temp etc. Then I go over to the contractors trailer to see what's what, when we're going to get our samples. She gives me the info and we have our morning chit chat when she tells me her company just got her a new laptop. That's when she pulls out a brand new Dell XPS. (Hers is set up in the second configuration on the link, the $4000 model)
OMG that thing was sweet. 17 in wide screen, DVD burner, processor that puts my desk top to shame, 1 gig of ram, and more hard drive space than god needs. I consoled myself with sour grapes knowing that the thing weighs 12.5 lbs, only has about 45 min of battery life, and you'd probably get second degree burns if you actually used it on your lap. She didn't even know what she had untill she noticed me pointing and drooling.
Ask that contractor how many hours a week they work on/for that spiffy computer. The contractors I know works 80+ hours a week of manual labor for their spiffy toys.
deuce Registered User
Posts: 1115
(4/29/04 4:59 am) Reply
Re: I want to be a contractor they get cool toys
Quote:The contractors I know works 80+ hours a week of manual labor for their spiffy toys
I'm up to 50~ and its not even summer @#$%. But by the end of summer I'll probably reward myself with a dell axim ppc
Re: I want to be a contractor they get cool toys
the Dell XPS laptop is one kick ass machine...
Lilum Registered User
Posts: 1417
(4/29/04 3:09 pm) Reply
Re: I want to be a contractor they get cool toys
The only difference between me and the contractors is the number of tests they run. They have to run four tests to every one that I run. But I'm only really double checking their work, but in the case of this contractor she has access to about four times the help I do. I'm not bitching too much really because I don't have to actually deal with the headaches when the results are out or spec, I just ask her what she's going to do to fix it. I also have a job in the middle of January while most contractors are laid off.
Yeah it really is Aidden she let me play around with it a little yesterday. I'm tempted to take in a game and load it on and see just how it plays.
Saltiness Registered User
Posts: 655
(4/29/04 5:19 pm) Reply
Re: I want to be a contractor they get cool toys
The contractors I know have cooler toys than that... like porsches and houses on the beach where just the 1/4 acre lot it's on costs more than a half a million dollars. They work in Marin, CA though.
deuce Registered User
Posts: 1119
(4/29/04 8:00 pm) Reply
Re: I want to be a contractor they get cool toys
Oooooh porche add that to my list. Well i actually want a mustang gt (I think, i saw it on tv must have) /homer drool
deuce Registered User
Posts: 1122
(4/30/04 5:30 am) Reply
Re: I want to be a contractor they get cool toys
Well even though thats tempting cause well it'd be fun. I don't know if I could trust hillbillys and dynamite at the same time
Re: I want to be a contractor they get cool toys
I've never felt anything like 1000 pounds of ammonia nitrate exploding from 100 feet away because I pushed a button.
Re: I want to be a contractor they get cool toys
Mmmmm demolition. It's for the people who just never grew out of lighting their driveways on fire. That's like my dream job. Blowing stuff up.
YanguBoris Registered User
Posts: 481
(4/30/04 7:14 pm) Reply
.
I'll bet Gyorg can agree with me on this one, those guys at Mines really know how to blow @#%$ up e-Days fireworks show is absolutely incredible
Lilum Registered User
Posts: 1418
(4/30/04 9:20 pm) Reply
Re: .
Part of our job is quarry inspection, so we get to see quite a bit of stuff get blown up. So I would agree that there isn't much cooler than seeing a couple hundred ton of limestone jump about 10 feet in the air.
Re: .
Actually I'm in road construction, since I do live in the mountains we often come into situations where there is a lot of rock we have to move and the wear and tear on our machinary isn't worth trying to dig it. So we blow it up.
Last year we drilled 50,000 feet of holes, and we got into the blasting business purely because of this job. Usually we called in someone else to do it but the sheer magnitude of drilling caused us to want to do it ourselves.
We use a machine that looks like that, however the trackhoe our drill is mounted on is rather small. It can still drill a 13'6" hole in less than 2-3 minutes. Oh yeah here's the companies website that makes the drills - http://www.johnhenryrockdrill.com/
Lilum Registered User
Posts: 1419
(5/1/04 8:08 pm) Reply
Re: .
Yeah that's exactly what we deal with Dark, but I'm on the inspection, and testing side of things. I'm ACI certified in Agg Field, and Concrete Field, I should get my Concrete Strength certification next year. I also have non-ACI certification in SuperPave, Soils Field, QC/QA Asphalt, Concrete, and CTB, plus about half a dozen boring things.
Most of the quarries around here use drills very similar to that.
Email This To a Friend
Topic Commands
Click to receive email notification of replies
Click to stop receiving email notification of replies