Has-been Occupations

[ouch]

My dad was a diesel fitter at a ladies' undergarment factory.

Spoiler

He would put underwear on his head and say "diesel fitter".

And, for the record, I was a coin phone coin box emptier and a telephone sanitizer. So there.

 

[oc_in_fw]

My dad was a diesel fitter at a ladies' undergarment factory.

Spoiler

He would put underwear on his head and say "diesel fitter".

And, for the record, I was a coin phone coin box emptier and a telephone sanitizer. So there.

At least he wasn't a lumberjack.

 

[ouch]

At least he wasn't a lumberjack.

Nope, but he was okay.

 

[oc_in_fw]

Nope, but he was okay.

 

[StillShaving]

Yep. People are now willing to jump in a car with a stranger who has no background checks, then, if something goes wrong, the person who employs them has zero liability. Ah, the “beauty” of de-regulation.

Over regulation can sometimes be ugly/expensive/cruel. By 2013 NYC Taxi medallions resold for more that $1 million, which required long term loans to finance their purchase, making independent drivers almost like indentured servants. There have been a rash of suicides since the ride hailing apps became popular. Just because the city wanted to control the number of taxis (how could they ever know the right number). Uber/Lyft pricing is unsustainable and it will be interesting to see their valuation after IPO.

 

[Macfrommichigan]

And, for the record, I was a coin phone coin box emptier and a telephone sanitizer. So there.

I was a water meter reader/setter for a month...before becoming a draftee.

 

[TexLaw]

Pinsetter

 

[Macfrommichigan]

Pinsetter

Former pinsetters can find jobs at i-hop, right?

 

[Daiķon]

Pumping your own gas is the worst... Every state should take NJ's lead here.

 

[Sousy]

Yep. People are now willing to jump in a car with a stranger who has no background checks, then, if something goes wrong, the person who employs them has zero liability. Ah, the “beauty” of de-regulation.

For some reason, this reminded me of Duke Cannon’s “Products we’re not launching”.

One: the “One Star Uber” scent.

New Products We Are NOT Launching

“At 3 A.M., your only option home may be in the backseat of Gary’s ‘88 Civic, where the warm crinkle of a Hardee's wrapper underfoot blends with the intimate screech of a worn fan belt. A place where forced conversation is shouted over a backseat window stuck half open. So, strap in your broken seat belt and take a longer-than-expected ride through a rough neighborhood with this premium bar soap”

 

[Shavely Manden]

Pumping your own gas is the worst... Every state should take NJ's lead here.

In Massachusetts, most big, chain gas stations are self-serve, but most small, independent ones are full-serve. (Something about self-serve stations being required to have an expensive fire-suppression system, I understand.) Having somebody else pump your gas seems pretty superfluous most times of the year, but self-serve and full-serve are mostly about the same price, and not having to get out of the car when it's freezing is a nice plus. (They'll usually even wash your windshield for you while the gas pumps.)

 

[emwolf]

As a newspaper man, I see our diminishing readership (along with diminishing literacy) but I also see a corporate side that is scuttling the industry to make a fast buck. It reminds me of Around the World in 80 Days where Fogg buys the steamship and then proceeds to dismantle it for fuel to keep it going.

 

[Raissermesser]

Pumping your own gas is the worst... Every state should take NJ's lead here.

?

Growing up on a farm, I've really pumped gas and diesel with manual pumps. The modern gas pumps with flow under pressure and a automatic cut-offs? Those are a dream to use.

 

[Raissermesser]

I was a water meter reader/setter for a month...before becoming a draftee.

When gas prices and wages reached a certain point, that was the tripping point for most electric utilities to move to automated meter reading. The big sell was "smart grid," but System Control and Data Acquisition as been a thing in electric utilities for decades. The brass tacks was it was finally cheaper to go with AMR than to employ fleets of meter readers and hand-held meter reading machines.

That said, remember the re-make of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?, where Charlie's father is replaced by a machine, but then gets a job maintaining the machine that replaced him? AMR doesn't maintain itself. We still have people who checks meters, just we don't have as many as we did.

AMR exists for water meters, but don't know how they work, since they'd require some sort of power source. Nor do I know how far along water utilities have gone to AMR.

FWIW, when I started, our utility read meters on paper with route books that had to be input by hand into billing. Our company then used hand-held meter reading machines, where you downloaded the readings. I think we went through three sets of these before moving to AMR. But we still have the capability to print route books, just in case.

 

[Macfrommichigan]

In 1969 reading water meters involved drawing clock hands. And meters were in basements.

Eight hours a day on a stairclimber. 140 meters per day. Knock on door, yell Meter Man, open door, yell Meter Man again, walk down basement stairs, read meter.

 

[davent]

In 1969 reading water meters involved drawing clock hands. And meters were in basements.

Eight hours a day on a stairclimber. 140 meters per day. Knock on door, yell Meter Man, open door, yell Meter Man again, walk down basement stairs, read meter.

Wouldn't you love to have those legs back.
dave

 

[Macfrommichigan]

The legs still work pretty well. There are other parts that have become rusty, tho.