Sweet Daddio's Happy Place

Here or the pop-off valve?

2010-10-30T18:08:00.000-07:00

This aggravated me, but after the fact was very entertaining so it is going here:

Each morning I review the performance data and paperwork from all 3 shifts in all 5 departments. If I find deficiencies or discrepancies I pass it on to the supervisor to review with the employee who made the mistake.

Thursday the first shift inspector in Dept 54 had not filled in his reports after 2:50 p.m. 2nd shift pointed this out so I had filled in the missing information myself after 4:00. Since the supervisor has 3 weeks experience as a supervisor he asked me to review the problem and let him watch. The conversation went like this:

me: Rico- the inspection report was not filled for the last hour of your shift yesterday. What happened?

Rico: That's not my handwriting

me: I know, it's my handwriting

Rico: then why you fussing at me?

me: I'm not fussing. I filled in the information so 2nd shift could total out the lot.

Rico: Then if it's wrong you did it.

me:It's not wrong

Rico: Then why you fussing

Me:(voice rising now) You should have filled it in but you didn't. Why not?

Rico: Mr. Terry you need to calm down. If you filled it out you don't need to be getting upset with me.

(the supervisor is giggling at this point then says) Rico- you have to fill out the inspection report for the whole shift.

Rico: I didn't fill it out, he did.

me: O.k. I'm sorry I'll do better

Rico: just calm down it'll be o.k.

This is Happy making stuff for me

2010-10-16T07:55:00.000-07:00

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=11204&id=1679231543&l=080f0728ef

Random happy memories

2009-12-14T17:12:00.000-08:00

The first time I saw her at the SCA meeting

#1 toddling across the beach when he was 18 months old

What do you do with spiders? "ooh tep on dem"

Walking down Magnolia Ave tied together with her scarf

Jan 18, 1986, coming back to my apartment dejected and smelling the most wonderful pot-roast cooking and her there. My heart has never soared more than that night.

Christmas Eve 1994- watching her face light up as she opened her presents in private.

Our first meal together as a married couple after returning from our honeymoon. This picture was taken as she set the table in our "cozy" little apartment.

9 days in a compact car together on a road trip up Rte 66

(Funny how all my fondest memories center around the Love of My Life, huh)

Our own Christmas story

2009-12-05T13:37:00.000-08:00

This is our 24th Christmas together. Every year 2 special ornaments have been front and center on our tree. The boys are tired of hearing the story every year as we decorate the tree. Here it is for the rest of the world:

For those not familiar with our story, we married while I was still a student. I had been working my way through college but senior year as a Chemistry/Chem E major was going to be full of labs and lots of classes that would make working difficult. Peggy agreed to quit school and work 2 jobs to pay for me to finish my degree. Needless to say money was extremely tight. We decided to not put up a tree that year due to cost, then the night of Dec 23rd we were at A&P buying groceries because Peggy had just been paid and they had trees marked down to $3. Only scruffy "Charley Brown" trees were left by that time, but we bought one anyway. We put the groceries in the 1970 VW Beetle we drove then discovered we had no way to secure the tree to the car. Our apartment was 4 blocks away, so we decided to walk the tree home, she on the top and me on the heavy bottom end. We laughed the whole way, then pondered how we would stand the tree up. We finally came up with a flower pot we stood the tree up in then packed gravel from the parking lot around the bottom of the tree to hold it up. So there we had a naked tree but a tree none the less. Then we remembered our groceries in the VW still in the A&P parking lot so we walked back hand in hand to retrieve them.

Christmas Eve she worked the morning in the fabric store, then early afternoon I took her lunch before taking her to the 2nd job waiting tables. There was a Big Lots closeout store next to the fabric store, and Peggy suggested we go in and look for some decorations. She had gathered up about $8 worth of change from tips. We went in and bought a few glass balls and 3 collections- one glass, one funny blue painted wood ornaments, and one brass tin-punched.

After I picked her up from the steak house when they closed 9:00 Christmas Eve we went home to decorate the tree. 2 ornaments stood out for us. The glass Love Birds is kind of obvious why it means a lot to us. It's cliche', but we were pretty much living on love at that time.

The other was a funny little bird sitting in front of his house with his mouth wide open. I don;t know why but it really tickled me. "Reckon what he's shouting" I asked.

Putting her arms around me she said "He's telling the world how much I love you and wants to make sure they hear"

o.k. this makes me happy

2009-11-25T13:07:00.000-08:00

mixed blessings

2009-11-21T10:01:00.000-08:00

Please know that I realize times are hard out there right now. I am the only major employer in the 5 county area hiring right now, and for every position I have to fill I have 35-40 applicants. The last 4 1/2 years have been spent building a major maunfacturing operation from nothing, and growing a related existing operation. When we started the new operation it was me (a VP of Operations), a Dept Manager, and 2 hand-picked operators. We would run one machine, move with the product to the next step in the operation, etc. Since I had designed the central machine to the new process, it was a good opportunity to see firsthand how I had done. 4 of us has now grown to 240.

The first expansion in the summer of 2006 was not too bad, I was able to hire several people just coming out of the military. The timing was good. The second expansion, in Jan/Feb 2007, was something else all together. The economy had not turned sour yet and I had a hard time finding good people. Retention from that round was only 60%. Thid expansion was a little better but not very large.

In the fourth expansion in the summer of 2008 the operation doubled in size in 3 months. The reason for the title of this post is that, the same week we announced that expansion a major industry in an adjacent town completed it's shuttering of operations. The average age of the new hires in that group was 47. Retention from that round- 100% after 18 months. In the fifth expansion, March/April of 2009, I tried hiring a mix of mature workers and younger applicants, hoping the young ones would learn to work from the older ones. Retention rate? 100% of those 35 or older, 20% (1 out of 5) for the young group.

Now we're in the sixth growth phase. In the last 2 weeks I've hired 9, with 6 more to go. Another manufacturing plant is shutting down 12 miles from here. I am blessed to have a rich pool of mature, dependable workers to choose from. But knowing I can't help them all breaks my heart. 140 people suddenly unemployed, average seniority at the facility was 14 years. I'm not done yet, but the average age of those hired thus far is over 50. The ones hired are extremely grateful, being anxious about finding work at their age. I am grateful to have employees who want to work, and show up 99 days out of 100. But knowing for every 1 hired 4 or 5 remain unemployed is tough

2008-07-07T11:44:00.001-07:00

154

As a 1930s husband, I am
Very Superior

Take the test!

2008-03-23T15:07:00.001-07:00

Greed:	Medium
Gluttony:	Medium
Wrath:	Very Low
Sloth:	Low
Envy:	Very Low
Lust:	Very Low
Pride:	Very Low

Take the Seven Deadly Sins Quiz

Black Eye Pea Samiches

2007-10-16T16:29:00.000-07:00

No artistic liscense taken in the following:

Karl was a co-op student who worked for me from 1992 till he graduated in 1995, when he came in as a full time management trainee. He was a student at Auburn, but was working with me in SW Alabama. He maintained his trailer in Auburn during the quarters he was co-opping.

We had business in Montgomery, then went to Auburn to visit a potential supplier. We made a side trip to check on his trailer. Since I was there I asked to use his phone and call Rootie's mother. He heard my side of the conversation:
(it was about 11:30, just before lunch)
'Hi- I was just in town on business and thought I would call'
-
'No, we really need to get back to Lower Alabama. We'll grab a burger and eat on the road'

Karl chimes in "If she's inviting us to lunch we'll make time"

MIL hears this and says 'Well that settles that. I'll see you a few minutes"

I hang up and tell Karl "You have no idea what you have just done"

We pull into MIL's driveway and she is in the "herb garden" with her basket. We pull on down and exchange pleasantries. Karl then asks "So what's for lunch?"

"Hummus" comes the reply.

"Never heard of it" says Karl.

"Well, it's usually made from Garbanzo beans but I don't have any. I'm using black eyed peas left over from last night."

So, Karl watches wide eyed as MIL puts black eyed peas, 3 cloves of garlic, and a hand full of mint in the food processor. Yes, I said garlic and mint.

MIL is also semi-famous for her home made bread. It is heavy. How heavy? You know how on Nova or other PBS science shows when they are talking about black holes and neutron stars and how a quarter teaspoon weighs as much as a Sherman tank? O.K. that's an exageration, a full teaspoon would only weigh as much as a Chevette. they had a bread machine that made round loaves, which was served in quarter slices that look like little pizza slices, about 3 inches on a side. Being a 20 year old, Karl makes 4 little sandwiches. Which he has to choke down with unsweet tea. Unsweet tea that is loaded with mint.

I have no frame of reference to describe "hummus" made with black eyed peas, mint, and too much garlic. You will have to use your own imagination.

Thus is the true story of the black eyed pea samiches.

My first ever meme

2007-10-11T13:46:00.000-07:00

Name Yourself Meme
A meme from the Happy Wonderer (http://happywonderer.wordpress.com)…

1. MY ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car)
Snuffy Venture

2. MY GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie)
Rocky Road Peanut Butter

3. MY “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name)
TDod

4. MY DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal)
Green Dachshund

5. MY SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born)
Wilbur Fitzgerald

6. MY STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first)
Dod-Te
7. MY SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink)
The Blue Bourbon

8. MY NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers)
Earnest Hayward

9. MY WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names)
Hayward Annette

10. MY TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a city that starts with the same letter)
Irwin Indianapolis

11. MY SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower)
Fall Daffodil

12. MY CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”)
Nectarine Oxfordy

13. MY HIPPY NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree)
Yogurt Maple

14. MY ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”)
The Woodworking Rain Tour.

2007-08-20T14:44:00.000-07:00

What Be Your Nerd Type? Your Result: Science/Math Nerd (Absolute Insane Laughter as you pour toxic chemicals into a foaming tub of death!) Well, maybe you aren't this extreme, but you're in league with the crazy scientists/mathmeticians of today. Very few people have the talent of math and science is something takes a lot of brains as well. Thank whosever God you worship, or don't worship, so thank no deity whatsoever in your case, for you people! Most of us would have died off without your help.
Drama Nerd
Literature Nerd
Gamer/Computer Nerd
Artistic Nerd
Social Nerd
Anime Nerd
Musician
What Be Your Nerd Type? Quizzes for MySpace

2007-07-28T06:37:00.000-07:00

Pearls Before Swine has become my favorite comic strip. I don't have a fixed time to read it each day (job doesn't allow a fixed time for anything), but I usually try to read it when I need a spiritual pick-me-up. The humor is rather odd but right in line with my own sense of humor. A couple of recent strips are relevent to some of what's going on in the feminist/ former feminist camps.

You can find the daily strip at:

http://www.comics.com/comics/pearls/index.html

More music- today I'm into Led Zep

2007-07-14T05:46:00.000-07:00

People who think they know me, but really don't, are always shocked to learn HOW much of a Led Zepplin fan I am. I guess it's the all business, capitalist facade most of them see. Last night going to eat sushi #4 son spotted the Led Zep cd cases and asked if we could listen to them. He asked what my favorite song was. Care to guess? It's not Stairway to Heaven, it's this:

I'm also very fond of this one, it's sounds like they are having so much fun when they play it:

(o.k. I know it's not the best video, but it was the only one with the version from "Led Zeppelin IV")

#4 said his his favorite was "The one where the guy screams 'ahhhh ahhhh ahhhh". I guess that would because it has been used in a couple of kid's movies, including Shrek 3. this is for him:

And this one is Rootietoot's favorite. Probably the richest, deepest (musicly deep, not lyrically deep) song I've ever heard. It ranks close to "Jessica" by the Allman Brothers.

Another Mr. McMaster story

2007-07-04T14:09:00.000-07:00

Since my afternoon commute home took me through Tennille (we lived S of town) I got to where I would stop and visit Mr. McMaster 1 or 2 evenings a week. The visit always involved an RC Cola or a Nehi from the old vending machine. I would always buy something: some screws, a drill bit, never anything of real significance. Mr. McMaster's son had a "new" store (which was probably 20 years old) in Sandersville which was doing quite well, but traffic was almost non-existence in the original store. Tennille was founded in the 1870's, and I believe the McMasters had been selling hardware from the storefront facing the railroad tracks most if not all of that time.

Anyway, I would nominate the elder Mr. McMaster as a National Treasure. I always felt uplifted after a visit. The Old Man had a wicked wit and sense of humor. Once, when I was perusing my woodworking catalogues in search of a vise to mount on my workbench to hold boards Rootietoot suggested I see what Mr. McMaster had before I bought from a mail order company. Good idea, I thought, so the next evening I stopped in. Halfway through the Nehi Mr. McMaster asked "What kind of hardware you need tonight?"

"Well, actually today I'm looking for a vice" I reply.

"Umm, what do you need advice on?"

"No, I need A VICE"

"Oh (chuckle chuckle) you need a vice. O.K. (digging in his pockets) I have some cigaretttes, and there's a liquor store across the way. But you'll have to pick one of those..." he paused with a twinkle in his eye "because the last cat house in this area closed after WW2."

Rootie and I went for a drive

2007-07-04T13:35:00.000-07:00

It's the 4th of July. Rootietoot actually woke before me this morning, and after I ate some breakfast and had my obligatory 2nd cup of coffee, she suggested we take a ride.

"Where to" asked I.

"Does it matter" was the reply.

So off we go, with a county map that shows ALL the roads, including dirt ones, and a state map for once we crossed the county line. We went through Metter, Millen, Wadley, Barlow, Barstow, Midville, Riddleville, Louisville, Bipperville, Bopperville, Kipperville and Kopperville (10 points to the one who correctly identifies the 'literary' origin of those last 4). Eventually we found ourselves in Sandersville, home of my first job out of college, and where we were when #1 was born (actually we lived in Tennille, a suburb S on Hwy 15). We stopped and ate lunch then rode down to Tennille.

As we went through the mostly abandoned downtown area of Tennille we passed what was McMaster's True Value when we lived there. Mr. McMaster had to have been in his late 80's at the time, and McMaster's True Value was like a trip back in time. It was a genuine old timey hardware store and Mr. McMaster claimed to have anything you could ever need. It became a bit of a game with my father-in-law when they were visiting to try and ask for something obscure, and show that he didn't really have everything. Mr. McMaster always had the thing f-i-l was asking for, from a spring tongue for an old Stanley hand plane to .... whatever. The game culminated after one of my in-laws trips to the home place in Texas, from which he returned with an old hand pump for a well. "I'll get the Old Man this time" he bragged Friday evening when they arrived. He needed to replace the leather gasket and flapper that went inside the old pump. They acted as a check valve to keep the water from going back down as you pumped.

Saturday morning f-i-l and I ride in to town and go into the store. We get us an RC Cola from the old type vending machine that you have to pull the bottle out of, damaging your hand in the process.

"Well, what are you looking for this time, young Mr. Toot?" asked Mr. McMaster after pleasantries were exchanged.

"I need the leathers for a hand pump" said f-i-l with a pleased note in his voice.

"What size" asked Mr. M

"What?!?!"

"Do you need 2 inch, 3 inch, or 4 inch?"

"Uhhh, uhhh it's a 3 inch" said a stunned father-in-law.

"The thick kind or the thin ones? There were 2 different kinds of 3 inch"

"I don't know"

Mr. M dawdles back behind the counter and comes out with a VERY old wooden box. He opens the box and pulls out several oily rags.

"I have to wrap them in oily rags to keep them from drying out" he says, then holding up 2 different sets says "This is the thick one, and this is the thin ones. Which one looks like what you will need?"

"I have no idea"

"Well, pay for one and take both back with you. Send the one you don't need back with Young Mr. Daddio next time he comes to visit you."

Like somebody else might come in one day looking for leathers for manual well pump.

This is too close to true to be funny.....

2007-06-18T08:56:00.000-07:00

Edit 6-19-07 I meant to mention this was copied from a circulating e-mail and is not an actual personal experience. Sorry for the unintentional misrepresentation.
Math 1950-2007

Last week I purchased a burger at Burger King for $1.58. The counter-girl took my $2 and I was digging for my change when I pulled 8 cents from my pocket and gave it to her. She stood there, holding the nickel and 3 pennies, while looking at the screen on her register. I sensed her discomfort and tried to tell her to just give me two quarters, but she hailed the manager for help . While he tried to explain the transaction to her, she stood there and cried. Why do I tell you this?

Answer: Because of the evolution in teaching math since the 1950s

1. Teaching Math In 1950
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price. What is his profit?

------------------------- -------------------------
2. T eaching Math In 1960
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price, or $80. What is his profit?

------------------------- ------------------------- ------------------
3. Teaching Math In 1970
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80. Did he make a profit?

------------------------- -------------------------
4. Teaching Math In 1980
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80 and his profit is $20. Your assignment: Underline the number 20.

------------ ------------------------- -------------------------
5. Teaching Math In 1990
A logger cuts down a beautiful forest because he is selfish and inconsiderate and cares nothing for the habitat of animals or the preservation of our woodlands. He does this so he can make a profit of $20. What do you think of this way of making a living? Topic for class participation after answering the question: How did the birds and squirrels feel as the logger cut down their homes?

(There are no wrong answers. )

------------------------- -------------------------
6. Teaching Math In 2007
Un hachero vende una carretada de maderapara $100. El costo de la producciones es $80. Cuanto dinero ha hecho?

The name's Daddio, Sweet Daddio....

2007-06-17T17:12:00.000-07:00

I have an infatuation with James Bond. It may stem from the fact that my life is so anti-Bond. By 30 minutes into each movie he has slept with more women than I have my whole life (that number for me btw is 1). Exotic locations for me means Tybee Island, or Sylvania. The closest thing I've come to saving the world was helping to develop a new lightweight bullet/flak proof fabric that wouldn't weigh down pilots if they ditched in water. Most of the crises I face involve bad bearings, bent rolls, or raw material shipments that are late. Sometimes I get to work on a problem as threatening as girlfriend problems for #3 son. My ability to fix things with minimal resources has in the past earned me the nickname "McGyver", but it's Bond James Bond I really want to be.

I own all the original Ian Fleming novels. The fascinating thing about the novels is that they take place starting in the early fifties, and most of the bad guys were former Nazis or other displaced persons of nefarious background for whom all records of their existence were destroyed in WWII. They then give themselves new identities with fanciful names like Ernst Stavro Blofeld, Auric Goldfinger or Hugo Drax. Of the movies, only Dr. No, From Russia With Love, and On Her Majety's Secret Service follow the novels of the same name.

Rootietoot and The Boys have been gifting me with 'The Ultimate James Bond Collection' for Christmas, b'day, etc. With the boxed set I recieved for Father's Day I have all but one set. I've been watching the new movies today between Nascar and the U.S. Open golf tournament. So, for today I get to vicariously be a dashing handsome secret agent.

Tomorrow I go back to being plain old Sweet Daddio.

Things that make me laugh

2007-06-17T07:01:00.000-07:00

I can't say I have a favorite movie- but this one is certainly on my top 5 list

I think "Creature Comforts" is the most creative enterprise of the last 25 years

And 8 year olds working on developing their comic skills as detailed here:
http://beacuseitspersonal.blogspot.com/2006/04/4-at-genesis-of-his-comic-career.html

Music

2007-06-09T15:12:00.001-07:00

(This post is not intended as arrogant as it will start out. Bear with it)

God has given me many gifts. I can, and have, build a Duncan Phyfe sideboard (or Gustav Stickley, or Shaker, or a style known in a small circle by my own name), rebuild a Chevy small-block and make it purr like the proverbial kitten, develop new industrial processes which become patented, build a frame house from a stack of lumber or a log cabin without a kit, or completely change the inside of a house by removing walls and redsigning the interior. My services have been sought for designing kitchens in half-million dollar houses. I have a quantifiable good eye for color, and have influenced seasonal color pallets for 3 major houses of fashion (get this kids- I used to do color design for Victoria's Secret!) I can repair virtually anything that is broken, and I was at one time a certified pipe welder. I have been told I am an empath, and somehow become the company therapist every where I have worked.

But human nature being what it is, I deeply covet the one gift I am most lacking- musical ability. There are days I would trade all my other skills to be able sit and play the guitar with 1/2 of Dickie Betts' skill. Why?

Music is probably the single best way to make a large population happy. Even before today's mass communications, music was available to large groups. Moods of an entire nation can be influenced (Josef Goebels new this and used it for nefarious purposes). Even the worst day at work is softened when a happy tune with personal memories attached comes on the radio during the evening commute. Fussy babies are comforted by a lullaby. Hearts are won by a serenade (o.k. being able to repair the voltage regulator in a VW helped me to win Rootietoot's heart, but how much better could it have been to play and sing "Blue Sky?"). When a small group is together for an intimate gathering, the experience can be made better by one member strumming gently on a 6 string, but saying "come on gang, let's go to the shop and tune the Chevy or make a piece of case furniture" doesn't really have the same effect.

And every one of us has at least one song which brings memories (hopefully good, but sometimes unpleasant) pouring in when you hear it. Mine are an eclectic collection, from mine and Rootie's "special song" Blue Sky by the Allman Brothers, to Pyromania by Def Lepard and Ravel's Bolero (doesn't that make you curious?).

I can influence my own mood by music selection. If I'm angy when I get in the car in the evening, the Allman Brothers can always make me happy. Led Zepplin (select songs) can be uplifting too. If I'm feeling mellow, Lynyrd Skynyrd is good to pump me up on my morning commute. That's a powerful medicine.

You have to understand how bad my lack of musical ability is. Even trying to sing or humm to the boys as babies made them cry harder.

363 days a year I am satisfied with everything about my life, but what I do brings satisfaction to a very small circle. Some days I wish I could reach out to a larger group, and music would seem to be the best way to do that.

So- 2 questions: 1)What songs evoke strong memories for you and 2) What skills do you not have that you desire deeply?

Allman Brothers - Jessica

2007-06-08T05:07:00.001-07:00

Another song that makes it impossible for this redneck to have unhappy thoughts. If a genie were to grant me 1 wish, I believe it would be to be able to play the lead on this song.

ALLMAN BROTHERS BLUE SKY

2007-06-07T16:44:00.001-07:00

This is mine and Rootietoot's "Special Song". It is impossible for me to listen to this and have unhappy thoughts.

Ummm a pool

2007-06-01T12:06:00.000-07:00

So, G (owner of the company) decided I would get an extra day's pay for working Memorial Day (my jerk boss had originally declared I made enough already and wasn't going to pay me like he was the others). Rootie and I decided we would use the windfall to buy an aboveground pool. So, she and the boys went to Wally World today and bought an 18' by 4' deep pool. We will assemble it tonight and fill it some tonight and finish it tomorrow. Then we will swim! And I can come home in the evenings and cool off with a dip.

I hope it turns out to be as nice as I'm anticipating.

Yay I'm having lunch with Rootie!

2007-05-28T08:56:00.000-07:00

She just called and is back in town. She's picking up sandwiches and coming out. I know she's only been gone 2 1/2 days, but my pulse still picks up when her ring tone (Halleluia chorus) goes off on my phone. She can still make me feel like a 20 year old.

2007-05-24T04:34:00.000-07:00

I created the pop-off valve to blow off and not burden Rootie with my disgruntlement when I (finally) get home each evening. But lest you get the idea I'm a totally negative person, I will post my Good Thoughts here.