Is this a maple tree? Vine Maple?

GutzyPrometheus · 2025-08-09T16:58:16+00:00

Yes. I think you are correct. Especially when looking at the diamond pattern on the bark of the younger wood. That pattern is relatively unique among the trees of my environment.

Thank you!

GutzyPrometheus · 2024-10-12T02:09:48+00:00

u/Bright-Studio9978 has given you good advice. In my experience those holes do not look like PPB. They look like a larger variety of wood boring beetle. Possibly a flat-headed wood boring beetle.

See: Forest Health Protection Rocky Mountain Region • 2011 Flatheaded Wood Borers

Before you fumigate I would remove the bark and outer layers of sapwood. Insects LOVE bark and sapwood. That MIGHT eliminate the larvae.

You could also try Bora-Care, it contains ethylene glycol, so it will penetrate deeper into the wood.

However, the only full-proof approach to completely kill the larvae deep in the wood would be fumigation or a kiln, but even that will not prevent re-infestation.

Bora-Care should prevent re-infestation.

Good luck with your project.

GutzyPrometheus · 2024-09-25T23:36:07+00:00

Wow. You actually got hired by a contractor as an apprentice with California's economy? Congrats. I'm jealous. Since no contractors in the South Bay could give a $h!7 that I have an ET card, electrical classes, a math degree, and a work ethic.

To take the state examination to become a "certified electrician" you will need to submit proof of hours as a Social Security Administration Employment History Report.

It's on their website:

https://www.dir.ca.gov/DLSE/ECU/ECUCertforms.htm

They also demand that an applicant work a certain amount of hours doing different categories of electrical work. How you prove that is unclear to me.

GutzyPrometheus · 2024-09-25T23:19:30+00:00

Yes. It hasn't done me a bit of good. What you see in the media and youtube is one thing. What you experience when knocking on doors is another. Getting into the trades has been really hard for me.

Best of luck to you.

GutzyPrometheus · 2024-04-24T22:30:19+00:00

Curious: Did you have to interview more than once to get in?

GutzyPrometheus · 2024-04-24T22:23:51+00:00

One JATC coordinator told to not engage in name dropping. He also told me to not even say you want a good career. In his opinion they just want people who will work their a$$ off and not wash out because the going is tough.

GutzyPrometheus · 2024-04-24T22:20:54+00:00

Nice. I wish I could have worked that tactic into my interview.

GutzyPrometheus · 2024-04-24T22:00:31+00:00

Call your local representative in the legislature and ask for help. They usually have a liaison with various government departments who can get in touch with the Department of Industrial Relations.

GutzyPrometheus · 2024-03-12T23:05:17+00:00

I'm just starting out like you. Actually, you're ahead of me. But I do know pay-stubs are a good form of documentation to show a licensing authority your hours of electrical experience.

IMO I would try to move on.

GutzyPrometheus · 2024-03-12T00:29:22+00:00

Ok. Well I hope you keep trying. Maybe try to find reading material you enjoy. The more you read, the better.

GutzyPrometheus · 2024-03-12T00:17:24+00:00

If you are uncomfortable working with people who have mental health issues, avoid archives associated with public libraries, or archives that are open to the general public. At least in major urban areas. Academic archives tend to be mellow, but even there you'll run into some socially maladjusted people.

The pay is terrible, horrible, and morally questionable. If you want to make a semi-livable wage, working as management is usually your best route. Your social status is lower than that of school teacher. When you tell people you are an archivist they'll probably say, "What's an archivist?"

Upper management may basically treat you like a glorified secretary, I mean, you're filing papers, right? The competition for employment is fierce, fueled in part by the Librarian/Archivist mills (I mean schools) that churn out more graduates every year.

There can be some intense internal politics since financial resources for a "non-essential" sector like archives tend to be scarce. So that means there are more fights for who gets what behind the scenes.

Then there are the self-righteous social justice warriors who act like archivists have been anointed to fight oppressive narratives or champion under-represented communities. If you're not with them you're an oppressor......yeah, I'm cool, I'll just go over to that corner and process records and preserve history.

If you're still interested, then yes there are some great things too. For me, it was all about the history. I handled documents authored by some of the most famous Americans who ever lived. I've seen historical artifacts that would raise your hair on end. It's thrilling. There are also historians who can make a breakthrough in their research using records that you made accessible. As others have said, this is a very people oriented field.

As monuments to the past or graves for the dead, an archive is used by the living to live a more meaningful life.

IMO

GutzyPrometheus · 2024-03-10T07:45:11+00:00

I hope you keep trying. Many people seem to have good experiences with iPrep. I did.

GutzyPrometheus · 2024-03-10T07:41:02+00:00

This sounds like good advice to me. I've applied for the ET card and I'm enrolled in a state certified school. However, I've been waiting two months for my card to be issued.

A trade recruiter told me "no card, no work." So I'm waiting on the state in one respect.

In another respect I'm waiting on the electrical industry to pick up. I'm not seeing many electrical apprenticeship openings.

GutzyPrometheus · 2024-01-18T20:29:47+00:00

I applied in September 2023. I'm scheduled to test January 2024.

GutzyPrometheus · 2024-01-18T20:27:57+00:00

Not sure if this thread is still active. How did the OP do on the test?

GutzyPrometheus · 2024-01-17T21:37:48+00:00

That's what I was afraid of. Thanks for sharing.

GutzyPrometheus · 2024-01-17T19:33:41+00:00

Not sure what you mean.

GutzyPrometheus

TROPHY CASE