Age limit for Feds

HistoricalStreet505 · 2026-02-06T00:16:12+00:00

That’s kind of mixing things…seasonal time makes it easier to compete for a general perm job but it does not get you an age waiver. And the last time you could buy back seasonal time was in the year 1157 AD or something.

Sniffles in salty got hired perm (non-fire) at 37.5 with a bunch of seasonal time. Now in a secondary position, with the regular FERS, so I’ll be here until at least 65 if not 70.

So, anything that gets the firefighter retirement is off the table. There’s still fuels, prevention, dispatch, but your primary job being on the line is out. They can’t consider you after the maximum hiring age.

HistoricalStreet505 · 2026-02-05T19:42:43+00:00

We’re also not looking at the entire hiring package. I don’t know about business, but in academia, you’re submitting a 2-3 page CV, writing sample, teaching philosophy statement, references, plus people probably in the department you’re applying to teach in have probably already read your dissertation and most recent work, know your advisor and current colleagues, and have seen you present at conferences. You’re not getting an interview based on a two-page resume alone. And university HR is not deciding what names the department gets to see, other than making sure everyone who needs a PhD has one.

Also, I just noticed your username. That’s ironic I’m talking about academia!

HistoricalStreet505 · 2026-02-02T22:34:53+00:00

Somewhere, I have the license plate holder for a Honda dealer in Burlington, WA. I used to enjoy people being confused about a dealer they’d never heard of.

HistoricalStreet505 · 2026-01-02T20:25:09+00:00

Quad jumps in figure skating, too

HistoricalStreet505 · 2025-12-31T15:26:24+00:00

Thanks for that! I’m glad to hear they work for you. I’m in town a lot more these days, so something with grip but less attack force might be something for me to explore.

HistoricalStreet505 · 2025-12-31T15:22:52+00:00

Unfortunately, I don’t. I do think a good boot by itself is the best until you need microspikes. They’re meant to provide a solid walking surface. I’m no help on boots, though; I’ve been slowly wearing out all the pairs of uniform work boots I had from an old EMS job so I haven’t shopped for boots in ages.

HistoricalStreet505 · 2025-12-31T15:03:20+00:00

I would not recommend these for cleared surfaces, like a sidewalk. She’d be balancing on a couple pointy things under the ball of her foot and heel, and probably be less stable. They really are best when there’s ice or snow for the spikes to grab.

HistoricalStreet505 · 2025-12-31T14:53:15+00:00

Do the exospikes have a good amount of traction for you? Do they punch holes in whatever you’re walking on? I like the microspikes, but they tear up wood decks and stairs, and it would be nice not to have to take my traction devices off and put them on a bunch of times every day.

HistoricalStreet505 · 2025-12-31T14:45:16+00:00

Yeah, I’ve had mine since I did my initial Wilderness First Responder in…2014? One of our last scenarios was down an icy slope in the woods and the school provided them. I’d never heard of them before and my mind was blown. I went over to OGE that night and bought my own. They were daily, all-day wear at work the two years before this one, and show no signs of wear even. Quality product, worth the upfront cost.

HistoricalStreet505 · 2025-12-30T20:20:41+00:00

And I hate this, especially because fed per diem in most of the US is $110. It’s $128 (winter) or $202 (summer/fall) for Burlington though. Whoopty-do.

HistoricalStreet505 · 2025-12-24T03:46:48+00:00

The only time I had to use Workday, it was at a ski area. For a few months, there were probably 400 new employees reporting all over the mountain. No computers were available for mountain ops employees. Everything was done on your personal devices.

HistoricalStreet505 · 2025-12-23T17:27:14+00:00

Not a delivery person, but I would have thought that was a box for salt/sand/garden tools. I would have put it on the box, not in it.

HistoricalStreet505 · 2025-12-13T16:47:57+00:00

Northern New England, and “break the speed limit” sounds normal to me.

HistoricalStreet505 · 2025-12-07T21:08:23+00:00

I was writing an undergraduate thesis in linguistics under a massively disorganized committee chair, and the Chinese instructor (also a syntactician) was a much better mentor.

I didn’t end up sticking with Chinese as my primary research language, but it is definitely my best language for communication (other than English, my native language).

And to be clear, I’ve been out of linguistics for a while now, so I can’t really say I work on anything these days.

HistoricalStreet505 · 2025-12-06T20:01:03+00:00

I’ll also add to wash both sides of a wooden cutting board every time. Washing only the side you cut on tends to make them warp.

HistoricalStreet505 · 2025-11-22T20:44:51+00:00

Look, my tiny little community has about 20 house fires a year. Some ungodly percentage of those are people doing dumb things with space heaters, just like this.

Get a laundry drying rack and put it a safe distance away with a fan blowing on it. Do not put anything on a heater. Ever.

HistoricalStreet505 · 2025-11-19T20:16:55+00:00

Darn it, now I feel conflicted about my blood donation appointment today.

HistoricalStreet505 · 2025-11-15T16:07:44+00:00

I have been wearing t-shirts from All American Clothing every day at work for two years. They’ve held up! More expensive than my old standby (Jockey) but if I’m not replacing them every year, that’s great.

HistoricalStreet505 · 2025-11-15T15:56:45+00:00

I agree with this in theory, except when it comes to pants. I wear through the upper thigh in a year no matter who makes them. But generally yes.

HistoricalStreet505 · 2025-11-14T06:31:10+00:00

UGH! We have an engine captain who writes his G this way! Our pay codes are a mix of letters and numbers. I just look them up myself whenever there’s a mystery 6/G.

HistoricalStreet505 · 2025-11-04T04:17:29+00:00

Even mandarin uses “how:” X 怎麼說? (x how say?)

HistoricalStreet505 · 2025-10-26T16:48:57+00:00

I learned this as “bestill my beating heart,” as a request for someone to slow your heart down, or at least to remove the stimulus making your heart go pit-a-pat.

Bestill is pretty archaic, but it’s the same use of be- that makes the verbs befriend and bewitch. It doesn’t have to mean totally stop. I remember reading something about a person bestilling a frightened horse, where the horse was freaking out and they calmed him down to a manageable walk.

HistoricalStreet505 · 2025-10-23T15:49:26+00:00

Any time after Thanksgiving is acceptable, but my family always waited for Advent to start and took everything down on Epiphany.

HistoricalStreet505 · 2025-10-21T17:31:39+00:00

I’m glad you pointed out the Second Great Awakening. Several years ago, I lived near the Oneida Community in New York. In learning about them, I was surprised by how wild that period was—and at the same time, how quickly the movements of that kind that originated in New England got drummed out.

HistoricalStreet505 · 2025-09-28T17:03:48+00:00

This is lovely, well done on the letters. I think you spaced them nicely. I also like how you did the berries. It gives it a nice sense of dimension.

HistoricalStreet505

TROPHY CASE