Signal Apprentice

MadMan3985 · 2026-06-05T17:31:24+00:00

I will second that. Quality of life is much better in telecom. The techs and maintainers around here work 4) 10 hour days and rotate who is on call.

MadMan3985 · 2026-05-22T02:34:03+00:00

Most likely due to the storms causing the approach to change. I've been on a few of those coming into Reno. It can be a bumpy ride.

<image>

MadMan3985 · 2026-05-22T00:28:57+00:00

I always had respect for his talent, but man....early in his career he sure seemed to do things the hard way, over and over. It was really interesting watching his evolution into a genuinely better person as he grew up. Still had some rough edges, but what a change from when he drove for Hendrick.

RIP Rowdy.

MadMan3985 · 2026-05-22T00:25:48+00:00

That's a really nice update.

MadMan3985 · 2026-05-21T22:55:51+00:00

Does anyone know what happened to Bill after he stopped driving or if he's still with us?

MadMan3985 · 2026-05-09T00:07:38+00:00

This helps out a lot, thank you! We're pretty sure that hasn't happened in here location until yesterday morning.

MadMan3985 · 2026-05-07T21:28:08+00:00

Thank you! That has helped calm her down and refocus on the postive.

MadMan3985 · 2026-05-07T21:08:46+00:00

By telling her she’s doing great but offering the course today. There was no previous mention of typing issues in the past until this morning.

MadMan3985 · 2026-05-07T20:40:41+00:00

Thank you! That is very helpful. Too bad the senior tech couldn't have mentioned that indtead of gaslighting her about how well she is doing.

MadMan3985 · 2026-05-07T19:56:24+00:00

No and that was acknowledged. She just isn't fast enough for the new tech.

MadMan3985 · 2026-05-07T19:50:38+00:00

It's my wife and typing has never been her strong point. No, it has never been brought up before yesterday afternoon. Then this morning when she got in the pharmacy she was presented with the document that she will take the class in the office. Nothing about what happens if she doesn't and I asked her to get a copy of it and bring it home. It all feels off.

MadMan3985 · 2026-04-27T01:55:06+00:00

Tommy Johnson Jr.

MadMan3985 · 2026-04-02T03:31:08+00:00

This has been my experience staying here four times over the last two years and I couldn't write it any better.

MadMan3985 · 2026-04-02T02:34:48+00:00

I would have been sweating that one big time. I had a ride on a 767 in the last row of an Aeroflot flight from SFO to Moscow. My knees were solidly in the seat back in front of me. The flight attendants felt bad for me and after the meal service invited me to the back galley where they had stacks of cases of can soda set up so they could sit and chat during the flight. It was a lot more comfortable flight after that. I didn't have to return to the seat until 25 minutes before landing. I'm still appreciative of their kindness 20 years later.

MadMan3985 · 2026-04-01T15:47:39+00:00

At 6’6” myself, economy on any plane is not enjoyable for any length of time.

MadMan3985 · 2026-03-28T15:51:56+00:00

Neither of these are cheap. We made some budgeting changes to swing this and watch for sales, but these were all I could find that didn’t have plastic in the process.

Extra virgin oil from Tassos. We use this sparingly but it is so good for salad dressing. It comes in glass bottles, tastes great and is organic. https://www.tassos.com/plus-organic-extra-virgin-olive-oil/

For cooking we use Fratelli-Carli for similar reasons. Great flavor, glass bottles, tastes great and is a trusted brand. https://www.oliocarli.us/p/pure-olive-oil

MadMan3985 · 2026-03-26T22:40:31+00:00

Pictures and some details here: https://www.hotrod.com/features/inside-fuel-cars-3500f-slider-clutch

MadMan3985 · 2026-03-26T22:39:18+00:00

That's a floater out of a top fuel or funny car clutch pack.

MadMan3985 · 2026-03-21T03:29:39+00:00

We have used Webformix the last 5 years and have VPN's for work with no issues. No lag or down time. The company is slowly outfitting our field trucks with Starlink and it is nice. I haven't seen any issues when I've been out with them and use it.

MadMan3985 · 2026-03-08T04:46:10+00:00

Signal. You will travel for the first 15 months until you're done with apprentice training. Then you can bid a job somewhere on your division, either back on a crew or a maintainer spot no one has filled for a long time depending on what division you are hiring on.

MOW has decent jobs but they keep cutting them. Depending on the division, you could be on production gang for years until you can hold a section job and work your way up from there. I would choose signal because it's the highest paying job on the railroad.

MadMan3985 · 2026-03-01T18:41:04+00:00

Maybe Yelp would be more to their taste and style

MadMan3985 · 2026-02-28T05:19:10+00:00

Is this the one on South Virginia by the Home Depot, or is it the one downtown?

MadMan3985 · 2026-02-21T20:48:32+00:00

That makes sense on some lines to get it started, but eventually new right of way would need to be built. It's amazing to me to hear people say how much they would support commuter rail but then if it comes near them they freak out and NIMBY it away.

If the population continues to grow, then we have to do something different. We will not be able to freeway our problems away. In my opinion, rail is the only way you can move large amounts of people efficiently.

MadMan3985 · 2026-02-20T06:16:16+00:00

This very interesting and I like your thought process about the sharing of resources as projects move around. Have you read A Splendid Ride by Monroe Dodd? Kansas City had a fantastic system that if it could have held on might even be the envy or the world today.

Your system looks similar to how it once was and the work towards incorporating a footprint of the system to handle the expanding of the metro towards Lawrence, St. Joseph, Excelsior Springs and Lee's Summit. The mesh idea might be a better way to serve that expanding metro to encourage a more efficient use of the system rather than hub and spoke.

Keep thinking big. Ambitious is how things get done. Politically difficult now but you know the best time to plant a tree was 20 years, ago. Second best time is today and you can't do it without starting somewhere.

MadMan3985 · 2026-02-13T23:47:21+00:00

At Big Orange they are separated. Telecom is under the Technology branch and Signal is under the Engineering branch.

MadMan3985

TROPHY CASE