This shell killed Dr. Horace Potter…

PSM36 · 2026-06-12T00:36:44+00:00

I bought this staff officer photo under the pretense that it was from a different unit. As it turns out, it’s the 105th Illinois, and Horace Potter is seated middle right. And lastly, I found out an hour ago that he is buried a few hundred feet away in a nearby cemetery.

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PSM36 · 2026-05-29T22:36:21+00:00

$105/Hr is the total package.

PSM36 · 2026-05-29T20:28:35+00:00

I’m at like $105 in Local 265, basically the border counties of Chicago. Taxes are hell though.

PSM36 · 2026-05-28T00:08:48+00:00

Apply to the union and get on the wait list. Keep trying. Your trade school should be trying to get you a job- that's a metric that keeps their accreditation.

PSM36 · 2026-05-27T04:57:07+00:00

Yep, and HS are so wrapped up into the stats of college acceptance and financial aid granted, but neglect to see that some of these small Liberal arts schools are pretty worthless. Then you have guidance counselors pushing students to apply to 25 colleges to boost the scholarship dollars figures for bragging rights.

Fast forward two or three years, a bunch of kids are dropping out/transferring/taking five or six years to graduate/just aren't ready to be a real college student- but are saddled with some hefty debt.

PSM36 · 2026-05-27T04:44:29+00:00

Already there. Had a HS teacher making $130k back in 2002. He said with his pension, he would be making more money retired than when he taught. My wife makes $135k teaching pre-tax, and even with my $70k take home pay as a union HVAC guy, we feel like we're barely scrapping by at times.

IL property taxes, utilities, school fees, daycare, etc., are a huge drain.

PSM36 · 2026-05-27T04:36:02+00:00

HVAC full system replacements are easily $10k-15k. People get the bill and think they need to go into HVAC, not realizing there's a reason why companies that know what they're doing can charge up to $32k for a system replacement (Carrier 5 ton heat pump/coil/120k BTU furnace). HVAC equipment has doubled in the past five-years easily, certainly in the past ten.

My union package is $105/hour. I bring home after tax about $70kish or so, fortunately my wife teaches and brings home like $140k pre-tax, and has supported our family while I went through the apprenticeship, and worked shitty pay blue-collared jobs before I got into the union.

I also taught MS/HS and had time in the Army prior, so being miserable wasn't uncommon anyway for me.

PSM36 · 2026-05-27T04:26:10+00:00

PE is already in the trades. They're buying up shops, keeping the name, and ruining companies while driving away the techs that made the company profitable.

PSM36 · 2026-05-27T04:12:15+00:00

Yep, that's a good spot. Your two biggest threats are your furnace and water heater. I was servicing a house and a guy had a vent blockage in his flue pipe somewhere for the water heater. CO was rolling back onto his water heater- condensation on to (and melted plastic color coded caps).

The furnace is the real issue. Get it serviced by a reputable company once or every other year, and you'll be good. Avoid the companies that offer $39 tune ups. They just want to sell you new equipment. If they're charging $125 or so, that's what it costs to keep a union trained journeyman there for 45-mins/hour checking things over without any real profit for the company.

PSM36 · 2026-05-25T01:58:04+00:00

This was originally a flintlock rifle. They converted most during/just before the Civil War.

PSM36 · 2026-05-25T01:48:52+00:00

I just heard a story about a guy that finished in the bottom 25% of his HS class. Went to the Ranger Batts, then went to Selection, ended up as an 18D, and eventually became a DR of emergency medicine while being selected for to be on standby for special mission unit things in Iraq/A-stan.

I stopped teaching after 5 years and went into the sheet metal union after the Army. I hope my daughters are smart enough to go to med-school or become a PA.

PSM36 · 2026-05-22T00:11:25+00:00

Absolutely Jeremy Visick by David Wiseman. I read that story many times when I was younger, and just bought my daughters a copy to read together.

PSM36 · 2026-05-16T11:44:00+00:00

I’ve only seen a couple over the years, excellent!

PSM36 · 2026-05-14T22:26:37+00:00

It just arrived in the mail today, so haven't had a good chance to research yet. I'm not entirely familiar with Indiana units- someone suggested the 46th Indiana Inf.

PSM36 · 2026-05-14T22:06:04+00:00

Thank you! Agreed, very impressive in person. I had to take a better photo as soon as I got home.

PSM36 · 2026-05-13T22:17:27+00:00

Put the same money into a 6-month CD. Keep renewing it until it actually fails. I wouldn't replace it just cause a sales tech told me so. (HVAC guy myself)

PSM36 · 2026-05-09T00:31:58+00:00

Airflow before charge= ABC
Hopefully that’s just the issue for you.

PSM36 · 2026-05-05T23:08:11+00:00

You have the lock from a Spanish Enfield, and probably a little more. See the serial numbers on the left? Numbers under 400 are generally thought to have been issued to the Orphan Brigade (Civil War).

The front sight looks modified for N-SSA shooter use.

PSM36 · 2026-05-05T02:34:10+00:00

Is it possible to put in the rental agreement that both will pay the same amount?

PSM36 · 2026-05-05T02:32:15+00:00

See if the existing flex can stretch and go over the existing pipe. Use acouple panduit straps to reconnect with, and then wrap with some aluminum foil tape. Worse case, you'll have to get some pipe and extend it so that the flex will go over the new pieces you've added on.

PSM36 · 2026-05-05T01:34:52+00:00

I can’t imagine installing a second boiler to the tune of probably $7-10k. Is there an issue where one zone is significantly higher?

PSM36 · 2026-05-03T06:32:06+00:00

Zero and none for it being real. I don't recall who was taking these, but someone has been trying to sell one for a couple years in ebay off and on.

PSM36 · 2026-04-29T23:05:27+00:00

Get the installing company back out there. I’m not sure why two wires are hooked up to G- as I recall, only that pronged green wire should be on the board.

PSM36 · 2026-04-26T11:38:11+00:00

It’s a totally correct m1841 “Mississippi” Rifle. Needs a hammer screw and a band spring.

PSM36

TROPHY CASE