WTF-Beta

Knowing how fond you are of fancy gemstones...

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/blue-green-diamond-ocean-dream-17-3-million-auction/

Big Al

@wtg said:

@Big_Al said:

I wonder if he was working at the Erdemir plant. I worked with an engineer who was involved with a sinter plant for that company.

Here is a snippet from my neighbor Joe Faloon's obit. He died in 2006 at the age of 87, so he was much older than you.

Joseph and his wife Virginia both graduated from Carnegie Tech (now Carnegie Mellon University) in 1939. Joseph was an industrial engineer who worked in the steel industry throughout his career, first for U.S. Steel, then Ford Motor Steel, then Kaiser Engineers, managing the creation and expansion of major steel plants, living in Turkey and consulting in Indonesia, Australia, Venezuela and Mexico.

You're right, Joe was indeed much older than me. I got my BSEE from Carnegie Tech in 1967. My early career probably paralleled his in many regards. Dravo Engineers and Constructors, my first professional employer, was a competitor of Kaiser Engineers in many markets.

Big Al

@wtg said:

@Big_Al said:

Having been involved with technical services to the steel industry earlier in my engineering career

One of my neighbors worked as an engineer in the steel industry. When we bought our house in 1980, he and the family were living in Turkey while he was working on a project there. We finally met them, close to a year after we moved into our house, when they returned to the US.

I wonder if he was working at the Erdemir plant. I worked with an engineer who was involved with a sinter plant for that company. He related the particulars of a very gruesome industrial accident that occurred in the sinter machine they built.

Big Al

Happy birthday, Steve. That weeding knife looks useful. My grandmother used the stub of a butcher knife as a similar implement when she was in the garden.

I hope you got some dessert as good as what that picture WTG posted looks!

Big Al

@wtg said:

...is that you keep losing lifelong friends.

Sad but true.

I don't know if anyone is interested, but I thought I'd share the link to the slideshow. @big_al , you might be interested in the wanderings of a fellow engineer. He had a PhD in mechanical engineering, was a PE, and worked on nuclear reactors when he was at Sargent and Lundy.

I'm glad you shared that slide show. My life and career shared some similarities to Wasi, although I've ended up retired not too far from where I was born; very different from his story.

Big Al

It's encouraging to see progress in what are sometimes regarded as mature technical fields. Having been involved with technical services to the steel industry earlier in my engineering career, I still find news of advances there exciting.

Big Al

The Spirit shutdown has left a small regional airport in my area - Arnold Palmer Airport in Latrobe, PA - entirely without commercial air service as Spirit was the only airline flying out of there. They still will be serving private and charter aviation as well as a flight school but are urgently seeking another carrier who might fly from there. At one time, they were a USAir regional destination.

Big Al

That must be frustrating for everyone. I've heard of sienna in both the raw and burnt shades, not to mention raw and burnt umber as well as other naturally derived pigments or colors.

I really can't blame younger people for not knowing some things we take for granted. A great deal of vocabulary specific to new technologies could entirely escape some of us old-timers.

I hope the mention of therapy suggests that Mr. wtg is progressing in rehabilitation from his stroke.

Big Al

From the substance of that article, Cento's tomato product is much more authentic than "Parmesan" cheese made and so labelled in the USA. Whether it meets the European requirements for identification of origin is a much more specific issue I'll let the courts determine. It could be that their source simply doesn't subscribe to the details of the labeling law/regulation. That might only have legal implications if they sold the product in Europe.

That being said, I've purchased and used their products and like them. We've also grown the San Marzano identified tomato variety in our own garden with great success in many years.

Big Al

I personally think John Fetterman is a Senator who works for the interests of the people of Pennsylvania, particularly the working people, and follows the dictates of his conscience in his position on many issues where the two parties try to draw distinctions. In today's partisan atmosphere, that risks making him anathema to his own party often enough as to risk party support at election time.

I respect him and hope to be able to re-elect him as one of my senators when he stands on the ballot again. I think he serves as a great example of what an honest politician looks like.

Big Al

I could see using something like Flitz to polish the pedals, but is there some risk of damaging the adjacent ebony finish by polishing the logo?

Big Al

It's scheduled to pass through my area on July 11th. I'll certainly make an attempt to see it if the trackside crowds aren't too enormous.

Big Al

@RealPlayer said:

Vorsetzer

That's a new word I never saw before. A neighbor of mine has a functional player piano and a nice collection of rolls, but I had never seen that mechanism that allows any piano to be played.

Big Al

@Mik said:

Here's hoping for a complete recovery.

Do remember to take care of yourself as well - caring for the caregiver. Hope you have a good support system.

I concur with these hopes and advice. I know what the caregiving tasks impose on my wife.

Big Al

@AndyD said:

@big_al, forgive my ignorance, is a handbell choir a group of handbell ringers like this:

Link to video
Wondering if you sing along?

Yes, that is what I was referring to. No, we do not sing along simultaneously. Thanks for the opportunity to clarify.

Big Al

Your comments were very interesting. I haven't participated in a choir since high school, but I do play in a handbell choir at church so I can somewhat relate to your experience.

The remark about no applause raises a question for me. How was that request communicated to the audience?

I regularly attend both jazz and classical concerts. The protocols concerning applause are very different. At jazz concerts, applause is frequent after a solo occurs even though the music continues. At classical concerts, I was accustomed to no applause until the composition was performed in its totality. Recently, there has been at least a smattering of applause after a movement has ended, which somewhat jars me. I wonder what others have experienced?

Big Al

It's close but not exact:
0 C = 32 F
5 C = 41 F
10 C = 50 F
15 C = 59 F
20 C = 68 F
25 C = 77 F
30 C = 86 F
35 C = 95 F
40 C = 104 F
and so on.

in general: degrees F = (9 *degrees C)/5 + 32
One useful reference point: -40 C = -40 F

Big Al

What a delightfully different hobby.

Big Al

@Daniel said:

@Mik said:

Daniel, did you know that Denise's MIL was an original member of both Piano World and these two forums?

Mik, Yes, I did. She was a moderator at TNCR, too. I know she passed some time ago. RIP.

I didn't know that she had passed away. I'm sorry she didn't live to see justice enacted on Denise's killer.

Big Al

It will be interesting to see what you get. Many tomato varieties are hybrids so the seeds may produce something different from the parent fruit.

Big Al