WTF-Beta

Big Al

Lots of Greek food festivals in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. I usually enjoy going to at least the one nearest me.

Has anyone noticed how many diners are owned and run by Greeks?

Big Al

@BeeLady said:

I was there two years ago. Took a few days in Barcelona before heading to the Pyrenees for our annual ladies hiking trip.

Hello, Beelady. It's nice to see you here.

Big Al

I'm sorry to hear that.

I sometimes think of people I knew and have met on the various forums over the years. Then, I wonder where many of them are now.

Big Al

@wtg said:

People sure are clever. And dishonest.

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/articles/man-urges-others-watch-gas-121521726.html

That screw is very subtle. I don't think I would spot it. The best advice was in the comments to be sure the pump resets after you hang up the nozzle.

My wife got skimmed at a gas station a few years ago. She still had her receipt and was able to secure restitution from the bank, but it took awhile because she had used her debit card. Now she only uses a credit card at non-bank ATMs and other payment locations.

Big Al

@wtg said:

Milestone birthday for Big Al today. He's probably out celebrating like mad!!

You would be correct. I was out to dinner with my wife and two of my children.

Thanks, all for the good wishes.

Big Al

Happy birthday, Joe.

Big Al

While you're looking for public places to play, give some thought to local hospitals or senior living facilities. One of our local hospitals has a small grand in an alcove off the main hallway between wings. The piano is normally closed, but I think they welcome people who are actual pianists to give performances there.

In the times that I've spent in skilled nursing facilities, which also served as assisted living facilities, they seemed very welcoming to people who volunteered to provide musical entertainment for the residents.

Also, when my mother was a resident at such a facility, I found two pianos in building lobbies that were open for use. I'd usually bring something to play when I visited my mother. She enjoyed it and sometimes we'd attract a couple of other listeners, even with my mediocre talent.

Big Al

@Mik said:

Nice. At this age there's little wisdom in doing much other than exactly what you want to do.

Much wisdom in this remark. I bought a Yamaha NU1XA hybrid piano a few months ago to replace the Clavinova that I'd had for many years, but which had died and for which repair parts could not be obtained.

Now, if I could only persuade my fingers to regain some of the agility they lost over time.

Big Al

Interesting. I put that in the category of questions you hadn't thought to ask but which you're happy to learn about. Now, where did I put that eraser shield that I used to use at the drafting board? (Also, I really appreciated the vinyl eraser when it came on the scene.)

Big Al

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