The "Not So Pro" discussion thread...of course Pros are welcome!

[HuskStihl]

First place I lived in after moving out of the parents, had no insulation, base board heaters only, and we was all broke punk rock kids couldn't afford the huge electricity bill, waking up to frost on your blankets and ice in the sinks is a humbling experience. Showering was a dance with hypothermia.

I'm calling ******** on that

 

[KiwiBro]

I am glad he came over and helped y'all out, but I am pissed off that a guy can work his ass off six and a half days a week and have trouble keeping his family warm. Call me a socialist, but if hard work isn't rewarded why the **** would anybody want to do it. You need to be paid better.

There sure is a disconnect somewhere. It's similar here too. How the heck can a few families retain so much wealth while other, equally hard working people get shat on, time and time again? It's just wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

Here, specifically in forestry, guys are working longer and longer hours trying to keep a roof over their families heads and food on the table and then we get even champaign socialists wringing their hands at the forestry deaths and injuries, with only very few of these people who call for greater regulation and drugs testing actually joining a few freak'n dots between fatigue, injuries, and low incomes in physically and sometimes mentally demanding occupations. Crew owners worry about the cost of gear/machinery and labour and how little they are getting for their contracts but cutting right or forestry holders play them off against each other and then wash their hands of the resulting blood and struggle of people just trying to earn a living. The industry here is pumping out logs to export like there is not tomorrow yet fark'all of this industry has the situational awareness in a business sense to collectively bargain or strike better deals. Then someone buying lumber bitches about the cost of lumber, but the people putting that on the ground or even the few of those left here in NZ that turn it into lumber are struggling to make ends meet.

Then those same moaning lumber buyers, having bleated as someone built their house extension that adds another four rooms or another story/level or extension to the 10-car garage, for their house that is home to just three people think nothing about blowing money on wine, fancy restaurant meals, gambling, etc. The worlds gone absolutely fark'n crazy.

 

[KiwiBro]

I'm calling ******** on that

What? You never enjoyed golden showers in your punk rocker years? Trust me, when THAT plumbing freezes over, ***** starting to get real.

 

[northmanlogging]

******** on the showering or the freezing my dingle berries off? The room mates former wife had a problem with showering said she was allergic to water? Really she was just nasty and had eczema, and an addiction to my pain pills, and my money, and... things didn't end well...

 

[Metals406]

Clint -- don't beat yourself up bro. If you saw my shitass trailer -- you'd be counting your blessings. ;-)

And you're southern folks, who usually don't even see anything close to a single digits. We nirtherners don't have good excuses for letting the cold catch us with our pants down.

And being cold and going thru some tribulation builds character. We're all such sissy-la-la marry's comparatively with a few generations ago. My kids are super pusses. ;-) They need to toughen up some to prepare for lifes grittyness.

You're a hard ass worker, and thats a big enough achievement on its own -- in this entitlement, "need it now", instant gratification society.

Pat yourself on the back a little.

 

[Metals406]

Oh, & I second, third, & fourth the wood stove thing. It's amazing to me how relatively warm I can keep this under insulated trailer of mine, in below zero temps.

 

[treeslayer2003]

hope everyone is ok this morning.

 

[twochains]

Morning Mike! Did your Artic blast make it to ya yet?

 

[treeslayer2003]

7 degrees with -15 wind chill. nothing I own would start. how did y'all make out?

 

[twochains]

It's already up to 2*...heat wave! I went out last night when I was waiting for my boss to come by and started our vehicles, I let hem run a short bit. I ended up turning the regular house heat off...it was only pumping cold air in. The propane heater and small electric heaters are taking the load.

 

[twochains]

I just watched a video from Michigan where a guy threw boiling water up in the ir and it turned to ice crystals! Dang..-40 wind chill! ooosh!

 

[treeslayer2003]

i'm glad y'all made out ok. I should go out n check the animals......hope for the best.

 

[twochains]

I found dogs "AND" chickens piled up together in dog houses! Kinda funny...I think all my chickens made out OK.

 

[treeslayer2003]

sob it cold out there, I need more clothes lol. well the dog and chickens are ok, no sign of the cat.
gonna have to fill the wood box again....bbbrr.

 

[bitzer]

Hey Clint you gotta make sure you ventilate a little with those heaters going. At least that's what I've been told. We used to run one at my uncle's hunting cabin just to help out the wood stove. Its 15 below right now with 35 below for the wind chill. I don't think we hit the 50 below with the wind mark they were talking about. Up north of me I'm sure they did though. The coldest I saw here yesterday was 41 below. If the wind picks up any more it will be right back into the -40s. I was in the skidder all day a few weeks ago when it was 10 below/ -25 with the wind chill. My feet didn't work real well by the end of the day (got a radiator heater, but still an open cab). I'll have to hit it hard the rest of the week now after taking two days off. Supposed to be mid 30s by the weekend here. A 70 degree jump!

 

[treeslayer2003]

dang bitz, that a whole new kind of cold.
my truck started but hers no sir. I lit the shop stove, a bottled water on the bench froze but one on the floor didn't.

 

[twochains]

Hey Clint you gotta make sure you ventilate a little with those heaters going. At least that's what I've been told. We used to run one at my uncle's hunting cabin just to help out the wood stove. Its 15 below right now with 35 below for the wind chill. I don't think we hit the 50 below with the wind mark they were talking about. Up north of me I'm sure they did though. The coldest I saw here yesterday was 41 below. If the wind picks up any more it will be right back into the -40s. I was in the skidder all day a few weeks ago when it was 10 below/ -25 with the wind chill. My feet didn't work real well by the end of the day (got a radiator heater, but still an open cab). I'll have to hit it hard the rest of the week now after taking two days off. Supposed to be mid 30s by the weekend here. A 70 degree jump!

My boss and I were talking about you all and the differences between us. We are taking today off as well, like he said..there are always better Saturdays and Sundays. Supposed to hit maybe 30* today, it's coming up...6* now. Stay warm bitz!

 

[slowp]

If we are the origination of your weather, the low was 37 last night and we're getting light rain off and on. Our high won't be much warmer but that's perfectly normal.

I was just remembering not having insulated boots until they arrived when I was in the 4th grade. I grew up on the cold side of the state. We kids just knew to come in when our feet went numb. It stung a bit to thaw them out. Then it was back out to play in the snow. We had the rubber boots that pulled on over shoes. Our moms taught us to tuck rags and old socks in the tops to keep the snow out. Up until a kid got into first grade, we had to wear those hard to get into snowsuits as seen on A Christmas Story. The suits seemed to take eons to get on, and since it was put on inside a warm house, it was uncomfortably hot.

When my dad worked all winter, he got us skis. It was the same process. You had leather ski boots so skied until feet went numb, then came in and if you were lucky there was a rickety chair by the fire in the no frills "lodge" and you took off boots, propped up feet and began the painful thawing out.

I enjoyed the cross country ski area when I lived in Up Nort country. It was kind of a wayback machine. We had a couple of moonlight ski parties when temps were below 0.
Fun times Up Nort.

 

[bitzer]

Yeah they called school off for the entire state yesterday and today so I've been hangin with the kids while my wife is at work. I ran to town last night and the abs light came on in the truck. It went off after I came out of the store. The brakes weren't workin so good. We usually get weather in the 30 below range every winter. Usually just a few days worth. I put in a couple of half days in it last year. I haven't worked a Sunday in a long time. I probably won't either unless I really have to. Typically we get a January "thaw" after the super cold. They are talkin mid thirties for the weekend. I hope that's all it is. Gotta keep the frozen ground until mid march I hope. Ideally I would like teens at night and 20s during the day. We are over the hump now and the sun is going to start getting warmer from here on out.

 

[056kid]

I just watched a video from Michigan where a guy threw boiling water up in the ir and it turned to ice crystals! Dang..-40 wind chill! ooosh!

My former stepdad lived in yellow knife canada for a while. Some of the many stories where the dogs poo poo freezing to the ground and and his ass hair tethering him to the ground. Having to remove his bicycle from the ground with an acetylene torch haha. They where in t shirts when it was above 0. Freaking nuts!