Well, one day of reading this list and I feel at home already!
Thanks to everybody who replied to me about Keen Kutter.
Who am I? Well... Hmmm... The easy stuff: 38, married (second time) to
Andrea, two kids, daughter Alkyrie ("al-ker-ee") 6, son Alex 2. Currently
working as a computer and network system administrator at The University of
Arizona in Tucson, AZ, USA.
I have a pretty diverse background - when I was a teenager, my dad quit
General Electric after 17 years in management to move into the apartment
business full time. It was the family livelyhood, so I did lots of work
of all kinds. Worked with a plumber one year, electrician another. I
worked with brick, did some framing, lots of tile, etc. One day I realized
that I could be working in a "real" job making actual money, so I took a
job in the evenings in the pizza business. High school became a place to
sleep! After (barely) graduating from high school, I became a mechanic,
raced my cars (Fiat 850, 70 Chevelle) and then joined the Air Force where
I spent five years in Berlin, Germany as a Russian linguist. Got fed up
with the cold war and quit. Came back to the States and became a machinist.
I worked primarily with aluminum (6061, 7075) and some copper and brass.
Got my certification in welding (MIG, TIG, overhead, etc). Worked my way up
from lathe jock to Bridgeport to final assembly. I'll race anyone when it
comes to putting in Helicoils! ;-) I did all the detail work at the shop.
(Final deburring, chem coating, silkscreening labels, etc.) I took over as
the general manager (which really meant that I went grovelling to our
customers to tell them that we were running late!). I realized that we
were over our heads (we grew from $300k/year to $1.5m/year and from three
employees to eighteen within six months!) so I bought a computer and started
keeping track of orders and inventory that way. Decided I liked computers,
so when I moved to Tucson, I switched careers again. (Been taking care of
computers and networks for over ten years now...!) I love music, so a few
years ago I started studying bass (upright and electric) and composition.
I even taught bass playing at a local music store for a while. I've always
had an interest in medicine and philosophy and I'm currently in a Chinese
medicine class here at the Arizona Health Science Center. [Phew... Deep
breath...!]
OK, now the important ;-) stuff - I've always had that genetic defect that
makes me take things apart and put them back together again before I use
them. (Ask my SWMBO about that!) My mom is famous for stories about how
I used to put my own tricycle together and how I put her ironing board
together, etc... I think it's in my genes - my granddad from my dad's
side used to teach machine shop at Lafayette college and he was a handyman
at a hotel in Florida for a bunch of years. He built his own house and
he had an absolutely marvelous shop that I used to be in awe of. I think
he had an electric powered metal lathe, but from what I remember, everything
else was hand powered. My grandpa could fix anything! I have always
tinkered with things, from my toys, to my cars, motorcycles and now my house.
I'm adding an awning on one side, putting in new tile in the kitchen and
bathrooms, and enclosing my carport. I got really inspired this year
because my kids are outgrowing their room, so I went to look for bunkbeds
for them. For $650 I'll make them myself, thank you very much! I figure
that if I can buy the tools and do it for the same price as contracting it
out, I'll definitely do it myself (whatever "it" is). The two most fun
projects I'm involved with right now are restoring an old wooden machinist's
toolchest and getting my dad's and granddad's tools back into shape.
Hmm, this could be blasphemy:
I love hand tools, but I'm not afraid to use power either. I recently
purchased a Delta 10" radial arm saw, and I have an assortment of other
electric and pneumatic toys for working with wood, metal, and cars
(both mechanical and paint). (Did I mention that I do auto body repair
with hammer and dolly, file and torch? No bondo for me!)
OK, enough blabbing! I'm gonna go sit in my corner of the porch for
a while...
-Doug
Doug Wellington
ddw@n...
Network and System Administrator
ARL, Division of Neural Systems, Memory and Aging
The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
(520) 626-6023
(520) 291-0481 pager
(520) 626-2618 fax
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