What do you do?

I dropped out of college because I thought I was smarter than they are (boy was I wrong). Now I am a mild mannered service manager at Chevrolet dealership by day and a great father and semi okay husband by night. <img src=

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Hi again Gang:

I am a Non Destructive Tester. I test metal for cracks, stress, thickmess and corrosion and for inproper welds. <img src=

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Doug Snell

I am a Destructive Tester.

I am a part time mental crack tester! i push and test my girlfriend to see what it takes to make her crack and have a mental failure. So far she is holding steady... more work to do!

This should be fun to tell.
At 14 my brother and I bought a trucking company and sold by the time I got out of high school
Was a radioman in the CG, then started another truck line hauling heavy machinery and sold that in 72,
Bought land and started a motocross track outside of Akron, Ohio -- first name was Crash & Burn Motorpark, then changed it to Grand Prix Raceway
Became an entertainer, started at the Bloody Bucket in W. Palm where I did a duo with another guy at a topless go-go bar for free beer, Then had a regular gig in Zoar, Ohio at a Rathskeller in a Hotel,
Then on to Chicago.
Had several singles and an album, one single charted in the Country/Western arena --

Sweet Revenge

(about divorce, my 3rd)
Moved to Vail, CO where I entertained there for 10 years, starting as a single, then duo and finally a band we called the Sweetwater Junction. Off season we did concerts around the country was warmup band for such as Michael Martin Murphy (Horse named Wildfire), John Stewart, Ricky Nelson, Hoyt Axton (wrote Heartbreak Hotel sung by the King0, Kenny Rogers, et al.
Moved to Key Largo and did singles, but had to play late at night, so quit.
Became a 500 ton Master Captain and ran charters to the Bahamas and did yacht deliveries.
Then started teaching sailing seminars (still at it)
Publishing Catamaran Sailor Magazine (still at it)
Running www.OnLineMarineStore.com (still at it)

Oh, college -- took 7 years of college, never graduated as I kept changing schools and majors.
Rick

That's waaayyy cheap in Hawaii. Do you ship? On second thought the shipping would be more than the product price.

Quote

Also known as the Picasso Trigger Fish

We see those guys at the beach at the bottom of our hill. They're pretty shy.

My final real job was SE Program Manager for a data storage manufacturer. The stock exploded so I was able to both buy a home in West Maui and self fund my retirement. My present official title is Sabot Repair Guy at the Lahaina YC.

I've done certified welding as a contractor for more years than I can remember. In 96, I got a wild hair up my a$$ and went to tryouts as a walk on for one of the Semi-Pro Arena Football teams in Arizona. My fat butt ran a 4.78 40 and got me a starting position. Then went on to the Pros in the PIFL (Professional Indoor Football League), AFL2, and UAFL. Never thought I would take it to the level that I did. 2002 cam with too many body pains and I decided to stop and get serious about sailing.
I just quit my job as a Project Engineer for a downhole monitoring company and went back to welding. MUCH happier and certainly pays better. I did moonlight as a bouncer in a few topless bars from time to time in the early years.

Lee Wicklund

I told you this would be interesting!

I always knew you were a badass!

Lee wins, hands down, no questions asked.

Jake,

I am also a mechanical engineer and I currently work as a manufacturer's rep specializing in dry bulk material handling solutions. Looks like you do a lot of package handling. I just checked out your website and chuckled. I recently sold and started up a Fuji robotic palletizer being fed by a Haver vertical form-fill-seal machine for a customer packaging and palletizing 25 kg bags of plastic resins for overseas customers. Just love that robot, seems human to me!

Bob Hodges

To anyone else, I'm sure that reply sounding like gibberish! I've had some contact with Fuji but mostly with their aseptic fillers...worked extensively with Tetra Pak through Hartness for several years.

Ooohhhh, the robots are amazing. We have partnered with a company out of Australia (Visy) and have a robotic palletizing and packaging engineering group in our Greenville facility. In just two years, we're already the 4th largest GE Fanuc integrator in the US. I don't have much business interaction with them yet but occasionally, when they are wrapping up a big project, I'll sit and watch robots during lunch. The reliability and range of capabilities are really amazing.

Don't let Peter fool you. He has several advanced degrees, and did work in the High Tech world. But, he does have the right attitude.

It is not what you do, but what you learn, and pass on to others. Most of my friends that have retired, all agree on several things. 1. We should have done it sooner. 2. We are now more busy that ever. 3. We have a responsibility to share what we have learned, and give back to others. We now have time to enjoy family and friends, the important things in life.

Caleb Tarleton

Jake.... suddenly I find myself hoping your avitar trips.

his avatar too 😛

I always knew you were a badass!

Lee wins, hands down, no questions asked.

Thanks, Trey.

I think Rick's takes it.

Lee Wicklund

You got that right Batman! Now you guys can see why Caleb and Rick are some of my

heroes

.

Navy helicopter pilot for about 10 years. One year in sales (investments & insurance), then software development since 1996.

I'm still a software developer. It pays most of the bills. I am also a flight instructor for airplanes part time and fly helicopters in the national guard.

I fuel the American Dream (I boil oil and make gasoline). I'm a ChemE by degree.

Before University I was a bicycle courier in London - I think that has left me with a life long appetite for taking risks.

Chris.

I personally think Rick should write his memoir's down in something that would resemble a book <img src=

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That's my next project.

In order, Restaurant Manager, Restaurant Manager,Restaurant Manager, investments and securities sales, Restaurant Manager,Restaurant Manager, Restaurant Manager, Hospital Nutrition Services Operations Director. Now I'm thinking about developing a healthier option restaurant concept.

As long as you use that special sauce you brought for Mug Race! <img src=

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I'm about to start working on a research project for the next 12 months. Basically a feasibility study on using

memory-metals

as actuators of

vibration reducing control flaps

on very large scale wind turbine blades.

Large

meaning that the diameter of the rotor is larger 300 ft. These are BIG

windmills

!

The final intent being to test such a setup on a smaller scale in the windtunnel and proof its usefulness. My part in it will most probably be to design and implement an

inverted dynamic model

as a compensator for the strongly non-linear behaviour the

memory-metal

actuator (the control flap) and when time permits a first-try controller for the windtunnel test. I think an artificial neural network is best used to implement such a compensator. When that is done then I have to think about what I want to do next. More research, more teaching or switch over to the industry and earn my pension. I really enjoy teaching but I hate the political games and lack of upward mobility that is found in such environments. I'm told that the windpower sector is booming right now and looking for lots of scientists and engineers and honestly I would like to earn some bucks again.

Wouter

So jumping in on random threads and bugging us about the F12 is just a

hobby

???

Good morning, Wouter. <img src=

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Mike

Pizza delivery, cobol programmer, then 20 years as an IT/WAN consultant. Semi-retired after Y2K, and then started a small catamaran shop to pay for my hobby. Currently working overtime again with a Nacra dealership - Sailmax.biz, partner in an online sailing store - Layline.com, and importer/distributor of clothing for the high performance sailor - Zhik.com

Hopefully in a couple of years, I can go back to sailing full time again...

Never finished my PhD in physics and got a job at university administration (investigation analysis and IT stuff). Also writing software for psychologists in my spare time. Some musical background, but at a very amateur level. Probably we could get a good band together for what I read <img src=

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I was a QC tech for years, then a musician for years, then had with an electronic instrument repair shop for years, then moved on to computers in the 90's. Now I'm the IT dept. for a company that changes cataylst in reactors. I like being my own boss, but it doesn't pay like working for the man. Need that retirement fund.

ALOT of people, including myself, say this. Why? Seems like most of the people I worked for were a bunch of rich pricks. Where do so many go wrong? How can I be a rich [censored]?

Swimmer in High school and college
Went out of my first undergrad, right into Grad degree, in Kinesiology (Sports Science).
Category 2 Bicycle racer, Semi Pro Triathalete
Managed a Bicycle shop
Hit by car while training, in coma
Taught public school, coached swimming

Got another degree in Physician Assistant studies
Got married (still am)
1st assist Open Heart& Cardiovascular surgery
Orthopedic surgery
Now work in Emergency rooms and Urgent care clinics, seeing and treating patients.
2 wonderful boys now 4 & 7 yrs old

Some say I never really came out of the coma though! 🙂

Todd,

You only really need to come out of it to go sailing anyway.

Lee

Karl, I thought you were your own boss? <img src=

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Clayton