how was your interview?

8/5/2009 9:28:59 PM

i think it went pretty well. i took a copy of a report i put together for a project last summer and one that i put together for a project this summer. i showed the plant manager those and talked about them to show i had some technical knowledge. he seemed fairly impressed. i also talked to the operations superintendent who knows my dad pretty good and saw some of my work at the plant near goldsboro last year. he really seemed to want me down there to fill that spot and, since he would be my boss for the 1st year of the training program, he's a good guy to have on your side.

i'm not sure of the time frame for them making their decisions. one guy i know said they'll make offers before the interns go back to school, so maybe i'll find out next week. i haven't talked to the guy in florida yet, but i'm supposed to have something similar with him over the phone. i will have to be rejected by a lot of places to take that job in florida, though.

8/5/2009 9:33:55 PM

is this for a full time position?

8/5/2009 9:38:48 PM

yes, i would start around june after i graduate

[Edited on August 5, 2009 at 9:40 PM. Reason : the first year would be some really crazy 12 hr shift work]

8/5/2009 9:40:16 PM

How would the 12 hour shifts work? 48/60 per week?

8/5/2009 9:41:51 PM

it's crazy. let me see if i can find a picture online that will explain it better than i can.

8/5/2009 9:42:24 PM

ok, i can't find anything, so it's something like this:

28 days to go through the whole rotation
you only work 14 of those days (so 14 12 hr shifts)
shifts are from 6 to 6

rotation starts on a monday
you work 4 nights
take 4 days off
work 3 nights then 3 days (they call this the 6 pack)
6 days off
work 4 days
4 days off

something like that. i think i might have some of the day/night stuff mixed up, but you get the idea

8/5/2009 9:51:14 PM

might as well

8/9/2009 9:59:44 PM

what should I make for dinner tomorrow? I have beef, chicken, zuchinni, squash, and green bell peppers at my disposal

8/9/2009 10:05:03 PM

what kind of beef? ground beef?

[Edited on August 9, 2009 at 10:15 PM. Reason : anyway, it sounds like you have the makings for some sort of kabobs.]

8/9/2009 10:05:36 PM

8/9/2009 11:58:31 PM

fuck man is it really gonna be 100 tomorrow? i planned on going running

8/9/2009 11:59:48 PM

i ain't no weatherman, but it sounds like it's gonna be rough

8/10/2009 12:00:19 AM

oh thats bs and u know it lol...those country folk are ALWAYS talking about the weather. they are usually better than the weatherman on tv... i know u had to pick up some of that stuff!

[Edited on August 10, 2009 at 12:02 AM. Reason : lol i just told you you were a weatherman]

8/10/2009 12:02:12 AM

talking about it and knowing what you're talking about are two different things

8/10/2009 12:03:07 AM

u caint never go along with something!

8/10/2009 12:04:06 AM

i don't really like folks who sit around and talk about the weather a lot. i mean, i'll be like "yeah, the weather report said blah blah blah", but i ain't gonna sit around and pretend i know a damn thing about why it's gonna do that.

8/10/2009 12:26:33 AM

i love when you are talking with a guy that appreciates a good rain and he says "this is a good rain". i love appreciating good rains

8/10/2009 12:33:30 AM

bttq

8/10/2009 9:56:14 AM

look sons

y'all need to keep me entertained during my last week at work

8/10/2009 12:11:14 PM

I'm making dinner for Eric tonight but want to do something different -- what should I throw into the mix to make it interesting?

8/10/2009 1:44:42 PM

i didn't think he'd eat anything except steak and chicken

8/10/2009 1:46:08 PM

I don't mean food, like what would you want DeeMarie to do for you if she made you dinner.. Make special drinks? Etc? I don't know?

(I'm making him steak kabobs)

8/10/2009 1:47:04 PM

what the hell is wrong with jr.

8/10/2009 1:47:23 PM

if deemarie was gonna cook for me i'd probably just be happy that she was gonna do that much and i wouldn't really hope for anything more

i don't know. go get him some good beer to go with it or something.

^nothing is really wrong with junior. he's just not that good of a race car driver. he just supplies the let downs for a lot of people b/c of who his daddy was.



[Edited on August 10, 2009 at 1:50 PM. Reason : asdf]

8/10/2009 1:49:18 PM

8/10/2009 1:52:54 PM

how about kasey?

[Edited on August 10, 2009 at 1:55 PM. Reason : oops]

8/10/2009 1:53:28 PM

seriously, the name and the money got him to the point he is at

[Edited on August 10, 2009 at 1:54 PM. Reason : ^i don't really have an opinion on kasey. if he wins i'm just like "whatever".]

8/10/2009 1:53:55 PM

not sleepy

entertain me

8/12/2009 12:28:19 AM

how's life?

8/12/2009 12:34:00 AM

i can't complain

waiting on a decision on this job i interviewed for so i can figure out what i'll be doing after i graduate in May

[Edited on August 12, 2009 at 12:35 AM. Reason : pretty much on my mind 24/7 for the time being]

8/12/2009 12:35:14 AM

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/pet/1315709987.html

8/12/2009 12:35:58 AM

^^good luck with that...what is your major? ME?

[Edited on August 12, 2009 at 12:36 AM. Reason : .]

8/12/2009 12:36:24 AM

maniacal engineering

8/12/2009 12:37:00 AM

no....poli sci and spanish

minor in entomology
and sociology
and nutrition

8/12/2009 12:37:45 AM

k

8/12/2009 7:51:58 AM

From my dad:
Why aren't cooling systems for power production wind-cooled; rather, why on earth must they all be cooled by water?

8/13/2009 9:54:54 PM

i'm not sure what he's asking. is he asking why we use water from a cooling lake instead of atmostpheric air in our condensers for a steam generation plant?

the answer to that is because water has a specific heat of about 4 times that of air. that means you need less mass flow of lake water through the condenser to achieve the same cooling effect. water is also denser, so that means the condenser can be smaller (lower volume), which means less condenser tube surface area is required. condensers use expensive tubes for optimal heat transfer. they're usually made of copper or brass. they have to be replaced from time to time, so less tubing means cheaper re-tubes.

in short, the answer is because cooling with water is more efficient. it's pretty much impossible to achieve the amount of heat transfer required in a large steam power plant condenser when using air as the cooling fluid. it's a LOT of fucking heat energy.

[Edited on August 16, 2009 at 12:27 AM. Reason : adf]

8/16/2009 12:17:36 AM

i thought of a better way to explain it:

think about your radiator in your car. that's basically a water to air heat exchanger. think about all that surface area required for just the relatively small amount of heat energy that is being removed from the engine. now think about how that compares to a huge coal unit or a nuclear unit. it would take an unbelievably large surface area to transfer that much heat energy.

[Edited on August 16, 2009 at 1:09 AM. Reason : also, to address the wind issue, the wind doesn't blow all the time.]

8/16/2009 1:09:10 AM

how efficient is hampster powered power generation???

8/16/2009 1:30:33 AM

u homer simpson?

8/16/2009 1:31:11 AM

by the time you expend the energy to make the hamster food and feed the hamster...

not very

[Edited on August 16, 2009 at 1:31 AM. Reason : ^hahahahahahaha pretty much]

8/16/2009 1:31:15 AM

I'll prove you wrong!

8/16/2009 1:31:41 AM

did you go to the track friday night?

[Edited on August 16, 2009 at 2:07 AM. Reason : mn]

8/16/2009 2:01:42 AM

Quote :

" is he asking why we use water from a cooling lake instead of atmostpheric air in our condensers for a steam generation plant?"

Nope - any method of energy production.

He's all 'omg water supply isn't guaranteed ESPECIALLY OUT WEST and so where there's no water, there'll be no energy, and that is why your mother and I plan to live off the grid when we move west'

...Cost be damned.

8/16/2009 2:03:26 AM

there are ways to make power without using a steam cycle

this little thing called the combustion turbine...

i'm not really sure of his question. the only thing we rely on lake water for is to turn the steam back to a liquid so that we can pump it back into the boiler.

[Edited on August 16, 2009 at 2:10 AM. Reason : adfs]

[Edited on August 16, 2009 at 2:11 AM. Reason : no, ragged, i didn't go to the track friday. i came home to wayne county for the weekend.]

[Edited on August 16, 2009 at 2:12 AM. Reason : i mean, we use water to cool some equipment, but it's not like huge amount like in the condenser]

8/16/2009 2:09:23 AM

edit much?
what are you doing up so late?

8/16/2009 2:16:03 AM

napped all day

i like to edit

why are you up, son?

8/16/2009 2:17:05 AM

why do you call people son, son?

8/16/2009 2:19:10 AM

just got back from tha bar, its the only place i could see the game and eat wings

8/16/2009 2:19:58 AM