Memorial day road trip, Part 1

This Memorial Day, my family and I joined the masses and took a road trip for the long weekend. After looking into a few different areas, we decided on the Colorado National Monument, just West of Gran Junction in Western Colorado.
Having experienced a couple of National Parks, we were prepared for the crowds that were sure to block our every attempt at solitude. What we found, however, was a delightful surprise. Pulling into the ranger station, we were told that the campground rarely filled up, and that large crowds were pretty unusual here in this park. Thrilled by this news, we began the drive into the park.
As an avid rock climber, I immediately noticed the size and variety of the rock walls that formed the rim of the canyon. This was unlike any place I had seen. Hundreds of feet tall, with the reddish color that we Coloradans have become so familiar with, these rocks stood everywhere. The farther we drove into the park, the louder our “oohs” and “ahhs” became as every corner we turned revealed another majestic view with increasingly large rocks. After a few minutes of driving, we came upon the campground, and turned in its direction.
We decided to see what each loop had to offer before we decided on a space, and so we began the drive around each of the three loops. After going around loops A and B, we entered loop C with no expectation of what we were about to find. After spotting a couple good spots, we turned a corner and discovered the lookout over Monument Valley. Before us stood towers of sandstone that stood alone, hundreds of feet tall like some strange reminder of the giant dinosaurs that once roamed this area.
After we managed to pick our jaws up off the ground, we went back around and set up camp, as near the overlook as we could get, in anticipation of the next mornings sunrise photo-shoot we had planned. Within moments of our arrival in camp, we were greeted by a lizard that managed to show up and entertain us several times throughout the trip. Seeming to have no fear of us, it posed for photos, and did a strange dance for us, providing us with hours of entertainment

Things I learned as an adult, about the things I learned as a kid

I have recently found myself questioning some of the things that I have considered true, based on lessons and experiences of my childhood and adolescence. This got me to thinking about all the other beliefs I once held, and have chanced since I entered the adult world.

Childhood belief #1 - Cops are assholes.
Adult perspective – So are many firefighters, doctors, carpenters and beggars. A person’s vocation has nothing to do with their personality. While many people say that cops often act too aggressively, I ask, wouldn’t you? If every person I encountered in my daily life was a potential enemy, I would be a little aggressive also.

Childhood belief #2 - The rich are greedy.
Adult perspective- So are the poor! In fact, I say the poor are even greedier. Most wealth in this country is first generation, meaning the rich guy made his own money. No matter if they made their fortunes with an idea, a business, or a novel, they had to compete with other ideas, businesses, or novels. In order to make their fortunes, their money making vehicle had to serve an ever increasing pool of people, or they would stop making money.
The employees of these companies, on the other hand, often expect to see their salaries increase regularly, often for no increase in productivity! In other words, while the business owner must constantly find a way to serve more of his product to more people for a more competitive price, the employee asks for more money while the change in their productivity often goes unchanged. I’ll bet the business owner would like to increase his income without increasing his output! So who’s really the greedy one?
Childhood belief #3 - I’m basically an adult.
Adult perspective- This might have been the dumbest thing I ever said. Ever. At 16 or 17, I thought that having a job, paying some bills, and making some rudimentary decisions on my own somehow signified adulthood.
Marriage, fatherhood, car payments, career decisions and a mortgage have all served to open my eyes to the reality of adulthood. This status of maturity is not as simple the ability to perform some basic requirements. The weight of your decisions increases significantly when the consequences of your actions begin to affect not just you, but your family, home, and future. I read somewhere that in ancient Jewish cultures, a man could not be a judge until he fathered at least two children. This was because only in fatherhood and marriage could one gain the maturity, empathy and compassion necessary to judge other people.

Childhood belief #4 – My friends are my family.

Adult perspective- No, they’re not. While indeed, some friendships may last a lifetime and grow continuously richer and more fulfilling, this is the exception. For the most part, as you grow older, your friends will slowly fade away, being replaced by new relationships in the form of romantic interests, professional associations, and new friendships based upon things more relevant to your adult life. The simple fact is, people change. With that change in our personalities often comes a resistance to the changes in others’ lives and perceptions. Eventually this leads to a decline in the regularity of communication, which further widens the gap between what were once very close friendships. Often when this gap grows too wide, it will sever the relationship entirely.

Obviously, these views are mine, and they probably don’t apply to you’re life. I think we all undergo so many changes in the course of our lives that we are often different people from one phase of our lives to the next. What do you think?

Baby Boomers and HVAC

In approximately three years, the first of the baby boomer generation will begin to retire. With such a large portion of the American workforce phasing out of every imaginable industry, the younger generations must consider the implications on our own lives. This paper will focus on the future, as I envision it, of the heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration industry, and how it will affect technicians who are still in the early stages of their careers.
In a business that has already had a very hard time recruiting people, the loss of key personnel could prove devastating to many companies. As long time, highly skilled employees say goodbye, employers will have to deal with replacing them with much less experienced candidates. Advertising, hiring, training and then finally utilizing these new members of a given company will take considerable amounts of time, energy and money. All of which will only be profitable if the new employee proves to be capable and reliable enough to last awhile.
As a technician in the field the most notable effect of this will be demand. Long days, hectic schedules and consistently heavier workloads will be almost impossible to avoid. Unemployment in our industry will plummet for even the most unskilled techs and installers. Anyone who takes the time now to train themselves and develop skills will be able to enjoy job security in ways previously unheard of.
One of the most valuable tools on any job is experience. Even the most complicated troubleshooting problem can easily be solved by someone who has seen the same thing before. With the retirement of the baby boomers, uncountable years of experience and practical skills will be lost to our community. Having a problem with an electrical system? Put your phone down and figure it out yourself, because the guy you have been calling for help with this stuff is fishing. Need some information on that new thermostat? Remember the fishing thing.
Those of us who have already been involved in our trade for a few years will begin to see advancement opportunities opening up everywhere. Positions from project manager to lead man to purchaser will fall onto our collective shoulders. As fewer and fewer of the older workers will be available, the “generation Xers” will find little competition for the newly open jobs. The benefit of a few years experience needs no explanation in a field where practical skills are so valuable.
As manpower comes into greater demand, and the workload increases on existing personnel, technology will have to begin playing an even more important role than it does now. Building automations, remote operated control systems, will enable technicians to make minor adjustments via the Internet without having to drive to every jobsite. The ability and technical know-how to operate and utilize this technology will be of great value to any employer. Anyone capable of performing these tasks along with the common technician responsibilities will be virtually guaranteed a job with all but the smallest of companies.
While many of these changes may appear to be rather negative for entry-level personnel, we must consider the financial compensation. Right now, HVAC/R technicians are the most sought after tradesmen in the country. Take a look in just about any newspaper classified section and you will see a disproportionately large amount of ads seeking techs. People do not want to live without heat, air conditioning or refrigeration, and they are willing to pay for those things. Since the pool of qualified people who can install, maintain, repair and replace this equipment is shrinking, the cost is growing rapidly. In an already lucrative career, we can expect to see ourselves profit tremendously.
To summarize, I believe the retirement of the baby boomer generation is going to affect the HVAC/R industry in many ways. While some of these effects will result in our being greatly overworked and often over extended, those of us who continue to develop new and better skills will see a very comfortable future.