What’s Everyone Do?

Have been building computer chips (integrated circuits) for thirty plus years. Celebrated Jack Kilby's invention  this week Texas Instruments integrated circuit...Electronics background with some HAM radio stuff in there. Work revolves around PVD, physical vapor deposition(sputter).

I guess I'll add to mine.  Before graduating I worked on a farm that was all AC, and I learned how to drive on our WC we used for truck farming.  Graduated HS in 71.  Went into the USAF in 72, and learned electronics and became a weather equipment repairman.  Got out in 75 and went right back doing the same job as a civilian.  79 I went to the National Weather Service.  Worked on radar and all of the field equipment at Detroit Metro Airport.  In 87 I transferred to the main office for the state of MI which was located downtown Ann Arbor, MI.  I loved when school started and ended.  I always said the roofs turned flesh colored!  It sure made driving around town dangerous!  In 92 we built a new office, with the new Doppler radar, and I got promoted to a supervisory position.  We maintained the weather sensor arrays at 7 airports, and on on the shore of Lake Huron, the radar, the weather balloon equipment, two networks, the tele system,  30 some pc workstations and the main operational workstations.  And about anything else they heeded fixed.  2 standby genertors, and 2 UPS.  Near the end we designed a system to use at marine sites.  Our first was in the middle of Saginaw Bay on a light house.  We eventually had four sites when I retired and the entire Great Lakes weather offices were using our design for their sensor locations.  As I said, I retired 12/31/2011 with 39 years and some months, I think 7!  I tinkered around a bit.  Had a couple part time jobs.  Now with this bout with cancer I'm just gonna sit back and enjoy life.  Did I mention that I'm on my third wife?  She has a daughter, and I have a son, and we have a 3 year old grand daughter.  The best kinda kids are grand kids!  I'll be 65 11/1 this year.

Yep

hello shameless

howdy neighbor!

I cowboyed,I farmed, and then I had to go to school. My old man aimed  my head around to go to college,cause his kept him from graduating high school. I farmed a little on my own, got married had kids.Finally had 2 cents to rub together. My wife started teaching,I helped my parents in old age didn't farm much,had 3 cents. Inherited my dads cattle pasture leases, I custom farmed a little but rented nothing new to farm had 4 cents. Farmed less, custom farmed more tended a vineyard, ran cows, almost had a dollar. Spent a summer in hell called a hospital,wife retired to buying things for grandkids don't think any pennies left again.

Edited by Ray54 - 09 Sep 2018 at 7:07pm

congrats on your retirement Stan!

Did a few years in the Army, got out and went to school for drafting and computers. Started my own company in 2000 and we are still kicking around.

I grew up in a small town (150 people) in South Dakota and worked for farmers from the time I was big enough to drive a tractor.   Decided that I didn't want to be a farm laborer for the rest of my life so joined the Air Force in 1962. My last assignment was working in the comm center in the basement of the Pentagon.  I planned to reenlist, but Philco had a large ad in the paper hiring guys for a big military contract.  I went to work for them and spent two years in Thailand and three in VietNam.   Came back to the US in 1971, got married and settled in Cedar Rapids, IA where I went to work for Pan Am.  In 1975 I went to work for Rockwell Collins and spent 28 years there in management.   9-11 caused a huge layoff and I took a buyout at age 57.   In the early 90's I joined the Allis Connection club and ended up restoring 8 AC tractors.  Snowbirded to AZ for 7 years before deciding to sell our acreage and my tractors, and move permanently to Mesa where we live today.  Spend the summers in ShowLow AZ in the White Mountains in NE AZ.   30 degrees cooler than Mesa and the trout fishing is great!!!  Spend about four mornings a week in the boat.   Still build AC models in my shops at both locations and enjoy several AC visitors in Mesa during the winter months.     Don't post here very often, but still read the forum every morning!!  Armand  acmodelsofarizona.weebly.com. 

Graduwaited (for my high school spelling teacher) high school in 1983. The day after, I started farming with my day. Been planting, cult, spraying, harvesting, and hauling corn and soybeans every since that day. I farm the land my grandparents bought in 1950 and live in the house they built in 1952.

Edited by Unit3 - 05 Sep 2018 at 1:46pm

Industrial maintenance mechanic for Seneca Foods.Pretty much factories most of my life,5 more years or so then i'm done.

I was raised I a dairy farm in southern Wisconsin with all AC tractors.

Edited by Gary (sw Wis.) - 04 Sep 2018 at 7:50pm

Was raised on a farm till 14 dad took job as Superintendent of local cemetery, after school worked a couple different jobs till I went to work in gravel pit running dozer, was going to get married and dad wanted me to join Ohio National Guard so people wouldn't say I got married to beat the draft, In 1965 went into army for basic and ATI and came out a medic. Started driving semi and in the next two year I missed 2 weekend meeting being stuck out on the road, bought a potato chip business to be home and gave two notice ended up in Flordia and the company was going to fly me home national guard said no don't worry come in when you get home so I went in and they told me forget in and go home. Well the forget it next thing I know is I am drafted headed to Fort Knox Kentucky and then to Georgia, ended up in Columbus, OH at Fort Hayes giving physicals for the next 18 month. Got out of the Army got a job at a New Holland farm equipment dealer & farmer, couldn't make enough money to pay off chip company so I went back to driving truck hauling livestock left that to haul steel and machinery and in 1974 quite that and went to work for the Village Street Dept. father retired in 1986 and Cemetery Board wanted me to take over cemetery Supt. job, after a few year the mayor asked if I would also be the Village Building Inspector retired and was starting to build our retirement home in 2006 and retired in 2007 and wife thought I needed a part time job so I got into Lowe's ended up in inside lawn and garden department, at the time I start a Lowe's employee could special order anything and buy it at 10% over Lowe's cost so I have the house that Lowe's built, retired again from Lowe's in 2014. While at the cemetery I bought a Allis Chalmers CA, that was what dad had on the farm, got it rebuilt so he got to drive it before he passed away in 1992, I have since redone 6 other Ac's and have 8 or 10 AC garden tractors. This past year my wife has went threw 24 weeks of chemo and Sept.13 she will be done with 4 weeks of radiation so I have been busy as a care giver now all we need to do is to get her walking better, she has neurophaty.

Graduated high school in 1965. Went to work for an Alfalfa dehydrating Company 12 HRS a day 7 days a week thru the summer then delivering pellets and sack feed to local farmers and feed lots once Winter came. I had registered for the draft at that time you could get a deferment for certain things. The Company did that for about a year finalyy I told them I was going in to the military was in Army for 2 years spent a year in Nam. Came out went to driving a dump truck made good money when the weather was warm but about starved to death in the winter had a wife and bay knew I needed something different. Came to a Steel company the guy finally hired me on the 3rd day. His philosy was if you came back on the 3rd day you proably nnede a job. Worked in the warehouse packing steel for about a year then went to work driving a truck for them delivering Steel. I now work as traffic manager for them running 80 OTR trucks and about 275 flatbed trailers delivering from the gulf of mexico to almost the Canadian Border. Been here 47 years. 70 years old may retire in January 2020. I was raised on a small family farm and we used WD and WD-45 raised hogs and beef cattle. The Aunt and Uncle who raised me were tough folks and when it came to fly the coup I did the land got sold. life goes on.