Questions on modern radial 'lytics and PS resistors

[Chuck H]

Imperial Chemical Industries.

I worked for them here in the states at the store level. I was "absorbed" when they purchased the Fuller O'Brien chain. Great company. They made smart steps to make the transition easy on the customers and employees. They also pretty much schooled all the American origin coatings companies on environmental consciousness starting a good trend in the industry

[Dave H]

ICI were a good Company. They were the main employer here in Northwich back then. They had a good pension scheme, subsidised canteen, social clubs, sports facilities, free medical clinics etc etc. A job at ICI was a job for life (ask my dad) but of course I was far to stupid to want any of that at age 20!

It's a shame it's all derelict now, sold to TaTa and just limping along until the end.

[Leo_Gnardo]

Baseball story on public radio (Selected Shorts? or The Moth?) Bat boy's first day on the job with major leaguers, one of the guys sends him looking for the bat stretcher. He even goes to the opposing team's locker, they're decent chaps trying to be helpful: left or right handed bat stretcher? He winds up leaving the stadium, checking at a nearby sports equipment store. It goes on & on, helluva yarn, big laugh.

- - - - - -

Back to the parts store, the things I've heard "I need one a them there lectrocosmic capacitaters, y'know the tantalizing type."

And from a real live guitarist "which one 'a these here com-pacitors will make my guitar sound more powerfuller?" He sounds like a hick sometimes but he can play the bejeebers out of a guitar, doesn't need any magic com-pacitor.

[Chuck H]

Haha.!. Love that stuff. I had a friend who use to call Doly Varden trout Dolly Parton trout with no clue he was wrong. I always pictured fishes in blonde wigs with big... Well, you get it.

For some reason it bugs me when people goof up the common words though. Like calling espresso expresso or using the words then and than interchangeably. The sort of things people can't avoid seeing done properly time and time again and yet some sort of mental Swiss cheese hole in their intellect won't let them get it right.

pascetti
aluninum
acrossed
hieghdth
etc.

Too many to list. And all commonly seen spelled and heard pronounced correctly. What gives with that? FWIW I've learned that people you know won't appreciate being corrected multiple times for repeatedly mispronouncing a word. Even though you're only trying to keep them from looking stupid.

[Leo_Gnardo]

Haha.!. Love that stuff. I had a friend who use to call Doly Varden trout Dolly Parton trout with no clue he was wrong. I always pictured fishes in blonde wigs with big... Well, you get it.

For some reason it bugs me when people goof up the common words though. Like calling espresso expresso or using the words then and than interchangeably. The sort of things people can't avoid seeing done properly time and time again and yet some sort of mental Swiss cheese hole in their intellect won't let them get it right.

pascetti
aluninum
acrossed
hieghdth
etc.

Too many to list. And all commonly seen spelled and heard pronounced correctly. What gives with that? FWIW I've learned that people you know won't appreciate being corrected multiple times for repeatedly mispronouncing a word. Even though you're only trying to keep them from looking stupid.

Sounds like you met all the politicians & cops in my town Chuck. I thought long ago, they were putting me on. No, they're really that dumb. Local ordinance: "Property owners may place grass clippings, leaves, garden waste, branches & limbs cut to 36 inches on curbs for pickup. Wood is forbidden." Whaaaaa? What do they think those branches & limbs are made of?

There's also a national trend toward putting the personal pronoun first in a phrase. And the annoying trend to use "myself:" We're not in rural Ireland for peat's sakes. "Myself and my wife, we like goin' to that resront." Radio & TV personalities, major politicians, they're all doing it now, what would get them a big fat F from Mrs. McDougall in my first grade class back in 1959.

Sound like they lernt to talk from the East Side Kids (aka Dead End Kids and Bowery Boys), Huntz Hall, Leo Gorcey & them-all. (If you never heard of 'em dear reader, you have some major hilarious old films to catch up on. Google, download, watch. Not responsible for drink and food flying out your nose.) I've never been so emulsified in my life!

[mtlbasslad]

About the 'Rat Shack' thing - in Canada Radio Shack was bought by Bell Canada (read big ugly company) & changed name to 'The Source'... what a joke, the RS I could go to 20 years ago & buy components, intro tech books for my 12 yo kid etc is gone forever. I was in the local one last week & when the kids posing as sales finished their conversation to look at me I asked for resistors... blank look... did I want a phone, or an R/C car? - no? - then leave us alone old man, we were having a conversation...

End of rant (for now)

[Chuck H]

I like the rant. I've been utterly confused by Rat shack for YEARS! They only locate where there's an adequate population density, so... If you want to buy phone, there are better deals with more selection close by. If you want to buy a camera, there are better deals with more selection close by. Batteries are available at the grocery store now! They don't carry squat for name brand audio and video and even if they did their location model doesn't support any opportunity for variety or selection because they're small. They stopped carrying any meaty electronics stuff two decades ago and now only carry a couple of 12V transformers, two wattages for plug in soldering pencils, a handful of pots, leds, resistors, jacks and a few capacitors. Some other goofy shizzle but not nearly enough variety to count on finding something useful most of the time. They have media cables I suppose. WHO THE "F" IS SHOPPING THERE??? Gosh, reading it out loud makes it look especially silly! How is it we're even discussing this now. They should have gone belly up fifteen years ago!!!

I wish I could hang around and make a living by only vaguely providing a service.?. Maybe it's a money laundering scam for the mob!?!

[mtlbasslad]

"a handful of pots, leds, resistors, jacks and a few capacitors. Some other goofy shizzle but not nearly enough variety to count on finding something useful most of the time"


They had a handful ? Way better than I found - I found shite & a kid with attitude... I worked in retail for the last few years (a paint store) & if I didn't snap to attention when a customer walked in I would have been fired... guess what, I loved to see my customers walk in the door. Years after I left that store the manager would tell me that customers would come in & ask 'where's that old guy with the beard' - all I ever did was treat them with respect....

[Justin Thomas]

I wish I could hang around and make a living by only vaguely providing a service!?!

I've often felt this way about insurance... cable tv contractor... just thinkinghout loud.

Justin

[Chuck H]

I worked in retail for the last few years (a paint store)

I'm sorry.

JK. I jerked paint many years working for Dunne, Kelly Moore, Fuller O'Brien, Decratrend and later ICI when the latter two companies were absorbed. I can't complain about counter work at paint stores but I saw the same thing you describe at every one. It's very service oriented, hard work.

I loved to see my customers walk in the door. Years after I left that store the manager would tell me that customers would come in & ask 'where's that old guy with the beard' - all I ever did was treat them with respect....

Any hourly job I've had as been handled the same way. You can't be anywhere else and there's nothing else to do so just do the Fin job already! I hated seeing some guys watch the clock, skirt the hard work and especially be idle WRT learning the trade. And, as you noted, those guys came and went.