Official Gramps' Memorial Eternal OT Thread

#64,827
#64,827
Sometimes I think there's nothing we can't screw up with technology. I went in to get a new drivers license (Real ID kind). They got rid of the "take a ticket" thing that worked perfectly for years. Now you scan a code and text it which didn't work with my phone. A clerk had to come out, and it initially didn't work for her either, but she managed to get the text sent and I was in line. The rest went great. I've been thinking since I got home that my phone periodically takes privileges/rights away from apps if they haven't been used for a while - didn't think of that at the time. I do know the phone will scan because I used it to read the code as part of a new router setup. A couple of funny things though. The TN driver's license application only list two sexes, and you have to have a smartphone to get in line to get a license.
 
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#64,830
#64,830
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#64,834
#64,834
I saw a funny window sticker yesterday. Usually the "my other car" is something like a plane or an exotic. This was "My Other Car Is a Broomstick". I kept my distance.
 
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#64,838
#64,838
@AM64 would like to ask about my son Chem E major at TTU. He will likely have a double major and 3 minors at graduation. Just completed second year. He is considering joining Air National Guard to pay for remaining school and possibly give him an advantage when competing for employment. He would consider working for DoD or Y12 (?) at Oak Ridge and thinks ANG would help with those.
Any thoughts pro or con? Is pay for quasi government jobs competitive with private sector?
Is ANG worth the 2 years of tuition?

Thanks in advance.
 
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#64,841
#64,841
McDad said:
@AM64 would like to ask about my son Chem E major at TTU. He will likely have a double major and 3 minors at graduation. Just completed second year. He is considering joining Air National Guard to pay for remaining school and possibly give him an advantage when competing for employment. He would consider working for DoD or Y12 (?) at Oak Ridge and thinks ANG would help with those.
Any thoughts pro or con? Is pay for quasi government jobs competitive with private sector?
Is ANG worth the 2 years of tuition?

Thanks in advance.
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#64,842
#64,842
McDad said:
@AM64 would like to ask about my son Chem E major at TTU. He will likely have a double major and 3 minors at graduation. Just completed second year. He is considering joining Air National Guard to pay for remaining school and possibly give him an advantage when competing for employment. He would consider working for DoD or Y12 (?) at Oak Ridge and thinks ANG would help with those.
Any thoughts pro or con? Is pay for quasi government jobs competitive with private sector?
Is ANG worth the 2 years of tuition?

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

I don't know much about the ANG or if it gives veterans preference, but I sure wouldn't tell him not to consider the military in some capacity - you never know where things might lead. I had a graduate assistantship at ORNL and generally had the impression that the engineers I worked with were happy with the job and pay, but that was a long time ago. Tech has a really good coop program, has he checked into that? My son cooped at Arnold AFB, and they basically had hired him even before he graduated from Tech.

Where the ANG really might help is with the security clearance. I firmly believe that having a security clearance and being able to get the proper one for another job like for DoD or ORNL is one of the best things you could have working for you. I know the job market has changed, but there has been a lot of competition with foreign tech grads; the need for a security clearance really ups the odds for citizens by limiting the competition - unless things have changed a lot. That's my opinion based on past experience; @Grand Vol might have some good and more recent input.
 
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#64,843
#64,843
@hog88 (and anybody else who like historical fiction) , when your were reading the O'Brian books, did you have A SEA OF WORDS? It was written by Dean King and discusses terms, places, and ships in the O'Brian books, and it works just as well for many of the other series of books by authors such as C S Forester (Hornblower series) and Douglas Reeman (aka Alexander Kent - Richard Bolitho series. Reeman may be my favorite; I've read his Bolitho series but not the more current naval books. Also if you find a genre you like, fantasticfiction.com is a great source for finding other authors. I prefer it over Goodreads (goodreads.com). O'Brian is a bit tedious to read which is why I like some other authors better - A SEA OF WORDS helps clear up a lot of stuff.

One of my favorite authors is Bernard Cornwell; his series about 9th and 10th century Britain were really good as were the singles like Agincourt, he's enough a historian that a few of his books are straight non-fiction rather than historical fiction. You might be interested in the Sharpe series about a British soldier in the Napoleonic Wars; I haven't read the series yet, but I'd expect it to be every bit as good as his other books.
 
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#64,844
#64,844
AM64 said:
I don't know much about the ANG or if it gives veterans preference, but I sure wouldn't tell him not to consider the military in some capacity - you never know where things might lead. I had a graduate assistantship at ORNL and generally had the impression that the engineers I worked with were happy with the job and pay, but that was a long time ago. Tech has a really good coop program, has he checked into that? My son cooped at Arnold AFB, and they basically had hired him even before he graduated from Tech.

Where the ANG really might help is with the security clearance. I firmly believe that having a security clearance and being able to get the proper one for another job like for DoD or ORNL is one of the best things you could have working for you. I know the job market has changed, but there has been a lot of competition with foreign tech grads; the need for a security clearance really ups the odds for citizens by limiting the competition - unless things have changed a lot. That's my opinion based on past experience; @Grand Vol might have some good and more recent input.
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I second this on having an active clearance at the time of hire @McDad. Also from what I’ve seen the pay is competitive in GS grades with private sectors. If he can find a req for a current opening you can look up the GS grade pay scale they are paying that is public information
 
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#64,845
#64,845
AM64 said:
I don't know much about the ANG or if it gives veterans preference, but I sure wouldn't tell him not to consider the military in some capacity - you never know where things might lead. I had a graduate assistantship at ORNL and generally had the impression that the engineers I worked with were happy with the job and pay, but that was a long time ago. Tech has a really good coop program, has he checked into that? My son cooped at Arnold AFB, and they basically had hired him even before he graduated from Tech.

Where the ANG really might help is with the security clearance. I firmly believe that having a security clearance and being able to get the proper one for another job like for DoD or ORNL is one of the best things you could have working for you. I know the job market has changed, but there has been a lot of competition with foreign tech grads; the need for a security clearance really ups the odds for citizens by limiting the competition - unless things have changed a lot. That's my opinion based on past experience; @Grand Vol might have some good and more recent input.
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There are some companies that actively look for those with a clearance or those who can get one quickly. Especially those working directly on a DoD base that requires it or has direct classified contracts.

As for Veterans Preference, that's AD, Guard or Reserves in any of the branches including the USCG. However, additional points are assigned if you have a service connected disability or served in a wartime theater. But really, the only thing it gives employers are tax breaks. It won't really give a veteran more of a chance. Just basically a "foot in the door" for an interview at most. The clearance helps, but unless they are looking for someone for work on an active project, it doesn't help.
 
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#64,846
#64,846
AM64 said:
@hog88 (and anybody else who like historical fiction) , when your were reading the O'Brian books, did you have A SEA OF WORDS? It was written by Dean King and discusses terms, places, and ships in the O'Brian books, and it works just as well for many of the other series of books by authors such as C S Forester (Hornblower series) and Douglas Reeman (aka Alexander Kent - Richard Bolitho series. Reeman may be my favorite; I've read his Bolitho series but not the more current naval books. Also if you find a genre you like, fantasticfiction.com is a great source for finding other authors. I prefer it over Goodreads (goodreads.com). O'Brian is a bit tedious to read which is why I like some other authors better - A SEA OF WORDS helps clear up a lot of stuff.

One of my favorite authors is Bernard Cornwell; his series about 9th and 10th century Britain were really good as were the singles like Agincourt, he's enough a historian that a few of his books are straight non-fiction rather than historical fiction. You might be interested in the Sharpe series about a British soldier in the Napoleonic Wars; I haven't read the series yet, but I'd expect it to be every bit as good as his other books.
Click to expand...
Are you referring to the Aubrey/Maturin books?
 
#64,847
#64,847
clarksvol00 said:
Are you referring to the Aubrey/Maturin books?
Click to expand...

Yes. I remembered hog saying he was taking a break from the Aubrey/Maturin and hadn't read the last couple. I had just finished the two O'Brian books about the voyage around the Horn and into the Pacific. I like the books, but I like some other authors better because they are more "readable" to me.
 
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#64,848
#64,848
AM64 said:
Yes. I remembered hog saying he was taking a break from the Aubrey/Maturin and hadn't read the last couple. I had just finished the two O'Brian books about the voyage around the Horn and into the Pacific. I like the books, but I like some other authors better because they are more "readable" to me.
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I really enjoyed them. I read all of them 10 or 12 years ago. There was a lot of jargon I didn't understand, but I had downloaded the books on iPad and could search those terms. The jargon was definitely hard to cut through. Started re-rereading last year, got through book 13, then got distracted and didn't pick it back up.
Edit: @hog88
 
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#64,849
#64,849
clarksvol00 said:
I really enjoyed them. I read all of them 10 or 12 years ago. There was a lot of jargon I didn't understand, but I had downloaded the books on iPad and could search those terms. The jargon was definitely hard to cut through. Started re-rereading last year, got through book 13, then got distracted and didn't pick it back up.
Edit: @hog88
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The jargon is definitely hard to stay on top of, but the thing that sidetracks me from time to time is the "change of scene" kind of thing. When you realize this is a different conversation or event than you thought you were still on. It may be that breaks sometimes go missing when a print book is converted to ebook format. I really like reading books on my iPad or other reader, but sometimes there are quirky things that happen in the conversion.
 
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