Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[hack]

Didn't know that about flight attendants. Is that standard for all airlines or US ones only?

[Mike]

Me neither. Thanks Jon.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Didn't know that about flight attendants. Is that standard for all airlines or US ones only?

It's also similar for pilots since new labor agreements went into effect a long time ago. Pilots have a large amount of unpaid time where they are doing pilot stuff that is part of their job expectations. For example, they don't get paid to dead head to their base of operations. They don't get paid until the engines are started and their pay stops when the engines are shut down. They don't get paid for any pre-flight planning, weather checks, pre-flighting the aircraft ..... any of that and it's a lot.

It's one of the main reasons why I opted to go to Medical School instead of become a Continental or American Airlines pilot when I retired from the military. With the new pay-scales that went into affect about 3 years before I started applying for a job with the airlines (would have been the late 80s), I'd never see that $200K annual salary at the top of the scale because I would not have had enough time to get there.

I was 42 in 1990 when I retired from the USMC and would have been 62 (when you can no longer act as Pilot in Command by FAA regs) in 2008 making, tops, about $85K. To get to that level I would have had to be a Captain with either 8-10 years in a 737 or a captain with 4-6 years in 767s or larger. It is a PITA to change aircraft and retrain. Older guys like me who start out with the airlines in their 40s usually stick with one aircraft. Younger guys who start out in their early 30s tend to move up to larger types.

The last two years before I went to part time, working full-time as a PA, mostly in the ER, I could pull down $150K annually with ease. More if I wanted to pick up extra work. I don't regret the post military retirement career path I chose and know that my military contemporaries who did go with the airlines are both no longer working and wondering where all that big time retirement pay they thought they were going to get from the airlines went.

[Da Geezer]

Entropy:

The cancer article you asked for. Sorry about the source.

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2016/02/16/scientists-claim-new-cancer-treatment-that-modifies-white-blood-cells-to-be-extraordinary/

[entropy]

thanks

[CGVT]

By using the same calculations of pay+ insurance+pension a factory worker in Detroit makes 156k per year. I think the teacher is a bargain.

[edindetroit]

By using the same calculations of pay+ insurance+pension a factory worker in Detroit makes 156k per year. I think the teacher is a bargain.

Auto factory perhaps, I don't know of any others.

[Wild Hoss]

entropy will appreciate this:

Making legal attempts to keep Google Fiber from expanding to Louisville, Kentucky, Time Warner Cable and AT&T recently joined forces to actively campaign against a plan that would open the door for Google Fiber. Of course, both companies would be in direct competition with Google, assuming Google Fiber rolls out in Louisville in the near future.

Specifically, legal representatives of both companies were attempting to prevent Google, and other high speed Internet providers, from accessing city-owned utility poles. This tactic didn’t work though. The city council voted unanimously to provide Google with access and allow the Google Fiber representatives to run fiber-optic cable capable of delivering gigabit speeds around the city.

In Time Warner Cable’s plea to city officials, representatives pointed to the potential for installation issues that would cause outages for customers. Specifically, a TWC spokesperson said “Time Warner Cable supports the city’s goal to streamline access to infrastructure in order to expand broadband service, and we’ve advocated this for several years. However, it’s vital to ensure the protection of TWC customers, including major hospitals, universities and important facilities across Louisville, from outages resulting from a less-than-sound construction process.”

In addition, AT&T claimed that giving Google access to utility poles violates union agreements. However, it’s unlikely that union officials would aggressively back those agreements as the addition of a new ISP in the city would lead to more jobs for workers, both during the long installation process as well as the ongoing maintenance of those new lines over time.

Assuming Google does decide to move into Louisville in the coming months, residents are likely to see Time Warner Cable and AT&T accelerate plans to increase speeds in the area. A similar trend is already occurring in Charlotte, North Carolina. Both Time Warner Cable and AT&T accelerated speeds in the area after Google announced expansion plans. For example, Time Warner Cable’s Ultimate package in the area previously offered speeds up to 50 Mbps, but that was upgraded to 300 Mbps for no additional cost thanks to increased competition from Google.

************************************************** ********************
Referring to the highlighted portions, this is exactly what happened in KC. TW actually raised my rates, then within three weeks was calling me on a daily basis- after never having been solicited by them once in the previous 3+ years- with offers of upgrades and plan evaluations. Days later the Google trucks were in the neighborhood.

The download speeds I was once paying TW $60 a month for- with an added upgrade charge for an additional 5MB- dropped to $15.00. TV packages dropped in price as well, with added channels. All this just a few years after Missouri deregulated the cable industry, statewide.

I told those bastards that I wouldn't stay with them even if they offered it to me for free, and I think alot of people felt the same. Every one of my immediate neighbors went with google.

[CGVT]

Auto factory perhaps, I don't know of any others.

Yes. Auto worker

[entropy]

Hard to stay with TW when they basically charge you a price for years and suddenly can do something different when competition comes to town. But acting proactively is counter to what the stock market will tolerate.

[Wild Hoss]

Hard to stay with TW when they basically charge you a price for years and suddenly can do something different when competition comes to town. But acting proactively is counter to what the stock market will tolerate.

I guess you have to decide what's more important; your stock price or your customers.

Hopefully they are happy with their choice. I am with mine.

[Da Geezer]

By using the same calculations of pay+ insurance+pension a factory worker in Detroit makes 156k per year.

Article from September 2015. $ 15.78/hr seems unusually low, but probably reflects inexperience.

http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-09-15/u-s-autoworkers-get-paid-the-same-as-everyone-else

[entropy]

I guess you have to decide what's more important; your stock price or your customers.

Hopefully they are happy with their choice. I am with mine.

My biggest issue with the stock market.. they're more interested in short term than long term. jmo

[entropy]

Twitter Wars: Jason Whitlock vs Shaun King http://awfulannouncing.com/2016/twitter-wars-jason-whitlock-vs-shaun-king.html …

[Da Geezer]

hack:

You might remember I mentioned the Acton Institute some time ago to you (run by Tom Hayden's former campaign manager). I thought you might be interested in voicing your opinions about some of the things you wrote about in your article. Below is a trailer for the movie I was referencing. It has won some awards overseas, and Acton claims the N American public premier is 2-29.

https://vimeo.com/109863354