TORT: The ONSC Rant Thread (17 Viewers)

[Trollhole]

They had it worked out pretty well in 07. The 6.4 engine and 6.7 engines that replaced the 6.0 are being labeled these days as "disposable". I'm reading that many more parts are NLA for the 6.4 than for the 6.0 even though it's a newer engine. Kinda like the Toyota 3FE

I still cant figure out how a diesel guy like yourself went with the 6.0.

 

[onemanarmy]

And it would also make all teachers part time employees. Then we could save all those benefit expenses that currently go to them. Well, except for the college teachers who'd see their workload double given the same curriculum.

Na, college is supposed to be 'higher' education. So no need for History, english, algebra, spanish, etc 101 classes, that is what high school is for, to take all those courses and be well rounded. Find a topic that you like, and then go to college and pick a major and jump right in. Imagine the billions (might push trillions) of dollars wasted on the first 2 years of college.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

I still cant figure out how a diesel guy like yourself went with the 6.0.

I've been asking myself that a lot lately.

It has a lot to do with growing experience. I've got a lot of experience with Cummins now but none with Powerstroke or Duramax. I've gained a ton of knowledge about this motor through this build, but also about design principles of Powerstroke engines in general, which will help my ambitions in the future.

Also, despite putting a ton of time and money into this engine now, I've fixed all of the achilles heels of the 6.0 design, so I should now have an engine package that will last another 200k miles. I'll have about 18k total into this truck once this phase is done, so all in all, not a bad price for a F-550 tow rig with a solid service history.


TL;DR - wanted to learn the powerstroke ecosystem and build a super reliable tow rig. Don't regret it (yet).

 

[Rice]

I've been asking myself that a lot lately.

It has a lot to do with growing experience. I've got a lot of experience with Cummins now but none with Powerstroke or Duramax. I've gained a ton of knowledge about this motor through this build, but also about design principles of Powerstroke engines in general, which will help my ambitions in the future.

Also, despite putting a ton of time and money into this engine now, I've fixed all of the achilles heels of the 6.0 design, so I should now have an engine package that will last another 200k miles. I'll have about 18k total into this truck once this phase is done, so all in all, not a bad price for a F-550 tow rig with a solid service history.


TL;DR - wanted to learn the powerstroke ecosystem and build a super reliable tow rig. Don't regret it (yet).

Next project?

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Next project?

View attachment 1444444

That one is easy. SBC converted to diesel. Almost jerry-rigged engine design straight out of the factory

 

[stevezero]

We had a 77 caddy sedan with the diesel. boy, my dad swore off of them, with a whole Lotta swear words....the 81 caddy Eldorado with the 4 6 8 ignition wasn't much better

 

[Rice]

That one is easy. SBC converted to diesel. Almost jerry-rigged engine design straight out of the factory

Actually, not a conversion at all. They shared bore and stroke so GM could use existing tooling but it really was cast as a diesel block with different cranks, rods, pistons to take the 22:1 compression.

Still a nightmare no matter how you slice it.

 

[JohnVee]

Na, college is supposed to be 'higher' education. So no need for History, english, algebra, spanish, etc 101 classes, that is what high school is for, to take all those courses and be well rounded. Find a topic that you like, and then go to college and pick a major and jump right in. Imagine the billions (might push trillions) of dollars wasted on the first 2 years of college.

I have to agree with you, to a point. I shared a college English 101 class with plenty of native English speakers who had no idea how to spell, use punctuation or even pronounce words they were reading. It was really embarrassing for almost everybody. Most of the problem people were from NC public schools (not saying that to be rude, just a fact). Perhaps better secondary education would solve that problem and allow us to use college to focus on a core. I know that I hated sitting through two semesters of English courses that I had completed by 9th grade in VA.

I won't even get into the old southern teacher I had who actually pronounced AND spelled the word "business" as "bideness". No, he wasn't being funny. He said, "I spell how I say".

 

[David70FJ40]

Tax payer dollars? The city council in High Point has come up with an idea for a downtown baseball stadium. The first reported dollar figure was $15 million, later that day is had risen to $30million. The last amount quoted by the independent supporters, Forward High Point, who want the tax payers to fund the stadium is $45 million. No referendum for the voters to decide, the powers that be on the city council are rubber stamping the idea with a lot of pie-in-the-sky hopes for revenue to pay for the stadium. No, no team is contracted or formed yet, the investors for the team are not named and the company that is being pursued to pay for the naming rights to the stadium at $3million isn't named either. A lot of political smoke and mirrors. Now they have enlisted the "famous" leader of HPU to lead the effort to fund the naming rights.

Politicians and their back room deals.

 

[jamesurq]

Tax payer dollars? The city council in High Point has come up with an idea for a downtown baseball stadium. The first reported dollar figure was $15 million, later that day is had risen to $30million. The last amount quoted by the independent supporters, Forward High Point, who want the tax payers to fund the stadium is $45 million. No referendum for the voters to decide, the powers that be on the city council are rubber stamping the idea with a lot of pie-in-the-sky hopes for revenue to pay for the stadium. No, no team is contracted or formed yet, the investors for the team are not named and the company that is being pursued to pay for the naming rights to the stadium at $3million isn't named either. A lot of political smoke and mirrors. Now they have enlisted the "famous" leader of HPU to lead the effort to fund the naming rights.

Politicians and their back room deals.

And the "great success" of the Grasshoppers and the Dash will be quoted again and again... But what you'll not hear about is how many empty seats they have, how often they have to beg local companies to buy box seats, and how many 'freebie' tickets they give out. I get them for pretty much any game if I want them.

And, aside from getting drunk and talking smack to the players, baseball is boring.

 

[jdayment]

I have to agree with you, to a point. I shared a college English 101 class with plenty of native English speakers who had no idea how to spell, use punctuation or even pronounce words they were reading. It was really embarrassing for almost everybody. Most of the problem people were from NC public schools (not saying that to be rude, just a fact). Perhaps better secondary education would solve that problem and allow us to use college to focus on a core. I know that I hated sitting through two semesters of English courses that I had completed by 9th grade in VA.

I won't even get into the old southern teacher I had who actually pronounced AND spelled the word "business" as "bideness". No, he wasn't being funny. He said, "I spell how I say".

My wife is a reading teacher in an Elementary school and has kids who are in 4th and 5th grade who cannot read a single word but the school is not allowed to hold them back because of policy. It explains why they are in college and cant read or write.

 

[CharlestonG8R]

Colleges are as bad if not worse - they will make someone a part time adjunct and keep it that way forever, all the while passing off the adjunct as a full time professor to both the students and parents.......And the adjunct pay is horrible, no benefits, etc...

Adjunct pay is horrible. The day I started teaching I was topped out since Mechanical Engineering professors are hard to find and retain. Between prepping for lectures, grading homework/tests/labs, holding office hours, and just setting aside time to commute to the University, the pay works out to be a little better than minimum wage. You really have to treat it as something you are doing as a public servant - if it were about the money I'd just work longer hours at my daytime job. It's hard to find qualified folks that are willing to commit to it.

I hated it at first, but it had nothing to do with the pay. I expected the students to want to learn. I wanted to share my experience so they'd be better prepared to rock the industry. This was naive, of course... But some students are motivated. Most don't read their books, play on their iPhones during lecture, and won't see important notes if it's not explicitly stated in bold on a PowerPoint.

The whole experience has been eye opening, but perhaps the saddest fact of all is the lack of incentive to pursue a terminal degree. The country needs rocket scientists and nerds to teach them. My pay is lackluster, but if I had a PhD, I'd get a whopping $200 extra per semester. Why bother? What's the incentive? There are very few jobs outside of education that command that kind of credential, but as a society, I feel like we need to continue to inspire folks to obtain the knowledge.

 

[pawwright]

.......
I hated it at first, but it had nothing to do with the pay. I expected the students to want to learn. I wanted to share my experience so they'd be better prepared to rock the industry. This was naive, of course... But some students are motivated. Most don't read their books, play on their iPhones during lecture, and won't see important notes if it's not explicitly stated in bold on a PowerPoint......

I agree with everything you write - my friend talks about this part above all the time..... it's crazy.... and I tell him I don't know how he does it, because it is maddening to me, and I don't even teach.....

 

[izzyandsue]

Interesting Jeremy. My advisor during my PhD told me the same, not worth it even though my employer was paying for all as they got the benefit. I thought I would finish up and go teach at some New England all girls college.... Duhhhh

And I had posted this last week in facebuuk, we, as a nation mock and laugh at people trying to learn, it is sad to see, I hear parents biatch about "why does my son/daughter need to do more than necessary?"

"Editorial from Management:
Watching this amazing show of engineering and science in China last night, halfway through it gave me chills. We MOCK education in the US, specially science and engineering, downplay it, make fun of those in it. I see it every day. It is sad to see how far the US has fallen and regressed to puritan pilgrims superstitious people and scared of what we don't understand, lead by many "leaders" whose only drive is to control the masses via fear and mediocracy....Our next generations will suffer from this shift to medieval thinking."

Enormous Radio Telescope in China Subject of 'Impossible Engineering' | Video

 

[slceso]

Colleges are as bad if not worse - they will make someone a part time adjunct and keep it that way forever, all the while passing off the adjunct as a full time professor to both the students and parents.......And the adjunct pay is horrible, no benefits, etc...

And then they screw you with the "textbooks."

 

[slceso]

I expected the students to want to learn. I wanted to share my experience so they'd be better prepared to rock the industry

This is the biggest bag over the head, kick in the pants whenever I have tried an instructing gig or even being a scout leader.. just go and waste your time on the fringes of society and get out of everyone else's way.

It's Idiocracy, baby!

 

[Rice]

I'm a little odd, I confess, but I get high almost every day on the great bong of physics. What an f'ing rush. If it wasn't for continuous NC legislation sending us backwards 40 years I'd stay iindefinitely. As it stands I have 2 years til full retirement and walking.

After that?

 

[stevezero]

@Rice, take that retirement, and head to any of the local schools that run about 15K a year and up to get a kid into. Include in your contract that they throw you a new 200 series as your commuter vehicle, so you and show the kids that if youre smart, you go far in life

 

[Rice]

@Rice, take that retirement, and head to any of the local schools that run about 15K a year and up to get a kid into. Include in your contract that they throw you a new 200 series as your commuter vehicle, so you and show the kids that if youre smart, you go far in life

I have a camping buddy that up and quit his physics teaching gig at Page HS several years ago to go to the Hebrew Academy here in Greensboro. When I asked him about it he said they made an offer he couldn't refuse, including fulfilling the equipment list he requested. I went for an on-campus visit sometime later and was blown away. Each classroom has only one kidney-bean shaped table that seats 12. That's their max class size.

 

[OGBeno]

Adjunct pay is horrible. The day I started teaching I was topped out since Mechanical Engineering professors are hard to find and retain. Between prepping for lectures, grading homework/tests/labs, holding office hours, and just setting aside time to commute to the University, the pay works out to be a little better than minimum wage. You really have to treat it as something you are doing as a public servant - if it were about the money I'd just work longer hours at my daytime job. It's hard to find qualified folks that are willing to commit to it.

I hated it at first, but it had nothing to do with the pay. I expected the students to want to learn. I wanted to share my experience so they'd be better prepared to rock the industry. This was naive, of course... But some students are motivated. Most don't read their books, play on their iPhones during lecture, and won't see important notes if it's not explicitly stated in bold on a PowerPoint.

The whole experience has been eye opening, but perhaps the saddest fact of all is the lack of incentive to pursue a terminal degree. The country needs rocket scientists and nerds to teach them. My pay is lackluster, but if I had a PhD, I'd get a whopping $200 extra per semester. Why bother? What's the incentive? There are very few jobs outside of education that command that kind of credential, but as a society, I feel like we need to continue to inspire folks to obtain the knowledge.

Yup. 5 years in a PhD program was a the biggest waste of my iife.

Didn't help that my dissertation director died in the middle of me writing my dissertation.

I will always be "ABD".