Welding Engineer

[Weldengineer]

Hey everyone,
I have been posting for a wile. I am a student at Weber State University in utah. I am 22 I have been welding sence I was 8 my dad has his own welding business he works in the oilfeid. I am going to start my senior year at WSU in the Welding engineering program. I also can weld like ther is no tomarrow. I just got done competing in the US Open Weldtrials at the AWS weld show in Dallas. I am Ranked 6 in the country. So I have the cridentals to back me up. If there are eny hard questions I should be able to help. I can weld great with all the processes. I also know the electrical, theory, practical, metalurgy and also weld design. Talk to you all later.

[TxRedneck]

thank engy some of us can weld like the wind, but theory aint our specialty.... we do appreciate it!
thanx
chris

[paul guthrie jr]

thanks for the info but.........although it might surprise you ROBIN HOOD is probably more into being in the top 5 in the country and has more experience than ...........and also knows "electrical, theory, practical, metalurgy and also weld design"!!! So i wouldn't stomp too allful hard with those college sneakers!

[Robin Hood]

I hope you didn't have to do any spelling for any of them tests..... :sleeping: Thanks for the kind words Mr Paul, But I have been moving metal around for along time now, and I learn something every day...even if it's not how to do something.

Weldengineer, Welcome, I look forward to seeing some of the things you have built.

Mike

[MillerMatic]

Glad to have you.
[thinking: See they still do not teach modesty in college.]

[TxRedneck]

I agree with Robin and Mr. Fowler, whats most important I think it goes to show the sad demise of our working class as well as our professional class that the two are so heavily dependent on one another yet we still such immaturity. Mama once said if you aint got nothing nice to say dont say nothin, and if you want to be a man you best learn to say something positive. In my experience there are a lot of young fresh outta college engineers who dont know beans about the real world. They have no practical experience. I aint passin no judgement, but I am aware this is a common reality. As fabricators and engineers we have a lot to learn from each other. I learn something new everyday too, like Robin Hood. So often I have someone bring a piece of equipment or a trailer or something into me that needs repair. Sometimes I see it and I go oh shucks thats basic. Other times I say oh my that broke, and I try to find out what caused it, was it being used properly, was there a sudden impact? Its good to learn from others misfortunes in that regard. And sometimes I see something on a piece of equipment and I either really like the design or it causes me to think of a better solution. An example, my granddad is an engineer as well. He took farming as a hobby after retirement. He has a trailer he had custom built for a farmall B with extra wide tire track. He has made certain modifications to this trailer in addition I never would have considered, and then on top of that it spurred more ideas for me which some weve done, some we havent had time. Point is, as Robin points out, we learn everyday something new. Just because hes in college and you think your a hotshot know it all doesnt mean this college engy cant cut it or doesnt have something to offer. Its nice to see people offering what they know, even if we know it needs to be taken into account and not just judged at face value. Im sure much of his advice is sound and whats not, well we all are guilty of that at times, all of us. Srry for the loong windedness....good luck y'all
CHRIS

[Robin Hood]

That was not long.......That was good..:) I like reading what Chase has to say when it comes to welding, Because........ for the most part, I have forgotten all the Things that make things happen, I just cut the machine on and go to work......

[MillerMatic]

Wisdom is knowledge applied through experience.

[paul guthrie jr]

i agree with all! :cool: it seems 9 out of 10 times that the most quiet is the most knowledgable and given a question they usually can tell an answer within a few seconds where as the fast shooter offer is usually close but not right. i always heard a dumb question is the one not asked so i ask my "master" and fellow welders some of the most simple/complex questions all the time and then if someone asks the same i can help lend a hand. :cool: just my .02, but if everyone kept all knowledge to themselves how would wisdow progress. :waving:

[Jebweld]

I think our young achieved member is just so excited to amongst all this knowledge on the board that he can't contain himself. Cheers to all!!!

[halbritt]

I like to think that wisdom is the product of understanding and experience. Without the benefit of both, neither is really valuable.

It's one thing to be cocky and confident, particularly when one has the ability to back up that confidence. It's wholly another thing to jump into a forum where the means of discourse is the English language and profess one's ability in the topic at hand without having first mastered the means of discourse.

[scott brunsdon]

Halbritt,
Just a note on your criticism of Weldengineer's written expression. I believe 'one' is a personal pronoun. It does not require an apostrophe. So that would be a grammatical error in your post.

[Robin Hood]

Ding Ding Ding, I want everybody back to there corners, and No second round....

If you guys have taking the time to read some of the post's, Chase has responded to, you will see, for the most part he is dead on...... ;)

Yes he did come on little strong, but who knows........One day he might be "The Man"
When I was twenty-one, boy was I wet behind the ears.

Hang in there Chase, Until then.........I am The Man....... :laugh:

[halbritt]

Robin Hood, after my initial post, I did exactly what you suggested. He is obviously very knowledgable.

Mr. Brunsdon, while I can't claim perfect grammar in all cases, "one" is an indefinite rather than a personal pronoun and as such requires an apostrophe to indicate that it's possessive.

[got aluminum]

DANG You dudes has got some good grammer. This is going to be fun. :laugh:

[halbritt]

I don't mean to be pedantic or start a flame war over grammar, nor do I think that proper, formal grammar is required in this forum. However, I will say that a good grasp of informal grammar certainly makes one's post easier to read. I've read a lot of the archives of this forum, and some of the older guys who have likely been out of school for a very long time have perfectly acceptable grammar and an entertaining writing style as well.

[NavyGuy]

GEEZ...Only on this forum could we go from a young "welding expert" know it all to a grammar lesson in one page...now..can we all get back to WELDING!!
Thats my 2 cents and no ya can't have it!
Rod

[TxRedneck]

lmao, well done rod, thought I was just gonna be annoyed seeing this post in my inbox, but now maybe well see something worthwhile coming back!
CHRIS

[scott brunsdon]

Oh c'mon Rod and Chris, I reckon the most interesting conversations meander from topic to topic. And remember, this isn't one of the technical forums on this site - there are plenty of those.
Halbritt, I'll cut you some slack because you Americans do tend to mess around with English grammar and spelling and make your own rules. But I'm afraid you are indeed a bit pedantic - and a tad pompous, too. But then I freely admit I'm a smartarse!
Anyway, I'm sure we'd have a good conversation over a beer. We'd start with welding and end up who knows where. If you're ever in Sydney (Australia), give me a yell.
Scott

[halbritt]

I understand that I do come off as pompous or arrogant. I can assure you that it's not intended, nor a reflection of my actual attitude. I'm actually a pretty nice guy once you get a few beers in me. If I end up in Sydney, I'll definitely take you up on your offer.

[Robin Hood]

i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdgnieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at


Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be


in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? yaeh and I awlyas thought slpeling was ipmorantt ....... :laugh:

[NavyGuy]

Gud one Hood.....I cud axelully red n undarstand yar messedge...lol. Duz thiz mean I R dislexus???
Havf a gud 1
Rod

[NavyGuy]

Halbritt, But I'm afraid you are indeed a bit pedantic - and a tad pompous, too.
Scott

If the shoe fits.......mmmmmmmm :p

[TxRedneck]

Ive read that whole cambridge study, been a while, kinda forgot about it. Perhaps that has something to do with how our language has so many variations, U.S. Can Aus, Britt, well I cant say the spellings are differnt with can/aus/britt, but I do know y'all do talk a tad differnt. U.S. and can ahve some different spellings, mostly the order, but sometimes theres even an extra letter in there. Oh well I can understand it all so I couldnt care less. Oh and was that an invite just for Halbritt or fer Rod and I too? That sure wouldnt be friendly if it was only for hal. lol Well catch ya later alligators
CHRIS

[halbritt]

If the shoe fits.......mmmmmmmm :p


Yeah, I'm working on it. Like most people, I tend to write how I think, but I don't think like most people. I am often overly analytical and very precise, which is great when you're trying to build something, but not so good when you're trying to be amiable on an Internet forum. Beer helps.

[TxRedneck]

oh, Brusdon, my apologies...its been made clear the reason not to invite Rod or myself to sydney is were loud, obnoxious redneck mothers who can drink your city dry. Good luck.
hehe
Chris

[NavyGuy]

HELL YEAH CHRIS....ya nailed that one on the head!! Imagine us 2 Rednecks loose in Sydney...they sure as hell would wonder what blew into town!! I somewhat vaugely remember almost drinkin Perth dry when I was there on a Port Call after 4 months in the Gulf...hehehe. Maybe we should fly on over there and see what kinda hell we could raise...YEEHAWWW
No worries mate :waving:
Rod(the Redneck trapped in a yankee state)

[Robin Hood]

The Fast Rat Found this......:)

Im just Passing it on.........................................

[NavyGuy]

The Fast Rat Found this......:)

Im just Passing it on.........................................

WTF...over?? What did ya find??...dont keep us in the dark Hood....heh..heh..heh...get it..dark..hood..LOL.
I can't help it..I got a quirky sense of humor.

Rod

[scott brunsdon]

Of course that invitation extends to anyone.
I note even Navyguy is now talking about things beyond welding. Isn't it interesting how conversations evolve. By the way, Navyguy, I resent being called 'pompus'. 'Arrogant' I could live with, but I'm really just a smartarse.
We like Americans coming over here thinking they can 'drink the town dry'. It rarely happens - you guys are brought up on such weak, insipid beer, like 'Bud'. Usually the real stuff knocks visitors around. We just had one of your ships in here. Not sure which one, but there 5,000 people on it so it was a big one. Lots of them hit the pubs (bars) and tragically got drunk under the table.
Our most northern city, Darwin, has the highest per capita beer consumption of any city in the world. We also have our share of 'rednecks', though we don't call them that.
I've been to America several times and would know more about America than most Americans know about Australia, so if we met I would probably have to fill you in on a few things.
Of course, we would also have to talk about why you guys can put a man on the bloody moon but can't make a decent coffee.
And I would have to break it to you that cheese doesn't come out of a tube.
Inevitably, I would also want to know what that idiot President of yours plans to do about the mess he's made in Iraq, because our idiot Prime Minister has got us in there too - he slavishly does whatever George asks him to do. We always get mixed up in wars when America asks us to. I suspect Navyguy and I may not exactly see eye to eye on Iraq. Remember, Iraq doesn't actually have to win the war. They just have to hold out and not lose.
Scott

[TxRedneck]

Hmm, maybe its my redneck nature to miss things, but when exactly did my buddy Navy call you pompus. I dnt think either of us know what that word means. We may be rednek, we may be ignant, but we dont and call someone someting less we know what were callin ya.
Oh and well forget the whole cheese comment. Not sure where that came from. And as for the coffee, well some like it to take like a candy pop, others of us want coffee. I dont know how yall drink it in Aus but these canadians dont seem to know what coffee is. They got more sugar and cream I swear take a whole damn dairy to keep up with these ppl. OH well differnt strokes for differnt folks. I dont know how aus folks like their coffee but as a commonwealth to the queen I reckon I would expect it similar. But you know I couldnt give two squirrels and a coon for what your coffee is like. Lets bring on the beer. I wont say I can out drink ya. Or that I can drink your town dry. But between me and my bud Navyguy we can hold our own and even turn a few heads. Might regret it the next week though lol
Over and out
CHRIS

[scott brunsdon]

So you're a Canadian, Chris?
The English don't do coffee - it's a tea nation.
And their beer is warm. It's very good, though, once you get over the idea of drinking warm beer.
Apart from beer, Australians drink alot of coffee - more in the Italian style (lots of Italians came out here after the 2nd World War).
Sadly, one of the fastest growing franchises out here is Starbucks.
Scott
It's Friday afternoon here - nearly 'beer o'clock'.

[NavyGuy]

Howdy Scott....I dont mean to be demeaning or anything but I think ya better go back and look at that post....it was a comment you made about Halbrit...hell I even but his name in the quote block so everyone would know who I was refferin too and that I was agreeing with ya...so dont go gettin yer panties in a wad :laugh: I have been to Aus...Perth actually and loved it...lots of NICE women...even took me an outback horse trail ride and had a great time there...real friendly people. I do remember be desprate fer a beer and me and my buddy bought a case of something called Orange Boom...dont know if ya ever heard of it but it sure did give us one helluva headache...lol. As fer the War in Iraq I aint gonna say anything...yet.... because I've been there and I have lost alot of my fellow warriors over there that are never coming home and if I start hearin a alot of bull**** then I will be forced to "open a can of woopass" as us rednecks would say....I am very proud of my fellow servicemembers and the sacrifices they give everyday and I will not stand fer anybody that trys to demean them. I might not agree with you or you with me but I will fight untill my last breath to ensure that we have the right and freedom to disagree...thats all I gotta say bout that.
No worries
Rod

[TEK]

Right on, NavyGuy! Freedom is not free, and you wont be standing alone!!!!!!!!!!!

[NavyGuy]

Thanks fer the support TEK..makes me feel good knowin there are guys like you out there.
And SCOTT...Chris is a 100% red blooded American TEXAS REDNECK...he aint Canadian.

Rod

[TxRedneck]

Thanks Rod, I am a texan. My wife is canadian and weve been up here doing a little deed for the time being. But once a texan always a texan. I love my roots and I love my kin. Most of all I love knowing Im at home with the greatest military the world has ever seen! Thank god for the Navy!
CHRIS

[JDH]

G'day TxRedneck, NavyGuy, Scott Brunsden and the rest of you.......
I've been watching this post for a while (also from Australia, but Melbourne this time) and thought it's about time to put finger(s) to key board:
1. Grammar and spelling (and beer)
Mine's pretty good under normal circumstances, but since I'm usually on the 'puter in the evenings with a can in hand, it starts to suffer as the night wears on. But if you all understood that mixed post from Robin Hood, you'll be able to read just about every other post on this site.....
2. Coffee, Tea (and Beer)
As long as the coffee is strong enough to get me started in the morning, I don't care what's in it or how it's made. Tea takes too long.
.......and then there was beer.
I've drunk beer on three continents (Africa, Europe and Australia) and I have to agree with Scott, Australia has some mighty fine beer.
But NavyGuy, no self respecting redneck would be caught dead with one of them imported poofter beers like OrangeBoom! :laugh:
In Melbourne - drink VB (Victoria Bitter) and in Sydney Tooheys I think (Scott will confimr or deny this).

3. The Iraq question........thorny one this.
Personally I think the world is better off without Saddam in power and I'm proud Australia played a (small) part in that. Good job NavyGuy and co.
But speak to an Iraqi for comment from the horses mouth.
Just so happens my barber is an Iraqi and I was in there just after Saddam was captured. He couldn't stand the b'stard and was glad to see him gone.
He didn't have a problem with America (or Australia) doing the job, but I guess there are plenty out there who would have preferred some one else.

4. And finally, to finish on a lighter note,
I'm going to have A BEER! :cool2:

[scott brunsdon]

Thought that would stir things up.
I reckon if we keep this thread civil the moderators won't lock it.
Navyguy, when you posted my comment about Habritt and said 'when the shoe fits' it could have been taken a couple of ways. Obviously I took it in a way you didn't intend. So let's build a bridge and get over that one.
Chris lives in Canada and was speaking with authority about things in canada, so I assumed he was Canadian. It appears he isn't. So let's get over that one, too.
Regarding the cheese, Chris, last time I was over there I saw some cheese in a tube in a supermarket.
Navyguy, no idea what Orange Boom is. There are lots of micro brewers here with labels that last a year. Five years ago myself and three mates launched a beer called 'Hemp'. It was an ale filtered through Hemp filters (which we patented). It lasted 2 years and then died. The exercise cost us $10,000 each, but it was fun walking into a liquor store and being able to buy it.
As for the Iraq thing, it's important to seperate the soldiers from the cause. We have people over there, too. Every Australian supports them and wishes them well - they've been sent there to do a job and they're doing it with honour by all accounts. Many Australians, however, don't support the war. And neither do lots of Americans I speak to. It is possible to support the participants but not the war. Our guys who have been there have paraded through the streets on their return and thousands of people (me included) have lined up to cheer them. Most of those people don't believe in the war, but support the participants.
It's interesting how things have changed. It was before my time, but America and Australia both treated their Vietnam vets badly. When they came home, they were outcasts. Now, in hindsight, most people disagree with the Vietnam war, but we have respect for the people who fought there.
I think the fact that we can respect the forces in Iraq without necessarily supporting the war shows a maturity.
And Chris, I'd say the Romans were probably the greatest force the world has ever seen.
Right now, all of us need to be conscious of China. It's a country with a billion people and it's rapidly becoming very wealthy - didn't I hear a month ago they made a hostile takeover bid for an American oil company? A wealthy country, envious of western lifestyles, with a billion people they would happily use as cannon fodder is going to be interesting to watch over the next 10 years.
Scott

[JDH]

...........and I have to agree with TxRedneck that the US has some kick-*** military hardware. Would love to work on (or in) some of those machines!
But I hear that the Aussie SAS did some fine work over in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Anybody on this forum who works in the military hardware field? Welding I mean.
I read an article about a welding engineer who had to figure out how to weld warheads onto missiles for export sale so they couldn't be modified for chemical or germ warfare. You'd want a steady hand for that!! :blob2:
(I think they used electron beam welding in a vacuum, with a 1000 gallon tank of water above it ready to dump if anything got hairy).

[JDH]

Oops, took me so long to type my last thread, I missed Scotts and mine made no sense. Oh well.
Oranjeboom is an imported beer from Holland or Belgium I think. Fancy bottle, double the price of real beer.......

[halbritt]

So, I'm the only one that gets to be pompous, then? C'est la vie.

Mr. Brunsdon, I've found that it's common for people that haven't spend a lot of time in the US to characterize the people a certain way. While the culture is certainly being homogenized as a result of mass media, it is still very regional and diverse, which I'm sure is also the case in Australia. Not everyone here drinks weak coffee, watery beer, and processed cheese. Italian style coffee, specifically southern Italian style is popular here (i.e. Starbucks). Though most people have it in a blended drink with lots of sugar, flavoring, caramel and whipped cream. As for myself, I started drinking straight espresso a couple years ago and now I can't drink brewed coffee unless it's made really strong.

As for beer, I'm fond of triple-fermented Belgian Ales recently. My favorites are from a Canadian brewery called Unibroue. I'd recommend them to anybody, but be careful as they run 9-10% alcohol by volume. I suspect that most people drink the swill because it's cheap and inoffensive, but there are some very large breweries here making pretty good beer. I'm thinking of Sam Adams, Sierra Nevada, and more recently New Belgium Brewing Company.

I won't comment on cheese, I don't want to graduate from pompous to an elitist snob, but I do like fancy cheeses. I'm also not going to comment on the war. That would be imprudent.

Chris, by your logic, I'd still be a Texan, but think there's a corollary somewhere that says, "Once a Texan always a Texan, unless you move to California."

[TxRedneck]

Down With California! hehe just gotta raise this battle for s.h.its and giggles :)
CHRIS

[halbritt]

California has nicer weather and prettier landscapes. The people are pretty soft, though, which is one of the worst things about it. That, and the taxes suck too.

[smithboy]

Fellas,
I have been watching this thread for a while, mainly for entertainment. So, to risk getting myself dragged into the frey...here goes.

I think some of you have Halbritt all wrong (maybe on purpose). He has a need for precision. I work with folks like this all day long. It's my experience that they are the kind of people you end up depending on without even thinking about it, becasue they have a need to do things RIGHT! You can think of it as a character flaw or an asset.

It is, however, annoying to be corrected on points of grammer. I married a high school English teacher who feel responsible for my grammer. I am from rural GA. 'Nuff said there, right?

WeldingEngineer, you know, the guy that this all started from, is just young guy who, like it or not, may have something to strut in terms of welding skills but isn't going to publish much in the way of novels. (Have you ever tried to read The Sound and the Fury? I know it was written that way on purpose, but Geeeewizzz!) Besides, young hotshots are always pissin' the older guys off (no reason necessary), so what's new there, and if you are over 30, you're the old guys. In addition, He's probably gonna be a weldor to emulate one day. So, he deserves the same breaks we got when we acted our shoe sizes and not our ages. No offense intended to weldingengineer. I am sure he is probably a better weldor than many or most on this site (especially me).

As for Beer, whhhhheeeelll! Don't nobody go trash talking beer of any persuasion. Beer is good. Good is beer. From a religious standpoint, nobody should be puttin' down what God himself has given man. Beer is evidence of God, and cause for rejoicing. Like all other sinnin' Baptists, I am pretty sure I read that in the Bible somewhere. Even beer of lesser quality (notice, I don't say "bad") is better than no beer. ahem!!! If you can't say something nice about beer...Don't say nuthin' at all.

Coffee...I like it. I drink it, good or bad. But, I like Waffle House's regular the best of anyone's. Scott, I don't know if folks in OZ have Waffle House, but you need it if you don't. I could see you rich if you started that chain down under. Less fun than beer, but...once you are filthy rich, you could then pay for everyones trip to OZ with your millions and drink BEER....

Cheese and Tea. I like sweet tea and cheese burgers, if that is what you guys are talking about. :confused:

TxRedneck and NavyGuy, I think y'all are just having some good-natured, yet mildly confrontational fun at Halbritt's and now Scott's expense. Halbritt, you know that pickin' a fight is practically an art form for a southerner:gunsfirin, regardless of their current residential location (BTW, Texans, I think are taught this in diapers...see George W. for example).

I just felt it necessary to step in between and say this before anyone said anything about beer that they might later regret.

[TxRedneck]

oh smith you got my on the floor rolling.. my wife too lol and in a welding site thats hard to do thanks for the laugh
chris

[NavyGuy]

you know that pickin' a fight is practically an art form for a southerner:gunsfirin,

heh..heh...heh...how true. Good post there Smith. I like stirrin the pot sometime....especially when I'm drinkin BEER!!! But I'm at work right now so I'll have to depend on my good buddy TxRedneck to stir it fer me untill I get home to the BEER!!
BEER...it does a body good!

Rod

[NavyGuy]

Halbrit...I'm curious...what do ya do fer a livin??

Rod

[halbritt]

Well, Texas was an interim locale for me. I grew up in Louisiana, which if it's good for anything it's something for Texans to point to and say, "those are some ignorant bastards over there." They kicked me out because I didn't like sweet tea or watermelon. I can still pick a fight when I want to, though.

A friend asked me to help them out on a simple job the other day and offered me money to do so. I had to explain to them that I accept all forms of payment that are beer. The problem with drinking really good beer is that I've gotten accustomed to it which makes the cheap stuff harder to drink. I had to struggle through a few bottles of Budweiser last night. It was a challenge, but I was determined to succeed. The good thing about Budweiser is that it has less of an impact on my welding quality... I think.

NavyGuy, I'm a network engineer (big nerd) for a large telco/ISP. I've been slingin' packets for about 10 years now. Before that, I was an iron worker building mostly bridges. Since everything slowed down a few years ago, I haven't had much of an opportunity to build anything new, so I've had to resort to my hobbies to scratch that itch. So, I've been doing electronics, RF engineering, machining, welding, and various metal fabrication. This fall, I'm going to build a foundry and start doing metal-casting and also try to get a machine shop setup so I can do some gunsmithing.

[TxRedneck]

So your really from lousyanna eh? Well if that a fightin word Im sure Rod and I can thunk of a few more :) Dont worry I got some kin from that place. I got a name for them, but there kin and they like to fight wit me and its sumpin of an old johnny cash song...but yeah there good ole boys. Well one of em, last I knew he was in Iraq with the louisiana nat'l guard armored. God bless the national guard! Otherwise I gotta go supervise my wifey and kid washin wifeys car lol
hav a good one boys
CHRIS

[scott brunsdon]

Gee, this thread has lots of readers despite the fact that it has nothing to do with welding.
By the way, I've looked at some of the technical chats and I had no idea there was so much to know about welding. Looks like I've got alot of learning ahead of me.
JDH, I was going to tell Navyguy that he'd been drinking what we call a 'girls beer' over here but I wasn't game.
Welcome back Halbritt. I think it's time you stopped calling me 'Mr Brunsdon', too. My dad is Mr Brunsdon, I'm Scott. I share your love of fancy cheese. Yes, Australia is similar in many way to the US. We were settled relatively recently and had huge 20th century migrant influxes. They brought with them skills and great food - bless them.
My cousin, incidently, is a network engineer for Cisco. He lives in Washington these days.
I've had some of my best travel experiences in the US: I've fished through the ice on Lake Michigan; done the drive from San Francisco to LA; spent two weeks in the Time Life apartment in New York (that was a work trip); flown around Manhattan Island and up to in a helicopter; watched a superbowl final at the house of the people who kicked-off Amway; been to a VW swap meet outside Salt Lake city; run into a deer in Washington state. It's a great country to be a tourist in. Next time I want to go down south and meet one of those redneck characters.
Smithboy, no Waffle House here but inevitably it will come. Do you guys have McDonalds over there?
(That would be me joking.)

[NavyGuy]

I was going to tell Navyguy that he'd been drinking what we call a 'girls beer' over here but I wasn't game.


LOL.....Now being a new visitor to yer country how the hell was I to know that its a "girls beer"....**** man even yer toilets runs backards down there :laugh:
No worries though....finally found a liquor store and bought me some good ole Jack Daniels and proceeded to have a good ole time in Aus. I had the hardest time tryin to find Bud (the beer...lol) in the Middle East...lol...ended up payin $5 a bottle fer it....me and my buddy went thur $400 in beer in two days....hows that fer drinkin....lol.
Ya'll take it easy
Rod

[smithboy]

Rod, Chris, Scott, Heath and everyone else for that matter,
I have found in my vast experience as a novice in a variety of fields, there is nothing WORSE or BETTER to have around than a well-educated, smart, resourceful, motivated REDNECK (or, what ever the equivalent is called in Oz)! Enough skills to be a tremendous asset in any endeavor, enough humor to keep you laughing at his antics, and a danger to himself and everyone around him. That's why for many of my friends I grew up with, the military was the ONLY safe option (for the public, that is). Would you agree with that, Rod? Feed us, clothe us, train us, and give us cool toys to play with and we MIGHT make it through puberty (i.e., to our 40th birthday). Left on our own, we'd all end up in competition for the Darwin Award. I feel like I was in a close running for several years in a row.

[TxRedneck]

famous last words of a redneck, "Hey y'all watch this!"

CHRIS

[smithboy]

Anyone else tempted to jump in Halbritt's lunch on account of his request for reasonable grammer (without swagger) should take a look at this site. These guys will kick your *** and make you like it for using an apostrophe in the wrong place. Dont make me tell on yall!

http://www.apostrophe.fsnet.co.uk/

[scott brunsdon]

If I close my eyes, I can imagine George Bush, just before Iraq, saying to our idiot Prime Minister and the the idiot British one (and a bunch of other world leaders):

"Hey y'all watch this!"