MEN AT WORK

I thought these photos of a technician working on the lightings at the U2 Concert in July are appropriate for the theme "Men at Work" for this Labor Day post.

This person must be one of the 130+ touring production workers responsible for setting up and taking down the Claw in each city. According to U2 website, there were also 100+ people employed locally at each location to take care of other duties.

Happy Labor Day - Remember to enjoy your life - Don't Live to Work, Work just enough to Live (to make a decent living).

A COOL ARTIST AT WORK

I don't know the name of the artist but he was pretty good with using the chainsaw, a heavy duty ice pick and a few other tools to make this cool looking snowflake.

To be an ice sculpture artist requires many years of training and a pair of steady hands. So, kids and adults, do not try or even attempt to do this at home!

TUESDAY TWO - KAHUNA AND JERKS - WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?

Here are a few more funny images I captured from the BBQ Bash. I thought these photos are appropriate for this week Tuesday Two theme. A few times when I helped answer the phone at work, a friend of one of the managers would say, "Is the big kahuna working today?". Perhaps next time I should ask, "You mean the big jerk?" Big Kahuna or A Couples of Jerks, what's the difference? (Simmer down Big Guy, I am just saying it in jest!)

2010 LABOR DAY - MEN AT WORK

I like taking photos of men (and women) at work when we passed by construction sites. These photos were taken when we were approaching Hoover Dam on the Arizona side.

I usually don't mention the name of businesses, especially casinos, because I don't want to be accused of personal endorsement. In this case, I thought it is appropriate to mention that the above sculpture of a man shifting a large pan for any gold flakes or if he was really lucky, a nugget of gold, is at the entrance into Gold Strike Casino in Nevada. How clever!

WHERE IS THE DAM GIFT SHOP? HOOVER DAM, NEVADA

Monday, June 28th, we left Kingman, Arizona, took US 93 to get to Hoover Dam. It was a 90 minutes drive. I don't remember if anything eventful happened on that drive except seeing the temperature kept getting hotter and hotter. It was 115 when we were purchasing admission tickets at 4:59 p.m. for the last tour of the day.

Hoover Dam was the biggest man-made masonry marvel to surpass the Great Pyramid of Giza. The dam is made of more than 5 million barrels of cement and 4.5 million cubic yards of aggregate – enough to pave a standard 16-foot-wide highway stretching from San Francisco to New York City.

Hoover Dam was originally known as the Boulder Dam project and named after the 31st President of the United States, Herbert Hoover. It was started in 1931 and completed in 1935, during the Great Depression, and two full years ahead of schedule.

Hoover Dam is 728 feet high (70-story building), and at the base is 660 feet thick (a little over 2 football fields).
I enjoyed the powerplant tour, especially seeing the massive generators, walking thru the tunnels and standing 600 feet above the Colorado River, the view from the observation desk was impressive. Be careful not to touch the handrails, at 125 to 140 degrees under the sun, it could burn your palms.

This striking figures, a pair of 30-foot bronze statues, are called Winged Figures of the Republic, were sculpted by Oskar J. W. Hansen, a Norwegian born, naturalized American artist. The statues were formed from sand molds weighing 492 tons.

I highly recommend putting Hoover Dam on your Bucket List, a must visit and must see.

At the end of the tour, we had just enough time to visit "the dam gift shop". Being an engineer, my husband had to obtain a piece of history, a piece of the original copper transmission line that carried electricity between Hoover Dam and Los Angeles beginning in the 1930's. In 2002, to make room for the new Hoover Dam bypass bridge and highway, several transmission line towers in the vicinity of the dam were relocated and the original high-quality copper cable was replaced.

FRIDAY SKY - MAN AT WORK, JUST CRANKING AWAY ON A CRANE

"Ok, TOTA, there is no balloon getting stuck on the power line, so what's the story about this industrial crane?" you may ask. The reason is very simple, I just like to capture images of this crane, a manmade giant tool, against the beautiful blue sky. One of my favorite television programs is Modern Marvels on the History Channel. I had an opportunity to tour a manufacturer that makes giant equipment from a 90-ton hydraulic excavators and ultra high demolition machine that stood at almost 200 tons. One of my favorite program would be the building of the submarine.

When I first moved to Michigan, I worked for an engineer who designed and wrote instructional manuals for operating industrial cranes. I knew about industrial cranes as much as I knew about cooking (or boiling water). All I did was typing up his notes and making sure the pages were in the right order, printed and sent the manuals to the customers. To this day I still have fond memories of this experience and a soft spot for cranes. I wonder how fast could the operator get down to the ground when he needs to answer nature calls!

MY HANDYMAN

I found this lawn mower in our backyard near the storage shed when I came back from running errands last Saturday. My husband explained that he rescued it from our next door neighbor, JT who was the author of the handwritten note, "FREE to a good home. It still works (kind of). If you want it, take it!". JT told my husband what the problem was and CP, being a handyman, offered to fix the lawn mower at no charge but JT being "A typical hot-blooded consumer would go out and buy a new/replacement device." (quote from Qaptain Qwerty), already purchased a new mower. CP plans to repair and finds a good home for this machine. If you need a lawn mower and willing to come to St. Louis to pick this one up, let me know. We have one and don't need another lawn mower, that is for sure!

HUMOR OF THE WEEK - MEN AT WORK IN NEW YORK CITY

Twenty years later, this corner of Lexington and 68th Street, still looks exactly the same as when I last saw it in 1989. I remembered passing this orange cone marking some kind of sewer utility work being done here. When I made a visit last May to Hunter College, my alma mater, I looked at the orange cone and thought of all those years rushing to evening classes after my full time job and then running down the stairs trying to catch the train at 9:45 p.m. The same corner, the same orange cone, without anyone around actually doing any work - exactly the same as it was in 1989.

I wish I could ask these "Lady Liberty" why they stood so close in this particular corner at Battery Park. Would it make more sense for one of them to take up a spot at another corner for maximum exposure? It seems that most of the living statues are performed by men since they could "hold" better than women. I snapped a quick photo and moved away before the "Lady" had a chance to demand a fee.

The man in the orange vest (photo above) looked like he was guarding someone working underground or just making sure no one walked right into the hole while busy texting. The same for the construction workers (photo below) as they must be either on their coffee break or waiting for materials to be delivered. In a city where people are constantly rushing and moving at high speed, there are many that stood still as if in suspended state. In a crowded street, I like to step aside and watch others rushing by and those who took their time walking as if refusing to get on the roller coaster of city living.

MEN AT WORK IN NEW YORK CITY

Following Monday being Labor Day, I thought it would be appropriate to combine the New York Wednesday theme with Men at Work as shown in these photos. Perhaps the title of this post should be Men at Work Below, Above and everywhere in between!

LABOR DAY - MEN AT WORK

In place of the Humor of the Week feature, I am posting photos of Men at Work, seen from my windows on the 2nd floor in the building where I work. I thought these photos would be appropriate as today is Labor Day. To the men and women who build, maintain, repair and keep America running smoothly, thank you for your hard work. Be safe out there and keep up the good job!