I recently came across old website postings from 1998, the first year we had our website.  Here is some of my "legacy work"

Powertronic

"A View From The Road"

​

Volume 2 - May 1998

A field technician has many opportunities to view interesting aspects of life and lifeforms.  Traveling around in your service vehicle, whether it is a van, car or '69 Nova (inside joke for a few Army and TSD guys) gives you plenty of time to think, maybe too much time.  While some of the following observations and comments are regionally based, we are in the greater New York City area, with a few location changes probably relate well to just about any area of the country.

​

If we can't have fun doing this job......we should do something else...right C.H.?

Anybody know who C.H. is yet?

....I am not typically a whiner, but a situation popped up that requires comment.  Here in New Jersey, and a couple other places around the country, we have an industrial supplier called McMaster-Carr.   You see their yellow catalogs everywhere, so I called to get my very own copy.   Here is verbatim the letter received.

Thank you for your catalog request.  Our catalog is distributed to industrial plants and large commercial facilities and we are unable to send you a copy.

​

If you would like to learn more about a specific product, please let us know and we would be happy to fax or mail you more information.  Also, you can view our complete catalog by visiting our website (www.mcmaster.com).

​

I can appreciate that catalogs are expensive, how expensive?  Maybe you could offer to sell customers one and if they spend enough money you could give them one for free in the future. Sears and J.C. Penney sell catalogs for $4, then give you your money back as a discount after you buy something. Because we are a small business does that mean we are less likely to purchase a few thousand dollars’ worth of products during the year?  It does now believe me. Also, the new online catalogs are good if you can find what you want, of course then the information is displayed in a user-unfriendly frame.  You can put any book or catalog on the internet or CD-ROM but still nothing beats thumbing through a book.

​

​

...I read the local newspaper every day, the Asbury Park Press.  It provides a cheap and entertaining diversion, lets you know that others have problems in their life too and it contains Dilbert.  Why in this day of sophisticated electronics and microwaveable pizza that remains crunchy after cooking, can't they develop an ink that doesn't come off in your hands?

​

​

...Just when you are saturated on Seinfeld, Sinatra dies.  It is more entertaining watching the TV networks deciding what is important than the actual event.   These folks can change course on a dime.......the word sanctimonious comes to mind.

​

​

...The electric show, Electric 98, is coming to the Javits Center in NYC this month.  I understand that everyone wants to give you information on their products. Sometimes it would be nice to look and touch a new product without being accosted by a representative of the manufacturers Ministry of Disinformation.  Don't tell me what is important, let me ask.

​

​

...I actually watched and taped all 12 episodes of the HBO show From the Earth to the Moon.  For the entertainment factor it was pretty good both from the character interactions and the technical aspects of space flight.  I don't know how accurate the film is but it seemed like every flight had problems, but they still got to the moon and back.  The most amazing thing to me is that it happened almost 30 years ago.

​

​

...Know what’s great about this country, Bill Gates.  I don't want to get into the good and bad points of who he is or what you think of his business but here is a guy who was absolutely nobody 20 years ago. Today he stands on the brink of controlling (by software or so you think) virtually every PC in the world and he has the finances to do whatever he pleases.  He is the model of a successful entrepreneur, no one else comes close. Course when you get to be king everybody wants to take you down.   Hey, I have an idea, the government should impose sanctions against Microsoft and refuse to buy any of their products if they feel they are doing business improperly.  Think that will happen?  Not in this lifetime.  This is simple, if a company makes better products than Microsoft, people will buy them.

​

​

​

​

This page will be updated on the general whim of the author.......look for future updates and as always, your opinions are welcome and appreciated. The general feeling here is we all need to lighten up a little. 

*The comments expressed here are the opinions of the author and not necessarily that of Powertronic, Inc., it owners, employees, vendors or customers.  These comments are provided for entertainment purposes only unless I am referring to an ex-employer, then it is based entirely in fact..