Pouring Concrete

The sights of construction. Pouring concrete, first with a machine and setting it by hand. This is concrete drainage area near the new concrete median barriers.

Safety

This is an iron worker on a structure, but you get the point. It's literally like this everyday. One mistake because you are too distracted or because you've done it 1000x a day, and bam. Death.

"A paycheck don't do you any good if you're dead."

Safety matters: Proper training, proper equipment, and proper technique at all times.


Today, I almost pulled out in front of a car going 70 mph. I just wasn't paying attention. Later in the day, a car in the construction zone was going 50 mph and almost ran into me as I was standing outside of my car. He saw my car, but not me. Luckily I saw him in time, and dodged. Always be aware of your surroundings.

New Buffalo-oh oh my!

 

New Buffalo is a really ritzy, tourist town. Filled with little shops and pretty streets, it's a great place for that Illinois resident looking to dip into some pure Michigan. Now, I went to Redamak's to eat, but then I had a milkshake to go, and I felt weird taking the milkshake to the bathroom with me, so I waited until I went to the local variety store to use the restroom.

Man, it was disgusting. I can't even describe how nasty it was. If it had a reusable towel, it would fit in with the rest of the bathroom.

Let's just go on a photographic journey together:

Wha-? Why and what is dripping and crusted on the door? The DOOR?

Why is the sink dirty? Water is right there. Add soap and scrub. We are in a variety store. Soap and brushes are in aisle one.

Can we just-- I can't even.

So what have we learned? Just because you own and sell soap, doesn't mean you ever use it.

Bathroom rating: Fail. I will never go to this bathroom, or store, ever again.

Loading

The sights and sounds of construction. Remember that just moving things around to load and unload take time and special equipment. Construction takes a while, because it just has to sometimes. There's a lot more involved than people think.

Also, that woman should be wearing a helmet as per MIOSHA standards. Hardly anyone wears a helmet on this site.

Profiling

Whenever the police come around it's great. Lots of people slow down and give us plenty of space. Yet, some people, if they don't see the cop, are still speeding. But the cop doesn't stop them, they go merrily on their way. Why? It becomes obvious after a few state troopers that they aren't here for the speeding tickets, they are here for the drug busts.

Yet until like the speed gun, there is no drug gun. There is no way of telling who has drugs until you pull them over. People sometimes forget that when they hear about these great big drug busts on the news; a lot of people were pulled over to get that one drug smuggler.

A white dirt worker said it perfectly today, and it struck me in a certain profound way, especially for how politically incorrect most construction workers are:
"Damn, I wish dem cops start pulling over people speedin'. I understand they out here catchin' people carryin' drugs, but it makes me sick to watch 'em. Just last week I seen dem pull over 20 cars. But you know how they pick 'em? They pick the hippies, and the blacks. The mexcians too. I seen them take out the dogs on 'em and sniff their car all over. Almost all of them have campin' supplies with 'em. I wish they'd pull over a rich white person. Damn it ain't right. It just ain't right." 

 

This is a video of the traffic on I-94. Spoiler, they won't slow down.

Audience

Someone asked me recently, "Hey, what if your boss reads this? Wouldn't that be awful and embarrassing?"

This is a question I asked myself before starting this blog. If I want something open to all, it has to be with content for everyone. Even my boss. So no, it wouldn't be. I like working at MDOT and like the people there, I'm allowed to take pictures on the job site, and I'm not revealing any disclosed information. Honestly, I feel like he would just think I'm a dork for taking the time to write this.

General Advice: If ever you think you would feel ashamed by something you post on the internet, you probably shouldn't post it. (I'd hope that I have that kind of prudence.)

Being a Woman: The Vibrator

This might contain adult content.

When I was at college, knowing that I would be an inspector, I tried to find other people who've done this job in their region, and ask them questions or ask for advice. Sure, the people at my office would be helpful, but sometimes there are things that you can only learn from another peer.

In my quest to find another inspector, I lucked out and found not only an inspector from a region similar to my own in traffic counts and road types, but she was a woman. I asked away. She gave me the normal advice like most people I had talked to, but then when we got on the subject of gender-difference and how that effects your interactions with the contractor, she said something like the following (it's been a while so maybe I'm adding to it a bit):

-They will "give you shit" (That's what we all call teasing on the field. It's different than normal teasing, but I can't explain how.), just go with it
-They already don't respect you because you are young and have no experience, so remember that if you have problems
-Lift things and don't be lazy, don't expect anyone to do anything for you if you want to be treated equal
-BUT never be afraid to ask for help when you need it (Truth: it's better to ask dignified than to embarrassingly struggle and maybe get hurt)
-It's one thing for the contractor not to respect you, but if the MDOT inspector gives you problems, don't put up with it, and tell a supervisor right away
-Don't be nervous, just be confident and make sure they do what you say at the end of the day


Then the weirdest thing she said after she was racking her brain for anymore advice was this:
"Oh! *laughs* There's this thing they use for concrete and it looks like a dildo. I'm not sure what the official title of it is, but, yeah, yeah you'll see what I mean. The contractor never openly used it to make fun of me, because the other inspector was always there for concrete pouring, but they would have if he wasn't there, so just be aware of that."

So yeah. This is what she was talking about:

It's the thing in the middle of the picture, straight up and down in the concrete. It vibrates. The purpose of this is to vibrate the concrete so it gets into all of the corners and around the rebar and whatnot. The second it touches the concrete, it just sort of.... relaxes?? It's all tense and rigid with aggregate sticking up, and then all of a sudden it just... liquids with no aggregate on top.

I wanted to know WHAT this could possibly be called, and it's..... a vibrator. 

There is a whole page about the vibrator. It makes sense, but it's just like... teehee.

I probably wouldn't be so middle-school about this if that other student inspector didn't mention it. Now I'm paranoid for the day they make some sexual joke about it to me. I keep trying to think of a good comeback, but mine are all lame and don't make any sense.

Budweiser Truck

Whenever a budweiser truck would drive by on the highway, the truckdriver would honk and wave and the construction workers would cheer and raise fists in the air, then go immediately back to work.

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/navymailman/

Bathroom Review: Sodus Towel-hall

There are a few rules when it comes to sorting the good bathrooms from the bad bathrooms. One of those rules are towels.

It doesn't matter how much you scrub your hands if you rub them in a germ-infested towel right afterward. That's why there are paper towels, hand-dryers, ect. Well this happened:

Yes, that is a cotton towel in a public bathroom. A public bathroom in a public building. The Sodus Townhall. We were working on an overlay in the Sodus township and the townhall was the only building open in the area open to the public.

There is so much wrong with this. The towel wasn't fresh-looking or clean. I have no idea who's touched it or how long it's been there. I ended up having to wipe my hands on toilet paper since my pants were covered in pollen and seeds from all the stuff in the bushes.

The bathroom was also oddly huge. It was about the size of a bathroom that would have two stalls, but it's like they decided that they didn't need that much of a plumbing bill.

Anyway here's the breakdown:
Pros: Only bathroom around, friendly receptionist lady, running water, natural light from window (oh yeah, there was a window that was normal-sized, is that okay???)
Cons: A dirty towel, must talk to someone to get to it, must grab handle of the door to open it, and yellow water when you flushed so the bowl was stained yellow

Good Bathroom? No.

(Visited June 26th, 2013)