I wanted to write out fifty times my admiration for people who fix things. I was going to include myself in the sub-set, thus adding what I think of as a Geary touch or trick, self-abasing boastfulness. I thought to call you not Joe but Wieland, banging away among the tubes in your forge.
Now you've gone and made me find this. http://www.websters-dictionary-online.com/ME/Sw/Sword-makers.html David Ritchie, (currently sewing his Tizona the poker Halloween costume) On Oct 16, 2008, at 12:24 PM, Mike Geary wrote:
JK:>>Yeah, but do you know how to sweat pipes to install a new hot water heater?<<Honey, that's child's play -- sweating. Ptui! I was sweating pipes in first grade. We HVAC/R types braze pipes. We work at about 1000 degrees hotter than sissy plumbers. We deal with manly pressures -- up to 400 psi; girly plumbers seldom see 70 psi. Don't talk to me about "sweating" pipes unless you want to be laughed at. Hell, I've even welded pipes -- but it wasn't pretty, I must admit. Don't be taken in by plumber braggadocio, Julie. They're all big talkers, but little doers. As one plumber who was watching me braze a joint, then quench it with a wet rag asked (as if I were an idiot): "Aren't you afraid of it caramelizing?" "No," I said. "I'm not." Surprised, he shook his head, then realized his stupidity: "Oh, you're using Sil-phos, aren't you?" "Duh," I said. God, I hate plumbers. You have to hold them by the hand. Electricians too. They think they're so bright -- yeah, 25 watts seems bright in the middle of the night. We HVAC/Rers are plumbers and electricians and mechanics, we're steamfitters, pipefitters, ductfitters. We're the Renaissance men (and women -- I've known one female HVAC/Rer) So it goes.Mike Geary cooling hot boxes in Memphis
