Hello from Kent, WA

Hello from Kent, WA

Thursday evening ,  September 12, 2013   (First travelogue of this trip).

Well,  I am back in the Seattle area again this week.  I left Denver Sunday morning and am staying at the now familiar Holiday Inn in Kent, WA (map).  Not very fancy, but it is convenient and the folks are friendly.

This week I am teaching Shaft Alignment (Monday and Tuesday) and Mechanical Drives the last three days.  This week the classes are being held at the Boeing Auburn “Craft College” on the early shift (class begins at 6:00AM).  The advantage to teaching the early class is that the building does not get really hot until after we are done.  The bad news is that I have to set the alarm for 4:00.

Both classes had several young apprentices for the maintenance program.  I talked to them in some detail and they have a very structured curriculum (4 years I think).  They make wonderful students, as they are eager to learn.  Boeing has 40 folks just starting the program and are looking to hire 20 more.  Like a lot of companies, Boeing is facing a significant population of folks qualified for retirement in the next couple of years.  I think that bodes well for NTT.

Yesterday Seattle hit a record temperature of over 90 degrees.  That is very unusual for this time of year.  Indeed, 90 degrees is not the norm – even in the summer months.

I have been keeping track of the horrible weather in Denver.  The national news (even the local TV station) has shown videos of the extremely heavy rain and terrible flooding.  I fly home tomorrow and they are warning of delayed flights {frown}.

That is all for this trip.