Utopian tech?

[jody boy]

My son's problem is that he loves to do things with his hands. Yet so
much of what he does requires long hours sitting behind
a computer screen tweaking proprietary software involving circuit
designs, etc., probably for just the type of construction
projects you were involved in, probably in the very same areas. He
complains that many of his colleagues really have no idea about how to
actually "make" anything- everything is so computerized. Although his
descriptions of some of the new virtual reality design programs coming
on line sound fascinating to me- the team can actually walk through
the building while it's still in the planning stages... and Byron the
Bulb has become Byron the L.E.D.- whole floors can be lit with a
fraction of the power of the bulb/flourescent days.

Still, those few times when he gets to go out in the field and
interact with the people who are actually involved in taking the
designs and turning them "into flesh" so to speak, really gets him
excited. He has a high regard for people who can solve practical
problems. I don't think he's happy working in a corporate hierarchy as
a desk-op either, however, and I suspect part of his desire to get an
electrician's license, besides making him more automation proof, is
because it would also afford him the opportunity to be self-employed.

I'm going to forward him your colorful description of your experience
as a working electrician in the city. I'm sure he'll get a kick out of
it

On Sun, Apr 16, 2017 at 1:47 PM, Laura Kelber <laurakelber at gmail.com> wrote:
> I worked as a union electrician in NYC from 1981 to 1999, and even during
> that period I saw various "improvements" that downgraded the level of skill
> (manufacture and maintenance of temporary light - a big boondoggle for
> electricians - going from soldering, to splicing to crimp-on, for example).
> I mostly worked new construction, followed by large-scale renovation jobs
> and public works jobs, and while much of it hasn't changed, I can imagine a
> move throughout the industry to make the work less skilled, via pre-fabbed
> parts. One huge change is the advent of wireless tech. Computer cables were
> just getting to be a thing, and getting on the phone crew was also a sweet
> deal: not only was the work lighter, but if you located a live riser wire,
> you could clip your handset on - free long distance for all! That's all
> gone. It's no surprise that with the move to lessen the skills that
> non-union electrical work is on the rise in a solid union town like NYC. The
> construction unions have always been politically conservative - from Nixon
> to Reagan to Trump - precisely because they considered themselves skilled
> "labor aristocrats," ergo irreplaceable. Now they're getting fucked in the
> ass (in construction parlance), but they're taking it like meek little
> lambs. The old, effective hit-the-scab-with-a-lead-pipe routine - absolutely
> crucial to the building of a strong labor movement in the past, alas - has
> fallen out of favor in a society that has such harsh prison terms, not to
> mention YouTube footage.
>
> But depending where your son lives, becoming a licensed, self-employed
> electrician is an awesome career choice that's still got a great future.
>
> LK
>
> PS - In my day, the construction shanties were wall-papered with explicit
> porn and graffiti, and guys would read aloud from porn magazines when women
> were around. Some of my present-day electrician sisters tell me that there's
> less paper porn. Instead, the guys play porn movies on their mobile devices
> to harass their female co-workers. Progress?
>
> On Sun, Apr 16, 2017 at 11:24 AM, jody boy <jodys.gone2 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> My son's an EE. He is seriously considering getting his electrician's
>> license
>>
>>
>>  On Sat, Apr 15, 2017 at 10:20 PM, John Bailey <sundayjb at gmail.com> wrote:
>> > There's a bit of literature about how the robots vs computers thing
>> > can also be seen as manual vs mental labour being automated. That also
>> > might key into who gets most alarmed - blue collar Luddites were
>> > scoffed at by the leisured class who couldn't imagine wanting to do
>> > those jobs anyway, but when even journalism is being done by
>> > smartypants computers, you get media organisations going into a spin
>> > about the death of civilisation.
>> >
>> > On Sun, Apr 16, 2017 at 1:31 AM, Laura Kelber <laurakelber at gmail.com>
>> > wrote:
>> >> Is there a distinction between robots and computers in this discussion?
>> >> For
>> >> example, the printing industry has been largely marginalized by
>> >> computers.
>> >> Even though large-scale printing of newspapers, magazines, and books (
>> >> Mark,
>> >> can you weigh in on this?) may still be performed in robotized printing
>> >> plants, the products themselves are being replaced by online versions.
>> >> And
>> >> the evil twin of computerization is globalization. Robots replacing
>> >> humans
>> >> has a quaint, Wellsian sound, in the face of such a vast cultural
>> >> shift.
>> >>
>> >> At the other extreme, it's hard to imagine the construction industry
>> >> being
>> >> robotized or computerized. Total Recall (1990) has a joke about this,
>> >> and it
>> >> still holds. Sure, you can prefab modules in a robotized factory, then
>> >> stack
>> >> and connect them on site. But the economics of transporting all of that
>> >> weight can't compete with mixing and pouring concrete on site. Because
>> >> if
>> >> you want to build high ( as they apparently do), you need concrete.
>> >> Plumbing
>> >> and electrical, I'll concede could be usurped by new technologies that
>> >> render the skilled trades obsolete. But laborers can stare any robot
>> >> down.
>> >>
>> >> Laura
>> -
>> Pynchon-l / http://www.waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l
>
>
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Pynchon-l / http://www.waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l