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Ken Ortiz

Per, I appreciate you letting us know, even though it is sad news to lose another of our awesome class.

Ed, I had the opportunity to take some CNC classes earlier this year ( I wrote a post here about meeting a Lane alum who was an instructor of mine) and I am presently employed as a CNC machinist. I was surprised at the number of older people working at our facility (my age and above), but it is a skill in huge demand and we have had salary bump ups to be able to keep up with and retaining and hiring new talent. Plus I love what I do, it's laid back, I do my thing, nobody hassles me, it's not hard labor and I am decently competent. I helps that I have a previous technical background as I am able to grasp the overall process and bigger picture and am able to forsee and troubleshoot issues and have better intuition to figuring out the whys and hows. Plus our cell has more involved processes as we have different products we run so we have to do a unique set-up for each one, change out and optimize tooling, change programs and offsets on multiple machines and have to do first run pieces, which needs additional foresight to get them right. I was even able to figure out an issue that had one of the machines in my cell down for the day and our maintenance crews were too busy with other fires, so when I came in (I work 3rd shift), I started poking around and found the issue and got the machine back up (and it was the silliest issue too). So when the maintenance guys show up, that saw that we were back operational and I told them what it was and then I got some fist bumps, because they were pretty sure they may not have caught that one. I am considering doing a visit to one of the CNC classes being held and quizzing/challenging those students about some real world issues/problems we run into that they will not get exposed to in the classroom/training machines. I know a couple of my former instructors would love me doing that for them.

Ken Ortiz

Per C Pearson

Ed, Andy,

Thanks for the kind words about the trades. Without getting on a soapbox, the Tool and Die vocation kept a roof over my head, a full belly, and the ability to retire at my choosing. My mother and father taught at college's but neither pushed it. You could do that at our time of graduation. There still is a stigma about working with your hands. I have experienced it. 

Being a supervisor, I run a desk and the shop. I'm much happier in the shop. If you love what you're doing you never work a day in your life.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!!

Marie Costa (McJilton)

Wishing everyone and their families a Merry Christmas and a Healthy, Happy 2022! 

Cheers!  Marie

John Bliss

Greetings from Covid Quarantine!

Despite my best efforts -- triple-vaxxed, always masked -- the Bug found me. I blame public transportation! Luckily, it's a "mild" case. It sent me to bed for a few days, but not to the hospital. I don't know if it was Omicron, but it tore through my system like a tornado. Stay vigilant -- breakthrough infections are definitely a thing. 

If you're not vaccinated -- I assume most of us are -- please get the shot. Get the booster. We are too old to mess with this thing. As someone who did everything "right," I still got sick because someone was too selfish to think about other people. Note: If you're anti-vaccine, please keep it to yourself. I'm not going to fight about this.

I'm doing fine. Still a little weak and occasional chills, but mostly normal. I hope to text negative by Friday, so I can spend the holiday with loved ones. The worst part of the whole ordeal is having to isolate at this time of year.

Speaking as someone who was in lockdown last Christmas and may be again this year, I encourage you spend some time this week reaching out this week to people who are less fortunate, whether it's helping organizations that serve the homeless, or just reaching out to friends or relations who may be alone. For most of us, this is the happiest time of the year, but for many people, it's the saddest. 

Okay, that got a LOT more serious than I intended! And a lot longer. I hope you have a happy holday season, and that 2022 isn't 2020 II. Merry Christmas! 

John Bliss

On another note -- I've spent much of my adult life teaching on the college level, and I've counseled a lot of students to drop out -- or at least take some time off. Too many students end up in college because it's "the next step," rather than because they want to be there, or have any reason to be there. A lot of these kids would be happier in the trades, or another professional training program, or the military. Or maybe just working for a few years until they figure out what they want to do next. University debt is INSANE, and unfortuantely universities are more like factories than Temples of Higher Education these days. I wish we spent more time counseling kids on alternate paths. 

Timmy Wong

Timmy Wong

Robert Cole

To ll the comments about the trades.  I couldn't agree more!

Although I've always worked in IT, I used to do IT with research scientists at Eli Lilly Pharmaceuticals.  One of their common laments was that their new hires come out of college with great skills in the sciences... but they can't BUILD anything.  In research, much of what you do has never been done before.  So, you have to design and build the equipment necessary to do it.  Their incoming research scientists had never had any training in any trades, so they didn't know how to build the tools necessary to do their research.

So, even with the big push nowadays in STEM.  You can't forget that the trades are important in STEM as well.

Plus, my time in shop at Lane has at least made me capable of fixing things around the house.  I know a crosscut saw from a ripsaw.  I can put in a ceiling fan or replace an electrical socket.  I could teach my kids not to stick a fork in the electrical socket!
And, when visiting the office of a friend who remodels homes, I looked at his collection of antique tools and said "Oh look... a plane iron!"  Really surprised him. I can't REMEMBER the amount of time I spent grinding plane irons in Mr. Miller's freshman wood shop!

My time in print shop helped me recognize what are now called "antiques".  People are decorating their homes now with California job cases and composing sticks.  I watched a movie the other day set in an old newspaper shop and told my wife, "Oh look... a Merganthaler Linotype!"  And, when today's computer publishing apps talk about "en dashes", "em dashes" and "kerning" I know what they're talking about!  I still proofread my kids' papers using typesetter's proofreading symbols!

So, don't let ANYONE tell you the trades aren't useful in today's STEM world!!! 

Robert Cole

John... sorry to hear about your bout with Covid.  And, right at the holidays, too.  Please take care and get well soon.  We've been very careful here and have stayed healthy so far.  Got all the shots and boosters.  Hell, I'd get a booster every month if I thought it would help.  It's just a needle in the arm!

You commented a while back, after my open heart surgery, "Welcome to the $300,000 club."  Health care in Indianapolis must be a bargain, so far I'm only up to around $249,000.  Piece o' cake!  Gets me that that hospital room was over $7,000 a day, though.  And, it took a nurse 45 minutes to answer the call button!

When I see something like this I NEVER complain about the cost of health insurance!

Robert Cole

John... about "institutions of higher learning".

A while back I visited an old professor at Purdue to talk about a Masters in cyber security.  He closed the door and said, "Don't let the university know I told you this but... skip the Masters and do it yourself."

His opinion was that a Masters degree is just one way of demonstrating you've mastered the knowledge. And a HUGE moneymaker for the university.  It's primarily designed for kids going right from Bachelor's to Masters and doesn't really mean you know anything.  It just means you passed the tests.  After you've been in business you're much better off learning the material on your own and getting one of the "certifications".  Still no experience.  But a MUCH cheaper way of showing you learned the material.

I asked him, "What about those university Masters programs that are geared toward business professionals?  Night classes and weekends?"
Thought he was going to barf!  Those classes aren't even taught by university faculty.  They're super expensive because they know that the people taking them can afford it.  Or their companies are paying for it.  They're a business entirely separate from the university and designed purely to make a profit.

If you think you need classes, look at some of the schools that only do online education.  Some of them are very good at it because it's all they do.  Or, take a few selected university classes and learn the rest on your own.

He then proceeded to give me a list of textbooks and said, "I know what your university degree is.  These are the same texts we use in the Masters program and you'll have no problem picking them up on your own.".  You'll have mastered the same material in a year or so and saved a year and over $20,000."  Then he scheduled a few visits with me for follow-up and "exams".  Saw him a few times over the next year and had no problem passing the industry certifications. 

Michelle Milkovic (Weiner)

Happiest of Holidays to all the Bicentennials and a hearty thank you to everyone who has joined, renewed, participated in an event and/or donated to the Alumni Association this year. You make it work people! 

Everybody stay safe and let's hope for an "all clear" for human interaction by spring!

Peace,

Michelle

Edward Mc Carthy

Bicentennials - Wishing all of you and your extended families a joyous Christmas and a grace filled New Year.  It has been another tough year that tested us all.  As I type, I am feeling like crap with a wicked wicked cold flu type illness, body aches, cough, sore throat and conjestion.   Got tested.....yes, covid.  And trust me, I mask up everywhere, stay away from peeps and have had both shots and been boosted.   

Had I not been vax'd, I might be way way worse off.  Last month, a long time dear friend of mine lost his 34 year old daughter to Covid..

Be careful folks.  It's real,  While it sucks to be sick, I reflect on all my abundant blessings which includes all of my classmates here and the wonderful stories we share.   Life is good.  Let's look ahead and hope for a world that beats covid and puts it to rest for good.

Merry Christmas.   

John Bliss

Hey Ed,

I'm glad your case of Covid has been manageable. I recently read that the cloth masks many of us have been using are pretty useless against Omicron. It's N-95 or nothing! I'm pretty sure that without the vaccine, I would have ended up in the hospital for sure. Hang in there and take care of yourself!

JB

Frank G Styzek

Hope you get better soon Ed!

Unfortunately, I lost my U of I roomate of 40 years ago to COVID-19 a week ago. I know you're also an Illini grad. Great guy and lifetime friend. You're right...this thing is real and we all need to be cautious. Stay safe!

Best wishes for a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all.

Timmy Wong

Hey Ed, so sorry to hear that you are not feeling well.  You're right that it could be worse if you are not vax'ed.  wishing you a quick and full recovery!  I have lost friends to this virus and I have friends who have lingering affects and may never be back to 100%.  

Hope everyone has a great Christmas and wishing for a better 2022!

Ken Ortiz

Hello all,

Happy New Year and welcome to 2022! Hopefully 2022 will be a more normal (?) and sane year. Well, it might not start off that way, but hopefully (again) things will become more normal (?) as the year goes on. We are already starting off 2022 with a bang/roar with the snowstorm today around the Chicagoland area and frigid temps after. I had a feeling it was coming as our November and December was relatively tame weather-wise. One thing I do during this time of the year is to reflect on the year past (I actually had a little time on my hands over this holiday week) and also on some things/experiences that can be eliminated from my “bucket list". I will assume you all know what a bucket list is and maybe some of you have one of your own.  I also think about some future things/experiences I would like to add to my bucket list. But I am also ruling out certain things like the following:

Things I will NOT put on my Bucket List:

Getting kicked off an airplane for idiotic behavior (and/or for assaulting crew members/passengers). Skydiving is an acceptable “bucket list" item because I would be choosing to get kicked out of the airplane voluntarily while in mid-air (and hopefully I have on and know how to operate a parachute).

Performing any kind of TikTok challenge that may cause injury/hospitalization (or worse), or that may result in criminal charges. Are there any TikTok challenges that won't result in any of the above?

Taking any kind of selfie in a keep out/no trespassing area, or where there is imminent danger, for example while hanging off a cliff, while inside a gorilla or lions cage at the zoo, etc.

Performing donuts (intentionally) on a major interstate highway or street (no matter what time of day or night). Of course, certain weather may cause unintentional donuts. Also includes participating in “street races".

Porch Pirating. But would that count when packages that are not mine are delivered to my house by mistake and I kept them? This happened to me last week when there were packages addressed to houses down my street that were delivered to my house. I did not keep them though and was a good neighbor and delivered them myself to the other houses, so technically I did not qualify as a Porch Pirate. Did the Amazon driver think my house was the drop-off point for packages for the rest of my block? Did I somehow get hired as an Amazon package deliverer? Maybe our local driver just did one of those “I hate my job and I quit" moments that you hear about a lot lately. I imagine that if I was busted by the cops with packages that were not mine in my possession while I was going down the sidewalk, my statement of "I was not stealing them, I was just returning them to the correct houses because they were delivered to my house by mistake!" would be another of those instances where I totally told the truth, but would not be believed and the officer would reply with "Sure you were, uh-huh" while he was handcuffing me.  

Performing any rants or no-no's (including “smash and grabs") that may cause a viral video of me posted from a store's camera or having a viral video taken of me posted by someone showing me acting like a “Ken"(male version of a Karen). Also a post on the web from a server showing that I did not tip well, or did not treat him/her well, etc. I do my best to adhere to store policies and treat merchandise with care and appreciate and treat well the folks I come in contact with at grocery stores, restaurants, etc. And I always tip very well (lesson learned from my Mom as she spent time as a waitress and had to deal with a lot of BS, etc). The worst thing I can imagine is myself being known as "A Bad Tipper/Mean Person". "Careful, servers! Here he comes! That bad tipper/mean person! BOO! HISS! A pox on ye!"

Having my picture (identified as “UNSUB XX") on one those ATF posters offering rewards for information on Persons of Interest in Civil Unrests. A few of those posters were out after our 2020 riots here (here is one of them shown below). No, my picture was NOT on any of those posters. 

Any suggestions on what other items we should NOT put on our bucket lists?

P.S. - I should also add "No Florida Man" behaviors. Hopefully, you would know what that means. If not, Google: florida man meme meaning

Have a Happy 2022 and be safe and be well! 

Deborah "Debbie" Tono

Hey folks - thankful for the heavy snowfall on Friday as it tampered the remains of the smoldering fire in Superior & Louisville CO. The area was open space with rolling hills & extremely dry grassland. Videos revealed a haystack that had caught on fire & was fanned by 100 mph winds - certainly didn't help! It was a tragic day around here.

My GF lost her home & all of her personal belongings - years of memorabilia. Despite the devastation we're thankful that she, her sister & their pets are ok. A few of my relatives were evacuated (& unscathed) & a few were on evacuation notice. We're 15 miles east with 2 suburbs in between so we only had smoke & ash fallout to deal with.

Definitely not how anyone envisioned 2021 would end, nor how 2022 would start! How quickly life changes in a day. 

The sun is out, the snow will melt & the recovery/rebuilding/healing process will begin. Looking forward to a better, brighter new year - wishing everyone a healthy & safe 2022. Give your family/friends a big hug & cherish the moment! (Cliché I know but have been doing much reflection & am deeply grateful for what I have, where I've been & what I've gone through and am looking forward to what will be...)

Always,

Debbie Tono

PS are there more LHS Almuni in this area??? Hope they weren't part of the stats  

Michelle Milkovic (Weiner)

Lady Bicentennials...

The Women's 50th Anniversary Committee wants to hear from you. Please consider participating in the survey at this link so we can complete the story of Lane's early trailblazing female students!

https://lanetechalumni.org/womens-50th-survey-2/

Michelle Milkovic (Weiner)

Hey print shop folk... Mr. Sims lost his wife of nearly 70 years last night.  Mary Jane, 92, had battled heart issues and other complications for the last few years but happily, they were able to bring her home where she could be close to family before she died... instead of in isolation.

You may recall Bill was at our reunion along with Monteleone and Szalinski.

Just keeping everyone in the loop. No news on arrangements.

Stay healthy and safe-

Michelle

Michelle Milkovic (Weiner)

Sorry folks ... more sad news.

Timmy Wong

So sorry to hear about Janette's passing.  Our thoughts and prayers are for her family.

Michelle Milkovic (Weiner)

MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR PAUL SMOLK

February 19, 2022   11:00AM

Congregational Church of Jefferson Park

5320 West Giddings, Chicago

CELEBRATING THE LIFE OF PAUL SMOLK

Please join the Smolk Family and Friends in celebration of Paul's life

Refreshments served at Church directly after the service

Janet Peterson (Ingraffia)

I'm so sorry to hear about Janette. She was a locker partner with me and Debbie Tono all four years. I remember her being a quiet, sweet girl. I didn't have any classes with her at all. I only saw her occasionally at the locker. My condolences to her family and all who knew her. RIP 

John Simmers

My Friend -- our classmate, Michael "Big-Mike" Ellis, has died. He contracted COVID, he was hospitalized, and passed over this last weekend -- on Saturday.

For now, I just wanted to at-least make this short-post -- in-that, it appears the family is making arrangements for Big-Mike's funeral to be in Chicago (he most recently lived and worked in Racine, Wisconsin). And -- while those details are still forthcoming -- this can be a word to anyone that may want to look for that information to come -- and attend.

I'd like to write more -- but, if okay, I'll please just let this be enough for now.