Halloween ...

* Mark turned 20 on Friday.
* Lila stayed in my room (at Kevin's) from Henry's birth on Tuesday, Oct19 until Friday Oct 20.
* I am very close to being offered a permanent job with OMRON ... we shall see ...
* I will likely work in the yard today and then leave between 6:00 - 7:00 pm for Des Plaines.
* Anne has posted that she is considering moving back to IK in a few years ... we shall see.
* Mark is apparently getting on at LLCC.

My weight is up ...

September morn ...

* Lila and I fixed and cleaned '98 white Lumina and Joe, Bill, and Dorothy picked it up last weekend
* Lila finished laying rock next to the neighbor's driveway a few weeks ago. She mentioned the possibility of putting in a walk in the back yard ... hmmm.
* I still working in St. Charles (week #9, I think) ...
* Woke up early this am because I didn't put on CPC machine mask.
* Kevin worked on Kaylee's room this weekend (painting and fixtures). Janet is due 10/25
* Called recruiter yesterday to check on status of Honeywell Life & Safety hardware engineer position ... waiting for her to call back.

Week 3 at OMRON - Hump Day ...

* On lunch break at McDonalds

* Weeded Kevin's flower bed last night

* Brought my (new) laptop in car today

* Linda Hill is visiting Lila (et. al.) in Springfield this week

* Lila saw Linda's new grand-daughter "Ellie"

* Will treat Kevin and Janet to dinner tonight

* Kevin & family will visit us in Springfield this weekend

* ... maybe more stuff later today ...

Off the Block ...

* Barring unforeseen circumstances, I will report to OMRON in St. Charles, IL on Monday am for a 3-6 month AEROTEK contract job. Thank you, Lord. Prayers for me are very welcome.
* HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LILA!

* Current weight chart below shows trending in the right direction while still morbidly obese.

Still on the block ...

* I did not get the TAYLOR or the GARMIN jobs, and then I turned down the ABB job ... so I still on the selling block.
* Am dickering with an OMRON engineering position in St. Charles, IL.
* I wrote an apologetic email to the THINK ENERGY contract person.
* Lila, Mark and I watched the Sorcerer's Apprentice movie and it was entertaining.

...

* I just got a scathing email from the recruiter for the ABB contract position who was very unhappy with my last minute rejection

Interview Pix ...

I had an interview with ABB (Alamo, TN) and one with Taylor Co, (Rockton, IL) on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. I should hear back about the results by the end of next week. I took some phone pix during my trips.

Below is the court house on the square in Alamo, TN. Alamo is in Crockett county (named for Davy Crockett who once lived there). This town is named for the Alamo in San Antonio, TX where Davy Crockett died.



Below is a house at 313 Sherman, St. that I rented in 1984 when I first moved to Rockford.



Below is a house I rented in Machesney Park, also called Machesney Parkinsaw at 946 Colonial Drive.



Here is the house I bought (and roofed) on 46xx Cheshire in Loves Park. Lila and I lived here for about over a year and Mark was born while we lived here.



Below is the water tower near the house on Cheshire. The heart shaped logo represents "Loves" Park.



Hope I get one of the jobs that I interviewed for.

Fourth of July, 2010 ...

Below is our backyard pool. On Friday we decided to edge the base of the pool in river rock for aesthetics. Lila's son Ryan hauled most of the stone. Yesterday some ducks we know (Gertrude and Heathcliff) stopped by again for a visit.


* Lila and I went out to New Salem and to Prairie Hills winery for the afternoon.
* My weight record chart is below. While I am struggling to drop weight to 200 lbs (in my dreams) , I would love to at least get below 300 lbs is a month or two. I weighed 318 this morning.

Professional news ...

* Good news: I have two on-site job interviews next week and a phone interview to boot.
* I copied the following article from the local newspaper. This is the plant where I was laid off last August.

First production line moves from Hobbs to Mexico
By CHRIS DETTRO THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER
Posted Jun 30, 2010 @ 11:30 PM

One production line from Springfield’s Honeywell Hobbs plant already has been moved to Juarez, Mexico. Parent company Honeywell International Corp. announced last fall that it intends to move production from a plant in Spring Valley and the Springfield operation at 1034 E. Ash St. to Mexico. The Springfield plant is expected to be completely shut down in early 2011, said company spokesman Mark Hamel.

The Illinois plants produce electronic components, such as controls, switches, lighting systems, battery indicators and meters, for the transportation industry. About 120 people were employed at Springfield and 65 at Spring Valley at the time of last fall’s announcement.
“The transition is proceeding on schedule,” Hamel said Wednesday from Honeywell headquarters in Morris Town, N.J. Hamel said only one layoff has occurred as a result of the first line relocation. “Obviously, there are a lot to come,” he said.

Honeywell reached agreement early this year with the unions representing Springfield production workers to begin phasing out operations this spring.
Hamel said the other lines are to be shut down in phases for the rest of 2010. The Spring Valley plant is scheduled to close this summer. “We will communicate well in advance to workers being affected, and they will receive support from Honeywell,” he said.

The U.S. Department of Labor has said that the 120 workers at Honeywell Hobbs qualify for additional job-training benefits through the federal Trade Adjustment Assistance program for workers whose jobs are going out of the country. The program provides special employment services, job training and income support during training. Workers also might be
eligible for relocation assistance and a health-coverage tax credit.

Hamel said it is too early for Honeywell to determine what it intends to do with the Springfield building. Honeywell International has owned the Springfield operation, which opened in 1938 as John W. Hobbs Corp., since 2002.

Copyright 2010 The State Journal-Register. Some rights reserved

Weekend camping trip ...

Lila and I camped (alone) at Hawn Sate Park about 15 miles from Ste. Genevieve, MO from last Friday until Sunday. It was a lovely park and campground and we had a lovely time as a couple.


While the heat and humidity were oppressive but we did miss the threatened thunder storms. We met up with her brother Bill and his wife Dorothy in Ste. Genvieve for the annual French Culture festival there.


We sweated every second of the day and most of the night all weekend. We ate a restaurants and looked at antiques and had a nice time.

We did get locked out of the campgrounds on Saturday night because we returned after curfew. We avoided have to walk a mile on a tree covered road on a moonless night to the camp because Lila accidentally tripped a light beacon at the automatic gate and the gate swung open. Then Lila just drove in!
On a less happy note, I'm still unemployed and my employment benefits have now run out. We are now living on our savings and Lila's income as an office manager for a psychiatrist. I'm looking for both engineering and other work to get some cash flow going. I haven't been unemployed since I was a teenager. I avoid going out during the day because I feel embarrassed about my status. I felt that my appearance was a detriment to getting a job so under my wife's guidance, I had my white hair dyed mostly brown to look about ten years younger.

I easily get distracted from my job search work by just about anything (like blog entries). Oh well, back to the salt mines for a while.

Where I have a Cold ...

* I have had a cold all week.
* I finally fixed the oven after Lila ordered the CORRECT heating element. Lila then returned the wrong part that I had ordered.
* I got "stood up" for a phone interview for a job yesterday ... but I do have another phone interview next week.
* My 30 day evaluation period for AutoCAD 2011 is over.
* I studied up on OrCAD software.
* I got a free copy of "In Jesus' Name, Amen" by Mike Casali's "PotterzClay" CD this week ... it's great.
* I signed and returned some legal papers for Mom's estate yesterday.
* It turns out that Mark aced his computer course and passed his Calculus but he will need to repeat his Comp class.
* Lila and I attended a zoning commission on Wednesday night to object to an over-sized fence on MacArthur across from Trinity Grade School.

Mayflowers bring pilgrims ...

* Still out of work
* Phone screen with ITT yesterday (Morton Grove, IL)
* Lila went to bone-loss seminar yesterday at O'Hare hotel with Doc. First road trip with her new blue Equinox.
* I'm on chapter 2 of 4 in my AUTOCAD on-line tutorial.
* Lila advised me to investigate a Put Illinois To Work program.
* I've been watching "The Rich's" on Net Flix. Interesting.

Maintenance Meter 3D Model

Below is a view of a GOOGLE Sketch-Up 3D model pf the HONEYWELL 98200 Maintenance Meter that I (with Bangalore engineers) designed from 2004 to 2008.

Compass Module view

Below is a view of a 3D model of a Compass module that I worked on for HONEYWELL . I designed the module along with with Bangalore Engineers from 2005 to 2009. The module had HUGE problems with the key component, a HONEYWELL HMC6352 Compass Module SMD component. NAVISTAR was never very happy with the part although it worked after a fashion. I created this 3D model using SketchUp while I was laid off last year.