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Cat Forum / Cat Anecdotes / June 2004The kitty litter factory
Since my last programming job ended I've been driving a truck. Not a bad gig overall, other than getting paid so little that I'm going broke :( Thursday evening I had a very interesting load assignment. I was to pickup from a company called "Golden Tidy Products" in Maricopa, CA. I drove down Interstate 5 to the proper exit, went about 25 miles west to the town of Maricopa, then over a series of narrow, winding desert roads that eventually climbed over a couple of hills that were almost too steep for my truck to handle. When I got to the top of the hill I found - Nestle Purina Golden Products Division. I figured "cool, some kind of pet products." When I entered the building to check in with the shipping department, I saw more cat litter than I have ever seen before in one place. Tidy Cat brand, WalMart's Special Kitty brand, Target's house brand - they were all there. Turns out this place is a bentonite (clay) mine. I watched as they loaded my trailer with 45000 pounds of Special Kitty and Tidy Cat. I left the factory, drove to the nearest truckstop, and found that the factory had overloaded me. Back to the factory to get my load adjusted, back to the truckstop, still overloaded. I was headed back to the factory for a second reload when my engine blew. A few hours later when the tow truck driver was hooking me up to his truck, I learned that the Johnie Cat litter mine is just 5 or 10 miles north of the one I was picking up at. So now I know where out cat litter comes from! Dan >I watched as they >loaded my trailer with 45000 pounds of Special Kitty and >Tidy Cat. Hey, that would last us a couple of weeks :) That's very interesting. I guess I never really thought about where litter actually comes from. Sherry >>I watched as they >>loaded my trailer with 45000 pounds of Special Kitty and [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > >Sherry Be glad it was the engine and not the brakes. Those large heavy trucks seem to be prone to brake failure on steep hills. In the 1950s, my boss had me clip news articles of brake failures on big trucks coming down the mountain. We still hear about them from time to time. Purrs for your wellbeing at all times. MLB > >>I watched as they > >>loaded my trailer with 45000 pounds of Special Kitty and [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > trucks coming down the mountain. We still hear about them from time > to time. Purrs for your wellbeing at all times. MLB I've always enjoyed those huge double trailers with the Kitty Litter ads on the sides. The Blue and White is Johnny Cat isn't it? But when we've seen the it is usually on the Grape Vine north of LA. And often thought that doubles of clay must be awfully heavy to truck through there. Jo If you ever do this run again, do you think you could run a detour through Pennsylvania? I could really really use a truckload of kitty litter!!!! <smile> > Since my last programming job ended I've been driving a > truck. Not a bad gig overall, other than getting paid so [quoted text clipped - 30 lines] > > Dan > I left the factory, drove to the nearest truckstop, and > found that the factory had overloaded me. Back to the [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > learned that the Johnie Cat litter mine is just 5 or 10 > miles north of the one I was picking up at. What a frustrating-sounding day. I hope you get paid by the hour and not by the delivery! (But probably the latter, right?) Joyce > What a frustrating-sounding day. I hope you get paid by the hour > and not by the delivery! (But probably the latter, right?) > > Joyce By the mile driven, actually. So those days being laid up in the shop made an already precarious financial situation even worse. > By the mile driven, actually. So those days being laid up in > the shop made an already precarious financial situation even > worse. Purrs for that to pick up. Must be able to keep the kitties in the luxury they have grown used to! Are you looking for another job?  SignatureMarina, Frank and Nikki Email marina (dot) kurten (at) pp (dot) inet (dot) fi Pics at http://uk.f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/frankiennikki > Purrs for that to pick up. Must be able to keep the kitties in the luxury > they have grown used to! Are you looking for another job? Yep. Have been since February. Just not a good time to be a programmer or system administrator. Where the LA Times used to have 4 or 5 pages of "Help Wanted" ads under the "Computer" category, nowadays they're lucky to 4 or 5 ads. And each one will probably get 1000 people applying for it. .... Just not a good time to be a programmer > or system administrator. Where the LA Times used to have 4 or 5 pages of > "Help Wanted" ads under the "Computer" category, nowadays they're lucky > to 4 or 5 ads. And each one will probably get 1000 people applying for it. Dan, Check out the colleges and universities in your area. They generally have a computer services dept. Many of the workers are students, but the dept. managers are not. Annie >.... Just not a good time to be a programmer >> or system administrator. Where the LA Times used to have 4 or 5 [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] >students, but the dept. managers are not. >Annie That's a good suggestion. I am also a computer programmer, and have been working part-time since February due to my employer's decision to stop seeking outside programming contracts. The only work has been for internal use. I have been drawing partial unemployment benefits, but they will run out in another couple of months. I have 18 years experience, and have applied for numerous jobs, but haven't received any job offers. SignatureJohn F. Eldredge -- john@jfeldredge.com PGP key available from http://pgp.mit.edu "Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better than not to think at all." -- Hypatia of Alexandria >>Dan, >>Check out the colleges and universities in your area. They [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > 18 years experience, and have applied for numerous jobs, but haven't > received any job offers. So, anyone have a suggestion for an unemployed tech writer? Joyce Lots of purrs and best wishes for a great job to come your way, John, SignaturePolonca & Soncek > That's a good suggestion. I am also a computer programmer, and have > been working part-time since February due to my employer's decision [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > 18 years experience, and have applied for numerous jobs, but haven't > received any job offers. In the fine newsgroup "rec.pets.cats.anecdotes", John F. Eldredge <john@jfeldredge.com> artfully composed this message within <news:mv52d05rq65t2foc9a95sggf63kjblbuv7@4ax.com> on 17 Jun 2004: > I am also a computer programmer, and have > been working part-time since February due to my employer's [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > couple of months. I have 18 years experience, and have applied > for numerous jobs, but haven't received any job offers. Some of the trends lately bother me WRT to computer jobs. I'm a systems administrator (applications specialist mostly, anymore) and our company leans toward DIY type content management systems that allow non-technical people to publish web content. Interwoven in our case. Of course it requires technical people to set up the system and all of the templates and workflow, but after that all of the real day-to-day work is done by those non techies. The technical industry is changing, and where there used to be home- grown apps built based on a custom design, everything now is browser-accessible, and out-of-the-box is in it seems to me. I don't say this to depress you or Dan or anyone else out of work due to the current tech situation. Times have changed, the workplace has changed, and we have to change. I'm doing things now I never ever planned to, or even wanted to. If my job were to become obsolete (and it is possible with the trend!) I think I would make a drastic career change or even look into consulting work. Small business is IN with government agencies these days. Big business is forced to partner with small business to win contracts. Something to think about. :) SignatureCheryl > Dan, > Check out the colleges and universities in your area. They generally have a > computer services dept. Many of the workers are students, but the dept. > managers are not. > Annie Thanks for the suggestion! I'll give that a try. Dan You might also check with local hospitals. They are becoming more automated and focusing on quality principles. > > Purrs for that to pick up. Must be able to keep the kitties in the luxury > > they have grown used to! Are you looking for another job? [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > "Help Wanted" ads under the "Computer" category, nowadays they're lucky > to 4 or 5 ads. And each one will probably get 1000 people applying for it. > Since my last programming job ended I've been driving a > truck. Not a bad gig overall, other than getting paid so [quoted text clipped - 30 lines] > > Dan Gosh, sorry you had so much trouble!!! The things you learn driving a truck though! > Since my last programming job ended I've been driving a > truck. Not a bad gig overall, other than getting paid so > little that I'm going broke :( <snipped> > I left the factory, drove to the nearest truckstop, and > found that the factory had overloaded me. Back to the [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > Dan Sure hope you're a company driver, not a poor owner-operator who doesn't need an unexpected bill for an engine rebuild. Stay safe, Dan Sam > Since my last programming job ended I've been driving a > truck. Not a bad gig overall, other than getting paid so [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Dan Dan, I feel for ya. It's amazing how in this high tech world, us techie's can't seem to find jobs. I haven't been out of work all that long, and I've had help from my long lost love being paid for working his art shows. But I know, one of these days, I'll be working in a diner saying "Hi, my name is Jill, would you like some coffee before you order?" Best of luck to you. Like others here, it never occurred to me where kitty litter came from. Jill |
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