Minor rant thread. Post your rants o' the day here!

mtn wrote:

Apexcarver wrote: Yeah, credit... I want to get a house and I spent my life "doing the right thing" and not taking out loans or having credit cards... Yeah, I have some work to do..

Another example of how the education system has failed us. I'm in the same boat. I was always told, don't go into debt. I wasn't told that you can have a credit card and use it and not have debt if you pay it off every month.

and you feel that the education system should have to teach something as self apparent as this ?

ncjay wrote: Recently went back to work after taking my first full week off in years. I almost walked out 5 minutes after getting through the door. Garbage piled up all over the place, just piles of crap, scrap metal, and junk everywhere. You couldn't even walk through some of the aisles. There's more broken welding machines than there are working units. Boggles my mind that full grown adults work in an environment like this, not to mention the people that run the place don't seem to mind, either. Anyone needs a job, you can have mine, I'm done with it.

I am due back in 12 days... I shudder to think what my work space is going to look like when I return

mad_machine wrote:

WilD wrote: I think it is still preferable to not be deeply indebted. The problem is all the other people borrowing money to buy things they can't afford have driven prices up for people who are trying to buy things with actual money.

That is the reason education costs so much in this country. It has nothing to do with tenured professors pulling in 6 figure salaries, high administration costs, or even how much they are paying the grounds keeper.. education costs an arm and a leg because anybody could get an education loan for any amount they needed. Because the money was so available, the schools could ask whatever they wanted and people could (and would) get the loans to pay it

And yes it sucks, but that is kinda the way it works... if you only have X number of slots, and way way way more than X want to get in, one effective way to narrow the field is to raise your rates.

I had a customer tell us that we'd get more business if we lowered our hourly rate. Well, no, we are already working at/past 100% capacity, we don't need more work, we have the luxury of being able to be choosy and/or raise our hourly rate. We did both. We're still at 100% capacity...

Duke wrote:

shadetree30 wrote: Compared with recent posts, my concerns are minor...and this is all my fault due to sporadic GRM Forum postings and the forgetfulness that comes with age, but: 1. I forgot what a 'canoe' is, and... 2. Who is this 'Amy' person; when we're not talking about the Trans-Am driver?

Since no one seems to have answered this, here goes: 1) 'Canoe' is used as a keyword to flag unwanted commercial posts (ie, SPAM), which is left over from previous versions of the board software. It's not really required any more, but it has entered the lexicon here. 2) 'Amy' is a reference to a now-deleted (but fairly recent) thread in which a person here related the details of his erotic adventures with a woman named Amy, her friend, and (later) Amy's daughter (also named Amy). So an 'Amy' has become the term for an attractive woman (or other object of lust) that will probably lead to trouble and/or regrets if pursued too actively.

Thank you. Thank you very much.

It so happens I have a co-worker named Amy; although she is quite attractive and very smart she is also young enough to be my daughter....

Drove the Volvo to work again today, the A/C compressor clutch bearing is toast. Noise goes away when the clutch engages, horrendous metal on metal growling when free wheeling.

I had the compressor out, to remove some shims from the clutch 11 months ago. Bearing was fine then, I actually considered replacing the entire compressor back then, but it still worked, and the bearing spun smooth, so I just removed some shims, and put it back together.

Now it needs a new bearing, maybe whole new clutch. It's got ~230K miles on it, so I guess I shouldn't complain too much, but it's not a small job. So the logical answer is to replace the compressor with a whole new assembly, since it's a chore to replace, and I really don't want to do it again in the next 11 months.

New compressor is $320, still needs a timing belt, which if done right with quality parts, is another $300. That's just parts, not my time. A tick over $600, for a car that if I sold right now MIGHT bring $1500, if I waited long enough.

That's really all it needs, RIGHT NOW; it'll need tires before Winter, the E36 M3ty cheap Scantech delta link bushings I put in 3 years ago have been clunking since 6 months after I replaced them, and the paint looks like hell. Other than that, who knows what's going to break next? Insurance is cheap, I don't have a car payment, MPGs are on the lower end of acceptable for a commuter, it's usually reliable, and I know it inside and out (the Devil you know). Frugal me says, fix it and quit complaining, but impulsive, sick of working on broke cars me says, go get another TDI.

mad_machine wrote: It has nothing to do with tenured professors pulling in 6 figure salaries......

My son is in Grad school at the University of California. He showed me where you can pull up the the professors salaries online. Granted the professor he works for is in his mid-50's and has a full career of experience behind him but I guessed he made $125,000/year? HA - I guessed way low - $245,000/year and he's not even the department chair?

ncjay wrote: Recently went back to work after taking my first full week off in years. I almost walked out 5 minutes after getting through the door. Garbage piled up all over the place, just piles of crap, scrap metal, and junk everywhere. You couldn't even walk through some of the aisles. There's more broken welding machines than there are working units. Boggles my mind that full grown adults work in an environment like this, not to mention the people that run the place don't seem to mind, either. Anyone needs a job, you can have mine, I'm done with it.

I've been looking for a new career, and I live in Albemarle. Your return to work sounds better than what I walk in to most mondays. Where do you work, and are they hiring?

shadetree30 wrote: It so happens I have a co-worker named Amy; although she is quite attractive and very smart she is also young enough to be my daughter....

That situation in itself can easily lead to an Amy.

shadetree30 wrote: It so happens I have a co-worker named Amy; although she is quite attractive and very smart she is also young enough to be my daughter....

Fasted58 is disappointed in your lack of poor opportunity/cost calculations, for shame! It didn't stop him, why should it stop you?

bigdaddylee82 wrote: Drove the Volvo to work again today, the A/C compressor clutch bearing is toast. Noise goes away when the clutch engages, horrendous metal on metal growling when free wheeling.

I bet the bearing is actually ok, but the front plate has lost a rivet or something. The bearing always turns on those, engaged or not.

Doesn't make it any better, just different.

Completely failing at getting the engine out of the Blazer at the moment... it's really frustrating, and having not slept enough the last few nights (though I did better than SWMBO last night by a long shot...) combined with heavy wrenching under a jack-standed truck is taking its toll.

wbjones wrote:

mtn wrote:

Apexcarver wrote: Yeah, credit... I want to get a house and I spent my life "doing the right thing" and not taking out loans or having credit cards... Yeah, I have some work to do..

Another example of how the education system has failed us. I'm in the same boat. I was always told, don't go into debt. I wasn't told that you can have a credit card and use it and not have debt if you pay it off every month.

and you feel that the education system should have to teach something as self apparent as this ?

Sorry, I forgot the point: this builds your financial well being. We were taught in school that credit cards are bad. We should have been taught that debt is a powerful tool that is safe and extremely useful when used correctly.

I guess … school has changed a LOT since I was there … had zero mention of CC's, debt, or even how to write a check, balance a check book … etc

I learned about CC's right after I got out of the Navy … used a Sears card and took more than a yr to pay it off … didn't get another card until I needed one for travel for work … then got a couple of gas cards, then Visa started being accepted at gas stations … and away I went … but other than the Sears card, never have I carried a balance since then ( mid '70's)

just didn't seem like something schools would be teaching … though a class on how to make it through life seems like it would be a useful class especially for Sr. yr HS

Datsun310Guy wrote:

mad_machine wrote: It has nothing to do with tenured professors pulling in 6 figure salaries......

My son is in Grad school at the University of California. He showed me where you can pull up the the professors salaries online. Granted the professor he works for is in his mid-50's and has a full career of experience behind him but I guessed he made $125,000/year? HA - I guessed way low - $245,000/year and he's not even the department chair?

wait a minute … I thought teachers were underpaid …or is that just here in NC ?

I graduated in 2004 and while we were taught how to write a check, no mention of credit.

Took a personal finance course in college.. waste of my time, tenured professor who was legitimately suffering from early Alzheimers or something. Spent two weeks covering the 1040ez, talked about interest on loans, and little else.

I really should have known better, but in the meantime, I grew up with a mother who did nothing but get in trouble with credit cards, so that drove me to avoid them like a plague.

You live, you learn I guess?

Ashyukun wrote: Completely failing at getting the engine out of the Blazer at the moment... it's really frustrating, and having not slept enough the last few nights (though I did better than SWMBO last night by a long shot...) combined with heavy wrenching under a jack-standed truck is taking its toll.

I'm not one of those huys who ever passes up the opportunity to say "I told you so", for I am a shiny happy person.

Streetwiseguy wrote:

Ashyukun wrote: Completely failing at getting the engine out of the Blazer at the moment... it's really frustrating, and having not slept enough the last few nights (though I did better than SWMBO last night by a long shot...) combined with heavy wrenching under a jack-standed truck is taking its toll.

I'm not one of those huys who ever passes up the opportunity to say "I told you so", for I am a shiny happy person.

It doesn't help that, to an extent, I'm intentionally handicapping myself by limiting myself to what I'd be able to do when pulling it from one in a salvage yard. I could easily say 'berk it' and unbolt the body and jack it up a bit to get better clearances on the bellhousing bolts, but I wouldn't be able to do that in a u-pull-it yard.

Have you tried a ratcheting box end from the top?

And in the junkyard you can drill holes through the firewall to get a socket right on them.

Dusterbd13 wrote: Have you tried a ratcheting box end from the top? And in the junkyard you can drill holes through the firewall to get a socket right on them.

Honestly I've completely ignored the two very-top bolts, but I have ratcheting flex wrenches that should work the them. Though that is true I can be a bit less careful with the body on one in a yard if necessary.

I may not have to worry about pulling more than a head from an engine in the yard though as there was one posted for very cheap (half a u-pull-it one's cost...) that I may snag that if it checks out.

wbjones wrote:

Datsun310Guy wrote:

mad_machine wrote: It has nothing to do with tenured professors pulling in 6 figure salaries......

My son is in Grad school at the University of California. He showed me where you can pull up the the professors salaries online. Granted the professor he works for is in his mid-50's and has a full career of experience behind him but I guessed he made $125,000/year? HA - I guessed way low - $245,000/year and he's not even the department chair?

wait a minute … I thought teachers were underpaid …or is that just here in NC ?

Teachers certainly are, unless they are very lucky and get into a public school in a wealthy district. I guess what I'm saying is that a grad school prof. at that university really doesn't count as a teacher... I know for a fact many teachers here in MI (at least in metro Detroit) start at sub $30K and have to pay for classroom materials (books, pencils and crayons, paper, some furniture) out of their own pockets. Frankly, I find that $245K salary quite shocking, even for a prof.

And a semi-related rant to make this post legit: There is an inverse relationship between the amount you make and the need to actually show up to work (on time or at all). It's a great way to point out to kids how unfair the world is.

Once upon a time, the proper saying was, "If you use credit, use it responsibly".

No longer. Now you MUST use credit, and you ought to use it responsibly.

Even if you don't want/need a loan, you need to have a good credit score. To rent an apartment, to get a job, etc.

I have a friend who not long ago emigrated from South Africa. For his first 6 months in the US he was forced to rent an icky, weekly, cash apartment, because no one would rent him a decent apartment because he had no credit score.

EvanR wrote: Once upon a time, the proper saying was, "If you use credit, use it responsibly". No longer. Now you MUST use credit, and you *ought to* use it responsibly. Even if you don't want/need a loan, you need to have a good credit score. To rent an apartment, to get a job, etc. I have a friend who not long ago emigrated from South Africa. For his first 6 months in the US he was forced to rent an icky, weekly, cash apartment, because no one would rent him a decent apartment because he had no credit score.

This was my problem as well. I got to the point where I was offering to pay security deposit and first three months rent on the signing day.

I am in a berkeleying E36 M3 mood today.

I've had zero loans in the last 15 yrs .. I've had CC's and pay them off every month

I bought a new car this past Oct (next mo. = 1 yr) my score was low - mid 700 … got the best % that Navy Federal Credit Union had to offer for new car purchase …

after a yr of payments + CC credit, my # is in the mid 800's

shouldn't work that way, but it does

In reply to WilD:

Some of these professors may be teaching at one of the medical schools or be a department chair.

http://transparentcalifornia.com/salaries/search/?q=PROF-AY&s=-base