all this time I thought that I had gotten the “Junior Grease Monkey” badge because I proved that I had a screw loose.
I figured that I’d get the “Senior Grease Monkey” badge when I figured out which one was loose and tightened it.
Poetry…I thought we all came here fer the philosophy!!!
Keep yer mind full and yer bowels empty!!!
Happy New year to all.
Yosemite
And all this time I thought I was Mad George McAnick. If my mother were still alive, I’d ask her. My father rode a Morgan horse to high school in the late 1920s, but I don’t think that matters.
It looks like it’ll be another ten years before I make “senior”. Guess I got held back as as a sophomore too long.
Happy New Year to you all too.
On page 26 of Motor Trend this month there is a nice tribute to brother Tom. Guess he earned the top badge. Happy New Year.
capitals are over rated…
Brussels for instance…
oh no that s capitols…
…apostrophes too.
@galant
I can relate to the last part. Being dogmatic, stubborn and narrow minded gives me the edge. I try to answer a post like Tom and Ray would with the added idea, you can’t let limited car knowledge get in the way of offering an opinion.
Have lots of free time on your hand. ;-)
Or a job where you work on a computer with internet access all day.
I sit at a computer all day with high speed internet access at work, but the IT police would bust me for having too much fun, even at lunch. A couple of years ago I noticed that I couldn’t sign into this site at work. It must be nice to have the IT police working for you @MikeInNH.
I think that’s why I like these boards so much, not just for what I learn about cars, but also most of the regulars here seem to have a similar mindset to my own; re living within one’s means, owning one’s car outright, and so on. Most of the people I’m around on a day to day basis are in the hand to mouth, eyeballs deep in debt crowd, and then they want to hate on me for being responsible with my limited financial means. Its great to be able to come here and read intelligent discussions from time to time. (And also discussions that do not revolve around football)
I’ve been reading these boards off-and-on for years, only recently began posting. I almost feel like I know some of you guys. I recently got one of those smartphone things, so when I figure out how to post from there, I’ll probably participate more, when I feel like I have something informative or humorous to add to the question at hand.
Welcome. I had no idea this thing had been going on as many years as it has. The years went somewhere pretty fast. So nothing wrong with being frugal but just don’t forget how short life is. Often the difference between making and losing money is a matter of simple timing and being able to ride out bad periods.
One of my favorites stories is from a co-worker that really always had financial problems but fished, hunted, had a truck, a boat etc. and enjoyed life. Another co-worker was very frugal and saved quite a bit of money and was quite proud of the fact. So one day the first guy says to the second guy after a conversation on finances, that yeah when we’re both sitting on the porch in our rocking chairs, you’ll have all that money to think about but I’ll have all those fun times I had to think about. The next day the guy went out and paid cash for a new Caddy and enjoyed it.
@EdFrugal A number of us are retired or self-employed and we can do what we want with our computers. The average family now has $24,000 in non-mortgage debt, and that’s with low interest rates. If interests rose, they would not be able to make payments on their credit card debts.
There is a program on TV, don’t know which network called “Money Morons”, and it has a debt counsellor work with families who got too deep in debt that it would take them 40-50 years to pay off their credit cards by making the minimum payment. She works with those families in separating needs from wants and helps them get back on their feet. Once they achieve that mode, they get a $2000 reward, paid by the program. Since the participants are unpaid actors, it costs the network very little.
The role models for mismanaging money are numerous; Tory Spelling was cut off by her very rich father and Paris Hilton suffered the same fate. Another famous person, a hockey player, whose name escaped me, just declared bankruptcy.
@Bing is it this article? My copy of the magazine is at my shop, and I’m taking the day off. http://wot.motortrend.com/1411_car_talk_co_host_tom_magliozzi_dies_of_alzheimers_at_77.html
I’m only on the net for non-work at most 30 minutes total of my typical 10 hour day. But I can do it when ever I want. We do monitor employees activities, and in the past 10 years we’ve had ONE person who abused it. That person was given a talking to…and that was that. We do block any inappropriate sites (porn…etc).
@Bing - "One of my favorites stories is from a co-worker that really always had financial problems but fished, hunted, had a truck, a boat etc. and enjoyed life. Another co-worker was very frugal and saved quite a bit of money and was quite proud of the fact. So one day the first guy says to the second guy after a conversation on finances, that yeah when we’re both sitting on the porch in our rocking chairs, you’ll have all that money to think about but I’ll have all those fun times I had to think about. The next day the guy went out and paid cash for a new Caddy and enjoyed it. "
But that’s not how it works, unless Mr. Boat Buyer has LOTS of savings, too. If somebody spends all their money on toys, they’ll live a very rough retirement. Of course there’s a balance, but most folks are not saving enough for retirement.
A few years ago, I had a colleague who would indeed spend time looking at those inappropriate sites early in the morning, before everybody had their coffee and started turning wrenches
Everybody knew to stay out of “the computer room” during those first 15 minutes, while the guy was “checking his email”
If you were to glance at the screen, you would go darn near blind
Sometimes he would say “Come here, check this out.” But I told him I didn’t want to know about it
The boss at the time was too much of a nice guy to report him to the higher ups
I’m surprised anybody would look at that stuff at work, considering the IT guys can literally see what you’re looking at, anyways
The biggest downside to that “Nice guy” is that a company that allows porn on its computers can be considered a hostile work environment to female employees and that can cost the company big time in a lawsuit. No matter anyones personal feelings, it simply cannot be allowed.
Same for highly charged political e-mails. Some can be really offensive to some groups. The best policy is company computers are to be used for company business only.
Thankfully, that “pervert” guy retired a few years ago
The “nice guy” supervisor got a promotion, and is now somewhere else, within the fleet
Personally, I only use the company computer to visit automotive websites, to either look for information, or parts. Anybody monitoring my internet activity at work is going to die of boredom
I’ll also say this . . . I will not confront anybody about their inappropriate use of the company computer. That is the boss’s job, not mine
For your information, porn on the company computer could be a considered a hostile and inappropriate work environment for all employees, not just female employees
@mg mcanick yep thats the one.
We have IT police at my work too. But they call me with all their car questions, so they can’t complain if I am browsing car sites on my down time.