Stories from the Sales Frontlines

roadburner

Thanks! He's actually taking an online college course, but it won't do him much good unless he lands a job at ESPN:

Bracketology

nyccarguy

Small world. I was in Pearl River this afternoon. At a Model Train Show with my Dad & my boys.

driver100

driver, relax, I'm just pulling your leg.

Thanks, and I knew you would take the information in that spirit...you are an educator and we are just sharing knowledge.

As to the 2nd question.................not sure about all that it is advertised to be, but greatful that it is there at all.

driver100

depends who you are doing it with...

lol

Also, good for me,...........can only speak for myself though.

driver100

Which car are you taking to The Keys? Your 535i or your wife's Passat?

NYC, we are going with BIL and SIL so we will take the 535, but, we would have anyway. The Passat is a great little car, but, the 535 is the real road cruiser. It has all the comforts (Sirius, hard drive recorded music, USB stick, GPS etc.). Plus, it is more comfortable and is safer...just from bulk alone, but also the extra horsepower gets you into traffic or around some of these Florida drivers.

driver100

I suggest the BMW, *driver.

Thanks for the info. We leave Thursday morning from Tampa...oh yes, definitely the 535...comfort and power and taking 2 other people.......and we will have lunch in Naples.....then we will stay in Florida City for the night (there is one dog friendly motel there....Gigi is coming with too). We are whirlwind travellers, we can see a lot in a little time. We don't get bogged down with museums (unless exceptional) or gift shops.

Then, Friday head to the Keys and spend the day there...cool front coming in so could be cooler than usual. Back to Florida City and head home on Saturday, hope to avoid most of the weekend rush, we should be headed in the opposite direction.

Hope we don't see any of those 1000s of Pythons in the Everglades.

graphicguy

kyfdx....thanks for the heads-up on Riverbend. I used to buy one of their packages every year. But, the acts got so repetitive, I finally stopped. Otherwise, I'd get a mailer regarding who was coming to the venue and when, before it was announced to the general public.

I ended up with a soundbar for the TV in the den (sony) with a subwoofer. Not bad. Certainly not as good as what I have set up in my home theater room, though.

On a sadder note.....the GF and I are calling it quits after 13 years. Nothing sinister happened. We'd been moving in this direction (the wrong direction) for a little while, now. She's originally from Nashville. So, not sure if she'll stay in the Cincinnati area or go back to Nashville. She wants to buy something else for her transportation needs. But, since I put the majority of the money down on the S4, I agreed to give her the equivalent of the monthly payments she made less 15 cents for every mile on the odometer.

Aside from the arduous and messy task of trying to untangle what piece of furniture and appliance belongs to whom, it's a wierd situation walking around the house when we're both there.

So, the '98 Accord sold this weekend for $2,200 to a high schooler (and her Mother) as a first car. She had over heard me talking to someone else at a restaurant a week ago about the Accord, and needing to thin out the GG stable of vehicles. Didn't think she'd really buy it after she showed interest. But, she test drove it Friday night. And after getting her Mother's approval, she did. Sweet girl. The Accord runs great, tires, brakes, timing belt, A/C, everything is solid, and should last her a couple of years.

I think the BMW 335 will probably be heading to a new home, too (possibly a neighbor).

So, automotive changes are underfoot.

driver100

We'd been moving in this direction (the wrong direction) for a little while

Sorry to hear that GG. 13 years is a pretty good run. It won't be easy, 13 years is a long time to be with someone and not to have feelings. Too bad there isn't a pill you could take that would get you through the next few months.

Good luck with the car situation too.

I didn't mention but those speakers sound like a great idea. Most TV isn't that critical for me, but, I do find some dialogue is harder to make out. Of course frequency range diminishes as we get older, so that makes TV sound more garbled too. Maybe as the baby boomers age I should consider investing in a soundbar company.

I truly hope things work out in your personal life. Weren't you out of work at one point and then bounced back...that is what life is like, and quite often it bounces back even better than what it was.

jmonroe

I'm so broke that I just filed my state taxes early hoping the refund gets back in time to pay what I owe to the Feds. If not I may be posting from Levenworth.

Now accepting donations to farmer's car buying and bail fund.

Gee, I’d like to help and when I saw your plea I showed the post to Mrs. j and ask her to send you a check. She said, “now I’ve heard everything. He's conning you guys”. Since she holds the check book in our house I can’t write one. Let me explain, ever since I screwed up the check book about 3 months after we got married, I’m not allowed to touch that thing. Therefore, until you set up a way to accept credit cards (I am allowed to do online buying) I won’t be able to show you my wealth and how generous I can be. FWIW, I’d be sticking my neck way out even doing this because she audits every entry on our Visa statement every month before she writes the check but I‘m willing to face that music when it plays to help out a poster buddy. :sick:

Hint, your best bet, and best for my neck, would be if you are very creative when setting up the account…say, like, auto parts or tools or something like that because I can usually snow her when she see’s entries for stuff like that. Now, if you ignore what I just said and hold to your guns with “famers car buying and bail fund”, I’m telling ya right now, I’m not putting that in the shopping cart.

jmonroe

tjc78

I ended up with a soundbar for the TV in the den (sony) with a subwoofer

Sorry to hear about you and the GF. It's never easy especially for that length of time.

Our bedroom TV had terrible sound quality as well. I rigged up an old amp and some tiny speakers I had sitting around to fix that problem. I was going to buy a soundbar, but then went through the equipment closet and found I had everything. Sat the speakers to either side of the TV on the stand and tucked the amp below in the cabinet behind doors. I have this wild idea to mount the TV on the wall and rig up surround sound with in wall/in ceiling speakers. This may be overkill for a bedroom system, and may not be wife approved but would be pretty cool.

You know you have an AV addiction when you have at least 4 pairs of speakers in the basement and a closet full of components.

jmonroe

A couple of my favorites were: "Classes--If at first you don't succeed...Drop it!",
"Video Games--How to kill those annoying 20 hours between classes!", "Parents--Like your own Private ATM!", and my favorite "Professors--Proof that it's possible to stay in college forever!".

Strangely enough, none of them found the captions as humorous as I did.

Professors sure have changed since back in my day. All I seem to remember is, “we’re going to have a quiz on Wednesday (was told of this on a Monday) on everything we have covered so far…be prepared” !! :sick:

With profs like you, I could almost be talked into signing up again, ALMOST.

jmonroe

roadburner

Sorry to hear about the end of your relationship. That kind of situation is never pleasant.

graphicguy

tjc....driver...RB.....Thanks for the concern. Appreciate the "commisseration" from my friends here at Edmunds.

My best friend and I were having a beer at our local watering hole last night, going over the events that led up to agreeing to seperate with the GF. One of the reasons we never approached marriage is we both had been married before, only to have it turn into a mess.

Even though she and I aren't married, it's still "messy". And, no matter how amicable you agree to be, someone is getting their feelings hurt....someone is going to be angry....!!!!!

Walking around on "pins and needles", in my own house, is an odd feeling.

driver....yeah, my former company shut down serveral years ago. I had to ax my people, in the belief that the blood letting stopped with them. Should have known better. I was their hatchet man who got "hatceted" in the end, too. Was looking for work for a few months at the time. Not something that contributes to your self worth/esteem.

My parents had one of those huge TV/stereo/radio/8-track combos in a big wood cabinet when I was a tyke. Understand, nothing was broadcast's were in "mono". But, I remember the sound being pretty good, even back then.

Like some here (roadburner, I know you're a home theater enthusiast), I was first in line to move to HD broadcasts, even before the big 3 (CBS, NBC, ABC) had all of their programming in HD. Today, whenever I see a "non-HD" broadcast, I can barely watch it.

I'm kind of all over the map with this post, but abacomike, you were mentioning "recommended" fuels that you use. Some of those on the list I've never heard of. I had also heard that the car manufacturers charge gasoline companies a "fee" to have them rated in their "tier". Not sure if that's true or not. But, I know that using Costco gas, as I have for the last dozen years, has proven to be a good move for my vehicles. And, as always, COSTCO covers everything, if there ever is a problem. I have faith in them.

http://www.costco.com/gasoline-clean-power.html

abacomike

On a sadder note

So sorry to hear the sad news, however as you stated, you were both moving in that direction for a while, so it is sometimes better to end it before you both end up hurting each other. Good luck and best wishes for a speedy and mutually fair end to the relationship.

verdugo

On a sadder note.....the GF and I are calling it quits after 13 years. Nothing sinister happened

Sorry to hear about it. Take some time for yourself!

Good luck!

isellhondas

GG, let me join the others with good thoughts for your future.

I know this can't be easy but I know you'll land on your feet. You're a good person with a lot to offer.

nyccarguy

I am sorry about you and your girlfriend "calling it quits" after 13 years together. Hopefully you have 13 years worth of nice memories to hold on to and look back on. Relationships never end easily (except on Grey's Anatomy). Luckily you both had the heads to not get married, otherwise "mess" would be an understatement.

I second what verdugo said: "Take some time for yourself!"

Since you've now got a sweet S4, ever think of doing "The Bull Run" this year?

bwia

On a sadder note.....the GF and I are calling it quits after 13 years. Nothing sinister happened. We'd been moving in this direction (the wrong direction) for a little while, now.

It always pains me to hear such bad news. Don't know how old you are but you will bounce back eventually. Count on one month of pain for every year you were together.

graphicguy

Again, thanks all. But, in reality, my issues aren't nearly as serious as the health related obstacles some of you face. You guys are a courageous lot.

I am taking some time off, just because I've been traveling almost non-stop since New Years. Gotta take car of some of this personal "stuff".

Speaking of which, looks like I'm going to need a new stove...gas. Any suggestions from the appliance pundits in here?

tjc...I've got one of those audio/video orphan clossets, filled with cables, speakers, a couple of massage chairs, disk players, an amp or two, I think a couple of AVRs are in their, too. Come Spring, it will be ebay and garage sale marathons.

NYC...Bull Run looks like fun....Montreal to New Orleans. Are you going to do it? My dream road trip has always been to start in Chicago and follow Route 66 to CA.

Mostly, I go for backwoods road trips around this area. Probably make another trip down to the Bourbon Trail this year, culminating in a Corvette Museum tour.

driver100

Was looking for work for a few months at the time. Not something that contributes to your self worth/esteem.

Losing a job is way up there on the stress level meter. As you all know I lost 3 jobs within about 4 years, so I have lots of experience. I am used to getting canned.

I was just reading in the Tampa Bay Times how a College education is the new High school, and you really need a University degree to start in any kind of real job these days. Masters has become the old BA.

It is way too competitive for me. I am glad my working days are over, except maybe a job like The Sandman's.

jmonroe

Is it me or is the sound in theatres much louder than it used to be? I may be old but I'm not stone deaf!

Lots of interest on this subject

I’m with you. A few of my last hearing tests have shown that my hearing is not what it used to be but early in life I was told that my hearing was “in the exceptional range”. The first time I was made aware of this was when I was in the Navy and I had flight physicals every 6 months. There is a story here but I’ll save that for another time when we are grossly off topic. So, I had a lot to play with when it started to slip, but damn, I’m not deaf either. When we go to a movie, which is very rare, we do it to be sociable when we are asked. Between getting poked in the ribs when I fall asleep or jarred awake from the blasting audio, movie going is not a favorite outing for me.

Just for the record, when I go to a movie and I do stay awake, I’m there for the visual content not the blasting audio. When I say “visual” I’m not talking about seeing cars being destroyed and doing flips and whatever else the director thinks is a draw to get you to the theaters now a-days. I consider that kind of action cartoonish and since you can hardly avoid that stuff today I just don’t bother going to the movies.

Just a little rant but I couldn’t resist the set up you gave me.

jmonroe

jmonroe

On a sadder note.....the GF and I are calling it quits after 13 years.

GG, I just caught up to your post. I don’t have any words of wisdom for something like this but I’ve been told that it’s best to make the move before things get very ugly. It sounds like you are doing that. Good luck.

jmonroe

bwia

I was just reading in the Tampa Bay Times how a College education is the new High school, and you really need a University degree to start in any kind of real job these days. Masters has become the old BA.

The NY Times has an interesting article on how adults can earn an "accredited" degree at Thomas Edison College, NJ's second-largest public college, without ever having to sit in a classroom.
Read the full article at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/25/education/25degree.html?ref=education&_r=0

fezo

My dream road trip has always been to start in Chicago and follow Route 66 to CA.

You and me both.

Sorry to hear your news. I know I had enough of a time when a 2 year one ended. Can't imagine 13. That said you are just the type that will survive and grow out of this.

jmonroe

I have read that kids who play in a rock band will be deaf when they are older unless they wear earplugs. Probably the same with playing a radio loud in a car.

At that point it is not pleasureable....

When we lived in SC (moved back to the Burgh in ’97) I was at an intersection where I was surrounded by young drivers. One in front of me one beside me and one behind me. It was a nice day fall day and the windows were down. I said to Mrs. j I wonder which one of them is blasting their radio? I looked at the car in front of me and I could see the sheet metal on the trunk rippling and I’m not exaggerating. That kid has to be deaf by now.

jmonroe

driver100

accredited" degree at Thomas Edison College, NJ's second-largest public college, without ever having to sit in a classroom.

Interesting....and I was listening to a discussion on how we could do away with university campuses and just have internet colleges.

Think of the money saved on grounds, buildings, teaching staff, boarding, etc.
The best teachers in the world could give lectures and teach millions of students at the same time.

May have to write exams in one place, but that wouldn't be hard to figure out.

We have e-music, ebooks, why not e-University. Some things may have to be taught in person of course...such as brain surgery, but for most courses it would be fine.

michaellno

We have e-music, ebooks, why not e-University. Some things may have to be taught in person of course...such as brain surgery, but for most courses it would be fine.

My wife is currently enrolled in a Master's (in Education) program that is completely on-line. No classrooms, all work distributed and submitted electronically through a secure software program.

Takes a lot of discipline to do that, however. She is enrolled in two classes currently and finds that it takes 6-10 hours a week of work to stay current.

driver100

I looked at the car in front of me and I could see the sheet metal on the trunk rippling ">

See how low it is to reach the threshold of pain.

nyccarguy

I'm not doing the bull run, but a friend of mine in his F10 M5 is doing it.

driver100

Picture this is a graph showing nice music. Loud rock would always be at the maximum high and low range so you wouldn't get the waves real music makes. A Communications Arts teacher taught us loud rock is not real music because the sound waves are flat, at the top and bottom of our hearing range...it doesn't get louder and quieter like real music should.


Just passing along what I was taught.


Don't pay attention to the numbers...couldn't find a graph I needed.

jmonroe

Best of luck! Hope he makes it into the NHL

Let me brag a little more about Grandson #2.

I know I said in a previous post that his team was going to have another cross ice jamboree in Morgantown WV this past week end. His coach was wrong about that, the jamboree was about 30 miles from the Burgh this weekend (next weekend it’s in Morgantown WV) so we went to watch another jamboree this past weekend. He plays in a local league that has 2 teams of young kids his age (7 and 8) he’s 8. He’s always played for this one team but when they got to the rink the kid on the other team that is their goalie was sick and couldn’t make the trip. The other kid that was their backup goalie didn’t have what his coach thought was enough to compete well enough so the coach of that team asked if he could borrow my Grandson for the 4 games they were going to play because he’d rather keep that other kid on the ice anyway. My Grandsons coach agreed because he thought that they would do alright without him and that way he could get more experience at the goalie position which he also likes to play. Whiz kid allows one goal in all 4 games so obviously they won all 4 games.

After the game I congratulate him on a good job and the very first thing he says is, “yeah, thanks, but if I was on the ice playing with my REAL team they might have won all four of their games instead of going 3 out of 4.” The coaches of both teams heard him and tried to explain to him if he didn’t play goalie for that team the league probably would not have won 7 of their 8 games. They told him it’s the league and his personal experience that counts, not necessarily his playing for his regular team. He doesn’t quite get that yet but they’ll work on him about that.

The fun is just starting with this kid. I can almost see myself traveling 900 miles to watch a hockey game like ‘explorer’ did for a team he’s interested in, if Grandson #2 continues to improve.

jmonroe

explorerx4

One my daughters worked for a company the does marketing support for BMW, among others.
They specialize in Internships.
She worked on the Resort Tour, Drive for Team USA(Olympics), and BMW Golf.
Send me an email at aodumais at gmail dot com.
I'll sent you a link to their website and he can see what they have for opportunities now or keep it in mind for the future.

driver100

if I was on the ice playing with my REAL team they might have won all four of their games instead of going 3 out of 4.”

Hey, leave the kid alone, he knows what he is doing. When he goes professional and makes big bucks playing hockey as a free agent he'll make a lot more money if he wins all his games, not just 7 out of 8.

driver100

I'll sent you a link to their website and he can see what they have for opportunities now or keep it in mind for the future.

What a nice offer! There are some very nice people who hang out around here.
(any jobs for a senior citizen who would like to test drive BMWs for a living)

abacomike

I was reading through the comics section of the Sun Sentinel this morning and saw this one comic frame in "Brevity". This guy is sitting in front of his TV and complaining, "...back in the 60's, we only had 5 bad channels with nothing on..."!

It seemed to hit home given our comments over the weekend.

explorerx4

age discrimination is against the law.

houdini1

Sounds like a chip off the old block. Be proud !!

stever

Speaking of which, looks like I'm going to need a new stove...gas. Any suggestions from the appliance pundits in here?

Not a pundit (and don't ask why I stumbled in here :shades: ), but after years of electric stoves and an older JennAir that we loved, we wound up with a GE gas stove. My wife likes it much better than I do, but mostly I wanted to say skip the convection ones. The gas has to turn off to run the fan on mine, and it's slower than regular baking.

This is a great thread on free college (and lower level courses) btw. If Khan Academy had been around when I was in HS, I might have passed algebra the first time.

Steve, visiting host

houdini1

If Khan Academy had been around when I was in HS, I might have passed algebra the first time

That is a sore point with me. I graduated from college in 1967. In those days, if you make an "F" in a course and then took the course over, the two grades were averaged, so if you made an "A" the second time you ended up with a "C" average.

When my son graduated in 1991, the second grade completed eliminated the first grade and your transcript only showed the "A". If it had been that way when I went, I could have made it in 4 years instead of 5. :sick:

Does anyone know when that changed?

graphicguy

Thanks for the suggestion and comments on the stove. Do you know the model by any chance?

Starting to dive into the A/V closet as the inevitable "rearranging" is going to occur.

Found these gems. I remember buying them. But, I remember buying them from a retailer during their " going out of business" phase for about $250.

I never hooked them up. This may replace my soundbar......

http://sonawall.com/shop_sw/products/ss21_tv.html

driver100

age discrimination is against the law.

Has anyone tested that law at Hooters?

explorerx4

If not, how about if you are the first?
Not sure if I like that visual.

fezo

Thomas Edison College is a great deal. Among things I had to do when working was acting as a proctor for them for tests.

stever

It's a JGB820DEPWW. We got it around the time that GE was shopping their appliance division. Their stuff may have gotten better but I'd gotten a different brand if I had it to do over again.

$932 from US Appliance mail order; wouldn't deal with them again either, lol. Unresponsive to my complaints. Got the GE tech out and he called the home office, but he wasn't able to get the convection part of the oven to work any better. And a burner had to be replaced soon after purchase.

kyfdx

Recker and Boerger is a good place for appliances..

But, a lot of places don't want to sell GE, because their service people don't get to work on them.... All factory service. Which is okay with me, because the GE repairman lives just a couple of doors down...

So, are the BMW and Audi both automatics?

Sorry to hear about the GF... you know what they say... wait, who is the moderator in this forum? Aww.... never mind...

explorerx4

GG,
Sorry that you and your GF are splitting up.
Some years are just 'years of change'.
Hopefully, the changes work out well for both of you.
BTW, have seen the movie "War of the Roses'?
Just check in on a regular basis.

jwm40517

We did out kitchen with granite & stainless appliances last year. We went with a GE Cafe series in dual fuel. It has 5 gas burners on top but the oven is electric with convection also. Looks nice but was not cheap- something over 2 grand I believe- but not like a $7000 really commercial looking one from Viking or similar.

roadburner

Thank you! Will do.

abacomike

The owner of the Miami Marlins took out full page commentaries in the Miami Herald (Dade County) and The Sun Sentinel (Broward & South Palm Beach Counties). In the commentary, he tells South Florida that we deserve a winning team and he explained why he traded away many stars and how he was trying to rebuild the team to make them contenders. He also responded to criticism about the cost of the new stadium in Miami and that the people of south Florida were not paying for the cost - that it was occupancy taxes in hotels that are footing the 750 million dollar stadium. I guess all those bonds backed by tax revenues and Miami-Dade County aren't taxpayer funds!

The real reason for his full page "AD" was to strum up business for ticket sales. The Marlins were awful last season, losing 70% of their games, and an awful record at home, as well. Ticket and skybox sales are way down. After all, who wants to go to a 750 million dollar stadium to see your team lose? The total payroll for the team is pathetic - I guess he wants to mirror Beane of the Oakland A's re MONEY BALL.

I believe the franchise is in big trouble if ownership has to pay for full pages of dialogue to the fans who aren't supporting the team of the organization. Giving excuses for a losing team does not bode well with fans down here. I would not travel the 40+ miles in traffic and through dangerous neighborhoods to see a losing baseball team continue to lose.

driver100

If not, how about if you are the first?
Not sure if I like that visual.

I would try, but age discrimination is one thing, but don't you have to be a woman to work there?