Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

ab348 said:

How long since it was seeded, Stick?

18 days. really exploded after a couple day of rain earlier this week. I am actually shocked how fast it came up.

You might want to do a fall over seeding this year to be safe. Some contractors use a lot of annual grass in their mix which will die off over winter leaving you with a blotchy look next year. Annual grass comes up fast and looks great but it doesn’t last.

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

My bonus was an all-too-familiar, “at least you still got a job.”

Gee, even I get a profit sharing check. 😥

stickguy

the other house that had it done last year had full lawns. No clue what the slurry mix they used contained though. I did throw some seed down in the few bare areas that did not take but doubt I am going to go all in with another seeding. will get it fertilized in another week (a round of starter fertilizer) and see what happens in the spring.

laurasdada

Much like the original Mustang, I am 64 1/2... So naturally a boy's fancy turns to thoughts of SS & Medicare. And, timing.

cdnpinhead

venture said:

I remember lying on a gurney waiting to be taken in for the surgery. There was a blob on the wall, up high. When they wheeled me back out after they were done, I noticed the blob was a clock.

I've been wearing glasses since I was 3, and when I was diagnosed with cataracts 8 or 10 years ago, I wasn't sure what to make of it. As anyone who's been through it lately, there's an initial measurement thing that happens, and I can't say enough about how big a difference it makes in the final result. I'd been farsighted since birth, but the new lenses took care of that, plus the dimming of the cataracts.

These two operations (they never do them both at once, lest there be a whoops that loses you both eyes) made a bigger difference in my day-to-day life than anything else I've ever had done. It was life-changing.

cdnpinhead

stickguy said:

that was my last job. until 2 years ago, when the Xmas bonus was a RIF -- and not quarterly bonus. Annual bonus, paid in Q1.

A few years before Honeywell went completely down the toilet (a la Boeing), the beancounters decided the thing to do was to pay the 401(K) match once a year on the 15th of December, rather than at each pay period. Then, of course, anyone who quit, retired or was laid off during the year got squat. What followed was quite a flurry of retirements (me), layoffs and people outright quitting -- imagine.

Plus which, AiResearch, and later Honeywell, gave a 100% match to 8% of salary, later cut in half and gradually (very gradually) bumped up to 6%.

Cliff Garrett almost certainly spun in his grave.

ab348

stickguy said:

tjc78 said:

Wife and I both work corp retail in a tough macro environment…. What’s a bonus?

you get to take home the leftover balloons at the end of the day?

Beats the leftover sandwiches from the Christmas party.

tjc78

@Michaell said:
What's a professional paycheck?

I hear you!

We are both happy to still be kicking around. It’s a little rough out there in retail right now.

My poor wife - if the Longshoreman strike actually happens her work life is destroyed for a good while. The impact on the east coast will be painful.

oldfarmer50

cdnpinhead said:

stickguy said:

that was my last job. until 2 years ago, when the Xmas bonus was a RIF -- and not quarterly bonus. Annual bonus, paid in Q1.

A few years before Honeywell went completely down the toilet (a la Boeing), the beancounters decided the thing to do was to pay the 401(K) match once a year on the 15th of December, rather than at each pay period. Then, of course, anyone who quit, retired or was laid off during the year got squat. What followed was quite a flurry of retirements (me), layoffs and people outright quitting -- imagine.

Plus which, AiResearch, and later Honeywell, gave a 100% match to 8% of salary, later cut in half and gradually (very gradually) bumped up to 6%.

Cliff Garrett almost certainly spun in his grave.

The big E matches 4% at each paycheck and then gives the profit sharing for Valentine’s Day which for the last few years has equaled about 10% of gross. Not bad for a job that basically is on a par to working at Mickey D’s. Now that I think of it they even give us hot dogs and hamburgers once a year. So yeah, just like Mickey D’s.🤣

kyfdx

cdnpinhead said:

venture said:

I remember lying on a gurney waiting to be taken in for the surgery. There was a blob on the wall, up high. When they wheeled me back out after they were done, I noticed the blob was a clock.

I've been wearing glasses since I was 3, and when I was diagnosed with cataracts 8 or 10 years ago, I wasn't sure what to make of it. As anyone who's been through it lately, there's an initial measurement thing that happens, and I can't say enough about how big a difference it makes in the final result. I'd been farsighted since birth, but the new lenses took care of that, plus the dimming of the cataracts.

These two operations (they never do them both at once, lest there be a whoops that loses you both eyes) made a bigger difference in my day-to-day life than anything else I've ever had done. It was life-changing.

Thanks for the report.. I can see this in my future..

ab348

cdnpinhead said:

These two operations (they never do them both at once, lest there be a whoops that loses you both eyes) made a bigger difference in my day-to-day life than anything else I've ever had done. It was life-changing.

I don't know if you were referring to cataract surgery when you said they never do two at once, but when I had my surgery on Thursday, several patients had both eyes done at that one time. I heard the surgeon say to one of them that it was smart because they were coming from quite a distance out of town so they avoided multiple travel days.

venture

ab348 said:

cdnpinhead said:

These two operations (they never do them both at once, lest there be a whoops that loses you both eyes) made a bigger difference in my day-to-day life than anything else I've ever had done. It was life-changing.

I don't know if you were referring to cataract surgery when you said they never do two at once, but when I had my surgery on Thursday, several patients had both eyes done at that one time. I heard the surgeon say to one of them that it was smart because they were coming from quite a distance out of town so they avoided multiple travel days.

When I had my cataract surgery, they would not do both at once. Maybe things have changed.

graphicguy

"knock wood"....my expenses dropped WAY DOWN since I retired. Real Estate Tax. Car and home insurance, food, pocket money to run around. That's about it. I don't even go to Costco as much to get gas, which in turn, reduced me going inside for "stuff" I don't really need ,but "while I'm here, may as well......." purchases that are rarely needed.

Added the EV6 lease to the monthly budget. I guess that's really the biggest out lay I have, right now.

graphicguy

venture said:

ab348 said:

cdnpinhead said:

These two operations (they never do them both at once, lest there be a whoops that loses you both eyes) made a bigger difference in my day-to-day life than anything else I've ever had done. It was life-changing.

I don't know if you were referring to cataract surgery when you said they never do two at once, but when I had my surgery on Thursday, several patients had both eyes done at that one time. I heard the surgeon say to one of them that it was smart because they were coming from quite a distance out of town so they avoided multiple travel days.

When I had my cataract surgery, they would not do both at once. Maybe things have changed.

They only do them one at a time.

imidazol97

ab348 said:

cdnpinhead said:

These two operations (they never do them both at once, lest there be a whoops that loses you both eyes) made a bigger difference in my day-to-day life than anything else I've ever had done. It was life-changing.

I don't know if you were referring to cataract surgery when you said they never do two at once, but when I had my surgery on Thursday, several patients had both eyes done at that one time. I heard the surgeon say to one of them that it was smart because they were coming from quite a distance out of town so they avoided multiple travel days.

When I had mine done, years ago, they only did them both if the patient was very nearsighted or farsighted, I can't recall which. If one eye is done and the other isn't, the difference causes dizziness was the reason explained to me. A fellow at Menards store told me they did both his at once for that reason.

Michaell

On my last visit to the optometrist, I was informed that cataract surgery will be necessary down the road.

Fortunately, my diabetes hasn't impacted the blood vessels in my eyes, yet.

401(k) - @cdnpinhead, IBM did the same thing a year or two before I was laid off - only one contribution, at the end of the year. Because my last day was in May, I worked for 5 months and didn't get any help on the retirement front for that year.

pensfan83

Waiting now to board a plane after 2 weeks away for vacation in Florida and then a conference in Las Vegas and an extended stay out west.

For those who ever have the chance to see a concert at The Sphere in Las Vegas, please do not pass on it. The acoustics and sound are phenomenal and the graphics....mind blowing. It didn't hurt that it was The Eagles who were playing. For Rocky Mountain Way they did a flyover of, what else, the Rockies and it was wild. At times it felt like the seats were rising and falling and I was high; they weren't and I wasn't. I must profusely thank my wife when I get home because she was the one who encouraged me to extend my stay after the conference to attend.

tjc78

@pensfan83
Sounds like an amazing time. I would have loved that.

tjc78

My eyes are a mess. I’ve been severely nearsighted all my life (-8.5 correction)….now I can’t see closeup well with my correction in.

After vacation I need to get to the docs. I really should get laser… I’m tired of contacts and coke bottle glasses. I’ve worn glasses since pre school.

graphicguy

Had both eyes done, years ago. For a long time, I had mono vision and didn't need contacts or reading glasses. 3 detached retinas changed all that. Now, I'm legally blind in one eye. The other one is pretty good, though.

stickguy

my BIL was like that since I knew him (40 years ago). Big glasses, blind as a bat. I believe he developed some cataracts and had the lens replacement surgery and afterwards had normal vision (maybe needs readers for close up work? ) But no longer wears glasses normally, and sees perfectly fine. Truly amazing what they can do.

My eyes are weird. Not really near or far sighted much (I don't think) but large astigmatism and monocular vision/floating eye stuff. I tried contacts a couple of times and could never make them work so just wear glasses. I asked the eye doc about lasiks and she pretty much said they would not even try it on me.

my wife should get it. she is very near sighted (large negative number, but oddly as she gets older, it is getting smaller) and could probably get 20/20 with the laser but she never wanted to. Does have a small cataract they are monitoring so someday it that comes out, the rest will get fixed at the same time.

Sandman6472

We have profit sharing at Enterprise, something I've never had before but quite like it! I've thought about retiring again and was seriously going to do it in 2019 before the Enterprise gig came up. Think I was so burnt out from Hertz plus the long distance to get there. But then I found my current gig on Indeed.com, went in for the interview and really liked what I heard about the company. So decided to take a gamble, and glad I did. Anyways, the other half has no plans to retire and figure she'll be staying the course for at least the next 5 or so years. So, might as well stay as well, as it's only 3 days/week usually. I'll know when the time has come to leave and it won't be at the same time.

Sandman6472

O F, is there always some guy in your crew who just seems to go the long way and makes your crew wait? We have one guy now who just seems to do this & management is starting to have an issue with it. The guy is either 86 or 87 and is a bit stubborn if you get my drift. He really needs to retire but he'll never admit it. Last Friday, we brought vehicles from one office to another and they were a good 90 minutes away from each other. Five of us showed up within 10 minutes of each other as there are multiple ways to go and this guy went way out of his way and got stuck in traffic. Needless to say, it was so late that we had to meet him at the airport and the office had to wait till the next day for another crew to deliver the vehicle. We all heard the phone call from the boss to our lead and he was not happy...at all!

Must be hard for a boss to have to layoff a worker who just can't do the job anymore. But I guess sometimes, it has to be done. I plan to leave long before I start having issues like this.

ab348

graphicguy said:

venture said:

ab348 said:

cdnpinhead said:

These two operations (they never do them both at once, lest there be a whoops that loses you both eyes) made a bigger difference in my day-to-day life than anything else I've ever had done. It was life-changing.

I don't know if you were referring to cataract surgery when you said they never do two at once, but when I had my surgery on Thursday, several patients had both eyes done at that one time. I heard the surgeon say to one of them that it was smart because they were coming from quite a distance out of town so they avoided multiple travel days.

When I had my cataract surgery, they would not do both at once. Maybe things have changed.

They only do them one at a time.

Clearly not, pardon the pun.

oldfarmer50

Sandman6472 said:

O F, is there always some guy in your crew who just seems to go the long way and makes your crew wait? We have one guy now who just seems to do this & management is starting to have an issue with it. The guy is either 86 or 87 and is a bit stubborn if you get my drift. He really needs to retire but he'll never admit it. Last Friday, we brought vehicles from one office to another and they were a good 90 minutes away from each other. Five of us showed up within 10 minutes of each other as there are multiple ways to go and this guy went way out of his way and got stuck in traffic. Needless to say, it was so late that we had to meet him at the airport and the office had to wait till the next day for another crew to deliver the vehicle. We all heard the phone call from the boss to our lead and he was not happy...at all!

Must be hard for a boss to have to layoff a worker who just can't do the job anymore. But I guess sometimes, it has to be done. I plan to leave long before I start having issues like this.

How long do you have for me to give a list? We had one guy who they used to call Mr. Add-an-hour because he was so late. He’s since retired. Another guy is always deliberately late and a goof off. The boss was getting something for the office at Sam’s Club once and ran into him. He asked “aren’t you working today”? To which this character answered: “Yeah, I am”. Then there was this guy who when I first worked with him the chase driver just started screaming at him to not hold up the whole team. I wondered why he would be so mean to say this before we even left on the trip. I found out why he was yelling when we had to wait 45 minutes for him at the other end.

ab348

stickguy said:

my wife should get it. she is very near sighted (large negative number, but oddly as she gets older, it is getting smaller) and could probably get 20/20 with the laser but she never wanted to. Does have a small cataract they are monitoring so someday it that comes out, the rest will get fixed at the same time.

I was that way ever since grade 9 when I discovered one day at school that I couldn’t read the blackboard any more. My distance vision was essentially a blur for years until about 10 years ago when it began to improve for whatever reason. Aside from a bit of astigmatism I don’t need much if any correction for that now. But of course 15 or so years ago my reading vision started to go away so now I need correction for that.

Up here in the land of “free” health care the cataract surgery is covered by government, with a catch. The basic replacement lens is covered. I guess it is prison-quality though because the surgeon recommended an upgrade lens at an out of pocket upcharge of $90, which I took. Then there is one that offers built-in vision correction, but which cost $2000 IIRC. He said that it works for most people but no guarantees and I would still need reading glasses though, so I passed.

cdnpinhead

I got the vision correction cataract lenses and didn't really need glasses after the surgery for anything but close-up stuff. In the intervening years my eyes have shifted some, such that my long-distance vision is better with glasses, but it wasn't like that for the first few years after the surgery.

snakeweasel

People with Iphones sometimes act as though Androids are odd and strange to use. But it sounds like Iphones are just as tedious. BTW I started computer life back in the 80s as an Apple computer person on a Plus. Finally switched to Windows and left Apple behind.

I am the sole Samsung user in a family of Apple users. I prefer the Samsung over the Apple and I use an Apple for work. I find the Android to be easier to use.

corvette

I detest our company’s IP phone system (RingCentral), but having to carry two phones would be even worse.

pensfan83

I don't need to carry a second phone but I have Outlook and Teams on my personal phone so I'm usually reachable unless I turn off notifications.

qbrozen

@pensfan83 said:
I don't need to carry a second phone but I have Outlook and Teams on my personal phone so I'm usually reachable unless I turn off notifications.

Same for me and my wife. I would think that is more the norm these days.

laurasdada

Company phone, my only. It's going to be a herculean task to switch all my accounts to a new phone # when the time comes.

corvette

I used to be able to use Teams and Outlook on my personal (and only) phone by signing in to my work account. Then the app told me my company would require me to install some sort of app (and give it full access to my phone) to ensure it was secure. I declined.

mjfloyd1

@Michaell said:
On my last visit to the optometrist, I was informed that cataract surgery will be necessary down the road.

Fortunately, my diabetes hasn't impacted the blood vessels in my eyes, yet.

401(k) - @cdnpinhead, IBM did the same thing a year or two before I was laid off - only one contribution, at the end of the year. Because my last day was in May, I worked for 5 months and didn't get any help on the retirement front for that year.

Keep your A1C in check and it will be fine. Aim for less than or equal to 6.5

mjfloyd1

Crappy day. Received a call from my nephew that my 68 yr old sister passed away in her sleep. She had been receiving outpatient treatment for pneumonia. Ugh. Such a nice and caring person.

I have power of attorney and she had dropped off paperwork quite a while back. I really don’t want to tackle this but she and her two kids deserve that I give it my attention.

corvette

Sorry to hear about your sister, @mjfloyd1. Your family is in my thoughts.

mjfloyd1

Thanks. To make it even worse , my nephew just had a nephrectomy 3 weeks ago for cancer. When it rains, it pours

nyccarguy

@snakeweasel said:

People with Iphones sometimes act as though Androids are odd and strange to use. But it sounds like Iphones are just as tedious. BTW I started computer life back in the 80s as an Apple computer person on a Plus. Finally switched to Windows and left Apple behind.

I am the sole Samsung user in a family of Apple users. I prefer the Samsung over the Apple and I use an Apple for work. I find the Android to be easier to use.

I, like many of you detest when I need a new phone because I know I’m going to be out $1,000. Even though my company pays for it, it’s still essentially coming out of my pocket.

Years ago, when the 1st few generations of iPhones were out, you opened the box and were ready to go with a few short clicks. Download all your old phones information from iCloud and you are done. Now, you get an iPhone and it has to update to the latest iOS software.

I feel like every time the phone updates it runs a little slower, the battery drains a little quicker, and eventually you have to buy a new phone.

Apple Care - it used to be you paid for Apple care and you got 2 cracked screen fixes included. Now you pay for Apple care and it allows you to buy screen fixes at a discounted cost.

Replacement parts - they make replacement parts just expensive enough that they want you to contemplate buying a new whatever is broken. My personal anecdote is with AirPods. New regular AirPods cost about $149. One of my kids had their left one stop working a little less than a year after the warranty was up (it was almost 2 years). A new left AirPod was $90. So of course I spent the extra money to get him a new pair.

From what I understand, the iPhone and Apple products in general are very virus proof.

As some others have said, the Face ID and stored credit cards drive me up the wall. My wife has absolutely no idea what any of her passwords are. She can see something she likes and buy it while we are sitting at a red light.

As a merchant, I get a lot of “I left my wallet at home or on the job site. Do you take ApplePay?” Some guys have the google pay and it works just as easily.

I do think the Samsung phones have incredible cameras.

laurasdada

Condolences, mjfloyd. Good luck with the family matters, better days ahead.

mjfloyd1

Re: cataracts

I work at an eye center. People typically have one cataract done and the next 1-7 days later. Occasionally the second eye is cancelled typically if there is swelling.

I had an interesting case the other day. The patient and his sister spoke only Spanish. I speak only limited English. We used a translator via computer to speak to them.

Half way through the interview , the sister typed something into her phone and holds it up to me. The translation was “remember that he is mentally retarded and does not know that he is having surgery”. Wow. Just wow.

He did well. Luckily or unluckily, his second eye was the next day and it was me again. My interview consisted of him giving me a thumbs up on day two.

snakeweasel

I, like many of you detest when I need a new phone because I know I’m going to be out $1,000. Even though my company pays for it, it’s still essentially coming out of my pocket.

I recently got a new phone after having my old phone for almost 5 years. Verizon gave me a free upgrade so I jumped on it.

I feel like every time the phone updates it runs a little slower, the battery drains a little quicker, and eventually you have to buy a new phone.

Just time killing battery life. It most likely will happen with or without tge upgrades.

From what I understand, the iPhone and Apple products in general are very virus proof.

No more or less than windows based computers. The thing is that Apple computers are a small minority of computers out there and it makes more sense to target Windows based machines if you want to cast the widest net.

snakeweasel

@mjfloyd1 said:
Crappy day. Received a call from my nephew that my 68 yr old sister passed away in her sleep. She had been receiving outpatient treatment for pneumonia. Ugh. Such a nice and caring person.

I have power of attorney and she had dropped off paperwork quite a while back. I really don’t want to tackle this but she and her two kids deserve that I give it my attention.

My condolences on your loss.

snakeweasel

@mjfloyd1 said:

I had an interesting case the other day. The patient and his sister spoke only Spanish. I speak only limited English. We used a translator via computer to speak to them.

You speak only limited English? You seem to write it well.

graphicguy

@mjfloyd1 …so sorry for your loss. Sincerest condolences!

As my ophthalmologist said to me, doing both eyes at the same time means the patient is essentially going to be relatively sightless for a period of time. Further, he said the less trauma (like surgery) the body has to endure at any single time, the better. He felt it better to let one eye heal before doing the other! Plus, he never knows how anyone’s body will react to eye surgery!

jmonroe1

@mjfloyd1, my condolences and we hope the family comes to grips with this quickly.

jmonroe

cdnpinhead

mjfloyd1 said:

I had an interesting case the other day. The patient and his sister spoke only Spanish. I speak only limited English. We used a translator via computer to speak to them.

Holy crap -- you sure don't write limited English. I've been following your medical comments (bordering on advice) for years, so let's hear it for the power of the written word.

You've been helpful on here, at least to me; your syntax and all of the rest of it is flawless, or else you've got me fooled.

Sorry to hear about your sister and the rest. I'm 76 and my sister is five years older, so I can appreciate what a shock you endured. Hang in there.

28firefighter

So sorry, @mjfloyd1 !

nyccarguy

I’m so sorry to hear about your sister @mjfloyd1

ab348

My condolences, @mjfloyd1.

venture

cdnpinhead said:

I got the vision correction cataract lenses and didn't really need glasses after the surgery for anything but close-up stuff. In the intervening years my eyes have shifted some, such that my long-distance vision is better with glasses, but it wasn't like that for the first few years after the surgery.

I don't know what type of lens I have. I was never asked. All I know is my insurance was really good so probably the best you could get then. That was a little over 20 years ago so who knows?

But the point is - Same for me as far as being able to see better right after it was done. When people couldn't see something, like a sign, that was far away, they used to ask me what it said.

I noticed that, over the years, some things aren't as clear. It's not bad enough to make me wear contacts again (never again) or glasses.