Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

pensfan83 · January 2018

fintail said:
For the high end cars especially, it is just a subsidy. No doubt they want you to lease rather than buy - for the reasons you mention, and will reward leasers more than buyers.

I think these cars have enough profit margin to make it work and then some - it's not like MB, BMW et al are losing money. You can't tell me it costs anywhere near 70K to build a moderately optioned E or 5er, or 55K to make that Caddy. I suspect the margins on such cars are yuuuuuge. Creatively account your way through it, and all you need to think about is the next model year.

Regarding a meltdown, many doomers have been harping on car-related issues for years, but it hasn't happened. For these cars, if a profit still exists, it works. These leases have existed for years. Subprime auto loans haven't caused any real issues yet either. I'd be more worried about two particularly American types of debt - medical debt, and especially student loan debt - I think the latter has the potential to cause trouble.

driver100 said:

Exactly stick. The salesman and my friend knew he would never buy the car at the end of the lease, it wouldn't make sense.
Companies like leasing....it means they get to lease out another car in 3 years, and it gives them nice clean low mileage used cars to sell.
But, I think there is some kind of game going on when you can lease a luxury car for $0 down, $465 a month, and the payments aren't even close to matching the depreciation over 3 years. It is similar to the financial meltdown, leasing cars at bargain basement prices and worry about it in 3 years time when the chickens come home to roost....to put it in terms oldfarmer will really understand.

It will be interesting to see what those cars eventually do sell for.

My Acura salesman said exactly this. For Acura in particular he said they will more heavily subvent leases with the hope you are a repeat buyer with the brand every 3 years. So long as they have a vehicle that has my attention/interest that's a safe bet with me, especially with the benefits AFS attaches to repeat buyers/leasees.

jmonroe · January 2018

explorerx4 said:
When I was cleaning out my Mom's house, there were tax returns going back to the mid 60's.Among other things, I also found my old school report cards. Those got shredded ASAP!
The funniest thing I found was a report card for some cousin who she complained about a lot, we never met and went to her school.
In 1 quarter, 42 absences.

Man, that is a lot of class to be missing.

However, if you ever saw my grade school report cards you'd probably say the same thing my Dad said, "what's with you, do you only show up to take the tests" ?

jmonroe

jmonroe · January 2018

suydam said:
Two Channel Island boat tour groups are running ferries between Ventura and Santa Barbara harbors. $32 each way. Many people who work in Santa Barbara County can’t afford to live there. I don’t know what they’re going to do till the 101 opens.

I guess they are going to be paying $64 a day to go back and forth to work and I thought the PA Turnpike tolls were bad for 40 miles round trip. For a while I solved that problem by getting EZ Pass so I didn't have to take out my wallet twice a day and actually see what I was paying. Then I really solved the problem by retiring.

jmonroe

suydam · January 2018

I think many people can’t get to work and are therefore not getting paid. I was at the hospital this morning for labs and the tech had been called from one of the north county cities to fill in for those who can’t get here.

stickguy · January 2018

pensfan83 said:

fintail said:
For the high end cars especially, it is just a subsidy. No doubt they want you to lease rather than buy - for the reasons you mention, and will reward leasers more than buyers.

I think these cars have enough profit margin to make it work and then some - it's not like MB, BMW et al are losing money. You can't tell me it costs anywhere near 70K to build a moderately optioned E or 5er, or 55K to make that Caddy. I suspect the margins on such cars are yuuuuuge. Creatively account your way through it, and all you need to think about is the next model year.

Regarding a meltdown, many doomers have been harping on car-related issues for years, but it hasn't happened. For these cars, if a profit still exists, it works. These leases have existed for years. Subprime auto loans haven't caused any real issues yet either. I'd be more worried about two particularly American types of debt - medical debt, and especially student loan debt - I think the latter has the potential to cause trouble.

driver100 said:

Exactly stick. The salesman and my friend knew he would never buy the car at the end of the lease, it wouldn't make sense.
Companies like leasing....it means they get to lease out another car in 3 years, and it gives them nice clean low mileage used cars to sell.
But, I think there is some kind of game going on when you can lease a luxury car for $0 down, $465 a month, and the payments aren't even close to matching the depreciation over 3 years. It is similar to the financial meltdown, leasing cars at bargain basement prices and worry about it in 3 years time when the chickens come home to roost....to put it in terms oldfarmer will really understand.

It will be interesting to see what those cars eventually do sell for.

My Acura salesman said exactly this. For Acura in particular he said they will more heavily subvent leases with the hope you are a repeat buyer with the brand every 3 years. So long as they have a vehicle that has my attention/interest that's a safe bet with me, especially with the benefits AFS attaches to repeat buyers/leasees.

Depending on what we get next, I just may lease again with the intent of buying out, if they have the numbers set up right (lousy residual, massive leash cash). At least that conserves cash up front, and if I decide to not keep it, easier to bail!

graphicguy · January 2018

driver100 said:

graphicguy said:
Re: Amazon....for a lot of these items, Amazon is just the ordering vehicle. They don’t warehouse, or ship. They just are the front end for ordering. The products themselves are shipped by the companies offering them.

If it’s not Amazon offering the product directly, it will usually say something along the lines of “sold by XYZ, an Amazon Partner”. If it’s sold directly by Amazon, they’re usually really good about customer service and will either replace, or refund anything sold by them directly.

In the case of the wireless charger, that’s exactly what happened. Amazon didn’t sell it directly. It was actually sold by another 3rd party. They only listed it through Amazon.

My complaint to Amazon that it was a “bait and switch”. They offered my a gift certificate, even though it wasn’t their fault directly.
So amazon did offer the difference?

Amazon Prime products are stored in the warehouse and it seems Amazon takes responsibility for those items. My pineapple bourbon sauce was a Prime product.......the wrong one arrived the next day, they sent me the correct one two days later, no mention I had to return the wrong one (raspberry).

You can't ask for better service....I think amazon delivers beyond expectation in most cases.

Yeah....they gave me a gift card, even though it was a 3rd party issue. It helps being a Prime member. Being Prime, in addition to the expedited shipping, I have access to their music streaming service and their TV programs (which are mostly, quite good).

pensfan83 · January 2018

stickguy said:
Depending on what we get next, I just may lease again with the intent of buying out, if they have the numbers set up right (lousy residual, massive leash cash). At least that conserves cash up front, and if I decide to not keep it, easier to bail!

You might be in luck with the TLX. I still go in the lease thread from time to time to offer any feedback and it looks like the dealer cash is now up to $4,000, the RV for the term I went with looks like it's 2% less now, and the MF is slightly lower. By the time you decide whether you will be selling the Elantra to your daughter it wouldn't surprise me to see even more dealer cash available and with it so far in the model year the RV would be lower too.

graphicguy · January 2018

venture said:

driver100 said:

graphicguy said:
Re: Amazon....for a lot of these items, Amazon is just the ordering vehicle. They don’t warehouse, or ship. They just are the front end for ordering. The products themselves are shipped by the companies offering them.

If it’s not Amazon offering the product directly, it will usually say something along the lines of “sold by XYZ, an Amazon Partner”. If it’s sold directly by Amazon, they’re usually really good about customer service and will either replace, or refund anything sold by them directly.

In the case of the wireless charger, that’s exactly what happened. Amazon didn’t sell it directly. It was actually sold by another 3rd party. They only listed it through Amazon.

My complaint to Amazon that it was a “bait and switch”. They offered my a gift certificate, even though it wasn’t their fault directly.
So amazon did offer the difference?

Amazon Prime products are stored in the warehouse and it seems Amazon takes responsibility for those items. My pineapple bourbon sauce was a Prime product.......the wrong one arrived the next day, they sent me the correct one two days later, no mention I had to return the wrong one (raspberry).

You can't ask for better service....I think amazon delivers beyond expectation in most cases.
A few months ago I ordered a luggage set from Amazon - on a Sunday evening. It was on my front porch Tuesday morning. I don't have Prime.

I liked it so I ordered another 24" spinner. It took well over a week for that to arrive.

@venture ...I shudder to think how much I’ve spent on luggage through the years, looking for something that can handle 100K miles of flying/year. Hartman, Tumi, and some other expensive brands didn’t hold up any better than these at ½ the price of those others.....

https://www.amazon.com/Travelpro-Platinum-Magna-Expandable-Rollaboard-Suitcase/dp/B00X6JRSMK/ref=sr_1_15?s=apparel&ie=UTF8&qid=1515690682&sr=1-15&nodeID=7141123011&psd=1&keywords=Travelpro

bwia · January 2018

: WE ALL GET OLD IN THE END....

I changed my car horn to gunshot sounds. People get out of the way much faster now.

Gone are the days when girls used to cook like their mothers. Now they drink like their fathers..

You know that tingly little feeling you get when you really like someone? That's common sense leaving your body.

I didn't make it to the gym today. That makes five years in a row.

I decided to stop calling the bathroom the “John” and renamed it the “Jim”. I feel so much better saying I went to the Jim this morning.

Old age is coming at a really bad time. When I was a child I thought “Nap Time” was a punishment. Now, as a grownup, it feels like a small vacation.

The biggest lie I tell myself is..."I don't need to write that down, I'll remember it."

I don't have gray hair; I have "wisdom highlights" I'm just very wise.

If God wanted me to touch my toes, He would've put them on my knees.

Last year I joined a support group for procrastinators. We haven't met yet.

Why do I have to press one for English when you're just going to transfer me to someone I can't understand anyway?

Of course I talk to myself; sometimes I need expert advice.

At my age "Getting lucky" means walking into a room and remembering what I came in there for.

Actually I'm not complaining because I am a Senager. (Senior teenager) I have everything that I wanted as a teenager, only 60 years later.

I don’t have to go to school or work.

I get an allowance every month.

I have my own pad.

I don’t have a curfew.

I have a driver’s license and my own car.

The people I hang around with are not scared of getting pregnant.

And I don’t have acne.

Life is great.

roadburner · January 2018

28firefighter said:

qbrozen said:
If I get desperate, I'll go into auto sales. Haha. That was the first thing my kids said. I had to explain "if you don't sell, you don't eat." They don't quite get it. As much as I try, money is an alien concept to them.
I have to wonder if the fact that we are moving towards a largely cashless society hurts the ability of kids to understand the concept of money. Its much easier to understand the value when you physically have something in your hand and have to give it away to get something else, vs swiping a credit card or tapping a phone.

Studies have shown that people who pay cash tend to spend less than someone with the same income who uses credit cards. That said, we have a Visa Rewards Card, a BP Visa, and a Target Visa- we almost never use cash, but we do pay off the balances completely every month. Each one gives some sort of perk, and it works well for us. We also use the everydollar website and app to budget and track spending.

roadburner · January 2018

Fun weekend ahead; I'm flying down to Greenville SC tomorrow and meeting up with my son to attend a BMW CCA Foundation event- A Weekend With Heroes. It's the last weekend for the Heroes of Bavaria: 75 Years of BMW Motorsport exhibition at the Foundation Museum. Tomorrow night my friend Erik Wensberg will give a tour of the exhibit explaining the significance of each car. He used to be M Brand Manager at BMW NA so he definitely knows his stuff.

Saturday we tour the BMW Manufacturing plant and later I will be interviewing racing legends Brian Redman and David Hobbs for Roundel magazine before they speak at the Saturday night banquet. Hopefully I'll have time to give some updates over the weekend.

jmonroe · January 2018

roadburner said:

28firefighter said:

qbrozen said:
If I get desperate, I'll go into auto sales. Haha. That was the first thing my kids said. I had to explain "if you don't sell, you don't eat." They don't quite get it. As much as I try, money is an alien concept to them.
I have to wonder if the fact that we are moving towards a largely cashless society hurts the ability of kids to understand the concept of money. Its much easier to understand the value when you physically have something in your hand and have to give it away to get something else, vs swiping a credit card or tapping a phone.

Studies have shown that people who pay cash tend to spend less than someone with the same income who uses credit cards. That said, we have a Visa Rewards Card, a BP Visa, and a Target Visa- we almost never use cash, but we do pay off the balances completely every month. Each one gives some sort of perk, and it works well for us. We also use the everydollar website and app to budget and track spending.

We didn't start to use credit cards to any great extent until we got a US Air Master Card when we lived in SC, about 1994 if I had to guess. Only got that one because they gave a free flight which we could use to fly back to the Burgh and it did not have a restriction when we would probably want to use it. It was a rewards card that gave us points toward future flights that came in handy a few times. I told Mrs. j to use it for everything over 5 bucks, EVERYTHING. Fast forward to the day she got the first statement. She met me the instant I walked into the house after coming home from work. Her eyes were as big as saucers and she said, "you'll never guess how much that Master Card bill is". So, I said, "tell me", as best as I can remember, it was just a tick under 2 grand. I said, "if you really want to scare me, tell me we don't have that much in the check book". We did and paid it off just like I planned and have done it like that till this day.

I liked the idea of not having to go to the ATM every time I turned around and she liked not having to write so many checks and also not having to go to the ATM.

Because of our reliance on CC's for years, for a while there I rarely had more than $30 in my wallet but the last few years I have upped that to something just under 100 bucks, "just in case".

After I got to thinking about carrying that much in my wallet, I think it is actually safer, in a way. A few years ago if I were to be held up in a parking lot somewhere the thief might have shot me because I wasted his time...now he might just take my money and leave.

You guys otta start thinking about that.

jmonroe

28firefighter · January 2018

roadburner said:
Fun weekend ahead; I'm flying down to Greenville SC tomorrow and meeting up with my son to attend a BMW CCA Foundation event- A Weekend With Heroes. It's the last weekend for the Heroes of Bavaria: 75 Years of BMW Motorsport exhibition at the Foundation Museum. Tomorrow night my friend Erik Wensberg will give a tour of the exhibit explaining the significance of each car. He used to be M Brand Manager at BMW NA so he definitely knows his stuff.

Saturday we tour the BMW Manufacturing plant and later I will be interviewing racing legends Brian Redman and David Hobbs for Roundel magazine before they speak at the Saturday night banquet. Hopefully I'll have time to give some updates over the weekend.

Awesome!

suydam · January 2018

jmonroe said:

roadburner said:

28firefighter said:

qbrozen said:
If I get desperate, I'll go into auto sales. Haha. That was the first thing my kids said. I had to explain "if you don't sell, you don't eat." They don't quite get it. As much as I try, money is an alien concept to them.
I have to wonder if the fact that we are moving towards a largely cashless society hurts the ability of kids to understand the concept of money. Its much easier to understand the value when you physically have something in your hand and have to give it away to get something else, vs swiping a credit card or tapping a phone.

Studies have shown that people who pay cash tend to spend less than someone with the same income who uses credit cards. That said, we have a Visa Rewards Card, a BP Visa, and a Target Visa- we almost never use cash, but we do pay off the balances completely every month. Each one gives some sort of perk, and it works well for us. We also use the everydollar website and app to budget and track spending.
We didn't start to use credit cards to any great extent until we got a US Air Master Card when we lived in SC, about 1994 if I had to guess. Only got that one because they gave a free flight which we could use to fly back to the Burgh and it did not have a restriction when we would probably want to use it. It was a rewards card that gave us points toward future flights that came in handy a few times. I told Mrs. j to use it for everything over 5 bucks, EVERYTHING. Fast forward to the day she got the first statement. She met me the instant I walked into the house after coming home from work. Her eyes were as big as saucers and she said, "you'll never guess how much that Master Card bill is". So, I said, "tell me", as best as I can remember, it was just a tick under 2 grand. I said, "if you really want to scare me, tell me we don't have that much in the check book". We did and paid it off just like I planned and have done it like that till this day.

I liked the idea of not having to go to the ATM every time I turned around and she liked not having to write so many checks and also not having to go to the ATM.

Because of our reliance on CC's for years, for a while there I rarely had more than $30 in my wallet but the last few years I have upped that to something just under 100 bucks, "just in case".

After I got to thinking about carrying that much in my wallet, I think it is actually safer, in a way. A few years ago if I were to be held up in a parking lot somewhere the thief might have shot me because I wasted his time...now he might just take my money and leave.

You guys otta start thinking about that.

jmonroe

Hmm, I am fortunate enough that I don’t really need to plan my life around the odds of getting shot. And given the random nature of mass shootings in the U.S. (malls, theaters, office buildings), I’m not sure that’s possible.

houdini1 · January 2018

jmonroe said:

explorerx4 said:
When I was cleaning out my Mom's house, there were tax returns going back to the mid 60's.Among other things, I also found my old school report cards. Those got shredded ASAP!
The funniest thing I found was a report card for some cousin who she complained about a lot, we never met and went to her school.
In 1 quarter, 42 absences.
Man, that is a lot of class to be missing.

However, if you ever saw my grade school report cards you'd probably say the same thing my Dad said, "what's with you, do you only show up to take the tests" ?

jmonroe

When I started first grade, they had to drag me, kicking and screaming to the school bus. After about a week I was fine. In the 2nd thru 4th grades, I got perfect attendance certificates all 3 years. I would go, no matter what because I wanted those certificates !

houdini1 · January 2018

bwia said:
: WE ALL GET OLD IN THE END....

I changed my car horn to gunshot sounds. People get out of the way much faster now.

Gone are the days when girls used to cook like their mothers. Now they drink like their fathers..

You know that tingly little feeling you get when you really like someone? That's common sense leaving your body.

I didn't make it to the gym today. That makes five years in a row.

I decided to stop calling the bathroom the “John” and renamed it the “Jim”. I feel so much better saying I went to the Jim this morning.

Old age is coming at a really bad time. When I was a child I thought “Nap Time” was a punishment. Now, as a grownup, it feels like a small vacation.

The biggest lie I tell myself is..."I don't need to write that down, I'll remember it."

I don't have gray hair; I have "wisdom highlights" I'm just very wise.

If God wanted me to touch my toes, He would've put them on my knees.

Last year I joined a support group for procrastinators. We haven't met yet.

Why do I have to press one for English when you're just going to transfer me to someone I can't understand anyway?

Of course I talk to myself; sometimes I need expert advice.

At my age "Getting lucky" means walking into a room and remembering what I came in there for.

Actually I'm not complaining because I am a Senager. (Senior teenager) I have everything that I wanted as a teenager, only 60 years later.

I don’t have to go to school or work.

I get an allowance every month.

I have my own pad.

I don’t have a curfew.

I have a driver’s license and my own car.

The people I hang around with are not scared of getting pregnant.

And I don’t have acne.

Life is great.

I have always heard the good thing about old age is that it usually doesn't last that long !

jmonroe · January 2018

houdini1 said:

bwia said:
: WE ALL GET OLD IN THE END....

I changed my car horn to gunshot sounds. People get out of the way much faster now.

Gone are the days when girls used to cook like their mothers. Now they drink like their fathers..

You know that tingly little feeling you get when you really like someone? That's common sense leaving your body.

I didn't make it to the gym today. That makes five years in a row.

I decided to stop calling the bathroom the “John” and renamed it the “Jim”. I feel so much better saying I went to the Jim this morning.

Old age is coming at a really bad time. When I was a child I thought “Nap Time” was a punishment. Now, as a grownup, it feels like a small vacation.

The biggest lie I tell myself is..."I don't need to write that down, I'll remember it."

I don't have gray hair; I have "wisdom highlights" I'm just very wise.

If God wanted me to touch my toes, He would've put them on my knees.

Last year I joined a support group for procrastinators. We haven't met yet.

Why do I have to press one for English when you're just going to transfer me to someone I can't understand anyway?

Of course I talk to myself; sometimes I need expert advice.

At my age "Getting lucky" means walking into a room and remembering what I came in there for.

Actually I'm not complaining because I am a Senager. (Senior teenager) I have everything that I wanted as a teenager, only 60 years later.

I don’t have to go to school or work.

I get an allowance every month.

I have my own pad.

I don’t have a curfew.

I have a driver’s license and my own car.

The people I hang around with are not scared of getting pregnant.

And I don’t have acne.

Life is great.
I have always heard the good thing about old age is that it usually doesn't last that long !

Thanks. :@

jmonroe

pensfan83 · January 2018

roadburner said:
Studies have shown that people who pay cash tend to spend less than someone with the same income who uses credit cards. That said, we have a Visa Rewards Card, a BP Visa, and a Target Visa- we almost never use cash, but we do pay off the balances completely every month. Each one gives some sort of perk, and it works well for us. We also use the everydollar website and app to budget and track spending.

Too funny, that's me to a fault. I think it's seeing my money clip get smaller is what turns me into a scrooge when I have cash.

In our household my wife is the one who researches all of the award credit cards, and has done comparisons of the various perks, awards, and benefits that go along with each. We usually spread out the spending to try and maximize our rewards as much as possible.

driver100 · January 2018

houdini1 said:

jmonroe said:

explorerx4 said:
When I was cleaning out my Mom's house, there were tax returns going back to the mid 60's.Among other things, I also found my old school report cards. Those got shredded ASAP!
The funniest thing I found was a report card for some cousin who she complained about a lot, we never met and went to her school.
In 1 quarter, 42 absences.
Man, that is a lot of class to be missing.

However, if you ever saw my grade school report cards you'd probably say the same thing my Dad said, "what's with you, do you only show up to take the tests" ?

jmonroe
When I started first grade, they had to drag me, kicking and screaming to the school bus. After about a week I was fine. In the 2nd thru 4th grades, I got perfect attendance certificates all 3 years. I would go, no matter what because I wanted those certificates !

Guess you weren't too bright houdini....you fell for the old perfect attendance certificate trick.

(just joking).

venture · January 2018

graphicguy said:

venture said:

driver100 said:

graphicguy said:
Re: Amazon....for a lot of these items, Amazon is just the ordering vehicle. They don’t warehouse, or ship. They just are the front end for ordering. The products themselves are shipped by the companies offering them.

If it’s not Amazon offering the product directly, it will usually say something along the lines of “sold by XYZ, an Amazon Partner”. If it’s sold directly by Amazon, they’re usually really good about customer service and will either replace, or refund anything sold by them directly.

In the case of the wireless charger, that’s exactly what happened. Amazon didn’t sell it directly. It was actually sold by another 3rd party. They only listed it through Amazon.

My complaint to Amazon that it was a “bait and switch”. They offered my a gift certificate, even though it wasn’t their fault directly.
So amazon did offer the difference?

Amazon Prime products are stored in the warehouse and it seems Amazon takes responsibility for those items. My pineapple bourbon sauce was a Prime product.......the wrong one arrived the next day, they sent me the correct one two days later, no mention I had to return the wrong one (raspberry).

You can't ask for better service....I think amazon delivers beyond expectation in most cases.
A few months ago I ordered a luggage set from Amazon - on a Sunday evening. It was on my front porch Tuesday morning. I don't have Prime.

I liked it so I ordered another 24" spinner. It took well over a week for that to arrive.
@venture ...I shudder to think how much I’ve spent on luggage through the years, looking for something that can handle 100K miles of flying/year. Hartman, Tumi, and some other expensive brands didn’t hold up any better than these at ½ the price of those others.....

https://www.amazon.com/Travelpro-Platinum-Magna-Expandable-Rollaboard-Suitcase/dp/B00X6JRSMK/ref=sr_1_15?s=apparel&ie=UTF8&qid=1515690682&sr=1-15&nodeID=7141123011&psd=1&keywords=Travelpro

I don't travel anywhere near that much. Never did when I was working at a real job either, but I have come to the conclusion that getting less expensive luggage and just replacing it occasionally may be cheaper in the long run. Plus you get all the updates that way; such as they are.

fintail · January 2018

Racing models, so they have an excuse for not using turn signals

roadburner said:
Fun weekend ahead; I'm flying down to Greenville SC tomorrow and meeting up with my son to attend a BMW CCA Foundation event.

houdini1 · January 2018

driver100 said:

houdini1 said:

jmonroe said:

explorerx4 said:
When I was cleaning out my Mom's house, there were tax returns going back to the mid 60's.Among other things, I also found my old school report cards. Those got shredded ASAP!
The funniest thing I found was a report card for some cousin who she complained about a lot, we never met and went to her school.
In 1 quarter, 42 absences.
Man, that is a lot of class to be missing.

However, if you ever saw my grade school report cards you'd probably say the same thing my Dad said, "what's with you, do you only show up to take the tests" ?

jmonroe
When I started first grade, they had to drag me, kicking and screaming to the school bus. After about a week I was fine. In the 2nd thru 4th grades, I got perfect attendance certificates all 3 years. I would go, no matter what because I wanted those certificates !
Guess you weren't too bright houdini....you fell for the old perfect attendance certificate trick.
(just joking).

Hook, line, and sinker !

oldfarmer50 · January 2018

driver100 said:

houdini1 said:

jmonroe said:

explorerx4 said:
When I was cleaning out my Mom's house, there were tax returns going back to the mid 60's.Among other things, I also found my old school report cards. Those got shredded ASAP!
The funniest thing I found was a report card for some cousin who she complained about a lot, we never met and went to her school.
In 1 quarter, 42 absences.
Man, that is a lot of class to be missing.

However, if you ever saw my grade school report cards you'd probably say the same thing my Dad said, "what's with you, do you only show up to take the tests" ?

jmonroe
When I started first grade, they had to drag me, kicking and screaming to the school bus. After about a week I was fine. In the 2nd thru 4th grades, I got perfect attendance certificates all 3 years. I would go, no matter what because I wanted those certificates !
Guess you weren't too bright houdini....you fell for the old perfect attendance certificate trick.
(just joking).

The school where I drove liked to hand out real lame "awards" to mold behavior. I got one for 3 years of perfect attendance. It was a T-shirt with the school name on it. I pointed out that at the time I received no sick or personal leave so I had no choice but to work or starve. They said enjoy your T-shirt.

Last time I saw it I was waxing my car with it.

ab348 · January 2018

houdini1 said:

When I started first grade, they had to drag me, kicking and screaming to the school bus. After about a week I was fine. In the 2nd thru 4th grades, I got perfect attendance certificates all 3 years. I would go, no matter what because I wanted those certificates !

When I was purging much of the old paper stored in the basement I found something I had forgotten about. Back around 1984 or early '85 I was one of the staff of the Victoria General Hospital who was awarded a perfect attendance certificate by the CEO. I remember they even gave us a dinner (in the hospital cafeteria!) as part of the ceremonies. At the time I lived two blocks away from the hospital so it was not an ordeal to get there regardless of the weather. But with 3000 employees I was one of a handful of staff who won it. I know they had a real attendance problem there because most of the staff were unionized and many of those employees used some of their sick days as mental health days.

abacomike · January 2018

The scam callers are getting worse and worse. Earlier this evening, I got a call on my landline phone. I picked it up and I could hear the telltale click prior to someone coming on the line - had to be a robo call. The woman asked me if I had authorized a large purchase at Publix for $234.00 earlier today on my CHASE DEBIT CARD.

I knew then it was a fraudulent scam call because I don’t have a Chase debit card - I did 15 years ago, but not any longer. I cursed her out on the phone and hung up, I’ll bet they got my home phone number and info on the debit card from that Equifax data breach. The phone number I have on all my accounts is my cell, not my landline.

I called Chase to inform them of the call so they can alert their fraud department.

tbirdmarco · January 2018

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=94QDNkQXkqM

tbirdmarco · January 2018

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vzJn7Aux0Y4

pensfan83 · January 2018

What's a landline?

abacomike · January 2018

pensfan83 said:

What's a landline?

A phone connected to the world by hardwire - an ATT phone. My condo association requires that each unit must have a regular house phone connected by wire because the fire alarms and security at the two entrances to the community use only those kinds of communication. I pay $45.00 for the line - a waste of money because I never use the darn phone.

explorerx4 · January 2018

We keep our landline because there are family members that only know that number.

stickguy · January 2018

I still have ours. I work from home, and prefer using the real phone for business calls (unless it is a webex that I can run through the computer). I also do a lot of phone testing which requires much button pushing. Basically the cell phone is not at all convenient for what I need to do.

But, it is no longer technically a landline. Like many people, we have it bundled through the internet with Comcast. So it looks like a "real" phone, has the same phone number, all the extensions work, but the phone goes out whenever the cable does! Then I use the cell.

pensfan83 · January 2018

abacomike said:

pensfan83 said:

What's a landline?

A phone connected to the world by hardwire - an ATT phone. My condo association requires that each unit must have a regular house phone connected by wire because the fire alarms and security at the two entrances to the community use only those kinds of communication. I pay $45.00 for the line - a waste of money because I never use the darn phone.

I know, I was kidding.

suydam · January 2018

I think it’s been at least 10 years since we’ve had a landline.

abacomike · January 2018

I wish I could get rid of the traditional phone - but security and fire alarms and smoke detectors are all hardwired into the phone lines.

I use my mobile phone for everything and I only pay $50 a month, tax included for unlimited everything including LTE data. In my condo I have 2.4 and 5.0 WiFi so the speed is great - 75 mbs

driver100 · January 2018

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

houdini1 said:

jmonroe said:

explorerx4 said:
When I was cleaning out my Mom's house, there were tax returns going back to the mid 60's.Among other things, I also found my old school report cards. Those got shredded ASAP!
The funniest thing I found was a report card for some cousin who she complained about a lot, we never met and went to her school.
In 1 quarter, 42 absences.
Man, that is a lot of class to be missing.

However, if you ever saw my grade school report cards you'd probably say the same thing my Dad said, "what's with you, do you only show up to take the tests" ?

jmonroe
When I started first grade, they had to drag me, kicking and screaming to the school bus. After about a week I was fine. In the 2nd thru 4th grades, I got perfect attendance certificates all 3 years. I would go, no matter what because I wanted those certificates !
Guess you weren't too bright houdini....you fell for the old perfect attendance certificate trick.
(just joking).
The school where I drove liked to hand out real lame "awards" to mold behavior. I got one for 3 years of perfect attendance. It was a T-shirt with the school name on it. .

It all starts with those gold stars teachers put on perfect papers, and then they put them on foreheads. Then you got T-shirts or certificates for perfect attendance.
That was when schools taught kids how to be little capitalists....work for your reward.

fintail · January 2018

I've never had a landline in my name. I had one that belonged to the building when I was a student, but since I've been out in the world, mobile-only.

I have full bars of LTE here, along with 75 MB wifi, so it works.

driver100 · January 2018

abacomike said:
The scam callers are getting worse and worse. Earlier this evening, I got a call on my landline phone. e.

I called Chase to inform them of the call so they can alert their fraud department.

They called the landline just because that is what the robocaller dialed. I got one today, and when I answer I say Hello instead of YES, I understand they can take your YES and attach it to a recording saying YES I agree to that.

This call went something like this in one of those happy young female voices;
Hi, my name is Kelly and since you have stayed at many of our hotels or resorts you have been chosen to.........HANG UP!,
"

oldfarmer50 · January 2018

abacomike said:
The scam callers are getting worse and worse. Earlier this evening, I got a call on my landline phone. I picked it up and I could hear the telltale click prior to someone coming on the line - had to be a robo call. The woman asked me if I had authorized a large purchase at Publix for $234.00 earlier today on my CHASE DEBIT CARD.

I knew then it was a fraudulent scam call because I don’t have a Chase debit card - I did 15 years ago, but not any longer. I cursed her out on the phone and hung up, I’ll bet they got my home phone number and info on the debit card from that Equifax data breach. The phone number I have on all my accounts is my cell, not my landline.

I called Chase to inform them of the call so they can alert their fraud department.

I get those calls 10 times a day but usually from just "card services". I thought there was a no call law.

nyccarguy · January 2018

Cell service in our home is terrible. We can't "cut the cord."

oldfarmer50 · January 2018

driver100 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

houdini1 said:

jmonroe said:

explorerx4 said:
When I was cleaning out my Mom's house, there were tax returns going back to the mid 60's.Among other things, I also found my old school report cards. Those got shredded ASAP!
The funniest thing I found was a report card for some cousin who she complained about a lot, we never met and went to her school.
In 1 quarter, 42 absences.
Man, that is a lot of class to be missing.

However, if you ever saw my grade school report cards you'd probably say the same thing my Dad said, "what's with you, do you only show up to take the tests" ?

jmonroe
When I started first grade, they had to drag me, kicking and screaming to the school bus. After about a week I was fine. In the 2nd thru 4th grades, I got perfect attendance certificates all 3 years. I would go, no matter what because I wanted those certificates !
Guess you weren't too bright houdini....you fell for the old perfect attendance certificate trick.
(just joking).
The school where I drove liked to hand out real lame "awards" to mold behavior. I got one for 3 years of perfect attendance. It was a T-shirt with the school name on it. .
It all starts with those gold stars teachers put on perfect papers, and then they put them on foreheads. Then you got T-shirts or certificates for perfect attendance.
That was when schools taught kids how to be little capitalists....work for your reward.

Now the kids are taught they're entitled to a gold star regardless of effort.

That operant conditioning never worked on me because I studied Pavlov.

nyccarguy · January 2018

Hey @explorerx4, we are thinking of heading up your way to go skiing on Sunday (Ski Sundown). What do you think weatherwise? Here it is warm and expected to be 50 & raining tomorrow, then getting colder as Saturday moves on. There won't be any snowmaking between now & Sunday, plus the probability of icy/slushy conditions. Is it supposed to rain by you all day tomorrow as well?

abacomike · January 2018

nyccarguy said:

Hey @explorerx4, we are thinking of heading up your way to go skiing on Sunday (Ski Sundown). What do you think weatherwise? Here it is warm and expected to be 50 & raining tomorrow, then getting colder as Saturday moves on. There won't be any snowmaking between now & Sunday, plus the probability of icy/slushy conditions. Is it supposed to rain by you all day tomorrow as well?

Try the Weather Channel APP - if you want an accurate forecast. Just type in the closest town or village and - VOILA!!!

Mr_Shiftright · January 2018

pensfan83 said:
What's a landline?

You have to use an emoticon when you post like that

Mr_Shiftright · January 2018

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

houdini1 said:

jmonroe said:

explorerx4 said:
When I was cleaning out my Mom's house, there were tax returns going back to the mid 60's.Among other things, I also found my old school report cards. Those got shredded ASAP!
The funniest thing I found was a report card for some cousin who she complained about a lot, we never met and went to her school.
In 1 quarter, 42 absences.
Man, that is a lot of class to be missing.

However, if you ever saw my grade school report cards you'd probably say the same thing my Dad said, "what's with you, do you only show up to take the tests" ?

jmonroe
When I started first grade, they had to drag me, kicking and screaming to the school bus. After about a week I was fine. In the 2nd thru 4th grades, I got perfect attendance certificates all 3 years. I would go, no matter what because I wanted those certificates !
Guess you weren't too bright houdini....you fell for the old perfect attendance certificate trick.
(just joking).
The school where I drove liked to hand out real lame "awards" to mold behavior. I got one for 3 years of perfect attendance. It was a T-shirt with the school name on it. .
It all starts with those gold stars teachers put on perfect papers, and then they put them on foreheads. Then you got T-shirts or certificates for perfect attendance.
That was when schools taught kids how to be little capitalists....work for your reward.

Now the kids are taught they're entitled to a gold star regardless of effort.

That operant conditioning never worked on me because I studied Pavlov.

28firefighter · January 2018

We do not have landline - true millennials in that respect. Our cell phones have Wifi calling, but even without, service is pretty good. I work from home as well but my company has a completely cloud-based PBX, so even though I have an "office" phone number, it routes directly to my Skype for Business. The whole setup is actually pretty nifty and I'm perfectly happy not to pay for a landline that I'll never use.

abacomike · January 2018

nyccarguy said:

Cell service in our home is terrible. We can't "cut the cord."

I have full bars on my cell phone at home because I live a block from the Turnpike where there are scores of cell towers. But when I visit my brother in Ponte Vedra, I can’t get a bar - he lives way out in the sticks.

tjc78 · January 2018

@graphicguy
When I was traveling heavy I bought some nice luggage... it was destroyed in a year. After that I decided to buy cheap stuff and replace it when it got ratty. I think I came out ahead that way.

Haven’t Had an overnight for work in over 4 years (and love that) but I have a conference to attend in a few weeks. I am hoping to make it with a carry on only

Re: landlines. Like @stickguy mine is with Comcast. We never use it and actually only have one phone hooked up in the basement. If I cancel it that takes me on another package with Comcast and basically saves nothing.

qbrozen · January 2018

I switched our landline over to Ooma many years ago. About $3.41 per month for the taxes and that is it. We keep it as basically the junk calls box. All credit cards, dealerships, etc, etc get that phone number and we almost never answer it.

I also wound up with phone service through our cable provider, but I don't even know the phone number associated with it. I would cancel it, but it turns out my cable bill would be HIGHER without it. I have zero idea how that makes sense, but whatever.

oldfarmer50 · January 2018

This just feeds into all the negative perceptions of Prius drivers.

https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Prius-swept-away-Burbank-mudslide-video-rain-12491505.php

tjc78 · January 2018

qbrozen said:

I switched our landline over to Ooma many years ago. About $3.41 per month for the taxes and that is it. We keep it as basically the junk calls box. All credit cards, dealerships, etc, etc get that phone number and we almost never answer it.

I also wound up with phone service through our cable provider, but I don't even know the phone number associated with it. I would cancel it, but it turns out my cable bill would be HIGHER without it. I have zero idea how that makes sense, but whatever.

Comcast must do this intentionally for market share or something as it can’t make any sense to basically give a way a service otherwise.

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