What Irked You Today?

[Jim N]

4 minutes ago, mk11 said:

The financial crisis is forcing governments and business all over to make tough decisions

If this continues much longer, there's a real risk we may have to lay off Fred....   

Now that's funny.  Unfortunately possibly very correct.

[Jim N]

4 hours ago, High octane said:

They're cheap, and as the saying goes: you get what you pay for.

You are exactly right.  The biggest problem is that many governmental entities have laws or ordinances that require acceptance of the lowest bidder.

I work in government, and in my last job, I was involved in the bid process to select bidders for some of the contracts the agency I worked for was responsible.  The statutes we worked under did not require acceptance of the lowest bid, but if we wanted a higher bid, the justification we had to provide was so onerous that it was not worth the hassle.  In theory, these statutes and ordinances make sense because the governmental agencies are trying to save the tax payer money.  However, in practice it goes sideways very quickly.

[High octane]

26 minutes ago, Jim N said:

Now that's funny.  Unfortunately possibly very correct.

You forgot the guy they sent out to get the coffee and donuts for their "break."

[Ace-Garageguy]

48 minutes ago, mk11 said:

The financial crisis is forcing governments and business all over to make tough decisions

If this continues much longer, there's a real risk we may have to lay off Fred....   

Looks to me like that crew is already cut pretty much to the bone.

It's almost inconceivable to dig a hole without at LEAST an environmental-impact manager, and a specifications-compliance manager.

[Jim N]

37 minutes ago, High octane said:

You forgot the guy they sent out to get the coffee and donuts for their "break."

Ha! Good one Nick.

[iamsuperdan]

7 hours ago, espo said:

Complain to City Hall. If your elected officials don't hear from disgruntled citizens they think its OK to have your utilities torn up in the dead of winter. Make noise, let them know this is unacceptable to the citizenry they are supposed to represent. Maybe even a few burning pitch forks in the middle of town, see if they notice. That maybe a bit much but attend a few City Hall meetings and let them know this is unacceptable to you.

. , 

When the elections went down this past fall, they were the most attended in the town's history, and the public candidate forums were literally overflowing. People are ticked and they're doing soemthing about it. Nice to see.

6 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

Dude...it's 2018. "Accountability" is, like, so old fashioned. Get with the times, man. Things just happen.

And anyway, a lot more effort ought to be put into making sure the construction crew is gender and ethnically balanced.

It just DOESN'T MATTER if they know what they're doing.

Besides...expecting everyone doing a job to be competent is discrimination.

The sad thing is, although I know you're writing in jest, there is some truth behind this. 

[martinfan5]

Needing to get new A/B parts, and not sure which part I really need.

[Phirewriter]

Another sad truth to the above post is once Fred completed his task everyone but Fred will get credit for a job well done. Unless it's not, then it's all Fred's fault.

Edited March 3, 2018 by Phirewriter

[Ace-Garageguy]

[mikemodeler]

A topic here became a little uncivil (for some, I guess) and one member here started spouting off here and as a result, some replies were edited or deleted. This person has been a long time member here and claims to be knowledgeable but yet took an opportunity to question several members who also replied to the topic. My replies were among those deleted as apparently they were seen as being inflammatory along with this "one member's". He goes on to make some more clueless comments and I guess because of his "standing" here, gets a pass. It's a shame because he isn't any better than the rest of us and in fact, due to his child like behavior, he showed his true colors.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Lotsa this around...

[oldnslow]

Really hacked off at myself right now , my memory is obviously not what it used to be and I'm having to deal with the consequences .

[Dragline]

10 hours ago, oldnslow said:

Really hacked off at myself right now , my memory is obviously not what it used to be and I'm having to deal with the consequences .

Welcome to aging. Many of us are starting to feel it.

[High octane]

3 hours ago, Dragline said:

Welcome to aging. Many of us are starting to feel it.

Yes, and we'll just have to deal with it the best we can as there's no turning back "the hands of time."

[Ace-Garageguy]

Google is getting stupider and stupider. I don't know who's been "improving" the search function algorithms (or why), but it's getting to the point you HAVE to use the "advanced" approach if you want highly relevant results.

Edited March 11, 2018 by Ace-Garageguy

[cowboy rich]

I've noticed the same thing, don't know why.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Stupid eBay bidders too. I'm seeing even high-number buyers who ought to know better raise each other by a dollar for days on end. Do these clowns REALLY think that last buck is going to stand and knock everybody else out days or hours before the end? Idiots.

[slusher]

1 hour ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

Stupid eBay bidders too. I'm seeing even high-number buyers who ought to know better raise each other by a dollar for days on end. Do these clowns REALLY think that last buck is going to stand and knock everybody else out days or hours before the end? Idiots.

I have wondered about that myself. I believe most of them get cought up in bidding like a game.

[Tom Geiger]

1 hour ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

Stupid eBay bidders too. I'm seeing even high-number buyers who ought to know better raise each other by a dollar for days on end. Do these clowns REALLY think that last buck is going to stand and knock everybody else out days or hours before the end? Idiots.

Those same guys will tell you that sniping is unethical and they have morals...

[Ace-Garageguy]

1 hour ago, Tom Geiger said:

Those same guys will tell you that sniping is unethical and they have morals...

Way I see it, the highest bid prior to closing wins.

I don't personally use a sniper program, but hey, eBay allows them, and it's their game, their rules.

I don't see how sniping is in any way unethical.

[russosborne]

I've never understood the angst about bidding on Ebay. If I see something I want, I decide my max price and bid that. Then I walk away and wait. If I get it great, if not, it was more than I was willing to pay. Since Ebay automatically raises my bids until my max is reached I don't need to do anything else. Been working for me since the 90's.

I prefer buy it now these days, but once in a great while something shows up as an auction that I really want.

Russ

[rel14]

People,   most are brain dead, and can't walk, drive, or talk without there button machince in front of there face.  Common sense is not to be found.

[Mike999]

14 hours ago, russosborne said:

I've never understood the angst about bidding on Ebay. If I see something I want, I decide my max price and bid that. Then I walk away and wait. If I get it great, if not, it was more than I was willing to pay. Since Ebay automatically raises my bids until my max is reached I don't need to do anything else. Been working for me since the 90's.

I prefer buy it now these days, but once in a great while something shows up as an auction that I really want.

Russ

That's been my method since the 90's too.  I also keep eBay set on "Ending Soonest" for models, just in case I can swoop in at the last minute and pick up a good deal.  That does have its dangers. There isn't much time to check out the kit.  So one of these days, I'll probably fork over $49.95 for an empty box...

One of my weirdest and happiest eBay experiences: probably back in the 90's, I put up the Matchbox 1/12 scale Vincent Black Shadow kit for auction.  Two bidders got in a war and it went for about $75.  That kit was hard to find back then and I immediately regretted selling it.  Just a few days later I saw another one about to end with no bidders.  I got it for the minimum bid, which was about $15.

[Tom Geiger]

And the funny thing is, that when you see two guys duking it out a dollar at a time, do a search for that model in the same category. Often you will find a "Buy It Now" for less than their current bid!   

I use eSnipe.com  for my proxy bids.  I place my bids when ever I want and esnipe delivers them six seconds (my choice of timing) before the end time. That way I bid once, nobody can see my intent to bid against me, and if someone bids higher in the meantime, oh well there will be another one.  I'm never pushed into auction fever!

And another good point about esnipe is that my bids have not been placed on eBay. If I see that "Buy It Now" cheaper, I can take advantage of it and cancel my bids anytime up to an hour before completion.

 

 

[Ace-Garageguy]

So much to know, so little time...

Just about every time I do an internet search for information (as opposed to parts), I come across all kinds of fascinating things I want to know more about. I have wide-ranging interests, and though I flag a lot of stuff to go back to read, I only ever get to about 10% of it.

And even though I'm fairly well-informed and aware, and know a bit about a lot of things, I also find that there is so much in the world that I'm completely ignorant about, and I could spend the entire rest of my life reading and researching, and never scratch the surface in the gaps in my knowledge.