What Irked You Today?

[Danno]

PS: I won't post any more on the topic.

[Thatswhatshesaid]

In WA the drivers guide comes in about 12 languages. 'Merica.

[Tom Geiger]

Something my tiny little mind is incapable of grasping: instead of noisy, fuel-burning, polluting, 2-stroke leaf vacuums and blowers, why not get a little firggin exercise and use a broom and a rake? Works fine for me.

Acre properties here! I have left a lot of my property as woods so I don't go crazy with the blower. I can blow the leaves in my back yard to the woods in about a half hour. Raking? Probably the whole day. Still, the nut behind me chases single leaves as they fall.

[Tom Geiger]

Hola.

I just found that my friggin cell phone outgoing message has been changed to SPANISH, and the menu for retrieving messages and changing settings has also been changed to Spanish.

It's a phenomena called "butt dialing". Somehow you managed to hit a series of screens with some part of your body as you handled your phone. Yesterday mine dialed a FaceTime call with the pizza shop. Fortunately I got a message saying they didn't have FaceTime.

As far as language.. I believe the iPhone can be set for a bunch of languages. No doubt just because they can. But there's a market for it.

[southpier]

tossing out the efficiency factor, at 45$ an hour, how many hours do we want to pay our landscaper to do the same task?

makes as much sense as paying our contractor to build the house using a handsaw.

maybe the "nut" has a leaf hobby? probably a blessing he doesn't work on tuners for the neighborhood kids - then there'd be some complaints!

I have a feeling the neighbor wears white sneakers with Velcro closures and his wife plays bridge.

[Pete J.]

I really do not intend to throw gas on the immigration fire but here is an interesting fact. Are you aware that the US government has never actually sanctioned English as the official language here? There have been attempts, but they have always fallen short. I know my great grandparents spoke very broken English and the community accommodated them. You want to talk about an unintelligible immigrant, try speaking to a Swede who doesn't understand English!

[Ace-Garageguy]

It's a phenomena called "butt dialing". Somehow you managed to hit a series of screens with some part of your body as you handled your phone.

No. This particular cell phone is an antique flip thing. I only use it for VERY brief communications if I'm going to be detained or in emergencies, or with people I don't want having my other numbers. No possible way it could have happened inadvertently. I mean, I use delicate and dangerous tools every day of my life, and somehow I still have all my appendages, and I don't nick $100,000 carbon-fiber wing spars when I'm grinding 1/16 of an inch away from them. The likelihood of me "oopsing" with a phone I've had for years is astronomically remote at best.

[southpier]

methinks you missed Tom's point. I trust you're not squeezing the grinder with your cheeks....?

[Ace-Garageguy]

I really do not intend to throw gas on the immigration fire but here is an interesting fact. Are you aware that the US government has never actually sanctioned English as the official language here? There have been attempts, but they have always fallen short. I know my great grandparents spoke very broken English and the community accommodated them. You want to talk about an unintelligible immigrant, try speaking to a Swede who doesn't understand English!

Okay, granted it's not the "official language". But define "English-speaking country" for me.

When I was young, you could get in your car and go anywhere in the lower 48 or Alaska and Hawaii and the odds of you being understood if you spoke in English were 99.999999%. That pretty well fits MY definition of "English-speaking country".

Two language options isn't "respectful of other cultures". It's divisive and DISRESPECTFUL of THIS country's heritage, and it's disrespectful of all the speakers of languages other than Spanish that aren't accommodated by the multiple-choice menus. People who have come to this country for all of its incredible advantages and opportunities have traditionally learned English as part of the assimilation process.

And until very recently, Americans were probably the most one-language culture on Earth. Most educated Europeans, Russians and Asians speak at least some English, and many are fluent. It's long been established as the language of commerce and business, so that only makes sense. But a very small minority of Americans seem to be fluent in another language. Hell, most of them aren't all that fluent in their OWN language.

I hope this rant falls on the "civics" side of the no-politics wall.

Edited September 15, 2014 by Ace-Garageguy

[Ace-Garageguy]

methinks you missed Tom's point. I trust you're not squeezing the grinder with your cheeks....?

Flip phone. Closed when not in conversation. No cheek-access. Ever.

[Ace-Garageguy]

tossing out the efficiency factor, at 45$ an hour, how many hours do we want to pay our landscaper to do the same task?

makes as much sense as paying our contractor to build the house using a handsaw.

maybe the "nut" has a leaf hobby? probably a blessing he doesn't work on tuners for the neighborhood kids - then there'd be some complaints!

I have a feeling the neighbor wears white sneakers with Velcro closures and his wife plays bridge.

Holy crapp !!! Your yardmen get $45 per hour? I think it's time for me to switch careers. No wonder all the Mexicans want to be over here working on landscaping crews.

[Craig Irwin]

Holy crapp !!! Your yardmen get $45 per hour? I think it's time for me to switch careers. No wonder all the Mexicans want to be over here working on landscaping crews.

My lawn service charges me $35 a mowing, and are here about a half hour each time.

[Craig Irwin]

I've been watching the local "Out of work, anything helps" guys and found that they work in shifts and someone in a Caddy Escalade is picking them up and leaving the next guy. They stand in front of a shopping center and one of the major stores has a LARGE help wanted now hiring sign the window.

I pointed this out to the "down on his luck" guy yesterday and was told to mind my own business in terms I can't post here. Then I watched an elderly lady give him $20

I'm in the wrong business..

[Ace-Garageguy]

My lawn service charges me $35 a mowing, and are here about a half hour each time.

Wow. So $70 an hour to push a lawnmower. That's what the hot-rod shop gets for designing, engineering, modifying, fabricating, machining, finishing and tuning machines, and wiring and integrating electronics...all highly-skilled tasks, performed by people who've spent a lifetime learning and honing said skills...including me.

Why do we even bother. I'm getting me a ridin' mower.

[High octane]

On a "fixed income" I have to mow my own grass.

[Danno]

On a "fixed income" I have to mow my own grass.

And in Colorado, they now grow their own 'grass.'

[southpier]

everybody is worth what they charge, and everybody else charges too much.

you're taking heartbeats out of someone's life regardless of the service they're providing.

can someone sell you an extra day, week, month, of time to tack on the end? and how much are you willing to pay?

and as far as landscaping, be it pulling weeds or pushing a mower, how many folks would do it year in and out? talk the talk, then walk the walk. just be careful stepping around the bs, 'cause there's plenty of it.

[Ace-Garageguy]

everybody is worth what they charge No they're not. I get pathetic hack-jobs in the shop EVERY week that have cost the clients lotsa money somewhere else, all done wrong. I've spent a good part of my professional career correcting things done by people who got paid more than I do, and it gets pretty frigging old..."year in and out". and everybody else charges too much. ​I've never had a problem paying high for competent work. The problem is FINDING competent work.

you're taking heartbeats out of someone's life regardless of the service they're providing. So your point is that an engineer should get paid the same as a weed-puller, based on what exactly? That it's "heartbeats"??

can someone sell you an extra day, week, month, of time to tack on the end? and how much are you willing to pay? I'm good to go now. How 'bout you? The deeper the crapp gets, the easier it's getting to think about checking out.

and as far as landscaping, be it pulling weeds or pushing a mower, how many folks would do it year in and out? talk the talk, then walk the walk. just be careful stepping around the bs, 'cause there's plenty of it. There sure is.

Edited September 15, 2014 by Ace-Garageguy

[Rob Hall]

I'm happy w the work my yard guys and pool guy do. I pay what I think is a fair and reasonable amount for their services, and it's not the type of work I have interest in doing myself. Same w car repairs, I'm not a mechanic, prefer to go to a reputable local shop.

[Joe Handley]

Wow. So $70 an hour to push a lawnmower. That's what the hot-rod shop gets for designing, engineering, modifying, fabricating, machining, finishing and tuning machines, and wiring and integrating electronics...all highly-skilled tasks, performed by people who've spent a lifetime learning and honing said skills...including me.

Why do we even bother. I'm getting me a ridin' mower.

If it's a contractor, the guy mowing might getting minimum wage if he's a resident of some sort, probably less with the "ask for more and I call ICE" threat hanging over his head.

[Pete J.]

Okay, granted it's not the "official language". But define "English-speaking country" for me.

When I was young, you could get in your car and go anywhere in the lower 48 or Alaska and Hawaii and the odds of you being understood if you spoke in English were 99.999999%. That pretty well fits MY definition of "English-speaking country".

Two language options isn't "respectful of other cultures". It's divisive and DISRESPECTFUL of THIS country's heritage, and it's disrespectful of all the speakers of languages other than Spanish that aren't accommodated by the multiple-choice menus. People who have come to this country for all of its incredible advantages and opportunities have traditionally learned English as part of the assimilation process.

And until very recently, Americans were probably the most one-language culture on Earth. Most educated Europeans, Russians and Asians speak at least some English, and many are fluent. It's long been established as the language of commerce and business, so that only makes sense. But a very small minority of Americans seem to be fluent in another language. Hell, most of them aren't all that fluent in their OWN language.

I hope this rant falls on the "civics" side of the no-politics wall.

I would have to say it depends upon what part of the country you live in. What most people don't consider consider is that for over 500 years, Chinese, Spanish or native American dialects were the principle languages spoken from Texas to California. This area has only been a part of this "English speaking" country for less than five generations and only been a majority English speaking for less than 3. Having lived here for 27 years and coming from areas that do not have a rich Hispanic history, I have come to appreciate the long history of these peoples. There are Hispanic families that trace their roots back over four hundred years. Although we hear far to many stories of misdeeds and other negatives, I can say from my own personal interactions that they are very hard working, industrious, law abiding, honest people. Yes, there are a few bad apples, but even the causations in Beverly hills have their share(Justin Bieber for one).

As to the Spanish speakers, anthropologist tell us it generally takes immigrants three generations to make a true language adjustment. There are literally thousands of legal non English speaking immigrants who become citizens every year and language transition is a difficult proposition. English is a horrible language to try and learn. It has more exception than hard rules. Reading and pronunciation can be a bear or is that bare or bar. In short, when I grew up in western Nebraska, there were German and Swedish signs throughout the town. That is no different than what we are doing now. It is an assist to those who are trying to learn the language.

[forthlin]

Coming home from work today I come up to a stop light & see steam coming out from under the hood of my truck & a heat gauge on the red. Pull over, pop the hood & It looks like the water pump I put in about 3 yrs. ago has sprouted a leak. :angry:

[Ace-Garageguy]

You know, it's funny how, if you say anything these days about almost anything having to do with Hispanics, you're immediately branded a bigot and folks go running to defend the culture.

The last body shop I ran had a recent (legal) Mexican-immigrant bodyman (with a heavy Mexican accent) and a second-generation Hispanic-American bodyman. They were both skilled workers. They both were capable of turning out first class work, but each had his own particular strengths. When I had the opportunity, I'd feed one kind of work to one guy, and another kind of work to the other one. I was scrupulously fair in making sure they each had as close to the same number of billable hours available to them every week as possible. BUT...if there was ANYTHING I did that offended the recent immigrant, it was because, in his mind, I was anti-Hispanic. Never mind that his co-worker was just as Hispanic as he was (and with whom I got along fine), but just had a little bit drier back. Both of these guys made more money than I did too, and I didn't have a problem with that because THEY WERE THE ONES WHO GENERATED THE SHOP'S INCOME. They also paid taxes, had licenses and the Mexican spoke far better English than I did Spanish.

For the record, I'm NOT a bigot. I'm NOT anti-Hispanic. One of the physicists I most admire is Hispanic. So is one of the architects. What I DO oppose is the influx of no-skill illegals who have no interest in assimilating and only want to milk the system here. And I'm opposed to American business owners riding on the backs of hard-working illegals, paying them next to nothing, but charging plenty for their services, and getting fat while the workers live in 15-to-an-apartment squalor.

Last time I read history, America as we know it started as an ENGLISH colony, and the founders of the nation as we know it were ENGLISH speakers. Kinda makes it an English-speaking nation. And if not, the ones who SHOULD be accommodated are the native-Americans, the indigenous peoples. After all, this is really THEIR land.

Edited September 15, 2014 by Ace-Garageguy

[crazyjim]

I wish for world peace.

[Ace-Garageguy]

I wish for world peace.

Well Jim, as a military man, you should know better than most that it takes more than wishing.