I think my snowblower finally needs to be replaced. The engine still runs fine, but everything else on it is slowly falling apart to the point where it's basically just a 5 HP two-stroke engine in a plastic shell.
I'm getting there myself. I bought a $600 piece of shit store brand (Troybilt) 6 years ago and I haven't serviced it even once, so I've gotten my money's worth really. I'm just waiting for it to die. It still runs great but the plastic chute is a piece of shit that keeps cracking and needing field repairs.
Mine is a $400 Craftsman that I bought 8 years ago, and I've been nursing it along for the past 4 years or so. Actually, I've been very happy with it overall, to be honest. I also got a tax break on it as I used it at my rental property, though it's been fully depreciated for 3 years already. I only had it serviced once and that's when its fuel tank sprung a leak. Right now, though, its plastic chute keeps losing bolts that hold it into place and the folding push bar just folds in on itself when I put more than just a token amount of force on it and no matter how tight I tighten the wingnuts that hold it into place (and those wingnuts always seem to fall off too).
I'm thinking about getting a 28" Ariens from Home Depot now as it was rated a Consumer Reports Best Buy. It'll be quite the upgrade from my old one, but my current driveway is also a lot bigger than my old one was.
I have the same problem, the bolts keep falling out of the chute. Sometimes, they are torn out sideways and leave a hole that I have to patch or wire up.
I need to learn about depreciation and see what I can get away with using the LLC I make jewelry under... :-P Obviously a snowblower isn't relevant but I wonder about tools I buy, etc... I know nothing about this stuff and I gotta learn fast in time for tax time this year.
Just had to calm down a patient over the phone because we accidentally sent him a request for a release of information for his sensitive diagnosis treatment that is actually related to service connections with the VA. It was also supposed to be handled by my coworker but for some reason my name and contact information was put on the letter.
I had to profusely apologize to the patient because of the error. He was crying over the phone because he was so upset and wasn't eating.
I felt so bad.
This also could have been prevented by another department if they just did at tiny adjustment to their procedures and noted in newly loaded insurance policy that his treatment is related to his service connections and therefore non-billable.
But no. They won't do it because they're assholes.
Shoveling driveways? I thought that was what you have kids for.
I'll probably need about 8 years until I'll have a kid capable of doing that. :P
I need to learn about depreciation and see what I can get away with using the LLC I make jewelry under... :-P Obviously a snowblower isn't relevant but I wonder about tools I buy, etc... I know nothing about this stuff and I gotta learn fast in time for tax time this year.
Do what I do: find a good Certified Public Accountant. Hell, your expenses paid towards said accountant should also be tax-deductible (I'm pretty sure mine were).
I'll probably need about 8 years until I'll have a kid capable of doing that. :P
Playing the long game I see.
Nope. I have said kid due in March. However, I assume they won't be physically capable of helping until they are about 8 years old. :P I suppose I could adopt, though...
InDesign is the twisted brainchild of Satan himself.
Compared to anything I have ever tried to do before.
What are you trying to do? Because if you use it properly, InDesign is awesome.
I'm starting the assembly of the final copy of Hardboiled. I've just never used InDesign, or assembled a book, before. A designer friend of mine gave me a fantastic walkthrough though, so it's much less frustrating already!
Compared to anything I have ever tried to do before.
What are you trying to do? Because if you use it properly, InDesign is awesome.
I'm starting the assembly of the final copy of Hardboiled. I've just never used InDesign, or assembled a book, before. A designer friend of mine gave me a fantastic walkthrough though, so it's much less frustrating already!
Gotcha. Yeah, InDesign is actually kinda weird if you don't know how it works, its workflow, etc., so I can see why you'd struggle at first. I'm only comfortable with it because I used to have a job at a community newspaper and later worked on my college paper, both of which used PageMaker, the more-or-less direct ancestor of InDesign. Professional designers though, like my wife, absolutely love it once they wrap their heads around it.
So one of my coworkers's jobs is basically to arrange field trips and then drive the students that want to go there. And back. That should go without saying, but apparently he's going to need a talking to at work on Tuesday.
At first this trip was scheduled from 10am - 4pm. Then he changes the departure time to 9:30 without telling anyone, just making a little note. Then he decides that 4 is too late, so how about 1 (they arrived at 11)? After running several students who tell him at 12:30 that it's not enough time and he says an hour more then. Turns out he didn't actually mean that, because when they showed up at 2 he'd already abandoned them downtown and pawned it off on their cousin (also a coworker) and I because he didn't want to wait for them.
For someone who's basically only got the job he has our of pity (the boss didn't want to fire him, but she didn't want him teaching either, so now he coordinates events) he should try a bit harder at it. Hopefully this'll get him fired.
A vBulliten type forum I go to keeps getting hit by legions of spambots that end up with it being shut down due to database errors. You'd think that after the first half dozen times this happened they'd take some stronger preventive steps, but nope.
Question for Scrym: How often have you guys had spambot problems with this forum since it was created?
Random Observation: My desk has a glass top, and the reflection of my screen shows the 'Write Comment' box as being yellow. Weird.
A friend of mine (who may have been using recreational doses of adderal at the time) was trying to show off how tough he was by talking about how he hadn't slept with Tuesday. This bothered another friend, who's an insomniac, for obvious reasons. I wound up the peace-keeper. blurgh.
Comments
I'm thinking about getting a 28" Ariens from Home Depot now as it was rated a Consumer Reports Best Buy. It'll be quite the upgrade from my old one, but my current driveway is also a lot bigger than my old one was.
I need to learn about depreciation and see what I can get away with using the LLC I make jewelry under... :-P Obviously a snowblower isn't relevant but I wonder about tools I buy, etc... I know nothing about this stuff and I gotta learn fast in time for tax time this year.
I had to profusely apologize to the patient because of the error. He was crying over the phone because he was so upset and wasn't eating.
I felt so bad.
This also could have been prevented by another department if they just did at tiny adjustment to their procedures and noted in newly loaded insurance policy that his treatment is related to his service connections and therefore non-billable.
But no. They won't do it because they're assholes.
If you want to stay up to date, GET ON THE FUCKING INTERNET!!!!
At first this trip was scheduled from 10am - 4pm. Then he changes the departure time to 9:30 without telling anyone, just making a little note. Then he decides that 4 is too late, so how about 1 (they arrived at 11)? After running several students who tell him at 12:30 that it's not enough time and he says an hour more then. Turns out he didn't actually mean that, because when they showed up at 2 he'd already abandoned them downtown and pawned it off on their cousin (also a coworker) and I because he didn't want to wait for them.
For someone who's basically only got the job he has our of pity (the boss didn't want to fire him, but she didn't want him teaching either, so now he coordinates events) he should try a bit harder at it. Hopefully this'll get him fired.
Question for Scrym: How often have you guys had spambot problems with this forum since it was created?
Random Observation: My desk has a glass top, and the reflection of my screen shows the 'Write Comment' box as being yellow. Weird.