A Tale of Two Cities and FedEx

On Fri, 26 Mar 2021 06:02:45 +0700, John B. scribed:

On Thu, 25 Mar 2021 12:44:10 -0700 (PDT), Frank Krygowski
wrote:

Before I retired I wondered a bit about what I'd do. But I'm addicted to
"To Do" lists, stored and updated electronically. I have a general one
for small tasks, another for home & yard, a shopping list, two for
places to travel to (near & far), books to read, movies to watch, etc.
etc. All are aspirationally (or ridiculously) long. I'll never do
nothing.

- Frank Krygowski

And then there are the projects that SWMBO want which, at least in my
house are priority A1 (or which demand a really novel excuse for
ignoring).

I feel your pain, but hesitate to share my diversinary methods on the
ether in case they travel back to her.

hint, pointing out work/projects needed before her project can be carried
out, is usually useful.

Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Thu, 25 Mar 2021 19:10:00 +0000 (UTC), Ralph Barone
wrote:

Sometimes, the most valuable payment for a job is simply not going insane
from doing nothing.

I once owned a 2way radio service shop. My two employees were quite
different. One believed in "do something, even if it's wrong". The
other believed and practiced "when in doubt, do nothing". Being in
the middle of these two was ummm... entertaining. I tried to go
insane, but it didn't help.


Maybe you just needed to try harder :-)

Frank Krygowski wrote:
On Thursday, March 25, 2021 at 3:10:05 PM UTC-4, Ralph Barone wrote:
Frank Krygowski wrote:
On Thursday, March 25, 2021 at 12:23:31 PM UTC-4, jbeattie wrote:
On Thursday, March 25, 2021 at 9:08:26 AM UTC-7, wrote:
On Thursday, March 25, 2021 at 9:03:54 AM UTC-7, jbeattie wrote:
On Thursday, March 25, 2021 at 8:55:20 AM UTC-7, Frank Krygowski wrote:

Have you ever tried to compute your profits per hour?
Or losses. Factor in the eBay cut and shipping (including packaging
costs) and that the bike and parts were not free, and he had a shop
work on the BB, IIRC. The margin has to be tiny or negative. This
assumes no angry purchaser, no shipping damage claims and an otherwise
smooth transaction.
You simply don't understand how little I pay and how much I'm making.
For instance, I paid $260 for the Look and it will sell for $600 for
the bare frameset. Less than a grand into another that will sell for four.
If you're turning a profit, more power to you.

As I just said before Eternal September crashed yet again:

I wonder if you're properly accounting for all your inputs. The book
_Your Money Or Your Life_
counseled readers about gaining financial independence. The author said
to properly evaluate
current employment, a person needs to account for anything he would not
be investing if he did not
have that job; for example, any tools or equipment, any reference books,
any home office equipment
etc. And include time and money spent commuting, time shopping for
clothing needed only for the job,
time spent on learning and research at home, etc.

For you, that should include time spent browsing Chinese and other
websites, time posting questions
here about mismatched components, time spent arguing about the answers,
time watching Ebay and
Craigslist for responses, time haggling with potential customers, time
packaging anything you do
manage to sell, time digging into shipping costs and procedures...

Are you sure you're clearing $10 per hour?

If you're going through all that frustration just for fun instead of
profit, that's fine. Just don't portray it as a
money making enterprise.

- Frank Krygowski

Sometimes, the most valuable payment for a job is simply not going insane
from doing nothing.

I understand. I've known a few people who retired and had no idea what to
do with themselves. I suppose
buying random bike parts and trying to assemble bikes to sell is a way around that.

Before I retired I wondered a bit about what I'd do. But I'm addicted to
"To Do" lists, stored and
updated electronically. I have a general one for small tasks, another for
home & yard, a shopping list,
two for places to travel to (near & far), books to read, movies to watch,
etc. etc. All are aspirationally
(or ridiculously) long. I'll never do nothing.

- Frank Krygowski


I was retired for two months. I kept busy, but it’s easier to do so when
somebody else is feeding into your To Do list. Right now, I’m just working
and accumulating money for when I actually have the ability to travel and
visit people and go on cycling vacations.

On Thu, 25 Mar 2021 23:21:44 -0000 (UTC), News 2021
wrote:

On Fri, 26 Mar 2021 06:02:45 +0700, John B. scribed:

On Thu, 25 Mar 2021 12:44:10 -0700 (PDT), Frank Krygowski
wrote:

Before I retired I wondered a bit about what I'd do. But I'm addicted to
"To Do" lists, stored and updated electronically. I have a general one
for small tasks, another for home & yard, a shopping list, two for
places to travel to (near & far), books to read, movies to watch, etc.
etc. All are aspirationally (or ridiculously) long. I'll never do
nothing.

- Frank Krygowski

And then there are the projects that SWMBO want which, at least in my
house are priority A1 (or which demand a really novel excuse for
ignoring).

I feel your pain, but hesitate to share my diversinary methods on the
ether in case they travel back to her.

hint, pointing out work/projects needed before her project can be carried
out, is usually useful.

Don't work, at least at our house. The downstairs toilet tank started
to leak a bit as it filled. It doesn't hurt a bit, the bathroom has a
tile floor and a drain so any excess water runs out (all by itself)
and I even pointed out how this kept the floor clean :-) but NO! "We
have to go shopping today and buy "something to stop the leak"!

AND... I got to rewind the grass trimmer string and, Oh yes, we need
another water hose to water one isolated spot near the fence where a
banana tree is growing.

Frank tells us that he keeps "to do" lists... I married one :-)
--
Cheers,

John B.

On Fri, 26 Mar 2021 00:40:20 +0000 (UTC), Ralph Barone
wrote:

Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Thu, 25 Mar 2021 19:10:00 +0000 (UTC), Ralph Barone
wrote:

Sometimes, the most valuable payment for a job is simply not going insane
from doing nothing.

I once owned a 2way radio service shop. My two employees were quite
different. One believed in "do something, even if it's wrong". The
other believed and practiced "when in doubt, do nothing". Being in
the middle of these two was ummm... entertaining. I tried to go
insane, but it didn't help.

Maybe you just needed to try harder :-)

I considered insanity a relief from the reality of the situation.

More off topic drivel:
One of the tasks performed by the company was to maintain nine 460MHz
community radio repeaters:
http://www.learnbydestroying.com/jeffl/pics/Old%20Repeaters/index.html#Santiago-01.jpg
Yes, those are tubes (also known as thermionic valves). Mr "when in
doubt, do nothing" would arrive at the radio site, determine which
tubes had died, and replace it with a new tube from the tube caddy. He
would then put the old tube into the new tube's cardboard box, and
replace it in the tube caddy. This worked amazingly well for about 2
months, when he started complaining that some of the radios were
unrepairable. I accompanied him to the repeater building and
eventually discovered that there were no old dead tubes in the trash.
His logic was that he would eventually test the tubes in the office
tube tester. On the way back down the hill, I contrived a suitable
punishment. I offered to trade jobs with him. He declined.
Therefore, my only remaining option was to claim (or fake) insanity.



--
Jeff Liebermann
PO Box 272 http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Ben Lomond CA 95005-0272
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

On Thu, 25 Mar 2021 23:59:06 -0700, Jeff Liebermann
wrote:

On Fri, 26 Mar 2021 00:40:20 +0000 (UTC), Ralph Barone
wrote:

Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Thu, 25 Mar 2021 19:10:00 +0000 (UTC), Ralph Barone
wrote:

Sometimes, the most valuable payment for a job is simply not going insane
from doing nothing.

I once owned a 2way radio service shop. My two employees were quite
different. One believed in "do something, even if it's wrong". The
other believed and practiced "when in doubt, do nothing". Being in
the middle of these two was ummm... entertaining. I tried to go
insane, but it didn't help.

Maybe you just needed to try harder :-)

I considered insanity a relief from the reality of the situation.

More off topic drivel:
One of the tasks performed by the company was to maintain nine 460MHz
community radio repeaters:
http://www.learnbydestroying.com/jeffl/pics/Old%20Repeaters/index.html#Santiago-01.jpg
Yes, those are tubes (also known as thermionic valves). Mr "when in
doubt, do nothing" would arrive at the radio site, determine which
tubes had died, and replace it with a new tube from the tube caddy. He
would then put the old tube into the new tube's cardboard box, and
replace it in the tube caddy. This worked amazingly well for about 2
months, when he started complaining that some of the radios were
unrepairable. I accompanied him to the repeater building and
eventually discovered that there were no old dead tubes in the trash.
His logic was that he would eventually test the tubes in the office
tube tester. On the way back down the hill, I contrived a suitable
punishment. I offered to trade jobs with him. He declined.
Therefore, my only remaining option was to claim (or fake) insanity.


But that is thievery. You go somewhere and replace a tube, tire, light
bulb, bicycle wheel, whatever. the old part belongs to the owner of
the device being repaired :-)
--
Cheers,

John B.

On Fri, 26 Mar 2021 15:54:14 +0700, John B. scribed:

On Thu, 25 Mar 2021 23:59:06 -0700, Jeff Liebermann
wrote:

On Fri, 26 Mar 2021 00:40:20 +0000 (UTC), Ralph Barone
wrote:

Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Thu, 25 Mar 2021 19:10:00 +0000 (UTC), Ralph Barone
wrote:

Sometimes, the most valuable payment for a job is simply not going
insane from doing nothing.

I once owned a 2way radio service shop. My two employees were quite
different. One believed in "do something, even if it's wrong". The
other believed and practiced "when in doubt, do nothing". Being in
the middle of these two was ummm... entertaining. I tried to go
insane, but it didn't help.

Maybe you just needed to try harder :-)

I considered insanity a relief from the reality of the situation.

More off topic drivel:
One of the tasks performed by the company was to maintain nine 460MHz
community radio repeaters:
http://www.learnbydestroying.com/jef...d%20Repeaters/
index.html#Santiago-01.jpg
Yes, those are tubes (also known as thermionic valves). Mr "when in
doubt, do nothing" would arrive at the radio site, determine which tubes
had died, and replace it with a new tube from the tube caddy. He would
then put the old tube into the new tube's cardboard box, and replace it
in the tube caddy. This worked amazingly well for about 2 months, when
he started complaining that some of the radios were unrepairable. I
accompanied him to the repeater building and eventually discovered that
there were no old dead tubes in the trash.
His logic was that he would eventually test the tubes in the office tube
tester. On the way back down the hill, I contrived a suitable
punishment. I offered to trade jobs with him. He declined.
Therefore, my only remaining option was to claim (or fake) insanity.


But that is thievery. You go somewhere and replace a tube, tire, light
bulb, bicycle wheel, whatever. the old part belongs to the owner of the
device being repaired :-)

Err, they are 'broken thermonic valves'. YMMV, but I've never had a
customer who wanted them after repairs, even though I'd pointed out that
Radio Shack had a free valve tester. similarly with 'broken'bicycle parts
fom people i've helped out.

On Fri, 26 Mar 2021 15:54:14 +0700, John B.
wrote:

But that is thievery.

Yes, but in this case, it would be stealing from myself. There's a
bit of a tangle surrounding the ownership of the repeater, repeater
building, and service company, but basically, they're all the same
company. The law says that I'm required to "offer" the old parts to
the customer. So, what should I do? Offer the dead tubes to myself?
If I were working on equipment that belongs to a different customer,
you would be correct. I even had a required section on the invoice
for dealing with defective parts. However, there's nothing for
working on the company's own equipment.

You go somewhere and replace a tube, tire, light
bulb, bicycle wheel, whatever. the old part belongs to the owner of
the device being repaired :-)

True. However, the only responsibility is for the service shop or LBS
to "offer" the dead part to the customer in advance. If they don't
want it, it goes into the trash. For example, for auto repair:
https://www.sanmateocourt.org/court_divisions/small_claims/your_rights.php
3. RETURN OF REPLACED PARTS, IF REQUESTED AT THE
TIME A WORK ORDER IS PLACED.




--
Jeff Liebermann
PO Box 272 http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Ben Lomond CA 95005-0272
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

On Thu, 25 Mar 2021 13:47:37 -0700 (PDT), Tom Kunich
wrote:

On Thursday, March 25, 2021 at 12:30:58 PM UTC-7, wrote:
On Thu, 25 Mar 2021 11:48:50 -0700 (PDT), Tom Kunich
wrote:

On Thursday, March 25, 2021 at 11:38:58 AM UTC-7, wrote:
On Thu, 25 Mar 2021 08:46:58 -0700 (PDT), Tom Kunich
wrote:

A man in Washington DC bought my Trek Madone off of eBay.
Quite a few Trek Madone bicycles were sold on eBay in the last week.
Which is yours?
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=Trek+Madone&_sacat=0&rt=nc&LH_Sold=1&L H_Complete=1
The one that sold for $2100, why?
I don't see anything that sold for $2,100. However, it might have
been one where the buyer made an offer that you accepted. eBay
doesn't show the offer price. If you are somehow unable to provide
the item number, perhaps you could provide the year, color, size, or
description?

Why?
1. Because I'm curious.
2. Because I'm trying to help keep you honest.
3. Because, when hardware is discussed, I like to see a photo of the
bicycle involved.

Or was the one for sale for 2300 that went for highest bid.

The original listing shows that "Best offer was accepted". There was
no auction.

You are the most dishonest person here so don't play any games here.

You are the most inaccurate person here, so please don't try to act
authoritative.

you are obsessed with me making a mistake all of which are easily
explained by misspellings such as your claim that I couldn't possibly
have worked with Dr. Mullis since after 40 years I misspelled his
first name.

Nice change of topic. I never mentioned Dr Mullis in any of my
postings. What I did mention was your mis-spelling of the correct
names for your alleged former employers, Lawrence Livermore National
Laboratory(LLNL) and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). I
can provide links to the relevant chapter and verse from the Usenet
archives if you fail to remember the discussion.

Fact is that you appear to have a form of dementia that demands
that you do anything to belittle others.

What would this form of dementia be called? I'm not particularly tall
and therefore have no need to reassure myself of my altitude.

Speaking of demands, why do you offer your expert opinion in literally
every thread that appears in R.B.T.? As far as I can tell from here,
you seem to find it necessary to say something about every topic,
usually as an authority of some sorts. Is this some form of
compulsion? I'm tempted to test this. If I start a new thread, are
you able to resist making a comment? I'll wait a few days before
trying this as I'll be rather busy through the weekend.

You're nothing more than one of the cancel crowd and all the psychosis
that implies.

Which psychosis's are you referring to? A psychosis is an error in
processing information that results in losing touch with reality. If
anything, I do quite well at providing the missing reality to your
claims. You are correct that I'm a member of the Cancel Crowd
(trademark pending), which seeks to cancel the damage you do by
presenting misinformation interlaced with fabrications. No need to
thank me.

Again, congratulations on selling the bicycle.


--
Jeff Liebermann
PO Box 272 http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Ben Lomond CA 95005-0272
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

On Fri, 26 Mar 2021 07:25:16 -0700, Jeff Liebermann
wrote:

On Fri, 26 Mar 2021 15:54:14 +0700, John B.
wrote:

But that is thievery.

Yes, but in this case, it would be stealing from myself. There's a
bit of a tangle surrounding the ownership of the repeater, repeater
building, and service company, but basically, they're all the same
company. The law says that I'm required to "offer" the old parts to
the customer. So, what should I do? Offer the dead tubes to myself?
If I were working on equipment that belongs to a different customer,
you would be correct. I even had a required section on the invoice
for dealing with defective parts. However, there's nothing for
working on the company's own equipment.

You go somewhere and replace a tube, tire, light
bulb, bicycle wheel, whatever. the old part belongs to the owner of
the device being repaired :-)

True. However, the only responsibility is for the service shop or LBS
to "offer" the dead part to the customer in advance. If they don't
want it, it goes into the trash. For example, for auto repair:
https://www.sanmateocourt.org/court_divisions/small_claims/your_rights.php
3. RETURN OF REPLACED PARTS, IF REQUESTED AT THE
TIME A WORK ORDER IS PLACED.

Ah, but you stated that your man removed tubes and then returned to
the shop to test them which assumes that you might then return tubes
that test O.K. to your inventory. Which is, in a sense, fraud as it
appears that you might in some cases remove a tube, test it as
serviceable and then use it to replace a possibly faulty tube at a
later date and undoubtedly then bill the client for the tube.

(More fun then futzing about with the meaning of words :-)
--
Cheers,

John B.