Rob has a new place to live!

[Ed Miller]

http://www.aerostich.com/catalog/US/Self-Tapping-Carbide-Tire-Studs-p-19555.html

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

@Sue - Yes, kitty is VERY happy to have her own place again!  The weekend went fine.  I did a car load on Saturday, and the final truck load (from my sister's - there is still my storage unit - *sigh*) on Sunday, that included my recliner and my computer desk.  So the living room is all set up with a computer that is not connected to the outside world, and a TV with rabbit ears on top.

In an effort to try and save some money for a rainy day (job stability, or lack thereof), I am trying to avoid the Comcast package of internet/cable/phone for $99 (for the first year...).  I have my cell phone, so I don't need a phone.
I guess I will see how it goes.  

I paid off my car today!  That is $260/month back in my pocket!  (buy here/pay here, short term loan).  It is a good car (Mazda 626), but it is too big for me, personally, and gets stinking mileage.  I am hoping to "pretend" I still have a loan payment, which I will put into savings.  Then when it gets warm (so I can ride the bike), I will put the Mazda up for sale, and use that money, plus what I have saved up on my "pretend" payments, to buy a loaded Civic hatchback with a clutch.
By loaded, I mean things like cruise control, delay wipers, keyless ignition (I've grown VERY fond of that!).   I suppose electric windows are kind of silly on a two-door, not to mention weight and complexity (repairs...).  And I don't know if Honda ever made a hatchback with a sunroof, but the Mazda has spoiled me for that, too!

And now I am waiting for two very special shipments to arrive from Chicago BMW and S. Meyer in Germany!


@ nhmaf:  I'll bet you have nicer riding roads at the end of your driveway than I do!
What do you do for work?  On a computer out of your house?


@Joan:  rally?  in my garage?  How about a tech session?  I have two spare bedrooms, quickly filling up with useless junk, and my backyard is what they call postage stamp, and half of that is covered with a 50 year old cement patio.

[nhmaf]

Hey Rob,

I am now a self-employed consultant - I have a few companies as clients, and work about 50% of the time on average from my home office and 50% at their offices.   The drag is that both companies are about 80 miles from my house, so when I do have to commute, it more than makes up for the days that I don't commute and I still end up having to burn alot of dinosaurs.   My next clients, if these guys ever dump me at the end of a project, will have to be closer to home if I can arrange it.   I have a degree in electrical engineering, and have been designing electronics and real time control & communications systems for over 20 years - when my last employer, a fortune 500 company, sent my job and my R&D team's jobs overseas to their new R&D offices in Asia, I decided I didn't want big business to be pulling my puppet strings anymore.

On the plus side, I can usually get approval to take an afternoon off from the boss to go riding.  On the minus side, maintaining a constant cash flow is more of a challenge
than when I got a regular paycheck.   At the moment, I am only making about 1/2 what I did as R&D manager, but I am a whole heck of alot happier, my blood pressure and cholesterol are lower, and I actually have some free time to enjoy my toys.

I used to have a Mazda 626 (1993) - I recall that it got pretty good gas mileage, but it was a 4 cylinder with manual transmission.   I don't know if you can even buy a
Honda without power windows and locks now - and the way that they typically package things, if you want a CD player or a cruise control, you're GOING to have to take the power windows, etc...

[suecanada]

nhmaf...I was wondering if you would ever like to give a "tech" session on electrics and our R65"s. I for one have my wee voltmeter and lack a lot of knowledge about how to use it. I'd like to be conficent at least a bit more confident in assessing the health of say the coil....or where a break might be...or a short circuit. Melena always impresses me with her ability to test things. My testing ability stops right after checking the voltage in batteries.
The real reason why i want a tech session at your place is to have another great excuse to ride to the Adirondacks, Vermont and NH. I'm sorta sorry I didn't have my new R65 red hat sent to your place! I haven't got it yet either as it is in MI. !

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

Don't worry, nhmaf, I am NOT going for a new Honda.  I will be surprised if I get something newer than 1998.
With the U.S. economy the way it is, the LAST thing I want, is to be in debt.

I am trying to figure out how best to make myself secure.  It doesn't look like banks are the way to go.  And is hoarding paper money at home any better?  What will the paper be worth?
I never expected to start trying to buy precious metals...

I once had a thought to hoard Bic lighters.

[Joan]

@Joan:  rally?  in my garage?  How about a tech session?  I have two spare bedrooms, quickly filling up with useless junk, and my backyard is what they call postage stamp, and half of that is covered with a 50 year old cement patio.

Rally, tech session, whatevah! Getting together with fellow 'heads is ALL good!

[nhmaf]

Hi Sue,

Well, I don't profess to be an expert in Bavarian electric designs, but in as much as it is an electrical system I can certainly help you with understanding how to troubleshoot it, or help you find some nice backroads that lead to some good new england seafood restaurants if you'd rather !  I am hoping to make some "local"  new england tours on some weekends this summer, so we could probably work out something and get to check out your new bike !

Rob, I heard of a guy on the news that is hoarding American pennies - prior to 1981, they were made of solid copper and now apparently have the equivalent of 2.3 cent's worth of copper in them, though technically speaking, wanton destruction of our currency is a criminal offense.   Apparently he has approximately 1.1 million pennies which he has been saving over the past few years - has approximately 4 tons of them in his garage.  Since the modern pennies are Zinc with a thin copper jacket, they do weigh less and he has an automated weighing system to sort them.   Several companies nearby have had thefts of spools of copper wire in recent months, and some idiots caused a power outage a while ago trying to remove copper cable from a power substation.  One of my recent power amplifier designs for a customer has to be fabricated on a sheet of copper plate with a ceramic dielectric coating, to deal with the amount of power/heat the thing has to dissipate - the price of that thing has climbed dramatically in recent months, but aluminum isn't a good enough thermal conductor to handle it !  Argh !

  I should have invested $10K in gold securities last year when I first thought of it - would have doubled my money by now -  I don't think that you'll want to buy gold now as a growth prospect,  I honestly don't see how the global economy can handle it going much more over $1K US per ounce. Though, the way the dollar is going, maybe putting together enough dosh now to have a small yellow ingot you can tuck under your mattress in case things degrade to the Max Max apocalyptic level (can't help it - it is on the TV right now) isn't too crazy of an idea  

Good luck with car-shopping !  Maybe you should try giving the car-talk guys on public radio a call for car-buying suggestions when you are ready - they are hilarious, I think, and are always "frugally minded".

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

"gold securities" - sounds like more paper, to me (I know nothing of commodities).

The penny guy sounds like he knows what he is doing... I think.  (4 tons???  )

The reason for my overt concern stems from the fact that the word around work is, my job will most likely go away at the end of '09.
At least I have plenty of warning.
I work for a large conglomerate, and they are consolidating I.T. in Milwaukee.
I really don't want to move there...

At least I should have a job through my first lease period!
I am also watching the job board at my ex-wife's company back in Pennsylvania.  I wouldn't mind moving back to the Williamsport area, it is very pretty.   And I don't think my daughter is going to be moving out on her own anytime soon, so it would be nice to see her more often.  Her mom and I get along fine, as long as I keep my expectation control set at zero.

[nhmaf]

>>gold securities" - sounds like more paper, to me (I know nothing of commodities).

Well, you are correct in that it is paper and not metal, but they are certified documents that specify that the holder/owner owns/is entitled to  X amount of
ounces of investment grade 99.99% gold.  These are gold-backed securities in that the gold ingots are held in a secured bank vault and you can exchange/convert
the "bonds" in to the actual metal if you want to, but most people do not as the gold is considered very safe&secure where it is.   And, since the ingots are fixed size,
one can purchase an amount of gold with these instruments which doesn't exactly match/make an integer number of ingots - the sellers can combine fractional
values  from multiple owners to purchase/accrue whole ingots as needed.

Still, there is something to be said for holding precious metal in your hands - I remember the first time I had saved up my allowance to reach the whopping total of $20.
This took months, and I went to the bank to get (20) $1 dollar silver coins...  unfortunately I later brought those coins back to the bank and put into my savings account, so I no longer have them to make happy "clinking" sounds with.

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

So there is still a "gold standard", if you are willing to pay for it.

It just doesn't exist for the U.S. dollar - where it should!

I can't wait for the president to send me my $600 that he is printing out of fluff.