the thread bout the gazing ball and the wind chimes got me thinking.
it was new to me that wind chime's are not allowed as a jw coz of the demonic overtone.. but then so is the bridal veil......some believe back then that it was used to hide the face of the bride from demons...you would have thought they had stumbled across that one and omitted that from jw weddings.
i mean here its even frowned upon to cut the bloody wedding cake together!!!!.
One that gets me is their 'turning of their heads' on some 'celebrations' - and yet on others, they're a definite no-no.
I seem to remember a 50th wedding anniversary being celebrated... the JW family got together, rented a big banquet hall, hired a live band, had cake, dancing, etc.
It was attended by many elders - and many had fun.
Yet... JWs do not celebrate birthdays. Go figure.
Regards,
Jim TX
i am still looking around at cars to buy, hopefully i will buy some time around december or january.
about a month ago i posted about an internet scam where people over-seas try to get people in america to pay for cars that will be shipped to them from another country.. i have reported this scam to yahoo!
autos and to the internet fraud complaint center (www.ifccfbi.gov) but never heard from either and since then i have seen a substantial increase in the number of scams appearing in the yahoo!
Oh... my... Gosh!!!
You are very very bad!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
Regards,
Jim TX
i have never done a 60 month loan and i have sworn i never would... but with how much cars are costing these days i'm wondering if i will have to do a 60 month loan on my next car.
that is five frigg'in years!
i paid cash for my last car ($4,500 - 1999 ford contour se, used) so i had no payments to make.
I find the car salesman's reply quite humorous... and feel that his example of Wal-Mart is a good one. He needs to realize that when I go to buy something, I like to see price tags (or be able to take the product - and scan the barcode and get a price).
What I am not able to do - when I go car shopping, is to see a price tag on the vehicle. I remember one time I went onto a used car lot. I saw a car I liked, and was interested in buying. (I was looking for a good used car for my daughter). The salesdude came springing out of his a/c office, and asked if he could help. I asked "How much is this car?" (It didn't have anything on it that mentioned price. Keep in mind - this is a used car. WYSIWIG)
He goes, "Oh. Well, come on inside, and let's check your credit." (Or something similar.) No price. No 'let me go check'. nada.
My wife and I just walked. I figure that fella - he didn't have that many cars on the lot - knew the asking price. Not to mention that IF I bought it, I was going to go to my OWN Credit Union to get financing.
Another thing. It's almost a tradition that new cars are over-priced - from the gitgo. It's a ritual of "Well... will you take this much?" (trying to bargain the price lower.)
I don't like doing that. I like to see a sticker on the vehicle that documents the price. Period. To push this further... what would the car salesdude think if - when he went to Wal-Mart, he had to hunt down a person there - to ask them for a price on a drill motor - or other product? Then have to haggle with them over the cost... etc. ("Step into my office, to discuss this...") The way stores like Wal-Mart work is that they mark up the product a bit - and we all know it. We also know that there are OTHER stores with the same products - and they ALSO have their prices posted - and if their's are lower... they get the business - not Wal-Mart.
(Basically - I feel that the whole system of having car salesdudes is antiquated, anyway, and should be done away with.)
As for going to the closest dealers... well... I dunno 'bout where this fella is from, but here in the big city - we have enormous city taxes that get added to the final cost. Plus - the cost of the dealers' location gets added into that cost. I prefer - if possible - to use the small town dealerships - as their costs are lower - which get passed on to the end customer. Me.
If car salesmen were more forthright - and 'honest' and up front with the potential customers... perhaps I would feel better about going to dealerships and purchasing a car... but I don't.
Yes - salesmen have to make a living, too. I understand that. But I just don't think that they realize that most folks aren't really rich enuf to just hand them an extra $2k - $4k (or more) - just for the 'priveledge' of having someone help them purchase a vehicle that they have already done the research on, and made up their mind on.
Regards,
Jim TX - of the I don't feel sorry for the car salesdudes class
http://www.4-ordering.com:911/myauto/tfs/.
i have to drive 50 miles a day, and although i get good mileage (for an american 6 cylinder) i could use a few more mpg's already i use the cruise, set it to 65 and let people get pissed off behind me.
that is the speed limit, and i am trying to keep the fuel costs down.
http://www.wcpo.com/wcpo/localshows/dontwasteyourmoney/917ff5.html
If it sounds too good to be true... it usually is.
Geez... I currently gt 45mpg... if I upped that by 25%, that'd get me 56mpg... wow! *rolls eyes* Yeah. Right. Dream on.
Regards,
Jim TX
i have never done a 60 month loan and i have sworn i never would... but with how much cars are costing these days i'm wondering if i will have to do a 60 month loan on my next car.
that is five frigg'in years!
i paid cash for my last car ($4,500 - 1999 ford contour se, used) so i had no payments to make.
If you're still car-shopping - you might consider getting a VW diesel - of some sort.
My 1998 VW Beetle (yes, I got a 5-yr loan, and still have one more year to pay on it), gets 45 - 47 mpg city, and 50+ mpg on the highway.
It is comfortable inside, and I have no complaints about it... well, none that would be worth mentioning.
What I _also_ like is the fact that I can make my own fuel - bio-diesel - if need be.
My boss at work said that they mentioned on the news recently that bio-diesel can be made for about .70 per gallon (US).
That sounds about right... in 2000, I was making it for about .45 to .50 per gallon.
Regards,
Jim TX
okay, we know all the gas won't dry up soon, but it sure is expensive.
i got to thinking, what would i do and what would others do if there simply wasn't any gas to buy?
myself, would it no longer be worth making payments on my home and moving to another one closer to work?
"What would you do if all the gas dried up?"
Well... I would get serious - again - about making my own fuel = bio-diesel. I made it in small quantities (approx. 10 gallons every other week) back in 2000, and ran my 1982 VW Rabbit on it all summer long.
Bio-diesel is beginning to be noticed more these days... as far as a supply of vegetable oil - there is plenty available at the fast food restaurants.
As far as 'growing' the plants for making the fuel - there are many alternatives that do not require the acreage that plants do - and work well.
If anyone is interested - check out the information on http://biodieselamerica.org/biosite/index.php?id=141,0,0,1,0,0
Or - like I did - buy the book by Josh Tickell - From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank. Lots of good info there.
The amazing thing is... bio-diesel requires no modifications to the vehicle or engine.
Regards,
Jim TX
yesterday evening i was taking a long walk, and then i saw a nickel (5 cents) on the sidewalk, so i didn't even bother to pick it up.
then walking away i was surprised that i didnt even pick it up.
i know that i would never pick up a penny, but a nickel, usually i do pick that up.
Okay... I'll tell this one...
When I worked in Austin, TX - my daughter went with me for a day. Long drive - since I lived in San Antonio - about 70 miles away... but for some reason, she wanted to go with me. (probably had to bribe her and take her to some sort of shop afterwards...)
Anyway, as usual, she got bored towards the end of the day, and asked me for a nickel. I gave it to her.
Later, she asked to borrow some Super-Glue. Not thinking, I gave it to her.
Later - leaving the building, walking to my car - with her lagging behind - watching...
I see a nickel on the pavement. I bend over to pick it up... only - IT'S SUPER-GLUED to the sidewalk!!!
She is laughing her head off at me!!! hahahahahahaha
I mumble "I'll show you..." and kick it sideways. It breaks free, and I pick up the nickel that I had loaned to her earlier in the day. hahahahaha
She got me on that one.
Regards,
Jim TX
yesterday evening i was taking a long walk, and then i saw a nickel (5 cents) on the sidewalk, so i didn't even bother to pick it up.
then walking away i was surprised that i didnt even pick it up.
i know that i would never pick up a penny, but a nickel, usually i do pick that up.
I always pick up loose change on the ground. Oftentimes, I will find more than one penny on the pavement... perhaps two or three.
I used to always love to go to Sonic... and walk around the parking spots, where invariably, I'd find anywhere from 5 to 10 cents... in pennies.
My girlfriend always asks if it was 'heads' or not... she says that if its' 'tails' then it is 'bad luck'.
I don't believe in such nonsense... I feel that any change I pick is good.
Regards,
Jim TX
i mean, we live hundreds of miles north.
but we have room for a couple people here.
is there a website or email address that one can make the offer of free lodging until these people can get back on thier feet.. as far as that goes, is there anyone on this board that could use that kind of help?.
I'm with you, Jeff.
I'm over in San Antonio, TX - and don't have much - but am willing to put someone up for a while - if needed.
PM me if you 'landed' in San Antonio, TX - and are not sure where to go... I'm local - and can help.
Regards,
Jim TX
ive thought about posting this for a good few weeks, and finally decided to now the initial upset and outrage have calmed down in me.
hopefully i will be more objective in my post, and more robust to take some constructive critisism.. i have been divorced 7 years, since my daughter was 1.
50% of the blame was mine, definately.
Katie, I have nothing to offer regards the situation with your daughter and ex-hubby... My reason for posting has to do with your 'shaking' when you are in the ex's presence. (If I understood that properly.) I think I can relate to this bit, and would like to share with you my experience, if you do not mind. When I was much younger, I had left home (right after I turned 21). My mother was very domineering, and intimidating. I was not on the best of terms, as I had left home - and was considered a 'black sheep' of the family. Anyway, I would always sweat profusely and shake uncontrollably, if I ever had to have any dealings with my mom, or one of my older sisters (who had taken over the part of 'daddy'). One day, I was at work, and my mom called me to chat. Now... she only called me like this when no one was at home, as she _knew_ that the 'daddy-sister' certainly would not approve... but, that's a topic for another post. Anyway, I was not on break, and she starts in babbling, going on and on - almost as if nothing had happened. And - like always, I started sweating, and shaking - right there at work. I worked in a lab, at a workbench - and I just set the phone down for a bit. After a few minutes, I picked it up, and she was still going on - and on... non-stop. I was still shaking... and finally got my wits about me - and just picked up the phone and hung it up. There. Within a few minutes, it rang again. I got up... still recovering from my shaking... and as I walked out of the lab, told my workmate - "Answer the phone, please - Ken?" - and left. He looked at me in a puzzled tone, but went to answer the phone. I came back in about 5 minutes - after I had walked around enough to calm down, and asked him, "Who was it?" (I knew who it was) He said (in his Texan drawl), "It was your mom. She started yelling at me - asking me why I had hung up on her. I said 'Huh?' - and she said, 'Oh. Sorry.'" Well, needless to say, she never phoned to bother me at work again, and I got over my shaking uncontrollably - just by the simple action of taking charge of the situation. To try to tie this long drawn-out story in with your situation... Is there something that you can do to just 'take charge' of the situation? Regards, Jim TX
