Posts by GrreatTeacher

44

Covid lung damage worse than from heavy smoking

by FatFreek 2005 in

we've probably all heard it, "i wish i could get the covid and that way it would be behind me", as if it were some annoying rite of passage.

"sure, i'll lose my senses of smell and taste for awhile, i'll lose my strength for awhile", etc.. what else could be the reasoning for ignoring the social distancing to attend maskless parties and similar large group gatherings?.

however, looking at the following xray images of certain lungs may help impress some folks into thinking that there are more serious happenings in the attack progression of this virus.

GrreatTeacher

I saw this too. Scary.

A guy at my husband's work got it bad. He was out for a couple months. His friends and neighbors would leave him meals at his front door which was a floor down from his main living level.

He said he went down to get the food and he would be so winded that he would have to sit on a bench in his entry to catch his breath for a good 10 minutes before he could make it back upstairs to his kitchen. Then he'd collapse on the sofa and couldn't move for another 10 minutes.

He had to come back or lose his job. My husband says he looks like hell and he doesn't know if he will be able to keep his job. The doctors said they can't promise that he will ever get his lung function back.

15

Misheard song lyrics

by jhine in

i thought that as there seems to have been some very serious sh-stuff being discussed lately maybe a light hearted thread might be in order .

i was thinking about misheard song lyrics ( climb every woman ) and it seemed a good topic for a thread .to start off for many years l thought that fat boy slim was singing about some very posh shoes with funk soul rubber on the bottom .

has anyone else realised that they have been singing the wrong words ?

GrreatTeacher

"There's a bathroom on the right."

Instead of: "There's a bad moon on the rise."

C'mon, you all heard it that way, too, right?

13

Just helped my kid get his first used car.

by GrreatTeacher in

my son, only child, age 19, college sophomore, just got his first used car.

most importantly, he learned the fun and exhilarating process of buying a used car from a dealer.

he had saved some money, but everything around the $5000 range was basically a shit box on wheels.

GrreatTeacher

So true, Simon, our truck had trouble with the key turning in the ignition. It would stick, then nothing would go in. Watched a you tube video and got that ignition key working again!

Started happening again. After fiddling around with it we somehow fixed it so that any old key in the world would turn over. The Toyota key, the Subaru key, the key from an old Volkswagen from 25 years ago. Yup, just grab any random key and she would start and go. Worth fixing it? Nah. We run em till they're dead. If they're running, they're running.

13

Just helped my kid get his first used car.

by GrreatTeacher in

my son, only child, age 19, college sophomore, just got his first used car.

most importantly, he learned the fun and exhilarating process of buying a used car from a dealer.

he had saved some money, but everything around the $5000 range was basically a shit box on wheels.

GrreatTeacher

Oh, one more thought, you'll get a title with a lien on it. The bank will hold the lien, so when you finish paying off the loan you have to take the proof to the DMV where you will get a lien release. Ideally you should do it right away, but it definitely needs to be done before selling the car.

Oh, also, get copies of everything you sign! Our dealership gave us a flash drive with everything on it. That was a first for me.

13

Just helped my kid get his first used car.

by GrreatTeacher in

my son, only child, age 19, college sophomore, just got his first used car.

most importantly, he learned the fun and exhilarating process of buying a used car from a dealer.

he had saved some money, but everything around the $5000 range was basically a shit box on wheels.

GrreatTeacher

Yes, I've lived in Maryland my whole life. Right now I'm in between Baltimore and Washington, DC which basically means it's always rush hour all the time. The traffic never sleeps here. Kills cars.

I absolutely believe in driving cars till they die. We have one good, reliable car and two that are about to die. A 2004 Toyota Matrix with 240,000 miles and dead air conditioning and a 2006 Dodge Ram with 165,000 miles and dead air conditioning. We bought 2 new tires for the truck, took it to the mechanic to put them on, and he called us and said the front end was so bad it basically wasn't safe to drive. After a $4500 repair estimate, we decided to put that amount towards a downpayment on one safe vehicle instead.

One thing I might suggest slightly differently to do is to call your bank first and tell them you're looking for a car loan and wondering what rate they are offering. Then you can go into the deal knowing what your financing is. If course the dealership want to sell you their financing, but too bad. I cannot stress enough how much of a dick you have to be closing in on this sale. You can do it with a smile, though.

The bank will probably give you a parameter for loans. For instance, they wanted the car to be a 2012 or later. Good to know. We ended up with a 2010 Highlander , one owner, 80,000 miles, and appealed to our local bank branch with the numbers. We put down about 40% which means we likely would never be upside down on the value. (That'swhat that gap insurance they want to sell you is about.), and we had an excellent credit score. And we have our checking and savings with them so they know our cash flow. We were ultimately approved, so never stress about taking an extra day to work out the financials.

We got the dealership to agree to touch up the pinhole rust marks on the hood from where rocks kicked up. You can always ask about stuff like that. In general, if they've put it through state inspection, they aren't likely to upgrade anything they've already passed.

Also, this might only be a local thing, but ALL the dealers around here charge a $500 processing fee. It's entirely bullshit, but it's how they pay their people. So, definitely ask how much better they can do on the price. The actual sales price might not be any skin off the salesman's back. Maybe that's not everywhere, but, again, know your local market.

Don't buy any of the extra shit the finance manager tries to sell you! Repeat over and over, "No, thanks. I'm not interested in that!" and smile broadly! He might already be getting a cut of the dealer processing fee. We found that once we got on with actually closing the sale, he got very friendly again.

Research acceptable vehicles beforehand. We texted a few dealerships about different vehicles and this salesgirl was in contact for about 3 weeks about new vehicles they got in. She was a bulldog and she got the sale.

Best of luck. It's an exhausting process, but it can be done where you drive away with a "new" car and a smile.

PM me if you want further details about the financing. I'd be willing to share. :)

82

Prediction: What Will Happen To Trump Now That Biden Will Be President?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i think he will have to deal with the attorney general of new york amongst other things.

i do think he will not simply go away quietly ..

GrreatTeacher

Sorry. I was on the shitter.

Nah, I'm bowing out at talk of the media.

Have a lovely evening, my friend.

13

Just helped my kid get his first used car.

by GrreatTeacher in

my son, only child, age 19, college sophomore, just got his first used car.

most importantly, he learned the fun and exhilarating process of buying a used car from a dealer.

he had saved some money, but everything around the $5000 range was basically a shit box on wheels.

GrreatTeacher

Vienne, waiting until you're 18 is probably smart because your insurance costs will be much less. That can sometimes be the most prohibitive cost of car ownership.

Stan, I shudder to think about where you found a spare mattress for your van!

Good on you for flipping the old banger and buying a new one!

82

Prediction: What Will Happen To Trump Now That Biden Will Be President?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i think he will have to deal with the attorney general of new york amongst other things.

i do think he will not simply go away quietly ..

GrreatTeacher

Sorry, storming the doors of the Capitol building and rooting through desks in the Senate is not peaceful.

13

Just helped my kid get his first used car.

by GrreatTeacher in

my son, only child, age 19, college sophomore, just got his first used car.

most importantly, he learned the fun and exhilarating process of buying a used car from a dealer.

he had saved some money, but everything around the $5000 range was basically a shit box on wheels.

GrreatTeacher

Here. Here. Good job, dad!

My boy works full time all summer, full time in January between semesters, and part time when college is in session.

His boss gave him a year end bonus, and you should've seen his face!

He helps pay for community college. He will be completely responsible for expenses for this car.

And fortunately, his employer has a defense contract so he was able to work through Covid.

13

Just helped my kid get his first used car.

by GrreatTeacher in

my son, only child, age 19, college sophomore, just got his first used car.

most importantly, he learned the fun and exhilarating process of buying a used car from a dealer.

he had saved some money, but everything around the $5000 range was basically a shit box on wheels.

GrreatTeacher

My son, only child, age 19, college sophomore, just got his first used car. Most importantly, he learned the fun and exhilarating process of BUYING A USED CAR from a dealer. /s

He had saved some money, but everything around the $5000 range was basically a shit box on wheels. After wasting enough time looking at them, we decided to double the budget for something newer and more reliable and we would help by financing some for him.

Step two in the process was grabbing a car before it was sold. The used car market is hot right now and we looked at several cars that he couldn't be bothered to change his plans to go look at and they sold. Cue disappointment, but lesson learned.

Found a car at price point and he got off his butt to go look at it. Test drove it, talked about positives and negatives. He liked it okay. I liked it okay. Then the sales lady showed us another vehicle slightly above our price point ( she was good), and he really liked it, I thought it was a better fit for him and my husband agreed and thought it would last longer. We decided to try to make a deal. Lesson: You don't get everything you want in a used car deal. Also, I negotiated with dear son whether he'd be willing to put more money down. We went back and forth on amounts and finally agreed on an amount.

Then, we asked the sales lady if this was the best price. Her manager took off another $300 bucks, we realized with the hot used car market that was all we would get and, it was a fair price. Lesson learned: always try to negotiate, but know what you'll accept based on the market.

So, we told the sales lady we're interested, but we'd like to look at financing part of the price. Enter the FINANCE MANAGER. He could get us 4.75%. We thanked him politely and told him we would contact our credit union in the morning. They wanted us to take the car home. We said no thanks. Lesson learned: you can often get a better deal on your own through your own bank and NEVER take the car home until you finalize the deal.

Next day the bank gave us 2.75% We went back to the finance manager who tried to sell us extended warranty and gap insurance, very pushy. After politely and continually rejecting it, we finished the sale. Lesson learned: the finance manager makes her money off selling extra stuff so she can get pushy. It's very uncomfortable but stand your ground.

Kid got a car, we got a loan and we no longer have to worry about his old truck breaking down.

Most importantly, he learned an excellent life lesson: how to buy a car without getting screwed. Quite a bit different than teaching him to tie his shoes, but kids grow up!

How have you dealt with this with your kids?