Author Topic: Overheard at Work  (Read 13252859 times)

accountingteacher

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15150 on: October 06, 2016, 04:51:34 PM »
Anyone else hear the craziest things while at work?

In early 2009, a colleague of mine called geographyteacher, told me he'd "figured out the stock market."  He has spent the last 7 years trying to time the market and feels he has done quite well for himself.  He does not know how to compare an annual return to a holding period return to a risk-adjusted return or how to benchmark his progress.  He just knows that "this guy in Omaha" was very successful at it.
Over the years of doing this, and telling everyone how good he is at it, he has asked me several questions that reveal his lack of knowledge.  For example, he didn't know what an SDRSP was and last week he asked me how to get all of his money out of his RRSP without paying any tax.  (Not a first time homebuyer or a student.)  The frustrating part is that when I answer these questions and he learns something new, he still never questions whether he is, in fact, an expert or if maybe, just maybe, there's other stuff he doesn't know too. 
So now he tells me that he has started taking money from other people and trading for them.  Since he’s not an investment bank, people are just giving him money which he deposits into his own brokerage accounts to trade with.  I don’t think he realizes he will have to declare the investment income himself.  (Alternatively, this might be why he asked me how to get money out of an RRSP, but if that’s true, he’s used up his contribution room for other people.)
I’ve decided I’m not going to say anything to him but I would intervene if I found out he was giving advice (or taking money from) any of our mutual colleagues.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15151 on: October 06, 2016, 06:32:36 PM »
Anyone else hear the craziest things while at work?

In early 2009, a colleague of mine called geographyteacher, told me he'd "figured out the stock market."  He has spent the last 7 years trying to time the market and feels he has done quite well for himself.  He does not know how to compare an annual return to a holding period return to a risk-adjusted return or how to benchmark his progress.  He just knows that "this guy in Omaha" was very successful at it.
Over the years of doing this, and telling everyone how good he is at it, he has asked me several questions that reveal his lack of knowledge.  For example, he didn't know what an SDRSP was and last week he asked me how to get all of his money out of his RRSP without paying any tax.  (Not a first time homebuyer or a student.)  The frustrating part is that when I answer these questions and he learns something new, he still never questions whether he is, in fact, an expert or if maybe, just maybe, there's other stuff he doesn't know too. 
So now he tells me that he has started taking money from other people and trading for them.  Since he’s not an investment bank, people are just giving him money which he deposits into his own brokerage accounts to trade with.  I don’t think he realizes he will have to declare the investment income himself.  (Alternatively, this might be why he asked me how to get money out of an RRSP, but if that’s true, he’s used up his contribution room for other people.)
I’ve decided I’m not going to say anything to him but I would intervene if I found out he was giving advice (or taking money from) any of our mutual colleagues.

Sounds like a ticking time bomb.  I agree with your plan to intervene, just be careful.

MrsDinero

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15152 on: October 06, 2016, 06:36:14 PM »
So now he tells me that he has started taking money from other people and trading for them.  Since he’s not an investment bank, people are just giving him money which he deposits into his own brokerage accounts to trade with.  I don’t think he realizes he will have to declare the investment income himself.  (Alternatively, this might be why he asked me how to get money out of an RRSP, but if that’s true, he’s used up his contribution room for other people.)
I’ve decided I’m not going to say anything to him but I would intervene if I found out he was giving advice (or taking money from) any of our mutual colleagues.

This sounds like a Ponzi scheme in the making.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15153 on: October 06, 2016, 06:40:08 PM »
Who are the idiots giving him money?! Everyone in this story is due a very rude awakening.

LeRainDrop

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15154 on: October 06, 2016, 07:28:38 PM »
What geographyteacher is doing sounds (1) really dumb for himself and (2) super sketchy as it relates to the other people's money.  Wondering if it's even legal...

accountingteacher

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15155 on: October 07, 2016, 07:03:20 AM »

This sounds like a Ponzi scheme in the making.

I sort of thought that too.  He's not a malicious person and he wouldn't do it intentionally, (and he probably doesn't know what a Ponzi is), but I could see him being unable to repay someone, using someone else's principle to cover it, and so it would begin.

accountingteacher

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15156 on: October 07, 2016, 07:05:28 AM »
Who are the idiots giving him money?! Everyone in this story is due a very rude awakening.

He said friends and family.  My understanding is that he is the only person in his family to have attended university and that he is an elder in his church.  People in his circles trust him and his judgment I guess.

Half-Borg

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15157 on: October 07, 2016, 07:17:31 AM »
Who are the idiots giving him money?! Everyone in this story is due a very rude awakening.

He said friends and family.  My understanding is that he is the only person in his family to have attended university and that he is an elder in his church.  People in his circles trust him and his judgment I guess.

Not it sounds even more like a Ponzi sheme in the making

accountingteacher

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15158 on: October 07, 2016, 07:18:21 AM »
What geographyteacher is doing sounds (1) really dumb for himself and (2) super sketchy as it relates to the other people's money.  Wondering if it's even legal...

I think the legal issues would boil down to minor tax fraud.  He's not actually selling securities directly to the public.  He's might be trading within his TFSA, and there have been some cases of the CRA "de-sheltering" TFSA income when the trading has been deemed to be business activity.  I'm sure he's also failing to report the "part of the income they let him keep for himself". 

As far as investment fraud, he wouldn't have actually lied to anyone by telling them he had education or certifications that he didn't have.  (He actually doesn't know what the Canadian Securities Course or the CFA designation is.)  He really believes he knows what he's doing and he has convinced other people he does as well. 

MandalayVA

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15159 on: October 07, 2016, 08:32:30 AM »
Who are the idiots giving him money?! Everyone in this story is due a very rude awakening.

He said friends and family.  My understanding is that he is the only person in his family to have attended university and that he is an elder in his church.  People in his circles trust him and his judgment I guess.

"But ... but he's an ELDER!!  He would NEVER rip us off!!"

It's amazing how many people equate being Christian with being honest and are genuinely horrified when they get scammed. 

cheapass

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15160 on: October 07, 2016, 08:49:57 AM »
It's amazing how many people equate being Christian with being honest and are genuinely horrified when they get scammed.

Religion is the opiate of the masses, after all. Pretty sure over the course of human history more people have been murdered in the name of religion than for any other reason.

MandalayVA

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15161 on: October 07, 2016, 08:53:59 AM »
It's amazing how many people equate being Christian with being honest and are genuinely horrified when they get scammed.

Religion is the opiate of the masses, after all. Pretty sure over the course of human history more people have been murdered in the name of religion than for any other reason.

"God is the leading cause of death."  Christopher Hitchens

TheStachery

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15162 on: October 07, 2016, 11:23:33 AM »



It's amazing how many people equate being Christian with being honest and are genuinely horrified when they get scammed.

It's also amazing how people equate being Christian with being sheep, and being stupid and falling for scams.

Threshkin

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15163 on: October 07, 2016, 11:56:14 AM »
It's amazing how many people equate being Christian with being honest and are genuinely horrified when they get scammed.
It's also amazing how people equate being Christian with being sheep, and being stupid and falling for scams.
+1 to both of these comments.

acroy

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15164 on: October 07, 2016, 12:00:46 PM »
Discussing miles driven on cars::

CW1: 'That's the one you drive a lot, right?'
CW2: 'Nah, we've had it 3yrs and only put 62k on it'
CW1: 'oh yeah, that's not much'

!!??

frugalnacho

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15165 on: October 07, 2016, 12:04:47 PM »
It's amazing how many people equate being Christian with being honest and are genuinely horrified when they get scammed.
It's also amazing how people equate being Christian with being sheep, and being stupid and falling for scams.
+1 to both of these comments.

May Odin smite you all.

Threshkin

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15166 on: October 07, 2016, 12:31:13 PM »
It's amazing how many people equate being Christian with being honest and are genuinely horrified when they get scammed.
It's also amazing how people equate being Christian with being sheep, and being stupid and falling for scams.
+1 to both of these comments.

May Odin smite you all.

This made me remember how the words in English for the days of the week have pagan roots.  Many Norse.

Monday = Moon day
Tuesday = Týr's day
Wednesday = Odin's day
Thursday = Thor's day
Friday = Frigga's day
Saturday = Saturn's day
Sunday = Sun's day

4 days named after Norse gods, 1 Roman, 2 celestial.

GuitarStv

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15167 on: October 07, 2016, 12:45:49 PM »
It's amazing how many people equate being Christian with being honest and are genuinely horrified when they get scammed.
It's also amazing how people equate being Christian with being sheep, and being stupid and falling for scams.
+1 to both of these comments.

May Odin smite you all.

This made me remember how the words in English for the days of the week have pagan roots.  Many Norse.

Monday = Moon day
Tuesday = Týr's day
Wednesday = Woden's day
Thursday = Thor's day
Friday = Frigga's day
Saturday = Saturn's day
Sunday = Sun's day

4 days named after Norse gods, 1 Roman, 2 celestial.

FTFY

frugalnacho

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15168 on: October 07, 2016, 12:51:15 PM »
It's amazing how many people equate being Christian with being honest and are genuinely horrified when they get scammed.
It's also amazing how people equate being Christian with being sheep, and being stupid and falling for scams.
+1 to both of these comments.

May Odin smite you all.

This made me remember how the words in English for the days of the week have pagan roots.  Many Norse.

Monday = Moon day
Tuesday = Týr's day
Wednesday = Woden's day
Thursday = Thor's day
Friday = Frigga's day
Saturday = Saturn's day
Sunday = Sun's day

4 days named after Norse gods, 1 Roman, 2 celestial.

FTFY

Aren't Woden and Odin one and the same?

GuitarStv

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15169 on: October 07, 2016, 01:03:09 PM »
It's amazing how many people equate being Christian with being honest and are genuinely horrified when they get scammed.
It's also amazing how people equate being Christian with being sheep, and being stupid and falling for scams.
+1 to both of these comments.

May Odin smite you all.

This made me remember how the words in English for the days of the week have pagan roots.  Many Norse.

Monday = Moon day
Tuesday = Týr's day
Wednesday = Woden's day
Thursday = Thor's day
Friday = Frigga's day
Saturday = Saturn's day
Sunday = Sun's day

4 days named after Norse gods, 1 Roman, 2 celestial.

FTFY

Aren't Woden and Odin one and the same?

I've always been unclear on that point honestly.  I just think Woden'sday is a better analog for Wednesday.

Threshkin

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15170 on: October 07, 2016, 01:10:12 PM »
It's amazing how many people equate being Christian with being honest and are genuinely horrified when they get scammed.
It's also amazing how people equate being Christian with being sheep, and being stupid and falling for scams.
+1 to both of these comments.

May Odin smite you all.

This made me remember how the words in English for the days of the week have pagan roots.  Many Norse.

Monday = Moon day
Tuesday = Týr's day
Wednesday = Woden's day
Thursday = Thor's day
Friday = Frigga's day
Saturday = Saturn's day
Sunday = Sun's day

4 days named after Norse gods, 1 Roman, 2 celestial.

FTFY

Aren't Woden and Odin one and the same?

Yes they are.  There are about 170 variations of this name. Standardized spelling is a fairly new concept.  Odin is a very old god.

gaja

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15171 on: October 07, 2016, 01:51:37 PM »
The jury is out on whether Friday is Frey's, Freya's or Frigg's day. The fun part is that you have kept all the Nordic names, except for Saturday. In the Nordic languages this is the washing day (laugardagur), but you would rather watch the time go by? (Saturn = god of time).

LeRainDrop

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15172 on: October 07, 2016, 02:35:17 PM »
Who are the idiots giving him money?! Everyone in this story is due a very rude awakening.

He said friends and family.  My understanding is that he is the only person in his family to have attended university and that he is an elder in his church.  People in his circles trust him and his judgment I guess.

"But ... but he's an ELDER!!  He would NEVER rip us off!!"

It's amazing how many people equate being Christian with being honest and are genuinely horrified when they get scammed.

It's not altogether unusual to hear of church elders using the trust placed in them to secretly rip people off.  Two very recent examples in my life:
  • I'm an attorney and represented a contractor/architect who did a shit ton of work for a church that was planning to expand.  Pastor kept promising he would pay for the work.  Pastor never did pay and was lying to his congregation to get them to give him more money for it, meanwhile falsely badmouthing the architect/contractor.
  • There's an attorney I work with who told me some other folks in her church group recently discovered that their elder who handled accounting had been skimming a huge amount of the donations for himself.  He got fired and has to pay restitution, but I think the church has agreed not to pursue criminal charges.
« Last Edit: October 07, 2016, 02:37:54 PM by LeRainDrop »

mtn

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15173 on: October 07, 2016, 03:04:10 PM »
Who are the idiots giving him money?! Everyone in this story is due a very rude awakening.

He said friends and family.  My understanding is that he is the only person in his family to have attended university and that he is an elder in his church.  People in his circles trust him and his judgment I guess.

"But ... but he's an ELDER!!  He would NEVER rip us off!!"

It's amazing how many people equate being Christian with being honest and are genuinely horrified when they get scammed.

It's not altogether unusual to hear of church elders using the trust placed in them to secretly rip people off.  Two very recent examples in my life:
  • I'm an attorney and represented a contractor/architect who did a shit ton of work for a church that was planning to expand.  Pastor kept promising he would pay for the work.  Pastor never did pay and was lying to his congregation to get them to give him more money for it, meanwhile falsely badmouthing the architect/contractor.
  • There's an attorney I work with who told me some other folks in her church group recently discovered that their elder who handled accounting had been skimming a huge amount of the donations for himself.  He got fired and has to pay restitution, but I think the church has agreed not to pursue criminal charges.

That second one wouldn't be in Chicagoland, would it?

druth

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15174 on: October 07, 2016, 03:08:17 PM »
Who are the idiots giving him money?! Everyone in this story is due a very rude awakening.

He said friends and family.  My understanding is that he is the only person in his family to have attended university and that he is an elder in his church.  People in his circles trust him and his judgment I guess.

"But ... but he's an ELDER!!  He would NEVER rip us off!!"

It's amazing how many people equate being Christian with being honest and are genuinely horrified when they get scammed.

It's not altogether unusual to hear of church elders using the trust placed in them to secretly rip people off.  Two very recent examples in my life:
  • I'm an attorney and represented a contractor/architect who did a shit ton of work for a church that was planning to expand.  Pastor kept promising he would pay for the work.  Pastor never did pay and was lying to his congregation to get them to give him more money for it, meanwhile falsely badmouthing the architect/contractor.
  • There's an attorney I work with who told me some other folks in her church group recently discovered that their elder who handled accounting had been skimming a huge amount of the donations for himself.  He got fired and has to pay restitution, but I think the church has agreed not to pursue criminal charges.

I posted in the family thread about my inlaws, but they are constantly being scammed by people who must be trustworthy because they are religious.  They lost 100k+ to a ponzi scheme that was marketed as investing in christian companies, they are in 'life leadership' which is a shitty MLM that mostly targets religious people.

I'm sure that these scams also target the non-religious, but there is a significant subset that specifically seeks out the very religious.  I think religious people in general (for better and for worse) have a lower threshold for who they will trust.  It makes sense, you have a tight knit community that is supposedly based on being a good person.  Infiltrate that and you suddenly have a ton of people to scam.  It doesn't make those people dumb or sheep, just trusting, which isn't a bad trait in many situations but when it comes to money suspicion can be a very good thing.

LeRainDrop

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15175 on: October 07, 2016, 03:40:53 PM »
That second one wouldn't be in Chicagoland, would it?

No, southeast US.  When my friend joined the board, she asked, "Shouldn't we get an external audit?"  Apparently that's actually not a requirement for religious organizations, at least in our state, and the others all said, "No, no, elder dude has been doing the accounting for xx years, and he's really good with the numbers."  It's a very good thing my friend won out in the end and had that audit done...
« Last Edit: October 07, 2016, 03:45:12 PM by LeRainDrop »

dragoncar

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15176 on: October 07, 2016, 04:05:26 PM »

This made me remember how the words in English for the days of the week have pagan roots.  Many Norse.

Monday = Moon day
Tuesday = Týr's day
Wednesday = Odin's day
Thursday = Thor's day
Friday = Frigga's day
Saturday = Saturn's day
Sunday = Sun's day

4 days named after Norse gods, 1 Roman, 2 celestial.

That's all wrong, of course.  It goes like this:

Monday = One day
Tuesday = Two day
Wednesday = What day?
Thursday = Third day.  The THIRD DAY.

moof

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15177 on: October 07, 2016, 04:59:27 PM »
Who are the idiots giving him money?! Everyone in this story is due a very rude awakening.
The stock market is scary as hell to 99% of the population.  People know it is one of the few paths they have to getting rich (other than their weekly lottery ticket purchases), but don't know how not to screw up.  So people want to have their "guy" do it for them, someone they believe they can trust.  Hence Madoff.  Hence hedge funds.

The more confident someone is, the less you can trust them.  Find someone who equivocates every statement, and warns you about every caveat, for they are far more likely to be an actual expert.

MgoSam

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15178 on: October 07, 2016, 05:29:58 PM »
Who are the idiots giving him money?! Everyone in this story is due a very rude awakening.
The stock market is scary as hell to 99% of the population.  People know it is one of the few paths they have to getting rich (other than their weekly lottery ticket purchases), but don't know how not to screw up.  So people want to have their "guy" do it for them, someone they believe they can trust.  Hence Madoff.  Hence hedge funds.

The more confident someone is, the less you can trust them.  Find someone who equivocates every statement, and warns you about every caveat, for they are far more likely to be an actual expert.

Last year I went camping with a group and one the way back one of the guys was talking about how he wants to start investing in his retirement and decided that he was going to find an "investment guy" and give him $1000 to play with and if he did good with it, he would have him handle all his money. I was lost for

a. Why do you need an "investment guy?"
b. Why not invest in mutual funds or invest on your own (if you must go the stock picking route)
c. Why the bloody fuck haven't you invested before you turned 28....he was an intern at my church for at least a year....the program costs $3500 minimum so it's not like he didn't have the money.

Haven't really spoke to him since so no clue if he found an "investment guy."


arebelspy

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15179 on: October 07, 2016, 06:45:46 PM »

This made me remember how the words in English for the days of the week have pagan roots.  Many Norse.

Monday = Moon day
Tuesday = Týr's day
Wednesday = Odin's day
Thursday = Thor's day
Friday = Frigga's day
Saturday = Saturn's day
Sunday = Sun's day

4 days named after Norse gods, 1 Roman, 2 celestial.

That's all wrong, of course.  It goes like this:

Monday = One day
Tuesday = Two day
Wednesday = What day?
Thursday = Third day.  The THIRD DAY.

:D

My wife and I quote this all the time.

"When, huh, what day?"
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.

solon

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15180 on: October 07, 2016, 07:01:26 PM »

This made me remember how the words in English for the days of the week have pagan roots.  Many Norse.

Monday = Moon day
Tuesday = Týr's day
Wednesday = Odin's day
Thursday = Thor's day
Friday = Frigga's day
Saturday = Saturn's day
Sunday = Sun's day

4 days named after Norse gods, 1 Roman, 2 celestial.

That's all wrong, of course.  It goes like this:

Monday = One day
Tuesday = Two day
Wednesday = What day?
Thursday = Third day.  The THIRD DAY.

:D

My wife and I quote this all the time.

"When, huh, what day?"

This is a thing? What are you quoting?

arebelspy

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15181 on: October 07, 2016, 07:19:33 PM »
Friends.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THiBIXEIU4c

The best part is later in the episode Chandler asks how the audition goes, and Joey like counts on his fingers that it's Thursday using his counting method outlined above.  Can't find a clip of that part though.  :)
« Last Edit: October 07, 2016, 07:22:55 PM by arebelspy »
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.

accountingteacher

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15182 on: October 07, 2016, 07:22:53 PM »

It's not altogether unusual to hear of church elders using the trust placed in them to secretly rip people off.  Two very recent examples in my life:
  • I'm an attorney and represented a contractor/architect who did a shit ton of work for a church that was planning to expand.  Pastor kept promising he would pay for the work.  Pastor never did pay and was lying to his congregation to get them to give him more money for it, meanwhile falsely badmouthing the architect/contractor.
  • There's an attorney I work with who told me some other folks in her church group recently discovered that their elder who handled accounting had been skimming a huge amount of the donations for himself.  He got fired and has to pay restitution, but I think the church has agreed not to pursue criminal charges.

For the record, geographyteacher is not setting out to defraud anyone.  He honestly believes he knows best and that he's helping these people.  I did not set out to call him a criminal or a crooked church elder, just an arrogant fool.  (Did I mention he leases his car and has explained to me how it's the cheapest option?)

nobodyspecial

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15183 on: October 07, 2016, 08:24:28 PM »
Aren't Woden and Odin one and the same?
Yes they are.  ....  Odin is a very old god.
But he does marvelously well for his age.

Have you seen any ice giants recently ?

dragoncar

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15184 on: October 07, 2016, 09:09:46 PM »
Friends.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THiBIXEIU4c

The best part is later in the episode Chandler asks how the audition goes, and Joey like counts on his fingers that it's Thursday using his counting method outlined above.  Can't find a clip of that part though.  :)

Here's a terrible quality version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dG4C_vdR8do

arebelspy

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15185 on: October 07, 2016, 09:18:25 PM »
We should watch Friends together someday, Dragoncar.
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.

MrRealEstate

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15186 on: October 08, 2016, 01:02:18 AM »
Friends.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THiBIXEIU4c

The best part is later in the episode Chandler asks how the audition goes, and Joey like counts on his fingers that it's Thursday using his counting method outlined above.  Can't find a clip of that part though.  :)

Here's a terrible quality version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dG4C_vdR8do

In the event anyone else works for an evil company that doesn't allow youtube links to work, search Joey Explaining Thursday third day in youtubes search bar.

marty998

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15187 on: October 08, 2016, 02:08:52 AM »


This made me remember how the words in English for the days of the week have pagan roots.  Many Norse.

Monday = Moon day
Tuesday = Týr's day
Wednesday = Odin's day
Thursday = Thor's day
Friday = Frigga's day
Saturday = Saturn's day
Sunday = Sun's day

4 days named after Norse gods, 1 Roman, 2 celestial.



Italian days of the week:

Lunedi: Moon (Monday)
Martedi: Mars (Tuesday)
Mercoledi: Mercury (Wednesday)
Giovedi: Jupiter (Thursday)
Venerdi: Venus (Friday)
Sabato: Saturn (Saturday)
Domenica: Day of God (Sunday)


nanu

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15188 on: October 08, 2016, 05:11:31 AM »


This made me remember how the words in English for the days of the week have pagan roots.  Many Norse.

Monday = Moon day
Tuesday = Týr's day
Wednesday = Odin's day
Thursday = Thor's day
Friday = Frigga's day
Saturday = Saturn's day
Sunday = Sun's day

4 days named after Norse gods, 1 Roman, 2 celestial.



Italian days of the week:

Lunedi: Moon (Monday)
Martedi: Mars (Tuesday)
Mercoledi: Mercury (Wednesday)
Giovedi: Jupiter (Thursday)
Venerdi: Venus (Friday)
Sabato: Saturn (Saturday)
Domenica: Day of God (Sunday)
Hebrew days of the week are the easiest - Sunday through Friday (yes, the week starts on Sunday... Remember Genesis 1:1?) are simply "first day", "second day", etc'.
Then Saturday is "Sabbath", which literally means "strike" or "sit", as in, a day you don't work on

LennStar

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15189 on: October 08, 2016, 06:10:35 AM »
And the Japanese now use

Moonday
Fireday
Waterday
Woodday
Goldday
Earthday
Sunday

Which is western-based but with the planets exchanged for their element by the Chinese.

GuitarStv

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15190 on: October 08, 2016, 07:01:16 AM »
Aren't Woden and Odin one and the same?
Yes they are.  ....  Odin is a very old god.
But he does marvelously well for his age.

Have you seen any ice giants recently ?

Global warming may be coming into play on that issue . . .

kayvent

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15191 on: October 08, 2016, 10:30:33 AM »
Aren't Woden and Odin one and the same?
Yes they are.  ....  Odin is a very old god.
But he does marvelously well for his age.

Have you seen any ice giants recently ?

Global warming may be coming into play on that issue . . .

We're presently still in an ice age though.

Metric Mouse

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15192 on: October 08, 2016, 07:39:17 PM »
Aren't Woden and Odin one and the same?
Yes they are.  ....  Odin is a very old god.
But he does marvelously well for his age.

Have you seen any ice giants recently ?

Global warming may be coming into play on that issue . . .

We're presently still in an ice age though.

Not for much longer if my Jeep has anything to say about it.

kayvent

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15193 on: October 08, 2016, 08:05:58 PM »
Aren't Woden and Odin one and the same?
Yes they are.  ....  Odin is a very old god.
But he does marvelously well for his age.

Have you seen any ice giants recently ?

Global warming may be coming into play on that issue . . .

We're presently still in an ice age though.

Not for much longer if my Jeep has anything to say about it.

Ice ages have to end eventually.

nobodyspecial

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15194 on: October 08, 2016, 08:30:43 PM »
Aren't Woden and Odin one and the same?
Yes they are.  ....  Odin is a very old god.
But he does marvelously well for his age.

Have you seen any ice giants recently ?

Global warming may be coming into play on that issue . . .

We're presently still in an ice age though.

Not for much longer if my Jeep has anything to say about it.

Ice ages have to end eventually.
Typical Odin worshipper propaganda

Support PETA - Support Fenir

gaja

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15195 on: October 09, 2016, 04:17:21 AM »
Aren't Woden and Odin one and the same?
Yes they are.  ....  Odin is a very old god.
But he does marvelously well for his age.

Have you seen any ice giants recently ?

Global warming may be coming into play on that issue . . .

We're presently still in an ice age though.

Not for much longer if my Jeep has anything to say about it.

Ice ages have to end eventually.
Typical Odin worshipper propaganda

Support PETA - Support Fenir

Like it makes any difference what an old cripple does. I doubt he has ever killed a single ice giant himself. Thor is the real hero, despite everything Odin has done to slow him down in his work.

BTDretire

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15196 on: October 09, 2016, 02:11:03 PM »
Aren't Woden and Odin one and the same?

Yes they are.  There are about 170 variations of this name. Standardized spelling is a fairly new concept.  Odin is a very old god.
Hmm, is Odin 6000 years old or 13,700,000,000 years old?  /s

nobodyspecial

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15197 on: October 09, 2016, 02:18:54 PM »
Aren't Woden and Odin one and the same?

Yes they are.  There are about 170 variations of this name. Standardized spelling is a fairly new concept.  Odin is a very old god.
Hmm, is Odin 6000 years old or 13,700,000,000 years old?  /s
I think that as a God you only as old as you feel.
In spite of the unreasonable body image expectations that Marvel comics place on them, being a Norse deity is one area where we are battling ageism.
 

BTDretire

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15198 on: October 09, 2016, 03:14:52 PM »
Got a good one from my wife's work.

Co-worker A needs to buy a birthday gift for his girlfriend so he enlists co-worker B (female) to help. They come to the decision that a designer purse, original MSRP of $3,000 is appropriate. But holy shit, it's 50% off what a great deal! Only $1,500!. Boom, bought it!

Such a great deal in fact that Co-worker B just HAD to buy one for herself, I mean you're just an idiot if you pass up a bargain like that!

For context, they both have incomes in the $70-80K range.,
  My daughter (25yrs old) invited a friend from out of town to visit her and go to a theme park. The recent hurricane was approaching and my daughter confided that she hoped that they would close so she wouldn't need to buy a ticket. Well, the weather was bad, so they went to the mall shopping. My daughters friend, a waitress at a breakfast restaurant, was buying many assorted items. Then she saw a 'purse', it was
"on sale" marked down from $600 to $450!!! She loved the 'purse', but didn't have enough money. What to do? She backtracked and returned several of the items she had purchased. That didn't work, they put too much as a credit on her debit card.
She went back to the store and the sales person, ask if she new about their credit card
that she could get. Eureka! So she got the card and bought the $450 purse that she loved. After she got the purse, she said, "now we can go into Gucci and they won't look at us funny. (might have said Neiman Marcus)
My daughter is doing pretty well as Mustachian, she saw a $50 key chain she liked but didn't buy it.

LeRainDrop

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15199 on: October 09, 2016, 03:53:08 PM »
Eureka! So she got the card and bought the $450 purse that she loved. After she got the purse, she said, "now we can go into Gucci and they won't look at us funny. (might have said Neiman Marcus)

Haha!  That is kinda true, though.  During one year of my life, I went into the Coach store on a few occasions.  When I was wearing my summer flip-flops, shorts, and t-shirt, I was ignored or looked down on.  But when I wore my business clothes and my Coach purse, then they were all over me.  I still had the same high income/net worth either way, but my appearance did make a difference in how I was treated at those types of stores.  Pretty ridiculous.  I also remember walking into an Ann Taylor that was practically empty of people, and I was in total casual wear, so was completely ignored, even though it was a rare time that I actually wanted help.  Then I started trying on multiple full suits and outfits, and I couldn't pry the snotty lady away from me.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!