Overheard at Work

[Sibley]

Man that would be the perfect time to try and sell her on one of those bookcases that when you pull on a fake book, it slides over and reveals a hidden room.  I so want one of those...

That's the one thing I'm having when I have more money than I can spend and am building my own house.

I actually know someone with that. You know what's in the secret room? Stacks of rubbermaid tubs up to the ceiling, full of holiday decorations. This is in addition to the basement full of stuff. It's a 5 bedroom, massive house, and they have probably 10x the amount of stuff I have. They are also probably the most quietly unhappy people I have the misfortune to know.

[MgoSam]

Man that would be the perfect time to try and sell her on one of those bookcases that when you pull on a fake book, it slides over and reveals a hidden room.  I so want one of those...

That's the one thing I'm having when I have more money than I can spend and am building my own house.

I actually know someone with that. You know what's in the secret room? Stacks of rubbermaid tubs up to the ceiling, full of holiday decorations. This is in addition to the basement full of stuff. It's a 5 bedroom, massive house, and they have probably 10x the amount of stuff I have. They are also probably the most quietly unhappy people I have the misfortune to know.

That's what I think of whenever I see a movie where there's a secret chamber. Another question I have is, "If it's so remote and secret, how the heck is it so pristine and clean?" I mean, if it's designed to not be noticed by anyone, who the hell constructed it and made sure that the engineered room doesn't collapse? Also, who cleans it because it likely isn't the homeowner and having servants know about it kinda defeats its purpose?

[RyanAtTanagra]

That's what I think of whenever I see a movie where there's a secret chamber. Another question I have is, "If it's so remote and secret, how the heck is it so pristine and clean?" I mean, if it's designed to not be noticed by anyone, who the hell constructed it and made sure that the engineered room doesn't collapse? Also, who cleans it because it likely isn't the homeowner and having servants know about it kinda defeats its purpose?

That's why your secret room should always lead down into caves with water dripping so it cleans itself

[Joggernot]

That's why your secret room should always lead down into caves with water dripping so it cleans itself

Yep, its October, the month of hidden rooms and dripping caves.  Found one in Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein.

[mm1970]

My purse is also worth approximately 1,500$.

Except it's huge, and I can fit a shit ton of stuff in there.

Like my snowboard.

And 4 people.

And it can take me across the country.

Oh wait, no, I mean my car; my car is worth approximately 1,500$.

This was fantastic.

I think my car is worth $2500

[TravelJunkyQC]

My purse is also worth approximately 1,500$.

Except it's huge, and I can fit a shit ton of stuff in there.

Like my snowboard.

And 4 people.

And it can take me across the country.

Oh wait, no, I mean my car; my car is worth approximately 1,500$.

This was fantastic.

I think my car is worth $2500

Psshh... so what, that's like, not even half the value of a Chanel purse!

[Threshkin]

My purse is also worth approximately 1,500$.

Except it's huge, and I can fit a shit ton of stuff in there.

Like my snowboard.

And 4 people.

And it can take me across the country.

Oh wait, no, I mean my car; my car is worth approximately 1,500$.

This was fantastic.

I think my car is worth $2500

Psshh... so what, that's like, not even half the value of a Chanel purse!

Half the cost maybe.  Much more than half the value

[hudsoncat]

The new FLSA rules are causing some changes at my job. All the formerly salaried/exempt positions below the line are now transitioning to hourly/non-exempt. The challenge is that salaried staff are currently paid twice per month (24 pays per year) and hourly are paid every other week (26 pays per year). The transition in pay structure in December is going to cause the newly hourly folks to have their first hourly check be 'short' in the sense that it only covers one week rather than two and then they will have to wait two weeks for their first 'full' check. The company is offering an interest free loan if you'd like to request it to make up the difference. The loan will be paid back over the next 11 months in equal installments directly deducted from you check. Not an ideal situation, but trying to make the best of it.

People are losing their damn minds. Several are apparently bad at math and do not understand that they are in fact getting the same salary, but spread out across 26 pay checks rather than 24 means that each pay check is less. They are convinced that they are taking a pay cut. One guy has figured out that this means he will get three pay checks some months. However, he believes those 'extra' pay checks mean he will make more in 2017 than in 2016.

One woman burst into tears, convinced she will lose her house because of the short pay check challenge at the start. When reminded of the loan, she said she cannot possibly afford the rest of her paycheck's then being short for the next 11 months. Several people agreed with her that they are very worried about that as well.

I'm not that shocked so many people cannot handle having essentially less than half the pay check they are used too (I see their ridiculous spending habits frequently enough), but I'm still a little amazed I guess at the angst this is causing. I was also little surprised at how many people were unable to grasp the different between 24/26 pays and why their checks would be a different amount. Most of these people have master's degrees, all at least have a bachelors... did none of them take math?!

[nobody123]

People are losing their damn minds. Several are apparently bad at math and do not understand that they are in fact getting the same salary, but spread out across 26 pay checks rather than 24 means that each pay check is less. They are convinced that they are taking a pay cut...

People always get antsy when you mess with their paychecks.  It is nice that your company offered an interest-free loan for those that needed it.

We had the opposite happen (every other week Friday pay for salaried folks went to 15th and last) a few years ago.  Folks complained that they were taking a pay cut because they were getting fewer checks (completely ignoring the fact that each check was now bigger).   A bunch of folks complained because more taxes were taken out because the checks were a bigger amount, not understanding how taxes work. 

Funny thing is that everyone got a tiny raise to account for the loss of pay due to rounding.  $65K/26 = $2500 but $65K/24 = $2708.3333.  $2708.33 * 24 is only $64999.92.  That person should have had their salary adjusted to $65000.24 so they wouldn't be taking a pay cut.  But, since others got a de-facto increase due to rounding, they ended up giving everyone a buck or two extra for PR purposes.  Yet people still complained because they didn't understand the math.

[cheapass]

People are losing their damn minds. Several are apparently bad at math and do not understand that they are in fact getting the same salary, but spread out across 26 pay checks rather than 24 means that each pay check is less.

I got excited when we made the transition from 24 to 26 pay periods per year. Think of the infinitesimal amount of extra interest I'll be earning on my money now! That will save me like 10 minutes in the cubicle farm. If it were an option, I'd actually prefer to be paid on the minute, every minute.

[PriestTheRunner]

People are losing their damn minds. Several are apparently bad at math and do not understand that they are in fact getting the same salary, but spread out across 26 pay checks rather than 24 means that each pay check is less.

I got excited when we made the transition from 24 to 26 pay periods per year. Think of the infinitesimal amount of extra interest I'll be earning on my money now! That will save me like 10 minutes in the cubicle farm. If it were an option, I'd actually prefer to be paid on the minute, every minute.

Wouldn't that be an interesting societal concept....  Like sticking a card into a machine when you get to work, and having your hourly pay flow in once an hour (or more).

[RyanAtTanagra]

People are losing their damn minds. Several are apparently bad at math and do not understand that they are in fact getting the same salary, but spread out across 26 pay checks rather than 24 means that each pay check is less.

I got excited when we made the transition from 24 to 26 pay periods per year. Think of the infinitesimal amount of extra interest I'll be earning on my money now! That will save me like 10 minutes in the cubicle farm. If it were an option, I'd actually prefer to be paid on the minute, every minute.

Wouldn't that be an interesting societal concept....  Like sticking a card into a machine when you get to work, and having your hourly pay flow in once an hour (or more).

Steady stream, in pennies, with an audio toggle that sounds like a constant slot machine payout.

[accountingteacher]

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.

[esq]

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]

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.

[Paul der Krake]

Who are the idiots giving him money?! Everyone in this story is due a very rude awakening.

[LeRainDrop]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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.

[mtn]

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]

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]

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...

[dragoncar]

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]

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]

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]

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?"

[solon]

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]

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.  :)

[accountingteacher]

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]

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]

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]

We should watch Friends together someday, Dragoncar.

[MrRealEstate]

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]

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)