Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)

[markbike528CBX]

I now have enough money with Fidelity that they have promoted me to their Wealth offering.

Having read the brochure, I now have an advisor (who can't advise, seems more like customer service) and get invited to monthly meetings and drinks. Tempted to actually turn up to the free drinks, it's right round the corner from where I work.

Tempted?   If "drinks" is more than bug juice, go for it!   You've already paid for it :-)

[Goldielocks]

My first post ever in this thread, and it's pretty minor, but the situation instantly made me think of this. Usually our payroll direct deposits on Thursdays. I keep meticulous records of our finances, so I've been checking all day, and nothing has posted yet. Minor annoyance but not a big deal for us. Plenty in checking to cover yesterday's mortgage auto-pay and preschool (who won't take a credit card, grrr for missing out on travel rewards). Credit card bill not due until 2/17, plenty of time to move money from savings to cover if necessary. They finally sent out an email this afternoon that there was an ADP issue and direct deposits SHOULD post tomorrow. My mustachian people problem is that I can NOT relate to co-workers who are flipping out about it. A one day delay should really NOT be a crisis.

But it can be a sign that the company is in crisis.....  you never know.

DH had a small business (ok, over 150 employees after 2 years) employer that would often delay pay by a few days or a week (until the large sale would clear), etc.      BAD sign.   Company folded within 3 months, and employees were suddenly out of work, no notice or severance, employee stock purchases worth pennies, out of pocket for any un-paid vacation owing, contract employees owed over a month of pay, etc.

[FireHiker]

My first post ever in this thread, and it's pretty minor, but the situation instantly made me think of this. Usually our payroll direct deposits on Thursdays. I keep meticulous records of our finances, so I've been checking all day, and nothing has posted yet. Minor annoyance but not a big deal for us. Plenty in checking to cover yesterday's mortgage auto-pay and preschool (who won't take a credit card, grrr for missing out on travel rewards). Credit card bill not due until 2/17, plenty of time to move money from savings to cover if necessary. They finally sent out an email this afternoon that there was an ADP issue and direct deposits SHOULD post tomorrow. My mustachian people problem is that I can NOT relate to co-workers who are flipping out about it. A one day delay should really NOT be a crisis.

But it can be a sign that the company is in crisis.....  you never know.

DH had a small business (ok, over 150 employees after 2 years) employer that would often delay pay by a few days or a week (until the large sale would clear), etc.      BAD sign.   Company folded within 3 months, and employees were suddenly out of work, no notice or severance, employee stock purchases worth pennies, out of pocket for any un-paid vacation owing, contract employees owed over a month of pay, etc.

I think it's unlikely that the company is in crisis (big company, financial profile is in good shape, lots of stable contracts right now) but with a smaller or unstable company I can certainly see that. The thing is, tomorrow is technically payday, not today; if anyone still gets paper checks, they are dated tomorrow. Direct deposit has historically gone in a day early, but technically it isn't "supposed" to go in until tomorrow anyway. It was more overhearing the co-workers freaking out about getting paid ON payday instead of a day early that confounded me!

[radram]

My first post ever in this thread, and it's pretty minor, but the situation instantly made me think of this. Usually our payroll direct deposits on Thursdays. I keep meticulous records of our finances, so I've been checking all day, and nothing has posted yet. Minor annoyance but not a big deal for us. Plenty in checking to cover yesterday's mortgage auto-pay and preschool (who won't take a credit card, grrr for missing out on travel rewards). Credit card bill not due until 2/17, plenty of time to move money from savings to cover if necessary. They finally sent out an email this afternoon that there was an ADP issue and direct deposits SHOULD post tomorrow. My mustachian people problem is that I can NOT relate to co-workers who are flipping out about it. A one day delay should really NOT be a crisis.

But it can be a sign that the company is in crisis.....  you never know.

DH had a small business (ok, over 150 employees after 2 years) employer that would often delay pay by a few days or a week (until the large sale would clear), etc.      BAD sign.   Company folded within 3 months, and employees were suddenly out of work, no notice or severance, employee stock purchases worth pennies, out of pocket for any un-paid vacation owing, contract employees owed over a month of pay, etc.

Just heard about a company near me that suddenly boarded its doors. Not only did the employees not get paid for their last week, but they actually went and REVERSED the last pay-period direct deposit postings from the prior week. Yup, they have a case in court, but try to get some money from a company that is worthless.

Another story:
My wife went to a gas station and filled up. She went inside to pay, told the cashier the pump, and placed a few items on the counter to purchase. Signed the cc slip and left without noticing the gas was not added to the bill. The police called her before she even got home and she had to drive back to pay to avoid an arrest. Anyone else find it strange that police protection is offered for one theft, but not others? Why do businesses get any more protections? They are people, just like us, aren't they?

[theadvicist]

I now have enough money with Fidelity that they have promoted me to their Wealth offering.

Having read the brochure, I now have an advisor (who can't advise, seems more like customer service) and get invited to monthly meetings and drinks. Tempted to actually turn up to the free drinks, it's right round the corner from where I work.

Hargreaves Landsdown just sent me a couple of fancy pens (Cross, maybe?) to thank me for being such a good client.

My MPP with this are twofold:
1) why are you wasting money on this?! I'd just rather have cheaper management fee, thanks.

2) I don't want goddam fancy pens. I like my bic, ta very much. It's just more junk I need to do something with. Ugh.

[infogoon]

On the first of every month, I move about half of the preceding month's take-home pay out of my checking account into my Vanguard account. This month I only moved about a quarter, because I had to cover some unexpected car repairs. I feel guilty, like I'm slacking.

[LennStar]

On the first of every month, I move about half of the preceding month's take-home pay out of my checking account into my Vanguard account. This month I only moved about a quarter, because I had to cover some unexpected car repairs. I feel guilty, like I'm slacking.

Shame on you! ONly saved 25%!

Repent by standing up in front of everyone and confessing your sin!

[FireHiker]

I'm happy to say that my paycheck was direct-deposited by the time I checked my account this morning. And still happy that I wasn't one of the people panicking about it yesterday.

[BlueHouse]

Just heard about a company near me that suddenly boarded its doors. Not only did the employees not get paid for their last week, but they actually went and REVERSED the last pay-period direct deposit postings from the prior week. Yup, they have a case in court, but try to get some money from a company that is worthless.

Whoa, is that legal?  I think the bank would be on the hook for that one! 

[dreams_and_discoveries]

Tempted?   If "drinks" is more than bug juice, go for it!   You've already paid for it :-)

Hargreaves Landsdown just sent me a couple of fancy pens (Cross, maybe?) to thank me for being such a good client.

My MPP with this are twofold:
1) why are you wasting money on this?! I'd just rather have cheaper management fee, thanks.

2) I don't want goddam fancy pens. I like my bic, ta very much. It's just more junk I need to do something with. Ugh.

I might just go and have their wine .... as others say I'd prefer less fees, but given that isn't on the table.  Actually I'd prefer a pen...

[Mezzie]

I now have enough money with Fidelity that they have promoted me to their Wealth offering.

Having read the brochure, I now have an advisor (who can't advise, seems more like customer service) and get invited to monthly meetings and drinks. Tempted to actually turn up to the free drinks, it's right round the corner from where I work.

Hargreaves Landsdown just sent me a couple of fancy pens (Cross, maybe?) to thank me for being such a good client.

My MPP with this are twofold:
1) why are you wasting money on this?! I'd just rather have cheaper management fee, thanks.

2) I don't want goddam fancy pens. I like my bic, ta very much. It's just more junk I need to do something with. Ugh.

I would totally pay more fees for fancy pens!

My problem: I keep reading the credit card churning threads, but I can't figure out ways to manufacture enough spending to get the rewards!

[Goldielocks]

Just heard about a company near me that suddenly boarded its doors. Not only did the employees not get paid for their last week, but they actually went and REVERSED the last pay-period direct deposit postings from the prior week. Yup, they have a case in court, but try to get some money from a company that is worthless.

Whoa, is that legal?  I think the bank would be on the hook for that one!

My guess, is that, just like us pedestrian folk, the bank reversed the pay (not the company) when a check from the company bounced out of the main account, and the bank was on the hook for missing money.

[dorothyc]

My wife asked for two 12 packs of soda today when I was going to the store. Vons had a super sale for $2.88 a 12 pack, but the sale price was only good on multiples of 5 packs at a time.

My Mustachian people problem was that I had walked to the grocery store with my wheeled shopping cart which isn't big or strong enough to carry 60 cans of soda.

We ended up driving the car back to the store, about a 2 1/2 mile round trip, to pick up soda for the sale price. I did buy other groceries the first trip so it wasn't too bad.

[Linea_Norway]

Big problem: my packed lunch that I made this morning is not in my handbag. It's probably laying around in the kitchen at home... That means I'll have to buy lunch in the cafeteria at work today.

[Adventine]

I brought lunch to work today, but ended up not eating it at all because a coworker brought some delicious stew (sinigang) to share with everybody! And someone else brought dessert. And someone else brought afternoon snacks. And my personal stash of food still remains untouched. So I am super happy and full and have trouble choosing what I want to eat for dinner right now :)

[radram]

I brought lunch to work today, but ended up not eating it at all because a coworker brought some delicious stew (sinigang) to share with everybody! And someone else brought dessert. And someone else brought afternoon snacks. And my personal stash of food still remains untouched. So I am super happy and full and have trouble choosing what I want to eat for dinner right now :)

Can you get your extra lunch to Linda_Norway? She forgot hers.

Maybe this could be a new business venture like Uber, but for misplaced lunches :)

Call it Fooder?

[radram]

My first post ever in this thread, and it's pretty minor, but the situation instantly made me think of this. Usually our payroll direct deposits on Thursdays. I keep meticulous records of our finances, so I've been checking all day, and nothing has posted yet. Minor annoyance but not a big deal for us. Plenty in checking to cover yesterday's mortgage auto-pay and preschool (who won't take a credit card, grrr for missing out on travel rewards). Credit card bill not due until 2/17, plenty of time to move money from savings to cover if necessary. They finally sent out an email this afternoon that there was an ADP issue and direct deposits SHOULD post tomorrow. My mustachian people problem is that I can NOT relate to co-workers who are flipping out about it. A one day delay should really NOT be a crisis.

But it can be a sign that the company is in crisis.....  you never know.

DH had a small business (ok, over 150 employees after 2 years) employer that would often delay pay by a few days or a week (until the large sale would clear), etc.      BAD sign.   Company folded within 3 months, and employees were suddenly out of work, no notice or severance, employee stock purchases worth pennies, out of pocket for any un-paid vacation owing, contract employees owed over a month of pay, etc.

Just heard about a company near me that suddenly boarded its doors. Not only did the employees not get paid for their last week, but they actually went and REVERSED the last pay-period direct deposit postings from the prior week. Yup, they have a case in court, but try to get some money from a company that is worthless.

Another story:
My wife went to a gas station and filled up. She went inside to pay, told the cashier the pump, and placed a few items on the counter to purchase. Signed the cc slip and left without noticing the gas was not added to the bill. The police called her before she even got home and she had to drive back to pay to avoid an arrest. Anyone else find it strange that police protection is offered for one theft, but not others? Why do businesses get any more protections? They are people, just like us, aren't they?

Here is a story on the closing.
http://journaltimes.com/business/local/former-workers-last-paychecks-threatened/article_6df91834-cd4e-5d64-925a-7e00412c4130.html

Summary of the article:
A local Credit Union (fair disclosure; MY Credit Union :)) refused the reversals. So did 1 bank for 1 former employee.
The 401k withholdings, as well as the medical and dental insurance payments from the last 2 paychecks were never transferred to their expected destinations, according to 1 former employee.
A local Senator is "looking into the matter". The company was a large contributor to the governor from the same party as the Senator(information not in THIS article, but reported in others).
A letter went to all of them, describing what transpired. It began, "Dear ex-employee," and blamed the issue on the bank issuing credit to the company.

I find the article an important read. It is quite possible this company did NOTHING illegal. Kind of makes me wonder what will be done to give MORE power to businesses. Progress indeed.

[Adventine]

I brought lunch to work today, but ended up not eating it at all because a coworker brought some delicious stew (sinigang) to share with everybody! And someone else brought dessert. And someone else brought afternoon snacks. And my personal stash of food still remains untouched. So I am super happy and full and have trouble choosing what I want to eat for dinner right now :)

Can you get your extra lunch to Linda_Norway? She forgot hers.

Maybe this could be a new business venture like Uber, but for misplaced lunches :)

Call it Fooder?

A brilliant idea, if only I wasn't on the other side of the world and if only lunch swaps and takeout didn't exist :D

[I'm a red panda]

My first post ever in this thread, and it's pretty minor, but the situation instantly made me think of this. Usually our payroll direct deposits on Thursdays. I keep meticulous records of our finances, so I've been checking all day, and nothing has posted yet. Minor annoyance but not a big deal for us. Plenty in checking to cover yesterday's mortgage auto-pay and preschool (who won't take a credit card, grrr for missing out on travel rewards). Credit card bill not due until 2/17, plenty of time to move money from savings to cover if necessary. They finally sent out an email this afternoon that there was an ADP issue and direct deposits SHOULD post tomorrow. My mustachian people problem is that I can NOT relate to co-workers who are flipping out about it. A one day delay should really NOT be a crisis.

But it can be a sign that the company is in crisis.....  you never know.

DH had a small business (ok, over 150 employees after 2 years) employer that would often delay pay by a few days or a week (until the large sale would clear), etc.      BAD sign.   Company folded within 3 months, and employees were suddenly out of work, no notice or severance, employee stock purchases worth pennies, out of pocket for any un-paid vacation owing, contract employees owed over a month of pay, etc.

I left a company (moved) that seemed to have been doing fine, but suddenly started laying off a lot of its upper management (who were mostly "family" of the owners...)- they all go great packages. About 2 weeks after I left I got an email from a friend: they got to the office and the doors were boarded.This was the day before a payday, so most people lost a month of pay. It was never paid out; but those cushy lay-off and forced retirements for the upper levels all got paid out. 

There were a number of lawsuits, but I think the "bankruptcy" claims prevented them from going anywhere.

[GreenSheep]

Big problem: my packed lunch that I made this morning is not in my handbag. It's probably laying around in the kitchen at home... That means I'll have to buy lunch in the cafeteria at work today.

This reminds me... when I was a kid, every single workday, my mom had a note by the door for herself that said:

Trash

My Lunch

to remind herself to take out the trash and take her lunch to work. (One of her friends wondered why she wanted to remember to throw her lunch away, seeing "trash" as a verb.) I don't think she ever forgot it after that, but I think I'd probably eventually stop "seeing" the note and end up slipping one day! I hope you can find something delicious and cheap at the cafeteria.

[Reynold]

I now have enough money with Fidelity that they have promoted me to their Wealth offering.

Having read the brochure, I now have an advisor (who can't advise, seems more like customer service) and get invited to monthly meetings and drinks. Tempted to actually turn up to the free drinks, it's right round the corner from where I work.

The customer service person can be handy if you have some tricky situation come up, to connect you with the right specialty department.  For example we needed some info on trusts.  We also went to a couple of presentations, which gave fascinating insight into the herd mentality of the professional investing establishment.  And got a free dinner.  Finally, I wanted to learn something about how to do covered options trading, and he was able to arrange a training class/demo.  I decided it was too complicated. 

On the MPP front, I've developed a bit of a reputation at work for being "the scavenger", they provide lunch each Thursday, and I'm the only one still eating leftovers from it the following Monday and Tuesday.  Unfortunately my DW still struggles to adjust her shopping and food prep downwards to compensate for my often not needing lunches, plus sometimes bringing home extra food for us for the weekend. 

[thingamabobs]

I have 2 different HSAs as a result of changing jobs and changing insurance companies. Decided to simplify down to one. Looked at the investments available, pretty similar. Looked at the fees, one would cost me $66/year the other $36/year. So no brainer, start consolidating to the lower fee one. Then I get a notice that the lower fee bank is changing the fee structure to 0.03% of total amount max out at $10/month. So now I have to go back and move all the money back to the other account, which thankfully I haven't closed.

[LennStar]

I left a company (moved) that seemed to have been doing fine, but suddenly started laying off a lot of its upper management (who were mostly "family" of the owners...)- they all go great packages. About 2 weeks after I left I got an email from a friend: they got to the office and the doors were boarded.This was the day before a payday, so most people lost a month of pay. It was never paid out; but those cushy lay-off and forced retirements for the upper levels all got paid out. 

There were a number of lawsuits, but I think the "bankruptcy" claims prevented them from going anywhere.

In Germany businesses often complain that they have to pay taxes and everything social "upfront" (meaning in the middle of the month for the following).
But that means that whatever happens, your health, unemployment and pension contributions are paid. Also in case of insolvency workers get state-paid for a few month (which will then be taken back out of whatever is left of the company in case it really closes) to either get the firm back up or close it down reesponsibly, not taking others with it, and give people time to find a new job.

Damn Socialists!

[Freckles]

*and another weeping session by an American begins*

I've really got to figure out how to move to a Socialist country.


Here's my MPP for today. My cheap and old dress that I wore to work today split up the side all the way to my waist. I had to staple it together. Here's hoping it holds out until I can go home!

[SimpleCycle]

Here is a story on the closing.
http://journaltimes.com/business/local/former-workers-last-paychecks-threatened/article_6df91834-cd4e-5d64-925a-7e00412c4130.html

Summary of the article:
A local Credit Union (fair disclosure; MY Credit Union :)) refused the reversals. So did 1 bank for 1 former employee.
The 401k withholdings, as well as the medical and dental insurance payments from the last 2 paychecks were never transferred to their expected destinations, according to 1 former employee.
A local Senator is "looking into the matter". The company was a large contributor to the governor from the same party as the Senator(information not in THIS article, but reported in others).
A letter went to all of them, describing what transpired. It began, "Dear ex-employee," and blamed the issue on the bank issuing credit to the company.

I find the article an important read. It is quite possible this company did NOTHING illegal. Kind of makes me wonder what will be done to give MORE power to businesses. Progress indeed.

Frankly I'm surprised this got media attention.  My wife's ex-employer is smaller, but their list of financial ridiculousness is worse than this company - employee health insurance cut off twice (about six months apart), behind on payroll by six weeks at one point, missing 401k contributions, not issuing paystubs when they actually did pay payroll, not paying payroll taxes on time, etc.  And yet 15 people still work (volunteer) there, for reasons that completely mystify me.

That said, they did break some laws.  Not making payroll at all violates the Fair Labor Standards Act.  Most states have laws that require full amount of wages be paid for all work done.  Not depositing 401k contributions violates ERISA and withholding but not paying payroll taxes is also illegal.  I suspect the health insurance contributions issue probably runs afoul of ERISA or tax laws as well.  However, even if you report all the illegal activity, the wheels of justice grind pretty slowly for smaller claims.

[10dollarsatatime]

Got a promotion! (Not the problem.)

Now I have to wear nicer clothes to work.  Except... I'm a technician.  Nicer clothes don't last long doing what I do.  So I need disposable nicer clothes to make the big boss happy, which I'm sure he thinks I can afford with the raise I just got.  And sure I can... but I don't want to spend it on clothes.  I think I'm going to Saver's this weekend...

[flamingo25]

I'm silent when all the other moms are discussing shopping for their kids/babies.

Nearly all of my son's clothes/toys etc. were hand-me-downs or received through my local Buy Nothing group. With the exception of his crib and car seat (purchased new for safety reasons but with Amazon cc points!) almost all of his stuff is used. He's one and couldn't care less.

Along with that, it's nice but a bit awkward when people compliment my clothes or haircut and ask where I got them. I received almost all my clothes from my Buy Nothing group as well. I get my hair cut for $8 about every three months at a local barber shop that also cuts women's hair.

[Dave1442397]

Nearly all of my son's clothes/toys etc. were hand-me-downs or received through my local Buy Nothing group. With the exception of his crib and car seat (purchased new for safety reasons but with Amazon cc points!) almost all of his stuff is used. He's one and couldn't care less.

We were the same way. I trash picked most of our daughter's toys when she was little, and the rest were gifts or from Goodwill. I just can't see spending good money on things that they grow out of or discard within six months.

[alewpanda]

Got a promotion! (Not the problem.)

Now I have to wear nicer clothes to work.  Except... I'm a technician.  Nicer clothes don't last long doing what I do.  So I need disposable nicer clothes to make the big boss happy, which I'm sure he thinks I can afford with the raise I just got.  And sure I can... but I don't want to spend it on clothes.  I think I'm going to Saver's this weekend...

I can relate!  Not me personally, but my husband does good work and keeps getting more involved with the higher ups.  Its good, but he is a Network Engineer.  So, yeah, he sits behind a desk....until he is crawling under desks, hanging network racks, tracing cable, troubleshooting data center equipment in caves.....

I am ALWAYS buying him dressy work clothes.  Thankfully from goodwill. 

[LennStar]

The idiocy of looking nice instead of looking you are doing the job you do. *sigh*
btw: Trashmans would look a lot nicer with a suit and tie, don't you thinK?

[With This Herring]

MPP:  It's cheaper per quart to buy giant jugs of soy sauce to refill the little soy sauce bottle I purchased ages ago.  However, now I have a need for an extra soy sauce bottle to dispense (homemade) teriyaki sauce (previous small soy sauce bottles went to homemade Worcestershire and gyoza sauces).  I will need to buy another, less economical bottle of soy sauce to correct this issue.  *sigh*

[mustachepungoeshere]

I brought lunch to work today, but ended up not eating it at all because a coworker brought some delicious stew (sinigang) to share with everybody! And someone else brought dessert. And someone else brought afternoon snacks. And my personal stash of food still remains untouched. So I am super happy and full and have trouble choosing what I want to eat for dinner right now :)

Can you get your extra lunch to Linda_Norway? She forgot hers.

Hehehehehehehehe...

[Linea_Norway]

I brought lunch to work today, but ended up not eating it at all because a coworker brought some delicious stew (sinigang) to share with everybody! And someone else brought dessert. And someone else brought afternoon snacks. And my personal stash of food still remains untouched. So I am super happy and full and have trouble choosing what I want to eat for dinner right now :)

Can you get your extra lunch to Linda_Norway? She forgot hers.

Hehehehehehehehe...

I ate my own forgotten lunch the next day for lunch. :-) The bread didn't even taste old and dry.

[theadvicist]

MPP:  It's cheaper per quart to buy giant jugs of soy sauce to refill the little soy sauce bottle I purchased ages ago.  However, now I have a need for an extra soy sauce bottle to dispense (homemade) teriyaki sauce (previous small soy sauce bottles went to homemade Worcestershire and gyoza sauces).  I will need to buy another, less economical bottle of soy sauce to correct this issue.  *sigh*

My mom finished my soy sauce and threw the bottle in the recycling! I nearly had to buy a new uneconomical small bottle so I could continue refilling. But luckily my husband saw and swiped it back.

10dollarsatatime I regularly get very smart and expensive work clothes (suits mainly) on ebay. It seems people order or buy stuff thinking they are one size, and then wait too long or are too rich to bother returning it.

Expensive clothes (that someone else paid the depreciation on as they walked out of the fancy store) do make a difference to how you're perceived at work, in my experience. Just remember you don't have to pay high prices! I got a suit recently, really nice, never worn, for 1/10th of the retail price.

[Alfred J Quack]

I'm silent when all the other moms are discussing shopping for their kids/babies.

Nearly all of my son's clothes/toys etc. were hand-me-downs or received through my local Buy Nothing group. With the exception of his crib and car seat (purchased new for safety reasons but with Amazon cc points!) almost all of his stuff is used. He's one and couldn't care less.

Along with that, it's nice but a bit awkward when people compliment my clothes or haircut and ask where I got them. I received almost all my clothes from my Buy Nothing group as well. I get my hair cut for $8 about every three months at a local barber shop that also cuts women's hair.

About the same here. We had a full set of for our first handed down from my sister which we reused for our second as well. Only things we bought ourselves were carseats because the smallest one was too old to reuse for our second and my sister had an accident while using the 1-3 year old seat (which makes it unsafe). We also bought 2 buggies, one cheap one on which the wheels gave out after 6 months and another more sturdy one recently because DS2 will need it a while longer.

[TravelJunkyQC]

A few days ago we got our renewal bill for our car insurance. We payed 17.08$ a month last year, and it went up to 18.87$ for this year. Admittedly, this is very cheap, of course. We get a deal because I'm the primary driver (a woman - statistically cheaper), and my partner is an engineer (his professional order has a deal with this insurance company). However, it's still a 10% jump from last year, which is huge in my opinion, and completely ridiculous.

He called the company to see what was going on, and why, and they said that last year they had given us a 20% discount (because we'd called and complained about the increase that time too). There was nothing they could do. He called around to other companies, and none even came close.

MPP: spending 30 minutes on the phone for a 20$ yearly difference, merely out of principle.

On the upside, I've never been so attracted to my partner as when he's rationally convincing someone of absurd cost increases with math, statistics, and poised conversation. It's so hot.

[LennStar]

On the upside, I've never been so attracted to my partner as when he's rationally convincing someone of absurd cost increases with math, statistics, and poised conversation. It's so hot.

Haha! We Nerds need more people like you :D

[markbike528CBX]

On the upside, I've never been so attracted to my partner as when he's rationally convincing someone of absurd cost increases with math, statistics, and poised conversation. It's so hot.

My wife says its hot, but she is clearly smirking when she says it.   
She is clearly amused,but somewhat embarrassed to hear me on the phone complaint line.

[Zoot]

On the upside, I've never been so attracted to my partner as when he's rationally convincing someone of absurd cost increases with math, statistics, and poised conversation. It's so hot.

Haha! We Nerds need more people like you :D

It never struck me how lucky we Nerds are (and yes, I am one too!) to find people to think our particular brand of Nerdiness is hot.  :)

[TravelJunkyQC]

On the upside, I've never been so attracted to my partner as when he's rationally convincing someone of absurd cost increases with math, statistics, and poised conversation. It's so hot.

Haha! We Nerds need more people like you :D

I'm married to a math teacher.  Needless to say, I also think it's hot.  :)

It never struck me, though, how lucky we Nerds are (and yes, I am one too, just not a mathy one) to find people to think our particular brand of Nerdiness is hot.  :)

I personally find myself the most attractive when I'm strongly debating socio-political or scientific issues. He sometimes gets embarrassed by how animated I get, even in public, but I know he loves my passion. It's reciprocal.

And true, it's really nice to have fellow nerds, either as partners or friends or family, who not only respect our nerdiness, but find it wildly attractive.

Don't show me biceps. Show me water treatment through reverse-osmosis membrane mechanisms. Oh god. Yes.

[dragoncar]

A few days ago we got our renewal bill for our car insurance. We payed 17.08$ a month last year, and it went up to 18.87$ for this year. Admittedly, this is very cheap, of course. We get a deal because I'm the primary driver (a woman - statistically cheaper), and my partner is an engineer (his professional order has a deal with this insurance company). However, it's still a 10% jump from last year, which is huge in my opinion, and completely ridiculous.

He called the company to see what was going on, and why, and they said that last year they had given us a 20% discount (because we'd called and complained about the increase that time too). There was nothing they could do. He called around to other companies, and none even came close.

MPP: spending 30 minutes on the phone for a 20$ yearly difference, merely out of principle.

On the upside, I've never been so attracted to my partner as when he's rationally convincing someone of absurd cost increases with math, statistics, and poised conversation. It's so hot.

If no other companies even come close, maybe the cost increase isn't so absurd?  Usually such increases are also based on math and statistics -- when they get new data, they revise their rates.  I'm curious what math your partner used to convince them.

My wife is just impressed that I don't start yelling at customer service people like she would.

[TravelJunkyQC]

A few days ago we got our renewal bill for our car insurance. We payed 17.08$ a month last year, and it went up to 18.87$ for this year. Admittedly, this is very cheap, of course. We get a deal because I'm the primary driver (a woman - statistically cheaper), and my partner is an engineer (his professional order has a deal with this insurance company). However, it's still a 10% jump from last year, which is huge in my opinion, and completely ridiculous.

He called the company to see what was going on, and why, and they said that last year they had given us a 20% discount (because we'd called and complained about the increase that time too). There was nothing they could do. He called around to other companies, and none even came close.

MPP: spending 30 minutes on the phone for a 20$ yearly difference, merely out of principle.

On the upside, I've never been so attracted to my partner as when he's rationally convincing someone of absurd cost increases with math, statistics, and poised conversation. It's so hot.

If no other companies even come close, maybe the cost increase isn't so absurd?  Usually such increases are also based on math and statistics -- when they get new data, they revise their rates.  I'm curious what math your partner used to convince them.

My wife is just impressed that I don't start yelling at customer service people like she would.

As I mentioned, the cost itself isn't absurd at all. But an increase for a car that is 1 year older, for 2 drivers who have each 1 more year of claim-free driving, seems absurd when it is a greater increase than the regular cost of living. That's the part I have a hard time understanding.

And the fact that they weren't able to justify the increase is frustrating. If they want to say that they received data that says our car gets stolen more at this age, or my area has an increase in hit and runs, or something, okay, fine, I'll accept it. But saying: "prices go up with time, it's only normal" for a 10% increase, which is 4x the rate of inflation, seems ridiculous. No?

[merula]

As I mentioned, the cost itself isn't absurd at all. But an increase for a car that is 1 year older, for 2 drivers who have each 1 more year of claim-free driving, seems absurd when it is a greater increase than the regular cost of living. That's the part I have a hard time understanding.

And the fact that they weren't able to justify the increase is frustrating. If they want to say that they received data that says our car gets stolen more at this age, or my area has an increase in hit and runs, or something, okay, fine, I'll accept it. But saying: "prices go up with time, it's only normal" for a 10% increase, which is 4x the rate of inflation, seems ridiculous. No?

Yeah, but it sounds like they wanted to spread this increase over two years, but you successfully argued out of it last year. And, speaking from a purely US perspective (and I get that Canada may be different), the increase in auto loss costs has been much higher than inflation for several years now.

[dragoncar]

It's kinda like rents.  A 10% increase isn't necessarily absurd if you've been charged under market rent for years

[LennStar]

On the upside, I've never been so attracted to my partner as when he's rationally convincing someone of absurd cost increases with math, statistics, and poised conversation. It's so hot.

Haha! We Nerds need more people like you :D

I'm married to a math teacher.  Needless to say, I also think it's hot.  :)

It never struck me, though, how lucky we Nerds are (and yes, I am one too, just not a mathy one) to find people to think our particular brand of Nerdiness is hot.  :)

I personally find myself the most attractive when I'm strongly debating socio-political or scientific issues. He sometimes gets embarrassed by how animated I get, even in public, but I know he loves my passion. It's reciprocal.

And true, it's really nice to have fellow nerds, either as partners or friends or family, who not only respect our nerdiness, but find it wildly attractive.

Don't show me biceps. Show me water treatment through reverse-osmosis membrane mechanisms. Oh god. Yes.

Did you know you could donate unused CPU cycles through the BOINC network towards dozens of scientific goals. There was even one searching for materials to make clean water based on physical reactions, like osmosis. Itsn finished though.
You can even get (more or less) your additional energy costs back by using Gridcoin.
There was one in the forum (Canadian?) who wrote he has to heat with electricity, so he got a dozen old servers and uses them as furnace. Thats what I call upcycling of old IT! Also damn mustachian :D

[dragoncar]

Modern CPUs don't really have that much in the way of "unused cycles" in that they throttle way back under light load.  If you install one of these programs, you will increase your power consumption.  That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it's not free.  Especially when you consider how easy it is to put your computer to sleep these days when not in use.

[infogoon]

NERD NOTE: I actually once worked with a guy who built a token ring segment on his home network, just so that he could use some microchannel computers on SETI@HOME. He didn't have any ethernet cards for them, just token ring.

[dragoncar]

NERD NOTE: I actually once worked with a guy who built a token ring segment on his home network, just so that he could use some microchannel computers on SETI@HOME. He didn't have any ethernet cards for them, just token ring.

Seti doesn't need a lot of bandwidth.  The processing to data ratio is high

[HappierAtHome]

My mortgage comes out of my bank account on the 10th of each month, but it doesn't show up in online banking until the 11th, so I have to wait an extra day to calculate how much lower my interest payment is than last month :-(

[LennStar]

Modern CPUs don't really have that much in the way of "unused cycles" in that they throttle way back under light load.  If you install one of these programs, you will increase your power consumption.  That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it's not free.  Especially when you consider how easy it is to put your computer to sleep these days when not in use.

Thats why it is called donating - it does cost a bit. But it saves the society (science) money on hardware at least. And you get nice badges ;)

Anyway, yes, CPUs throttle down today. But if you have a throttling CPU then you are overpowered if you are just writing. And if you are gaming all cores are likely to be powered up, even if just running at 20% each, so the difference is very small. Maybe bigger with Ryzen, they made some new energy saving features, but that needs to be seen, still a month. (btw: last rumors say there will be an 8 core @65W running about 3GHz. WOW for technical advancement)
And you should not run those programs if you don't use the computer. You should shut down the comp then.