Author Topic: Overheard at Work  (Read 13252780 times)

CaliToCayman

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3550 on: August 07, 2014, 02:16:44 PM »
Maybe you could make your own album at Shutterfly or something similar.

Nope. Photographer owns the copyright. You can't print your own albums unless they let you, in the contract you signed.


Actually, our photographer did give us all of our photos digitally already at a very high resolution and will enhance 175 of those images for free. Which is why it blows my mind that anyone would pay another $850 for an album. I get it, it would be nice and fancy (as in, a hardbound book where the pictures are printed on to the pages). But it just seems crazy to me.

I'm not complaining about the price of the photographer himself (although you seem to  be inferring that), he did a great job. I just think that its an absurd amount of money to spend when we can just make our own.

gimp

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3551 on: August 07, 2014, 02:23:22 PM »
That's why you never hire a photographer without retaining copyright.  Unlike other artistic works, the photographer has no use for the photos besides extorting you for more money later, or possibly selling your likeness as stock photography that will end up in a banner ad or stupid web article on what not to wear

Good luck with that. No photographer worth their salt will want to turn over RAWs to you, let alone exclusive copyright.

On the other hand, getting a non-transferable copyright (ie, allows you to do whatever you want other than to sell the image) is fairly common. I assume this is what you meant. These days, many photographers have no interest in being your go-to for prints and albums for the next 20 years, and are more than happy to mail you a flash drive with the required amount of JPEGs and a release to have them printed however you want to.

Your contract should specify the ways in which they may use your photo, by the way. Usually these would be: anything you request, plus promotional materials for them (website, portfolio, brochures, that sort of thing), plus anything they decide to personally publish (if they later want to make a book or something), but no resale to third parties such as stock photography agencies.

CaliToCayman: I'm not inferring anything, but many other people will think it's crazy to pay $x (well, $xxxx). I'm just heading off the complaint a bit by sharing why it's ridiculous to some and completely not ridiculous to others, depending on where their priorities are. Personally, I think good booze and good photos are about the only thing you need.

Bigote

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3552 on: August 07, 2014, 03:08:48 PM »
My CW pays for a subscription service to some kind of doggy tv channel so her dogs can watch it while she's at work.


Wow.   Wrong on so many levels.

Reepekg

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3553 on: August 07, 2014, 04:06:52 PM »
I've finally got one!  So first, I live and work in Chicago.  Yesterday my coworker came in after some time off moving to his newly built house.... in Indiana.  Others asked how long his car commute was, and he replied an hour.  Already I was like ugh, but then! the 4 other people went "oh that's not bad at all!" I sincerely hope some of them were just being polite.  I didn't say anything.  The funny thing is that he's late today 'cause he had to take his car into the mechanic.

I'm also in the Chicago area due west of the city, and in addition to the guys who drive up from Indiana, a number of them drive down from Wisconsin. It blew my mind when two different new coworkers moved back to the USA from international assignments into new houses... in Wisconsin approximately two hours away. 

fantabulous

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3554 on: August 07, 2014, 04:20:03 PM »
My CW pays for a subscription service to some kind of doggy tv channel so her dogs can watch it while she's at work.

The butts channel?

I did some dog sitting recently, and the owners explicitly kept the TV on to some sort of streaming radio for the dog. Supposedly so he wouldn't get restless and chewy on the furniture.

Donovan

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3555 on: August 07, 2014, 05:53:14 PM »
I finally have something for this thread!

I was talking to a co-worker about houses (he is buying one right now, and my wife and I have been looking).  The talk turned to budgets and the general size of houses, and it turns out that the one he is buying is 3100 sqft., and cost $250,000.  This is a 25 year old man with not girlfriend, no pets, and no plans to rent out some part of the house. His justification: "Yea, to live in a 'nice' neighborhood you always have to buy a bigger house."

There are plenty of nice neighborhoods around here with ~$100,000 or less houses that are big enough to raise a family in, much less house a single male.

dragoncar

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3556 on: August 07, 2014, 06:05:10 PM »
That's why you never hire a photographer without retaining copyright.  Unlike other artistic works, the photographer has no use for the photos besides extorting you for more money later, or possibly selling your likeness as stock photography that will end up in a banner ad or stupid web article on what not to wear

Good luck with that. No photographer worth their salt will want to turn over RAWs to you, let alone exclusive copyright.

On the other hand, getting a non-transferable copyright (ie, allows you to do whatever you want other than to sell the image) is fairly common. I assume this is what you meant. These days, many photographers have no interest in being your go-to for prints and albums for the next 20 years, and are more than happy to mail you a flash drive with the required amount of JPEGs and a release to have them printed however you want to.

Your contract should specify the ways in which they may use your photo, by the way. Usually these would be: anything you request, plus promotional materials for them (website, portfolio, brochures, that sort of thing), plus anything they decide to personally publish (if they later want to make a book or something), but no resale to third parties such as stock photography agencies.

CaliToCayman: I'm not inferring anything, but many other people will think it's crazy to pay $x (well, $xxxx). I'm just heading off the complaint a bit by sharing why it's ridiculous to some and completely not ridiculous to others, depending on where their priorities are. Personally, I think good booze and good photos are about the only thing you need.

Eh, if they want my money they will.  Of course I had a great photographer work for free, so he's definitely worth his salt.

Cinder

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3557 on: August 07, 2014, 08:57:33 PM »
Maybe you could make your own album at Shutterfly or something similar.

Nope. Photographer owns the copyright. You can't print your own albums unless they let you, in the contract you signed.

We paid a bit extra to own the rights to our photos.  That way we could reproduce them however we wanted to later.  If we wanted a quality print, we would still probably order it though our photographer though.  We thought she did an amazing job with the photos, and I love supporting independent business owners!

BlueHouse

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3558 on: August 07, 2014, 09:10:10 PM »
[quote author=rocksinmyhead link=topic=2540.msg364572#msg364572 date=140742286

no kidding! I've never owned a home, but from what I hear from coworkers it sounds like for a lot of jobs, hiring a contractor is almost as big of a hassle/time-suck as doing it yourself! which kind of blew my mind, but also renewed my commitment to DIY as much as possible.
[/quote]
I had a relative who did a lot of crappy DIY jobs around our house, which ended up lowering the value of the house when it ultimately was sold.  I swore back then that I'd never ruin my house by having anything less than professional quality work.  I commend people who can do professional quality, but if I'm going to do a job only once in my lifetime, it is faster, cheaper, and better to pay someone who knows what he's doing and has the proper equipment to do it.  There are still things I just can't stop myself from trying, and sometimes end up having to pay someone extra to clean up my crappy trials. I can change light switches, install ceiling fans, and paint, do some minor plumbing repairs, but I draw the line at things like hanging drywall,  or tile repair, roofing or installing a backsplash. 

pouring a patio?  you're kidding me, right?  Oh sure, let me get my concrete mixer out of my garage.  No thanks!

greenmimama

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3559 on: August 07, 2014, 09:20:19 PM »
[quote author=rocksinmyhead link=topic=2540.msg364572#msg364572 date=140742286

no kidding! I've never owned a home, but from what I hear from coworkers it sounds like for a lot of jobs, hiring a contractor is almost as big of a hassle/time-suck as doing it yourself! which kind of blew my mind, but also renewed my commitment to DIY as much as possible.
I had a relative who did a lot of crappy DIY jobs around our house, which ended up lowering the value of the house when it ultimately was sold.  I swore back then that I'd never ruin my house by having anything less than professional quality work.  I commend people who can do professional quality, but if I'm going to do a job only once in my lifetime, it is faster, cheaper, and better to pay someone who knows what he's doing and has the proper equipment to do it.  There are still things I just can't stop myself from trying, and sometimes end up having to pay someone extra to clean up my crappy trials. I can change light switches, install ceiling fans, and paint, do some minor plumbing repairs, but I draw the line at things like hanging drywall,  or tile repair, roofing or installing a backsplash. 

pouring a patio?  you're kidding me, right?  Oh sure, let me get my concrete mixer out of my garage.  No thanks!
[/quote]

We have had too many times within the last 2 years that they just do sloppy work and we could have done a better job ourselves, but we just didn't have the extra time, Or they never came back to finish the job, or didn't show up in the first place. It would always be our choice to DIY, it isn't possible 100% of the time.

MrsPotts

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3560 on: August 07, 2014, 10:24:06 PM »
I've finally got one!  So first, I live and work in Chicago.  Yesterday my coworker came in after some time off moving to his newly built house.... in Indiana.  Others asked how long his car commute was, and he replied an hour.  Already I was like ugh, but then! the 4 other people went "oh that's not bad at all!" I sincerely hope some of them were just being polite.  I didn't say anything.  The funny thing is that he's late today 'cause he had to take his car into the mechanic.

Ok, this is not heard at work, but my sister adds 20 minutes each way to an otherwise 90 minute RT commute to take her dog to her MILs house for doggy daycare.

LennStar

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3561 on: August 08, 2014, 06:48:54 AM »
My CW pays for a subscription service to some kind of doggy tv channel so her dogs can watch it while she's at work.
...
.
.
.
Wow.
You know, it is not that there is one person who does this that blows my mind.
It is the fact that there must be a sizeable "audience" who pay subscription so their dog can do something stupid.

nordlead

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3562 on: August 08, 2014, 06:59:34 AM »
I had a relative who did a lot of crappy DIY jobs around our house, which ended up lowering the value of the house when it ultimately was sold.  I swore back then that I'd never ruin my house by having anything less than professional quality work.  I commend people who can do professional quality, but if I'm going to do a job only once in my lifetime, it is faster, cheaper, and better to pay someone who knows what he's doing and has the proper equipment to do it.  There are still things I just can't stop myself from trying, and sometimes end up having to pay someone extra to clean up my crappy trials. I can change light switches, install ceiling fans, and paint, do some minor plumbing repairs, but I draw the line at things like hanging drywall,  or tile repair, roofing or installing a backsplash. 

pouring a patio?  you're kidding me, right?  Oh sure, let me get my concrete mixer out of my garage.  No thanks!

You do know that "professional quality work" may mean whoever the contractor decided to hire for the job even if they have little/no experience, right?

My father-in-law runs a contracting business and he is constantly hiring new guys with little experience. He does great work, but there have been times his employees do a bad job and he has to go back and fix it up, but not every contractor will be as ethical and instead will stick you with the shoddy work.

And the "proper tools" are just the common tools you use, like hammers, screw drivers, drills, etc... Very few specialty tools (tools designed for 1 job) are actually needed, but they can speed things up hence why a contractor might own them.

FYI, to pour a concrete patio, you would either get a wheel barrel, hoe, and child labor (benefits of having children), or just drive over to Home Depot and rent a mixer for the day for far cheaper than what the contractor will cost. So, I don't exactly see pouring a patio as a hard job.

If you can't be bothered to do a decent job, then hire a contractor, but don't be afraid to DIY just because someone else did a crappy job.

aclarridge

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3563 on: August 08, 2014, 07:20:24 AM »
I finally have something for this thread!

I was talking to a co-worker about houses (he is buying one right now, and my wife and I have been looking).  The talk turned to budgets and the general size of houses, and it turns out that the one he is buying is 3100 sqft., and cost $250,000.  This is a 25 year old man with not girlfriend, no pets, and no plans to rent out some part of the house. His justification: "Yea, to live in a 'nice' neighborhood you always have to buy a bigger house."

There are plenty of nice neighborhoods around here with ~$100,000 or less houses that are big enough to raise a family in, much less house a single male.

This sounds so harmless... CW just bid 930k (>100k over ask) on a small house (1000 sq ft maybe?) with 21.5ft of frontage. And she got outbid by one of the 5 other bids. Also got outbid on another one since then. The hunt continues.

eyePod

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3564 on: August 08, 2014, 07:31:21 AM »
Coworker is very stressed and bored and deserves a break so she is going to move in with her 21 year old daughter in Vegas and live there for a year on her credit cards so she can party and meet a rich sugar daddy.
What do rich sugar daddies in Vegas look like?
Elvis

(sorry, couldn't resist; the force is strong)

Yeah, Vegas Elvis if he hadn't died - older, fatter, more wrinkled, bald.  Lots of dough though.
Elvis is dead?

Well, he'd be 79 at this point so even if he didn't originally die, he'd probably be dead now (average male death age is 77.4 in the US per Wiki).

AlanStache

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3565 on: August 08, 2014, 07:42:28 AM »
I had a relative who did a lot of crappy DIY jobs around our house, which ended up lowering the value of the house when it ultimately was sold.  I swore back then that I'd never ruin my house by having anything less than professional quality work.  I commend people who can do professional quality, but if I'm going to do a job only once in my lifetime, it is faster, cheaper, and better to pay someone who knows what he's doing and has the proper equipment to do it.  There are still things I just can't stop myself from trying, and sometimes end up having to pay someone extra to clean up my crappy trials. I can change light switches, install ceiling fans, and paint, do some minor plumbing repairs, but I draw the line at things like hanging drywall,  or tile repair, roofing or installing a backsplash. 

pouring a patio?  you're kidding me, right?  Oh sure, let me get my concrete mixer out of my garage.  No thanks!

You do know that "professional quality work" may mean whoever the contractor decided to hire for the job even if they have little/no experience, right?

My father-in-law runs a contracting business and he is constantly hiring new guys with little experience. He does great work, but there have been times his employees do a bad job and he has to go back and fix it up, but not every contractor will be as ethical and instead will stick you with the shoddy work.

And the "proper tools" are just the common tools you use, like hammers, screw drivers, drills, etc... Very few specialty tools (tools designed for 1 job) are actually needed, but they can speed things up hence why a contractor might own them.

FYI, to pour a concrete patio, you would either get a wheel barrel, hoe, and child labor (benefits of having children), or just drive over to Home Depot and rent a mixer for the day for far cheaper than what the contractor will cost. So, I don't exactly see pouring a patio as a hard job.

If you can't be bothered to do a decent job, then hire a contractor, but don't be afraid to DIY just because someone else did a crappy job.

Yep doing a patio would definitely be on my DIY approved list.  Its not like you might mess up your one bathroom and have to shower outside under a hose for two weeks.  Only thing I would hesitate on but probably still do would be a big deck, have heard the wood working/framing can take some experience to do right.  Still youtube and a long weekend, or you know if you dont finish the following weekend.

eyePod

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3566 on: August 08, 2014, 07:43:44 AM »
OMG, that car clown is AWESOME. They really exist, these people!?!
How about building an underground parking lot? Then its not so steep :D:D:D

(was caught drinking a beer in his parked car at a park a block away from his house),
Where you live its illegal to drink in a parked car? I should think you can do whatever you want in your car. (esp. if you are in the US). Of course, when he is driving after drinking... (here in germany thats mostly defined as "engine running", which is very logical, because then the car could move of its own.)

Germany's pretty cool about drinking.  (I think one of the reasons they don't have many alcohol issues is they don't give it the mystique Americans do by making it verboten.). But there are still issues.  Anytime a cop, even the Polizei, find you sitting in a functioning car drinking it's not a stretch for them to assume you may have driven there while drinking or intended to commit a DUI.  For Germany in particular you never want to grab a drink after a fender bender until well afterwards.  The Polizei were known to go to to a residence to conduct a breathalyzer test shortly after an accident and blowing the test to them was blowing the test.

This is actually a good way to make the breath test inconclusive. If you can prove you drank AFTER the incident, and then there's a breathalyzer, there's no way they can say what your BA was at the time of the incident. But seriously, don't f'ing drink and drive.

rocksinmyhead

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3567 on: August 08, 2014, 07:46:07 AM »
My CW pays for a subscription service to some kind of doggy tv channel so her dogs can watch it while she's at work.

The butts channel?

I did some dog sitting recently, and the owners explicitly kept the TV on to some sort of streaming radio for the dog. Supposedly so he wouldn't get restless and chewy on the furniture.

LOL... my dogs listen to NPR while we're at work. I might be a dog weirdo.

eyePod

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3568 on: August 08, 2014, 08:00:28 AM »
CW got a second, PT job on the sales floor at Kohls.    I suspect that she got it to cover payments on her new Beemer, but that is besides the point.  Anyway, she crowed at worked that she got the job for the DIScounts, as in "I saved $900 with my employee DIScount."

I desperately wanted to ask her WTF Kohl sold that was possibly worth 15%= $900, but I didn't because I am housebroken.

That means she's spending 6k a year at Kohls! Yikes. I felt guilty dropping ~$60 on 3 pair of pants (all the same brand/size) that were on sale, and then we got Kohls cash which my wife used the next week...

eyePod

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3569 on: August 08, 2014, 08:03:51 AM »
correct funny ... not rude... sorry if it was misconstrued  ...

I definitely got "rude" out of that, mostly due to the use of the word "asshole." thanks for clarifying :)

oh the peddling his link so he can get a free service that can be done with knowledge of excel to rope someone else into a monthly payment no matter how small was meant as a dickish statement ... the rest was meant in humor...

I don't want to resurrect the dead horse or anything, but it's definitely more than an excel spreadsheet. I won't peddle my link though. I kind of liken it to a diet vs. an actual lifestyle change. YNAB was a lifestyle change for my wife and I, and it helps us do our planning much better than in the past. This is the first system that stuck with me (spreadsheet, pear budget, mint) and actually made me plan better in the future. Obviously, YMMV though. And for $60 (generally $30 on black friday), it's well worth it in my opinion.

eyePod

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3570 on: August 08, 2014, 08:14:55 AM »
Maybe you could make your own album at Shutterfly or something similar.
[/quote
Nope. Photographer owns the copyright. You can't print your own albums unless they let you, in the contract you signed.

This was one of our requirements when we chose a photographer. They gave us a DVD with all of the pictures with no watermarks. On top of that, they were cheaper and gave us great quality pictures. Awesome experience for us!

eyePod

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3571 on: August 08, 2014, 08:18:34 AM »
[quote author=rocksinmyhead link=topic=2540.msg364572#msg364572 date=140742286

no kidding! I've never owned a home, but from what I hear from coworkers it sounds like for a lot of jobs, hiring a contractor is almost as big of a hassle/time-suck as doing it yourself! which kind of blew my mind, but also renewed my commitment to DIY as much as possible.
I had a relative who did a lot of crappy DIY jobs around our house, which ended up lowering the value of the house when it ultimately was sold.  I swore back then that I'd never ruin my house by having anything less than professional quality work.  I commend people who can do professional quality, but if I'm going to do a job only once in my lifetime, it is faster, cheaper, and better to pay someone who knows what he's doing and has the proper equipment to do it.  There are still things I just can't stop myself from trying, and sometimes end up having to pay someone extra to clean up my crappy trials. I can change light switches, install ceiling fans, and paint, do some minor plumbing repairs, but I draw the line at things like hanging drywall,  or tile repair, roofing or installing a backsplash. 

pouring a patio?  you're kidding me, right?  Oh sure, let me get my concrete mixer out of my garage.  No thanks!
[/quote]

I think the idea is to weigh the pro's and cons before hand and don't go into debt while paying for it. You're thinking about it which is the important part!

iris lily

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3572 on: August 08, 2014, 08:19:45 AM »


Ok, this is not heard at work, but my sister adds 20 minutes each way to an otherwise 90 minute RT commute to take her dog to her MILs house for doggy daycare.

awww, I like that, good for doggie.

jordanread

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3573 on: August 08, 2014, 08:23:15 AM »
Maybe you could make your own album at Shutterfly or something similar.

Nope. Photographer owns the copyright. You can't print your own albums unless they let you, in the contract you signed.

$850 is rather a lot. The justification is the quality difference, which really is massively different - trust me, if you hold just one, you won't see it, but if you hold both and compare, you won't be able to go back. The reason the photographer wants it (apart from a few extra bucks in their wallet) is so that their work isn't tarnished by shitty $5 prints. The second reason is that a photographer able to charge top dollar is also able to own the 'artistic vision', if you will; the people willing to pay top dollar do so because they put their trust into the guy with the camera and don't micromanage. Being a budget photographer is a pain in the ass because the people who want to save a buck on one thing also want to save a buck on everything else, which means a lot of back and forth and annoyance.

Is it worth it? You decide, you're the customer. It's obvious why the photographer wants it, in addition to a fat paycheck. If you want to pay, pay, if you don't, don't, but read the contract carefully and ask the right questions before you sign and find out you want the album but can't afford / don't want to pay for the album. Got questions? Ask online in a photographer forum. They'll be biased but you know their bias; they will also be knowledgeable to tell you about potential pitfalls, issues, and things that might not be obvious. Like that you can't just print your own albums or canvas prints unless the contract specifically allows you to. Not legally, anyways, and no high-quality shop will let you because it's not worth the trouble to them.

I wouldn't pay $850 for an album, but if wedding photos were extremely important to me, I wouldn't budget shop. If they weren't very important, I'd just hire a student with a promising portfolio and pay for any rental gear they might want to step up their game. (Or lend some of mine, which is getting to the point where that might be useful.)

When I wind up getting married, I was thinking about making it a Google Event or something like that. Everyone just checks in on their phones, and all photos wind up in a community album. I'd take the best ones, and put those in a special album. I had a friend who did something like that (pre-cell phones), and everyone got a disposable camera at the door, took pictures, and dropped them off on the way out. Turned out pretty good for him.

dragoncar

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3574 on: August 08, 2014, 08:51:13 AM »
correct funny ... not rude... sorry if it was misconstrued  ...

I definitely got "rude" out of that, mostly due to the use of the word "asshole." thanks for clarifying :)

oh the peddling his link so he can get a free service that can be done with knowledge of excel to rope someone else into a monthly payment no matter how small was meant as a dickish statement ... the rest was meant in humor...

I don't want to resurrect the dead horse or anything, but it's definitely more than an excel spreadsheet. I won't peddle my link though. I kind of liken it to a diet vs. an actual lifestyle change. YNAB was a lifestyle change for my wife and I, and it helps us do our planning much better than in the past. This is the first system that stuck with me (spreadsheet, pear budget, mint) and actually made me plan better in the future. Obviously, YMMV though. And for $60 (generally $30 on black friday), it's well worth it in my opinion.

I kind of liken it to telling a skinny person to buy a pedometer when they complain that lunch wasn't served at the time promised.

 
Yep doing a patio would definitely be on my DIY approved list.  Its not like you might mess up your one bathroom and have to shower outside under a hose for two weeks.  Only thing I would hesitate on but probably still do would be a big deck, have heard the wood working/framing can take some experience to do right.  Still youtube and a long weekend, or you know if you dont finish the following weekend.


How do you feel about skylights?  Considering doing that myself, but would make sure they for between  existing beams so no structural analysis needed.
« Last Edit: August 08, 2014, 08:55:25 AM by dragoncar »

former player

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3575 on: August 08, 2014, 09:57:40 AM »
Re wedding photos:  a lot of happily married people I've known had no wedding photos at all, because they married during the war and couldn't get them, or didn't think photos were important.

Long term there are likely to be only two wedding photos which matter: the newlyweds on their own, and a group shot of everyone present.  Every other photo will likely start gathering dust within the year and will eventually go out with the clutter.  (I seem to have made an involuntary hobby of clearing out the houses of dead relatives.  There are difficult choices to be made in what to keep, but chucking out the wedding album turns out to be a no-brainer.)

Donovan

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3576 on: August 08, 2014, 10:00:14 AM »
I finally have something for this thread!

I was talking to a co-worker about houses (he is buying one right now, and my wife and I have been looking).  The talk turned to budgets and the general size of houses, and it turns out that the one he is buying is 3100 sqft., and cost $250,000.  This is a 25 year old man with not girlfriend, no pets, and no plans to rent out some part of the house. His justification: "Yea, to live in a 'nice' neighborhood you always have to buy a bigger house."

There are plenty of nice neighborhoods around here with ~$100,000 or less houses that are big enough to raise a family in, much less house a single male.

This sounds so harmless... CW just bid 930k (>100k over ask) on a small house (1000 sq ft maybe?) with 21.5ft of frontage. And she got outbid by one of the 5 other bids. Also got outbid on another one since then. The hunt continues.

Where I live, 930K will buy you a mansion fit for a successful CEO.  My main O.O point of this was the ridiculous size of the house for a single occupant, and his reasoning behind the purchase.  I'm pretty sure this gives him the biggest house out of the people on our team, despite the fact that he is the only one who is not married with (or planning for) kids.

Rezdent

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3577 on: August 08, 2014, 10:10:01 AM »
I finally have something for this thread!

I was talking to a co-worker about houses (he is buying one right now, and my wife and I have been looking).  The talk turned to budgets and the general size of houses, and it turns out that the one he is buying is 3100 sqft., and cost $250,000.  This is a 25 year old man with not girlfriend, no pets, and no plans to rent out some part of the house. His justification: "Yea, to live in a 'nice' neighborhood you always have to buy a bigger house."

There are plenty of nice neighborhoods around here with ~$100,000 or less houses that are big enough to raise a family in, much less house a single male.

This sounds so harmless... CW just bid 930k (>100k over ask) on a small house (1000 sq ft maybe?) with 21.5ft of frontage. And she got outbid by one of the 5 other bids. Also got outbid on another one since then. The hunt continues.

Where I live, 930K will buy you a mansion fit for a successful CEO.  My main O.O point of this was the ridiculous size of the house for a single occupant, and his reasoning behind the purchase.  I'm pretty sure this gives him the biggest house out of the people on our team, despite the fact that he is the only one who is not married with (or planning for) kids.
Wow.  He might be in a very different place in a year - wonder if all that empty space will attract a wife with existing kids or plans for kids?  Because, you know,  nature abhors a vacuum...

eyePod

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3578 on: August 08, 2014, 10:35:16 AM »
Oh, all the house talk reminded me of this one.

I'm inheriting a project from this lady. I was talking to her about project metrics and how they developed the data for their baseline that they use in the calculations.

She then went on to describe what a baseline is and how, since I just purchased a house, she would use that as an example.

Her - "Let's say that you figure out your baseline is 500k. But then when you really start looking, you realize you under-guessed. So now you end up buying a house for 600k. That's what happened to us! I'm sure the same thing happened to you when you bought your house.

Me - "Nope, I don't know what you mean. We came in 2k under our house target."

Look, I get dropping an extra 5-10k for that dream home, but 100? That's just ridiculous. I'm sure she's making well over 100k, but still seemed ridiculous.

And I know what a damn baseline is. I didn't need to be patronized, but that's a separate issue.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3579 on: August 08, 2014, 11:14:27 AM »
Yeah - my single neighbor (age 25 -30 and a local cop). Lives next door. Homes in my neighborhood range $350,000 - $500,000. I'd say his is closer to $350,000 but STILL. He is single and in a four bedroom home like me and my family of five. I think WTF, on a cop's salary and you're under 30? At least I put $200,000+ down on my place when we purchased it- though I'll admit it's a fancy pants house and I could be happy in far less... Sheesh. I'm sure he's still paying PMI...

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3580 on: August 08, 2014, 12:36:13 PM »
Oh, all the house talk reminded me of this one.

I'm inheriting a project from this lady. I was talking to her about project metrics and how they developed the data for their baseline that they use in the calculations.

She then went on to describe what a baseline is and how, since I just purchased a house, she would use that as an example.

Her - "Let's say that you figure out your baseline is 500k. But then when you really start looking, you realize you under-guessed. So now you end up buying a house for 600k. That's what happened to us! I'm sure the same thing happened to you when you bought your house.

Me - "Nope, I don't know what you mean. We came in 2k under our house target."

Look, I get dropping an extra 5-10k for that dream home, but 100? That's just ridiculous. I'm sure she's making well over 100k, but still seemed ridiculous.

And I know what a damn baseline is. I didn't need to be patronized, but that's a separate issue.

Her "baseline" didn't "happen to" her, she created it with ridiculous expectations.  When we were shopping for our first house in Idaho, we did look at some that were above our original budget (but still well under what we could "afford"), and the realtor was all "Oh, I knew you'd want a more expensive house once you started looking" but then we bought one for $8K under the original budget.  So much for her theory.
« Last Edit: August 08, 2014, 12:47:46 PM by horsepoor »

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3581 on: August 08, 2014, 12:42:37 PM »
Quarterly profit sharing checks came out yesterday. One CW said "I could use it to pay off my credit card, but I think I'd rather go to Cabo. I'll pay off the card next year."

Ashyukun

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3582 on: August 08, 2014, 02:09:14 PM »
This wasn't quite "overheard at work" but my parents were getting on my case about the need for a wedding album. Just now at work my wife found out what one of these albums would cost from our photographer - $850... and that's not even the most expensive one (some go for $1,500)!!!

Originally last night when this was being mentioned to me I was thinking to myself "okay, one last annoying wedding expense of $50-$100 and we'll be done". Even though I dont even agree that we need one to begin with since we have all the photos digitally, but whatever, one last little hump to get over.

But this got me thinking, there are people who pay hundreds and even THOUSANDS of dollars to have their wedding photos in a fancy album???? That is absolutely insane to me. Once my wife told me the price of the cheapest one I pointed out that at that price we could do a long weekend at Little Cayman or Cayman Brac (our sister islands, which would include airfare and hotel) TWICE.

For our reception (got married at the courthouse, had a nice party for all our friends & family as a reception), we didn't have a photographer- but one of my friends from one of my hobbies, a WAY too nice Japanese woman, brought along her very fancy camera and asked if we minded if she took pictures- and we of course said, "Yes, snap away!" She took lots of incredible pictures and uploaded them for us, and we were thrilled. But then our of the blue at our next club practice she hands me a beautiful custom photo album she'd put together with the best of the pictures- it was by far our favorite present.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3583 on: August 08, 2014, 02:13:59 PM »
Quarterly profit sharing checks came out yesterday. One CW said "I could use it to pay off my credit card, but I think I'd rather go to Cabo. I'll pay off the card next year."

Whats wrong with Cabo.  That makes more sense the paying off credit card debt then using the card to go doesnt it... lol

eyePod

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3584 on: August 09, 2014, 05:42:15 AM »
Oh, all the house talk reminded me of this one.

I'm inheriting a project from this lady. I was talking to her about project metrics and how they developed the data for their baseline that they use in the calculations.

She then went on to describe what a baseline is and how, since I just purchased a house, she would use that as an example.

Her - "Let's say that you figure out your baseline is 500k. But then when you really start looking, you realize you under-guessed. So now you end up buying a house for 600k. That's what happened to us! I'm sure the same thing happened to you when you bought your house.

Me - "Nope, I don't know what you mean. We came in 2k under our house target."

Look, I get dropping an extra 5-10k for that dream home, but 100? That's just ridiculous. I'm sure she's making well over 100k, but still seemed ridiculous.

And I know what a damn baseline is. I didn't need to be patronized, but that's a separate issue.

Her "baseline" didn't "happen to" her, she created it with ridiculous expectations.  When we were shopping for our first house in Idaho, we did look at some that were above our original budget (but still well under what we could "afford"), and the realtor was all "Oh, I knew you'd want a more expensive house once you started looking" but then we bought one for $8K under the original budget.  So much for her theory.

Convenient that the realtor's theory also results in a bigger paycheck...

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3585 on: August 09, 2014, 09:17:21 AM »

This is a 25 year old man with not girlfriend, no pets, and no plans to rent out some part of the house. His justification: "Yea, to live in a 'nice' neighborhood you always have to buy a bigger house."

There are plenty of nice neighborhoods around here with ~$100,000 or less houses that are big enough to raise a family in, much less house a single male.

I have a house considered by most to be too large for me. Yes, I could take an entire story off the house and still have more than enough room. I don't really have an excuse other than I really like the neighborhood and I felt this was the best value in the area. I know people judge me for the size and wastefulness but an alternative nearby would be homes that are 120 years older with expensive repairs needed or condos with high fees. There are always other choices, but I like it here and I think it's value will continue to appreciate.   I've been mulling over whether to rent a room out, because it could let me drop another. $1k into mortgage prepayment per month, but I don't really need the money right now and I like my privacy.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3586 on: August 09, 2014, 11:34:08 AM »
Oh, all the house talk reminded me of this one.

I'm inheriting a project from this lady. I was talking to her about project metrics and how they developed the data for their baseline that they use in the calculations.

She then went on to describe what a baseline is and how, since I just purchased a house, she would use that as an example.

Her - "Let's say that you figure out your baseline is 500k. But then when you really start looking, you realize you under-guessed. So now you end up buying a house for 600k. That's what happened to us! I'm sure the same thing happened to you when you bought your house.

Me - "Nope, I don't know what you mean. We came in 2k under our house target."

Look, I get dropping an extra 5-10k for that dream home, but 100? That's just ridiculous. I'm sure she's making well over 100k, but still seemed ridiculous.

And I know what a damn baseline is. I didn't need to be patronized, but that's a separate issue.

Her "baseline" didn't "happen to" her, she created it with ridiculous expectations.  When we were shopping for our first house in Idaho, we did look at some that were above our original budget (but still well under what we could "afford"), and the realtor was all "Oh, I knew you'd want a more expensive house once you started looking" but then we bought one for $8K under the original budget.  So much for her theory.

Could just be a terminology issue.  I "targeted," say, 1x for a house which could be called a "budget" but I could "afford" 3x, which could also be called a "budget".  In other words, anything under 3x helps me retire faster, and I preferred 1x.  But after looking at 1x houses, we realized we couldn't get what we wanted, and ended up with a 1.5x house.  So did we overshoot our budget or undershoot our budget?  We certainly overshot our original target, but that doesn't make the home unaffordable.

horsepoor

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3587 on: August 09, 2014, 11:53:20 AM »
I read that more as "baseline" being minimum acceptable or expected home size/location/amenities/fanciness, and what that equates to in dollars in the market the person is buying into.  So the realtor wants to move the client's baseline up the scale so that they will only consider a home with more amenities, space, or fanciness than they originally thought they needed/wanted.  Watching House Hunters shows this pretty clearly - oh, we must have dual vanity sinks, granite countertops, real hardwood, and 17 bedrooms with walk-in closes.  No, I won't consider this plebian 1,500 square foot house with normal fixtures just because it's in my original price range.  Time to stretch the budget!  Ratcheting the baseline expectations back results in the same or more happiness for much, much less money.

Nords

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3588 on: August 09, 2014, 01:18:57 PM »
I have a house considered by most to be too large for me. Yes, I could take an entire story off the house and still have more than enough room. I don't really have an excuse other than I really like the neighborhood and I felt this was the best value in the area. I know people judge me for the size and wastefulness...
Our daughter graduated from college in May and has started her Navy career.  (Not only will she not be home for at least couple of years, but we probably won't even meet up with her for another six months.)  Now that we're empty nesters, we have at least two bedrooms that we don't use-- let alone need.  It makes me a little nervous to have so much space when there's even the slightest chance of a boomerang young adult a few years down the road... or any of her good friends passing through the islands.

However the house is in a fantastic location in a great school district, with the best views ever.  If the biggest drawback is that we're wasting space, then I can grit my teeth and pay my (higher) property taxes. 

I think the size of the house is also directly correlated to the standoff distance from the neighbors and their noisy power tools.  I'd hate to live in a small house in a tight neighborhood or (even worse) a townhouse/condo quadruplex.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3589 on: August 09, 2014, 06:28:03 PM »
"I'm also in the Chicago area due west of the city, and in addition to the guys who drive up from Indiana, a number of them drive down from Wisconsin. It blew my mind when two different new coworkers moved back to the USA from international assignments into new houses... in Wisconsin approximately two hours away."   


     I spent years living in Wis and the reason many from Chicago moved there is that houses are so cheap compared to Chicago.  Also depending on where you work in Chicago it is only an hour drive for many people.  They also have a computer train that you can take.    The small town living is also a lot nicer then the city & bigger yards, etc.  BTW: Wis people hated the fact that Chicago people were moving in because it raised the cost of everything, brought crime in, etc.                                                             

SwissMiss

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3590 on: August 10, 2014, 05:55:48 AM »
I work for a Swiss bank.

Two CWs go out for lunch (at a local restaurant, at least USD 45 each).
One CW’s tie falls into the soup and is now smudged.
He goes out and buys a new tie.

From Hermès, because he “always buys his ties at Hermès”. Costs over USD 200.

moneydummy

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3591 on: August 10, 2014, 07:56:17 AM »
Overheard at work today from a man who makes approximately $40k/year: "My rule is a new cell phone every six months.  They really need to make them less expensive though, $700 every six months is pretty rough."

what. the. fuck.
This description accurately describes a significant percentage of people of my generation. I personally know a couple who don't make half of the quoted 40k salary.
[/quote]

Jesus.  I just got smartphone (my first, republic wireless) six months ago.  Two months ago I dropped the thing on the ground, smashing the screen.  No way in hell I'm replacing it when it's just got a little cracked glass.  New phone every 6 months... what a tool.
« Last Edit: August 10, 2014, 08:02:16 AM by moneydummy »

Zikoris

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3592 on: August 10, 2014, 10:53:54 AM »
I work for a Swiss bank.

Two CWs go out for lunch (at a local restaurant, at least USD 45 each).
One CW’s tie falls into the soup and is now smudged.
He goes out and buys a new tie.

From Hermès, because he “always buys his ties at Hermès”. Costs over USD 200.

This doesn't surprise me. I stopped in Zurich a few weeks ago while traveling across Europe and my god, everyone looked like they stepped off a fashion runway. I loved how perfectly put together and fashionable everyone looked - people don't really do that in Vancouver, especially guys, so it's nice to look at.

Albert

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3593 on: August 10, 2014, 11:08:16 AM »

This doesn't surprise me. I stopped in Zurich a few weeks ago while traveling across Europe and my god, everyone looked like they stepped off a fashion runway. I loved how perfectly put together and fashionable everyone looked - people don't really do that in Vancouver, especially guys, so it's nice to look at.

Really? You wouldn't say that had you traveled through Milan as well. :)

Zikoris

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3594 on: August 10, 2014, 11:22:44 AM »

This doesn't surprise me. I stopped in Zurich a few weeks ago while traveling across Europe and my god, everyone looked like they stepped off a fashion runway. I loved how perfectly put together and fashionable everyone looked - people don't really do that in Vancouver, especially guys, so it's nice to look at.

Really? You wouldn't say that had you traveled through Milan as well. :)

I haven't been to Milan, but I've been to Paris, London, Vienna, Budapest, Marseille, Nice, and smaller villages in France and Italy - Swiss people were above and beyond the best dressed! I have a great appreciation for well-dressed guys, because it is SO rare here - most Vancouver guys live in beach shorts or sweatpants with ratty tank tops or t-shirts, and flip flops to finish the look. "Dressing up for a night out" here means wearing jeans that don't have holes in them (or have "fashionable" holes").

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3595 on: August 10, 2014, 12:20:12 PM »
Overheard at work today from a man who makes approximately $40k/year: "My rule is a new cell phone every six months.  They really need to make them less expensive though, $700 every six months is pretty rough."

what. the. fuck.
This description accurately describes a significant percentage of people of my generation. I personally know a couple who don't make half of the quoted 40k salary.

Jesus.  I just got smartphone (my first, republic wireless) six months ago.  Two months ago I dropped the thing on the ground, smashing the screen.  No way in hell I'm replacing it when it's just got a little cracked glass.  New phone every 6 months... what a tool.
[/quote]
Which is my I stay with my dumb phone.  I can drop that thing and nothing bad happens.  I don't the iPad and had to replace the screen, then buy a otter case to protect it.  I miss the old bricks of cell phones.

Albert

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3596 on: August 10, 2014, 12:26:13 PM »

This doesn't surprise me. I stopped in Zurich a few weeks ago while traveling across Europe and my god, everyone looked like they stepped off a fashion runway. I loved how perfectly put together and fashionable everyone looked - people don't really do that in Vancouver, especially guys, so it's nice to look at.

Really? You wouldn't say that had you traveled through Milan as well. :)

I haven't been to Milan, but I've been to Paris, London, Vienna, Budapest, Marseille, Nice, and smaller villages in France and Italy - Swiss people were above and beyond the best dressed! I have a great appreciation for well-dressed guys, because it is SO rare here - most Vancouver guys live in beach shorts or sweatpants with ratty tank tops or t-shirts, and flip flops to finish the look. "Dressing up for a night out" here means wearing jeans that don't have holes in them (or have "fashionable" holes").

Funny how different people see it differently. Maybe that's because I'm looking at girls instead and they are neither particularly pretty nor well dressed here...

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3597 on: August 10, 2014, 12:32:16 PM »
Which is my I stay with my dumb phone.  I can drop that thing and nothing bad happens.  I don't the iPad and had to replace the screen, then buy a otter case to protect it.  I miss the old bricks of cell phones.

One of my old old phones was indestructible, I tell you. I used to be a camp counselor to 6 year olds and would forever entertain them by throwing that thing up in the air as far as I could and catching it. Inevitably, I would miss sometimes, and that thing would come crashing hard into the ground. Had a couple of scratches on it, but that thing never stopped working. Try doing that with an iPhone... ha!

(Note: I was a dumb 13 year old who didn't know the value of money then. I'm smarter now, promise!)

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3598 on: August 10, 2014, 12:56:40 PM »
Jesus.  I just got smartphone (my first, republic wireless) six months ago.  Two months ago I dropped the thing on the ground, smashing the screen.  No way in hell I'm replacing it when it's just got a little cracked glass.  New phone every 6 months... what a tool.

Broken cover glass is generally not that hard/expensive to fix. Many phones takes some special tools to separate adhesive, which is hard to DIY, but it's definitely a thing people do. Check craigslist/classifieds/etc - I bet you can find someone local. Falling that, ebay should have lots of choices.

If your phone isn't glued, it's probably only a $10-15 part. If it is, maybe $75.

Nords

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #3599 on: August 10, 2014, 01:18:23 PM »

This doesn't surprise me. I stopped in Zurich a few weeks ago while traveling across Europe and my god, everyone looked like they stepped off a fashion runway. I loved how perfectly put together and fashionable everyone looked - people don't really do that in Vancouver, especially guys, so it's nice to look at.

Really? You wouldn't say that had you traveled through Milan as well. :)

I haven't been to Milan, but I've been to Paris, London, Vienna, Budapest, Marseille, Nice, and smaller villages in France and Italy - Swiss people were above and beyond the best dressed! I have a great appreciation for well-dressed guys, because it is SO rare here - most Vancouver guys live in beach shorts or sweatpants with ratty tank tops or t-shirts, and flip flops to finish the look. "Dressing up for a night out" here means wearing jeans that don't have holes in them (or have "fashionable" holes").

Funny how different people see it differently. Maybe that's because I'm looking at girls instead and they are neither particularly pretty nor well dressed here...
Every time I see a well-dressed person (of either gender), my initial attraction is tempered by a little flashing yellow light that warns "High maintenance".

I'm typing this in my surf shorts (Goodwill, $3.99) and my ratty tank top (Aloha Stadium Swap Meet, 6 for $20).  And, of course, I wear rubber slippers almost exclusively-- to the point where my feet are at least a size bigger than they were during my dress-code years.  I've happily given up on suits, ties, tie clips, collar stays, vests, overcoats, cuff links, socks, dress shoes, and even dress jackets.

I'm pretty sure I can't pronounce "Hermès" correctly, either...
« Last Edit: August 10, 2014, 01:20:15 PM by Nords »