While in a meeting of our home owners association, an issue of gunshots came up. A neighbor was complaining about someone shooting a weapon in their backyard. Our Chairman said that it was legal to shoot a weapon on private property. I disputed that. I was wrong.
Thursday, October 29, 2015
Monday, September 14, 2015
WISH IT WAS TRUE.......
The 10 Commandments of Logic
1. Thou shall not attack the person’s character, but the argument. (Ad hominem)
2. Thou shall not misrepresent or exaggerate a person’s argument in order to make them easier to attack. (Straw man fallacy)
3. Thou shall not use small numbers to represent the whole. (Hasty generalization)
4. Thou shall not argue thy position by assuming one of its premises is true.(Begging the question)
5. Thou shall not claim that because something occurred before, it must be the cause. (Post Hoc/False cause)
6. Thou shall not reduce the argument down to two possibilities. (False dichotomy)
7. Thou shall not argue that because of our ignorance, claim must be true or false. (Ad ignorantum)
8. Thou shall not lay the burden of proof onto him that is questioning the claim.(Burden of proof reversal)
9. Thou shall not assume “this” follows “that” when it has no logical connection.(Non sequitur)
10. Thou shall not claim that because a premise is popular, therefore it must be true. (Bandwagon fallacy)
(Source: facebook.com)
Saturday, September 12, 2015
please click or copy/paste
http://nypost.com/2015/09/06/revisionist-history-of-911-being-taught-to-our-college-students/
Why you are charged for an estimate of repair at your car dealer
This was published to FaceBook by a friend of mine, Jerry Schaffner. He has been in business most of his life and has an impeccable reputation for honesty and integrity in Simi Valley, Calif.
| Jerry Shaffner | 3:37pm Sep 10 |
Okay maybe this will explain it better then I did last night
One of the biggest complaints from auto repair consumers is the cost of repairs and why they are charged for diagnostics. These days, most shops will charge for diagnosing what is wrong with your car. Sometimes it is credited to the repair if the car is repaired in the shop and sometimes it’s an additional charge on top of the repair.
The question on most people’s mind is, “Why do I have to pay someone to tell me what is wrong with my car when I already know what it is?” Well, in most cases, the customer actually doesn’t know what is wrong with the car. They know that the Check Engine Light is on, or the brakes are squeaking, or coolant is leaking. But these are symptoms, not a diagnosis, and it can take time to determine what exactly is causing the symptom. Sometimes the problem can be found very quickly; other times, it can literally take days to determine exactly what is causing the problem, especially if it’s intermittent.
When diagnostics are performed, not only is the technician involved, but there are often specialized tools that must be used. Scan tools communicate with the onboard computers and a programing interface is used to update their programming. Oscilloscopes and multimeters are used to test electrical circuits and sensors. Listening devices can help isolate the cause of a mysterious noise. The list goes on and on.
Repair shops must purchase these special tools and they can be expensive. To recoup the cost, shops must charge for their use and how much time is involved not only in using the tool, but making sure their technicians know how to use it correctly. This is very similar to paying for an x-ray, where part of the cost goes to paying for the x-ray machine and part goes to paying for the x-ray technician’s time and education.
As our vehicles have become more complex, the tools needed for diagnosing them have become more complex and expensive, and so has the training on how to use them. While it may look simple to plug in a scan tool and read the fault code, that is really only the beginning of the process. Fault codes must be diagnosed to determine the actual cause of the problem.
Not all scan tools work efficiently on all vehicles and just like any other product, some scan tools are of higher quality than others. It’s pretty common for a shop to have multiple scan tools, five or more in many cases. Each scan tool can cost thousands of dollars, and software updates for each new model year drives the cost even higher. At the end of the day, shops can end up spending a minimum of $30,000 or more just on scan tools.
So, while your local auto parts store may use a $150 code reader to read your fault codes and reset the Check Engine Light, they are not diagnosing anything. In most cases, they are only trying to sell parts that may be related to a specific fault code and offer no guarantee that replacing the part will fix the problem.
Often with our newer vehicles, certain problems can be corrected by updating the software in one or more of the onboard computers. Previously, this type of work was done only by the dealer. However, in recent years, the government ordered the manufacturers to make this information available to independent repair shops as well.
And, as with everything else in life, this comes with a cost. Shops must purchase additional hardware specifically for programming. Also, each vehicle software update must be purchased from the manufacturer, either as part of a subscription or on a case by case basis. A colleague of mine recently visited an independent repair shop that was using factory scan tools and programming equipment for each of the models they worked on and they had already invested over $150,000.
Because our vehicles have so many computerized systems and the tools themselves cost so much, the price of diagnosing most vehicle problems has risen rather dramatically over the last few years. Shops can no longer avoid charging for their diagnostic time—there is simply too much cost involved in the training and special tools now necessary to perform a proper diagnosis.
In this case, I cannot help but see similarities between auto repair and medicine. There is no question medical training is much more extensive, and the diagnostic equipment is much more expensive, but the need to charge for a diagnosis is much the same. If you were to go to the hospital with a broken arm, which you had diagnosed yourself, they would not simply put your arm in a cast and send you home. They would “diagnose” your broken arm, most likely with an x-ray, which you would be charged for on top of what you pay for the setting and casting of your broken arm. And if the x-ray came back negative, and your arm wasn’t actually broken, you would still pay for the x-ray, just like you should have to pay for diagnostics on your car, even if they don’t end up pinpointing the problem with the first round of diagnoses.
Please try to keep this in mind the next time you take your vehicle in for repairs. Proper diagnosis is always necessary to determine what is causing the problem with your vehicle. Well trained technicians using the proper tools and equipment can usually get to the cause of most problems pretty quickly and they certainly deserve to be compensated for their time while doing so. That’s why it’s so important to go to a quality shop that has the tools and the people who know how to use them.
One of the biggest complaints from auto repair consumers is the cost of repairs and why they are charged for diagnostics. These days, most shops will charge for diagnosing what is wrong with your car. Sometimes it is credited to the repair if the car is repaired in the shop and sometimes it’s an additional charge on top of the repair.
The question on most people’s mind is, “Why do I have to pay someone to tell me what is wrong with my car when I already know what it is?” Well, in most cases, the customer actually doesn’t know what is wrong with the car. They know that the Check Engine Light is on, or the brakes are squeaking, or coolant is leaking. But these are symptoms, not a diagnosis, and it can take time to determine what exactly is causing the symptom. Sometimes the problem can be found very quickly; other times, it can literally take days to determine exactly what is causing the problem, especially if it’s intermittent.
When diagnostics are performed, not only is the technician involved, but there are often specialized tools that must be used. Scan tools communicate with the onboard computers and a programing interface is used to update their programming. Oscilloscopes and multimeters are used to test electrical circuits and sensors. Listening devices can help isolate the cause of a mysterious noise. The list goes on and on.
Repair shops must purchase these special tools and they can be expensive. To recoup the cost, shops must charge for their use and how much time is involved not only in using the tool, but making sure their technicians know how to use it correctly. This is very similar to paying for an x-ray, where part of the cost goes to paying for the x-ray machine and part goes to paying for the x-ray technician’s time and education.
As our vehicles have become more complex, the tools needed for diagnosing them have become more complex and expensive, and so has the training on how to use them. While it may look simple to plug in a scan tool and read the fault code, that is really only the beginning of the process. Fault codes must be diagnosed to determine the actual cause of the problem.
Not all scan tools work efficiently on all vehicles and just like any other product, some scan tools are of higher quality than others. It’s pretty common for a shop to have multiple scan tools, five or more in many cases. Each scan tool can cost thousands of dollars, and software updates for each new model year drives the cost even higher. At the end of the day, shops can end up spending a minimum of $30,000 or more just on scan tools.
So, while your local auto parts store may use a $150 code reader to read your fault codes and reset the Check Engine Light, they are not diagnosing anything. In most cases, they are only trying to sell parts that may be related to a specific fault code and offer no guarantee that replacing the part will fix the problem.
Often with our newer vehicles, certain problems can be corrected by updating the software in one or more of the onboard computers. Previously, this type of work was done only by the dealer. However, in recent years, the government ordered the manufacturers to make this information available to independent repair shops as well.
And, as with everything else in life, this comes with a cost. Shops must purchase additional hardware specifically for programming. Also, each vehicle software update must be purchased from the manufacturer, either as part of a subscription or on a case by case basis. A colleague of mine recently visited an independent repair shop that was using factory scan tools and programming equipment for each of the models they worked on and they had already invested over $150,000.
Because our vehicles have so many computerized systems and the tools themselves cost so much, the price of diagnosing most vehicle problems has risen rather dramatically over the last few years. Shops can no longer avoid charging for their diagnostic time—there is simply too much cost involved in the training and special tools now necessary to perform a proper diagnosis.
In this case, I cannot help but see similarities between auto repair and medicine. There is no question medical training is much more extensive, and the diagnostic equipment is much more expensive, but the need to charge for a diagnosis is much the same. If you were to go to the hospital with a broken arm, which you had diagnosed yourself, they would not simply put your arm in a cast and send you home. They would “diagnose” your broken arm, most likely with an x-ray, which you would be charged for on top of what you pay for the setting and casting of your broken arm. And if the x-ray came back negative, and your arm wasn’t actually broken, you would still pay for the x-ray, just like you should have to pay for diagnostics on your car, even if they don’t end up pinpointing the problem with the first round of diagnoses.
Please try to keep this in mind the next time you take your vehicle in for repairs. Proper diagnosis is always necessary to determine what is causing the problem with your vehicle. Well trained technicians using the proper tools and equipment can usually get to the cause of most problems pretty quickly and they certainly deserve to be compensated for their time while doing so. That’s why it’s so important to go to a quality shop that has the tools and the people who know how to use them.
Saturday, August 22, 2015
BIG BROTHER AND 1984. ENTER THIS IN YOUR BROWSER!
http://www.mcall.com/opinion/sc-nw-0820-debate-room-conservative-hanson-20150820-story.html
Saturday, August 15, 2015
The Home Depot quote I received
August 15, 2015 10:00am
Juan Sebastion Melo/The Home Depot
Ok. You promised me the corrected estimates by the 14th and this morning is the 15th. I realize my potential account is not that important in the big picture of your company, but it was important to me. You bid out the most expensive windows for some reason and that was wrong. I mean you quoted out an exchange I don't need or want without even asking me or educating me on the differences.
You need to work on salesmanship.
And while we are on THAT subject, you quoted, with a "discount" $2600 for attic insulation. I just received a quote from a company endorsed by KUA for $784! AND, they submit paperwork to KUA so I can get a rebate! While I have no problem with a company making a profit, I have a problem being raped. $2,000 MORE? I would have gone $100 more.
While I think you may be successful, I am concerned for the people you sell to.
Wayne Evans
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
received this as an e-mail. True? I don't know.
LOCKED OUT OF THE COCKPIT
From a former Navy fighter pilot and a retired UAL Captain We are all flying on the Germanwings plane, with a twisted pilot at the controls. Will we just wait, and assume the "Crash Position"? The 'real' pilot was locked out of the cockpit. That set of circumstances finally revealed the full horror of the crash of Germanwings flight 9525. Co-pilot Andreas Lubitz waited for the pilot to leave the cockpit, then locked the door to prevent his re-entry. Then Lubitz, for reasons unknown and perhaps unknowable, deliberately steered the jet into a harrowing 8-minute plunge ending in an explosive 434 mph impact with a rocky mountainside. 150 men, women and children met an immediate, unthinkably violent death. Lubitz, in his single-minded madness, couldn't be stopped because anyone who could change the jet's disastrous course was locked out. It's hard to imagine the growing feelings of fear and helplessness that the passengers felt as the unforgiving landscape rushed up to meet them. Hard ... but not impossible. Because America is in trouble. We feel the descent in the pits of our stomachs. We hear the shake and rattle of structures stressed beyond their limits. We don't know where we're going anymore, but do know it isn't good. And above all, we feel helpless because Barack Obama has locked us out. He locked the American people out of his decision to seize the national healthcare system. Locked us out when we wanted to know why the IRS was attacking conservatives. He locked us out of having a say in his decision to tear up our immigration laws, and to give over a trillion dollars in benefits to those who broke those laws. Obama locked out those who advised against premature troop withdrawals. Locked out the intelligence agencies who issued warnings about the growing threat of ISIS. He locked out anyone who could have interfered with his release of five Taliban terror chiefs in return for one U.S. military deserter. And, of course, Barack Obama has now locked out Congress, the American people, and our allies as he strikes a secret deal with Iran to determine the timeline (not prevention) of their acquisition of nuclear weapons. Was Andreas Lubitz depressed, insane, or abysmally evil when he decided to lock that cockpit door and listen to no voices other than those in his head? Did he somehow believe himself to be doing the right thing? The voice recordings from the doomed aircraft reveal that as the jet began its rapid descent, the passengers were quiet. There was probably some nervous laughter, confusion, a bit of comforting chatter with seat mates, followed by a brief period in which anxiety had not yet metastasized into terror. It was only near the end of the 8-minute plunge that everyone finally understood what was really happening. Only near the end when they began to scream. Like those passengers, a growing number of Americans feel a helpless dread as they come to the inescapable conclusion that our nation's decline is an act of choice rather than of chance. The choice of one man who is in full control of our 8-year plunge. Lubitz was a nut case. But now we are on a 'plane' piloted by a narcissistic megalomaniac who has locked everyone out of his cockpit. It is very sad that our first African American President will be judged in history as the most inept, corrupt, wasteful, subversive, destructive, and divisive President ever. A man twice elected because of the color of his skin rather that the content of his character. |
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