The hobby

Gang, as things are looking now, I am going to have to shut off most of my systems. The utility bill is just too high, which I could survive on for a while, but with the gas prices increasing like ever and the amount of driving I have to do, it is becoming pretty "tight." I was talking with some others today and they are getting pretty much into the same boat, with the "hobby" being caught in the squeeze.... and I don't expect I'll be the only one in the US caught in this predicament. But it's been a good ride, and have really enjoyed it. And if the gas prices come back down someday then maybe I'll get back into it. So tally ho and best wishes.

Bruce

I understand, Lexx, and just hope you can come back, if you want too, soon. Between Enron and Halliburton, it is amazing any of us USians can afford to crunch.

While I totally understand, I noticed you said most, so perhaps that means you will leave one or two running. :cool:
Appreciate all you have done for Free-DC, science and fun!

your petrol hit $1.80 per litre like it is over here.

Then again you guys pay your taxes in different ways.

See you on the flipside Lexx

:thumbs:

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Originally posted by Fozzie
your petrol hit $1.80 per litre like it is over here.

Then again you guys pay your taxes in different ways.

See you on the flipside Lexx

:thumbs:

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Yep, I've done a lot of traveling after a life in the navy. The US still has cheap gas compared to Europe. One very large difference though and that is that Europe has a very good public transportation system. The US does not. One day, long after I'm dead, it may happen here, but it is going to take several more decades before public transportation is taken seriously here, specialy in the west. Things are just strung out so far apart in the west with the exception of a few large cities.

sorry to see you have to do this lexx

Here in Jersey the gas prices were the cheapest in the nation now its up to 3.32 a gallon. Thankfully i have a good paying summer job to last me through the school year with gas.........ok and beer.

Working from home these days helps me out as I only fill the tank once overy two weeks or so, but then again gas is still cheaper here than it was in the UK when I left there in '97.

At the local garage it's 3.19/gallon for unleaded and 3.39 for the super premium which the wife's car has to use.

Hope to see you still crunching a bit Bruce! Good luck..

Bok

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Originally posted by Lexx
Yep, I've done a lot of traveling after a life in the navy.

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2 West PACs, one on the USS Oriskany and the other on the USS Hancock.
Shellbacks rule! :D

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Originally posted by IronBits
2 West PACs, one on the USS Oriskany and the other on the USS Hancock.
Shellbacks rule! :D

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Ships company on the Oriskany 1970-73. Also on the Constellation, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Midway, and Inchon. The Oriskany was the worst of the lot as far as I'm concerned. Best one was the Midway.

Gas price is hitting everybody nowadays and the utilities bill never gets smaller.
I`m about £550 down this year on utilities (fixed payment system) and lucky I recently did a fixed price contract with a utility company till 2007. Im also down to 2 or 3 systems and no aircon running but still slipping behind.
Public transport is good in UK but unfortunately neither myself or the wife can use it and now we`re having to restrict car mileage as well due to the rocketing prices and my presently fixed income.
Still, without computers and the internet plus an occasional consultancy job from home, I`d be cracking up.
But time has come to sell off my duals and go dualcore to cut the computer power bill in half.
Best of luck Lexx, guess none of us is as flush as we were nowadays.

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Originally posted by Lexx
Ships company on the Oriskany 1970-73. Also on the Constellation, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Midway, and Inchon. The Oriskany was the worst of the lot as far as I'm concerned. Best one was the Midway.

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Wow! You got around!
We were mates on the Oriskany then!
1972, up on the flight deck, air squadron 151 I believe it was. :)
Old F8s and A4s. I did a carrier landing on it riding in the mail plane. :D
We lost an XO when his A6 or A7 nose wheel was ripped from the underbelly upon launch. Might of been on the Hancock, can't remember now. :(
Both of them were old plank decks, so I'm sure anything newer was better. ;)
:cheers:

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Originally posted by IronBits
Wow! You got around!
We were mates on the Oriskany then!
1972, up on the flight deck, air squadron 151 I believe it was. :)
Old F8s and A4s. I did a carrier landing on it riding in the mail plane. :D
We lost an XO when his A6 or A7 nose wheel was ripped from the underbelly upon launch. Might of been on the Hancock, can't remember now. :(
Both of them were old plank decks, so I'm sure anything newer was better. ;)
:cheers:

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I was crew on the mail plane.

ahhhhh As the hobby saga continues. Once again I become a totally submissive prostitute for distributed computing.

My wife reverted to the female thing and said that *IF* I clean up the hell hole aka my computer room, and get all the spider webs, ghost turds (dust balls), and everything put away so it looks organized and *healthy* rather than looking like a filthy dungeon AND

IF I get the gravel hauled in for *OUR* (her words) walkways around OUR gardens, AND

IF I cut down on the number of vehicles I have, AND IF I get the 5 tree stumps dug out, a brick retaining wall put in, and revamp the underground watering system to that area

*THAT*

she would not complain about my computers running until the beginning of next summer when she was sure she would be able to think of more things that needed to get done around the house............................

So I did the necessaty :notworthy groveling and all. I gave one of my jeeps to the youngest son who lives over on the coast. I gave the p/u to my sister in Idaho. I called in several IOU's from the guys I go 4x4ing with, and we got the damn tree stumps dug out. And I even UNPLUGGED half of my computers so that I could get in behind them and use the vacuum cleaner to get those nasty old ghost turds..........

I've got to admit it, but the room is looking better! :jester:

So later today I move the stuff out of the room so I can get a table out, and move in a computer desk that I'm inheriting from the daughter, and then start in on the wire stringing (it *has* to be done neatly) and then figure out what I'm gonna do with the farm again.

It is amazing the amount of parts, etc., that accumulate over time! :) And it is also amazing how much you can cram into the garbage can when you have to......... stuff like old MS books, boxes, parts that only work in limited capacities, etc.

The horror or it all............. :)

Why don't you ask for her opinion on colours for the patch leads, i hear pastels are in this year. Something nice to go with the drapes. They just love to do that sort of thing!!


:sofa: :D

Such a familiar , sad story....

heh heh.......... pastels............... :) I make my own cables. Being a retired sailor, I'm partial to the gray cables. :)

Seriously though, she's a good wife. Lets me play with this stuff and spend a small fortune without really throwing a fit about it. I would imagine a the majority of you guys are in the same position. After all, as the saying goes, "if momma ain't happy, then no one is happy." So really since I live in a community property state, half of the computers are hers............ :jester:

Guess I`ve gone through a lot of money and tolerance from my better half (have to use those words) over the years with both computer and radio stuff but my last 2 computers cost me a trip to Germany for her majesty to see her parents for 3 months and try to reinvigorate their economy with her credit cards. Nearly had to pay off the EU National Debt. And the last one cost me around 20,000 bucks because it had to include a refit for the kitchen.
My office/computer room (actually 2 rooms) was fully kitted out with my mobile office stuff from work when I left but now resembles a disaster zone (smoking cigars doesn`t help...ash kills keyboards) with computer repair work, radio gear to be sorted and bits and pieces piled everywhere. I keep a colony of spiders in here to keep the moths down from the constantly open windows (don`t need aircon in northern England very often) but things got out of hand after being in hospital for a while and that`s my excuse for not tidying up too much recently. But the day has to come as I can only just get to the desk now without a wheelchair even.
I certainly wouldn`t dare publish any fotos of in here and it`s just as well everyone is barred from access as well.

Well the other thing I look at is that a guy has to have some place in the house that is his. Everything else seems to belong to her. She decides the colors, the curtains, etc., etc. Some guys raise ants, some raise spiders, and others collect ghost turds! :)

I finally got the comuter table out of here, and moved in the computer desk from the daughter. I do have to say that it was a little bit dusty. But it was a traumatic experience. :) And it seems like I have one motherboard that didn't like being shut down. But other than that things seem to be rocking and rolling.

if this is the "my wife is great" thread, allow me to chime in. I had to kick a pretty serious gaming addiction a couple years ago while we were still dating (funny how your SO likes you to spend time with her and stuff) so i laid low a bit on the DC as well. (fortunately i came into some GHz at work). but she didnt put up a fuss when hardware from laurenu2 started showing up at the door... maybe because it was her desktop i upgraded :D ... and better yet she got me a video card for my birthday... turns out, she actually likes counterstrike pretty well now :kiss:

After reading this thread, I am beginning to to wonder if I really should get married.

Wife and DC sure don't go well together eh. :crazy:

Oh I think that most of the guy's wife's are pretty cool with the crunching until it really does become a burden. At least they know where you are. And the money you spend on it sticks around a while too -- equipment wise. And there are some real beneficial projects to society to donate time to.

I've put some serious bucks in to the hobby, but nothing like when I was younger and was into the beer/bars/car_racing/fishing_boat scenes. The computers are pretty mild compared to how much one spends on that other "studly" stuff :rotfl:

The only problem with marriage as I see it is that one doesn't always find the really "right" wife the first time around. And in the process, dissolving those "unright" ones can get really really expensive.

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Originally posted by Lexx
Oh I think that most of the guy's wife's are pretty cool with the crunching until it really does become a burden. At least they know where you are. And the money you spend on it sticks around a while too -- equipment wise. And there are some real beneficial projects to society to donate time to.

I've put some serious bucks in to the hobby, but nothing like when I was younger and was into the beer/bars/car_racing/fishing_boat scenes. The computers are pretty mild compared to how much one spends on that other "studly" stuff :rotfl:

The only problem with marriage as I see it is that one doesn't always find the really "right" wife the first time around. And in the process, dissolving those "unright" ones can get really really expensive.

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Quoted for truth.

Always wanted to do that!!:D :D