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RE: composite decking
I've also seen some 1.5" thick composite decking. I assume this is for situations where the joists are too far apart.
Many composites are not solid all the way through. How does that work when the first or last board has to be narrower to fit on an existing deck? A new deck presumably would be designed for the width of the decking so no ripping is required.
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belfert
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05/21/12 09:32am |
Around the Campfire
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RE: Shopping failures...
A local grocery store quit selling a particular dessert cake. When asked why they stopped carrying it they said it sold too well and they couldn't keep it in stock so they quit selling it.
If something is selling out day after day wouldn't it make sense to order more and/or allocate some more shelf space to the item instead of dropping it altogether?
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belfert
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05/18/12 11:47am |
Around the Campfire
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RE: I am thinking about becoming a teacher--looking for opinions
Go for it --- where else can you get a job that gives you 2 to 2 1/2 months off in the summer and a week or 2 in December and oh, yeah, spring vacation..........oh and I think you'd be a good teacher with your military background --- maybe you can get some order in the school rooms that many of the current teachers can't get.
Sure, you get a lot of time off, but you can't schedule it around life events and such. If you need a Friday off on a school day to be in a wedding it is much more difficult to get a day off.
Now, I do know a number of teachers who work at summer camps and such during their summer off. What other jobs would allow one to work at a summer camp every year and still allow one to have a normal job?
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belfert
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05/17/12 12:45pm |
Around the Campfire
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RE: Another tax question for business owners
Depreciating an item over several years means your tax deduction for buying the item is spread over several years. The first year you are paying taxes on the money you already spent. A company I know got themselves in trouble by buying $600,000 in equipment and having to depreciate it which meant they owed a bunch of taxes and had problems paying the taxes. They leased equipment for a while after that.
I suppose depreciation could make sense if the business will not owe taxes the first year due to losses.
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belfert
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05/17/12 12:39pm |
Around the Campfire
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RE: composite decking
I was looking at composite decking last week and one of the displays at the store had photos of the product when new and another photo of it after it faded. That product at least does fade somewhat. I think it was Veranda at Home Depot, but I don't recall for sure.
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belfert
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05/15/12 07:51am |
Around the Campfire
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RE: Can you bear to part with your "man toys"?
My garage is so full I haven't been able to park in it for years.
Just yesterday I finally broke down and started getting rid of stuff that hasn't been used in years. A lot of it is really good stuff I paid good money for, but I came to the realization my plans have changed and I will never used the items.
The area I live in I can't build an outbuilding to store stuff in.
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belfert
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05/14/12 10:21am |
Around the Campfire
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RE: Shopping failures...
It isn't always as simple as telling the computer to order the part sooner. Lead times are not always consistent. Some manufacturers make items in batches and it can be weeks or months before they make that item again. The manufacturer will warehouse items, but they don't always judge demand correctly. I'm not saying stores aren't at fault here. They run inventory lean and don't have enough stock for a minor surge in demand.
Running a parts depot is different than a retail store. A missing part could cause losses of thousands or even millions an hour. It is cheaper for the company to keep extra parts than to suffer downtime due to a missing part. A retail store generally saves more money by trimming inventory than they lose in sales.
An example: I recently ordered some LED light bulbs from Homedepot.com. It appears they mispriced them so they sold out and my order was backordered. They shipped last Friday after several weeks. Obviously, Home Depot couldn't have foreseen the spike in demand. Presumably they would have ordered extra stock for a planned special price.
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belfert
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05/14/12 10:13am |
Around the Campfire
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RE: Shopping failures...
Lack of inventory could simply mean the economy is doing better and people are buying more.
I worked at a retail store in the mid 90s that had some real issues with managing inventory. The store had a policy of not ordering merchandise in the weeks before quarterly inventory. They wanted to show as little inventory as possible on the books each quarter. No idea why as Minnesota has no inventory tax that I know of. They lost a lot of sales because of that policy.
Sales or use tax still applies to Internet sales. States just can't force Internet sellers to collect sales tax if the seller is out of state. Use tax is supposed to be paid by the consumer directly to the state. It is technically tax evasion not to pay use tax, but hardly anyone pays their use tax. The state of Minnesota only requires payment of use tax if you bought more than $700 worth of stuff that wasn't taxed. One pays sales tax on any amount so why is use tax different?
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belfert
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05/14/12 05:13am |
Around the Campfire
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RE: The problem with RVing
I do own two pieces of luggage, but I haven't used them in years. The last few plane trips I just used a duffle bag small enough to be carried on.
I'm not sure if I want to check a bag or not for my three day trip to Chicago next month. Southwest still allows free checked bags.
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belfert
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05/06/12 03:15pm |
Around the Campfire
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RE: Blanket Reprimands
I worked doing grounds and facility work some years ago at a large 330 acre public facility. Everybody came back to the main shop building at the end of the day to put away vehicles and clean up.
Most everybody would line up at the time clock a minute or two before 4:30 and the line would start moving at exactly 4:30. At least once a month the boss would say something to everyone about people coming back from the field too early or lining up for the time clock too early. It didn't really bother me.
At my current job the boss sometimes emails everyone if certain things aren't getting done. Again, it doesn't bother me.
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belfert
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05/05/12 08:22pm |
Around the Campfire
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RE: Dexter Hub Failure
When was the last time the bearings were repacked? I've heard it recommended to repack as often as every year.
I wonder how Dexter could prove how many miles you put on the hubs? Trailers don't normally have odometers.
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belfert
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05/04/12 10:56am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Made in America
Challenge...
I'm looking for a good garden hose spray nozzle made in America built to last
Go to Google, type in 'made in the USA hose nozzle' and you'll find a ton of them. Some are sold on Amazon and you can read the reviews there.
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belfert
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05/01/12 11:54am |
Around the Campfire
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RE: Your opinion on ugly current model car front ends?
Every Super Duty and Econoline after 2007 has been hideous...with Ford's weird alien-fish front end. The newest trucks are less hideous, but still pretty bad.
The main reason for the changes on the Fords was to lower the headlights. Some states are very particular on how high the headlights can be. They meet the standard from the factory, but some people lift their truck which causes issues.
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belfert
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05/01/12 11:47am |
Around the Campfire
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RE: Can anyone recommend a dome tent for Scout troops?
I've been involved with Boy Scouting since 1983 or 1984 when I was a youth. I'm seeing more than 50% of troops using dome tents these days. The Timberline used to be the standard, but troops are moving away from that tent from what I see at Boy Scout camps.
The Alps Mountaineering tents are what I will probably recommend for future purchases.
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belfert
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04/23/12 09:39am |
Tent Camping
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RE: Battery Powered Fan?
What about something like the Ryobi battery powered fan that uses cordless tool batteries? It only makes a lot of sense if you already have Ryobi cordless batteries.
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belfert
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04/22/12 06:25pm |
Tent Camping
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RE: Lets talk about keys.
For some stupid reason I had both of the keys to my house on my key chain. I'm pretty sure I misplaced the keys in the house, but I can't find them. I need to take the locks to a locksmith for new keys. If my garage door opener doesn't work I am in trouble. Good thing I have an automatic standby generator.
I got a free key locker that mounts on the wall from work. I am going to mount it and keep all my spare keys in there so I don't lose them. I can't even imagine how much it would cost for a new key for my Dodge Caravan.
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belfert
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04/22/12 04:54pm |
Around the Campfire
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RE: Can anyone recommend a dome tent for Scout troops?
We sure as heck aren't going to do the army tents. Insect screening is a necessity in Minnesota for the spring, summer, and early fall. 25 years ago the Scout troop had army type pup tents and they were just too small plus they got moldy as the material takes forever to dry. The Boy Scout summer camps will rent canvas wall tents pretty cheap, but then the Scouts have to bring mosquito netting.
We used to use Timberline tents, but some of the leaders wanted fiberglass poles and the roominess of the dome tent design. The issues with the Timberline was the zippers. The Scouts would grab the corner of the door and just pull which killed the zippers. Galyans had Eureka make a special version of the Timberline for them and they had #10 zippers that lasted a lot longer.
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belfert
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04/22/12 04:41pm |
Tent Camping
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RE: Can anyone recommend a dome tent for Scout troops?
The Alps Mountaineering tents look like a decent option. I like the Meramac 4 outfitter, but I wish they had a larger option for three boys. We usually put two boys in a 4 man tent and three boys in a 5 or 6 person tent.
One thing I don't like about a lot of the tents are the full coverage flys. The vestibule just means another zipper to break. There is also a lot less ventilation.
I don't think the Sunrise poles are breaking from too large of a tent to support. The older Sunrise tents we bought in 2003 have broken at most one pole amongst a dozen tents and 9 years of use. The newer tents have broken poles on the first or second use. I think the manufacturing of the poles changed.
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belfert
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04/22/12 04:32pm |
Tent Camping
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RE: Windex versus Windshield Wash
I worked at a state fairgrounds one summer and we used windshield wiper fluid to wash windows in a building with many display cases. The stuff is awful for washing windows. I think they would have saved enough on labor to pay for real window cleaner.
For the outside of my windows at home I use soapy water and a squeegee to wash the windows. Way faster than Windex and paper towels or rags.
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belfert
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04/22/12 04:03pm |
Around the Campfire
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Can anyone recommend a dome tent for Scout troops?
Our Boy Scout troop has purchased around 30 Eureka Sunrise 8 and 9 dome tents over the past nine years. The ten tents purchased over the past three years have been junk. We've broken about 3/4 of the poles on the new tents on the 1st or 2nd use. It takes weeks or months to get replacements from Eureka and the last few times they sent the wrong length poles.
We really like the design of the Sunrise tents, but the pole issues are pushing us to look at other tents. Can anyone recommend a decent dome tent with aluminum or fiberglass poles? We don't want the cheap discount store tents with plastic floors. Neither do want a super expensive tent either.
Our hope is over the years to replace all of our tents with the same model. It makes it easier for the Scouts when all the tents are the same. The setup is the same and no arguing about who gets what model of tent.
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belfert
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04/20/12 10:50am |
Tent Camping
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