So glad to see you Shawnee! Hasslefree was just asking about you a few weeks back too.

You still making knifes? What are you doing that newly acquired bench space?

I understand your feelings about politics... this is still a free and open place to share your opinions, even though the current administration (read that as the Federal Government) bought out my entire company with an EIDL SBA loan... So I guess until I pay that off I'd better support whoever is in there, as the loan really did save the companies biscuts. 

You still doing the RC car thing? I know that can be a very expensive hobby, especially the newer stuff like you were talking about. 

I'll send out a recovery email for Stan now, sorry to hear about the issues... let him know I reset his password and send him a message... hopefully it will reach him at the email he has on file... if not I can try sending it directly to his email address outside the forum... just let me know.

Cool, you did seem to enjoy making knifes, and they were pretty cool looking too. Sounds like you'll stay busy for sure, and make short work out of longer jobs with that new equipment!

Forgot it was the RC planes, I keep thinking about that one we lost a long time ago... it was a fun few minutes though! 

I been saying for a long time inflation was setting in and hyper-inflation would follow... People are actually seeing it now as the cost of most everything has doubled... if it was a dollar, it's now two dollars... across the board! I'll give the hyperinflation thread a bump.

I'm also seeing a lot of sold out items too Shawnee... I'll go in with a list and half of them won't be there, but my bill will still be well over $100! Getting to the point where eating out is almost just as expensive as cooking in, unless there is a sale - which is rare, and like you said often times they will run out of stock. 

I thought the cost of lumber was coming down? I got a lot of home improvements I am looking to do this spring and summer. Even last year I took a shellacking on Romex wire for the house... hate to see what it is in todays money... I'm sure you're better in tune with the current price of lumber since you did all that building. Historically speaking, something usually switches in congress... we see a strong ramping up in COVID with China right now, it could end up reaching us right around the time the elections take place... it's hard to compete with the mail in ballot and illegal voting (read that as any vote that was cast without proper registration and photo ID). 

Not bad... Not bad at all! 

Haven't seen Stan... let me know if got the email, or we can figure something out I'm sure.

I have a few projects going both at work, and at home... most of them ongoing from last year! 

This year I don't have plans to go anywhere, unless you know who calls, but outside of that... It's gonna be a "This old house" spring and summer around here...

Trying to buy things as they go on sale, but you know how that goes... you'll always need to run back to grab a few small things as the project unfolds... at times this winter, and especially before the business was made flush by the SBA, I honestly wondered how I'd get it all done... now I am wondering how to get it all done without going over budget and getting the most bang for the buck. That is HARD to do right now! I'm working with a 1950's built home, the king of the "grandfathered" clause... but I am starting to realize that all these new ideas and methods really increase safety and merit the same kind of attention as your airplanes at the A&P... the trick is, doing it all in one swoop, as not to be going back and having to do it twice or three times because you didn't want to do it right the first time. Keeping that kind of quality standard and scope of work under budget is a job in of itself... planning... checking... planning... pricing, pricing, waiting... getting all the pieces of the puzzle put together - priceless...

Heard from Stan. He didn't get an email yet. The devo email?

I have so many projects I'm overwhelmed. However I quit drinking a while back. Much more motivated. I put in a 60hr +, 5 day's, and I'm 67. Shops are all about done, still the ham radio room and, gunsmith/reload room and gym to finish but they are 90% done. Not smowing today so finish the greenhouse.

Hear you on do it right. I always strive for my best, worked every trade journeyman level and work to code regardless no one is ever going to inspect. Code may seem stiff sometimes buy yeah, for a good reason. Lucky you got that SBA!

Great to have you back!

Sounds like you were feeling like posting about the sucky state of the economy... we have lots of existing sucky economy post in here going back to 2006! Take your pick, or give us a new perspective and start your own...

I agree about the suck mode, however since you haven't been around in awhile I should mention the company got a little help from our Uncle Sam... The details are in the V8 Cafe.

I'll agree with you that everyone is broke, because obviously if I was rolling in money the company wouldn't have needed a loan. People that do have money are holding on to it in most cases, and I have never been flooded with more work at one time than when I announced we were raising our labor rate! I'm still working on tickets from last year! And I'm talking people fixing cars in a way that would suggest that they see no end in sight with regards to inflation. What once was, "I'll probably keep it for a year is now, I plan on keeping it for the foreseable future so lets just fix everything"... this is great, but it's not a gravy train by any means. Complex jobs (or garbage as you would say) make for stressful and long drawn out projects that pay about the same or less by the time you add up the numbers. In these cases I try and utilize the job as a focal point, or at least a documented process to show the next customer or online viewer. Over time I have amassed a large collection of these projects, sharing them helps me justify the extra work involved. 

Perhaps worse than the economy in suck mode, everyone being broke and so much garbage being out there is the uncertainty of where all this is going... from a global pandemic, to the specter of WWIII, I think it's clear most people just aren't feeling good about the direction the world is heading. But none of us has ever seen in our lifetime a global pandemic the likes of COVID-19... sure there were other legendary pandemics on the books, but it's different when you live thru it. Kids born during or after the pandemic will probably never know, outside of the stories they are told, they will grow up in the new normal having no idea, and I think that's just nature cleansing the next generation. 

Anyway, good to see you back! Tell us some stories! We love stories!

SELLC wrote:

---

Smells like an election year!

---

 You mean it stinks to high Heaven? Lol

Politicians are a lot like diapers, and should be changed for the same reasons!