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tuyop posted:Cool! What do you teach? Special Ed. I taught in an elementary age program for kids with emotional and behavioral disabilities for five years, and am just finishing up my first year at a middle school teaching a "life skills" type program for kids with moderate intellectual disabilities. This year has been much more fun. 
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Jun 2, 2014 04:14
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EugeneJ posted:Can't you just get a couple window units for $100/pop, or are those not allowed in your complex? I think I might get one of these because the AC either sucks in my new townhouse or isn't quite working. The great thing about the townhouse is that it is really shady so even on the hot days we've had this year it hasn't got that bad. Apparently the HOA will "fix/charge" our AC units but won't replace them. edit: Actually not one of those units but a window unit instead. I have a feeling a newer window unit is probably more efficient than my 94 Trane anyway. Especially if I just burst cool the room down and then turn it off the rest of the day. Sephiroth_IRA fucked around with this message at 17:19 on Jun 2, 2014 |
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Jun 2, 2014 14:30
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Tuyop, been meaning to ask how school is coming along for you? In money news, I just blew a huge amount of money on a new grill for my birthday/father's day gift. Should be here Friday. Pretty excited! 
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Jun 2, 2014 15:29
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dreesemonkey posted:Tuyop, been meaning to ask how school is coming along for you?  Taste the meat, not the heat.
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Jun 2, 2014 15:37
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dreesemonkey posted:Tuyop, been meaning to ask how school is coming along for you? Thanks for asking. The workload was pretty sick September to May, I took three semesters of courses in two, but since I wasn't working it was kind of easy. I wrote almost 150 essays and didn't lose a single night of sleep. I'm pretty disappointed. That being said, the phys ed courses have destroyed my body worse somehow. Dislocated finger, some more spinal things from falling, sprained ankle, general wussiness and awful marks (I got a C- in volleyball! Volleyball!). It's shameful how little skating, jumping, throwing, and all that sporty poo poo I'd done before. But yeah, I start my practicums in September, that should be it if it turns out that I didn't take "teaching with video games" incorrectly. My biggest takeaway is that I now know where bad teachers come from. I'm loving crushed by the poor quality of my peers.
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Jun 2, 2014 15:59
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How do you get a C- in volleyball? Was it hard?
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Jun 2, 2014 16:00
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Juanito posted:How do you get a C- in volleyball? Was it hard? Yeah it was very technical. Like, your set was worth ten percent and you basically had to have a perfect set. I do not have an acceptable set. Continue for every other aspect of volleyball except "attitude". And my training plan conduct was unexpectedly good. Though the training plan was apparently awful. And I took that poo poo seriously and practiced with other students and my wife every day because I knew it was a problem. It didn't matter. 
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Jun 2, 2014 16:05
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Volleyball is awesome and no joke. I'm good enough to know how bad I am, like I'm better than rec-league but you need to play it all the time to get above the level of mediocre. My wife and most of her friends all played in college (and high school) so it's a constant reminder of how lovely I am comparatively. I stopped playing in a league since I didn't have a lot of free time and I knew I wasn't going to really get any better playing once a week. It also doesn't help that it's that much harder if you're short. That said, sounds like the grading was a bit harsh regardless. Glad classes are going well otherwise
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Jun 2, 2014 16:15
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dreesemonkey posted:Glad classes are going well otherwise Yeah, thanks. It's been a great confidence booster after my military, uh, "career." Now I need to be convinced not to go into academia in like 5 years if I ever get the hang of this teaching thing.
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Jun 2, 2014 17:53
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tuyop posted:My biggest takeaway is that I now know where bad teachers come from. I'm loving crushed by the poor quality of my peers. I had a similar experience. I no longer trust the expertise of lawyers or, by extension, doctors. In an unrelated note, I broke my bread machine's pan by dropping it and making the seal leak. So I've been scoping craigslist for a new one that's not far away. Then I go to Kroger's and find they have one on sale for $21.
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Jun 2, 2014 17:59
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Folly posted:I had a similar experience. I no longer trust the expertise of lawyers or, by extension, doctors. I was doing some yard work and realized that I need a wheelbarrow and edger. Also our lawnmower broke. Toeshoes quickly dismantled the mower and rebuilt the carb and now it's all good, ten bucks in parts. I found out our neighbour had a barrow without a wheel, but he had the wheel separately so I put that poo poo together and pumped it up. We'll borrow the landlord's whipper snipper next week. Altogether savings of like $400 by MMM math!!!
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Jun 2, 2014 18:06
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I'm finding it very easy to justify spending money on tools when doing home renovation stuff. For a less-experienced renovator, using the wrong tool for the job can turn OK results into terrible results. I'm spending much less than I would by hiring a contractor, and at the end, I have tools that I can use again or resell. But, yeah, I borrowed a pretty nice tile saw from a guy at work. Not a lot of reasons to own one of those unless you're using it to earn a living.
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Jun 2, 2014 18:13
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Nail Rat posted:Fuuuuck. Think the AC in my HVAC unit is finally giving up for good. Happy ending(for now)...the thermostat was just on the fritz. The repair dude didn't even charge me. Still though, definitely making beefing up the emergency fund a bigger priority this year than I had been. I can put $250 a month to extra mortgage principal instead of $450.
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Jun 2, 2014 18:44
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Nail Rat posted:Happy ending(for now)...the thermostat was just on the fritz. The repair dude didn't even charge me.
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Jun 2, 2014 18:45
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dreesemonkey posted:Tuyop, been meaning to ask how school is coming along for you? I have an older version of this guy, and it's served me well for almost seven years. All the parts are easy to find and replace. Solid buy.
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Jun 2, 2014 20:07
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Are there any reputable online or alternative auto/home insurance companies? The thought of using Geico leaves a bad taste in my mouth even though MMM recommends them for some reason.
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Jun 2, 2014 21:33
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Sephiroth_IRA posted:Are there any reputable online or alternative auto/home insurance companies? The thought of using Geico leaves a bad taste in my mouth even though MMM recommends them for some reason. The giant corporations always offer the lowest prices. Never had a problem with Geico.
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Jun 2, 2014 21:44
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Call a couple brokers who rep a bunch and see what you can get. I use travelers since they are the cheapest I found for a house, apartment, and 2 cars.
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Jun 2, 2014 22:12
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I like AAA because of all the perks and the agents are super nice, plus you get more discounts the longer you stay with them.
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Jun 2, 2014 22:32
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Washing machine stopped spinning last week. My wife ordered a new clutch and installed it for $30, fixing it. I was just going to call an appliance repair guy. I'm no longer emasculated by her fixing poo poo. I'd have broken it.
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Jun 2, 2014 23:05
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Bloody Queef posted:Washing machine stopped spinning last week. My wife ordered a new clutch and installed it for $30, fixing it. I was just going to call an appliance repair guy. I'm no longer emasculated by her fixing poo poo. I'd have broken it.
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Jun 2, 2014 23:46
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Definitely go through AAA for insurance and their service. gently caress their service is worth it alone for the tipsy towing.
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Jun 2, 2014 23:48
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I used to have AAA for like.... 10 years but I cut my bill by like 60% when I switched to Progressive earlier this year, and got better coverage. AAA is nice but they are absolutely garbage if you need a tow for a motorcycle, my bike broke down a couple months ago and it took them four hours to get a truck out. The truck driver told me that everyone hates doing tows for AAA for motorcycles because they don't pay for poo poo, and they only got him out to me because they basically gave up and agreed to pay whatever he quoted.
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Jun 3, 2014 14:00
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100 HOGS AGREE posted:I used to have AAA for like.... 10 years but I cut my bill by like 60% when I switched to Progressive earlier this year, and got better coverage.
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Jun 3, 2014 14:53
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What the hell are you guys doing to get towed so often that it's a worthwhile part of the service?
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Jun 3, 2014 15:08
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Not having some sort of roadside assistance plan in place seems like being bad with money to me.
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Jun 3, 2014 15:11
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FrozenVent posted:Not having some sort of roadside assistance plan in place seems like being bad with money to me. My plan is to keep up with maintenance and have a good, aired up spare tire. I've needed exactly one tow in 16 years of driving, and that was for a burst coolant hose. Not having even basic knowledge of car mechanicals and maintenance is being bad with money. Take some time to learn about the machines you rely on for transportation.
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Jun 3, 2014 15:19
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I still have roadside assistance, just not with AAA anymore. I probably used it a couple times a year, last year my chain broke on my bike, and my alternator died in my car when I was a significant distance from the house.
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Jun 3, 2014 15:21
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Yeah that's true. That being said, every time I or someone I know has needed a tow, it was because the car was sideways in a ditch, missing a wheel, or other issues that are difficult to address in the field. This might be more of an issues in areas that get significant snowfall, I guess. Although there was the one time my roommate cooked her engine because she ignored the "HIGH TEMPERATURE" light and the fluid running out of the car... But she was a bit special. (She was cheap as gently caress, too, BFC would approve. Leaving a night light plugged in in the hallway was an issue of contention, and we lived in the area with the lowest power costs in North America.)
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Jun 3, 2014 15:24
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I saved a ton with Progressive and their SnapShot plug in thing discount. I shop my insurance every six months before renewing and haven't gotten a better price.
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Jun 3, 2014 15:25
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I've only ever had to get a tow by driving down a dirt track ("tank road") in a sporty hatchback after a blizzard. Total cost in ten years of driving for roadside assistance: $100 Roadside assistance seems a lot like those hardware insurance plans like Applecare. They're great if, for whatever reason, you need a lot of help with your poo poo on a regular basis, but are a losing proposition for most people who just get it because they're scared of everything. I mean, if my car killed itself (more) on the way to some important meeting, I'd just park it and call a cab and deal with it later. I don't know why anyone would wait on the side of a major road for an hour to have their car towed, because obviously at that point you had nowhere vital to be so why do you need your car seen to right now? If you do have somewhere vital to be, it wouldn't make sense to wait for the tow dude when you could just get a cab and add like ten minutes to your trip. I guess I don't really see the use case for a roadside assistance plan except those few people who get a monthly tow.
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Jun 3, 2014 15:30
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I don't have AAA or any roadside assistance, but a few of my friends have had their rear end saved out on the highway by having it.
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Jun 3, 2014 15:37
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Had to get my Malibu pulled out of a ditch, the recovery (I still don't know how the hell they got it out), tow and estimate worked out to be just about the residual value of the car; I just signed the title over to the garage. If the car hadn't been a 10 year old $2000 piece of crap before the accident, that might have been expensive. Plus it's what, $50 - $100 a year? Seems like pretty decent value to me, even if you use it once in five years or whatever.
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Jun 3, 2014 15:40
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tuyop posted:I've only ever had to get a tow by driving down a dirt track ("tank road") in a sporty hatchback after a blizzard. Total cost in ten years of driving for roadside assistance: $100 There are no cabs in my area dude, I live in Michigan. The drive to my mom's to visit her is about 50 miles on I-75 each way. I break down halfway there and I can either wait 45 minutes for a tow and get my car taken home or to the shop, or wait probably the same amount of time until someone I know can get to me. And then I still have to deal with my car sitting on the side of the highway.
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Jun 3, 2014 15:45
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Folly posted:What the hell are you guys doing to get towed so often that it's a worthwhile part of the service? edit: they also do all my passport poo poo and offered free liability insurance for my wedding venue.
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Jun 3, 2014 15:55
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100 HOGS AGREE posted:Mine costs 10 dollars a year as an addon to my insurance. When I had AAA it was the cost of the membership (like 70 bucks a year) Even at one tow a year (which is likely) you come out ahead. A tow a year? I've never had one. edit: I've never had one that wasn't a result of me leaving my car where I shouldn't have. Nail Rat fucked around with this message at 16:16 on Jun 3, 2014 |
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Jun 3, 2014 15:57
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I like to travel to remote regions of Australia hundreds if not thousands of kilometres from the nearest city or large town. Along rough trails in a car built in 1999. Even a repairable breakdown would be rather expensive. Requiring a tow would be catastrophic without roadside assistance. I'm big on self-insuring, I do it in a lot of areas, but not this one.
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Jun 3, 2014 15:57
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Nail Rat posted:A tow a year? I've never had one.
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Jun 3, 2014 16:04
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Folly posted:What the hell are you guys doing to get towed so often that it's a worthwhile part of the service?
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Jun 3, 2014 16:16
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Things you can use AAA for that are awesome and needed : Leave your lights on somewhere and need a jump Car breaks down, cause poo poo happens Too lazy to replace a tire Have more than 30 miles to drive and you're worried about driving on a doughnut Run out of gas in yosemite and need the 5 gallons to make it out of the park (yup). TIPSY TOWING!!! If you get drunk but you want to go home, you can call AAA to pick your drunk rear end up and get the car towed with you. If you're moving you can have your car towed 4 times up to like 100-200 miles a pop so you can do a 300 mile move and just have your car towed to your new home.
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Jun 3, 2014 16:27
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