60+ year old thread.

There's a big controversy local to my area because the powers that be want to build a 700+ million dollar gondola from the bottom of a canyon to a ski resort... on the tax payer's dime (DOLLARS) to limit the traffic in the canyon. Of course the real reason is that the powers that be want another Olympics because it's such a great opportunity for The Church to get free publicity and cultivate converts. The less religiously inclined want to run busses at about a tenth of the money.

 

Yep we've had the stadium for about 25 yrs, it needs some upgrades but when it was first built the bids came in at 34-36 million, they were rejected because it had to be sold at 21 million to the taxpayers. It came back and was awarded to a bidder at 21 million when it was approved. After work was started the city discovered that it needed a few additional feet here and there along with missing bathrooms. Cost over runs brought it back up to the 36.5 million. Trust was something that can't be taken for granted by the planner's.

 

And that's a great point too...

NOTHING ever comes in at the bid price. There are always cost overruns and no one is holding the bidders accountable. It's become normal for contractors to bid... and then present a final bill for 50% more. And that includes private bids and contractors too.

Back in the day my day owned a landscaping company, and when we bid jobs we figured out how much it would cost to do the job, doubled it, and then added ten percent just in case. And we stuck to the bid... period. We had more business than we could handle and often subbed out work to other outfits because we couldn't keep up. I've asked contractors to bid a small project and give me a number set in stone... and they look at me like I'm crazy. Like they are entitled to have a cost overrun and charge me more than they quote. Sorry, but that doesn't work for me. I'm not the government.

 

Beautiful vintage gun. Interesting to read about the Ukrainian sniper long range "hit". I'm lucky in that one of my buddies has a private range east of San Diego below Julian. I can hit 425+ yards all day long with my Howa .223 bolt action and my AR. Both with scopes of course!

 

Where I work we rebuild/remanufacture hydraulic cylinders. Larger stuff for mobile cranes often 100 ton and up. When we estimate a job we always put a price on it and also list a "not to exceed" price in case of unforeseen issues that often appear once we start the repair. If the overrun is something that we missed, we eat the loss and move on. There are occasions where we run into things that could not be seen until material is being machined or chrome plated and on those fairly rare occasions we go back to the customer before it gets too far and get approval to go over the estimate. We also provide photographic evidence of what has taken place to back up our findings.

 

Over 60....I think...

 

That's the fair and honest thing to do.

 

Company I work for is family owned, been in business 45 years. We're far from the cheapest but we warranty our repairs for 12 months and are authorized service center for some pretty big names. We even manufacture parts for some of the OEM crane companies now. We've done work for outfits from Alaska down into South America and even 2 cylinders that went somewhere in Africa when they were completed.

 

That doesn't sound like much fun Dave.

 

I have a "Fart Machine" that I use occasionally when I get a spam call. I set it off once on the phone mouthpiece when it was an obvious call from somewhere in India and then hung up. They called me back making noises with
the "real thing". I thought that was damn funny.

 

No nonsense decision happens when the think alike minds comes together

 

At my work, some bidders put in a low bid just so he/she can win the bid, and they come back with the "bid amendment" to get more toward the end of the job.
And the company work for they allowed it.
I might add the company I work for is a public entity.

 

When "cost plus" jobs became the norm for government jobs it opened the door for the private sector to do the same thing.

 

My door handles

 

If you're not sure, this is probably the right place. Before you forget anything else; fill the cooler. Don't sit in Mikes recliner.
And welcome!

 

Well, it was a great day, until lunch. When I told the wife I wanted another "spicy" cheese for the lunch sandwich I make, she found Carolina Ghost Pepper, Harbenero, and Jalapeno. She did not know what Ghost pepper was. It was.....alive! And after three rapid breaks after lunch, I had to take my stomach home!

But, I think I got more parts off the old 2800 than on any single morning ever! Exhaust extension tubes, that I did not want to damage.



These don't exist on any of the other motors, so I tried to get advice. Our chief Ray came back with a hammer and a small chisel, and I wallowed the big breaker tube around inside, back and forth. Tink, tink, and rattle, rattle.




Sucess, and trophies!

 

Aaaaand, it's Annual time for both the Yellow Rose, and That's All....Brother. Which means lots of covers off, and also prep for the left engine swap on the C-47. Today, the propellor came off. We'll see where they are next week when I go again.







(I was asked not to share all the process shots, because, well, people have opinions!) But, we have some great mechanics, I'll tell you that!

 

If your real handles stay on BO forever, you can get these, and a can of MGM spray, and 1K clear coat, and gently change their color!;
For 2005-2015 Toyota Tacoma / 2003-2009 4Runner GLOSS BLACK 4 Door Handle Covers | eBay

 

Hey, RJ. Our Chief was back today, and I got to ask him about your offer. He wasn't positive he knew Tom for sure, but our birds have flown with the Killer B before, so it's a probably, and SURE, go ahead! If it's OK with you, I will gather some shots in a DM to you. And, thanks again for the offer.

 

Good morning fellow Porchatonians!!!