Mike Williamson

As I'm sure most have noticed, we now have banner ads inserted in the threads. One way to get rid of those is to make a once-a-year donation to get the ads removed from your view. Another way is to actually take the time to click on the links. As Beth has pointed out, the ads are geared towards the topic in the thread, so you never know what you might find. If you take a few minutes/day to click through on a few of the ad links, that makes money for the board, doesn't matter if you buy anything or not. The best thing you could do is make a donation AND ask Beth to keep the ads in view so you can still click through on them, but that's just my opinion. Beth and Rod have given all of us a great place to learn, to share, and to socialize with like-minded people all over the world, and it isn't cheap for them. What's a few bucks out of each of our pockets to help them defray the cost, and to say thanks?

The dems are no longer the champions of the middle class....Those days are long gone.

Whoah, Gary, I wasn't trying to upset you...just asking questions....I agree with Jeff, the grey non-marking really works well, though I've also used both the blue and the yellow, and none left marks anywhere.

Gary, the time I'd take to drag a blown hose down to the hydraulic shop and have them cut it up and add and end or two would cost more than the $7.50 I'd spend for a brand new whip hose. What's the joke with non-marking hose? That's all I use, and I never leave marks on anything...I have used standard black hose and left marks all over the place, especially after it sits in degreaser. You seem particularly negative...having more issues? Tim, Gary has an "interesting" view on things.

Stop waiting for the government to step in...if you don't want us to buy cheap crap from China, stop buying cheap crap made in China. Most of us won't go that far, because while we like to complain about how trade agreements are unfair to US workers, we love the cheap price these trade agreements bring us.

Of course global warming is here. There's absolutely NO doubt. Anyone who says otherwise is sticking their head in the sand and/or spouting rhetoric they've heard elsewhere, and really not thinking about the issue. Anyone who looks at the data objectively can see the earth is in a warming trend. The question that SHOULD be asked is, WHY are we experiencing global warming? Is it just part of the natural cycles of the earth, or is it a man-caused phenomenon. Undoubtedly both, but how much is man caused? Some think very little, some think most of it. Personally, I believe it is very little.

I don't know why some of you get so annoyed and angry at customer requests. All you gotta say is no...What's so annoying about that?

LOL! Most of the "rich" Jon was referring to, the top 1%, are working folks...they just make a heck of a lot more than you and I, because they developed talents and abilities and had drive that apparently you and I didn't bother to develop. You think Bush is to blame because you're not making $85G's? LOL Whine whine whine. You want to be a business owner, be a business owner. You want to be an employee, go find a job. Yeah, It's Bush's fault you lost your job...Right. It's been a pretty damned good 7 years for me....maybe you just need to develop a different skill set and stop whining about it.

Nope, keep a roll in the trailer.

Save the money on the camper's toilet. 5 gallon bucket works fine, and is easier to dump. If you've gotta do #2, just fill it with water first. I discovered the first time why toilets have water in them...

You insulted me? Don't remember that, though maybe you were using a different name then? I WAS a strong Xjet proponent, until I learned better. I honestly don't even know if I still have one.

I've got a 2005 Dodge 2500 Quad Cab with 54k on it that I'll sell you for $20k today. You don't have to spend anywhere NEAR $25k to get a decent 4 year old 3/4 ton truck. Heck, you can buy a NEW one without all the bells and whistles for about that. I agree with Ken, and I don't have truck envy. I have the truck I want, but I'm going to be selling it. Why? Because I can't stand writing that $600.00/month truck payment, and the mileage sucks. $1000.00/month in payments and fuel. Can I afford it? Yes. Do I want to? Nope... The truck I had before this one I could have purchased for about $2k (it was given to me)..1988 Chevy 3/4 ton. Pulled my trailer great, with loaded tanks. Wish I still had it. Why the changes? Just realizing my money is better spent elsewhere. Real Debt Help - Get out of debt with Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover Plan.

wrong wrong wrong wrong. Leasing is not a good choice for anyone....You get just as much writeoff from purchasing. Leasing is a scam. This is an all-too often misconception.

So sell the F150 and buy a 1990 F250 that can tow the trailer.... If it were me, that 25k wouldn't be going to buy a truck...maybe 5k of it.

OMG...I really thought you were smarter than that.

No, it IS the Koran...There's nothing left to interpretation when it says that if the infidel or Christian refuse to convert, put them to the sword.

That's the story, anyway! :)

Bill Gates didn't "reinvent the wheel". He invented the wheel. He's reinvented it many times since, and there are those who have tried to reinvent his wheel, but none who have been very successful at it.

Yes, the audio is way better, but part of that is that it is that the first sound like you recorded it in your office with a camcorder and the 2nd sounds like it was done in a studio by a professional speaker.

I'm certainly no expert on the pros and cons of leasing. What I can tell you is that the ONLY people I have ever heard push leases as a good idea are those who benefit from them...the profit margin for a dealership (as you may well know) is MUCH higher on a lease vehicle than it is on a purchased vehicle. I never hear a personal finance expert suggest leasing as a good idea for most folks What the manager should have told them, if he'd had their best interests at heart rather than his commission check was that if they were truly wise and frugal with their money, they should go find a nice USED Expedition and let the poor sap who bought it new take the "drive off the lot" depreciation. Unless you can afford to take a hit like that (what is it, 10-15% depreciation as soon as you drive off the lot) then buying new isn't a wise choice. I bought my truck new, and would not do it again if I had it to do over. I'm the poor sap who took the $3-5k hit.

Depends...for most of us smaller guys without several hundred grand in vehicles and equipment, we can fully depreciate (over several years) both vehicles and equipment. In addition, the interest paid on loans for such equipment is a deductible expense. For Section 179 Deductions, the cap for deductions in 2005 was $105,000.00. Using a 5 year schedule, that would mean I'd need over $500k in depreciable Section 179 items to reach that limit. Either way, it is irrelevant for me, since the mileage deduction is more than I'd have gotten by deducting my vehicles' depreciation.

Lease payments are also a lousy thing for just about anyone to get into...Not to mention the many rules and records one must keep to satisfy the IRS. Purchasing a truck is also a write-off for businesses, though for many of us, claiming mileage rather than depreciation gives us a higher deduction.

LOL! You missed it. There are people who ARE DIY people, and there are people who AREN'T DIY people. Most of my customers also know how to mow their own lawns, and most even have a mower and a trimmer and an edger and a blower. But they hire a lawn crew to do it for them, because they don't want to, don't have time, etc. Many of them also have a pressure washer, but they still call me. That's because they tried it once, and it didn't work out as well for them. Most people aren't going to say "Hey, I WAS going to hire a guy to clean my roof, but what the hey, I think I'll spend ALL DAY spraying chlorine through a pump up sprayer onto the roof that I'm already a bit nervous about getting up on. The hard core DIY guy will figure it out one way or the other. Most will do it whether they find the "right" way or whether they simply pressurewash the crap out of their roofs. They aren't going to hire you just because you do it the Apple way. PW chat boards are certainly not the only place this info is available...not by a long shot.

Yep! I'm a DIY'er...If I want to do something and not pay a contractor, I'll figure out how to do it myself...whether there's a forum or not. I only hire people to do things I either don't want to do, or things I feel I can't do safely myself. For example, I paid a company $1300.00 to take down a couple large, dying water oaks near the house...I wouldn't have tried to do that myself. However, I would never hire a plumber to come fix my plumbing, or an electrician to come re-wire my house. That stuff I know how to do and am not going to pay someone else a pile of money to do it. It doesn't matter if you share your secrets or not, I'm still not hiring you. People like me typically won't hire you period. It's the customers who aren't DIY'ers who you are looking for, and there are plenty of them out there...people who make good money, and who don't have the time, aptitude, or desire to do it themselves.

I like the same ones...I have two and they work great. Easy to turn, not too heavy, but rugged. Mine has lasted well over a year, and I got them from Bob. Paul has the same valve on the page he posted.