Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
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"Here's the start of the second 2017 thread for the Diner.
"
I'll drink to that.
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So I checked out the 2016.5 Mazda CX-5. It is generally a very well-made vehicle. It had the quietest engine noise of all the crossovers I had looked at. The suspension was a killer though. It was so bouncy that I was getting a headache. That and it is more expensive than any of the other cars I have looked at. Tomorrow will check out Nissan and Kia crossovers/SUVs. The Kia Soul looks interesting.
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smauggie,
I would recommend a 1937 Studebaker Coupe Express. Built on the Studebaker car chassis, it rides very, very nicely. They saw a lot of sales in California to the strawberry farmers who used them to get the berries to market without bruising. I mean, come on, what a classy ride with that side mount! You would look good in this!
Don
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Antonio, some of those you mentioned could run 30 thousand..have you condidered looking for one 2 years old with a warranty. I know people that have saved almost half the cost on vehicles that came fully loaded with goodies.
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Here's a link to a recent Consumer Reports article regarding the 20 used cars to avoid buying:
http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2013/02/top-20-used-cars-to-avoid-consumer-reports.html
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I am looking for something in the $20-22k range. Some of them can get expensive with all the options but I don't need all the bells and whistles. In Minnesota if you choose leather seats then you are going to need seat heaters. Cloth seats however are comfortable at all temperatures.
What I do need is the higher seating to make it easier to get in and out of the car.
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My wife and I went to a concert at the Gillioz Theater in Springfield this past weekend. A group out of St. Louis called El Monstero played. They're a Pink Floyd tribute band.
Now I've seen a few cover bands at different venues over the years and most do a pretty fair job. But I gotta tell ya, this group of musician did an amazing job of covering what has to be one of the more difficult classic rock bands to cover. They covered about 2/3 of "The Wall" & "Dark Side of the Moon" albums, as well as several other hits. They played for 4 hours with a 15 minute intermission in between!! Lights, lasers, big screens, the whole works. They had a trio of female backup singers that gave you goosebumps when they joined in and the male vocalist(s) were spot on. They closed the show with a version of "Comfortably Numb" that could make you believe it was straight off the album. Even though they lacked the aura of seeing the real deal, I was seriously impressed and glad my wife spent those 3 hours talking me into going. I honestly wasn't expecting much.
I don't know how far they travel, or what their schedule is, but if you get a chance and you like Pink Floyd, go see 'em. They put on a great show!
WB
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"Here's a link to a recent Consumer Reports article regarding the 20 used cars to avoid buying:"
That article is from 2013. First, I have problems with any website that is so chock full of ads that it doesn't function (Adblocker Plus blocked 27 ads per page). I had a hard time getting it to go page to page. I waited more than a minute to go to page 2 and 3, then I gave up. Plus, I have a hard time with Consumer Reports. I have a PT Cruiser and have had 3 Dodge Caravans, the most popular mini-van. They found major fault with both of them. I've had good experience with all of mine.
I haven't bought a brand new car since 1996, and even then I bought left overs at steep discounts. Since then I've purchased low mile, clean cars for cash. The last one from a senior's estate.. just like buying stamp collections.
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Crud. I copied the wrong link. There's a new one that came out a couple of days ago. I'll see if I can find it.
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All right. Here is the link to the new report from February 5, 2017.
http://www.cheatsheet.com/automobiles/used-cars-consumer-reports-gave-the-never-buy-label.html/?a=viewall
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Again, Consumer's Union's usually biased reviews, hating anything American. For them to have Tesla on that list is beyond belief! We have three Teslas in the family without a problem. My daughter bought the Fiat 500 new in 2012 and that car has never been back to the dealer. She has 88,000 trouble free miles on the car now.
CU pans to people who know nothing about cars and are deathly afraid of cars. My wife's brother is one of them. He had a Dodge Caravan with 80,000 miles on it and when I was at his house we jumped into it to drive to the liquor store. I immediately recognized a loud noise coming from the left front as a wheel bearing gone bad. I told him and he dismissed it, "It's been making that noise forever." Well about six months later that bearing let loose on the Turnpike at 70 mph. To this day he'll tell you how bad Dodge Caravans are and how one tried to kill him. Those are the people who fill out their surveys!
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I somewhat disagree with your comment that CU dislikes anything American. I often disagree with them on their ratings but it is because I disagree on what they think is important. The tend to favor reliability (based upon user feedback), safety, and economy. Since you are in the car, decent ride, quiet, good AC/heat, handles decently, good radio, etc. are more important to me. This is not often reflect in their scoring method to rate cars. It could have 300 airbags, stop on a dime, have ESC, etc but these are features you use very often but these drive ratings.
For we have a 2001 Chrysler Sebring. It has awful reviews and reliability ratings. It is on the avoid list. It is a decent car and has been reasonably good to us. It is fast, ok ride/noise, great radio, etc so fun to drive.
The other aspect is that most cars today are superior in most ways to the cars 10 years ago so the bar is rising but yet we continue to rate them often by comparison. That is, a not that great car today is still often better than many 10 years ago.
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Ok, I have tested every crossover I fit in. The Mitsubishi Outlander Sport still is at the top of my list. Time to test drive it one more time to confirm my choice.
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Check this out
2015 Model less than 8K miles for a fraction of the cost.
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One day I was listening t a "Car-Pro" show on the radio. They were discussing buying used cars. A listener called in and said that he had a steadfast rule that he only buys used cars that had one owner. The show's host asked why, to which the caller responded, that he didn't want to take the chance on multiple owner cars as those cars could have been driven hard and could be a problem. The host commented that a single owner could tear up a car just as bad as multiple owners can.
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Antonio, maybe you could find that little old lady from Pasedena and buy her Dodge, or even get yourself a nice Deuce Coupe, ex Beach boys, of course. Just stay clear of the Johnny Cash vehicle.
Problem with surveys, for vehicles or other items, is that you are given the answers to choose from and not allowed to actually state your personal likes or dislikes. Therefore you can be manipulated into giving the replies the survey sponsors want.
Must admit have never been in the position of being able to buy a new car but not sure I would unless the dealers would give a guarantee to fix every problem, free of charge for the first 5 years. Yes, living in La La land again.
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Mitsubishi and some other car makers have a 5-year bumper to bumper warranty and a 100k miles powertrain warranty. Mitsubishi also offers free yearly oil changes and 5 years of roadside assistance. I am looking at a discounted 2016 year model which is still new and will get the full warranty. It is also cheaper than a 2017 model of course.
My neighbors growing up had a 1955 and a 1957 Ford Thunderbird and a Model A. Never got up close and personal with a Studebaker. There is an old rusting Packard back at the family farm that my uncle used to store dynamite. One winter my grandmother took the dynamite out and left it on top of a frozen pond. I suspect it is rather inert at this point.
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"unless the dealers would give a guarantee to fix every problem"
My girlfriend, Heather, from "Car Warranty Services" will do that for you... Must be a girlfriend. She calls me more than my wife does. (Of course I am being sarcastic, and DO NOT buy anything from Heather. She's a thief.)
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The city where I live, Round Rock, and Baylor University (Waco, TX) are tied together from a tragedy that happened 90 years ago. Here is a news report from two WACO TV news stations that shows what both Baylor and Round Rock have done to memorialize the tragic event:
The Immortal Ten 1
The Immortal Ten 2
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A bit of a white out here in New York City, as the first major snow storm of the winter moves through. The wind has the snow coming down sideways and I cannot see more than a few feet out of my window. I only live ten minutes from my office, via subway, so I made it in okay.
I like the city when it snows. It's quitter as the snow seems to absorb the sounds of the cars and buses. And, it looks nice with a fresh coat of new fallen snow covering everything.
Tomorrow the slush!
David
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I don't think i am stepping out the door today, tomnorow is for cleanup. S
igh, if i had 250 dollars when i was 16 the old fellow with the gas pumps down on route 9 had a 1940 Mercury coupe or a model A truck in storage that he would have sold me . Of course at the time i would have taken the coupe. Its all timing folks, just like in stamps.
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Geeze....all this snow..what could I do to keep myself occupied ? Any suggestions
Hey Phil....I'll shovel your walk for 50 bucks
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that must be one LOOOOOOONNNNGGG walkway.
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mine's a quarter mile and if i'd known honorable mention was available for $50, I'd have saved the $100 I just spent and found some way to make use of the leftover funds.... as Phil says, it's all in the timing
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shovel snow for a 1/4 mile? Geez... that would have to take at least all weekend. Don't do it David.
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I know you guys are about to get hit hard up there.
These pictures were taken in Oswego county NY where I used to live. Its one of the snowiest places in North America. Kinda miss it really. When it would snow like that you'd just hunker down for a day or two.
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I mowed my lawn yesterday 
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OK phil and David...AKA Amsd get those fifty's out..i'll be up there in no time...with my brand new snow blower..
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the news media's "Storm of the Century" has come and gone here in Pennsylvania. People did the milk and bread thing, the news predicted 10-12 inches and implored everyone to burrow deep. Immediately, while it was still 50 degrees out, schools and companies announced closings etc.
My company sent their closing email at 5am. That stunk because I was running a two day class Wednesday and Thursday and had six people from other locations in a local hotel, so they got to sit around and spend another day in NJ. We will do day two of the training tomorrow. Which means I have to go to New Jersey. Did I mention that the bridge from NJ to PA I usually take is closed due to structural problems? So it will be a 2 hr ride each way. Fun.
And we wound up with about 2 inches of snow. Not enough to even drag out the snow blower. In fact, I didn't even shovel. The snow was already melted off the driveway and sidewalk when I went out at 2pm today. Some storm.
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I don't know why its always milk and bread, i suppose they can use it if the power goes out and they can not cook. And they always seem to need salt,shovels,generators, snowblowers. I have been living in this house since 1967,,when winters could be really brutal..i hate it when i go to buy my tea and oatmeal and there is someone in front of me with 300 dollars worth of groceries in their cart. We heard that Pennsylvania beat the bullet ! Last year New York City got their huge storm and we 90 miles away got nothing !
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If there was a cure, I'd certainly have more money in my pocket. No I wouldn't. It would be spent on more trains!
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Got my car loan approved (no surprise there). What was a surprise was the interest rate, 1.49%.
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Good luck smauggie, interest rates are a far cry from the 1980s.i remember when kids got hired at the Kingston IBM plant..they first thing they did was buy a new car...at 15 percent interest..they were paying for the car twice..but thats the way things were. I remember when i purchased my truck in 2012 my son in law threw some coins in it for luck. I throw you some virtual coins.
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Yes, I do recall that. My grandparents put $1000 in a 7-year CD for me back in the 1980's. It was paying 20%.
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In the early 80s there was also massive inflation, so the end effect (savings interest minus inflation) was not that different than in later years when the interest was much lower.
We have just bought a new house, the interest on the mortgage is 1.8%. Four years ago, when we got the mortgage for our current house, it was 4.1% so the new mortgage is going to be cheaper for us. Then again, the savings interest is now close to 0, so it is always strongly connected.
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I'm a little behind on the discussions, but we're also deep into the car market - in the process of trading in our 2010 Subaru Forester for ... another Subaru, this time a 2017 Outback. If you saw the weather in New Brunswick today, you'd know why we like to have an all wheel drive car. (Currently -12, -20 with windchill and we just had 20cm of snow last night that is blowing all over the place today!)
Eric
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Eric,
I am thinking about a Forester. But, I see you're thinking about switching to an Outback. How did the Forester treat you? Why are you switching models?
David
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Smauggie...may I suggest the new Lamborghini... Nice smooth ride..I was able to pick it up with all the money I made shoveling Phils driveway and Amsd's driveway
..
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A new movie coming soon...
The Postmaster Always Cancels Twice
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People were talking about the film "Manchester By The Sea" and i thought it would be worthwhile...it started off slow and i thought "whats this all about?" but then you find out what its all about...its really been on my mind since i saw it.
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Today I am officially on Social Security. Now that feels weird, but I live near Austin, and that's weird.
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Bob, thanks for thinking of me, but it is too small for me. Also the gas mileage is horrible.
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David, I have owned nothing but Outbacks and Legacies for the last 20 years. Lovely both. I've ridden in but never driven nor owned a Forrester, but my long trip in one was great, and its owner loves hers. Forresters have the added height, which means fewer other trucks blind you (and you get to blind us Outbackers). There is less room in a forester, despite the appearance otherwise, but I seem to remember the front cabin feeling roomier.
David
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"Today I am officially on Social Security."
Congratulations Michael##s I'm sort of looking forward to that next year. I'm old enough now, but holding off because of the Medicare stipulations. My current insurance is just too good. Besides, the Wife isn't old enough for Medicare yet. She will be in a couple of months so I figure I'll hold off till Jan 1 next year and get us both signed up.
Won't start the Social Security payments till the end of January so I can get that extra year in the count. I heard it pays about 8% higher each year you wait after 66.
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I don't know how you guys stand it! I plan on retiring the very day they tell me I'm eligible. I figure every year past that, is one less year I get to live free. I don't think they could pay me enough to work one single day more then I absolutely have to! I'd rather make less and have fun longer. But then, I've been working since I was 10 and haven't been without a job since. Sometimes even 2 and 3 jobs at a time.
No sir, not one day longer then I have to!!
WB
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I'm 57 but due to End Stage Renal Failure, I became eligible for both Disability and Medicare but was advised to hold on to my insurance. So I signed up for Disability but held off on switching to Medicare. Big mistake. This year my insurance was jacked up to a bit over $35,000 per year (just me, not including my wife), so I was basically forced to move to Medicare**.
But when I moved to Medicare starting Jan 1 they told me that I should have also picked up the Medicare when I became eligible for Disability. Now they want to back-charge me for 10 months of Medicare even thought my insurance paid all the bills during the previous year. I went back to the insurance specialist who advised me to hold on the insurance and was only then told it ‘depends on how they interpret’ their policy. Apparently each local Social Security office ‘interprets’ the Medicare laws slightly differently. LOL It took me countless hours to straighten this all out. Lesson learned, drop your insurance and pick up both at Disability and Medicare at same time!
Don
**Obamacare in North Carolina is horrible. It started ok a few years ago but as many predicted the bottom fell out. Not only have the rates and deductibles exponentially risen but every provider has dropped out except one; we now have zero competitive options to choose from. The most ‘reasonable’ plan for me was $2200 per month with a $6000 deductible. Since I am on dialysis and it runs close to $3500 per week it is a given that I am going to pay the deductible; so that’s $35k per year.
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WB, that is my philosophy too.
I retired a few months after I became eligible to, but I have taken my Social Security on the first day. Of course I won't get my first check until April.
Phil, I'll be paying 20% income tax on my Social Security.
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Smauggie - did you get your car yet?
Hope all you folks in northeast USA are holding up ok. You are getting all our snow this winter. The news reports say there is more headed your way. Stay safe
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David
2017 Forester is also nice, but I found the redesign seems to be a little more geared to off-road enthusiasts. The one we tried out didn't seem to drive as smoothly, or be as comfortable as our old 2010 model. So, we went back to Outback (we had previously owned a 1998 that lasted us 12 years...). Our first trip on the weekend (about 500 km) was a success - we really liked the car. They've done a great job of insulating/reducing road noise in both the Outback and Forester from earlier models, and also have a great entertainment system in the new model.
Eric
p.s. Just for the record, our alternate choice was a 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport, but Hyundai didn't seem inclined to bargain much - so we went back to Subaru who definitely gave us a good deal...
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David
Forgot to answer your question. We really liked our 2010 Forester, managed to put 184,000 kms on it in 7 1/2 years without any major problems.
Eric
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Thanks Eric and David.
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Well I wrote the big check and signed the bigger promissory note and bought the car.
2017 Mistsubishi Outlander Sport. It will take a few weeks to sink in.
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Congratulations Smauggie! Happy Driving. 
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We have 4 vehicles and all are around 105K to 110K miles. I do not like car payments. One is an extra but given the mileage it would not sell for much so decided to keep it at another location.
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I had never really eaten Thai food until last night. I guess I just thought it was "glorified Chinese food". Boy, was I wrong.
My wife and I, on a whim, stopped in for dinner at the Thai Cafe in Orange Park. I was confused with the menu and told the lady that I liked beef and I liked spicy so maybe she could suggest something. We had Beef Basil, Beef fried rice and Thai spicy dumplings.
It was phenomenal and like nothing I'd ever eaten before. Flavor and consistency totally different from chinese food.
Family-owned, the people couldn't have been more gracious. We've got a new place on our short list.
I love it when something far EXCEEDS expectations.
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I love Thai and Indian food. Tom Yum soup is a favorite. I spent a lot of time in Singapore and got to enjoy it along with Singapore variations; Pepper Crab, etc. Although I like and can eat very spicy food I recognize the goal is to enjoy the food and not being able to endure it like some chili fanatics do.
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Thank you Sally.
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I agree Angore, spicy is good but like ever thing else it can go too far. The lady laughed and asked us if we wanted "thai spicy" or "American spicy" we opted for American and it was perfect.
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Sure has gotten quiet in here. Guess I'd better get things going again.
Muffler on the car was hanging kind of low yesterday. Dropped by my favorite shop this morning and the weld on the muffler hanger had broken. A welding torch and 15 minutes on the lift and good to go. Oh Yea. $30 fee also. Dang sight cheaper than having the whole thing break and fall off though.
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Tuesday evening I did a presentation on "The One Cent Benjamin Franklin Green of the Series of 1902" for the Greater Philadelphia Stamp & Collectors Club's February meeting.
It was fun to put together the PowerPoint, as it made me organize the hoard and I found a few gaps in the collection that I now want to fill. 70 slides and I didn't even get into the private perforations!
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You should create PDF and share with your virtual stamp club members!! If someone added some audio, you would have a nice education video.
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Angore,
Great idea.
Tom,
If you want to send me the PowerPoint file I can turn it into a video for you. I would also need (if it is not already embedded in the PowerPoint) your talking points for each slide. I would post it on YouTube for all and of course credit your work.
Don
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Thanks! I'd love to do it as a video. There are some tweaks I want to do to it from the initial debut. I think I'd like to present it at another local club meeting to vet it out a bit further and make sure there aren't any errors in it. The current 60 slides took me about an hour to present.
There will also be two follow up presentations.
1. Private Perforations on Scott 314
2. Cancellations and usage on the issue overall
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Good stuff Tom !
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"...The current 60 slides took me about an hour to present..."
Tom,
One minute per slide, you burned through them pretty quickly!
A 60 minute video is unusually long, we might want consider breaking this up into a 'Part 1' and 'Part 2' videos.
If you want to send me what you have now I can take a look at it, get a preliminary draft developed for you to review. This will ensure that we are headed in the right direction.
Don
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Tom,
How about the Collectors' Club in New York? They're always looking for speakers. The Club is booking 2018 presenters now. If you're interested, I can get you more information.
David
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I had scanned some slides with the associated audio over 10 years ago - bootable CD self-running. There are multiple formats to do it as but guess mp4 is the best now for youtube
There is so much that could be captured.
Don, can you share your process (authoring tool, etc). We can actively look for some and willing to help create them. This could include exhibits or even topics like "Steiner pages of Turkey!".
Al
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Hi Al,
Certainly…
The easiest way to convert a PowerPoint, or any on screen ‘thing’ would be to use a screen capture video making app like Debut from NCH Software. It is not too costly and can be learned in a few hours. It does take a decent computer to run if you are trying to capture significant amounts of screen size. It also handles sound/recordings if desired.
But I only do the screen captures with Debut and avoid having to manage the screen AND do the voice over at the same time. Instead, I use a secondary process with additional apps to work with the video and voice tracks. In this case I would use Sony Vegas to overlay the voice tracks and/or any music. I would also add any additional images or graphics with Vegas. Once done, reviewed and approved I would push the video up to YouTube.
Sony Vegas Professional is pretty expensive but I think they also have a more reasonable version. Again, you need a pretty decent computer to run an app like this. You also need a bit of experience and understanding of video codecs. If you do not, you will end up spending a bit more time generating videos that end up not looking good. (Since rendering a video can take up to 20-30 minutes, the trial and error method can suck up some time.)
Using the above process, I would estimate that Tom’s ‘PowerPoint to video’ would take me about 2 hours to do. Here is a video made using the above process
https://youtu.be/qge5oAI7JOs
(Sorry mods, I could not get the video embedded for some reason.)
Don
#APS #094826
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Thanks. BTW. It looks the Sony software has been sold to MAGIX.
Sony Creative Software is pleased to announce that MAGIX has purchased the majority of SCS software products. All video software acquired by MAGIX is now available at VEGAS Creative Software and all audio software at MAGIX Audio.
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Good morning, all!
Well it looks like we're about to have our first tornado watch/warning since July of 2015. Very warm and humid this morning and a fairly strong front headed our way. I'm a member of a local storm watch/early warning group and we'll be perched on high ground if anything starts to shape up. My vantage point has a 180 degree view that covers due south to due north for about 20-30 miles within that scope. If we spot anything, we use cell phones or cb radios to contact the local volunteer fire dept. They in turn set off the siren and contact NOAA with an exact location. Fortunately it's a system that has had been tested more in theory, then in actual events. However, the outbreak that led to the Joplin tornado was one exception.
WB
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Stay safe.
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Oh absolutely! My days of storm "chasing" are over, I'm just an observer now. Spot-n-duck is my motto these days.
WB
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"My days of storm "chasing" are over"
Storm chasing was high on my bucket list. I had even looked into taking one of the Storm Chase Trips I've seen advertised. Unfortunately, after developing COPD and ending up with only 25% Lung capacity, that was nipped in the bud. Guess I'll just have to settle for watching storm chasers on weather channel.
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I hung out with a group of chasers when we lived in Wichita back in the early 80's to early 90's. 1991 was when the F5 went through McConnell AFB and went on to wipe out most of the town of Andover, KS. (April 26th if I remember right) At the time we were living just 2 miles west of the AFB. Tensions were a bit high that day.
I'm a lot older and at least a little wiser these days. I figure if it ain't comin' to me, I sure as hell ain't goin' to it!
WB
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We all have read news stories about mail carriers stealing mail, trashing mail instead of delivering it, etc. and I thought I had read it all until I saw the following article posted on an internet web site today. A WORD OF CAUTION, THE STORY IS A BIT WEIRD TO SAY THE LEAST. I did run it by one of the mods and they suggested that this would be a good topic to post it under.
http://nypost.com/2017/02/28/mailman-busted-having-spontaneous-sexual-relations-with-mailbox/
Mike / meostamps
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Well I've heard of reproduction stamps but that's really pushing the envelope.
Nice one Mike. 
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Funny, I read that an F5 wiped out a town near an AFB. I always liked the F5. There's even a few squadrons still flying. But that's not what we were talking about, now, was it.
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Phone call I just had at work (at the police auto pound), from a customer looking for their car:
Me: Your car was not towed by the police. It was repoed; you'll have to contact your lien holder.
Customer: Who's that?
Me: It's whoever you make your payments to.
Customer: We haven't made any payments.
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You can't make this stuff up! Perfect! 
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Some folks!
There's a guy in our model car club that we could write a Seinfeld type comedy around his life.
A group of us went to the big model car show in Ohio (a 10 hour ride) and stayed over two nights. Our hero spend over $1000 on model truck kits. He returns home to find his car repossessed from his driveway. When I asked him how he could possibly spend $1000 on hobby goods knowing his car was in jeopardy, he responded, "He thought he had another month." And continued to bad mouth the finance company because the last time he had a car repossessed, they let him ride for 4 months instead of 3. Wouldn't ya know, he shows up at our next meeting in a brand new Hyundai. Someone financed him once again!
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2017 Marks the 40th anniversary of the launching of the space probes Voyager 1 and Voyager 2. They are still fully functional and streaking their way through the Milky Way Galaxy to whatever awaits them.
PC Magazine posted an article about the probes, and the man who still oversees the Voyager project:
http://www.pcmag.com/news/351829/40-years-of-voyager-a-q-a-with-dr-ed-stone-at-nasa-jpl
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I must be old, can still remember the excitement when the 1957 Sputnik was launched, seem to recall cutting newspaper clippings (now long gone).
How come we do not have vehicles using RTG's, never ever have to buy any fuel and much more environment friendly, possibly.
Interesting article, thanks for the link.
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Spring has sprung in the Ozarks!!
Daylight savings starts next week and it's time to go fishin'!!!!!! 
WB
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Sneaky, twicky wabbits! They are inside my head I tell ya! :-)
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My backyard right now.. we got a little bit of snow this morning. And now it's all finished. Since it was near 70 degrees yesterday, nothing stuck to paved surfaces.
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Pretty.
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I love black and white photography. Nice pic, Mr. Franklin.
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"I must be old, can still remember the excitement when the 1957 Sputnik was launched"
I remember as well, I was 7. And, if memory serves, there was a new candy in 1958 called "Sputnik" which was essentially a blue ball of bubblegum with white sugar sparkles. I invested heavily into that candy. Gas was something like 26 cents a gallon, but I was too young to drive.
Wine
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I'm a little surprised by yall's responses regarding sputnik. It was way before my time but from everything I've read I always had the impression that during the cold war people generally viewed the sputnik launch with a feeling of dread if not fear. "Oh no! The Reds are gonna wipe us out!"
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" "Oh no! The Reds are gonna wipe us out!""
I was two years old when Sputnik launched. I think my parents would have been more than happy if the "Reds" would have helped wipe me!
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I had nothing to do with Sputnik. I didn't appear until 1958
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Ernie, I think it was the idea that suddenly space flight became that little bit closer. The SciFi books were coming true.
It probably did have ramifications for the cold war but being 11 at the time nothing of that was anywhere near my brain, especially being in England.
Here is a link to the Wikipedia article for further detail.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sputnik_1
PS (edit) there is a stamp on the wiki page.
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For the past couple of weeks, we have had some great days with temps up into the 70's here in NC. And today we have about an inch or 2 of snow on the ground with big flakes still falling. At least the roads are warm and the snow is melting as soon as it hits.
Welcome to spring time in the Carolinas!!!!
Mike / meostamps
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Mike,
We got a bit more up here in the mountains of Western NC (5" Hendersonville).. and lets not forget the March blizzard of 1993 when we got 20" with 50mph winds! And then the time the Concorde flew into Asheville in April only to be grounded by a heavy snowfall.
Don
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and just when we thought we got through this winter without firing up the snow blower ....
"WINTER STORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM MONDAY EVENING THROUGH TUESDAY EVENING... * LOCATIONS... EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA, ALL BUT FAR SOUTHEASTERN NEW JERSEY, NORTHERN DELAWARE, AND THE NORTHERN PORTIONS OF THE EASTERN SHORE OF MARYLAND. * HAZARD TYPES... HEAVY SNOW AND STRONG WINDS. * ACCUMULATIONS... SNOW ACCUMULATION OF 6 TO 12 INCHES. * TIMING... SNOW BEGINS MONDAY EVENING FROM SOUTHWEST TO NORTHEAST ACROSS THE WATCH AREA. SNOW WILL CONTINUE TUESDAY INTO TUESDAY EVENING... THOUGH SOME LOCATIONS MAY SEE A BRIEF BREAK IN THE SNOW TUESDAY AFTERNOON. * IMPACTS... THE HEAVY SNOW WILL MAKE MANY ROADS IMPASSABLE AND MAY PRODUCE WIDESPREAD POWER OUTAGES DUE TO THE WEIGHT OF THE SNOW ON TREE LIMBS AND POWER LINES. STRONG WINDS WILL LEAD TO BLOWING SNOW, REDUCED VISIBILITY, AND ADDITIONAL POWER OUTAGES. * WINDS... NORTHEAST 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH. STRONGEST GUSTS ARE EXPECTED ALONG THE COAST. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... A WINTER STORM WATCH MEANS THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT SNOW... SLEET... OR ICE ACCUMULATIONS THAT MAY IMPACT TRAVEL. "
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Tom, think you are getting what we had last week, If anyone wants some snow we seem to be overstocked at present.
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Wow Vic, That looks like a lot. 2 feet? I miss snow.
Ernie
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Drifts are 6 feet or more in places. We had a blizzard for 36 hours and the snow just piled up and froze hard.
Had a fight to get the snowblower through to clear the drive even to get the cars out. Next week promises to be a bit warmer at plus 2-4 degrees C.
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"I miss snow."
NOT ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lousy weekend here. Cold and rainy. I'll bet that a good number of the thousands of tourists here for the South-X-Southwest Festival must be freezing their butts off if they didn't pack well thinking that Texas is always sunny and hot! NOT!
This is two weeks of the year when Austin turns into a city of no one but tourists. The locals leave town and those who live on the outskirts don't go into town while that mess is going on.
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Ok so due to my ignorance, I just had to find out what SXSW was and reading the BBC news found an article regarding the popes envoy for technology was at the conference.
The initials stand for South BY south west and it is a technology conference.
So nows I know and am a bit more educated, not that it will linger too long in my brain cell.
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"Lousy weekend here. Cold and rainy."
I'll take cold and rainy versus what we have coming!
Winter Storm Stella is supposed to give quite a wallop to the Eastern Seaboard. The news keeps breaking into the tv shows with new reports... Philly Airport is already closed, the city has declared a snow emergency. I got an email from my town that we can hold onto our trash this week. And every time the news figures we are used to the latest snow numbers, they up them just to get a rise! Current numbers are 18-24" expected. And when I look outside, it's sunny and dry.
I'm not worried, I'm working from home this week anyway. My bosses left for Puerto Rico this morning. My daughter is visiting her cousin in Texas and will come home today, two days early.
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It's alot more than a technology conference. That is only one aspect of it. It is a major live music convention, many independent movies open and/or are previewed here, art shows, technology, big shots from all over the world converge here to network, and there is plenty of food, booze, hookers, strippers and crime too. Ten days of shut down streets, waiting in lines for hours to get in to see events and other chaos.
Here's the official site to let you know probably more than you ever wanted to know about the event:
https://www.sxsw.com/
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"food, booze, hookers, strippers"
Darn it! Missed out again. Oh well always got the sheep. Thanks for the clarification on the event.
Stay warm and safe on that Eastern seaboard everyone.
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" Ten days of shut down streets, waiting in lines for hours to get in to see events and other chaos."
Sounds like life at the Jersey Shore!
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Here's a good chuckle. I listed up a bunch of FDCs on the auction here. I was getting frustrated because I'd look for auctions I had listed within the last hour and couldn't find them. So I'd do the listing over and make sure it was there. Then the same one went missing again! I thought the software was playing with me for sure...
Then I discovered I couldn't find them because people were buying them! I wound up selling one cover twice, glad I had a few of that one!
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Tom, Vinman, Phil, David and all other Northeastern members please be safe in the storm.
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Hey David AMSD and that Bruno character... My price to shovel your drives tomorrow will be a thousand bucks each...I have the snow blower all oiled up and ready to go... Salt will be 50 bucks extra
Bob ( need money for stamps ) GGGG
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thanks Ernie.. Wife picked up groceries on her way home from work. (Does anyone have that recipe for milk, bread and eggs?) We filled up the big Buick and bought beer tonight. My wife got the text that her work is closed tomorrow. I'm working from home this week. I have the power station plugged in and charging. I put away the few odd things in the yard and driveway, put the cars into snow formation. Snow blower is poised for action right inside the garage door. Once it starts snowing we'll turn on the gas fireplace in case we lose power (it has an electric pilotless start). So we are ready to hunker down and um, sort covers!
And hopefully it will be nothing. It's really too warm for snow to pile up.
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An update - It snowed much of the night so we have maybe 6 inches out there. My prediction came true, so it's raining like crazy out there, on top of the snow. So now we have the danger of this all icing up. The temperature trends are upward so here's hoping it all just melts.
Still, companies are all closed. Governments asked that everyone stay off the roads. My wife just made us nice egg sandwiches, so we are cozy in for the day! Maybe I'll make some album pages.
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For those not familiar with what to do and not do when visiting Austin, Texas, here's something that hit the news from South X Southwest (no, this is not about the stabbing last Tuesday night) about what never to do.
Russians in Austin
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Happy Saint Patrick's Day... Since I cant have Cabbage..it will be corned beef sandwich and playing with stamps 
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I was bitten by a dog once and the dog's owner was the doctor on call at the ER. Got rabies shots too. That is a scary disease.
Happy Saint Patrick's Day everyone.
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Until I read the article, I didn't know that when someone starts to exhibit the symptoms of rabies, it's too late...
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We went out for Chinese last weekend and this was my fortune...according to a cookie.
WB 
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Took some time off from stamping at the end of last week. Had 2 local guys come over and remove our old back deck and build a new one, appox 11 x 22, with a 2 section ramp instead of stairs. Daughter came over yesterday and took some pics while we were out enjoying a 85 degree day.
Mike in NC / meostamps
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Great patio deck Mike!
Hope you and your family enjoy some great weather and conversations out there.
WB, One of the games that my wife and I like to play is to add the words "in bed" to the end of our chinese cookie fortunes. Puts a whole new spin on things! I guess I just do it automatically now but when I got done reading yours I was all, "HEY! Wait a sec!".....
Ernie
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That is a good lookin' deck. I like how they capped the ends of the decking, it's a sign of quality workmanship.
Ernie, that certainly does give my fortune a whole new meaning.
WB
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Good morning everybody, from beautiful Shrub Oak, New York...
Nice looking deck Mike.. close it in and make an outdoor stamp room .
Had the pleasure of visiting the Red Hook boyz PhilB and David ( AMSD ) at their stamp club meeting last Thursday. Picked up some nice bargains from their stamp auction
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happy that some of my material went from Red Hook to Shrub Oak; pleased too that you came bearing gifts. Funny, I spotted the WheatRidge Lutheran Sanitarium labels in your binder when you came in; had no idea that they'd be riding home with me.
Pleasure chatting with you, Mr. G. Nice addition to our club on many fronts.
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Good morning all from a snow-covered -6 C Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Freezing rain and 2 C expected later to-day.
Sure wish I was in Texas, now.
David G
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"Sure wish I was in Texas, now."
An absolutely beautiful weekend here. Nice to get two good days in at the flea market. It was one of the better selling weekends since last October.
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http://nypost.com/2017/03/27/massive-gold-coin-worth-millions-stolen-from-german-museum/
Wonder how many stamps one can buy with this???
Mike / meostamps
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Not certain but it would sure wear your pocket out quick. You might need a strong belt for the waist.
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My Saturday mornings...
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I love mugs! We did this special 30th Anniversary mug for the model car show. Each year we get a famous artist to do our artwork, on the left is Trosley from the old CarToons magazine in the 1960s, and on the right is custom car designer Tom Daniel.
Now I wasn't prepared when TWO UPS trucks showed up at my house with 1,500 mugs! That looks like this:
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I'd be happy to help you down-size those and take one off your hands, Tom!
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I remember when they minted that coin. I am sure some wealthy collector wanted a one-of-a-kind. It will not show up again for 20+ years if that is the case.
Canada makes some of the most pure gold coins in the world using electrolysis.
To be honest I am not sure there is a whole lot of difference between 99.9% pure gold and 99.99% pure gold.
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That coin will either show up very quickly or not at all.
If they are smart, it will be melted down so it won't be identifiable.
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Love the coffee mugs! My kids gave me this one back in the mid 80's, pretty much the only one I've used since.
WB
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I assumed that 'coin' was already melted down. I wonder if they added any chemical tracers when they minted it?
Don
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Here's the start of the second 2017 thread for the Diner.
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
"Here's the start of the second 2017 thread for the Diner.
"
I'll drink to that.
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
So I checked out the 2016.5 Mazda CX-5. It is generally a very well-made vehicle. It had the quietest engine noise of all the crossovers I had looked at. The suspension was a killer though. It was so bouncy that I was getting a headache. That and it is more expensive than any of the other cars I have looked at. Tomorrow will check out Nissan and Kia crossovers/SUVs. The Kia Soul looks interesting.
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
smauggie,
I would recommend a 1937 Studebaker Coupe Express. Built on the Studebaker car chassis, it rides very, very nicely. They saw a lot of sales in California to the strawberry farmers who used them to get the berries to market without bruising. I mean, come on, what a classy ride with that side mount! You would look good in this!
Don
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Auctions
re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
Antonio, some of those you mentioned could run 30 thousand..have you condidered looking for one 2 years old with a warranty. I know people that have saved almost half the cost on vehicles that came fully loaded with goodies.
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
Here's a link to a recent Consumer Reports article regarding the 20 used cars to avoid buying:
http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2013/02/top-20-used-cars-to-avoid-consumer-reports.html
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
I am looking for something in the $20-22k range. Some of them can get expensive with all the options but I don't need all the bells and whistles. In Minnesota if you choose leather seats then you are going to need seat heaters. Cloth seats however are comfortable at all temperatures.
What I do need is the higher seating to make it easier to get in and out of the car.
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
My wife and I went to a concert at the Gillioz Theater in Springfield this past weekend. A group out of St. Louis called El Monstero played. They're a Pink Floyd tribute band.
Now I've seen a few cover bands at different venues over the years and most do a pretty fair job. But I gotta tell ya, this group of musician did an amazing job of covering what has to be one of the more difficult classic rock bands to cover. They covered about 2/3 of "The Wall" & "Dark Side of the Moon" albums, as well as several other hits. They played for 4 hours with a 15 minute intermission in between!! Lights, lasers, big screens, the whole works. They had a trio of female backup singers that gave you goosebumps when they joined in and the male vocalist(s) were spot on. They closed the show with a version of "Comfortably Numb" that could make you believe it was straight off the album. Even though they lacked the aura of seeing the real deal, I was seriously impressed and glad my wife spent those 3 hours talking me into going. I honestly wasn't expecting much.
I don't know how far they travel, or what their schedule is, but if you get a chance and you like Pink Floyd, go see 'em. They put on a great show!
WB
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
"Here's a link to a recent Consumer Reports article regarding the 20 used cars to avoid buying:"
That article is from 2013. First, I have problems with any website that is so chock full of ads that it doesn't function (Adblocker Plus blocked 27 ads per page). I had a hard time getting it to go page to page. I waited more than a minute to go to page 2 and 3, then I gave up. Plus, I have a hard time with Consumer Reports. I have a PT Cruiser and have had 3 Dodge Caravans, the most popular mini-van. They found major fault with both of them. I've had good experience with all of mine.
I haven't bought a brand new car since 1996, and even then I bought left overs at steep discounts. Since then I've purchased low mile, clean cars for cash. The last one from a senior's estate.. just like buying stamp collections.
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
Crud. I copied the wrong link. There's a new one that came out a couple of days ago. I'll see if I can find it.
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
All right. Here is the link to the new report from February 5, 2017.
http://www.cheatsheet.com/automobiles/used-cars-consumer-reports-gave-the-never-buy-label.html/?a=viewall
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
Again, Consumer's Union's usually biased reviews, hating anything American. For them to have Tesla on that list is beyond belief! We have three Teslas in the family without a problem. My daughter bought the Fiat 500 new in 2012 and that car has never been back to the dealer. She has 88,000 trouble free miles on the car now.
CU pans to people who know nothing about cars and are deathly afraid of cars. My wife's brother is one of them. He had a Dodge Caravan with 80,000 miles on it and when I was at his house we jumped into it to drive to the liquor store. I immediately recognized a loud noise coming from the left front as a wheel bearing gone bad. I told him and he dismissed it, "It's been making that noise forever." Well about six months later that bearing let loose on the Turnpike at 70 mph. To this day he'll tell you how bad Dodge Caravans are and how one tried to kill him. Those are the people who fill out their surveys!
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
I somewhat disagree with your comment that CU dislikes anything American. I often disagree with them on their ratings but it is because I disagree on what they think is important. The tend to favor reliability (based upon user feedback), safety, and economy. Since you are in the car, decent ride, quiet, good AC/heat, handles decently, good radio, etc. are more important to me. This is not often reflect in their scoring method to rate cars. It could have 300 airbags, stop on a dime, have ESC, etc but these are features you use very often but these drive ratings.
For we have a 2001 Chrysler Sebring. It has awful reviews and reliability ratings. It is on the avoid list. It is a decent car and has been reasonably good to us. It is fast, ok ride/noise, great radio, etc so fun to drive.
The other aspect is that most cars today are superior in most ways to the cars 10 years ago so the bar is rising but yet we continue to rate them often by comparison. That is, a not that great car today is still often better than many 10 years ago.
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
Ok, I have tested every crossover I fit in. The Mitsubishi Outlander Sport still is at the top of my list. Time to test drive it one more time to confirm my choice.
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
Check this out
2015 Model less than 8K miles for a fraction of the cost.
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
One day I was listening t a "Car-Pro" show on the radio. They were discussing buying used cars. A listener called in and said that he had a steadfast rule that he only buys used cars that had one owner. The show's host asked why, to which the caller responded, that he didn't want to take the chance on multiple owner cars as those cars could have been driven hard and could be a problem. The host commented that a single owner could tear up a car just as bad as multiple owners can.
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
Antonio, maybe you could find that little old lady from Pasedena and buy her Dodge, or even get yourself a nice Deuce Coupe, ex Beach boys, of course. Just stay clear of the Johnny Cash vehicle.
Problem with surveys, for vehicles or other items, is that you are given the answers to choose from and not allowed to actually state your personal likes or dislikes. Therefore you can be manipulated into giving the replies the survey sponsors want.
Must admit have never been in the position of being able to buy a new car but not sure I would unless the dealers would give a guarantee to fix every problem, free of charge for the first 5 years. Yes, living in La La land again.
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
Mitsubishi and some other car makers have a 5-year bumper to bumper warranty and a 100k miles powertrain warranty. Mitsubishi also offers free yearly oil changes and 5 years of roadside assistance. I am looking at a discounted 2016 year model which is still new and will get the full warranty. It is also cheaper than a 2017 model of course.
My neighbors growing up had a 1955 and a 1957 Ford Thunderbird and a Model A. Never got up close and personal with a Studebaker. There is an old rusting Packard back at the family farm that my uncle used to store dynamite. One winter my grandmother took the dynamite out and left it on top of a frozen pond. I suspect it is rather inert at this point.
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
"unless the dealers would give a guarantee to fix every problem"
My girlfriend, Heather, from "Car Warranty Services" will do that for you... Must be a girlfriend. She calls me more than my wife does. (Of course I am being sarcastic, and DO NOT buy anything from Heather. She's a thief.)
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
The city where I live, Round Rock, and Baylor University (Waco, TX) are tied together from a tragedy that happened 90 years ago. Here is a news report from two WACO TV news stations that shows what both Baylor and Round Rock have done to memorialize the tragic event:
The Immortal Ten 1
The Immortal Ten 2
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
A bit of a white out here in New York City, as the first major snow storm of the winter moves through. The wind has the snow coming down sideways and I cannot see more than a few feet out of my window. I only live ten minutes from my office, via subway, so I made it in okay.
I like the city when it snows. It's quitter as the snow seems to absorb the sounds of the cars and buses. And, it looks nice with a fresh coat of new fallen snow covering everything.
Tomorrow the slush!
David
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
I don't think i am stepping out the door today, tomnorow is for cleanup. Sigh, if i had 250 dollars when i was 16 the old fellow with the gas pumps down on route 9 had a 1940 Mercury coupe or a model A truck in storage that he would have sold me . Of course at the time i would have taken the coupe. Its all timing folks, just like in stamps.
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11:38:51am
re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
Geeze....all this snow..what could I do to keep myself occupied ? Any suggestions
Hey Phil....I'll shovel your walk for 50 bucks
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
that must be one LOOOOOOONNNNGGG walkway.
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
mine's a quarter mile and if i'd known honorable mention was available for $50, I'd have saved the $100 I just spent and found some way to make use of the leftover funds.... as Phil says, it's all in the timing
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
shovel snow for a 1/4 mile? Geez... that would have to take at least all weekend. Don't do it David.
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
I know you guys are about to get hit hard up there.
These pictures were taken in Oswego county NY where I used to live. Its one of the snowiest places in North America. Kinda miss it really. When it would snow like that you'd just hunker down for a day or two.
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
I mowed my lawn yesterday
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06:27:19pm
re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
OK phil and David...AKA Amsd get those fifty's out..i'll be up there in no time...with my brand new snow blower..
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
the news media's "Storm of the Century" has come and gone here in Pennsylvania. People did the milk and bread thing, the news predicted 10-12 inches and implored everyone to burrow deep. Immediately, while it was still 50 degrees out, schools and companies announced closings etc.
My company sent their closing email at 5am. That stunk because I was running a two day class Wednesday and Thursday and had six people from other locations in a local hotel, so they got to sit around and spend another day in NJ. We will do day two of the training tomorrow. Which means I have to go to New Jersey. Did I mention that the bridge from NJ to PA I usually take is closed due to structural problems? So it will be a 2 hr ride each way. Fun.
And we wound up with about 2 inches of snow. Not enough to even drag out the snow blower. In fact, I didn't even shovel. The snow was already melted off the driveway and sidewalk when I went out at 2pm today. Some storm.
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
I don't know why its always milk and bread, i suppose they can use it if the power goes out and they can not cook. And they always seem to need salt,shovels,generators, snowblowers. I have been living in this house since 1967,,when winters could be really brutal..i hate it when i go to buy my tea and oatmeal and there is someone in front of me with 300 dollars worth of groceries in their cart. We heard that Pennsylvania beat the bullet ! Last year New York City got their huge storm and we 90 miles away got nothing !
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
If there was a cure, I'd certainly have more money in my pocket. No I wouldn't. It would be spent on more trains!
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
Got my car loan approved (no surprise there). What was a surprise was the interest rate, 1.49%.
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
Good luck smauggie, interest rates are a far cry from the 1980s.i remember when kids got hired at the Kingston IBM plant..they first thing they did was buy a new car...at 15 percent interest..they were paying for the car twice..but thats the way things were. I remember when i purchased my truck in 2012 my son in law threw some coins in it for luck. I throw you some virtual coins.
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
Yes, I do recall that. My grandparents put $1000 in a 7-year CD for me back in the 1980's. It was paying 20%.
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
In the early 80s there was also massive inflation, so the end effect (savings interest minus inflation) was not that different than in later years when the interest was much lower.
We have just bought a new house, the interest on the mortgage is 1.8%. Four years ago, when we got the mortgage for our current house, it was 4.1% so the new mortgage is going to be cheaper for us. Then again, the savings interest is now close to 0, so it is always strongly connected.
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12:46:46pm
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
I'm a little behind on the discussions, but we're also deep into the car market - in the process of trading in our 2010 Subaru Forester for ... another Subaru, this time a 2017 Outback. If you saw the weather in New Brunswick today, you'd know why we like to have an all wheel drive car. (Currently -12, -20 with windchill and we just had 20cm of snow last night that is blowing all over the place today!)
Eric
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
Eric,
I am thinking about a Forester. But, I see you're thinking about switching to an Outback. How did the Forester treat you? Why are you switching models?
David
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12:36:18pm
re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
Smauggie...may I suggest the new Lamborghini... Nice smooth ride..I was able to pick it up with all the money I made shoveling Phils driveway and Amsd's driveway..
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
A new movie coming soon...
The Postmaster Always Cancels Twice
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
People were talking about the film "Manchester By The Sea" and i thought it would be worthwhile...it started off slow and i thought "whats this all about?" but then you find out what its all about...its really been on my mind since i saw it.
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
Today I am officially on Social Security. Now that feels weird, but I live near Austin, and that's weird.
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
Bob, thanks for thinking of me, but it is too small for me. Also the gas mileage is horrible.
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
David, I have owned nothing but Outbacks and Legacies for the last 20 years. Lovely both. I've ridden in but never driven nor owned a Forrester, but my long trip in one was great, and its owner loves hers. Forresters have the added height, which means fewer other trucks blind you (and you get to blind us Outbackers). There is less room in a forester, despite the appearance otherwise, but I seem to remember the front cabin feeling roomier.
David
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
"Today I am officially on Social Security."
Congratulations Michael##s I'm sort of looking forward to that next year. I'm old enough now, but holding off because of the Medicare stipulations. My current insurance is just too good. Besides, the Wife isn't old enough for Medicare yet. She will be in a couple of months so I figure I'll hold off till Jan 1 next year and get us both signed up.
Won't start the Social Security payments till the end of January so I can get that extra year in the count. I heard it pays about 8% higher each year you wait after 66.
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
I don't know how you guys stand it! I plan on retiring the very day they tell me I'm eligible. I figure every year past that, is one less year I get to live free. I don't think they could pay me enough to work one single day more then I absolutely have to! I'd rather make less and have fun longer. But then, I've been working since I was 10 and haven't been without a job since. Sometimes even 2 and 3 jobs at a time.
No sir, not one day longer then I have to!!
WB
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
I'm 57 but due to End Stage Renal Failure, I became eligible for both Disability and Medicare but was advised to hold on to my insurance. So I signed up for Disability but held off on switching to Medicare. Big mistake. This year my insurance was jacked up to a bit over $35,000 per year (just me, not including my wife), so I was basically forced to move to Medicare**.
But when I moved to Medicare starting Jan 1 they told me that I should have also picked up the Medicare when I became eligible for Disability. Now they want to back-charge me for 10 months of Medicare even thought my insurance paid all the bills during the previous year. I went back to the insurance specialist who advised me to hold on the insurance and was only then told it ‘depends on how they interpret’ their policy. Apparently each local Social Security office ‘interprets’ the Medicare laws slightly differently. LOL It took me countless hours to straighten this all out. Lesson learned, drop your insurance and pick up both at Disability and Medicare at same time!
Don
**Obamacare in North Carolina is horrible. It started ok a few years ago but as many predicted the bottom fell out. Not only have the rates and deductibles exponentially risen but every provider has dropped out except one; we now have zero competitive options to choose from. The most ‘reasonable’ plan for me was $2200 per month with a $6000 deductible. Since I am on dialysis and it runs close to $3500 per week it is a given that I am going to pay the deductible; so that’s $35k per year.
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
WB, that is my philosophy too.
I retired a few months after I became eligible to, but I have taken my Social Security on the first day. Of course I won't get my first check until April.
Phil, I'll be paying 20% income tax on my Social Security.
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
Smauggie - did you get your car yet?
Hope all you folks in northeast USA are holding up ok. You are getting all our snow this winter. The news reports say there is more headed your way. Stay safe
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02:43:44pm
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
David
2017 Forester is also nice, but I found the redesign seems to be a little more geared to off-road enthusiasts. The one we tried out didn't seem to drive as smoothly, or be as comfortable as our old 2010 model. So, we went back to Outback (we had previously owned a 1998 that lasted us 12 years...). Our first trip on the weekend (about 500 km) was a success - we really liked the car. They've done a great job of insulating/reducing road noise in both the Outback and Forester from earlier models, and also have a great entertainment system in the new model.
Eric
p.s. Just for the record, our alternate choice was a 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport, but Hyundai didn't seem inclined to bargain much - so we went back to Subaru who definitely gave us a good deal...
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02:45:22pm
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
David
Forgot to answer your question. We really liked our 2010 Forester, managed to put 184,000 kms on it in 7 1/2 years without any major problems.
Eric
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
Thanks Eric and David.
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
Well I wrote the big check and signed the bigger promissory note and bought the car.
2017 Mistsubishi Outlander Sport. It will take a few weeks to sink in.
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
Congratulations Smauggie! Happy Driving.
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
We have 4 vehicles and all are around 105K to 110K miles. I do not like car payments. One is an extra but given the mileage it would not sell for much so decided to keep it at another location.
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
I had never really eaten Thai food until last night. I guess I just thought it was "glorified Chinese food". Boy, was I wrong.
My wife and I, on a whim, stopped in for dinner at the Thai Cafe in Orange Park. I was confused with the menu and told the lady that I liked beef and I liked spicy so maybe she could suggest something. We had Beef Basil, Beef fried rice and Thai spicy dumplings.
It was phenomenal and like nothing I'd ever eaten before. Flavor and consistency totally different from chinese food.
Family-owned, the people couldn't have been more gracious. We've got a new place on our short list.
I love it when something far EXCEEDS expectations.
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
I love Thai and Indian food. Tom Yum soup is a favorite. I spent a lot of time in Singapore and got to enjoy it along with Singapore variations; Pepper Crab, etc. Although I like and can eat very spicy food I recognize the goal is to enjoy the food and not being able to endure it like some chili fanatics do.
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
I agree Angore, spicy is good but like ever thing else it can go too far. The lady laughed and asked us if we wanted "thai spicy" or "American spicy" we opted for American and it was perfect.
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
Sure has gotten quiet in here. Guess I'd better get things going again.
Muffler on the car was hanging kind of low yesterday. Dropped by my favorite shop this morning and the weld on the muffler hanger had broken. A welding torch and 15 minutes on the lift and good to go. Oh Yea. $30 fee also. Dang sight cheaper than having the whole thing break and fall off though.
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
Tuesday evening I did a presentation on "The One Cent Benjamin Franklin Green of the Series of 1902" for the Greater Philadelphia Stamp & Collectors Club's February meeting.
It was fun to put together the PowerPoint, as it made me organize the hoard and I found a few gaps in the collection that I now want to fill. 70 slides and I didn't even get into the private perforations!
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
You should create PDF and share with your virtual stamp club members!! If someone added some audio, you would have a nice education video.
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
Angore,
Great idea.
Tom,
If you want to send me the PowerPoint file I can turn it into a video for you. I would also need (if it is not already embedded in the PowerPoint) your talking points for each slide. I would post it on YouTube for all and of course credit your work.
Don
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Thanks! I'd love to do it as a video. There are some tweaks I want to do to it from the initial debut. I think I'd like to present it at another local club meeting to vet it out a bit further and make sure there aren't any errors in it. The current 60 slides took me about an hour to present.
There will also be two follow up presentations.
1. Private Perforations on Scott 314
2. Cancellations and usage on the issue overall
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"...The current 60 slides took me about an hour to present..."
Tom,
One minute per slide, you burned through them pretty quickly!
A 60 minute video is unusually long, we might want consider breaking this up into a 'Part 1' and 'Part 2' videos.
If you want to send me what you have now I can take a look at it, get a preliminary draft developed for you to review. This will ensure that we are headed in the right direction.
Don
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
Tom,
How about the Collectors' Club in New York? They're always looking for speakers. The Club is booking 2018 presenters now. If you're interested, I can get you more information.
David
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
I had scanned some slides with the associated audio over 10 years ago - bootable CD self-running. There are multiple formats to do it as but guess mp4 is the best now for youtube
There is so much that could be captured.
Don, can you share your process (authoring tool, etc). We can actively look for some and willing to help create them. This could include exhibits or even topics like "Steiner pages of Turkey!".
Al
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
Hi Al,
Certainly…
The easiest way to convert a PowerPoint, or any on screen ‘thing’ would be to use a screen capture video making app like Debut from NCH Software. It is not too costly and can be learned in a few hours. It does take a decent computer to run if you are trying to capture significant amounts of screen size. It also handles sound/recordings if desired.
But I only do the screen captures with Debut and avoid having to manage the screen AND do the voice over at the same time. Instead, I use a secondary process with additional apps to work with the video and voice tracks. In this case I would use Sony Vegas to overlay the voice tracks and/or any music. I would also add any additional images or graphics with Vegas. Once done, reviewed and approved I would push the video up to YouTube.
Sony Vegas Professional is pretty expensive but I think they also have a more reasonable version. Again, you need a pretty decent computer to run an app like this. You also need a bit of experience and understanding of video codecs. If you do not, you will end up spending a bit more time generating videos that end up not looking good. (Since rendering a video can take up to 20-30 minutes, the trial and error method can suck up some time.)
Using the above process, I would estimate that Tom’s ‘PowerPoint to video’ would take me about 2 hours to do. Here is a video made using the above process
https://youtu.be/qge5oAI7JOs
(Sorry mods, I could not get the video embedded for some reason.)
Don
#APS #094826
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
Thanks. BTW. It looks the Sony software has been sold to MAGIX.
Sony Creative Software is pleased to announce that MAGIX has purchased the majority of SCS software products. All video software acquired by MAGIX is now available at VEGAS Creative Software and all audio software at MAGIX Audio.
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
Good morning, all!
Well it looks like we're about to have our first tornado watch/warning since July of 2015. Very warm and humid this morning and a fairly strong front headed our way. I'm a member of a local storm watch/early warning group and we'll be perched on high ground if anything starts to shape up. My vantage point has a 180 degree view that covers due south to due north for about 20-30 miles within that scope. If we spot anything, we use cell phones or cb radios to contact the local volunteer fire dept. They in turn set off the siren and contact NOAA with an exact location. Fortunately it's a system that has had been tested more in theory, then in actual events. However, the outbreak that led to the Joplin tornado was one exception.
WB
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
Oh absolutely! My days of storm "chasing" are over, I'm just an observer now. Spot-n-duck is my motto these days.
WB
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
"My days of storm "chasing" are over"
Storm chasing was high on my bucket list. I had even looked into taking one of the Storm Chase Trips I've seen advertised. Unfortunately, after developing COPD and ending up with only 25% Lung capacity, that was nipped in the bud. Guess I'll just have to settle for watching storm chasers on weather channel.
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
I hung out with a group of chasers when we lived in Wichita back in the early 80's to early 90's. 1991 was when the F5 went through McConnell AFB and went on to wipe out most of the town of Andover, KS. (April 26th if I remember right) At the time we were living just 2 miles west of the AFB. Tensions were a bit high that day.
I'm a lot older and at least a little wiser these days. I figure if it ain't comin' to me, I sure as hell ain't goin' to it!
WB
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
We all have read news stories about mail carriers stealing mail, trashing mail instead of delivering it, etc. and I thought I had read it all until I saw the following article posted on an internet web site today. A WORD OF CAUTION, THE STORY IS A BIT WEIRD TO SAY THE LEAST. I did run it by one of the mods and they suggested that this would be a good topic to post it under.
http://nypost.com/2017/02/28/mailman-busted-having-spontaneous-sexual-relations-with-mailbox/
Mike / meostamps
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
Well I've heard of reproduction stamps but that's really pushing the envelope.
Nice one Mike.
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
Funny, I read that an F5 wiped out a town near an AFB. I always liked the F5. There's even a few squadrons still flying. But that's not what we were talking about, now, was it.
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
Phone call I just had at work (at the police auto pound), from a customer looking for their car:
Me: Your car was not towed by the police. It was repoed; you'll have to contact your lien holder.
Customer: Who's that?
Me: It's whoever you make your payments to.
Customer: We haven't made any payments.
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You can't make this stuff up! Perfect!
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Some folks!
There's a guy in our model car club that we could write a Seinfeld type comedy around his life.
A group of us went to the big model car show in Ohio (a 10 hour ride) and stayed over two nights. Our hero spend over $1000 on model truck kits. He returns home to find his car repossessed from his driveway. When I asked him how he could possibly spend $1000 on hobby goods knowing his car was in jeopardy, he responded, "He thought he had another month." And continued to bad mouth the finance company because the last time he had a car repossessed, they let him ride for 4 months instead of 3. Wouldn't ya know, he shows up at our next meeting in a brand new Hyundai. Someone financed him once again!
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
2017 Marks the 40th anniversary of the launching of the space probes Voyager 1 and Voyager 2. They are still fully functional and streaking their way through the Milky Way Galaxy to whatever awaits them.
PC Magazine posted an article about the probes, and the man who still oversees the Voyager project:
http://www.pcmag.com/news/351829/40-years-of-voyager-a-q-a-with-dr-ed-stone-at-nasa-jpl
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
I must be old, can still remember the excitement when the 1957 Sputnik was launched, seem to recall cutting newspaper clippings (now long gone).
How come we do not have vehicles using RTG's, never ever have to buy any fuel and much more environment friendly, possibly.
Interesting article, thanks for the link.
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Spring has sprung in the Ozarks!!
Daylight savings starts next week and it's time to go fishin'!!!!!!
WB
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Sneaky, twicky wabbits! They are inside my head I tell ya! :-)
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
My backyard right now.. we got a little bit of snow this morning. And now it's all finished. Since it was near 70 degrees yesterday, nothing stuck to paved surfaces.
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
I love black and white photography. Nice pic, Mr. Franklin.
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"I must be old, can still remember the excitement when the 1957 Sputnik was launched"
I remember as well, I was 7. And, if memory serves, there was a new candy in 1958 called "Sputnik" which was essentially a blue ball of bubblegum with white sugar sparkles. I invested heavily into that candy. Gas was something like 26 cents a gallon, but I was too young to drive.
Wine
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
I'm a little surprised by yall's responses regarding sputnik. It was way before my time but from everything I've read I always had the impression that during the cold war people generally viewed the sputnik launch with a feeling of dread if not fear. "Oh no! The Reds are gonna wipe us out!"
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
" "Oh no! The Reds are gonna wipe us out!""
I was two years old when Sputnik launched. I think my parents would have been more than happy if the "Reds" would have helped wipe me!
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
I had nothing to do with Sputnik. I didn't appear until 1958
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
Ernie, I think it was the idea that suddenly space flight became that little bit closer. The SciFi books were coming true.
It probably did have ramifications for the cold war but being 11 at the time nothing of that was anywhere near my brain, especially being in England.
Here is a link to the Wikipedia article for further detail.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sputnik_1
PS (edit) there is a stamp on the wiki page.
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
For the past couple of weeks, we have had some great days with temps up into the 70's here in NC. And today we have about an inch or 2 of snow on the ground with big flakes still falling. At least the roads are warm and the snow is melting as soon as it hits.
Welcome to spring time in the Carolinas!!!!
Mike / meostamps
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
Mike,
We got a bit more up here in the mountains of Western NC (5" Hendersonville).. and lets not forget the March blizzard of 1993 when we got 20" with 50mph winds! And then the time the Concorde flew into Asheville in April only to be grounded by a heavy snowfall.
Don
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
and just when we thought we got through this winter without firing up the snow blower ....
"WINTER STORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM MONDAY EVENING THROUGH TUESDAY EVENING... * LOCATIONS... EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA, ALL BUT FAR SOUTHEASTERN NEW JERSEY, NORTHERN DELAWARE, AND THE NORTHERN PORTIONS OF THE EASTERN SHORE OF MARYLAND. * HAZARD TYPES... HEAVY SNOW AND STRONG WINDS. * ACCUMULATIONS... SNOW ACCUMULATION OF 6 TO 12 INCHES. * TIMING... SNOW BEGINS MONDAY EVENING FROM SOUTHWEST TO NORTHEAST ACROSS THE WATCH AREA. SNOW WILL CONTINUE TUESDAY INTO TUESDAY EVENING... THOUGH SOME LOCATIONS MAY SEE A BRIEF BREAK IN THE SNOW TUESDAY AFTERNOON. * IMPACTS... THE HEAVY SNOW WILL MAKE MANY ROADS IMPASSABLE AND MAY PRODUCE WIDESPREAD POWER OUTAGES DUE TO THE WEIGHT OF THE SNOW ON TREE LIMBS AND POWER LINES. STRONG WINDS WILL LEAD TO BLOWING SNOW, REDUCED VISIBILITY, AND ADDITIONAL POWER OUTAGES. * WINDS... NORTHEAST 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH. STRONGEST GUSTS ARE EXPECTED ALONG THE COAST. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... A WINTER STORM WATCH MEANS THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT SNOW... SLEET... OR ICE ACCUMULATIONS THAT MAY IMPACT TRAVEL. "
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
Tom, think you are getting what we had last week, If anyone wants some snow we seem to be overstocked at present.
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
Wow Vic, That looks like a lot. 2 feet? I miss snow.
Ernie
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
Drifts are 6 feet or more in places. We had a blizzard for 36 hours and the snow just piled up and froze hard.
Had a fight to get the snowblower through to clear the drive even to get the cars out. Next week promises to be a bit warmer at plus 2-4 degrees C.
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
"I miss snow."
NOT ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lousy weekend here. Cold and rainy. I'll bet that a good number of the thousands of tourists here for the South-X-Southwest Festival must be freezing their butts off if they didn't pack well thinking that Texas is always sunny and hot! NOT!
This is two weeks of the year when Austin turns into a city of no one but tourists. The locals leave town and those who live on the outskirts don't go into town while that mess is going on.
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Ok so due to my ignorance, I just had to find out what SXSW was and reading the BBC news found an article regarding the popes envoy for technology was at the conference.
The initials stand for South BY south west and it is a technology conference.
So nows I know and am a bit more educated, not that it will linger too long in my brain cell.
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"Lousy weekend here. Cold and rainy."
I'll take cold and rainy versus what we have coming!
Winter Storm Stella is supposed to give quite a wallop to the Eastern Seaboard. The news keeps breaking into the tv shows with new reports... Philly Airport is already closed, the city has declared a snow emergency. I got an email from my town that we can hold onto our trash this week. And every time the news figures we are used to the latest snow numbers, they up them just to get a rise! Current numbers are 18-24" expected. And when I look outside, it's sunny and dry.
I'm not worried, I'm working from home this week anyway. My bosses left for Puerto Rico this morning. My daughter is visiting her cousin in Texas and will come home today, two days early.
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
It's alot more than a technology conference. That is only one aspect of it. It is a major live music convention, many independent movies open and/or are previewed here, art shows, technology, big shots from all over the world converge here to network, and there is plenty of food, booze, hookers, strippers and crime too. Ten days of shut down streets, waiting in lines for hours to get in to see events and other chaos.
Here's the official site to let you know probably more than you ever wanted to know about the event:
https://www.sxsw.com/
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"food, booze, hookers, strippers"
Darn it! Missed out again. Oh well always got the sheep. Thanks for the clarification on the event.
Stay warm and safe on that Eastern seaboard everyone.
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" Ten days of shut down streets, waiting in lines for hours to get in to see events and other chaos."
Sounds like life at the Jersey Shore!
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
Here's a good chuckle. I listed up a bunch of FDCs on the auction here. I was getting frustrated because I'd look for auctions I had listed within the last hour and couldn't find them. So I'd do the listing over and make sure it was there. Then the same one went missing again! I thought the software was playing with me for sure...
Then I discovered I couldn't find them because people were buying them! I wound up selling one cover twice, glad I had a few of that one!
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Tom, Vinman, Phil, David and all other Northeastern members please be safe in the storm.
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06:59:17pm
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Hey David AMSD and that Bruno character... My price to shovel your drives tomorrow will be a thousand bucks each...I have the snow blower all oiled up and ready to go... Salt will be 50 bucks extra
Bob ( need money for stamps ) GGGG
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
thanks Ernie.. Wife picked up groceries on her way home from work. (Does anyone have that recipe for milk, bread and eggs?) We filled up the big Buick and bought beer tonight. My wife got the text that her work is closed tomorrow. I'm working from home this week. I have the power station plugged in and charging. I put away the few odd things in the yard and driveway, put the cars into snow formation. Snow blower is poised for action right inside the garage door. Once it starts snowing we'll turn on the gas fireplace in case we lose power (it has an electric pilotless start). So we are ready to hunker down and um, sort covers!
And hopefully it will be nothing. It's really too warm for snow to pile up.
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An update - It snowed much of the night so we have maybe 6 inches out there. My prediction came true, so it's raining like crazy out there, on top of the snow. So now we have the danger of this all icing up. The temperature trends are upward so here's hoping it all just melts.
Still, companies are all closed. Governments asked that everyone stay off the roads. My wife just made us nice egg sandwiches, so we are cozy in for the day! Maybe I'll make some album pages.
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For those not familiar with what to do and not do when visiting Austin, Texas, here's something that hit the news from South X Southwest (no, this is not about the stabbing last Tuesday night) about what never to do.
Russians in Austin
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08:36:17am
re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
Happy Saint Patrick's Day... Since I cant have Cabbage..it will be corned beef sandwich and playing with stamps
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I was bitten by a dog once and the dog's owner was the doctor on call at the ER. Got rabies shots too. That is a scary disease.
Happy Saint Patrick's Day everyone.
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Until I read the article, I didn't know that when someone starts to exhibit the symptoms of rabies, it's too late...
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We went out for Chinese last weekend and this was my fortune...according to a cookie.
WB
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Took some time off from stamping at the end of last week. Had 2 local guys come over and remove our old back deck and build a new one, appox 11 x 22, with a 2 section ramp instead of stairs. Daughter came over yesterday and took some pics while we were out enjoying a 85 degree day.
Mike in NC / meostamps
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Great patio deck Mike!
Hope you and your family enjoy some great weather and conversations out there.
WB, One of the games that my wife and I like to play is to add the words "in bed" to the end of our chinese cookie fortunes. Puts a whole new spin on things! I guess I just do it automatically now but when I got done reading yours I was all, "HEY! Wait a sec!".....
Ernie
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That is a good lookin' deck. I like how they capped the ends of the decking, it's a sign of quality workmanship.
Ernie, that certainly does give my fortune a whole new meaning.
WB
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07:40:29am
re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
Good morning everybody, from beautiful Shrub Oak, New York...
Nice looking deck Mike.. close it in and make an outdoor stamp room .
Had the pleasure of visiting the Red Hook boyz PhilB and David ( AMSD ) at their stamp club meeting last Thursday. Picked up some nice bargains from their stamp auction
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happy that some of my material went from Red Hook to Shrub Oak; pleased too that you came bearing gifts. Funny, I spotted the WheatRidge Lutheran Sanitarium labels in your binder when you came in; had no idea that they'd be riding home with me.
Pleasure chatting with you, Mr. G. Nice addition to our club on many fronts.
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
Good morning all from a snow-covered -6 C Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Freezing rain and 2 C expected later to-day.
Sure wish I was in Texas, now.
David G
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
"Sure wish I was in Texas, now."
An absolutely beautiful weekend here. Nice to get two good days in at the flea market. It was one of the better selling weekends since last October.
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
http://nypost.com/2017/03/27/massive-gold-coin-worth-millions-stolen-from-german-museum/
Wonder how many stamps one can buy with this???
Mike / meostamps
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
Not certain but it would sure wear your pocket out quick. You might need a strong belt for the waist.
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My Saturday mornings...
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I love mugs! We did this special 30th Anniversary mug for the model car show. Each year we get a famous artist to do our artwork, on the left is Trosley from the old CarToons magazine in the 1960s, and on the right is custom car designer Tom Daniel.
Now I wasn't prepared when TWO UPS trucks showed up at my house with 1,500 mugs! That looks like this:
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I'd be happy to help you down-size those and take one off your hands, Tom!
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
I remember when they minted that coin. I am sure some wealthy collector wanted a one-of-a-kind. It will not show up again for 20+ years if that is the case.
Canada makes some of the most pure gold coins in the world using electrolysis.
To be honest I am not sure there is a whole lot of difference between 99.9% pure gold and 99.99% pure gold.
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
That coin will either show up very quickly or not at all.
If they are smart, it will be melted down so it won't be identifiable.
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Love the coffee mugs! My kids gave me this one back in the mid 80's, pretty much the only one I've used since.
WB
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re: The SOR Diner 2017 - #2
I assumed that 'coin' was already melted down. I wonder if they added any chemical tracers when they minted it?
Don
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