michaelnel

So am I. Laid off and been looking for work for almost 2 years. Not much about this situation to like, IMO.

qcpmsame 

^^
Bruce, I pray every day this will not happen. Mother, Mother-in-Law and all my aunts and uncles as well as several friends are on SS/MC and I am 7-10 years out. I am lucky enough that our company has a Profit Sharing Plan that has weathered the storms fairly intact, but somewhat down. Please don't let the politicians and radicals screw this one up.

I am with stapfam, when I see a bargain I try and get it if it is useful and needed.

Bill

bruce19

When I see a system that rewards those that "have" at the expense of everyone else it tells me the system needs changing....clearly it's "rigged." That's all I have to say 'cause I don't want this to turn into a "political" discussion. As for buying locally...my guiding principle has been to buy locally unless I can't get it locally. If it's something I really need and can't afford local prices I will buy online.

qcpmsame 

Fully agree and will leave the political statements out so we can keep our thread here in 50+ where we can agree to disagree and discuss things rationally. Back to our regular programming, sorry for the hijack.

Bill

John_V 

I went to the one of the larger malls in our area yesterday to finish off our Christmas shopping. After driving around for 10 minutes to find a parking spot, I went into the mall and it was so crowded that you could barely walk without bumping into someone. There was hardly a person there that wasn't carrying at least two bags from the stores. I happened to go to the Apple store, located in the mall, to ask a few questions about the iPad my wife and I got ourselves for Christmas. They took my name as I entered the store and I had a 20 minute wait before someone was able to come and assist me. People were walking out with iPods, and iPads like they were getting them for free.

I also went to one of our local CompUSA stores that is behind the mall. CompUSA stores have gone from a really nice computer store to a super-duper TV center. The store had several shelves that were bare, where TV's once sat, because people were buying their floor models.

Florida still has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country and our area has one of the highest unemployment rates in the state, but I'll be damned if I see it. Even before the holiday season started, the malls were always full. These people are getting money from somewhere. It may be very noticeable in some of the smaller towns and cities but I don't see it here in the bay area.

oilman_15106

[QUOTE=bruce19;13607990]When I retired ten years ago it never occurred to me that one day I would be in an advantageous position with a fixed income. But these days that's exactly what has happened. Pension and Social Security keeps me economically sound when people all around me are out of work. Imagine what the landscape would look like if Social Security and Medicare were abolished as some would like

Better load up on your bike stuff while SS & Medicare are still viable. Current administration seems to be doing all they can to put the final nail in the SS coffin by reducing withholding again. Oboma-care will decimate Medicare by expanding the recipients exponentially. 4 years to go till Medicare and 6 till SS. I personally am planning that both will be drastically reduced by then.

bruce19

FWIW, I didn't take it that way. I was really commenting on my propensity to get passionate about political, economic and social issues. It was about me not you.

bruce19

[QUOTE=oilman_15106;13608125]I REALLY don't want to get into this.

billydonn

Stap:
1. Not offended by "recession"
2. OTOH....what, pray tell, is a "Cat Gillet"? I am hoping it is some kind of comfort product for cats and not something made from cats! My boys are concerned.

stapfam

Cat Gillet---Brand is called Caterpillar but is shortened to Cat. But my "Old Body warmer that the Cat has replaced-has been seconded by the Dog. Not as a Coat or bedding- He just drags it round the garden through all the mud and brambles. He reckons it was past its best aswell.

NVanHiker

"If you are offended by this - Then hard luck."

My estimation of Stapfam just went up.

lhbernhardt

And a "gillet" is the British word for "vest." At least that's what I discern from the PBK ads. But I have no idea how it's pronounced. Is it a German hard "g" (or Italian "gh"), or is it a soft g, as in "jillet?"

lhbernhardt

I was laid off back in 2003 after 21 years with the company. Took me about three years to find another job, and you lose all the accumulated holidays and seniority and chances to advance, especially if you're over 50. Those days of lifetime employment and retiring with the gold watch are gone, I fear (and one of the things that irks me is that I was getting close to that gold Seiko watch! Grrrrr!).

But I really think that this whole recession is a downward spiral. "Smart" business execs offshore jobs to low-wage countries in order to reduce expenses and make themselves look good and increase profits. And consumers demand the lower prices by shopping at Wally-World for Chinese-made products. So other businesses must offshore production to maintain sales. And as consumers get laid off, they are forced to shop at Wally World because they can't afford local stuff. And so it goes.

And the only way to reverse this is to make a conscious effort to buy locally, or at least to support the businesses that are not offshoring. Or to wait until transportation costs make offshoring impractical. So I am proud to say that my bicycle was built by Rodriguez in Seattle, with a headset made by Cane Creek in North Carolina (the top-of-the-line 110, not the cheaper models!), and the bottom bracket is a ceramic unit built by F1 (I hope it was built in North America!). Most of the components are by Campagnolo, which has limited its offshoring to Romania, 100 km away. And I try to buy Velocity rims, which will soon be built in Florida.

And speaking of n+1, if you think your current bike is feeling tired or "loose," just replace the chain (and sprockets if required). You will be amazed by how quick and responsive it suddenly becomes! Most of the overrated carbon frames are made in China anyway.

I think one of the positive things that happen when you pass age 50 is a reduced acquisitiveness, especially for useless bike technology. It's nice to "marry" a frame, upgrade it periodically, and see how long/how many kilometers it remains faithful.

L.

Dudelsack 

What? By using cheap labor by illegal aliens?

Keep your powder dry. Just kidding. Rodriquez is probably more American than I am.

Every day I wake worried about whether I'm going to keep my job.

That's weird because I'm self-employed, but it's a sign of the times.

We're all a platelet plug away from disability. I'm grateful for my job, and pray that those in need will be tended to one way or another.

sacrifice

I really want to unplug my cable TV, but I am grandfathered into an unlimited Internet package, and disconnecting my TV means I loose unlimited Internet - So, I am stuck with TV for now.

stapfam

Gillet is basically a vest that is normally worn over the top of usual clothing. The name I know them as is "Body Warmer" as it is basically a jacket without sleeves. Can be various warmth's but the cycling version is normally windproof and waterproof to keep out the elements. My "Cat" gillet is padded and warm and a waterproof covering.

Pronounce it with a soft "G" and no "T" as in "Gillay".

Mobile 155

So if the over rated CF frames are made in China where are the under-rated ones made?

VegasTriker

Please have a little compassion for those who are really hurting. I live in the location with the highest foreclosure rate in the US and with an unemployment rate around 14%. For years this area depended upon two main industries - tourism and construction. The fast pace of construction was unsustainable because there was a limit to how many people the valley could accommodate (limited by the available water). With the severe downturn in tourism and near collapse of the construction industry in 2007 many more than just the people working in these two areas found themselves out of work. I know several families who lost their homes to foreclosure and more than one where the family was temporarily homeless. These were among the more affluent people in town, not rich but firmly middle class. If you want to experience real poverty try the local grade school where 85% of the students are homeless, nearly every student is eligible for subsidized school meals, and where these school meals may be the only full meals they get in a day. There are many people in the poorer parts of town where food insecurity is an every day reality. Sadly, it doesn't appear that the situation will get much better any time soon.

I can't tell you if the local malls are jam packed or not, not having been to one this Christmas season. I would bet they are but that is not an indication of general prosperity.

Artkansas 

I have a few days of unemployment left.

Artkansas 

It's always time to joke about the pain. That may be the only thing that keeps you sane. Humor has it's root in pain. The point is to laugh with the pain and not at others pain.

Artkansas 

If we do that, then a lot of topics will become off-limits. Should I begrudge all the talk of grandchildren because I was never able to have kids? Or talk of retirement because my divorce a few years ago left me broke and in debt and retirement is not an option, and especially now that I'm spending what I have saved since then to keep a roof over my head? I could shut down this forum right away if we did.

Pistard

Its though out there, had to work for 10bucks an hour several Years before getting back into a management position, 5 Years till 62.... watching the circus on TV provided by the GOP in the eves, a mockery to this great Country really, do I really have to move back to France?.. oh they got their own troubles, might as well work till I drop...

contango 

My point exactly. We could shut down the entire board if we restrict talking about riding bikes so as not to upset people who lost loved ones in cycling accidents.

oilman_15106

I have been thinking about this post for a while. I wasted some time today looking at cycling jerseys on ebay.
Where is the recession? What the #%#@%! $50 for used jerseys! $80 for a new one? You might as well head to the LBS, at least the money will stay local. Same thing goes for bike frames. What am I missing?

Is it an act of desperation to list a used bike jersey(nothing rare or special) at $50 or a sign that I am out of touch with reality? If I am not out of touch my closet of bike jerseys will go a long way toward my retirement fund. There is way more manufacturing capacity than customers for something like bike jerseys and the prices are higher than last year? Not the classic definition of supply and demand.

Much of the post was devoted to the advantages of a fixed income. Yes vs. no or little income, but with prices rising like they are in the cycling world the fixed income's value is really shrinking.

Merry Christmas to all and good cycling in 2012.

Wogster

You do know it not just Wally World that gets everything from China now, just about every store at the mall gets all of it's stock from China now. There was a fellow a couple of years ago, said that by the end of 2011, we would see oil above $100/barrel again, and we did it's currently $101.80 . In the same prediction he stated that by 2015 we would see oil at $200/barrel and at that point it becomes a wash whether you make something here, or make it in China and ship it. Problem is a lot of the skills needed to build and maintain factories are guys who are retired now, a lot of the land that was used in the past for factories is no longer available. It's gonna stink for a few years until manufacturing gets going again.....