What's everybody doing today?

[Supervisor42]

I'd like to do that, but the Railroad Retirement Board is a little screwey about early retirement. I can't get retirement insurance without 360 qualified months of service and we can't get Social Security supplement insurance until age 67. If I had started Railroading at age 28 instead of 35 I would qualify for full retirement at age 60, assuming no more layoffs. Oh well...

Lies. You will be on Medicare at 65 anyway. We're only talking about covering 3 years of 'supplemental' insurance.
Don't let them confuse you with insurance and pension. They are different.
If the "full Retirement age" was 72 would you go for it?
If your job was "Process Engineer" inside some factory you might just make it.
But that's not us 'working doggies'.
Every extra year they can con you into working saves them $50,000.
How far do you think they will move the 'finish-line' down to?

 

[Spikedriver]

Lies. You will be on Medicare at 65 anyway. We're only talking about covering 3 years of 'supplemental' insurance.
Don't let them confuse you with insurance and pension. They are different.
If the "full Retirement age" was 72 would you go for it?
If your job was "Process Engineer" inside some factory you might just make it.
But that's not us 'working doggies'.
Every extra year they can con you into working saves them $50,000.
How far do you think they will move the 'finish-line' down to?

Negative. We don't pay into Social Security the same way on the railroad.

 

[Supervisor42]

Negative. We don't pay into Social Security the same way on the railroad.

Oh, I know.
I never mentioned SS.
Just separate out the health-insurance stuff from the pension stuff.

 

[Peanut]

Yesterday and today I spent a little time getting useless metal items out of the little tool room. The first 100lbs or so were easy choices. Now it’s down to useless tools that need to go. Difficult for two guys who made their living with tools.

Dad was a Tool & Die maker. He has a 3 big milk crates that need to go. They are 1-off tools he built to make the manufacture of a specific die for company X or Y easier. Those die’s will never be built again or new dies built the way they were 40 years ago. These tools will never be used again by anyone.

There is a crate of specialty chucks that he modified for drill presses or milling machines. Again… they were for specialty bits he modified, there is a box of these modified bits also.

I understand his pain… Anyone who earned their living with tools understands this.

I have a couple of tool boxes filled with specialty tools made for specific model catscans/MRI’s or other radiology equipment that hasn’t been in production in 30 years. No one will ever use these tools again. The equipment was scraped years ago.

I inherited my dad’s flair for design. I used to pester the machinist at the plant all the time to make me gadget for this or that, making some job easier. I have a dozen of these gadgets. Some I made myself, I know how to run an end mill and lathe. I once had him use a torch to cut and bend a set of wrenches to a specific angle then heat treat them so they kept the angle. The large piece of equipment I used them on will never be built again. They are useless for normal purposes.

It pains me to see these items go to scrap for melting. Making something new from them is the best use I can think of. I sort of feel like Taps or something similar should be playing as I carry all this metal out the door. After all, it’s the working life of two men.

 

[Spikedriver]

Oh, I know.
I never mentioned SS.
Just separate out the health-insurance stuff from the pension stuff.

Either way, I couldn't buy my own insurance for three years as with my health condition I am uninsurable. Just my maintenance meds cost over $20k/year. I'd hate to know what it will be in 2039...

 

[Supervisor42]

Either way, I couldn't buy my own insurance for three years as with my health condition I am uninsurable. Just my maintenance meds cost over $20k/year. I'd hate to know what it will be in 2039...

Well that's completely different.

I just get on the soapbox because I was fixated on starting drawing SS right after I retired.
I ran the numbers after I retired and with what my 401K was cranking out, it could easily have mimicked SS for a year before I started to draw SS without going down in value.
So basically, I passed up an extra golden year of having fun for another full year of working. Stupid,stupid,stupid.
Don't be me.

 

[Supervisor42]

Yeah, this was me:

Carrot=retirement.

 

[Sewingcreations15]

Yesterday we noticed that a local independent supermarket had a big sale on pork sausages and rump steak so we went to town and purchased 6.16 kg of pork thin sausages for $3.95 per kg and 5.47 kg rump steak sliced for $9 kg and these are just unheard of super low prices around here as pork sausages are normally $9.17 kg and rump steak usually $24 kg.

Got home and went to the RSL club for the afternoon for our weekly date day and had a few soft drinks.

Today so far I started off the morning with putting on a load of washing and hanging it on the clothesline to dry and put on a loaf of bread in the bread making machine. DH cleaned the walls and benches down where we took out the kitchen cabinet and cut some plywood we had to fill in the floor to the same height as the surrounding vinyl on boarding. We are now ready with a level surface for the stove to go in there and the ply will be screwed down when the stove safety plate goes over the top when the electrician gets here.

We then went into the back room and dismantled the had it venetian blinds and put them in the bin along with a few stray cardboard boxes we got from varying deliveries. I deep cleaned the bathrooms and toilet for the week as well.

 

[Sewingcreations15]

@Amish Heart congratulations on paying off both the farm and the house with the proceeds from the sale of the school. You are so right interest you earn in bank accounts is crappy at the moment so best put into paying off debt.

 

[Sewingcreations15]

Round 2 of today is DH vacuumed the whole house and I mopped all the floors. We then folded up 3 loads of clean laundry and put it away and DH washed the dishes, cleaned the benches and I wiped the dishes and put them away. DH then set of the drip irrigation system to water the vegetable gardens, filled up our 4 lt ice- cream container to water the kangaroos and wallabies and then hand watered the potted fruit trees and herbs. Just been out the back and heard and saw the wallabies drinking from the container of water we put out.

 

[Sentry18]

Today I am Super Dad! I had breakfast going, dogs outside, and kids up getting ready at 5:30am. Now I have a fun filled sporadic day of being a chore minder, taxi driver, cook, maid, butler, playground supervisor, dog walker, and professional body guard. And that will take us to lunch time.

 

[phideaux]

Since I survived the 13th, full moon.

Nothing today.

If I can.

Whatever God is baking here...it's done. It is September.

Jim

 

[hiwall]

I couldn't buy my own insurance for three years as with my health condition I am uninsurable.

When purchasing health insurance the insurance company can no longer ask you any medical questions about any pre-existing conditions that you might have. Your health insurance premium rate should be exactly the same as any other person your age (other than smoker/non-smoker).

 

[phideaux]

When purchasing health insurance the insurance company can no longer ask you any medical questions about any pre-existing conditions that you might have. Your health insurance premium rate should be exactly the same as any other person your age (other than smoker/non-smoker).

I did not know that.
Thanks .

I know it's been a while since I got junk mail for health insurance.. always with questions about existing health .

Hmmmm

Jim

 

[snappy1]

What breed of dog?

They said a Feist mix but they also said he was house trained and was 3-6 years old and wouldn't get any bigger. Vet paper says 6 months old. Not sure I believe the breed when everything else was mis-represented. Here's his photo. He's here to stay, regardless! Just feel like he is a car that I should have taken to a mechanic first to get the real story.

 

[Curmudgeon]

They said a Feist mix but they also said he was house trained and was 3-6 years old and wouldn't get any bigger. Vet paper says 6 months old.

Smart dogs. He should be 12 to 17 inches at the shoulder when full grown. Part of the terrier family, hunting working dog. With proper training and some consistency he should make for a great dog.

Do a search for Robert Cabral videos on YouTube, he is an animal behaviorist and an awesome trainer. Watch some of his videos and implement a training regimen.

I have used his info on both of my Malinois' and they pick up on stuff in short order.

 

[Caribou]

I'd like to hear more about living with a Malinois.

 

[LadyLocust]

When purchasing health insurance the insurance company can no longer ask you any medical questions about any pre-existing conditions that you might have. Your health insurance premium rate should be exactly the same as any other person your age (other than smoker/non-smoker).

They don't ask but do require a series of "checkpoints" from a doctor which require a specific answer in order to be insured.

 

[Curmudgeon]

I'd like to hear more about living with a Malinois.

Not for the faint of heart, lol. Great dogs that require mental stimulation and physical exercise.

But, they are so eager to please it really makes them easy to train. I have 2 and they are very different. My 6 year old is very smart and energetic but does have a nice off switch in the house. My 16 month old is completely the opposite, he seems psycho compared to the other one. I'm sure with some training and a little age he will settle in.

They can vary quite a bit in regards to drive, what they do better in ie; bite work, SAR, guarding, nose work etc.

My young one comes from Ot Vitosha breeding, one of the premier breeders/trainers in the country and he is quite full of himself.

 

[Curmudgeon]

And, they are expensive to buy. There are several rescues that can and will match a dog to your liking, they can be had for a re-homing/adoption fee.

 

[Sentry18]

Found out a lady here in town had a little of Rottie puppies she was selling unregistered for $350 each. Stopped in to take a look as the Mrs. has been hinting she wants another. The woman assured me the dad was a full blooded Rottie as was the mom, and that the pregnancy was unintended event that took place a kennel. But these puppies were clearly a mix of Rottweiler and probably a lab or some kind of lab mix. When I told her that she gave me a look like "stop talking" as my comments also caught the attention of a few others looking at the pups. I pointed out the obvious signs of the dogs not being full blooded and said that they could still be great dogs, they just were not not what was being advertised.

 

[Curmudgeon]

I'd like to hear more about living with a Malinois.

This is a very "high drive" young Mal, look how quickly he picks up on the difference between 'watch' and 'look'.

These are truly amazing dogs!

 

[Meerkat]

I'd like to do that, but the Railroad Retirement Board is a little screwey about early retirement. I can't get retirement insurance without 360 qualified months of service and we can't get Social Security supplement insurance until age 67. If I had started Railroading at age 28 instead of 35 I would qualify for full retirement at age 60, assuming no more layoffs. Oh well...

I worded this all wrong. What I meant to say is, if I had accrued 360 qualified months of service for the railroad by age 60, I would qualify for Full Railroad Retirement with supplemental Railroad Retirement Board insurance. But since I started later in life, I would get a reduced pension for early Retirement, and no supplemental insurance until I reach age 67...

Non workers get it at 65. Unless they changed it. Not sure if you continue to work though.

 

[Meerkat]

No problems with the 13th. We were married on a 13th. I think it's lucky.

We were married on Xmas Eve by a JP. Wasn't planned that way but it happened.

 

[Meerkat]

shelling more peas

Good fro you timmie, wish I could say that.

 

[Meerkat]

@backlash tomato sauce - a little time consuming boiling it down, but not difficult. Holler if you've not made it before.

One thing I never made and never want to after seeing my neighbor make it. Too much work . But I bet yours is very good.

 

[Meerkat]

First, .

It makes sense to someone. The poor are easier to control. If you are flat broke you have nothing to loose. If you have a mortgage you have the illusion of owning your home. When the bubble bursts the banks wind up owning almost everything turning us into serfs. The central banks print the money, on their own presses so it costs them almost nothing.

For sure! Even a $100 credit card they can take your home and anything else you may thing you own.
Or find a bug on the protected species list in your yard.

 

[Meerkat]

Moon looked like it was full on my way to work this morning. Hovering just above the horizon. Very Beautiful dark orange color. But I'm always star gazing, moon or planet watching. Just something I've enjoyed since I was a kid.

Last few weeks have been rough at work. Last couple of months before the end of our fiscal year is always crazy, but this year has been even worse than normal. Gettin sick in the middle of it didn't help. We had incident the middle of August that ended up being reportable and had a huge critique that included 4 division directors and about 25 others. When I found out what had happened and knew the critique was coming my group and I got busy and had some solutions thought up to present to keep it from happening again. Ended up the critique went well and our solutions were looked at very favorably. When I got back from my illness 2 of the folks I deal with closest was thrilled with our ideas and told me to move forward with them. Finally got all the quotes back today and got those parts ordered and last night 2 of my techs built a flow switch with warning lights to be used with it. Showed that to my boss and division director this morning, they were both impressed.
I'm also working on 6 other projects, one of we just completed yesterday and turn it over to the owner. I've got a crew working this weekend to do a preliminary installation for another one. Spoke with the vendor for this one and they will be shipping next week and will arrive here the 26th to help with the installation. This one was a last minute deal that got dropped on me. I didn't think we had a shot at getting it done. But looks like it'll be done on time to.
All in all things started coming together today. Gotta say some stress was relived today.

Good to hear BacP.

Man! That brings back memories!
Let's see now, today I was going to wash my clothes, naa, maybe tomorrow or Sunday. Watched TV and took a nap instead.
I do not miss being 'in the mix' at all.
...And I have enjoyed looking at the beautiful full-moon tonight.
Retirement: It's worth waiting for.

Just remembered! Today is my one-year anniversary!
I hung it all up on 09-13-18.

Congrates on the Anniversary.

Jealous! If my body doesn't fall apart I'll reach full retirement eligibility around April...April of 2039, that is. I should be eligible for full medical disability/retirement in 2029 but hopefully I won't have to use it. We'll see how the back/feet/shoulder hold up...

Hang in there Spike.

Just cut work off at 62.
For those of us with 'high-miles' 65 is some fantasy that someone else wrote on a piece of paper.
It's fiction.

True but most can't retire early.

 

[MoBookworm1957]

Crocheting another blanket.
Strawberry got a bath whether she thought she needed it or not.
Trust me she needed it.
Now she is sprawled in my recliner snoring.
I on the other hand is recleaning the bathroom.
Steam mopping the bathroom floor and walls.
Will definitely have a full load of whites this afternoon to do up.
Having breakfast for supper.
Bacon, over easy eggs, fried potatoes, whole wheat toast, coffee.
Trash is outside.
Refrig is cleaned out.
Still got to dust floors.
Walked about 3.5 miles this morning before it got humid.
Will walk again this evening.

 

[Supervisor42]

True but most can't retire early.

That's not retiring early.
Don't drink the Kool-Aid.
Back in the 60's and 70's the retirement age was always 55.
What happened?
Senior-citizen discount? 55 and older.
Ask the AARP, they will come for you when you turn 55; retirement age.
Has nobody noticed that they have slowly and steadily moved the 'finish-line' further and further away while people are running the race?

Just because the government stole money out of the SS trust and they changed the numbers on some piece of paper, it does not mean our sentence 'at hard labor' gets extended.