A person I know very well and whose comments I value, is a
materials buyer for one of the largest, global, manufacturing
companies in the world. He deals with many vendors in many
nations to get the materials to build large computer-type devices
sold globally. He deals with Pacific Rim vendors and
manufacturers daily, including mainland China.

He explained his belief of why dealing with the Pacific
Rim/Chinese vendors is so different than dealing with European
vendors. In summary, it's the Judeo/Christian teachings vs. the
Buddhist/Confucian/Hindu etc. teachings about lying. He told me
that we're all taught that we should always tell the truth and
trade honestly, where the Chinese-type vendors don't believe it's
bad to lie or cheat on a transaction. To them, the shame (loss of
face) comes from getting caught- not if they get away with it.

His personal technique is to order from a vendor and stage serious
inspections both at the production site and upon receipt of the
items. If there is even the slightest discrepancy, he has his
people throw a fit. The product is returned, screaming phone
calls are made, threats to never deal with them again are made,
upstream and downstream vendors are notified and even government
officials are brought into the fray. The goal is to send the
message to the manufacturer or vendor that cheating will be caught
and the maximum amount of embarrassment (loss of face) will be
extracted. Once the fray has died down, the new vendor will
usually supply what is negotiated and ordered for a while. Then,
the cycle starts all over again.

BTW, the Japanese have a similar technique that seldom fails. For
instance, let's use lumber as an example. When a US/Canadian
vendor decides to sell hardwood in Japan, the buyer will ask the
vendor for a graded sample of the materials. It's not at all
uncommon in our own culture to select samples that showcase our
product in its best light. This doesn't work with the Japanese,
however. When the shipment reaches Japan, the hardwood is judged
against the sample, the matching or better material is kept and
anything substandard is returned. There is no compromise for a
bell-shaped grading curve: it's the sample-or-better side of the
curve, only. Many a new vendor has learned a hard lesson about
that little cultural difference.

The last example is about a US built product that is sold by one
company in the US and another in Japan. Both come off the same
assembly line, but with different tags on them: USA or Japan
names. The item shipped to Japan is literally invaded by
inspectors for the buyer, and even things like fingerprints on the
inside of the cabinet rate down marks. . . enough of which and the
product is returned. There are different standards, beyond
performance, that affect Japanese-bound items.

--
Nonny

ELOQUIDIOT (n) A highly educated, sophisticated,
and articulate person who has absolutely no clue
concerning what they are talking about.
The person is typically a media commentator or politician.

According to the book, "Small Wonder," the beetle was designed by
Dr. Porsche and the basic design was so good that only refinements
were made over its long manufacturing run. IMHO, if there's any
secret to VW's beetle, it was that they got lots and lots of
feedback from owners bringing the car in with the little glitches.
If there was consistency to a glitch, like a door handle that kept
breaking, VW would design a new and improved one and start using
them. The product was continually refined and improved, within
the limitations of the basic design or concept.

I had an '71 Super Beetle and felt it was an excellent car if you
overlooked the lack of heat in IN/MI winters. grin

--
Nonny

ELOQUIDIOT (n) A highly educated, sophisticated,
and articulate person who has absolutely no clue
concerning what they are talking about.
The person is typically a media commentator or politician.

On 12/17/2009 5:01 AM dadiOH spake thus:

David Nebenzahl wrote:

The single exception I can think of is the Graflex press cameras
(Crown and Speed Graphics), made here in the US and used around the
world up through the 1970s.

Thank heavens they expired

Why do you say that?

I still say that the Crown Graphic (which I have) is the single best
cost-effective way for people to break into large-format (4x5)
photography, even at this late date. They're still available on eBay for
very reasonable prices, along with fantastic lenses. They may not be all
one would want in a view camera: limited movements, no rotating back,
etc. But compared to the Lexuses and Mercedes of LF cameras, relatively
speaking, they're a great deal. And they were extremely well-made.

The next step would be a Busch press camera, also American-made.


--
I am a Canadian who was born and raised in The Netherlands. I live on
Planet Earth on a spot of land called Canada. We have noisy neighbours.

- harvested from Usenet

On 12/17/2009 6:42 AM J. Clarke spake thus:

Leon wrote:

"Lew Hodgett" wrote in message
...

Your reefer may be in the same mode.

Reefer? ;~)

Navy talk for "refrigerator".

Also a railroading term.


--
I am a Canadian who was born and raised in The Netherlands. I live on
Planet Earth on a spot of land called Canada. We have noisy neighbours.

- harvested from Usenet

Nonny wrote:

According to the book, "Small Wonder," the beetle was designed by Dr.
Porsche and the basic design was so good that only refinements were made
over its long manufacturing run. IMHO, if there's any secret to VW's
beetle, it was that they got lots and lots of feedback from owners
bringing the car in with the little glitches. If there was consistency
to a glitch, like a door handle that kept breaking, VW would design a
new and improved one and start using them. The product was continually
refined and improved, within the limitations of the basic design or
concept.

I had an '71 Super Beetle and felt it was an excellent car if you
overlooked the lack of heat in IN/MI winters. grin

ISTR hearing a long time ago, that when VW asked for an independent
evaluation of the design, the only suggestion made was to increase the
size of the rear window -- which they did, of course.

Perce

"J. Clarke" wrote in message
...
Leon wrote:

Totally agree with that and I attribute the failure to poor teachers
that don't give a **** and that finally led to teachers that could
not find a job any where else. Long ago when teachers could step in
as a parent and administer discipline he or she could actually teach.
We have lost teachers that actually taught for baby sitters.

Uh, you might want to actually get drunk with a few teachers sometime
before
you blame them. They have to do what they can with what they've got and
what they've got these days isn't much (and I'm not talking about the
kids,
I'm talking about the rules they are required to work under). Wanna fix
education, first shoot all the professors of education and all the school
boards.


It may differ with location but for the most part the teachers you are
describing are what we had 20 years ago, but not in Houston today. Today
they are asking "how to do" from the kids.
I know it is not their fault, the teachers, for the most part the good ones
are long since gone.
And they are gone because they no longer want to be baby sitters instead of
maintaining discipline and actually teaching. Teaching should also be
considered a part of how a child is taught to act and to respect others.
That does not happen any more.
While I agree the restrictions/cigarettes was the root of the problem. That
problem has decayed enough that we now can only get baby sitters/the cancer,
to hold positions for any length of time. Any decent new teacher typically
becomes a bad one or leaves the system. The problem is through out the
whole education system now.


The HS my son went to was an exception to the norm, that school had "good"
teachers and there was not a discipline problem. That public HS was by
invitation only. The only requirement to be invited to attend that school
was that you needed to have a "Satisfactory" average, for conduct, that's
it. If a student became a discipline problem they were warned once and the
second time transferred to one of the other HS's in the district.

When my son began at that HS the school had grades 9-12. In all four grade
levels there were only 650 students. I would estimate that in the other 3
HS's that there were in excess of 10K and that is a very conservative
estimate. Out of all of those students approximately 150 were invited each
year to attend Kerr HS.

Kerr HS taught the kids how to prepare for college every day. There was no
week off to study for the TAAS test, which is a Texas thing to judge how the
students are coming along for their grade level. His middle school took a
week every year to review for that test. IIRC the year my son graduated 95%
of the students had been accepted to a college. IIRC 87% of those students
had been awarded scholarships of $15K or more.

I'm certain that the education that my son received at Kerr HS played a very
major roll in him transitioning so smoothly into college. I recall the
10th graders mentoring the incoming 9th graders and most of them were high
achievers. Life transitioning into Kerr HS was a bigger challenge for my
son than going from that HS into college. I am also certain that Kerr HS
played a major part in my son getting into the Honors College his first year
at the university and graduating with a 4 year average GPA of 3.87.

"HeyBub" wrote in message
m...
J. Clarke wrote:

John Silber, former president of Boston College, was asked what one thing
could be done to improve the quality of education in America. He answered:
"Abolish colleges of education."


Sounds exactly like the typical "former" employee with an ax to grind would
say.

I'd say get rid of public education and all the bureaucracy that come with
it. Privatize it.

"David Nebenzahl" wrote in message
s.com...
On 12/17/2009 6:42 AM J. Clarke spake thus:

Leon wrote:

"Lew Hodgett" wrote in message
...

Your reefer may be in the same mode.

Reefer? ;~)

Navy talk for "refrigerator".

Also a railroading term.


Also a Dope term.....

Leon wrote:
I'm certain that the education that my son received at Kerr HS played a very
major roll in him transitioning so smoothly into college. I recall the
10th graders mentoring the incoming 9th graders and most of them were high
achievers. Life transitioning into Kerr HS was a bigger challenge for my
son than going from that HS into college. I am also certain that Kerr HS
played a major part in my son getting into the Honors College his first year
at the university and graduating with a 4 year average GPA of 3.87.

"Summa Cum Laude" at that! Right?

Don't forget to add "parenting" into the equation.

Like Doug Miller's young Eagle Scout, few young folks achieve what both
your boys have achieved without the parents being a BIG part of the
success story.

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 10/22/08
KarlC@ (the obvious)

"Lew Hodgett" wrote in message
...

"Leon" wrote:

I replaced my electric water heater early in 2004. Looking at the
efficiency label on the old water heater and comparing to the new $300
water heater installed by me, I determined that it would pay for itself
in less than 2 years.

Does your utility offer discount rates for an electric hot water heater
that operates only during off peak hours?

Not yet! Before deregulation in TX I participated in a pilot program with
our only source for electricity. In 1995 they installed the fancy
programmable/hooked up to a modem central air thermostat. They also
installed a switch on the WH that was controlled by the central air
thermostat. During the Summer months I paid as little as 2.4 cents at
night, 3.4 cents in the late mornings, 12 cents in the afternoon and 6.5
cents early evening. Summer weekends an all Winter long never over 6.5
cents. The thermostac would control "what worked when" and inside
temperatures according to pricing tiers during the day and to what I decided
should be done at those points. Daily the thermostat would read the digital
electric meter and "phone home" the information concerning my usage. At any
time I could see how many KWh I had used for the day, week, and month. I
cold also see what the electricity had cost me for those time periods and a
projected estimated bill for the month. I LOVED IT!

I have not seen any thing like it since. However over the next 10 years the
Utility company is going to replace all the electric meters with digital
ones, like I had 15 years ago. Perhaps then I can get back on a plan.


When my dad built our house in 1947, he installed a 100 gallon tank for 3
people that only operated at night.

We always had hot water heated by low cost electricity.

I basically had the same set up except I told the WH to come on at 8m and
run for 3 hours and again at 5:00 am and run for 1 hour. That worked out
fine also.

"notbob" wrote in message
...
On 2009-12-17, Lew Hodgett wrote:

Your reefer may be in the same mode.

But, is paying $800 for a more efficient ....read energy conserving,
not colder.... gonna save you any money? Not likely before it dies
and you need to spend another $800 another new one.

nb

Well you have to also consider and I have had to factor this in before. If
the unit is old you must admit it may be on borrowed time, may be not. But
if you wait till it fails the food is going to be a costly factor added to
the cost of replacement if you don't catch the problem quickly enough. You
really never consider that angle till it happens.

"Swingman" wrote in message
...
Leon wrote:
I'm certain that the education that my son received at Kerr HS played a
very major roll in him transitioning so smoothly into college. I recall
the 10th graders mentoring the incoming 9th graders and most of them were
high achievers. Life transitioning into Kerr HS was a bigger challenge
for my son than going from that HS into college. I am also certain that
Kerr HS played a major part in my son getting into the Honors College his
first year at the university and graduating with a 4 year average GPA of
3.87.

"Summa Cum Laude" at that! Right?

Yeah but Bryan was not around to help me spell it. My computer surely would
have turned it into Lookey Chop Suey.

Don't forget to add "parenting" into the equation.

I guess, it seemed prett easy to me.


Like Doug Miller's young Eagle Scout, few young folks achieve what both
your boys have achieved without the parents being a BIG part of the
success story.


Absolutely.

"Percival P. Cassidy" wrote in message
...
Nonny wrote:

According to the book, "Small Wonder," the beetle was designed by Dr.
Porsche and the basic design was so good that only refinements were made
over its long manufacturing run. IMHO, if there's any secret to VW's
beetle, it was that they got lots and lots of feedback from owners
bringing the car in with the little glitches. If there was consistency to
a glitch, like a door handle that kept breaking, VW would design a new
and improved one and start using them. The product was continually
refined and improved, within the limitations of the basic design or
concept.

I had an '71 Super Beetle and felt it was an excellent car if you
overlooked the lack of heat in IN/MI winters. grin

ISTR hearing a long time ago, that when VW asked for an independent
evaluation of the design, the only suggestion made was to increase the
size of the rear window -- which they did, of course.

They could'a also put the battery on top of the car and that would'a been a
better place than under the back seat.

"Lew Hodgett" wrote in message
...



Does your utility offer discount rates for an electric hot water heater
that operates only during off peak hours?

Crap Lew, I am bored so I am going to come back with an answer that you are
going to "owe me one" for. I'll be prepairing to duck.

Why would I need an electric hot water heater? ;~)

Thank you George Carlin.

On Wed, 16 Dec 2009 19:57:35 -0800, Smitty Two
wrote:

In article ,
Swingman wrote:

Jules wrote:

They'll build what they're paid to build, no more and no less. There are
talented folk there, same as anywhere else

They are excellent copy cats, but there is NOTHING like European
engineering for built-in quality, from handsaws and screwdrivers, to
spaceships.

The Europeans have yet to make a reliable car.

Au Contraire - they make VERY reliable cars. You can rely on them to
make trouble when they are most needed.

That said, one of the least troublesome cars I ever owned - and the
price was definitely right on top of it all, was a 1972 Vauxhaul Viva
HC - sold in Canada as the Pontiac Firenza. I bought it for $250 in
1979 when it was traded for a new Lada
It took the typical British "fondling it's nuts" on a semi-regular
basis, but the only breakdown I suffered with it was when the timing
belt broke heading south out of Sydney Nova Scotia - fixed at the side
of the road - and the regulator died the next day just North of
Halifax.

On Thu, 17 Dec 2009 11:10:58 -0800, Nonny wrote:

According to the book, "Small Wonder," the beetle was designed by
Dr. Porsche

I believe he "borrowed" a lot of the design from Tatra, though.

IMHO, if there's any secret
to VW's beetle, it was that they got lots and lots of feedback from
owners bringing the car in with the little glitches.

I don't think it was even that - they just kept the design
mechanically simple and made it easy to swap parts out when needed.

Re. windows, I think the rear split-screen ones were the earliest ones -
in the 50s they dropped the split, and soon after that made the rear
window a lot bigger.

cheers

Jules

On Wed, 16 Dec 2009 22:07:48 -0600, Swingman wrote:

Smitty Two wrote:
In article ,
Swingman wrote:

Jules wrote:

They'll build what they're paid to build, no more and no less. There are
talented folk there, same as anywhere else
They are excellent copy cats, but there is NOTHING like European
engineering for built-in quality, from handsaws and screwdrivers, to
spaceships.

The Europeans have yet to make a reliable car.

WHAT??? LOL ... surely you jest??

Over 60 years ago one of the most reliable and efficient automobiles
known to mankind, and to this day the best selling car in history, hit
the ground running ... the "Volkswagen".

Sheessh, it's sad, this total failure of the educational system and the
resultant ignorance!


Reliable????????????
To a point.
But I worked a LOT on the few that were running around my home town in
the late 60s and early 70s. And for years after too.

I drove a 1949 Beetle - it didn't have enough power to hurt itself -
or even get out of it's own way - and it DID last a long time, with
regular and periodic infusions of sweat, cursing, and parts.

We had TWO 1500 squarebacks die on us in one week-long holiday and we
never did get to our destination.

On Wed, 16 Dec 2009 21:19:48 -0800 (PST), DD_BobK
wrote:

On Dec 16, 7:26Â*pm, Dave Balderstone
wrote:
In article , J. Clarke



wrote:
CW wrote:
"Swingman" wrote in message
m...
HeyBub wrote:
Swingman wrote:
Jules wrote:

They'll build what they're paid to build, no more and no less.
There are talented folk there, same as anywhere else
They are excellent copy cats, but there is NOTHING like European
engineering for built-in quality, from handsaws and screwdrivers,
to spaceships.

The Europeans built a spaceship? I think Flash Gordon was an
American...

Last I heard, the Europeans were trying to put up their own GPS
satellite system - for reasons passing understanding.

Tsk, tsk ... you get into space on "rockets", Bubba ... Wernher Von
Braun

Yes, the success of the American space program was due to imports.
They imported Germany's best scientists.

So what percentage of the engineers working on Apollo were German?

Hint--go to Youtube and search on "Disney Moon" and you'll find that the
concept that Von Braun was pushing pre-Apollo was considerably different
from what actually flew (and before you make some ignorant sneering remark
about Disney, do the search and watch the episode).

A surprising number of the best NASA scientists and engineers came from
Canada after the Avro Arrow project was canceled by the Diefenbaker
Conservative government.

http://www.avroarrow.org/AvroArrow/Avroengineers.html

Not to discount the contribution of these aforementioned Canadian
engineers but realistically how many were enticed to come to the US
AND how many US scientists and engineers were working at NASA at the
time? (also consider the number of S & E's working for contractors as
well)

Did these Canadian engineers represent 1%? 5% 10% 25% ?

cheers
Bob
How about roughly the top 10%?????????

Leon wrote:
"Percival P. Cassidy" wrote in message
...
Nonny wrote:

According to the book, "Small Wonder," the beetle was designed by Dr.
Porsche and the basic design was so good that only refinements were made
over its long manufacturing run. IMHO, if there's any secret to VW's
beetle, it was that they got lots and lots of feedback from owners
bringing the car in with the little glitches. If there was consistency to
a glitch, like a door handle that kept breaking, VW would design a new
and improved one and start using them. The product was continually
refined and improved, within the limitations of the basic design or
concept.

I had an '71 Super Beetle and felt it was an excellent car if you
overlooked the lack of heat in IN/MI winters. grin
ISTR hearing a long time ago, that when VW asked for an independent
evaluation of the design, the only suggestion made was to increase the
size of the rear window -- which they did, of course.

They could'a also put the battery on top of the car and that would'a been a
better place than under the back seat.

You obviously never had to deal with a Renault 4CV??

... now that car was NOT a good example of "European engineering"!

My Dad got one for his work car in the 50's and it was a constant battle
keeping it running.

It's where I learned how to use a bolt extractor, removing twisted off
head bolts, which they frequently did.

Then again, it was French ...

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 10/22/08
KarlC@ (the obvious)

Nonny wrote:
According to the book, "Small Wonder," the beetle was designed by Dr.
Porsche and the basic design was so good that only refinements were made
over its long manufacturing run. IMHO, if there's any secret to VW's
beetle, it was that they got lots and lots of feedback from owners
bringing the car in with the little glitches. If there was consistency
to a glitch, like a door handle that kept breaking, VW would design a
new and improved one and start using them. The product was continually
refined and improved, within the limitations of the basic design or
concept.

I had an '71 Super Beetle and felt it was an excellent car if you
overlooked the lack of heat in IN/MI winters. grin


I thought there was a gasoline burning heater option for cold climate
VW Bugs.

TDD

On Thu, 17 Dec 2009 08:02:11 -0500, dgk wrote:

On Thu, 17 Dec 2009 07:50:17 -0500, "dadiOH"
wrote:

Doug Miller wrote:
In article , "J. Clarke"
wrote:

As for European engineering in general, anybody who thinks that it's
all high quality hasn't fettled a brand new British-made Stanley
shoulder plane.

Or owned a Fiat...

I'm the original owner of my 1973 Fiat 124 Spyder. It was my only car until
recently. It has been driven down steam beds in Mexico, over mountains,
across deserts, etc. It still runs and looks great. Biggest problem I've
had with it is "mechanics" screwing up stuff; surprising since it is so
mechanically simple but they manage.

Many years ago I had a Fiat 124 Spyder. I called it the Fiat 124
Lemon. I did buy it used so perhaps it was just maintained terribly,
but almost every other week something went wrong. The alternator died,
the string operating the clutch broke, the transmission developed
problems, and just endless crap.

I guess it just depends on when it got put together.


I had a '75 Fiat 128 L Sport Coupe. Got it for nothing in 1978 after
it sat at a dealership for 2 years to have the engine replaced under
warranty, and the dealer went broke. The guy gave it to me for
installing the brand new- never run engine in his X19.

I put an aircraft generator and 8 golfcart batteries in it and it was
more reliable than any other 128 I ran across - and even it was no
heck.

David Nebenzahl wrote:
On 12/17/2009 5:01 AM dadiOH spake thus:

David Nebenzahl wrote:

The single exception I can think of is the Graflex press cameras
(Crown and Speed Graphics), made here in the US and used around the
world up through the 1970s.

Thank heavens they expired

Why do you say that?

I still say that the Crown Graphic (which I have) is the single best
cost-effective way for people to break into large-format (4x5)
photography, even at this late date. They're still available on eBay
for very reasonable prices, along with fantastic lenses. They may not
be all one would want in a view camera: limited movements, no
rotating back, etc. But compared to the Lexuses and Mercedes of LF
cameras, relatively speaking, they're a great deal. And they were
extremely well-made.

The next step would be a Busch press camera, also American-made.

And after Graflex went under, Sakai bought the tooling and continued to make
them for another decade or so in Japan as the Toyo Super Graphic.

I used to think that such things were quaint anachronisms until I found out
what they could do. Never got into large format myself but one of these
days . . .

Nonny wrote:
According to the book, "Small Wonder," the beetle was designed by
Dr. Porsche and the basic design was so good that only refinements
were made over its long manufacturing run. IMHO, if there's any
secret to VW's beetle, it was that they got lots and lots of
feedback from owners bringing the car in with the little glitches.
If there was consistency to a glitch, like a door handle that kept
breaking, VW would design a new and improved one and start using
them. The product was continually refined and improved, within
the limitations of the basic design or concept.

I had an '71 Super Beetle and felt it was an excellent car if you
overlooked the lack of heat in IN/MI winters. grin

Super Beetle was a lesser beast though. Might have had better front
suspension geometry but it paid a price in repairability.

On Thu, 17 Dec 2009 07:22:54 -0600, "Leon"
wrote:


"Dave Balderstone" wrote in message
news:161220092126090752%dave@N_O_T_T_H_I_Sbalders tone.ca...

A surprising number of the best NASA scientists and engineers came from
Canada after the Avro Arrow project was canceled by the Diefenbaker
Conservative government.

http://www.avroarrow.org/AvroArrow/Avroengineers.html


Considering that they were getting a better offer than staying in Canada,
the numbers may not be so suprising. What may be suprising is the number of
Canadian sientists that Canada could not hold on to.

The Canadian Aerospace industry evaporated overnight, and NASA and the
US companies snatched up the best aerospace workers as part of the
deal.

Leon wrote:
"J. Clarke" wrote in message
...
Leon wrote:
Totally agree with that and I attribute the failure to poor teachers
that don't give a **** and that finally led to teachers that could
not find a job any where else. Long ago when teachers could step in
as a parent and administer discipline he or she could actually teach.
We have lost teachers that actually taught for baby sitters.
Uh, you might want to actually get drunk with a few teachers sometime
before
you blame them. They have to do what they can with what they've got and
what they've got these days isn't much (and I'm not talking about the
kids,
I'm talking about the rules they are required to work under). Wanna fix
education, first shoot all the professors of education and all the school
boards.


It may differ with location but for the most part the teachers you are
describing are what we had 20 years ago, but not in Houston today. Today
they are asking "how to do" from the kids.
I know it is not their fault, the teachers, for the most part the good ones
are long since gone.
And they are gone because they no longer want to be baby sitters instead of
maintaining discipline and actually teaching. Teaching should also be
considered a part of how a child is taught to act and to respect others.
That does not happen any more.
While I agree the restrictions/cigarettes was the root of the problem. That
problem has decayed enough that we now can only get baby sitters/the cancer,
to hold positions for any length of time. Any decent new teacher typically
becomes a bad one or leaves the system. The problem is through out the
whole education system now.


The HS my son went to was an exception to the norm, that school had "good"
teachers and there was not a discipline problem. That public HS was by
invitation only. The only requirement to be invited to attend that school
was that you needed to have a "Satisfactory" average, for conduct, that's
it. If a student became a discipline problem they were warned once and the
second time transferred to one of the other HS's in the district.

When my son began at that HS the school had grades 9-12. In all four grade
levels there were only 650 students. I would estimate that in the other 3
HS's that there were in excess of 10K and that is a very conservative
estimate. Out of all of those students approximately 150 were invited each
year to attend Kerr HS.

Kerr HS taught the kids how to prepare for college every day. There was no
week off to study for the TAAS test, which is a Texas thing to judge how the
students are coming along for their grade level. His middle school took a
week every year to review for that test. IIRC the year my son graduated 95%
of the students had been accepted to a college. IIRC 87% of those students
had been awarded scholarships of $15K or more.

I'm certain that the education that my son received at Kerr HS played a very
major roll in him transitioning so smoothly into college. I recall the
10th graders mentoring the incoming 9th graders and most of them were high
achievers. Life transitioning into Kerr HS was a bigger challenge for my
son than going from that HS into college. I am also certain that Kerr HS
played a major part in my son getting into the Honors College his first year
at the university and graduating with a 4 year average GPA of 3.87.


Shhhhh! Don't let the current administration or its minions know about
that school, they'll claim it's not fair and find some way to destroy
it. Good going for your son and the parents who raised such a fine young
man, I know you're proud. I wish more school systems would separate the
wheat from the chaff. The chaff doesn't necessarily have to be thrown
away, perhaps a boot camp or two could turn it into something useful.

TDD

wrote:
On Wed, 16 Dec 2009 19:57:35 -0800, Smitty Two
wrote:

In article ,
Swingman wrote:

Jules wrote:

They'll build what they're paid to build, no more and no less. There are
talented folk there, same as anywhere else
They are excellent copy cats, but there is NOTHING like European
engineering for built-in quality, from handsaws and screwdrivers, to
spaceships.
The Europeans have yet to make a reliable car.

Au Contraire - they make VERY reliable cars. You can rely on them to
make trouble when they are most needed.

That said, one of the least troublesome cars I ever owned - and the
price was definitely right on top of it all, was a 1972 Vauxhaul Viva
HC - sold in Canada as the Pontiac Firenza. I bought it for $250 in
1979 when it was traded for a new Lada
It took the typical British "fondling it's nuts" on a semi-regular
basis, but the only breakdown I suffered with it was when the timing
belt broke heading south out of Sydney Nova Scotia - fixed at the side
of the road - and the regulator died the next day just North of
Halifax.

Did it have Lucas electrics?

TDD

On Dec 17, 4:42*pm, The Daring Dufas
wrote:
wrote:
On Wed, 16 Dec 2009 19:57:35 -0800, Smitty Two
wrote:

In article ,
Swingman wrote:

Jules wrote:

They'll build what they're paid to build, no more and no less. There are
talented folk there, same as anywhere else
They are excellent copy cats, but there is NOTHING like European
engineering for built-in quality, from handsaws and screwdrivers, to
spaceships.
The Europeans have yet to make a reliable car.

Au Contraire - they make VERY reliable cars. You can rely on them to
make trouble when they are most needed.

That said, one of the least troublesome cars I ever owned - and the
price was definitely right on top of it all, was a 1972 Vauxhaul Viva
HC - sold in Canada as the Pontiac Firenza. I bought it for $250 in
1979 when it was traded for a new Lada
It took the typical British "fondling it's nuts" on a semi-regular
basis, but the only breakdown I suffered with it was when the timing
belt broke heading south out of Sydney Nova Scotia - fixed at the side
of the road - and the regulator died the next day just North of
Halifax.

Did it have Lucas electrics?

TDD

Lucas electrics (as in refrigerators) are the reason the British drink
warm beer.

"Leon" wrote in message
...

"HeyBub" wrote in message
m...
J. Clarke wrote:

John Silber, former president of Boston College, was asked what one thing
could be done to improve the quality of education in America. He
answered: "Abolish colleges of education."


Sounds exactly like the typical "former" employee with an ax to grind
would say.

I'd say get rid of public education and all the bureaucracy that come
with it. Privatize it.


I would agree with you if it was workable but, unfortunately, its not. There
would be many people that could not afford it thus not sending their kids to
school. This is for k true 12. If college is what you meant, I completely
agree with you. Yes, far fewer people would go to college but a college
degree would mean something. I attended two colleges. The first one was
private. It was quite good. No restrictions from government control,
instructors were hired for their knowledge and experience. When hiring, they
put no stock whatsoever in a teaching degree. All instructors had experience
in the fields that they were teaching,rather than just reading about it.
Students were there to learn, not just to spend time. This was maintained by
strict policies If you were a troublemaker or in any way interfering with
others abilities to get the education they were paying for, you would be
expelled, If you could not maintain a reasonable grade average, you would be
given the chance to either transfer to something you could handle or you
would be asked to leave. They would not tolerate an underachiever dragging
the rest of the students down. You were given every opportunity to excel. A
fair amount of their funding was in the form of donations from local
business that saw it as an investment in future employees. No donations were
excepted with conditions attached. Kept everyone honest. The second one was
a government funded local college that was considered one of the best in the
area. If that was the best, I would hate to see the worst. Very few of the
instructors were top rate. In one class, people would come to me instead of
the instructor as I new more about the subject than he did. Trouble makers
were tolerated and failing grades were upgraded to passing to ensure that
the student would continue to go there as their government funding was
attached to body count rather than academic achievement. There was, of
course, students that came from other government programs, such as
vocational rehabilitation, that were virtually granted a diploma.

They also subscribed to what used to be standard engineering practice. Make
it only as complicated as it needs to be.


"Nonny" wrote in message
...
According to the book, "Small Wonder," the beetle was designed by Dr.
Porsche and the basic design was so good that only refinements were made
over its long manufacturing run. IMHO, if there's any secret to VW's
beetle, it was that they got lots and lots of feedback from owners
bringing the car in with the little glitches. If there was consistency to
a glitch, like a door handle that kept breaking, VW would design a new and
improved one and start using them. The product was continually refined
and improved, within the limitations of the basic design or concept.

I had an '71 Super Beetle and felt it was an excellent car if you
overlooked the lack of heat in IN/MI winters. grin

--
Nonny

ELOQUIDIOT (n) A highly educated, sophisticated,
and articulate person who has absolutely no clue
concerning what they are talking about.
The person is typically a media commentator or politician.

"Lew Hodgett" wrote in message
...
I wrote:

Reliability was NOT my experience with a diesel Rabbit.

"notbob" wrote:

They had great seat, though!

True.

Same with the Opel and the "Bug".

Lew

I got badly rear ended in my bug (64) and the seat did exactly what Ralph
Nader said it would do - broke loose from the tracks.

On Dec 17, 4:23*pm, Swingman wrote:
Leon wrote:
"Percival P. Cassidy" wrote in message
...
Nonny wrote:

According to the book, "Small Wonder," the beetle was designed by Dr.
Porsche and the basic design was so good that only refinements were made
over its long manufacturing run. *IMHO, if there's any secret to VW's
beetle, it was that they got lots and lots of feedback from owners
bringing the car in with the little glitches. If there was consistency to
a glitch, like a door handle that kept breaking, VW would design a new
and improved one and start using them. *The product was continually
refined and improved, within the limitations of the basic design or
concept.

I had an '71 Super Beetle and felt it was an excellent car if you
overlooked the lack of heat in IN/MI winters. grin
ISTR hearing a long time ago, that when VW asked for an independent
evaluation of the design, the only suggestion made was to increase the
size of the rear window -- which they did, of course.

They could'a also put the battery on top of the car and that would'a been a
better place than under the back seat.

You obviously never had to deal with a Renault 4CV??

* ... now that car was NOT a good example of "European engineering"!

My Dad got one for his work car in the 50's and it was a constant battle
keeping it running.

It's where I learned how to use a bolt extractor, removing twisted off
head bolts, which they frequently did.

Then again, it was French ...

--www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 10/22/08
KarlC@ (the obvious)

Funny you should mention the French. In the early 50's, the DS Ciroen
has a whole whack of brilliant ideas incorporated in their cars.
(NOT talking about the execution of those ideas, because that is
another thread/book/internet)
Stuff like front-wheel drive, steerable headlights, pneumatic-
adjustable suspension, low drag co-efficient, collapsable steering
wheel etc.
The 2CV (Ugly Duckling) transported a lot of college kids all over
Europe. Cheap, easy to fix, great on fuel, but don't ever end up in
the middle of the back-seat because you will hurt...or so I'm told.

During practice laps for the Grand Prix of Canada in Montreal, Thiery
Boutson's Renault had a sound unlike anything I had ever heard.
He won. Air actuated valves. No camshaft(s) They could adjust the size
of and shape of the 'soft-ware' lobe and duration and height of valve
lift as the car was going around the track. The French are not stupid.
and
then
there
was
Bardot.

"Leon" wrote in message
...

"Lew Hodgett" wrote in message
...

"Leon" wrote:

I replaced my electric water heater early in 2004. Looking at the
efficiency label on the old water heater and comparing to the new $300
water heater installed by me, I determined that it would pay for itself
in less than 2 years.

Does your utility offer discount rates for an electric hot water heater
that operates only during off peak hours?

Not yet! Before deregulation in TX I participated in a pilot program
with our only source for electricity. In 1995 they installed the fancy
programmable/hooked up to a modem central air thermostat. They also
installed a switch on the WH that was controlled by the central air
thermostat. During the Summer months I paid as little as 2.4 cents at
night, 3.4 cents in the late mornings, 12 cents in the afternoon and 6.5
cents early evening. Summer weekends an all Winter long never over 6.5
cents. The thermostac would control "what worked when" and inside
temperatures according to pricing tiers during the day and to what I
decided should be done at those points. Daily the thermostat would read
the digital electric meter and "phone home" the information concerning my
usage. At any time I could see how many KWh I had used for the day, week,
and month. I cold also see what the electricity had cost me for those
time periods and a projected estimated bill for the month. I LOVED IT!

I have not seen any thing like it since. However over the next 10 years
the Utility company is going to replace all the electric meters with
digital ones, like I had 15 years ago. Perhaps then I can get back on a
plan.


PGE recently replaced our analog meter with a digital one. So far it does
not 'phone home' to me and I only look at it when taking out the trash, but
the odd thing is my usage dropped by about ten percent since they put it in.
No changes at all in appliances or usage. I'm becoming very suspicious that
a faulty analog meter or reader's eyeballs have been charging me an extra
ten percent for years.

"Robatoy" wrote:


The French are not stupid.

When it comes to doing business, the Germans can be difficult but the
French are impossible.

Lew

"LDosser" wrote in message
...

PGE recently replaced our analog meter with a digital one. So far it does
not 'phone home' to me and I only look at it when taking out the trash,
but the odd thing is my usage dropped by about ten percent since they put
it in. No changes at all in appliances or usage. I'm becoming very
suspicious that a faulty analog meter or reader's eyeballs have been
charging me an extra ten percent for years.


I'd suspect a faulty meter over being misread. While a meter is easily
misread it is usually corrected on the following read. If you are seeing
longer term less usage it sounds like the old meter was not being nice to
you.

My meter comunicated with the thermostat and then through the modem to give
the power company the information. The meter readers would give that meter
the strangest looks as it was not readabel IIRC, the modem was the link to
my billing.

"Edward A. Falk" wrote in message
...
In article ,
LDosser wrote:

Keeping on top of things is the key. A friend of mine had a product
made in China. He spec'ed fire-resistant plastic for the casing. As
soon as his back was turned, they switched to cheaper plastic and his
house (where he was storing his inventory) burned down as a result.

How did plastic casings which were not fire resistant cause his house to
burn down? One suspects there was a Lot of inflammable stuff in his house.

No more than usual. I'm not up on the exact details of the fire, other
than his claim that if the factory had built them as he spec'ed, the
fire would not have spread. Obviously, other factors were involved.

He had to issue a recall on the product, and was not happy.

Understatement!

On Dec 17, 5:26*pm, "Lew Hodgett" wrote:
"Robatoy" wrote:
The French are not stupid.

When it comes to doing business, the Germans can be difficult but the
French are impossible.

Lew

I once met a beautiful French woman. I was fascinated by her
beauty...till I saw the hairy armpits and legs and smelled the
Gauloises on her clothes.

On Thu, 17 Dec 2009 09:39:22 -0500, J. Clarke wrote:
I used to have an X1/9.

Heh, I find myself playing "spot the car" in the US, having grown up on
the other side of the Pond. Saw my first X1/9 on US soil last year, one
"proper" Mini so far (not the crappy modern BMW version), a 2CV a couple
of months ago... quite a few VW bugs, of course. A few MG Midgets (but
with the ****ty rubber bumpers that they were forced to have in the US)

Not at all like my one Toyota

I've had a major hankering after a first-generation Celica for a few
months... I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing!

I really want a Jensen FF, but that's waiting until I win the lottery

cheers

Jules

Leon wrote:
"HeyBub" wrote in message
m...
J. Clarke wrote:

John Silber, former president of Boston College, was asked what one
thing could be done to improve the quality of education in America.
He answered: "Abolish colleges of education."


Sounds exactly like the typical "former" employee with an ax to grind
would say.

I'd say get rid of public education and all the bureaucracy that
come with it. Privatize it.

Yep. If universal education is felt to be a worthwhile goal, give out
vouchers.

Oh, and before you shrug off John Silber as a disgruntled ex-employee, you
might check his Wikipedia entry. I just did and I see I made a mistake: He
was president of Boston University, not College.

Robatoy wrote:

I once met a beautiful French woman. I was fascinated by her
beauty...till I saw the hairy armpits and legs and smelled the
Gauloises on her clothes.

Early 70's Germany, bathes taken once a week, maybe; German nightclub in
the dead of winter, dancing, everyone wearing wool, deodorant apparently
an "American thing" ...

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 10/22/08
KarlC@ (the obvious)

"Leon" wrote:

Crap Lew, I am bored so I am going to come back with an answer that
you are going to "owe me one" for. I'll be prepairing to duck.

Why would I need an electric hot water heater? ;~)


I give up.

Lew