Texsox

Quiet changes of power

I'll pat you on the back

The illegal immigration bill in Arizona was written by the for profit prison industry, I think I can guess who wrote thie one.

everyday is one day closer to retirement

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jan 3, 2011 -> 12:17 PM) This is what I did with my last car. Paid about $20k for it with 34k miles on it and everything very close to mint condition. Have owned it for 4.5 years now and it is worth about $10-12k still, so I am really happy with that. Unfortunately there is this stupid timing belt issue. FWIW, my current vehicle also has a notorious engine problem. I now have 160,000 miles on it without any issues. I am trying to decide to replace it again or wait and use it as the excuse to buy the truck I want. QUOTE (Iwritecode @ Jan 3, 2011 -> 03:23 PM) FWIW, I picked up a 1993 GMC Suburban as a tow vehicle about 5 years ago and I've never had any problems with it. They really last a long time. I've gotten my money out of it and then some. I've been thinking about that as well. Having three vehicles (car to commute, motorcycle to commute/fun, and a tow truck). I'm just not certian I want another vehicle sitting around.

And when I started in the industry, a college degree wasn't only not needed, it was frowned upon at some companies. Now with all the consolidation and national companies forming, a college degree is required for damn near every company.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jan 4, 2011 -> 11:38 AM) Delivery means alot of things, if you mean actually delivering a package or something, we dont sell stuff like that. We do very complex implementations that are usually well drawn out from a timeline perspective. And my only promise for any question would be to do the best I can, but also to be honest if it wont go the client's way. I may not always be at the same company, but I want my customers to know that they can always trust me as a person. The best salespeople I knew would underpromise and overdeliver. A five week delivery when you promised four sucks, a five week delivery when you promised 6 is pretty nice. Same 5 weeks. When I had my best years I had less than ten customers. Lie to any of them and they would have kicked my butt.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jan 4, 2011 -> 10:28 AM) Most people think of sales as some sort of slick, fast talked that can con you into anything they want you to do. This is simply not the case, especially in my industry. Most of my job is listening, understanding what people's business is and what makes them improve at their jobs and add to their company's bottom line. Its really almost like going to a constant dinner party with strangers. You have to be able to talk to people and be able to be an effective listener. The other part of the job is understanding what your "products or services" can add to a company or individual. You can then connect those two pieces of knowledge into educated recommendations and hopefully people trust you enough to partner with you. There are alot of other pieces of sales, and you add those tactical pieces along the way. In an entry level sales job you will learn about prospecting and closing small and frequent sales most likely. Then you may grown into a strategic position somewhere and then possibly management or an even larger scale sales gig. There are several reasons why I like my job: 1. No day is the same. I dont sit at a desk and pour over spreadsheets, I basically run my own business and divide up my time as I choose. 2. Performance-based pay. If I told you that the harder you work the more money you make, is that of interest to you? I'm in my 20's and make a very good base+commission package, and I know that if I put in the work day in and day out, I can make life-changing money, like seven figures. 3. Freedom. I can really be the face of my business. I can attack my territory or clients any way I choose and they learn to trust in the person and not the company I work for. I like the freedom to be myself. 4. Industry I am interested in. I like technology and so I feel like I just naturally learn about trends and industry issues because its of interest to me. It took awhile to find a company I felt that way about, but it happens. Of course there are many negatives. You are graded on your performance therefor if you begin to slack off you can and will be fired. Alot of people are job-hoppers in this business because they cant stay at one place more than 2 years. Sometimes its them and sometimes you just dont have a great territory or good accounts. Lack of structure doesnt fit everyone, some people want to go to work, do a job, and go home. I work long days and nights sometimes writing proposals or doing dinner meetings, but also have days where I play golf and thats it. It depends if you dont mind putting in the hours overall. I could go on and on. Sales isnt for everyone, but its a good place to start because in most jobs there is a sales aspect at some point and its not a bad idea to try it out. Plus sales jobs are almost always hiring. That mirrors my experience. I chose a management path after 8 years in the field, which I really loved. But I have friends who are still working their same customer list for thirty years now. I was in the electronic distribution industry. Everything from connectors to micro processors, from resistors to power supplies. I lived through the PacMan years and the telephony explosion, and lived to tell about it.

I happened to spend Christmas with a retired Division 1 AD and former compliance officer, who also sat on a number of NCAA committees. Of course the suspensions and other issues came up. He mentioned his first NCAA rules book was think and could get lost, years later, when he retired, it was thick and worded much more exactly. Reading between the lines, it seemed to me that it went from a document that athletes could read and understand to a document intended for university lawyers. Overall I came away less jaded, he said the NCAA overall does a good job of equal enforcment. And to add, I agree with NSS with one addition. I would like to see the NCAA allow some personal use items for the athletes. Perhaps a clothing allowance, meal vouchers for off campus eateries, that sort of thing. Just as NSS mentioned in the jobs and college thread, a part of going to college is living on your own, partying, dating, etc. They should have a more authentic experience. Only the very top athletes would be involved in the sort of payoffs and cheating we're trying to stop. Make the rules fit the 95% of the athletes. The cross country runners, the tennis players, the fencing athletes, etc.

QUOTE (FILLINTHEBLANK @ Jan 3, 2011 -> 12:16 PM) I could be a hot commodity Not just to you, and speaking generally . . . No, there are literally thousands of recent grads and all the way through your career, with the same skill set. Not to belittle anyone's talents or someone personally, and people do need confidence when interviewing, but there are very, very few "hot commodities" in the real world. Those are usually the ones that can have an immediate and noticible affect on the bottom line.

When I was on company car plans I had to buy new. We couldn't drive cars 4 years or older. The past ten years I have not had that situation and have been buying used and paying cash, which is really nice. I figured I would always be going that route until I needed a tow vehicle for a RV. That will be a full size pick up and that used market is scary and without any super values. I have a minimum of six months before I buy so I am hoping for a major market change. It kind of hurts that I really want the Dodge or Ford.

During a down time, businesses will have a greater pool of potential workers for any openings. The candidate that offers the best option for the company gets the job. Of the two friends I have left looking for work, one has a college degree one does not. Both could probably be working today, but the one with a degree would be seriously underemployed, the other seriously underpaid. My friends with a HS diploma finds that companies will not pay him close to what he was earning before. 25 years experience in one industry and he's back to entry level every place he applies.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 2, 2011 -> 12:36 PM) Or, you keep your mouth shut after you leave. Or the enforcer pays you a visit. Nothing like a little organizational retribution to keep the workers in line. Even better if the organization can stand back and say, it wasn't us.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Dec 31, 2010 -> 07:28 PM) A few points.... • I wonder if twitter would go away if the media didn't keep quoting things people say on twitter. How many people actually use the thing? • I don't see why anybody would give a f*** what Oney Guillen tweets. What does he have to do with anything? If he wants to reveal Bobby's problems, I guess somebody could ask Bobby to comment on what Oney is saying, but it's pretty irresponsible for anybody to quote a nobody like Oney Guillen's twitter posts. Who cares what Oney Guillen has to say on twitter? • I don't see how this involves Ozzie or your feelings about Ozzie at all. This is his kid. He has nothing to do with another grown human being over 21 years old. Why anybody thinks any of this reflects badly on Ozzie is beyond me. If you play for the Sox, you have to expect your worst moments / secrets to be shared with the world. Seems like something you don't have to expect with other teams. Some people are cool with that, I suspect some people would have a problem with that.

QUOTE (beckham15 @ Jan 1, 2011 -> 08:01 PM) i like it but dont see how we could afford it unless it is a 1 yr deal with performance incentives Incentives cost real money as well. The team would have to be prepared to cough up the dough. I'm glad at least the team hasn't made a blanket "no Boras client will be signed" statement. Just as long as KW doesn't look Boras in the eyes, because then Boras will mesmerizer him.

Polar Bear Swim was a lot of fun.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Jan 1, 2011 -> 01:17 AM) I spent New Year's Eve with my grandparents. Wouldn't have it any other way. Yeah, I'd love to go out and get hammered and have fun, but they won't be around forever. I miss mine so much.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 30, 2010 -> 09:55 AM) I enjoyed it up until the guy really got heavy into the social commentary. I loved the factual work, yawned at the rest. The premise, as I felt it was, that we tell a heroic WASPY version of history and that is bad, did lend itself to that.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Dec 30, 2010 -> 08:04 AM) Lies My Teacher Told Me - James W. Loewen Very interesting read. I enjoyed reading it last year and it has influenced how I teach US History.

My mother bought a few books for #1 son and I. She thinks we read "weird books". I just finished The Killer Angels a nice work of historical fiction about the Battle of Gettysburg and started The Known World a slave narrative. Both are Pulitzer prize winners. #1 son is reading Gravity's Rainbow in-between Kafka short stories and Yeats poems. I guess my mom believes the latest Baldacci thriller would be better I am waiting for my gf to finish The Padre Puzzle, a new fiction work set on South Padre Island.

Thank you, everyone. He already has a lot of tools to be a successful grad student. He has mastered living cheap. The one skill he really needs to asking people for information.

Seems like I will be enjoying the Polar Bear Swim on Saturday. I hope the Gulf is warm.

west Texas is scary

QUOTE (The Gooch @ Dec 28, 2010 -> 10:11 PM) I am a graduate student in Industrial Organizational Psychology right now. I sound a lot like your son actually, I had a bad freshman year, really good final 3 years. I don't plan on going for a PHD however, as it is not necessary in I/O psych like it often is in clinical. Options for student aid that does not have to be paid back is usually in assistantships. These are usually for full year tuition or half tuition. They usually require research help for professors, teaching lower level undergraduate classes, and/or grading papers. Assistantships can be very competitive. Otherwise student loans are the way to go. I am taking out student loans for the majority of my education. PHD programs are much more competitive but they are MUCH more likely to pay for some if not all of tuition with an assistantship of some sort. Overall, I enjoy grad school for psych, but am baffled at how much school costs nowadays. Thanks, and Brian too.

Wouldn't the student loans be differed until out of school? I assume then that you didn't have a car? I am leaning toward urging him strongly into a PhD program from the start, but he has his goals set on UT-Austin.