Bite the bullet, spend money on yourself

[Rhodesplyr]

I love the Hakko soldering station I bought a few months ago, particularly the fact that it heats up much more quickly than my old iron.

And I just bought new rechargeable batteries for all my phone handsets.

[J M Fahey]

Happy to send you e-copies of the papers if you're interested.

Well, I'd be grateful if at all possible.
I checked your link and could only read the abstracts.
Of course this would be for personal enjoyment only.
TIA. juanmanuelfahey (at) gmail (dot) com

Personally, I have little doubt that the "nervousness" of money these days (which results in investments migrating wherever the promise of ROI seems greater), results in rampant downsizing and out-sourcing of jobs to the lowest bidder, leading to a vicious cycle in which the very stability of people's employment and livelihoods is paradoxically undermined by the anxiety they have over the financial security and attainability of some sort of retirement fantasy they believe they are supposed to have.

Unfortunately true.
US retirement funds which, as you say, go for the highest *promised* ROI in a blink, without further thinking, are walking in a minefield and, now and then, step on one.
Pity those who get blasted.
They are also funding Factories and Trading Companies in China (and elsewhere) which really *do* offer higher returns ... but their cheap imports flood the markets and kill everybody else.

[frankeg]

Good to hear your recovering well Enzo. I'm 55 and have had a few friends go down with heart issues. All but one got re-tubed and are doing really well. For one, the first one was the big one. I never planned to work til I died but somewhere in the 35 years of working I just got used to it... I would like to go doing something I like rather than waiting on it in a bed but as you say we don't get the choice. I recently bought a O'scope and signal gen from ebay and I do kinda feel like a kid on Christmas. Like others here, I am very conservative with money. Guitars and amps are my only toys and I don't have much of that. I am getting into working on tube amps and word of mouth is keeping me busy at it but I couldn't make a living from it. I'm a pi** poor businessman. I barely break even with parts and shipping. But I'm ok with that cause I have a good job and I'm learning as I go. If I make it there, I'd like to do repair work in retirement. We'll see. Got a few more years to go...

[olddawg]

Have you had to rebuild the pump yet? If you don't keep up with the filters you will. The had a kit at one time. I wore out a couple back in the day.

[jrfrond]

Have you had to rebuild the pump yet? If you don't keep up with the filters you will. The had a kit at one time. I wore out a couple back in the day.

I had to have Pace rebuild the pump in our oldest unit, the model 3000. The techs weren't using the inline "communion wafer" filters, and rosin residue gathered on the pump diaphragm. I disassembled it and cleaned it myself, but then it ruptured. Now, I always check to make sure that filters are installed. Like I said, finicky machines, but they work great, and like the Weller WES51 solder stations we use, they are real workhorses.

[Enzo]

Communion wafers, I like that. Visifilters.

They slowly get tan as rosin builds up, but they can be fairly well clogged without looking so.

I trigger the pump now and then, and then pop off the filter and trigger again. The amount the thing slows down with the filter is a measure if its flow.

I keep a pack of filters on hand, as well as the little felt pucks for the glass tube.

[Mark Hammer]

A couple of years back, my family and I were driving through Quebec, and stopped at a mall to buy some food at a large grocery store. I was quite taken aback to find that they actually sold communion wafers in bulk. And I'm talking a 2lb plastic bag of them! They may have been "seconds".

I'm not sure whether there is a big market in breakaway churches starting from scratch, or whether there are more people than you'd think who simply can't get enough of the hearty good good flavour of the body of Christ. Perhaps those bags are bought by retirement/nursing homes that cater to a largely Catholic clientele that can't get out to church services. Whatever the case, not one of those things you expect to see in a display by the chip dip and Cheetos. A regional oddity.

[J M Fahey]

Although never saw that, I'm not surprised.
From a Religious point of view, they are nothing more than regular bread, until Consecrated at Mass by the Priest, and that only 5 minutes before issuing them to Believers.
And the Church has to buy them *somewhere*.
In the Orthodox Church they traditionally used regular, baker-around-the-corner made bread , don't know if the custom has changed.
That said, a 1Kg package looks like a few thousand wafers.

[Enzo]

I like the idea of seconds. They won't get you the blessing of Christ, but he will at least feel warmly towards you.

[jrfrond]

Communion wafers, I like that. Visifilters.

They slowly get tan as rosin builds up, but they can be fairly well clogged without looking so.

I trigger the pump now and then, and then pop off the filter and trigger again. The amount the thing slows down with the filter is a measure if its flow.

I keep a pack of filters on hand, as well as the little felt pucks for the glass tube.

Oh, I have PLENTY of filters of both types, spare "S" baffles, glass tubes, even a spare heater for each unit. The problem is no one really cleans it out, and then when I go to use it.....

[Enzo]

I have that same problem, and I work alone.

[J M Fahey]

Then you should get the one who used it last time, no matter who, and slap his hand.

Hard.

[imaradiostar]

Has anyone noticed that newer Weller tips don't tin as well or last as long as older ones from 10-20 years ago? Maybe it's just me.

jamie

[Sweetfinger]

Well thanks for the advice, pal! Why do I think I just blew 80 bucks on an ungrateful bastid? Well, I hope he enjoys the new diamond crowning file.

[Jazz P Bass]

I finally got fed up with web pages that I have to toggle left & right to see the whole content of the page.
Now, I have used a 19" CRT monitor for years & been fine with it.
The yahoos writing the html for web pages really are never satisfied.
It seems that they are always writing for a wider screen.
So I bit the bullet & got a HP 20" flatscreen monitor.
($60.00 on EBay)
WOW!
And is it great for viewing schematics.
It can actually be viewed from across the workshop space.
Update: I was on a web page the other day that you had to have a 22" LCD to view the complete page. Bastards)