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AlongTheWay

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  1. There is certainly truth in this! But, it's not just the deniers, true of people both against, and for. Having a vested interest is pretty much the only rule of law in our modern world. People, including many who work for the government in career postions, politicians, ALL Lobbists, most likely all corporations - they all want to profit in some way or another, without regard to the well being or welfare of the rest of the people or world. That's partly way so many prescribed "actions" to combat problems end up serving just a minority, at the cost of the majority.
  2. A bullying sort of way? I guess you don't have a mirror to look in? You're bullying at me telling me to go away. You are bullying me with your words and intent. Why is it that you can't offer any facts to prove your point? Why is it that you and others, have to attack me, instead of providing some proof to support your beliefs?? You don't have any proof? Or how about this attempt to again, put me down personally, and which still doesn't offer any actual, supportive facts to support their position? "Al Gore has forgotten more about climate change than you will ever know." Such is just stupid. I haven't claimed to know anything about Climate Change, except a little of what history has to offer. AL Gore made claims of disaster, none of which has come true? Can you prove this to be inaccurate or false? Each of you who've tried to discredit me, have ignored my written acknowledgement of, and belief in, Climate Change. Instead, you've attacked the journalist's who wrote the articles quoting the "experts", and you ignore that the very same newspapers who've published those past articles, continue to publish more of the same! Doesn't anybody actually THINK? Are you completely unable to admit, simply admit, those things didn't take place? Why would that be? They were printed in established papers, spoken by experts supporting what appears to be your "cause" and they were wrong. Admit it. Then move on! This doesn't make the whole Climate Change issue wrong, just those specific precognitions! Get a life! In a war, you may lose a few battles, fighting for your cause, but those losses don't mean you'll lose the war. Grow up and have the courage, if not humility, to admit, many forecasts related to disastrous events were simply wrong. Until you can do that, they only people who will listen to you are those just like you. Want to make a difference? What to help change the world? Start dealing honestly with facts and admit falsehoods. Then people will listen. What a great world you'd create by attacking and trampling down any voice that doesn't agree with you, where there can be no peaceful discussion, only hate and disrespect. Which is most of what gets posted on this board, which is why there are so few gringos who bother to read or post here. Just a sad little "click" who've nothing better to do. Doessn't matter the topic, Climate Change, Trump, Clinton, Biden, same thing, time after time. Pitiful.
  3. Ya. Probably they made up all those articles and quotes.
  4. (Medical alert: If you're a true believer and have any pre-existing co-morbidities, your doctor would certainly suggest you don't read this.) Dire climate predictions from Scientists and Politicians which haven't come true... (it's a long list) But, as is often said of recent, "It's science! It must be true." https://cei.org/blog/wrong-again-50-years-of-failed-eco-pocalyptic-predictions/
  5. Friday, last week, I took a VW Jetta 1.8 Turbo, by appointment, over to Moy to check/fix the charging system. This was my first time at his business. (My testing indicated a bad alternator.) Moy called me later in the afternoon and said that the alternator was in fact, bad and a replacement alternator is "about 6,000p", and labor of 2,000p. The cost for the alternator seemed WAY too much to me, but I needed it done and said yes. He also said the alternator belt was old and should be replaced. I agreed. He called me on Saturday and said the car was ready to pick up, and that he took it for a test drive to see if it was working. (A test drive isn't necessary to confirm an alternator is working.) He told he got a discount from the parts supplier so the total ends up less than he'd quoted. He complimented the model of my car, the power/acceleration of and driving fun the car gives. And he asked me how much I wanted for it. Easy to understand his interest, but I said it's not for sale. As I live some distance from his shop, I said I would come in Monday before noon to pay and pick it up. He offered to drive it out to me, which sounds nice, but I didn't need it that and frankly, didn't want him taking it for a joy ride. We agreed on Monday. Monday while I'm driving to his shop he called and asked me if I was coming. I said yes, I'm west of San Juan Cosala and should be there in a half hour or so. "Fine. I have an errand to run and will be back in 30 minutes." When I arrived at his shop, he wasn't there and neither was my car. He took my car for this second drive, without asking or informing me, even though we were on the phone just minutes before he left. He told me he'd had trouble starting the car, and so he took it for a drive to make sure it was running correctly. Then he told me the car's computer had three error codes, two indicating a possible bad Cam Position Sensor and one indicating a bad Wheel sensor. And handed me his bill, with the invoice from Autozone for the Alternator and the Belt and his company invoice. My co-driver spoke fluent Spanish and discussed everything with him, the changed belt, did he exchange the alternator. He said yes. To be certain, she asked him a second time and again he said yes, he had exchanged the alternator. They also talked about the two sensors and oil changes. I have some auto mechanic training, and asked him to explain to me the function of these two sensors in English, but he really could not explain them at all. Nothing he was saying about the sensors made any sense to me at all. Asking the price of the Cam sensor, he said 6,000p and, "you can expect to replace it every six months". A routine $300 USD part every six months? Doesn't sound good! Unwilling to go further at the moment, I paid him the total on the bill and went home. I decided to look the bill over again and thus come to the conclusion that he has padded the bill by almost 100%! With an alternator replacement, as with many other parts, it is common to exchange your old part, or, you pay a refundable deposit which you get back if you take them the part later. The Autozone invoice indicated the Alternator had a sale price (costo) of 2,519.10 and an exchange deposit (casco) of 1,800p. It showed a sale price of 386.10 for the belt. It's total is 4,705.2p. That means this invoice does not show the return of the old Alternator. Often, that will be done on a later visit to the store. Attached was his company invoice which listed three items. The first line listed the Alternator 4,705p. This amount is the total of the Autozone invoice, which includes the price of the alternator, the belt and the exchange deposit, 2,519, 386.10 and 1,800. The next line of his invoice is for the belt, 386.10. Note, this amount is already included in the first line of his invoice for the Alternator. (double billing?). The last line was for his labor charge of 2,250p (not the 2,000p he told me). His company invoice was for 7,340p. So, it appears he's charging me the 1,800p exchange deposit, money he woulds receive back from Autozone unpon exchanging my old Alternator, and he's already said twice he exchanged it (meaning, he'd have received the deposit back). He's charging me twice for the price of the Belt, and extra 250p labor. In order to take off and replace the Alternator, it is necessary to remove and reinstall the belt, it's not an extra service, rather it's a part of his initial 2,000p Labor charge. In my view, he's over charged me 1,800p and 386.10p and 250p for a total of 2,436.10p. When subtracting these items from the other numbers, the actual bill should have been 4,905.10 but he billed me for 7,340p. The bill was almost exactly twice the proper amount. I returned to his shop on Wednesday to discuss this with him, he spent quite a while trying to convince me he didn't exchange the old alternator because "it didn't work, they wouldn't take it." But that's the whole point of the exchange; it doesn't work, you give it to them, they have someone else rebuilt it and then resell it as a rebuilt part. I didn't accept this answer. He "noticed" that he had double billed me for the belt and was willing to give me 386 back, but, if he paid me the 1,800, he'd lose money on the deal. He said the extra 250 of labor was because he had to install the belt, which again, is just a part of changing out Alternators regardless of a new belt of putting on the old one. In the end, I walked away having been paid back 1,800p, tired of the interaction and willing to let him keep the other 636p just to be done and on my way. That still gives him a 24% bonus. At no time was I or was he, unpleasant or disrespectful or threatening. He didn’t always look me in the eye. As follow up, I stopped at Orma to check the price for the Cam Position Sensor, strangely, it wasn't even close to the 6,000p he told me, it was right at 500p. Quite a difference. To those of you who are very satisfied with him, with his work, you might consider taking a closer look at his invoices/charges in the future. Or, maybe, this is just a one-time thing, all a big mistake? I don't expect to use his services again.
  6. Actually, if you look closely when you go by next time, I think you will see that the sign says "We Accept Most USA Insurances". At least, that's what I saw last time I passed by and confirmed via google street view just now. Their process might be different than what you have come to expect elsewhere, difficult, time consuming, confusing, and even heavily bureaucratic, sure. But not everyone is going to see it as misleading. Another view would be, "Hey, this is great, I might be able to use my USA Health insurance down here!" Or not.
  7. "Centros De Servcio Master", Av. Lazaro Cardenas #1723, Col. Del Sur, Guadalajara. Authorized service for Makita, DeWwalt, Milwuakee, Bosch, etc. Also massive retails sales of the above. From the Abastos, head east on the paralle a short distance, you'll see a row of several store fronts, all with signs for the above brands. They appear to service all brands.
  8. Another option available locally is what might be Elephant Grass. If you're willing to travel a little past Joco, I can probably arrange for you to get all you want. Send me a PM if you are interested. It'd be cut fresh and you'd need to assemble it in whatever fashion you like.
  9. David, Years back I asked a Pharmacist up north if there was a generic alternative to Nyquil. After telling me there wasn't, she went on to say it was "easy to replicate Nyquil's effects, it's essentially just antihistamine and alcohol". Since, I have confirmed this with several Doctors, none have said anything against the practice. Read the label, see for yourself. A couple of antihistamine pills and a shot of alcohol.
  10. Some local Veterinarians may have traps that you can borrow or rent. The Veterinarian (Ladron de Guevara Animal Hospital) next to the Cat Shelter may still have some.
  11. Erroneous presumption. Fits in well with your over all appearance.
  12. This is the same thing. A comparison can't be factually stated or correctly made without a proper head count of the number of infected. Nor can it be accurate, for additional reasons. For one, CDC states: "This includes deaths where COVID-19 is listed as a “presumed” or “probable” cause." Presumptions are not facts. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid19/tech_notes.htm Also, many states and countries report quite differently regarding their "deaths". A Pew Trusts report a few days ago mentions this. "... the patchwork of available information shows the differing ability of health officials to accurately collect and report data" https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2020/04/27/public-coronavirus-data-varies-widely-between-states And this from USATODAY: Mapping coronavirus numbers across the USA reveals stark variations in reported cases between counties separated by state lines". https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/2020/05/04/covid-19-numbers-along-state-lines-show-problems-reopening-plans/3050921001/ And BBC points out. "There are differences in how countries record Covid-19 deaths. France and Germany, for example, have been including deaths in care homes in the headline numbers they produce every day. But the daily figures for England referred only to deaths in hospitals until 29 April, when they started factoring in deaths in care homes as well. A further complication is that there is no accepted international standard for how you measure deaths, or their causes. Does somebody need to have been tested for coronavirus to count towards the statistics, or are the suspicions of a doctor enough? Germany counts deaths in care homes only if people have tested positive for the virus. Belgium, on the other hand, includes any death in which a doctor suspects coronavirus was involved. https://www.bbc.com/news/52311014 A person might have been dying from, for example, diabetes, become infected and "die sooner". Or it might have been a 93 year old on oxygen or a ventilator, being held to life by modern medical abilities, become infected and die sooner. Certainly many might argue that the virus was the cause, but it's more likely the virus primarily, a catalyst. I can't prove that. Nobody can yet. Regardless, without knowing the real numbers, and being able to compare apples to apples. Nobody knows.
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