The official E9x OT thread!

Originally Posted by furby076

Presidents can make all the promises they like, but we seem to conveniently forget (for every president) that they do not make law, the propose law and congress decides what laws to enact (barring presidential veto or supreme court strike). So any president can say "I want to do this"...then once the president gets into office there are a ton of factors...two general ones 1) Congress taking the "piss off" stance, 2) Higher priorities (e.g., war).

If every president could have it his way, then they would keep their promises - they want to look good...but like all political races...there are campaign promises and then there is reality.
With regards to Obama - like it or dislike it (and i dislike it) he did promise a health care bill and he did deliver.

He also promised to off Osama bin Ladin if he got actionable intel and he did deliver.

Originally Posted by anE934fun

He also promised to off Osama bin Ladin if he got actionable intel and he did deliver.

So should we call President Obama - The Mailman?

ZipCar now has BMW 328i's for rental. It's the only ZipCar vehicle that does not have ZipCar stickers all over it. Even the Audi has stickers all over it. Just shows how elite BMW is!

Originally Posted by furby076

So should we call President Obama - The Mailman?

Well, if he were to be called the promise-keeper, that would surely get the neocons all bent....

Originally Posted by furby076

ZipCar now has BMW 328i's for rental. It's the only ZipCar vehicle that does not have ZipCar stickers all over it. Even the Audi has stickers all over it. Just shows how elite BMW is!

ZipCar appears to have a discrete sticker option. Last week I passed a Mazda that was stickered with what appeared to be 1 inch tall ZipCar.com lettering on the rear. It was quite the contrast with past stickering efforts.

In case anyone hasn't yet got a set of sockets for changing out wheels and is interested in the plastic-coated Protecta Socket Set made by Schwaben, Sears has the 3-piece set (17, 19, 21 mm) on sale for $17.95, with free shipping to your local store.

I'm just now acquiring all the bits and pieces to work on wheels, do oil changes, etc...thought I'd pass on the information. They also have a 3 ton floor jack with 2 jack stands and a creeper for $99. The floor jack is a little high, but 2 pieces of 2x10 under the front wheels is enough to get to the center front or side jack points.

Originally Posted by ProfessorCook

Call me naive, but I believe in the basic goodness of Americans. Ask us to step up, and we will. I think we're all willing (well... almost all of us) to pay our fair share. The thing that gets everybody upset is that we don't think the other guy is paying his fair share and we have no way of figuring out whether or not that's true. I've heard (and am quite willing to believe) that if you call the IRS for help, half the time THEY get the answer wrong.

Stupid.

I've heard that if we went to a flat tax, something like 17% would be revenue neutral. Hey... if everybody pays 20%... 25%... if that helps us dig out from this mess we're in and everybody chips in, count me in.

How could we be at war in two countries for so long and not obviously sacrifice anything? No rations... no higher taxes... Nothing. How? Because the politicians didn't want us to face it straight on. They didn't think we could handle it. Like Bush not wanting us to see fallen soldiers coming back from Iraq. Give me a break.

Rant over. Flame suit on.

Some excellent points. I agree with just about everything you said and would even be willing to go to a flat tax myself. The socialist European I am though (and even plenty of die-hard capitalist economists) tells me that a flat tax is not fair to the lowest earning individuals in the country, as illustrated in the principle of diminishing marginal utility of money. I think a tiered tax system is adequate to get us out of the mess and would be proportionally fair. Just close all the dang loopholes, exceptions, credits, and whatnots.

Some food for thought:

Thomas E. Mann and Norman J. Ornstein in their recent book, "It's Even Worse Than It Looks", write:
"Today, however, we have no choice but to acknowledge that the core of the problem lies with the Republican Party."

For more pearls from Mann and Ornstein, their book is an interesting read. Mann and Ornstein are not your stereotypical D anarchists.

Not sure if we have any bikers on this forum but here goes. Updated pics of my 2009 Kawasaki ZX6R.

Mods Ordered:

Blue LED City Lights - Installed!
ShoGun Spool Sliders - Installed!
ShoGun Frame Sliders - Installed!
OEM Kawasaki ZX-6R Tank Pad - Installed!
Yoshimura Fender Eliminator - Installed!
DDM tuning 8K 55W HID's - Installed!
Puig Dark Smoke Z-Race Windscreen - Installed!
OEM Kawasaki ZX-6R Tank Grips - Installed!
CRG Spectrum Black/Blue Levers - Ordered!



Misc. Items Ordered:
Pitbull Front and Rear Stands - Here
Held Gloves - Here
Shoei RF1100 Helmet - Here

Misc Items to come:
Alpine Stars MSX-5 White Riding Boots


Mods to come:
Carbon Fiber Full Akrapovic EVO Exhaust - Ordering soon
Bazzaz ZFI + ZAFM Auto Tuner - Ordering Soon

I used to have a nice old E1. Loved that bike.

'Always thought I'd enjoy a bike. 'Never really tried to drive one.

I refuse to drive any vehicle that falls over when you park it.

CA

Originally Posted by captainaudio

I refuse to drive any vehicle that falls over when you park it.

CA

Out of curiosity, would you drive one of the trikes? I personally don't like giving up four wheels and the mass that goes along with the four wheels.

Originally Posted by anE934fun

Out of curiosity, would you drive one of the trikes? I personally don't like giving up four wheels and the mass that goes along with the four wheels.

I actually had a dirt bike a number of years ago and enjoyed riding it but riding a motorcyle in traffic is not something that I enjoy.

CA

Originally Posted by captainaudio

I actually had a dirt bike a number of years ago and enjoyed riding it but riding a motorcyle in traffic is not something that I enjoy.

CA

Invariably motorcycle vs. car ends badly for the motorcycle.

I'd rather drive something that falls over when you park it than see somebody park and then fall over.

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Originally Posted by -=Hot|Ice=-

On Monday(4/30), I applied for a job at BMW. I went through my interview and everything was good. I was told that I'd have to wait 2-3 days so my background check could be done and I should call a number that I was given, he would tell me if I'm clear and we would discuss everything from pay and schedule at that time. Fast forward to Thursday, I called and nobody picked up, so I left a message. I never heard back. I decided to call again on Friday and again nobody picked up, and I left another message, and again no response. What should I do next? Should I just walk in and and see the what's going on with my application, or wait until I get a call back?

Also, how do I go about asking for a higher pay rate if I think it's too low? Do I just tell him that's too low for me and counter it? Any suggestions are appreciated.

Sounds like you didn't pass the background check. If you failed the background check, don't bother negotiating salary, 'cause they won't be offering you a job.

Originally Posted by anE934fun

Sounds like you didn't pass the background check. If you failed the background check, don't bother negotiating salary, 'cause they won't be offering you a job.

I don't think I failed the background check, though. I've never been convicted of a crime, I came prepared and showed him documentation of my education and work. I was thinking he may of been off but I'm going to stop by on Monday.

Originally Posted by -=Hot|Ice=-

I don't think I failed the background check, though. I've never been convicted of a crime, I came prepared and showed him documentation of my education and work. I was thinking he may of been off but I'm going to stop by on Monday.

You can fail a background check for any number of reasons. One company of which I was a member of the executive team had NSA as a customer. Everyone in the company had to pass a background check that required no travel to certain countries (I will let you guess which ones) among other criteria.

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Originally Posted by -=Hot|Ice=-

I don't think I failed the background check, though. I've never been convicted of a crime, I came prepared and showed him documentation of my education and work. I was thinking he may of been off but I'm going to stop by on Monday.

That's odd they didn't pick up the phone. Call BMW HR corporate and see if you got a wrong number, or if you have another number call that first. You may have written it down wrong (or the person gave you the wrong number).
I wouldn't worry about the background check or have any reason to think you should be worried if you didn't get the job cause of it...unless you have some kind of criminal background, or a really bad credit score (e.g., lots of negative reports) you should be just fine. You are not applying or going to be using the NSA computers - and even those background checks are not that hard (just take forever).

As far as negotiating - be up front. If you think it doesn't make industry standards then show them evidence (e.g., do online research at reputable sites). Most importantly give them reasons why you deserve more (e.g., if you are fresh out of college show them you were top of your class, if you are an experienced employee show them some of your past accomplishments and how it makes you a better employee). In the end, state what you want. They may not give it to you, but they may come up...or they may not come up at all. I HIGHLY doubt they would change their mind and not offer you the job because you asked...and if they do then you REALLY don't want to work there. The appropriate time to bring it up is when you talk salaries.

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Originally Posted by ProfessorCook

I'd rather drive something that falls over when you park it than see somebody park and then fall over.

One of the funniest things I have ever witnessed was a drunk falling on his motorcycle. Nobody was hurt. I am driving behind this guy late one night and he is clearly impaired. We come up to a stop sign and he stops and he is so impaired, he forgets to put his feet down and literally just falls over.

A long time ago, I used to race bicycles. Long enough ago, that I was riding when strapless pedal systems came out. I finally bought into the Look system and I remember coming up to a red light on the first ride with the new system. I couldn't get my foot out of the pedal, and in front of quite the audience, I fell over onto my side, still locked into the bicycle. I was just a tad embarrassed. And all the more so because, of course, I had on all the gear of an experienced racer.