Here in North California USA- Grocery Outlet and The 99Cent Store keeps me from starving- but the economy is still sloooooow. Im guessing CA and Michigan (Detroit) were two of the hardest hit states by the recession- the east coast housing market also took a crushing blow. Just wanna know how the economies are doing here in the US and overseas- I know we have users from all around world here at the lounge- please reply here with your fiscal adventures since 2006
According to the “numbers” the recession is long over. Try telling that to the 18 million who are unemployed.
exactly- an i don’t think the unemployment numbers include the self employed- because they cant apply for unemployment benefits- this alone would probably double the unemployment percentage- oh and they dont count the unemployed people who “stopped looking for work” LMAO!!- so they count the same as being employed? Unemployment is not funny- but the way the government accounts for things so the president looks like hes doing a better job with the economy than he actually is IS funny to me. I still thank God for all that I have in this county, and pray for the families and people looking for work(I try to always donate at least something whenever I goto Raleys)- it could always be worse.
Raleys? Where are you?
Here in Oz (“God’s own country”) the unemployment rate seems to be steady at 4.9 per cent at the moment.
We are riding high on the back of what is often called the ‘resources boom’, minerals and natural gas e.t.c are exported in huge quantities to China, India and other places.
The aussie dollar is riding high as well, I’ve been buying shiploads of DAW related goodies lately. And, the weather is great to boot, middle of the winter today with the temperature hovering around +24C 
!
Cheers from Oz,
Mauri.
If Paul Hogan is an accurate demographic sample of you guys then you are almost as independent as the Amish! haha- only cooler, and with good beer and probably a tad more fornication 
I jest in part- but I googled OZ- and it said that its slang for Australia- but there is also a city nicknamed OZ? Did I get that right?- so are u from the city that is nicknamed OZ? My Grandpa was stationed in Australia for a bit in the navy during WW2- he met a girl there he liked and said that Australians were a different kind of people, and a different way of life- he implied you guys dont crap on each other for currency as much as we americans do- if thats the case then God bless Australia!- and that would explain why your economy is doing better than here in the belly of the beast.
I’ve concluded that fiscal adventures are best avoided. Being a Scot of Pictish extraction, I’m afflicted with an affliction whose symptoms include a queasiness approaching nausea when I see a number with more than three digits before a decimal point. If I see a four-figure number on a piece of paper with a £ (pound sterling) in front of it in a red font, the nausea is normally accompanied by a weekness in the knees. If it has five digits before the decimal point, is red, has a minus (-) sign in front of it and is prefaced with £ sign, then I normally lie on my back and stare at the ceiling until the feeling passes or the piece of paper rots, whichever is sooner.
An “adventure” a few years ago was hosted by the employees of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs who are a fine bunch of people with a great sense of humour. I think they go on team-building courses to discover new ways to entertain us taxpayers. Their jape was to undercharge tax while adding a nice twist of overpaying benefits and then - wait for it - waiting for a year or two for it to be spent before asking for it all back. Uproarious. Had us all in tears. The mirth hardly stops with these fine people at the helm. Ha-ha! Ho-ho! Hee-hee! Guffaw-guffaw!
Fiscal adventures are best embarked upon by those for whom the outcome doesn’t matter.
Never heard of that state 
! Is that east or west coast?
Before I tell you I have to ask; Do you work for a credit card company? JK- I live close to sacramento CA
I heard that- I help run my family’s hardwood flooring business here in NorCal as well and got my own license- and we work about 1-2 weeks a month- for the last few years. Construction has been hit HARD here in CA- but it gave me time to learn a bunch of new trades at the university of wifi and youtube!
And Dave that sounds messed up!- I think we have something like that going on here- for a while the fed was giving us an 8grand tax rebate for buying a house- but Ive heard they passed or are talking about passing a law where all the buyers have to pay it back over time. If this wasnt disclosed to the rebate winners at the time of the offer it is completely ILLEGAL- and some law firms should get involved
Well, I for one make a killing from my music. But that’s because I’m a very famous musician you all know very well. I just post under this screen name for anonymity and to avoid the hassle of fan requests.
OK, back to reality LOL. I work a rather decent paying job as an IT Tech so I’m not living off my music. Not at all. My bands first release was a rather underground music endeavour and has made a small amount of money over 5 years, but we didn’t market it at all except for paying for some Jango rotation. Our new upcoming album I plan to market the heck out of. Hopefully it will do even better, I actually know it will do better than our first, though that’s not saying a lot. We’re going to fish for a label first and if no bite we will self release again. Seems the only way to sell a ton, even if it’s the worst garbage out there, is marketing in some form. Even viral internet vids earn people ridiculous amounts of money. Gather a million sheeple willing to drop a buck each and there’s a decent amount of change already.
Rev.
Hey Steve- what is the year and make of the truck?- I dived heavily into auto repair since the recession and have been doing or helping someone do all my auto repairs since 2007- including 3 motor swaps, one from a 94 ford van (inline 6 4.9L) and 2 from a 1998 Dodge Durango (5.2L V8)- plus some water pumps, brakes etc- I may have some tips for you or can point you in the right direction- also did a bunch of smog work too and purchased a nice smog canOBD2/ABS brake scanner for check engine and ABS lites when they come on
haha- you had me going Rev- good luck with your next album- post some links
Excellent song title, Steve!
I think I should start to write some lyrics for “Voluptuous Gina from Califonrina”
no biggie, this thread is about anything that might help a fellow musician save a buck. How did the tranny fluid look? and was it full? I recently learned that tranny fluid isnt just for lubing the tranny, it is also used for hydraulic pressure in the mechanical operation of the tranny, like brake fluid is used, brakes wont engage without it.
Tranny fluid?!!?
Oh, we’re talking about cars … 
The only thing that can save us is “revolution”! We’re not opening our eyes… 
“You know, you just may be onto something here. I didn’t even LOOK at my tranny fluid… and guess what? I DO have a slow leak on the sensor seal, I think it’s called? … to help not leaking all over people drive ways I had attached a peanut can with zip ties under the seal to catch the dripping I hope I didn’t do great damage because since things has picked up again for me, I’ve completely forgot to check it like I had been…maybe it ran dry. Like I said above, I hear a noise like pieces of something gridning Maybe I should check it right now”
thats right- always keep your trannys lubed gentlemen, and remember “What happens in the recession stays in the recession right?” 
jk- let me know if that works tho- hopefully the gears didnt get too grinded up
I’m self employed as a web programmer / freelancer. Right now I’m behind on my rent, but recently at least able to pay month to month at this point. I am behind on my taxes. I can pay my bills and keep food in my stomache. But if I don’t latch on to something soon, other things (like car repairs) will be coming up which I won’t be able to afford. Plus, a couple of my recent clients will require mobile-compatible websites, which means I need an android type phone to test with. An expense I really don’t need at this time.
So does that answer your question? 