I can’t afford not to be connected in order to perform my contracting responsibilities. Had an interesting effect of that cost from another entity negatively affecting me.
Brought my car (formerely her majesty’s) into the shop for her 30 & 40k mile checkup + new tires. I got out of class early, but still ended up waiting for 3 hours whilst they operated. Best excuse ever to watch Coneheads on Comedy Central as the news in the newspaper was pretty lame and no good tech mags.
Last night, my headlights didn’t work. I burned my brights all the way home. It was pretty funny; if I didn’t have my ligths off, people flashed theirs at me. If I had my brights on, people flashed their brights at me. I’d rather them see me then not, but felt bad as many people in their driving patterns of encircling me, quickly getting over, etc. were obviously irritated.
Turns out, Honda had a recall on 2k1 Civics that the headlights could go out while your driving. The shop I was at, however, couldn’t connect Saturday (so they tell me) to see any recall updates. Therefore, they didn’t catch it.
So, I’ve lost 1 hour and 30 minutes this morning in contracting time. Since I get paid hourly, their lack of internet access caused me to lose some income that I could of garnered. Naturally, I never actually owned the money, therefore it’s more of an opportunity that I didn’t attain rather than a loss; however, as far as I’m concerned the money was in the bag, therefore, I still consider it a loss. Because it was a recall, I didn’t get charged for parts and labor, but still lost money in the hours I didn’t log at work.
This is the first time I can remember that not only did I lost money because I wasn’t connected, I also lost money because someone else wasn’t. I need one of those phones so I can connect my laptop to at least get email. I have enough pockets for another device to add to the 50.
It’s just neat to see how things have come full circle. It costs to be connected; it costs to be setup; you can’t afford not to be connected; your lack of being connected costs others.
I use an ericsson T39m w/ blutetooth and get online with no problems. I have set up a SOCKS proxy at my office and then I can proxy all connection over an accepted port 100 or 9201.
word, man.
I just spent 4 hours in line for an exam, i would have SCREAMED OUT LOUD if i hadnt a p800 with flat rate internet. €20/month, all the bandwidth you can eat. (also, if you forget to refill your prepaid card, the internet will still work… been surfing at the beach all summer for no money!)
so whats this i hear about you moving to italy? ;)
…ok, that’s 2 already. I NEED to get my hands on one of these phones you all are talking about. At least, they sound like phones. Coffee reading time.
Italy? I think Australia first, but maybe Italy 2nd. Is it warm there? I have a woman, remember, so she’s gotta dig it, too.
Yeah, I’ve often wondered: “what if my hourly rate was $500?” I think I’d go crazy. Imagine how much more of a hassle every small hassle becomes. And your opportunity costs become insane. Getting your driver license renewed in the middle of the day will cost you $2000. Taking a day off to golf means you’re down the green fee plus $4000…
I’m starting to think I should chalk it up to the cost of doing business. Caring for my car ensures me less heartache down the road and a more reliable car. Still, as a geek, not being connected is a state worse than death.
The business school term for your loss is known as “opportunity cost”.
or you could up your costs enough to pay someone else to service your car for you and do all those other silly errands…
but i know where youre comming from, but the great thing for me is i charge 75 an hour, which includes my travel time, so i love to get stuck in traffic in memphis on my way to a job…