The Atari Report has been permanently cancelled

[Keatah]

25 minutes ago, leech said:

Also would be fun to just answer 'I don't eatch things' when people ask 'have you seen this yet?'

Sometimes I placate them, make them feel important, then guide the conversation to something more worthwhile.

[BIGHMW]

3 hours ago, leech said:

I keep thinking I just need to cancel all streaming services that are not packaged (like Amazon Prime) with some other benefit.  Would save me a chunk of money each month and I have tons of books I can finally get to reading, not to mention all the other projects I have to do.  Many reasons to just cancel TV.  Most of it is kind of crap anyhow. 

 

Also would be fun to just answer 'I don't eatch things' when people ask 'have you seen this yet?'

Agreed with the fact that TV is now full of crap, but for sports it's pretty much THE only show around, I remember the good-old days when the Big 3 (now 4) used to broadcast games/matches/tournaments for free OTA, now, they're hidden behind pay services like FS1/FS2, ESPN/ESPN2/ESPN+, your local regional RSN's and the sorts, but yes except for the news pretty much I have written off shows on TV, period. If anything, I get the DVD sets of my past favorite shows so I can watch my favorite episodes whenever I want on my Lonpoo LP-099 region-free PAL/NTSC DVD player (and with none of that "political correctness" BS), I even download (whenever available and preferably) or stream-capture (only if downloading is not an option) videos off the web through my laptop's HDMI output onto my HD Capture Pro, and even stream-capture music/audio clips off of Spotify and YouTube using my good-old circa-2000 Sony MZ-R700 MiniDisc recording Walkman (I own 3 of them, the other two are backups) through the speaker output and I edit out the ads before I burn a CD of that MiniDisc at that!!!

[BIGHMW]

4 hours ago, leech said:

Many reasons to just cancel TV.  Most of it is kind of crap anyhow.

In fact, I don't watch TV pretty much except for my VCR, mp4 player, and my DVD player, otherwise it's my Flashback 9 or my 5200 or ColecoVision and/or just listening to my huge library of music.

 

Also, I have been in the process of perhaps waging a new venture.... making and selling handmade beaded jewelry!!!

 

I developed a somewhat talent for doing something like that, using i.e.: beads from Claire's Club girls' stretch bracelets (I get them for the beads) in which I obtain in raids to numerous Safeway stores including the one I work in here in Port Townsend and also the ones on Port Angeles (2 stores there), Sequim, and Poulsbo, as well as Michael's (both in Silverdale and in Sequim) and a few other distributors on Amazon, eBay, and Etsy, and I will start taking order tomorrow afternoon from some of my co-workers who are interested in me making necklaces/bracelets/anklets in their favorite sports teams' colors (some here are Seahawks fans and there are a few who are San Francisco 49ers/Giants fans) who want to represent their teams, I make them to order meaning I order the beads and make them and then they pay me upon delivery of them.

 

here are some samples of my work...

 

 

sorry about the unshaven look, I was in such a big hurry to show my fans my new talent.

[jhd]

11 hours ago, Keatah said:

Bundled things are usually because a company created something that's not a uber-hot seller. So they recoup a loss or still pine for some kinds of sales by mixing it in with something else. So you have to buy both if you want just one. A form of forced sales IMHO.

 

Here in Canada, there is a requirement that a certain amount of broadcasting consist of Canadian content. Consequently, cable TV bundles are legally obliged to include low-demand Canadian channels together with the more popular American fare. Nobody would subscribe otherwise. 

 

As for sports, I do not watch sports on TV, but somehow I get like six or eight sports channels as part of the basic cable package. I would happily give them up, but that is not an option. 

[atarifan88]

On 6/2/2022 at 8:02 PM, BIGHMW said:

Here's a word of advice.  Get rid of the cable or Hulu + live TV.  Nobody needs both.  It's usually one or the other.  Seems to me you are paying double for a similar service.  Just my 2 cents.

[BIGHMW]

5 hours ago, atarifan88 said:

Here's a word of advice.  Get rid of the cable or Hulu + live TV.  Nobody needs both.  It's usually one or the other.  Seems to me you are paying double for a similar service.  Just my 2 cents.

I know you might be thinking that I have 2 similar services, but here is the rundown on each service:

 

1) The cable is a special local channels package only for the 70 local stations,  including all of those OTA subchannels, in which you cannot get on Hulu.

 

2) Hulu + Live TV is only for the other channels and they have on demand content you cannot get on cable or satellite.

 

But as of this moment I currently do not have cable because there is no onsight management here in our complex and we don't know when there will be one anytime soon, plus they need to rewire the antenna system and that requires consent from the management, plus we have already been denied of our rooftop antenna and our community room is locked indefinitely therefore we do not have any access to the TV with our local stations at this time, that's why I called the cable company to get just the locals. Hulu takes care of the rest of the pay lineup. Pluto has tons of free content and there's so much more on my Roku box but locals are not available on it, that's why the cable.

Edited June 6, 2022 by BIGHMW

[john_q_atari]

Cable is a luxury you personally cannot afford. Get rid of it. After a year of successfully staying in the black only then can you afford to consider adding something back in some limited fashion. Watch TV at a friends house and borrow a DVD from the local library. Ditch the cable. You only think you need it. Medicine food shelter those things you need. Cable you do not.

[BIGHMW]

I have a ton of DVDs and VHS as well, so renting one is moot point. 

 

.....and yes I might as well get rid of Hulu, in fact the last time I watched anything on it was back on Game 7 of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs where my Kings lost 2-0 to the Oilers, so yes I will be at least pausing Hulu for a few months while I mull over whether I can afford to keep it, during a pause you are not being charged for it. I don't have cable but yes I might as well not get it after all.

Edited June 7, 2022 by BIGHMW

[Lord Mushroom]

11 hours ago, john_q_atari said:

Watch TV at a friends house and borrow a DVD from the local library.

I think having no access to the most popular channels is too extreme, unless he almost never watches them, which actually may be the case.

 

Maybe he should replace some of the stuff he almost never watches with streaming services with content he previously hasn´t had access to. To save money, he could binge-watch one streaming service at a time. I would start with Netflix.

[CPUWIZ]

You could also not watch TV all the time and do something productive instead. 

[zzip]

16 hours ago, BIGHMW said:

But as of this moment I currently do not have cable because there is no onsight management here in our complex and we don't know when there will be one anytime soon, plus they need to rewire the antenna system and that requires consent from the management, plus we have already been denied of our rooftop antenna and our community room is locked indefinitely therefore we do not have any access to the TV with our local stations at this time, that's why I called the cable company to get just the locals. Hulu takes care of the rest of the pay lineup. Pluto has tons of free content and there's so much more on my Roku box but locals are not available on it, that's why the cable.

Depending on where you live, an indoor antenna might work.   I have an amplified one in the upstairs bedroom,  and I get something like 38 channels, even though the TV transmitters are at least 35 miles away

[Leonard Smith]

2 hours ago, zzip said:

Depending on where you live, an indoor antenna might work.   I have an amplified one in the upstairs bedroom,  and I get something like 38 channels, even though the TV transmitters are at least 35 miles away

 

www.antennaweb.org is a great resource to determine the reception quality (and also types) of antennas to consider by geographic location.

 

That being said, I also agree that there's more you can do besides watching TV for hours a day.

Free services like Pluto are great, and provide you with more than enough content and movies to watch without spending a dime.

[BIGHMW]

11 hours ago, CPUWIZ said:

You could also not watch TV all the time and do something productive instead. 

I actually don't watch very much TV at all, I have a 5200 and a ColecoVision I play my games on and plenty of VHS and DVDs and MP4s I steal of the internet for viewing and also I'm waging a new venture into making and selling handmade beaded jewelry. 

 

In fact I'm starting to take orders right now from some of my coworkers here at Safeway here in Port Townsend and will soon expand to online as well, currently I have made some custom works for myself and I am focusing on (for now) necklace and bracelet sets in various sports teams colors and I have a couple of orders to fulfill, one of my colleagues is a huge 49ers and Giants fan and wants sets for both of them, and I sell them at $15.00/set, that's 30 bucks right there, I have several distributors on Etsy, Amazon, Michael's, and eBay as well as raiding the Claire's section of every Safeway store in the area as my sources for my goods.

[toiletunes]

Don't buy more than you sell, or you'll be in the same boat without a paddle.

[MrTrust]

3 hours ago, BIGHMW said:

I actually don't watch very much TV at all...

 

And yet you have 8% of your monthly income earmarked for it.

 

3 hours ago, BIGHMW said:

I am focusing on (for now) necklace and bracelet sets in various sports teams colors...

 

This is actually a good idea.  People are able to charge markups on this stuff that I would never dream anyone would actually pay, but they do, so I don't see why this would not be a decent side income.

 

3 hours ago, BIGHMW said:

I have several distributors on Etsy, Amazon, Michael's, and eBay...

 

You mean you just made a bunch of listings on these sites, right?  If so, this is not a good idea.  You're one of a thousand people selling baubles like this on those sites.  Those people can afford to pay to have their listings promoted, pay for ads, source bulk materials, maybe even pay staff.  You cannot afford these things.  You are going to have listings hardly anyone will see.  Your margins are going to be tiny after the site takes their rake and you package and ship.

 

Look for the closest craft/gift shops in your area. They will often peddle your stuff for you (for a percentage) and put you in touch with customers who want custom pieces.  They may even put in an order themselves.  You can make contacts with other crafters, get help, suggestions, find fairs to go to to sell your stuff, etc.

 

Keep track of how much time you spend doing it.  Unless you just love making these things, anything below minimum wage is not really worth it unless you have a reasonable roadmap to making this your full-time job, which you do not at least for now.

[BIGHMW]

2 hours ago, MrTrust said:

 

And yet you have 8% of your monthly income earmarked for it.

 

 

This is actually a good idea.  People are able to charge markups on this stuff that I would never dream anyone would actually pay, but they do, so I don't see why this would not be a decent side income.

 

 

You mean you just made a bunch of listings on these sites, right?  If so, this is not a good idea.  You're one of a thousand people selling baubles like this on those sites.  Those people can afford to pay to have their listings promoted, pay for ads, source bulk materials, maybe even pay staff.  You cannot afford these things.  You are going to have listings hardly anyone will see.  Your margins are going to be tiny after the site takes their rake and you package and ship.

 

Look for the closest craft/gift shops in your area. They will often peddle your stuff for you (for a percentage) and put you in touch with customers who want custom pieces.  They may even put in an order themselves.  You can make contacts with other crafters, get help, suggestions, find fairs to go to to sell your stuff, etc.

 

Keep track of how much time you spend doing it.  Unless you just love making these things, anything below minimum wage is not really worth it unless you have a reasonable roadmap to making this your full-time job, which you do not at least for now.

Actually you are misquoting me, those are where the distributors of the materials I use to make my wares are based, not where I am listing them. I am focused locally on here in Port Townsend and then I will hopefully make my mark elsewhere after that. As for an asking price I currently charge $15.00/set in which includes a necklace and a matching bracelet in measurements of 7-11 inches based on whether the will wear it on either their wrist or on their ankle, it's all well planned but yes I am going to put Hulu on pause tomorrow morning for a 4 month period over which I will decide to either keep it afterwards or drop it altogether after that. As for Peacock its future in my lineup will also be determined then too. 

[Jason123]

Since you put it out there, I have a question. How do you work at Safeway and collect S.S. benefits at your age? You definitely don't look old enough to collect S.S. Thus my question.

[BIGHMW]

4 hours ago, Jason123 said:

Since you put it out there, I have a question. How do you work at Safeway and collect S.S. benefits at your age? You definitely don't look old enough to collect S.S. Thus my question.

I have (and have had) lifetime developmental and psychiatric issues in which are well documented and that is why I have been collecting disability since I became eligible at 18, first SSI and then SSDI after my mother passed away in 2000 of brain cancer.

[Leonard Smith]

I will add one thing.  
Prior to joining Atari Age I had never heard of Port Townsend.

Now it's firmly burned in my memory given the frequency that it's brought up in these threads.  Lol.

 

Edited June 8, 2022 by Leonard Smith

[BIGHMW]

1 hour ago, Leonard Smith said:

I will add one thing.  
Prior to joining Atari Age I had never heard of Port Townsend.

Now it's firmly burned in my memory given the frequency that it's brought up in these threads.  Lol.

 

It's a very beautiful city that is rich in history and is one that embraces all cultures and forms of art, or at least still does, as one of the prominent artists in the old all ages music scene we used to have here from the 80s to just about before the pandemic hit us, Len Enders, the late Jarrod Bramson and I were 3 of the most popular ones in it, together we sold hundreds of CDs and influenced tons of young people into becoming musicians and entertainers themselves, with many of them going on to even bigger success than even we had.

[+thanatos]

Cut our DirectTV 6 years ago and switched to antenna.  Sad if your landlord won't allow a rooftop - however if you have a deck or outside area, they have to allow you to put one there per FCC rules.

 

My Boost Mobile is $35 a month, which has 10GB of data - and I'm almost always on WiFi anyway.  However you have to buy the phone up front, so if you want a newer model it's a much larger up-front cost, but they have ones that are also in the $40-$100 range as well.

 

[+Gemintronic]

I've found Tello has reasonable rates for cellphone plans.

https://tello.com/

 

Roku without any subscriptions is more than enough for me.  Plenty of free channels including Crunchyroll.

 

As for the YouTube channel.  If you ever want to start another go slow and go free.  Use what you have.  Grow your connections and fan base via sweat equity.  It takes time anyway.  No reason to burn through cash especially during the learning stage.

[+x=usr(1536)]

Didn't want to clog up the other thread with this reply.  Given that this thread has turned to focus on personal financial responsibility, what I'm about to say is more relevant here.

On 6/20/2022 at 3:32 PM, BIGHMW said:

I hope that the fire button system is a similar design as that of the CX24 controller that comes with the 7800 ProSystem, that is that each fire button has a different function, and, that it works with the same bubble-contact setup as it does too, so far it looks great, put me down for at least one if not 2.  

(Emphasis is mine in the quote above.)

 

This is exactly the sort of thinking and behaviour that got you into the financial hole you were in that a) forced you to sell most of your systems and b) you only made it through because two grand fell from the sky and into your lap.

 

Until you stop buying - or pledging to buy - things that you cannot afford and take actual responsibility for your finances, this will continue to happen.  At best, you'll keep selling your toys, then spending more down the road to re-acquire them.  At worst, you get into a debt cycle that runs out of control and you end up with things like bankruptcies, judgements, etc. being part of your credit history.  That will follow you for years.

 

None of this is being said to try to save you from yourself: it's up to you and you alone to do that.  But having watched what happened here followed by your near-immediate stepping back into the same behaviour that got you in trouble in the first place, it's clear that your sincerity towards wanting to actually fix the problem is dubious at best.

[Leonard Smith]

It's understandable to want to buy and acquire things, especially in the case of these joysticks since he's so passionate about the 5200.  It is enticing, I will admit.

But x=usr is correct. 
The key to life is knowing what you can afford and when.  There are times that you'll need to go without, as painful as it may be.  It's a tough lesson, especially in today's 'gotta have it now' mindset society.

Stick to your budget, pay yourself first, and save as much as you can.  The economic forecast is looking shakey for the next few months, so I maintain that cash is king in this environment.

[+GoldLeader]

Or maybe try this Ray,

 

Being a big believer in rewards and things to look forward to, (not to mention buying cool new joysticks in general),...

 

Save a little money out of each paycheck (if you can afford to).   When you have enough saved up,  and you are caught up elsewhere, THEN consider pulling the trigger.   Spending money is not the problem.  Spending money YOU DON'T HAVE is the problem.

 

 

Also you'll enjoy anything you buy more when it's actually paid for

 

 

 

PS  If you knew my financial situation;  You'd  probably laugh at the idea of me giving advice...Then again,  Those who can't do,  TEACH!