Bruce In Bangkok wrote in
:

$65.00/hour for doing general factory repairs

Organ service is $129, which includes up to 2 hours labor and 25 miles
total on the truck. After that minimum charge, which keeps me from arguing
with the customer over a 10 minute job figuring out he had it plugged into
a light dimmer and THAT was making the LOUD HUM on it, my rates are $70/hr
and 70c/mile. From the comments I get from manufacturers wanting me to go
do warranty work for them, I'm way lower than the big cities. It's been a
comfortable living since 1986, full time since 1988.

If I'm off on Tuesday, I spend my time day trading stocks on
crashing/crashed companies, much on the pink sheets. I bought Worldcom
(MCI) the bankrupt communications company at 6c/share and chickened out at
22c/share, trying not to cry when it finally got to 32c/share before going
to Zero for the last time. I saved a copy of the stock certificate they
were forced to send me for 180,000 shares....(c;] Recently, I bought
Wachovia at $1.94 when they went bankrupt and sold them for $6.48 after
Wells Fargo, also now in financial trouble, bought the company for
$7/share. I dumped the stock because I didn't want to get stuck with a
falling Wells Fargo stock trade scheme that dropped after the deal. It was
the right thing to do.

No, I don't want to buy Ford or GM, thank you......

My biggest regret, in hindsight, was I didn't see any future in Micro$oft
stock back when the company looked like this:
http://www.snopes.com/photos/people/.../microsoft.jpg
Look at them! Who the hell's gonna buy software from THEM?!

That picture's on the wall as a reminder of how stupid I can be.....at very
rare times.