BigB23....Where are you?

**eriedearie** · July-23-09, 08:28 AM

We miss you around these parts! Where are you buddy? Have not seen any posts for quite some time.

**reddog289** · July-24-09, 12:10 AM

I miss him too, I belive he might have some issues that alot of people face now days so therefore his existance is more important to being on the net.

**Bobl** · July-26-09, 10:19 PM

I, too, have wondered about the absence of BigB23 [[or is it Bigb23?)
You are missed, big man......and, hey, I found a job!

Perhaps some of the Garwood posters might know where he is. He has posted there often.
A little help?

LodgeDodger · July-27-09, 03:38 AM

Originally Posted by Bobl

I, too, have wondered about the absence of BigB23 [[or is it Bigb23?)
You are missed, big man......and, hey, I found a job!

Perhaps some of the Garwood posters might know where he is. He has posted there often.
A little help?

That's great news, Bobl. Congratulations!

**Bobl** · July-28-09, 10:43 AM

Originally Posted by LodgeDodger

That's great news, Bobl. Congratulations!

Thanks. It beats not working, but pays 60% of former wages. Same with my work partner. Times have changed, and not for the better.
Bigb23, be sure to post when you can....

**Bigb23** · July-29-09, 12:21 PM

Hey people -

I'm allright I guess. I just got behind on my phone bill because unemployment does'nt cover what needs to be paid.

I occasionally get on the library computer to check things out on here. I find out you can't certify for MARVIN on a cellphone anymore, and payphones are few and far between.
I was hoping to find some info on here on what to do. Boy, the state makes it near impossible to collect your unemployment in times of real needs !!!!!!

F this economy !

**gazhekwe** · July-29-09, 12:27 PM

YAY! Good to hear from you! Sorry things are going poorly.

**Bigb23** · July-29-09, 12:32 PM

Oh - by the way, congrats Bobl !

**Bobl** · July-29-09, 09:25 PM

Originally Posted by Bigb23

Oh - by the way, congrats Bobl !

Thanks.
You can access Marvin online. Just go to their website [[from the library computer), and follow directions. Before my benefits expired in May, I used the online site often. Never had a problem, and did not have to wait to get through, ever!
Sure beat wrestling with the busy signal on the phone.

The job ain't great, but it is paying the bills. Afternoon shift, so I can still schedule interviews if something better comes up.

**reddog289** · July-30-09, 12:11 AM

Good to hear from BigB. When my girlfriend could collect unemployment she had problems during and after calling Marvin.Last time I visited my soon to be social security collecting Uncle he was like Rainman and jepardy. "Well 30 min till I call MARVIN" 15 min till I, AND THE COUNTDOWN.
Being at least 25 years from this ?. Can you collect unemployment and social security at the same time?. Couldn"t answer that quetion for him.

**eriedearie** · July-30-09, 12:20 AM

Well BigB! Glad to see you're still among us! Welcome back

**Bigb23** · July-30-09, 10:01 AM

Originally Posted by Bobl

Thanks.
You can access Marvin online. Just go to their website [[from the library computer), and follow directions. Before my benefits expired in May, I used the online site often. Never had a problem, and did not have to wait to get through, ever!
Sure beat wrestling with the busy signal on the phone.

The job ain't great, but it is paying the bills. Afternoon shift, so I can still schedule interviews if something better comes up.

I just tried MARVIN online from the library computer, and my pin won't work. I have to call 866-500-0017 - but they don't accept cellphone calls now. The payphones all seem to redirect you to an ATT corporate center. What a mess Granholm !

We're teetering on almost 20% unemployment in Michigan, and they have more hoops for you to jump through.

**Bigb23** · July-30-09, 10:56 AM

I never had a thread titled about me, I feel honored, and glad I have some cyber friends out there during a hard time in my life. Thanks again !

**sumas** · July-30-09, 12:34 PM

So happy to hear you're still with us. What I worried about most was your health issues. You have always been so witty and intelligent and you were definitely missed. Don't stay away so long again. Very sincerely, Sumas

**Bigb23** · July-30-09, 12:59 PM

Hey I finally, [[and hopefully), cleared up the problem with MESC. They do a [[unknown to you), reset on your pin number that makes it invalid to access MARVIN by phone or online. It took three and a half days and thirty - forty tries to get a voice menu and reach a human to reset my pin. A landline is your best bet.

Are they just trying to get people to give up ?

Lansing better clean up it's act, for the long time, and long suffering citizens of this State !

**Django** · August-11-09, 09:59 AM

Big. You may have noticed some strange responses from me over the past few months. I had you confused with someone else from the Old Miami bar. In short I thought you were a regular at the Miami who I see quite a bit. I had someone else pegged as you. I realized my mistake last night when talking with him.

Anyway you asked me if I was back from Mexico somewhere on another thread so yes Ive been back for about three months but may head back for the winter.

**Bigb23** · August-14-09, 04:28 PM

Just a shout out to the North Hill Marthon repair facility in Rochester. After a flat in my drive way this morning, all I could afford was a take-off tire to replace it. After a few stops and a fifty dollar quote, I went there and was told to pick out a tire for free out back, and he would mount, balance, and install it all for $12.95. He even threw on a new valve, and installed the doughnut back underneath.
He had no idea what dire straights I'm going through right now. And the friendliest folks at a business I've run across for quite awhile.
That's what happens at non corporate mom and pop shops.
Oh, and the scissor jack handle snapped off on only the beginning of the second use ever ! GM, if you want to stay out of bankruptcy, use better materials. 55,000 miles, and several things have broke so far. I've always been loyal, but you are trying my patience !

**Gannon** · August-14-09, 06:32 PM

Are they just trying to get people to give up ?

Of course, they'd RATHER you not try at all!

As for the car parts...what you see is what you get, buddy, once they started hammering their suppliers for drastic cost reductions...started with that fella from Opel who stole the VW secrets...what was his name again?

Jose Ignacio Lopez de Arriortua

He cancelled every GM supplier contract back, oh, fifteen years ago...telling everyone he wanted a fifty percent price reduction in parts costing, and if they didn't know how to get there, he'd come visit their operations himself and show them how it was done.

It got done making cheaper jack handles...and main bearings...and tie-rod ends...and other stuff that used to never break on American cars.

He is the main reason GM vehicles suck even today, in my opinion, because it seems the suppliers never recovered from this fiasco...once you drop your prices they can never be recovered.

As long as the shoddy parts made it through the warranty period, ANY manufacturer seems to not give a damn, but the American car companies made it an artform.

I got my lessons from Ford, from both my Windstar and Contour SVT. It is no surprise to me that the Windstar made the top ten list of throw-aways during this cash-for-clunkers deal, the shock is that ANY lasted until now!

**Gannon** · August-14-09, 06:34 PM

other way around...he stole from GM/Opel for VW...got it backwards

**Bobl** · August-14-09, 10:12 PM

Big:

I understand "dire straights".
There are few jobs out there. My unemployment compensation ran out in May, finally found a job that barely pays the bills in July.
If your car is dependable, and you are healthy, I can suggest my employer.
Give a sign....

I hope things improve sooner than expected, and we can all find decent jobs with decent pay.

**Bobl** · August-14-09, 10:21 PM

Gannon
You nailed it:

"...It got done making cheaper jack handles...and main bearings...and tie-rod ends...and other stuff that used to never break on American cars..."

Lopez's legacy!
A close friend has experienced the result of poor quality tie rod ends, and has sworn off GM cars.

**gazhekwe** · August-15-09, 09:50 AM

Mikeg, that is reassuring. Watching from the outside, it was a pretty scary time, where the bottom line seemed to overrule everything else. There is always dross to be cut out in any process, and such cutting can often improve process and produce more output to result in cost savings. During the Lopez period, it appeared that long term subtle process improvements were ignored in favor of quick slashes to the biggest expenses. They seemed to concentrate on the biggests costs and keep going back to those expenses time and again.

My experience with it came in the course of investigating complaints about employment changes, of course, so I was likely seeing a bias toward the costs of employment.

**Mikeg** · August-15-09, 10:20 AM

gazhekwe,

Note that I am trying to describe the line between purchasing and the release engineer which exists for purchased parts that that go into the vehicle and which are designed and released by GM product engineers.

Lopez and his minions tried to "teach" the suppliers how to find and take cost out of the product in other ways that were internal to their operations. If along the way a supplier came up with a cost-saving idea that required a product change, the release engineer was obliged to investigate it and then decide whether or not it could be incorporated without affecting the performance of the part.

There was not quite the same fine line between the buyers in purchasing and the GM employees who initiated orders for other types of purchases, such a indirect materials [[used internally to manufacture) or tooling systems. They often found their specs getting overruled by Lopez's buyers who were focused only on saving dollars on that individual contract, since that was how they were measured. Any argument that said that the buyer was ignoring the opportunity for a longer term savings on subsequent purchased was usually ignored. Keep in mind that these suboptimal purchasing decisions did not affect the parts that went on the car.

**Gannon** · August-15-09, 10:43 AM

Hey! I take the stand that a little delusion is important for a person to recognize, that ain't a personal attack but merely a reminder that we've all got limits to our perception and analysis.

You were arguing that it didn't make any difference, everyone who has worked on these vehicles after they pass 50,000 miles has another opinion, it is not mine alone.

Thank you for relating your observation. As an engineer, I'm sure there is no way you would've argued to keep something a little bit more expensive and possibly slightly heavier if it meant the result was engineering for 250k miles instead of the 125k expected life of the vehicle.

It was a complete change in focus, and I'm still insisting that the car company's reputation suffered because of it...as well as the overall business HEALTH of their entire supply base, it wasn't merely the relations with them that were damaged.

Sorry to ruffle your feathers...lemme get back to my Saturday delusions....

**Mikeg** · August-15-09, 12:32 PM

As an engineer, I'm sure there is no way you would've argued to keep something a little bit more expensive and possibly slightly heavier if it meant the result was engineering for 250k miles instead of the 125k expected life of the vehicle.

If only it were that simple. Product release engineers have multiple constraints [[performance, mass, piece cost, squeak & rattle, etc.) that their design must satisfy before it ever gets to the physical validation part of the design process where life-cycle testing takes place. Mileage isn't a product design life target, cycles of operation are. The product design and validation process is an iterative one whereby the final result is an optimized design that usually meets all of the imposed constriants.

I have 76 K miles on my personal vehicle and I have yet to use the jack handle, yet I have paid the fuel economy price of carrying it with me for every one of those miles. How much more mass from the initial design iteration should the release engineer have kept in that jack handle "just in case"?