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Marion's "free" Samsung Galaxy A32-5G

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  Marion's "free" Samsung Galaxy A32-5G Tom Elam <thomas.e.elam@gmail.com> - 2025-10-02 09:59 -0400
    Re: Marion's "free" Samsung Galaxy A32-5G Marion <marionf@fact.com> - 2025-10-03 01:19 +0000
      Re: Marion's "free" Samsung Galaxy A32-5G Alan <nuh-uh@nope.com> - 2025-10-02 18:48 -0700
        Re: Marion's "free" Samsung Galaxy A32-5G Tom Elam <thomas.e.elam@gmail.com> - 2025-10-03 18:23 -0400
      Re: Marion's "free" Samsung Galaxy A32-5G Tom Elam <thomas.e.elam@gmail.com> - 2025-10-03 18:09 -0400
        Re: Marion's "free" Samsung Galaxy A32-5G "David B." <BD@hotmail.co.uk> - 2025-10-03 23:48 +0100
          Re: Marion's "free" Samsung Galaxy A32-5G Tom Elam <thomas.e.elam@gmail.com> - 2025-10-04 07:32 -0400
            Re: Marion's "free" Samsung Galaxy A32-5G "David B." <BD@hotmail.co.uk> - 2025-10-04 17:25 +0100
              Re: Marion's "free" Samsung Galaxy A32-5G Tom Elam <thomas.e.elam@gmail.com> - 2025-10-06 17:07 -0400
                Re: Marion's "free" Samsung Galaxy A32-5G Alan <nuh-uh@nope.com> - 2025-10-06 16:57 -0700
                Re: Marion's "free" Samsung Galaxy A32-5G "David B." <BD@hotmail.co.uk> - 2025-10-07 09:31 +0100
                  Re: Marion's "free" Samsung Galaxy A32-5G Tom Elam <thomas.e.elam@gmail.com> - 2025-10-07 08:49 -0400
                  Re: Marion's "free" Samsung Galaxy A32-5G Tom Elam <thomas.e.elam@gmail.com> - 2025-10-07 08:50 -0400
                  Re: Marion's "free" Samsung Galaxy A32-5G -hh <recscuba_google@huntzinger.com> - 2025-10-07 11:12 -0400
                    Re: Marion's "free" Samsung Galaxy A32-5G Tom Elam <thomas.e.elam@gmail.com> - 2025-10-09 07:21 -0400
                      Re: Marion's "free" Samsung Galaxy A32-5G -hh <recscuba_google@huntzinger.com> - 2025-10-09 15:23 -0400
                        Re: Marion's "free" Samsung Galaxy A32-5G "David B." <BD@hotmail.co.uk> - 2025-10-09 22:20 +0100
                          Re: Marion's "free" Samsung Galaxy A32-5G -hh <recscuba_google@huntzinger.com> - 2025-10-09 18:10 -0400
                            Re: Marion's "free" Samsung Galaxy A32-5G "David B." <BD@hotmail.co.uk> - 2025-10-09 23:30 +0100
                        Re: Marion's "free" Samsung Galaxy A32-5G Tom Elam <thomas.e.elam@gmail.com> - 2025-10-20 20:06 -0400
                          Re: Marion's "free" Samsung Galaxy A32-5G -hh <recscuba_google@huntzinger.com> - 2025-10-21 09:07 +0200
            Re: Marion's "free" Samsung Galaxy A32-5G Alan <nuh-uh@nope.com> - 2025-10-04 11:21 -0700
          Re: Marion's "free" Samsung Galaxy A32-5G -hh <recscuba_google@huntzinger.com> - 2025-10-05 14:08 -0400
            Re: Marion's "free" Samsung Galaxy A32-5G "David B." <BD@hotmail.co.uk> - 2025-10-05 19:52 +0100
              Re: Marion's "free" Samsung Galaxy A32-5G -hh <recscuba_google@huntzinger.com> - 2025-10-05 15:48 -0400
                Re: Marion's "free" Samsung Galaxy A32-5G "David B." <BD@hotmail.co.uk> - 2025-10-05 23:01 +0100
                  Re: Marion's "free" Samsung Galaxy A32-5G -hh <recscuba_google@huntzinger.com> - 2025-10-06 14:00 -0400
                    Re: Marion's "free" Samsung Galaxy A32-5G "David B." <BD@hotmail.co.uk> - 2025-10-06 20:12 +0100
                Re: Marion's "free" Samsung Galaxy A32-5G Tom Elam <thomas.e.elam@gmail.com> - 2025-10-06 17:09 -0400

Page 1 of 2  [1] 2  Next page →

#137445 — Marion's "free" Samsung Galaxy A32-5G

Let's look into the claims

First, priced at $180-$280 at launch in 2021 this phone was a good value 
at the time. The Apple budget phone at the time was the 2020 SE 2 priced 
at $400 for 64GB. Price-wise much lower than the SE 2. Disclaimer, I 
owned the SE 2 for 3 years. It was traded in for my iPhone 14 Pro.

Complete specs:

https://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_a32_5g-10648.php

The Samsung came with Android 11 and can be upgraded only to Android 13, 
3 versions behind just-released v.16. This really kills Marion's 7 year 
long support argument.

The 2020 SE 2 came with iOS 13 (mine had 14 already loaded when 
purchased in 2021) and runs the current IOS 26. It upgraded to 14, 15, 
16, 17 and 18, now v.26. Likely not to upgrade to v.27. Still, a big win 
for Apple.

Samsung's review:

https://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_a32_5g-review-2279p4.php

So, what are the compromises for the lower price?

Samsung display - per the review above above a cheap 6" class 60 mHz low 
res LCD with poor color fidelity.

Apple display - 4.7 in (120 mm) True Tone Retina HD display with IPS 
technology, 1334 × 750 pixel resolution (326 ppi), 1400:1 contrast ratio 
(typical), 625 nits max brightness (typical), with dual-ion 
exchange-strengthened glass. A much better display.

Cameras comparison - gets complicated, both phones have compromises 
versus higher end phones. Much depends on personal preferences.

Waterproofing - Samsung has a cheap plastic case, not waterproof. SE 2 
has minimal waterproofing, rated 1 meter up to 30 minutes.

Battery - Yes, the Samsung has a substantially larger battery, but my SE 
2 ran all day on it's smaller battery. As does my 14 Pro.

Speakers - Samsung 1 speaker, SE 2 stereo speakers

Both phones have fingerprint and face ID sensors.

Storage - the Samsung has an SD port. I had the 128 GB SE 2 and now the 
256 GB 14 Pro, never came close to running out of space on either. Nor 
do I have to bother with having two very different storage systems.

Bottom line - the SE 2 worked great for me and can run the latest iOS. I 
do not use headphones, storage was never an issue nor was battery life.

I traded the SE 2 for the 14 Pro mainly for the camera. I sold my Nikon 
SLR and that covered about half the trade-in cost. Very happy to not 
have to carry that SLR camera on trips for the last 3 years!

[toc] | [next] | [standalone]

#137462

Tom Elam wrote:
> The Samsung came with Android 11 and can be upgraded only to Android 13, 
> 3 versions behind just-released v.16. This really kills Marion's 7 year 
> long support argument.

For over a decade, these nutcase Apple religious zealots have been
distorting reality to make points that only exist in their own heads.
 From: Tom Elam <thomas.e.elam@gmail.com>
 Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.advocacy
 Subject: Marion's "free" Samsung Galaxy A32-5G
 Date: Thu, 2 Oct 2025 09:59:31 -0400
 Message-ID: <10bm0g3$10038$3@dont-email.me>

See above idiocy from one of the uneducated Apple trolls, Tom Elam.

Notice he's completely unaware that a phone from 2021 isn't covered by
today's written promises for full support of the Samsung Galaxy A series.
 *Apple finally confirms in writing how long it will fully support iPhones* 
 *(it's 2 years less than Samsung Galaxy S & Google flagship support!)*
 <https://www.androidauthority.com/iphone-software-support-commitment-3449135/>

Who is *that* incredibly stupid?
Nobody right?

Yet, Apple trolls like Tom Elam *are* clearly that incredibly stupid.
They think that support is automatically retroactive way back to 2021!

But further proof that all Apple trolls are Apple trolls in part because
every one of them fundamentally lacks higher education is also rampant.

Notice Tom Elam wrote "7 year long support argument"... 

He's too stupid to get the details.
All the Apple trolls are too stupid to get the details.

Tom Elam (and Chris) doesn't know how to count with two hands even.
Not one of them could pass a freshman Calculus class, let alone Algebra.

Chris said something similar today, but in the other direction.
 From: Marion <marionf@fact.com>
 Newsgroups: misc.phone.mobile.iphone,comp.sys.mac.advocacy
 Subject: Re: This is (one reason) why I assess that Apple trolls
          lack formal education
 Date: Fri, 3 Oct 2025 01:02:45 -0000 (UTC)
 Message-ID: <10bn7bk$1tta$1@nnrp.usenet.blueworldhosting.com>

There's a reason the past decade has been filled with this nonsense from
the ignorant Apple trolls, not only because they're religious nutcases.

Their own statements prove that the Apple trolls lack formal education. 
They lack any capacity to understand simple plain basic facts.

For those who actually went to college, can you imagine any of them passing
an organic chemistry test using their religious nutcase belief systems?

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#137463

On 2025-10-02 18:19, Marion wrote:
> Tom Elam wrote:
>> The Samsung came with Android 11 and can be upgraded only to Android 13,
>> 3 versions behind just-released v.16. This really kills Marion's 7 year
>> long support argument.

> For over a decade...


...you've turned to ad hominem attacks rather than rebut factual 
arguments on their merits?

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#137472

On 10/2/2025 9:48 PM, Alan wrote:
> On 2025-10-02 18:19, Marion wrote:
>> Tom Elam wrote:
>>> The Samsung came with Android 11 and can be upgraded only to Android 13,
>>> 3 versions behind just-released v.16. This really kills Marion's 7 year
>>> long support argument.
> 
>> For over a decade...
> 
> 
> ...you've turned to ad hominem attacks rather than rebut factual 
> arguments on their merits?
> 

Always.

He apparently never read my prior CSMA post citing recent articles from 
Android-centric sources showing that their OS updates across the board 
are as much a mess as they were when I switched to Apple in February 
2019. Pixel is still the only Android OEM that gets immediate OS updates 
out anywhere near the date of release.

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#137470

On 10/2/2025 9:19 PM, Marion wrote:
> Tom Elam wrote:
>> The Samsung came with Android 11 and can be upgraded only to Android 13,
>> 3 versions behind just-released v.16. This really kills Marion's 7 year
>> long support argument.
> 
> For over a decade, these nutcase Apple religious zealots have been
> distorting reality to make points that only exist in their own heads.
>   From: Tom Elam <thomas.e.elam@gmail.com>
>   Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.advocacy
>   Subject: Marion's "free" Samsung Galaxy A32-5G
>   Date: Thu, 2 Oct 2025 09:59:31 -0400
>   Message-ID: <10bm0g3$10038$3@dont-email.me>
> 
> See above idiocy from one of the uneducated Apple trolls, Tom Elam.
> 
> Notice he's completely unaware that a phone from 2021 isn't covered by
> today's written promises for full support of the Samsung Galaxy A series.
>   *Apple finally confirms in writing how long it will fully support iPhones*
>   *(it's 2 years less than Samsung Galaxy S & Google flagship support!)*
>   <https://www.androidauthority.com/iphone-software-support-commitment-3449135/>
> 
> Who is *that* incredibly stupid?
> Nobody right?
> 
> Yet, Apple trolls like Tom Elam *are* clearly that incredibly stupid.
> They think that support is automatically retroactive way back to 2021!
> 
> But further proof that all Apple trolls are Apple trolls in part because
> every one of them fundamentally lacks higher education is also rampant.
> 
> Notice Tom Elam wrote "7 year long support argument"...
> 
> He's too stupid to get the details.
> All the Apple trolls are too stupid to get the details.
> 
> Tom Elam (and Chris) doesn't know how to count with two hands even.
> Not one of them could pass a freshman Calculus class, let alone Algebra.
> 
> Chris said something similar today, but in the other direction.
>   From: Marion <marionf@fact.com>
>   Newsgroups: misc.phone.mobile.iphone,comp.sys.mac.advocacy
>   Subject: Re: This is (one reason) why I assess that Apple trolls
>            lack formal education
>   Date: Fri, 3 Oct 2025 01:02:45 -0000 (UTC)
>   Message-ID: <10bn7bk$1tta$1@nnrp.usenet.blueworldhosting.com>
> 
> There's a reason the past decade has been filled with this nonsense from
> the ignorant Apple trolls, not only because they're religious nutcases.
> 
> Their own statements prove that the Apple trolls lack formal education.
> They lack any capacity to understand simple plain basic facts.
> 
> For those who actually went to college, can you imagine any of them passing
> an organic chemistry test using their religious nutcase belief systems?

You are not a very good liar. Your own statements show a lack of 
comprehension of your ignorance.

Read my earlier "Android OS updates are a mess - Samsung is not 
Android!" CSMA post. OS updates, including Samsung, are still a mess. 
Samsung still does not give 7 years of updates with ALL phones.

https://www.androidauthority.com/samsung-android-updates-1148888/

Other Android major OEM policies are in the post cited above.

I went to college for 8 years, earned 3 degrees, BS, MS, PhD, and worked 
continuously in my selected area of study from 1972 to 2023. Majored in 
economics, minors in math and statistics. I know you are math 
challenged, so that is 51 years of highly technical employment.

Admittedly, I was not very good at chemistry. But, I'd like to see you 
try to pass a Phd level statistics exam.

How many college degrees do you have? What is your area of work?

My circle of friends includes mostly people with advanced college 
degrees. Many of those degrees are in science and health care. Almost 
all have Apple phones.

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#137473

On 03/10/2025 23:09, Tom Elam wrote:
[....]> I went to college for 8 years, earned 3 degrees, BS, MS, PhD, 
and worked
> continuously in my selected area of study from 1972 to 2023. Majored in 
> economics, minors in math and statistics. I know you are math 
> challenged, so that is 51 years of highly technical employment.
[....]

I am well impressed! 🙂

Do you use an Apple computer, Tom?

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#137475

On 10/3/2025 6:48 PM, David B. wrote:
> On 03/10/2025 23:09, Tom Elam wrote:
> [....]> I went to college for 8 years, earned 3 degrees, BS, MS, PhD, 
> and worked
>> continuously in my selected area of study from 1972 to 2023. Majored 
>> in economics, minors in math and statistics. I know you are math 
>> challenged, so that is 51 years of highly technical employment.
> [....]
> 
> I am well impressed! 🙂
> 
> Do you use an Apple computer, Tom?

Thanks for asking. This is probably more than you wanted to know. I do 
have extensive experience with Apple products, but let's start at the 
beginning.

I used an IBM 360/65 in grad school (1969-72). Then IBM mainframes and 
DEC mainframes at work. My employer from 1979 to 2003 was Windows-based 
when the PC became a thing. They furnished desktops, then laptops, so 
that is what I went with after a brief time using Tandy products at home.

I have owned 2 Apple Macs. A Bondi Blue iMac circa 1998-98. Major 
disappointment. Mac OS 9 was so far behind Windows at the time I found 
it useless. And, it crashed a lot. Second was a MacBook Pro. It was 
purchased when the M1 version first came out. A very impressive laptop, 
and I enjoyed using it even though I had to use Parallels to run some 
Windows-only apps.

Unfortunately 2 weeks after purchase it crashed (infinite boot-loop) and 
would not load the OS. I took it to the local Apple Store and after 
inspection they honored my request for a full refund, including the 
accessories purchased.

The motivation for the Mac was a project that involving using a stats 
package for a large regression model with over 100,000 observations that 
my 3 year old Windows machine with a spinning hard drive was taking 
30-45 minutes to run. The Mac with its SSD ran it in under 5 minutes as 
I recall.

As a result of that short experience I can certainly appreciate the 
modern MacBook, M series processors, and Mac OS advantages. Especially 
battery life!

So today it's iPad 9, iPhone 14 Pro and the Dell XPS 15 (32 gb ram, 1 tb 
SSD) laptop the replaced the MacBook Pro. They all get along just fine. 
Most of my iOS apps are Microsoft or Google. I also use a cross-platform 
3rd party password manager that really helps out.

The XPS 15 replaced the MacBook Pro. It did my stats work in about the 
same time as the Mac. More so than processor, the lack of SSD technology 
was also a major factor with the older HP.

We also own 2 older HP laptops that have been upgraded to Windows 11.

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#137477

On 04/10/2025 12:32, Tom Elam wrote:
> On 10/3/2025 6:48 PM, David B. wrote:
>> On 03/10/2025 23:09, Tom Elam wrote:
>> [....]> I went to college for 8 years, earned 3 degrees, BS, MS, PhD, 
>> and worked
>>> continuously in my selected area of study from 1972 to 2023. Majored 
>>> in economics, minors in math and statistics. I know you are math 
>>> challenged, so that is 51 years of highly technical employment.
>> [....]
>>
>> I am well impressed! 🙂
>>
>> Do you use an Apple computer, Tom?
> 
> Thanks for asking. This is probably more than you wanted to know. I do 
> have extensive experience with Apple products, but let's start at the 
> beginning.

I appreciate you explaining!
> I used an IBM 360/65 in grad school (1969-72). Then IBM mainframes and 
> DEC mainframes at work. My employer from 1979 to 2003 was Windows-based 
> when the PC became a thing. They furnished desktops, then laptops, so 
> that is what I went with after a brief time using Tandy products at home.

Understood.
> I have owned 2 Apple Macs. A Bondi Blue iMac circa 1998-98. Major 
> disappointment. Mac OS 9 was so far behind Windows at the time I found 
> it useless. And, it crashed a lot. Second was a MacBook Pro. It was 
> purchased when the M1 version first came out. A very impressive laptop, 
> and I enjoyed using it even though I had to use Parallels to run some 
> Windows-only apps.
> 
> Unfortunately 2 weeks after purchase it crashed (infinite boot-loop) and 
> would not load the OS. I took it to the local Apple Store and after 
> inspection they honored my request for a full refund, including the 
> accessories purchased.

That all sounds rather sad. :-(
> The motivation for the Mac was a project that involving using a stats 
> package for a large regression model with over 100,000 observations that 
> my 3 year old Windows machine with a spinning hard drive was taking 
> 30-45 minutes to run. The Mac with its SSD ran it in under 5 minutes as 
> I recall.
> 
> As a result of that short experience I can certainly appreciate the 
> modern MacBook, M series processors, and Mac OS advantages. Especially 
> battery life!

Major changes!
> So today it's iPad 9, iPhone 14 Pro and the Dell XPS 15 (32 gb ram, 1 tb 
> SSD) laptop the replaced the MacBook Pro. They all get along just fine. 
> Most of my iOS apps are Microsoft or Google. I also use a cross-platform 
> 3rd party password manager that really helps out.
> 
> The XPS 15 replaced the MacBook Pro. It did my stats work in about the 
> same time as the Mac. More so than processor, the lack of SSD technology 
> was also a major factor with the older HP.
> 
> We also own 2 older HP laptops that have been upgraded to Windows 11.

It sounds as if you are well provided with modern technology! If you are
anything like me, you are probably delighted by the outstanding quality
of photographs taken on your iPhone 14 Pro!

You'd no doubt enjoy looking at them too if you had a 27 inch iMac or a 
Studio display!

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#137538

On 10/4/2025 12:25 PM, David B. wrote:
> On 04/10/2025 12:32, Tom Elam wrote:
>> On 10/3/2025 6:48 PM, David B. wrote:
>>> On 03/10/2025 23:09, Tom Elam wrote:
>>> [....]> I went to college for 8 years, earned 3 degrees, BS, MS, PhD, 
>>> and worked
>>>> continuously in my selected area of study from 1972 to 2023. Majored 
>>>> in economics, minors in math and statistics. I know you are math 
>>>> challenged, so that is 51 years of highly technical employment.
>>> [....]
>>>
>>> I am well impressed! 🙂
>>>
>>> Do you use an Apple computer, Tom?
>>
>> Thanks for asking. This is probably more than you wanted to know. I do 
>> have extensive experience with Apple products, but let's start at the 
>> beginning.
> 
> I appreciate you explaining!
>> I used an IBM 360/65 in grad school (1969-72). Then IBM mainframes and 
>> DEC mainframes at work. My employer from 1979 to 2003 was Windows- 
>> based when the PC became a thing. They furnished desktops, then 
>> laptops, so that is what I went with after a brief time using Tandy 
>> products at home.
> 
> Understood.
>> I have owned 2 Apple Macs. A Bondi Blue iMac circa 1998-98. Major 
>> disappointment. Mac OS 9 was so far behind Windows at the time I found 
>> it useless. And, it crashed a lot. Second was a MacBook Pro. It was 
>> purchased when the M1 version first came out. A very impressive 
>> laptop, and I enjoyed using it even though I had to use Parallels to 
>> run some Windows-only apps.
>>
>> Unfortunately 2 weeks after purchase it crashed (infinite boot-loop) 
>> and would not load the OS. I took it to the local Apple Store and 
>> after inspection they honored my request for a full refund, including 
>> the accessories purchased.
> 
> That all sounds rather sad. :-(
>> The motivation for the Mac was a project that involving using a stats 
>> package for a large regression model with over 100,000 observations 
>> that my 3 year old Windows machine with a spinning hard drive was 
>> taking 30-45 minutes to run. The Mac with its SSD ran it in under 5 
>> minutes as I recall.
>>
>> As a result of that short experience I can certainly appreciate the 
>> modern MacBook, M series processors, and Mac OS advantages. Especially 
>> battery life!
> 
> Major changes!
>> So today it's iPad 9, iPhone 14 Pro and the Dell XPS 15 (32 gb ram, 1 
>> tb SSD) laptop the replaced the MacBook Pro. They all get along just 
>> fine. Most of my iOS apps are Microsoft or Google. I also use a cross- 
>> platform 3rd party password manager that really helps out.
>>
>> The XPS 15 replaced the MacBook Pro. It did my stats work in about the 
>> same time as the Mac. More so than processor, the lack of SSD 
>> technology was also a major factor with the older HP.
>>
>> We also own 2 older HP laptops that have been upgraded to Windows 11.
> 
> It sounds as if you are well provided with modern technology! If you are
> anything like me, you are probably delighted by the outstanding quality
> of photographs taken on your iPhone 14 Pro!
> 
> You'd no doubt enjoy looking at them too if you had a 27 inch iMac or a 
> Studio display!
> 

Nothing sad about the need to update my Windows laptop, That was a 6 
figure project completed to the clients satisfaction.

I love the 14 Pro. Today I went to the Apple Store to compare my 14 Pro 
camera to the new 17 Pro. I did not see enough difference to justify 
buying the 17 Pro. My desktop display is a 3 year old Dell 27" 3840x2160 
HD. The Apple display no doubt looks better, but a 2-3x the price.

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#137551

On 2025-10-06 14:07, Tom Elam wrote:
> On 10/4/2025 12:25 PM, David B. wrote:
>> On 04/10/2025 12:32, Tom Elam wrote:
>>> On 10/3/2025 6:48 PM, David B. wrote:
>>>> On 03/10/2025 23:09, Tom Elam wrote: [....]> I went to college
>>>> for 8 years, earned 3 degrees, BS, MS, PhD, and worked
>>>>> continuously in my selected area of study from 1972 to
>>>>> 2023. Majored in economics, minors in math and statistics. I
>>>>> know you are math challenged, so that is 51 years of highly
>>>>> technical employment.
>>>> [....]
>>>> 
>>>> I am well impressed! 🙂
>>>> 
>>>> Do you use an Apple computer, Tom?
>>> 
>>> Thanks for asking. This is probably more than you wanted to
>>> know. I do have extensive experience with Apple products, but
>>> let's start at the beginning.
>> 
>> I appreciate you explaining!
>>> I used an IBM 360/65 in grad school (1969-72). Then IBM
>>> mainframes and DEC mainframes at work. My employer from 1979 to
>>> 2003 was Windows- based when the PC became a thing. They
>>> furnished desktops, then laptops, so that is what I went with
>>> after a brief time using Tandy products at home.
>> 
>> Understood.
>>> I have owned 2 Apple Macs. A Bondi Blue iMac circa 1998-98.
>>> Major disappointment. Mac OS 9 was so far behind Windows at the
>>> time I found it useless. And, it crashed a lot. Second was a
>>> MacBook Pro. It was purchased when the M1 version first came
>>> out. A very impressive laptop, and I enjoyed using it even
>>> though I had to use Parallels to run some Windows-only apps.
>>> 
>>> Unfortunately 2 weeks after purchase it crashed (infinite boot-
>>> loop) and would not load the OS. I took it to the local Apple
>>> Store and after inspection they honored my request for a full
>>> refund, including the accessories purchased.
>> 
>> That all sounds rather sad. :-(
>>> The motivation for the Mac was a project that involving using a
>>> stats package for a large regression model with over 100,000
>>> observations that my 3 year old Windows machine with a spinning
>>> hard drive was taking 30-45 minutes to run. The Mac with its SSD
>>> ran it in under 5 minutes as I recall.
>>> 
>>> As a result of that short experience I can certainly appreciate
>>> the modern MacBook, M series processors, and Mac OS advantages. 
>>> Especially battery life!
>> 
>> Major changes!
>>> So today it's iPad 9, iPhone 14 Pro and the Dell XPS 15 (32 gb
>>> ram, 1 tb SSD) laptop the replaced the MacBook Pro. They all get
>>> along just fine. Most of my iOS apps are Microsoft or Google. I
>>> also use a cross- platform 3rd party password manager that
>>> really helps out.
>>> 
>>> The XPS 15 replaced the MacBook Pro. It did my stats work in
>>> about the same time as the Mac. More so than processor, the lack
>>> of SSD technology was also a major factor with the older HP.
>>> 
>>> We also own 2 older HP laptops that have been upgraded to
>>> Windows 11.
>> 
>> It sounds as if you are well provided with modern technology! If
>> you are anything like me, you are probably delighted by the
>> outstanding quality of photographs taken on your iPhone 14 Pro!
>> 
>> You'd no doubt enjoy looking at them too if you had a 27 inch iMac
>> or a Studio display!
>> 
> 
> Nothing sad about the need to update my Windows laptop, That was a
> 6 figure project completed to the clients satisfaction.


And why was a Windows laptop supposedly necessary for this project?

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#137556

On 06/10/2025 22:07, Tom Elam wrote:
> On 10/4/2025 12:25 PM, David B. wrote:
>> On 04/10/2025 12:32, Tom Elam wrote:
>>> On 10/3/2025 6:48 PM, David B. wrote:
>>>> On 03/10/2025 23:09, Tom Elam wrote:
>>>> [....]> I went to college for 8 years, earned 3 degrees, BS, MS, 
>>>> PhD, and worked
>>>>> continuously in my selected area of study from 1972 to 2023. 
>>>>> Majored in economics, minors in math and statistics. I know you are 
>>>>> math challenged, so that is 51 years of highly technical employment.
>>>> [....]
>>>>
>>>> I am well impressed! 🙂
>>>>
>>>> Do you use an Apple computer, Tom?
>>>
>>> Thanks for asking. This is probably more than you wanted to know. I 
>>> do have extensive experience with Apple products, but let's start at 
>>> the beginning.
>>
>> I appreciate you explaining!
>>> I used an IBM 360/65 in grad school (1969-72). Then IBM mainframes 
>>> and DEC mainframes at work. My employer from 1979 to 2003 was 
>>> Windows- based when the PC became a thing. They furnished desktops, 
>>> then laptops, so that is what I went with after a brief time using 
>>> Tandy products at home.
>>
>> Understood.
>>> I have owned 2 Apple Macs. A Bondi Blue iMac circa 1998-98. Major 
>>> disappointment. Mac OS 9 was so far behind Windows at the time I 
>>> found it useless. And, it crashed a lot. Second was a MacBook Pro. It 
>>> was purchased when the M1 version first came out. A very impressive 
>>> laptop, and I enjoyed using it even though I had to use Parallels to 
>>> run some Windows-only apps.
>>>
>>> Unfortunately 2 weeks after purchase it crashed (infinite boot-loop) 
>>> and would not load the OS. I took it to the local Apple Store and 
>>> after inspection they honored my request for a full refund, including 
>>> the accessories purchased.
>>
>> That all sounds rather sad. :-(
>>> The motivation for the Mac was a project that involving using a stats 
>>> package for a large regression model with over 100,000 observations 
>>> that my 3 year old Windows machine with a spinning hard drive was 
>>> taking 30-45 minutes to run. The Mac with its SSD ran it in under 5 
>>> minutes as I recall.
>>>
>>> As a result of that short experience I can certainly appreciate the 
>>> modern MacBook, M series processors, and Mac OS advantages. 
>>> Especially battery life!
>>
>> Major changes!
>>> So today it's iPad 9, iPhone 14 Pro and the Dell XPS 15 (32 gb ram, 1 
>>> tb SSD) laptop the replaced the MacBook Pro. They all get along just 
>>> fine. Most of my iOS apps are Microsoft or Google. I also use a 
>>> cross- platform 3rd party password manager that really helps out.
>>>
>>> The XPS 15 replaced the MacBook Pro. It did my stats work in about 
>>> the same time as the Mac. More so than processor, the lack of SSD 
>>> technology was also a major factor with the older HP.
>>>
>>> We also own 2 older HP laptops that have been upgraded to Windows 11.
>>
>> It sounds as if you are well provided with modern technology! If you are
>> anything like me, you are probably delighted by the outstanding quality
>> of photographs taken on your iPhone 14 Pro!
>>
>> You'd no doubt enjoy looking at them too if you had a 27 inch iMac or 
>> a Studio display!
>>
> 
> Nothing sad about the need to update my Windows laptop, That was a 6 
> figure project completed to the clients satisfaction.

Did you do work for someone and generate payment of $100,000+?
> I love the 14 Pro. Today I went to the Apple Store to compare my 14 Pro 
> camera to the new 17 Pro. I did not see enough difference to justify 
> buying the 17 Pro.

I'm really happy with /my/ 14 Pro and I've also decided not to update.

> My desktop display is a 3 year old Dell 27" 3840x2160 
> HD. The Apple display no doubt looks better, but a 2-3x the price.

Apologies. I've no doubt your 27 inch screen is also great for viewing 
images.

So many folk look at images on a phone nowadays and never see the full 
beauty of a photograph.

This is NOT a dandelion!  https://i.ibb.co/KjvXY9k8/IMG-0980.jpg

(My daughter had suggested I try portrait mode!)

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#137559

On 10/7/2025 4:31 AM, David B. wrote:
> Did you do work for someone and generate payment of $100,000+?

I did hundreds of projects in my 2002-2023 years as an independent 
consultant. Most were small, many under $10k. But two legal cases went 
over $100k. Another was about $80k. The total revenue was well over $1 
million. Not much compared to many other consultants, but enough to help 
tide me over until passive income increased enough to make full 
retirement very comfortable! And, it was a lot of fun too.

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#137560

On 10/7/2025 4:31 AM, David B. wrote:
> This is NOT a dandelion! https://i.ibb.co/KjvXY9k8/IMG-0980.jpg

So, what is it?

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#137562

On 10/7/25 04:31, David B. wrote:
> On 06/10/2025 22:07, Tom Elam wrote:
>> ...
>> Nothing sad about the need to update my Windows laptop, That was a 6 
>> figure project completed to the clients satisfaction.
> 
> Did you do work for someone and generate payment of $100,000+? 

That's what he'd like to believe, isn't it?

Of course, "six digits" could also have been #1,234.56

Plus even if it was $100K, over what period of time?  It is far less 
impressive if it was for a project which spanned over 3-4 years.

Similarly, with what non-labor expenses:  when it includes travel, such 
as to inspect manufacturing sites, it can easily run $5K a pop or more 
for international; just five such trips consumes 25% of a $100K budget.

And so on.  Point is that when someone cherry-picks their bravado claims 
to resist the temptation to fill in their missing gaps, since those gaps 
invariably exist to filled in by readers with assumptions, not facts.


>> My desktop display is a 3 year old Dell 27" 3840x2160 HD. The Apple 
>> display no doubt looks better, but a 2-3x the price.
> 
> Apologies. I've no doubt your 27 inch screen is also great for viewing 
> images.
Probably most 27" 4K screens today will do a fine job; the Devil in the 
Details probably falls to other aspects of a third party display beyond 
jut the image, such as if Apple's keyboard controls work correctly for 
brightness & sound, if there's integrated speakers, camera, etc.


-hh

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#137600

On 10/7/2025 11:12 AM, -hh wrote:
> On 10/7/25 04:31, David B. wrote:
>> On 06/10/2025 22:07, Tom Elam wrote:
>>> ...
>>> Nothing sad about the need to update my Windows laptop, That was a 6 
>>> figure project completed to the clients satisfaction.
>>
>> Did you do work for someone and generate payment of $100,000+? 
> 
> That's what he'd like to believe, isn't it?
> 
> Of course, "six digits" could also have been #1,234.56
> 
> Plus even if it was $100K, over what period of time?  It is far less 
> impressive if it was for a project which spanned over 3-4 years.
> 
> Similarly, with what non-labor expenses:  when it includes travel, such 
> as to inspect manufacturing sites, it can easily run $5K a pop or more 
> for international; just five such trips consumes 25% of a $100K budget.
> 
> And so on.  Point is that when someone cherry-picks their bravado claims 
> to resist the temptation to fill in their missing gaps, since those gaps 
> invariably exist to filled in by readers with assumptions, not facts.
> 
> 
>>> My desktop display is a 3 year old Dell 27" 3840x2160 HD. The Apple 
>>> display no doubt looks better, but a 2-3x the price.
>>
>> Apologies. I've no doubt your 27 inch screen is also great for viewing 
>> images.
> Probably most 27" 4K screens today will do a fine job; the Devil in the 
> Details probably falls to other aspects of a third party display beyond 
> jut the image, such as if Apple's keyboard controls work correctly for 
> brightness & sound, if there's integrated speakers, camera, etc.
> 
> 
> -hh

They were all over $100k. Yes, they all spanned several years, the 
wheels of justice move slowly. There was very limited travel for these 
three, all short domestic trips. I do not have detailed P&L by project, 
but the business earned a 92% gross margin over its lifetime. That 
includes  international trips to Europe (1), Canada (1), Australia (1) 
and Latin America (3). Yes, a few international travel expenses were 
paid direct by the customer and are not included in the costs.

Yes, other HD displays have more features. Mine does a great job for me.

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#137601

On 10/9/25 07:21, Tom Elam wrote:
> On 10/7/2025 11:12 AM, -hh wrote:
>> On 10/7/25 04:31, David B. wrote:
>>> On 06/10/2025 22:07, Tom Elam wrote:
>>>> ...
>>>> Nothing sad about the need to update my Windows laptop, That was a 6 
>>>> figure project completed to the clients satisfaction.
>>>
>>> Did you do work for someone and generate payment of $100,000+? 
>>
>> That's what he'd like to believe, isn't it?
>>
>> Of course, "six digits" could also have been #1,234.56
>>
>> Plus even if it was $100K, over what period of time?  It is far less 
>> impressive if it was for a project which spanned over 3-4 years.
>>
>> Similarly, with what non-labor expenses:  when it includes travel, 
>> such as to inspect manufacturing sites, it can easily run $5K a pop or 
>> more for international; just five such trips consumes 25% of a $100K 
>> budget.
>>
>> And so on.  Point is that when someone cherry-picks their bravado 
>> claims to resist the temptation to fill in their missing gaps, since 
>> those gaps invariably exist to filled in by readers with assumptions, 
>> not facts.
>>
>>
>>>> My desktop display is a 3 year old Dell 27" 3840x2160 HD. The Apple 
>>>> display no doubt looks better, but a 2-3x the price.
>>>
>>> Apologies. I've no doubt your 27 inch screen is also great for 
>>> viewing images. 
>>
>> Probably most 27" 4K screens today will do a fine job; the Devil in 
>> the Details probably falls to other aspects of a third party display 
>> beyond jut the image, such as if Apple's keyboard controls work 
>> correctly for brightness & sound, if there's integrated speakers, 
>> camera, etc.
>
> 
> They were all over $100k. Yes, they all spanned several years, ...

David, here's a good example of how there's more details beyond the 
original cherrypicked brags.

FYI, Tommy invariably whines when I paramaterize from his claims, but to 
illustrate, his above statement is suggesting that the only times that 
there were any consultant contract of $100K or more was when it was 
multi-year.

Thus, taking his "over $100K" claim as $120K and 3 years for "several" 
claim, then what appears to be likely typical is in the ballpark of: 
$120K/3 = $40K/year gross...

...but note a couple of things.


> ... the 
> wheels of justice move slowly. There was very limited travel for these 
> three, all short domestic trips. I do not have detailed P&L by project, 
> but the business earned a 92% gross margin over its lifetime. 

Where "these three" appears to be stating that there's only been three 
large projects:  TE: "But two legal cases went over $100k. Another was 
about $80k."

...but didn't he just claimed that the multi-years were "all over 
$100K"?  Well, I guess in Tommy Math that $80K is more than $100K. /s

In any event, these numbers are his self-employed level gross before 
overhead expenses, such as Social Security & Medicare.  For a 
self-employed, the business has to pay the same as employee, which is 
7.65% ... and that's nearly all of his "92% gross margin" claim.  Before 
the employee's SS/Med, above $40K SWAG drops to an employee gross of no 
more than ~$37K/year just from this one gross-to-net adjustment. 
There's others possible too, such as employer contributions to a 401(k).

In any event, with the rest being smaller than apparently $80K over his 
"2002-2023" twenty two year working period, which at his present age of 
79, covers working years from age 56 to age 77, and all together he 
humble-bragged "The total revenue was well over $1 million."

Since he would have bragged $2M had it exceeded $2M, this has bracketed 
the total possible between $1M and $1.9999M.  Taking off 8% for his 
employer overhead and dividing by 22 years, the lower & upper limits on 
his claim are $41.8K to $83.6K ... and YMMV on if that is good or bad, 
but with the context that national median for PhD holders is around 
$100K/yr, even the $83K for the $1.9999M best case doesn't seem like 
he's been crushing it.

> That 
> includes international trips to Europe (1), Canada (1), Australia (1) 
> and Latin America (3). Yes, a few international travel expenses were 
> paid direct by the customer and are not included in the costs.

(8% - 7.65%) * $1M = $3500; for $2M = $7000.  The claimed 8% total 
overhead budget doesn't appear to have enough bananas to cover more than 
one or two such trips, let alone five.


-hh

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#137602

On 09/10/2025 20:23, -hh wrote:
> On 10/9/25 07:21, Tom Elam wrote:
>> On 10/7/2025 11:12 AM, -hh wrote:
>>> On 10/7/25 04:31, David B. wrote:
>>>> On 06/10/2025 22:07, Tom Elam wrote:
>>>>> ...
>>>>> Nothing sad about the need to update my Windows laptop, That was a 
>>>>> 6 figure project completed to the clients satisfaction.
>>>>
>>>> Did you do work for someone and generate payment of $100,000+? 
>>>
>>> That's what he'd like to believe, isn't it?
>>>
>>> Of course, "six digits" could also have been #1,234.56
>>>
>>> Plus even if it was $100K, over what period of time?  It is far less 
>>> impressive if it was for a project which spanned over 3-4 years.
>>>
>>> Similarly, with what non-labor expenses:  when it includes travel, 
>>> such as to inspect manufacturing sites, it can easily run $5K a pop 
>>> or more for international; just five such trips consumes 25% of a 
>>> $100K budget.
>>>
>>> And so on.  Point is that when someone cherry-picks their bravado 
>>> claims to resist the temptation to fill in their missing gaps, since 
>>> those gaps invariably exist to filled in by readers with assumptions, 
>>> not facts.
>>>
>>>
>>>>> My desktop display is a 3 year old Dell 27" 3840x2160 HD. The Apple 
>>>>> display no doubt looks better, but a 2-3x the price.
>>>>
>>>> Apologies. I've no doubt your 27 inch screen is also great for 
>>>> viewing images. 
>>>
>>> Probably most 27" 4K screens today will do a fine job; the Devil in 
>>> the Details probably falls to other aspects of a third party display 
>>> beyond jut the image, such as if Apple's keyboard controls work 
>>> correctly for brightness & sound, if there's integrated speakers, 
>>> camera, etc.
>>
>>
>> They were all over $100k. Yes, they all spanned several years, ...
> 
> David, here's a good example of how there's more details beyond the 
> original cherrypicked brags.
> 
> FYI, Tommy invariably whines when I paramaterize from his claims, but to 
> illustrate, his above statement is suggesting that the only times that 
> there were any consultant contract of $100K or more was when it was 
> multi-year.
> 
> Thus, taking his "over $100K" claim as $120K and 3 years for "several" 
> claim, then what appears to be likely typical is in the ballpark of: 
> $120K/3 = $40K/year gross...
> 
> ...but note a couple of things.
> 
> 
>> ... the wheels of justice move slowly. There was very limited travel 
>> for these three, all short domestic trips. I do not have detailed P&L 
>> by project, but the business earned a 92% gross margin over its lifetime. 
> 
> Where "these three" appears to be stating that there's only been three 
> large projects:  TE: "But two legal cases went over $100k. Another was 
> about $80k."
> 
> ...but didn't he just claimed that the multi-years were "all over 
> $100K"?  Well, I guess in Tommy Math that $80K is more than $100K. /s
> 
> In any event, these numbers are his self-employed level gross before 
> overhead expenses, such as Social Security & Medicare.  For a self- 
> employed, the business has to pay the same as employee, which is 
> 7.65% ... and that's nearly all of his "92% gross margin" claim.  Before 
> the employee's SS/Med, above $40K SWAG drops to an employee gross of no 
> more than ~$37K/year just from this one gross-to-net adjustment. There's 
> others possible too, such as employer contributions to a 401(k).
> 
> In any event, with the rest being smaller than apparently $80K over his 
> "2002-2023" twenty two year working period, which at his present age of 
> 79, covers working years from age 56 to age 77, and all together he 
> humble-bragged "The total revenue was well over $1 million."
> 
> Since he would have bragged $2M had it exceeded $2M, this has bracketed 
> the total possible between $1M and $1.9999M.  Taking off 8% for his 
> employer overhead and dividing by 22 years, the lower & upper limits on 
> his claim are $41.8K to $83.6K ... and YMMV on if that is good or bad, 
> but with the context that national median for PhD holders is around 
> $100K/yr, even the $83K for the $1.9999M best case doesn't seem like 
> he's been crushing it.
> 
>> That includes international trips to Europe (1), Canada (1), Australia 
>> (1) and Latin America (3). Yes, a few international travel expenses 
>> were paid direct by the customer and are not included in the costs.
> 
> (8% - 7.65%) * $1M = $3500; for $2M = $7000.  The claimed 8% total 
> overhead budget doesn't appear to have enough bananas to cover more than 
> one or two such trips, let alone five.
> 
> 
> -hh


You appear to be taking a pop at someone for whom you should have more 
respect.

Why is that?

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#137603

On 10/9/25 17:20, David B. wrote:
> On 09/10/2025 20:23, -hh wrote:
>> On 10/9/25 07:21, Tom Elam wrote:
>>> On 10/7/2025 11:12 AM, -hh wrote:
>>>> On 10/7/25 04:31, David B. wrote:
>>>>> On 06/10/2025 22:07, Tom Elam wrote:
>>>>>> ...
>>>>>> Nothing sad about the need to update my Windows laptop, That was a 
>>>>>> 6 figure project completed to the clients satisfaction.
>>>>>
>>>>> Did you do work for someone and generate payment of $100,000+? 
>>>>
>>>> That's what he'd like to believe, isn't it?
>>>>
>>>> Of course, "six digits" could also have been #1,234.56
>>>>
>>>> Plus even if it was $100K, over what period of time?  It is far less 
>>>> impressive if it was for a project which spanned over 3-4 years.
>>>>
>>>> Similarly, with what non-labor expenses:  when it includes travel, 
>>>> such as to inspect manufacturing sites, it can easily run $5K a pop 
>>>> or more for international; just five such trips consumes 25% of a 
>>>> $100K budget.
>>>>
>>>> And so on.  Point is that when someone cherry-picks their bravado 
>>>> claims to resist the temptation to fill in their missing gaps, since 
>>>> those gaps invariably exist to filled in by readers with 
>>>> assumptions, not facts.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>> My desktop display is a 3 year old Dell 27" 3840x2160 HD. The 
>>>>>> Apple display no doubt looks better, but a 2-3x the price.
>>>>>
>>>>> Apologies. I've no doubt your 27 inch screen is also great for 
>>>>> viewing images. 
>>>>
>>>> Probably most 27" 4K screens today will do a fine job; the Devil in 
>>>> the Details probably falls to other aspects of a third party display 
>>>> beyond jut the image, such as if Apple's keyboard controls work 
>>>> correctly for brightness & sound, if there's integrated speakers, 
>>>> camera, etc.
>>>
>>>
>>> They were all over $100k. Yes, they all spanned several years, ...
>>
>> David, here's a good example of how there's more details beyond the 
>> original cherrypicked brags.
>>
>> FYI, Tommy invariably whines when I paramaterize from his claims, but 
>> to illustrate, his above statement is suggesting that the only times 
>> that there were any consultant contract of $100K or more was when it 
>> was multi-year.
>>
>> Thus, taking his "over $100K" claim as $120K and 3 years for "several" 
>> claim, then what appears to be likely typical is in the ballpark of: 
>> $120K/3 = $40K/year gross...
>>
>> ...but note a couple of things.
>>
>>
>>> ... the wheels of justice move slowly. There was very limited travel 
>>> for these three, all short domestic trips. I do not have detailed P&L 
>>> by project, but the business earned a 92% gross margin over its 
>>> lifetime. 
>>
>> Where "these three" appears to be stating that there's only been three 
>> large projects:  TE: "But two legal cases went over $100k. Another was 
>> about $80k."
>>
>> ...but didn't he just claimed that the multi-years were "all over 
>> $100K"?  Well, I guess in Tommy Math that $80K is more than $100K. /s
>>
>> In any event, these numbers are his self-employed level gross before 
>> overhead expenses, such as Social Security & Medicare.  For a self- 
>> employed, the business has to pay the same as employee, which is 
>> 7.65% ... and that's nearly all of his "92% gross margin" claim.  
>> Before the employee's SS/Med, above $40K SWAG drops to an employee 
>> gross of no more than ~$37K/year just from this one gross-to-net 
>> adjustment. There's others possible too, such as employer 
>> contributions to a 401(k).
>>
>> In any event, with the rest being smaller than apparently $80K over 
>> his "2002-2023" twenty two year working period, which at his present 
>> age of 79, covers working years from age 56 to age 77, and all 
>> together he humble-bragged "The total revenue was well over $1 million."
>>
>> Since he would have bragged $2M had it exceeded $2M, this has 
>> bracketed the total possible between $1M and $1.9999M.  Taking off 8% 
>> for his employer overhead and dividing by 22 years, the lower & upper 
>> limits on his claim are $41.8K to $83.6K ... and YMMV on if that is 
>> good or bad, but with the context that national median for PhD holders 
>> is around $100K/yr, even the $83K for the $1.9999M best case doesn't 
>> seem like he's been crushing it.
>>
>>> That includes international trips to Europe (1), Canada (1), 
>>> Australia (1) and Latin America (3). Yes, a few international travel 
>>> expenses were paid direct by the customer and are not included in the 
>>> costs.
>>
>> (8% - 7.65%) * $1M = $3500; for $2M = $7000.  The claimed 8% total 
>> overhead budget doesn't appear to have enough bananas to cover more 
>> than one or two such trips, let alone five.
>>
>>
>> -hh
> 
> 
> You appear to be taking a pop at someone for whom you should have more 
> respect.

Because whatever respect he once had has been squandered.

> Why is that?
Amongst other things, wishing death on others who disagree with him.


-hh

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#137604

On 09/10/2025 23:10, -hh wrote:
> On 10/9/25 17:20, David B. wrote:
>> On 09/10/2025 20:23, -hh wrote:
>>> On 10/9/25 07:21, Tom Elam wrote:
>>>> On 10/7/2025 11:12 AM, -hh wrote:
>>>>> On 10/7/25 04:31, David B. wrote:
>>>>>> On 06/10/2025 22:07, Tom Elam wrote:
>>>>>>> ...
>>>>>>> Nothing sad about the need to update my Windows laptop, That was 
>>>>>>> a 6 figure project completed to the clients satisfaction.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Did you do work for someone and generate payment of $100,000+? 
>>>>>
>>>>> That's what he'd like to believe, isn't it?
>>>>>
>>>>> Of course, "six digits" could also have been #1,234.56
>>>>>
>>>>> Plus even if it was $100K, over what period of time?  It is far 
>>>>> less impressive if it was for a project which spanned over 3-4 years.
>>>>>
>>>>> Similarly, with what non-labor expenses:  when it includes travel, 
>>>>> such as to inspect manufacturing sites, it can easily run $5K a pop 
>>>>> or more for international; just five such trips consumes 25% of a 
>>>>> $100K budget.
>>>>>
>>>>> And so on.  Point is that when someone cherry-picks their bravado 
>>>>> claims to resist the temptation to fill in their missing gaps, 
>>>>> since those gaps invariably exist to filled in by readers with 
>>>>> assumptions, not facts.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>>> My desktop display is a 3 year old Dell 27" 3840x2160 HD. The 
>>>>>>> Apple display no doubt looks better, but a 2-3x the price.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Apologies. I've no doubt your 27 inch screen is also great for 
>>>>>> viewing images. 
>>>>>
>>>>> Probably most 27" 4K screens today will do a fine job; the Devil in 
>>>>> the Details probably falls to other aspects of a third party 
>>>>> display beyond jut the image, such as if Apple's keyboard controls 
>>>>> work correctly for brightness & sound, if there's integrated 
>>>>> speakers, camera, etc.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> They were all over $100k. Yes, they all spanned several years, ...
>>>
>>> David, here's a good example of how there's more details beyond the 
>>> original cherrypicked brags.
>>>
>>> FYI, Tommy invariably whines when I paramaterize from his claims, but 
>>> to illustrate, his above statement is suggesting that the only times 
>>> that there were any consultant contract of $100K or more was when it 
>>> was multi-year.
>>>
>>> Thus, taking his "over $100K" claim as $120K and 3 years for 
>>> "several" claim, then what appears to be likely typical is in the 
>>> ballpark of: $120K/3 = $40K/year gross...
>>>
>>> ...but note a couple of things.
>>>
>>>
>>>> ... the wheels of justice move slowly. There was very limited travel 
>>>> for these three, all short domestic trips. I do not have detailed 
>>>> P&L by project, but the business earned a 92% gross margin over its 
>>>> lifetime. 
>>>
>>> Where "these three" appears to be stating that there's only been 
>>> three large projects:  TE: "But two legal cases went over $100k. 
>>> Another was about $80k."
>>>
>>> ...but didn't he just claimed that the multi-years were "all over 
>>> $100K"?  Well, I guess in Tommy Math that $80K is more than $100K. /s
>>>
>>> In any event, these numbers are his self-employed level gross before 
>>> overhead expenses, such as Social Security & Medicare.  For a self- 
>>> employed, the business has to pay the same as employee, which is 
>>> 7.65% ... and that's nearly all of his "92% gross margin" claim. 
>>> Before the employee's SS/Med, above $40K SWAG drops to an employee 
>>> gross of no more than ~$37K/year just from this one gross-to-net 
>>> adjustment. There's others possible too, such as employer 
>>> contributions to a 401(k).
>>>
>>> In any event, with the rest being smaller than apparently $80K over 
>>> his "2002-2023" twenty two year working period, which at his present 
>>> age of 79, covers working years from age 56 to age 77, and all 
>>> together he humble-bragged "The total revenue was well over $1 million."
>>>
>>> Since he would have bragged $2M had it exceeded $2M, this has 
>>> bracketed the total possible between $1M and $1.9999M.  Taking off 8% 
>>> for his employer overhead and dividing by 22 years, the lower & upper 
>>> limits on his claim are $41.8K to $83.6K ... and YMMV on if that is 
>>> good or bad, but with the context that national median for PhD 
>>> holders is around $100K/yr, even the $83K for the $1.9999M best case 
>>> doesn't seem like he's been crushing it.
>>>
>>>> That includes international trips to Europe (1), Canada (1), 
>>>> Australia (1) and Latin America (3). Yes, a few international travel 
>>>> expenses were paid direct by the customer and are not included in 
>>>> the costs.
>>>
>>> (8% - 7.65%) * $1M = $3500; for $2M = $7000.  The claimed 8% total 
>>> overhead budget doesn't appear to have enough bananas to cover more 
>>> than one or two such trips, let alone five.
>>>
>>>
>>> -hh
>>
>>
>> You appear to be taking a pop at someone for whom you should have more 
>> respect.
> 
> Because whatever respect he once had has been squandered.

Ah! Thanks.
>> Why is that?
> Amongst other things, wishing death on others who disagree with him.
> 
> 
> -hh

That's not nice. :-(

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#138001

On 10/9/2025 3:23 PM, -hh wrote:
> On 10/9/25 07:21, Tom Elam wrote:
>> On 10/7/2025 11:12 AM, -hh wrote:
>>> On 10/7/25 04:31, David B. wrote:
>>>> On 06/10/2025 22:07, Tom Elam wrote:
>>>>> ...
>>>>> Nothing sad about the need to update my Windows laptop, That was a 
>>>>> 6 figure project completed to the clients satisfaction.
>>>>
>>>> Did you do work for someone and generate payment of $100,000+? 
>>>
>>> That's what he'd like to believe, isn't it?
>>>
>>> Of course, "six digits" could also have been #1,234.56
>>>
>>> Plus even if it was $100K, over what period of time?  It is far less 
>>> impressive if it was for a project which spanned over 3-4 years.
>>>
>>> Similarly, with what non-labor expenses:  when it includes travel, 
>>> such as to inspect manufacturing sites, it can easily run $5K a pop 
>>> or more for international; just five such trips consumes 25% of a 
>>> $100K budget.
>>>
>>> And so on.  Point is that when someone cherry-picks their bravado 
>>> claims to resist the temptation to fill in their missing gaps, since 
>>> those gaps invariably exist to filled in by readers with assumptions, 
>>> not facts.
>>>
>>>
>>>>> My desktop display is a 3 year old Dell 27" 3840x2160 HD. The Apple 
>>>>> display no doubt looks better, but a 2-3x the price.
>>>>
>>>> Apologies. I've no doubt your 27 inch screen is also great for 
>>>> viewing images. 
>>>
>>> Probably most 27" 4K screens today will do a fine job; the Devil in 
>>> the Details probably falls to other aspects of a third party display 
>>> beyond jut the image, such as if Apple's keyboard controls work 
>>> correctly for brightness & sound, if there's integrated speakers, 
>>> camera, etc.
>>
>>
>> They were all over $100k. Yes, they all spanned several years, ...
> 
> David, here's a good example of how there's more details beyond the 
> original cherrypicked brags.
> 
> FYI, Tommy invariably whines when I paramaterize from his claims, but to 
> illustrate, his above statement is suggesting that the only times that 
> there were any consultant contract of $100K or more was when it was 
> multi-year.
> 
> Thus, taking his "over $100K" claim as $120K and 3 years for "several" 
> claim, then what appears to be likely typical is in the ballpark of: 
> $120K/3 = $40K/year gross...
> 
> ...but note a couple of things.
> 
> 
>> ... the wheels of justice move slowly. There was very limited travel 
>> for these three, all short domestic trips. I do not have detailed P&L 
>> by project, but the business earned a 92% gross margin over its lifetime. 
> 
> Where "these three" appears to be stating that there's only been three 
> large projects:  TE: "But two legal cases went over $100k. Another was 
> about $80k."
> 
> ...but didn't he just claimed that the multi-years were "all over 
> $100K"?  Well, I guess in Tommy Math that $80K is more than $100K. /s
> 
> In any event, these numbers are his self-employed level gross before 
> overhead expenses, such as Social Security & Medicare.  For a self- 
> employed, the business has to pay the same as employee, which is 
> 7.65% ... and that's nearly all of his "92% gross margin" claim.  Before 
> the employee's SS/Med, above $40K SWAG drops to an employee gross of no 
> more than ~$37K/year just from this one gross-to-net adjustment. There's 
> others possible too, such as employer contributions to a 401(k).
> 
> In any event, with the rest being smaller than apparently $80K over his 
> "2002-2023" twenty two year working period, which at his present age of 
> 79, covers working years from age 56 to age 77, and all together he 
> humble-bragged "The total revenue was well over $1 million."
> 
> Since he would have bragged $2M had it exceeded $2M, this has bracketed 
> the total possible between $1M and $1.9999M.  Taking off 8% for his 
> employer overhead and dividing by 22 years, the lower & upper limits on 
> his claim are $41.8K to $83.6K ... and YMMV on if that is good or bad, 
> but with the context that national median for PhD holders is around 
> $100K/yr, even the $83K for the $1.9999M best case doesn't seem like 
> he's been crushing it.

FYI, total income (IRS basis) 2002-2025 is about $5 million. We had some 
other income too, you know. Pretty substantial other income.

> 
>> That includes international trips to Europe (1), Canada (1), Australia 
>> (1) and Latin America (3). Yes, a few international travel expenses 
>> were paid direct by the customer and are not included in the costs.
> 
> (8% - 7.65%) * $1M = $3500; for $2M = $7000.  The claimed 8% total 
> overhead budget doesn't appear to have enough bananas to cover more than 
> one or two such trips, let alone five.
> 
> 
> -hh

As usual you take a few data point and extrapolate way beyond those. In 
this case you are WAY off.

First, the term Gross Margin is total income - direct costs. That means 
that taxes are not subtracted.

Second, the total income was over $1.5 million, implying direct expenses 
of about $120,000. Most of that was travel I paid. Most of my projects 
involved no travel at all. The rest was supplies, office expense and 
incidentals. Also, clients furnished some of the international tickets, 
so not included in income or expenses. I had enough FF miles to take the 
wife on some of those early international trips too.

I made max contributions ($550k total) to my self-employed 401k from 
2002 to 2019. Social Security and Medicare did take out a chunk of the 
contributions, but I still put in the max based on ample other income 
and the business. The 401k and other investments have worked well. Our 
net worth was about $750-800k in late 2001, now over $4 million. And, 
that with some very conservative funds early on. All the while, annual 
income has remained steady and very comfortable.

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