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| Author |
Message |
| 25 new of 220 responses total. |
richard
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response 130 of 220:
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Feb 9 00:27 UTC 1999 |
but if grex could get a fixed rate somewhere else isnt moving worth
considering? maybe grex cant get a fixed rate anywhere these days
though?
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steve
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response 131 of 220:
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Feb 9 01:02 UTC 1999 |
What commercial entity gets fixed rates anywhere? I think the
tradeoff between a fixed rate and the freedoms to move isn't worth
it.
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aruba
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response 132 of 220:
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Feb 9 01:03 UTC 1999 |
Well, of course, it would depend on the rate. But I think a 5% increase each
year won't break our budget. If we get a new member every 2 years that should
cover it.
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aruba
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response 133 of 220:
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Feb 9 01:04 UTC 1999 |
STeve slipped in - #132 was a response to #130.
Thanks again for doing all the legwork, Mary.
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mary
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response 134 of 220:
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Feb 9 03:03 UTC 1999 |
You're welcome.
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rcurl
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response 135 of 220:
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Feb 9 04:27 UTC 1999 |
$250 for standard liability insurance is very reasonable.
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dpc
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response 136 of 220:
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Feb 9 15:41 UTC 1999 |
Arbornet (M-Net) pays $300 per year for a "special businessowners
policy" from Hastings Mutual Insurance Company. Our agent is
Dobson-McOmber! For the $300/yr we get $1,000,000 commercial
general liability coverage, $500,000 each occurrence, plus a mixed
bag of other covrages including $5,000 medical expenses. The
"additional insured" is our landlord, the NEW Center.
I see no reason why Grex shouldn't get exactly the same
coverage.
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keesan
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response 137 of 220:
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Feb 11 03:52 UTC 1999 |
Jim says fire protection in a computer room should be halon, not water.
Harmless to people, he thinks.
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mdw
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response 138 of 220:
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Feb 11 04:24 UTC 1999 |
I think halon got banned at some point. Seems the people demoing it at
trade shows started getting cancer or something like that. Halon was
also real expensive - much more than the cost of replacing our
equipment, even with new equipment.
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steve
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response 139 of 220:
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Feb 11 06:22 UTC 1999 |
Halon is not an option, unforunately. Yes, its the best thing,
but it isn't good to breathe. Systems that use Halon were grandfathered
for either a while or forever, but as far as I know we can't legally
obtain it any more.
The next best thing is a CO2 system.
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rcurl
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response 140 of 220:
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Feb 11 06:37 UTC 1999 |
No asphyxiant is good to breath, but Halon decomposes in fires to some
really nasty stuff, and it is also bad for the ozone layer. CO2, or even
just N2, would be fine. CO2 is especially good because it is heavier
than air and can be stored in greater quantities at lower pressure.
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scott
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response 141 of 220:
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Feb 11 12:03 UTC 1999 |
CO2 also has the nice lack of electronics-destroying properties, unlike water
and solid powder materials.
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senna
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response 142 of 220:
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Feb 11 12:10 UTC 1999 |
Remember, richard, Grex might be paying slightly more to stay in this
location, but moving takes a big, immediate hit out of our wallet.
Great job working things out, Mary.
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pfv
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response 143 of 220:
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Feb 11 14:32 UTC 1999 |
Halon was also found to be a Not A Good Thing (tm) for humans
to breathe. Totally inert otherwise, recommended for delicate
electronics.
CO2 is another that is more than acceptable.. Getting an
extinguisher with a fusable valve and/or sensor cannot be
all that unusual or expensive.. I mean.. How much can you possibly
need for such a small space, fer cripes sake?
Having it would certainly reduce any insurance costs, and..
it sorta' bothers me to hear of "disposable" systems. At the
least, I suspect the downtime would extend into weeks and that
your membership (and fundage) would be effected.
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headdoc
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response 144 of 220:
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Feb 11 22:47 UTC 1999 |
Mary, thanks so much for handling a could-be-unpleasant job so quickly and
efficiently. I am sure those of us who sue Grex every day salute you.
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richard
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response 145 of 220:
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Feb 11 23:18 UTC 1999 |
well lets see-- grex's average rent a month for the next six years
will be $75 a month...thats an extra, what, 15 bucks a month or
$180 a year then grex pays now, or $1,080 over the life of the
lease. Add to that at least $300 a month for indemnity insurance
and you get $1,380. If Grex can find a place where they can pay the
same rent they pay now, or slightly more, and no indemnity insurance,
and it costs $800 or $900 to move, you are still talking about
signficant savings over the long haul. Even if Grex has to buy
insurance somewhere else, you are still talking about savings if
they are living somewhere where there is no 30% total rent
increase.
but maybe moving isnt worth it if all it might save is a c ouple
hundred dollars.
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scg
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response 146 of 220:
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Feb 11 23:44 UTC 1999 |
That $300 for insurance is per year, not per month, but I think you got that
right in your math, and just wrong when reciting figures.
However, I'm under the impression that that insurance is a pretty standard
part of commercial leases. Also, you're assuming that we could find some
other equivillent space, in the Ann Arbor area, for $60 per month, rather than
the $75 we'd be paying in the Pumpkin. Ann Arbor realestate tends to be quite
expensive. Assuming that $60, because that's what we've been paying for a
few years, is the going rate for any room like that, and that a rent increase
of 5% a year is outrageous, doesn't work in the Ann Arbor realestate market,
where that's a pretty good price for a room that size.
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albaugh
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response 147 of 220:
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Feb 11 23:51 UTC 1999 |
> I am sure those of us who sue Grex every day salute you.
I hope no one sues grex ever, let alone every day! :-)
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mary
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response 148 of 220:
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Feb 12 00:03 UTC 1999 |
Ms. Watrous mentioned to me at our first meeting that our space would go
for quite a bit more than what we're paying now if offered to a new
client. When told the dimensions she said something just a little larger,
in the same building, just rented for $200 per month.
I've heard back from State Farm and they are unable to offer
us a policy, or at least not anything that suits our needs
and budget. The exact reason was the underwriter wasn't
interested in supporting a policy with such a small premium.
They used to do it, for PTO's and such, but no longer.
Aprill Agency did find a company with a policy that meets
the needs of the proposed lease. Hastings Mutual will cover
us for a premium of $300 per year. This is the same company
that covers M-Net although it sounds like we'll get slightly
more coverage for the same premium.
I really need to get the proposed lease online, for everyone to
read. Jan has offered to scan it in but I'm afraid he might
be too busy to get to it. So, if it doesn't show by tomorrow,
I'll type it in. Which means ya'll have to deal with my typos
and formatting. ;-)
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richard
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response 149 of 220:
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Feb 12 00:20 UTC 1999 |
why has grex never then had to have this insurance before now? If it
has always lived in places that didnt require it, why assume that
such places are no longer available now?
wasnt the pumpkin one of a list of several suitable places that grex had
found at the time all in the same price range?
5% increases may not sound like much, but an extra $1,000+ in rent over
six years is a lot of money.
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aruba
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response 150 of 220:
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Feb 12 00:23 UTC 1999 |
Mary, did Susan Watrous get back to you about 4 months notice instead of 3?
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mdw
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response 151 of 220:
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Feb 12 03:08 UTC 1999 |
Aprill agency has good people. I have my house & car insurance through
them. Actually my car insurance is from Hastings Mutual, and they've
been good too.
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steve
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response 152 of 220:
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Feb 12 04:17 UTC 1999 |
We've never had to deal with insurance before because we haven't
in the typical commercial environment. Now, we are and have to
have it. I figured we'd have to have it someday, just not here. What
I didn't plan on was Bill VanFossen dying. Oh well. We can afford
$300 a year. Thats about 82 cents a day if I'm dividing that
right, in my head.
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rcurl
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response 153 of 220:
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Feb 12 05:26 UTC 1999 |
A buck a day here, a buck a day there - why, that's just a couple of
cups of coffee a day..... In fact, *per hour* that $300 is just 3.5 cents!
We can get it even cheaper by the minute...
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scg
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response 154 of 220:
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Feb 12 05:49 UTC 1999 |
When we rented the Pumpkin, there were two potentially suitable locations we
found. The other one would have been around $75 per month if I remember
correctly, but the landlord then decided he wasn't interested in renting it
to us at all.
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