|
|
| Author |
Message |
| 25 new of 94 responses total. |
tsty
|
|
response 25 of 94:
| 
May 20 13:16 UTC 1995 |
How about just a check that is held until Grex approval/disapproval
is reached? That would eliminate the "post-dated" thought which
will get some perns shorts all twisted up .....
|
ajax
|
|
response 26 of 94:
|
May 20 13:30 UTC 1995 |
Why would a post-dated check be short-twisting? Worst case, Grex has
sufficient time to put a stop payment on it. Not that it's even a serious
concern - buyer & seller know each other, neither is trying to rip the other
off, and the proposed deal is in writing in public. Seems like a friendly
offer to me!
|
scg
|
|
response 27 of 94:
|
May 20 21:51 UTC 1995 |
When I opened my checking account, one of the things the bank gave me was
a warning against post-dating checks. It said that a check that is
deposited before the date that's written on it will still get paid (in
other words, post-dating won't protect you at all) and they will also take
a rather heavy penalty from the account of the person who wrote the check.
|
selena
|
|
response 28 of 94:
|
May 20 21:53 UTC 1995 |
<Selena hopes STeve will say what kind of shape the thing looks like
it's in soon>
|
jep
|
|
response 29 of 94:
|
May 21 05:49 UTC 1995 |
<Jep informs selena that STeve hasn't seen the thing yet, but jep
considers it to appear to be in excellent shape>
I will ensure that the check, if post-dated, is not deposited until
the date written on the check. I will do so by any of the following
means: pleading and begging with the treasurer of Arbornet, retaining the
check in my own possession until the date written on it, refusing to
acknowledge that I have the check (if necessary).
I suggested the post-dated check because it would probably look
better as a business move to do it that way, not out of any hint of
distrust for anyone from Grex.
Since no move will be made about this UPS before Sunday's Board
meeting, I will make sure this is all okay with other Board members before
I turn the UPS over to STeve (or Grex's designated representative). I may
be in a conflict of interest situation. I'll let the Arbornet Board
decide that.
|
adbarr
|
|
response 30 of 94:
|
May 21 10:31 UTC 1995 |
I believe scg is correct about post-dated checks. Checks are orders
to the bank to pay money to someone. They handle bazillions of these
pieces of paper and cannot allow themselves to be drawn into the
private business agreements of customers based on post-dating. There
are other ways of doing this, but clear board resolutions - telling
the story of the deal - and trust would !chat
would allow the deal to go forward.
|
bru
|
|
response 31 of 94:
|
May 21 13:40 UTC 1995 |
I wanna hold the check!
I donated the thing, or at least arranged it. I am now the Sysadm for
k-12 and the money goes to k-12. And besides....
I am done whining now. :-)
|
aaron
|
|
response 32 of 94:
|
May 21 14:21 UTC 1995 |
Banks modify the law on post-dated checks by contract. A couple years
back, when all of the federal "checks must be processed within X days"
rules went into effect, my bank informed me that if I wanted to post-
date a check I would have to register it in advance as a post-dated
check and pay them a $15 fee. (Some organizations, such as credit
card companies, will include provisions in their contracts allowing
them to ignore post-dating when processing checks.)
If Arbornet and Grex want to "bind" each other, they can simply
incorporate their agreement into a short contract, signed by appropriate
officials of each corporation.
|
jep
|
|
response 33 of 94:
|
May 21 14:51 UTC 1995 |
I will, of course, bow to the wishes of the K-12 System
Administrator. You can keep the check, Bruce. (-:
Thanks, Aaron. I'm sure we can find some way to make this work,
once it's decided that both Grex and Arbornet want it to.
|
danr
|
|
response 34 of 94:
|
May 23 11:06 UTC 1995 |
I really don't understand why you want the check in the first place.
We'll take a look at it, and if we can use it, we'll pay you for it.
If we can't use it, we'll return it.
|
linda
|
|
response 35 of 94:
|
May 23 12:58 UTC 1995 |
I don't think there's any doubt of that. At least not from the Arbornet
Board. However, we've worked very hard over the last year to tighten uup
the business practices, keeping appropriate records, etc.
|
steve
|
|
response 36 of 94:
|
May 23 13:58 UTC 1995 |
How does that affect this potential transaction? Are you saying
we have to give a check first in order to test it? I don't really
mind, but it does seem to have gotten a lot more 'formal' from the
time that John and I first talked about it.
|
jep
|
|
response 37 of 94:
|
May 24 00:55 UTC 1995 |
Well... STeve, we scheduled 5 meetings informally, and none of them
happened. Not that I'm complaining, particularly. (-:
It occurred to me that I was extending my personal trust of you and
Grex, and my interest in Grex, and making it part of the offer. It's a
conflict of interest for me to do that.
However, the president (Craig Plesco) of Arbornet doesn't
particularly mind; I didn't mention anything about checks or contracts
when I brought this up at the Board meeting on Sunday, and he thought the
loan wasn't a bad idea, regardless. He has no conflict of interest. If
you're interested in picking up the UPS for a test, I will turn it over to
you.
|
chelsea
|
|
response 38 of 94:
|
May 24 11:31 UTC 1995 |
I have all these little hairs raising on the back of my neck
and a nagging feeling that it would be better for both systems
if, in general, we avoided becoming financial tangled. There
is such a potential for problems. Is any piece of hardware
going to be such a deal that we need to do this?
If we need the thing so badly we should be getting bids from
other suppliers and looking into who could warranty the thing
for some period of time.
I'd rather Grex and M-net didn't do money deals.
|
ajax
|
|
response 39 of 94:
|
May 24 23:12 UTC 1995 |
Grex doesn't *need* a UPS, or much of anything else, but at the
right price, it's certainly desirable. Given the destruction
*planned* reboots wreak on Grex, I think a UPS is *very* desirable!
Also, the price sounds substantially better than I think we'd be
able to get elsewhere, new or used, without a long search. I've been
keeping an eye out for used computer equipment, and haven't seen any
big UPSs (in misc.forsale.computers, newspapers, property disposition,
etc.) If one was for sale outside AA, the shipping alone would
probably be over $100. Though getting quotes for a new (with warranty)
unit is a reasonable idea, just to be sure of the savings...does
someone have a model number or specs to post, so we could do this?
As for not transacting money deals with M-Net, maybe you could
elaborate on your reasons? I don't see a lot of room for things to go
wrong. If it breaks after the trial, it's the same deal as with most
of our other equipment: bummer. I'm trying to think of gray areas
where bad feelings could arise...like if Grex dropped it down the
stairs during the trial period...but in that case, I think Grex should
still pretty clearly pay for it. Although the person on the lower end
of the UPS would be squashed, so we'd have bigger things to feel bad
about. Do you have some specific concerns of what could go wrong?
|
jep
|
|
response 40 of 94:
|
May 25 04:08 UTC 1995 |
I think if you were to drop this monster on the stairs, it would go
right through them, unless they've beefed up the stairs since M-Net was in
the Dungeon.
I don't see a problem here (re: Mary). I think there's enormous good
will between Grex and Arbornet, and I don't see a $250 UPS deal as being
likely to hurt that.
I'm being as open as I can possibly be on this UPS, and so is Bruce.
It comes with no guarantees. Neither of us has the foggiest idea of
whether it will work. It worked when it was last tried, at Mervyn's, 2
years ago. That's why I thought of the trial period when I first offered
it to STeve.
|
adbarr
|
|
response 41 of 94:
|
May 25 05:00 UTC 1995 |
1. BAP - you can hold the check, but there will not be one. We
trust you. 2. Jep has the right idea - it is so heavy, they
can allways know how to find it if you don't pay. No one could
(or would) move it without a Peterbilt. 3. Ajax, could you slip
a card to that person at the bottom of the stairs? Jep - I like
the approach of #40. Will that thing start a car?
|
chelsea
|
|
response 42 of 94:
|
May 25 12:21 UTC 1995 |
Yeah, you're right. There isn't a reason for concern.
|
mdw
|
|
response 43 of 94:
|
May 25 23:50 UTC 1995 |
I've occasionally wondered about the arbornet board, and am sometimes
amazed at the unwarranted animosity I've seen exhibited by a few less
mature individuals both on grex & m-net; but I have no doubts whatsoever
regarding the good will of jep & many many others. I am not sure we
will ever be real close, and even less sure that it would be a good idea
(for I think there's real value in diversity & filling different niches)
but to the extent that we can learn to coexist peacefully & cooperate, I
think that's a real good and worthwhile benefit. I can think of plenty
of past examples whether if m-net & grex had been only slightly more
competitive, each could have done the other serious harm or, at least,
no good; both systems today are already beneficiaries of the other in
the truest sense possible. I'd like to see us move much more to a
position where we can appreciate both the advantages we can share with
each other, and the differences each of us brings to the community.
|
jep
|
|
response 44 of 94:
|
May 26 02:29 UTC 1995 |
I'm for all that Marcus said. But really, in this item anyway, I'm
just for peddling this UPS, on terms equitable to all.
|
chelsea
|
|
response 45 of 94:
|
May 27 12:32 UTC 1995 |
My initial concern was due to the fact the two systems seem to be
getting along so well. It's a little llke my philosophy of
loaning money to family - don't do it. Give the money away but
don't enter into a loan where you expect return because you could
end up spoiling some very special relationships.
M-net and Grex are getting along quite well despite the fact they
are essentially doing the same thing and competing for the same
audience and the same "donations". If we entered into some deal
with a company in Far Away, Nevada, and things went sour, it would
be a shame. But if we entered into a business deal with M-net
and things got messy it would be awful. Like it or not, we are
family. And most of us are even friends.
|
jep
|
|
response 46 of 94:
|
May 28 02:25 UTC 1995 |
I can see two scenarios which might cause hard feelings.
1) Arbornet could have represented this UPS as guaranteed to work,
and sold it to Grex, and we could all have gotten bitten if it had in fact
not worked. I've tried to avoid that, by making it clear I don't know
anything about it, and by offering it for a trial period, with no
obligations other than to pay for it or return it.
2) Something could happen to it while it's at the Grex site, such as
it could be stolen, or it could catch on fire, or explode, or come to life
and attack the Sun, and Grex could decide Arbornet should be liable for
part of the costs. I don't really see this as likely. Grex will have to
be responsible for it if it's stolen or causes damage. I think that's
clear to everyone. Arbornet will not pay for equipment damaged by this
gadget. We won't even set it up for you. We'll turn it over to someone,
and we'll expect either a check or the equipment back. Grex will not have
to be responsible for the cost of the equipment if it damages itself or
doesn't work. The staff of Grex will, no doubt, set it up and check the
voltages and such for a few days before putting it on the Sun to minimize
the chance of damage.
I think, as long as we're clear who is responsible for what, we'll be
all right. I know STeve and Greg to be competent with computer equipment,
so if it fails, I will know they didn't do something foolish. The Board
of Arbornet trusts me to make these kinds of decisions. Arbornet is not
going to get upset if $250 slips out of our hands; if the thing doesn't
work, it's unfortunate for both of us, but we can both (Grex and
Arbornet) live with it. And I've been 100% open and honest about the
little I do know about it. I expect there's no grounds left for a
disagreement, but if there is, I'll be happy to address those grounds.
|
selena
|
|
response 47 of 94:
|
May 29 06:24 UTC 1995 |
Another bad scene- Selena and Marcus could begin to get impatient
with waiting/holding onto the $100 each, if something isn't done soon!
Look, this is barely a "transaction between arbornet and grex". It's
a transaction between MDW/me, and Arbornet, with a little backup from
grex's tresury. The beneficiary will be grex <what the hell would
mdw or I do with a UPS? I don't think my apartment can fit it!>
Anyway, please come up with something soon. Thanks.
|
mdw
|
|
response 48 of 94:
|
May 29 11:08 UTC 1995 |
I don't see the UPS as being particularly entangling. Grex and M-net
trying to share a common modem pool could indeed be pretty risky, but I
see little danger of that. The UPS is just like the many other pieces
of used equipment we've gotten; it doesn't always pan out. But the
amount of use we've gotten out of what does work, we're way ahead, and
have nothing to be ashamed about.
|
davel
|
|
response 49 of 94:
|
May 30 11:33 UTC 1995 |
Well, we've been sharing Merit's modem pool ...
|