What's a reasonable hourly labor rate for an auto mechanic, and what factors contribute to that rate?
I’ve paid various pricesm guessing from $50 to $85.example 0: City of San Francisco - 2003 replace doo-dad in transmission, they looked up the “hours to replace doo-dad” in a reate-book or sort, the book said 12 so they charged me 12 hours. It could have taken em 5h or 15h, but they charged me 12 hours. Labor rate was $85/hour.example 1: San Jose 2014, 30k miles ago - Replace head gasket on an inline-6 engine. The shop is certainly all about car repair - the office is a small room filled with parts and whatnot. Headgasket + head rebuild (machined and cleaned) + new oil + new coolant + parts + labor was $1500 total before tax. Dealer would be $3–$4k (I did not even check, quoting those numbers from an online forum). So for the work, guessing even $500 for parts, then $1000 labor for machining, head rebuild, and replacement, I am certain it was more than 10 hours, so less than $100/hour in labor. Guessing 15 hours, thats around $70/hour.As others have said, it really depends. KEy is find a shop that values you, and they’ll take care of you as a customer.
Do memory foam mattresses need box springs?
A foundation or platform type bed is preferable to a box spring for optimal memory foam mattress comfort. Box springs tend to flex where the weight on the mattress is distributed, making some memory foam mattresses sag in the middle or cause sleepers to roll toward each other. A foundation provides the necessary support for the bed and an even surface so the foam can distribute sleeper weight and not cause this to happen. A personal anecdote: last year we rented a long-term Airbnb apartment in between finding a new residence, and the existing mattress was so terrible we tossed it and replaced with a Loom & Leaf mattress.. we chose the softer model, but kept the box spring that the original mattress was on. It squeaked and flexed so much my girlfriend went crazy begging me to make it stop after a few weeks, so we replaced with a nice foundation with drawers in it. We both noticed a difference with the comfort of the mattress after replacing the bad box spring.
What direction should the satellite Dish face? Why?
Geosynchronous satellites, the type used for TV broadcasting, all orbit the equator at an altitude of about 22,500 miles. At that altitude, orbital velocity will allow the satellite hover over one spot on earth.Assuming you live north of the equator, all geosynchronous satellites will be to your south. On the east coast, satellite dishes will probably be pointed southwest.The ideal orbit for a geosynchronous satellite that will cover the entire United States would be over the Pacific Ocean, west of Ecuador, where a line of longitude passing through Kansas City crosses the equator. However, this is a crowded orbit, so look east and west of this spot.The satellite dish will also have to be tilted up. The further north you go, the less the tilt angle will be, and the weaker the received signal. Once you get up into Canada, that will begin to be a problem.The tilt will also be affected by how far east or west of the satellite you are. When you get too far east or west, you will also have a low angle to the satellite and a weaker signal. Obviously, at some point, you will have no “look angle” for the satellite.