Beekeeping is a very cheap hobby

[Acebird]

So I guess now I should get all worried about what you think?

No Daniel, when you have a person who looks to berate individuals on a forum they get tired of just one individual and look for more victims to harass. The last thing you should do is worry about these little people. They are really harmless.

[Daniel Y]

Regardless of who ignores or violates policy, it is still policy. I can't help wonder if this post is symptomatic of the reason for so much waste/abuse in government.

Vehicles are an exception to nearly every other piece of equipment owned by the university. Which can be used for personal use. That means they can be taken home over night or the weekend and used to landscape your own yard. build an addition to your house. widen your driveway etc. But you can't borrow a state truck to help your sister move for example. This is the reason for this policy and how in fact it is enforced.

They are in fact used every day by multiple employees that are at work to drive several miles across town to buy lunch at burger king for example. This is not considered a violation of the acceptable use policy. Never has been.

[BMAC]

You should consider yourself lucky to have such flexibilities in your place of employment. I have worked many years in federal service and it is unlawful for us to use government vehicles for personal use (except while in TDY status). Only then are we allowed to use vehicles for running to stores or fast food places.

Personally I would view it as misuse and abuse of tax payer funding. Then again Most of nevada taxes are paid for by the gambling industry isnt it? I suppose if thats the case I probably wouldnt much care either.

[Daniel Y]

BMAC, At the university it is not usual that people are able to park close to where they work. It is standard to have to park and walk 4 to 5 blocks to the office or shop.

Because of this is it standard practice for employees that use vehicles to park their car, walk to the shop get their work vehicles. return to their car and retrieve items. It is also common practice and almost policy that if an employee leaves mid day say for a doctors appointment that they are driven by a co worker to their vehicle. I have on many occasions actually picked co workers up at their homes and driven them to work. some of them a few miles from the university.

I happen to live 2 blocks from my shop. Closer than most that drive to work can park. So if it no big deal for an employee to drop something off at their person vehicle. it is also no big deal that I drop it of next to my driveway. So a bit of geography comes into play.

It is near policy to pick employees up when necessary because the safety of our employees is above all else where I work. Individual situations determine if such measureless are necessary. But I will say it is not uncommon for the university to think it is. case in point. a person openly and in broad daylight was harassing females on campus. we had one female employee that had to walk through that same area every morning to get to work. I spent the next two months picking her up at her door and driving her to the shop.

Today we will have a meting at 8 a.m. one of our employees will have to travel 20 miles to get to that meeting. It will be my job after that meeting to drive him home. At 8 when that meeting starts i will be by law due for my first break of the day. I will not get it. I will not get it when the meeting ends as I will have a 40 minute round trip drive to make. I will not get it when I get back because frankly I don't care if I get it. So it is a two way street. we have a job to do and we do it. if that means I work 4 hours non stop so be it. if it means my employer gives me an old book shelf so I can make beehives so be it. It doesn't always work like that and there are rules that have to be followed. But it is not anything like a dominating you have to do this or that place to work at all. Very Lucky, yes I am.

Yes I am fortunate that I work for an employer that truly puts the employee and their well being first. And if I want beehives. that employer does what they can to help me get them. in fact they are on the watch for more colonies for me as well. They ask how my hives are doing, they also keep asking about any honey I have. I don't know what that is about.

[BMAC]

Maybe you have intriqued them to think about having a University bee yard.

[Barry]

OK, this has gotten off topic and has nothing to do with beekeeping.

[sqkcrk]

I guess if I was employed by the State, I could run around picking up bee gear on the taxpayer's dime. Wonder how thin that dime would be?

As an Apiary Inspector, as I was, had I anything other than the necassary tools and forms to do my job I could be fired. No picking up of swarms for an Apiary Inspector. I don't think I ever saw any anyway.

[mac]

It is the only hobby that I know of where you literally do not have to spend one dime to get into.

If ya spend $.02 on electricity and sell your hive fore $1000.00 ya still SPENT $.02 before ya made the sale ya just recouped your expenses after the sale. Picky picky picky. And fishing can be done without spending any money.

[mac]

Bee keepers will argue about anything

[Nabber86]

As an Apiary Inspector, as I was, had I anything other than the necassary tools and forms to do my job I could be fired. No picking up of swarms for an Apiary Inspector. I don't think I ever saw any anyway.

"Tax payer's dime" is a key phrase here.

It is one thing for an employer to allow personal use of vehicles after hours, it's is another thing to use the vehicle while on the clock.

[sqkcrk]

It was my own vehicle, but I was paid by the State for its' use. Conflicts of Interest could not exist, nor the appearance of COI. This was drummed into us each new employment season.

[BMAC]

Mark,

When you say the vehicles use was paid for by the state do you mean they paid you X per mile or actually granted fuel card, and paid percentage of oil changes, repairs, etc...?

[sqkcrk]

I got a per mile compensation for vehicle use. It complied w/ the Federal Standard. As did Motel and Meals Expense Reimbursement for overnight travel expenses.

[Acebird]

If ya spend $.02 on electricity and sell your hive fore $1000.00 ya still SPENT $.02 before ya made the sale ya just recouped your expenses after the sale. Picky picky picky. And fishing can be done without spending any money.

Borrow a five spot from a friend. Sell your hive for 300. Give your friend a ten spot and keep the rest. Now what did it cost you to start?

[sqkcrk]

What did you spend the $5.00 on? No beehive I have ever seen or would want to pay $300.00 for. Not that there are any beehives I would ever spend $300.00 for.

It cost $5.00 and a Profit of $295.00 was realized.

Plus, when has that ever happened? Can we live in the real world? Write about real world experiences, not fantasy or imaginings?

[Rader Sidetrack]

Borrow a five spot from a friend. Sell your hive for 300. Give your friend a ten spot and keep the rest. Now what did it cost you to start?

You risked a friendship. How much is that worth?

If your hive dies, you have no $300 sale. Any you can't pay back your friend.

[JRG13]

Borrow a five spot from a friend. Sell your hive for 300. Give your friend a ten spot and keep the rest. Now what did it cost you to start?

Apparently at least $5.

[Acebird]

You risked a friendship. How much is that worth?

If your hive dies, you have no $300 sale. Any you can't pay back your friend.

Sure you can, you borrow another five from another friend.

[rhetoric]

As a new bee keeper I guess this thread has taught me that while bee keeping CAN BE an affordable hobby, it can also be quite expensive. It has also taught me that beekeepers can be an argumentative and grouchy bunch of know-it-alls.

If I had decided, "Today, I'm going to start keeping bees," it would have been expensive, but this tightwad was patient. And a few months after I got my hive started on the cheap, I saw an ad on Clist for "free beekeeping gear." I got probably 10 deeps w/ bottoms and piles of supers, 6 or so telescoping tops and hundreds of wooden frames and a capping knife for free. But yes, eventually I also bought some plastic foundation and a new hive tool and eventually my own veil and gloves. I bought some new hive supers too and some queen excluders. At first I borrowed my church pal's extractor, but found a A.I. Root extractor on clist for $50.00 the other day. He threw in two unopened boxes of comb honey boxes for $5.00. And using most of that used gear I now have 4 hives, having split the original (I bought a queen for $20.00 or so and I'm pretty sure it died -- but they requeened!) and I caught two big swarms.

Of course, this is a hobby for me, so I don't really mind spending a few bucks here and there. Sorta like deer hunting -- it may cost $20.00 a pound for venison, but it's worth it. Still, so far I feel pretty good about my expenses to pleasure ratio.

[jim314]

Of course, this is a hobby for me, so I don't really mind spending a few bucks here and there. Sorta like deer hunting -- it may cost $20.00 a pound for venison, but it's worth it. Still, so far I feel pretty good about my expenses to pleasure ratio.

Well said. Actually $20/lb may be a little understated in my case