Renting Test Equipment Is Easier than You Might Think

I rented a piece of electronic test equipment this week from Electro Rent for a project I’m working on. I hadn't heard of Electro Rent until last week, when someone online referred me to them. The price was well under the typical rule-of-thumb saying that the monthly rental cost should be about 10% of the cost of buying the equipment new. The equipment arrived the next day. Once I started using it, however, I realized it didn’t have all the capabilities I needed. So I sent an e-mail yesterday afternoon to the sales person at Electro Rent saying I’d like to rent a different piece of equipment. I wondered if I could get a partial refund for the equipment I already rented and whether I would have to return what I had before we could look into renting something different.

It turns out they made it easy. Amazingly Electro Rent had the exact piece of equipment I asked about shipped to my office my office this morning, less than 24 hours after I sent an e-mail asking about different equipment, without me having to fill out any paperwork. Electro Rent will only charge for shipping and any difference in rental cost between the two pieces of equipment. It’s amazing how quick, painlessly, and inexpensively you can get a piece of test equipment.

Buffet's Comments in BRK's 2008 Annual Report

Warren Buffet’s letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders in the BRK annual report contains a remarkable amount of plain-language information on the financial meltdown and how it will affect the economy in the future.
I heard about the report from an IEEE article, which does a great job summarizing Buffet’s letter.

Here is a passage I liked: (emphasis added)

This debilitating spiral has spurred our government to take massive action. In poker terms, the Treasury and the Fed have gone “all in.” Economic medicine that was previously meted out by the cupful has recently been dispensed by the barrel. These once-unthinkable dosages will almost certainly bring on unwelcome aftereffects. Their precise nature is anyone’s guess, though one likely consequence is an onslaught of inflation. Moreover, major industries have become dependent on Federal assistance, and they will be followed by cities and states bearing mind-boggling requests. Weaning these entities from the public teat will be a political challenge. They won’t leave willingly.

It goes on to explain how one Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary made good loans and is not in direct trouble, except for the fact it is now competing with politically-connected companies being rescued and subsidized by the government.

This unprecedented “spread” in the cost of money makes it unprofitable for any lender who doesn’t enjoy government-guaranteed funds to go up against those with a favored status. Government is determining the “haves” and “have-nots.”
[snip]
At the moment, it is much better to be a financial cripple with a government guarantee than a Gibraltar without one.

Supporters of aggressive bailout measures tell us to understand that the money is not aimed at the deserving. It’s aimed at stabilizing the economy. If this situation of political connections determining business success goes on for long, it will hurt long-term growth. Before that happens, though, there will probably be a backlash. For believers in aggressive bailouts and stimuli, the measures had better work quickly before the backlash becomes widespread.