Originally Posted by conspiratemus1

Noglider, as he so often does with his insightful and gentle remonstrances, said it best and I was hoping he'd have the last word.

I will just suggest to the OP that if he had simply said, in his first post, "The bike shop wanted $X to do Y repair, which prompted me to think I could probably learn to do it myself if I invested in a few tools and was willing/able to devote the time." , that would have been met with a collective nod of agreement and a more productive thread. After all, who would disagree with buying more tools? Yet something in the OP's tone has, I think, got up people's noses and it has gone on for 3 pages. (For me it was the word "disgusted" in the opening post. "More than I was willing to pay" OK, but "disgusted"? Really? ) Now, if the OP was pissed off and just wanted to vent, fine, but unlike the Twitterverse, not all your readers are going to agree with you and there is something in the OPs style and tone that makes me hostile to his argument, even if his facts are correct. Or as a campaign strategist quoted in the Washington Post the other day said, Telling the voters that the reason you lost was because they aren't moral enough to deserve you, is not an effective strategy to get them to vote for you next time. (quoting from memory, so no " " marks.)

A little self-deprecation never hurts, either.