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Why All The Single Ladies Should Sign-up For 1TonRamp


twin2

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]They are really stretching it that their computer classes will enable single mothers to support their family. It takes more than a few computing basics to generate enough income from home like that. Still, I'm glad they acknowledge that computing skills is good for women to have. I imagine many fundies men see it as "men's work", something that would confuse the poor female mind.

I wonder how much money they're making form the ITonRamp thing. This economy is not a good time to start a new business, especially one that offers very expensive computing lessons. Well, we will see how much time they spend with this business before they close it down.

I agree with that. I knew a single mother years ago who worked from home doing IT work. She had a computer science degree. She became physically disabled and had chronic pain after a car accident right after her divorce. She didn't work for a couple of years. She later managed to get a work at home job which was a huge help for her. She probably wouldn't have gotten that job if she didn't have a degree and previous experience.

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You will have learned your first valuable lesson from your association with ITonRamp.

"After a couple weeks of putting money in an envelope, I discovered that there are hundreds of free high-quality computer tutorials online. Using those tutorials, I taught myself everything covered in the course and used the money for something else. Thanks, 1 Ton Ramp, for teaching me a valuable lesson about independence and saving me $200!"

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I don't think they have much to lose with 1 Ton Ramp, other than time and face. No real overhead, materials that have probably been culled together from other sources and for the most part, probably a VERY sheltered student base without much to compare the program to. Their target audience has never attended public school or college, they have little or no exposure to the working world and most likely limited and strictly supervised time online. So while they certainly could get more value for their education buck in so many other places, how would they know? The things they probably focus on are A. MAXWELLS!, B. that 1 Ton Ramp is Christ-centered and B. MAXWELLS! I don't think it's the core of the Maxwell communications empire. If someone enrolls, great. If not (other than the family and that one other kid), we'll never know and it will go the way of Scripture Prints.

1 Ton Ramp: Computer "Certification" with a side of Smug.

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I find this all the more obnoxious when they still have this in their FAQ:

At this point we anticipate the mentors to be men. To enable propriety and no possibility of defrauding, direct phone conversations will be from a person of the same gender. Therefore, if there are ladies in a track, the phone call to them will be via a female mentor assistant. The mentor assistant will not have the technical experience that the mentor has, but she will provide the one-on-one personal encouragement that the mentor would have provided. Since, the forum is the place for technical questions, this will not be a hindrance in any way.

Yes, ladies, please sign up for our course! You will not be getting the same level of service that a man would get, but pay us anyway :roll:

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It's really indicative of how obsessed with sex these people are that they think a man and a woman can't have a phone conversation that essentially amounts to tech support without getting hot and bothered.

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What is with the fundies and saving money/budgeting in envelopes? Is direct deposit and checking your bank account daily ungodly or something? I couldn't imagine going back to cash only, it's way too easy to spend cash unwisely. Plus I like having the record of purchases and auto import into budget programs. Why use such a weird system of putting cash in an envelope?

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I find this all the more obnoxious when they still have this in their FAQ:

Yes, ladies, please sign up for our course! You will not be getting the same level of service that a man would get, but pay us anyway :roll:

Also, can't let the womenz get to smart! Can't let them be a "mentor," merely a "mentor assistant." Don't get to big for yer britches li'l Maxwell ladies.

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It's not a new business, is it? I was sure it was around when I first started lurking at FJ, so...18 months? 2 years? Maybe I'm wrong. Everything about their web business annoys me. They are just so....mediocre at it. Bordering on incompetent.

By new, I meant compared to their other businesses which has been around for years, including their main one that was started in 1997. I've been following them for so long that I consider anything the last couple of years to be recent. I still remember when they tried renovated a room in Nathan's house for the sessions....

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I don't think they have much to lose with 1 Ton Ramp, other than time and face. No real overhead, materials that have probably been culled together from other sources and for the most part, probably a VERY sheltered student base without much to compare the program to.

I think I remember them saying they "make" their own textbooks and curriculum. I don't think they are allowed to use outside texts without paying a fee to the publisher. It's one reason the Maxwells products appear so overpriced. The family try to make everything themselves probably so they can sell it as their own merchandise. But a small operation like that don't have the economy of size to bring down the prices of their products. The Maxwells, I honestly believe, do put in alot of effort to make "their own" products but it's to help separate them from having to work with outsiders, and they probably feel they can make free use of their stuff and charge a higher amount for it.

Even if the structure of their content was taken from more established programs, Nathan could get into serious trouble with copyright laws unless they redid everything in their own words (unless it's public domain). His brothers also renovated his downstairs to create a room for Nathan to give sessions. From what it appears, Nathan is trying to make this a big/bigger/bulk of his income stream. Since this is essentially a one person deal (with help from dada and Joseph), he probably does spend significant energy on it. I don't think he'll make much money on it. As others noted, it's overpriced and teaches fairly basic stuff. In this economy, and with the audience they are focusing on (fundies), there can't be a huge market for that sort of thing.

I think it also shows how out of touch the Maxwells are with the outside world. They don't realize people are no longer willing to pay for mom and pop operations for books and lessons on scheduling or computers. Not when large companies can publish similar if not superior items for half the price. Not when the internet is at available to search out FREE online tutorials, FREE online articles. That's the problem with sheltering and isolation. You can't gauge business needs if you don't engage with outsiders, especially not when it comes to IT.

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So does 1Ton On Ramp mean that Sarah, Anna, and Mary might be doing computer work from home? I think Anna did complete the course; I wonder if she had to pay? None of these "children" would be allowed to use a computer alone, so they probably can't do what they think single moms should do. This is the first admission that their lives of perpetual waiting just might be BORING. After all, how many times can all those women clean a house? Cook Steve-approved meals and desserts? What a non-life.

Which reminds me...Sarah is now 31, right? Do you suppose she has any kind of retirement plan? She writes the Moody books, so if Steve allowed it she could have limited access to money. Or will Steve and Teri provide for the girls in their wills? I'm thinking that the five brothers better save lots of money as they will be having to support them in the future. 1 Ton On Ramp is NOT going to provide enough of an income for those three girls.

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I love that God keeps busy with low-end IT.

I wish God would step down here and debug this program I'm supposed to release for system testing this afternoon...

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What is with the fundies and saving money/budgeting in envelopes? Is direct deposit and checking your bank account daily ungodly or something? I couldn't imagine going back to cash only, it's way too easy to spend cash unwisely. Plus I like having the record of purchases and auto import into budget programs. Why use such a weird system of putting cash in an envelope?

This is actually a fairly common budgeting tip, particularly for people who rack up large credit card debts. The idea is that you have your money for the month, it goes into envelopes or jars for each expense. Once the money from that jar is gone, it's gone and you can't spend anything else on it for the rest of the month (i.e. if you have $300 for groceries for the month and blow it all on prime rib and lobster tails the first week, you're SOL and can't buy groceries for the rest of the month) This probably wouldn't be necessary for most people but it can be helpful for those with poor impulse control and those who do excessive shopping therapy. It also probably has something to do with the level of poverty many fundy families are in; they probably don't have the income to qualify for most credit cards.

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What is with the fundies and saving money/budgeting in envelopes? Is direct deposit and checking your bank account daily ungodly or something? I couldn't imagine going back to cash only, it's way too easy to spend cash unwisely. Plus I like having the record of purchases and auto import into budget programs. Why use such a weird system of putting cash in an envelope?

Personally, I prefer cash. I'm much more likely to hang onto "real" money vs. numbers on a bank statement or a credit card bill.

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It's really indicative of how obsessed with sex these people are that they think a man and a woman can't have a phone conversation that essentially amounts to tech support without getting hot and bothered.

Yes, every time I call my credit card company and get to talk to "Ricky" or "Bobby" at that call-support center in Bagalore, I ask them what they are wearing, they bat their long dark eyelashes at me, bangla music starts playing, people around me start dancing. They next thing you know, I'm dancing around in my wet sari in a monsoon. Really, its uncontrollable.

:twisted:

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This is actually a fairly common budgeting tip, particularly for people who rack up large credit card debts. The idea is that you have your money for the month, it goes into envelopes or jars for each expense. Once the money from that jar is gone, it's gone and you can't spend anything else on it for the rest of the month (i.e. if you have $300 for groceries for the month and blow it all on prime rib and lobster tails the first week, you're SOL and can't buy groceries for the rest of the month) This probably wouldn't be necessary for most people but it can be helpful for those with poor impulse control and those who do excessive shopping therapy. It also probably has something to do with the level of poverty many fundy families are in; they probably don't have the income to qualify for most credit cards.

That just seems so complicated to me, especially since every job I've had in the last ten years requires me to set up direct deposit. I'd have to go to the bank and take out cash. How do you order stuff online? How do you pay bills? Do you physically have to go to the electric company every month? No wonder they need a person to stay at home during the day.

If someone has poor impulse control, what's to stop them from borrowing from other envelopes?

Also, you can't recover cash if its stolen. I've had a few wallets go missing and contesting purchases made on my debit card was a hassle, but at least I was able to contest them versus just say "oh well, someone stole my rent".

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Personally, I prefer cash. I'm much more likely to hang onto "real" money vs. numbers on a bank statement or a credit card bill.

See, I'm not likely to hang onto cash. I'm much more likely to spend cash on something like m&m's or coffee, thinking of it as 'extra.' Cash is what was given to me as a child to do with as I like (usually buy something overpriced and pointless at the mall, like a blossom hat or a pair of neon suspenders.)

Using a card is so much easier. I can track what I'm spending on what each month, know exactly where my money is going, and since my bills are all auto pay I never have to worry about forgetting to pay them or writing a check and mailing it.

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That just seems so complicated to me, especially since every job I've had in the last ten years requires me to set up direct deposit. I'd have to go to the bank and take out cash. How do you order stuff online? How do you pay bills? Do you physically have to go to the electric company every month? No wonder they need a person to stay at home during the day.

If someone has poor impulse control, what's to stop them from borrowing from other envelopes?

Also, you can't recover cash if its stolen. I've had a few wallets go missing and contesting purchases made on my debit card was a hassle, but at least I was able to contest them versus just say "oh well, someone stole my rent".

For my day-to-day expenses (groceries, etc), I do prefer cash, since I personally keep better track of how much I'm spending when dealing with physical money rather than bank statements. I use debit or credit for regular bills like my phone/car/insurance and for some online shopping, and for gas, since paying cash is a pain in the arse. So I looove having direct deposit because it's so much easier than going to the bank, but cash helps me budget and really THINK about how much I'm spending.

I just go to the ATM weekly for my cash budget for the week. Unfortunately, I did have the experience of having my wallet stolen the day after I withdrew $100 so that money was a goner...that is the biggest downside of cash for me..

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Let's play compare and contrast.

Scenario One: Fundie woman goes to college(even a very conservative one) to learn a few skills to fall back on in the event that her future headship becomes incapacitated/unemployed/God hits the smite button=Lack of trust that God will provide. Evil. Sinful. Computer says "No." Satan rubs his hands together and gloats.

Scenario Two: Fundie woman shells out megabucks to Steve Maxwell for a(n overpriced, subpar) course (that will won't actually teach her anything but we will pretend) in case her future headship becomes incapacitated/unemployed/God hit's the smite button= A prudent use of time and resources. All things true/honest/just/pure/lovely/etc.

I wish they'd make up their minds.

It's simple. Does the course (or book, conference, etc.) directly benefit the Maxwells? If so, then it's godly!!111!!! If it does not benefit the Maxwells, it is worldly/a distraction from family life/likely to lead to someone, somewhere being defrauded/a waste of money.

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Which reminds me...Sarah is now 31, right? Do you suppose she has any kind of retirement plan? She writes the Moody books, so if Steve allowed it she could have limited access to money. Or will Steve and Teri provide for the girls in their wills? I'm thinking that the five brothers better save lots of money as they will be having to support them in the future. 1 Ton On Ramp is NOT going to provide enough of an income for those three girls.

In the past, Teri and Steve wrote that Sarah is paid for her work in the family ministry making a nice "nest egg" (their words) for her. I assume that still goes on. and Sarah still gets money from her books. The Maxwells wrote they believe in paying their kids for work performed although I it could be very low. It sounds like the money Sarah made was suppose to be pin money so I don't know if they are now taking a hard look at her financial future.

If the girls don't marry, it will be up to the brothers to care for them after Steve passes. We joke how all those posed pictures of the siblings makes them look like they're married, however there could be some kernel of truth to that scenario unless the situation improves.

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Also, can't let the womenz get to smart! Can't let them be a "mentor," merely a "mentor assistant." Don't get to big for yer britches li'l Maxwell ladies.

I would love to sign up for this course with a gender neutral name, like Pat, just to mess with the Maxwells. Imagine the fun in conducting phone support with them for the entire course, only to reveal to them at the end that they have been defrauded! Hahaha!

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W.T.F?!? Seriously? A simple "no, I'm sorry, not at this time" would have been sufficient. Why be a condescending ass to your future potential customers?

Because you're a condescending ass to everyone you encounter, and you just can't help it? :lol:

I think it also shows how out of touch the Maxwells are with the outside world. They don't realize people are no longer willing to pay for mom and pop operations for books and lessons on scheduling or computers. Not when large companies can publish similar if not superior items for half the price. Not when the internet is at available to search out FREE online tutorials, FREE online articles. That's the problem with sheltering and isolation. You can't gauge business needs if you don't engage with outsiders, especially not when it comes to IT.

I haven't seen the content of the One Ton Ramp materials, but I can say that when it comes to the scheduling materials (or the homeschooling materials) the real thing they're selling isn't so much the "How To" but rather all the scriptural passages they dig up that tell the reader that "Yes! God Approves of This Lifestyle." So the homeschooling book is all about how yes, God is okay with textbooks! You don't have to feel ungodly or unworthy next to the bright shiny Joneses in the homeschooling movement who are doing beautiful nature studies with their children in gauzy Victorian wear while Mother reads from Living Books. It targets a segment of the fundie world that can feel inadequate about their limitations. When you consider how Teri was struggling with depression and found it hard to homeschool (which she's written about) it makes sense.

I think that's probably less of a good fit for IT, though. It's not as if all the neighbors are doing IT "right" and you feel bad, or whatever. So it does seem like an odd business, already people wonder just how IT coursework can be "godly" or not to start with anyway.

Something else - I just noticed that the One Ton Ramp page actually uses the term "defrauding." I thought that was pretty much an IBLP/ATI jargon word? I know we found that back in the day the Maxwells did make use of some Wisdom Booklets, so this has me wondering just how much influence they got from Gothard...

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I think the Maxwells chose IT because you can work from home and have your own business. It's also something delicate, little females can do from home. Especially to help their self-employed husbands.

The only reason I can think of that other fundies would take this course from the Maxwells is to support fellow fundies.

Maybe they somehow believe the course is more "godly" because it comes from such an upstanding family. :roll:

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With the cash vs. credit/debit card debate- it really is just a matter of personal preference and what works for you in your given situation. Although I can see Stevie-Boy arguing that you shouldn't put your money in a heathen bank...

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I hope they have money set aside for Sarah (and the other "children") if they never find partners. Their high standards are all well and good, but there is no way for them to meet a potential spouse. Steve and Terri need to wake up and realize that they are living in a dream fantasy world that never existed. We don't have people that come to our houses to borrow cups of sugar or drop off milk. The mailman doesn't say hello, they won't bump into a dogcatcher or a random Christian man just passing through who's car broke down. It's jut not going to happen. If there is a God who created people, then he made people to be social. We are supposed to help each other and talk to each other and learn from each other and share things with people outside of your own family.

Unless they decide to go the Targaryen route and just marry their daughters to their sons. They are royalty, after all.

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I hope they have money set aside for Sarah (and the other "children") if they never find partners.

I think at this point, they need to instead start saving for food for 30 cats for each of their children instead of for them to find a partner.

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