I'll take malaprops for *5* Bob - Apropos of Nothing continues. . .

Josh Cryer · 2005-06-29 13:39:26

I was reading some of my oldest posts, and I must say, I can really see how crazy I was back then...

Crazy is as crazy does.

clark · 2005-06-29 13:41:12

What do you mean, back then?!

Crazy is, and never stops.

Josh Cryer · 2005-06-29 13:52:44

Yeah, you're right, my current posts are crappy, I think I need to write more often. I was a bit more coherent there in the 2003-2004 era. Guess I'm lapsing.

Anyway, look guys! Total proof that clark is a http://www.newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=155]troll!

clark · 2005-06-29 14:04:11

You need proof? :laugh:

I think I’ve earned a certain amount of leeway given some of my more positive themed contributions.

Palomar · 2005-06-30 08:24:07

*The home renovations are not going well.

Andy -- our contractor -- said Tuesday night (after putting in a nearly full day) that he'd return Wednesday afternoon "around 3 o'clock" to continue work. When someone says "around 3 o'clock," both my husband and I tend to translate that as "at least before 4:00 p.m."

He didn't show up at all. He didn't telephone.

No word yet this a.m., Thursday 8:30 a.m. We just got back from having breakfast out. My husband's cellphone rang. It was Andy's girlfriend, an old acquaintance of ours...wondering if Andy were here working because she doesn't know where he is. So she's lost contact with him too.

I hope he's not hurt or in an unpleasant predicament somewhere, of course.

He has supposedly taken on a 2nd (and quick) job for a church. My husband is driving out there right now, to see and if so, to speak with him.

I sure hope this can be settled amicably. ::shakes head::

Don't know what you've got 'til it's gone and I sure do miss the old Midwestern-style work ethic. Or at least a level of accountability to the client.

--Cindy

Cobra Commander · 2005-06-30 13:42:57

Don't know what you've got 'til it's gone and I sure do miss the old Midwestern-style work ethic. Or at least a level of accountability to the client.

It's gone. At least as far as contractors are concerned anyway.

Nothing like doing the work yourself. No shiftless workers, no permits, no inspections.

But then not only has the work ethic eroded, so has the work itself in every aspect. poor materials assembled badly behind schedule and over budget, almost every time. I've seen houses built with lumber I'd have rejected for use in temporary set pieces.

I could go on at length about one place in particular, a giant monster of a house a friend's parents had built a few years ago. Took two years to build due to contractor delays, waaaay too much particle board for my sensibilites and the design made no sense to start with. For the longest time there was a hole looking into the basement, just a big gaping opening, no apparent purpose. Less than stellar plaster work. There's a sink in the living room. ???

Anyway, I hope you get it worked out.

Palomar · 2005-06-30 14:13:14

Don't know what you've got 'til it's gone and I sure do miss the old Midwestern-style work ethic. Or at least a level of accountability to the client.
It's gone. At least as far as contractors are concerned anyway.
Nothing like doing the work yourself. No shiftless workers, no permits, no inspections.
But then not only has the work ethic eroded, so has the work itself in every aspect. poor materials assembled badly behind schedule and over budget, almost every time. I've seen houses built with lumber I'd have rejected for use in temporary set pieces.
I could go on at length about one place in particular, a giant monster of a house a friend's parents had built a few years ago. Took two years to build due to contractor delays, waaaay too much particle board for my sensibilites and the design made no sense to start with. For the longest time there was a hole looking into the basement, just a big gaping opening, no apparent purpose. Less than stellar plaster work. There's a sink in the living room. ???
Anyway, I hope you get it worked out.

*Thank you.

So far still not a word. Nearly 48 hours. He's not answering his cellphone, no messages/return calls to us. My husband called him twice yesterday and once today. Some folks working around the church (the other job he claims he's been working on, along with our home) haven't seen him there today either.

I really, really do NOT want to end up in Small Claims Court. Am hoping for an amiable way of working it out.

At this point (yes, I'm dreaming I suppose) I'd be thrilled if he willingly gave up the job. I work long hours at this #(&!*#@ computer, but I'd be happy to learn how to plaster the walls, other patch-up work, and repaint the entire house -- just me and my husband and after my 11-hour workdays. At this point I'd be willing to get on a ladder (afraid of heights). But we've already ordered an entirely new set of windows for each window; my husband has never replaced windows, I have no clue about it...that is where we're stuck, unfortunately.

--Cindy

clark · 2005-06-30 14:19:43

http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/hm_he_doo … 00.html]Do it Yourself Window Installation

Or
http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/hi_bedroo … tml]Window Removal and Vinyl Window Installation

Good deed for the day. But why? Ah, well.

Josh Cryer · 2005-06-30 14:45:48

The clutch on my motorcycle is acting up, actually, it's acted up since I got it, but I think it's time to do a rebuild/cleaning of it. Only problem is the screws on the dang thing are the original cheap aluminum screws, which tend to warp/bend/strip very easily, so I need a tap kit for some of the screws. I've had stainless steal replacements for some time, but never the need to bust it down and replace them all.

Might do it this weekend, if I do, I'll take pictures.

clark · 2005-07-01 07:14:33

For the last few days, women have been dancing in a fountain with red umbrella's.

Palomar · 2005-07-01 07:48:31

*There goes the ice cream truck. Yep, school's out -- truck is making the rounds early. It's gone from playing Little Brown Jug and Turkey in the Straw in May and June, to La Cucaracha currently.

I'm going to put in a request: Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds and Tomorrow Never Knows by the Beatles. Maybe rewrite the lyrics a bit to the last tune:

Turn off your mind, relax and float downstream
It is ice cream...it is ice cream

Yeah, I've got The Vibe.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-07-04 18:27:38

*My city has an annual electrical light parade every July 3. One float in the procession -- for a local Cub Scouts troop -- featured a salute to Neil Armstrong as an Eagle Scout. They had a big poster of Neil in one of the Apollo 11 publicity photos. Another featured float was "Cowgirls of the Past, Present and Future"; one of the cowgirls, maybe all of 6 or 7, sure was dancing to the music of the float coming up behind them. :laugh:

Will watch fireworks tonight from our back yard; the entire display can be easily seen down a wide street which curves away. No need to fight any crowds. Thank goodness for small favors.

--Cindy

Josh Cryer · 2005-07-06 10:54:14

I moved over the 4th of July weekend. I want to buy a house soon (my first house). Anyone else into the whole buying a house thing? Is it a pain in the butt?

I've been renting for some 10 years (and seemingly moved every 6 months since then), 'bout time I settled down.

Palomar · 2005-07-06 11:15:50

I moved over the 4th of July weekend. I want to buy a house soon (my first house). Anyone else into the whole buying a house thing? Is it a pain in the butt?
I've been renting for some 10 years (and seemingly moved every 6 months since then), 'bout time I settled down.

*It took us over 8 months from the start of the paperwork and etc. to obtaining the key and moving into our home. Sometimes the hassles of all that paperwork seemed overwhelming. It's been 12 years ago now and I don't recall the finer points, ins/outs (probably because I don't want to, ha ha). :;):

Definitely worth it, though. Rent is ultimately money down the drain. A home is, of course, an investment. Good luck.

--Cindy

P.S.: Okay, I thought I had that doctor's name and address in my shorthand files. I'm keeping a shorthand file for physicians to whom correspondence is frequently addressed. Seems some of these names were commonly included in letters previously, yet now it seems I'm always adding an entirely new physician and address. :hm: Murphy's Law, I guess.

BWhite · 2005-07-06 11:22:37

I moved over the 4th of July weekend. I want to buy a house soon (my first house). Anyone else into the whole buying a house thing? Is it a pain in the butt?
I've been renting for some 10 years (and seemingly moved every 6 months since then), 'bout time I settled down.

Property is theft. Proudhon.

= = =

If you get pre-approved with a mortgage lender, you should be able to close an existing house about 60 - 90 days after you select one. Maybe faster.

There will be massive amounts of paperwork. I mean massive!

First you will sign a form, lets call that Form A. Then you will sign a ceritification that you in fact did sign form A freely and voluntarily. Then you will sign another form saying that you are indeed the true and actual Josh Cryer and not your first cousin having the same name.

Then they will ask for your driver's license to make sure you are not a terrorist. I kid you not. Its part of the ongoing "War on Terror" to make every homebuyer submit two forms of ID at the closing.

Josh Cryer · 2005-07-06 12:32:43

Not to get all philosophical here, but Proudhon was talking about having something but not "owning" it, like renting. I've rented houses before, and the situation was not much different if I owned it, did all the basic upkeep things you do, like fixing the toilet, painting, redoing the floors, etc. If I owned a house I would be in the same situation, only I wouldn't be paying a landlord to basically exist on paper. I'm not being very coherent today, though, so perhaps I'm not expressing it well enough, the point is there is no contridiction.

I had a feeling buying a house would be a lot more complicated than just renting, that's the one plus to renting, you don't have to deal with any of the tax codes or whatever, you just pay the rent. But when you learn that your landlords mortgage is $200 lower than the rent you're giving him (and he's doing nothing, spending no money, with the property) you tend to become irritated at the whole deal. I did the numbers on my brothers house during a discussion with him and it turns out his landlord has recieved some $10k from him during the time he's been renting from the guy. So that's what Proudhon was talking about.

BWhite · 2005-07-06 12:43:48

Well, the owner did fill out all the mortgage paperwork and assumes the risk of a deadbeat tenant (not your brother, of course!) and the risk that the home will de-value rather than appreciate in value, a risk we often forget about in these days of rapid price escalation.

House prices do go down from time to time. Rarely but they do sometimes go down.

Anyway, the Proudhon reference was just joshin' ya' - - Josh.

:;):

= = =

That $200 per month you mention between the rent and the mortgage payemnt. How many months of vacancy are needed before that spread evaporates?

Assume $600 rent and a $500 payment. One month of vacancy cancels out 5 months of getting $600 rather than $500.

Owner occupied solves that problem because you need to pay rent one way or another. If you are careful, buying a house is a terrific investment, but NOT without risk and aggravation.

Edited By BWhite on 1120675497

BWhite · 2005-07-07 15:04:59

http://www.nbc4.com/news/4688108/detail.html]This is just bizarre

Josh Cryer · 2005-07-07 18:52:02

How could shooting it not work? And why didn't he just shoot again? That's definitely weird.

clark · 2005-07-07 19:05:10

Well, if you bothered with a simple google search...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co … 19.html]Va. Officer Probed In Killing Of Deer

Martin said the officer was called to the 6900 block of Williamsburg Boulevard about 6:40 a.m. after the deer jumped over a guardrail on Interstate 66 and plunged 30 feet to the road below. After consulting with his supervisor -- a lieutenant in the patrol division -- the officer fired a single shot at the deer's head, Martin said, in accordance with the department's policy to kill any suffering or dangerous animal.
But the deer didn't die.
Instead of shooting the animal a second time, the sergeant authorized two other responding officers to drive a cruiser over the deer's neck. That, too, did not kill the animal.
Finally, Martin said, the three officers wrapped a plastic bag around the deer's head and suffocated it. A photograph of the dead deer and the sergeant was taken by one of the other officers, but Martin said the sergeant's explanation for the Polaroid was that it was needed for the incident report.

Josh Cryer · 2005-07-07 22:58:54

That obviously doesn't answer the question. If it doesn't die with one shot to the head, a second shot would most likely finalize it, if not a second, a third. Running it over was really cruel (having been run completely over by a car when I was only like 10, literally leaving tire marks on my chest, I would know that pain). Suffocating it was kind, but it probably just bled out of its head before really suffocating. I'm sure the investigation is about why he didn't cap it again.

clark · 2005-07-11 20:37:58

Run over by a car when you were ten?

See, darwinism doesn't answer everything.

Of course I hear that the Catholic Church accepts that evolution may be the process by which God works, but rejects the portion stating that evolution is "random". Or something to that effect.

So, Josh, I guess what I'm saying, is, well, God has a plan for you. Make sure it is a good one.

Cobra Commander · 2005-07-12 08:25:18

Yesterday on the drive home I saw a white van pulled over and being searched by the police. They'd removed a desk and several boxes. Next to the vehicle stood three people. . . in black hooded cloaks. ???

Still stranger, I recognized one of them. :laugh:

Not attending a black mass when the invitation was extended has always been one of those minor regrets.

But then I went to a Democrat Party rally once, so it all works out.

clark · 2005-07-12 08:41:41

lookey-loo.

BWhite · 2005-07-12 09:28:00

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jh … .html]This offends my libertarian sensibilities, absent evidence that the book buyers knew in advance the book shouldn't have been for sale.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0, … html]Times Online version of the story.

Edited By BWhite on 1121182401

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