I'm not going to ask what that app is that you use to edit those photos. I have much more important things to do in life and can't waste my time with such foolishness.
I've made an observation in an attempt to be somewhat self-aware: My basic approach to life is that anything worth doing is worth overdoing. It's not a bad thing at all, I just overdo everything that I choose to do. Take running, for example -- in my mind there is (1) not running at all and (2) completely overdoing it. It's like there is no in-between. It almost gives me a headache to even try to think about just running a few miles regularly. Can't even picture that.
I see your powers of obfuscation are in high gear this morning. Otherwise, we'd be talking about the ****13.9%****, which is probably a lower rate than I'll be paying a couple weeks.
I told the old boss off and that I ain't helping him and his crew anymore. It felt great until I realize I was dreaming about it last night. Now that I'm awake and at work, reality of needing to not burn bridges, I'm zipping my lips and bearing it. what a pussy I am. Need to hit tonight's lotto drawing so I can tell them off tomorrow.
All this "Democrats see," "Republicans see" crap is bullshit.
I could respond with "Democrats see the government as something that should make all lives better and Republicans see government as something that should help concentrate wealth in the hands of the rich" and it would be just as stupid.
OK, I made my rant and hopefully will have the willpower to stay out of these one sided hate-fests today.
Scott, stop biting on the bait. reality is all politicians are shit. they don't give a fuck about us. it's all about them position to make it a political career. if us peeps got helped, it's a secondary effect.
doggie beach? ew, more like parvo beach or ringworm lake. question, do you think i can go into my dentist office and ask them to write a script for antibiotics without having to pay for an office visit? i have a deductible of 250 or something that hasnt been paid for yet. or would i be better off going to a clinic where i can use my regular insurance card and then pay with my ameriflex card for the visit and the antibiotics?
They certainly don't seem to understand that wealth is dynamic and with the right policies, the economy grows.
They seem to want to spread wealth into equal (or more equal) shares, even at the cost of development and progress.
Of course all that does is halt growth and eventually leads to systemic failure.
How so? You can only call something an epic fail when you compare it to the alternative. You have lived through the most prosperous period of human existence. Compare your life to the life of a comparably situated person in any other time period and then try to defend your declaration of "epic fail."
Where do I begin, lech...the most prosperous time period for who?
Salaries have essentially remained flat, for the average worker, over the past 20 years.
Tax rates for the wealthiest have increasingly gone down over the past 70+ years, since peaking in the 40s.
Job stability is low.
Unemployment is high.
Families rely on two incomes instead of one.
Americans rate of personal saving is down.
My standard of living is starting to be lower than my parents. My financial security is lower than that of my grandparents and my parents.
DONNA, there is NOTHING i can do about it. ive already stated numerous times why i cannot and will have to wait til next week. i have nineteen dollars to my name until NEXT MONDAY EVENING!!!
wait, can i bring my completed taxes somewhere and get my refund? i feel like i see commercials for rapid refunds. do they take out a ton of money? how does it work?
Pete, I hear the Democrats want to take healthy teeth away from all the people who flossed and brushed and redistribute them to all the junk food eaters,
given the pile of sticks I'm living next to that used to be the elkins house, I'm having my doubts about preservation recently. But the movie theatre thing does sound pretty ridiculous.
*rob* dentists are human beings. AND businessmen. Please tell them that you have an emergency and that you cannot pay today for God's sake. You have a dentist. Explain that. It is nothing to be ashamed of. People do it all the time in this economy. No dentist will turn you away with an abscessed tooth and being in pain. Please, *rob*.
i find society a tad nosey these days. ive never seen it as bad as it is today, everyone is peeking into other peoples pocketbooks and bank accounts and wagging their fingers that people with money dont deserve the money they've made. yes some people are disgustingly rich, but the jealousy is rampant these days!
if you really wanna protest financial inequality go protest places like blue marble ice cream and other rip off joints.
do you really think they will see me and let me pay next week? how can i phrase it to them without a.) looking like a scrub and b.) in a polite way? are you SURE they do this? cuz one time i asked if i could pay THE NEXT day and and they seemed rather reluctant. but ive been going there for years now so maybe they will?
quote:
Actually rob, the bodegas are the biggest rip offs in brooklyn.
erm, no, not really. unless you are talking about food. i dont buy food in bodegas. bodega newports - 11.25
korean fauxdega newports - 12.75
indian candy stores - 13.00-14.00
If you've been going to this dentist for years, yes, I think they will work something out with you. Be polite, tell them what's going on, say you can give them some money on Monday when you get paid.
Newports are so 99%. If the people in the 50% and lower brackets from Cobble's chart would actually stop smoking, maybe they'd be more productive, come to work more often and make more money.
rob - I told you - you can go to your medical doctor since you have coverage for it & just get started w/ the bloody antibiotics before the infection finds its way up to what I laughingly refer to as your brain!
OH FOR GOD'S SAKE...Buffett's ssecretary is going to be Obama's guest in the First Lady's box for the state of the union speech...get ready for MAJOR CLASS WARFARE TONIGHT. This will be the most socialist speech you've ever heard in years.
In all the time I was on that site, I kept asking one basic question. I asked someone to define an intellectual basis for what should be preserved, and what should not. I never received an answer. The best anyone could come up with was : It's old and charming to me, so it should be preserved.
I gave up trying to argue the case. The preservationist movement is doing a classic over-reach, and will collapse under its own weight. As far as I'm concerned, let them expand the "historic" districts as much as they want. The city is already up to 30,000 "historic" buildings that are now in a landmark district. That's 30,000 property owners who have to deal with a commission that is accountable to no one. They will get what they wished for.
"If the people in the 50% and lower brackets from Cobble's chart would actually stop smoking, maybe they'd be more productive, come to work more often and make more money." -- true - but not just for 50% lower brackets. even the top 10% smokers drive up insurance rates and take more time off from work. and stink up landlords apartments .
*rob* do you really think they will see me and let me pay next week?
YES! I would think that going to the dentist's office and directly speaking with the dentist/office manager would be best.
The story is that you have a job, you have dental insurance, but that you are very tight until you get your tax return and that you would like to make an arrangement with them on how to pay. But that you need immediate attention since you have very bad pain and think you have an abscess/infection. *rob* dentists see this all the time. And they are human and you don't have to apologize for this. It is done all the time. Part of the way they do business. And please don't think of yourself as a scrub. Please.
"If the people in the 50% and lower brackets from Cobble's chart would actually stop smoking, maybe they'd be more productive, come to work more often and make more money." ---
we all do....just some sucking you think is fine (subsidized train fares(amtrak and suburban railroads far more than subway), subsidized mortgages-- the bigger the mortgage and higher the income the more the subsidy, etc, etc etc.
And why are they forced to, DIBS? If Corporate America and the republicans/deregulation hadn't so 'beautifully' and completely f*cked it all up, people wouldn't be so desperate for help. Would you rather see people in Hoovervilles in Central Park? Because they're happening in other places.
It might help to read the papers. If you read most of the Republican's proposals for tax reforms, they call for the the end of the mortgage deduction. Paul Ryan's plan called for the same thing.
But tell me Pete: have any Democrats put forth a proposal to end the mortgage deduction?
What cobble said. Class warfare has been going on for the entire history of this country, and just because the folks who have been on the wrong end of the artillery for a long time are finally throwing some stones, doesn't mean they are responsible for the war. Or, frankly, that they're having much of an effect on your side. The history of the country is littered with the corpses of those who tried to fight the rich.
Please point out an alternative economic system that has produced superior results. Both Japan and much of Western Europe have more generous social welfare systems, and a more progressive taxation system than the US. Have they produced superior economic results over the past 30 years? Has it stopped the outsourcing of manufacture to southeast Asia? How does the unemployment and underemployment rate look in these countries? How many jobs have they created?
oh wow,
Feds Prevent H&R Block from Offering Rapid Refund Loans | JOSIC ...www.josic.com/feds-prevent-hr-block-from-offering-rapid-refund-lo...Cached
You +1'd this publicly. Undo
Jan 1, 2011 – This is where H&R Block's Rapid Refund has become a godsend for many people but for millions of the tax preparer's customers who relied on ...
quote:
rob, you can still get $$$ from H&R block, as either a check or I believe loaded onto a debit card.
but they charge 300 bux or so to do your taxes.. if the taxes are already done, do i have to pay anything? im sure id have to pay somethign from the refund. ? would i have to pay up front BEFORE i get my debit card? as my tax preparer, i wish you would have told me this info sooner btw :-/
Benson, capitalism is a wide-ranging animal. You could simply look to earlier periods in this country, where there was less income inequality. Or you could look to european countries where, even when there is unemployment, the consequences of that are much less drastic; you can be unemployed/fired/look for a better job without spiraling into abject poverty. In some ways, it actually allows more flexibility in your workforce.
Despite the gibberish tossed around, nobody is actually looking for socialism as such (except for the socialist party). I'm looking for less income inequality, more power for the poor, and less money in the hands of the rich. I'm looking for the poor to not be fucked by things like healthcare and education and housing, and I'm looking to take the money to pay for that from rich people. Because they have more money than they need. But I'm willing to do that within the capitalismish system we have. It isn't free-market now, it won't be free-market later, anybody who says otherwise is havering.
I'm all for NO mortgage deduction and I don't need no stinking 10% flat tax tradeoff. NO deduction will help force house prices down to more realistic normal levels - currently it's crazy and the deductions are helping to inflate it.
quote:
I'm looking for the poor to not be fucked by things like healthcare and education and housing, and I'm looking to take the money to pay for that from rich people. Because they have more money than they need.
LOL. i think half the moonfaces in brooklyn have way more money then they "need" as well. should i be allowed to just dip my grimey fingers into their bank accounts!?!? and exactly do the poor get fucked when it comes to education?! if education isnt valued in the home there's not much we can do about it. are you talking about higher education? financial aid for poor people (i was one of them) is very good and one can be poor and still get a higher education in this country.
DIBS, if you've got the money to buy, buy - it's the choice afforded to peeps with that stack of $$$. if you need the deduction to afford to buy, then tough shit and save more as your dumb ass can't afford it yet
i definitely think getting rid of the mortgage deduction is a good thing. also the child tax credit thingie should go the way of the dodo bird too. do you know you get like 7000 dollars PER child from the government if you dont work!?!? there is something SERIOUSLY wrong with that scenario. ive said it before ill say it again, thank god i dont have a uterus
I believe that you are patronizing the poor in order to justify your sense of what a just society should look like. No system is perfect but here is my bottom line: no other system takes in anywhere close to the number of immigrants that we do, and most of them come here fairly poor. These immigrants know this: if one is poor, it is better to be in a place like the US, that affords opportunities to lift oneself up.
Looked at the BH cinema thread. I hate to say I think I am agreeing with dibs on this one. Unless the original facade is in there somewheres. But maybe he can repurpose it some way. It was nice having a movie theater there- although the sticky floors didn't add to the experience.
I think that's rather patronizing, benson. No one argues there are opportunities here. But to use immigrant beliefs as a marker of ow great our society is, is really missing bfar's point. Nor does every immigrant find those great opportunities.
*rob* - Yes on the moonface/take their money thing.
"and exactly do the poor get fucked when it comes to education?!" No, we can't quickly do much about whether their parents give a damn about education (nor, on the other end, can we stop people sending their kids to college for no good reason) but we could try to make the experience of public schools less crappy. And not being so damn poor (working three jobs, coming home exhausted, only being able to afford crappy daycare to begin with) does help with the home life, which in turn helps edu. outcomes.
DIBS, you're acting as if congress will approval anything big at all. Nothing material is happening now - congress is ensuring that. both parties love to gridlock everything now. it's a pissing game for them
Six...I see a lot of 4" among those averages and it's been a long time since I've run into any that small. To date, Brian Wong still has the largest one I've ever had.
"In all the time I was on that site, I kept asking one basic question. I asked someone to define an intellectual basis for what should be preserved, and what should not. I never received an answer. The best anyone could come up with was : It's old and charming to me, so it should be preserved.
I gave up trying to argue the case. The preservationist movement is doing a classic over-reach, and will collapse under its own weight. As far as I'm concerned, let them expand the "historic" districts as much as they want. The city is already up to 30,000 "historic" buildings that are now in a landmark district. That's 30,000 property owners who have to deal with a commission that is accountable to no one. They will get what they wished for."
Pure nonsense. There are approximately 900,000 building in the entire city, so if 30,000 are landmarked, that's a mere 3.33%. A drop in the bucket.
I don't believe there was ever a time where ANYONE told you that "if it's old and charming to me, it should be preserved." Since you were usually arguing with me, I know I never said that.
Here's an interesting take on things (attn: Benson): http://www.newgeography.com/content/002639-the-last-patrician-romney-falls-from-favor-america-loses-faith-old-money
"Romney paid 13.9% on $21.6 Million for 2010. That's over $3 Million."
Are we supposed to be impressed? Or merely grateful? Most people pay a much higher percentage in taxes. My brother and his wife, who are in the income bracket most of Brownstoner's demographic are in, pays around 33%. He's pissed as hell, but still a card carrying Repub. Perhaps he should be more angry at Mitt and his ilk, and less angry at my demographic, because it ain't us not paying our fair share.
Obama is going to make some energy claims tonight that are very sketchy, easily repudiated and will bite him in the ass during the campaign. basically LIES.
Looks like big changes are coming for me at work, and probably good for a change.
I'm making a lateral move in the same department, but the new role will have much higher levels of responsibly and viability. It will also be a lot more pressure, but I've been relatively coasting for too long and look forward to the challenge.
I was very worried about staying.
I am not terribly technically qualified for my current position, and it is focused on an area that is of decreasing importance. As long as things are not burning down, my management chain does not really care what happens.
The new role is focused on an area that is growing and that is probably the top focus of the next 3 layers of my management chain. It is also with a technology set where I have more skills (although rusty), and is much more demand in the larger job market.
Cobble, last night I watched the full2 hour beginning of Part 2 of Downton Abbey. I'm hoping I can google quotes from it because all the ones about how things have changed and how they survive the war are precious.
DIBS, re: Downton Abbey: I haven't looked to see if the quotes are online — if you find them, tell me!! It really is addictive, and some are just too good! Isn't Maggie deliciously hilarious?!
Thanks.
I will still keep looking for other companies to work for, but the market is not exactly great right now.
In the mean time, I will enjoy the greater stability and the chance to put more lines on my resume.
Congrats, Scott. Challenges are good, I'm sure you'll do well.
Love Downton Abbey, too. Maggie Smith can do more with a look than most of the overpaid pretty boys and girls who are big stars can do in an entire movie.
There are only two episodes left, I think!!!! Argh!! Fortunately they are working on writing Season 3.
More Downton talk: The characters, which were pretty complex last season, are even more so this year. That's what makes compelling stories - people who are real. Even the most despicable, like Thomas, have a human side, and we feel for him. Great writing and acting.
So now a judge in Georgia has subpoenaed the President to appear at a birther hearing. If you can believe this garbage.
"In his order, Malihi noted that Obama's legal team had argued that no president should be compelled to attend a court hearing.
"This may be correct," Malihi wrote. "But [Obama] has failed to enlighten the court with any legal authority."
Obama's court filings fail to show why his attendance would be "unreasonable or oppressive" or why his testimony would be "irrelevant, immaterial or cumulative," the judge wrote."
Oh right- just because he is President of the United States and has proven over and over he was born here, some schmuck of a Georgia judge thinks he should be able to snap his fingers and make him come running. For a stupid birther lawsuit. Says everything I care to know about those idiots.
"No one ever tells you about raising daughters. You think it’ll be like Little Women, and instead they’re at each others’ throats." — Cora, the Countess of Grantham
okay back, the receptionist at the dentist office got in contact with dentist who will be calling an antibiotic prescription for pickup this afternoon and i have an appointment set for next week. thanks for prodding me to get this done, i probably would have tried my hardest to ignore it
speaking of Italians, had to educate a co-worker recently that lots of Italians are light hair, skin etc. Homeboy thought all those southern italians he sees in NYC and on TV what ALL Italians look like. Had to even google some pics to show his dumbass what northern Italians look like.
"Really? I associate it more with NPR-listening liberal fart sniffers who shop at farmers' markets and think Subarus are good cars."
I DO NOT sniff farts or shop at farmers' markets. I invest directly in each season's food crop through my share in a CSA. And my auto mechanic, who used to run pit crews in professional auto racing in Brazil, thinks Subarus are good cars. Do you have evidence that Subarus are bad cars?
Northern Italians are gnerally light-skinned and many are blond. This lady is a case in point. She was my customer in Milan. She tried to wreck my marriage too. She didn't succeed, though I did fall for her "woman that no one understands" act for a while.
You know what's amazing - how women can sense these things. When we opened the office in Milan, we had a party and invited all the folks from our customer (and my wife also attended). This woman did not attend. Afterwards my wife told me: that's cause she didn't want to face me. This was before I sensed anything, and I told her that she was wrong about that. Turns out that she was dead right.
Oh yes, indeed! Women know! There is a woman in CH who just DIES over BH. He, of course, was oblivious until I pointed it out, and now he sees it pretty clearly. She would narrow her eyes at me, and then positively SWOON and FAWN over him. Occasionally, our community group would need something from this woman. I always sent BH to talk to her, she couldn't say no to him! : P
I was not wondering, benson, I took you at your word in the first post "that she did not succeed." I do have my doubts that that is her real hair color, though, so I am not sure she counts as evidence of blonde northern Italians.
I've never had a situation in a work environment where a woman tried to use her "charms" on me. Or perhaps I did, and I was just oblivious. I try to keep a very solid line between work and personal lives.
There have certainly been attractions in personal situations (sometimes mutual), and I have always been completely honest with Wendy about them.
I've seen too many marriages get hurt or totally messed up over stuff like that.
My wife used to be convinced that this Brazilian chick I worked with was trying to work me. She would always proudly display the girls in skimpy dresses and get drunk and hang on my. I think she was just a flirt. Anyways, she was sleeping with a partner at the firm.
As far as I know, there is only once my wife really went on the warpath convinced something was up. It was when she found a woman's sweater at our apartment in Brooklyn. You damn PLUSAs.
My ex-brother-in-law worked for his family's car dealerships for a number of years, and anytime anyone tried to get him in a Ford vs Gm or American vs Asian vs European discussion, his response was "In the business, we call them all shitboxes"
Of course, coming home and telling stories about having seen or met some woman or another is a dead giveaway, too — no magic 'sense' there. Anytime BH mentions a woman I don't know, I say "Oh, what's she like/how was that?" or whatever to get him to talk about it a bit, and he'll tell me and then I'll tell him whether or not she was hitting on him. It's not rocket science, but men are surprisingly oblivious at times. Unless it's rubbing your boobs on them*, they seem to "get" that! : P
benson, if only I knew you back then. I wasn't married yet in 2002 - ie available for a "Sorry, no can do but I do know a Chinaman you might be interested in"
I did try to arrange for her to see someone I knew at the time. She was not interested at all. What I later found out was that she had a thing for married men, and in fact had a long-time relationship with a married co-worker (which is still going on to this day, last I heard).
Intern days, was flirting with all the hotties and would've slept with any/all of them. Now, am just glad the eyes get dose of eye candy once in a while.
Now I'm day dreaming of my days working with that Milan group. Those were the days! Here's a shot with other folks from Milan, on a trip to visit our engineers in Japan. Ummmm, sushi!
OK, just whose job is it to sift through the torrent of daily electronic news and information and decide what factoids ought to go into the rotation for those elevator newsblurb screens? Just now, I read that pirate ransoms are deductible as loss due to theft. How useful to know this. Reminds me of the time the elevator screen informed me, though euphemistically, that Warren Buffet was going in for a routine colonoscopy that day. I mean, really, this is why we need constant access to tv and internet screens?
slopey, those elevator tv's are a rev source for the building. peeps pay building owner a fee to have those tv's installed. as for what content is displayed, yeah, sometimes whacky logic
I think women are far more subtle and nuanced when it comes to speaking the language of attraction. And also with body language.
For (straight) men, it oftentimes comes down to "Stop" or "Go".
So my work officially blocked this site as having sexual content. Now I can't read or post here. Farewell PLUSAS. Will check in from time to time on weekends.
Dave, can you explain the difference between 'expensing' start-up costs and 'capitalizing' start-up costs for a business? I'm watching something on tv and they said something about that, but didn't bother to explain what it meant.
In general, expensed means it goes against this years earnings.
Capitalized means it counts a an asset that is then depreciated over a number of years.
Or should I say it's like paying off a full credit card balance as soon as you get the bill vs. making the minimum monthly payments until it's down to zero?
Snappy, capital equipment and capital improvements are added up (capitalized) and then expensed or amortized over the expected life. For example, if you are opening a coffee shop, the $100,000 espresso machine might be amortized over 10 years and expensed at $10,000 each year over 10 years but the 250 cups you bought would be expensed right away.
The big things are capitalized and then amortized over their useful life, sometimes arbitrary and sometimes according to IRS rules. For example when you have a rental property, the cost of that property has to be expensed over 26.5 years. If you make capital improvements like a new roof, it gets added to the base and expensed over the 26.5 years but if you have to replace a window it's an expense taken in full that year.
And expensed means taken as a deduction against earnings. it defines the difference between a profit/loss on an actual cash flow basis or an accounting basis.
rob - Check the package insert/instructions - make sure if you're supposed to eat something when you take the pill or if you're specifically told not to have things such as dairy w/in 2 hours.
yeah i checked the insert and everything. im good to go. you can eat on an empty or full stomach. it didnt mention anything else except possible side effects, but i dont really get any side effects from stuff like this, well at least i never have that i know of.
I would like to know the tech that allows these corporate firewalls to scan & determine a pic is sexual or not? words - that I can understand completely. Pictures - that interesting. does the scanning software have a huge database of pics of various sexual items, positions etc. fascinating
yep, i did the laundry, just got back from the laundromat. (though I haven't schlepped it upstairs (4 flights) to fold it yet... that's my next move. sigh.)
There are a number of content filters out there.
The last time I really looked into the technology was around 7 years ago, and back then most of the solutions used a combination of automated scanning with humans make the final categorization.
The people making the decision are low paid and have to categorize thousands of sites a day, so all it takes is one questionable post to get a site flagged.
We don't have any RSS feed now, although I'm sure there is a module available to do it.
I'm not sure what it would be like to live under those conditions, constantly having to be "dressed" in different formal and semi formal attire throughout the day. I imagine though that it's better than the alternative, living like the middle class without a bath for a week or so.
btw, just saw a nice 2br in PS for sale for 500k. No idea if that's a good price or not, but it looks like a nice apartment. http://41272f.com/ You know, in case anybody wants one of those.
Kens, it would be awful to lose you, or anyone else. It's not like more people are going to join us. I hope everyone can behave here. You know who you are.
It's a lot easier if someone is dressing and undressing you and taking care of your clothes, DIBS. Besides, what else did they really have to do besides change clothes for meals?!
Dave, your avatar at least gets to parade around in his army uniform most of the time. It's probably the most comfortable thing he has to wear, outside of his nightshirt. I feel sorry for the maids. It's bad enough that all women were expected to go about in corsets, but to have to clean and do strenuous work in one must have been hell.
I saw on a PBS show that some of the evening costumes of the ladies of the house are actual museum pieces, in particular one of the beaded gowns that Lady Mary had on. The actress who plays her was saying that she had to sit ramrod straight, and walk around very carefully as to not catch it on anything and tear it. She said she was overjoyed when the shoot was over and she could get out of the thing. She also said that Dame Smith hated the high Victorian collars on her costumes and was quite colorful in her cursing.
those victorian people, or whatever they were, were definitely a gross lot. they would actually pee and poop themselves instead of changing clothes cuz the clothing was too complicated to get in and out of! it must have smelled like ass EVERYWHERE back then!
I think i put some of my house guests through a period reenactment of a dumbed down Downton Abbey last winter...heat from the fireplace, candles for lighting, roast pork out on the fire!!!!
"those victorian people, or whatever they were, were definitely a gross lot. they would actually pee and poop themselves instead of changing clothes cuz the clothing was too complicated to get in and out of! it must have smelled like ass EVERYWHERE back then!"
Rob, I don't know where you get your information. That just isn't true.
*rob* - my great-great-grandmother wore huge skirts (i'm sure there's a technical name for them, but I don't know it) and no underwear. If she was outside she would just go wherever she was standing. Of course she lived in the Wisconsin countryside so it didn't matter much in terms of smells and poo mist. Probably marked territory around the family farm and kept the predators away too.
When we lived in Scotland we took only one bath a week because my mother had to boil water in the kitchen & lug it upstairs to the bathroom. We also had gas lighting & the only heat was from fireplaces. We were one of 2 houses in the village w/ a telephone. Streets were gas lit - a man would come around each evening to light them & turn them off each morning.
Very little refrigeration even in London in the 60s - houses & shops both. And many people in London in the 60s still didn't have indoor plumbing - outhouses at the bottom of the garden. It's why hospital patients were sent to recovery homes where there was decent sanitation while they recouperated.
We were on rations - one egg per person per week, 4 ounces of meat, one pair of shoes a year, one candy bar a week (or sugar equivalent). We had friends w/ a farm & got lots of extra stuff from them.
there was a woman who lived w/o a fridge for a year; wasn't as big a deal as expected. Basically you don't buy as much stuff at once, and you shop more often.
that being said, I like my beer cold and my milk chunkless.
"And many people in London in the 60s still didn't have indoor plumbing - outhouses at the bottom of the garden."
One of my friends in London was renting a flat that still had the outhouse out back. It's amazing how long it took to get indoor plumbing there. He had an indoor bathroom, as did the entire house, now, but no one had ever removed the outhouse.
One thing I noticed when I went to London was that many of the older homes had the vertical sewer stack on the outside of the house, which is prohibited in NYC and most of the US. I guess it's done there as an expedient way to retrofit old homes, and they don't have to contend with sub-freezing temperatures (at least not much).
"Slopey, I'd get tired of the same valet day in and day out."
Yes, and noblesse oblige would prevent you from just churning through them and firing each one as you got tired of him.
Incidentally, when we complained to the seller of our house (well before closing, of course) that our contract required electricity and lighting to code, his contractor told me that we were buying a 19th century house and we should simply plan to carry candelabras up and down the stairs like they did then. He was only half kidding and kind of hoping we'd buy the argument and shut up. Of course, I immediately thought of Young Frankenstein. My second thought, of course, was to call our lawyer.
"our contract required electricity and lighting to code,"
Actually that's way too onerous and a good seller's lawyer would get rid of it. There's virtually no brooklyn house that doesn't have some code violations. Though mine is done "to code" with BX and all, the outlet spacing certainly isn't to code.
That was in my contract too and my lawyer got rid of it. The language is too broad.
Unless you were specifying work yet to be completed, but still, language is too broad.
Slopey, the previous owner of your house sounds like a con man and huckster of the first order. I'm surprised there wasn't a bridge offered somewhere in there.
If you remember our story (I haven't told it in a long time), the seller put it on the market mid-renovation and sold it much the way you would buy a new house or condo under construction, including letting us pick various finishes within specified parameters. I would, of course, never buy RE this way again, but since the seller was controlling the rehab/reno of the house, we insisted on strict controls on the reno -- everything filed and to code. The price was based on the premise of a fully renovated house.
Incidentally, seller tried to take those terms out and we told him we would walk if he wouldn't agree to a code and fully filed renovation. So seller eventually accepted the terms, though it seems he planned not to actually comply with them.
Actually, MM, I think the seller was being coached by his more experienced buddies on how to do a cheapo rock & paint reno and didn't realize until we got into the details that he would have to defraud is to make it work. As soon as the next door neighbor got a SWO slapped on the house, he freaked because he knew it would cost him $$$ to get the house done right and get DOB off his back. That's how we eventually got the house unrenovated and at a lower price -- the better way to go, and we got tons off the price, though not nearly enough.
"I'm surprised there wasn't a bridge offered somewhere in there."
The realtor, who I accuse only of the customary shading and not knowledge of the fraud, did try to woo us with an implied (i.e., no representations) fantasy that this was the original farmhouse for the area. I've disproven that through research but that is how I took my PLUSA name.
One area of city government that has significantly improved is the DOB -though it still has a ways to go. It was arguably the most corrupt organization in the city, going back 30-40 years ago. Code violations were simply a way for an inspector to shake you down so that he could look the other way.
That's a decent assessment, benson. DOB has twin and somewhat opposed goals -- both to facilitate construction and development and ensure public safety, rules and enforcement for which add costs. Pendulum swings back and forth on degree of emphasis on each goal. Not an easy balance to strike. You'll get more detailed candor out of me on this over a beer but not on line.
Benson, in some of the stuff I read in the Brooklyn Eagle, from the last century, the DOB was so bad it was almost funny, except that some really awful tragedies happened. They were all political appointees, most who didn't know a hammer from a shovel. Those were the head guys. Their inspectors were often people who didn't know squat about buildings, but had bought one once, and so were qualified. The paper was always very happy, and forever SHOCKED at the amount of corruption, and the payoffs therein. Not much changes in this world.
As long as you're going to sit on your ass and watch gay TV it might as well be one of those doctor shows where they are all unrealistically good looking and talk fast and work on improbably interesting cases involving each other and fuck each other all the time.
As bad as you (and millions of others) may think things are run, there are so many ways the operation of basic City government functions is vastly improved over that of just 35-40 years old, and each administration beginning with Koch and including everyone since deserves credit for some of the improvements. Some examples -- lots of functions now housed within DOT were once the bailiwick in each borough of the borough president. Another -- if you read William Nelson's history of the office of the corporation counsel there are some interesting accounts of what used to go on before Koch's first Corp. Counsel took charge. Another -- each agency that did construction had its own design people. Now City has DDC to coordinate projects, so, for example, DOT and DEP construction are better coordinated -- not perfect, but better and more professionalized than before. 311, whatever you think of it, is a vast improvement over having to figrue out who to call directly. There's always tons of room for improvement, but there has been an overarching trend toward professionalism and accessibility since the late 70s, although it is also easy to scan headlines and find missteps.
Yes, DCB, I have. I existed in the same room with a TV that had that show on for approximately 10 minutes once, during which time my IQ dropped 20 points.
No argument from me. Remember, my dad worked for the city in the waning days of Tammany Hall and could spend hours talking about badly the city was run. I've told the story before: he was involved in a bad accident in which he was thrown 20 feet, fracturing his skull and damaging his shoulder. He was told by his union, in no uncertain terms, that unless he agreed to give them a cut, he would never receive a nickel from the City. The corruption was so rampant and out in the open that the union sent a thug to accompany my father to the bank when he cashed the settlement check, to make sure they got their cut.
I was rehabbing a place in Chicago in 1989 and the inspector was drunk, walked through the house with the drawings upside down and signed off on everything.
bfar -- if you are a City history buff, it is not a bad read, though a bit on the academic side. Nelson is a legal historian, not a writer of popular history books.
"DIY cat would have been as good an inspector, Dave."
Oh yes, if something is not properly constructed or affixed, a cat will surely find, reveal and report the defect. Don't ask me how I know this -- it is just a simple fact.
DP -- you read Nelson's history of the Corp Counsel? And you say he's written later books? And you like them better? You sure we're talking about the same guy?
Not All my news Benson. I read several newspapers and magazines. I even subscribe to Stratfor which got Anonymous putting the bead on me.
I just like Morning Joe and Chris Matthews.
finally getting thru the firewall at hospital.....my friend is in lala land with the pain meds.
something must have been posted earlier than got the site blocked.
I was going to mention PBS as the exception. But there are those who would probably claim is leftist propaganda or something. But they do in depth stories, and speak in civilized tones....and the show is about the topic ---not self-promotion of the newscaster.
I hate pretty much all TV, and have been getting 99% of my news online for over 20 years.
I get the bulk of my national news from AP and CNN, but will read stuff from just about any source when I come across it.
Also, I don't watch Downton Abbey, although I have heard of it & seen photos of the amazing house. My mom & sister don't watch it either & they are usually up with all the big TV shows.
A modernized Sherlock Holmes is all the rage on UK TV right now. We watched one episode of that at New Years and thought it was crap.
LOL there's an awesome 34-comment-and-counting thread about a cafe closing on the Ditmas Park Blog:
http://ditmasparkblog.com/food-drink/cafe-madeline-ditmas-park-coffee#disqus_thread
34 comments there is like a 1500-comment day here. Some decent snark going on as well.
T Boone talks his own book but is pretty sensible & knowledgeable.
I used to agree with O'Reilly 55-60% of the time. Quite enjoyed his show , when he wasn't talking about energy or himself because I thought he was giving his own opinions rather than talking to a script. Not seen it in 2-3 years though. A couple of my Democrat relatives in PA liked his show as well.
When President Obama says he envisions a country where everyone has a fair shot and plays by the same rules, Republicans and Democrats here two different languages.
aah, finally back to the apt...sitting out on the terrace (7th floor)sipping a glass of wine. nice breeze and looking out over the lights of ft. lauderdale. wonder if I can spot any action in the highrise with all the glass windows 1 block away.
Don't think a lot of Republicans would be keen on either alternative, rf.
I know all of the grand vision language is part of a politician's job whatever their party but I find it either meaningless or sinister, i.e. it either means nothing or a lot more govt control.
what I find worse than watching tv newspeople -- (I was channel surfing for a few moments other week and caught a few minutes of that geek comedy series) --- are those laugh tracks they insist on having to let you know that was supposed to be funny on the comedy programs. the laughs on them are like nails on chalkboard.
Hope you like whoever you're hanging with in texas. No question they will like you. If you need me for a reference...go ahead and drop my name.
Don't mind some TV newspeople, but mainly like the local ones. Not so keen on the pompous 'voice of the nation' national ones.
When I first moved to NYC I used to like Bill Beutel on ABC (but he retired & passed away a few years ago) and Sandra Bookman. Also liked quite a few of the Fox 5 newscasters. Never watched CBS and only rarely NBC.
would you all like videos of all the commercials down here in florida paid and produced by republicans telling us why the other republican is terrible?
I saw a preview on Bloomberg saying he was going to defend the rejection of Keystone XL by saying that domestic production has increased under his watch.....all the while his allies are trying to ban / restrict fracking and his own EPA is trying to slow it down. Fracking technology is the by far main driver of the increase in domestic production.
Clever, but breathtakingly dishonest & hypocritical.
He's going to sign an executive order that eliminates the red tape that slows down construction projects. YEAH, RIGHT. The runway at P-Town airport has taken over 8 years and still has 15 agencies to go through....SO MUCH BULLSHIT.
"all the commercials down here in florida paid and produced by republicans telling us why the other republican is terrible?"
Sad thing is they'd mostly be right. Disappointed with the Republican field.
That said, this time last go around I was big on McCain and then he ran a terrible campaign & didn't go after Obama anywhere near hard enough. So what do I know....
isn't there possibility of big northern lights display going on? etson -- look out the window. I think NYC is too far south.
I only saw once many years ago -- I had no idea what was going on. amazing to watch. (this was in central new york state)
I was out walking legiondog earlier.
The constellation Orion was clearly visible, the belt of three stars in line,
Betelgeuse the giant star 1000X larger than our Sun at the shoulder above and to the left glowing red.
My apartment faces south Pete (decent CN Tower view though!). Also, think one would have to be a ways north of here to see anything but I read it is supposed to be spectacular right now.
i hear obama plathering in my living room right now. seriously, blah blah blah blah, i know ALL politians do it, but if i hear "families making ends meet" one more time im gonna barf. so tired of all these blow hards. can the election just happen alread and so we can get over it!?
When Mitt Romney's dad meant Saul Alinsky - someone pls. send to Gingrich:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/andrewkaczynski/photo-exclusive-when-george-romney-met-saul-alins
how long is this speech from obama? seriously, i want to make dinner soon and watch gossip girl and intervention (i have them on DVR in the living room) but i have to wait until this speech that my roommate is watching is over. please tell me this is not going to go on all night, i remember last weeks speechs from the repubtards went on forever that i wound up just going to bed hungry.
In the tri-state, we may be able to see the northern lights Tuesday night, especially with clear skies. The lights may be most visible in the north and west suburbs
quote:
In the tri-state, we may be able to see the northern lights Tuesday night, especially with clear skies. The lights may be most visible in the north and west suburbs
ooooh. really!? i want to see. if i went on my roof, which direction should i look?
Thanks Arkady. Been workin' mostly.
Checked in here occasionally but topic each time either wasn't something I had anything to say about or was something I had way too much for my own good to say about...
Yeah Pete, and he should have kept going by Billy like when he was a kid. "Billy" = less patrician than "Mitt." And we've had a Millard in the White House, why not a Willard?
ew, he's talking about being a "team player" now :-/ hated teamwork projects in school. cuz usually the people with the best grades wound up losing out and getting lower grades they would normally get if they just did the work themself, and people who usually failed wound up passing.
hated that shit. human beings actually are not designed for teamwork. we are not bees. we are not ants. we are not all man mommies in the park slope food co-op.
well sounds like the speech is over, but now it's endless plather discussing the speech going on. i think this is what lasted late into the night last week, not the speeches themselves.
gonna take a hot bubble bath. and dont ever ever ever ever ever ever ever purchase duane reade brand (well it says wallgreen brand?) on it, not actual duane reade, but anyway, bought their 5 blade razors last week, a new razor, and a pack of 5 cartridges. they suck ASS and hurt like hell!!!! should have stuck with the three blades, but i dont think it's the amount of blades, just that they are shitty.
Remember *rob*, time is relative.
Which means that we all experience it differently.
In the case of a Presidential speech which you really don't want to hear,
time will take on a peculiar quality for you, which can best be described as being encased in lucite and being forced to stare at the horizon until the gradual forces of the Earth's tectonic plates form a new mountain range.
had the exterminator in tonight. just went into the kitchen, turned the lights on and UGH. :-/ what's the point of the exterminator!? i just cleaned like a maniac as best i could and now i smell like a janitress (and i just took a shower, now im gonna have to take another one).
on a lighter note, that thing on my side i had treated at the derm is gone, and the thing on my face is pretty much healed up. so last weeks dermatologist dramarama wasnt for naught.
now if i can only get rid of these damn roaches. someone skanky must have moved in this building, this was never a problem like this before!!!
And roaches... ugh. This is the first apt we've had that really has them in any serious way (eg I've seen roaches before in my life, but I see them here at least weekly) and it's totally annoying. We end up with traps all over the kitchen, and that seems to keep them mostly at bay. But my wife was kind and bought some gin, so I'm going to put down this syllabus (three down, two to go), go wash the dishes and have a martini.
Since the help was nowhere to be found, i had to restart the pilot on the hot water heater myself this morning.
: P
Likewise, I've basically stopped drinking alcohol.
1. Find some image on the Internet that you want to alter.
2. Save it to your computer.
3. Click on Start -- All Programs -- Accessories -- Paint
4. In the Paint program, open the image you saved
5. Alter as you see fit
6. Save
7. Post on lifeinbkln
I see your powers of obfuscation are in high gear this morning. Otherwise, we'd be talking about the ****13.9%****, which is probably a lower rate than I'll be paying a couple weeks.
Republicans see wealth as something to be created in the future of the benefit of all.
I could respond with "Democrats see the government as something that should make all lives better and Republicans see government as something that should help concentrate wealth in the hands of the rich" and it would be just as stupid.
OK, I made my rant and hopefully will have the willpower to stay out of these one sided hate-fests today.
ROFL!!! That's hilarious! Trickle down economics! How's that working out, guys! 30 years later...EPIC FAIL!!!
*rob*
They seem to want to spread wealth into equal (or more equal) shares, even at the cost of development and progress.
Of course all that does is halt growth and eventually leads to systemic failure.
How so? You can only call something an epic fail when you compare it to the alternative. You have lived through the most prosperous period of human existence. Compare your life to the life of a comparably situated person in any other time period and then try to defend your declaration of "epic fail."
All statements of value are comparative.
Ok, I am checking in here to find *rob*. I've got to get out of here but am stopping in to tell him please go to the dentist.
This is IMPORTANT.
True, M4L.
*rob* IGNORE YOUR TEETH. THEY WILL GO AWAY.
Salaries have essentially remained flat, for the average worker, over the past 20 years.
Tax rates for the wealthiest have increasingly gone down over the past 70+ years, since peaking in the 40s.
Job stability is low.
Unemployment is high.
Families rely on two incomes instead of one.
Americans rate of personal saving is down.
My standard of living is starting to be lower than my parents. My financial security is lower than that of my grandparents and my parents.
wait, can i bring my completed taxes somewhere and get my refund? i feel like i see commercials for rapid refunds. do they take out a ton of money? how does it work?
*rob*
http://www.brownstoner.com/blog/2012/01/preservationists-heights-cinema-shouldnt-be-demolished/#disqus_thread
Worse = more expensive/dangerous to your health.
if you really wanna protest financial inequality go protest places like blue marble ice cream and other rip off joints.
*rob*
*rob*
Actually rob, the bodegas are the biggest rip offs in brooklyn.
erm, no, not really. unless you are talking about food. i dont buy food in bodegas. bodega newports - 11.25
korean fauxdega newports - 12.75
indian candy stores - 13.00-14.00
*rob*
In all the time I was on that site, I kept asking one basic question. I asked someone to define an intellectual basis for what should be preserved, and what should not. I never received an answer. The best anyone could come up with was : It's old and charming to me, so it should be preserved.
I gave up trying to argue the case. The preservationist movement is doing a classic over-reach, and will collapse under its own weight. As far as I'm concerned, let them expand the "historic" districts as much as they want. The city is already up to 30,000 "historic" buildings that are now in a landmark district. That's 30,000 property owners who have to deal with a commission that is accountable to no one. They will get what they wished for.
Rob isn't your job attendance record almost or at 100%?
where did you get that? im never late, but i do take the ocassional sick day. no one likes catching shit from sick coworkers!
*rob*
YES! I would think that going to the dentist's office and directly speaking with the dentist/office manager would be best.
The story is that you have a job, you have dental insurance, but that you are very tight until you get your tax return and that you would like to make an arrangement with them on how to pay. But that you need immediate attention since you have very bad pain and think you have an abscess/infection. *rob* dentists see this all the time. And they are human and you don't have to apologize for this. It is done all the time. Part of the way they do business. And please don't think of yourself as a scrub. Please.
we all do....just some sucking you think is fine (subsidized train fares(amtrak and suburban railroads far more than subway), subsidized mortgages-- the bigger the mortgage and higher the income the more the subsidy, etc, etc etc.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/08/11/economic-woes-lead-to-proliferation-tent-cities-nationwide/
It might help to read the papers. If you read most of the Republican's proposals for tax reforms, they call for the the end of the mortgage deduction. Paul Ryan's plan called for the same thing.
But tell me Pete: have any Democrats put forth a proposal to end the mortgage deduction?
Please point out an alternative economic system that has produced superior results. Both Japan and much of Western Europe have more generous social welfare systems, and a more progressive taxation system than the US. Have they produced superior economic results over the past 30 years? Has it stopped the outsourcing of manufacture to southeast Asia? How does the unemployment and underemployment rate look in these countries? How many jobs have they created?
Feds Prevent H&R Block from Offering Rapid Refund Loans | JOSIC ...www.josic.com/feds-prevent-hr-block-from-offering-rapid-refund-lo...Cached
You +1'd this publicly. Undo
Jan 1, 2011 – This is where H&R Block's Rapid Refund has become a godsend for many people but for millions of the tax preparer's customers who relied on ...
rob, you can still get $$$ from H&R block, as either a check or I believe loaded onto a debit card.
but they charge 300 bux or so to do your taxes.. if the taxes are already done, do i have to pay anything? im sure id have to pay somethign from the refund. ? would i have to pay up front BEFORE i get my debit card? as my tax preparer, i wish you would have told me this info sooner btw :-/
Despite the gibberish tossed around, nobody is actually looking for socialism as such (except for the socialist party). I'm looking for less income inequality, more power for the poor, and less money in the hands of the rich. I'm looking for the poor to not be fucked by things like healthcare and education and housing, and I'm looking to take the money to pay for that from rich people. Because they have more money than they need. But I'm willing to do that within the capitalismish system we have. It isn't free-market now, it won't be free-market later, anybody who says otherwise is havering.
I'm looking for the poor to not be fucked by things like healthcare and education and housing, and I'm looking to take the money to pay for that from rich people. Because they have more money than they need.
LOL. i think half the moonfaces in brooklyn have way more money then they "need" as well. should i be allowed to just dip my grimey fingers into their bank accounts!?!? and exactly do the poor get fucked when it comes to education?! if education isnt valued in the home there's not much we can do about it. are you talking about higher education? financial aid for poor people (i was one of them) is very good and one can be poor and still get a higher education in this country.
*rob*
*rob*
1. haver
It means to talk nonsense, chatter.
"And if I haver, I'm going to be the one havering to you." The Proclaimers
I believe that you are patronizing the poor in order to justify your sense of what a just society should look like. No system is perfect but here is my bottom line: no other system takes in anywhere close to the number of immigrants that we do, and most of them come here fairly poor. These immigrants know this: if one is poor, it is better to be in a place like the US, that affords opportunities to lift oneself up.
Looked at the BH cinema thread. I hate to say I think I am agreeing with dibs on this one. Unless the original facade is in there somewheres. But maybe he can repurpose it some way. It was nice having a movie theater there- although the sticky floors didn't add to the experience.
*rob*
We are all thankful as well. You are sandy enough most days.
That's not inconsistent with "most people don't need it."
http://www.targetmap.com/viewer.aspx?reportId=3073
Not necessarily safe for work.
"and exactly do the poor get fucked when it comes to education?!" No, we can't quickly do much about whether their parents give a damn about education (nor, on the other end, can we stop people sending their kids to college for no good reason) but we could try to make the experience of public schools less crappy. And not being so damn poor (working three jobs, coming home exhausted, only being able to afford crappy daycare to begin with) does help with the home life, which in turn helps edu. outcomes.
but seriously, gotta do laundry.
I hear Khartoum is lovely this time of year.
I gave up trying to argue the case. The preservationist movement is doing a classic over-reach, and will collapse under its own weight. As far as I'm concerned, let them expand the "historic" districts as much as they want. The city is already up to 30,000 "historic" buildings that are now in a landmark district. That's 30,000 property owners who have to deal with a commission that is accountable to no one. They will get what they wished for."
Pure nonsense. There are approximately 900,000 building in the entire city, so if 30,000 are landmarked, that's a mere 3.33%. A drop in the bucket.
I don't believe there was ever a time where ANYONE told you that "if it's old and charming to me, it should be preserved." Since you were usually arguing with me, I know I never said that.
Here's an interesting take on things (attn: Benson): http://www.newgeography.com/content/002639-the-last-patrician-romney-falls-from-favor-america-loses-faith-old-money
Better WHO are, DIBS?
Are we supposed to be impressed? Or merely grateful? Most people pay a much higher percentage in taxes. My brother and his wife, who are in the income bracket most of Brownstoner's demographic are in, pays around 33%. He's pissed as hell, but still a card carrying Repub. Perhaps he should be more angry at Mitt and his ilk, and less angry at my demographic, because it ain't us not paying our fair share.
Thank you for the discussion.
I'm making a lateral move in the same department, but the new role will have much higher levels of responsibly and viability. It will also be a lot more pressure, but I've been relatively coasting for too long and look forward to the challenge.
I am not terribly technically qualified for my current position, and it is focused on an area that is of decreasing importance. As long as things are not burning down, my management chain does not really care what happens.
The new role is focused on an area that is growing and that is probably the top focus of the next 3 layers of my management chain. It is also with a technology set where I have more skills (although rusty), and is much more demand in the larger job market.
*rob*
I will still keep looking for other companies to work for, but the market is not exactly great right now.
In the mean time, I will enjoy the greater stability and the chance to put more lines on my resume.
I LOVE Downton Abbey! I love Maggie too- she's frighteningly like my Aunt who passed away in 1999. Imperious, is the word.And fabulous.
Love Downton Abbey, too. Maggie Smith can do more with a look than most of the overpaid pretty boys and girls who are big stars can do in an entire movie.
There are only two episodes left, I think!!!! Argh!! Fortunately they are working on writing Season 3.
1/29, 2/5, 2/12 & 2/19 — the last two being 2 HOURS EACH!!!
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/downtonabbey/media/downtonabbey_schedule.pdf
"In his order, Malihi noted that Obama's legal team had argued that no president should be compelled to attend a court hearing.
"This may be correct," Malihi wrote. "But [Obama] has failed to enlighten the court with any legal authority."
Obama's court filings fail to show why his attendance would be "unreasonable or oppressive" or why his testimony would be "irrelevant, immaterial or cumulative," the judge wrote."
Oh right- just because he is President of the United States and has proven over and over he was born here, some schmuck of a Georgia judge thinks he should be able to snap his fingers and make him come running. For a stupid birther lawsuit. Says everything I care to know about those idiots.
Violet: I forbid it. To have strange men prodding and prying around the house. To say nothing of pocketing the spoons. It's out of the question.
Violet: "I Must Have Said It Wrong".
Lady Mary: "At least I'm not fishing with no bait"
Violet: "No. She isn't until she is married, then her husband will tell her what her opinions are."
I thought you were tired of political arguments????
*rob*
Really? I associate it more with NPR-listening liberal fart sniffers who shop at farmers' markets and think Subarus are good cars.
[stares directly at Slopey]
Why must every day involve a fight with an American?
(She was complaining about swivel chairs, apparently invented by Thos. Jefferson.)
Sad that it required two days of posting on a blog to do so. Any normal human being would have just called the dentist.
*rob*
[stares directly at Slopey]"
Phew!! I thought it was meant for me.
.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bs5_E1J_9hY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IzpM1qBLio&feature=related
Any normal human being would have just called the dentist.
*rob*
Why? Nobody else does.
And this is our mother, MM.....
I DO NOT sniff farts or shop at farmers' markets. I invest directly in each season's food crop through my share in a CSA. And my auto mechanic, who used to run pit crews in professional auto racing in Brazil, thinks Subarus are good cars. Do you have evidence that Subarus are bad cars?
"[stares directly at Slopey]"
Glad to oblige on cue.
"Phew!! I thought it was meant for me."
LOL, benson. Yes, we were all confused.
SNORT!
Hmmm - good point!
You know what's amazing - how women can sense these things. When we opened the office in Milan, we had a party and invited all the folks from our customer (and my wife also attended). This woman did not attend. Afterwards my wife told me: that's cause she didn't want to face me. This was before I sensed anything, and I told her that she was wrong about that. Turns out that she was dead right.
*rob*
Dibs - I thought your avatar was GWB.
*rob*
Years of driving my parents' shitty Subarus in Vermont, my friend.
There have certainly been attractions in personal situations (sometimes mutual), and I have always been completely honest with Wendy about them.
I've seen too many marriages get hurt or totally messed up over stuff like that.
That is totally uncalled for!!!!!!
As far as I know, there is only once my wife really went on the warpath convinced something was up. It was when she found a woman's sweater at our apartment in Brooklyn. You damn PLUSAs.
Of course, coming home and telling stories about having seen or met some woman or another is a dead giveaway, too — no magic 'sense' there. Anytime BH mentions a woman I don't know, I say "Oh, what's she like/how was that?" or whatever to get him to talk about it a bit, and he'll tell me and then I'll tell him whether or not she was hitting on him. It's not rocket science, but men are surprisingly oblivious at times. Unless it's rubbing your boobs on them*, they seem to "get" that! : P
Well, when your wife asks who's sweater it is, do you answer:
a. I had a few folks from brownstoner over and someone must have left it. or
b. Oh, that's jessibaby's.
I think one of those answers gets you into way more hot water than the other. No one made you blurt out "b".
I did try to arrange for her to see someone I knew at the time. She was not interested at all. What I later found out was that she had a thing for married men, and in fact had a long-time relationship with a married co-worker (which is still going on to this day, last I heard).
For (straight) men, it oftentimes comes down to "Stop" or "Go".
I've oftentimes never said a word.
Sure: let me know!
I'm still daydreaming of those Milan days...
.....here's a wedding I attended that was held in a castle in Pavia.
(Buckle down Benson: get to work!!!)
*rob*
I guess they tracked dibs down to here.
You can also try lifeinbklyn.com and ot.boerumhillscott.com.
Capitalized means it counts a an asset that is then depreciated over a number of years.
Taking the loss now means less taxes this year, but your earnings look worse this year.
The big things are capitalized and then amortized over their useful life, sometimes arbitrary and sometimes according to IRS rules. For example when you have a rental property, the cost of that property has to be expensed over 26.5 years. If you make capital improvements like a new roof, it gets added to the base and expensed over the 26.5 years but if you have to replace a window it's an expense taken in full that year.
*rob*
Ok...gotta go...this program is interesting.
People, PLEASE don't post any nude pics or anything that can be considered too inappropriate or we'll lose me and a bunch of other PLUSAs.
$100,000 espresso machine
:-/
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As for downton abbey, here's my self-assigned role...
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The last time I really looked into the technology was around 7 years ago, and back then most of the solutions used a combination of automated scanning with humans make the final categorization.
The people making the decision are low paid and have to categorize thousands of sites a day, so all it takes is one questionable post to get a site flagged.
We don't have any RSS feed now, although I'm sure there is a module available to do it.
I do say i envy the dinners though!!!
It's a lot easier if someone is dressing and undressing you and taking care of your clothes, DIBS. Besides, what else did they really have to do besides change clothes for meals?!
I saw on a PBS show that some of the evening costumes of the ladies of the house are actual museum pieces, in particular one of the beaded gowns that Lady Mary had on. The actress who plays her was saying that she had to sit ramrod straight, and walk around very carefully as to not catch it on anything and tear it. She said she was overjoyed when the shoot was over and she could get out of the thing. She also said that Dame Smith hated the high Victorian collars on her costumes and was quite colorful in her cursing.
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no deodorant
no toothpaste
no dental floss
no soap
no shampoo
no refrideration
no birth control
no contact lens solution
sounds nuts
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Rob, I don't know where you get your information. That just isn't true.
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dunno, that's a lot of scotch.
Let's bring this custom back, in the name of creating jobs.
that being said, I like my beer cold and my milk chunkless.
Probably the only way he could keep his students' attention. But not true, nonetheless.
One of my friends in London was renting a flat that still had the outhouse out back. It's amazing how long it took to get indoor plumbing there. He had an indoor bathroom, as did the entire house, now, but no one had ever removed the outhouse.
LOL Montrose. I got students interested in LBJ this way:
http://whitehousetapes.net/clips/1964_0809_lbj_haggar/index.htm
What is this TV show you're all talking about? It sounds totally gay.
Back to the "if it's worth doing it's worth overdoing" bit.
Yes, and noblesse oblige would prevent you from just churning through them and firing each one as you got tired of him.
Incidentally, when we complained to the seller of our house (well before closing, of course) that our contract required electricity and lighting to code, his contractor told me that we were buying a 19th century house and we should simply plan to carry candelabras up and down the stairs like they did then. He was only half kidding and kind of hoping we'd buy the argument and shut up. Of course, I immediately thought of Young Frankenstein. My second thought, of course, was to call our lawyer.
Yeah, Benson, can you imagine retrofitting houses from the 1300's? Even preservationists would balk at that.
Good thing it doesn't get that cold there, usually.
Actually that's way too onerous and a good seller's lawyer would get rid of it. There's virtually no brooklyn house that doesn't have some code violations. Though mine is done "to code" with BX and all, the outlet spacing certainly isn't to code.
That was in my contract too and my lawyer got rid of it. The language is too broad.
Unless you were specifying work yet to be completed, but still, language is too broad.
If you remember our story (I haven't told it in a long time), the seller put it on the market mid-renovation and sold it much the way you would buy a new house or condo under construction, including letting us pick various finishes within specified parameters. I would, of course, never buy RE this way again, but since the seller was controlling the rehab/reno of the house, we insisted on strict controls on the reno -- everything filed and to code. The price was based on the premise of a fully renovated house.
Incidentally, seller tried to take those terms out and we told him we would walk if he wouldn't agree to a code and fully filed renovation. So seller eventually accepted the terms, though it seems he planned not to actually comply with them.
What is this TV show you're all talking about? It sounds totally gay.
yeah, no doubt, ive actually been biting my tongue ALL day everytime someone keeps posting a pic or mentioning it.
Absolutely Fabulous > whatever gay ass show that is.
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The realtor, who I accuse only of the customary shading and not knowledge of the fraud, did try to woo us with an implied (i.e., no representations) fantasy that this was the original farmhouse for the area. I've disproven that through research but that is how I took my PLUSA name.
As bad as you (and millions of others) may think things are run, there are so many ways the operation of basic City government functions is vastly improved over that of just 35-40 years old, and each administration beginning with Koch and including everyone since deserves credit for some of the improvements. Some examples -- lots of functions now housed within DOT were once the bailiwick in each borough of the borough president. Another -- if you read William Nelson's history of the office of the corporation counsel there are some interesting accounts of what used to go on before Koch's first Corp. Counsel took charge. Another -- each agency that did construction had its own design people. Now City has DDC to coordinate projects, so, for example, DOT and DEP construction are better coordinated -- not perfect, but better and more professionalized than before. 311, whatever you think of it, is a vast improvement over having to figrue out who to call directly. There's always tons of room for improvement, but there has been an overarching trend toward professionalism and accessibility since the late 70s, although it is also easy to scan headlines and find missteps.
No argument from me. Remember, my dad worked for the city in the waning days of Tammany Hall and could spend hours talking about badly the city was run. I've told the story before: he was involved in a bad accident in which he was thrown 20 feet, fracturing his skull and damaging his shoulder. He was told by his union, in no uncertain terms, that unless he agreed to give them a cut, he would never receive a nickel from the City. The corruption was so rampant and out in the open that the union sent a thug to accompany my father to the bank when he cashed the settlement check, to make sure they got their cut.
sounds tempting, I must admit. ;)
Oh yes, if something is not properly constructed or affixed, a cat will surely find, reveal and report the defect. Don't ask me how I know this -- it is just a simple fact.
I'm just a little giddy because BH IS COMING HOME TONIGHT!! : D
A "centrist" like you gets your news from MSNBC?? I'm shocked.
I just like Morning Joe and Chris Matthews.
something must have been posted earlier than got the site blocked.
I get the bulk of my national news from AP and CNN, but will read stuff from just about any source when I come across it.
I don't watch much political coverage on TV either, partly because I don't get Fox News up here ;-)
A modernized Sherlock Holmes is all the rage on UK TV right now. We watched one episode of that at New Years and thought it was crap.
http://ditmasparkblog.com/food-drink/cafe-madeline-ditmas-park-coffee#disqus_thread
34 comments there is like a 1500-comment day here. Some decent snark going on as well.
God I almost barfed watching O'Reilly on Fox. Changed to CNN.
Since the middle of the 2008 campaign I've always hit the mute button as soon as he comes on anyway.
I used to agree with O'Reilly 55-60% of the time. Quite enjoyed his show , when he wasn't talking about energy or himself because I thought he was giving his own opinions rather than talking to a script. Not seen it in 2-3 years though. A couple of my Democrat relatives in PA liked his show as well.
"and I get to define what is fair, bitches"
Republicans hear Karl Marx. Democrats hear F.D.R.
Frequency of applause is more or less equal in tennis and the sotu.
I know all of the grand vision language is part of a politician's job whatever their party but I find it either meaningless or sinister, i.e. it either means nothing or a lot more govt control.
Hope you like whoever you're hanging with in texas. No question they will like you. If you need me for a reference...go ahead and drop my name.
Hi Legion. You're funny.
Where's Benson?
-Comprehensive immigration reform?
-Tax relief?
-Energy reform?
...they should let Newt Gingrich give the Republican response.
When I first moved to NYC I used to like Bill Beutel on ABC (but he retired & passed away a few years ago) and Sandra Bookman. Also liked quite a few of the Fox 5 newscasters. Never watched CBS and only rarely NBC.
Clever, but breathtakingly dishonest & hypocritical.
hello fellow night owls!
Sad thing is they'd mostly be right. Disappointed with the Republican field.
That said, this time last go around I was big on McCain and then he ran a terrible campaign & didn't go after Obama anywhere near hard enough. So what do I know....
I only saw once many years ago -- I had no idea what was going on. amazing to watch. (this was in central new york state)
Don't even get me started on that clown!
The constellation Orion was clearly visible, the belt of three stars in line,
Betelgeuse the giant star 1000X larger than our Sun at the shoulder above and to the left glowing red.
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Oops. Fail on my part, definite improvement on Kentucky's part.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/andrewkaczynski/photo-exclusive-when-george-romney-met-saul-alins
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In the tri-state, we may be able to see the northern lights Tuesday night, especially with clear skies. The lights may be most visible in the north and west suburbs
ooooh. really!? i want to see. if i went on my roof, which direction should i look?
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Checked in here occasionally but topic each time either wasn't something I had anything to say about or was something I had way too much for my own good to say about...
Willard vs. Newton
those are both awesome names. too bad they are wasted on zzzzz people.
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um, north
north as in like straight up in the sky, or north as in like cardinal direction north (as in like the north slope)?
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Newton's middle name is Leroy.
hated that shit. human beings actually are not designed for teamwork. we are not bees. we are not ants. we are not all man mommies in the park slope food co-op.
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you're going to have to explain which way is north.
no, he's not. i know how to figure out north / west / east / and south based on certain landmarks.
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gonna take a hot bubble bath. and dont ever ever ever ever ever ever ever purchase duane reade brand (well it says wallgreen brand?) on it, not actual duane reade, but anyway, bought their 5 blade razors last week, a new razor, and a pack of 5 cartridges. they suck ASS and hurt like hell!!!! should have stuck with the three blades, but i dont think it's the amount of blades, just that they are shitty.
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Which means that we all experience it differently.
In the case of a Presidential speech which you really don't want to hear,
time will take on a peculiar quality for you, which can best be described as being encased in lucite and being forced to stare at the horizon until the gradual forces of the Earth's tectonic plates form a new mountain range.
on a lighter note, that thing on my side i had treated at the derm is gone, and the thing on my face is pretty much healed up. so last weeks dermatologist dramarama wasnt for naught.
now if i can only get rid of these damn roaches. someone skanky must have moved in this building, this was never a problem like this before!!!
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And roaches... ugh. This is the first apt we've had that really has them in any serious way (eg I've seen roaches before in my life, but I see them here at least weekly) and it's totally annoying. We end up with traps all over the kitchen, and that seems to keep them mostly at bay. But my wife was kind and bought some gin, so I'm going to put down this syllabus (three down, two to go), go wash the dishes and have a martini.