Well, in keeping with the normal methods of operation on this blog, I'm about to say what happened over the last $longtime (in this case, about half a year.)
I ended up buying a house in Southbridge, MA back in October. It's a complete wreck, it looked nice from the outside but I wasn't fooled. By the time I am done it will have the original frame and foundation, and maybe one or two hardwood floors and some woodwork that was original too. I'm partially done gutting it, about 2/3 done replacing the roof, and already planning a garage, a ham shack, and a big antenna tower. This weekend looks good for roof work, so I'm going to see if I can finish the main roof... probably not but it's worth a try!
Once the roof is done, I have to replace the whole bathroom, and do something about the moisture problem in the basement. Then I need to finish gutting the kitchen, living room, dining room, and 3 bedrooms, and begin the rebuilding...
Friday, April 29, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Dear Donald Trump:
shut the fuck up.
That is all, thank you.
Can we get back to REAL political news now, like how the federal debt is going to destroy this country's ability to compete in the global economy, why ACA is a horrible idea and completely unconstitutional, and why our tax system needs overhauling badly?
That is all, thank you.
Can we get back to REAL political news now, like how the federal debt is going to destroy this country's ability to compete in the global economy, why ACA is a horrible idea and completely unconstitutional, and why our tax system needs overhauling badly?
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Real Estate Shenanigans
Well, it looks like I might end up buying in Fitchburg after all... we shall see.
Long story short, the house I spent 6 months trying to buy as a BoA short sale (if you see short sale mentioned, WALK AWAY) for $55k went into foreclosure after I walked away from it, sick and tired of their paperwork, foot-dragging, and outright bullshit.
Guess the new asking price, now that it's been foreclosed and had its value re-assessed?
$34k.
Yep, they won that one... congratulations Bank of America shareholders, this is how your company makes money! By frustrating prospective buyers so much they walk away after offering way, way more than a property is worth.
Oh, the best part is that the owners still had $127k left on their mortgage.
Yep... good job BoA.
Anyways, I'm putting another offer on it, after checking to make sure the title isn't FUBAR of course.
AFTER closing, I fully intend to tell them (if they don't notice) that I'm the same guy from before and they probably should have maybe looked at my paperwork and actually sold me the house instead of wasting my time and taking less of my money.
Long story short, the house I spent 6 months trying to buy as a BoA short sale (if you see short sale mentioned, WALK AWAY) for $55k went into foreclosure after I walked away from it, sick and tired of their paperwork, foot-dragging, and outright bullshit.
Guess the new asking price, now that it's been foreclosed and had its value re-assessed?
$34k.
Yep, they won that one... congratulations Bank of America shareholders, this is how your company makes money! By frustrating prospective buyers so much they walk away after offering way, way more than a property is worth.
Oh, the best part is that the owners still had $127k left on their mortgage.
Yep... good job BoA.
Anyways, I'm putting another offer on it, after checking to make sure the title isn't FUBAR of course.
AFTER closing, I fully intend to tell them (if they don't notice) that I'm the same guy from before and they probably should have maybe looked at my paperwork and actually sold me the house instead of wasting my time and taking less of my money.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Let the celebrations begin...
... for the Supreme Court has upheld the Second Amendment!
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703964104575334701513109426.html
Maybe I'll actually attempt to get my license now. I live in Worcester, one of the worst cities in Massachusetts to attempt to get FID/LTC in, so I simply hadn't bothered before. Then I can add another wallet-draining hobby to the list!
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703964104575334701513109426.html
Maybe I'll actually attempt to get my license now. I live in Worcester, one of the worst cities in Massachusetts to attempt to get FID/LTC in, so I simply hadn't bothered before. Then I can add another wallet-draining hobby to the list!
Friday, June 25, 2010
Some people...
... So apparently enough people actually voted for this lady that she won. Yet it seems she, well, doesn't know that Arizona shares a border with Mexico. Yeah, you read that right.
I am shocked and appalled by the results of our educational system...
UPDATE - the video no longer works. Apparently Miss Ignorant decided to put in a copyright claim so she wasn't on the internet looking stupid anymore!
I am shocked and appalled by the results of our educational system...
UPDATE - the video no longer works. Apparently Miss Ignorant decided to put in a copyright claim so she wasn't on the internet looking stupid anymore!
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Faisal Shahzad: 0 USA: 1
... is it just me, or is this guy the most inept terrorist of all time*? I can't think of a single step he didn't bungle. He gave out real information when signing up for the prepaid cellphone. He bought the vehicle on craigslist (using the prepaid cellphone for contact), then failed to remove all identification from it (though he attempted to, he missed some.) He did a truly terrible job of building the bombs. Heck, he claims he lit the fuse - what idiot builds a car bomb with a fuse? He stayed in the area of the bomb attempt too long, and took too long to leave the country.
It's almost like he wanted it to fail, and wanted to be caught.
Regarding the bomb - what a screwup, from the pictures and diagrams it looked like he just threw everything in the car and hoped that would cause an explosion, it reminded me of Johnny 5's cooking in Short Circuit. Any engineer, or any moderately intelligent tinkerer could build a better one. I am glad that engineers, tinkerers, and intelligent people seem to not be interested in terrorism, because we'd be screwed if they were.
The most ridiculous part? He claimed to be a holy warrior, but then as soon as he was caught he rolled and told the interrogators everything, including giving up others who helped him. He probably damaged the terrorists more than he helped them - a good thing in my book, but I'm wondering why exactly he did it while claiming to be on their side. None of his decisions or actions really make sense at all, unless he wanted to fail and be caught or is some sort of diversion.
* except, possibly, the ones who set the timer wrong on their car bomb (daylight savings time, doh!) and had it explode while they were an hour from their target, killing only themselves. These guys really win the prize... literally. They got a Darwin Award for it.
It's almost like he wanted it to fail, and wanted to be caught.
Regarding the bomb - what a screwup, from the pictures and diagrams it looked like he just threw everything in the car and hoped that would cause an explosion, it reminded me of Johnny 5's cooking in Short Circuit. Any engineer, or any moderately intelligent tinkerer could build a better one. I am glad that engineers, tinkerers, and intelligent people seem to not be interested in terrorism, because we'd be screwed if they were.
The most ridiculous part? He claimed to be a holy warrior, but then as soon as he was caught he rolled and told the interrogators everything, including giving up others who helped him. He probably damaged the terrorists more than he helped them - a good thing in my book, but I'm wondering why exactly he did it while claiming to be on their side. None of his decisions or actions really make sense at all, unless he wanted to fail and be caught or is some sort of diversion.
* except, possibly, the ones who set the timer wrong on their car bomb (daylight savings time, doh!) and had it explode while they were an hour from their target, killing only themselves. These guys really win the prize... literally. They got a Darwin Award for it.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Dye laser built with parts from Home Depot, eBay, Electronics Goldmine, and... Staples?!
This man is my new hero - http://www.jossresearch.org/tjiirrs/015a.html
Yes, that is a working organic dye laser built using mostly non-specialized components. The most expensive things I see in his design are parts of the power supply (HV electronics components, this is where eBay is the best), the laser cavity tube itself (fused silicate glass, not in the plumbing aisle at Home Depot), the xenon arc lamp (Electronics Goldmine), and the mirrors.
Where does Staples come into this whole thing? The dye used - on the third page he tries it out with dye extracted from a Sharpie highlighter. It worked.
Yes, that is a working organic dye laser built using mostly non-specialized components. The most expensive things I see in his design are parts of the power supply (HV electronics components, this is where eBay is the best), the laser cavity tube itself (fused silicate glass, not in the plumbing aisle at Home Depot), the xenon arc lamp (Electronics Goldmine), and the mirrors.
Where does Staples come into this whole thing? The dye used - on the third page he tries it out with dye extracted from a Sharpie highlighter. It worked.
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