From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 1 12:38:47 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Mon Feb 1 12:40:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Primitive Banking In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D1268D1B4EA7ThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > It wasn't me! It was "bar0" ! > >> Ever tried to send Money to Bank in Canada for a reasonable fee from >> the US? > > I send money from the EU to the US on a regular basis. I withdraw here > with a debit card. There are some charges, of course, but they're not the > end of the world. Certainly not $70! Not even $20, really. My point, From the US is a royal pain and expensive. From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 1 12:42:54 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Mon Feb 1 12:45:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Almost under contract In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D1279EAFBDCEThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > Yeah. Well. Um. I know that I'm still messed up and you're not supposed > to make decisions and whatnot. But. Um. We've agreed on a price and > will > be under contract later in the day. It's an amazingly cool house. Oh! > Oh! Oh! Oh! Man, I thought you folks were done with that. I guess I wasn't following the threads closely enough. Cool house? New York? February? You sure about this? Insulation and a furnace are nice things to have. From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 1 13:15:47 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Mon Feb 1 13:20:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Almost under contract In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "bar0" wrote in message news:hk73qu$896$1@news.spamcop.net... > > Cool house? New York? February? You sure about this? Insulation and a > furnace are nice things to have. Actually, Jan-Feb is the best time of year to buy a house, prices are typically the lowest during those months. From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 1 13:24:34 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Mon Feb 1 13:25:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Primitive Banking In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D1287B8591FAThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > It wasn't me! It was "bar0" ! > >> My point, From the US is a royal pain and expensive. > > I dunno... I've used my debit cards overseas and not really had any > problems. Heck, the only problem I had was with my French card that > wouldn't let me take out 100E! Pissed me off so I took out 200 with my > 'merican card! They did charge fees but they were small - it's going > through Visa. Using a Debit card hasn't been a problem for me either, but that's even more expensive than high wire transfer fees. Or can you fly to France (and back) for under $70.00? From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 1 15:34:28 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Mon Feb 1 15:35:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: I was breathing gasoline In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D127A70847ECsylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > "Indigo" wrote in > news:hjq4qp$qq5$1@news.spamcop.net: > > hen we can maybe do it. >> >> You mean you can only put an iTune on one player, and ONLY one player? >> What a ripoff! I'd be searching the darker areas of the web for some >> DRM stripping software if that was the case. > > I find that very very hard to believe. If true, it's yet another reason > why > I won't use itunes! It's pretty much true for stuff bought from ITunes From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 1 15:37:10 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Mon Feb 1 15:40:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Primitive Banking In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D127DF3F555sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > "bar0" wrote in news:hk73jb$88k$1@news.spamcop.net: > >> My point, From the US is a royal pain and expensive. >> >> > > Have you gone to Canada and used an American ATM card there and incurred > large fees? Not overly large. but if I had to go to Canada to replenish my account I could just as well bring cash or a cashiers cheque with me. From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 1 17:47:47 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Mon Feb 1 17:50:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Curses to you, Heidi! In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D127C6F2A8Esylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > "Indigo" wrote in > news:hk24b6$hcb$1@news.spamcop.net: > >> And I'm typing right now with gloves on my hands, I forgot to look at >> the thermometer before going out to shovel and wore a pair of >> too-light (waterproof) snow gloves, came damn close to getting >> frostbite on my fingers....Doh! It's only 17 outside, no wonder! >> > > Soak them in warm water (in the future), nothing heats your extremities up > better than that. I did....the pain was terrible, even lukewarm water felt like it was scalding me! Couldn't hack it, so I put on latex lined gardening gloves instead. Five minutes later my fingers were fine, sweaty even! I absolutely hate to have to wear latex gloves -- used to have to wear them at work when I was assembling hardware in a clean room, and I wear them when I'm staining furniture and such -- they trap ALL the moisture that comes out of you as your skin "breathes", turning my hands into sodden prunes in less than half an hour. But that's why they are so good at warming up freezing fingers ;-) From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 1 17:49:28 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Mon Feb 1 17:50:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: I was breathing gasoline In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "bar0" wrote in message news:hk7dsk$brm$1@news.spamcop.net... >>> >>> You mean you can only put an iTune on one player, and ONLY one player? >>> What a ripoff! I'd be searching the darker areas of the web for some >>> DRM stripping software if that was the case. >> >> I find that very very hard to believe. If true, it's yet another reason >> why >> I won't use itunes! > > It's pretty much true for stuff bought from ITunes > That is INCREDIBLY lame and greedy! How can people with multiple ITune players afford it?!? Get their music elsewhere, I guess...... From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 1 17:54:25 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Mon Feb 1 17:55:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: I was breathing gasoline In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hk7lpo$ef2$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "bar0" wrote in message > news:hk7dsk$brm$1@news.spamcop.net... >>>> >>>> You mean you can only put an iTune on one player, and ONLY one player? >>>> What a ripoff! I'd be searching the darker areas of the web for some >>>> DRM stripping software if that was the case. >>> >>> I find that very very hard to believe. If true, it's yet another reason >>> why >>> I won't use itunes! >> >> It's pretty much true for stuff bought from ITunes >> > > That is INCREDIBLY lame and greedy! How can people with multiple ITune > players afford it?!? Get their music elsewhere, I guess...... And guess how they feel if their I-pod breaks (usually the glass goes). From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 1 17:58:39 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Mon Feb 1 18:00:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: I was breathing gasoline In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "bar0" wrote in message news:hk7m31$ek6$1@news.spamcop.net... >> That is INCREDIBLY lame and greedy! How can people with multiple ITune >> players afford it?!? Get their music elsewhere, I guess...... > > And guess how they feel if their I-pod breaks (usually the glass goes). Well, like I said ealier in the thread I'd be re-ripping those ITunes and removing the DRM rights in the process, it's easy to do if you still have the rights to the music. Much, much harder if you wait until after your rights end (like you terminate your music purchasing account). Or so I've heard :-) From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 1 19:33:20 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Heidi) Date: Mon Feb 1 19:35:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Almost under contract References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D129D8121245ThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > It wasn't me! It was Sylvesterthekat ! > >> It already exists, i presume! > > Uh, well, yeah. If you send me an email I can send you a link. If you > send me your address I'll send you a xmas card, eh? Hey, I sent you one - did you get it? From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 1 19:38:57 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Heidi) Date: Mon Feb 1 19:40:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: interesting article References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D12A15E7B870sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8474611.stm >> > Political scientist Dr David Runciman looks at why there is often such > deep > opposition to reforms that appear to be of obvious benefit to voters...." > > Listen to the 15 minute broadcast. One idiot likened Obama's healthcare > plan to Hitler's activities! > > http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b00qgyfc One of my relatives, a staunchly right wing person (read 'inflammatory and ignorant') keeps sending me emails, all forwarded crap, most of it disproved by Snopes. I finally snapped when he sent me the '26 lies about healthcare reform' or something, and all of the crap was completely wrong, taken out of context, or deliberately misinterpreted. I replied with a link to Factcheck.org, and challenged him to go through it line by line and actually READ what the actual text says. He replied "Thanks for the info, I suspected some of it might be wrong or inaccurate". THEN WTF DID YOU FORWARD IT FOR??? From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 1 19:44:21 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Heidi) Date: Mon Feb 1 19:45:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Almost under contract References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D12883DB6F91ThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > It wasn't me! It was "Indigo" ! > >> Actually, Jan-Feb is the best time of year to buy a house, prices are >> typically the lowest during those months. > > This is a red-hot market - good houses stay up for a few days at most, > regardless of price. It's scary. We have the lowest unemployment in the > state... The only things moving around here are under 350 or so, cute little bungalow I would have liked (but I'm not ready to buy) was under contract in about 2 weeks, I'm waiting to see how much it sells under the list price of 229. That's for about .33 acres and under 900 sf, by the way. Still, very cute.....I just can't afford it. My place (the Rents are trying to sell to buy into assisted living) hasn't had a looker since November, and nothing serious at all. He's got a ridiculous price tag on it, it's not worth what he needs to get because it's been so poorly maintained over the years. Methinks I might be here for longer than I think, or till I find something I can afford.... I hope so, at least. From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 1 19:58:20 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Heidi) Date: Mon Feb 1 20:00:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: interesting article References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D12AAF9D2E07sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > > lol, because he's as you described in your first sentence. which relative > was this? He is my "cousin", sort of, my father's cousin. They came to my mom's funeral so we kept in touch after. Honest to doG, it's disappointing that ignorance is just so easy, he's be apoplectic if I told him I was a registered Democrat....the only one in my family, LOL. From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 1 19:59:08 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Heidi) Date: Mon Feb 1 20:00:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Almost under contract References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D12CA6B3E369ThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > No way it was me! It was "Heidi" ! > >> Hey, I sent you one - did you get it? > > _I_ sent _you_ one. Did _you_ get it??? But, yes, I got yours! Thanks > :) I did, didn't I mention it? It had two cute little chillens on it and a nice photo. I sure hope they were yours and not rented or something. From dfmanno at mail.com Mon Feb 1 20:14:14 2010 From: dfmanno at mail.com (D.F. Manno) Date: Mon Feb 1 20:15:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: interesting article References: Message-ID: In article , Sylvesterthekat wrote: > "The Republicans' shock victory in the election for the US Senate seat in > Massachusetts meant the Democrats lost their supermajority in the Senate. They never really _had_ a supermajority. Traitor Joe Lieberman was never a reliable 60th vote. -- D.F. Manno | dfmanno@mail.com The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt. (Bertrand Russell) From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 1 20:47:02 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Mon Feb 1 20:50:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Almost under contract In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D12CA6B3E369ThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > No way it was me! It was "Heidi" ! > >> Hey, I sent you one - did you get it? > > _I_ sent _you_ one. Did _you_ get it??? But, yes, I got yours! Thanks > :) Awww....ain't that just cute? I don't even send Xmas cards to my family, let alone "strangers" on the 'net! Or perhaps you two have been surreptiously meeting IRL........do tell! From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 1 20:51:06 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Mon Feb 1 20:55:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Almost under contract In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Heidi" wrote in message news:hk7sh7$gqc$1@news.spamcop.net... > The only things moving around here are under 350 or so, cute little > bungalow I would have liked (but I'm not ready to buy) was under contract > in about 2 weeks, I'm waiting to see how much it sells under the list > price of 229. That's for about .33 acres and under 900 sf, by the way. You gotta be shitting me! 900 sq ft?!?! Most of the apartments I lived in before I bought my house were that small!! (or big, depending on how you look at it). Course that 1/3 acre is likely responsible for I'd guess 70% of the total cost.....from recent appraisals (tax re-assesments) I know my land is worth more than my house. Hard to believe, but true. From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 1 20:51:29 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Heidi) Date: Mon Feb 1 20:55:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: basho References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D12CDBDC3BD9ThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > When the winter chrysanthemums go, > there's nothing to write about > but radishes "The temple bell stops but I still hear the sound coming out of the flowers." From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 1 20:53:28 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Mon Feb 1 20:55:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: I was breathing gasoline In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D12A191AED1Esylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > "Indigo" wrote in > news:hk7lpo$ef2$1@news.spamcop.net: > >> That is INCREDIBLY lame and greedy! How can people with multiple ITune >> players afford it?!? Get their music elsewhere, I guess...... >> >> > > Quite so, you can download most songs off Amazon with no DRM. Guess what I was trying to say was isn't Apple shooting themselves in the foot with such a draconian DRM policy? Imagine how much more revenue they could make if they allowed you to put your ITunes on just one additional device! From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 1 20:54:14 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Mon Feb 1 20:55:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: I was breathing gasoline In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "David Dean" wrote in message news:v8ltfuv02-D8B14B.16333101022010@killface.local... > In article , > "Indigo" wrote: > >> That is INCREDIBLY lame and greedy! How can people with multiple ITune >> players afford it?!? Get their music elsewhere, I guess...... > > It's not true. You can have five PCs authorized, and an unlimited > number of devices (iPod, iPhone, apple TV, iPad) as long as they sync > with one of those authorized PCs. Ok, thanks for clearing THAT up.....didn't make sense to me, business-wise.... From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 1 20:56:40 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Heidi) Date: Mon Feb 1 21:00:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Almost under contract References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hk80e9$i2b$1@news.spamcop.net... > > You gotta be shitting me! 900 sq ft?!?! Most of the apartments I lived in > before I bought my house were that small!! (or big, depending on how you > look at it). > > Course that 1/3 acre is likely responsible for I'd guess 70% of the total > cost.....from recent appraisals (tax re-assesments) I know my land is > worth more than my house. Hard to believe, but true. Actually it's .44 acres, so that's probably the value, but Jesus H, look at the taxes! http://www.nneren.com/view2.php?id=2810372&ref=q&price=$229,900.00&t=&fcla=1 From user at domain.invalid Mon Feb 1 20:59:08 2010 From: user at domain.invalid (Farelf) Date: Mon Feb 1 21:00:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: basho In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Charles wrote: > When the winter chrysanthemums go, > there's nothing to write about > but radishes Radishes have their uses http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/1958/gusto.jpg From user at domain.invalid Mon Feb 1 21:33:56 2010 From: user at domain.invalid (Farelf) Date: Mon Feb 1 21:35:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: basho In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Charles wrote: > No way it was me! It was Farelf! > >> Radishes have their uses >> > > I liked Heidi's bit. Yours leaves me dumbfounded. 1. So did I. 2. Mileages vary. From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 1 21:51:10 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Heidi) Date: Mon Feb 1 21:55:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: basho References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D12D85852FA2ThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > No way it was me! It was Farelf ! > >> Radishes have their uses >> > > I liked Heidi's bit. Yours leaves me dumbfounded. I made a card with that verse, and a photo of my purple Cobea bell flowers on the front. Quite nice. Don't have pictures of radishes, I don't think anyone writes verse about them either..... From user at domain.invalid Mon Feb 1 22:47:12 2010 From: user at domain.invalid (Farelf) Date: Mon Feb 1 22:50:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: basho In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Heidi wrote: > > I made a card with that verse, and a photo of my purple Cobea bell flowers > on the front. Quite nice. Don't have pictures of radishes, I don't think > anyone writes verse about them either..... > Oh there must be radish poems. But perhaps none extolling their beauty. Ah, there are. But ignore Catullus - that is so *crude*. From nobody at spamcop.net Tue Feb 2 10:25:51 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Tue Feb 2 10:30:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: interesting article In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Heidi" wrote in message news:hk7s72$gle$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message > news:Xns9D12A15E7B870sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... >> http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8474611.stm >>> >> Political scientist Dr David Runciman looks at why there is often such >> deep >> opposition to reforms that appear to be of obvious benefit to voters...." >> >> Listen to the 15 minute broadcast. One idiot likened Obama's healthcare >> plan to Hitler's activities! >> >> http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b00qgyfc > > One of my relatives, a staunchly right wing person (read 'inflammatory and > ignorant') keeps sending me emails, all forwarded crap, most of it > disproved by Snopes. I finally snapped when he sent me the '26 lies about > healthcare reform' or something, and all of the crap was completely wrong, > taken out of context, or deliberately misinterpreted. I replied with a > link to Factcheck.org, and challenged him to go through it line by line > and actually READ what the actual text says. He replied "Thanks for the > info, I suspected some of it might be wrong or inaccurate". THEN WTF DID > YOU FORWARD IT FOR??? S/he was on a mission and those statements supported that mission. Surely you knew that already. From nobody at spamcop.net Tue Feb 2 10:38:02 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Tue Feb 2 10:40:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: interesting article In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "D.F. Manno" wrote in message news:dfmanno-3945B2.20141401022010@news.cesmail.net... > In article , > Sylvesterthekat wrote: > >> "The Republicans' shock victory in the election for the US Senate seat in >> Massachusetts meant the Democrats lost their supermajority in the Senate. > > They never really _had_ a supermajority. Traitor Joe Lieberman was never > a reliable 60th vote. It's not just that, but enough Dems, also figured they could bargain over pork and advantage amongst themselves. I'd love to see a comparison of Lester Pearsons "Universal Health Care" bill and any of the versions of the bills, proposed or as debated under the Clintons or Obama in congress. I rather doubt the former weighed in at 2,000 + pages. How much of that is for obfuscation of content, or pork, or bribery of special constituencies? Of course Authors of 2,000 + page bills keep forgetting that it makes it really easy to spread lies about the content also. Checking gets to be very hard. But then so many get away with special treatments in the budget process, maybe they figure it'll work for health care. The truth of the matter is that the real philosophical opponents (as opposed to those successfully milking the current system) look at universal health care as something akin to feeding feral pets. They have different goals., and will try to enlist as many as they can into their cause without stating their true agenda. From nobody at spamcop.net Tue Feb 2 12:57:54 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Tue Feb 2 13:00:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: it feels like going crazy In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D13809878E0EThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > The good thing is that it _isn't_ going crazy! I'm not seeing things or > whatever. How can you be sure? From me at privacy.net Tue Feb 2 16:24:30 2010 From: me at privacy.net (Frog Prince) Date: Tue Feb 2 16:40:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: it feels like going crazy References: Message-ID: "bar0" wrote in message news:hk9p33$5e4$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "Charles" wrote in message > news:Xns9D13809878E0EThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... >> The good thing is that it _isn't_ going crazy! I'm not seeing things or >> whatever. > > How can you be sure? The key is NOT TO CARE one way or the other. (Works for me) From me at privacy.net Tue Feb 2 16:31:52 2010 From: me at privacy.net (Frog Prince) Date: Tue Feb 2 16:40:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: I was breathing gasoline References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hk80k6$i70$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "David Dean" wrote in message > news:v8ltfuv02-D8B14B.16333101022010@killface.local... >> In article , >> "Indigo" wrote: >> >>> That is INCREDIBLY lame and greedy! How can people with multiple ITune >>> players afford it?!? Get their music elsewhere, I guess...... >> >> It's not true. You can have five PCs authorized, and an unlimited >> number of devices (iPod, iPhone, apple TV, iPad) as long as they sync >> with one of those authorized PCs. > > Ok, thanks for clearing THAT up.....didn't make sense to me, > business-wise.... Then there is the inconvenient truth about 'first sale rights' under copyright. From nobody at spamcop.net Tue Feb 2 20:22:45 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Tue Feb 2 20:25:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Almost under contract In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Heidi" wrote in message news:hk80oq$i7c$1@news.spamcop.net... > Actually it's .44 acres, so that's probably the value, but Jesus H, look > at the taxes! > http://www.nneren.com/view2.php?id=2810372&ref=q&price=$229,900.00&t=&fcla=1 > Jesus H! That's more taxes than I pay for my house/year, and my tax assessment value is quite a bit higher than that.....although I'm not paying the full amount of taxes because of yearly tax caps....even though my property value fell by a huge amount in the last 3 year round of new assessments, my taxes keep going up every year because I've never "caught up" to the real tax level because of the caps. If I sold, the new owner would have to pay the "real" taxes right off the bat, much higher than what your little bungalow costs/yr. BTW, something strange in that ad you posted. It says "840 sq ft above ground", and a blank number for space in the basement, but it says it has an unfinished basement with an office? IIRC, some real estate brokers say that basements are not included in the typical valuation of a house and don't count as extra sq. ft of space. I've been in countless arguments with different folks over the years on that one, but my ex-MIL was a real estate agent and she specifically said "basements do not count". So according to that theory, the $30k my neighbor spent finishing his basement (same rancher design as mine) has added no value to the market price of his house. He argues differently, of course....says his real estate agent told him it does count.....I think the debate may center on whether the basement has an outdoor entrance or not? From nobody at spamcop.net Tue Feb 2 20:26:32 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Tue Feb 2 20:30:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Almost under contract In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D12D88D431BFThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > No way it was me! It was "Indigo" ! > >> Or perhaps you two have been surreptiously >> meeting IRL........do tell! > > Well I tried to meet you but, alas, you were having a bad week. I > _TOTALLY_ understand, now, dude. But, hey, you didn't send me your > address, either. I still have 100 xmas cards (they sent me double what I > ordered) and I'm not exactly sure what to do with them, eh? Yeah, I remember you passing thru BWI briefly a few years ago.....it's too bad that you now know how bad "having a bad day" is _really_ like......but like I said, I don't "do" Xmas cards except for an S.O., if I have one at the time....I have a pile of them myself I've collected over the years. From nobody at spamcop.net Tue Feb 2 20:27:37 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Tue Feb 2 20:30:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: I was breathing gasoline In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "David Dean" wrote in message news:v8ltfuv02-E13CE6.13274202022010@killface.local... > > One more thing that I forgot to mention: iTunes no longer has DRM on > the music you buy. > -- Really? Now that's a strange turn of events! From nobody at spamcop.net Tue Feb 2 20:29:47 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Tue Feb 2 20:30:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Almost under contract References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hkaj55$eap$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "Heidi" wrote in message > news:hk80oq$i7c$1@news.spamcop.net... >> Actually it's .44 acres, so that's probably the value, but Jesus H, look >> at the taxes! >> http://www.nneren.com/view2.php?id=2810372&ref=q&price=$229,900.00&t=&fcla=1 >> > Jesus H! That's more taxes than I pay for my house/year, and my tax > assessment value is quite a bit higher than that.....although I'm not > paying the full amount of taxes because of yearly tax caps....even though > my property value fell by a huge amount in the last 3 year round of new > assessments, my taxes keep going up every year because I've never "caught > up" to the real tax level because of the caps. If I sold, the new owner > would have to pay the "real" taxes right off the bat, much higher than > what your little bungalow costs/yr. > > BTW, something strange in that ad you posted. It says "840 sq ft above > ground", and a blank number for space in the basement, but it says it has > an unfinished basement with an office? IIRC, some real estate brokers say > that basements are not included in the typical valuation of a house and > don't count as extra sq. ft of space. > > I've been in countless arguments with different folks over the years on > that one, but my ex-MIL was a real estate agent and she specifically said > "basements do not count". So according to that theory, the $30k my > neighbor spent finishing his basement (same rancher design as mine) has > added no value to the market price of his house. He argues differently, of > course....says his real estate agent told him it does count.....I think > the debate may center on whether the basement has an outdoor entrance or > not? It may depend on the rules used to asses tax value which may or may not have much to do with market value. Basement development if done reasonably well usually adds to the sale value of a house. of course a crap basement development can take away value, just more junk to remove so you can get at the proper job.. From nobody at spamcop.net Tue Feb 2 20:36:27 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Tue Feb 2 20:40:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: it feels like going crazy In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Frog Prince" wrote in message news:hka5s6$9qv$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "bar0" wrote in message > news:hk9p33$5e4$1@news.spamcop.net... >> >> "Charles" wrote in message >> news:Xns9D13809878E0EThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... >>> The good thing is that it _isn't_ going crazy! I'm not seeing things or >>> whatever. >> >> How can you be sure? > > The key is NOT TO CARE one way or the other. (Works for me) Hmmm....how exactly does one do that? My twin sis (the one with MS) has strange experiences all of the time, and it's driving her to the brink of insanity.....now she's absolutely paranoid and suspicious of anything and everything. But in her case, she can't just ignore everything, the cops actually caught an intruder stalking around her house once (her helper dog kept alerting but she could never see anyone outside, so she asked the cops to do more frequent drive-bys). It's created quite a quandry in the family.....whether what she claims to see and hear are real or not....nobody really knows since she's alone in the house during the day while her hubby is at work, and of course nothing weird happens when he's there. From nobody at spamcop.net Tue Feb 2 20:43:59 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Tue Feb 2 20:45:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Almost under contract In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "bar0" wrote in message news:hkajic$eg2$1@news.spamcop.net... > It may depend on the rules used to asses tax value which may or may not > have much to do with market value. Basement development if done reasonably > well usually adds to the sale value of a house. of course a crap basement > development can take away value, just more junk to remove so you can get > at the proper job.. I dunno.....she was quite emphatic that no "below ground improvements" would be considered in valuating a house's market value, real estate wise. And it likely doesn't count for tax assessments because they only look for improvements outside of the house.....although I guess in theory they could check with the county for the various permits required to install new wiring and such.....in my county only a qualified electrician is allowed to do something as simple as add a new outlet! A stupid rule I've blatantly violated because it's totally ridiculous....but if push came to shove I could always yank out all the extra breakers and wiring I've done in the house since everything is easily accessable, 95% of the new wiring is in my unfinished basement, mostly to provide power for my workshop. From dfmanno at mail.com Tue Feb 2 22:19:31 2010 From: dfmanno at mail.com (D.F. Manno) Date: Tue Feb 2 22:20:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: interesting article References: Message-ID: In article , "bar0" wrote: > I'd love to see a comparison of Lester Pearsons "Universal Health Care" bill > and any of the versions of the bills, proposed or as debated under the > Clintons or Obama in congress. I rather doubt the former weighed in at 2,000 > + pages. How much of that is for obfuscation of content, or pork, or bribery > of special constituencies? > > Of course Authors of 2,000 + page bills keep forgetting that it makes it > really easy to spread lies about the content also. Complaints about the length of the health-care bill are bullshit. For one thing, the pages are double-spaced and have very wide margins. (See for yourself: ) It would take you longer to read the last book in the Harry Potter series. A health-care program affecting everyone in the country is not something that can be covered in three pages, regardless of what the Republican Party thinks. As for sneaking things into the bill, you had staff in every congressional office, every think tank, every insurance company and every health-care related company, as well as faculty at every university and reporters at many media outlets, reading every word of the bill. The chances of something being slipped in without eventually being noticed were nil. That we know about the Cornhusker Kickback is proof. Finally, the bill does not stand alone. It amends or repeals swaths of existing law, and every change has to be done in proper legal form or it will be challenged in court. It can take a page or two just to change a single word in a law. -- D.F. Manno | dfmanno@mail.com The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt. (Bertrand Russell) From to5bwy502 at sneakemail.com Wed Feb 3 14:20:35 2010 From: to5bwy502 at sneakemail.com (Charles) Date: Wed Feb 3 14:25:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: My back References: Message-ID: <1578409674286917338.932344to5bwy502-sneakemail.com@news.spamcop.net> Charles wrote: > No way it was me! It was Sylvesterthekat ! > > > i'm guessing he's singing along again > > Indeed. I was probably sinking under the lead weight of failure. > So. Did this work? From dfmanno at mail.com Wed Feb 3 20:03:56 2010 From: dfmanno at mail.com (D.F. Manno) Date: Wed Feb 3 20:05:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: interesting article References: Message-ID: In article , Sylvesterthekat wrote: > D.F. Manno wrote: > > > They never really _had_ a supermajority. Traitor Joe Lieberman was > > never a reliable 60th vote. > > Don't know why they were even counting him It facilitates the narrative that the Democrats can't get anything done in Congress, and absolves the GOP of obstructionist charges. > he's not even a Dem any more is he? In name only. -- D.F. Manno | dfmanno@mail.com The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt. (Bertrand Russell) From nobody at spamcop.net Thu Feb 4 06:07:30 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Heidi) Date: Thu Feb 4 06:10:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Almost under contract References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D14D71537841ThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > > Well, you're lucky. My taxes will be around $900/mo. And my house isn't > huge or really expensive or whatever. It's crazy. That's in addition to the mortgage? Holy moly...... From MikeE at ster.invalid Thu Feb 4 11:15:17 2010 From: MikeE at ster.invalid (Mike Easter) Date: Thu Feb 4 11:20:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Let me tell you about my night In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Charles wrote: I'll drop in later after others have gotten something whatever out of chas -- Mike Easter From MikeE at ster.invalid Thu Feb 4 12:12:15 2010 From: MikeE at ster.invalid (Mike Easter) Date: Thu Feb 4 12:15:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Let me tell you about my night In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Charles wrote: > I meant to say that my complication had a complication. Go here ... http://www.anxietypanicattack.com/questionnaires.html Questionnaires ... and pick one or more questionnaires; no, wait a minute, do all 6 of them... re panic attack, generalized anxiety, social anxiety/phobia, PTSD, OCD, depression ... and bring back your scores on all of the tests. Or not :-) -- Mike Easter From MikeE at ster.invalid Thu Feb 4 12:33:09 2010 From: MikeE at ster.invalid (Mike Easter) Date: Thu Feb 4 12:35:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Let me tell you about my night In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Mike Easter wrote: > Charles wrote: >> I meant to say that my complication had a complication. > > Go here ... > ... and bring back your scores on all of the tests. ... and then *if* you are high on the panic score and *low* on everything else, go here http://anxieties.com/panic.php Anxiety Disorders Treatment Center in Chapel Hill and Durham -- The Largest FREE anxiety self-help site on the Internet ... and see if the pages in section 6 on managing panic sound useful, especially the Use Paradox sections on... The balance of power Giving up the struggle Inviting the symptoms -- Mike Easter From MikeE at ster.invalid Thu Feb 4 12:34:43 2010 From: MikeE at ster.invalid (Mike Easter) Date: Thu Feb 4 12:35:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Let me tell you about my night In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Charles wrote: > Time to change meds, eh? There is no magic pill. -- Mike Easter From nobody at spamcop.net Thu Feb 4 21:54:26 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Thu Feb 4 21:55:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Primitive Banking The RIPOFF References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D127DB47B8A3sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > Charles wrote in > news:Xns9D1268D1B4EA7ThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61: > >> It wasn't me! It was "bar0" ! >> >>> Ever tried to send Money to Bank in Canada for a reasonable fee from >>> the US? >> >> I send money from the EU to the US on a regular basis. I withdraw >> here with a debit card. There are some charges, of course, but >> they're not the end of the world. Certainly not $70! Not even $20, >> really. >> > > That's what I do when I go to the UK, I just use my ATM card and take > money > out when I'm there, typicall a $2 fee. > > Of course, unless he had someone he could trust to hold the card at the > other end, that might be a bit sticky. Although he could simply fund the > account at this end when something had to be withdrawn so no trust would > be > needed I guess. OK, heres the deal I logon to some_USA_Bank dot com and set up a wire transfer in $CDN say $X.00 CDN 1)US Bank does the exchange and it works out to $Y.zz US ( a few pennies less and I'm sure there are fees and profit built into that transaction) 2)US Bank charges me $40.00 US (A ripoff, but I'm expecting this charge) so my account at chase is down $Y.zz + $40.00 Now I look at my Canadian Bank statement for the next day: 3)Canadian Bank receives a Deposit of $X.00 - $15.00 CDN <--- Eh? 4)Canadian Bank charges me a handling fee of $14.00CDN to receive this money (again a ripoff, but I'm also expecting this) So Where TF did that missing $15.00 (line 3) go? customs duties? there's no duty on cash. $69.00 to wire some money to Canada, a transaction that is probably $68.99 profit to all but me. And the fees don't change with amount. If you need to rush $20.00 to Canada It's gonna cost you $89 in all. From avoozl at spamcop.net Thu Feb 4 22:25:19 2010 From: avoozl at spamcop.net (Chris Willoughby) Date: Thu Feb 4 22:30:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Curses to you, Heidi! References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hk2rk0$pbv$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "Chris Willoughby" wrote in message > news:hk2m80$nhv$1@news.spamcop.net... >> >> How's your hot water plumbling these days? >> > > My "plumbling", LOL? How much have you drunk tonite, sir? In any case, all > is well with my appliances. In fact, I'm fascinated by how efficient my > new dryer is.....it drys my laundry in less than half the time it used to > take my old dryer. The only difference I can see in the design is that the > "air holes" for the old dryer were drilled circumferentially around the > drum, meaning that the tumbling laundry could possibly plug up the air > holes. My new dryer has air holes in the center (back) of the drum, which > means that the laundry can't cover them up. That's the only reason I can > think of for the vastly improved performance. My only complaint with the > new W/D set is that they're so damn quiet I don't know when their done! > (the electronic beep noise saying they're finished is too faint to be > heard upstairs, as opposed to the old analog buzzers my original set had) Sorry, that wasn't meant to be innuendo by any means... I just remember not that long ago you were going on in here about your hot water tank issues. :) From avoozl at spamcop.net Thu Feb 4 22:33:08 2010 From: avoozl at spamcop.net (Chris Willoughby) Date: Thu Feb 4 22:35:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Almost under contract References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D12CBB8D19C1ThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > Oh, you probably mentioned it or something. I have a fairly bad memory in > general and on drugs, well, it's gottem WAY worse. That said, neither xxx > nor yyy acknowledged their cards - I'm sure of it! They must be gov't > spies... I was out of town when it came in. From avoozl at spamcop.net Thu Feb 4 22:39:22 2010 From: avoozl at spamcop.net (Chris Willoughby) Date: Thu Feb 4 22:40:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: interesting article References: Message-ID: "David Dean" wrote in message news:v8ltfuv02-2811A6.13323202022010@killface.local... > In article , "bar0" > wrote: > >> The truth of the matter is that the real philosophical opponents (as >> opposed >> to those successfully milking the current system) look at universal >> health >> care as something akin to feeding feral pets > > Like this Freudian slip: > > > -- > -David Inflamatory but not neccessarily incorrect. Chris From dfmanno at mail.com Fri Feb 5 00:44:49 2010 From: dfmanno at mail.com (D.F. Manno) Date: Fri Feb 5 00:45:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: interesting article References: Message-ID: In article , David Dean wrote: > D.F. Manno wrote: > > > > he's not even a Dem any more is he? > > > > In name only. > > Not even in name... He was elected as an independent because he lost > the primary in 2006 and had to run under the party label "Connecticut > for Lieberman." He currently calls himself an "independent Democrat." -- D.F. Manno | dfmanno@mail.com The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt. (Bertrand Russell) From user at domain.invalid Fri Feb 5 02:28:53 2010 From: user at domain.invalid (Farelf) Date: Fri Feb 5 02:30:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: is this really BAD or what? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Sylvesterthekat wrote: > http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/01/us_supreme_court_ruling_on_cam.htm > l > > http://alturl.com/x7qr > > Would more funding stop stuff like this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqftJCOPluE There could be an upside ... just sayin' From nobody at spamcop.net Fri Feb 5 12:45:04 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Fri Feb 5 12:45:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: interesting article In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "David Dean" wrote in message news:v8ltfuv02-A69703.08432505022010@killface.local... > In article , > "Chris Willoughby" wrote: > >> >> The truth of the matter is that the real philosophical opponents (as >> >> opposed >> >> to those successfully milking the current system) look at universal >> >> health >> >> care as something akin to feeding feral pets >> > >> > Like this Freudian slip: >> > >> > >> > -- >> > -David >> >> Inflamatory but not neccessarily incorrect. > > It *is* incorrect. Health care isn't like free food. You don't go > back for more just because it's easier than getting it for yourself. > > Well, animals or people, who die earlier in or before their reproductive years, will be breeding less overall. For some reason, this kind of birth control seems preferable to many, who usually don't have to use it, over other methods. From nobody at spamcop.net Fri Feb 5 14:06:27 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Fri Feb 5 14:10:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: interesting article In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "David Dean" wrote in message news:v8ltfuv02-CA5896.10035905022010@killface.local... > In article , "bar0" > wrote: > >> Well, animals or people, who die earlier in or before their reproductive >> years, will be breeding less overall. >> >> For some reason, this kind of birth control seems preferable to many, who >> usually don't have to use it, over other methods. > > Aren't the same people that are uninsured the ones who are breeding > the most? The wealthy and the educated are far more likely to have > insurance and less likely to have large broods. And far more likely to be Tea Party. From nobody at spamcop.net Fri Feb 5 17:37:41 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Fri Feb 5 17:40:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: interesting article In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "David Dean" wrote in message news:v8ltfuv02-6D2A6B.13010905022010@killface.local... > In article , "bar0" > wrote: > >> > Aren't the same people that are uninsured the ones who are breeding >> > the most? The wealthy and the educated are far more likely to have >> > insurance and less likely to have large broods. >> >> And far more likely to be Tea Party. > > I suppose if you believe that the behavior will not change when > access to health care is expanded then that would mean increased > populations for the "undesirables", but my argument is that the behavior > is likely to change. Increased access to health care should mean better > control of reproduction. (via tubal ligation, vasectomy, and access to > long term contraceptives) It also means: less loss of house and home, bankruptcy and homelessness by those under/uninsured overwhelmed by a medical problem. insured workers can gamble on a better job with no insurance. insured workers can gamble on a business startup. Medicaid recipients can afford to take a low pay starter job. and on and on... But then some of these unfit people who lost their bets might reproduce. It's that Calvinist impulse, if you are not wealthy you must be evil. From nobody at spamcop.net Fri Feb 5 18:09:33 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Fri Feb 5 18:10:10 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Awwww.....Mars Rover stuck in a sand bunker... Message-ID: >From http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/spirit-mars-rover-future-100126.html The roving days are over for NASA's Mars rover Spirit after more than six years rolling across the Martian surface, the space agency announced Tuesday. NASA engineers have decided to abandon efforts to rescue the Spirit rover from the deep Martian sand that snared it in May 2009. Instead, they are trying to prepare the rover to survive the harsh winter ahead in Mars' southern hemisphere. If the rover survives, it will serve as a fixed science outpost, mission managers said. "This is not a day to mourn Spirit. This is not a day of loss," said Doug McCuistion, director of NASA's Mars exploration program, in a teleconference. "Its driving days are likely over, however its contribution will continue." Spirit is stuck up to its wheel tops in Martian sand and slightly tilted back in a spot on Mars that scientists have named "Troy." The rover got stuck on May 6, when its wheels broke through a hard crust covering the soft sand and sunk into the sand trap. "Spirit has encountered a golfer's worse nightmare," McCuistion said. Engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif., spent months working on ways to extract Spirit from its sandy predicament. Those efforts - which began in November - have been unsuccessful. Making matters worse, two of the rover's six wheels are broken, hampering its escape attempts. From nobody at spamcop.net Fri Feb 5 18:19:34 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Fri Feb 5 18:20:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] MORE @#$%&# SNOW!! Message-ID: I hope all you north eastern snow lovers are happy now, I just heard we're going to get over 2 ft of snow here in MD. It started snowing around 4:00 pm today and isn't supposed to stop until late Saturday night! FSCK!!! Actually, if gets as cold as it's supposed to and the snow is fluffy, I learned a neat trick from my haircutter yesterday -- use your electric leaf blower instead of shoveling! I have a mega-powerful unit, draws 13 amps, it's definitely capable of blowing "light snow" around, although I have to wonder how many passes it will take to get down to pavement. Still, better than shoveling.....I also have a shoulder strap for it, so all I'd need to do is stand there and move the nozzle around, no effort at all. I've got the blower and extension cords stashed in my dining room near the deck door, can't wait to try it out. Of course with my luck it will be a "heavy snow" instead, meaning my handyman will be getting a nice payout come Sunday :-( From nobody at spamcop.net Fri Feb 5 19:16:30 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Heidi) Date: Fri Feb 5 19:20:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: mortgage weirdness References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D16BEF671AA0ThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > So... On the board it was 5.4%. He got me 5% on the spot. He called > back > today and said that it was really going to be 4.875%. Like... Holy cow. > Is this a bank, mortgage broker, or what? Does he have any explanation for the change in rate? From nobody at spamcop.net Fri Feb 5 19:17:22 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Heidi) Date: Fri Feb 5 19:20:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Almost under contract References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D15584CB5795ThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > And it's not an expensive house. Honest! It's freaking HUGE (I saw the listing). Your heat is going to be more than your mortgage at this rate, eh? From nobody at spamcop.net Fri Feb 5 19:20:22 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Heidi) Date: Fri Feb 5 19:25:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: MORE @#$%&# SNOW!! References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hki926$1v4$1@news.spamcop.net... >I hope all you north eastern snow lovers are happy now, I just heard we're >going to get over 2 ft of snow here in MD. It started snowing around 4:00 >pm today and isn't supposed to stop until late Saturday night! FSCK!!! > > Actually, if gets as cold as it's supposed to and the snow is fluffy, I > learned a neat trick from my haircutter yesterday -- use your electric > leaf blower instead of shoveling! I have a mega-powerful unit, draws 13 > amps, it's definitely capable of blowing "light snow" around, although I > have to wonder how many passes it will take to get down to pavement. > Still, better than shoveling.....I also have a shoulder strap for it, so > all I'd need to do is stand there and move the nozzle around, no effort at > all. I've got the blower and extension cords stashed in my dining room > near the deck door, can't wait to try it out. > > Of course with my luck it will be a "heavy snow" instead, meaning my > handyman will be getting a nice payout come Sunday :-( Nyah nyah. We're in a "snow drought". Of course, it's colder than hell, but at least I am not shoveling and sliding off the road. From nobody at spamcop.net Fri Feb 5 19:23:08 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Heidi) Date: Fri Feb 5 19:25:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: MORE @#$%&# SNOW!! References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D16BF418F15CThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > No way it was me! It was "Indigo" ! > >> I hope all you north eastern snow lovers are happy now > > Oh, I'm happy as a clam. Didn't you hear about all of the drugs they're > giving me? But I am a bit sad that it's not going to snow here. Oh well. How do we know if clams are happy? Why would they be happy anyway? Maybe it's all the antidepressants people are pissing into the sewer system that are making them happy.... Don't take the drugs! Save the clams! From nobody at spamcop.net Fri Feb 5 19:23:46 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Heidi) Date: Fri Feb 5 19:25:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: bt... References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D16748D7236EThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > OK. New bt keyboard. Cool. I hope it works on the new phone, too. It's > the perfect size. Typing is maybe a little slow, but it is pretty cool... Link please. I am technically retarded. Damn. Now I have to apologize to Sarah Palin. From nobody at spamcop.net Fri Feb 5 20:08:39 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Fri Feb 5 20:10:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: interesting article References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D16BF7423890ThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > No way it was me! It was "bar0" ! >> "David Dean" wrote in message >> news:v8ltfuv02-CA5896.10035905022010@killface.local... > >>> The wealthy and the educated are far more likely to have >>> insurance and less likely to have large broods. >> >> And far more likely to be Tea Party. > > Well, golly, I'd like to see you back this up. Bet you can't. > Somehow I don't think Tea Party activists come from chronically un/underemployed or those un/underinsured who've suddenly been confronted with expensive medical problems. From MikeE at ster.invalid Fri Feb 5 20:38:22 2010 From: MikeE at ster.invalid (Mike Easter) Date: Fri Feb 5 20:40:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: interesting article In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: bar0 wrote: > Somehow I don't think Tea Party activists come from chronically > un/underemployed or those un/underinsured who've suddenly been confronted > with expensive medical problems. I think you might be mischaracterizing or misunderstanding the teaparty. It seems to me that much of the media is busily 'mis-characterizing' the Tea Party movement. The wikipedia's analysis is pretty good, I think. Today a middle leaning-left media characterized the movement as 'ultraconservative'. Libertarian might be more accurate. As an independent someone who who tends to reject the democratic and republican party's partisanship as 'evil' and who has tried in the past to vote independently while trying to lean libertarian for years before I completely gave up on the libertarian candidates in my state, I don't know how I would characterize the tea party movement, but I'm in favor of its activities and activism. I have no use for Sarah Palin or her support by some of them, however. I'm about as negative toward Sarah Palin as I am toward Nancy Pelosi. -- Mike Easter From user at domain.invalid Fri Feb 5 21:27:21 2010 From: user at domain.invalid (Farelf) Date: Fri Feb 5 21:30:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Awwww.....Mars Rover stuck in a sand bunker... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Indigo wrote: > From > http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/spirit-mars-rover-future-100126.html > > The roving days are over for NASA's Mars rover Spirit after more than > six years rolling across the Martian surface, the space agency announced > Tuesday. > Don't care *what* NASA says, it's heart-rending. This is more like it http://xkcd.com/695/ "... the things of Man, you With your fresh thought care for, can you?" From nobody at spamcop.net Fri Feb 5 21:44:26 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Fri Feb 5 21:45:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Almost under contract In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D148B92D6BF2sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > "Indigo" wrote in > news:hkajc8$efm$1@news.spamcop.net: > >>I don't "do" Xmas cards except for an S.O., >> if I have one at the time....I have a pile of them myself I've >> collected over the years. > > Why have you kept them? Surely it's easier to discard a piece of card than > a person? If you didn't value the person enough to stay with them (or they > pissed you off beyond endurance, whatever!), ditch the card as well, it's > just stuff that you have to store. You misunderstood what I meant. I don't "keep" cards from S.O.'s, or rather I discard them when the relationship ends. What I have is a collection of unused new Xmas cards that I've collected over the years, many of them which I got for donating money to various charities -- they send you the free cards and ask for a donation. Many of them are created by folks disabled by this and that, so of course I send in a check and keep the cards for some future use. From nobody at spamcop.net Fri Feb 5 21:46:02 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Fri Feb 5 21:50:10 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: interesting article References: Message-ID: "Mike Easter" wrote in message news:hkih6e$4n4$1@news.spamcop.net... > bar0 wrote: > >> Somehow I don't think Tea Party activists come from chronically >> un/underemployed or those un/underinsured who've suddenly been confronted >> with expensive medical problems. > > I think you might be mischaracterizing or misunderstanding the teaparty. > They, Rush, Sarah, et alia seem to enjoy wearing each others badges. The unplugging Grandma nonsense put paid to them as far as I'm concerned. From me at privacy.net Fri Feb 5 21:47:50 2010 From: me at privacy.net (Frog Prince) Date: Fri Feb 5 21:55:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: MORE @#$%&# SNOW!! References: Message-ID: "Heidi" wrote in message news:hkicpc$36h$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "Charles" wrote in message > news:Xns9D16BF418F15CThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... >> No way it was me! It was "Indigo" ! >> >>> I hope all you north eastern snow lovers are happy now >> >> Oh, I'm happy as a clam. Didn't you hear about all of the drugs they're >> giving me? But I am a bit sad that it's not going to snow here. Oh >> well. > > How do we know if clams are happy? Why would they be happy anyway? Maybe > it's all the antidepressants people are pissing into the sewer system that > are making them happy.... Don't take the drugs! Save the clams! Flash back to a Tom L. drinking song. Oysters oysters are prolific How they diddle is a riddle but the diddle sure as h*ll. From me at privacy.net Fri Feb 5 21:50:05 2010 From: me at privacy.net (Frog Prince) Date: Fri Feb 5 21:55:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Awwww.....Mars Rover stuck in a sand bunker... References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hki8fd$1ob$1@news.spamcop.net... > From > http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/spirit-mars-rover-future-100126.html > > The roving days are over for NASA's Mars rover Spirit after more than six > years rolling across the Martian surface, the space agency announced > Tuesday. > > NASA engineers have decided to abandon efforts to rescue the Spirit rover > from the deep Martian sand that snared it in May 2009. Instead, they are > trying to prepare the rover to survive the harsh winter ahead in Mars' > southern hemisphere. If the rover survives, it will serve as a fixed > science outpost, mission managers said. > > "This is not a day to mourn Spirit. This is not a day of loss," said Doug > McCuistion, director of NASA's Mars exploration program, in a > teleconference. "Its driving days are likely over, however its > contribution will continue." > > Spirit is stuck up to its wheel tops in Martian sand and slightly tilted > back in a spot on Mars that scientists have named "Troy." The rover got > stuck on May 6, when its wheels broke through a hard crust covering the > soft sand and sunk into the sand trap. > > "Spirit has encountered a golfer's worse nightmare," McCuistion said. > > Engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif., > spent months working on ways to extract Spirit from its sandy predicament. > Those efforts - which began in November - have been unsuccessful. Making > matters worse, two of the rover's six wheels are broken, hampering its > escape attempts. It's hell when you get old ... first thing that happens is the kids take away your car keys.... From nobody at spamcop.net Fri Feb 5 21:52:37 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Fri Feb 5 21:55:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Almost under contract In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D14D71537841ThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > > Well, you're lucky. My taxes will be around $900/mo. And my house isn't > huge or really expensive or whatever. It's crazy. That IS crazy! $11,000 in property taxes/yr is beyond insane! How in the world do retired folks who've paid off their mortgage manage to scrap up that much cash every year to pay their taxes?!? For instance, there was a very quaint old farmhouse located near my acupuncturist's office, the land was many acres (I have no idea how many, but the lot was GIGANTIC). Every time I drove by that house I wondered how the owners were able to pay the property taxes, as they were in an extremely high land value area. Well, I kinda got my answer this week when I drove past the house on the way to my weekly appt.......the house was gone, razed to the ground. I assume that the owners couldn't pay the taxes anymore and sold the property to some rapacious developer, there's enough land there to build at least 30-40 McMansions.....that sucks, folks being forced out of 100 year old houses because of taxes. From nobody at spamcop.net Fri Feb 5 21:54:20 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Fri Feb 5 21:55:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: bt... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Heidi" wrote in message news:hkicqj$36j$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "Charles" wrote in message > news:Xns9D16748D7236EThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... >> OK. New bt keyboard. Cool. I hope it works on the new phone, too. >> It's >> the perfect size. Typing is maybe a little slow, but it is pretty >> cool... > > Link please. I am technically retarded. > > Damn. Now I have to apologize to Sarah Palin. > I assume he means a wireless BlueTooth keyboard...... From me at privacy.net Fri Feb 5 21:55:51 2010 From: me at privacy.net (Frog Prince) Date: Fri Feb 5 22:00:10 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: interesting article References: Message-ID: "Mike Easter" > I'm about as negative toward Sarah Palin as I am toward Nancy Pelosi. There's hope there somewhere. From me at privacy.net Fri Feb 5 21:58:15 2010 From: me at privacy.net (Frog Prince) Date: Fri Feb 5 22:00:11 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: interesting article References: Message-ID: "bar0" wrote in message news:hkifep$44r$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "Charles" wrote in message > news:Xns9D16BF7423890ThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... >> No way it was me! It was "bar0" ! >>> "David Dean" wrote in message >>> news:v8ltfuv02-CA5896.10035905022010@killface.local... >> >>>> The wealthy and the educated are far more likely to have >>>> insurance and less likely to have large broods. >>> >>> And far more likely to be Tea Party. >> >> Well, golly, I'd like to see you back this up. Bet you can't. >> > > Somehow I don't think Tea Party activists come from chronically > un/underemployed or those un/underinsured who've suddenly been confronted > with expensive medical problems. Likely true but what you didn't mention is many of those who are currently Tea Party troopers will very likely be in the chronically un/underemployed and most definately in the group of those un/underinsured From nobody at spamcop.net Fri Feb 5 21:58:40 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Fri Feb 5 22:00:12 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Let me tell you about my night In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D15775482750ThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > > And I'm weaning off of zoloft because I've been having panic attacks. > Yesterday evening's was pretty freaking bad. Great! Why hasn't anyone given you a scrip for Xanax to combat your panic attacks? From nobody at spamcop.net Fri Feb 5 22:00:40 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Fri Feb 5 22:05:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Let me tell you about my night In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D157FCB36941ThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > It wasn't me! It was Mike Easter ! > >> ... and bring back your scores on all of the tests. > > This is rather personal, isn't it? I'm depressed and have generalized > anxiety and panic attacks. Some social anxiety. Some PTSD. Negligible > OCD. > > There are better days and worse days. Many more of the latter lately. > Time to change meds, eh? Erm....didn't I urge you to do that a week or two ago? LISTEN TO ME! I've BTDT. Email me offline if you need to discuss anything in particular. From nobody at spamcop.net Fri Feb 5 22:05:52 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Fri Feb 5 22:10:11 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: MORE @#$%&# SNOW!! In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Heidi" wrote in message news:hkick7$368$1@news.spamcop.net... > Nyah nyah. We're in a "snow drought". PPPLLLLLBBBBTTTT! Of course, it's colder than hell, > but at least I am not shoveling and sliding off the road. I'm not sliding off the road either. My new Continental All-Weather tires are absolutely fantastic in the wet and snow! When I drove home from CVS this evening, with over an inch of snow on the ground already, I intentionally swerved my car violently sideways, back and forth, added full throttle while doing so, to test their grip. The traction control only activated ONCE. No skidding, no slipping, no sliding....NO FUN! From borgholio at storymind.com Fri Feb 5 23:18:54 2010 From: borgholio at storymind.com (Borgholio) Date: Fri Feb 5 23:20:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Awwww.....Mars Rover stuck in a sand bunker... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Indigo wrote: > From > http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/spirit-mars-rover-future-100126.html > > The roving days are over for NASA's Mars rover Spirit after more than > six years rolling across the Martian surface, the space agency announced > Tuesday. > > NASA engineers have decided to abandon efforts to rescue the Spirit > rover from the deep Martian sand that snared it in May 2009. Instead, > they are trying to prepare the rover to survive the harsh winter ahead > in Mars' southern hemisphere. If the rover survives, it will serve as a > fixed science outpost, mission managers said. > > "This is not a day to mourn Spirit. This is not a day of loss," said > Doug McCuistion, director of NASA's Mars exploration program, in a > teleconference. "Its driving days are likely over, however its > contribution will continue." > > Spirit is stuck up to its wheel tops in Martian sand and slightly tilted > back in a spot on Mars that scientists have named "Troy." The rover got > stuck on May 6, when its wheels broke through a hard crust covering the > soft sand and sunk into the sand trap. > > "Spirit has encountered a golfer's worse nightmare," McCuistion said. > > Engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif., > spent months working on ways to extract Spirit from its sandy > predicament. Those efforts - which began in November - have been > unsuccessful. Making matters worse, two of the rover's six wheels are > broken, hampering its escape attempts. > I wouldn't count it out yet. I've been keeping daily tabs on the mission at the NASA site and it sounds like they're making progress, just not enough to get it out by the winter, so they're preparing it for low-power conditions. From me at privacy.net Fri Feb 5 23:25:11 2010 From: me at privacy.net (Frog Prince) Date: Fri Feb 5 23:30:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: MORE @#$%&# SNOW!! References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hkimag$6d5$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "Heidi" wrote in message > news:hkick7$368$1@news.spamcop.net... >> Nyah nyah. We're in a "snow drought". > > PPPLLLLLBBBBTTTT! > > Of course, it's colder than hell, >> but at least I am not shoveling and sliding off the road. > > I'm not sliding off the road either. My new Continental All-Weather tires > are absolutely fantastic in the wet and snow! When I drove home from CVS > this evening, with over an inch of snow on the ground already, I > intentionally swerved my car violently sideways, back and forth, added > full throttle while doing so, to test their grip. The traction control > only activated ONCE. No skidding, no slipping, no sliding....NO FUN! Keep it up and we'll send someone to pick you and your wheels out of the bushes. From to5bwy502 at sneakemail.com Sat Feb 6 07:56:49 2010 From: to5bwy502 at sneakemail.com (Charles) Date: Sat Feb 6 08:00:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: bt... References: Message-ID: <2005874840287153617.294511to5bwy502-sneakemail.com@news.spamcop.net> "Heidi" wrote: > > "Charles" wrote in message > news:Xns9D16748D7236EThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > > OK. New bt keyboard. Cool. I hope it works on the new phone, too. > > It's > > the perfect size. Typing is maybe a little slow, but it is pretty > > cool... > > Link please. I am technically retarded. > > Damn. Now I have to apologize to Sarah Palin. > > > It's just a keyboard. But i have to hack m'y phone to get it to work. From to5bwy502 at sneakemail.com Sat Feb 6 07:56:49 2010 From: to5bwy502 at sneakemail.com (Charles) Date: Sat Feb 6 08:00:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Almost under contract References: Message-ID: <850555449287153478.745847to5bwy502-sneakemail.com@news.spamcop.net> "Heidi" wrote: > > "Charles" wrote in message > news:Xns9D15584CB5795ThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > > > And it's not an expensive house. Honest! > > It's freaking HUGE (I saw the listing). Your heat is going to be more > than > your mortgage at this rate, eh? > > Heat will be about half the mortgage!! From to5bwy502 at sneakemail.com Sat Feb 6 07:56:50 2010 From: to5bwy502 at sneakemail.com (Charles) Date: Sat Feb 6 08:00:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: mortgage weirdness References: Message-ID: <148694328287153392.908664to5bwy502-sneakemail.com@news.spamcop.net> "Heidi" wrote: > > "Charles" wrote in message > news:Xns9D16BEF671AA0ThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > > So... On the board it was 5.4%. He got me 5% on the spot. He > > called > > back > > today and said that it was really going to be 4.875%. Like... Holy > > cow. > > > Is this a bank, mortgage broker, or what? Does he have any > explanation for > the change in rate? > > > Credit union. No explanTion. Very weird. From nobody at spamcop.net Sat Feb 6 10:29:02 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Sat Feb 6 10:30:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: interesting article References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D17609F21B28ThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > No way it was me! It was "bar0" ! > >> Somehow I don't think Tea Party activists come from chronically >> un/underemployed or those un/underinsured who've suddenly been >> confronted with expensive medical problems. > > Suppositions do not equal statistics. And I've seen the people on the > street - they look like idiots if you asked me. But, hey, I am still > waiting for your demographic proof. Ummm.. , I said "somehow", and, "I think", and didn't state as fact, but only as opinion. I have no proof, or statistics. So, yes, I could well be off the mark. From nobody at spamcop.net Sat Feb 6 10:32:59 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Sat Feb 6 10:35:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Almost under contract References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hkilhk$65k$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "Charles" wrote in message > news:Xns9D14D71537841ThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... >> >> Well, you're lucky. My taxes will be around $900/mo. And my house isn't >> huge or really expensive or whatever. It's crazy. > > That IS crazy! $11,000 in property taxes/yr is beyond insane! How in the > world do retired folks who've paid off their mortgage manage to scrap up > that much cash every year to pay their taxes?!? > > For instance, there was a very quaint old farmhouse located near my > acupuncturist's office, the land was many acres (I have no idea how many, > but the lot was GIGANTIC). Every time I drove by that house I wondered how > the owners were able to pay the property taxes, as they were in an > extremely high land value area. Well, I kinda got my answer this week when > I drove past the house on the way to my weekly appt.......the house was > gone, razed to the ground. I assume that the owners couldn't pay the taxes > anymore and sold the property to some rapacious developer, there's enough > land there to build at least 30-40 McMansions.....that sucks, folks being > forced out of 100 year old houses because of taxes. Many jurisdictions have a mechanism whereby certain folks (usually older or retired) may postpone some or all property taxes on their homestead until the property is sold or in probate. From nobody at spamcop.net Sat Feb 6 14:08:57 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Sat Feb 6 14:10:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Awwww.....Mars Rover stuck in a sand bunker... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Borgholio" wrote in message news:hkiqiq$7pe$1@news.spamcop.net... >> > > I wouldn't count it out yet. I've been keeping daily tabs on the mission > at the NASA site and it sounds like they're making progress, just not > enough to get it out by the winter, so they're preparing it for low-power > conditions. Dude, it's toast. Or rather it's now a stationery monitor. Two of the wheels are broken, and JPL has spent over 3 months trying to get it out with no joy. My guess is that they will not even attempt another escape once the winter hibernation is over, it's more useful sitting there gathering data than risking destroying something important (making it useless) by messing around with it any more. From nobody at spamcop.net Sat Feb 6 14:17:47 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Sat Feb 6 14:20:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Almost under contract In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "bar0" wrote in message news:hkk23e$m2s$1@news.spamcop.net... > > Many jurisdictions have a mechanism whereby certain folks (usually older > or retired) may postpone some or all property taxes on their homestead > until the property is sold or in probate. Not here, at least not that I know of....this isn't the first time the elderly have been forced from their long held family homes in my county because of high taxes. Either that, or they have to subdivide and sell land to pay the taxes, and in one case a couple had their rezoning app denied because they were in a designated "rural" zone! Only 1 house per 5 acres allowed (or something close to that) under that zoning law, and they had just under 6 acres. There was outrage about their plight, but AFAIK the laws weren't changed because of it, despite the publicity raised. In Baltimore City, for instance, there are literally thousands of little old ladies living in 150 year old rowhouses, if the city allowed them to avoid paying property taxes they'd go broke. The only thing that saves long term home owners (like me) is the capped tax rate increase. But sell, and the new owner (like Charles) gets slapped with the entire uncapped tax rate/assessment right off the bat. A big incentive not to move! From nobody at spamcop.net Sat Feb 6 14:19:27 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Sat Feb 6 14:20:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: bt... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D17604BBB42FThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > No way it was me! It was "Indigo" ! > >> I assume he means a wireless BlueTooth keyboard...... >> > > Yes. But I'm going to have to hack my phone (as I said earlier) to use > it. > Then I'll probably decide I like the keyboard idea and have to get a > smaller one that folds up... What do you mean? Hack the phone so it can communicate with the PC via BlueTooth connection? Why bother? I just use the USB cord that came with my phone. I could never get my PC to "find" the phone via BlueTooth either. From me at privacy.net Sat Feb 6 14:27:38 2010 From: me at privacy.net (anon) Date: Sat Feb 6 14:30:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: quite the garage References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D16C7A1EEAE5sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-brentwood-garage5- > 2010feb05,0,4655518.story?track=rss > > http://tinyurl.com/yf753zo > > Says he only drives the car when traffic in West LA is light. So that > means > early sunday morning basically! If the bridge is structurally approved, the neighbors should but out. My concern would be that all the walls surrounding the garage' have to be special fire walls. L.A. building code says that garage areas must be separated from garage areas by a (code specified) firewall. Otherwise it looks like a great idea for a parking space. From nobody at spamcop.net Sat Feb 6 14:51:29 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Sat Feb 6 14:55:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Let me tell you about my night In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D1760C31BF30ThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > No way it was me! It was "Indigo" ! > >> Why hasn't anyone given you a scrip for Xanax to combat your panic >> attacks? >> > > I'm on lorazepam now. That's probably just a generic name for something > similar. Anyway, I get to see the real pros on Tuesday. that's Ativan, and the only person I've ever known to take it got no relief from it......several years ago when I was having panic attacks Xanax worked great for me.....I haven't had one in over two years now, mostly because I'm fully aware of all of my health problems and what's causing them and I have a defined plan now on how to get better.....I occasionally will take one of the leftover tabs as a muscle relaxer when my cramping is roaring out of control. Speaking of which, I discovered something by pure happenstance the other day, the reason why I've been suffering more "bad" days over the last few months, where my CFS and fibromyalgia is acting up. I had some blood tests done last week, part of my yearly checkup, and I had a high MCH level (has to do with the amount of hemoglobin in each red blood cell), and I also noted that my serum glucose level was elevated. Did my research online and discovered the likely cause: low folic acid levels. Low B-12 and folic acid levels can apparently cause high MCH, raise glucose levels, and are typically found in people suffering from CFS and fibromyalgia. From http://www.krysalis.net/chronicfatigue.htm : "Chronic Fatigue is caused by restricted aerobic metabolism, the primary source of energy for almost all normal cells. This not only reduces available cellular energy, but it also promotes excess anaerobic metabolism. The reduced cellular energy translates into reduced body energy. The resulting excess anaerobic metabolism results in the production of excess lactic acid. This lactic acid is what causes the muscle pain associated with Fibromyalgia. This explains why these two diseases, which are always found together, are considered to be different faces of the same disease. However, the biochemical explanation has not been presented before. As an expansion of this explanation, when a cell metabolizes one molecule of glucose by anaerobic metabolism (not using oxygen) it produces two ATP molecules, the currency of energy in the cells. However, when one molecule of glucose is metabolized aerobically (uses oxygen) it produces thirty-six ATP molecules. The product from anaerobic metabolism is lactic acid, which goes on to create muscle pain. The products from aerobic metabolism are carbon dioxide and water, which obviously present no problem at all." "The Respiratory Chain: This is where oxygen is reacted with available hydrogen to produce water and it is where most of the energy is produced. It produces 33 out of the 36 ATP's produced by the aerobic metabolism of one glucose molecule. The available hydrogen is provided by the Citric Acid Cycle, which releases the carbon dioxide. Vitamin B12, folic acid and coenzyme Q10 play a key role in the Respiratory Chain." The occasional high levels of lactic acid in my muscles is evident when I suffer from severe diarrhea immediately following a deep tissue massage or other bodywork, worsened by the fact that I am lactose intoleralance, I would think. According to my notes, I restarted taking the drug CSM on 10/17/09, four days after I started taking Monocycline as part of my new treatment plan. I found out that CSM increases the excretion of folic acid, and the vitamins A, D, E, and K -- so it's not a coincidence, the timing matches up exactly! CSM is used to bind to the toxins released when bacteria and other nasties are killed off so they can be excreted from the body more easily, so I may not be able to stop taking it without suffering even more from the side effects of the antibiotic I'm on. I've already figured out that I need to get a folic acid supplement, my B complex vitamin doesn't have much of it, but I'm getting a ton of B-12, so I'd tend to rule out a B-12 deficiency as the cause of any of my problems. I know I need to take the CSM when I restart my heavy metal detox in a month or so, but I'm not sure I need (or want) to be taking it right now, at least not until my folic acid levels are back to normal. A couple of the dietary supplements I've been taking since last March are minor chelators for mercury and aluminum (N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine and Alpha-Lipoic Acid), but I wasn't taking CSM when I started them and they are nowhere as powerful as DMSA and Malic Acid, which are the "big hitters" for heavy metal detox. So my plan is this: stop the CSM until I resume heavy metal detoxing, and start taking a folic acid supplement immediately, which I've already done as of yesterday. I wrote an email to my Lyme doc asking him if he thinks the new plan will resolve my current issues, haven't heard back from him yet, but all the pieces of the puzzle fit together perfectly. I actually had my normal 3 month checkup with him last week and took in my usual pile of printouts from stuff I found on the web, and he said "you know, you should consider hiring yourself out as a naturopath health advisor, you've learned so much about the body and how it works, along with the knowledge you've gained about various homeopathic and herbal supplements and alternative therapies, you now know about as much as I do about Lyme disease and how to treat it". And he was dead serious....I've joked with friends that over the last 4 years I've pretty much earned a degree in cellular biology from all the research I've done online to help me understand the cause and effects of the things that ail me and how to treat them ;-) From nobody at spamcop.net Sat Feb 6 15:08:05 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Sat Feb 6 15:10:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: MORE @#$%&# SNOW!! In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Frog Prince" wrote in message news:hkiqvk$80b$1@news.spamcop.net... No skidding, no slipping, no sliding....NO FUN! > > Keep it up and we'll send someone to pick you and your wheels out of the > bushes. > I'm not a total idiot, FP....I did my "tire performance testing" only on wide roads with no cars or trees on the curb, and no other cars coming or going. And I started out gently, then worked my way up in speed and motions as I gained confidence in the tire's behavior. I even tried to get into a 4-wheel power drift by gunning it while making a 90 degree turn, but my car STILL wouldn't slip! Unfortunately, even the best tire in the world is totally useless now, we have 30" of snow down already and it's still falling, I'm trapped inside my house until I can get someone to come dig me out, probably not until tomorrow at the earliest, and more likely not until Monday. Squashes any plans for going to a Superbowl party! I tried out my leaf blower on the front porch, cleaned it up in short order, but in the confines of the corner where my front door is located (walls on the right and left, shaped like an "L") the snow tended to just swirl around in a vortex instead of being blown straight ahead. Need to shovel all the snow away from my deck door before I can try it out in the open. Good thing I don't have storm doors, else I'd REALLY be trapped! (they open OUT, not in) From nobody at spamcop.net Sat Feb 6 15:36:33 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Sat Feb 6 15:40:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Let me tell you about my night In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D1760F15DE92ThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > No way it was me! It was "Indigo" ! > >> LISTEN TO ME! > > I have docs and insurance and a job and whatever. I need to make > everything work out. And I'm buying a house and and and. There is a LOT > going on at once! I know. That contributes to everything. Well, shucks. Ayup.....all that stress adds up, putting your body into "fight or flight" mode......and the human body is only built to be in that state for short periods of time....being in that mode for an extended time will eventually start to cause damage to your organs and affect your body functions, i.e. you reach "the breaking point". That's why my adrenal glands failed (from exhaustion due to overwhelming continous physical and mental stress), and it took them 3 years to heal! Think of an antelope being chased by some lions or another big cat. They can intially avoid being caught, but their energy reserves slowly disappear the longer the chase goes on, and eventually they just collapse in a heap. You're heading for a a similar collapse if you don't somehow manage to reduce the stress you're under.... just sayin'....BTDT.....don't want to see it happen to you. You seriously may want to consider going on temporary disability leave, if you are enrolled in a plan (assuming your employer offers one), you could at least quit worrying about your job for a while. The stress I was under at work was a HUGE contributor in the 6-8 months leading into my eventual collapse. That, plus the worsening Lyme disease, plus the root canal from hell, finally caused my body to say "no mas!". I spent most of the next six months in bed.....trust me, you DON'T want to go there! I know firsthand how hard it is to swallow your pride and admit you can't handle the load anymore, but the consequences of trying to fight through it can be life threatening. From nobody at spamcop.net Sat Feb 6 15:43:04 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Sat Feb 6 15:45:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: quite the garage In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D16C7A1EEAE5sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-brentwood-garage5- > 2010feb05,0,4655518.story?track=rss > > http://tinyurl.com/yf753zo > > Says he only drives the car when traffic in West LA is light. So that > means > early sunday morning basically! He says it's like a work of performance art to him, but IMO it's a case of the male ego run amok.....and backing that car up over that narrow bridge with only glass rails to prevent a disaster is sheer madness! I assume most folks know that mid-engine cars like that Ferrari are notorious for having horrendously bad rear visibility? From nobody at spamcop.net Sat Feb 6 16:10:15 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Sat Feb 6 16:15:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: MORE @#$%&# SNOW!! In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D1783AD17C74sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > "Indigo" wrote in > news:hki926$1v4$1@news.spamcop.net: > >> I hope all you north eastern snow lovers are happy now, I just heard >> we're going to get over 2 ft of snow here in MD. It started snowing >> around 4:00 pm today and isn't supposed to stop until late Saturday >> night! FSCK!!! > > LOL, when I saw it on the news I thought how pissed you were going to be. > Are you buried yet? > Yes, it's up to 32" now :-( From nobody at spamcop.net Sat Feb 6 17:16:25 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Sat Feb 6 17:20:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Almost under contract References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hkkf8q$ql7$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "bar0" wrote in message > news:hkk23e$m2s$1@news.spamcop.net... >> >> Many jurisdictions have a mechanism whereby certain folks (usually older >> or retired) may postpone some or all property taxes on their homestead >> until the property is sold or in probate. > > Not here, at least not that I know of....this isn't the first time the > elderly have been forced from their long held family homes in my county > because of high taxes. Either that, or they have to subdivide and sell > land to pay the taxes, and in one case a couple had their rezoning app > denied because they were in a designated "rural" zone! Only 1 house per 5 > acres allowed (or something close to that) under that zoning law, and they > had just under 6 acres. There was outrage about their plight, but AFAIK > the laws weren't changed because of it, despite the publicity raised. > > In Baltimore City, for instance, there are literally thousands of little > old ladies living in 150 year old rowhouses, if the city allowed them to > avoid paying property taxes they'd go broke. The only thing that saves > long term home owners (like me) is the capped tax rate increase. But sell, > and the new owner (like Charles) gets slapped with the entire uncapped tax > rate/assessment right off the bat. A big incentive not to move! Capping assessments and otherwise fscking around with"Assessed" valuations always leads to pain for many and much money for a few. My house is assessed at "Market" value. It has gone from 180K to 690K. My taxes have changed by about 4 % over the 12 years. My mill rate has changed radically (with valuation changes), but the tax bill has basically just followed the city budget, and not ephemeral bulges or sags in the market place, nor been based upon some phony evaluation. Nor have city polititians declared themselves to be the taxpayers friend because the mill rate decreased in proportion to the increase in valuations. Maybe the taxpayers are smart enough to see through that nonsese in Calgary. So for example when the valuation went up 50% my mill rate went down 30%. The reason some people pay outrageous taxes is usually because too many people are grandfathered into outrageously low taxes that don't cover their share of police, sewer, roads, schools and other city services. And don't complain about school taxes when you have no kids, because your choice is having those kids loose and unsupervised in your neighbourhood, as adolescents, and, undereducated and unemployed as adults. Usually Laws capping taxes for the elderly, allow the municipality to collect what the owner can reasonably pay, and defer the remaining taxes, they don't "forgive" them. It's a cost effective form of public assistance also, evicting these people from their homes, costs more in public housing. From me at privacy.net Sat Feb 6 18:47:13 2010 From: me at privacy.net (Frog Prince) Date: Sat Feb 6 18:55:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Almost under contract References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D175FFCFD618ThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > No way it was me! It was "Indigo" ! > >> That IS crazy! $11,000 in property taxes/yr is beyond insane! How in the >> world do retired folks who've paid off their mortgage manage to scrap up >> that much cash every year to pay their taxes?!? >> > > The elderly get tax breaks. Some areas around N Texas granted those then the spent more than they had coming in. Now the name of the game is find ways to disqualify the old farts. Only real problem with that is the old farts are not dumb and know the name of the game and how to react. From me at privacy.net Sat Feb 6 18:49:49 2010 From: me at privacy.net (Frog Prince) Date: Sat Feb 6 18:55:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Almost under contract References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hkkf8q$ql7$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "bar0" wrote in message > news:hkk23e$m2s$1@news.spamcop.net... >> >> Many jurisdictions have a mechanism whereby certain folks (usually older >> or retired) may postpone some or all property taxes on their homestead >> until the property is sold or in probate. > > Not here, at least not that I know of....this isn't the first time the > elderly have been forced from their long held family homes in my county > because of high taxes. Either that, or they have to subdivide and sell > land to pay the taxes, and in one case a couple had their rezoning app > denied because they were in a designated "rural" zone! Only 1 house per 5 > acres allowed (or something close to that) under that zoning law, and they > had just under 6 acres. There was outrage about their plight, but AFAIK > the laws weren't changed because of it, despite the publicity raised. > > In Baltimore City, for instance, there are literally thousands of little > old ladies living in 150 year old rowhouses, if the city allowed them to > avoid paying property taxes they'd go broke. The only thing that saves > long term home owners (like me) is the capped tax rate increase. But sell, > and the new owner (like Charles) gets slapped with the entire uncapped tax > rate/assessment right off the bat. A big incentive not to move! The other thing that happens, even when the taxes are paid is the local powers get a wild hair and take the land under eminent domain and sell it to a developer. the justification is the process increases the tax base. Fortunately that game can get you recalled and quick in Texas. From me at privacy.net Sat Feb 6 18:55:15 2010 From: me at privacy.net (Frog Prince) Date: Sat Feb 6 19:00:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: MORE @#$%&# SNOW!! References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D1783BF0EF60sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > "Heidi" wrote in > news:hkick7$368$1@news.spamcop.net: > > >> Nyah nyah. We're in a "snow drought". Of course, it's colder than >> hell, but at least I am not shoveling and sliding off the road. >> >> >> > > Anywhere is colder than hell..... Look to the bright side .... Honey Huggin Weather. From nobody at spamcop.net Sat Feb 6 19:18:04 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Sat Feb 6 19:20:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Almost under contract In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "bar0" wrote in message news:hkkpns$u9u$1@news.spamcop.net... > My house is assessed at "Market" value. It has gone from 180K to 690K. My > taxes have changed by about 4 % over the 12 years. Your assessment didn't drop in the last 3 years?! How often do you get re-assessed? Mine was done within the last 12 months (county does 1/3 of the lots per year, so every 3 years it changes) and I lost about $60k in equity in one swell foop! I dunno exactly how much my taxes have gone up in the last 12 years, but it's a lot more than 4%, I can guarantee you that. From nobody at spamcop.net Sat Feb 6 19:26:28 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Sat Feb 6 19:30:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Almost under contract In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Frog Prince" wrote in message news:hkkv8l$ji$2@news.spamcop.net... ! > > The other thing that happens, even when the taxes are paid is the local > powers get a wild hair and take the land under eminent domain and sell it > to a developer. the justification is the process increases the tax base. Oh, that's been happening _forever_ in Baltimore, especially in the last 10 years as they've tried to expand and improve the stable pockets of "safety" within the city. Most of the times they sieze entire blocks or more, but typically most of the houses are abandoned, ridden with drug addicts and gangs, and the remaining homeowners are more than happy to take the money and run (with some rare exceptions). I recall a big uproar a few years ago when one expansion required paying the owner of a strip bar almost $2 million for his property (by law, they have to try to settle on a buyout via arbitration before they can cite eminent domain). He had better lawyers than the city, and got the "real" value for his property, not the grossly deflated price originally offered. Unfortunately, those less well off can't afford to fight city hall in court and end up having to accept the below market offers they get. From nobody at spamcop.net Sat Feb 6 19:33:01 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Sat Feb 6 19:35:10 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: bt... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D17C338A41E2ThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > No way it was me! It was "Indigo" ! > > Hack the phone so that it will use the bluetooth keyboard. I know that > this is incredibly stupid - it should just work. Well, it doesn't. Why would you need to do that? I just wrote a rather long text message plea for help to the handyman who shoveled me out last month (ok, it was only 3 sentences but I can't text to save my life). Right near the end, my fumble fingers accidentally hit a button and the message disappeared into the ether! Not willing to make the effort again, I tried connecting my phone via USB, but apparently this was the first time I've done that since my system crash, so WinBloze loaded the proper drivers and demanded a reboot. Nuh-uh. So I fired up the installed (but not used yet) Nokia PC Suite software and managed to get a bluetooth connection established (it was a PITA, took way longer than it should have). Then I re-wrote my original message in notepad, created a new text message in the Nokia app, cut'n'pasted the notepad text into the message box, and hit send. Worked like a charm! So why can't you do the same thing instead of trying to write text messages directly to the cell phone with your BT keyboard? From nobody at spamcop.net Sat Feb 6 19:33:59 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Sat Feb 6 19:35:10 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Let me tell you about my night In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D17C363E88DBThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > No way it was me! It was "Indigo" ! > >> You seriously may want to consider going on temporary disability leave > > I don't get paid on leave. That's not a really good and viable option, > you > know? What you're saying is that your company doesn't offer temp or LTD insurance? How small is your company? From nobody at spamcop.net Sat Feb 6 19:34:32 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Sat Feb 6 19:35:11 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: MORE @#$%&# SNOW!! In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Frog Prince" wrote in message news:hkkvho$ke$1@news.spamcop.net... > > Look to the bright side .... Honey Huggin Weather. If'n you got a honey.....*sniff*..... From nobody at spamcop.net Sat Feb 6 19:36:39 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Sat Feb 6 19:40:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: quite the garage In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D17838BD8932sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > > And backing up with no power is even worse lol. that brings up something vital -- do Ferraris have power steering or rack and pinion gear? If it's the former, with a dead engine it's damn near impossible to turn the steering wheel, if it's the latter he's all set to go. From nobody at spamcop.net Sat Feb 6 19:45:28 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Sat Feb 6 19:50:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] An utter failure.... Message-ID: Just got back inside a bit ago after trying my "leaf blower as snow blower" trick, and it didn't work. Too much snow (3 ft), and snow that was too heavy. Only the last 4" that fell after the temp went into the 20's were light enough to blow away ;-( If I can't get a hold of my handyman (no go so far) I have no idea what to do.....there's no way I'm going to attempt to shovel even a skinny track to my car or the street, the snow is near waist high and it takes three shovel-fulls just to clear 2 sq ft., and each of those 3 movements require heavy lifting because the snow is already compacted and heavy. Even my handyman, if/when I can get ahold of him, might not be able to make it here until Monday. I don't expect any county plows to show up until late tomorrow, if they show up at all....they might not come until Monday (small isolated developments like mine are VERY low on the priority list!). From avoozl at spamcop.net Sat Feb 6 20:06:53 2010 From: avoozl at spamcop.net (Chris Willoughby) Date: Sat Feb 6 20:10:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: interesting article References: Message-ID: "David Dean" wrote in message news:v8ltfuv02-A69703.08432505022010@killface.local... > It *is* incorrect. Health care isn't like free food. You don't go > back for more just because it's easier than getting it for yourself. > > > -- > -David Well, I guess my point is that the demand for a free good is infinite. Chris From avoozl at spamcop.net Sat Feb 6 20:24:32 2010 From: avoozl at spamcop.net (Chris Willoughby) Date: Sat Feb 6 20:25:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: interesting article References: Message-ID: "Mike Easter" wrote in message news:hkih6e$4n4$1@news.spamcop.net... > I'm about as negative toward Sarah Palin as I am toward Nancy Pelosi. > > > -- > Mike Easter I don't mind Sarah but Nancy pisses me off. Chris From nobody at spamcop.net Sat Feb 6 21:39:35 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Sat Feb 6 21:40:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Almost under contract References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hkl0rr$12e$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "bar0" wrote in message > news:hkkpns$u9u$1@news.spamcop.net... >> My house is assessed at "Market" value. It has gone from 180K to 690K. My >> taxes have changed by about 4 % over the 12 years. > > Your assessment didn't drop in the last 3 years?! How often do you get > re-assessed? Mine was done within the last 12 months (county does 1/3 of > the lots per year, so every 3 years it changes) and I lost about $60k in > equity in one swell foop! I dunno exactly how much my taxes have gone up > in the last 12 years, but it's a lot more than 4%, I can guarantee you > that. It's done annually. My assessment dropped sgnificantly, my tax went down insignificantly. From dfmanno at mail.com Sat Feb 6 23:51:35 2010 From: dfmanno at mail.com (D.F. Manno) Date: Sat Feb 6 23:55:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: interesting article References: Message-ID: In article , "Chris Willoughby" wrote: > Well, I guess my point is that the demand for a free good is infinite. Really? There are free historic attractions and museums here in Philadelphia; they aren't constantly thronged with visitors. Ditto the free playgrounds. Not everybody in the city has a library card, even though it's called the _Free_ Library. Planned Parenthood gives out free condoms. People still have unprotected sex. And so it goes. -- D.F. Manno | dfmanno@mail.com The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt. (Bertrand Russell) From dfmanno at mail.com Sat Feb 6 23:54:23 2010 From: dfmanno at mail.com (D.F. Manno) Date: Sat Feb 6 23:55:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: quite the garage References: Message-ID: In article , Sylvesterthekat wrote: > http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-brentwood-garage5-2010feb05,0,4655518.story?track=rss > > http://tinyurl.com/yf753zo > > Says he only drives the car when traffic in West LA is light. So that means > early sunday morning basically! Doesn't his living room fill with exhaust whenever he drives in or out? -- D.F. Manno | dfmanno@mail.com The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt. (Bertrand Russell) From me at privacy.net Sun Feb 7 01:58:58 2010 From: me at privacy.net (Frog Prince) Date: Sun Feb 7 02:05:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: MORE @#$%&# SNOW!! References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hkl1qn$1ei$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "Frog Prince" wrote in message > news:hkkvho$ke$1@news.spamcop.net... >> >> Look to the bright side .... Honey Huggin Weather. > > If'n you got a honey.....*sniff*..... For those that have everything but still come up short http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/02/01/sex.robot/index.html?iref=allsearch From bert at iphouse.com Sun Feb 7 14:00:46 2010 From: bert at iphouse.com (Bert Hyman) Date: Sun Feb 7 14:05:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: An utter failure.... References: Message-ID: In news:hkl2f7$1kl$1@news.spamcop.net "Indigo" wrote: > Just got back inside a bit ago after trying my "leaf blower as snow > blower" trick, and it didn't work. Too much snow (3 ft), and snow that > was too heavy. Gah... Even my "snow thrower as snow thrower" can't handle that much at one time. -- Bert Hyman St. Paul, MN bert@iphouse.com From nobody at spamcop.net Sun Feb 7 15:51:35 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Sun Feb 7 15:55:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: An utter failure.... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Bert Hyman" wrote in message news:Xns9D18845F4E666VeebleFetzer@216.154.195.61... > In news:hkl2f7$1kl$1@news.spamcop.net "Indigo" > wrote: > >> Just got back inside a bit ago after trying my "leaf blower as snow >> blower" trick, and it didn't work. Too much snow (3 ft), and snow that >> was too heavy. > > Gah... Even my "snow thrower as snow thrower" can't handle that much at > one time. Yeah, talked to my Dad yesterday (he lives in PA, they only got 18") and even his 4-wheel mega-snow blower (he likes his power tools, just like me ;-) stalled out a couple times because the snow was so heavy it clogged the augers (it's a two stage blower). An hour ago I luckily spotted 4 kids hiking up a nearby street with shovels, yelled out "are you guys looking for work?", thank ghod they said yes! They just got done, the poor things, the snow piles next to my driveway are taller than they are! Cost me $50, and it'll cost me another $15 when the plows get here some day and pile up a 5 ft tall mound of snow between me and the street. I checked the online plow website, and I saw two trucks were close to my neighboorhood (one of the kids said the main street in and out has already been plowed), so I told them to come back tomorrow to finish shoveling me out. Crap! Just rechecked the website and the plows left without coming through here! Oh well, I don't have anywhere to go until late tomorrow afternoon anyway (PT). From me at privacy.net Sun Feb 7 16:11:35 2010 From: me at privacy.net (Frog Prince) Date: Sun Feb 7 16:15:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: An utter failure.... References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hkn94m$pgs$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "Bert Hyman" wrote in message > news:Xns9D18845F4E666VeebleFetzer@216.154.195.61... >> In news:hkl2f7$1kl$1@news.spamcop.net "Indigo" >> wrote: >> >>> Just got back inside a bit ago after trying my "leaf blower as snow >>> blower" trick, and it didn't work. Too much snow (3 ft), and snow that >>> was too heavy. >> >> Gah... Even my "snow thrower as snow thrower" can't handle that much at >> one time. > > Yeah, talked to my Dad yesterday (he lives in PA, they only got 18") and > even his 4-wheel mega-snow blower (he likes his power tools, just like me > ;-) stalled out a couple times because the snow was so heavy it clogged > the augers (it's a two stage blower). > > An hour ago I luckily spotted 4 kids hiking up a nearby street with > shovels, yelled out "are you guys looking for work?", thank ghod they said > yes! They just got done, the poor things, the snow piles next to my > driveway are taller than they are! Cost me $50, and it'll cost me another > $15 when the plows get here some day and pile up a 5 ft tall mound of snow > between me and the street. I checked the online plow website, and I saw > two trucks were close to my neighboorhood (one of the kids said the main > street in and out has already been plowed), so I told them to come back > tomorrow to finish shoveling me out. > > Crap! Just rechecked the website and the plows left without coming through > here! Oh well, I don't have anywhere to go until late tomorrow afternoon > anyway (PT). I just checked and for the time being my kids have green grass clippings all over the drive and blowing down the street. From nobody at spamcop.net Sun Feb 7 16:21:36 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Sun Feb 7 16:25:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Almost under contract In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "bar0" wrote in message news:hkl95a$406$1@news.spamcop.net... > > It's done annually. My assessment dropped sgnificantly, my tax went down > insignificantly. Anually?! You must live in a lowly populated county....do you have tax caps or do you have to pay the entire new rate immediately? From me at privacy.net Sun Feb 7 16:24:24 2010 From: me at privacy.net (Frog Prince) Date: Sun Feb 7 16:30:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: An utter failure.... References: Message-ID: Speaking of Hell Freezing over ... from another group. Cajun died and went straight to hell. The devil assigned him the usual punishment...put him in the mass pit where the heat was melting others. The devil came back sometime later surprised to find the Cajun just sitting around, not even misting, much less sweating. "How come you're not so much as sweating here where everyone else is screaming for relief from the heat?" The Cajun laughed and said, "Man, I was raised in the bayous of Sout Looziana. Dis ain't nothin' but May in Lafayette to me!" The devil decided to really put the Cajun through it. He put him in a sealed off cave in the pit with open blazes and four extra furnaces blasting. When he came back, days later, the Cajun was sitting pretty, had barely begun to bead up with sweat. The devil was outraged. "How is this possible!? You should be melted to a shrieking puddle in these conditions!." The Cajun laughed even harder than before. "Hey, man! I done tole you. I was raised in Sout Looziana. You tink dis is heat?! Dis ain't nothin' but August in Mamou !" So the devil thought, 'Alright, a little reverse ought to do the trick.' He put the Cajun into a corner of hell where no heat ever reached. It was freezing and to add to the Cajun's misery, he added massive icebergs and blasting frozen air. When he returned, the Cajun was shivering, ice hung from every part of him but he was grinning like it was Christmas. Exasperated, the devil asked "HOW!? How is it possible?! You're impervious to heat and here you sit in conditions you can't be used to...freezing cold and yet you're happier than if you were in heaven. WHY?!" The Cajun kept grinning and asked, "Dis mean de Saints won da Super Bowl?" From nobody at spamcop.net Sun Feb 7 16:26:41 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Sun Feb 7 16:30:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: An utter failure.... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Frog Prince" wrote in message news:hknafi$pu7$1@news.spamcop.net... > I just checked and for the time being my kids have green grass clippings > all over the drive and blowing down the street. PPPPLLLLBBBTTTT Come hurricane season, I'll be relaxing comfortably without wondering whether I'll have a house to live in come next year :-P Wait, you're north of Dallas now, eh? Oh well....no weather worries up there I guess.....but you *do* have to deal with Texas political crap....don't think I could handle living in the same state as the shrub.....if I ever saw him in person, well, I'd likely end up inside a blacked-out Escalade pretty quickly.... From nobody at spamcop.net Sun Feb 7 16:29:41 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Sun Feb 7 16:30:10 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: An utter failure.... References: Message-ID: "Frog Prince" wrote in message news:hknafi$pu7$1@news.spamcop.net... > ..... > I just checked and for the time being my kids have green grass clippings > all over the drive and blowing down the street. > You growin' Rye? From nobody at spamcop.net Sun Feb 7 16:35:33 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Sun Feb 7 16:40:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Almost under contract References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hknasu$q4p$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "bar0" wrote in message > news:hkl95a$406$1@news.spamcop.net... >> >> It's done annually. My assessment dropped sgnificantly, my tax went down >> insignificantly. > > Anually?! You must live in a lowly populated county....do you have tax > caps or do you have to pay the entire new rate immediately? It's a town of about 1MM (10**6), like I said; the tax bill rises and falls with the budget, not the assessment. The tax rate, or mill rate as we say it, is set annually after the assessments arte totted up. . From me at privacy.net Sun Feb 7 16:41:44 2010 From: me at privacy.net (Frog Prince) Date: Sun Feb 7 16:55:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: An utter failure.... References: Message-ID: "bar0" wrote in message news:hknbc8$q66$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "Frog Prince" wrote in message > news:hknafi$pu7$1@news.spamcop.net... >> > ..... > >> I just checked and for the time being my kids have green grass clippings >> all over the drive and blowing down the street. >> > > You growin' Rye? Not sure what it is but does not look like Rye. Really doesn't matter so lone as it's green enough to get Indy's goat. From me at privacy.net Sun Feb 7 16:46:30 2010 From: me at privacy.net (Frog Prince) Date: Sun Feb 7 16:55:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: An utter failure.... References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hknb6f$q5s$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "Frog Prince" wrote in message > news:hknafi$pu7$1@news.spamcop.net... >> I just checked and for the time being my kids have green grass clippings >> all over the drive and blowing down the street. > > PPPPLLLLBBBTTTT > > Come hurricane season, I'll be relaxing comfortably without wondering > whether I'll have a house to live in come next year :-P Our family property in NOLA is on high ground (3 ASL) the place on the Mississippi gulf coast was lost to Katrina. Still and all ain't no body froze to death in a Himicane. > > Wait, you're north of Dallas now, eh? Oh well....no weather worries up > there I guess.....but you *do* have to deal with Texas political > crap....don't think I could handle living in the same state as the > shrub.....if I ever saw him in person, well, I'd likely end up inside a > blacked-out Escalade pretty quickly.... He seems to be mellowing out and keeping his head down. Did come to the surface to make an endorsement in the Gov race but the wags are calling that endorsement a wash. From nobody at spamcop.net Sun Feb 7 17:29:16 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Sun Feb 7 17:30:10 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Almost under contract In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "bar0" wrote in message news:hknbna$qcl$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "Indigo" wrote in message > news:hknasu$q4p$1@news.spamcop.net... >> >> "bar0" wrote in message >> news:hkl95a$406$1@news.spamcop.net... >>> >>> It's done annually. My assessment dropped sgnificantly, my tax went down >>> insignificantly. >> >> Anually?! You must live in a lowly populated county....do you have tax >> caps or do you have to pay the entire new rate immediately? > > It's a town of about 1MM (10**6), like I said; the tax bill rises and > falls with the budget, not the assessment. The tax rate, or mill rate as > we say it, is set annually after the assessments arte totted up. . > > Well, *something* ain't adding up here.....my county's population is just under 300,000....and we get assessed every three years, as do every other county in MD. And an increase in the mil rate is the absolutely LAST thing local polikicians go for, they cut spending to the bone before they even think about raising rates (they tend to get voted out pretty quickly when they increase taxes). On the other hand, county and state employees like teachers and such end up getting the short end of the stick almost every time, no salary increases usually, but this fiscal year the state is also mandating 5-10 "furlogh" days, meaning a forced vacation for all but security and "necessary" personnel, without pay of course, to balance the budget. And most of them get paid like crap to start with...it's really unfair...one of the reasons I left my fed gobmin't job in 96, got tired of being (ab)used as a carrot or stick during budget negotiations every year. From joegill at removethis Sun Feb 7 17:59:53 2010 From: joegill at removethis (Joe Gill) Date: Sun Feb 7 18:00:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Looking for an unglaced terracotta tile. Message-ID: I am looking for an unglazed terracotta tile, preferrably 12x12. I have run all sorts of google searchs and other searches. I have tried US and Europe 'stone' places... If anyone has a good lead on a place to obtain 1-2 of those tiles it would be appreciated! One may ask...Why? They are supposedly great cooking tiles for pizza, bread, etc. TIA From nobody at spamcop.net Sun Feb 7 18:14:51 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Sun Feb 7 18:15:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] It's a record.... Message-ID: Just caught some of the local news, my area got an all time record 38 1/2" of snow, even more than I thought! Finally, a front end loader has appeared on my street, hopefully he'll be nice and clear the street to my curb....I could run out there and shove him a $20 (done it before), but the kids are cheaper, it's freezing outside, and the SuperBowl kickoff is a minute away! From nobody at spamcop.net Sun Feb 7 18:31:16 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Sun Feb 7 18:35:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: It's a record.... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hknhh9$sdg$1@news.spamcop.net... > Just caught some of the local news, my area got an all time record 38 1/2" > of snow, even more than I thought! Finally, a front end loader has > appeared on my street, hopefully he'll be nice and clear the street to my > curb....I I LOVE this guy....and I HATE him! He's clearing out every single driveway to wherever the homeowner gave up in their driveway (YEAH!), but he buried our community mailbox under 15 ft of snow! I'll be lucky if I get any mail be March! How are we supposed to pay bills we don't get? Just saw the weather forecast, and we're going to get socked again on Tues nite-Wed day! :-(( Someone please help me before I burst out in tears.....if I can't get to my regular various PT sessions this week I'm going to be in a world of hurt.....think I might have to stop my antibiotic treatment until the weather clears out.... From nobody at spamcop.net Sun Feb 7 19:09:54 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Sun Feb 7 19:10:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Almost under contract References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hknerq$rdu$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "bar0" wrote in message > news:hknbna$qcl$1@news.spamcop.net... >> >> "Indigo" wrote in message >> news:hknasu$q4p$1@news.spamcop.net... >>> >>> "bar0" wrote in message >>> news:hkl95a$406$1@news.spamcop.net... >>>> >>>> It's done annually. My assessment dropped sgnificantly, my tax went >>>> down insignificantly. >>> >>> Anually?! You must live in a lowly populated county....do you have tax >>> caps or do you have to pay the entire new rate immediately? >> >> It's a town of about 1MM (10**6), like I said; the tax bill rises and >> falls with the budget, not the assessment. The tax rate, or mill rate as >> we say it, is set annually after the assessments arte totted up. . >> >> > > Well, *something* ain't adding up here.....my county's population is just > under 300,000....and we get assessed every three years, as do every other > county in MD. And an increase in the mil rate is the absolutely LAST thing > local polikicians go for, they cut spending to the bone before they even > think about raising rates (they tend to get voted out pretty quickly when > they increase taxes). > > On the other hand, county and state employees like teachers and such end > up getting the short end of the stick almost every time, no salary > increases usually, but this fiscal year the state is also mandating 5-10 > "furlogh" days, meaning a forced vacation for all but security and > "necessary" personnel, without pay of course, to balance the budget. And > most of them get paid like crap to start with...it's really unfair...one > of the reasons I left my fed gobmin't job in 96, got tired of being > (ab)used as a carrot or stick during budget negotiations every year. It's in a place where there are no repugnicans or scratchmybacks.. From nobody at spamcop.net Sun Feb 7 19:13:14 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Sun Feb 7 19:15:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Looking for an unglaced terracotta tile. References: Message-ID: "Joe Gill" wrote in message news:hkngli$s5m$1@news.spamcop.net... >I am looking for an unglazed terracotta tile, preferrably 12x12. > I have run all sorts of google searchs and other searches. > I have tried US and Europe 'stone' places... > > If anyone has a good lead on a place to obtain 1-2 of those tiles it would > be appreciated! > > One may ask...Why? > They are supposedly great cooking tiles for pizza, bread, etc. Had a house in Houston once whith those tiles, so someone, at least, used to make them.Have you tried one of those mega pottery barns, or even Home Depot and the like? They're often used on Patios. From me at privacy.net Sun Feb 7 19:12:41 2010 From: me at privacy.net (Frog Prince) Date: Sun Feb 7 19:15:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Looking for an unglaced terracotta tile. References: Message-ID: "Joe Gill" wrote in message news:hkngli$s5m$1@news.spamcop.net... >I am looking for an unglazed terracotta tile, preferrably 12x12. > I have run all sorts of google searchs and other searches. > I have tried US and Europe 'stone' places... > > If anyone has a good lead on a place to obtain 1-2 of those tiles it would > be appreciated! > > One may ask...Why? > They are supposedly great cooking tiles for pizza, bread, etc. > Look up Pampered Chief and find a local dealer/demo person. They have the perfect thing and you don't have to worry about contamination. Raw tiles from Mexico and China often has heavy metal and other things that are harmful to living things. From nobody at spamcop.net Sun Feb 7 19:17:32 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Sun Feb 7 19:20:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Let me tell you about my night References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D18BE30C699CThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > No way it was me! It was "Indigo" ! > >> What you're saying is that your company doesn't offer temp or LTD >> insurance? How small is your company? > > We have LTD but you have to be off until STD (state insurance) runs out to > qualify. We're around 20... Your ages are around 20? you have to wait 20 days? They really call it STD? Down Here STD's are something else altogether. From nobody at spamcop.net Sun Feb 7 23:38:15 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Heidi) Date: Sun Feb 7 23:40:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Looking for an unglaced terracotta tile. References: Message-ID: "Joe Gill" wrote in message news:hkngli$s5m$1@news.spamcop.net... >I am looking for an unglazed terracotta tile, preferrably 12x12. > I have run all sorts of google searchs and other searches. > I have tried US and Europe 'stone' places... > > If anyone has a good lead on a place to obtain 1-2 of those tiles it would > be appreciated! > > One may ask...Why? > They are supposedly great cooking tiles for pizza, bread, etc. > > TIA Did you try Amazon? http://www.amazon.com/Old-Stone-Oven-14-Inch-16-Inch/dp/B0000E1FDA From MikeE at ster.invalid Mon Feb 8 07:31:41 2010 From: MikeE at ster.invalid (Mike Easter) Date: Mon Feb 8 07:35:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Looking for an unglaced terracotta tile. In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Joe Gill wrote: > I am looking for an unglazed terracotta tile, preferrably 12x12. > I have run all sorts of google searchs and other searches. > I have tried US and Europe 'stone' places... > > If anyone has a good lead on a place to obtain 1-2 of those tiles it > would be appreciated! > > One may ask...Why? > They are supposedly great cooking tiles for pizza, bread, etc. The last time I traveled to Mexico with a friend to pick up tiles for a project he was working on, we went to Tecate where there were a world of tile sellers and homegrown little tile manufacturers/plants and incidentally and of course, the Tecate brewery :-) I just did a brief search to see if the Tecate tile people were doing any advertising on the web and I ran into a video of Bob Vila visiting a small Tecate tile plant which does everything by hand, the old fashioned way. The friend and I made more than one trip sometimes hauling tiles in an old rental car (rentawreck) and once he even hauled a small number of tiles in a Cessna 150 - 2 place airplane with very little payload capacity. There is a funny (as opposed to tragic Darwin) story about how the tiles in the front of the airplane shifted to interfere with the rudder pedals - dual control on the empty pax side - and the best way for him to land was by just 'fighting' against the tile force, because it wasn't practical to reach the tiles to move them away. -- Mike Easter From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 8 13:03:20 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Mon Feb 8 13:05:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Almost under contract In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "bar0" wrote in message news:hknkol$tfb$1@news.spamcop.net... > > It's in a place where there are no repugnicans or scratchmybacks.. I see your IP is SW Bell, so you must be in the states, but where exactly is this politics-free utopia? From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 8 13:20:20 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Mon Feb 8 13:25:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: It's a record.... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D18BDAE48F6EThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > No way it was me! It was "Indigo" ! > >> my area got an all time record 38 1/2" >> of snow > > You lucky fricking bastard! Ah, man! We got a lowsy 2-3" of snow! Arg! LUCKY???? ARE YOU INSANE???? Did you miss the part that I won't see my mailbox for weeks? And don't worry, your area is invited to the next snowstorm coming Tuesday nite-Wednesday morning. From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 8 13:29:55 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Mon Feb 8 13:30:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Let me tell you about my night In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D18BE30C699CThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > No way it was me! It was "Indigo" ! > >> What you're saying is that your company doesn't offer temp or LTD >> insurance? How small is your company? > > We have LTD but you have to be off until STD (state insurance) runs out to > qualify. We're around 20... Your state provides short term disability? That's weird.....my old company just offered a combined STD/LTD plan from UNUM , you paid the premiums with post-tax money out of your paycheck (making every penny of the benefits tax-free, thank ghod). You initially went on STD, up to 3 months, and if you still couldn't work you went on LTD. So does the state plan pay the same as the long term plan, i.e. 66% of your gross salary? If so, no wonder NY's budget woes are so bad! From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 8 13:41:43 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Mon Feb 8 13:45:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Let me tell you about my night In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D1950CD2A6B4ThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > It wasn't me! It was "Indigo" ! > >> that's Ativan > > Weaned of everything now, looks. All that got me was tired! Time for > some > coffee! Really? You got off the SSRI that quickly? Guess since you weren't on it for that long helped you wean off it more quickly than someone taking it long term. Congrats, BTW.....slowly working towards reducing my drug and supplement regimen myself, almost ready to drop the hydrocortisone completely. Unfortunately, I had to ADD another supplement last week, like I wrote earlier (folic acid)......*sigh*.... and it turns out I can't stop taking the drug (CSM) that was removing it from my body after all......the 3 days I didn't take the CSM I slept until 1:00-2:00 pm......took it last night, woke up at 7:00 am this morning. So obviously it is a key to removing the toxins that the antibiotics are creating by killing off stuff, it's just unfortunate that it also binds to some pretty important vitamins too.....although I don't mind it removing vitamin D (which ain't even a vitamin, it's an amino acid)....the cell wall disease I have feeds on Vit D, so you're supposed to completely remove it from your diet to help "starve out" the buggers, but I can't be arsed to check the chemical contents of every damn piece of food I eat. From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 8 13:46:08 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Mon Feb 8 13:50:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Looking for an unglaced terracotta tile. In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "bar0" wrote in message news:hknkuu$tkc$1@news.spamcop.net... > Had a house in Houston once whith those tiles, so someone, at least, used > to make them.Have you tried one of those mega pottery barns, or even Home > Depot and the like? > > They're often used on Patios. I wouldn't trust a stone built for industrial use like a patio to be safe for cooking food on.....why not go to a cooking goods store or Bed Bath Beyond and buy a "pizza stone"? I got one as a wedding gift, and it does work great for cooking breads and homemade pizza. From me at privacy.net Mon Feb 8 14:02:47 2010 From: me at privacy.net (anon) Date: Mon Feb 8 14:05:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: quite the garage References: Message-ID: "D.F. Manno" wrote in message news:dfmanno-E16C6D.23542306022010@news.cesmail.net... > In article , > Sylvesterthekat wrote: > >> http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-brentwood-garage5-2010feb05,0,4655518.story?track=rss >> >> http://tinyurl.com/yf753zo >> >> Says he only drives the car when traffic in West LA is light. So that >> means >> early sunday morning basically! > > Doesn't his living room fill with exhaust whenever he drives in or out? He says he coasts it in and out - therefore no exhaust. While I was learning to drive, I backed the car out of a backyard two car garage, backing the car over in front of the other bay, (sort of a tight S path), then backing out a driveway twenty feet long and six inches wider than the car (house on one side and tall fence on other side) to the street. If I could do that , he certainly could do the same without any problem. > > -- > D.F. Manno | dfmanno@mail.com > The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the > intelligent are full of doubt. (Bertrand Russell) From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 8 14:21:38 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Mon Feb 8 14:25:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Almost under contract In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hkpjl7$iqh$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "bar0" wrote in message > news:hknkol$tfb$1@news.spamcop.net... >> >> It's in a place where there are no repugnicans or scratchmybacks.. > > I see your IP is SW Bell, so you must be in the states, but where exactly > is this politics-free utopia? You need to pay attention, and it's not politics free. The parties are , for the most part, Liberal, Conservative, Heritage, and NDP, although in many places city/district level politics are "Non-partisan" Which actually only means they're not dominated by national parties. Anyway, it's not utopia, but the city is called Calgary, it's in Alberta Canada. I have a house there, I live in the SW US. By the way, around the Bay area in the '60s local politics worked pretty much the same way. Anyway, while people do fight over their own home valuations, the overall fight is over the city budget, not what the housing market is doing. And city workers are unionized, if they play the games you mentioned with city workers run into strikes. After several weeks of no garbage collection or park maintenance, or building inspections, the parties usually figure out that they need each other. In Texas the Reps, and the tea parties want to eliminate property taxes altogether and replace them with a broad sales tax, which according to a recent opinion piece will only be 1% higher than it is now. There is no state income tax. Good luck with the rate, but lots of people want to be suckered into a regressive tax it seems. Of course it's fair, since those who relatively speaking will bear the brunt of the burden are using more services , right? The wealthy don't cost the city/county/state/school districts much right? From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 8 14:43:53 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Mon Feb 8 14:45:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: It's a record.... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D198E099F353ThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... Someone will dig out the mailboxes - > everyone wants mail. Well. You know what I mean. Not likely. Since it was well below freezing last night when the pile was created on top of the mailbox, it's now likely frozen. And today it's brilliantly sunny, so the top layers of the mound will melt even deeper, then tonite it will be encased in a even thicker layer of ice. Doubt any of my neighbors have big ice picks....in any case, it would take everyone on my end of the street to join together to dig it out, it's a monstrous job -- the pile is at least 15 ft tall x 30 ft wide x 20 ft deep (goes all the way from the street to the fence in that guy's yard, which is exactly 20 ft from the street). Of course that entire pile wouldn't need to be removed, but where the hell would we put the snow we shoveled out? We'd need a bucket brigade to carry it elsewhere to dump it! Then there's the danger of the remaining pile collapsing in on some poor soul getting their mail......so to be safe, most of the pile would need to go. Like I said, nearly impossible to do with hand tools....well, too difficult for anyone to try....and everyone is still exhausted from shoveling out their driveways and walkways, I'd think. From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 8 14:54:19 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Mon Feb 8 14:55:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Almost under contract In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "bar0" wrote in message news:hkpo82$keg$1@news.spamcop.net... > > Anyway, it's not utopia, but the city is called Calgary, it's in Alberta > Canada. I have a house there, I live in the SW US. Oh, it's in Canada, now it makes sense....especially western Canada, far away from the separatist loonies in Quebec. > Anyway, while people do fight over their own home valuations, the overall > fight is over the city budget, not what the housing market is doing. > And city workers are unionized, if they play the games you mentioned with > city workers run into strikes. After several weeks of no garbage > collection or park maintenance, or building inspections, the parties > usually figure out that they need each other. Although most of the groups I mentioned are unionized, most of them also have riders in their contracts that they may not go on strike, if they do they get fired. They basically gave up the right to strike to get raises. If the there is even a rumor of a mass "sick out" day to protest those in charge instantly and publicly remind the union(s) that they risk getting fired if they go ahead with the protest. > > In Texas the Reps, and the tea parties want to eliminate property taxes > altogether and replace them with a broad sales tax, which according to a > recent opinion piece will only be 1% higher than it is now. There is no > state income tax. > > Good luck with the rate, but lots of people want to be suckered into a > regressive tax it seems. Of course it's fair, since those who relatively > speaking will bear the brunt of the burden are using more services , > right? The wealthy don't cost the city/county/state/school districts much > right? Gee, why am I not surprised? Sales taxes are THE most regressive tax there is! Just another money grab by the rich, the big property owners, to lower their taxes on the backs of the poor....more republigan crap. Aren't they satisified to have driven the US into near economic ruin with their shitty decisions? From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 8 14:55:55 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Mon Feb 8 15:00:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: bt... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D18BD7A22D43ThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... >> So why can't you do the same thing instead of trying to write text >> messages directly to the cell phone with your BT keyboard? > > 'Cause... > 1: that's not what I want to do > 2: I don't have a nokia Don't tell me your wonderful over-priced new phone doesn't come with a software suite to communicate with your PC?!? From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 8 14:58:54 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Mon Feb 8 15:00:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Let me tell you about my night In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D198E341FA34ThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > It wasn't me! It was "Indigo" ! > >> So does the state plan pay the same as the long term plan, i.e. 66% of >> your gross salary? If so, no wonder NY's budget woes are so bad! > > The state plan sucks. It pays something like $166/week but not until > after > the second week. I am not joking. It is pathetic. That sounds more like unemployment or SSDI than a viable STD plan. Can companies offer STD plans on their own? And if so, I guess your company is too small to obtain one? Man, that stinks! What are you supposed to do if you need surgery like I had, where you're out of work for months? Go broke? From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 8 15:01:46 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Mon Feb 8 15:05:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Almost under contract In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hkpq5a$l2j$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "bar0" wrote in message > news:hkpo82$keg$1@news.spamcop.net... >> >> Anyway, it's not utopia, but the city is called Calgary, it's in Alberta >> Canada. I have a house there, I live in the SW US. > > Oh, it's in Canada, now it makes sense....especially western Canada, far > away from the separatist loonies in Quebec. > > >> Anyway, while people do fight over their own home valuations, the overall >> fight is over the city budget, not what the housing market is doing. >> And city workers are unionized, if they play the games you mentioned with >> city workers run into strikes. After several weeks of no garbage >> collection or park maintenance, or building inspections, the parties >> usually figure out that they need each other. > > Although most of the groups I mentioned are unionized, most of them also > have riders in their contracts that they may not go on strike, if they do > they get fired. They basically gave up the right to strike to get raises. > If the there is even a rumor of a mass "sick out" day to protest those in > charge instantly and publicly remind the union(s) that they risk getting > fired if they go ahead with the protest. > > >> >> In Texas the Reps, and the tea parties want to eliminate property taxes >> altogether and replace them with a broad sales tax, which according to a >> recent opinion piece will only be 1% higher than it is now. There is no >> state income tax. >> >> Good luck with the rate, but lots of people want to be suckered into a >> regressive tax it seems. Of course it's fair, since those who relatively >> speaking will bear the brunt of the burden are using more services , >> right? The wealthy don't cost the city/county/state/school districts >> much right? > > Gee, why am I not surprised? Sales taxes are THE most regressive tax there > is! Just another money grab by the rich, the big property owners, to lower > their taxes on the backs of the poor....more republigan crap. Aren't they > satisified to have driven the US into near economic ruin with their shitty > decisions? Get with the program, the economic meltdown and deficits have all been caused since Jan 20 2009. From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 8 15:11:48 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Mon Feb 8 15:15:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Let me tell you about my night In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D198E85FBF76ThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > > Dude... It hasn't been all that fun but then being on it wasn't that fun > either. But, hey, the panic attack an hour ago was amazing... Like > someone came up and punched me right in the gut. That strong. That fast. > Absolutely amazing (and not in a good way). Well, I wouldn't have given up on some short term drug like Xanax so quickly.....my panic attacks didn't stop until I learned enough about my disease and what is was doing to me to understand that I wasn't going to die from it after all.....and that's what my panic attacks felt like, that I was going to die.....the funny (weird) part of it was back then I really didn't care if I died, at least I'd escape the miserable life I had and the pain would end....and yeah, the worst part is that they just hit you all the sudden, can't see them coming, I never figured out what events or thoughts set them off either. Luckily I wasn't able to do much driving back then! Nuts. That just reminded me that I haven't heard from my Lymie friend in a while, a bad sign....over Xmas she was so sick she even mentioned the "s" word, and I don't mean spam....I'd better get in touch with her to pump her up a bit.... From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 8 15:16:36 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Mon Feb 8 15:20:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Let me tell you about my night In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D1999A4CA0BEThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > Companies can offer whatever they want. We're not too small. It's not > grand, no. If you need surgery then you take it like a man, of course! > If > you're off for months then you probably get into LTD. But you said LTD doesn't kick in until after 3 months? Or maybe there's > something with the health insurance plan. I could look into that, I > suppose. I'd certainly want to know! My guess is that for me to qualify I'd have to be in the hospital > and let me tell you about how much I'd like to do that... Not very much, I expect.....you certainly don't want to go to a local hospital psych ward in any case..... From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 8 15:21:44 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Mon Feb 8 15:25:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: quite the garage In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "anon" wrote in message news:hkpn4t$k13$1@news.spamcop.net... > While I was learning to drive, I backed the car out of a backyard two car > garage, backing the car over in front of the other bay, (sort of a tight > S path), then backing out a driveway twenty feet long and six inches wider > than the car (house on one side and tall fence on other side) to the > street. Access to my Dad's backyard garage is almost identical to what you described, except it's more like a 50 ft long escape chute......it's so bad I don't even park back there anymore, and I have great visibility out of the back of my car.....when you get to the corner of the front of the house you have to make two extremely precise double 45 degree turns within the space of a foot or two or you either back into a tree or clip the edge of the house. From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 8 15:22:54 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Mon Feb 8 15:25:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: bt... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D1999B0D5168ThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > It wasn't me! It was "Indigo" ! > >> Don't tell me your wonderful over-priced new phone doesn't come with a >> software suite to communicate with your PC?!? > > It's called itunes!\ Big whoop....I'll stick with my Nokia... From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 8 15:24:59 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Mon Feb 8 15:25:10 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: It's a record.... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D1999DF56B4AThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > It wasn't me! It was "Indigo" ! > >> Since it was well below freezing last night when the pile was >> created on top of the mailbox, it's now likely frozen > > Don't be such a pessimist and get out your flame thrower! Hmmmm....now that's not a bad idea....pitch in to rent one of those kerosene powered jet-blast heaters that contractors use when working outside in the winter....we could melt the pile....and create a skating rink on the road..... From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 8 15:32:56 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Mon Feb 8 15:35:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Let me tell you about my night In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hkpqdt$l3b$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "Charles" wrote in message > news:Xns9D198E341FA34ThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... >> It wasn't me! It was "Indigo" ! >> >>> So does the state plan pay the same as the long term plan, i.e. 66% of >>> your gross salary? If so, no wonder NY's budget woes are so bad! >> >> The state plan sucks. It pays something like $166/week but not until >> after >> the second week. I am not joking. It is pathetic. > > That sounds more like unemployment or SSDI than a viable STD plan. Can > companies offer STD plans on their own? And if so, I guess your company is > too small to obtain one? Man, that stinks! What are you supposed to do if > you need surgery like I had, where you're out of work for months? Go > broke? Ideally yes, that way all your wealth (whatever it is) gets recycled into the economy and you are motivated to work harder. Get with the program From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 8 15:46:10 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Mon Feb 8 15:50:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: It's a record.... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D1999DF56B4AThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > It wasn't me! It was "Indigo" ! > >> Since it was well below freezing last night when the pile was >> created on top of the mailbox, it's now likely frozen > > Don't be such a pessimist and get out your flame thrower! Nukes should do it. From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 8 15:46:50 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Mon Feb 8 15:50:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: It's a record.... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hkpruq$lmb$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "Charles" wrote in message > news:Xns9D1999DF56B4AThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... >> It wasn't me! It was "Indigo" ! >> >>> Since it was well below freezing last night when the pile was >>> created on top of the mailbox, it's now likely frozen >> >> Don't be such a pessimist and get out your flame thrower! > > Hmmmm....now that's not a bad idea....pitch in to rent one of those > kerosene powered jet-blast heaters that contractors use when working > outside in the winter....we could melt the pile....and create a skating > rink on the road..... ... and burn all your bills while you're at it From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 8 19:32:10 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Heidi) Date: Mon Feb 8 19:35:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: It's a record.... References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hknig2$sqd$1@news.spamcop.net... > > I LOVE this guy....and I HATE him! He's clearing out every single driveway > to wherever the homeowner gave up in their driveway (YEAH!), but he buried > our community mailbox under 15 ft of snow! I'll be lucky if I get any mail > be March! How are we supposed to pay bills we don't get? I think it's illegal to obstruct federal property, (they get all hairy if anything that isn't real mail is stuffed in your mailbox) and I'm thinking if your mailman tries to deliver and finds some asshat has blocked it, he will be in very deep doo doo. You can always call the cops if he doesn't clean it. From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 8 19:35:46 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Heidi) Date: Mon Feb 8 19:40:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: interesting article References: Message-ID: "Chris Willoughby" wrote in message news:hkl4p8$2ds$1@news.spamcop.net... > "Mike Easter" wrote in message > news:hkih6e$4n4$1@news.spamcop.net... >> I'm about as negative toward Sarah Palin as I am toward Nancy Pelosi. >> >> >> -- >> Mike Easter > > I don't mind Sarah but Nancy pisses me off. Oh, I mind Sarah. Mostly because she is stupid. Dumber than a box of rocks. Snide, snarky, without any sort of substance beyond empty quotes and junior high 'mean girl' vocabulary. Now why isn't anyone saying it out loud? Because I do, every time I see her open her yap, it's followed with "......but she's stupid!". How anyone, even the most ardent, anti Obama Republican can even consider her being part of the next election speaks volumes about how gormless and lazy the right wing has become. From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 8 19:49:51 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Mon Feb 8 19:50:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: It's a record.... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "bar0" wrote in message news:hkpt7r$m4c$1@news.spamcop.net... >> Hmmmm....now that's not a bad idea....pitch in to rent one of those >> kerosene powered jet-blast heaters that contractors use when working >> outside in the winter....we could melt the pile....and create a skating >> rink on the road..... > > ... and burn all your bills while you're at it No need, guess the county sent someone to dig out all the cluster mailboxes. I went out today for a massage and noticed that the mailbox area had been very nicely cleaned out, and so were the fire hydrants. From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 8 19:51:54 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Mon Feb 8 19:55:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: It's a record.... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Heidi" wrote in message news:hkqaea$qt8$1@news.spamcop.net... > > I think it's illegal to obstruct federal property, (they get all hairy if > anything that isn't real mail is stuffed in your mailbox) and I'm > thinking if your mailman tries to deliver and finds some asshat has > blocked it, he will be in very deep doo doo. You can always call the cops > if he doesn't clean it. Our HOA "rules" state that whomever's property that the cluster box sits on is primarily responsible for maintaining clear access to it.....not very fair....but like I replied to BarO, someone shoveled it out today..... From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 8 19:54:39 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Mon Feb 8 19:55:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Let me tell you about my night In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D19A1403C781ThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > It wasn't me! It was "Indigo" ! > >> But you said LTD doesn't kick in until after 3 months? > > Something like that, I think. So you're basically screwed if you need surgery that puts you out of work for a couple months? That makes absolutely no sense to me......most people could not survive without a paycheck for 3 months.....that piddly state payout wouldn't even pay my internet/cable bill! From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 8 19:55:30 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Mon Feb 8 20:00:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: bt... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D19A15DDCA50ThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > It wasn't me! It was "Indigo" ! > >> .I'll stick with my Nokia... > > The phone does rock. But I need an external keyboard, darn it! Doesn't that thing have a "virtual" keyboard? Like a touch screen keyboard? From me at privacy.net Mon Feb 8 22:08:08 2010 From: me at privacy.net (anon) Date: Mon Feb 8 22:10:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: quite the garage References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hkproo$llr$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "anon" wrote in message > news:hkpn4t$k13$1@news.spamcop.net... >> While I was learning to drive, I backed the car out of a backyard two car >> garage, backing the car over in front of the other bay, (sort of a tight >> S path), then backing out a driveway twenty feet long and six inches >> wider than the car (house on one side and tall fence on other side) to >> the street. > > Access to my Dad's backyard garage is almost identical to what you > described, except it's more like a 50 ft long escape chute......it's so > bad I don't even park back there anymore, and I have great visibility out > of the back of my car.....when you get to the corner of the front of the > house you have to make two extremely precise double 45 degree turns within > the space of a foot or two or you either back into a tree or clip the edge > of the house. Gees, I thought mine was bad. Your extra 45 degree turns beats mine all hollow. I DID have good visibility out the back. But backing??? From what I have heard, most people can't do what we had to do. Maybe some truckers might have loading docks like our driveways. From me at privacy.net Mon Feb 8 22:20:15 2010 From: me at privacy.net (anon) Date: Mon Feb 8 22:25:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Let me tell you about my night References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D19A14C0B63ThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > It wasn't me! It was "bar0" ! > >> Get with the program > > I'm trying! How about a retirement system like mine. L.A. Calif. County after working there for 25 years. They pay the full premium for my choice of four or five hmo plans. Co-pay for office calls and prescriptions = ZERO Hmo includes in-patient and out-patient and hospital (all free.) Actually even the plan while still working was the same. Had cataract surgery in both eyes (no charge.) In addition, my TWO six week (off work) convalescences was time off at full pay.. From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 8 23:01:14 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Mon Feb 8 23:05:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: bt... References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D1999B0D5168ThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > It wasn't me! It was "Indigo" ! > >> Don't tell me your wonderful over-priced new phone doesn't come with a >> software suite to communicate with your PC?!? > > It's called itunes! Funny, I put bt cakes in the bird baths. From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 8 23:02:51 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Mon Feb 8 23:05:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: interesting article References: Message-ID: "Heidi" wrote in message news:hkqal2$qtr$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "Chris Willoughby" wrote in message > news:hkl4p8$2ds$1@news.spamcop.net... >> "Mike Easter" wrote in message >> news:hkih6e$4n4$1@news.spamcop.net... >>> I'm about as negative toward Sarah Palin as I am toward Nancy Pelosi. >>> >>> >>> -- >>> Mike Easter >> >> I don't mind Sarah but Nancy pisses me off. > > Oh, I mind Sarah. Mostly because she is stupid. Dumber than a box of > rocks. Snide, snarky, without any sort of substance beyond empty quotes > and junior high 'mean girl' vocabulary. Now why isn't anyone saying it > out loud? Because I do, every time I see her open her yap, it's followed > with "......but she's stupid!". > > How anyone, even the most ardent, anti Obama Republican can even consider > her being part of the next election speaks volumes about how gormless and > lazy the right wing has become. She just wants government to get out of the way. From nobody at spamcop.net Tue Feb 9 14:44:48 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Tue Feb 9 14:45:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: bt... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D19DAFB1AA0AThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > No way it was me! It was "Indigo" ! > >> Doesn't that thing have a "virtual" keyboard? Like a touch screen >> keyboard? >> > > Yeah but so what? It has the best virtual keyboard out there - really. > But it's still virtual. Lame! I can't believe how much you're bitching about this effing phone! Take the damn thing back already! From nobody at spamcop.net Tue Feb 9 14:58:50 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Tue Feb 9 15:00:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: It's not often that I guffaw listening to NPR In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D1A4B08AD8EAThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > But hearing about the Euro zone troubles had me busting out. It was > really > the acronyms that did it for me. You'd have to listen to the podcast, or > something... It's the long slow setup, really, that makes it so funny. > 'Cause if I just tell you, well, you'll say it's funny but not that funny. > Oh. Whatever. Without further ado I give you... > http://blogs.ft.com/ft-dot-comment/2010/02/05/stupid-investors-in-pigs/ I knew what you were talking about after reading the first sentence. PIGS = Portugal Italy Greece Spain. The reason they are in the news so much lately (and why your 401(k) or IRA had taken a huge nosedive in the last week, won't say how much I'm down, it's sickening) is that those countries, Greece in particular, are thought to be in such deep financial trouble that they may default on bunches of loans and government backed bonds. Lots of global/emerging market funds contain such bonds, and they've gotten hammered mercilessly after an avg. 80% gain over the last year. This fear of defaults has caused the value of the Euro to crash and the dollar to sail upwards, making imports more expensive and exports less valuable (over there, not here), putting a big dent in the Euro ecomomies. Greece is said to only have enough money to keep going for another few months. Dunno why they don't just print more like the US always does? Oh, maybe they have some sense of fiscal restraint over there? At least the market is up today nicely....can't take too many more down days of DOW losses over 100 pts.....it's getting depressing....caught me with my pants down right in the middle of rebalancing my IRA....ouch..... From nobody at spamcop.net Tue Feb 9 15:00:49 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Tue Feb 9 15:05:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Let me tell you about my night In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D19DAE3A6120ThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > No way it was me! It was "Indigo" ! > >> So you're basically screwed if you need surgery that puts you out of >> work for a couple months? > > Well, yes. I don't believe it.....that just can't be possible....I'd be lobbying my boss to get the company to look into a private STD plan if I were you....that's just insane! From nobody at spamcop.net Tue Feb 9 15:07:13 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Tue Feb 9 15:10:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Let me tell you about my night In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "anon" wrote in message news:hkqk9l$u6j$1@news.spamcop.net... > > How about a retirement system like mine. L.A. Calif. County after working > there for 25 years. > > They pay the full premium for my choice of four or five hmo plans. > > Co-pay for office calls and prescriptions = ZERO > > Hmo includes in-patient and out-patient and hospital (all free.) > > Actually even the plan while still working was the same. Had cataract > surgery in both eyes (no charge.) In addition, my TWO six week (off work) > convalescences was time off at full pay.. > No wonder CA is facing such an enormous deficit! That's outrageous! Course then there's the recent local debacle over retirement plans and such.....the Mayor of Baltimore was recently charged with 7 counts of felony theft -- she "collected", rather demanded, local real estate developers to donate gift cards to her office so she could distribute them to charities of her choice, namely her. She pled out on one charge, and is actually going to get her full pay in "retirement" for the rest of her life! What a croc! What a ripoff to the taxpayers! From nobody at spamcop.net Tue Feb 9 15:23:15 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Tue Feb 9 15:25:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: quite the garage In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "anon" wrote in message news:hkqjiu$tvb$1@news.spamcop.net... > Gees, I thought mine was bad. > > Your extra 45 degree turns beats mine all hollow. Well, he has the luxury of doing a U-turn in the largish paved area in back when he leaves the garage so he can drive out frontwards, so it was never really a concern to him. The area is large enough to hold a nice half court basketball game, which we did all the time when I was growing up. He buried a steel pole in concrete and attached a backboard and hoop to it for me and my older sister to practice (we both played b-ball in high school, she played on the Varsity team in college). I dunno why he never chopped that effing tree down to help out the rest of us. Now that my sister's MS has gotten bad enough that she has to use a wheelchair at times, she has to park in back every time she visits him, which is often. And they had a Cherokee for a while, I couldn't imagine having to backup something that big down that treacherous path. > > But backing??? From what I have heard, most people can't do what we had to > do. Maybe some truckers might have loading docks like our driveways. > What truckers can do backing up 18 wheelers amazes me (if they're good, if they're not they will drive you insane if they're blocking the road). And those folks that make a simple 1 pt turn backing out of a parking space into a 9 pt turn because they have no clue where the rear of their car ends drive me nuts! You watch in amazement (and extreme annoyance) when they stop backing up with more than 5 ft of clearance behind them.....makes me want to hop out of my car, throw them out of the driver's seat, and do it myself! From nobody at spamcop.net Tue Feb 9 16:42:41 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Tue Feb 9 16:45:10 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: An utter failure.... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D1A822F02C4sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > > I hope you had plenty of supplies.... Someone (maybe you?) needs to invent > a foolproof and easy snow removing machine for the masses. It'd make > fortunes. It's called a bobcat..... From nobody at spamcop.net Tue Feb 9 16:47:03 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Tue Feb 9 16:50:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: It's a record.... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D1A8455C29F2sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > > Wow that poor mofo was out there on sunday evening doing that crap?! Got news for you -- there were HUNDREDS of poor mofo's out there for more than 48 hours straight -- every piece of heavy equipment the counties could scrounge up, beg, steal, or borrow was in use! From nobody at spamcop.net Tue Feb 9 16:48:34 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Tue Feb 9 16:50:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: It's a record.... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D1A848238D32sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > "Indigo" wrote in > news:hknig2$sqd$1@news.spamcop.net: > >>How are we supposed to pay bills we don't >> get? > > You still get paper bills?! > > Yes, for record keeping. But I pay them all online. From nobody at spamcop.net Tue Feb 9 16:49:32 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Tue Feb 9 16:50:10 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Let me tell you about my night In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D1A857F7451Asylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > "Indigo" wrote in > news:hkplt7$jjg$1@news.spamcop.net: > >>the cell wall disease I have feeds on Vit D, so you're >> supposed to completely remove it from your diet to help "starve out" >> the buggers, but I can't be arsed to check the chemical contents of >> every damn piece of food I eat. >> >> > > I guess going out in the sun isn't a danger for you right now lol Not hardly....and it just started snowing again *sniff*.... From nobody at spamcop.net Tue Feb 9 16:58:00 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Tue Feb 9 17:00:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: quite the garage In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D1A8695BC26Fsylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > "Indigo" wrote in > news:hkproo$llr$1@news.spamcop.net: > >> Access to my Dad's backyard garage is almost identical to what you >> described, except it's more like a 50 ft long escape chute......it's >> so bad I don't even park back there anymore, and I have great >> visibility out of the back of my car.....when you get to the corner of >> the front of the house you have to make two extremely precise double >> 45 degree turns within the space of a foot or two or you either back >> into a tree or clip the edge of the house. >> >> > > I wonder which moron thought that design up. My Dad, of course! Didn't have much choice in the matter in any case. He was space bound by the side of the house and the ancient hedgerow that runs along the property line. From nobody at spamcop.net Tue Feb 9 16:59:55 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Tue Feb 9 17:00:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: quite the garage In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D1A89753948Csylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uLECuGK07U > > (beware, once you start on these 'fails' you'll be sucked in for hours) Comes up blank for me. From nobody at spamcop.net Tue Feb 9 17:03:13 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Tue Feb 9 17:05:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: quite the garage In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D1A81DD27A3Csylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > "Indigo" wrote in > news:hkl1un$1f0$1@news.spamcop.net: > > No idea. He had a pretty old car but they're very heavy so I'd be > surprised > if it doesn't need some assistance. Ah but wait, like our car, I think his > is mid or rear engined so there's probably no power steering. What makes you say that? Almost all racecars (skipping NASCAR) are mid or rear engined, and they all run power steering, except maybe the open wheelers. Think of LeMan's type racers, is what I mean. From me at privacy.net Tue Feb 9 17:26:53 2010 From: me at privacy.net (Frog Prince) Date: Tue Feb 9 17:40:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Almost under contract References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D1A89BA7E14Dsylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > "Indigo" wrote in > news:hkil29$5uu$1@news.spamcop.net: > > >> You misunderstood what I meant. I don't "keep" cards from S.O.'s, or >> rather I discard them when the relationship ends. What I have is a >> collection of unused new Xmas cards that I've collected over the >> years, many of them which I got for donating money to various >> charities -- they send you the free cards and ask for a donation. Many >> of them are created by folks disabled by this and that, so of course I >> send in a check and keep the cards for some future use. >> >> > > oohhhh ok gotcha. i think we might have got some of those this year, along > with untold sheets of name labels and one or two calendars. honestly, > since > we bought the house the charities have been unstoppable! Do like my daughter did when she purchased her house. Took a made up name (it was obvious if you gave it a though) and send a plaintive letter requesting their assistance. All she received was response (when there were responses) as to why they were unable to offer any assistance. She did not, however, receive another request for a donation. BTW she THE one of mine that invited the Jehovah Witness folk into the living room decorated with devil worship stuff. I think the pentagrams drawn in magic dust on the LR floor was the clincher as not one of the JW troops have been seen in the neighborhood since. From me at privacy.net Tue Feb 9 17:34:13 2010 From: me at privacy.net (Frog Prince) Date: Tue Feb 9 17:40:10 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Let me tell you about my night References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D1A85D675111sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > Charles wrote in > news:Xns9D198E341FA34ThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61: > >> The state plan sucks. It pays something like $166/week but not until >> after the second week. I am not joking. It is pathetic. > > who on earth can live on $166 a week? some homeless dude? In some areas that's just enough to disqualify the recipient from most assistance. From nobody at spamcop.net Tue Feb 9 17:53:59 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Tue Feb 9 17:55:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Almost under contract In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Frog Prince" wrote in message news:hksnve$log$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message > news:Xns9D1A89BA7E14Dsylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... >> "Indigo" wrote in >> news:hkil29$5uu$1@news.spamcop.net: >> >> >>> You misunderstood what I meant. I don't "keep" cards from S.O.'s, or >>> rather I discard them when the relationship ends. What I have is a >>> collection of unused new Xmas cards that I've collected over the >>> years, many of them which I got for donating money to various >>> charities -- they send you the free cards and ask for a donation. Many >>> of them are created by folks disabled by this and that, so of course I >>> send in a check and keep the cards for some future use. >>> >>> >> >> oohhhh ok gotcha. i think we might have got some of those this year, >> along >> with untold sheets of name labels and one or two calendars. honestly, >> since >> we bought the house the charities have been unstoppable! > > Do like my daughter did when she purchased her house. Took a made up name > (it was obvious if you gave it a though) and send a plaintive letter > requesting their assistance. > > All she received was response (when there were responses) as to why they > were unable to offer any assistance. > > She did not, however, receive another request for a donation. > > BTW she THE one of mine that invited the Jehovah Witness folk into the > living room decorated with devil worship stuff. I think the pentagrams > drawn in magic dust on the LR floor was the clincher as not one of the JW > troops have been seen in the neighborhood since. > > I remember my dad telling the nice man at the door that he would be welcome to come in but that he was in a very blasphemous mood. From nobody at spamcop.net Tue Feb 9 18:31:49 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Heidi) Date: Tue Feb 9 18:35:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: quite the garage References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D1A8695BC26Fsylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > "Indigo" wrote in > news:hkproo$llr$1@news.spamcop.net: > >> Access to my Dad's backyard garage is almost identical to what you >> described, except it's more like a 50 ft long escape chute......it's >> so bad I don't even park back there anymore, and I have great >> visibility out of the back of my car.....when you get to the corner of >> the front of the house you have to make two extremely precise double >> 45 degree turns within the space of a foot or two or you either back >> into a tree or clip the edge of the house. >> >> > > I wonder which moron thought that design up. Same one who designed the parking lot at the new Stop and Shop. No straight shots, no cross paths from row to row - it's like a maze, you turn where you think you should be able to exit because there's an exit right there, except you right straight into a berm and have to drive allllll the way around the end of the row and try go around and get out that way. I swear to god if I ever met the moron who designed that he would be face planted right in the dead end berm, with the front end of my car. From nobody at spamcop.net Tue Feb 9 19:01:19 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Tue Feb 9 19:05:10 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: An utter failure.... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D1AA131015B5sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > "Indigo" wrote in > news:hksksj$kn1$1@news.spamcop.net: > >> It's called a bobcat..... >> >> > > lol, seems a bit industrial > i'm thinking hand sized A hand sized device that can shovel 39" of snow?!? There's a limitation to human strength, you know.....and even if you were strong enough to be able to lift that much snow in one shot, it would be so heavy that the handle of your shovel would likely bend or break. So nope, nothing I can think of except for industrial equipment can do that job safely (the flamethrower idea, while at first glance appealing, wouldn't be so cool when you set your car on fire ;-) From nobody at spamcop.net Tue Feb 9 19:06:10 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Tue Feb 9 19:10:11 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: It's a record.... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D1AA1520B062sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > "Indigo" wrote in news:hksl7l$kop$1@news.spamcop.net: > >> >> Yes, for record keeping. But I pay them all online. >> >> > > psst.. you can print them off.... or keep them as pdf's I know. But I use the paper bills as "reminders" that I have bills to pay. I have a 5 slot mail holder on my hallway cabinet, bills needing paid soon go in the first slot, bills that can wait go into the second, so I see them every day. I don't use Quicken often enough for the built in bill pay reminder option to be useful. And I keep certain bills like my gas/electric bill in file folders so I can quickly root thru old bills to see what I paid last year for the same time period. Way faster than searching my HD for the correct file! From nobody at spamcop.net Tue Feb 9 19:16:39 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Heidi) Date: Tue Feb 9 19:20:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: An utter failure.... References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D1AA131015B5sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > "Indigo" wrote in > news:hksksj$kn1$1@news.spamcop.net: > >> It's called a bobcat..... >> >> > > lol, seems a bit industrial > i'm thinking hand sized This sounds like it would be quite good - of course if you have 30" of snow, you don't wait till it's all over.... http://www.toro.com/home/snowthrowers/electric/powershovel.html From nobody at spamcop.net Tue Feb 9 19:18:11 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Heidi) Date: Tue Feb 9 19:20:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: bt... References: Message-ID: "bar0" wrote in message news:hkqmmf$v3r$1@news.spamcop.net... > > Funny, I put bt cakes in the bird baths. Does that keep them clean? From nobody at spamcop.net Tue Feb 9 19:24:13 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Tue Feb 9 19:25:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: quite the garage In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D1AA16FD20ECsylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > "Indigo" wrote in > news:hkslpa$kuj$1@news.spamcop.net: > >> My Dad, of course! Didn't have much choice in the matter in any case. >> He was space bound by the side of the house and the ancient hedgerow >> that runs along the property line. >> >> > > Your dad designed the house? Is/was he an architect? No. What in my post makes you think he designed the house? But he *is* an engineer, albeit an electrical one, but he (used to) design and build furniture from scratch just like I do (or rather I followed in his footsteps). I know he sketched out the garage and driveway designs, then hired some contractors to get the permits and do some of the heavy duty work like the roof and pouring the foundation. I also remember all the boys in the family helped build the garage, it was a great learning experience. Although I've never layed another brick since then....except on a backetball court ;-) I designed my 2 level deck and the attached shed on my home PC using an "AutoCad lite" app, and built all of it by myself (with helping hands for parts of the jobs that required more than the two I was born with ;-) My older brother bought a fix'me'upper years ago and did all the interior rehab work himself. The only boy in my family that didn't inherit the "I'll design and build it myself" engineering gene is my younger brother, he's about as useless with a hammer and saw as my twin sister's hubby. From nobody at spamcop.net Tue Feb 9 19:32:46 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Tue Feb 9 19:35:10 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: quite the garage In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D1AA1AA23E5Fsylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > "Indigo" wrote in > news:hksm33$l4n$1@news.spamcop.net: > >> What makes you say that? Almost all racecars (skipping NASCAR) are mid >> or rear engined, and they all run power steering, except maybe the >> open wheelers. Think of LeMan's type racers, is what I mean. >> >> > > You're referring to modern ones, presumably. Ours (911 from 1989) doesn't. But you don't own a "real" race car, most of which have only a bare resemblance to their retail versions, mainly the sheet metal. I guarantee you that the racing Porsches have power steering, unless they're racing "stock" cars like they do in the SCCA series. The g-loads they are under during cornering are way too high for their forearm muscles to manage, although some guys do manage to limp around the track at slower speeds when the PS goes out. I can't imagine having the wrestle the steering wheel like that for more than a minute or two! From nobody at spamcop.net Tue Feb 9 19:34:43 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Tue Feb 9 19:35:10 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: quite the garage In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D1AA1CA9C6CAsylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > "Indigo" wrote in news:hkslst$kup$1@news.spamcop.net: > >>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uLECuGK07U >>> >>> (beware, once you start on these 'fails' you'll be sucked in for hours) >> >> Comes up blank for me. >> >> > > Must not have the latest version of flash But I do, AFAIK...just updated it recently. When I clicked on a different link on the right side of the page, the title of that video was there, but the thumbnail image was just an empty white box. From nobody at spamcop.net Tue Feb 9 19:37:48 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Tue Feb 9 19:40:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: An utter failure.... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Heidi" wrote in message news:hkstt8$nrg$1@news.spamcop.net... > > This sounds like it would be quite good - of course if you have 30" of > snow, you don't wait till it's all over.... > http://www.toro.com/home/snowthrowers/electric/powershovel.html Heh. We used to have one of those teeny snowblowers, and trust me, they choke on anything deeper than 6" of snow. So unless you stay up all night using the snowblower every couple hours, it's useless. And for snow that shallow, the leaf blower could handle it. From nobody at spamcop.net Tue Feb 9 19:38:53 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Tue Feb 9 19:40:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: bt... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D1AC3EFDCE78ThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > Excuse me. WTF? If not for the lack of a keyboard what have I had to say > about the phone? And I was quick to point out that it has the best > virtual > keyboard (google ain't got nuthin' on this). So... What, exactly, is the > issue? > The fact that you basically said that you despised the virtual KB? From nobody at spamcop.net Tue Feb 9 19:40:01 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Tue Feb 9 19:40:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Let me tell you about my night In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D1AC39654762ThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > No way it was me! It was "Indigo" ! > >> .that's just insane! > > Hey! I'm not an it or a that! Well.....if you still have that ponytail you might resemble "Cousin It" ;-) From nobody at spamcop.net Tue Feb 9 20:08:36 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Heidi) Date: Tue Feb 9 20:10:10 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Let me tell you about my night References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D1A87E3C4650sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > > If only everyone could have such a health plan... oh wait, they COULD, if > the freakin government on both sides of the aisle would stop taking > kickbacks from insurance companies and get it DONE. Hear hear. I heard it was Jesse Ventura who said all senators and congress people should wear their 'sponsors' on their suits like Nascar drivers, that way we'd all know for sure who they're working for. They're certainly not working for *us*. From nobody at spamcop.net Tue Feb 9 20:55:40 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Tue Feb 9 21:00:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Primitive Banking The RIPOFF References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D1AA29D4F298sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > "bar0" wrote in news:hkg195$9up$1@news.spamcop.net: > > >> And the fees don't change with amount. If you need to rush $20.00 to >> Canada It's gonna cost you $89 in all. >> >> >> > > That's plainly absurd. You need to do what I do with the ATM card. Should > cost a couple of bucks. I and my ATM Card are in Texas, that Bank is in Canada. so to the ATM fee I need to add aa return flight. From nobody at spamcop.net Tue Feb 9 20:57:54 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Tue Feb 9 21:00:10 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: bt... References: Message-ID: "Heidi" wrote in message news:hksu03$nrm$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "bar0" wrote in message > news:hkqmmf$v3r$1@news.spamcop.net... >> >> Funny, I put bt cakes in the bird baths. > Does that keep them clean? bt kills mosquito larvae in a non-toxic way From me at privacy.net Tue Feb 9 22:05:48 2010 From: me at privacy.net (anon) Date: Tue Feb 9 22:10:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Let me tell you about my night References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hksf9k$imu$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "anon" wrote in message > news:hkqk9l$u6j$1@news.spamcop.net... >> >> How about a retirement system like mine. L.A. Calif. County after working >> there for 25 years. >> >> They pay the full premium for my choice of four or five hmo plans. >> >> Co-pay for office calls and prescriptions = ZERO >> >> Hmo includes in-patient and out-patient and hospital (all free.) >> >> Actually even the plan while still working was the same. Had cataract >> surgery in both eyes (no charge.) In addition, my TWO six week (off work) >> convalescences was time off at full pay.. >> > > No wonder CA is facing such an enormous deficit! That's outrageous! > > Course then there's the recent local debacle over retirement plans and > such.....the Mayor of Baltimore was recently charged with 7 counts of > felony theft -- she "collected", rather demanded, local real estate > developers to donate gift cards to her office so she could distribute them > to charities of her choice, namely her. She pled out on one charge, and is > actually going to get her full pay in "retirement" for the rest of her > life! What a croc! What a ripoff to the taxpayers! I forgot to say that I paid over 6% of each paycheck into the retirement system in order to get these benefits. All payments are funded from investments by the retirement system - no contributions by any government agency. Therefore no taxpayers involved. They currently have 50,000 retired people that they are paying a defined amount plus the health plans - none of this 401k crap. From me at privacy.net Tue Feb 9 22:11:57 2010 From: me at privacy.net (anon) Date: Tue Feb 9 22:15:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: quite the garage References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hkslpa$kuj$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message > news:Xns9D1A8695BC26Fsylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... >> "Indigo" wrote in >> news:hkproo$llr$1@news.spamcop.net: >> >>> Access to my Dad's backyard garage is almost identical to what you >>> described, except it's more like a 50 ft long escape chute......it's >>> so bad I don't even park back there anymore, and I have great >>> visibility out of the back of my car.....when you get to the corner of >>> the front of the house you have to make two extremely precise double >>> 45 degree turns within the space of a foot or two or you either back >>> into a tree or clip the edge of the house. >>> >>> >> >> I wonder which moron thought that design up. > > My Dad, of course! Didn't have much choice in the matter in any case. He > was space bound by the side of the house and the ancient hedgerow that > runs along the property line. Same situation with my drive with the house and fence crowding me. It sort of growed like topsie. My father and uncle built the house as close to the drive as they could to get a larger room. No thought to how to get a car out. From me at privacy.net Tue Feb 9 22:17:11 2010 From: me at privacy.net (anon) Date: Tue Feb 9 22:20:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: quite the garage References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D1AA1CA9C6CAsylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > "Indigo" wrote in news:hkslst$kup$1@news.spamcop.net: > >>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uLECuGK07U >>> >>> (beware, once you start on these 'fails' you'll be sucked in for hours) >> >> Comes up blank for me. >> >> > > Must not have the latest version of flash Same here - nasty note re flash and blocking. Have installed latest flash and unblocked. Still no picture. From me at privacy.net Tue Feb 9 22:18:12 2010 From: me at privacy.net (anon) Date: Tue Feb 9 22:20:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: quite the garage References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D1AB9ACCDEA1sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > "Indigo" wrote in > news:hksuv5$o7f$1@news.spamcop.net: > > >>>>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uLECuGK07U >>>>> > >> But I do, AFAIK...just updated it recently. When I clicked on a >> different link on the right side of the page, the title of that video >> was there, but the thumbnail image was just an empty white box. >> >> > > Well it works for me, and still does, I just checked. Something's not > working on your computer. Do other youtube vids work? Other poster - some do some don't. From me at privacy.net Tue Feb 9 23:05:45 2010 From: me at privacy.net (Frog Prince) Date: Tue Feb 9 23:10:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: An utter failure.... References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hkst0h$nfe$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message > news:Xns9D1AA131015B5sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... >> "Indigo" wrote in >> news:hksksj$kn1$1@news.spamcop.net: >> >>> It's called a bobcat..... >>> >>> >> >> lol, seems a bit industrial >> i'm thinking hand sized > > A hand sized device that can shovel 39" of snow?!? There's a limitation to > human strength, you know.....and even if you were strong enough to be able > to lift that much snow in one shot, it would be so heavy that the handle > of your shovel would likely bend or break. So nope, nothing I can think of > except for industrial equipment can do that job safely (the flamethrower > idea, while at first glance appealing, wouldn't be so cool when you set > your car on fire ;-) Note to group: don't trust Indy with matches From avoozl at spamcop.net Wed Feb 10 03:20:37 2010 From: avoozl at spamcop.net (Chris Willoughby) Date: Wed Feb 10 03:25:13 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Let me tell you about my night References: Message-ID: "anon" wrote in message news:hkt7ql$rj9$1@news.spamcop.net... > I forgot to say that I paid over 6% of each paycheck into the retirement > system in order to get these benefits. > > All payments are funded from investments by the retirement system - no > contributions by any government agency. Therefore no taxpayers involved. > > They currently have 50,000 retired people that they are paying a defined > amount plus the health plans - none of this 401k crap. Yeah, but CalPers.. and that sounds like what it is.. is a bit different than most retirement programs. Not to mention much much larger. While they took a beating in the market over the past few years they can still afford to keep paying out. Unlike our CA state govt. From avoozl at spamcop.net Wed Feb 10 03:26:01 2010 From: avoozl at spamcop.net (Chris Willoughby) Date: Wed Feb 10 03:30:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: interesting article References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D1A8808B6820sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > "bar0" wrote in news:hkqmpg$v3v$1@news.spamcop.net: >> >> She just wants government to get out of the way. >> > > She wants to be Queen, you mean? No, he had it right the first time. From nobody at spamcop.net Wed Feb 10 06:08:22 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Heidi) Date: Wed Feb 10 06:10:12 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: bt... References: Message-ID: "bar0" wrote in message news:hkt3r8$pvq$1@news.spamcop.net... > > bt kills mosquito larvae in a non-toxic way I looked all over for bt last summer and couldn't find it anywhere. I dont have a mosquito problem but I do have pests that I'd like to get rid of. Does it work for cabbage worms, slugs and bean beetles? From nobody at spamcop.net Wed Feb 10 06:13:18 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Heidi) Date: Wed Feb 10 06:15:17 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: An utter failure.... References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D1AB8FDBDBADsylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > "Heidi" wrote in news:hkstt8$nrg$1@news.spamcop.net: > > > Hmm interesting, can't quite make out exactly how it would work but it's > promising lol. In fact it looks rather like what I just mentioned - a > garden trimmer. It has an auger like a snow blower, just on a smaller scale, scoops up the snow and then blows it away out a little chute. This guy shows it in action, although he also shows why it's not a good idea to do it INTO the wind... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJo8fsGHDg4 From nobody at spamcop.net Wed Feb 10 08:33:25 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Wed Feb 10 08:35:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: bt... References: Message-ID: "Heidi" wrote in message news:hku438$6gb$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "bar0" wrote in message > news:hkt3r8$pvq$1@news.spamcop.net... >> >> bt kills mosquito larvae in a non-toxic way > > I looked all over for bt last summer and couldn't find it anywhere. I > dont have a mosquito problem but I do have pests that I'd like to get rid > of. Does it work for cabbage worms, slugs and bean beetles? I don't know, but I ran into the cakes at Lowes, they look like mide size doughnuts package of 6 plasticed onto a cardboard backing. Previously I've found BT at ag stores (feed stores etc.) in powder form, not handy for things like bird baths. I used BT in Venezuela to stop mosquitos from my Bromeliads. From nobody at spamcop.net Wed Feb 10 08:37:46 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Wed Feb 10 08:40:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: An utter failure.... References: Message-ID: "Heidi" wrote in message news:hku4cf$6l7$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message > news:Xns9D1AB8FDBDBADsylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... >> "Heidi" wrote in news:hkstt8$nrg$1@news.spamcop.net: >> >> >> Hmm interesting, can't quite make out exactly how it would work but it's >> promising lol. In fact it looks rather like what I just mentioned - a >> garden trimmer. > > It has an auger like a snow blower, just on a smaller scale, scoops up the > snow and then blows it away out a little chute. This guy shows it in > action, although he also shows why it's not a good idea to do it INTO the > wind... > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJo8fsGHDg4 There are a bunch of good reasons not to do it into the wind, In Calgary I found that shoveling snow onto the south side (snowstorms generally blow from the north there) reduced my shoveling hugely, since the walks and drives were no longer in the lee of the snow piles. My neighbour did the opposite and was shoveling almost every time there was any snow whether a skiff or a major dump. From nobody at spamcop.net Wed Feb 10 08:39:45 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Wed Feb 10 08:40:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: interesting article References: Message-ID: "Chris Willoughby" wrote in message news:hktqkc$33n$1@news.spamcop.net... > "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message > news:Xns9D1A8808B6820sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... >> "bar0" wrote in news:hkqmpg$v3v$1@news.spamcop.net: >>> >>> She just wants government to get out of the way. >>> >> >> She wants to be Queen, you mean? > > No, he had it right the first time. > While "we're the government and we're here to help" is a scary thing, there are other ramifications of getting out of the way. Think about it. From me at privacy.net Wed Feb 10 13:13:02 2010 From: me at privacy.net (anon) Date: Wed Feb 10 13:15:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: quite the garage References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D1B4437DE7DFsylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > "anon" wrote in news:hkt8fo$rqo$1@news.spamcop.net: > >> Same here - nasty note re flash and blocking. >> >> Have installed latest flash and unblocked. Still no picture. >> >> > > How weird. Still hunting for a solution. Have tried several NGs still no go. From me at privacy.net Wed Feb 10 13:19:14 2010 From: me at privacy.net (anon) Date: Wed Feb 10 13:20:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Let me tell you about my night References: Message-ID: "Chris Willoughby" wrote in message news:hktqa9$2ul$1@news.spamcop.net... > "anon" wrote in message > news:hkt7ql$rj9$1@news.spamcop.net... >> I forgot to say that I paid over 6% of each paycheck into the retirement >> system in order to get these benefits. >> >> All payments are funded from investments by the retirement system - no >> contributions by any government agency. Therefore no taxpayers involved. >> >> They currently have 50,000 retired people that they are paying a defined >> amount plus the health plans - none of this 401k crap. > > Yeah, but CalPers.. and that sounds like what it is.. is a bit different > than most retirement programs. Not to mention much much larger. While > they took a beating in the market over the past few years they can still > afford to keep paying out. Unlike our CA state govt. > BTW My retirement system had Enron stock and still showed a profit that year. Our mangers are amazing. The retirement pay is defined payout and we get a 6% raise each year. I started with a rate around 98% (last paycheck/first retirement check) after 37 years working there only a few dollars different. Now my rate is over 75% of what the guys are getting still working. Can't beat that. From MikeE at ster.invalid Wed Feb 10 13:49:05 2010 From: MikeE at ster.invalid (Mike Easter) Date: Wed Feb 10 13:50:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: About Greece In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Sylvesterthekat wrote: > http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8508136.stm The article sez that the euro guidelines are that the (a country in the EU) deficit shouldn't be more than 3% of the GDP, but Greece's is over 12%. The 2010 US deficit is to be about 10% of the GDP. The (other) members of the EU, which presumably haven't been misrepresenting their books as Greece has, typically are about half having budget surplus and half with deficits. Of those which run deficits, most do run a deficit over 3% of their GDP (outside the guidelines), but almost all of those are under 5%. Those EU figures do not include this year as the US number does. I haven't found a table of that fresh overall EU info yet. -- Mike Easter From nobody at spamcop.net Wed Feb 10 14:13:03 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Wed Feb 10 14:15:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: An utter failure.... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D1AB85D72B75sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > > I don't know, a hot air blaster, or a device that would kind of whisk at > the snow. Think about the size of a garden trimmer. Like your leaf blower > only it works. The leaf blower trick _does_ work as long as the snow is fluffy and not too deep. I'm tempted to go out and try it, but the snow is still coming down, we have over a foot already, it's 23 outside, and the wind is blowing like crazy, causing some deep drifts....and I don't own a full face ski-mask! No way in hell am I going outside until the wind dies down. From nobody at spamcop.net Wed Feb 10 14:28:41 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Wed Feb 10 14:30:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: An utter failure.... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Frog Prince" wrote in message news:hktbfj$t0e$1@news.spamcop.net... > Note to group: don't trust Indy with matches Matches? We don't need no steenking matches! I actually keep a real mini-flamethrower in my car ;-) Seriously, it's a butane lighter that looks exactly like a two tank military flamethrower, and the jet of white hot flame that comes out of it is narrow and long enough to solder with! I dunno exactly how it works, the fluid/gas pressure is WAY higher than your standard butane cigarette lighter.....same fuel, different flame characteristics....regular cigarette lighters must choke down the butane flow quite a bit for safety reasons.....my mini-flame thrower is probably made for lighting crack pipes is my guess.....got it at a local convenience store that sells some, erm, "questionable" items....rolling papers, porn, etc.....it's too small to melt my piles of snow, I'm afraid...not even my propane torch could tackle the job, except for small areas....a nice oxy-acetylene torch might work, but carrying the two huge fuel tanks down the steps would be a bitch! From nobody at spamcop.net Wed Feb 10 14:46:23 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Wed Feb 10 14:50:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: bt... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D1B4F3B4AA9BThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > It wasn't me! It was "Indigo" ! > >> The fact that you basically said that you despised the virtual KB? > > Another thought on this one... Um. Dude! I'm severely depressed. > Hello! Definitely could be part of it, small things seem so aggravating at times.....like yesterday, for instance. I got up, showered/shaved, went to my PC to turn on XM online, and couldn't get it to work despite all the tricks that usually restore it's function. Me very angry! Multiply that by a factor of two when I went outside to get my newspaper, only to find that my crappy paper deliverer had taken the day off AGAIN (roads were bone dry), so I had to get in my car and drive up the road to buy a paper. Trivial things, but man was I steamed! Called XM support and learned that my 1 yr online license had lapsed so they cut me off. I renewed for another yr ($2.99/mo) and got the streaming audio working again. Today ain't much better, attitude wise....because of the new blizzard, my acupuncture session for this afternoon was canceled, and if it doesn't stop snowing soon I probably won't be able to get to my chiropractor appt. tomorrow -- and my left hip (actually the sacrum) is "out" causing some serious left leg and lower back pain. So I'm basically crippled and trapped in my house.....this SUCKS! From nobody at spamcop.net Wed Feb 10 14:54:07 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Wed Feb 10 14:55:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: bt... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "bar0" wrote in message news:hkucjb$9h2$1@news.spamcop.net... > > I don't know, but I ran into the cakes at Lowes, they look like mide size > doughnuts package of 6 plasticed onto a cardboard backing. > > Previously I've found BT at ag stores (feed stores etc.) in powder form, > not handy for things like bird baths. I used BT in Venezuela to stop > mosquitos from my Bromeliads. Ok, I give up.....what is "BT"? Obviously some kind of pesticide.... From nobody at spamcop.net Wed Feb 10 14:55:50 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Wed Feb 10 15:00:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: i'm bad In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D1B4F022450ThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > It wasn't me! It was Sylvesterthekat ! > >> Let's hope nothing untoward shows up! > > What are we going to consider the snow.... Down here we'll only get 5". > Up there it will be over a foot. I know, I know. Don't complain, it's > not > 3', etc. I'm not complaining at all! I love the snow! It will just make > the inspection more difficult. Especially climbing onto the roof to inspect it from outside.......can't skip that one! From nobody at spamcop.net Wed Feb 10 15:13:31 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Wed Feb 10 15:15:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: It's a record.... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D1AB8AB13316sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > > That is an issue, I'll grant you. That's why I've set just about > everything > up to autopay so I never forget! I did find that most of them however > would > send you payment reminders via email if you wanted. Those that didn't I > had > yahoo mail remind me via my calendar. But almost all of my bills are variable every month! Even my land line bill changes by a penny here and a penny there every so often. I guess I "could" set up the few constant level bills to autopay, mainly my mortgage and Comcast bill, but I like the ability to choose exactly when the money gets removed from my account. For instance, my disability check shows up anywhere between the 5th to the 8th each month (depends on whether the pay date falls on a weekend), and I don't like to pay certain bills, like my Visa CC, until I have that money in my account. I also have a couple recurring reminders in WinCal to pay certain critical bills like my health insurance, but it would be a PITA to schedule every single bill. As far as email reminders, I get a few of them, but they come so early that they're next to useless. For instance, my AT&T reminder showed up in my mailbox on Jan 29, but my bill isn't due until Feb 22! From nobody at spamcop.net Wed Feb 10 15:28:22 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Wed Feb 10 15:30:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: interesting article In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D1B44AF5A689sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > "bar0" wrote in news:hkucv7$9i1$1@news.spamcop.net: > >> While "we're the government and we're here to help" is a scary thing, >> there are other ramifications of getting out of the way. Think about >> it. >> > > > Dictatorville. I was thinking about pollution of air and water, slaughter of wildlife, deforestation, and plain old protection from criminals among other things we rely on gummints to do for us. Of course we could use the systems in Yemen, Somalia or Afghanistan. Or maybe we wouldn't like that. From nobody at spamcop.net Wed Feb 10 15:36:18 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Wed Feb 10 15:40:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Let me tell you about my night In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "anon" wrote in message news:hkt7ql$rj9$1@news.spamcop.net... > > I forgot to say that I paid over 6% of each paycheck into the retirement > system in order to get these benefits. > That makes a big difference! But you still got a great deal....my old company sponsored health plan cost about 5% of my monthly salary, but I only had to pay roughly 1/5 of that, the company picked up the rest. My 401(k) contributions were 5% of my salary when I went on LTD, plus the 3% company match, plus 9% from the profit sharing plan, 17% total. The profit sharing disappeared when we got bought out by a huge defense contractor the same year I went on the DL. > All payments are funded from investments by the retirement system - no > contributions by any government agency. Therefore no taxpayers involved. I'm surprised that the plan didn't come close to insolvency over the last two years because of the stock market crash(es). For instance, the MD state sponsored 529 plan for pre-paying college tuition needed a $55 million injection of cash from the state to keep it above water last year. > > They currently have 50,000 retired people that they are paying a defined > amount plus the health plans - none of this 401k crap. Only 50k people on the retirement list for the entire state of CA?! Sheesh, GM alone has god know's how many more people on their retirement plan, one of the "legacy costs" that US car producers suffer from, IIRC they add about $4k to the cost of every car produced! As far as getting a defined benefit amount, it can be a double edged sword: rolling a 401(k) into an IRA after you retire lets you manage the money, and you can greatly increase it's value (and therefore raise your monthly withdrawls) if you know what you're doing. Of course you can also get crushed if you don't actively manage the IRA or pay someone to do it for you, like damn near everyone who just held onto their investments over the last couple years instead of going to cash (MMF's) until the market rebounded. Guess that makes an IRA a double edged sword as well, eh? From nobody at spamcop.net Wed Feb 10 15:41:00 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Wed Feb 10 15:45:10 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Let me tell you about my night In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "anon" wrote in message news:hkutb4$fc1$1@news.spamcop.net... > > The retirement pay is defined payout and we get a 6% raise each year. > > I started with a rate around 98% (last paycheck/first retirement check) > after 37 years working there only a few dollars different. > > Now my rate is over 75% of what the guys are getting still working. > > Can't beat that. Un-freaking-believable.....damn, that's one helluva great plan! Getting 6% annual increases is virtually unheard of! From nobody at spamcop.net Wed Feb 10 15:42:40 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Wed Feb 10 15:45:11 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: quite the garage In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D1AB9732F561sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > > We were talking about his Ferrari weren't we? That's not a race car, it's > a > road car. We *were*, but you changed the topic to your Porsche and it's steering type..... From nobody at spamcop.net Wed Feb 10 15:43:38 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Wed Feb 10 15:45:11 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: quite the garage In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D1AB9ACCDEA1sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > Well it works for me, and still does, I just checked. Something's not > working on your computer. Imagine that! > Do other youtube vids work? Yup. All but that one. From nobody at spamcop.net Wed Feb 10 15:47:30 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Wed Feb 10 15:50:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: bt... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hkv2st$hbd$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "bar0" wrote in message > news:hkucjb$9h2$1@news.spamcop.net... > >> >> I don't know, but I ran into the cakes at Lowes, they look like mide size >> doughnuts package of 6 plasticed onto a cardboard backing. >> >> Previously I've found BT at ag stores (feed stores etc.) in powder form, >> not handy for things like bird baths. I used BT in Venezuela to stop >> mosquitos from my Bromeliads. > > Ok, I give up.....what is "BT"? Obviously some kind of pesticide.... Bacillus Thurengis From nobody at spamcop.net Wed Feb 10 15:57:52 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Wed Feb 10 16:00:10 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: bt... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "bar0" wrote in message news:hkv612$if9$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "Indigo" wrote in message > news:hkv2st$hbd$1@news.spamcop.net... >> >> "bar0" wrote in message >> news:hkucjb$9h2$1@news.spamcop.net... >> >>> >>> I don't know, but I ran into the cakes at Lowes, they look like mide >>> size doughnuts package of 6 plasticed onto a cardboard backing. >>> >>> Previously I've found BT at ag stores (feed stores etc.) in powder form, >>> not handy for things like bird baths. I used BT in Venezuela to stop >>> mosquitos from my Bromeliads. >> >> Ok, I give up.....what is "BT"? Obviously some kind of pesticide.... > > Bacillus Thurengis sorry I looked it up, it's correctly written as: Bacillus thuringiensis (or Bt) From nobody at spamcop.net Wed Feb 10 16:08:18 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Wed Feb 10 16:10:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: bt... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "bar0" wrote in message news:hkv612$if9$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "Indigo" wrote in message > news:hkv2st$hbd$1@news.spamcop.net... >> >> Ok, I give up.....what is "BT"? Obviously some kind of pesticide.... > > Bacillus Thurengis Never 'eard of it.....it's a bacteria? From nobody at spamcop.net Wed Feb 10 16:12:17 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Wed Feb 10 16:15:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Let me tell you about my night In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D1AD16703E15ThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > No way it was me! It was "Indigo" ! > >> Well.....if you still have that ponytail you might resemble "Cousin >> It" > > Got the tail. And back to wearing earrings. Thinking about a nose ring > and tat's. Midlife crises are fun! Ditch the nose ring idea! Besides being quite disturbing to look at (IMHO of course), I've heard that they make blowing one's nose rather icky and difficult....get a henna tat first to see if you like it, then you can get a "real" one.......lots of folks get tats that they later REALLY regret..... From me at privacy.net Wed Feb 10 18:25:49 2010 From: me at privacy.net (anon) Date: Wed Feb 10 18:30:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Let me tell you about my night References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hkv5c0$i86$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "anon" wrote in message > news:hkt7ql$rj9$1@news.spamcop.net... >> >> I forgot to say that I paid over 6% of each paycheck into the retirement >> system in order to get these benefits. >> > > That makes a big difference! But you still got a great deal....my old > company sponsored health plan cost about 5% of my monthly salary, but I > only had to pay roughly 1/5 of that, the company picked up the rest. My > 401(k) contributions were 5% of my salary when I went on LTD, plus the 3% > company match, plus 9% from the profit sharing plan, 17% total. The profit > sharing disappeared when we got bought out by a huge defense contractor > the same year I went on the DL. > >> All payments are funded from investments by the retirement system - no >> contributions by any government agency. Therefore no taxpayers involved. > > I'm surprised that the plan didn't come close to insolvency over the last > two years because of the stock market crash(es). For instance, the MD > state sponsored 529 plan for pre-paying college tuition needed a $55 > million injection of cash from the state to keep it above water last year. > >> >> They currently have 50,000 retired people that they are paying a defined >> amount plus the health plans - none of this 401k crap. > Only 50k people on the retirement list for the entire state of CA?! > Sheesh, GM alone has god know's how many more people on their retirement > plan, one of the "legacy costs" that US car producers suffer from, IIRC > they add about $4k to the cost of every car produced! > > As far as getting a defined benefit amount, it can be a double edged > sword: rolling a 401(k) into an IRA after you retire lets you manage the > money, and you can greatly increase it's value (and therefore raise your > monthly withdrawls) if you know what you're doing. Of course you can also > get crushed if you don't actively manage the IRA or pay someone to do it > for you, like damn near everyone who just held onto their investments over > the last couple years instead of going to cash (MMF's) until the market > rebounded. Guess that makes an IRA a double edged sword as well, eh? If I was dependant on a 401k for my retirement income, I would have to have significantly over two million dollars invested to live off the dividend yield. A little less if I withdrew principle at the same time. Actually my lifetime income was significantly less than two million dollars (starting income of probably less than $1000 per year), so I would have zero dollars to live on while investing all of my income. I am hoping to live about 20 years longer (now 83 - my mother died at 99 years of age.) That is a lot of years to live off of investments specially with the crummy stock market. From me at privacy.net Wed Feb 10 18:27:34 2010 From: me at privacy.net (anon) Date: Wed Feb 10 18:30:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Let me tell you about my night References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hkv5kr$i8u$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "anon" wrote in message > news:hkutb4$fc1$1@news.spamcop.net... >> >> The retirement pay is defined payout and we get a 6% raise each year. >> >> I started with a rate around 98% (last paycheck/first retirement check) >> after 37 years working there only a few dollars different. >> >> Now my rate is over 75% of what the guys are getting still working. >> >> Can't beat that. > > Un-freaking-believable.....damn, that's one helluva great plan! Getting 6% > annual increases is virtually unheard of! Sorry, misprint - only 3% per year. Still not too bad. From avoozl at spamcop.net Wed Feb 10 18:53:39 2010 From: avoozl at spamcop.net (Chris Willoughby) Date: Wed Feb 10 18:55:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: interesting article References: Message-ID: "bar0" wrote in message news:hkv4t6$i1t$1@news.spamcop.net... > I was thinking about pollution of air and water, slaughter of wildlife, > deforestation, and plain old protection from criminals among other things > we rely on gummints to do for us. > > Of course we could use the systems in Yemen, Somalia or Afghanistan. Or > maybe we wouldn't like that. I don't think we would like that. :) From nobody at spamcop.net Wed Feb 10 19:44:19 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Heidi) Date: Wed Feb 10 19:45:10 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: ca va, ca va pas si mal References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D1AD94D196CCThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > mais j'ai tout d'un imbecile > quand on me demande si > ca va > je dis: > Oh mais oh mais oh ça va, ça va pas si mal. > C'est juste les 25 premières années qu'étaient un peu difficiles. Mais oui, un imbecile. Je parle Francais, un peu. Quiche du jour, mon petit chou.....! From nobody at spamcop.net Wed Feb 10 19:49:40 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Heidi) Date: Wed Feb 10 19:55:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: An utter failure.... References: Message-ID: "bar0" wrote in message news:hkucrg$9hm$1@news.spamcop.net... > > There are a bunch of good reasons not to do it into the wind, In Calgary I > found that shoveling snow onto the south side (snowstorms generally blow > from the north there) reduced my shoveling hugely, since the walks and > drives were no longer in the lee of the snow piles. My neighbour did the > opposite and was shoveling almost every time there was any snow whether a > skiff or a major dump. Are you in Calgary? What's up with Jann Arden? Long time no heary, I loved her first cd. I live on the biggest windiest hill on the planet - the drifting is amazing and on the times I have been forced to use Mr. Rent's snowblower, I will back up the hill rather than go up and down and get a face full of snow. Didn't really matter anyway, within an hour after I was done it was all drifted over anyway. From nobody at spamcop.net Wed Feb 10 19:50:20 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Heidi) Date: Wed Feb 10 19:55:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: An utter failure.... References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hkv0ft$gi1$1@news.spamcop.net... > > The leaf blower trick _does_ work as long as the snow is fluffy and not > too deep. I'm tempted to go out and try it, but the snow is still coming > down, we have over a foot already, it's 23 outside, and the wind is > blowing like crazy, causing some deep drifts....and I don't own a full > face ski-mask! No way in hell am I going outside until the wind dies down. Huh. We got some flurries this morning, and then nothing. YAY! From nobody at spamcop.net Wed Feb 10 19:53:03 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Wed Feb 10 19:55:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Let me tell you about my night In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "anon" wrote in message news:hkvf9v$lso$1@news.spamcop.net... > If I was dependant on a 401k for my retirement income, I would have to > have significantly over two million dollars invested to live off the > dividend yield. A little less if I withdrew principle at the same time. My dad doesn't touch his principle. While I have no clue how much he has stashed away, he lives on about $1500/month in dividends from his investments, plus his S.S. payments. My retirement goal is a bit higher than what you calculated.....and I'm well on my way there thanks to some once in a lifetime amazingly beneficial timing....I was officially terminated from my job in Dec 07 for being out of work for 1 year (Lyme disease complications), the company was sold 6 months before I stopped working, and the IRS tied up all the ex-employees 401(k) money for almost two years while they audited everything related to the ESOP and the profit sharing plan. The last move I made was in June 08 -- I sold all my mutual funds and parked the money in a MMF, managing to avoid the mortgage crisis market collapse that decimated most folk's retirement plans. I finally got the money rolled into an IRA in late October 08, which was close to the market bottom (March 09 was actually the bottom). I had been researching different investments for nearly a year while waiting for the cash, had prepared spreadsheets out the wazoo for different market scenarios and various financial sectors. So I started buying mostly dividend paying stocks and funds in Nov 08 at fire sale prices, and on 1/11/2010 I was up a whopping 61% in just 14 months! The recent market correction has hit me hard though, I'm down 12% since my peak value. Ouch.....just have to wait it out, no panic selling is going to happen in this household. > > I am hoping to live about 20 years longer (now 83 - my mother died at 99 > years of age.) That is a lot of years to live off of investments specially > with the crummy stock market. Whoa! You are really 83 years old? Dunno why, but I thought you were much, much younger....more like the average age of most .socialers, somewhere between 40-50 I think (Borgholio is an exception, he's still wet behind the ears ;-) Do you really _want_ to live another 20 years? My Gram turned 100 last summer, and she's a shell of her former self, dementia/alzheimers claimed her brain around age 96.....and she's an exeption in my family, no one else has come close to living that long. I don't think anyone's made it past 90 except for her.....unfortunately cancer runs very deeply in my extended family....and I figure with all the health problems I've had over the years I probably won't make it much past 80, if I even manage to reach that age and avoid the cancer threat....my Mom died from breast cancer at age 58 and my Dad has CLL, a relatively rare form of leukemia, had a cancerous thyroid tumor removed when he was in his early 40's, and had a heart attack several months ago.....I hate to say it or even think about it because it's too horrible to contemplate, but I don't think he's going to make it to 80 (he's 75 now)........ From nobody at spamcop.net Wed Feb 10 20:10:34 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Wed Feb 10 20:15:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: bt... References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hkv781$iuf$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "bar0" wrote in message > news:hkv612$if9$1@news.spamcop.net... >> >> "Indigo" wrote in message >> news:hkv2st$hbd$1@news.spamcop.net... >>> >>> Ok, I give up.....what is "BT"? Obviously some kind of pesticide.... >> >> Bacillus Thurengis > > Never 'eard of it.....it's a bacteria? Yes, ummm.. I blew the spelling of the last name, should be: Thuringiensis. From nobody at spamcop.net Wed Feb 10 21:47:01 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Wed Feb 10 21:50:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: An utter failure.... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Heidi" wrote in message news:hkvk8c$nl7$2@news.spamcop.net... > > "Indigo" wrote in message > news:hkv0ft$gi1$1@news.spamcop.net... >> >> The leaf blower trick _does_ work as long as the snow is fluffy and not >> too deep. I'm tempted to go out and try it, but the snow is still coming >> down, we have over a foot already, it's 23 outside, and the wind is >> blowing like crazy, causing some deep drifts....and I don't own a full >> face ski-mask! No way in hell am I going outside until the wind dies >> down. > > Huh. We got some flurries this morning, and then nothing. YAY! Another PPPLLLLBBBBTTT! Around 5:00 the wind died down and the snow stopped falling, so I started using my leaf blower cum snow blower to help shovel out my car, and it worked way better than the other day -- this snow fall was very light and fluffy. I also spent 5 minutes fruitlessly looking for a buried newspaper that probably wasn't delivered this morning to start with.....this is absolutely the worst natural disaster I've been involved in since I've been living in MD (20 years). We got another 2 ft of snow today, that's over 5 ft in just 4 days! And the wind was blowing so hard the leeward side of my car was already cleaned off.....when I opened up my deck door to get my shovels 2 ft of snow collapsed into my dining room! Luckily, when I had new flooring put in 9 years ago I had the workers rip up the carpet near the door and expanded the linoleum to cover that area, so all I had to do was get my mini wet/dry vac from the pantry to clean up the mess. I called the "leader" of the crew of kids that shoveled me out on Sunday to come back tomorrow morning to do it again, there's another $50 out the window. I doubt I'll get plowed out tomorrow anyway, it took two days for them to get to us over the weekend. To top it off, I threw my lower back out for the umpteenth time trying to shovel last week and have a chiropractor appt. scheduled for tomorrow to fix it, but it's highly unlikely I'll be able to get there if she manages to open up her office. Crap! Nuts! Somebody come save me! From nobody at spamcop.net Wed Feb 10 21:56:03 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Wed Feb 10 22:00:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: quite the garage In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D1BB7224A525sylvesterthekat@216. 195.61... > I likened his ferrari to my porsche, neither of which is a race car and > probably both of which have no power steering due to not having the engine > at the front (and being quite old). Why are you stuck on this idea that a mid or rear engined car cannot have power steering? All you need is longer hydraulic lines! Or in the case of my car, the power steering is totally electronic/electrical and varies with the road speed -- the faster you go, the more steering input is required, which adds to stability at high speeds. If you've ever driven an fixed ratio power steering car at high speed you know what I mean, a slight steering wheel movement can lead to a MAJOR directional change, which is definitely not very safe. I didn't bring up race cars at all. > I'll settle the issue and go look up if his ferrari has power steering or > not. > > Rack and pinion > > http://www.kpgmotors.com/detail/84ferrari512/cardetail.html Finally, the mystery is solved....all the sportcars I drove in my youth had rack and pinion gear, the feedback was terrific, you always knew which way your front wheels were pointed. From me at privacy.net Wed Feb 10 23:42:37 2010 From: me at privacy.net (anon) Date: Wed Feb 10 23:45:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: quite the garage References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D1BB5AB24B2Fsylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > "anon" wrote in news:hkusvg$fa9$1@news.spamcop.net: > >>> How weird. >> >> Still hunting for a solution. >> >> >> Have tried several NGs still no go. >> >> > > How bout this one? > http://failblog.org/2010/02/10/viper-strike-fail/ > > > totally unrelated but hee hee heee > > http://failblog.org/2010/02/09/tell-me-what-you-see/ > > http://failblog.org/2010/02/05/friday-rewind-911-fail/ > > http://failblog.org/2010/02/02/wanted-poster-fail/ > > http://failblog.org/2010/02/02/safety-rope-fail/ > > http://failblog.org/2009/03/05/fail-owned-intercourse-fail/ > > http://failblog.org/2009/03/08/animal-transportation-fail/ (heidi, get > one for portia!) > I could view ALL of these. Maybe something wrong with YouTube. From me at privacy.net Wed Feb 10 23:58:55 2010 From: me at privacy.net (anon) Date: Thu Feb 11 00:00:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Let me tell you about my night References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hkvkdd$nlj$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "anon" wrote in message > news:hkvf9v$lso$1@news.spamcop.net... >> If I was dependant on a 401k for my retirement income, I would have to >> have significantly over two million dollars invested to live off the >> dividend yield. A little less if I withdrew principle at the same time. > > My dad doesn't touch his principle. While I have no clue how much he has > stashed away, he lives on about $1500/month in dividends from his > investments, plus his S.S. payments. *****My retirement is over $6000 per month plus SS ($1000 per month.) > > before> > > My retirement goal is a bit higher than what you calculated.....and I'm > well on my way there thanks to some once in a lifetime amazingly > beneficial timing....I was officially terminated from my job in Dec 07 for > being out of work for 1 year (Lyme disease complications), the company was > sold 6 months before I stopped working, and the IRS tied up all the > ex-employees 401(k) money for almost two years while they audited > everything related to the ESOP and the profit sharing plan. The last move > I made was in June 08 -- I sold all my mutual funds and parked the money > in a MMF, managing to avoid the mortgage crisis market collapse that > decimated most folk's retirement plans. > > I finally got the money rolled into an IRA in late October 08, which was > close to the market bottom (March 09 was actually the bottom). I had been > researching different investments for nearly a year while waiting for the > cash, had prepared spreadsheets out the wazoo for different market > scenarios and various financial sectors. So I started buying mostly > dividend paying stocks and funds in Nov 08 at fire sale prices, and on > 1/11/2010 I was up a whopping 61% in just 14 months! The recent market > correction has hit me hard though, I'm down 12% since my peak value. > Ouch.....just have to wait it out, no panic selling is going to happen in > this household. > >> >> I am hoping to live about 20 years longer (now 83 - my mother died at 99 >> years of age.) That is a lot of years to live off of investments >> specially with the crummy stock market. > > Whoa! You are really 83 years old? Dunno why, but I thought you were much, > much younger....more like the average age of most .socialers, somewhere > between 40-50 I think (Borgholio is an exception, he's still wet behind > the ears ;-) Do you really _want_ to live another 20 years? My Gram turned > 100 last summer, and she's a shell of her former self, dementia/alzheimers > claimed her brain around age 96.....and she's an exeption in my family, no > one else has come close to living that long. ***Maybe part of being computer literate is that I was dumped into the computer age in 1960 when my department head said, "We are getting a computer, you will be in charge of administering it's use" (IBM 1620.) Been interested in computers ever since. Got a Commodore PET in 1970+/- (Lift the hood and work on the guts. Burned my own EEPROMS to use with it.) ***I keep running into people who were not born when I retired (23 years ago.) My remembrance of events is ancient history for most. ***At 99 my mother was still taking the bus for weekly social meetings. ***I'm still taking a couple of classes (memoir writing and ceramics - fun classes) and attending a monthly men's social club. Otherwise couch potato. > > I don't think anyone's made it past 90 except for her.....unfortunately > cancer runs very deeply in my extended family....and I figure with all the > health problems I've had over the years I probably won't make it much past > 80, if I even manage to reach that age and avoid the cancer threat....my > Mom died from breast cancer at age 58 and my Dad has CLL, a relatively > rare form of leukemia, had a cancerous thyroid tumor removed when he was > in his early 40's, and had a heart attack several months ago.....I hate to > say it or even think about it because it's too horrible to contemplate, > but I don't think he's going to make it to 80 (he's 75 now)........ From user at domain.invalid Thu Feb 11 01:07:15 2010 From: user at domain.invalid (Farelf) Date: Thu Feb 11 01:10:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: ca va, ca va pas si mal In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Charles wrote: > No way it was me! It was "Heidi"! > >> Quiche du jour, mon petit chou.....! > > Ooh! I love it when you talk dirty! Relax, she said quiche, not douche. From MikeE at ster.invalid Thu Feb 11 10:40:41 2010 From: MikeE at ster.invalid (Mike Easter) Date: Thu Feb 11 10:45:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: New 9/11 pictures In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Sylvesterthekat wrote: > It defies belief that there is still nothing there, almost 10 years later. > It's a disgrace in fact. It should have been sorted out long ago - either > make it a memorial park or put up new towers. One WTC steel construction at 20th floor, concrete in lower floors. Pics http://www.panynj.gov/wtcprogress/ Projected vision http://www.panynj.gov/wtcprogress/vision.html Wiki on rebuilding controversy and criticisms http://snipr.com/uc6ep -- Mike Easter From nobody at spamcop.net Thu Feb 11 16:55:44 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Thu Feb 11 17:00:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: An utter failure.... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D1C31CCCEF78sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... this is absolutely the worst natural disaster I've been >> involved in since I've been living in MD (20 years). > > Where did you put the snow? *I* didn't put it anywhere, intentionally, wherever the leaf blower and prevailing gusts of winds decided to deposit the snow once it was airborne was up to them! > Natural disaster, really? Have people died in droves? > Dunno if/how many deaths have been attributed to the massive snowfall(s), I've only gotten one paper over the last 4 days. Surely there's been a handful of men that died of heart attacks from shoveling snow, but I don't have confirmation yet. Ok, a quick scan of the main section of today's paper doesn't show any deaths, despite the fact that there were over 700 accidents in and around Baltimore City yesterday alone, with many of them involving jack-knifed tractor trailers. Lots of people got VERY lucky..... I do know that all of those poor souls that depend on "meals on wheels", which are in the tens of thousands in Baltimore City and Baltimore County, have had a really tough time getting deliveries, and so have those that depend on day nurses to take care of them. But a natural disaster doesn't necessarily require a lot of deaths to qualify -- the canyon fires in CA are a good example -- people rarely die in them, but the completely destroy everthing in their path. There have been a bunch of roof collapses in both commercial buildings and residential homes with flat roofs, causing injury but no deaths that I kind find. And some houses have burned to the ground from fires caused by illegal heating souces or electrical shorts caused by big portable electric heaters overloading the power circuits - you can't use a kerosene heater indoors, for instance, but that doesn't stop the poor, who kinda don't have a choice when their power and gas get shut off for non-payment. >> >> I called the "leader" of the crew of kids that shoveled >> me out on Sunday to come back tomorrow morning to do it again, there's >> another $50 out the window. > > Those kids are making out like bandits lol > Yeah, I had to fork over another $40 today.....but I don't begrudge the payouts, they're doing work that I cannot physically do. When I was their age (10-14) I used to clear as much as $100 in one day by myself by traversing my neighborhood and shoveling old lady's driveways and sidewalks. And that was in, umm....1972ish dollars! So these kids are getting at least double what I used to get paid, but I rarely offered my services after such huge snowfalls, I was too tired after helping shovel out our own driveway and sidewalks. And if you've been following the "who has the worst backup from a garage" sub-thread, you know that the parking pad behind our house was big enough to hold a half-court basketball game, and the long driveway was at least equal in sq footage, if not more! And no slowblowers in the garage back then either. From nobody at spamcop.net Thu Feb 11 17:11:30 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Thu Feb 11 17:15:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Let me tell you about my night In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "anon" wrote in message news:hl02qi$sum$1@news.spamcop.net... > > *****My retirement is over $6000 per month plus SS ($1000 per month.) That's just mind boggling.....the retirement pay alone is equivalent to working at a job paying over $100k/yr....if that $6000 is tax free? I know that SS income is taxable, while my LTD payments are not, since I paid for them with post-tax dollars. > > ***At 99 my mother was still taking the bus for weekly social meetings. > > ***I'm still taking a couple of classes (memoir writing and ceramics - fun > classes) and attending a monthly men's social club. Otherwise couch > potato. I _know_ that keeping active in her old age greatly helped my Gram stay alive and functioning. She used to take art courses, for example....I still have a couple of the ceramic animals and Xmas ornaments (including one very large turtle in the front flowerbed) that she hand painted and glazed. We also "traded her" amongst the families of her daughters (3), she'd live with each of us for 4 months, then move to the next most southern family, finally ending up in FL for the winter, where she now lives permanently with my Aunt and Uncle. We ALL wanted her to stay with us permanently, she was such a wonderful woman.... But you're doing the right thing in keeping active, especially by using your brain, it helps fight off the effects of aging. That's one thing that worries me about me Dad...he really doesn't have any friends or activities outside of the family, and most of us just give him more things to worry about! And his traveling days are over with, he's deathly afraid of catching the flu or something similar from strangers, his immune system couldn't take it because of the CLL, so he's pretty much housebound except for going shopping and to church every Sunday. From nobody at spamcop.net Thu Feb 11 17:26:51 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Thu Feb 11 17:30:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: quite the garage In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D1C34D2B17D0sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > "Indigo" wrote in > news:hkvrk3$qdr$1@news.spamcop.net: > >> Why are you stuck on this idea that a mid or rear engined car cannot >> have power steering? > > I'm not stuck on anything. They just don't NEED it as much because there's > no weight at the front pressing down on the tires, thus it's much easier > to > turn the steering! If you think it makes no difference, drive a 911 at > over > 100mph and enjoy that feeling of the front wheels feeling like they're > about to lift off the road surface! > Erm.....no thanks....I almost died at age 17 when I was racing home in my beefed up V6 Mercury Capri from a date to try to beat my midnite curfew.....I was on a four lane highway (2 lanes each direction) going around 100 mph when I came to a mild right handed kink, as soon as I moved the steering wheel I knew I had lost control because of the lack of downforce on the front wheels. Luckily, my natural reaction was to just ease off the throttle (NEVER HIT THE BRAKES in that situation!), hold the steering wheel in the same position, and allow the car to drift to the far edge of the left lane before it slowed down enough for the front tires to regain traction. That's the most scared I've EVER been in a car, by far. By the end of the following week I had installed a big airdam on the front, and that completely resolved the problem. In fact, the fast you went, the more efficient the airdam performed, increasing the front end down force with speed. As a result of the near disaster, I swore that I would never enforce a hard "down to the minute" curfew like my parents did if I ever had kids....it just creates situations that are too dangerous ....would you rather have your kid 5 minutes late or dead? From nobody at spamcop.net Thu Feb 11 17:27:13 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Thu Feb 11 17:30:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: quite the garage In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D1C34FADF961sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > "anon" wrote in news:hl01s0$sj0$1@news.spamcop.net: > > >> I could view ALL of these. >> >> Maybe something wrong with YouTube. > > It must only be allowing me to view that particular video eh? Yeah, you're special..... From nobody at spamcop.net Thu Feb 11 18:43:53 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Heidi) Date: Thu Feb 11 18:45:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: mouse References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D1C7397AE22sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > http://www.yankodesign.com/2010/02/11/you-mouse-around-here-often/ > > tee hee! Eww....Georgia O'Keefe has nothing on them. From nobody at spamcop.net Thu Feb 11 18:47:23 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Heidi) Date: Thu Feb 11 18:50:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: quite the garage References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hl207b$jeh$1@news.spamcop.net... > >> That's the most scared I've EVER been in a car, by far. By the end of the > following week I had installed a big airdam on the front, and that > completely resolved the problem. In fact, the fast you went, the more > efficient the airdam performed, increasing the front end down force with > speed. What resolves the problem, you dimwit, is NOT DRIVING LIKE A FLAMING ARSEHOLE! 100 mph? What was it I said about intelligence does not equal common sense? From nobody at spamcop.net Thu Feb 11 18:47:43 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Heidi) Date: Thu Feb 11 18:50:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: ca va, ca va pas si mal References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D1BCC96F363EThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > No way it was me! It was "Heidi" ! > >> Quiche du jour, mon petit chou.....! > > Ooh! I love it when you talk dirty! Chou chou chou!! From nobody at spamcop.net Thu Feb 11 18:48:14 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Heidi) Date: Thu Feb 11 18:50:10 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: ca va, ca va pas si mal References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D1C65816DA44ThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > It wasn't me! It was Sylvesterthekat ! > >> dude, you're about to go on vacation, surely that'll induce some >> relaxation? mind you, this is perhaps not the best time to be >> travelling, hopefully you get lucky and don't encouter any weather >> related delays! > > I just checked in for my flights so that looks ok for now! And vacation > isn't relaxing! Can I take yours then? From nobody at spamcop.net Thu Feb 11 18:49:14 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Heidi) Date: Thu Feb 11 18:50:10 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: An utter failure.... References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D1BB76B1B735sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > "Heidi" wrote in > news:hkvk8c$nl7$1@news.spamcop.net: > > >> Are you in Calgary? > > no, that's where his rental house is! pay attention! lol What? Me? Pay attention? I have the attention span of a gnat these days..... From me at privacy.net Thu Feb 11 18:49:41 2010 From: me at privacy.net (Frog Prince) Date: Thu Feb 11 18:50:11 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] If god wanted Texas to deal with snow ... Message-ID: If god wanted Texas to deal with snow he'd made B* white ... We had 6" of dry powder snow today. Kids are nuts. Told to expect mixed rain and snow tonight & tomorrow. Most in the area are closing. I'm not going out, I'm not shoving, I'm not driving, I'm not so much as opening a door. I've made chillie, I have fresh jalapeños, etc. I figure by the time this is clear I'll have gained 5 pounds. From me at privacy.net Thu Feb 11 18:57:52 2010 From: me at privacy.net (Frog Prince) Date: Thu Feb 11 19:20:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: quite the garage References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hl207b$jeh$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message > news:Xns9D1C34D2B17D0sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... >> "Indigo" wrote in >> news:hkvrk3$qdr$1@news.spamcop.net: >> >>> Why are you stuck on this idea that a mid or rear engined car cannot >>> have power steering? >> >> I'm not stuck on anything. They just don't NEED it as much because >> there's >> no weight at the front pressing down on the tires, thus it's much easier >> to >> turn the steering! If you think it makes no difference, drive a 911 at >> over >> 100mph and enjoy that feeling of the front wheels feeling like they're >> about to lift off the road surface! >> > > Erm.....no thanks....I almost died at age 17 when I was racing home in my > beefed up V6 Mercury Capri from a date to try to beat my midnite > curfew.....I was on a four lane highway (2 lanes each direction) going > around 100 mph when I came to a mild right handed kink, as soon as I moved > the steering wheel I knew I had lost control because of the lack of > downforce on the front wheels. Luckily, my natural reaction was to just > ease off the throttle (NEVER HIT THE BRAKES in that situation!), hold the > steering wheel in the same position, and allow the car to drift to the far > edge of the left lane before it slowed down enough for the front tires to > regain traction. > > That's the most scared I've EVER been in a car, by far. By the end of the > following week I had installed a big airdam on the front, and that > completely resolved the problem. In fact, the fast you went, the more > efficient the airdam performed, increasing the front end down force with > speed. > > As a result of the near disaster, I swore that I would never enforce a > hard "down to the minute" curfew like my parents did if I ever had > kids....it just creates situations that are too dangerous ....would you > rather have your kid 5 minutes late or dead? My dad (something he learned from his dad) had a policy: If we called before the witching hour the clock stopped. If we used the get home late card too often there was a talking time usually at a neutral time and place. We used it with our kids and the practice was adopted by many of their friends' parents. The one set of parents in our group that were too hard a**ed to follow that policy got to pick their kids out of the bushes more than once. Kids were banged up but ok still the parents never learned. We also had a policy if they or their friends were not in any shape to drive they were to call a tow truck and a cab this for them and their friends. The matter would be addressed later at a neutral time and place. From me at privacy.net Thu Feb 11 19:08:51 2010 From: me at privacy.net (Frog Prince) Date: Thu Feb 11 19:20:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: An utter failure.... References: Message-ID: "Indigo" > > And some houses have burned to the ground from fires caused by illegal > heating souces or electrical shorts caused by big portable electric > heaters overloading the power circuits - you can't use a kerosene heater > indoors, for instance, but that doesn't stop the poor, who kinda don't > have a choice when their power and gas get shut off for non-payment. > Monitor Heater is an excellent oil/kerosene heater. We had electric heat/pump for main heat but did have a kerosene heater that was as old as the house we were renting (built in the '30s) if the power lines went down in an ice storm. Kept us warm and if you used slow cooking tricks you could eat well. From nobody at spamcop.net Thu Feb 11 19:24:14 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Thu Feb 11 19:25:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Let me tell you about my night In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hl1vai$j2g$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "anon" wrote in message > news:hl02qi$sum$1@news.spamcop.net... >> >> *****My retirement is over $6000 per month plus SS ($1000 per month.) > > That's just mind boggling.....the retirement pay alone is equivalent to > working at a job paying over $100k/yr....if that $6000 is tax free? I know > that SS income is taxable, while my LTD payments are not, since I paid for > them with post-tax dollars. I hope you mean Pre-Tax, otherwise you're being taxed twice. .... From nobody at spamcop.net Thu Feb 11 19:25:39 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Thu Feb 11 19:30:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: quite the garage In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hl207b$jeh$1@news.spamcop.net... > ..... > > As a result of the near disaster, I swore that I would never enforce a > hard "down to the minute" curfew like my parents did if I ever had > kids....it just creates situations that are too dangerous ....would you > rather have your kid 5 minutes late or dead? Umm, my choice was on time or dead. From nobody at spamcop.net Thu Feb 11 20:24:56 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Thu Feb 11 20:25:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: If god wanted Texas to deal with snow ... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Frog Prince" wrote in message news:hl251r$l7s$1@news.spamcop.net... > If god wanted Texas to deal with snow he'd made B* white ... > > We had 6" of dry powder snow today. Kids are nuts. > > Told to expect mixed rain and snow tonight & tomorrow. Most in the area > are closing. Oh, poor little froggy....I feel for ya man, really.....NOT! From nobody at spamcop.net Thu Feb 11 20:28:58 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Thu Feb 11 20:30:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Let me tell you about my night In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "bar0" wrote in message news:hl273e$m2t$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "Indigo" wrote in message > news:hl1vai$j2g$1@news.spamcop.net... >> >> "anon" wrote in message >> news:hl02qi$sum$1@news.spamcop.net... >>> >>> *****My retirement is over $6000 per month plus SS ($1000 per month.) >> >> That's just mind boggling.....the retirement pay alone is equivalent to >> working at a job paying over $100k/yr....if that $6000 is tax free? I >> know that SS income is taxable, while my LTD payments are not, since I >> paid for them with post-tax dollars. > > I hope you mean Pre-Tax, otherwise you're being taxed twice. > Read my message again: I paid for the LTD premium _after_ taxes were taken from my paycheck, therefore the monthly benefit check is non-taxable. Would be a different story if the company picked up part of the premium or I had paid for it with pre-tax dollars (like contributions to my 401(k)). What I was asking is whether _your_ $6000/mo retirement pay is taxable or not. From nobody at spamcop.net Thu Feb 11 20:30:57 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Thu Feb 11 20:35:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: If god wanted Texas to deal with snow ... References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hl2al7$nbo$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "Frog Prince" wrote in message > news:hl251r$l7s$1@news.spamcop.net... >> If god wanted Texas to deal with snow he'd made B* white ... >> >> We had 6" of dry powder snow today. Kids are nuts. >> >> Told to expect mixed rain and snow tonight & tomorrow. Most in the area >> are closing. > > Oh, poor little froggy....I feel for ya man, really.....NOT! Hmmm, just typical Vancouver weather down here. Rain,,rain,, From nobody at spamcop.net Thu Feb 11 20:33:27 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Thu Feb 11 20:35:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Let me tell you about my night References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hl2asq$ncc$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "bar0" wrote in message > news:hl273e$m2t$1@news.spamcop.net... >> >> "Indigo" wrote in message >> news:hl1vai$j2g$1@news.spamcop.net... >>> >>> "anon" wrote in message >>> news:hl02qi$sum$1@news.spamcop.net... >>>> >>>> *****My retirement is over $6000 per month plus SS ($1000 per month.) >>> >>> That's just mind boggling.....the retirement pay alone is equivalent to ... > Read my message again: I paid for the LTD premium _after_ taxes were taken Whoops, my bad. > What I was asking is whether _your_ $6000/mo retirement pay is taxable or > not. That's anon, I don,t get retirement pay as yet. From nobody at spamcop.net Thu Feb 11 20:38:42 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Thu Feb 11 20:40:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: quite the garage In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Heidi" wrote in message news:hl24uc$l79$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "Indigo" wrote in message > news:hl207b$jeh$1@news.spamcop.net... >> >>> That's the most scared I've EVER been in a car, by far. By the end of >>> the >> following week I had installed a big airdam on the front, and that >> completely resolved the problem. In fact, the fast you went, the more >> efficient the airdam performed, increasing the front end down force with >> speed. > > What resolves the problem, you dimwit, is NOT DRIVING LIKE A FLAMING > ARSEHOLE! 100 mph? What was it I said about intelligence does not equal > common sense? Got news for you sweetie, I've gone WAY faster than 100 mph on more than a few occasions, traffic and weather permitting. Fastest I ever went was a test of how fast my 1993 supercharged Thunderbird Supercoupe would go, did it on a flat stretch of highway (actually a bridge) late at night, absolutely no one else on the road. The speedometer went past 145 (the max reading) and I was still accelerating, but ran out of road and had to shut it down. No danger to anyone but me (tires were rated to 165), so I hardly call that "driving like a flaming arsehole", which I reserve for endangering other's lives with maniac driving. So why didn't you jump all over S-kat's ass for her admission that she was going over 100 too? From nobody at spamcop.net Thu Feb 11 20:46:13 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Thu Feb 11 20:50:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: quite the garage In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Frog Prince" wrote in message news:hl26lf$ltc$1@news.spamcop.net... > > My dad (something he learned from his dad) had a policy: If we called > before the witching hour the clock stopped. Well, that night in particular, the only reason I left at the time I did is because her Dad came to the front door and started blinking the porch lights as in "time for you to go, young man, and get your hands and lips off my daughter right now!" No cell phones back then, and no way I would have had the balls to ask her Dad if I could use the phone at that moment......and my Dad was asleep already (he went to be at 10:00), I'd probably have gotten in even MORE trouble for waking him up! Mom was the one who couldn't/wouldn't fall asleep until all the kids were safely in bed for the night, she'd hear us come in then go to sleep, then the next morning the ax would fall. From nobody at spamcop.net Thu Feb 11 20:48:26 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Thu Feb 11 20:50:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Let me tell you about my night In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "bar0" wrote in message news:hl2b5e$ned$1@news.spamcop.net... > > Whoops, my bad. > >> What I was asking is whether _your_ $6000/mo retirement pay is taxable or >> not. > > That's anon, I don,t get retirement pay as yet. > Now it's my turn for a mea culpa ;-) Guess it's time to call it a night with that! From me at privacy.net Thu Feb 11 20:48:55 2010 From: me at privacy.net (Frog Prince) Date: Thu Feb 11 20:50:10 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: If god wanted Texas to deal with snow ... References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hl2al7$nbo$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "Frog Prince" wrote in message > news:hl251r$l7s$1@news.spamcop.net... >> If god wanted Texas to deal with snow he'd made B* white ... >> >> We had 6" of dry powder snow today. Kids are nuts. >> >> Told to expect mixed rain and snow tonight & tomorrow. Most in the area >> are closing. > > Oh, poor little froggy....I feel for ya man, really.....NOT! Don't pine for me. I'm warm, don't own a snow shovel, I have a week's worth of food and drink. The view from my 3rd floor window is wonderful. From me at privacy.net Thu Feb 11 20:55:45 2010 From: me at privacy.net (Frog Prince) Date: Thu Feb 11 21:00:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: quite the garage References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hl2bt5$npv$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "Frog Prince" wrote in message > news:hl26lf$ltc$1@news.spamcop.net... >> >> My dad (something he learned from his dad) had a policy: If we called >> before the witching hour the clock stopped. > > shouldn't be> > > Well, that night in particular, the only reason I left at the time I did > is because her Dad came to the front door and started blinking the porch > lights as in "time for you to go, young man, and get your hands and lips > off my daughter right now!" > > No cell phones back then, and no way I would have had the balls to ask her > Dad if I could use the phone at that moment......and my Dad was asleep > already (he went to be at 10:00), I'd probably have gotten in even MORE > trouble for waking him up! Mom was the one who couldn't/wouldn't fall > asleep until all the kids were safely in bed for the night, she'd hear us > come in then go to sleep, then the next morning the ax would fall. We pit am alarm clock in the hall. Kids would shut it off when they got home. Did not take long to find out one of them would sneak home, kill the clock and back out again. The give away was the second clock triggered by a magnetic leaf switch tied to the door. > From me at privacy.net Thu Feb 11 21:01:12 2010 From: me at privacy.net (Frog Prince) Date: Thu Feb 11 21:05:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: ca va, ca va pas si mal References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D1CC6F436F63ThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > No way it was me! It was "Heidi" ! >> "Charles" wrote in message >> news:Xns9D1C65816DA44ThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > >>> I just checked in for my flights so that looks ok for now! And vacation >>> isn't relaxing! >> >> Can I take yours then? > > Of course not - they won't let you. Since when as lack of permission even so much as slowed anyone around here down? From user at domain.invalid Thu Feb 11 21:16:16 2010 From: user at domain.invalid (Farelf) Date: Thu Feb 11 21:20:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: ca va, ca va pas si mal In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Heidi wrote: > > Chou chou chou!! > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZvFoSI5VN8 "... the chances are good" From me at privacy.net Fri Feb 12 00:27:05 2010 From: me at privacy.net (Frog Prince) Date: Fri Feb 12 00:35:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] In honor of Indy References: <_uOdnbyqJ7ntQenWnZ2dnUVZ_rSdnZ2d@earthlink.com> Message-ID: Diary Of A Snow Shoveler December 8: 6:00 PM. It started to snow. The first snow of the season and the wife and I took our cocktails and sat for hours by the window watching the huge soft flakes drift down from heaven. It looked like a Grandma Moses print. So romantic we felt like newlyweds again. I love snow! December 9: We woke to a beautiful blanket of crystal white snow covering every inch of the landscape. What a fantastic sight! Can there be a more lovely place in the Whole World? Moving here was the best idea I've ever had. Shoveled snow for the first time in years and felt like a boy again. I did both our driveway and the sidewalks. This afternoon the snowplow came along and covered up the sidewalks and closed in the driveway, so I got to shovel again. What a perfect life. December 12: The sun has melted all our lovely snow. Such a disappointment. My neighbor tells me not to worry, we'll definitely have a white Christmas. No snow on Christmas would be awful! Bob says we'll have so much snow by the end of winter, that I'll never want to see snow again. l don't think that's possible. Bob is such a nice man I'm glad he's our neighbor. December 14: Snow lovely snow! 8" last night. The temperature dropped to -20. The cold makes everything sparkle so. The wind took my breath away, but I warmed up by shoveling the driveway and sidewalks. This is the life! The snowplow came back this afternoon and buried everything again. l didn't realize I would have to do quite this much shoveling, but I'll certainly get back in shape this way. I wish l wouldn't huff and puff so. December 15: 20 inches forecast. Sold my van and bought a 4x4 Blazer. Bought snow tires for the wife's car and 2 extra shovels. Stocked the freezer. The wife wants a wood stove in case the electricity goes out. I think that's silly. We aren't in Alaska, after all. December 16: Ice storm this morning. Fell on my ass on the ice in the driveway putting down salt. Hurt like hell. The wife laughed for an hour, which I think was very cruel. December 17: Still way below freezing. Roads are too icy to go anywhere. Electricity was off for 5 hours. I had to pile the blankets on to stay warm. Nothing to do but stare at the wife and try not to irritate her. Guess I should've bought a wood stove, but won't admit it to her. God I hate it when she's right. I can't believe I'm freezing to death in my own living room. December 20: Electricity's back on, but had another 14" of damn snow last night. More shoveling. Took all day. God damm snowplow came by twice. Tried to find a neighbor kid to shovel, but they said they're too busy playing hockey. I think they're lying. Called the only hardware store around to see about buying a snow blower and they're out. Might have another shipment in March. I think they're lying. Bob says I have to shovel or the city will have it done and bill me. I think he's lying. December 22: Bob was right about a white Christmas because 13 more inches of the white shit fell today, and it's so cold it probably won't melt till August. Took me 45 minutes to get all dressed up to go out to shovel and then I had to piss. By the time I got undressed, pissed and dressed again. I was too tired to shovel. Tried to hire Bob who has a plow on his truck for the rest of the winter; but he says he's too busy. I think the asshole is lying. December 23: Only 2" of snow today. And it warmed up to 0. The wife wanted me to decorate the front of the house this morning. What is she nuts!!! Why didn't she tell me to do that a month ago? She says she did but I think she's lying. December 24: 6". Snow packed so hard by snowplow, l broke the shovel. Thought I was having a heart attack. If I ever catch the son of a bitch who drives that snowplow, I'll drag him through the snow by his balls. I know he hides around the corner and waits for me to finish shoveling and then he comes down the street at a 100 miles an hour and throws snow all over where I've just been! Tonight the wife wanted me to sing Christmas carols with her and open our presents, but I was busy watching for that goddamn snowplow. December 25: Merry Christmas. 20 more inches of the !=3D@x@!x!x1 slop tonight. Snowed in. The idea of shoveling makes my blood boil. God I hate the snow! Then the snowplow driver came by asking for a donation and I hit him over the head with my shovel. The wife says I have a bad attitude. I think she's an idiot. If I have to watch "It's a Wonderful Life" one more time, I'm going to kill her. December 26: Still snowed in. Why the hell did I ever move here? It was all HER idea. She's really getting on my nerves. December 27: Temperature dropped to -30 and the pipes froze. December 28: Warmed up to above -50. Still snowed in. THE BITCH is driving me crazy!!!!! December 29: 10 more inches. Bob says I have to shovel the roof or it could cave in. That's the silliest thing I ever heard. How dumb does he think I am? December 30: Roof caved in. The snow plow driver is suing me for a million dollars. The wife went home to her mother. 9" predicted. December 31: Set fire to what's left of the house. No more shoveling. January 8: I feel so good. I just love those little white pills they keep giving me. Why am I tied to the bed? -Author Unknown From nobody at spamcop.net Fri Feb 12 12:07:08 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Fri Feb 12 12:10:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: If god wanted Texas to deal with snow ... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Frog Prince" wrote in message news:hl2c1p$nq7$1@news.spamcop.net... > > Don't pine for me. I'm warm, don't own a snow shovel, I have a week's > worth of food and drink. I *did* have a week's worth of food and water, but until late yesterday it was almost impossible to get out to buy some more, and a lot of stores have been having trouble getting deliveries, so their shelves are bare of some of the essentials anyway. I went out for breakfast this morning, then drove down Rt 1 to get to CVS, and was shocked at the condition of the road -- Rt. 1 is 6 or 7 lanes wide near me, the second largest north-south artery next to I-95, and they've still only managed to plow the equivalent of 4 lanes! Only the middle turn lane, one northbound, one southbound, and another 1/2 of a lane on each side, making that part of cleared road useless except for bikers. > > The view from my 3rd floor window is wonderful. > So is the view from the 20-22 ft pile of snow at the end of my cul-de-sac....the kids were having a blast playing King of the Hill on it yesterday..... From dfmanno at mail.com Fri Feb 12 12:09:27 2010 From: dfmanno at mail.com (D.F. Manno) Date: Fri Feb 12 12:10:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: If god wanted Texas to deal with snow ... References: Message-ID: In article , "Frog Prince" wrote: > If god wanted Texas to deal with snow he'd made B* white ... > > We had 6" of dry powder snow today. Kids are nuts. > > Told to expect mixed rain and snow tonight & tomorrow. Most in the area are > closing. Meanwhile, Philadelphia had 44.3 inches of snow in six days. We've had more snow this winter than in any other winter since recordkeeping started. We've had more snow this winter than freakin' _Buffalo_. -- D.F. Manno | dfmanno@mail.com The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt. (Bertrand Russell) From nobody at spamcop.net Fri Feb 12 12:19:58 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Fri Feb 12 12:20:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: In honor of Indy In-Reply-To: References: <_uOdnbyqJ7ntQenWnZ2dnUVZ_rSdnZ2d@earthlink.com> Message-ID: "Frog Prince" wrote in message news:hl2p4u$sgj$1@news.spamcop.net... > Diary Of A Snow Shoveler Heh. Sounds like it was written by someone from Buffalo! BTW, I actually managed to find something "good" with all this snow....I noticed that the area where my front faucet and dryer vent penetrate the basement wall was melting unbelievably fast after each snowfall. Last night I doubled the thickness of the insulation between the basement rafters for the section with the penetrations and one section on each side. I didn't have any "real" fiberglass insulation, but instead I cut up a rather large 6" thick hunk of a dense yellow foam, the kind used for couch cushions. Had to use a damn hacksaw to cut out the pieces I needed, it was too tough for a box cutter or large scissors. Hopefully I got the heat leak plugged, won't know unless we get another foot or more of snow, and if we do I still won't know cuz I'll be in a rubber room too! And they're already calling for a country-wide snowstorm at the start of next week......like snow in all the lower 48.... From nobody at spamcop.net Fri Feb 12 12:21:12 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Fri Feb 12 12:25:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: If god wanted Texas to deal with snow ... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "D.F. Manno" wrote in message news:dfmanno-EDE859.12092712022010@news.cesmail.net... > > Meanwhile, Philadelphia had 44.3 inches of snow in six days. We've had > more snow this winter than in any other winter since recordkeeping > started. We've had more snow this winter than freakin' _Buffalo_. > Pshaw, that's nuttin'....we've gotten a record 77" so far! From nobody at spamcop.net Fri Feb 12 12:22:18 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Fri Feb 12 12:25:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: quite the garage In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D1CD3D686ADDThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > No way it was me! It was "Indigo" ! > >> why didn't you jump all over S-kat > > Hey! Don't I get some grief, too? I went through a speed trap once at > 120... I'd have gone through it faster but I was only on a 400cc bike > (kitted, of course). Yikes....in this state they yank your license for a year if you get caught going that fast....what was your penance? From nobody at spamcop.net Fri Feb 12 12:30:46 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Fri Feb 12 12:35:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: If god wanted Texas to deal with snow ... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "D.F. Manno" wrote in message news:dfmanno-EDE859.12092712022010@news.cesmail.net... > In article , > "Frog Prince" wrote: > >> If god wanted Texas to deal with snow he'd made B* white ... >> >> We had 6" of dry powder snow today. Kids are nuts. >> >> Told to expect mixed rain and snow tonight & tomorrow. Most in the area >> are >> closing. > > Meanwhile, Philadelphia had 44.3 inches of snow in six days. We've had > more snow this winter than in any other winter since recordkeeping > started. We've had more snow this winter than freakin' _Buffalo_. Including winter of '75 (or was it '76) in Buffalo? From nobody at spamcop.net Fri Feb 12 12:37:30 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Fri Feb 12 12:40:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: If god wanted Texas to deal with snow ... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hl42m8$bsr$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "D.F. Manno" wrote in message > news:dfmanno-EDE859.12092712022010@news.cesmail.net... >> >> Meanwhile, Philadelphia had 44.3 inches of snow in six days. We've had >> more snow this winter than in any other winter since recordkeeping >> started. We've had more snow this winter than freakin' _Buffalo_. >> > > Pshaw, that's nuttin'....we've gotten a record 77" so far! Nuthin at all. One afternoon I went off to work with bare roads and yards, when the shift was over and I left for home 8 1/2 hours later 8' had fallen, and all the roads were cleared. Driveways were another matter and street parking was illegal in winter there, but I didn't have a car then. It was a job clearing the car from the parking lot, and I had to help my ride clear enough of his drive to park off the road. Winter the year before, only people with a third story could see beyond the snow banks I was told. From nobody at spamcop.net Fri Feb 12 12:41:39 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Fri Feb 12 12:45:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: In honor of Indy In-Reply-To: References: <_uOdnbyqJ7ntQenWnZ2dnUVZ_rSdnZ2d@earthlink.com> Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hl42ju$bsg$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "Frog Prince" wrote in message > news:hl2p4u$sgj$1@news.spamcop.net... >> Diary Of A Snow Shoveler > > > Heh. Sounds like it was written by someone from Buffalo! > > BTW, I actually managed to find something "good" with all this snow....I > noticed that the area where my front faucet and dryer vent penetrate the > basement wall was melting unbelievably fast after each snowfall. Last > night I doubled the thickness of the insulation between the basement > rafters for the section with the penetrations and one section on each > side. I didn't have any "real" fiberglass insulation, but instead I cut up > a rather large 6" thick hunk of a dense yellow foam, the kind used for > couch cushions. Had to use a damn hacksaw to cut out the pieces I needed, > it was too tough for a box cutter or large scissors. Hopefully I got the > heat leak plugged, won't know unless we get another foot or more of snow, > and if we do I still won't know cuz I'll be in a rubber room too! > > And they're already calling for a country-wide snowstorm at the start of > next week......like snow in all the lower 48.... Naaah, not here. Lawn cutters are supposed to come next week. From MikeE at ster.invalid Fri Feb 12 13:31:18 2010 From: MikeE at ster.invalid (Mike Easter) Date: Fri Feb 12 13:35:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: If god wanted Texas to deal with snow ... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: bar0 wrote: > "Indigo" >> "D.F. Manno" >>> Meanwhile, Philadelphia had 44.3 inches of snow in six days. >> Pshaw, that's nuttin'....we've gotten a record 77" so far! > > Nuthin at all. One afternoon I went off to work with bare roads and > yards, when the shift was over and I left for home 8 1/2 hours later 8' > had fallen, Speakin' of snow and stuff... In my neighborhood, the highs for the next 5 days are all predicted to be 70F or above. Elsewhere in the county, the recent snow in places like Julian, Mount Laguna, and Palomar Mountain (above 6000 ft) is pretty much all melted, while to the west the gray whales (and also some other critters) are migrating by the thousands down to Baja and lots of sailboats are making whale watching excursions. Naturally it is a little cooler sailing out there on the water, as the water temp is currently 58F and sea air in the 60s, so one should bundle up a little. -- Mike Easter From me at privacy.net Fri Feb 12 13:37:54 2010 From: me at privacy.net (anon) Date: Fri Feb 12 13:45:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: In honor of Indy References: <_uOdnbyqJ7ntQenWnZ2dnUVZ_rSdnZ2d@earthlink.com> Message-ID: "bar0" wrote in message news:hl43sj$c97$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "Indigo" wrote in message > news:hl42ju$bsg$1@news.spamcop.net... >> >> "Frog Prince" wrote in message >> news:hl2p4u$sgj$1@news.spamcop.net... >>> Diary Of A Snow Shoveler >> >> >> Heh. Sounds like it was written by someone from Buffalo! >> >> BTW, I actually managed to find something "good" with all this snow....I >> noticed that the area where my front faucet and dryer vent penetrate the >> basement wall was melting unbelievably fast after each snowfall. Last >> night I doubled the thickness of the insulation between the basement >> rafters for the section with the penetrations and one section on each >> side. I didn't have any "real" fiberglass insulation, but instead I cut >> up a rather large 6" thick hunk of a dense yellow foam, the kind used for >> couch cushions. Had to use a damn hacksaw to cut out the pieces I needed, >> it was too tough for a box cutter or large scissors. Hopefully I got the >> heat leak plugged, won't know unless we get another foot or more of snow, >> and if we do I still won't know cuz I'll be in a rubber room too! >> >> And they're already calling for a country-wide snowstorm at the start of >> next week......like snow in all the lower 48.... > > Naaah, not here. Lawn cutters are supposed to come next week. Now from the other part of the USA. All I have to do is wonder whether we sill get sprinkles - just north of San Francisco. Never have to shoved rain. Used to live in La Canada Flintridge - near the fires but not near the catastrophic mud slides from a badly designed debris basin. I used to design those basins including the outlet structures - non of mine ever failed to do the job (keep all the mud inside the basin.) Sounds like that basin was politically designed not engineer design. Several of mine were NOT wanted by the resident's who would be protected, but were still correctly designed and built. BTW - they ARE UGLY looking when you live right next to them. From me at privacy.net Fri Feb 12 13:49:54 2010 From: me at privacy.net (anon) Date: Fri Feb 12 13:50:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Let me tell you about my night References: Message-ID: "bar0" wrote in message news:hl273e$m2t$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "Indigo" wrote in message > news:hl1vai$j2g$1@news.spamcop.net... >> >> "anon" wrote in message >> news:hl02qi$sum$1@news.spamcop.net... >>> >>> *****My retirement is over $6000 per month plus SS ($1000 per month.) >> >> That's just mind boggling.....the retirement pay alone is equivalent to >> working at a job paying over $100k/yr....if that $6000 is tax free? I >> know that SS income is taxable, while my LTD payments are not, since I >> paid for them with post-tax dollars. > > I hope you mean Pre-Tax, otherwise you're being taxed twice. Yes - pre tax. Unfortunately, the IRS calls it earned income so the usual high tax rate. Of course all of this because I worked under a defined plan for 37 years. The retirement percent increased with years worked + age. One of my co workers was still at it after 43 years. I guess he topped out at 100% retirement pay. > > .... > From me at privacy.net Fri Feb 12 15:32:32 2010 From: me at privacy.net (Frog Prince) Date: Fri Feb 12 15:45:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: shower heads References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D1D7A904C789sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > I'm trying to get a shower head that doesn't strangle the water flow. > Seems > like everything in the shops only allows 2.5 gal/min max. Is this only in > California or is it nationwide? Fortunately, I have an old shower head > that > obviously has no valve in it to reduce the flow, it blasts out of there so > hard it can hurt! But seemingly it's now impossible to buy such a thing so > our other show is a bit lame. So my other question is, is it feasible (has > anyone tried) to take a head apart and remove the offending blockage? > > I prefer to take a fast, short shower, but it's impossible with the > dribble > that these low flow heads allow out! Most (everyone I've jimmied) has an o-ring or washer at the rear of the connection to the shower head that can be removed with an ice pick or jewelers screw driver. (they lift out) I don't like the heads that are made out of plastic. From MikeE at ster.invalid Fri Feb 12 16:05:38 2010 From: MikeE at ster.invalid (Mike Easter) Date: Fri Feb 12 16:10:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: shower heads In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Sylvesterthekat wrote: > I'm trying to get a shower head that doesn't strangle the water flow. Seems > like everything in the shops only allows 2.5 gal/min max. Is this only in > California or is it nationwide? Nationwide. It is a national law/regulation. > Fortunately, I have an old shower head that > obviously has no valve in it to reduce the flow, it blasts out of there so > hard it can hurt! But seemingly it's now impossible to buy such a thing so > our other show is a bit lame. So my other question is, is it feasible (has > anyone tried) to take a head apart and remove the offending blockage? Piece o' pie (almost always). > I prefer to take a fast, short shower, but it's impossible with the dribble > that these low flow heads allow out! You need a (Seinfeld) Commando 450 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMITcQUe-9M The Delta plumbing people have an article explaining some problems with the simple solution of just removing the restrictor as it relates to teh design of their showerhead products. Personally I think it would be better if you could modify the restrictor instead of removing it; such as double its output, say. -- Mike Easter From nobody at spamcop.net Fri Feb 12 18:16:34 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Fri Feb 12 18:20:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Found a terrible disaster in my back yard today.... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "bar0" wrote in message news:hl43kq$c8k$1@news.spamcop.net... > Winter the year before, only people with a third story could see beyond > the snow banks I was told. Wonder how the ground floor windows and walls resisted shattering or collapsing under all the pressure? Speaking of collapsing, when I got home from my chiro appt. this afternoon I stuck my head around the front porch to look down the side of the house to see if I had any other majorly obvious basement heat leaks....what I saw was a horrible disaster, but the immensity of it was unknown to me yet. When they built my neighborhood, they stripped about 12-15 ft of topsoil from our lots to make them almost level, leaving us with mostly bare clay to try to grow new grass, shrubs, and trees. My lot (and everyone on my side of the street in our cul-de-sac) backs up to the edge of the community property, so there is a big hill, about 45 degree of grade, that rises from my back yard up into the woods to the original soil level. The developer planted tiny pine trees, 4/lot near the top of the hill, but that was it as far as landscaping the naked hill. Over the last 16 years I've busted my ass to keep grass and other vegetation/ground cover growing on the hill to prevent erosion, and I've carefully nurtured those four beautiful pines, feeding them via fertilizer spikes every winter, pruning them to keep them growing up, not out, and cutting down the wild scrub pines that festered in the woods around them to keep scrub from totally overwhelming "my" trees, and I watered them every summer when they started looking distressed. So imagine my utter horror when I saw that one of them had fallen over, down into my backyard, because of the 50 mph winds we had the other day and the totally soaked and weak clay they were planted in -- they only had support on one side, the side that faced the woods, because their roots couldn't grow down into the clay on the slope of the hill. I quickly ran to the front porch of my neighbor's house and saw that ALL FOUR of my beloved trees had fallen! In fact, EVERY SINGLE TREE that lined the top of the hill had fallen, crashing over and thru the wooden fences some of my neighbors have! It is blatantly obvious why they fell -- the idiots that planted them never gave them a chance at having a long life -- the rootballs of these 30-40 ft high trees are so small you could barely squeeze a small child's plastic blow-up swimming pool into the holes they left behind. Damn this hurts, personally and property value-wise.....supposedly the county is going to come out some day to cut them up and remove them, likely destroying all of our landscaping in the process because they'll grind our wet yards and grass into pure mud when they bring in the heavy equipment they're going to need. If only the ground had been frozen.....the trees likely would have survived the windstorm.... Is it ok with everyone if I cry now? From MikeE at ster.invalid Fri Feb 12 18:18:43 2010 From: MikeE at ster.invalid (Mike Easter) Date: Fri Feb 12 18:20:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: shower heads In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Sylvesterthekat wrote: > Do i assume from your answer then that this is a nationwide law, they're > all limited? Not only are they limited by law, but also a lot of them are being built so that the flow restrictor can't be removed. Here's an interesting site^1 for alleged High Pressure Showerheads with an extensive faq on the subject. Their showerheads are legal in terms of low flow, and they claim to have high pressure and a number of different models. They have a lot of explanation as to how they test their designs and what makes a good/ satisfactory/ excellent/ stream. Their restrictors are removable, but they don't think that is necessary. ^1 http://www.highpressureshowerheads.com/index.html High Pressure Shower Heads - Enjoy Your Showers Again! -- Mike Easter From nobody at spamcop.net Fri Feb 12 18:30:30 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Fri Feb 12 18:35:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Let me tell you about my night In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "anon" wrote in message news:hl47sl$doj$1@news.spamcop.net... >> >> I hope you mean Pre-Tax, otherwise you're being taxed twice. > > Yes - pre tax. Unfortunately, the IRS calls it earned income so the usual > high tax rate. > Now that sounds a bit more reasonable.....assuming I guessed your total tax rate correctly to within a few %... From nobody at spamcop.net Fri Feb 12 18:36:54 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Fri Feb 12 18:40:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: quite the garage In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D1D769E118EFsylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > > Guess you shoulda left your date a bit earlier eh? lol. Heh. If it had been up to me I'd have never left! We sat on her front porch, made out a bit, talked a lot, for over 2 hours that night after going to a movie.....I was crazy in love with her.....she's still the "biggest one that got away" I've ever dated in my entire life.... From nobody at spamcop.net Fri Feb 12 18:38:51 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Fri Feb 12 18:40:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: shower heads In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Frog Prince" wrote in message news:hl4ecf$gsq$1@news.spamcop.net... > > I don't like the heads that are made out of plastic. > > So I guess you won't be buying on of those robot love dolls? From nobody at spamcop.net Fri Feb 12 19:00:24 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Fri Feb 12 19:05:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Another log thrown on the flame of healthcare costs.... Message-ID: http://tinyurl.com/yj5ax5h WASHINGTON, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Health insurer WellPoint Inc (WLP.N) defended its rate hike of up to 39-percent for certain California customers as Democrats latched onto the increase to press their case for overhauling the U.S. healthcare system. The controversy comes as Democrats struggle for a path forward to expand access to health insurance, while imposing new rules for the industry, after losing their supermajority in the Senate last month. It also highlights the friction between the Obama administration and health insurers who largely opposed Democrats' plans now stalled in Congress. Earlier this week, U.S. Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius challenged WellPoint after reports of the premium increases for people who bought their own coverage through the company's Anthem Blue Cross subsidiary in California. WellPoint, in a response to Sebelius on Thursday, said the higher prices reflect greater medical costs and are in line with competitors. "These rate increases are unfortunate but necessary to reflect the costs of paying for the medical services for our members in the current challenging environment," wrote Brian Sassi, head of WellPoint's Consumer Business Unit. Richard Kirsch, a national campaign manager for the liberal healthcare reform advocacy group Health Care for America Now, said rate increases like Anthem's are likely to continue, especially in the individual market. Kirsch's group issued a report on Thursday showing how profits for the top health insurers -- WellPoint, UnitedHealth Group (UNH.N), Aetna (AET.N), Humana (HUM.N), and Cigna (CI.N) -- rose 56 percent in 2009, compared to 2008, despite losing 2.7 million enrollees. The industry's lobby group, America's Health Insurance Plans, said insurer's profits were "well below" those for other healthcare industries. In other words, "those other guys are making more than we are so we have to raise rates!"......bastards.... From nobody at spamcop.net Fri Feb 12 19:29:50 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Heidi) Date: Fri Feb 12 19:30:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Another log thrown on the flame of healthcare costs.... References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hl4q2n$l9i$1@news.spamcop.net... > http://tinyurl.com/yj5ax5h > > WASHINGTON, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Health insurer WellPoint Inc > (WLP.N) defended its rate hike of up to 39-percent for certain > California customers as Democrats latched onto the increase to > press their case for overhauling the U.S. healthcare system. > Same thing from Anthem: http://pol.moveon.org/bluecross/ Blue Cross has just announced that it's immediately raising premiums charged to hundreds of thousands of individual customers by as much as 39%—even though their parent company's profits soared to a record $4.7 billion last year. Even worse, the insurer has so far refused to explain why they're increasing their rates, and warned that they might do so again this year without warning. The Obama administration is demanding answers from Anthem Blue Cross, and Congress has opened an investigation. But Blue Cross is only going to respond if this story becomes a major public-relations problem for them. So it's time to turn up the heat. Let's join the growing call for an explanation and send a powerful public message that these abuses by Big Insurance are unacceptable. A compiled petition with your individual comment will be presented to Anthem Blue Cross. From MikeE at ster.invalid Fri Feb 12 19:41:55 2010 From: MikeE at ster.invalid (Mike Easter) Date: Fri Feb 12 19:45:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Another log thrown on the flame of healthcare costs.... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Indigo wrote: > The industry's lobby group, America's Health Insurance > Plans, said insurer's profits were "well below" those for other > healthcare industries. Since the American public feels that even the poorest among us is entitled to the excellence of medical care, maybe we should treat the entire healthcare industry as a public utility, with oversight in many spheres, including profit taking. That would apply to BigPharm, medical insurance, private practice, alternate care, overthecounter, durable goods, pharmacies, hospitals, nursing homes, home providers, military, congressional, etc. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_utility the sectors are specially regulated by a public utilities commission. Public utilities are profitable and profit oriented, have stockholders, and are responsible to the public. The capitalism of the healthcare industry doesn't work right because what would otherwise be normal market forces don't work because there is too much third party payment and people don't make decisions based on market economy of how much something costs and whether they want it or not. They want it because it is covered by a 3rd party. Market economy is gone. -- Mike Easter From nobody at spamcop.net Fri Feb 12 20:02:39 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Fri Feb 12 20:05:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Another log thrown on the flame of healthcare costs.... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Mike Easter" wrote in message news:hl4sgk$m65$1@news.spamcop.net... > Indigo wrote: > >> The industry's lobby group, America's Health Insurance >> Plans, said insurer's profits were "well below" those for other >> healthcare industries. > > Since the American public feels that even the poorest among us is entitled > to the excellence of medical care, maybe we should treat the entire > healthcare industry as a public utility, with oversight in many spheres, > including profit taking. Except you forget that one of the biggest public utilities, the electricity producers, managed to lobby their way to deregulated status in most states, with disastrous effects.....and the insurance lobby probably makes the electricity lobby look like Cub Scouts compared to Boy Scouts...... From me at privacy.net Fri Feb 12 20:54:14 2010 From: me at privacy.net (anon) Date: Fri Feb 12 20:55:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: quite the garage References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D1D769E118EFsylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > "Indigo" wrote in > news:hl207b$jeh$1@news.spamcop.net: > >> Erm.....no thanks....I almost died at age 17 when I was racing home in >> my beefed up V6 Mercury Capri from a date to try to beat my midnite >> curfew.....I was on a four lane highway (2 lanes each direction) going >> around 100 mph when I came to a mild right handed kink, as soon as I >> moved the steering wheel I knew I had lost control because of the lack >> of downforce on the front wheels. Luckily, my natural reaction was to >> just ease off the throttle (NEVER HIT THE BRAKES in that situation!), >> hold the steering wheel in the same position, and allow the car to >> drift to the far edge of the left lane before it slowed down enough >> for the front tires to regain traction. > > Yikes! Luckily when I was going about 120, I had the good sense to > realise that it was getting very light at the front so I eased off the > accelerator and never went that fast again. I've had other moments in > that car but mostly not of my doing, the back end goes out very readily > and i had a couple of lucky escapes where there was nobody around to > hit. > Back in '56 I had just bought a new Fireflight Desoto (hemi-head engine). In a trip down the coast highway from L.A.. to San Diego I thought I see what 'fast' felt like. Following along with the traffic, I would pass when safe. Then kick it up to 100 mph driven at that speed until I reached the next bunch of cars. slowed to their speed until there was an opening, passed and kicked it up again to 100 mph. I repeated this all the way down. When I averaged my sped for the trip - surprise it was around 55 mph. Where did all the high speed go. I didn't remember that the slow (normal highway speed) times were that numerous. 'Fast' felt exhilarating. Interesting, never encountered any cops. > >> As a result of the near disaster, I swore that I would never enforce a >> hard "down to the minute" curfew like my parents did if I ever had >> kids....it just creates situations that are too dangerous ....would >> you rather have your kid 5 minutes late or dead? > > Guess you shoulda left your date a bit earlier eh? lol. But yes, it's > better to be a bit reasonable with your kid coming in late than have > them never come in at all. From nobody at spamcop.net Fri Feb 12 21:08:40 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Heidi) Date: Fri Feb 12 21:10:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Another log thrown on the flame of healthcare costs.... References: Message-ID: "Mike Easter" wrote in message news:hl4sgk$m65$1@news.spamcop.net... > Indigo wrote: > >> The industry's lobby group, America's Health Insurance >> Plans, said insurer's profits were "well below" those for other >> healthcare industries. > > Since the American public feels that even the poorest among us is entitled > to the excellence of medical care, maybe we should treat the entire > healthcare industry as a public utility, with oversight in many spheres, > including profit taking. > We should treat the entire healthcare industry as a nonprofit. That's where the problem is, the insurance companies are looking after their bottom line and their corporate salaries, instead of patient health, which they go out of their way to keep from paying for. Switzerland seems to do fine that way. Our politicians are just too attached to the money that the big insurance lobbies fork out. From MikeE at ster.invalid Fri Feb 12 22:33:55 2010 From: MikeE at ster.invalid (Mike Easter) Date: Fri Feb 12 22:35:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Another log thrown on the flame of healthcare costs.... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Heidi wrote: > "Mike Easter" >> maybe we should treat the entire >> healthcare industry as a public utility, > Our politicians are just too attached to the money that the big > insurance lobbies fork out. There was a report today on the magnitude of lobbyists in DC. http://snipr.com/ucnu2 Now, final figures on lobbying in 2009 are in. Federal lobbyists spent a total of $3.47 billion lobbying Congress last year ? $544 million of which was spent by the health care industry. Many are asking how many congresscritters can you buy (or even influence significantly) for that many billion or that many hundreds of millions of dollars. -- Mike Easter From to5bwy502 at sneakemail.com Sat Feb 13 10:20:00 2010 From: to5bwy502 at sneakemail.com (Charles) Date: Sat Feb 13 10:20:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: quite the garage References: Message-ID: <1928353492287766850.034901to5bwy502-sneakemail.com@news.spamcop.net> "Indigo" wrote: > > "Charles" wrote in message > news:Xns9D1CD3D686ADDThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > > No way it was me! It was "Indigo" ! > > > >> why didn't you jump all over S-kat > > > > Hey! Don't I get some grief, too? I went through a speed trap once > > at > > 120... I'd have gone through it faster but I was only on a 400cc > > bike > > (kitted, of course). > > Yikes....in this state they yank your license for a year if you get > caught going that fast....what was your penance? > Nothing. I dont really know why h? didnt chase me down. Too eafly in th? morning? H? thought id run and kill one or both of us? From nobody at spamcop.net Sat Feb 13 18:53:16 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Sat Feb 13 18:55:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: quite the garage In-Reply-To: <1928353492287766850.034901to5bwy502-sneakemail.com@news.spamcop.net> References: <1928353492287766850.034901to5bwy502-sneakemail.com@news.spamcop.net> Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:1928353492287766850.034901to5bwy502-sneakemail.com@news.spamcop.net... > Nothing. I dont really know why h? didnt chase me down. Too eafly in > th? morning? H? thought id run and kill one or both of us? Dude! Were you or your keyboard drunk when you typed this post? ;-) Anyway, I get the gist of what you were trying to say.....likely you were going too fast for them to start a pursuit. You got berry, berry lucky. Most states and/or cities now have laws that discourage or disallow high speed car chases by police because of the danger to themselves and the public (losing a few multi-million dollar lawsuits from the innocently injured or dead's families tend to change policies right quick). Course if they have a chopper in the air, that's a different story....and end of story... From nobody at spamcop.net Sat Feb 13 19:06:06 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Sat Feb 13 19:10:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: quite the garage In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "anon" wrote in message news:hl50o9$nl0$1@news.spamcop.net... > > When I averaged my sped for the trip - surprise it was around 55 mph. > Where did all the high speed go. I didn't remember that the slow (normal > highway speed) times were that numerous. I'm not surprise. Unless you can go at a relatively high speed for extended distances, the time you save by speeding is minimal at best. My Dad lives exactly 93 miles from my house, and over 90% of the trip is on major highways. I discovered many years ago that whether I drove 60 or 80, the trip always averaged almost exactly 1.5 hours, with a spread of +/- 3 minutes. Now I just set the cruise control at 72-73 (speed limit is 65 for most of the trip), just under the "10 mph over the speed limit" law that makes a 1 pt offense (1-9 over the limit) into a 3 pt offense (over by 10-19). But when I used to drive from here back to Dayton, Ohio to visit my old g/f back in the early 90's (almost 500 miles one way, again 90-95% highway), maintaining 10-20 mph over the speed limit REALLY added up, I could save as much as an hour, and that's huge....made an 8 hr drive into a 7 hr drive (or less). From to5bwy502 at sneakemail.com Sat Feb 13 19:18:13 2010 From: to5bwy502 at sneakemail.com (Charles) Date: Sat Feb 13 19:20:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: quite the garage References: Message-ID: <2000055790287799268.162133to5bwy502-sneakemail.com@news.spamcop.net> "Indigo" wrote: > > "Charles" wrote in message > news:1928353492287766850.034901to5bwy502-sneakemail.com@news.spamcop.net... > > Nothing. I dont really know why h? didnt chase me down. Too eafly > > in > > th? morning? H? thought id run and kill one or both of us? > > Dude! Were you or your keyboard drunk when you typed this post? ;-) > > Anyway, I get the gist of what you were trying to say.....likely you > were going too fast for them to start a pursuit. You got berry, berry > lucky. > > Most states and/or cities now have laws that discourage or disallow > high speed car chases by police because of the danger to themselves > and the public (losing a few multi-million dollar lawsuits from the > innocently injured or dead's families tend to change policies right > quick). Course if they have a chopper in the air, that's a different > story....and end of story... > iPhone and it is in french. Um. I need a keyboard!!! It was on the Wyoming border at 7 am... Not worth the trouble? Trust me when I tell you that in Seattle at 100 you get a lot More attention!! From nobody at spamcop.net Sat Feb 13 19:36:31 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Sat Feb 13 19:40:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: quite the garage In-Reply-To: <2000055790287799268.162133to5bwy502-sneakemail.com@news.spamcop.net> References: <2000055790287799268.162133to5bwy502-sneakemail.com@news.spamcop.net> Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:2000055790287799268.162133to5bwy502-sneakemail.com@news.spamcop.net... >> > iPhone and it is in french. Um. I need a keyboard!!! LOL, why are you typing in french? Hmmm...maybe I do know why....'nuff sed.... > > It was on the Wyoming border at 7 am... Not worth the trouble? Especially if you were leaving the state, they'd rather not get into the hassle over jurisdiction. > > Trust me when I tell you that in Seattle at 100 you get a lot More > attention!! Wouldn't know about that....hope I never do! From borgholio at storymind.com Sun Feb 14 00:53:35 2010 From: borgholio at storymind.com (Borgholio) Date: Sun Feb 14 00:55:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Spamcop POP Mail Message-ID: Anybody else having issues POPing mail from external accounts? From MikeE at ster.invalid Sun Feb 14 02:26:42 2010 From: MikeE at ster.invalid (Mike Easter) Date: Sun Feb 14 02:30:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Spamcop POP Mail In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Borgholio wrote: > Anybody else having issues POPing mail from external accounts? Do you have something to report? There is no information here^1 and just yours here^2. ^1 http://mail.spamcop.net/news.php SpamCop Email System News ^2 http://forum.spamcop.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=10784 Unable to POP any external accounts If I were troubleshooting a pop, I would telnet into the server and authinfo and see what happened; alternatively I would turn on my MUA's logging function and see if either of those told me anything. -- Mike Easter From borgholio at storymind.com Sun Feb 14 02:54:27 2010 From: borgholio at storymind.com (Borgholio) Date: Sun Feb 14 02:55:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Spamcop POP Mail In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Mike Easter wrote: > Borgholio wrote: >> Anybody else having issues POPing mail from external accounts? > > Do you have something to report? > > There is no information here^1 and just yours here^2. > > ^1 http://mail.spamcop.net/news.php SpamCop Email System News > > ^2 http://forum.spamcop.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=10784 Unable to > POP any external accounts > > If I were troubleshooting a pop, I would telnet into the server and > authinfo and see what happened; alternatively I would turn on my MUA's > logging function and see if either of those told me anything. Sorry, that's all greek to me. Are you suggesting I telnet into all of my external pop3 accounts? What is an MUA? From MikeE at ster.invalid Sun Feb 14 04:06:52 2010 From: MikeE at ster.invalid (Mike Easter) Date: Sun Feb 14 04:10:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Spamcop POP Mail In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Borgholio wrote: > Mike Easter wrote: >> If I were troubleshooting a pop, I would telnet into the server and >> authinfo and see what happened; alternatively I would turn on my >> MUA's logging function and see if either of those told me anything. > > Sorry, that's all greek to me. Are you suggesting I telnet into all of > my external pop3 accounts? What is an MUA? I would telnet into one account and authinfo user authinfo pass. A MUA is a mailuseragent like OE or Tbird. Here's a discussion of how you log your pop transactions in tbird, which I see you are using here for news http://kb.mozillazine.org/Session_logging_for_mail/news The tbird logging instructions are considerably more complicated than OE's maintenance log function, but OE's logging is often not very helpful. I think that if it were me, it would be quicker to do it with OE and see if I got anything useful than to do it with the tbird instructions. If you do it with OE, you would set up one of the accounts in question, and configure the account to leave the mail on the server, and turn on the log in the maintenance section. Tools/ Options/ Maintenance tab/ Troubleshooting section - check Mail. Then try to pop the account. Use the search function to find pop3.log, OE has a help section describing logging. -- Mike Easter From MikeE at ster.invalid Sun Feb 14 04:26:26 2010 From: MikeE at ster.invalid (Mike Easter) Date: Sun Feb 14 04:30:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Spamcop POP Mail In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Mike Easter wrote: > I would telnet into one account and authinfo user authinfo pass. Error. pop doesn't use authinfo, it just uses user and pass If you want to give it another command to see if the server is cooperating, you can use LIST. -- Mike Easter From MikeE at ster.invalid Sun Feb 14 04:38:54 2010 From: MikeE at ster.invalid (Mike Easter) Date: Sun Feb 14 04:40:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Spamcop POP Mail In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Mike Easter wrote: > If I were troubleshooting a pop, Another cheap trick I like is to use the little grc utility IDServe. http://www.grc.com/id/idserve.htm a simple, free, small (26 kbytes), and fast, general purpose Internet server identification utility. The syntax I use to check the earthlink pop server is: pop.earthlink.net:110 The results look like: Initiating server query ... Looking up IP address for domain: pop.earthlink.net The IP address for the domain is: 209.86.93.209 Connecting to the server on remote port: 110 [Connected] The server greeted our connection with this message: +OK NGPopper vEL_0_1_36_P at earthlink.net ready <22154.1266140083@mp-grizzled.atl.sa.earthlink.net> Query complete. That shows that you can resolve the name to its IP, that you are reaching the IP, that the server is answering on its port, and what it says when it answers. The telnetting shows that you can logon to the server. The OE logging shows that the pop server can transact with a MUA. -- Mike Easter From to5bwy502 at sneakemail.com Sun Feb 14 10:55:05 2010 From: to5bwy502 at sneakemail.com (Charles) Date: Sun Feb 14 10:55:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: quite the garage References: Message-ID: <125959198287855567.570336to5bwy502-sneakemail.com@news.spamcop.net> "Indigo" wrote: > > "Charles" wrote in message > news:2000055790287799268.162133to5bwy502-sneakemail.com@news.spamcop.net... > >> > > iPhone and it is in french. Um. I need a keyboard!!! > > LOL, why are you typing in french? Hmmm...maybe I do know why....'nuff > sed.... > > > > > It was on the Wyoming border at 7 am... Not worth the trouble? > > Especially if you were leaving the state, they'd rather not get into > the hassle over jurisdiction. > > > > > Trust me when I tell you that in Seattle at 100 you get a lot More > > attention!! > > Wouldn't know about that....hope I never do! > I ended up surrounded by drawn guns. It was't exactly the best ending to an otherwise awesome night (hammerbox at candlebox or something like that). From borgholio at storymind.com Sun Feb 14 12:31:25 2010 From: borgholio at storymind.com (Borgholio) Date: Sun Feb 14 12:35:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Spamcop POP Mail In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Mike Easter wrote: > Mike Easter wrote: > >> If I were troubleshooting a pop, > > Another cheap trick I like is to use the little grc utility IDServe. > > http://www.grc.com/id/idserve.htm a simple, free, small (26 kbytes), > and fast, general purpose Internet server identification utility. > > The syntax I use to check the earthlink pop server is: > > pop.earthlink.net:110 > > The results look like: > > Initiating server query ... > Looking up IP address for domain: pop.earthlink.net > The IP address for the domain is: 209.86.93.209 > Connecting to the server on remote port: 110 > [Connected] The server greeted our connection with this message: > +OK NGPopper vEL_0_1_36_P at earthlink.net ready > <22154.1266140083@mp-grizzled.atl.sa.earthlink.net> > Query complete. > > That shows that you can resolve the name to its IP, that you are > reaching the IP, that the server is answering on its port, and what it > says when it answers. > > The telnetting shows that you can logon to the server. The OE logging > shows that the pop server can transact with a MUA. > > Well good news is that I can pop to all my accounts normally through Thunderbird, so I've collected all my back mail. Bad news is that Spamcop still throws unknown error 8... From MikeE at ster.invalid Sun Feb 14 14:04:35 2010 From: MikeE at ster.invalid (Mike Easter) Date: Sun Feb 14 14:05:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Spamcop POP Mail In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Borgholio wrote: > Mike Easter wrote: >>> If I were troubleshooting a pop, > Well good news is that I can pop to all my accounts normally through > Thunderbird, so I've collected all my back mail. Bad news is that > Spamcop still throws unknown error 8... Since I don't have a SC mail account (but I do understand the concept of SC popping your mail accounts)... ... I'm not crystal clear on where/how (exactly) this unknown error 8 is seen. Is it that you go to the SC webmail to get your filtered mail from multiple accounts which are for some reason or reasons popped instead of forwarded, and somewhere in there you see this unknown error 8, or what? We know that you and your MUA can pop your mail, so the fault isn't with the popserver/s of your accounts. Here's something you might like to look thru'. It is snurled googleweb 244 occurrences of the string 'unknown error 8' in forum.spamcop.net http://snipr.com/ud149 Results ... about 244 from forum.spamcop.net for "unknown error 8" -- Mike Easter From MikeE at ster.invalid Sun Feb 14 14:52:47 2010 From: MikeE at ster.invalid (Mike Easter) Date: Sun Feb 14 14:55:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Spamcop POP Mail In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Mike Easter wrote: > Is it that you go to the SC webmail to get your filtered mail from > multiple accounts which are for some reason or reasons popped instead of > forwarded, and somewhere in there you see this unknown error 8, or what? > about 244 from forum.spamcop.net for > "unknown error 8" Here's a tidbit from one of those... "I don't POP my Yahoo! account but I can say that POPGATE is notoriously subject to problems when a service provider makes even small changes to their configuration. You would be better forwarding to Spamcop than using the popgate." http://snipr.com/ud1g0 I found a pic of unknown error 8 http://snipr.com/ud1gg Jeff sez: A very small number of Unknown error 8 is normal. It shouldn't be more than 1 or 2 and doesn't affect picking up Hotmail at all. It's a symptom of when one POP process has "caught up" with another POP process. When they bump into each other, one of them gets an error 8. Why don't you try sending test messages to the accounts you are concerned about? -- Mike Easter From MikeE at ster.invalid Sun Feb 14 23:06:41 2010 From: MikeE at ster.invalid (Mike Easter) Date: Sun Feb 14 23:10:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Spamcop POP Mail In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Borgholio wrote: > Anybody else having issues POPing mail from external accounts? I see what is happening in here http://forum.spamcop.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=10784 There wasn't a reply to my earlier implied query about why - what is the nature of the mail accounts - that prohibits forwarding instead of popping. Forwarding, when it is available, is a much cleaner, more efficient manner of accomplishing the SC process - except in the rare circumstance that forwarding breaks or works inconsistently, which I have seen. But, on paper or theoretically, forwarding should fail much much much less often than a pop engine. -- Mike Easter From me at privacy.net Sun Feb 14 23:29:24 2010 From: me at privacy.net (Frog Prince) Date: Sun Feb 14 23:30:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] NASA opens a new restaurant on the Moon... References: <02eea452-5033-4f53-bf4b-959afb6bee36@z17g2000yqh.googlegroups.com> Message-ID: Great food but no atmosphere. From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 15 12:46:52 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Mon Feb 15 12:50:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Another log thrown on the flame of healthcare costs.... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Mike Easter" wrote in message news:hl56j4$pq7$1@news.spamcop.net... ... > > http://snipr.com/ucnu2 Now, final figures on lobbying in 2009 are in. > Federal lobbyists spent a total of $3.47 billion lobbying Congress last > year ? $544 million of which was spent by the health care industry. > > Many are asking how many congresscritters can you buy (or even influence > significantly) for that many billion or that many hundreds of millions of > dollars. 535 congresscritters give or tale President Pro Tem and Vice President. How many of those can be bought for $6.5 Million a piece? (3.47*10**9/535) My lifetime income from all sources won't reach that, and I'm not bad off. From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 15 12:50:56 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Mon Feb 15 12:55:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Found a terrible disaster in my back yard today.... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hl4ngh$kff$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "bar0" wrote in message > news:hl43kq$c8k$1@news.spamcop.net... >> Winter the year before, only people with a third story could see beyond >> the snow banks I was told. > > Wonder how the ground floor windows and walls resisted shattering or > collapsing under all the pressure? Between eaves,,heat leaks and wind, the snow was always a foot or more away from the sides of the buildings. > > > > Speaking of collapsing, when I got home from my chiro appt. this afternoon > I stuck my head around the front porch to look down the side of the house > to see if I had any other majorly obvious basement heat leaks....what I > saw was a horrible disaster, but the immensity of it was unknown to me > yet. Should'of encouraged the scrub pines instead of the planted ones. From nobody at spamcop.net Tue Feb 16 10:23:30 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Tue Feb 16 10:25:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Found a terrible disaster in my back yard today.... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "bar0" wrote in message news:hlc1i1$bq7$1@news.spamcop.net... > > Should'of encouraged the scrub pines instead of the planted ones. The wild scrubs didn't fair any better in my neighbors backyards, in fact they caused MORE damage because they grow around 3 times faster than my white pines, so they were way taller, some of them came close to hitting a few people's houses, and a couple of them crushed some fencing. Last night I had a brainstorm about what to do with the fallen pines in my backyard -- when some of the snow melts, I'm going to hire my shoveling crew to help me raise the trees using my come-along winch and replant them. Since the holes they left behind are so small, it should be relatively easy to muscle them back into place, then I'm going to pound stakes into the ground and tie off the trees with ropes so they can't fall forward again. Since their roots are still covered with mud and snow, they aren't in danger of drying out yet, but I guess I won't know if they survived for a month or so. It's worth a try though! From nobody at spamcop.net Tue Feb 16 22:32:20 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Tue Feb 16 22:35:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] The phone call I've been dreading for years finally came today..... Message-ID: Got a phone call from my Dad this afternoon.....he's had CLL, a form of leukemia, for about 12 years, but he hasn't needed treatment yet......but somehow the cancer mutated and he now has lymphoma, it happens to about 10% of those who have CLL disease :-(( He had a heart attack a couple months ago, so he has to stop taking his heart meds and wait a week before he gets a biopsy to confirm his oncologist's diagnosis (he's on blood thinners), then another week waiting for the results before he can start chemo for the lymph node cancer.....my Mom died of breast cancer in 1997 after fighting it for over 10 years....goddamn this sucks.....it's not his time yet, dammit! Unfortunately cancer runs pretty deep in my extended family, mainly due to where our elders settled in the early 1900's, and where our fathers, mothers, and Aunts and Uncles lived and grew up.....it was a horribly contaminated steel mill town south of Pittsburgh....probably damaged the RNA/DNA of all of them that were raised there, and that genetic susceptibility to cancer and other health problems was then passed down through the generations...... There aren't too many people I know that are deeply religious, but my Dad is a devout Catholic, so I'm asking those of you out there who are devoted to whatever religion to think of him in your prayers....I'm not sure it will help, but it certainly can't hurt, and he's going to need all the help he can to get through this.....thanks. From me at privacy.net Tue Feb 16 22:36:27 2010 From: me at privacy.net (Frog Prince) Date: Tue Feb 16 22:40:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: The phone call I've been dreading for years finally came today..... References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hlfo03$mod$1@news.spamcop.net... > Got a phone call from my Dad this afternoon.....he's had CLL, a form of > leukemia, for about 12 years, but he hasn't needed treatment yet......but > somehow the cancer mutated and he now has lymphoma, it happens to about > 10% of those who have CLL disease :-(( > > He had a heart attack a couple months ago, so he has to stop taking his > heart meds and wait a week before he gets a biopsy to confirm his > oncologist's diagnosis (he's on blood thinners), then another week waiting > for the results before he can start chemo for the lymph node cancer.....my > Mom died of breast cancer in 1997 after fighting it for over 10 > years....goddamn this sucks.....it's not his time yet, dammit! > > Unfortunately cancer runs pretty deep in my extended family, mainly due to > where our elders settled in the early 1900's, and where our fathers, > mothers, and Aunts and Uncles lived and grew up.....it was a horribly > contaminated steel mill town south of Pittsburgh....probably damaged the > RNA/DNA of all of them that were raised there, and that genetic > susceptibility to cancer and other health problems was then passed down > through the generations...... > > There aren't too many people I know that are deeply religious, but my Dad > is a devout Catholic, so I'm asking those of you out there who are devoted > to whatever religion to think of him in your prayers....I'm not sure it > will help, but it certainly can't hurt, and he's going to need all the > help he can to get through this.....thanks. Done. You do need to let your dad know that your friends are keeping him in our thoughts and prays. From me at privacy.net Wed Feb 17 11:08:23 2010 From: me at privacy.net (anon) Date: Wed Feb 17 11:10:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: quite the garage References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D224B258DA7Csylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > "anon" wrote in news:hl50o9$nl0$1@news.spamcop.net: > > >> When I averaged my sped for the trip - surprise it was around 55 mph. >> Where did all the high speed go. I didn't remember that the slow >> (normal highway speed) times were that numerous. >> >> 'Fast' felt exhilarating. Interesting, never encountered any cops. > > Wow, that's a surprisingly low average. Mind you, if you were on PCH > rather > than the freeway then there were times when you were not moving at all I > guess. On a recent trip to Vegas on freeways, I think we averaged about 80 > lol. Early morning, no traffic, very few cops. Remember this was back before the freeway. From me at privacy.net Wed Feb 17 18:52:37 2010 From: me at privacy.net (anon) Date: Wed Feb 17 18:55:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: quite the garage References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D226931D82C3sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > "anon" wrote in news:hlh49v$8bj$1@news.spamcop.net: > > averaged about 80 lol. Early morning, no traffic, very few cops. >> >> Remember this was back before the freeway. >> >> >> > > Wow yeah I guess they didn't even have freeways then. So your speed was > rather high, all things considered! > > (you must be older than dirt lol) 83 last Dec. I keep running into people who were not born when I retied. I always feels good to wake up in the morning. Mother lived - active to end - to 99. Her mother to 84 also active to end. Must be good genes somewhere. From me at privacy.net Wed Feb 17 18:54:21 2010 From: me at privacy.net (anon) Date: Wed Feb 17 18:55:10 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: quite the garage References: Message-ID: "anon" wrote in message news:hlhvg6$i51$1@news.spamcop.net... > > > "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message > news:Xns9D226931D82C3sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... >> "anon" wrote in news:hlh49v$8bj$1@news.spamcop.net: >> >> averaged about 80 lol. Early morning, no traffic, very few cops. >>> >>> Remember this was back before the freeway. >>> >>> >>> >> >> Wow yeah I guess they didn't even have freeways then. So your speed was >> rather high, all things considered! >> >> (you must be older than dirt lol) > > 83 last Dec. I keep running into people who were not born when I retied. > > I always feels good to wake up in the morning. *****Typo - It always feel good or I always feel good. > > Mother lived - active to end - to 99. Her mother to 84 also active to end. > > Must be good genes somewhere. From avoozl at spamcop.net Wed Feb 17 20:42:32 2010 From: avoozl at spamcop.net (Chris Willoughby) Date: Wed Feb 17 20:45:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: quite the garage References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D22B05EF6B5Dsylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > "anon" wrote in news:hlhvg6$i51$1@news.spamcop.net: > > >> 83 last Dec. I keep running into people who were not born when I >> retied. >> >> I always feels good to wake up in the morning. >> >> Mother lived - active to end - to 99. Her mother to 84 also active to >> end. >> >> Must be good genes somewhere. >> >> > > Wow yes, it looks like you've got a good while to go yet. My grandpa lived to 87. His wife 97 IIRC. But he died in 93 and she died in something like 2004. Chris From nobody at spamcop.net Wed Feb 17 21:25:17 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Wed Feb 17 21:30:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Another log thrown on the flame of healthcare costs.... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D224A2E842sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > "Indigo" wrote in > news:hl4q2n$l9i$1@news.spamcop.net: > > >> In other words, "those other guys are making more than we are so we >> have to raise rates!"......bastards.... >> >> > > It's just this sort of bs that reinforces the need for national health > care. With one sweep, a LOT of people are suddenly going to be unable to > pay for their private coverage. Hopefully a lot of them are Republicans! Who the hell can pay for private college NOW without financial support? From nobody at spamcop.net Wed Feb 17 21:28:19 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Wed Feb 17 21:30:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Found a terrible disaster in my back yard today.... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D224DB92B25sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > > Jeeze, that's awful. i suppose you're lucky they didn't crash into your > house. When it comes to replacing them, you might consider something with > a > lower profile that won't be so sensitive to high winds. I can only imagine > the muddy mess. Is the snow gone now? I've come up with a plan to winch them back into place and bought the hardware and rope yesterday to stake them to the ground, with adjustable settings so I can raise the anchor points as they grow. Just need to wait for some of the snow to melt (no, it's not gone, still deep back there) so I can get to the tools I need that are currently trapped in my shed. And I've got to hire my "shoveling crew" to help me put them back in place too. From nobody at spamcop.net Wed Feb 17 21:30:44 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Wed Feb 17 21:35:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: quite the garage In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D224B258DA7Csylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > > Wow, that's a surprisingly low average. Mind you, if you were on PCH > rather > than the freeway then there were times when you were not moving at all I > guess. On a recent trip to Vegas on freeways, I think we averaged about 80 > lol. Early morning, no traffic, very few cops. Ya know what's weird? Seems that no matter what kind of driving I do my car's computer "avg speed" always seems to be stuck around 38-39.....I don't know how exactly it works, like if it keeps track of time that the motor's running, but it almost has to work that way, since sitting at stop lights and such would drastically lower my true avg. speed based purely on miles driven. From nobody at spamcop.net Wed Feb 17 21:33:30 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Wed Feb 17 21:35:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: shower heads In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "David Dean" wrote in message news:v8ltfuv02-73539D.09223817022010@lzn10.internetdsl.tpnet.pl... > In article , > Sylvesterthekat wrote: > >> I now have two full blast shower heads, having pulled out the restrictors >> on the other one. But hubby says it's now too forceful and wants me to >> put >> the restrcited one back on there! > > Why can't he restrict it himself with the knobs? Most shower/tub knobs (which is usually actually just one) don't allow you to change the volume, only the temperature. You need both H/C knobs like in a sink the vary the flow rate. From nobody at spamcop.net Wed Feb 17 21:35:35 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Wed Feb 17 21:40:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: The phone call I've been dreading for years finally came today..... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D224CF467A65sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > "Indigo" wrote in > news:hlfo03$mod$1@news.spamcop.net: > >> Got a phone call from my Dad this afternoon.....he's had CLL, a form >> of leukemia, for about 12 years, but he hasn't needed treatment >> yet......but somehow the cancer mutated and he now has lymphoma, it >> happens to about 10% of those who have CLL disease :-(( >> > > Sorry dude. Is this a treatable thing or a keep you comfortable for as > long > as feasible thing? How old is your dad? He's about 75, and we won't know how bad it is until his biopsy next week. I'm worried that the chemo will lower his immune system and allow the CLL to flare up, then he's in double trouble.....or his heart won't be able to take the stress and pain that comes with chemo.... From nobody at spamcop.net Wed Feb 17 21:36:26 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Wed Feb 17 21:40:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: The phone call I've been dreading for years finally came today..... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "David Dean" wrote in message news:v8ltfuv02-FB3863.09215617022010@lzn10.internetdsl.tpnet.pl... > In article , > "Indigo" wrote: > >> to think of him > > Well wishes indeed. Is he still in the Pittsburgh area? No, he left after high school to join the Air Force, he's been in PA since before I was born. From nobody at spamcop.net Wed Feb 17 21:46:31 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Wed Feb 17 21:50:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: quite the garage In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D224999CB1EDsylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > "Indigo" wrote in > news:hl4omm$ksc$1@news.spamcop.net: > > >> Heh. If it had been up to me I'd have never left! We sat on her front >> porch, made out a bit, talked a lot, for over 2 hours that night after >> going to a movie.....I was crazy in love with her.....she's still the >> "biggest one that got away" I've ever dated in my entire life.... >> >> > > You should look her up, see if she's back on the market! Heh. No, that's not going to happen. My brother in law actually graduated in the same class with her from high school, and she apparently hasn't been to a reunion in 20 years. At one he attended (6 years ago) I asked him to pass along my contact info to the organizers to give to her, he did, but she never got in touch. The last reunion was last year, and he asked around about her, found out she was living in upper NY state and worked at a college, and had a Facebook page. With a little sleuthing I found her Facebook page, had one kinda blurry pic, but I know it was her, and she's married with one kid. I just wanted to know how her life turned out (she was never as into me as I was to her, romantically speaking, we also dated several times after college), so that info satisfied my curiousity, I'm finally done with trying to find her. And no, I made no attempt to contact her via facebook, getting back in touch IRL was never the point of my search (ok, at least not for the last 10 years ;-) From nobody at spamcop.net Wed Feb 17 21:48:57 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Wed Feb 17 21:50:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: shower heads In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "David Dean" wrote in message news:v8ltfuv02-BA944A.18405117022010@killface.local... > In article , > "Indigo" wrote: > >> You need both H/C knobs like in >> a sink the vary the flow rate. > > the only time I've ever seen showers that don't have a flow control > of some sort was in hotels. You might have more fine tuned control with > H/C knobs, but the combined ones usually have up/down to control the > flow and they're sensitive enough that you could back down one that was > too strong. > -- Well, not around here! We mostly have a dial knob that just controls the temp. In fact, the hardware stores sell replacement shower heads that have a flow-volume control knob on them. Might be some state regulation..... From nobody at spamcop.net Wed Feb 17 21:51:03 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Wed Feb 17 21:55:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: The phone call I've been dreading for years finally came today..... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Frog Prince" wrote in message news:hlfoce$mp4$1@news.spamcop.net... > Done. You do need to let your dad know that your friends are keeping him > in our thoughts and prays. > Thanks FP....I've been debating all day whether to tell him others are praying for him or not....he's a very private person, not sure if he'd be happy to know that I shared his plight with some of my closest friends, let alone faceless people from a NG....need to figure out how to tactfully tell him..... From nobody at spamcop.net Wed Feb 17 22:00:30 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Wed Feb 17 22:05:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: The phone call I've been dreading for years finally came today..... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "David Dean" wrote in message news:v8ltfuv02-01237E.18423717022010@killface.local... > In article , > "Indigo" wrote: > >> > Well wishes indeed. Is he still in the Pittsburgh area? >> >> No, he left after high school to join the Air Force, he's been in PA >> since >> before I was born. > > I think I missed a segue there since Pittsburgh is in PA. Sorry, it's late and I'm tired, been on the PC for too long today....what I meant is that he escaped the hell-hole of a town he and my Mom grew up in at a pretty young age....but I think the inherited chromosone damage had already been done....if not that, it was likely the heavy metal poisoning all those folks got from breathing in horribly dirty and dangerous coal smoke from the steel mills from the day they were born. The contamination back then was so bad that the Monogahela River was bright green, swimming and fishing in it were banned because of the danger. And some mornings while visiting Grandma(s) and Grandpa(s) when I was young, we'd wake up with all the cars coated with some kind of sticky black substance, like it had rained tar overnite. That's the kind of crap they breathed every day! Both of my Grandpa's worked in the mills, and both died of lung cancer around age 60. How my mother's mom has managed to get to age 100 is beyond me...... From me at privacy.net Wed Feb 17 22:06:10 2010 From: me at privacy.net (Frog Prince) Date: Wed Feb 17 22:15:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: The phone call I've been dreading for years finally came today..... References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hli9un$ltj$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "Frog Prince" wrote in message > news:hlfoce$mp4$1@news.spamcop.net... >> Done. You do need to let your dad know that your friends are keeping him >> in our thoughts and prays. >> > > Thanks FP....I've been debating all day whether to tell him others are > praying for him or not....he's a very private person, not sure if he'd be > happy to know that I shared his plight with some of my closest friends, > let alone faceless people from a NG....need to figure out how to tactfully > tell him..... Just tell him you asked some of *your* friends to pray for him. Your option to tell him who/where. There is no need to go into the what or why. If he ask give him what he/you feel he needs to know. Likely "I mentioned my dad was sick and I would appreciate your prayers on his behalf / for both of us.' will do. If his faith is a deep as you sense it is that will be enough. From me at privacy.net Wed Feb 17 22:08:52 2010 From: me at privacy.net (Frog Prince) Date: Wed Feb 17 22:15:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: shower heads References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hli8tq$lhr$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "David Dean" wrote in message > news:v8ltfuv02-73539D.09223817022010@lzn10.internetdsl.tpnet.pl... >> In article , >> Sylvesterthekat wrote: >> >>> I now have two full blast shower heads, having pulled out the >>> restrictors >>> on the other one. But hubby says it's now too forceful and wants me to >>> put >>> the restrcited one back on there! >> >> Why can't he restrict it himself with the knobs? > > Most shower/tub knobs (which is usually actually just one) don't allow you > to change the volume, only the temperature. You need both H/C knobs like > in a sink the vary the flow rate. You can buy extensions/replacements for the standard out of the wall bent pipe that have ball valves and knobs. Some are better than others but all control volume/flow rate and by extension pressure. Go by Home Depot/Lowes and talk to someone in the plumbing department. > From me at privacy.net Wed Feb 17 22:14:06 2010 From: me at privacy.net (Frog Prince) Date: Wed Feb 17 22:15:10 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Another log thrown on the flame of healthcare costs.... References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hli8ed$lbj$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message > news:Xns9D224A2E842sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... >> "Indigo" wrote in >> news:hl4q2n$l9i$1@news.spamcop.net: >> >> >>> In other words, "those other guys are making more than we are so we >>> have to raise rates!"......bastards.... >>> >>> >> >> It's just this sort of bs that reinforces the need for national health >> care. With one sweep, a LOT of people are suddenly going to be unable to >> pay for their private coverage. Hopefully a lot of them are Republicans! > > Who the hell can pay for private college NOW without financial support? My DIL's sister met a young man (who apparently worships the ground she walks on to hear him talk) who is starting his residency with zero, repeat zero debt. And no his family is not wealthy. From me at privacy.net Wed Feb 17 23:00:25 2010 From: me at privacy.net (Frog Prince) Date: Wed Feb 17 23:05:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: The phone call I've been dreading for years finally came today..... References: Message-ID: "David Dean" wrote in message news:v8ltfuv02-F710E7.19133817022010@killface.local... > In article , > "Indigo" wrote: > >> The contamination back then was so bad that the Monogahela River was >> bright >> green, > > I remember that. There are still many rivers badly contaminated to > this day, but not as bad as the Monongahela used to be. I still get a > laugh when I hear Rolling Rock ads and their "clean mountain water" > because I knew the Loyalhanna river that flowed behind the plant was so > contaminated no one would want to drink it. > >> some mornings while visiting Grandma(s) and Grandpa(s) when I was young, >> we'd wake up with all the cars coated with some kind of sticky black >> substance, like it had rained tar overnite. That's the kind of crap they >> breathed every day! > > I'd seen that occasionally as a child. I don't think it was in the > air all the time, but rather just when the conditions were right for > them to get away with it. MTM and slurry from the coal fired generator plans is doing that in the Appalachians today. WV and KY are getting hit the hardest. From nobody at spamcop.net Thu Feb 18 11:17:25 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Thu Feb 18 11:20:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Another log thrown on the flame of healthcare costs.... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Frog Prince" wrote in message news:hliba9$mcm$3@news.spamcop.net... > > My DIL's sister met a young man (who apparently worships the ground she > walks on to hear him talk) who is starting his residency with zero, repeat > zero debt. And no his family is not wealthy. > How the hell did he manage that? Most docs are a couple grand in debt after "graduating". But IIRC, the fed gov has a program that will pay for your tuition if you sign up to work in an "undesirable" area for some period of time, like 3-5 years. From nobody at spamcop.net Thu Feb 18 11:20:46 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Thu Feb 18 11:25:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: shower heads In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Frog Prince" wrote in message news:hliba8$mcm$2@news.spamcop.net... >> >> Most shower/tub knobs (which is usually actually just one) don't allow >> you to change the volume, only the temperature. You need both H/C knobs >> like in a sink the vary the flow rate. > > You can buy extensions/replacements for the standard out of the wall bent > pipe that have ball valves and knobs. Some are better than others but all > control volume/flow rate and by extension pressure. Oh, I've already "fixed" my shower knob issues by purchasing different shower heads with variable nozzles. A lot cheaper and easier than trying to change the plumbing, just unscrew the old one and screw on the new one (after removing the flow reducing gasket, of course ;-) From nobody at spamcop.net Thu Feb 18 11:23:11 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Thu Feb 18 11:25:10 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: The phone call I've been dreading for years finally came today..... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Frog Prince" wrote in message news:hliba8$mcm$1@news.spamcop.net... > Just tell him you asked some of *your* friends to pray for him. Your > option to tell him who/where. There is no need to go into the what or > why. > > If he ask give him what he/you feel he needs to know. Likely "I mentioned > my dad was sick and I would appreciate your prayers on his behalf / for > both of us.' will do. I was thinking along those lines.....just mention the two friends of mine he knows.... From me at privacy.net Thu Feb 18 13:43:19 2010 From: me at privacy.net (anon) Date: Thu Feb 18 13:45:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: shower heads References: Message-ID: "David Dean" wrote in message news:v8ltfuv02-BA944A.18405117022010@killface.local... > In article , > "Indigo" wrote: > >> You need both H/C knobs like in >> a sink the vary the flow rate. > > the only time I've ever seen showers that don't have a flow control > of some sort was in hotels. You might have more fine tuned control with > H/C knobs, but the combined ones usually have up/down to control the > flow and they're sensitive enough that you could back down one that was > too strong. > -- > -David Moen has two types of shower controls. One is turn for temp then push/pull for volume control. The other is turn for temp - that turns the full flow , no way to vary volume. I think that other brands are similar. From me at privacy.net Thu Feb 18 23:09:45 2010 From: me at privacy.net (Frog Prince) Date: Thu Feb 18 23:35:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Another log thrown on the flame of healthcare costs.... References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hljp6l$72n$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "Frog Prince" wrote in message > news:hliba9$mcm$3@news.spamcop.net... >> >> My DIL's sister met a young man (who apparently worships the ground she >> walks on to hear him talk) who is starting his residency with zero, >> repeat >> zero debt. And no his family is not wealthy. >> > > How the hell did he manage that? Most docs are a couple grand in debt > after "graduating". But IIRC, the fed gov has a program that will pay for > your tuition if you sign up to work in an "undesirable" area for some > period of time, like 3-5 years. I've not talked with at this point only getting second hand information. Seems sharp/intelligent, not full of himself at all. From me at privacy.net Thu Feb 18 23:30:21 2010 From: me at privacy.net (Frog Prince) Date: Thu Feb 18 23:35:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: The phone call I've been dreading for years finally came today..... References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hljphf$780$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "Frog Prince" wrote in message > news:hliba8$mcm$1@news.spamcop.net... >> Just tell him you asked some of *your* friends to pray for him. Your >> option to tell him who/where. There is no need to go into the what or >> why. >> >> If he ask give him what he/you feel he needs to know. Likely "I mentioned >> my dad was sick and I would appreciate your prayers on his behalf / for >> both of us.' will do. > > I was thinking along those lines.....just mention the two friends of mine > he knows.... Good plan. I'd leave it a bit open ended in the event he reacts very positively to being told your friends are praying for him. Many people of faith are emotionally moved but the information. I once had a hospice patient start crying when I mention our church was praying for him. I had to dance around that a bit as under hospice rules I could not mention his name only ask for prayers for my friend. Came down to the fact that the man was basically alone in the world and that strangers would care enough about him was deeply important. From nobody at spamcop.net Fri Feb 19 20:18:41 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Fri Feb 19 20:20:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: The phone call I've been dreading for years finally came today..... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Frog Prince" wrote in message news:hll46a$ml0$2@news.spamcop.net... > I once had a hospice patient start crying when I mention our church was > praying for him. I had to dance around that a bit as under hospice rules > I could not mention his name only ask for prayers for my friend. Do you remember me mentioning that poor little gal I used to work with that has Lyme disease too, and that she's in WAY worse shape than I am? I got an Xmas card from her this year....somehow she actually managed to have a future Mass at the Lady of the Lourdes (right church?) in France dedicated to healing ME! Although I'm a fallen Catholic, I was simply stunned by the gesture....only a personal blessing from the Pope could beat that! From me at privacy.net Fri Feb 19 20:30:16 2010 From: me at privacy.net (Frog Prince) Date: Fri Feb 19 20:35:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: The phone call I've been dreading for years finally came today..... References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hlnd9h$hrc$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "Frog Prince" wrote in message > news:hll46a$ml0$2@news.spamcop.net... >> I once had a hospice patient start crying when I mention our church was >> praying for him. I had to dance around that a bit as under hospice rules >> I could not mention his name only ask for prayers for my friend. > > Do you remember me mentioning that poor little gal I used to work with > that has Lyme disease too, and that she's in WAY worse shape than I am? I > got an Xmas card from her this year....somehow she actually managed to > have a future Mass at the Lady of the Lourdes (right church?) in France > dedicated to healing ME! Although I'm a fallen Catholic, I was simply > stunned by the gesture....only a personal blessing from the Pope could > beat that! Having someone care is important. I recall doing something similar for a good friend who was Buddhist (I didn't know it at the time) she sent me the warmest letter of appreciation not because it had any meaning in her faith but because it had meaning in my faith. This to her meant I really cared. All her letters to me are now signed 'your sister in heart' From nobody at spamcop.net Sun Feb 21 14:42:56 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Sun Feb 21 14:45:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: The phone call I've been dreading for years finally came today..... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D2683C87FD1AThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > No way it was me! It was "Indigo" ! > >> Got a phone call from my Dad this afternoon > > Hey. Sux. Sorry to hear it. Good luck and all with things... Thanks. Been doing my homework, the results of the biopsy are critical for his prognosis. Depending on what they find, he either has 5 months or 5 years left. I found a specific type of lymphoma that occurs in around 5% of CLL patients called "Richter's Syndrome", or Richter's Transformation, where the cancer cells mutate into High Grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, which is basically a death sentence because it's so aggressive it's pretty much untreatable. If it's spread to his spleen or liver, they probably won't even bother putting him through the agony of chemo just to give him an extra couple months. But I'm encouraged by the fact that they've already scheduled him to start chemo in two weeks, so maybe the docs don't think he has it. On top of that, I had another "vision" last Thursday while meditating, before I even started my cancer research, and my gut, heart, brain, the spirit of my mother, whatever you want to call it, told me he's going to make it. When I have these experiences, the extremely powerful ones, I've never been wrong about predicting the future. Laugh if you want, but they are very real, if you've ever had one you'd know what I'm talking about. About half of them have been triggered by music, a song that I hear at a very specific point in my life, sometimes keyed on the lyrics, but not always. The ones triggered by music have always been very sad and chilled me to my bones, literally -- my body would start shivering and the hair on the back of my neck would tingle (a feeling similar to coming close to a static electrical field that makes your hair stand on end). On the other hand, the ones _not_ triggered by music have always predicted good things. My twin sister and I also have a very strong psychic connection, it's existed for as long as I can remember, probably has something to do with our (my) traumatic birth and being in the womb together. It's not uncommon for twins to have a strong psychic ties to each other. And I've had powerful connections with several women in my past, to the point where I knew when they were going to call me -- I would get a strong sense that they were thinking about me, right out of the blue, and boom, the phone would ring. No joke. There's a lot of energy floating out there, all around us, positive, negative, and neutral......some people are lucky enough to have learned how to tap into it or were born with the ability. The best way I can think of how to explain it is "The Dog Whisperer" -- he instantly controls dogs he's never met, primarily via energy exchanges with them. If you watch the show he rarely says a word when he's working with a dog, but still gets them to behave (except for the truly psycho "red zone" cases). And we all know animals are very sensitive to certain kinds of energy, they know if you're happy, sad, hurt, scared, etc....dogs care, but cats normally don't! ;-) From me at privacy.net Sun Feb 21 16:49:03 2010 From: me at privacy.net (anon) Date: Sun Feb 21 16:50:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: The phone call I've been dreading for years finally came today..... References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hls2bv$8p4$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "Charles" wrote in message > news:Xns9D2683C87FD1AThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... >> No way it was me! It was "Indigo" ! >> >>> Got a phone call from my Dad this afternoon >> >> Hey. Sux. Sorry to hear it. Good luck and all with things... > > Thanks. Been doing my homework, the results of the biopsy are critical for > his prognosis. Depending on what they find, he either has 5 months or 5 > years left. > > I found a specific type of lymphoma that occurs in around 5% of CLL > patients called "Richter's Syndrome", or Richter's Transformation, where > the cancer cells mutate into High Grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, which is > basically a death sentence because it's so aggressive it's pretty much > untreatable. If it's spread to his spleen or liver, they probably won't > even bother putting him through the agony of chemo just to give him an > extra couple months. But I'm encouraged by the fact that they've already > scheduled him to start chemo in two weeks, so maybe the docs don't think > he has it. > > On top of that, I had another "vision" last Thursday while meditating, > before I even started my cancer research, and my gut, heart, brain, the > spirit of my mother, whatever you want to call it, told me he's going to > make it. When I have these experiences, the extremely powerful ones, I've > never been wrong about predicting the future. Laugh if you want, but they > are very real, if you've ever had one you'd know what I'm talking about. > About half of them have been triggered by music, a song that I hear at a > very specific point in my life, sometimes keyed on the lyrics, but not > always. The ones triggered by music have always been very sad and chilled > me to my bones, literally -- my body would start shivering and the hair on > the back of my neck would tingle (a feeling similar to coming close to a > static electrical field that makes your hair stand on end). On the other > hand, the ones _not_ triggered by music have always predicted good things. > ESP is wonderful. When my son was starting to read, I would hold the book and he would read the words. Most of the time he looked at the picture and mouthed the correct words from memory. If I covered the picture and thought the correct word he said it, If I thought a wrong word, he would hesitate then say the word I was thinking instead of the correct word on the page. (He is now early 40's and successful in his profession.) > My twin sister and I also have a very strong psychic connection, it's > existed for as long as I can remember, probably has something to do with > our (my) traumatic birth and being in the womb together. It's not uncommon > for twins to have a strong psychic ties to each other. And I've had > powerful connections with several women in my past, to the point where I > knew when they were going to call me -- I would get a strong sense that > they were thinking about me, right out of the blue, and boom, the phone > would ring. No joke. > > There's a lot of energy floating out there, all around us, positive, > negative, and neutral......some people are lucky enough to have learned > how to tap into it or were born with the ability. The best way I can think > of how to explain it is "The Dog Whisperer" -- he instantly controls dogs > he's never met, primarily via energy exchanges with them. If you watch the > show he rarely says a word when he's working with a dog, but still gets > them to behave (except for the truly psycho "red zone" cases). And we all > know animals are very sensitive to certain kinds of energy, they know if > you're happy, sad, hurt, scared, etc....dogs care, but cats normally > don't! ;-) From nobody at spamcop.net Sun Feb 21 20:08:14 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Sun Feb 21 20:10:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: The phone call I've been dreading for years finally came today..... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "anon" wrote in message news:hls9ok$biv$1@news.spamcop.net... > > ESP is wonderful. > > When my son was starting to read, I would hold the book and he would read > the words. > > Most of the time he looked at the picture and mouthed the correct words > from memory. > > If I covered the picture and thought the correct word he said it, If I > thought a wrong word, he would hesitate then say the word I was thinking > instead of the correct word on the page. (He is now early 40's and > successful in his profession.) > Wow....that's an interesting story! I didn't want to include TMI in my last post, so I left out two other common events: 1) When listening to the radio or watching TV, when sportscasters announce the score of a basketball game (and only B-ball) and the leading scorer, right before they say how many points he scored a number frequently comes into my head, and I'm 100% accurate about 1/2 the time, the other times I miss by one or two points. Not too useful after the fact, betting wise ;-) 2) This is the strangest one of all: I'm a human "street light killer". No shite. I've lost count of how many times (it's in the hundreds) I've approached highway lights that illuminate the road, mostly at entrance/exit ramps, and seen them turn off when I got within 100-200 yds of them. It's inexplicable to me.....if I'm in a relationship, I'll normally tell the gal about it the first time it happens, and then they begin to notice how often it occurs (tends to creep them out ;-), so I know I'm not imagining how often it happens.... From me at privacy.net Sun Feb 21 20:46:53 2010 From: me at privacy.net (Frog Prince) Date: Sun Feb 21 20:50:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: The phone call I've been dreading for years finally came today..... References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hlsldu$fuf$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "anon" wrote in message > news:hls9ok$biv$1@news.spamcop.net... >> >> ESP is wonderful. >> >> When my son was starting to read, I would hold the book and he would read >> the words. >> >> Most of the time he looked at the picture and mouthed the correct words >> from memory. >> >> If I covered the picture and thought the correct word he said it, If I >> thought a wrong word, he would hesitate then say the word I was thinking >> instead of the correct word on the page. (He is now early 40's and >> successful in his profession.) >> > > Wow....that's an interesting story! I didn't want to include TMI in my > last post, so I left out two other common events: > > 1) When listening to the radio or watching TV, when sportscasters announce > the score of a basketball game (and only B-ball) and the leading scorer, > right before they say how many points he scored a number frequently comes > into my head, and I'm 100% accurate about 1/2 the time, the other times I > miss by one or two points. Not too useful after the fact, betting wise ;-) > > 2) This is the strangest one of all: I'm a human "street light killer". No > shite. I've lost count of how many times (it's in the hundreds) I've > approached highway lights that illuminate the road, mostly at > entrance/exit ramps, and seen them turn off when I got within 100-200 yds > of them. It's inexplicable to me.....if I'm in a relationship, I'll > normally tell the gal about it the first time it happens, and then they > begin to notice how often it occurs (tends to creep them out ;-), so I > know I'm not imagining how often it happens.... The ones outside our apartment do that every 10 to 20 min when the ballast/lamp is going bad. I call the city but it takes them months to get around to replacing the parts. When it really gets bad (off/on ever 3-5 min) somebody always manages to shoot out the light with a pellet gun. Then it only takes them 2-3 week to fix it. From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 22 08:23:35 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Mon Feb 22 08:25:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: The phone call I've been dreading for years finally came today..... References: Message-ID: "Frog Prince" wrote in message news:hlsnmu$go0$1@news.spamcop.net... > ... > When it really gets bad (off/on ever 3-5 min) somebody always manages to > shoot out the light with a pellet gun. Then it only takes them 2-3 week > to fix it. When I was a teen, pellet rifles didn't even craze the glass, it took a .22 to take out a street light. From me at privacy.net Mon Feb 22 12:59:18 2010 From: me at privacy.net (Frog Prince) Date: Mon Feb 22 13:15:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: The phone call I've been dreading for years finally came today..... References: Message-ID: "bar0" wrote in message news:hlu0gr$v78$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "Frog Prince" wrote in message > news:hlsnmu$go0$1@news.spamcop.net... >> > ... >> When it really gets bad (off/on ever 3-5 min) somebody always manages to >> shoot out the light with a pellet gun. Then it only takes them 2-3 week >> to fix it. > > When I was a teen, pellet rifles didn't even craze the glass, it took a > .22 to take out a street light. To my understanding this is a 22 pump pellet rifle and is roughly equal to a 22 short in hitting power. From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 22 15:38:12 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Mon Feb 22 15:40:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: The phone call I've been dreading for years finally came today..... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D277A8A01310sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > "Indigo" wrote in > news:hliage$m3c$1@news.spamcop.net: > >> > >> How my mother's mom has managed to get to age 100 is beyond me...... >> >> > > She probably grew up (crucial development years) when it was still clean. They all grew up in the same town.....my great-grandparents were born in Slovakia, England, and Italy, and they all immigrated to the US around 1910-1912. >From what I've learned the pollution they were exposed to, especially the heavy metals from the coal smoke, they suffered damage to some specific chromosomes responsible for a predeliction for developing cancer. And the damage is inherited in the DNA from your parents, so there's a very high prospect that some of my siblings and 1st cousins will also develop cancer at some point (lots of my Dad and Mom's cousins died of cancer). I think my body has been punished enough already, so it's going to skip me.....although my past heavy metal exposure isn't in my favor....but I have a very strong feeling about when I'm going to die: at age 83. Don't ask me how or why I know or believe that.......I just kinda know.... From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 22 15:38:45 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Mon Feb 22 15:40:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: The phone call I've been dreading for years finally came today..... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D277B143C7CFsylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > "Indigo" wrote in > news:hlnd9h$hrc$1@news.spamcop.net: > >> Do you remember me mentioning that poor little gal I used to work with >> that has Lyme disease too, and that she's in WAY worse shape than I >> am? I got an Xmas card from her this year....somehow she actually >> managed to have a future Mass at the Lady of the Lourdes (right >> church?) in France dedicated to healing ME! Although I'm a fallen >> Catholic, I was simply stunned by the gesture....only a personal >> blessing from the Pope could beat that! >> >> > > That's very kind of her. How is she doing these days? I don't know....she hasn't replied to several recent emails...not a good sign. From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 22 15:42:55 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Mon Feb 22 15:45:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: The phone call I've been dreading for years finally came today..... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D277D1B61BABsylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > "Indigo" wrote in > news:hls2bv$8p4$1@news.spamcop.net: > > >> On top of that, I had another "vision" last Thursday while meditating, >> before I even started my cancer research, and my gut, heart, brain, >> the spirit of my mother, whatever you want to call it, told me he's >> going to make it. > > I hope you're right. When will you find out? The biopsy is for March 3rd, guess it will take a few days for them to get the results, but from what I've read all they need to do is look at the cells under a microscope to figure out what he has. > > I'd love to see how he'd cope with next door's dog. It jumped over into > our yard again yesterday afternoon and was running around like a > lunatic. I'm calm and I think assertive but it just blows right past > this dog I'm sure lol. It's kept chained up ALL the time, I rarely see > them take it out so it's absolutely full of energy and frustration so > when it gets out, it goes bananas. Before returning him yesterday, hubby > took him for a run out of pity. He's not badly behaved on the leash, > it's only when he's running about in our yard that he's completely out > of control. That's a red zone case, I specifically said that "energy exchange" doesn't work in those cases. > > Did you see that Daddy died? :o( > http://www.cesarsway.com/news/daddy-memoriam > No, didn't know that....sad, but his replacement is a sweet little guy! Another pit bull too, can't recall his name at the moment. From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 22 15:46:50 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Mon Feb 22 15:50:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: The phone call I've been dreading for years finally came today..... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D27796755FBsylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > "Indigo" wrote in > news:hli91n$li5$1@news.spamcop.net: > > >> He's about 75, and we won't know how bad it is until his biopsy next >> week. I'm worried that the chemo will lower his immune system and >> allow the CLL to flare up, then he's in double trouble.....or his >> heart won't be able to take the stress and pain that comes with >> chemo.... >> >> > > If that's the case then rather than try aggressive treatment, it might be > better to make what time he has left comfortable, no hospitals, just nice > times at home with the family. Since I wrote that I've learned about tons of treatment options, including ones that don't stress the heart (some chemo drugs do). His age rules out some of the more promising treatments though, like a bone marrow transfusion, the won't do that for anyone older than 50 or so because it's so stressful on the body, and a LOT of patients die within a day (or on the table) just from the procedure itself. From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 22 15:52:07 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Mon Feb 22 15:55:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Found a terrible disaster in my back yard today.... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D27761CDBD6Csylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > "Indigo" wrote in > news:hli8k2$lbs$1@news.spamcop.net: > >> I've come up with a plan to winch them back into place and bought the >> hardware and rope yesterday to stake them to the ground, with >> adjustable settings so I can raise the anchor points as they grow. >> Just need to wait for some of the snow to melt (no, it's not gone, >> still deep back there) so I can get to the tools I need that are >> currently trapped in my shed. And I've got to hire my "shoveling crew" >> to help me put them back in place too. >> >> > > well for god's sake, don't attempt that by yourself in your condition! my > worry would be that the anchors wouldn't hold either, if the ground is so > soft Don't worry, I'm not going to do the heavy lifting, I'll be more like a foreman. As far as the stakes go, they're made out of "L" shaped steel, 2 x 2 x 36. I'm going to pound half the length into the ground (bought a small sledgehammer to do it) and leave the rest above ground so I can adjust the ropes as the trees grow. The steel posts have holes and notches drilled into them, kinda like erector set pieces, and I bought metal clips to attach to the ends of the ropes so I don't have to worry about the rope fraying against the post edges. Just open the clip and slide it into one of the holes in the stake, easy and adjustable. From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 22 15:55:46 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Mon Feb 22 16:00:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: quite the garage In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D277689E27BCsylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > "Indigo" wrote in > news:hli8oj$lgl$1@news.spamcop.net: > >> Ya know what's weird? Seems that no matter what kind of driving I do >> my car's computer "avg speed" always seems to be stuck around >> 38-39.....I don't know how exactly it works, like if it keeps track of >> time that the motor's running, but it almost has to work that way, >> since sitting at stop lights and such would drastically lower my true >> avg. speed based purely on miles driven. >> >> > > Well i know if I use my GPS unit and leave it on for the entire journey, > it > separates standing still time from moving time but when it gives the > average i'm pretty sure it includes everything. Isn't your car's computer > using a gps or just engine stats? I figured out what was going on: when I reset the Trip A mpg counter, I also need to have the avg speed display pulled up at the same time to reset both. Now it's giving me my true avg speed. From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 22 18:27:24 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Mon Feb 22 18:30:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] What a crock of SH*T!!! Message-ID: How Obama plans to pay for part of his new health plan: http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/22/news/economy/obama_proposal_payfors/ Increase Medicare tax on high-income households: Currently, the Medicare payroll tax is 2.9% on all wages -- with the worker and his employer each paying 1.45%. The president's proposal would raise the percentage paid by high-income individuals by 0.9 percentage points, so they would pay 2.35%. Obama's proposal also would subject the investment income of high-income households, such as dividends, interest and rent, to the full 2.9% Medicare tax as well. Those filers would foot the full 2.9% on investment income themselves. ***High-income is defined as those making more than $200,000 ($250,000 for couples filing jointly).*** It would limit to $2,500 the amount of money workers may contribute to flexible health spending accounts at work. It would also increase how much the non-elderly and the non-disabled would have to rack up in medical expenses before being allowed to deduct expenses above that amount on their federal income tax return #1: $250,000 is NOT high income in high cost areas of the country, like LA, D.C., NYC, Boston, etc. That kind of income puts you in the middle class in those places. The federal government adjusts per diem rates and pay raises based on location already, fer chrissakes! Now all the sudden your local cost of living doesn't count? BULLSH*T! #2: Tacking on that extra 2.9% medicare tax on investment income will absolutely destroy the stock market (and take ALL of our retirement savings with it, whether you have to pay the tax or not). Would you buy a mutual fund that charges a 3% annual fee? Of course not, because that's outrageous! So what's going to provide the stimulus for people to buy stocks, boost the company's value, allowing them to hire more people, when they suffer such a draconian penalty just because they managed to make a profitable investment? Why doesn't the big O just go the next step and ban tax-free muni bonds while he's at it? #3: Halving the amount of money one can put put into a flex spending account hits EVERYBODY, making it a regressive tax, the worst kind. #4: The current medical cost deduction doesn't kick in until it's 7.5% of your taxable income -- if you're paying that much for medical expenses, you're already in a world of hurt. Raising that limit is also a regressive tax. From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 22 19:01:06 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Mon Feb 22 19:05:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: The phone call I've been dreading for years finally came today..... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D278DFA9CDA6sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > "Indigo" wrote in > news:hluq8f$8sr$1@news.spamcop.net: > >> The biopsy is for March 3rd, guess it will take a few days for them to >> get the results, but from what I've read all they need to do is look >> at the cells under a microscope to figure out what he has. > > Here's hoping then. I sent him an email today telling him about what I had posted here in this thread earlier (how to tell him that my friends praying for him) and also told him about the "vision" I had last week. He was quite overwhelmed, to put it mildly.....and much to my surprise he also told me that my Mom's spirit visits him quite often too! He's such a skeptic about other things like my alternative therapists I wasn't sure how he was going to react to that part of my email....guess that's where his faith comes in...... > >> That's a red zone case, I specifically said that "energy exchange" >> doesn't work in those cases. > > Naw, he doesn't have a vicious bone in his body. Red zones are the vicious > ones. This one is just completely mental due to lack of exercise and > stimulation. He's the sweetest little dog really. Red zone cases aren't always nasty biting dogs, sometimes they're uncontrollably excited or nervous ones. Point being that they are at "level 10" in intensity and their brain is not controlling their actions. > >> No, didn't know that....sad, but his replacement is a sweet little >> guy! Another pit bull too, can't recall his name at the moment. >> > > That'd be Junior! Doh! From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 22 19:10:25 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Mon Feb 22 19:15:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: The phone call I've been dreading for years finally came today..... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D278E2206E9Csylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > "Indigo" wrote in > news:hluqfq$92g$1@news.spamcop.net: > > >> Since I wrote that I've learned about tons of treatment options, >> including ones that don't stress the heart (some chemo drugs do). His >> age rules out some of the more promising treatments though, like a >> bone marrow transfusion, the won't do that for anyone older than 50 or >> so because it's so stressful on the body, and a LOT of patients die >> within a day (or on the table) just from the procedure itself. >> >> > > Wow, I didn't know that (about the age limit). I didn't either, but more research uncovered this: there is another newer treatment I found that is used for all kinds of cancers and is much less stressful for both the patient and donor.....they find a specific blood type match from the patient's siblings or descendants, then they hook up the donor to a machine that draws blood from one arm, cycles it thru a machine that removes the "Natural Killer", or NK cells from the blood, then they pump the remaining blood back into the other arm of the donor. NK cells are by far the most potent immune system responders in the body, they can find and kill any type of invader or unwanted cells. The treatment involves using the specific drug, Rituximab, to "paint" the cancer cells -- the Rituximab binds to certain receptors on the surface of the cancer cells, and this alerts the NK cells to target them. The technique only works if you've reduced the number of cancer cells with chemo or radiation first, you have to get the number of NK cells in the same order of magnitude of the cancer cells, i.e. 10,000 NK cells have no chance against millions of cancer cells. But hopefully standard chemo will do the trick, because the NK therapy ain't a walk in the park.....getting him on the Rituximab is the crucial part, it's a monoclonal antibody that greatly increases the efficacy of all kinds of chemo. I'm not going to mention any of this stuff to him until we find out what we're dealing with, he has enough on his mind already. From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 22 19:12:40 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Mon Feb 22 19:15:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: The phone call I've been dreading for years finally came today..... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D278DAE77BFsylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > 83 is a pretty good age, I seriously doubt I'll get that far. In fact I > likely have less than 20 years left, if my parents are anything to go > by. Scary thought, I've already lived here for almost 15 years! Oh c'mon, you don't think you'll make it to 60? I'm pretty sure that your diet and standard of health care has been much better than theirs was, dontcha think? From me at privacy.net Mon Feb 22 19:41:49 2010 From: me at privacy.net (Frog Prince) Date: Mon Feb 22 19:45:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: What a crock of SH*T!!! References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hlv3sr$d7g$1@news.spamcop.net... > How Obama plans to pay for part of his new health plan: > > http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/22/news/economy/obama_proposal_payfors/ > Increase Medicare tax on high-income households: > > Currently, the Medicare payroll tax is 2.9% on all wages -- with the > worker and his employer each paying 1.45%. The president's proposal would > raise the percentage paid by high-income individuals by 0.9 percentage > points, so they would pay 2.35%. > > Obama's proposal also would subject the investment income of high-income > households, such as dividends, interest and rent, to the full 2.9% > Medicare tax as well. Those filers would foot the full 2.9% on investment > income themselves. > > ***High-income is defined as those making more than $200,000 ($250,000 for > couples filing jointly).*** > > It would limit to $2,500 the amount of money workers may contribute to > flexible health spending accounts at work. It would also increase how much > the non-elderly and the non-disabled would have to rack up in medical > expenses before being allowed to deduct expenses above that amount on > their federal income tax return > > #1: $250,000 is NOT high income in high cost areas of the country, like > LA, D.C., NYC, Boston, etc. That kind of income puts you in the middle > class in those places. The federal government adjusts per diem rates and > pay raises based on location already, fer chrissakes! Now all the sudden > your local cost of living doesn't count? BULLSH*T! Try living on no income. I can recall a few rants where you've faced that because if UNUM. My SSA COLA was ZERO this year. My cash out went up in that same period. Including what I paid for Medicare itself and my copays. Gas, insurance, rent taxes etc. all up. > #2: Tacking on that extra 2.9% medicare tax on investment income will > absolutely destroy the stock market (and take ALL of our retirement > savings with it, whether you have to pay the tax or not). Would you buy a > mutual fund that charges a 3% annual fee? Of course not, because that's > outrageous! So what's going to provide the stimulus for people to buy > stocks, boost the company's value, allowing them to hire more people, when > they suffer such a draconian penalty just because they managed to make a > profitable investment? Why doesn't the big O just go the next step and ban > tax-free muni bonds while he's at it? > > #3: Halving the amount of money one can put put into a flex spending > account hits EVERYBODY, making it a regressive tax, the worst kind. Only effects those with a job and money to put into a flex account. > #4: The current medical cost deduction doesn't kick in until it's 7.5% of > your taxable income -- if you're paying that much for medical expenses, > you're already in a world of hurt. Raising that limit is also a regressive > tax. Gee, the 'Pubs could have addressed that and other issues if they had not insisted on worshiping at the Alter of The Stone Wall. Continuing the antitrust exemption for insurance companies and maintaining the ERISA protections of the industry years ago. To my memory going back 15 or 20 years, collecting massive $$ from the industry in the process. One of my extended family members recently attended the ER for shingles. Insurance company billing was on the order of $500. Insurance company refused payment as the patent had measles at the age of 5 ... 50+ years in the past. The justification 'preexisting condition'. The ER now wants $3500 for the same service they were willing to accept $500 if paid by the insurance company. From nobody at spamcop.net Mon Feb 22 20:21:25 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Mon Feb 22 20:25:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: What a crock of SH*T!!! References: Message-ID: "Frog Prince" wrote in message news:hlv8d6$eos$1@news.spamcop.net... > > > "Indigo" wrote in message > news:hlv3sr$d7g$1@news.spamcop.net... >> How Obama plans to pay for part of his new health plan: ... > One of my extended family members recently attended the ER for shingles. > Insurance company billing was on the order of $500. Insurance company > refused payment as the patent had measles at the age of 5 ... 50+ years in > the past. The justification 'preexisting condition'. The ER now wants > $3500 for the same service they were willing to accept $500 if paid by the > insurance company. Feral pets. From me at privacy.net Mon Feb 22 21:21:36 2010 From: me at privacy.net (Frog Prince) Date: Mon Feb 22 21:55:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: What a crock of SH*T!!! References: Message-ID: "bar0" wrote in message news:hlvaiq$flj$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "Frog Prince" wrote in message > news:hlv8d6$eos$1@news.spamcop.net... >> >> >> "Indigo" wrote in message >> news:hlv3sr$d7g$1@news.spamcop.net... >>> How Obama plans to pay for part of his new health plan: > ... >> One of my extended family members recently attended the ER for shingles. >> Insurance company billing was on the order of $500. Insurance company >> refused payment as the patent had measles at the age of 5 ... 50+ years >> in the past. The justification 'preexisting condition'. The ER now >> wants $3500 for the same service they were willing to accept $500 if paid >> by the insurance company. > > Feral pets. I know I'll regret this but WT*? From dfmanno at mail.com Mon Feb 22 23:44:05 2010 From: dfmanno at mail.com (D.F. Manno) Date: Mon Feb 22 23:45:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: What a crock of SH*T!!! References: Message-ID: In article , "Indigo" wrote: > #1: $250,000 is NOT high income in high cost areas of the country, like LA, > D.C., NYC, Boston, etc. That kind of income puts you in the middle class in > those places. Less than two percent of the households in the U.S. have an annual income of more than $250,000. That ain't "middle class" anywhere. source: > #2: Tacking on that extra 2.9% medicare tax on investment income will > absolutely destroy the stock market Boo-fucking-hoo. Every time somebody suggests raising taxes on the well-to-do, some Chicken Little starts crying about the sky falling. The top one percent of U.S. households holds 49.7 percent of the nation's investment assets, and therefore reaps the lion's share of investment income. They can afford to pay more taxes, especially after they enjoyed such windfalls due to the Bush tax cuts. source: -- D.F. Manno | dfmanno@mail.com "I have seen the truth and it doesn't make sense." From nobody at spamcop.net Tue Feb 23 00:28:29 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Tue Feb 23 00:30:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: What a crock of SH*T!!! In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "D.F. Manno" wrote in message news:dfmanno-0852E6.23440522022010@news.cesmail.net... > In article , > "Indigo" wrote: > >> #1: $250,000 is NOT high income in high cost areas of the country, like >> LA, >> D.C., NYC, Boston, etc. That kind of income puts you in the middle class >> in >> those places. > > Less than two percent of the households in the U.S. have an annual > income of more than $250,000. That ain't "middle class" anywhere. > > source: > > > >> #2: Tacking on that extra 2.9% medicare tax on investment income will >> absolutely destroy the stock market > > Boo-fucking-hoo. Every time somebody suggests raising taxes on the > well-to-do, some Chicken Little starts crying about the sky falling. > > The top one percent of U.S. households holds 49.7 percent of the > nation's investment assets, and therefore reaps the lion's share of > investment income. They can afford to pay more taxes, especially after > they enjoyed such windfalls due to the Bush tax cuts. > They also happen to pay over 90% of the total federal income taxes.....5% of the country finances the other 95%....think that's fair? Especially given the huge difference in the cost of living in certain areas? I'm lucky enough to have made some shrewd investments, but I am by no means "wealthy" by any way you want to count it. And I should be punished if I return to work at my previous salary level and my someday mate earns about the same as I do? An important thing to remember for my side of the argument: the average single family home in my area sells for well over $300k (and that's a small house!), let alone the cost of a house in the NYC or LA area! From me at privacy.net Tue Feb 23 00:47:37 2010 From: me at privacy.net (Frog Prince) Date: Tue Feb 23 00:50:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: What a crock of SH*T!!! References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hlvp1t$lom$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "D.F. Manno" ' >> >>> #1: $250,000 is NOT high income in high cost areas of the country, like >>> LA, >>> D.C., NYC, Boston, etc. That kind of income puts you in the middle class >>> in >>> those places. >> >> Less than two percent of the households in the U.S. have an annual >> income of more than $250,000. That ain't "middle class" anywhere. >> >> source: >> >> >> >>> #2: Tacking on that extra 2.9% medicare tax on investment income will >>> absolutely destroy the stock market >> >> Boo-fucking-hoo. Every time somebody suggests raising taxes on the >> well-to-do, some Chicken Little starts crying about the sky falling. >> >> The top one percent of U.S. households holds 49.7 percent of the >> nation's investment assets, and therefore reaps the lion's share of >> investment income. They can afford to pay more taxes, especially after >> they enjoyed such windfalls due to the Bush tax cuts. >> > > They also happen to pay over 90% of the total federal income taxes.....5% > of the country finances the other 95%....think that's fair? Especially > given the huge difference in the cost of living in certain areas? > > I'm lucky enough to have made some shrewd investments, but I am by no > means "wealthy" by any way you want to count it. And I should be punished > if I return to work at my previous salary level and my someday mate earns > about the same as I do? An important thing to remember for my side of the > argument: the average single family home in my area sells for well over > $300k (and that's a small house!), let alone the cost of a house in the > NYC or LA area! I can give you a long list of people who would take a $250K job and gladly pay 50% in taxes. Many of them formally earned that much. As to the 5% financing the other 95% ... are you talking income tax only or are you talking total tax and fees. From dfmanno at mail.com Tue Feb 23 01:57:40 2010 From: dfmanno at mail.com (D.F. Manno) Date: Tue Feb 23 02:00:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: What a crock of SH*T!!! References: Message-ID: In article , "Indigo" wrote: > D.F. Manno wrote: > > Indigo wrote: > > > >> #1: $250,000 is NOT high income in high cost areas of the > >> country, like LA, D.C., NYC, Boston, etc. That kind of > >> income puts you in the middle class in those places. > > > > Less than two percent of the households in the U.S. have an > > annual income of more than $250,000. That ain't "middle > > class" anywhere. > > > > source: > > > > > > > > > >> #2: Tacking on that extra 2.9% medicare tax on investment > >> income will absolutely destroy the stock market > > > > Boo-fucking-hoo. Every time somebody suggests raising taxes > > on the well-to-do, some Chicken Little starts crying about > > the sky falling. > > > > The top one percent of U.S. households holds 49.7 percent of > > the nation's investment assets, and therefore reaps the > > lion's share of investment income. They can afford to pay > > more taxes, especially after they enjoyed such windfalls due > > to the Bush tax cuts. > > They also happen to pay over 90% of the total federal income > taxes Not even close. In 2007, the top 1 percent of tax returns paid 40.4 percent of all federal individual income taxes. source: > 5% of the country finances the other 95% Also not true. The top five percent pays 60.6 percent of all federal individual income tax. source: Ibid. > think that's fair? Especially given the huge difference in the > cost of living in certain areas? > > I'm lucky enough to have made some shrewd investments, but I am > by no means "wealthy" by any way you want to count it. And I > should be punished if I return to work at my previous salary > level and my someday mate earns about the same as I do? An > important thing to remember for my side of the argument: the > average single family home in my area sells for well over $300k > (and that's a small house!), let alone the cost of a house in > the NYC or LA area! The difference in cost of living among different areas of the country is irrelevant to a discussion of federal taxes. The tax code has never taken that into account. If you don't like the cost of living where you are, move. It's not the government's job to smooth out the cost of living everywhere. -- D.F. Manno | dfmanno@mail.com "I have seen the truth and it doesn't make sense." From nobody at spamcop.net Tue Feb 23 09:09:45 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Tue Feb 23 09:10:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: What a crock of SH*T!!! References: Message-ID: "Frog Prince" wrote in message news:hlvg1l$idd$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "bar0" wrote in message > news:hlvaiq$flj$1@news.spamcop.net... >> >> "Frog Prince" wrote in message >> news:hlv8d6$eos$1@news.spamcop.net... >>> >>> >>> "Indigo" wrote in message >>> news:hlv3sr$d7g$1@news.spamcop.net... >>>> How Obama plans to pay for part of his new health plan: >> ... >>> One of my extended family members recently attended the ER for shingles. >>> Insurance company billing was on the order of $500. Insurance company >>> refused payment as the patent had measles at the age of 5 ... 50+ years >>> in the past. The justification 'preexisting condition'. The ER now >>> wants $3500 for the same service they were willing to accept $500 if >>> paid by the insurance company. >> >> Feral pets. > > I know I'll regret this but WT*? People in that position are like feral pets to certain politicians. -- "Don't feed the strays" Anyway, in response to Indy, I'd be proud and happy to pay 3% of my income for medicare if I was making anywhere close to $250K. And I don't know what planet Indy lives in but even in New York and LA, very few make that kind of money, even with 2 incomes let alone 1. From nobody at spamcop.net Tue Feb 23 16:40:28 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Tue Feb 23 16:45:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: What a crock of SH*T!!! In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Frog Prince" wrote in message news:hlvq63$m5d$1@news.spamcop.net... > > > As to the 5% financing the other 95% ... are you talking income tax only > or are you talking total tax and fees. That data is for income taxes IIRC. I have two better ideas for funding, but they mainly apply to the SS system: eliminate the earnings cut-off limit for paying SS taxes -- for 2010, once you get past $106,800 in gross pay both you and your employer stop paying into the system. If that puts too high of a burden on businesses, just make the employee keep paying their half of the total 6.2%. Secondly, there should be some kind of income limit for receiving SS benefits in retirement, and/or Medicare. Billionaires have absolutely no reason to require government assistance in retirement, for instance.....I don't know where exactly I'd draw the line on "how rich" you have to be to be denied retirement benefits, it would certainly be above say, $15-$20 million in assets, but there has to be some fair way to come up with the number, unlike the arbitrary and unreasonable $200k-$250k number Obama wants to use for his health plan. From nobody at spamcop.net Tue Feb 23 16:42:18 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Tue Feb 23 16:45:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: What a crock of SH*T!!! In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "D.F. Manno" wrote in message news:dfmanno-BE88FF.01573923022010@news.cesmail.net... > If you don't like the cost of living where you are, move. It's not the > government's job to smooth out the cost of living everywhere. Did you miss my statement that they already do that for federal employees salaries and pay raises? From nobody at spamcop.net Tue Feb 23 17:31:03 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Tue Feb 23 17:35:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: What a crock of SH*T!!! In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "bar0" wrote in message news:hm0njf$1g7$1@news.spamcop.net... > > Anyway, in response to Indy, I'd be proud and happy to pay 3% of my income > for medicare if I was making anywhere close to $250K. I specifically stated that the effect that tax would have on the stock market for _investment income_ would have a terrible effect on the economy. You already pay 1.45% of your gross salary for medicare with no income limit like SS taxes have (your employer pays the other half, unless you're self employed, then you pay the whole 2.9% on your own). I wouldn't be against levying the full 2.9% on JOB related earnings above $250k. And I don't know what > planet Indy lives in but even in New York and LA, very few make that kind > of money, even with 2 incomes let alone 1. I live on the same planet as you, just in a different state. The MEDIAN income in my county is almost $100k, it's over $100k in the county closest to DC. There's a boatload of families making over $250k in this region. It's proximity to DC and other government facilities in MD (Goddard, the NRL, and APL for instance), plus the high concentration of defense contractors, biotech centers, and medical research hospitals like Johns Hopkins, is why the cost of living is so high here. There are tens of thousands of jobs paying $100k or more (in the hundreds of thousands if you include DC and northern VA), so a well educated two-income couple can easily make $200k-$250k or more. But all that concentrated wealth brings a host of problems into play: teachers, nurses, firemen, police officers, all the people that provide our safety, healthcare, and education, cannot afford to live here. Many of them have to live hours away where the cost of living is lower and they can afford a house. For instance, if you drive north of Baltimore on I-83, the moment you cross the state line you will find an endless number of relatively new housing developments, and more are being built all the time, primarily to house those folks priced out of MD. An identical house costing $400k around here sells for under $200k in PA, with the cost of land being the primary difference. Like I've said before, my little 1/5 acre of land is worth more than my entire house! From nobody at spamcop.net Tue Feb 23 20:00:45 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Heidi) Date: Tue Feb 23 20:05:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Oh Chaaaarrrellls Message-ID: Sure hope he made it home already, he should enjoy this: http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/02/nj_weather_forecasters_track_h.html From borgholio at storymind.com Wed Feb 24 01:42:49 2010 From: borgholio at storymind.com (Borgholio) Date: Wed Feb 24 01:45:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] On smartphones Message-ID: Currently I have a messaging-only plan on my cell phone since I text like hell, but rarely do voice calls. It costs me $35 per month. Good deal. After playing with my girlfriend's Iphone, I decided I want a smartphone of my own. It's just too cool. I have tried my sisters Droid and that is pretty neat too...I like the physical keyboard. Whichever way I go, I can no longer get unlimited texting...as such plans will total nearly $80 per month. If I ditch texting entirely I can go as low as $55 per month provided I find an app such as Textfree on the Iphone, or use email / IMs only. So...yeah. From avoozl at spamcop.net Wed Feb 24 03:14:20 2010 From: avoozl at spamcop.net (Chris Willoughby) Date: Wed Feb 24 03:15:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: On smartphones References: Message-ID: "Borgholio" wrote in message news:hm2hpc$ir1$1@news.spamcop.net... > Currently I have a messaging-only plan on my cell phone since I text like > hell, but rarely do voice calls. It costs me $35 per month. Good deal. > > After playing with my girlfriend's Iphone, I decided I want a smartphone > of my own. It's just too cool. I have tried my sisters Droid and that is > pretty neat too...I like the physical keyboard. > > Whichever way I go, I can no longer get unlimited texting...as such plans > will total nearly $80 per month. If I ditch texting entirely I can go as > low as $55 per month provided I find an app such as Textfree on the > Iphone, or use email / IMs only. > > So...yeah. Well, I've always been an anti-SMS nazi.. So yeah, phones should be used for PHONE CALLS not bloody gibberish shorthand. Having said that.. If you want an iphone you're stuck with ATT in the US. You might try looking at some of the blackberries instead. They seem quite nice to me. :) From bjarke.andersen at gmail.com Wed Feb 24 06:14:07 2010 From: bjarke.andersen at gmail.com (Bjarke Andersen) Date: Wed Feb 24 06:15:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: On smartphones References: Message-ID: Borgholio crashed Echelon writing news:hm2hpc$ir1$1@news.spamcop.net: > Whichever way I go, I can no longer get unlimited texting...as such > plans will total nearly $80 per month. If I ditch texting entirely I > can go as low as $55 per month provided I find an app such as Textfree > on the Iphone, or use email / IMs only. Why not buy a new/used smartphone which is not locked and use your old SIM. Meaning you will not change your subscriptions. Unless you are also tilting towards some dataplan. -- Bjarke Andersen From bjarke.andersen at gmail.com Wed Feb 24 06:16:47 2010 From: bjarke.andersen at gmail.com (Bjarke Andersen) Date: Wed Feb 24 06:20:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: On smartphones References: Message-ID: "Chris Willoughby" crashed Echelon writing news:hm2n57$vqn$1@news.spamcop.net: > Well, I've always been an anti-SMS nazi.. So yeah, phones should be > used for PHONE CALLS not bloody gibberish shorthand. Is this why US has been late in the use of texting over Europe or Asia. > Having said that.. If you want an iphone you're stuck with ATT in the > US. You might try looking at some of the blackberries instead. They > seem quite nice to me. :) Is Iphones not available unlocked on the pre-owned market? Then there is also all the Android phones and Windows Mobiles. -- Bjarke Andersen From dfmanno at mail.com Wed Feb 24 06:54:53 2010 From: dfmanno at mail.com (D.F. Manno) Date: Wed Feb 24 06:55:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: What a crock of SH*T!!! References: Message-ID: In article , "Indigo" wrote: > "D.F. Manno" wrote: > > > If you don't like the cost of living where you are, move. It's not the > > government's job to smooth out the cost of living everywhere. > > Did you miss my statement that they already do that for federal employees > salaries and pay raises? I said "It's not the government's job to smooth out the cost of living everywhere." Emphasis on the "everywhere." BTW, I notice that you conveniently snipped the part where I disproved your claim about the top five percent of taxpayers. -- D.F. Manno | dfmanno@mail.com "I have seen the truth and it doesn't make sense." From dfmanno at mail.com Wed Feb 24 07:00:02 2010 From: dfmanno at mail.com (D.F. Manno) Date: Wed Feb 24 07:00:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: What a crock of SH*T!!! References: Message-ID: In article , "Indigo" wrote: > Secondly, there should be some kind of income limit for receiving SS > benefits in retirement, and/or Medicare. Bad, bad idea. Means-testing Social Security runs counter to the intent of the program - that it's an _insurance_ program, in which you pay your premiums (FICA taxes) and when eligible receive benefits. Means-testing would make it a _welfare_ program, and would be the beginning of the end of SS as the right wing - which has never liked the idea of SS in the first place - would begin attacking it as such. -- D.F. Manno | dfmanno@mail.com "I have seen the truth and it doesn't make sense." From nobody at spamcop.net Wed Feb 24 09:46:58 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Wed Feb 24 09:50:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: What a crock of SH*T!!! In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hm1i3q$doq$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "D.F. Manno" wrote in message > news:dfmanno-BE88FF.01573923022010@news.cesmail.net... >> If you don't like the cost of living where you are, move. It's not the >> government's job to smooth out the cost of living everywhere. > > Did you miss my statement that they already do that for federal employees > salaries and pay raises? It's employment policies don't have anything to do with the tax code, of course outside the codes influence on the budget. Taxing 2.9% is not going to dry up "investment" Very few people actually "Invest", they gamble on a companies stock in the marketplace. The number of people actually investing , ie funding startups, or capitalizing existing companies is almost vanishingly small, and they are BIG players. Like Warren Buffet, who ruefully stated that he and folks like him have a lower effective tax _rate_ than their under 100K employees. Methinks you are becoming "Joe the Plumber". From nobody at spamcop.net Wed Feb 24 15:27:00 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Wed Feb 24 15:30:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: On smartphones In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Borgholio" wrote in message news:hm2hpc$ir1$1@news.spamcop.net... > Currently I have a messaging-only plan on my cell phone since I text like > hell, but rarely do voice calls. It costs me $35 per month. Good deal. > > After playing with my girlfriend's Iphone, Whoa right there! What girlfriend? Give it up, sonny boy! From nobody at spamcop.net Wed Feb 24 15:29:33 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Wed Feb 24 15:30:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: On smartphones In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Chris Willoughby" wrote in message news:hm2n57$vqn$1@news.spamcop.net... > You might try looking at some of the blackberries instead. They seem quite > nice to me. :) But then you're stuck with depending on RIMM's servers for your connection. When they go down (several times a year) the entire BB world crunches to a halt. Since he doesn't live in NYC, where most of the AT&T service complaints come from, I wouldn't use that as a criteria for which phone to buy (as opposed to the RIMM issue). From nobody at spamcop.net Wed Feb 24 15:32:07 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Wed Feb 24 15:35:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: On smartphones In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Bjarke Andersen" wrote in message news:Xns9D297CE7D970bjoegdk@216.154.195.61... > "Chris Willoughby" crashed Echelon writing > news:hm2n57$vqn$1@news.spamcop.net: > >> Well, I've always been an anti-SMS nazi.. So yeah, phones should be >> used for PHONE CALLS not bloody gibberish shorthand. > > Is this why US has been late in the use of texting over Europe or Asia. I assume that was a question? If so, I agree with Chris, in that I generally despise texting. Use the phone as a phone and call me if you have something to say, for god's sake! Plus, the dangers of texting while driving are enormous, worse than drunk driving IMNSHO. From nobody at spamcop.net Wed Feb 24 15:47:46 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Wed Feb 24 15:50:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: On smartphones In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D29597D02FD0ThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > On the iPhone you are required to have a data plan so it's going to run > you > at least $70/month without unlimited texting. I think I'm going to ditch > my 200 message texting plan 'cause email is "free" and just as easy... Really? That's bass-ackwards to my plan. I get unlimited texting (and free roaming in the US) but sending email via my phone costs me big time......I have to log into my Yahoo account, and get charged a whopping 2 cents/kb of data. Just checking out weather.com costs me a couple bucks in extra charges! And the sly Nokia designers intentially (I think) put the buttons that auto-connect you to the web (there are several such buttons on my phone) right next to the "dial" and "hang up" buttons. To top it off, there is another button on the outside of the clamshell right next to the volume controls on the side, and it tries to logs you onto the "Push to Talk" service, which also costs extra. At least half the time I pull my phone out of my pocket I accidentally depress that damn button, and have to be careful to abort the login by pressing the right key. I did manage to get rid of one of their devious tricks by remapping my phone keyboard after uploading the MagicKey app I found online, which allowed me to disable one of the auto-web function buttons and remap it to load MagicKey instead. If I turn off the phone, which is quite often, I have to reload MagicKey every time I turn it back on, it doesn't "stick", it kinda gets loaded into RAM, if you will. From nobody at spamcop.net Wed Feb 24 20:50:32 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Wed Feb 24 20:55:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: On smartphones In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D299D805CF9FThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > It wasn't me! It was "Indigo" ! > >> What girlfriend? > > Oh, come on! Old news! > > And, hey! Borg! How's the 'zac helping out? I must have missed it during my computer crash several months ago? From nobody at spamcop.net Wed Feb 24 20:53:27 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Wed Feb 24 20:55:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: What a crock of SH*T!!! In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "D.F. Manno" wrote in message news:dfmanno-D69721.06545324022010@news.cesmail.net... > In article , > "Indigo" wrote: > >> "D.F. Manno" wrote: >> >> > If you don't like the cost of living where you are, move. It's not the >> > government's job to smooth out the cost of living everywhere. >> >> Did you miss my statement that they already do that for federal employees >> salaries and pay raises? > > I said "It's not the government's job to smooth out the cost of living > everywhere." Emphasis on the "everywhere." > > BTW, I notice that you conveniently snipped the part where I disproved > your claim about the top five percent of taxpayers. Too lazy to go dig up differeing data. So sue me. And what's the difference between many high cost areas as opposed to "everywhere" as far as the feds smoothing out the cost of living? My point is that they are very aware of it, and compensate their employees accordingly....and have done so for decades. From nobody at spamcop.net Wed Feb 24 20:58:22 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Wed Feb 24 21:00:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: What a crock of SH*T!!! In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "D.F. Manno" wrote in message news:dfmanno-3F76C9.07000224022010@news.cesmail.net... > In article , > "Indigo" wrote: > >> Secondly, there should be some kind of income limit for receiving SS >> benefits in retirement, and/or Medicare. > > Bad, bad idea. Means-testing Social Security runs counter to the intent > of the program - that it's an _insurance_ program, in which you pay your > premiums (FICA taxes) and when eligible receive benefits. > > Means-testing would make it a _welfare_ program, and would be the > beginning of the end of SS as the right wing - which has never liked the > idea of SS in the first place - would begin attacking it as such. I hope you wrote that with tongue firmly planted in cheek, because we both know it's not an insurance program.....SS is a government sponsored retirement plan......although Medicare *is* a fed-sponsored health insurance plan. From nobody at spamcop.net Wed Feb 24 21:09:08 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Wed Feb 24 21:10:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: What a crock of SH*T!!! In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "bar0" wrote in message news:hm3e53$8f3$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "Indigo" wrote in message > news:hm1i3q$doq$1@news.spamcop.net... >> >> "D.F. Manno" wrote in message >> news:dfmanno-BE88FF.01573923022010@news.cesmail.net... >>> If you don't like the cost of living where you are, move. It's not the >>> government's job to smooth out the cost of living everywhere. >> >> Did you miss my statement that they already do that for federal employees >> salaries and pay raises? > > It's employment policies don't have anything to do with the tax code, of > course outside the codes influence on the budget. Of course they do. You make more money living in a high cost region, you pay more income taxes. > > Taxing 2.9% is not going to dry up "investment" Very few people actually > "Invest", they gamble on a companies stock in the marketplace. That's just pure baloney. Many of my well-off engineer friends are active in both managing their own IRA's and investment accounts, and once you learn the ropes (the hard way) you quickly stop "gambling". Not saying that there aren't people looking to make a quick buck in the market, but there are a lot more "responsible" investors out there than the gamblers. Unfortunately the hedge funds and Market Makers have so much cash in hand that they can manipulate almost any stock they want to move in the direction they want when they want, and the rest of us are just along for the ride. Large caps/Blue Chips being the exception, they're owned mostly by institutions (mutual funds), and the fund managers don't tend to play such games, since most of them are illegal at worst, and shady at best. . Methinks you are > becoming "Joe the Plumber". I have absolutely no idea what you mean by that. From nobody at spamcop.net Wed Feb 24 22:48:37 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Wed Feb 24 22:50:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: What a crock of SH*T!!! References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hm4m43$mt2$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "bar0" wrote in message > news:hm3e53$8f3$1@news.spamcop.net... ... >> >> It's employment policies don't have anything to do with the tax code, of >> course outside the codes influence on the budget. > > Of course they do. You make more money living in a high cost region, you > pay more income taxes. Emm.. precisely, Makes my point. >> Taxing 2.9% is not going to dry up "investment" Very few people actually >> "Invest", they gamble on a companies stock in the marketplace. > > That's just pure baloney. Many of my well-off engineer friends are active > in both managing their own IRA's and investment accounts, and once you > learn the ropes (the hard way) you quickly stop "gambling". Not saying > that there aren't people looking to make a quick buck in the market, but > there are a lot more "responsible" investors out there than the gamblers. Managing which stocks you buy is not the same as Investing, except in the loose way that word is used. When you buy shares after an IPO or othjer new share offering, you are not investing in the capital of a company. That is there whether anyone else buys shares or not. What the marketplace is doing is largely providing a secondary market for the actual investors. For the most part we are picking horses. We're not paying to have them bread and reared. From avoozl at spamcop.net Thu Feb 25 00:33:15 2010 From: avoozl at spamcop.net (Chris Willoughby) Date: Thu Feb 25 00:35:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: On smartphones References: Message-ID: "Bjarke Andersen" wrote in message news:Xns9D297CE7D970bjoegdk@216.154.195.61... > Is this why US has been late in the use of texting over Europe or Asia. > Is Iphones not available unlocked on the pre-owned market? > > Then there is also all the Android phones and Windows Mobiles. > > > -- > Bjarke Andersen No idea about the texting.. If you want an unlocked phone good luck finding it without spending close to one grand for the newest iphone. Pre-owned seem to cost about the same. I've always like windows mobile.. wish I'd had one back in the day. From dfmanno at mail.com Thu Feb 25 06:29:43 2010 From: dfmanno at mail.com (D.F. Manno) Date: Thu Feb 25 06:30:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: What a crock of SH*T!!! References: Message-ID: In article , "Indigo" wrote: > "D.F. Manno" wrote: > > "Indigo" wrote: > >> "D.F. Manno" wrote: > >> > >> > If you don't like the cost of living where you are, move. It's not the > >> > government's job to smooth out the cost of living everywhere. > >> > >> Did you miss my statement that they already do that for federal employees > >> salaries and pay raises? > > > > I said "It's not the government's job to smooth out the cost of living > > everywhere." Emphasis on the "everywhere." > > > > BTW, I notice that you conveniently snipped the part where I disproved > > your claim about the top five percent of taxpayers. > > Too lazy to go dig up differeing data. So sue me. Lame. > And what's the difference > between many high cost areas as opposed to "everywhere" as far as the feds > smoothing out the cost of living? My point is that they are very aware of > it, and compensate their employees accordingly....and have done so for > decades. For its employees, not for everyone. -- D.F. Manno | dfmanno@mail.com "I have seen the truth and it doesn't make sense." From dfmanno at mail.com Thu Feb 25 06:32:29 2010 From: dfmanno at mail.com (D.F. Manno) Date: Thu Feb 25 06:35:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: What a crock of SH*T!!! References: Message-ID: In article , "Indigo" wrote: > "D.F. Manno" wrote: > > "Indigo" wrote: > > > >> Secondly, there should be some kind of income limit for receiving SS > >> benefits in retirement, and/or Medicare. > > > > Bad, bad idea. Means-testing Social Security runs counter to the intent > > of the program - that it's an _insurance_ program, in which you pay your > > premiums (FICA taxes) and when eligible receive benefits. > > > > Means-testing would make it a _welfare_ program, and would be the > > beginning of the end of SS as the right wing - which has never liked the > > idea of SS in the first place - would begin attacking it as such. > > I hope you wrote that with tongue firmly planted in cheek, because we both > know it's not an insurance program. No, we don't both know that. It's called the "Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability _Insurance_ (OASDI)" program for a reason. > SS is a government sponsored > retirement plan......although Medicare *is* a fed-sponsored health insurance > plan. -- D.F. Manno | dfmanno@mail.com "I have seen the truth and it doesn't make sense." From bjarke.andersen at gmail.com Thu Feb 25 07:43:04 2010 From: bjarke.andersen at gmail.com (Bjarke Andersen) Date: Thu Feb 25 07:45:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: On smartphones References: Message-ID: Charles crashed Echelon writing news:Xns9D2A4A192A06BThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61: > Uh. What? In "older" days, americans did not use their mobile phones to full extent. Maybe because many were/are like Chris on SMS. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/618c4f5c-37ac-11db-bc01-0000779e2340.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Text_messaging -- Bjarke Andersen From nobody at spamcop.net Thu Feb 25 11:49:12 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Thu Feb 25 11:50:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: What a crock of SH*T!!! In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "bar0" wrote in message news:hm4rus$otb$1@news.spamcop.net... > Managing which stocks you buy is not the same as Investing, except in the > loose way that word is used. Except for one guy I know, no one else "trades", we look for investments to hold long term. But you have to (should) rebalance every year or two to keep your desired allocation/diversification in order. When you buy shares after an IPO or othjer new > share offering, you are not investing in the capital of a company. I wouldn't go near an IPO with YOUR money! From nobody at spamcop.net Thu Feb 25 13:25:25 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Thu Feb 25 13:30:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: What a crock of SH*T!!! In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hm69m8$9k3$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "bar0" wrote in message > news:hm4rus$otb$1@news.spamcop.net... >> Managing which stocks you buy is not the same as Investing, except in the >> loose way that word is used. > > Except for one guy I know, no one else "trades", we look for investments > to hold long term. But you have to (should) rebalance every year or two to > keep your desired allocation/diversification in order. > > When you buy shares after an IPO or othjer new >> share offering, you are not investing in the capital of a company. > > I wouldn't go near an IPO with YOUR money! Holding shares a long time doesn't make it investing. From user at domain.invalid Thu Feb 25 14:08:25 2010 From: user at domain.invalid (Farelf) Date: Thu Feb 25 14:10:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Oh Chaaaarrrellls In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Charles wrote: > > 2+ feet of snow! We were supposed to get 1/2" last night and then it > wouldn't really start until noon today. Well... There are 4"+ on the > ground already and it's falling hard (at 8AM). Woot! Ok - but you don't have to shovel any of it: http://nfb.ca/film/special_delivery/ Here it's 3 am and the temperature has finally dropped below 30 (Celsius that is, 86 Fahrenheit). Maybe I can sleep now. From borgholio at storymind.com Thu Feb 25 15:40:40 2010 From: borgholio at storymind.com (Borgholio) Date: Thu Feb 25 15:45:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: On smartphones In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Indigo wrote: > > "Borgholio" wrote in message > news:hm2hpc$ir1$1@news.spamcop.net... >> Currently I have a messaging-only plan on my cell phone since I text >> like hell, but rarely do voice calls. It costs me $35 per month. >> Good deal. >> >> After playing with my girlfriend's Iphone, > > > Whoa right there! What girlfriend? Give it up, sonny boy! Eharmony finally paid off. :-P From borgholio at storymind.com Thu Feb 25 15:41:28 2010 From: borgholio at storymind.com (Borgholio) Date: Thu Feb 25 15:45:10 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: On smartphones In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Charles wrote: > It wasn't me! It was "Indigo" ! > >> What girlfriend? > > Oh, come on! Old news! > > And, hey! Borg! How's the 'zac helping out? Gradually increased dosage from 20mg to 60mg, waiting to see how that works. I've noticed a gradual improvement but nothing major yet. :) From nobody at spamcop.net Thu Feb 25 18:02:34 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Thu Feb 25 18:05:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Oh Chaaaarrrellls In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Farelf" wrote in message news:hm6hra$ck1$1@news.spamcop.net... > Charles wrote: > >> >> 2+ feet of snow! We were supposed to get 1/2" last night and then it >> wouldn't really start until noon today. Well... There are 4"+ on the >> ground already and it's falling hard (at 8AM). Woot! > > Ok - but you don't have to shovel any of it: > http://nfb.ca/film/special_delivery/ > > Here it's 3 am and the temperature has finally dropped below 30 (Celsius > that is, 86 Fahrenheit). Maybe I can sleep now. It's clear that you're not in North Texas right now. From nobody at spamcop.net Thu Feb 25 18:03:22 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Thu Feb 25 18:05:10 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Oh Chaaaarrrellls In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D2A963B9C3B0ThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > It wasn't me! It was Farelf ! > >> Ok - but you don't have to shovel any of it > > I don't shovel it - I use a snow blower. Shoveling is hard work! Cute > movie. Try using a snowblower on 40" of snow.......they're useless, even the best ones like my Dad has.....kept bogging down on him, and they only got 20"-22" of heavy snow......40" would tower over both the auger _and_ the blower expeller port. From nobody at spamcop.net Thu Feb 25 18:04:02 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Thu Feb 25 18:05:11 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: On smartphones In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Borgholio" wrote in message news:hm6n88$e54$1@news.spamcop.net... > Indigo wrote: >> >> Whoa right there! What girlfriend? Give it up, sonny boy! > > Eharmony finally paid off. :-P So how long has this little fling been going on? She a keeper? From nobody at spamcop.net Thu Feb 25 18:07:22 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Thu Feb 25 18:10:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: What a crock of SH*T!!! In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D2A98635AD9sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > "Frog Prince" wrote in > news:hlv8d6$eos$1@news.spamcop.net: > > >> One of my extended family members recently attended the ER for >> shingles. Insurance company billing was on the order of $500. >> Insurance company refused payment as the patent had measles at the age >> of 5 ... 50+ years in the past. The justification 'preexisting >> condition'. The ER now wants $3500 for the same service they were >> willing to accept $500 if paid by the insurance company. > > That's bloody outrageous on both counts (the difference in money and the > pre-existing condition). Who HASN'T had measles or chicken pox?! Depends on when you were born. Certainly in my generation few didn't get them, and we were sent out to sick friends to catch mumps. There is a lifetime shot for post 60's against shingles I found out when I went to get my H1N1 shot the other day. (Got Outlaws coming), I've a couple'a years to wait, but almost everyone who's had Chicken Pox might want to look into that shot, From nobody at spamcop.net Thu Feb 25 18:13:22 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Thu Feb 25 18:15:10 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Oh Chaaaarrrellls In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hm6vjp$hl2$1@news.spamcop.net... > > "Charles" wrote in message > news:Xns9D2A963B9C3B0ThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... >> It wasn't me! It was Farelf ! >> >>> Ok - but you don't have to shovel any of it >> >> I don't shovel it - I use a snow blower. Shoveling is hard work! Cute >> movie. > > Try using a snowblower on 40" of snow.......they're useless, even the best > ones like my Dad has.....kept bogging down on him, and they only got > 20"-22" of heavy snow......40" would tower over both the auger _and_ the > blower expeller port. Aim Higher. From nobody at spamcop.net Thu Feb 25 18:15:27 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Thu Feb 25 18:20:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: What a crock of SH*T!!! In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D2A9A746F0B8sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > "D.F. Manno" wrote in > news:dfmanno-BE88FF.01573923022010 > @news.cesmail.net: > > >> If you don't like the cost of living where you are, move. It's not the >> government's job to smooth out the cost of living everywhere. >> > > That's all very well if you're not looking to get a job. Places that have > a > good job market tend to have higher cost of living. > Trade offs. Unemployed and broke with lo costs, or underemployed and nearly broke with high costs. From borgholio at storymind.com Thu Feb 25 18:18:55 2010 From: borgholio at storymind.com (Borgholio) Date: Thu Feb 25 18:20:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: On smartphones In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Indigo wrote: > > "Borgholio" wrote in message > news:hm6n88$e54$1@news.spamcop.net... >> Indigo wrote: > >>> >>> Whoa right there! What girlfriend? Give it up, sonny boy! >> >> Eharmony finally paid off. :-P > > So how long has this little fling been going on? She a keeper? A tad over a month and yeah, we are very very compatible. :) From borgholio at storymind.com Thu Feb 25 19:02:03 2010 From: borgholio at storymind.com (Borgholio) Date: Thu Feb 25 19:05:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: On smartphones In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Sylvesterthekat wrote: > Borgholio wrote in news:hm6n9n$e54$2 > @news.spamcop.net: > >> Gradually increased dosage from 20mg to 60mg, waiting to see how that >> works. I've noticed a gradual improvement but nothing major yet. :) >> > > How's the job going? Your store's not one of those that's going to close I > hope? I haven't heard anything about Sears closing down... From borgholio at storymind.com Thu Feb 25 19:02:22 2010 From: borgholio at storymind.com (Borgholio) Date: Thu Feb 25 19:05:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: On smartphones In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Sylvesterthekat wrote: > Borgholio wrote in news:hm70gv$e54$3 > @news.spamcop.net: > > >> A tad over a month and yeah, we are very very compatible. :) >> > > That's great! Now don't f*ck it up ;o) I can thank my Prozac for being more relaxed about it. :-P From nobody at spamcop.net Thu Feb 25 19:09:01 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Thu Feb 25 19:10:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: What a crock of SH*T!!! In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "bar0" wrote in message news:hm6fal$bjb$1@news.spamcop.net... > > Holding shares a long time doesn't make it investing. Thus the need for rebalancing every once in a while. I personally define "long term" for stocks as 24-36 months, and over 3 years for mutual funds and dividend paying CEFs. There's a few well run CEFs I'll probably keep for at least the next 10 years, unless something drastic occurs that would make selling them the wise move. There's a very simple formula for determining a long term investment gain based on a stable div and a FIXED market price, and the results are eye-opening, to say the least...... The formula is: P * (1 + r/t)^{t*n} = total investment value after n years, where: P = principal investment at the start, assumes no additional cash is invested r = yearly return in % t = number of time periods, 12 for a monthly div payer n = number of years held I ran the numbers a couple weeks ago for a CEF I'm looking at buying in my IRA, CYE (current yield around 10%). If I buy 3,288.79 shares at $6.72/shr (total initial outlay of $21,212.69), at the end of one year I now own 3626.74 shares, value = $24,371.69 (again I iterate that this formula assumes a constant share price). After 10 years, my initial investment has grown to $56,239.96, an increase of 265.12%, and if I hold it 20 years it's now worth $149,105.72, a gain of 702.91%! And remember, those numbers don't account for ANY rise in the share price. A lot of similar CEFs bottomed out in late 08 and again in March 09 and have begun a relentless rise back to their previous relatively stable values, so that calculation above is a conservative estimate, assuming the yield stays constant, since it doesn't account for capital appreciation in the share price. That's what I call a good, or rather a great investment. From bjarke.andersen at gmail.com Fri Feb 26 02:29:39 2010 From: bjarke.andersen at gmail.com (Bjarke Andersen) Date: Fri Feb 26 02:30:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: On smartphones References: Message-ID: Sylvesterthekat crashed Echelon writing news:Xns9D2A9DF40585Fsylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61: > I know texting was huge in the uk long before it really took off here, > and they're still miles ahead as far as transferability and costs go. > I have a cheap, pay as you go uk phone that costs me about $20 a YEAR > if that (it could cost you as little as $5 probably), you don't have > to pay monthly fees, it's purely a matter of, you've got money in the > account, you get to keep service. You can get pay-as-you-go for free here in DK. Though many of the telco's rather has a minimum amount a month (around $6 which can be used for calls, texts etc). When talking about dataplans, then it is a whole other issue. Usual price if no dataplan is added is $5½/MB. But dataplans are available from as low as $28 (3Mb/s with a usual maximum of 10GB) Myself have a pay-as-you-go, with added dataplan which has a minimum price of $15. It has 100MB for that amount, everything over that cost 15c/MB with a maximum price of $37. Which means the dataplan will never cost me more than $37 no matter how much I use it. Then comes the other services such as mobile TV. -- Bjarke Andersen From user at domain.invalid Fri Feb 26 06:09:12 2010 From: user at domain.invalid (Farelf) Date: Fri Feb 26 06:10:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Oh Chaaaarrrellls In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: bar0 wrote: > > "Farelf" wrote in message > news:hm6hra$ck1$1@news.spamcop.net... ... >> Here it's 3 am and the temperature has finally dropped below 30 >> (Celsius that is, 86 Fahrenheit). Maybe I can sleep now. > > It's clear that you're not in North Texas right now. Times I wonder if I'm on the same planet - but no, far, far away from there. My nubbinses are presently in no danger at all of being frozen off. From nobody at spamcop.net Fri Feb 26 11:48:24 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Fri Feb 26 11:50:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: What a crock of SH*T!!! In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D2A9FE10F72Asylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > "bar0" wrote in news:hm6vra$hlq$1@news.spamcop.net: > > >> Certainly in my generation few didn't get them, and we were sent out >> to sick friends to catch mumps. > > Wow mumps is bad for boys, does it matter when you get it (ie post puberty > is worse than pre?). One of my cousins got it at the wrong time and is > sterile. > Apparently yes, much worse post puberty, which was why parents sent their kids out to catch it before 12 years (I guess that would be 10 nowadays). It's an easier disease when young and generally doesn't cause sterility. I can't remember if I had it or not, I was definitely sent to visit with the afflicted. From me at privacy.net Fri Feb 26 12:23:46 2010 From: me at privacy.net (anon) Date: Fri Feb 26 12:25:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: On smartphones References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D2A9CF3063D5sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > "Indigo" wrote in > news:hm439h$g37$1@news.spamcop.net: > > >> And the sly Nokia designers intentially (I think) put the buttons that >> auto-connect you to the web (there are several such buttons on my >> phone) right next to the "dial" and "hang up" buttons. To top it off, >> there is another button on the outside of the clamshell right next to >> the volume controls on the side, and it tries to logs you onto the >> "Push to Talk" service, which also costs extra. At least half the time >> I pull my phone out of my pocket I accidentally depress that damn >> button, and have to be careful to abort the login by pressing the >> right key. > > You may be able to disable that service if you want. If you can log into > your account via the web, see if it's something you can do yourself. > Otherwise call them and ask them to disable it. > > I thought that all phones had a keyboard lock to prevent accidental key press. From nobody at spamcop.net Fri Feb 26 17:30:16 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Fri Feb 26 17:35:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Oh Chaaaarrrellls In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D2AC34FF764BThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > No way it was me! It was "Indigo" ! > >> Try using a snowblower on 40" of snow.......they're useless, even the >> best ones like my Dad has.....kept bogging down on him, and they only >> got 20"-22" of heavy snow......40" would tower over both the auger >> _and_ the blower expeller port. > > In places where they get a lot of snow they don't plow the roads - they > use > snowblowers. You go and tell them that they can't use them! I'm sure they are attached to very large trucks, eh? Not hand operated! And... > Golly. I mean... I've lived in Maine where we regularly got huge > snowfalls. But never 40" in a go. We don't live in the mountains. > Anyway, even in Maine, where they are used to things like that, 2' of snow > means everything is closed (including your place of employ) - you have > plenty of time to get the snow out of your way any way you can. All of > that said, I have a 9 HP snowblower. Yeah, it bogs down a little out at > the road where the snowplows have pushed up huge piles of really wet snow. > So? 2' of snow is largely doable. Even 2' of very wet snow. I didn't say 2' was undoable, I said 40" was....and my Dad did manage to finish the job, just had to stop every 5 minutes to unclog the auger. From nobody at spamcop.net Fri Feb 26 17:38:24 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Fri Feb 26 17:40:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Oh Chaaaarrrellls In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Charles" wrote in message news:Xns9D2B581EE20D7ThisIsMyPost@216.154.195.61... > It wasn't me! It was "Indigo" ! > >> Try using a snowblower on 40" of snow.......they're useless, even the >> best ones like my Dad has.....kept bogging down on him, and they only >> got 20"-22" of heavy snow......40" would tower over both the auger >> _and_ the blower expeller port. > > OK. So... The snow was deeper than my snowblower. And wet and heavy. I > just went. The snowblower will ride up on the snow and I just took two > passes. Still only 20 minutes to clear the drive. Easy. I think my Dad's Toro was too heavy to ride on top of the snow From nobody at spamcop.net Fri Feb 26 17:39:43 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Fri Feb 26 17:40:10 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: On smartphones In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Borgholio" wrote in message news:hm70gv$e54$3@news.spamcop.net... > Indigo wrote: >> >> So how long has this little fling been going on? She a keeper? > > A tad over a month and yeah, we are very very compatible. :) Good luck, and don't blow it this time! ;-) From nobody at spamcop.net Fri Feb 26 17:41:02 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Fri Feb 26 17:45:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: On smartphones In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D2AA0086944Csylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > Borgholio wrote in news:hm70gv$e54$3 > @news.spamcop.net: > > >> A tad over a month and yeah, we are very very compatible. :) >> > > That's great! Now don't f*ck it up ;o) heh. Great minds think alike....I just said the same thing before I read your post ;-) From nobody at spamcop.net Fri Feb 26 17:45:37 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Fri Feb 26 17:50:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: On smartphones In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D2A9C607710sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > > Rule of thumb - don't use your phone at all while driving, text or > otherwise. > My car is linked to my phone via BT, with controls on the steering wheel, so it's rather safe to make calls as long as the person is in my car's phonebook. > Texting is great, it's fast, Not with a phone in my hands! If I had a bigger one with a "real" keyboard, I might feel differently, but I don't....and likely never will, I want a phone that comfortably fits in my pant's pocket, so mine phones are always thin and on the small side. And the predictive texting software, while pretty good, really screws up some times. From nobody at spamcop.net Fri Feb 26 18:07:58 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Fri Feb 26 18:10:10 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: On smartphones In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D2A9CF3063D5sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > > You may be able to disable that service if you want. If you can log into > your account via the web, see if it's something you can do yourself. > Otherwise call them and ask them to disable it. > No joy. I just went to the options web page and the only choices I have are to add/pay for things or not, can't disable the built in features like PTT. Although I might be able to do that with MagicKey, remap that button like I did the other one....but I have a feeling that if I could have done it I would have when I did the first remap. From nobody at spamcop.net Fri Feb 26 18:08:33 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Fri Feb 26 18:10:11 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: On smartphones In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "anon" wrote in message news:hm9035$8o4$1@news.spamcop.net... >> > > I thought that all phones had a keyboard lock to prevent accidental key > press. It's not a keyboard button, it's on the side of the phone. From joegill at removethis Fri Feb 26 19:41:16 2010 From: joegill at removethis (Joe Gill) Date: Fri Feb 26 19:45:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: On smartphones In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D2B9F232CC56sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > Borgholio wrote in > news:hm731q$e54$4@news.spamcop.net: > > >> I haven't heard anything about Sears closing down... > > > It's ok, I checked, they aren't closing any in CA and it looks like mostly > it's KMart stores that are closing. They are 'pruning' the number of stores. From nobody at spamcop.net Fri Feb 26 19:50:25 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Fri Feb 26 19:55:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: On smartphones In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D2BA110EE7E2sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... > "Indigo" wrote in > news:hm9iug$fc6$1@news.spamcop.net: > >> My car is linked to my phone via BT, with controls on the steering >> wheel, so it's rather safe to make calls as long as the person is in >> my car's phonebook. > > They say that even if you're not holding a handset that it's almost as > bad as driving drunk because your mind is not completely on the road. > http://tinyurl.com/yemzspy > Yadda yadda....I'm not your average idiot driver :-P From nobody at spamcop.net Fri Feb 26 19:53:45 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Fri Feb 26 19:55:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: What a crock of SH*T!!! In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "bar0" wrote in message news:hm6vra$hlq$1@news.spamcop.net... > > Certainly in my generation few didn't get them, and we were sent out to > sick friends to catch mumps. > Pretty stupid move. I'm deaf in my right ear because of nerve damage caused by the mumps when I was 3 years old. From nobody at spamcop.net Fri Feb 26 20:01:26 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Fri Feb 26 20:05:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: What a crock of SH*T!!! In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message news:Xns9D2A9A2ECA378sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... Someone bringing home 250k in North Nowhere, Texas is a > lot better off than someone on the same salary in NY, SF or LA. Exactly my point. > > Unless it's changed, EVERYONE in the UK pays 9% of their income to the > NHS and social security. So 2.35% doesn't seem like a whole lot to me, It's actually 2.9% total, on top of the 6.2% SS tax for the first $106,800 of an employee?s taxable earnings. And your employer pays another 6.2% to SS for a total SS burden of 12.4% alone! It's astounding (flabbergasting) that with that kind of money coming into the SS admin that they're still facing insolvency sometime in the 2030's! From nobody at spamcop.net Fri Feb 26 20:05:27 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Fri Feb 26 20:10:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: What a crock of SH*T!!! In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "David Dean" wrote in message news:v8ltfuv02-3CBCC0.16122926022010@killface.local... This might also give employers incentive to > avoid clustering in the large cities. That's unreasonable. Companies generally have to or like to be close to customers or the fed government if they have a large amount of business with the feds. And "clustering" in large cities is much better for the environment than suburban sprawl, assuming sufficient mass transport systems are in place. From dfmanno at mail.com Fri Feb 26 20:35:20 2010 From: dfmanno at mail.com (D.F. Manno) Date: Fri Feb 26 20:40:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: What a crock of SH*T!!! References: Message-ID: In article , "Indigo" wrote: > It's astounding (flabbergasting) that > with that kind of money coming into the SS admin that they're still facing > insolvency sometime in the 2030's! Only if it were true. In 2037, based on current projections, SS will exhaust the trust fund. But sufficient money will be brought in by the payroll tax that it will fund about 3/4ths of projected benefits until at least 2083. And the benefits to be paid out from 2037-2083 will still be more than current benefits. -- D.F. Manno | dfmanno@mail.com "I have seen the truth and it doesn't make sense." From borgholio at storymind.com Fri Feb 26 20:56:24 2010 From: borgholio at storymind.com (Borgholio) Date: Fri Feb 26 21:00:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: On smartphones In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Indigo wrote: > > "Sylvesterthekat" wrote in message > news:Xns9D2BA110EE7E2sylvesterthekat@216.154.195.61... >> "Indigo" wrote in >> news:hm9iug$fc6$1@news.spamcop.net: >> >>> My car is linked to my phone via BT, with controls on the steering >>> wheel, so it's rather safe to make calls as long as the person is in >>> my car's phonebook. >> >> They say that even if you're not holding a handset that it's almost as >> bad as driving drunk because your mind is not completely on the road. >> http://tinyurl.com/yemzspy >> > > Yadda yadda....I'm not your average idiot driver :-P Yeah well you're not an average idiot either. :-P From nobody at spamcop.net Fri Feb 26 21:50:27 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (bar0) Date: Fri Feb 26 21:55:07 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: What a crock of SH*T!!! References: Message-ID: "D.F. Manno" wrote in message news:dfmanno-19E19C.20352026022010@news.cesmail.net... > In article , > "Indigo" wrote: > >> It's astounding (flabbergasting) that >> with that kind of money coming into the SS admin that they're still >> facing >> insolvency sometime in the 2030's! > > Only if it were true. In 2037, based on current projections, SS will > exhaust the trust fund. But sufficient money will be brought in by the > payroll tax that it will fund about 3/4ths of projected benefits until > at least 2083. And the benefits to be paid out from 2037-2083 will still > be more than current benefits. Part of the problem is that SS was funded as earners now pay retirees now. That requires either population growth, or a stable age demographic, ie ratios of earners/retirees remains constant, and workforce enterers = retiring workers = dying retirees (leaving out inflation etc.) the baby boom happened from '45 to '65 but no allowance for a bulge in retirees 60 years down the road was made until the 80's. all the implicit assumptions were that the baby boom would continue. (I'm not saying that anyone actually assumed that, just that SS was run that way). Most European countries have been working on the same basis, which is why the ethnic demographics have been allowed to change so much. They want more workers to pay for the retirees they have and will have. The SS trust fund was set up for the contingency and according to most economists, if benefits and lifespans don't change in a significant way (outside of inflation adjustments) the trust fund will take care of the bulge by running out (being spent), and presumably SS will remain on an even keel barring another boom. Unlike Canada Pension, SS is not a prefunded annuity so the potential for instability always exists. Medicare funding , by the way has not had the requisite trust fund planning., and the Part 2 stuff was unfunded, but medicare is not SS. From nobody at spamcop.net Sat Feb 27 12:13:17 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Sat Feb 27 12:15:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: On smartphones In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "Borgholio" wrote in message news:hm9u46$j2p$1@news.spamcop.net... > Indigo wrote: >>> >> >> Yadda yadda....I'm not your average idiot driver :-P > > Yeah well you're not an average idiot either. :-P Quite correct, I'm a superior idiot! From nobody at spamcop.net Sun Feb 28 14:56:25 2010 From: nobody at spamcop.net (Indigo) Date: Sun Feb 28 15:00:08 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Nuts.... Message-ID: Replanting my fallen pines is going to be a LOT harder than I thought. I spent 3 hours yesterday picking up fallen branches, pruning damaged bushes, and cleaning up all the flowerbeds with normal winter debris left from lilies and ornamental grasses (new growth is already popping up, especially the bulbs), and pruning the lower branches from the fallen pines to make them lighter. Now that I got a good look at the pines and tested their weights (hundreds of pounds, I couldn't budge them), I noticed that they are at a negative angle relative to the top of the hill where I planned to winch them from, meaning I'm going to have to add an intermediate step to the process. I bought a 2-ton 4 wheel double rope hoist last night online, and I'm going to have to build an A frame out of 2 x 4's to mount the hoist to so I can lift them off the ground and put sawhorses under them once I get them partly upright. Then I'll either relocate the hoist and attach it to a sturdy tree on the hill, or use my come-along with a nylon strap to get them vertical (my original plan). Also noticed something both good and bad -- the holes left in the ground from the rootballs have already filled in with soil washed out of the forest, which means a good portion of the broken roots are covered and protected and able to supply the trees with water, but it also means someone will have to excavate the holes in order to replant the trees. I'm also going to "top" the pines, meaning cut off the top 6' or so at the last "branch out" location, to make them even lighter. Definitely going to need lots of help though, just doing what I did exhausted me so much I slept until 1:30 today! And my back was killing me last night, had to alternate ice and heat for a couple hours to calm it down, just from pruning the pine limbs and dragging them up into the woods. My legs and arms feel like putty today, no strength at all.....and what remains to be done is WAY more labor intensive than what I did yesterday.... Just to add to the fun, the ground is so saturated that there's standing water everwhere (no where to drain with a clay soil base), and my boots left huge/deep indentations in my yard darn near everywhere I stepped. I don't want to kill all the grass by having a swarm of people tramping around......but the pines also need replanted sooner rather than later....a crappy Catch-22......not sure my "little shoveling crew" are going to have the strength to do the job either, they're a bunch of 12-14 year olds, none taller than 5 ft. How does one hire a bunch of Mexican day laborers without actually having to let them into your car? Don't have a truckbed for them to ride in, nor do I speak Spanish! And how do I find them in the first place? The local Lowe's and Home Depot chase them off their properties, as opposed to other parts of the country where they mingle outside looking for work. From me at privacy.net Sun Feb 28 23:23:29 2010 From: me at privacy.net (Frog Prince) Date: Sun Feb 28 23:25:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Nuts.... References: Message-ID: "Indigo" wrote in message news:hmehp9$740$1@news.spamcop.net... > Replanting my fallen pines is going to be a LOT harder than I thought. I > spent 3 hours yesterday picking up fallen branches, pruning damaged > bushes, and cleaning up all the flowerbeds with normal winter debris left > from lilies and ornamental grasses (new growth is already popping up, > especially the bulbs), and pruning the lower branches from the fallen > pines to make them lighter. > > Now that I got a good look at the pines and tested their weights (hundreds > of pounds, I couldn't budge them), I noticed that they are at a negative > angle relative to the top of the hill where I planned to winch them from, > meaning I'm going to have to add an intermediate step to the process. I > bought a 2-ton 4 wheel double rope hoist last night online, and I'm going > to have to build an A frame out of 2 x 4's to mount the hoist to so I can > lift them off the ground and put sawhorses under them once I get them > partly upright. Then I'll either relocate the hoist and attach it to a > sturdy tree on the hill, or use my come-along with a nylon strap to get > them vertical (my original plan). > > Also noticed something both good and bad -- the holes left in the ground > from the rootballs have already filled in with soil washed out of the > forest, which means a good portion of the broken roots are covered and > protected and able to supply the trees with water, but it also means > someone will have to excavate the holes in order to replant the trees. I'm > also going to "top" the pines, meaning cut off the top 6' or so at the > last "branch out" location, to make them even lighter. > > Definitely going to need lots of help though, just doing what I did > exhausted me so much I slept until 1:30 today! And my back was killing me > last night, had to alternate ice and heat for a couple hours to calm it > down, just from pruning the pine limbs and dragging them up into the > woods. My legs and arms feel like putty today, no strength at all.....and > what remains to be done is WAY more labor intensive than what I did > yesterday.... > > Just to add to the fun, the ground is so saturated that there's standing > water everwhere (no where to drain with a clay soil base), and my boots > left huge/deep indentations in my yard darn near everywhere I stepped. I > don't want to kill all the grass by having a swarm of people tramping > around......but the pines also need replanted sooner rather than > later....a crappy Catch-22......not sure my "little shoveling crew" are > going to have the strength to do the job either, they're a bunch of 12-14 > year olds, none taller than 5 ft. > > How does one hire a bunch of Mexican day laborers without actually having > to let them into your car? Don't have a truckbed for them to ride in, nor > do I speak Spanish! And how do I find them in the first place? The local > Lowe's and Home Depot chase them off their properties, as opposed to other > parts of the country where they mingle outside looking for work. Unless you have workers comp don't even think about it. (most states your homeowners coverage will not protect you). Back in my better physical days we'd clear land after hurricanes. Playing pick up sticks with real trees is not a job for those that are not fit, defiantly not a job for those that are sick and trust me not a job for folk that don't know how to manhandle downed timber. Does the term "smashed like a bug" have any meaning? From MikeE at ster.invalid Sun Feb 28 23:57:23 2010 From: MikeE at ster.invalid (Mike Easter) Date: Mon Mar 1 00:00:09 2010 Subject: [Scsocial] Re: Nuts.... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Sylvesterthekat wrote: > "Indigo" >> Replanting my fallen pines is going to be a LOT harder than I thought. > Well that all sounds like hell in the making. Have you consulted a tree > expert? I'm with Stk on that. The business of picking up something like a not insignificant tree with a homemade A-frame winch in anticipation of replanting (trying to replant) a rootball created by wind destruction sounds exceedingly (and unrealistically) optimistic. It isn't a properly 'prepared' rootball; it isn't a 'handleable' tree especially considering its location; and you don't have the right kind of equipment, nor can you bring the right kind of equipment to the job. I don't actually have a visual on this job/ problem/ target; but I can imagine a blown over tree with some mud around its rootbase (as opposed to a professionally moved tree with a (genuinely transplantable) *rootball*. Sometimes professionally transplanted trees with genuine rootballs don't make it. -- Mike Easter