GENERAL DISCUSSIONS

Anybody I used to know still post around here??????

POSTED BY: 6IXSTRINGJACK
UPDATED: Thursday, May 23, 2024 04:59
SHORT URL: http://bit.ly/nRuSNI
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Monday, September 26, 2011 6:58 AM

BYTEMITE


Handful or handfuls.

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Monday, September 26, 2011 3:39 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Good tip MSA... gotta keep it safe

Spent all day today cleaning furniture that's been in my brother's garage since November and staging it. My god..... between my nicotine and the garage smell, it took about 4 wipe downs with 409 and another layer of Pledge to get these things to living standards. Happily though, they look and smell great now and, surprisingly, there were very little "spider" problems underneath.

Holy crap...... My living room looks like a living room now and so does my Master Bedroom. After a bottle of Febreze, everything smells awesome too. I just hope that it lasts a week from now. Not that anything smelled bad (just nicotine) before, but here's hoping that now that everything is clean and that I don't smoke inside that things keep smelling great.

Man.......

Hot water...
Electric to the garage and a remote door opener...
A weed free back yard....
A mold free, albeit, unfinished basement...
Light fixtures installed everywhere there wasn't one before...
A sparkling clean kitchen and bathroom which almost took a week to clean (previous owners were pigs)....
All of the appliances you could ask for except a washer and dryer (which is sitting in the garage until I move them in and install them).....

Life is good.....

I'll have to provide some pics when I get the time.

Tons of work here, and I'm sure that every dollar I've put into it would make me two dollars if I sold it today!

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned."

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Monday, September 26, 2011 4:39 PM

WISHIMAY


I don't have to paint it for a dozen years or so...I think...it's one of those new composite decking things, but I will keep that sand trick in mind for the future...

And I would've gotten it done this weekend were it not for the cats and dogs pouring outta the sky, and in laws unexpectedly moving, and me being a last resort and all. Fortunately, I got a few more weekends before they deliver it.

I have a dozen other projects to fill my time with too-staining french doors, 1000 sq. feet of tile (bought at contractors surplus auction for a fraction of cost! Paint, trim ect. I'm having the time of my life, and in some ways have never been more stressed. Beats having nothing to do though- by a long shot!


I think Maureen O' Hara said it best in The Quiet Man...about having your things shining about you... it's a truly nice feeling.

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Tuesday, September 27, 2011 3:49 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Hehe.... rain and in-laws.... nothing ever goes according to plan.

Even without outside intervention, I've found that I make a habit of seriously underestimating how long a job will take. It probably has something to do with my undiagnosed OCD though. Sometimes it's a drag while the work is going on, but when jobs finally get done (way over schedule) I'm a lot happier with them than I would have been if I just slapped things together to get them done on time.

"I have a dozen other projects to fill my time"

Yup..... I feel for ya. With a foreclosure/rehab, I've probably got a year of a baker's dozen, dozen jobs ahead of me. Sometimes it's overwhelming, but that's why I have a TO-DO list I reflect on every morning and I also end the list with the "DONE" stuff so I can reflect on all the work I've already done if the pending projects ever start feeling like a downer.

I usually set it up like this:

Today
Tomorrow
This Week
(Any special days where things are scheduled)
Next Week
Medium Priority (Things that should be put in the "This Week" as soon as time allows)
Low Priority (Things that can be done whenever, but should be done at some point.

This helps me greatly to stay on task and to keep my sanity with all this work that needs to be done.

When you're working on your own house, it's all shiny :)

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned."

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Sunday, October 2, 2011 2:01 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Please people.....

Post here for advice or for giving me advice or just for the of it.

I find it horrifying that I've been posting in the RW forums again out of boredom.

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned."

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Sunday, October 2, 2011 3:16 PM

WISHIMAY


Want my advice?

Put down the mouse....and GET BACK TA WORK

Heh.

Rwed's not that bad, it's a nice place to find the things that are actually important to you and yell or discuss them...every once in a while. Nice de-stresser...Too much of anything...and all that jazz...

I put in a window this weekend where previously there weren't! I'm countin' this weekend a WIN! You?

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Tuesday, October 4, 2011 12:35 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Hey Wishimay,

Good idea!

How's moving 7.5 tons of dirt 150 feet and raking it in the old pool for getting back to work?

Just got my dirt dropped off this morning at 7:30AM and stopped working at 4:30. I only (only ) ordered 11 yards (see: tons), but because of all the rain we've had there were clumps at the bottom so the guy loaded me up with an additional 2 yards for my trouble.

Thanks...... I think........

I'll be damned if I didn't move half of that on my own today....... makes you wonder how much the world would weigh if put on a scale in a test room where you could fit the entire planet and it would have the same gravity that we all go by.

I'm DEAD right now..... I'm not in horrible shape, but I do drink and I've smoked for nearly half of my life. I'm still quite strong, but my endurance ain't what it was 8 years ago when I stopped working out regularly.

Hauling 3,000 lbs of your moldy basement in two weeks is a disgusting job, but it doesn't even come close to the effort of hauling 15,000lbs of dirt in a day. (Although, the mold was so nasty I enjoy this work so much more)

Just took my shower and feel awesome. I think I'll have a few beers and watch some Arrested Development (for the 4th time) and hopefully call it an early night. I'd like to get this dirt all hauled by Noon on Thursday.

Wish me luck!

Later,
6



Oh yeah.... I'm too tired to do anything resembling work right now, but I did take before/after pictures of the pits in my back yard and the dirt mounds when it was dropped off. I figure I can post the pertinant images after the final product.

BTW.... I'll also find out exactly what shovel I bought and the name of the awesome wagon with a dumping mechanism I bought from Lowes are and let you know, in case you ever need to do work like this. They both work like a DREAM!

Nearly 100 bucks for the two of them new, but when I think of doing this work with a smaller (heavier) shovel, and a crappy wheelbarrow, I cringe. I wouldn't have gotten half the work done today that I did had I not spent a little extra green.

MONEY SAVING TIP #????:

Your back and joints aren't what they were back when you were a teenager. Sometimes it really does pay you back 10 fold to pay more for the RIGHT equipment.

Especially when you don't have health insurance

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned."

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Tuesday, October 4, 2011 3:51 PM

BLAZINGUN


I'm still here!!! I used ta be BlazeSolo but I lost all my stuff when comp crashed. Think we chatted only once or twice.

Lil Gal Big Gun

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Wednesday, October 5, 2011 4:46 AM

BRUCEPLUTO


Yepper....I was Zzetta13 back then, still am actually, but with a new handle….Bruce Pluto from my concept art icon….

BPZ

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Wednesday, October 5, 2011 3:29 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Good to see you guys/gals again!

Finished my dirt move today thanks to my awesome bro!

13 tons of dirt moved 200ft in 2 days and raked into the hole where the pool used to be!!!!!!

All I have to do tomorrow is remove the last 3 or 4 wheelbarros of compacted dirt in the grass and try to keep from killing it in the process.

I kinda wish now I had it all dropped in the asphalt driveway, but I was scared out of it when a guy at the company told me that the 65,000 lbs of the truck might destroy whatever he ran over.


I'll show pics soon.... maybe tomorrow.

It's awesome :)

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

BTW... I love my General Discussion Peeps. If you feel a strong need to judge me on RWED discussions I've had in the General Discussion, I welcome it, but I also say that they are two different worlds......

And while my core never wavers and though I may say things you don't like in the RWED, I'd never say them in General Discussions and I hope you would do the same.

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Thursday, October 6, 2011 1:01 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Hey Wishimay!

You haven't met anyone around here who's an HVAC guy, have you?

I was wondering if I could show pics of the damaged wiring to someone who was and they could point me in the right direction.

The furnace, like a few other things in this house, was sabotaged by the previous owners before getting evicted.

Until this afternoon, I didn't even know how to light a pilot on a furnace. After doing some research on the subject I figured out the reason that gas wasn't getting to the pilot light had nothing to do with the sabotaged electric and that it was just clogged up.

So..... I unclogged it.

After that though, the pilot wouldn't stay lit, even if I held it down for 2 minutes.

So.... took another trip to my favorite store Lowes and got a universal thermocouple for 8 bucks and viola! A pilot light that stays lit!

Now I just need to figure out which wires go where for the thermostat and the blower.

I had planned on paying somebody to do this, but it turns out that I don't know anybody in that trade and none of my friends and family have any close relationship with somebody who might give me a discounted rate. When I called around today, the cheapest rate I could find was $110 bucks an hour plus parts and they would not tell me how long they thought this would take.

So..... I skipped raking out the extra dirt by my driveway today and got half of the furnace working.

I'm hopeful that I'll have a working furnace by the end of the weekend.

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

BTW... I love my General Discussion Peeps. If you feel a strong need to judge me on RWED discussions I've had in the General Discussion, I welcome it, but I also say that they are two different worlds......

And while my core never wavers and though I may say things you don't like in the RWED, I'd never say them in General Discussions and I hope you would do the same.

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Thursday, October 6, 2011 4:59 PM

WISHIMAY


Sorry no...electrical is my one weakness.

Did they rip off the 'stat, or did they mess with the wires from the furnace? 'Cause that last one is just freakin diabolical....

I do know that anytime I've had to fix an appliance I've been able to find manuals or troubleshooting repair sites by typing in my make and model on the internets(if ya didn't already know). Sometimes it's easier having older equipment 'cause everybodys already posted problems and resolutions. Fixed my fridge few months ago, they had the diagrams and even told me where ta get the parts, heh. Regulater switch is a nothin part...'till you ain't got one

Also, reminds me of a 'stat problem I had a few years back...one died so I had a top of the line model put on and a few months later started having problems...Finally figured it out and went and put on a cheapie, not a problem after that... Just K.I.S.S- keep it simple stupid!

And I bought 3 gallons of Sherman Williams paint(brown )at a flea market for $5 a piece- so ha ha paint snob! (required to say I'm just poking fun, sometimes I get mistaken for being confrontational on the interwebs..)

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Friday, October 7, 2011 12:23 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Sweet find on the Sherwin Williams paint!

If the color works for you, it's great paint. I don't know if you've ever used it before, but you'll have to let me know what you think when it's up.

(No worries: I didn't find that confrontational at all )


As for the furnace, they cut wires in the actual furnace. (bastards )

The good news.......?

I fixed it today!

Once I had a solid pilot light, I was able to tinker around with a few wires here and there and got the burners fired up.

When I put the fan position to "ON" on the thermostat, it works fine.

The only problem now is that the blower doesn't kick in when the burners are going before they go out. I'm not sure at the moment if it's because it's just too hot in the house and the burners aren't on long enough, or if there is still another wire that needs to be connected, or if the timing mechanism is shot (hopefully not that, because it's an 80 dollar part).

I may have to go up and unclog the chimney as well because I was feeling a little light headed being by that furnace for a few minutes while the burners were going off and the blower wasn't working. There may be more carbon monoxide released indoors than you would want.

Damn carbon monoxide and it's deadly but odorless properties!!!!!



But hey.... at least at this point I know I won't freeze to death during the winter!

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

BTW... I love my General Discussion Peeps. If you feel a strong need to judge me on RWED discussions I've had in the General Discussion, I welcome it, but I also say that they are two different worlds......

And while my core never wavers and though I may say things you don't like in the RWED, I'd never say them in General Discussions and I hope you would do the same.

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Saturday, October 8, 2011 1:57 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Hehe......

I kinda broke several of my rules today, but I think it just might pay for itself if I still don't have a job this winter.

I was ordering some light bulbs at Lowes for a beautiful chandelier I got from goodwill last Monday (10 bucks) and the front page mentioned that they had 15% off their entire stock of snow blowers until 10/10.

So....... I ordered a TroyBilt blower with a Briggs and Straton motor (just like my awesome lawnmower I mentioned before). It was normally $599 before taxes, but when you order online you can stack the discounts.

1) 15% off sale
2) 10% off Movers discount (from post office change of address packet)
3) 5% off Lowes card.
4) only 7% taxes here rather than 10% plus in Cook County.

After the discounts it was only $464 with tax!!!!!

When I went to pick it (and the light bulbs) up, the guy said just bring my truck around and they'd load it up......

Uh.... Oh.......

How big is it, I said......

IT IS HUGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(and the bonus is, they assemble all blowers and tractors as part of the price, so I won't have to assemble it like I thought I would)

Good thing my stepdad was already coming around on Monday to haul the sub-facia that needs to be replaced on the garage and house as well as about 20 sheets of drywall and two interior doors in his cargo van. Now I can just pop that sucker into his van at the same time.



I hear we're about to have the worst winter of our lives thanks to El Nina or whatever the name of our newest hurricane. There are plenty of elderly people on my block as well as 2 income households who I'm sure would appreciate the help.

I'll just have to put on my early-bird cap and wake up at 4AM and get all the driveways done before the normal people go to work

That's what Foldgers was made for.....

I love my coffee almost as much as I love my beer....

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

BTW... I love my General Discussion Peeps. If you feel a strong need to judge me on RWED discussions I've had in the General Discussion, I welcome it, but I also say that they are two different worlds......

And while my core never wavers and though I may say things you don't like in the RWED, I'd never say them in General Discussions and I hope you would do the same.

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Saturday, October 8, 2011 5:29 PM

WISHIMAY


You are ambitious, aren't ya? Even tryin' ta work ahead of Mother Nature...
Now that they've said we'll have tough winter, see if she won't do her best ta prove us wrong...

Still I hope you get a chance ta use yer new toy at least once...

I probably would've bought one at an auction...If you think ahead and buy off season you can pick 'em up for pennies...Bet they'll go big now, though!
I love auctions...It's soooo much fun ta poke around in other people's stuff, and they encourage it, heh. Not recommended for people who can't control themselves, and first timers should always take someone experienced and not exciteable along. I know people who couldn't and they came home with boatloads of crap( that mostly went ta goodwill a few days later )

I'm thankful we don't have a sidewalk...but don't have a porch yet either...Next weekend, in all probability.

Do be careful with all the cold weather stuff. My gramps had to do everyone else's driveways too, and got an aortic dissection and a steel box from it many years ago.

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Tuesday, October 11, 2011 12:21 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Quote:
Originally posted by Wishimay:
You are ambitious, aren't ya? Even tryin' ta work ahead of Mother Nature...
Now that they've said we'll have tough winter, see if she won't do her best ta prove us wrong...

Still I hope you get a chance ta use yer new toy at least once...

I probably would've bought one at an auction...If you think ahead and buy off season you can pick 'em up for pennies...Bet they'll go big now, though!
I love auctions...It's soooo much fun ta poke around in other people's stuff, and they encourage it, heh. Not recommended for people who can't control themselves, and first timers should always take someone experienced and not exciteable along. I know people who couldn't and they came home with boatloads of crap( that mostly went ta goodwill a few days later )

I'm thankful we don't have a sidewalk...but don't have a porch yet either...Next weekend, in all probability.

Do be careful with all the cold weather stuff. My gramps had to do everyone else's driveways too, and got an aortic dissection and a steel box from it many years ago.



Yeah..... probably would have done well at an auction, but there is something about buying a motorized unit that is new (unless it is a car... because, damn those things are REALLY expensive!!!!)

Sure... I saved myself about $150 back in August on a reconditioned Troy-Bilt mower, but it looked brand new (probably DOA and never used once) came with the 90 day return policy and the 2 year manufacturer's warranty. The only thing was they wouldn't allow me to buy the 4 year extended warranty I wouldn't pay for in the first place.

BTW.... the 4 year extended warranty (I didn't buy) for the snow blower would have made the thing cost more than I saved with the stacked 30% off.



Besides.... If I can figure out how to fix a furnace in two days when I didn't even know how to light a pilot beforehand, I'm pretty sure I can troubleshoot a lawnmower and a snow blower with the good 'ol internet....





I've never been to one, but I totally need to go to an auction. When I get a job one of the first things I want to do is upgrade to a larger pickup truck that has a bed large enough to haul drywall and MDF. I figure after paying Carmax 40% of what was still owed on my Camry I could sell that even for a profit once I get my truck. I think an auction would be the place to go unless I find out another person I know is getting their large truck repo'd and wants to unload it in a bankruptcy.




So.....

In the last two days I got my car completely legal, and got myself registered for the vote (what luck!!!! Without even knowing it, today was the last day to register to be able to vote in the local elections in November!!!!), and I removed all the rotted wood outside the 3-season porch where previous owners (pigs) used to have a sauna that they let destroy the wood framing for the windows. I installed new wood to replace the old moldy rotten wood and caulked it all. Hopefully I get up early enough to primer everything now before it's supposed to rain tomorrow!

Got some friends coming by tomorrow for the first time and some family coming by for the first time on Thursday. I can't wait to show them everything I've done.



I'll have to spend tomorrow morning getting all of my pics off of my camera and organizing them.

Pics, or it never happend, right!!!!

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

BTW... I love my General Discussion Peeps. If you feel a strong need to judge me on RWED discussions I've had in the General Discussion, I welcome it, but I also say that they are two different worlds......

And while my core never wavers and though I may say things you don't like in the RWED, I'd never say them in General Discussions and I hope you would do the same.

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Friday, October 14, 2011 11:01 AM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Still working on getting pics....

But I got my furnace working today!!!!!!

In the end, it was just a matter of a clogged pilot, a shot thermocouple and some cut wires and some other wires intentionally wired wrong..... yes... according to a friend who is an operation engineer (granted... a different Union job than an HVAC technician), intentional sabotage is the only explanation in the end.....

Seriously... it's sorry what deadbeats who can't pay the bills will do to enact revenge for something they're entirely responsible for. But, I can't bitch about things.... the sabotaged furnace is one of the many reasons why I could even afford this awesome house in the first place. I paid just over 1/3 of what the previous owner paid for this house in 2005. Throw in the fact they removed both A/C units, let a flood destroy the downstairs furnace and water heater, ripped off all of the gutters for cash, destroyed a lot of the electric circuits, allowed mold to grow in the basement for 15 months while one of their kids lived in the basement bedroom where the mold was growing, and ripped out every single bush and hasta in the frontage, and it took me 5 hours to just remove all the burned all over all 4 of the burners of the stove.......

Wow..... these people were pigs.....

Thanks Pigs!!!!!!!

Thanks to you......

I'M RICH BE-OCH!

This furnace job would have cost me at least 220 bucks in labor and at least 8 bucks in parts (assuming, of course, the tech was honest about the price of a thermocouple to a novice). If the tech who came here was a "parts thrower" I may have had to pay for a Fan Limit unit that I didn't need which would have been another 80 bucks at least on top of that.

In the end, it was just several days of learning and troubleshooting and an 8 dollar thermocouple from Lowes and the problem is fixed.

The 300 bucks saved isn't worth half of what I learned though. I've already put the word out to the family that if they have ANY furnace problems at all that I have a good chance of figuring it out for free instead of paying a tech.

Not bad for a guy who couldn't even light the pilot 5 days ago.

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

BTW... I love my General Discussion Peeps. If you feel a strong need to judge me on RWED discussions I've had in the General Discussion, I welcome it, but I also say that they are two different worlds......

And while my core never wavers and though I may say things you don't like in the RWED, I'd never say them in General Discussions and I hope you would do the same.

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Saturday, October 15, 2011 2:43 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Anybody know a good image hosting service where I could upload pics in album format? I'm putting together some albums of the work I've done on the house. I think that would be better than randomly linking to one or two pics here and there.

Today I ripped down the rotten sub-fascia on the east side of my garage. Boy am I glad I decided to do that before winter......

There was about 5 feet of missing soffit panels because the damage to the sub-fascia was so extensive. A lot of the rotten wood just came apart in your hands, and all of the nails were rusty.

The worst part though, was that there was a nest on both sides of the missing sofits. HUGE nests.... I don't know where all this "hay" came from, but there was a lot of bedding up there. There were also rather large and heavy fruit type things up in there, so it must have been squirrels or something large and not birds living up in there. I was worried I was going to get bitten doing the demo work, but fortunately the roommates either weren't home, or they already moved out before I evicted them.

Got some pressure treated wood up there now that I pretreated with Kilz and secured to the garage with 2 1/2" rust resistant porch/deck nails rather than the standard 8 penny rust bucket nails. That should get me through the winter even if I don't put the fascia up until spring.

There is NO WAY though that I'm putting any of those soffits back up until I buy the missing ones and have them all wrapped up in fascia again. I'll have another rats nest up there by spring time.



"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

BTW... I love my General Discussion Peeps. If you feel a strong need to judge me on RWED discussions I've had in the General Discussion, I welcome it, but I also say that they are two different worlds......

And while my core never wavers and though I may say things you don't like in the RWED, I'd never say them in General Discussions and I hope you would do the same.

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Wednesday, October 19, 2011 1:35 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Yuk!

The shower upstairs leaks into the bathroom downstairs when the shower is in use. Upstairs bathroom was one of the nicer things that didn't truly need any work to it otherwise for years. The entry of the shower head through the wall is packed to the gills with silicone, so unscrewing the top, adding some plumbers tape and screwing it back in to see if that fixes the problem will be about a thousand times harder than it should be.

It's obvious that the previous owner knew about this too because the bathroom was the only room that didn't have drywall installed on the ceiling, and there are about 7 holes drilled into the plywood above the joists where the leak occurs to let the water leak into the basement. (Looks like they used the bit you'd use to drill out a doorknob hole to achieve this). I can't believe I never noticed this leak before, but I haven't been in the basement much in the last 3 weeks with all the outdoor work and when I was going down there all the time I usually didn't go down after a shower and it was so hot it was all evaporating before I'd notice it.




Oh.... I've also been told since I've been here that a gate valve was installed to prevent backflow during flood conditions, but I could never find it. Well.... now I know what the 5 lbs of Great Stuff is sitting in the basement by the drain pipes at the back of the house. After I removed those walls for the mold remediation, I couldn't figure out why all of that gunk was back there.

My guess is, it was probably leaky and just needed to be serviced, but now who knows how much Great Stuff goes down into it and if I'm going to flood my basement by drilling it out. I think I'm going to have to have to pay a real plumber come early spring to see if it's even salvageable at this point. Heh.... If I didn't have to take out all the walls for the mold, this invaluable tool to keep water out of the basement would be buried right now. I just think it's funny that the previous owners buried the one thing that could have kept the basement from having mold crawling 5 feet up the walls.

Morons...

The previous owners sure loved silicone caulk and Great Stuff. All of the stuff they did wrong is going to take 10 times as long to fix because the bad work they did was practically "set in stone".


Bah.... whatever....

Got to keep reminding myself that these little joys are why I got the house in this great little neighborhood at the price I did.


Well.... the Furnace is working great so far anyways. Since I'm cheap, I have the thermostat set to 60 degrees and it hasn't kicked off much. Here's hoping my luck with that holds out....


Stay warm
~6


"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

BTW... I love my General Discussion Peeps. If you feel a strong need to judge me on RWED discussions I've had in the General Discussion, I welcome it, but I also say that they are two different worlds......

And while my core never wavers and though I may say things you don't like in the RWED, I'd never say them in General Discussions and I hope you would do the same.

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Wednesday, October 19, 2011 5:18 PM

WISHIMAY


Got porch

Got rain

You might or might not find ThereIfixedit.com funny.

Why is it idiots always use 30 lbs of great stuff? And you know they don't read the instructions fer anything so they gotta be walking around with hands encased in the crap...It has uses...but not for EVERYTHING. That's what duct tape is fer.

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Sunday, October 23, 2011 10:07 AM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Quote:
Originally posted by Wishimay:
Got porch

Got rain

You might or might not find ThereIfixedit.com funny.

Why is it idiots always use 30 lbs of great stuff? And you know they don't read the instructions fer anything so they gotta be walking around with hands encased in the crap...It has uses...but not for EVERYTHING. That's what duct tape is fer.


Good for you on the porch. Hope you're further south than me and can enjoy it before springtime.

Hehe... that site rules! Maybe I can make some useless contraptions for a laugh like that one day when I have nothing more important to do on the house!



Yeah.... Great Stuff is, well, great stuff.... when used appropriately. It's freakin' everywhere around here though!

I have been using it recently to get underneath and behind the exposed studs after the mold remediation. Rather than rip anything out, I figure it would be better to just seal everything in with a mold proof substance, and where the "cracks" are too thin for that I'll use mold resistant caulk. Originally I was going to use it to seal some holes in the house where the A/C used to come in before the idiots ripped out all the copper, but I'm actually going to use that aluminum tape, which although much more expensive, I find it to be so much more effective and lasting than duct tape.

It's funny, the duct tape that I recently bought by 3M proudly states "Made in the USA" with the flag on the cardboard inside, yet it's the worst duct tape I've ever used. I can't buy a piece of furniture made in the US without spending an arm and a leg, you can't buy a good car made in the US period... and they're expensive. When I finally find a US made product I can afford on my budget, it may as well have been made in China.



Oh well.....

Just got to get the subfacia up on the back of the house and do a little more in the basement so I can get my washer and dryer installed, and this is basically a home. Tons of work will need to be done as the years go by, but I don't think I have much left that can justify not having at least a part time job.

Gonna have to hit the streets, I guess. This applying online BS is not working out.

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

BTW... I love my General Discussion Peeps. If you feel a strong need to judge me on RWED discussions I've had in the General Discussion, I welcome it, but I also say that they are two different worlds......

And while my core never wavers and though I may say things you don't like in the RWED, I'd never say them in General Discussions and I hope you would do the same.

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Sunday, October 23, 2011 12:11 PM

WISHIMAY


Quote:
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:

Gonna have to hit the streets, I guess. This applying online BS is not working out.



Never has for me. Once we wanted this particular job, so hubbs called every 2-3 days to see if there were any new developments and went by there once every week and a half. Eventually they gave him the job. Turned out to be one of the worst he's had...but.

That's my strategy. Bug 'em 'till they give it to you. Nothin ta loose!

Take No Prisoners! Wait, wrong job description


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Monday, October 24, 2011 5:28 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Just hoping to get around 30 hours a week somewhere and clear 275-300 a week and I should be straight. I have a few opportunities to work 50 plus hours a week, but they're both really far away and between the long hours/days and driving time I'd never have any time to work on my house. I suppose I could pay other people to work on it then, but where's the fun in that?

I don't think I've ever found a job on my own before, unless you count being placed by a temp agency. I'll have to make some connections out here.

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

BTW... I love my General Discussion Peeps. If you feel a strong need to judge me on RWED discussions I've had in the General Discussion, I welcome it, but I also say that they are two different worlds......

And while my core never wavers and though I may say things you don't like in the RWED, I'd never say them in General Discussions and I hope you would do the same.

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Monday, October 24, 2011 6:07 PM

RIONAEIRE

Beir bua agus beannacht


Best wishes finding a new job soon, its super hard out there. The only way I was able to find a paying job was to make myself indespensible as a volunteer, made them think they couldn't live without me there so they made a paying position for me. Otherwise no one wants me to work for them. But I think you'll not have as hard of a time. Hopefully itworks out soon because times are tough and even though you're good at managing your money everyone runs out sooner or later without new cashflow.

"A completely coherant River means writers don't deliver" KatTaya

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Tuesday, October 25, 2011 3:49 AM

WISHIMAY


Oh, 2 pieces of advice...NEVER WORK FOR ADT or Toys 'R US and buy GORILLA TAPE!
Most awesome stuff....expensive at around $15 a jumbo roll...but worth every penny! Am pretty sure it would rip off several layers of skin if ya left it on there...

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Tuesday, October 25, 2011 12:27 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Quote:
Originally posted by RionaEire:
Best wishes finding a new job soon, its super hard out there. The only way I was able to find a paying job was to make myself indespensible as a volunteer, made them think they couldn't live without me there so they made a paying position for me. Otherwise no one wants me to work for them. But I think you'll not have as hard of a time. Hopefully itworks out soon because times are tough and even though you're good at managing your money everyone runs out sooner or later without new cashflow.


Thanks for the good will and ideas man. I'm sure something will come along.

Hehe..... yeah, you can only manage your money for so long before you run into trouble when nothing new is coming in. I've never been a great innovator at figuring new ways to open up cashflow... I just got lucky with a few choice positions with a high ceiling and did the best I knew how with what I was making at the time. Fortunately, I've set myself up to not have to make anything near what I was making before to be self sustaining, and that also allows me to live quite comfortably at the moment even with all the HUGE expenses I've incurred recently to make the house a home, but ya still have to be making something......, right....?

Quote:
Originally posted by Wishimay:
Oh, 2 pieces of advice...NEVER WORK FOR ADT or Toys 'R US and buy GORILLA TAPE!
Most awesome stuff....expensive at around $15 a jumbo roll...but worth every penny! Am pretty sure it would rip off several layers of skin if ya left it on there...


Ha! Funny you mentioned TRU!

That was my first job! And yes.... It sucked!

Yup.... Gorilla tape.......

I almost bought it, but balked at the price..... sometimes you get what you pay for and this is definitely one of those times. When I run out of the crap, which shouldn't take long with all the extra stuff I have to keep using to keep my polysheeting in line, I'll be sure to buy the good stuff from now on.





In the mean time, I thought I was going to have my gutters done today. Had a quote from a guy I know for 400 to 450 bucks on labor, for just the house, including replacing the bad subfacia and facia, (which is AWESOME) and he thought the materials would only be around 300-350 bucks.....

Turns out the cheapest I can get what I need would be nearly 600 bucks for just the house and if I had the garage material made and delivered as well you're looking at over 900 bucks....

That's just too much for me right now.

I'll be getting the facia/subfacia work done on the house this weekend for only 130 in materials and 150 for labor. I'll then be taking the old facia from the house and putting it on the garage so I can install all of the sofit panels and finally have the garage wrapped up. The garage is only 1x6 sub facia and the house is 1x8. Whoever installed the gutters before cut corners and only used 1x6 facia on the 1x8 sub on the house, which wasn't a problem until the gutters were ripped off and that's why all of the sub is rotting.

So.... No gutters before winter, but between the new costs and the existing wood I bought, I'll at least have the house and garage wrapped up tight under the shingles for about 350 bucks.

Plus, I don't have to go 15 feet up on a ladder myself without health insurance.

Not bad at all....

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

BTW... I love my General Discussion Peeps. If you feel a strong need to judge me on RWED discussions I've had in the General Discussion, I welcome it, but I also say that they are two different worlds......

And while my core never wavers and though I may say things you don't like in the RWED, I'd never say them in General Discussions and I hope you would do the same.

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Wednesday, October 26, 2011 3:54 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


So.....

Got a ton done today

Got the primer repairs on the sunroom windows finally finished. Also scraped all the rust off of the garage service door and jambs and rustoliemed the crap out of it. It was a bit iffy work with the dark clouds all day, but thankfully mother nature complied with my plan of action.

Got my facia and soffits ordered today so I'll have my house and garage wrapped up tight come Saturday night.

Got my new 1TB NAS drive working so I can access my movies, music and TV shows and all of my guitar tabs and pics from any computer or TV in my house (AWESOME!!!)

Got a new yahoo account to upload all of my repair work pics (FINALLY!). So I should be able to send links to the work done so far soon.



So........

After I get the facia/subfacia wrapped up and get the basement squared away to where I think I can get the washer and dryer in there safely, I think I'm overall done with the necessities, and I can stop spending an average of 2,500 a month to live while working on this house.

If I can get something as little as 1,200 a month take home pay, I'll be sitting pretty and have the ability to put about 400 a month into the house in my free time.

Since I won't be doing that much during the cold months, it's time to start saving for a fail-safe sump pump, a generator, and a pick up truck so I don't have to keep asking my stepdad for favors

~6

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

BTW... I love my General Discussion Peeps. If you feel a strong need to judge me on RWED discussions I've had in the General Discussion, I welcome it, but I also say that they are two different worlds......

And while my core never wavers and though I may say things you don't like in the RWED, I'd never say them in General Discussions and I hope you would do the same.

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Wednesday, October 26, 2011 4:56 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


BEFORE AND AFTER TODAY:

(Trying to figure out how to share everything at the moment.....)

Before:

After:



EDIT: Well.... blank pics for now. I'd like to believe I didn't do anything wrong though and that it's their bad....If I have to reupload tomorrow, I will.

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

BTW... I love my General Discussion Peeps. If you feel a strong need to judge me on RWED discussions I've had in the General Discussion, I welcome it, but I also say that they are two different worlds......

And while my core never wavers and though I may say things you don't like in the RWED, I'd never say them in General Discussions and I hope you would do the same.

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Thursday, October 27, 2011 5:01 PM

WISHIMAY


I saw 'em. I was trying to figure out why you had a trapdoor to china for a few minutes, as they were sideways, heh.

Very shiny work. Paintin' is my very favorite thing, it's like "new car smell" for a room to me.

I too need some soffit and facia work done, but only on half the house, guess they figured out how much standin; on a ladder that entails...

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Thursday, October 27, 2011 8:18 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Hehe.... China :)

Nope... just too lazy to rotate them. Should have thought of that though before I uploaded all of my pics to flickr.

Did you see the other pics then?


I'm going to have to arrange them properly and make sure they're right-side-down.




Ugggggh..... tell me about ladders. I can't stand being more than about 6 feet off the ground. I've been wanting to get the sub/facia on the house fixed since I've been here, but with all the other things I needed to get done it was easy to justify putting it off. I'm really glad I hit it off with the Code Enforcer and he suggested this kid to me. I can't afford the gutters until spring, but it was really cool to see him get all of that bad sub down and put up my new pressure treated wood up there in just over 3 hours with only an extension ladder on his own. WELL WORTH THE HUNDRED I GAVE HIM TODAY!!!!!!!

It's not that I'm afraid of heights, I just hate them. The fact that it would have taken a day and a half for me to do what took him only 3 hours and also the fact that I don't have health insurance to cover the inevitable face plant bills I'd be paying if I did it myself..... well.....

Picked up the rest of the house facia and a 12 foot length of soffit to put on the garage today. By saturday my house, even though it won't have gutters, should be otherwise weatherproof by saturday evening.

So exciting!!!!

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

BTW... I love my General Discussion Peeps. If you feel a strong need to judge me on RWED discussions I've had in the General Discussion, I welcome it, but I also say that they are two different worlds......

And while my core never wavers and though I may say things you don't like in the RWED, I'd never say them in General Discussions and I hope you would do the same.

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Friday, October 28, 2011 3:02 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Got the facia and sofits done on the house and garage today! They look great!

I hope I can find some work for this guy on the side. He does an awesome job.

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

BTW... I love my General Discussion Peeps. If you feel a strong need to judge me on RWED discussions I've had in the General Discussion, I welcome it, but I also say that they are two different worlds......

And while my core never wavers and though I may say things you don't like in the RWED, I'd never say them in General Discussions and I hope you would do the same.

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Sunday, October 30, 2011 1:36 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Well.... back into the basement now that the outside work is done.

Got the bedroom studs primered and caulked today, well... almost. Ran out of caulk. Uggggg.... I think I'm going to go through about 100 bucks more of mold resistant caulk, 50 bucks of primer, and 50 bucks of mold resistant paint to finish the job.

As long as I get that damn smell out and I'm sure there aren't any mold spores flying around. I really need to open up that basement since there is no heat to it and there are a lot of pipes down there. I'm going to be insulating all of them, but still.... I'm sure there are going to be some pretty cold nights on the horizon and I'd like to see the basement getting at least some hot air.

Contrary to popular belief, heat does not rise. If it did, we'd all be in a world of hurt, sleeping in dead Tauntaun carcasses on ice planet Hoth. Heat disperses to all areas it can reach evenly, and is only impeded or effected by the properties of its surroundings. As the moleules slow down they become cold.

Good news for me, anyways....


"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

BTW... I love my General Discussion Peeps. If you feel a strong need to judge me on RWED discussions I've had in the General Discussion, I welcome it, but I also say that they are two different worlds......

And while my core never wavers and though I may say things you don't like in the RWED, I'd never say them in General Discussions and I hope you would do the same.

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Tuesday, November 1, 2011 1:58 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


CLASSIFIED AD:

MAID WANTED....

Beautiful 25 year old or younger female desired to cook healthy meals and clean the house so focus can be put solely on rehab work and finding long term employment. BBW aren't ruled out.... I've known some extremely sexy plus size women in my life.

French Maid outfit prefered, but street clothes is entirely acceptable

Free room and board for a part time position, leaving you with plenty of time and opportunity to bartend, waitress, strip, volunteer, or be a lawyer on the side.... whatever will provide you with health benefits and side cash that this position doesn't include.

As a precaution, I must disclaim that it's very possible you may fall in love with me while on the job, but I promise you that I will resist your advances and keep the relationship strictly professional..... unless, of course, I see a future in it.

I'm pretty good at predicting the future, BTW....



"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

BTW... I love my General Discussion Peeps. If you feel a strong need to judge me on RWED discussions I've had in the General Discussion, I welcome it, but I also say that they are two different worlds......

And while my core never wavers and though I may say things you don't like in the RWED, I'd never say them in General Discussions and I hope you would do the same.

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Tuesday, November 1, 2011 3:26 PM

WISHIMAY


I take issue with the "LOOKING for long term employment" part of the advert. Hubby takes issue with it NOT being in Russian...


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Wednesday, November 2, 2011 2:01 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Haha! You got me. I haven't actually been looking yet, per-say.

But that's why I need a maid!

Does your husband think I should go Russian? I get plenty of emails from girls from Russia who send me their pics and are looking for a relationship. Not exactly sure how I got on that mailing list and why girls who could be 5k an hour call girls would want to talk to me without having even seen my face. I must admit that the pics look very "girl next door" and classy, but these girls definitely got it going on.

I didn't think that America was that desirable to a young 20-something foreign bombshell today that they would cold-call a guy who could very well be an obese balding ape living in his mother's basement.



"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

BTW... I love my General Discussion Peeps. If you feel a strong need to judge me on RWED discussions I've had in the General Discussion, I welcome it, but I also say that they are two different worlds......

And while my core never wavers and though I may say things you don't like in the RWED, I'd never say them in General Discussions and I hope you would do the same.

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Wednesday, November 2, 2011 3:52 PM

WISHIMAY


I'm hoping yer not serious...

Every one of those relationships I've seen , which granted, I've only seen a half dozen or so-have ended VERY badly...Not that a typical relationship HERE can't end badly...My theory about buying things on the internet is a lot like a rear-view mirror and things not being what they appear....

The media can portray Russia, ect, as being burgeoning commerce centers all they want. I have a feeling it's a lot like here, L.A. looks so very shiny when you are on, say, Rodeo Dr, but if you take a back-back-back road in Arkansas you're gonna get an entirely different picture...poeple struggling with the basic necessities and a powerful desire TO LEAVE.

A fixer-up house is one thing, I'd have the number of a good shrink or at least a good bartender if you plan on a fixer-upper relationship!

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Thursday, November 3, 2011 2:08 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Haha... yeah. I'm just kidding.

You've actually seen Russian relationships lol?????

The only one I ever saw was on Aqua Teen Hunger Force and when Carl went to pick up his Russian bride at the airport, he was directed to the baggage claim where a coffin with a dead Russian girl was waiting for him and he was stuck with the burial bills.

Truth be told, I'm not really looking for a relationship at all at the moment. I love my freedom. 99% of the time I love being completely in control of my own life, answering to nobody and owing nobody anything... but there is that 1% of the time where it can get a little lonely on a cold night.

Funny I never feel that way during the summertime, but when these cold months come around I start thinking about those things.

I still wouldn't trade my life right now for all of my married friends' lives. Hell... I've had the same phone for 6 years because I enjoy month to month cell service and I don't want to commit to another 2 year contract just for a free phone upgrade......... And I LOVE my current carrier!!!!!

Maybe someday.....

My old man was 8 years older than me when he married the second time to a girl half his age with a kid and they've done brilliantly raising the kids and seem to have a great relationship to this day. I figure I still have time to build my castle while skirting the whole first bad marriage and child support and weekend visits with the kids and all.




By the by....

I finished primering about 2/3rds of the exposed studs and tracks in the basement today. Hopefully tomorrow I'll have about 95% of that primering work done except for a few trouble spots that are still in serious need of scrubbing down, and the few spots that I'm going to need to fire up the sprayer to hit.

It actually smells great down there between the residual bleach and the smell of Kilz2. Hopefully when those smells dissipate there will be no more mold smell now. I can't smell any trace of foul odor over the bleach and primer now.

Next step is caulking everything and make it all water-tight, and then a coat of (supposedly) mold proof paint and I should be set to finally get my washer and dryer down there so I don't have to drive to my parents house to do laundry everyweek.

Don't get me wrong, I love seeing them all the time and buying us 1/2 price pizza at the local bar (which is AWESOME pizza, BTW).... It's kind of become a tradition... but I really don't want to be stuck doing that or going to a nearby laundromat when there is snow/sleet/ice on the streets.

Once the basement is wrapped up and water-tight, I really only have a very few pertinent things to take care of before this house is really a home. Besides the unfinished basement, this house will look and function better than a lot of other houses I've been in, even with all of the cosmetic work that I want to do over the next few years.



"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

BTW... I love my General Discussion Peeps. If you feel a strong need to judge me on RWED discussions I've had in the General Discussion, I welcome it, but I also say that they are two different worlds......

And while my core never wavers and though I may say things you don't like in the RWED, I'd never say them in General Discussions and I hope you would do the same.

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Thursday, November 3, 2011 2:26 PM

WISHIMAY


Yep, I've seen some Russian relationships...We actually had a lot of them as exchange students in high school, and I worked in a casino...I've seen it all...

I have pay as you go for the same reason, love the damn thing and all it does is make calls. No puttin up with the major carriers crap... no overages, fine print, yada yada... I live in freakin Indiana, I don't need internets every where I go...there's nothin to learn about...

I wish I went on vacay enough TO need one, but that's not bloody likely...

Everything I need is HERE at home, and that's plenty fer me... And yeah, you've got plenty o' time...Do it right, darlin...

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Thursday, November 3, 2011 3:02 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Quote:
Originally posted by Wishimay:
Yep, I've seen some Russian relationships...We actually had a lot of them as exchange students in high school, and I worked in a casino...I've seen it all...

I have pay as you go for the same reason, love the damn thing and all it does is make calls. No puttin up with the major carriers crap... no overages, fine print, yada yada... I live in freakin Indiana, I don't need internets every where I go...there's nothin to learn about...

I wish I went on vacay enough TO need one, but that's not bloody likely...

Everything I need is HERE at home, and that's plenty fer me... And yeah, you've got plenty o' time...Do it right, darlin...


Exchange students are a different thing altogether though, I think. I'm talking about girls who (supposedly) live in Russia and (supposedly) are beautiful and young who email me about twice a week. (Although since I've been ignoring the emails, they've died down considerably).

I'm still not sure how I got on the greedy-Russian-Princess-looking-for-a-greencard-and-a-windfall list....... but it is what it is....



Not all foreign relationships are bad though.....

One of my ex's married a great guy from Bulgaria a few years back. He was a foreign exchange student at the college we attended (which they both graduated from and I dropped out, unceremoniously).

I saw her mom working at a Blockbuster Video a few years later and she kept asking me why I ever left her and that she wished I married her daughter instead. I couldn't understand why she didn't like the guy, but I guess when I've spoiled the parents early, nobody is going to live up to the hype.

I kinda felt like Owen Wilson in Meet the Parents




So..... you're in IN, huh? We're probably a lot closer than I would have imagined. Interesting, since I hardly ever meet anyone online who is within spitting distance of me.

Go Mitch!

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

BTW... I love my General Discussion Peeps. If you feel a strong need to judge me on RWED discussions I've had in the General Discussion, I welcome it, but I also say that they are two different worlds......

And while my core never wavers and though I may say things you don't like in the RWED, I'd never say them in General Discussions and I hope you would do the same.

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Thursday, November 3, 2011 4:48 PM

WISHIMAY


You wanna narrow down your geographical area, or would you have ta kill me then?

I promise not to come steal your caulking gun, hah.

I'll even tell you I'm in Southern Indiana, ooooh.

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Friday, November 4, 2011 2:19 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Hehe... It's not you I'm worried about. It's the alliance.

Then again, I know they already know every IP address that posts every single post or email anywhere, so what's the big deal right?

I forgot that there was a Southern Indiana.

I'm quite a bit closer to the Lake.

I absolutely love it here so far. Great neighbors, great property, all the stores I had living in Chicago plus some, and 1/3rd the taxes. Even the code enforcer is cool.

The only thing that is taxed more here is beer. But I go back to see family and friends enough that I just stock up on it whenever I'm back to the hometown. Even if I didn't, it would take an army of me to drink enough beer to make up for all of the other taxes I'm not paying by living here.

Truth be told, having lived in Illinois all of my life, I can't believe that Indiana is able to run a budget surplus with about 40% of the tax burden on its citizens that Illinois has.

I think that speaks volumes about the corruption in Illinois. That, and the fact that the last two Governors we had were ousted prematurely for scandals.

And the People thought it would be a good idea to put somebody from the Illinois political machine in charge of the country.......

Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmm........



"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

BTW... I love my General Discussion Peeps. If you feel a strong need to judge me on RWED discussions I've had in the General Discussion, I welcome it, but I also say that they are two different worlds......

And while my core never wavers and though I may say things you don't like in the RWED, I'd never say them in General Discussions and I hope you would do the same.

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Friday, November 4, 2011 5:14 PM

WISHIMAY


Quote:
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:


Truth be told, having lived in Illinois all of my life, I can't believe that Indiana is able to run a budget surplus with about 40% of the tax burden on its citizens that Illinois has.



Yeah, that's 'cause you get NOTHING for being a good citizen in Indiana. Unemployment?? That's just an urban legend, right? Most people here get pink slipped when the economy tanks-because we have a seasonal economy. My kid's school never knows who is gonna be teaching the next year and they don't have an air condioner in the gym(can reach 100 degrees easy, thought some granparents were gonna pass out last year) due to budget cuts...God forbid your kid actually have a problem...There is NO ONE to help...My daughter is in 3rd grade and still can't see the difference between a b and a d... Every time I try to even have a conversation they "handle" it by saying what a great personality she has...Principal actually said the other day that they don't make educational allowances for children of Catholics, Athiests and others, btw.

Food banks are empty 'cause no one qualifies for SQUAT. Oh but we are the fattest area in the nation, because there IS NOWHERE TO GO and NOTHING TO DO.
Mental heath problems? Have some more meth...
Churches are doing well here though, the two megachurches down the road just remodeled, put on new roofs, and paved parking lots... meanwhile a quarter of the kids here can't buy lunch...
Next county over actually went broke this year.
I took a drive up north last year and decided to see some back country. More like THIRD WORLD COUNTRY. Buildings falling down all over the place...
We've got our share of crappy leaders, too. Several embezzeled the crap outta this area last couple years.
Not much worth being HERE for lemme tell ya.

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Saturday, November 5, 2011 2:43 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Quote:
Originally posted by Wishimay:
Quote:
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:


Truth be told, having lived in Illinois all of my life, I can't believe that Indiana is able to run a budget surplus with about 40% of the tax burden on its citizens that Illinois has.



Yeah, that's 'cause you get NOTHING for being a good citizen in Indiana. Unemployment?? That's just an urban legend, right? Most people here get pink slipped when the economy tanks-because we have a seasonal economy. My kid's school never knows who is gonna be teaching the next year and they don't have an air condioner in the gym(can reach 100 degrees easy, thought some granparents were gonna pass out last year) due to budget cuts...God forbid your kid actually have a problem...There is NO ONE to help...My daughter is in 3rd grade and still can't see the difference between a b and a d... Every time I try to even have a conversation they "handle" it by saying what a great personality she has...Principal actually said the other day that they don't make educational allowances for children of Catholics, Athiests and others, btw.

Food banks are empty 'cause no one qualifies for SQUAT. Oh but we are the fattest area in the nation, because there IS NOWHERE TO GO and NOTHING TO DO.
Mental heath problems? Have some more meth...
Churches are doing well here though, the two megachurches down the road just remodeled, put on new roofs, and paved parking lots... meanwhile a quarter of the kids here can't buy lunch...
Next county over actually went broke this year.
I took a drive up north last year and decided to see some back country. More like THIRD WORLD COUNTRY. Buildings falling down all over the place...
We've got our share of crappy leaders, too. Several embezzeled the crap outta this area last couple years.
Not much worth being HERE for lemme tell ya.



Methinks you need to make the move to Illinois

For me, personally, Indiana is where it's at. I pay a very minimum in taxes and I get to keep more of my own profits from working. Also, I live in a state now that isn't sucking at the teet of the federal government because it's just as far in debt as the federal government as a whole is.

Easy to say, I guess, since I don't have a wife or kids.... but it is what it is.

I'm a guy who figures that I won't have any Social Security benefits when I retire and I'm so paranoid about debt to anybody that I have zero debt right now and when somebody I care about does something for me I pay it back 2 fold.

If you want to be a guy who wants to be left to his own devices, pay minimum taxes, and basically be your own man (or woman), Indiana is where it's at. If you're in a position where you have burdens upon you that you can't cope with alone or even with your family or friends or church helping out, Illinois is where it's at..... for now anyways.....

Until they "officially" go bankrupt.

Daley sold all of the parking meters in Chicago to a private company in a 99 year contract and spent all of that money before he left. The last two governors (both republican and democrat) were ousted for corruption. The current governor raised the income tax 2% this year, and currently Cook County, IL has the highest sales tax in the nation. Gas prices there are also anywhere from 15 cents to 45 cents higher depending on the way the breeze blows.

If you find yourself in the unfortunate position that you need help, I guess Indiana isn't the place to be. God help me that I don't find myself in that position anytime soon since I don't have any medical benefits to speak of right now.

My brother, who I've mentioned in another thread, is currently getting free medication for his State diagnosed bi-polar disorder (likely due to the brain hemmorage he had at 6 years old). My dad has gotten him completely off of the booze, caffeine and nicotine as well. The meds would cost over 12 hundred dollars a month if he had to pay for them.

Personally, I think that's a problem we need to fight the major pharm corps about, and not our state governments. Why can I get blood pressure medication for 12 bucks for a 90 day supply at wal-mart, but if I'm bi-polar, it's going to cost me 3000 times that?



I'm so sorry to hear about your daughter's dyslexia...... I hope you can figure out a way to work that out during her developmental years.

I've got plenty of problems of my own, and although the way I've used them seems to be a blessing, many days I think it's a curse. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to not be able to comprehend what I was trying to read. It would be like not having access to a hammer to drive a nail when everyone else knows you can just go to Home Depot and buy one.

My best wishes for her.

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

BTW... I love my General Discussion Peeps. If you feel a strong need to judge me on RWED discussions I've had in the General Discussion, I welcome it, but I also say that they are two different worlds......

And while my core never wavers and though I may say things you don't like in the RWED, I'd never say them in General Discussions and I hope you would do the same.

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Sunday, November 6, 2011 4:02 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Finished scraping, sanding and primering my porch today!!!!

Man... that took a lot longer than I thought it would..... 2 full days... and not a bead of caulk on it yet even.

It's not just recklessly primering studs in a previously moldy basement that will eventually be covered with drywall like I've been doing the previous few days.

There were 55 small posts and 5 large posts to this porch that were all turned on a lathe, and had several spots that were very intricate. I could have done it in half the time if I just slapped primer on it haphazardly, but there would be drips everywhere if I did that!!!!

Thanks to the man upstairs for some decent weather in November and to my mom for talking some sense into me 2 nights ago to get me to postpone my focus on the basement for a few days to get that wood protected for the winter so I wasn't hit with severe wood rot come springtime that I could have (and now did) eliminate.

I'll be caulking tomorrow and if things go well, I'll start actually painting with the quart of Satin White Sherwin Williams paint I have. I hope it's enough paint



BTW..... I wanted to shout out to the bozos doing the weather forecast. 64 degrees and sunny today, my ass..... Maybe until 11:00AM..... By 12PM it was 50 degrees at most and the wind was so hard that it felt like 40 degrees. Not to mention that the wind was blowing from everywhere and the leaves were blowing in circles all up on my freshly painted wood consistantly.

I'm confident I'm going to feel so sick tomorrow that I won't even want to get out of bed, but it was so worth it. Even just primered, the porch looks amazing. I almost feel bad that I did it, in a way, since it just puts on display to the neighborhood just how much the front of the house otherwise needs a power washing........




Seriously wishimay. I wish the best for your daughter and you and your family. I hope bullshit politics didn't piss you off. We all have our own opinions, and we're all entitled to them. I don't want to argue that crap here, and I hope I didn't come off too argumentative here as to put you off. I've enjoyed our conversations here otherwise and, especially since you're the only one who really posts here but me, I'd hate to think I put you off.

Best wishes,
~6

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

BTW... I love my General Discussion Peeps. If you feel a strong need to judge me on RWED discussions I've had in the General Discussion, I welcome it, but I also say that they are two different worlds......

And while my core never wavers and though I may say things you don't like in the RWED, I'd never say them in General Discussions and I hope you would do the same.

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Monday, November 7, 2011 9:03 AM

WISHIMAY


Quote:
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
Personally, I think that's a problem we need to fight the major pharm corps about, and not our state governments. Why can I get blood pressure medication for 12 bucks for a 90 day supply at wal-mart, but if I'm bi-polar, it's going to cost me 3000 times that?


Ever stand in line in Wally World and watch the old folks shell out thousands of dollars for their meds? THAT'S depressing. I plan ta not make it THAT far, heh.

Course there was an article just today that says that the disparity in $$$ between the old and the young has never been greater.

Thanks for the concern for my kid. We get along. I realize that it helps to drill it into her, so we go over things until I go All I really want is a conversation with someone about any new techniques or things I could do to help her, there's suprisingly little they even know about these kinds of things. I can't imagine how the kids who don't get any help, or have a parent there feel. Also, don't worry about ticking me off. Even if you somehow were to, I have a tendancy to forget all about it by the next day. That kinda thing helps in a marraige, too A LOT

I finally got steps, and a railing, yay. Also, wired up a couple more recessed lights in the basement, then realized I for got to buy a switch, darnit. Back ta the hardware store....Wonder what kinda trouble I'll get into today?

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Tuesday, November 8, 2011 10:07 AM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Actually, I've never been in to WalMart for a prescription. I just hear about it from family members. In the last 10 years I've only been to two clinics for strep throat and I just overpaid slightly for the penicillin there. It was cool that they had that place. You didn't have to put your social and you could even put a fake name and pay in cash. I had insurance at the time, but I don't like things on my "permanent record".

Truth be told, I have such a paranoid aversion to the records they keep that the first time I got strep I didn't go until I had to beg my brother to drive me to the clinic since my fever had reached 103 degrees and I could barely walk. There wasn't an inch of my body that didn't sting to the touch, and swallowing a cold glass of water felt like swallowing razor blades. Had the left side of my throat swelled up as much as the right side, I wouldn't even have been able to breathe through my mouth at that point. By this time, I had been foolishly thinking that my body could fight it off on my own for nearly two weeks. (I later found out that you could have a heart attack if it's the right kind of strep and it goes unchecked, even at a young age, so I dodged a bullet there)

The next time I got it was only a few years later, but I knew the second it started hurting what I had and went right after work and got it taken care of. Even after looking at it the physician's assistant wasn't convinced it was strep and took the test. She asked me afterward how I knew it was strep and I told her I hope she never goes through what I put myself through the last time. I think I have developed an instinctual response to strep throat now.

I know what you mean about planning not to make it that far though.... Although, that little (joke?) seems a bit less funny now that I only have 18 years left before my desired check out date. Who knows what will happen. Hopefully in 18 years we've gotten the healthcare issue straightened out into some reasonable model that both "sides" can agree is fair. Whatever side you're on now, you can't say that the system works, and no proposals that these paid politicians on either "side" put out there offer any real solutions.



About what you're daughter is going through....

When I was in grade school (I don't remember what grade, but it was very early), we had to copy sentences on the board onto paper for a grade and we had a limited time to do it. Back then, I was usually the first done with everything (Later on finding it wasn't because of my very-slightly-higher-than-average IQ, but more due to my OCD tennancies and a drive to excel. (A drive that, unfortunately, I definitely lost somewhere along the way).

My teacher had me help out some students that were having problems complete the assignments in time after I was done. For that particular assignment, I remember that I would look at the board and see a sentence at a time and write them down before looking back up at the board. I remember one of the kids looked only at a single letter and wrote it down before looking back up. I was able to tell him what I was doing and he got the hang of it and didn't have a problem completing it on time anymore. He didn't get to a sentence at a time right away, but with practice he was finishing the assignments right behind me by the end of the year.

I know there's probably no similarity to the two stories, but perhaps there really isn't anything "wrong" with your daughter that would require medicine of any kind and just that she's processing information differently than others may naturally do. This wouldn't be her fault at all and maybe not even her teacher's fault. Every kid is different and will go about solving problems in a different way, and unless you know what is going through their head when they're working, I'd say it's probably impossible to get them to understand a better way to do it. It may just be a matter of being able to understand exactly how she is processing this information and showing her alternative ways, and if she can see the rewards to doing it differently than she was before she will work to make the switch.

I only bring it up because my teacher couldn't reach this kid where I was able to. It's not because she wasn't a capable teacher, and it's probably not because I did anything special. Maybe it was just because it was somebody his own age helping him out. Somebody who could otherwise speak his language.

Maybe if she has a few friends that get over for sleep overs you could discuss this with parents you trust and talk about maybe making a time during play dates to do some "fun" games regarding the issues she has.

Granted, these "games" if done the wrong way could serve to alienate her further if scores are kept and she feels like her friends are better than her because she never wins, so I don't think a game with a winner would be the way to go, at least until she seems to be getting the hang of it. I know that my mom had these board games when me and my bro's were kids that sharpened memory and worked on math and stuff. Yeah.... they did keep score, but I think it wouldn't be too difficult to take a game like that and invent a way to keep it scoreless while also keeping it fun and interesting for young children. Maybe you could find a forum/site online where parents get together and discuss these things.

Beyond those suggestions, I don't think I can really offer much more. Not having any children myself I've never looked into it at all other than my own experiences.

Good luck, whatever you do. She is lucky to have parents that care. As lousy as my divorced childhood may have been, at least I can say that I had two parents that did care, even if their own BS got in the way of that often. I also had two sets of grandparents who cared and one grandpa in particular who spent a lot of time drilling math into my head. In preschool and kindergarten I was probably the only kid who had a non-digital wristwatch that I could read because of him.




It was probably in HS when I found (to my dismay) that my IQ test was quite normal and the fact that I couldn't grasp Chemestry at all in Junior year was when I started to decide that school wasn't for me. I don't think it really clicked until then just how that kid back in grade school felt when he could never complete an assignment on time. Until then, I don't think I ever had homework to take home that wasn't already done before I left school.

I know there are some things I'm just never going to be good at, but largely, I know that I don't need them to make a good living. Hell, I can balance a checkbook and keep myself out of debt, and I can type 60WPM, which puts me ahead of 60% of Americans today anyways.... Who needs Chemistry and Trigonometry???? I'll find my niche somewhere. In the mean time I'm just blessed that I've been able to set myself up in a position where I can take my time to figure out just what that is without a lot of stress.





Great to see you're still making progress too! I don't know how you do it with the family. Hope you didn't get into too much trouble.

I have a hard time balancing things and I tend to focus completely on a task before it's done. It's really screwed me up that I did the porch when I was making massive strides in the basement because I lost the steam there. I went down there today with the intention of at least putting in 5 hours, but I couldn't really find a spot I wanted to start on and I just said to hell with it today. Here's hoping when I wake up tomorrow I can get right back into it with a plan. Now that I have an unfinished porch and the rain is not cooperating with my plan to caulk and put the final coat of paint out there before the weather gets too cold, I'm all discombobulated.

Ehhh..... we all need a day off, right? At least I got my bills paid and I voted for the first time in my life today. I think I'm just going to call it an early day and wake up fresh in the morning and try to kick some ass again.



BTW... glad you're not pissed at me. I hate talking politics with people I'm cool with for that very reason. I'm so effing opinionated about certain things that it's hard not to talk about it, but I do try my best to restrain myself. It's a lot easier in real life to keep my mouth from flapping than it is online to keep my wandering fingers from typing.

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

BTW... I love my General Discussion Peeps. If you feel a strong need to judge me on RWED discussions I've had in the General Discussion, I welcome it, but I also say that they are two different worlds......

And while my core never wavers and though I may say things you don't like in the RWED, I'd never say them in General Discussions and I hope you would do the same.

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Tuesday, November 8, 2011 5:58 PM

WISHIMAY


I understand paranoia. These days it's hard to be safe in anything ya do. I think alotta people in the health care industry do anything but. I wouldn't worry too much about records, unless you HAVE one, or plan on having one(not! the medical kind). And yeah, sometimes going clinic is easier than dealing with insurance, especially if you or the people you know know nothing about the system. I had to learn about it the hard way. I spent two years fighting something that was denied. Turned out the hospital had lost the copy to our insurance card and HAD USED OUR SS# to look up old expired insurance which they had billed. In the end I WON DAMMIT!!!

The thing that bothers me about my kid's problem is that the teachers know she has no control over it, but they mark her papers wrong every time anyway. What was that about killing off drive? For the most part all they do are really boring worksheets day in and day out..... Also, I have a feeling she may not grow out of it.

I always though schools do a piss poor job of actually teaching life skills. And these days parents and grandparents can't teach them, because so many people never learned themselves. I know alot of people who have never cooked, paid their own bills, or know which end of a screwdriver ta hold.

You're not the only one taking time off. Actually I find if I slack off on one day a week, I can usually push myslf a little better the rest of the week. Hard to remember to give yourself permission to be human. We're all a wee bit off this week, though. Weird storm systems and allergies
It's easy for me to find time to work on the house with hubbs sleeping all day(thirds) and my kid at school all day. Nobody here but me and my They both help where they can, too.

Maybe you better hurry up with that dating thing, if you only wanna be here 18 more years. Not alotta time...

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Tuesday, November 8, 2011 9:10 PM

RIONAEIRE

Beir bua agus beannacht


I don't look at this thread anymore, well, didn't look at this thread anymore, not for any particular reason except that I don't really know anything about home remodeling, even though my dad does that sort of stuff for a living. Anyways I happened to look at this thread. Six, I hope you're not actually planning to off yourself in 18 years, if you are I can't stop you, but by then you might have changed your mind. If that's still your plan don't have babies because you'll just be screwing them over by checking out early.

I'm glad your brother is not using the alcohol and cigs anymore, now you can get a better idea of how the medicine will work for him. If it doesn't work right away don't freak out, sometimes it takes a while to see improvement. Plus sometimes different things have to be tried, whether that be regular medicine or medicine from the earth, before he finds one that is the most helpful for him. He's fortunate to get on the co. free medicine program. Yeah, some of those medicines can get spendy. :(

Wish, yeah it sounds like you guys are having a hard time with the reading and writing thing right now. I've heard that doing things in different colors can help. Of course that would be temperary until she is better able to manage. Most kids with dyslexia or other similar things are able to compensate through techniques and different ways of doing things and they catch up to the other kids in the reading stuff eventually. It sounds like her school is rather incompetant though. Does she have an IEP (individualized education plan) yet? The best thing you can do as her mom is to keep advocating for the assistance she needs. She sounds like a bright child who has lots of potential and who will do well with the right tools and strategies. Dyslexia runs in my dad's family, but fortunately its fairly mild with them and so reading is challenging when they're little but they are able to catch up etc. with minimal assistance. But everyone is different and some kids need a lil' more help than others and that's okay.

"A completely coherant River means writers don't deliver" KatTaya

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Wednesday, November 9, 2011 5:45 AM

WISHIMAY


I have posted a new thread, which might help.

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Wednesday, November 9, 2011 5:47 AM

WISHIMAY


Also, I AM THE 100TH POSTER, MU HA HA!

I get to be queen for a day, right?

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