iamshack

So the girlfriend negotiated 6 months of weekly landscaping, which includes maintenance of the sprinkler system at $1200 cash up front. That equates to about $50/wk for mowing, disposal of grass, edging and trimming of all bushes, blowing of the driveway, patios, and sidewalks, and then the sprinkler system maintenance. I was going to buy a lawnmower and leafblower and edger and do this myself, but at $50/wk for more than an acre property, I'll pay the money and look to save elsewhere.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jun 6, 2013 -> 01:28 PM) I saw Rock mention that he bought a new Jeep recently, and I actually purchased a new car recently too, and then I realized that we don't have a good place to talk about this kind of thing. Anyways, about 2 months ago, I invested in a 2013 Dodge Dart. I actually got the "weakest" of the 3 generic models (2.0L, which is about 185 HP; the 1.4L comes with a turbo, so it's HP is the same but with more torque, and the 2.4L is obviously faster), but you can pretty much customize them any way you want if you're willing to spend a little bit. I didn't want to spend much more than sticker price ($21,500), so I put $3,500 down and got a 2.9% APR over 6 years. It's something I can afford at any given time and once I get some money saved up, I'll start making overpayments off with the intention of having it paid off in 5 years (or fewer). Got it in "Header Orange" and it just sticks out amongst all the cars. I love it. First on the To Do list with it is to get the windows tinted with the second being getting the rims painted glossy black. Third, at some point down the road, is to get a turbo installed. Was it Brady?

Right...so the point is, if this is a place you really like, that certainly shouldn't stop you from buying it.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Jun 6, 2013 -> 10:24 AM) You could do it on your own for way less than that. You'd just have to mud, tape and sand, the worst do-it-yourself project known to man. Let's be realistic here...Russ isn't going to do that s*** on his own

Well, it can't be expensive to put the wall in...you'd just need to have a handyman come in and frame it to the ceiling and then put in drywall...he could probably put some noise-dampening s*** in there to help soundproof it...I would think $500-1000...

QUOTE (G&T @ Jun 5, 2013 -> 03:10 PM) Have an accepted offer on a house as of this morning. Won't be closing until July so we don't have to pay overlapping rent and mortgage. The savings will be worth the wait. Meanwhile the chimney brick work isnt in great shape. We tried to get the owners to agree to repair and it freaked them out. So now it just depends on the inspection so we find out the cost to repair. Then we have to negotiate that. Good luck...how old is the property?

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jun 5, 2013 -> 02:34 PM) switch to native plants that don't need to be watered constantly because you live in the desert Yeah, that will be one of the next big steps...although everyone is giving me s*** about it...

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Jun 5, 2013 -> 01:27 PM) Did it end up being the initial place that you talked about? With the previous owner's business manager getting in the way and all? Yep...I persisted until I eventually wore them down The pool guy is here looking at the property to come up with some designs for us...gulp

Closed on Monday, moved in yesterday...just got the internet hooked up, satellite is next...everything is starting to come together...this place is amazing...although I am already cringing about the water bill...i think we have about 100 different sprinklers coming off and on and all different parts of the day.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jun 3, 2013 -> 02:37 PM) Traded in my jeep for a newer one. At least the interior is a different color!! And why did you do this, good sir?

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Jun 3, 2013 -> 07:25 AM) I hate that saying. It's completely stupid and makes no sense. Especially when you are the home team.

Closing day today....closed on my house Friday, so spent much of last week packing and moving everything into the POD...then this weekend at the girlfriend's parents' house...I'm ready to get this move over with and never move again...or never do it myself again, anyways...have the walkthrough and the signing this morning, then have to wait for it to fund and record before hopefully getting the keys this afternoon...thank goodness.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 31, 2013 -> 11:04 AM) When did his production really fall off because of the back injury/surgery? I could readily be convinced that this entire season was just him recovering from that injury and last season was that injury getting worse...if my trainer told me so. Legler was on this morning saying he didn't think Dwight would ever really play more than 70 games or so a year because of his injuries and the way he gets pounded due to his lack of free throwing ability.

So MidAmerican Energy Holding Co (a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway) has reached an agreement to acquire NV Energy, the public utility company I work for in Nevada. MidAmerican already owns Pacificorp, which owns a large portion of the assets in the West. Combine that with NV Energy's assets in NV, and MidAmerican holds a disproportionately large number of assets in the western power grid. I'll be interested to see how FERC approval goes...

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ May 29, 2013 -> 08:48 PM) a team with a penalty called on it renders the play dead once the puck I'd touched. Thus, the Hawks having the puck when the call is made means dead puck. Right...therefore, an offsetting penalty would be called immediately. The only reason there are delayed penalties is because the team that was not penalized has possession of the puck. I think in soccer it is called advantage; same concept in hockey but not sure if they call it that. Do they have the discretion to not call an offsetting penalty though if it was away from the puck and has no effect on play?

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ May 29, 2013 -> 08:39 PM) Good God, not sure how many years that took off my life. **************************** Before it becomes a footnote (as opposed to one of the most memorable calls in NHL history), a note on the call to nullify the goal to clear up any confusion for when this never, ever happens again: Ref doesn't raise his arm on coincidental minors because it's not a delayed call (which is what the arm up signals). It's an immediate whistle when he decides he's calling it. He called it well before the goal, blew the whistle, and it's when he decides as well, not when whistle blows (which I'm pretty sure you could hear on the replay before the shot anyway). The wave off is just something well after the fact, it's irrelevant to the timing. So the call itself was executed correctly...it was just beyond terrible judgment in a couple ways. *************** Thank God they rebounded. Any shot's a good shot in OT. Now to try to score on Quick. Kings are a good f***ing team, and Quick has been nothing short of stellar. Should be a very low scoring series. I'm assuming it is not a delayed call because there is no point in allowing the team that was not penalized the advantage, since both are by definition penalized, correct? I am happy for you and Steve and some of the other die-hards here...My booty was tight and I am just a fairweather Hawks fan.

Announced today that my company is being acquired by MidAmerican Energy Holdings...oh boy...

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ May 29, 2013 -> 05:58 AM) I'll play meathead - although accurate meathead. Michael Jordan would have NEVER done that. Nope...that was Rodman's job

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ May 28, 2013 -> 08:55 PM) Awesome. Congrats! Thanks...so the woman we bought it from was reasonably famous back in the '50's and '60's...she dated Sam Giancana for the better part of 15 years or so...apparently there have been all kinds of famous friends of hers and mob buddies of his that used to stay there...I'm determined to try and become friendly with her (she lives in a huge mansion next door) and try and get some good stories out of her...

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ May 28, 2013 -> 06:54 PM) A nice PNW midcentury modern. Yeah, that is beautiful, Sqwert... The home we are buying is really amazing in that it was built in '55 and always used only as a guest home. Almost all of it is in original, pristine condition because of the lack of wear and tear. We are hoping to add on down the road (maybe in 5 years or so) to make it a bit larger and to update some things. One of the things I'd love to add is an atrium. First step is to add a pool though. We're going to start talking to some pool design companies probably within the next few weeks.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ May 28, 2013 -> 09:18 AM) Yep....but like me, feeling poor. There will be lots of chicken, veggie and rice stir fry dinners at home while we start to build our savings back up, haha. Yeah, I hear you...but this is why you worked so hard for that money to begin with...to spend it on the place you hope to raise a family in.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ May 28, 2013 -> 09:14 AM) Beautiful. Only thing I'm waiting on is the new fridge and washer/dryer we ordered. Got all my other appliances in this week (Bosh stove, microwave, and dishwasher). Fridge doesn't come till Friday though. Sweet....wife happy?

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ May 28, 2013 -> 08:53 AM) Spent the first night at our new place. So so nice. Now to stop spending money and to start making money again!!! Floors come out nice?

And...she signed the addendum...we're in business now...now we're racing to try and close this thing on Friday.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ May 27, 2013 -> 07:43 AM) Ok, Kobe spent the first 8 years of his career with arguably the most dominant C the game has ever known. When Kobe is free to do as he pleases, like MJ was his whole career, we saw s*** we never saw before in our lives. 81 points 62 in 3 quarters 9 games in a row of 40 points 4 games in a row of 50 points 35+ for a full season multiple months of 40+ppg Kobe is arguably the most explosive scorer we've ever seen. Yes, even over Mike. The 3-ball was never a big part of Mike's game. Kobe hit 12 in one game once. Kobe's never been a chucker. iverson? Francis? Baron Davis? Those are chuckers. No, Kobe's never been as efficient as MJ/LeBron. Because he's not as good as those guys. But Bird? I'll admit it's close. But Kobe's got more rings and the difference in defensive impact isn't close. And stop with the Robert Horry nonsense. Not just you. But everybody says that same dumb s***. Nobody on earth, even his own mother, thinks Horry is an all-time great. I agree with you, J...I think Kobe gets passed up a bit because he is so similar to Michael and came so quickly after him...the tendency is to elevate other, different players ahead of Kobe because Michael was better and yet they are so similar.