Everything posted by Gladeite
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All Encompassing Mortgage and Real Estate Thread
I build a few specs around in the upper end neighborhoods. I have one started right now that is $650/ft with no interest carry, selling costs or profit. Lumber prices are dropping but concrete is being sucked up by Samsung. Labor costs are coming down on framing, electric and plumbing.
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Eyesight poll
PRK in 1997. Have to wear readers now for anything up close. Front sight is hard to find so transitioning to RMR for carry. Last test was a few years ago resulted in 20/15. it has been that for many years. I suspect it has tapered off since the last test and now is 20/20 to 20/30. This thread reminds me to schedule an exam.
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Getting old sucks
Had my first kidney stone episode on Christmas Day. Knew it was there from a previous scan, but didn't think too much about it. Woke up with a ridiculous pain on right side and could only dribble out a little pee. Started chugging water, lemon juice, lime juice, pineapple juice and generally laying on the floor in pain. Wife is not so pleased to be interrupted on Christmas morning and starts getting ready to make an ER run. I could feel the pain move from the back to front, then down towards the exit. Kept chugging acidic juices and it passed thru. I felt great after it passed.
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The Gun Owner’s thread
Go to 1911addicts.com and classified ads section. A lot of custom 1911 pistols there. I have a few and they are great. I regularly carry LW Commanders in 9mm and .45 and have a government size that shoots one hole groups at 10 yards. All built for me with the features I feel are most important. It can be a great rabbit hole to go down.
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The New Car Fanatic Thread
My neighbor has a new green RS6. He let me drive it. It is a badass car.
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Starlink
Now up to 70 - 100 Mbps. Everything is working well.
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Starlink
For me, it has been a questionable decision. We had Centurylink DSL. We were getting consistent 10+ Mbps download speeds. We were able to run all devices, stream unlimited shows, never a problem. Maybe should have considered staying. All of my neighbors have cancelled Centurylink so usage is way down which may have resulted in having great(for rural Colorado) service. Also, fiber had been run all the way to our Centurylink trunk. All of my neighbors now have Starlink which may be causing download speeds to decrease. A positive is that we only have to pay for Starlink when we are here. Months that we are not in Colorado, we can suspend service. The price works out about the same as Centurylink.
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Starlink
We got ours in Colorado last week. Max is about 30 mbps download. We are having some buffering issues. Overall, disappointed with it. Called our installer and his response was: lots of new service that is taking up bandwidth, so until new satellites are up, expect slower speeds. With limited internet choices here, everyone is getting Starlink. Every house around us has it.
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AMMO THREAD
If you can get your hands on the Remington Ultra Bonded, I highly recommend them. They work perfectly. I have killed a lot of zebras, wildebeest and gemsbok with them while culling in Africa. They penetrate, expand and hold together. I am an avid reloader but I buy every box of Ultra Bonded 30/06 that I find. The Sierra GameKing will also work magic on elk. I have culled cows with that bullet and guided a few hunters who have had success with that bullet. It is a quality product. I load the ProHunter(same thing without the boat tail) 180 grain at 2850 fps. It is my standard load while guiding.
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Short Term Rentals - Mail Box Money & Property Barons
Picking Pagosa Springs as a STR location could prove to be challenging. There is a concentrated effort to eliminate/restrict STRs. One large, popular neighborhood south of 160 just adopted a no STR policy. This was a HOA vote and it passed by a large margin. A large neighborhood north of 160 has an amendment out for vote right now. It is expected to pass and will eliminate STR. If you are in the town limits, voters approved $150/month per bedroom tax for all STR, regardless of occupancy. There is a lawsuit to stop this fee, but you get the idea.
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So who all has had rotator cuff surgery here?
I have had a lot of surgeries. Multiple knee, hips replaced, 3/4 disc replacement, etc... Rotator cuff was by far the worst. Hurt the most and longest recovery. 2 years out last month. Can play golf, tennis(75% serve) and anything I want to do. It is nowhere near as strong as it used to be. No pain but maybe 50% strength.
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2022 Annual of Three Putting
I have the $500 flight scope what works with ipad/phone. It works OK. I suck at golf but have put some effort into improving. It will tell you club head speed, ball speed, height, spin and carry distance. Biggest problem is the frequency of shots not detected. I have messed with the position of the device, lighting, balls that have reflective sticker, etc... and it works about 75% of the time. OK but nothing to brag about.
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Parasailing death seems like a horrible way to die.
In the early 90's, my wife and I were in South Padre for the weekend. We went out Saturday morning to see the boat captain about parasailing. He said it was too windy that morning and come back after lunch. Being young idiots, we showed up at 1 p.m. to see about going. He said the winds were OK and let's go. We cruised out to the floating platform in the bay and we harnessed up. Took off from the bay and about 100 yards from the platform, the wind really starts to blow. Our sail goes nearly straight up and we are swinging about 90 degrees each way. Looked down and the sail was pulling the boat backwards. Water was coming in the back of the boat and captain was screaming something at us, but we could not hear because of the wind. I was looking at my wife's harness and how to detach it and somehow she could slide down the rope to get close to water. It was impossible because of all the swaying back and forth. Luckily the sail pulled the boat back into the platform and it crashed there. He was able to winch us back down. Scared us to death. The captain was white as a ghost and we spent a few minutes bucketing water out of the boat. The hull was cracked but still able to operate. He drove us to the dock and invited us to a bar. Once we got seated, he said no charge, drinks are on him and explained what was about to happen. He was able to see that the boat was going to crash into the platform. If it missed, he was going to cut our rope and had already radioed for 2 jet skis to trail us. The jet ski drivers were to wait until we got closer to shore and tie the rope. Then manage our descent into calmer water with the second driver to be there and help unbuckle as we hit the water. The backup plan was to have guys along the shore to catch the rope and tie off to anything before we hit any building. We have not tried it since that one time.
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The New Car Fanatic Thread
One of my happiest days was getting rid of the wife's Sport. Loved the supercharged V8 and stable ride. I did a lot drag racing on Bee Caves Road and South Mopac. However, I think my wife was stranded 3 times in the 3 years we owned it. Electrical gremlins twice and once transmission. Got the 3 year, 100,000 mile warranty that covered the major repairs. The consumables, which includes shocks were a beating. Every time I looked around, it was $2500 for this or that. Very disappointing experience coupled with the worst dealership in Texas, the one on 5th.
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All Encompassing Mortgage and Real Estate Thread
In our mountain community of Pagosa Springs, there is an all out war to limit STR. Same in Breckenridge, Aspen, Crested Butte. They are a plague to mountain towns in Colorado. There is a radical difference between owning a home for income vs pride of ownership/living there and it being a reflection of your life. As we enter 10 to 15 years into the program, no doubt prices have risen due to demand exceeding supply, but the overall condition of the homes/neighborhoods are in a state of decline. There is no incentive to repaint/stain the exterior, upgrade landscape, make the house look better when that does not increase rent. Rent is increased by putting bunk beds in the recreation room, increasing parking and having as many occupants as allowed by law. Our subdivision does not allow STR and many are moving in that direction. A law just passed in PS that every registered STR has to pay $150 per bedroom tax each month. My neighbor is on a board in Breck and their POA just passed a restriction eliminating any rentals less than 30 days. Investors had purchased most of the inexpensive housing in PS and there is an extreme shortage of homes to rent/buy for the working class. It is a real problem here. There are limited grocery store hours, restaurants closed because can't hire workers.
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Colonoscopy
Has anyone done the pre-procedure cleansing? Done at the Dr. office an hour before? This was offered by my practitioner. Come in, warm water enema bag, then over to the exam table. She said it was very popular with the younger crowd, but not so much in my age demographic. One of my 60 year old friends just tried it and said it was great, it was the only way he would do it from now on.
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I'm An Alcoholic
After reading this thread for a long time and pondering my own sobriety, I made the calculated move to stop eating any processed sugar, flour, et... and eat a lot of vegetables, salads, fresh fish, pasture raised eggs, et... First 2 weeks were pretty rough with my brain craving food that made me feel "good". After 2 weeks, the cravings went away and my mind/body has no interest in processed foods. After that, completely gave up alcohol. No beer after work, no 4 glasses of wine while Netflixing, no bottles during dinner. The amazing difference for me is sleep and how good I feel. During my wine days, I would wake up every night, take ambien frequently and feel sluggish in the morning and tired every afternoon. Now, I sleep hard every night, never wake up and usually sleep for 9 hours. For me, giving up the sugar first certainly helped with giving up wine. Credit goes to many pages of this topic here on Surly.
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Pickleball - dink dink, BANG
Spectacularly fun game! As a former tennis player, it is easy to pick up and be competitive. Learning to dink and overall strategy takes a little time. Lots of old college tennis players playing pb tournaments these days. Our neighbor built a court and Friday evenings are doubles and drinks.
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Cowboy Boots
I have given them to a family member. Thanks for the interest.
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Cowboy Boots
I bought a pair of alligator Lucchese boots 20 years ago. Now as I am older, my feet are wider and the boots can't be stretched anymore. Went to the Lucchese store at The Domain last week and got sized for the right width. Did not have the color ostrich I wanted, so they got another store to ship to my house. Fed ex arrived next day. Very happy with the new boots and the customer service.
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Colonoscopy
Long family history of colon cancer so I have been on the program for 20 years. Started with Versed and could not do anything after. Heard I had a double meat/double cheese from Whataburger but don't remember them. Last several have been Propofol. No hangover, wake up clear and ready to go. Still have Whataburger, but relish it.
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2022 Property Tax Values are out
Barton Creek. Up 10% total. We must have more TCAD management in our neighborhood than I thought.
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Can I bring pot home from Colorado into Houston?
I have never heard of this. Drive back and forth to Pagosa at least twice per year. We have a home there and frequent the dispensaries. Bring back a suitcase full of edibles for friends/neighbors. Always 10-20 mph over speed limit and never been stopped. Rarely see a dps/hp since covid. We are old so I guess we don't fit the demographic?
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Getting old sucks
Steroids make you feel great. They have an immediate relief since they are so good at reducing inflammation. All of my ortho docs have said do not take them regularly. Only in small batches, like your standard prescription. Long term will cause bone density loss, kidney and liver problems. Which sucks, because my body really responds well to them.
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Local charities you endorse
thirstnomore.org is a great organization whose expertise is disaster relief and water wells in Africa.