Guard Dog

I use speech to text. That is a technology that is not “their“ yet. edit: LOL see what I mean?!?

LOL! Fair enough. Feckless incompetence is preferable to what we got under the orange menace. I’m just hoping for a day when it’s not a “lesser evil“ choice. Not holding my breath.

Well I will say one thing about computerized rifle sites, they will prevent any marine from ever having to suffer the shame and stigma of having to wear a pizza box again LOL! @ShadySandswill know what I’m talking about.

Sounds like Nikki Haley is planning a run for POTUS in 2024 There are far worse options on the Republican side than her. Of course anything is better than the poisonous s--t we have endured the last five years. The Biden admin is a total s--t show. Getting rid of Trump meant exchanging one set of problems for a different set of problems. Of course with the state of politics in the US today that was never going to go any other way. Yes @Gromnir, they ARE all bad.

veteran analyst hears echoes of the 1929 crash in today’s stock market OK this article did not turn out to be the total s--t show the title suggested. I hear a lot of people claiming we are about to repeat the Great Depression without understanding that the '29 crash was not the sole cause. There was the decade long droughts that ruined the AG business (then and now a huge export), low wage growth, and of course the big kahuna (bank system collapse). In fact the depression didn't really start until 3-4 years later. As far as the stock market is concerned it's going to react negatively to eventual (and necessary) interest rate increases. Edit: Where to even begin with everything wrong with this

G called me at 3:30 this morning. I thought something was wrong! She said she couldn't sleep and can't get used to sleeping alone again. We laughed about that and just talked for a little while. Afterwards I was making coffee and thinking "if I left now I could be there in time for dinner". It was very tempting. But, I suddenly have a lot to do around here. I was seldom busy when I had nowhere to go. Now that there is somewhere I'd rather be I have a lot going one. Grrr.

LOL you don't need to go to Russia to meet Russian girls, I see ads all the time where they will come to you!

US Marines and Navy to test computerized rifle sights

Great news!

As Pluto heads towards aphelion the atmosphere is starting to freeze New Horizons was a HUGE accomplishment.

@ShadySandsHow is little Shady doing?

Don't know much about WI to tell you the truth. 30 days ago I'd never even been there. But I don't worry much about weather. Or access to any particular city or natural wonders. There is cool stuff to enjoy literally everywhere you go. Except maybe New Jersey. I expect I'll be full time employed once again (finally) pretty soon but it's a job I can do from anywhere. But to tell you the truth a move to WI or anywhere is down the road a ways. Not ruling it out but, we're not tat the point of, as she said, making big life decisions.

No, my home, in fact all my properties I own outright. 90% of my $ are in real estate. When we sold our business back in 2014 I had a 1/7th share of the sale and paid off my mortgage and invested 90% of the rest in various real estate properties. The nice thing about real estate is you generally don't lose money on it. It's hard to make a lot of money in the short term but in the long term it is the way to go IMO. Most of what I have is large acre tracts that are leased to different agri-businesses around West TN. But I had a townhouse I renovated and rented for a few years and then sold, some vacant lots I'm selling now. I bought some timber land at an auction a few years back and sold it earlier this year. The big properties are all leased for 3 years and I can't sell them while in contract. Most are in their 2nd year now. But if the lessee wants to renew I'm going to do that. The long term plan for those properties is future expansion of nearby municipalities and eventual rezoning from agricultural to industrial or (hopefully) residential. THAT is when they will pay off. It will only take one.

I've been up for hours looking on Realtor.com at houses/real estate around La Crosse. Real estate there is seriously underpriced compared to here. BIG difference.

In honor of it being October someone sent me this: I laughed because it is absurd. Then found out it's real and that made it even funnier! https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13862974/

It's hard to generalize living conditions in most states because, with some exceptions, they are large and diverse places. State tax is, of course, applied the same all over that state. Municipalities and counties might tack on a half percent or more but generally the tax burden for each state is uniform. How taxes are collected is also a factor. Some states tax income, others tax property, all tax sales to one extent or another. Your lifestyle preferences have a big impact on your tax burden. For most states (2/3 give or take) weather and geography is more or less the same. But this kind of fails on the bigger states. California is a good example. The Sacramento/Bay area, the LA/San Diego (everything south of Ventura & San Bernardino and west of Palm Springs), north of Sacramento, and everything in the high desert (Barstow, Mojave, Tahoe. Modoc, etc. are so radically different you'd think you were in a different country. Cost of living varies wildly in these places. Climate and weather varies quite a bit. Florida is another example. South Florida, Central Florida, and North Florida are VERY different economically and culturally. South Florida is VERY expensive just to maintain a middle class lifestyle. North Florida it's very easy to do that on the exact same money. It's hard to quantify one state having more crime than another because once you get out of the big metro areas crime rates plummet everywhere. Memphis is the closest big city to me but it's not that close. Where I live crime is practically non existent. Fifty miles south and it's the highest in the state and 18th highest in the USA. Real estate and housing prices also fluctuate wildly inside a state. That is something I know too well. In Tennessee lots with houses are much more expensive east of Nashville than they are west of Nashville. The reason is geography. West of Nashville is flat, spacious, redevelopment is constant and dynamic. East of Nashville is mountainous so fewer homes, more demand for existing homes, less construction of new homes drives up the value of what's there. Articles like that make for interesting reading but there are good retirement options in pretty much every state where you can live comfortably on a fixed income.

I don’t think seeing one in his arm last night was any easier. Thank God he’s doing better. I’d say hopefully you get some sleep tonight but I suspect you won’t get much. Still praying for you guys!

Yeah they can have my Facebook account. All I’ve ever done with it let’s trade jokes and occasionally keep up with my brother and his family. I only signed up so I could play chess on chess.net for free.

Speaking of that when I was on the phone with the realtor he was putting the full court press on selling the house. I think he knows I am somewhat interested but mostly torn and he’s trying to push me over the top. I was, somewhat naïvely, hoping when she comes down in two weeks she will fall in love with the place and start imagining some kind of a future here. But even if all that happens it’s not realistic. B is a grown woman living in her own apartment and going to school. But there is no way G will move 700 miles away from her. And it would not be right for me to ask her to. No matter how things are going. I hate adult problems

Are you home? Is he home? Is he still improving?

It’s funny you mention that. I asked her if she thought things were moving too fast. But she said we’re not making life decisions together. We’re just spending time with each other. And that’s true. It bothers me that it’s a long distance relationship. Those are usually doomed. Her life is there and my life is here. I don’t know how those two can be brought together. But I think it’s probably too early to worry about that. Those are problems for later. Maybe it will just work itself out on its own. For now I just thoroughly enjoy spending time with her and I think she feels the same. So we’ll just focus on that. In other news one of the lots I put up for sale got an offer. It’s a little bit under the asking price and the realtor advised me to counter or decline. I thought about it on the drive home yesterday. It’s not what I was hoping to get but it is more than enough for my share of the seed capital of a business venture I’m interested in. So I called him a little while ago and told him if the buyer is qualified to accept. That’s probably taking him off because he’s considering his commission LOL. Well, will play hardball on the other one. Right now I just need the cash.

Asthma? Allergy?Not COVID I assume or they would not be releasing him. I’m praying for your little guy and you & Mrs. Shady too.

Oh no what happened?