deej

$67/month for the Desert Sun??!?!?!??! Our local paper is $17.78/month for home delivery plus full e-access. You're getting screwed, dude, but I'd probably subscribe too.

A few years later.

We’ll have to agree to disagree. I actually discourage texting. If I can take your call I will. If I can’t take your call you’ll get voicemail. If I’m with a doctor or having a meal, the phone will be turned off and you’ll get voicemail. I don’t need to check for texts to make any of this happen.

My local paper is relatively cheap, but i’d subscribe even if they were more expensive. There is HUGE value in having local journalists on the courthouse beat or the statehouse beat. If they’re any good, that is. Without subscribers there won’t be any reason to keep them asking awkward questions. Our local paper is small and relies a lot on syndicated content, but it does still hit my drveway 363 days/year with local coverage. I also subscribe to the Chicago Trib and WaPo online. (I’ve lived in both cities. Local news there is still of interest.)

Many years ago while I was visiting SF for work I got back to my hotel room at the end of the day, flipped on the TV, and was dialing up the modem to check email when it suddenly sounded like a truck hit the building and the shaking started. I was already looking at the news on TV and before the shaking even stopped the chyron changed to a seismograph. When the shaking stopped I decided maybe I shouldn't be on the 5th floor so I went down to the lobby bar. I'd noted coming in that it was absolutely deserted. By the time I got downstairs after the quake it was PACKED.

I don't get this. Both phone and text are "interruptive" forms of communication and I can see tamping down the intrusion. But text me before you call? What purpose does that serve? If you call and I can't take your call, you'll get voice mail. If you text and I don't reply, I probably won't answer a call. I've already adopted a policy where I don't answer a call without caller ID if I don't recognize the number. (This is a luxury you don't have with texts.) I have a "land line" phone # as part of my CATV package. I've never used it. I've never given the number to anyone. It still rings 3 times/day with some robocaller or other. I never answer. If someone I know is calling, I'll answer. Unless I'm busy or asleep or otherwise unavailable, and then they'll get voicemail. I'm certainly not going to add an ACTIVE thing I have to do (text) before they try calling.

That’s why it’s called FloriDUH.

I read too quckly and wondered how we came up with a Nomar phobia. Dude was awesome.

And yes, you should ASK, or maybe say more than just "hacked". I'm taking no action because none has been requested.

I've had several friends go through knee & hip replacements. They all say the same things. 1) Follow instructions! 2) Do the PT, and then do it more. 3) It takes longer than doctors tell you. 4) You'll wonder why you waited so long. Not a regret among them.

that’s a generic and useless message. Every site uses scripts. Scripts cannot be authenticated. Kids in high school can (and do) write scripts. We keep ours to the bare minimum.

Years ago I was evacuated and didn’t know it. I was attending a conference in Seattle at the time and unaware of news. When the shuttle picked me up at the airport and I told him where I was headed he said “I hope it’s still there!” It was and the only damage was a layer of dust/ash because I’d left windows open. A few years later I was evacuated three days after buying a house. It was only one night but there were fire crews bunking at the same hotel I stayed in. I contributed to fire relief in ways that will remain private. My experiences were trivial compared to what we’re seeing today. My heart goes out to all involved! And for anyone planning home improvement projects, wait. Your cost of building materials just skyrocketed because of material needed in SoCal, as it did after each major hurricane. You may think these events only involves “them”, but they always involve all of us.

It varies widely, as do most regulations regarding pets. If you adopt an animal from a shelter it will likely be chipped (and spayed or neutered). They prepare the animals in responsible ways before making them available for adoption. Get a puppy or a kitten? Little is required beyond basic inoculations and some people ignore even that.

I had two cats for 18 yars and thankfully neither ever pulled that stunt. I became an over person when at my last house a roll that was depleted JUST RIGHT would become a pepetual motion machine and unroll itself to the floor. The first time I blamed it on the cats. Then I woke up to “click clack” from the bathroom and both cats were in bed with me. Then one day it started while I was sitting there. Just some weird physics going on but switching to over stopped it.

Start from there and make sure you use the same name on existing reviews.

Yeah, there's an old native American saying: Only a white man could think that cutting an inch off the bottom of a blanket and sewing it onto the top would make the blanket longer.

I usually have a couple hundred on me, depending on timing and what else has been going on. When banks started charging fees on every ATM transaction it made sense to make the maximum withdrawal when you needed cash and just spend it down as needed.

In my family, on both sides, the men die young (I'm on borrowed time!) and the women live forever. Great grandmother liquidated everything she owned (which wasn't much) in her mid-60's in a deal to take up residence at the Masonic Home. It meant she had a home, meals, assistance as needed, and healthcare for as long as she lived. The old biddy (dad's word) lived to 95. She got her money's worth. At 95 she went for her usual walk around the duck pond when her hip broke and she fell. She was hospitalized (on site) and recovering from that when she had a heart attack. She was recovering from that when a massive stroke finally took her. Stubborn is a word I learned early.

I’ll still take the scenic route every time.

It’s a short flight but add the time TSA wants you at the airport ahead of time and the time it takes to get out at the other end and it blows much of a day. The drive is about 6-7 hours depending on when you leave and traffic conditions. I’d drive it every time if I can go during the day and enjoy the scenic coast.

I smoked pretty heavily for 30 years. Tried quitting for various reasons which all failed because they were the wrong reasons. Finally got tired of coughing myself awake in the morning and landed on the right reason: time to do it for me. My Dr. suggested starting with nicotine lozenges, and some battle plans. First I took all ashtrays out of my home, leaving one on the patio. (Probably more effective in SoCal than in places that have winter.) I stopped smoking in the car. One by one I eliminated smoking in places where I normally did smoke. It’s been almost 15 years since the last one. I routinely get the urge but still keep those lozenges in the drawer. The best part about quitting was losing the cough. It went away after FOUR DAYS.

Yeah, but he’s asking YOU.

Particularly since retrofits are not mandatory in existing structures.

If I were in CA and looking I’d consider it. As you say it’s gorgeous and in a decent location. It has that apartment over the garage which adds rental income to offset the mortgage payment. (And who wouldn’t want some hunky young actor wannabe waiting for his big break hanging around?) Make sure any inspection includes compliance/upgrades to current building codes, specifically earthquake resilience.

And the kicker is that any home at or below median is likely either a fixer or otherwise distressed and will likely sell as soon as the listing hits, certainly before you see the listing. It’s a tough market to get into for first time buyers.