USMB Coffee Shop IV

[gallantwarrior]

^^^^

Must be why I'm so poor! National Grid also raised prices on us this year. Bastards!

National Grid projects a 37 percent increase for winter electricity rates - Business - The Boston Globe

Massachusetts consumers will pay significantly higher electric bills this winter as a persistent shortage of natural gas for generating plants drives power prices to record levels.

The cost for a typical household could top $150 a month, based on an announcement this week from one of the state’s two dominant utilities, National Grid. It said its rates will increase by a whopping 37 percent over last winter’s, solely because the cost of buying electricity from power plants has soared to the highest level in decades, according to a company spokesman.

This is were I lived for 35 years:

America s Richest Counties 2014 - Forbes

Made some great money (double six figure combined with the wife's), we looked at a 1000 sq ft house in Falls Church years ago for $750,000 but eventually chose a 3000 sq ft home in Reston VA for half that. Before the housing bust that house had increased $150K in value in a year and a half, after the bust it was appraised at $150K below what we paid for it...........
Our electric bill, monthly budget plan, was near $300 a month, combined all our utilities ran around $500 a month and that was normal, hate to think of the people who were living in all those 5000 + sq ft McMansions, those were probably some hefty utility bills. Oh and let's not talk about the traffic, morning and evening rush "hour" lasted 3 + hours, driving times were doubled at best and all bets were off if there was an accident, you just sat.
When I said icy wonderland I was being literal, lots of ice storms not as many snow storms, don't know about the Boston area but hot in Virginia is 99 degrees with 98% humidity, instant puddle.

Wonder why I rented in Quantico when I worked in Alexandria? On military pay?

 

[ChrisL]

^^^^

Must be why I'm so poor! National Grid also raised prices on us this year. Bastards!

National Grid projects a 37 percent increase for winter electricity rates - Business - The Boston Globe

Massachusetts consumers will pay significantly higher electric bills this winter as a persistent shortage of natural gas for generating plants drives power prices to record levels.

The cost for a typical household could top $150 a month, based on an announcement this week from one of the state’s two dominant utilities, National Grid. It said its rates will increase by a whopping 37 percent over last winter’s, solely because the cost of buying electricity from power plants has soared to the highest level in decades, according to a company spokesman.

This is were I lived for 35 years:

America s Richest Counties 2014 - Forbes

Made some great money (double six figure combined with the wife's), we looked at a 1000 sq ft house in Falls Church years ago for $750,000 but eventually chose a 3000 sq ft home in Reston VA for half that. Before the housing bust that house had increased $150K in value in a year and a half, after the bust it was appraised at $150K below what we paid for it...........
Our electric bill, monthly budget plan, was near $300 a month, combined all our utilities ran around $500 a month and that was normal, hate to think of the people who were living in all those 5000 + sq ft McMansions, those were probably some hefty utility bills. Oh and let's not talk about the traffic, morning and evening rush "hour" lasted 3 + hours, driving times were doubled at best and all bets were off if there was an accident, you just sat.
When I said icy wonderland I was being literal, lots of ice storms not as many snow storms, don't know about the Boston area but hot in Virginia is 99 degrees with 98% humidity, instant puddle.

Wonder why I rented in Quantico when I worked in Alexandria? On military pay?

In winter, my electric bill runs about $250 to $300 a month, and I live in a small townhouse. VERY small.

 

[gallantwarrior]

So, I think my interview went pretty well. There were a few other people there for interviews as well. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, but of course I don't know. They are going to email me if they want me. So we will see. If not, that's okay because there are a couple of other opportunities I have in mind.

Interviewing for a job is the worst. It's harder work than actually doing any job.
I'm not looking for a job but I had somebody reach out to me for one about a month ago, so I did a phone interview with them. By the end of the interview I knew I wasn't the person that they really needed and were looking for, so I told them so. Bonus points for my candor and honesty, maybe they'll contact me again if they have something I am a better fit for.

Even though I'm not looking, I know that long term I probably need a new job. The company I work for just recently got bought out by another company. It's probably going to take about two years+ to merge all of our systems and I am currently one of the IT resources merging our financial systems and I've been involved in early discusions about merging our supply chains. I'm guessing it's two to three years until they close our corp office and I don't want to be "the last man standing", but I've got time. They need us IT folk to handle the system merges.

Another thing I hate is when they want you to fill out an application. Good GOD! Some of them are like 5 pages long. It's as if they want to know your entire life's history. Kind of ridiculous if you ask me. Sometimes, the ones you fill out online are the worst.

ChrisL, we had a 4 page application form, each of the 45 employees had to finish before they were hired. The main reason for it was to see IF a potential employee would complete it. That told us about many things about the applicant and their attitude and that they really wanted to work and the chances of them working according to the job description to which they were applying, were increased, rather than decreased had they not completed it.

Those that didn't complete it, didn't get a job. Red flag....trouble ahead. lol

Yes, we also had a long application form for the same reason and it is amazing how many people were not literate enough to complete it. And because our work required a lot of technical writing, we also had applicants write a 50 to 100-word-essay on why they wanted the job. This was to verify that they had the necessary writing skills to do it so they had to do it with us, and not just bring it in (in which case somebody else could have written it for them.) Sadly, many could not write a coherent 50 to100-word essay on why they wanted the job.

Right up my alley! I've been called a "wordsmith" and love writing. One of my pet peeves currently is the obvious lack of editing in all types of media.

 

[gallantwarrior]

I hate heights as well. I hire someone to put up Christmas lights and the one time I had to climb up on my roof, I was nauseous.

BUT... I LOVE roller coasters. I figure I get more for my money than any one else on the ride.

Ack, I won't go on a roller coaster. I'm not a big fan of heights, but I'm more worried about my digestive system. I have enough problems as it is, I don't want to intentionally shake my belly around and see what comes out from which end.

Oh God, me too. I get sick on most rides. I don't even bother anymore. When I was little and I just HAD to go on rides, I would take a little Dramamine first. That stuff works too. Still, any kind of spinning rides . . .

Dramamine knock me out cold. I've found those wrist bands that operate on a specific pressure point work well, and I remain conscious an enjoy the trip more.

I haven't taken it in years, but it didn't affect me that way when I was a kid. I have a weak stomach too. I get car sick if I'm in the back seat of a standard. My tummy doesn't like it at all. Lol.

For some time, I had to fly in small airplanes to get to "work". Unfortunately, I get horribly airsick (that's why I had to quit flying lessons). Fishing trips were another challenge because I usually did more chumming than fishing, frequent head dips from the bow helped, but did not relieve the condition. Wrist bands did the trick to alleviate air/sea-sickness.

 

[Foxfyre]

Going to sign off early tonight folks as I probably won't be back at the computer before morning. Everybody have a lovely evening.

Good night darlinks. I love you guys.

And we're still keeping vigil for

Harper (Save's granddaughter),
Sunshine,
Pogo’s friend Pat and special comfort for Pogo,
TK, and TK's grandma,
Spoonie, Ringel, 007, Hombre, Sheila, Alan, & GW's sore backs,
Sherry’s Mom,
Becki and Becki’s hubby,
Sheila and son Andrew,
Noomi’s Auntie Marj,
The Ringels in difficult transition,
Boedicca's mom for healing and relief from pain,
Mrs. BBD's knee,
Save and Mrs. L in adversity,
Chris in transition,
Mrs. O and SFCOllie and Colonel,
GW's daughter, her friend Sachendra, and Sachendra's husband Bob and son Gary.
Ernie's friend and colleague Max,
Noomi!!!
Ernie for wellness, rest, and extra strength,
Ringel for wellness, rest, and extra strength,
Those in the dangerous cold zones,
All of us and those we care about who are looking for work,
Safe travels for those traveling,
All who are dealing with colds and flu,
And all others we love and hold in concern.

And the light is on awaiting the return of Sheila and Becki and all the others who have been MIA lately. We hope everyone is okay.

P.S. Sometimes in the editing of the vigil list or when I have switched computers, somebody gets dropped that is supposed to be on it. This will always be inadvertent and if ya'll would call it to my attention, it would be much appreciated.

 

[gallantwarrior]

Love the cats! Thanks for the laugh.

 

[gallantwarrior]

Good morning everybody. In the chilly 40's but bright and sunny so will warm up fairly quickly this morning.

Was just reading over the evening posts in the CS from last night. I too am a fairly strong extrovert but I still loved working from home. BUT. . . .our work required us to call on companies to do safety inspections, appraisals, audits, etc. so we saw people all the time. Our church and other activities also gave us a lot of interaction with folks and my avocation of some speaking/teaching engagements etc. still more, so I never felt isolated as Chris describes.

As for cost of living, it is higher here in Albuquerque compared to other places we might live. We could buy a lot more house for the money with lower taxes and utility costs, etc. where our son and family lives in west Texas for instance, but we would give up a lot of the amenities that we have here. But our cost of living is way under Chris's area, for instance, or northern Va/the DC area.

Our daughter lived not too far from where Ringel lived in Northern Virginia (she was in Arlington right across the river from the Pentagon) and her rent, parking fees, utilities etc. for a very small 10th floor apartment was over $3,000/month. She recently transferred back to the west coast and the cost of living in the Monterey area is still high, but she was able to buy a small 3-bedroom house with a short commute to work and her mortgage expenses and other costs are considerably less. Much higher than here though.

Yeah, I don't get to talk to anyone all day. I just type and edit reports.

I wouldn't mind a job like that. I tend to be more comfortable without lots of social interaction. At work, I tend to stay out in my truck listening to radio and surfing the net. The others are always chattering and nattering and trading personal information I'm not comfortable with. I'd love a work-from-home job.

 

[ChrisL]

I hate heights as well. I hire someone to put up Christmas lights and the one time I had to climb up on my roof, I was nauseous.

BUT... I LOVE roller coasters. I figure I get more for my money than any one else on the ride.

Ack, I won't go on a roller coaster. I'm not a big fan of heights, but I'm more worried about my digestive system. I have enough problems as it is, I don't want to intentionally shake my belly around and see what comes out from which end.

Oh God, me too. I get sick on most rides. I don't even bother anymore. When I was little and I just HAD to go on rides, I would take a little Dramamine first. That stuff works too. Still, any kind of spinning rides . . .

Dramamine knock me out cold. I've found those wrist bands that operate on a specific pressure point work well, and I remain conscious an enjoy the trip more.

I haven't taken it in years, but it didn't affect me that way when I was a kid. I have a weak stomach too. I get car sick if I'm in the back seat of a standard. My tummy doesn't like it at all. Lol.

For some time, I had to fly in small airplanes to get to "work". Unfortunately, I get horribly airsick (that's why I had to quit flying lessons). Fishing trips were another challenge because I usually did more chumming than fishing, frequent head dips from the bow helped, but did not relieve the condition. Wrist bands did the trick to alleviate air/sea-sickness.

What are these wrist bands you speak of?

 

[ChrisL]

Good morning everybody. In the chilly 40's but bright and sunny so will warm up fairly quickly this morning.

Was just reading over the evening posts in the CS from last night. I too am a fairly strong extrovert but I still loved working from home. BUT. . . .our work required us to call on companies to do safety inspections, appraisals, audits, etc. so we saw people all the time. Our church and other activities also gave us a lot of interaction with folks and my avocation of some speaking/teaching engagements etc. still more, so I never felt isolated as Chris describes.

As for cost of living, it is higher here in Albuquerque compared to other places we might live. We could buy a lot more house for the money with lower taxes and utility costs, etc. where our son and family lives in west Texas for instance, but we would give up a lot of the amenities that we have here. But our cost of living is way under Chris's area, for instance, or northern Va/the DC area.

Our daughter lived not too far from where Ringel lived in Northern Virginia (she was in Arlington right across the river from the Pentagon) and her rent, parking fees, utilities etc. for a very small 10th floor apartment was over $3,000/month. She recently transferred back to the west coast and the cost of living in the Monterey area is still high, but she was able to buy a small 3-bedroom house with a short commute to work and her mortgage expenses and other costs are considerably less. Much higher than here though.

Yeah, I don't get to talk to anyone all day. I just type and edit reports.

I wouldn't mind a job like that. I tend to be more comfortable without lots of social interaction. At work, I tend to stay out in my truck listening to radio and surfing the net. The others are always chattering and nattering and trading personal information I'm not comfortable with. I'd love a work-from-home job.

I felt the same, regarding office politics stuff, but after years and years of doing it, you tend to feel a little isolated and out of the loop so to speak, you know? It's gotten to the point now, where I'm having a difficult time motivating myself. That tells me . . . time for a change.

 

[ChrisL]

Going to sign off early tonight folks as I probably won't be back at the computer before morning. Everybody have a lovely evening.

Good night darlinks. I love you guys.

And we're still keeping vigil for

Harper (Save's granddaughter),
Sunshine,
Pogo’s friend Pat and special comfort for Pogo,
TK, and TK's grandma,
Spoonie, Ringel, 007, Hombre, Sheila, Alan, & GW's sore backs,
Sherry’s Mom,
Becki and Becki’s hubby,
Sheila and son Andrew,
Noomi’s Auntie Marj,
The Ringels in difficult transition,
Boedicca's mom for healing and relief from pain,
Mrs. BBD's knee,
Save and Mrs. L in adversity,
Chris in transition,
Mrs. O and SFCOllie and Colonel,
GW's daughter, her friend Sachendra, and Sachendra's husband Bob and son Gary.
Ernie's friend and colleague Max,
Noomi!!!
Ernie for wellness, rest, and extra strength,
Ringel for wellness, rest, and extra strength,
Those in the dangerous cold zones,
All of us and those we care about who are looking for work,
Safe travels for those traveling,
All who are dealing with colds and flu,
And all others we love and hold in concern.

And the light is on awaiting the return of Sheila and Becki and all the others who have been MIA lately. We hope everyone is okay.

P.S. Sometimes in the editing of the vigil list or when I have switched computers, somebody gets dropped that is supposed to be on it. This will always be inadvertent and if ya'll would call it to my attention, it would be much appreciated.

Night! Sleep well, Foxy lady!

 

[Ringel05]

Didn't get much sleep last night, up at 4 instead of the planned 5 am....... Got up to the Springs by 8 am, they were to arrive between 8 and 10, 10 arrives and they call me, they had truck problems and were just leaving Denver. In the mean time it had been snowing in Denver down to Monument, the Springs was supposed to get a little rain by mid afternoon......... by 10 am it was snowing heavily, no rain.
They finally show up at noon and once I get them into the storage area the snow stops but the wind was high and it was in the low 30s, I had a t-shirt, light shirt and a light vest. At some point I hopped in the truck to get warm and took a half hour power nap, that was good because they didn't get finished until 8:30 and I had to drive home in the dark.
Tomorrow they pack up the house here in Trinidad, I do everything else we need to do, load the vehicles and head south for about 4 hours then find a motel for the night then in El Paso Friday morning.

 

[peach174]

Didn't get much sleep last night, up at 4 instead of the planned 5 am....... Got up to the Springs by 8 am, they were to arrive between 8 and 10, 10 arrives and they call me, they had truck problems and were just leaving Denver. In the mean time it had been snowing in Denver down to Monument, the Springs was supposed to get a little rain by mid afternoon......... by 10 am it was snowing heavily, no rain.
They finally show up at noon and once I get them into the storage area the snow stops but the wind was high and it was in the low 30s, I had a t-shirt, light shirt and a light vest. At some point I hopped in the truck to get warm and took a half hour power nap, that was good because they didn't get finished until 8:30 and I had to drive home in the dark.
Tomorrow they pack up the house here in Trinidad, I do everything else we need to do, load the vehicles and head south for about 4 hours then find a motel for the night then in El Paso Friday morning.

Good Luck for your trip and stay safe.

 

[peach174]

Morning !
We have to do the swamp cooler today it's starting to get too hot by 10:00 a.m.

Thursday's smile

 

[Ernie S.]

Well, house guests have left for their return trip to Saranac Lake NY and their 9 feet of snow. It's 73 here now, headed for 76 or so and 37 in Saranac Lake. Tom has a meeting for his catering business on Monday. 6AM Monday morning, the forecast temp will be 3 degrees F with a high of 36 Here, we'll have 50 at 6 and 76 for a high. Damn! I love Alabama!

Got the smoker fired up, and about ready to load up the 12 pound pork loin. There's plenty of pecan wood and I have quite a while to make my sauce.

 

[gallantwarrior]

Ack, I won't go on a roller coaster. I'm not a big fan of heights, but I'm more worried about my digestive system. I have enough problems as it is, I don't want to intentionally shake my belly around and see what comes out from which end.

Oh God, me too. I get sick on most rides. I don't even bother anymore. When I was little and I just HAD to go on rides, I would take a little Dramamine first. That stuff works too. Still, any kind of spinning rides . . .

Dramamine knock me out cold. I've found those wrist bands that operate on a specific pressure point work well, and I remain conscious an enjoy the trip more.

I haven't taken it in years, but it didn't affect me that way when I was a kid. I have a weak stomach too. I get car sick if I'm in the back seat of a standard. My tummy doesn't like it at all. Lol.

For some time, I had to fly in small airplanes to get to "work". Unfortunately, I get horribly airsick (that's why I had to quit flying lessons). Fishing trips were another challenge because I usually did more chumming than fishing, frequent head dips from the bow helped, but did not relieve the condition. Wrist bands did the trick to alleviate air/sea-sickness.

What are these wrist bands you speak of?

They are elastic bands with a plastic button that is held pressed against a pressure point on your wrist. I'll see if I can find more info later. I'm using a tablet right now and it has some limitations.

 

[Foxfyre]

Good morning everybody. Beautiful here but was noting Peach already needing to rev up the swamp cooler. We usually don't do that until late April or early May but as fast as the warm up is happening we too may need to schdule earlier. Albuquerque isn't entirely safe from freezing weather until late April though.

Was looking over the news--the super tide in France that occurs every 18 years and is a major tourist attraction makes Mont Saint-Michel into an island for a few hours. It just strikes me how different it must be to live in a place where you go look at the tide for entertainment.

Also looking at the devastation in Moore Oklahoma yet again from yesterday's tornado. Those folks have gotten hit in 98, 99, 2003, 2010, 2013--that was the EF5 that took out most of the town--and now 2015. We have friends there--they are okay--but they say the people in those parts take tornado warnings very seriously.

But according to the weather folks, there have only been a couple of dozen tornados so far this year and there are usually more than 100 by this time in the season. And sometimes I wonder if boring weather isn't indeed a blessing--we don't get the big hail, the violent thunderstorms, tornados can happen but the ones that do are EFzero and that is so rare nobody even thinks about it. We don't have hurricanes, blizzards, earthquakes, landslides, sink holes etc. Very rarely a heavy rain will create a serious flash flood but those are short lived--massive flooding requiring evacuation, etc. just doesn't happen. Occasional high winds but nothing destructive. We don't get the extreme heat or the extreme cold.

But all this abundant sunshine can get boring. Don't ya'll feel sorry for us?

 

[Foxfyre]

Oh God, me too. I get sick on most rides. I don't even bother anymore. When I was little and I just HAD to go on rides, I would take a little Dramamine first. That stuff works too. Still, any kind of spinning rides . . .

Dramamine knock me out cold. I've found those wrist bands that operate on a specific pressure point work well, and I remain conscious an enjoy the trip more.

I haven't taken it in years, but it didn't affect me that way when I was a kid. I have a weak stomach too. I get car sick if I'm in the back seat of a standard. My tummy doesn't like it at all. Lol.

For some time, I had to fly in small airplanes to get to "work". Unfortunately, I get horribly airsick (that's why I had to quit flying lessons). Fishing trips were another challenge because I usually did more chumming than fishing, frequent head dips from the bow helped, but did not relieve the condition. Wrist bands did the trick to alleviate air/sea-sickness.

What are these wrist bands you speak of?

They are elastic bands with a plastic button that is held pressed against a pressure point on your wrist. I'll see if I can find more info later. I'm using a tablet right now and it has some limitations.

Our daughter has a problem with sea sickness and gets a patch that she wears that she says takes care of it when she goes on a boat. I hadn't heard about the wrist bands but if Hombre and I take another cruise where the seas can get heavy, I think we should look into that for him. He isn't as bad as the daughter but he can get seasick.

 

[Big Black Dog]

I have to climb up on my soap box this afternoon. Last night at around 9:00 pm I took a friend of mine down to the
Emergency Room because she had fallen in the shower and broke her arm. We got to the Emergency Room about 9:30 pm. We didn't get away from the Emergency Room until 3:00 am. The problem was the waiting room was completely full of people. There were old folks there, young mothers with babies, and everything in between. None of them, and I repeat, none of them appeared to be ill or in any kind of medical distress. The atmosphere was that of a carnival. The kids were running all over playing and doing the things that unsupervised young kids do to pass the time. My friend was finally seen and were got her the treatment she required but she could have been seen much earlier if the Emergency Room was not full of people who did not require that level of medical care.

 

[Foxfyre]

I have to climb up on my soap box this afternoon. Last night at around 9:00 pm I took a friend of mine down to the
Emergency Room because she had fallen in the shower and broke her arm. We got to the Emergency Room about 9:30 pm. We didn't get away from the Emergency Room until 3:00 am. The problem was the waiting room was completely full of people. There were old folks there, young mothers with babies, and everything in between. None of them, and I repeat, none of them appeared to be ill or in any kind of medical distress. The atmosphere was that of a carnival. The kids were running all over playing and doing the things that unsupervised young kids do to pass the time. My friend was finally seen and were got her the treatment she required but she could have been seen much earlier if the Emergency Room was not full of people who did not require that level of medical care.

I feel your pain. And hers. When I need to take my aunt or uncle in for emergency treatment, we go by ambulance to avoid the hours and hours of waiting. I was having terrible face pain once and went to the ER. Eight hours later I was in worse pain and nobody had seen me. So I went home and in desperation took some illegal bootlegged Penicillin that my sister had brought back from Mexico. Within hours it was working. My dentist saw me on short notice the next day, couldn't diagnose the pain but guessed it had something to do with an abcess--took me off the illegal penicillin and put me on a legal antibiotic. And I got well.

But it's a sad state of affairs when you have to go to your dentist for healthcare.

Some of ya'll that want to air this more thoroughly than we can do in the Coffee Shop might want to join me here:
Debate Now - An Unhappy Birthday for Obamacare US Message Board - Political Discussion Forum

 

[Ernie S.]

The pork loin is looking good! The smoker is plugging away at 175-200 degrees and we should have some fine eatings about 6 PM. That benefit is tomorrow night at Doc's, so I'll be a bit busy.

Dog! Don't they have urgent care clinics up your way? Most around here are closed up by midnight, but you're almost always out in under an hour.