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boilerhorn

Certifiably Surly
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Posts posted by boilerhorn

  1. 51 minutes ago, Mittens said:

    Ha! I actually had my worst parent interaction out there, but it was an opposing father.  JV games is pretty much only family, so it's easy to hear if you're the single/far side ref closest to the fans.  He was convinced we were calling clearing time limits incorrectly, and I could tell he was googling it, because he was quoting NFHS rules, when TXHSLL plays NCAA rules.  After the game, he waited for me, tried to say he was a ref (clearly not), got a little puffed up.  Nothing burger, but only time I ever had a parent confront me after a game.

    I was normally a loud-mouth during the game.  And would have a quick moment of self-reflection and say, "WTF, boilerhorn, these guys know more than you do and are closer to the action..."  I was always willing to volunteer as timer, spotter, etc., as it got me even closer to the game - and helped with my inability to shut up :)

    My 2 boys (10 years apaprt) did not play for LT, but did play against them.  Do not want to self-dox - yet :)

    • Hook 'Em 1
  2. Yup.  Garrigan was a really good coach, but I am sure you know the rest.  Loda was OK, but a in an little over his head.  Bok was a pendulum swing. Bringing “adults” back into the fold.  Kudos to the players/leadership for this direction.

    • Hook 'Em 1
  3. My son played for Texas LAX for all 4 years.  On darn near all of his teams, he had D1 transfers.  Basically, these were guys who were really freaking good and asked themselves, “Why am I living in a 20k person town that has 18 hours of dark and rain in the winter?  And for LAX?”  And the women at UT.

    He asserts that Hartzell would have taken most of his teams really far.  

  4. 3 hours ago, Vito Andolini said:

    This can go off on a major tangent (and it literally has on this board, the merits/demerits of Eugene, Oregon & Oregon) but I went up there for a  few days several years ago and found it gloomy/foggy, claustrophobic and boring. But I’m sure if you pick the right weekend weather-wise, are wined and dined and treated like a king, it could seem like a paradise. The facilities are cool as hell and I assume they make a helluva pitch. So I can see why it could be appealing. But I can also see why the day-to-day might get old. 

    Spring, Fall, and Summer in Portland (and its suburbs) almost make the winters worth it.

    As a matter of fact, the above can be said for *many* places in the Pacific NW and the northern Midwest.  But, the winters fucking suck - you just have to survive.

    • Hook 'Em 1
  5. 48 minutes ago, YGIFS said:

    They still rely way too heavily on MLS prices when so many damn residences in Travis County trade off-market.  It's insane to me.  Both MLS/Realtors and TCAD are living in such antiquated times.  

    And it's all arranged regressively, to make you think you live in a low-tax state.  It's just an illusion.  A parlor trick to steer stupid people.  Same as water restrictions.  Your sprinkler system isn't the problem, that's only 10% of water usage statewide, even on a hot day.  All bullshit and everybody knows it but nobody wants to talk about it because it might hurt feelings.  

     

    2 good points here. 

    The low-tax-state issue has always been a ruse.  It's far more profound now that properties in Austin, Houston, etc. are no longer as affordable and accessible as before.  A quick number-crunch...  A $500k home is accessible to someone with a bit of a down payment and earning around $150k per year.  A 2.5% property tax rate yields property $12500 per year.  That's equivalent to an 8.3% income tax.  Many other "high tax" states have 1% property taxes, so the effective difference yields a tax of $7500, or 5%.  That's on par with moderately taxed states.  Once that $500k house gets to $800k (like many around Austin did), the relative tax becomes around 8%.  Texas is not "low tax."

    Water - agree.  55% is for farm irrigation.  31% for municipalities.  7% manufacturing.  Power, mining, and livestock take up the remaining 7%.  Worst case, watering lawns uses up 1/2 of municipalities, and only at peak times.  

    • Hook 'Em 1
  6. Up until around 3 years ago, I appealed every year.  I viewed it as holding the CAD to account.

    In almost every case, I was successful.  A friend in real estate would provide comps.  I'd meet w/ a CAD employee who'd bring up the data that they were using for comps.  I'd share mine and they'd agree w/ mine.  In one specific case, the CAD employee pushed a function key and the data was re-populated, resulting in a 15% reduction.  Ok.

    In 2019 (I believe), the informal appeal failed and I did the formal appeal.  Everything described previously was accurate.  3 octogenarians and a CAD employee are with you in a room.  You present your position, the CAD employee refutes it using every manner of poor reasoning.  "Mr. Boilerhorn appeals every year.  He has a nice yard.  Blah."  I cannot respond, "Of course I appeal every year. People who do not are not holding you accountable."  I was able to get a 15% functional obsolescence on my home because of it relative to homes in neighborhood.  One of the panel said, "I do not understand one bit of Mr. Boilerhorn's math, so I side with the CAD."  My math was basic price/Sq.Ft. as a function of Sq.Ft.  My home is larger than others in the community; the previous metric was fairly linear - except for my house.  

    A few years back, I called one of the "pros" for consulting.  He said, "I can make more money focusing 30 minutes on appeals than you can pay me to consult.  But since you are on the phone..."  It was enlightening, but I did not really learn that much.  He did say that he (and darn near all of the other "Pro" tax appealers) formerly worked for TCAD.  They know everyone there and they know the process.  I had already figured there was some sort of positive relationship.  in 2012 (or so) I saw one of the Pro appeals guys show up with 4 file boxes on a dolly.  He was greeted cheerfully, shake hands with a few people, etc.  I found that interesting.  Also, your file is one of thousands he'll handle.  You'll likely do a more thorough job and you'll definitely care more about the outcome.

  7. I've had a corded Aqua Products EVO 614iq for about 5 months.  Happy with the results so far.  I bought from Marina Pool and Spa in Colorado, based on recommendations from folks at TroubleFreePool.com (a site I highly recommend).  Posters on that site have had very positive experience w/ Marina, their service, and the handling of warranty issues.  EVO is part of the Jandy/Polaris conglomerate, fwiw.

    https://marinapoolspaandpatio.com/

     https://www.aquaproducts.com/en/products/pool-cleaners/evo-614-iq

  8. 54 minutes ago, BurntOrange&White said:

    41.6 avg seems low but after looking at Sanborn prior to Texas his best was 41.7

    Some of requires context.  Cherry picking some of his lowest output games.

    @ NIU (36.5 avg): 44 (downed at 2), 28 (shank?), 30 (downed at 9), 44
    @BGSU (31.0 avg): 40, 22 (bad punt)
    @EMU (37.3 avg): 49, 38, 29 (short kick), 33 (oob at opp 19)

    2 "bad kicks" and 2 "inside the 20" contributed to the above.

    In 7 games he had some 50+ yard punts.  In 4 of those, he had some 60+ yard punts.

    Oh, and he's Australian.  

     

  9. 5 hours ago, Fud said:

    It’s depth this year with an eye towards starting 2-3 years down the road

    One of the draft guys on TV said that he basically doesn’t have an ACL in one of his knees. He might not make it to his second contract 

    Missed that detail.

  10. On 4/20/2024 at 8:49 AM, Fud said:

     

     

    On 4/20/2024 at 8:54 AM, closetojumping said:

    Where is he currently projected? I wouldn’t be surprised if that dude ended up being 10+ year NFL player. 

     

    Catching up on this thread and saw the above.  Agree w/ ctj's assessment - Wilson could be a 10 year player.  Butkus award.  400+ tackles. 6'4"/233. 4.33 40.
    Overall, he was ranked #48 and the #3 LB.  

    Fell to the Steelers at #98 overall.

    Fwiw, this pick was part of the Kenny Pickett trade that sent him to Phil.  I already feel like Pitt got its money's worth :)

  11. 26 minutes ago, Gut Wagon said:

    Sending Ridder to AZ for former Longhorn commit Rondale Moore is a decent move by the Falcons. 

    Agree with this.  Rondale Moore was an absolute stud at Purdue and has shown flashes in the NFL.

    I cannot believe that AZ valued Ridder that high or Moore that low.  Seems like the AZ GM did not realize in how bad a position ATL was and that they could have gotten Ridder for "free."

    • Like 1
  12. 16 minutes ago, Vic Mackey said:
    2 hours ago, Helobious said:
    Miami is a light years better offense than KC, and him & Hill would’ve been unstoppable. Was really hoping he’d go there vs the cold of KC and their (at times) plodding offense.

    Not even close. Mahomes is leaps and bounds better than Tua.

    You've been Helobius'd

    • Haha 2
  13. 2 hours ago, ChickenSandwich said:

    Not sure who watched Nix and thought he was a first rounder. 

     

    2 hours ago, Pimphand said:

    6 QBs in the top 12 is insane...  I think the Redskins likely will come out the best of the 6.

    Nix & McCarthy don't seem like 1st rounders to me.  Penix seems like a late first rounder due to age & injury history.

    Before the NFL instituted a rookie wage scale, most of these guys would not have been first round picks.  It's a QB league and the wage scale makes the risk/reward calculus encourage reaching for a QB.

    For example, McCarthy's rookie contract is a guaranteed 4yr/$21.3mm deal; Nix's rookie contract is a guaranteed 4yr/$18mm.  If these guys perform in the top half of QBs, they were a freaking bargain.  If they wash out, the salary impact is relatively absorbable.  

    In 2007, Jamarcus Russell signed a 6/$61mm deal with $32mm guaranteed.  That was around 10% of the salary cap in 2007.  Today, $5mm per year is around 2%.  Seems like a reasonable risk to take for the most important player on the team.

    • Hook 'Em 5
  14. 37 minutes ago, yoladu said:

    i know our high school requires that the seniors do FAFSA as a condition of graduation. Not holding out hope that is actually does anything for us specifically.

    That seems like a pretty ridiculous requirement, especially for a high school.

    Some colleges require it for a student to have access to merit rewards.  I suspect they'll steer a merit reward to the need-based (or gov't) bucket if they can. 

    Some private colleges require it for access to any level of scholarships.

  15. On 2/18/2024 at 10:42 AM, GhostOfTomJoad said:

    No, the first part of my response was "Jala's awesome." And she is. She's great in many ways & I watch her religiously every Sat and Sun morning. But she fucks up names on the reg (as I'm sure others do; I just don't watch them) & I hope that it's not held against her.

    And I refuse to believe that over 34 pages that La Quita Culpepper has NOT been given her proper accolades. I saw her first (probably quite literally; she lived down the street in HS).

    Very late to this conversation.  She's a good reporter and easy on the eyes.  Was she in HS when you were in HS?  If so, you and I went to the same HS around the same time :).

  16. Watched The Departed last night for the first time in years.

    Great cast, great script, great acting, strong directing.  Thoroughly enjoyed, though I will admit I had forgotten the resolution...

    If I did not know it was adapted from a synthesis of several different stories, I would have thought that the resolution in the last 10 minutes was due to a funding or movie length issue.  "Hey, Martin (Scorsese); the movie's already at 2:30 and they money guys are getting a little pinched.  Let's wrap it up."

  17. This might be better than pulling off all of the paneling, but maybe not.  Marginally better than the 1x4 option above and still violates the "adding on top of the paneling" comment from before.

    I know of one example where someone used a 1/2" piece of plywood.  Cut the plywood large enough to where it keeps the TV level, but is not visible.

    Attach the plywood to the studs and then use a similar toggle bolt solution that you would for a drywall hang - but through the plywood (and paneling).  It will sit off the wall 1/2 inch, but it will only be apparent when you walk up to the wall - given where you'll be putting it in that room.  Still definitely not flush, but somewhat better than a 1x4 frame.  However, you might be able to get a customized frame/bezel that extends further toward the wall than normal.

    Did a quick internet search (which I am sure you did, too) and realize that's where the above example was borrowed from.

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