Maybe spending stupid amounts of money on power cords isn't entirely harmless

[wgscott]

Yeah, we thought about it. We'd been through the thing about purchasing whatever was the top-rated vacuum in Consumer Reports every 2-3 years. Our experience with an analogous situation informed our decision: We would buy a cheap outdoor grill once every year or two until we finally got tired of it and bought a Weber. Twice or three times the price. We still have it nearly 20 years later. We figured we'd try to make this the last time we'd have to spend time and money on a vacuum, just as nearly 20 years ago was the second-last time we bought a grill. (We plan on taking the vacuum to the home we intend to build and move to in New Mexico next year, but not paying to move the grill - we'll buy a new Weber, finally.)

 

After blowing through three $400 Dysons in about as many years, I understand...

[jabbr]

I knew where you were headed with your comments. The biggest tariffs placed are those on American companies and unfortunately by their own government in the form of taxes.

 

Even if taxes were substantially lowered would it bring jobs back? Don't know. Being cynical I would say businesses would probably have their cake and eat it too. They would repatriate their money abroad, more stimulative than Obama's moronic stimulus, but likely not bring back those "manufacturing jobs" where businesses can get it done for pennies on the dollar. How much repatriation of their money would stimulate the economy I don't know but cheap labor isn't coming back to America anytime soon by simply lowering corporate taxes.

 

This is a very difficult problem.

 

Not just my opinion but those manufacturing jobs are lost the day Honda and Toyota have lower error rate plants in Japan than those in the USA. I mean lost in the long term. Do I lay blame on the unions? Yes but only partly. The greater Boston area has been able to reinvent its manufacturing base over the centuries. Detroit: not so much. One major difference is the surrounding educational base. If our iPhones are assembled today in China, tomorrow by robots. Witness Intel. What Amazon is doing with logistics is nothing short of amazing. So, the answer really is that those jobs are probably lost forever and need to be replaced. Hopefully education will help.

[Priaptor]

This is a very difficult problem.

 

Not just my opinion but those manufacturing jobs are lost the day Honda and Toyota have lower error rate plants in Japan than those in the USA. I mean lost in the long term. Do I lay blame on the unions? Yes but only partly. The greater Boston area has been able to reinvent its manufacturing base over the centuries. Detroit: not so much. One major difference is the surrounding educational base. If our iPhones are assembled today in China, tomorrow by robots. Witness Intel. What Amazon is doing with logistics is nothing short of amazing. So, the answer really is that those jobs are probably lost forever and need to be replaced. Hopefully education will help.

 

I don't disagree. However forcing American companies to either keep their money outside the US or to utilize inversions to escape paying taxes is ludicrous policy. Clearly having that money in the states rather than in England, Ireland, etc does little to stimulate our economy and quite frankly has done little to stimulate the economies of the countries they are in.

 

"education" I guess the one topic we haven't meandered towards on this thread. Now unlike medicine where the variables can be disputed as to how to measure outcome/$ spent, education is a much easier measure. No spending by the government has accelerated more in the last 20years than that on education and our metrics keep falling.

 

I don't have much faith that education is going to improve anytime soon here in the states.

[DuckToller]

After blowing through three $400 Dysons in about as many years, I understand...

 

Looks like the Cyclone technology is not suitable to dog's hair. Thats's bad news. Just found out, my wife had bought a cheap Dirt Devil cyclone 2300w monster (silently during summer vacation last year, kept in the closet in her part of the cellar secretly), which will replace our old vacuum cleaner. Hhm, I bought a Weber this afternoon, maybe we get in more in balance with that :-)

Tom

[Jud]

Looks like the Cyclone technology is not suitable to dog's hair. Thats's bad news. Just found out, my wife had bought a cheap Dirt Devil cyclone 2300w monster (silently during summer vacation last year, kept in the closet in her part of the cellar secretly), which will replace our old vacuum cleaner. Hhm, I bought a Weber this afternoon, maybe we get in more in balance with that :-)

Tom

 

Photo of your Toller?

[Jud]

Jud

 

Where are you planning on moving to in NM?

 

Before I bought my place I was seriously thinking about Santa Fe and ultimately put a deposit on a home in Taos. I love it out there. For a variety of reasons it didn't work out but a really unique place.

 

A mesa outside a village 15-20 miles from Albuquerque. Nice view of the Sandias and a local herd of about 100 wild horses. Also a local subscription chamber concert series, and wine tasting at the supermarket every Friday.

 

Sounds disgustingly yuppie, doesn't it? Will have to practice being the local curmudgeon.

[tranz]

I don't disagree. However forcing American companies to either keep their money outside the US or to utilize inversions to escape paying taxes is ludicrous policy. Clearly having that money in the states rather than in England, Ireland, etc does little to stimulate our economy and quite frankly has done little to stimulate the economies of the countries they are ...

 

To avoid this many Euro governments provide low (or no) business tax environment to attract the businesses and jobs. But they then recoup it from the people in higher sales tax or income tax. But you are happier paying higher taxes with a job than no job at all.

 

Plus, since you mention education, this is another large stress burden on the average American. Yes you pay higher personal taxes in Euroland but no matter how 'poor' you can go to the best schools (vocational and uni) without starting work life with a massive debt.

[Paul R]

How does a chocolate lab not shed?? Pretty amazing. Yeah many people choose labs over goldens because of this shedding thing but in reality labs usually shed like crazy.

 

I did the leather sofa thing but they quickly scratched the crap out of it. So I just decided to live with it, until, one day, we decided to give that beautiful leather couch to my daughter and went with a "chenille" couch. Not a great choice. Within days the dogs separated the pillow portion of the couch from it's backings and now use it as a hammock. My picture of Jeter is showing that.

 

Have great vacuums.

 

Question about your wood floors?? What kind of wood? I am replacing some wood structures out in Montana in an effort to make them dog and people proof and have chosen Ipe wood which is "supposed" to be incredibly hard and almost impossible to splinter and scratch.

 

Though it sounds slightly counter intuitive, bamboo or oak with a very durable finish on it seems to work well for us. The dog-who-thinks-she-is-a-cat hasn't managed to destroy either flooring in a decade and a half. She went through pine (my favorite) like it was nothing...

 

-Paul

[tranz]

Though it sounds slightly counter intuitive, bamboo or oak with a very durable finish on it seems to work well for us. The dog-who-thinks-she-is-a-cat hasn't managed to destroy either flooring in a decade and a half. She went through pine (my favorite) like it was nothing...

 

-Paul

 

Hickory works great with dags too.

[DuckToller]

Photo of your Toller?

 

No,

found that beautiful pic of that young Toller girl in my Toller-FB-Group.

The avatar before was taken from ours, but he is not that young anymore with over 5 years.

This was him with 6 month having tooth pain ...

[Jud]

Hickory works great with dags too.

 

Hickory is tremendously hard, which eats sawblades, and it can be knotty as well, which increases waste. I would guess therefore that it isn't cheap.

[Priaptor]

A mesa outside a village 15-20 miles from Albuquerque. Nice view of the Sandias and a local herd of about 100 wild horses. Also a local subscription chamber concert series, and wine tasting at the supermarket every Friday.

 

Sounds disgustingly yuppie, doesn't it? Will have to practice being the local curmudgeon.

 

Sounds fantastic.

 

Retiring?

 

I loved it out there. You have no idea how close I came to buying out there. Santa Fe, while I enjoyed, I couldn't live there. It reminded me of Boca Raton which I had to escape from several years ago but I did fall in love with Taos but getting there was an issue.

 

I found my paradise in NW Montana.

 

Take it from the king of all curmudgeons it will be fun. Congrats.

[Priaptor]

No,

found that beautiful pic of that young Toller girl in my Toller-FB-Group.

The avatar before was taken from ours, but he is not that young anymore with over 5 years.

This was him with 6 month having tooth pain ...

[ATTACH=CONFIG]26185[/ATTACH]

 

I love her. Awesome dogs on this thread. Much nicer than their owners. Just a joke.

[bluesman]

Will have to practice being the local curmudgeon.

Interestingly enough, no you won't. We love Santa Fe in part because there's a large "mature" community all around, so we're not the oldest people in every room there. And, as we observed firsthand, far from the crustiest....

[Priaptor]

Hickory is tremendously hard, which eats sawblades, and it can be knotty as well, which increases waste. I would guess therefore that it isn't cheap.

 

I did my floors in MT in hickory and it wasn't bad. I need to refinish it and the price to refinish is absurd so I was looking just to replace. My hickory has scratched up pretty bad. I need a harder wood.

[wgscott]

No,

found that beautiful pic of that young Toller girl in my Toller-FB-Group.

The avatar before was taken from ours, but he is not that young anymore with over 5 years.

This was him with 6 month having tooth pain ...

[ATTACH=CONFIG]26185[/ATTACH]

 

You almost convinced me to get one, but the breeder I approached talked me out of it. (Too energetic.)

 

That may have to replace my entry in the Cutest Puppy Ever ranking.

[Jud]

Interestingly enough, no you won't. We love Santa Fe in part because there's a large "mature" community all around, so we're not the oldest people in every room there. And, as we observed firsthand, far from the crustiest....

 

My ambition is to be the crustiest guy in the room. I'm gonna practice walking outside with a cane and hollering "Damn kids, offa my lawn!" at 70-year-olds, even though we can't have lawns (even if I wanted to, which I don't).

[Priaptor]

Interestingly enough, no you won't. We love Santa Fe in part because there's a large "mature" community all around, so we're not the oldest people in every room there. And, as we observed firsthand, far from the crustiest....

 

I don't know BM when I was out there looking very seriously I was the least "curmudgeonistic" person out there. I don't do the dress up thing very well and when I went into the galleries I was brushed off pretty fast until I bought some expensive stuff and then I was their pal. Same happened in a bunch of restaurants.

 

The straw that broke the camel's back for me was when some real estate agent came to take me to some places to look at and because I was wearing a tank top and shorts they wouldn't let me, a potential buyer, into their clubhouse and horse arena.

 

Despite all the negative stuff I still like Santa Fe.

[Jud]

Sounds fantastic.

 

Retiring?

 

I loved it out there. You have no idea how close I came to buying out there. Santa Fe, while I enjoyed, I couldn't live there. It reminded me of Boca Raton which I had to escape from several years ago but I did fall in love with Taos but getting there was an issue.

 

I found my paradise in NW Montana.

 

Take it from the king of all curmudgeons it will be fun. Congrats.

 

My wife is retiring. I have to keep working in order to support her in the style to which she wishes to become accustomed. But I'll be working from home, so the commute will be a 10 second walk.

 

Been to NW Montana. What area?

[17629]

To avoid this many Euro governments provide low (or no) business tax environment to attract the businesses and jobs. But they then recoup it from the people in higher sales tax or income tax. But you are happier paying higher taxes with a job than no job at all.

 

Plus, since you mention education, this is another large stress burden on the average American. Yes you pay higher personal taxes in Euroland but no matter how 'poor' you can go to the best schools (vocational and uni) without starting work life with a massive debt.

 

You can get around the high expense in most cases. I don't know if you live in the US, but our state schools are pretty good overall. Most compete well with private institutions, but they cost a lot less. If you're very poor, you can even get grants that don't have to be paid back like student loans. Regardless of what school you go to, an education is what you make of it. The students that go to college to really learn always get a better education.

[Priaptor]

My wife is retiring. I have to keep working in order to support her in the style to which she wishes to become accustomed. But I'll be working from home, so the commute will be a 10 second walk.

 

Been to NW Montana. What area?

 

I have a place on Flathead Lake just south of a place called Lakeside. The largest freshwater lake west of the Miss.

 

Truly love it out there. Between Glacier NP, the skiing, the hiking etc it is my dream.

 

My love for horseback riding and Lewis and Clark brought me to the area back in 2002.

 

As to having to work I know what you mean. I have to in order to keep my "Boca Retrievers" in the life they have become accustomed to as well!!

[Jud]

I don't know BM when I was out there looking very seriously I was the least "curmudgeonistic" person out there. I don't do the dress up thing very well and when I went into the galleries I was brushed off pretty fast until I bought some expensive stuff and then I was their pal. Same happened in a bunch of restaurants.

 

The straw that broke the camel's back for me was when some real estate agent came to take me to some places to look at and because I was wearing a tank top and shorts they wouldn't let me, a potential buyer, into their clubhouse and horse arena.

 

Despite all the negative stuff I still like Santa Fe.

 

I've been traveling out to NM for over 35 years. When I started, Albuquerque was a hole, not that many folks knew about Santa Fe, and Taos had mostly dirt roads where refugees from hippiedom strolled downtown, doobies in hand, while cops cruised by with their windows open shaking their heads and laughing. My friends (Scott, who sold beads to Native Americans for ceremonial costumes; Bob the Forest Ranger; and his girlfriend Crystal, a 6-foot gorgeous blond Amazon who worked construction) and I, all in well worn T-shirts, were happily seated at the best restaurant in town, where we ate terrific food at affordable prices.

 

Now Taos has a McDonald's and Walmart like everywhere else, and lots of cute art galleries. Santa Fe was discovered by hordes of Californians and Texans, who created local industries selling them exclusive, expensive real estate, art, and restaurant meals. (There are still the great old places, though - Cafe Pasqual's for breakfast (sit at the big round communal center table to chat with locals and visitors from around the world) and Coyote Cafe for dinner. And the Hotel St. Francis for high tea.)

 

Albuquerque, meanwhile, has become kind of a "happening place," as they say.

[Priaptor]

I've been traveling out to NM for over 35 years. When I started, Albuquerque was a hole, not that many folks knew about Santa Fe, and Taos had mostly dirt roads where refugees from hippiedom strolled downtown, doobies in hand, while cops cruised by with their windows open shaking their heads and laughing. My friends (Scott, who sold beads to Native Americans for ceremonial costumes; Bob the Forest Ranger; and his girlfriend Crystal, a 6-foot gorgeous blond Amazon who worked construction) and I, all in well worn T-shirts, were happily seated at the best restaurant in town, where we ate terrific food at affordable prices.

 

Now Taos has a McDonald's and Walmart like everywhere else, and lots of cute art galleries. Santa Fe was discovered by hordes of Californians and Texans, who created local industries selling them exclusive, expensive real estate, art, and restaurant meals. (There are still the great old places, though - Cafe Pasqual's for breakfast (sit at the big round communal center table to chat with locals and visitors from around the world) and Coyote Cafe for dinner. And the Hotel St. Francis for high tea.)

 

Albuquerque, meanwhile, has become kind of a "happening place," as they say.

 

Yeah absolutely. I agree. Yes I had the "high tea". Santa Fe ain't what it used to be. "Also since it got so crowded nobody goes there anymore"

 

The problem where I am is that the same Texans and Californians are moving in driving up real estate prices, etc.

[bluesman]

when I was out there looking very seriously I was the least "curmudgeonistic" person out there

My point exactly - the Santa Fe area is well populated with older and crustier curmudgeons than my wife, I and the friends with whom we usually travel are......by far! But I felt at home there (we rented a beautiful townhouse in the Corazon development) and would happily live there if we hadn't just settled into our condo a mile outside of Philly.

 

We love Montana. One of my closest friends for 48 years lives in Big Timber, so we know Livingston, Bozeman, Billings & the intervening landscape well. We've had tater pigs, been to the Sweetgrass County Fair, fished the local streams, and generally raised hell on the back roads. It's a little harsh out there for us in winter, though.

 

We travel with one carry-on each, regardless of time or distance (unless we need formal clothes etc). I wear jeans & T-shirts pretty much everywhere, with an unconstructed sport jacket over a good T for "evenings out". We did 2 weeks in Hong Kong in November that way without a problem, and a week anywhere is child's play now. It took my wife a few trips to adapt, but now she loves it.

 

David

[Jud]

Yeah absolutely. I agree. Yes I had the "high tea". Santa Fe ain't what it used to be. "Also since it got so crowded nobody goes there anymore"

 

The problem where I am is that the same Texans and Californians are moving in driving up real estate prices, etc.

 

We left those folks behind in the village, in the million-dollar homes on the small but expensive lots with great highway access (and 24 hour truck noise).

 

Meanwhile, you need to take 2 1/2 miles of twisty road to get up on the mesa, which has 41 lots an acre or more each, reasonably priced, and no more mesa to put any more houses on. No highway noise either.