Re: MOTORCYCLE RIDER
|
||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Home away from home
|
If your reread my post you will notice that I did not assume he has a new Harley. That your husband has had Harleys for over 20 years does not mean that he is not misinformed. Revving a dry engine with cold oil is not a good idea. It's better to start it and gently ride off so that the oil pressure makes the oil circulate in the engine while it warms up. Revving a loud bike is just annoying and will bring hate on all of us.
Quote:
Posted on: 2009/5/31 23:50
|
|||
|
Re: Bergen Lafayette: Cops charge biker had a machine gun
|
||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Home away from home
|
Bicyclist, not "biker". A Tec-9 in one's pants while riding a bicycle must be pretty uncomfortable. The Tec-9 isn't a "machine gun" but perhaps the one he was carrying was converted to full auto.
I guess "biker with machine gun" gets a lot more attention than "bicyclist with crappy handgun". Quote:
Posted on: 2009/5/27 3:09
|
|||
|
Re: MOTORCYCLE RIDER
|
||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Home away from home
|
That's odd - if it's tuned correctly you should be able to gently ride off with the choke on and flip if off in a couple blocks after it starts to warm up. This is actually better for the bike than letting it sit at idle with low oil pressure and cold oil. If it has fuel injection (newer Harleys all do), you shouldn't even have to fiddle with the choke if it's set up right.
As a rider, people going around with loud open pipes pisses me off. A number of states are considering legislation that would require stock or government approved exhausts on all street motorcycles. This would be a very bad solution (e.g. what to do if you have a classic and need a reproduction exhaust) but when you have 1) douchebags bringing down hate on us all and 2) law enforcement not enforcing the noise laws; that's the kind of thing we can look forward to. Quote:
Posted on: 2009/5/13 1:23
|
|||
|
Re: Giant Pit Across from 149 Essex (Fulton's Landing) - Who's Responsible?
|
||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Home away from home
|
A hole in the ground is better than a project. If they just dump enough bleach into the hole to stop it from breeding mosquitoes then all is good.
Quote:
Posted on: 2009/5/9 1:01
|
|||
|
Re: Low flying Jet spotted over Jersey City confirmed as Air Force One
|
||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Home away from home
|
I think what brian_em expressed in the first paragraph is at the root of many conspiracy theories - the belief that government couldn't possibly be this stupid/incompetent. Still, that many people were told of the stunt beforehand makes stupidity the parsimonious explanation.
I find it strange that conspiracy believers, who generally posture as anti-government, display such a faith in the competence of government. A good example is the Truthers who think the Bush administration did the 9/11 attacks and managed to keep a conspiracy that would have involved dozens, if not hundreds, of people secret. They couldn't even bail out a major city after a flood but they could do this dastardly act without anyone ratting them out? I agree that anyone who justifies the "Scare Force One" incident has allowed Obama fandom to blind them. It also pisses me off that the cost of this stunt was probably close to $1M. Quote:
Posted on: 2009/4/29 1:35
|
|||
|
Re: Low flying Jet spotted over Jersey City confirmed as Air Force One
|
||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Home away from home
|
So all we will get after this is a lame apology. At the least the person who told the local officials to not pass on the information about this ridiculous stunt should be fired. If a private company had done the same thing they would be prosecuted under the NJ "terrorist threat" law. Yet people accept things from people in the government (with nothing except someone claiming to accept "full responsibility"; but, as always, paying no price for what they did) that would result in criminal prosecution if the very same thing had been done by non-government people. Sad.
Posted on: 2009/4/28 3:10
|
|||
|
Re: New Jersey Firearms Academy in Jersey City: "We're seeing a large upswing in attendance..."
|
||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Home away from home
|
Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi - best guns and ammo sales force ever!
I guess it's better to pay up now, as millions have decided; but better yet one might have seen it coming and been prepared.
Posted on: 2009/4/27 4:06
|
|||
|
Re: School Board Results in: Voters boot veterans off ed boards
|
||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Home away from home
|
So, <3,000 people are going to decide whether $93M is being well spent in a city of 250,000. That is just sad. I wonder why the school board election is not held during a normal election day in November when more people would be voting.
Quote:
super_furry wrote: [snip] However, only 2,738 votes have been cast on the tax levy question at this point. Check back for an update in the morning. http://www.jerseycityindependent.com/ ... in-school-board-election/
Posted on: 2009/4/23 1:26
|
|||
|
Re: 2009 Jersey City School Board Elections- who to vote for?
|
||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Home away from home
|
That's enough reason for me to not vote for them. Of course members of the teachers' union will turn out in this low turnout election and vote themselves money.
FWIW, I will never vote for a school budget until parents at least have a choice of public schools or vouchers redeemable at a private school of their choice. Quote:
Posted on: 2009/4/22 3:31
|
|||
|
Re: 2009 Jersey City School Board Elections- who to vote for?
|
||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Home away from home
|
Thank you for posting this - I was looking for info on the school board election. I am impressed by how two of the three candidates mentioned have a quantitative background and the other has a business background. That's the kind of knowledge that our school system needs to inculcate in children.
That said, I will vote no on the budget because I can't believe that enough effort has been put into wringing waste out of the $93M budget. I guess I will have to get back by 9 to vote... Quote:
Posted on: 2009/4/21 1:26
|
|||
|
Re: Is the rental market downtown crazy slow?
|
||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Home away from home
|
That's a good one.
Quote:
Posted on: 2009/3/27 2:20
|
|||
|
Re: did you guys do your taxes yet?
|
||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Home away from home
|
I've used both Turbo Tax and HR Block's Tax Cut. I found Turbo Tax more user friendly. I've seen accountants make mistakes that neither package would have - unless one has very complicated issues I think a software package used by millions is the way to go.
I'm pretty sure that there are only 45 state return packages because some of the states don't have an income tax. Hard to believe but true. Quote:
Posted on: 2009/3/22 1:42
|
|||
|
Re: Is the rental market downtown crazy slow?
|
||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Home away from home
|
I think that a small apartment with no washer/dryer in Paulus Hook at about $1.3K is reasonable. In this environment, getting a good renter in immediately beats holding out hope for a slightly higher rent. For instance, the opportunity cost of carrying an empty apartment for a month means needing a rent of $1.4K. Waiting it out for two months would require a rent of $1.5K, which seems a bit risky.
Quote:
Posted on: 2009/3/15 5:45
|
|||
|
Re: Top 10 Beer lists: In anticipation of Zeppelin Hall (beer garden)
|
||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Home away from home
|
Give Smuttynose IPA a try - it's my favorite IPA (for where to find it in NYC: http://www.beermenus.com/beers/smuttynose-ipa). One nice thing about IPAs is that they taste almost as good from a bottle as on tap, which makes sense given that the high hops content was a preservative for the long voyage to India. For my list I was thinking that everything would be on tap and fresh at a beer garden. I find darker beers, especially stouts, much better on tap (or fresh homebrew).
There are lots of interesting lists here and of course everyone has their own preference for types of beer. For example, I don't like wheat beers (and regard the flavored ones as an abomination) but my girlfriend likes them so finding new ones is interesting. Quote:
Posted on: 2009/2/25 4:30
|
|||
|
Re: Top 10 Beer lists: In anticipation of Zeppelin Hall (beer garden)
|
||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Home away from home
|
Where will be this Zepplin Hall of which you speak?
My list: 1) Caledonian 80/- aka 80 Shillings: fond memories of Scotland and the lack of availability in the U.S. probably contribute to my rating. http://www.caledonian-brewery.co.uk/80_home.html 2) Murphy Stout: A simply wonderful beverage that needs more availability here. http://www.murphys.com/index.php 3) Ommegang Abbey Ale: The one beer to have when you\'re only having one. Also, it's brewed in nearby upstate NY. 4) Jeebus homebrew: Something like an 2/3 amber ale mixed with 1/3 stout. Unavailable these days but I'm inspired now. 5) Smuttynose IPA: If I hadn't lost my love of IPAs this would be #1. Brewed in the Free State. 6-7) Whatever is new. 8) Sierra Nevada IPA: available many places and good if you like hops. 9) Brooklyn Lager: available many places in NYC on tap and good if you want to drink a lot or like lager. 10) Bud et al.: nothing like a nice watery beer after a workout. Yummm, beer....
Posted on: 2009/2/24 4:44
|
|||
|
Re: NYTimes: New Jersey Takes Another Run at a Major New York Employer with 1,600 employees
|
||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Home away from home
|
Why shouldn't NJ do their best to compete with NYC? Mayor Bloomberg has been bitching about this too. The problem for both is that the real competition is coming from other states with fewer "essential services" and lower taxes that nonetheless offer a similar talent pool at lower cost.
A further problem is that both NYC and NJ are attempting to incent big companies to stay/move without addressing their structural spending/taxation problems. The high cost of doing business here is driven by taxes and trying to avoid addressing this by bribing large companies only makes smaller businesses pay more. To the extent that they can, they will leave.
Posted on: 2009/2/23 5:09
|
|||
|
Re: Bad Meats at A&P?
|
||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Home away from home
|
I love the prices for meat at the A&P yet have noticed that they are sometimes close to their expiration dates. I assume that the reason, for example, that chicken breasts can be had for $1.99 or less is that they have to sell them immediately. The mandated sell date isn't the same as the date that the food is spoiled or even lower quality (see below). I'm happy to pick up a week's worth of meat at a discount and cook/freeze it with no concerns about my health. I really like the A&P and how other groceries are often on sale compared to other JC markets.
http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/health/az1068.html
Posted on: 2009/2/20 3:32
|
|||
|
Re: Pedestrians beware....Renegade City Buses
|
||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Home away from home
|
Thanks for the good advice and if enough of us do this maybe it will make a difference. I have frequently had the same experience that others have had with a bus running the light at Marin and Montgomery. Sometimes it looks like the bus is cornering so hard that it might flip and it can't be fun to be on the bus either.
Quote:
Posted on: 2009/2/19 4:51
|
|||
|
Re: Powerhouse Arts District: artists win affordable units case - each valued at more than $400,000
|
||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Home away from home
|
I agree (although artistic value is closely tied to monetary value in the long term) and by no means by "best" did I mean flawless. People will freely make all kinds of bad decisions and overpay or even pay for things that are self-destructive. Regardless, individuals making free choices is both more fair and more likely to lead to happiness (partly because we would only have to live with our own choices) than having the government dictate what is of "value". In the aggregate, everyone making free choices also leads to better (or at least more agreeable) choices than a few in the government making choices for everyone.
The artist subsidy is a striking example of a connected group using government power to extract money from the general population based on privileging their chosen occupation. In terms of Hedge funds - about 50% are going out of business and those who lost money are wealthy. It seems that the market is actively adjusting the value of hedge fund employees now that they are losing money. Quote:
Posted on: 2009/2/18 4:30
|
|||
|
Re: Powerhouse Arts District: artists win affordable units case - each valued at more than $400,000
|
||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Home away from home
|
This was why I mockingly claimed to be "an artist in PowerPoint" (but why not and according to who?).
My larger point was the absurdity of the government privileging one occupation above others supposedly based on their contribution to society but actually based on them having the political influence to make it happen. I submit that the best measure of the worth of what someone produces is what someone else is willing to freely pay for it. That this is a concept alien to those who work in government is not a surprise. Quote:
Posted on: 2009/2/13 3:09
|
|||
|
Re: Zillow.com finds New York area homes lost $130B in value from 2007 to 2008 - is now the time to buy?
|
||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Home away from home
|
Yes, and the NAR "economist" predictions are just funny. But I strongly suspect there is a disconnect between what they say and what they do. Given that Realtors are paid on commission, a percentage of a smaller price and a quick sale beats nothing from a higher price and they don't adopt the same strategy when selling their own property: http://pricetheory.uchicago.edu/levit ... rs/LevittSyverson2004.pdf
Similarly, getting a landlord to pay 1 month's rent as commission for a rental beats 18 months from a potential tenant (which used to happen in NYC) and both beat the landlord going to CraigsList or the local paper and them getting nothing. Quote:
Posted on: 2009/2/11 4:15
|
|||
|
Re: Powerhouse Arts District: artists win affordable units case - each valued at more than $400,000
|
||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Home away from home
|
I'm an artist in PowerPoint - do I qualify? Also, as a management consultant I am quite the actor at times. I CAN HAZ SUBSIDIZED CONDO?
Seriously, the logic of privileging artists, most of whom at some point made the choice to be voluntarily poor (do trustifarian artists qualify?), is a bit hard to understand. I think a lot of other folks such as car service drivers, cops, small business people, etc. contribute more to everyday quality of life than artists so it just comes down to artists successfully working the political system to their own benefit.
Posted on: 2009/2/11 3:20
|
|||
|
Re: NYTimes predicts Top Bank Executives soon to be crowding PATH train every morning at Journal Square
|
||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Home away from home
|
I suppose that by now many have figured out how to navigate to the NYTimes SundayStyles section but when reading it on paper I found it breathtaking. On top of the flap is "You Try to Live On 500K In This Town" and below it is "When Nest Eggs Crack". I know it's bad when even the style section is so focused on detailing the expenses of those who can't live on $500K. It betrays their intended audience, formerly only suggested by full page watch ads (which don't seem to be so evident these days).
The sense of entitlement from the NY Times and/or their intended audience is amazing.
Posted on: 2009/2/9 3:24
|
|||
|
Re: Property tax bills not as bad as you think
|
||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Home away from home
|
This is the reason that knowledgeable people in states with no income or sales taxes fight so hard against such taxes when politicians claim they will lower their property taxes by raising other taxes (e.g. NH successfully, CT unsuccessfully). Lowering taxes in general by imposing new ones has not worked. Once a new revenue stream exists for the government they push to incrementally increase it - for example the Federal Income Tax was originally intended to only apply to the "rich". I think we all know how that has worked out.
NNJR: Individual decisions ultimately have a huge impact. The high tax states have been losing people for years and once the talent base shifts (e.g. manufacturing from the rust belt to the South) it becomes irreversible. Productive people and businesses voting with their feet have a huge impact. Quote:
Posted on: 2009/2/6 2:12
|
|||
|
Re: Zillow.com finds New York area homes lost $130B in value from 2007 to 2008 - is now the time to buy?
|
||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Home away from home
|
How many renters can imagine their landlord selling for 10x their rent? Unless I am mistaken that's what knowledgeable value oriented landlords are looking for.
Anywho, the cost of renting is far below the cost of owning and has been for many years. Perhaps the "bitter renter" epitaph will soon be replaced by "regretful owner". Even the NY Times foretold this: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/25/rea ... 1&scp=1&sq=renting&st=cse One might think that as house prices declined, rentals might increase, in the normal course of markets equilibrating (and mean reverting) but these are not normal times. Rents are going down too: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/01/rea ... l?scp=1&sq=renting&st=cse Quote:
Posted on: 2009/2/4 3:30
|
|||
|
Re: Downtown: One dead in shooting on Coles Street in Jersey City this morning
|
||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Home away from home
|
As you pointed out, NJ makes using a firearm to defend oneself nearly impossible. That contributes to the problem given that criminals know their potential victims are likely to be unarmed. Yet the irrational among us assume that more gun prohibition laws will magically stop the criminals that are already armed from taking advantage of the law abiding citizens (and that further disarming the law abiding will help).
Quote:
Posted on: 2009/1/30 3:26
|
|||
|
Re: Downtown: One dead in shooting on Coles Street in Jersey City this morning
|
||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Home away from home
|
I feel so sad for the victim of this crime and his family, especially since according to all accounts he was a good guy.
I don't share the view of many that the lack of police presence (or whoever is in political office) can be blamed for what happened. The police can't be everywhere and the thug wouldn't have struck until they were away. What I do find horrible from our politicians is how, despite the abject failure of very strict gun laws stopping crimes like this, they do not allow law abiding citizens their right to effective self defense. Even the possibility of the store owner being armed might have prevented this tragedy. At the risk of sounding churlish, this would also cost nothing.
Posted on: 2009/1/28 5:33
|
|||
|
Re: A Case Study in What\'s wrong with JC Real Estate:
|
||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Home away from home
|
This is an extremely astute analysis. It amazes me how long it takes the residential real estate market to adjust compared to, for instance, the stock market. The current recession is driven by a financial crisis, which will impact the NYC metro more than the rest of the country. The all-in cost of renting is still much cheaper than owning (even with the government subsidy of ownership) so it's hard to see a rise in residential real estate any time soon, especially with the current uncertain job environment.
Most in financial services are in survival mode and not likely to be buying any time soon and of course this will impact their "pilot fishes" like waiters in expensive restaurants, artists, interior designers, etc. The new thing about this recession is that few have to stay in the NYC metro area to do their work. With the prospect of higher taxes and no job; they have every incentive to make money elsewhere and/or start up on their own. Quote:
Posted on: 2009/1/27 5:00
|
|||
|
Re: Schundler drops mayoral bid
|
||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Home away from home
|
I called _your_ claim that all libertarians "talk the talk, but don't walk the walk" a broad and unsubstantiated claim. You pointed to the website in your sig (which apparently isn't even yours) as substantiation of this claim but it has nothing backing this up. E.g. "libertarian" appears nowhere in a search of the web site.
Your refusal to address a claim that you made and attempts to disparage my reading skills and lack of obsession with Schundler and his critics is silly and sad. Quote:
Posted on: 2009/1/22 4:12
|
|||
|