Technology & MSG

The HOA drives me nuts. When they came through to inspect they suggested that I check for rot on the garage door. I did. No rot. A few weeks later I got an irrational nasty-gram from the HOA about the state of my place, saying that I hadn’t taken action and that if I didn’t [...]

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This weekend is going to be full of manual labor. I’m helping out with home improvements at two separate houses.
Tomorrow I’m helping dig a hole. Not just any hole in the ground like the type that kids create while trying to dig to China while Mom and Dad sit back and enjoy not having to [...]

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Here is a rough copy of the American Community Survey questionnaire. I wasn’t able to locate a scanner, but I’m a quick typist. The only thing you’d gain from a scan is the design of the survey, which honestly isn’t too difficult to follow. I can confirm that there are no choices for you to [...]

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“Life’s too short to clean your own house,” proclaims an ad for a cleaning company that was mailed to me. I’d argue that I don’t care enough pay someone else to clean my own house. Part of owning a home is taking care of it (or opting not to take care of it). I have [...]

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Friday afternoon I got home from work and did the unthinkable. I turned on the air conditioning. Turning on the AC is something I postpone until absolutely necessary. As cheap as I can be, I just couldn’t help it. It was 83° in my living room and I was expecting people over that evening for [...]

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I’ve been quiet lately, busy busy preparing the second bedroom in my place for a new roommmate. It was previously an office that had turned into a storage area for extra furniture and clothes. I like working on my place, but it leaves me tired at the end of the day.
I installed 42″ ceiling fans [...]

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I found a small insect in my upstairs bathroom a few weeks ago. It was resting on the side of the shower, approximately four feet in the air. It didn’t react when I used a piece of paper to remove it. I thought it was a tick, so I flushed it.
Last night I found a [...]

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As much as I like my place, I hate the HOA and its inspection process. The inspections are performed by representatives with no construction or repair experience. They cite problems then follow up with an inspection so cursory they won’t be able to tell whether repairs were made or not. When questioned in person they [...]

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I just received an eight page newsletter from Behnke Nurseries. There’s something I can’t figure out. Why would a nursery send out a flyer to an entire ZIP+4 where the owners — in addition to having no more than 20 square feet of lawn — have landscaping done for them by Brickman whether they want [...]

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My annual Front Foot Benefit invoice arrived last week. For those unfamiliar, some of us Maryland peeps have to pay for the “construction & installation of water & sewer systems” that are connected to our homes. Do we pay the County? No. The State? No. I pay some company that paid the $7,200 up front [...]

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Some friends from college and a few others came by last night to have a few drinks and revel. It had been a warm night, but there was a pleasant breeze. We had left a window cracked in the front of the house to provide some circulation. Same for the the sliding door in the [...]

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When you walk through the house you’re going to buy, you’ll take notice of all sorts of minor problems. Make sure you can live with them, taking into account the possibility that they won’t ever get fixed.

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Snow still inspires wonder and amazement, even in adults. After a four year stint in upstate New York I came to realize how little Maryland knows about snow.

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