Jamesbo

The Looney Tune I'm dealing with now is a "Faith Healer" and landscaper.

Last summer she asked me for the name and number of a friend of mine who repairs lawnmowers becuase her zero radius mower wasn't werkie very well.

My friend called me a few days later and said, He told her to take her POS mower and get the F&%*( off his property. If she didn't know enough to change the oil in her mower [after 8 years] He didn't want to be around her.

Guess she was auditing "Bush Pushing 101" and missed "Equiptment maintenance 101"

I'm not real sure how "faith heeling" werks on seized pistons.

bulldog

This is why I got away from having tenants. Prison time didn't make much sense considering the amount of money I was getting for rent. Heres the best part they tried to use me as a reference when they tried renting somewhere else. Finally had to get the courts to evict them.

Rdrokit

Good morning all,
I thought a good way to start off the morning is with a good laugh.
Enjoy,
B
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1m5LNn2gh8k

Ddbord

G'day!

--Don

car_designer

Some interesting renter stories.

This has been a busy week for me and not a lot of sleep.

Things are warming up here. It was about 17F this morning and am I ever glad. I ended up waiting outside for half an hour for a bus this morning. My usual bus never showed up.

At least it is the weekend and I can get caught up on homework.

Col Wickham

G'Day Don and crew.
Just back from Mum's. 4+ hour trip. Took her up a new water pump for the house. She has a good sized tank which was her only source of water until they hooked her up to town-water a few years back. She still likes to use tank water for making a cup of tea and outside stuff to keep water bills down but the old pump had died. So I bought this thing, took it up, spent $120 on fittings to plumb it into the original pipes, hard-wired it into an external power switch, got it all set up and it worked like a beauty for 24 hours. Then it wouldn't.
So it's back here with me now and I've just emailed the supplier. Like De-ja-vu with the chainsaw and the eye surgery except they didn't even begin to work. It must be me.

I've just caught up on the Rental Property woes. Been there...twice. Never again. The second time the Property Manager got sacked over what he let my tenant get away with. When we finally got the sheriff to evict the guy, they expected me to pay the cost of storage for his furniture. Didn't happen.

Our Prime Minister has decided to tax us extra to pay for these floods. I'm getting hit an extra 1% income tax. That's enough to register and insure the Olds for 2 years and I didn't even get my feet wet
I don't mind because the cost to get Qld sorted out is around $5bill and then there's Victoria as well. I just worry that this extra tax will never end, or else it'll become a "disaster tax" and the Govt will always be able to come up with a disaster around tax time. I also see it lining the pockets of people who seem to profit in times like these.

What about you Rdrokit? You guys get hit with a flood tax in Thailand? This is a new one for us and we've been getting hammered by floods and bushfires since the beginning of time.
Ken...you'd have to pay a snow tax....eh? Even Jamesbo could be looking at a snow tax this year.

Be careful wiring that front seat up Don. I believe if you get the leads crossed it'll work like an ejector seat. Better wear a parachute when you go out cruising.

Gone....

Ddbord

So far I've got it to go down and back, and for me that's really not good! What I need is up and f-o-r-w-a-r-d !

--Shorty

Bluevista

Good Morning.

Is the rest of the site jumping the shark or is it just me?

Jamesbo

I sure hope not.

I'm waiting to see what other mods have to say about the rather annoying tag line. I agree with you but didn't want to fan the fire.

Rdrokit

Col,
No no flood tax here. I guess the Thai government is doing OK as they are the 3rd most prosperous country in SE Asia. The government provided low cost loans to flood damaged home owners and gave cash payouts to farmers who lost their crop to the flood.
B

442much

No snow tax...not specifically. It's something we budget for, it' not like we don't know it's coming. However it's just paid through all the other taxes we pay. Alberta has a 10% flat tax and before the ression hit had no debt or deficet and a surplus of $8 billion/yr. After all we do have the second largest oil reserves in the world after the Saudi's. That's why we export what we don't need too.

Col Wickham

Huh...Wozzat mean? I'm not seeing anything unusual on the site if that's it.

car_designer

Spent the afternoon working on the Cutlass at the shop. The paint guy has the firewall painted as well as the brake booster and master cylinder. I took off the oil pan, and unfortunately found a bunch of small broken pieces of plastic in it. I have no idea what they used to be.

I can understand the flood tax in Australia. That is a lot of money to rebuild the flooded areas.

In Ottawa a couple of years ago, they were actually talking about a snow tax. We had had a couple of winters with lower than average snow fall, then we got a big snowfall year and the snow clearing budget was empty maybe half way through the winter and they had spent the snow cleaning surplus from the previous years on other stuff.

cutlassgal

Evening All!

I don't know what they're talkin about either, Colonel.?? Maybe it's secret code talk or somethin......

It was another gray depressing day here. Had snow/rain early, then it stopped. Didn't do much today. Usual laundry and cleaning. Larry made some chili. I went out and filled the bird feeders. Had 3 male cardinals out here earlier. They're so pretty against the snow! We saw a Robin last week out here by the house - they're back early! Hope they don't starve. I don't know if they eat anything but worms or not? They sure aren't going to get any worms with all this snow!

Talk to ya tomorrow!

citcapp

Well, I thought everything would be back to normal by Friday but no, it did not happen quite as I had hoped. My wife and I went out to dinner with friends on Thursday evening arriving back home about 9:20 PM no more the walked through the door when the phone rang. It was my sisters neighbor telling me that an aid car had just picked up my sister and taken her to a hospital she had called 911 believing she was having a heart attach. I called the hospital and she had just arrived and was in emergency. The nurse told me to call back in 30 min. When I called back they asked If I was her emergency contact and I told them I was. had to give them her date of birth, what state she was born in, her address, etc. Finally talked to the attending doctor she told me she did have a heart attack and that they where going to do test to determine the cause and that she was in serious condition and that I should come to the hospital right away. I arrived at the hospital to find out one of her major arteries was 90 percent blocked. they installed a stint in the artery and opened it. No sleep that night. Friday was spent dealing with family, friends, etc. I am the youngest of four but seem to be the head of the family for some strange reason. My sister is the oldest. Last night was my first decent nights sleep in 18 days. Spent all day picking my sister up from the hospital, getting her prescriptions, taking her home and making sure she has everything to make herself comfortable. What a scare, man I hope things get back to normal soon. What ever normal is.

Its good to be back

cutlassgal

Citcapp.... I'm sorry to hear that, and am glad she is doing ok! That is a scary thing, and thank God it wasn't worse!! Just ask Blue... I will keep you all in my prayers! Hope you get some rest. Myself, I've given up on normal, lol! Seems like it's always something.......

Ddbord

I have your sister in my thoughts and prayers. You're a great brother and I know that you love your sis very much.

--Don

442much

I haven't notice anything unusual either. I know the term "Jumping the shark" but it's easier to let Wikipedia explain it...no typing.

Jumping the shark is an idiom used to denote the point in a television program's history where the plot spins off into absurd storylines or unlikely characterizations. These changes were often the result of efforts to revive interest in a show whose audience had begun to decline.

In the show "Happy days" Fonzie jumped a shark to try and revive the show. Since then, the term has been used.

Ausraven

Afternoon all, just got up from my nap before first night shift now where back at work. The rain around my place seems to have gone for now which is a really good thing. I worked out that as of today I have 18 days of work left before I am off work for my holiday, can't wait When I'm over in the States Col I will keep an eye out for a good Olds shirt for you, since your unable to make it I will get you a little souvenir

My thoughts are with your sister Pat, hope she makes a full recovery.

Personally I am against the flood tax cause the gov will "forget" to remove it after the 1 year they are proposing to have it for. If they were able to put in concrete for either removing it after the year or at least lowering it and keeping that money for any new disaster that comes along then I am all for it.

Time to get ready and go to work now, have a great night all.

Adrian

442much

Pat, hope your sister is doing better. We're all rooting for her.

Rdrokit

Pat, you are a good brother. Hope your sister recovers fully.
B

Col Wickham

Pat.
I'm not a praying type of bloke so I'll just hope Sis is OK. Having been there myself it sounds like she's over the worst of it and the stint should do the trick. I wish they put a stint in me but they just left me 70% blocked and cleared the clot that put me in the coronary ward. You're a good brother, no doubt about that, and the old Good Morning Posters will understand that.
Adrian,...don't worry about souvenirs for me old son. I've got Oldsmobile T-Shirts and stuff I ain't even worn yet. You just have yourself one helluva great time and it would be awesome if you do manage to catch up with one or two folk from C.O. I just wish I was coming with you. Of course if the missus gets crook at the 11th hour I'll be happy to tag along
Wife's birthday party today and it's been a magnificent day weather-wise. Probably 30ishC, sight breeze, great food ( Janet can cook) and plenty of good music and alcoholic beverages. Last of the guests have just left 10 hours later so it must have been a success. I looked after the music which I love doing being a frustrated DJ'n'all. One bloke asked me did I have any "Waifs". I did. Very Aussie Folk type group you may have heard of. Here's a clip I just found on You Tube where they play in the back of a cab after answering a few questions about their experiences in the U.S.
Enjoy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMulozMOHR0

Jamesbo

Pat,

I hope your sister recovers and all is well. Sound like your plate is pretty full. She is in my prayers.

"Jumping the shark" to me means "Going to pot"

Without going into alot of detail, There is an ongoing discussion between mods about a certain member whose sig line some people [including myself] find offensive.

FYI, When something on CO goes wrong, it takes a few hours [because of the different time zones of the mods] to address the situation. I would guess, I'm one of the first mods to hear about a problem and my position has been to get other mods opinions before I act to correct things. This takes a little time.

Rdrokit

Col,
Looks like we have a little more in common than Oldsmobiles. I too am a frustrated DJ. I have about 40 gigs of music on my laptop and always looking for more. Being from the US most of my music is from American artists but there is soooo much talent out there that I try to keep up with other countries music. Some excellent groups from Australia. I guess Midnite Oil was the biggest to make it in the US. I really like Jet as they are like a mix of AC/DC & Rolling Stones.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHxeNWlmpQM

car_designer

Pat, sorry to hear about your sister. I hope she is doing better.

citcapp

Thanks for the thoughts everyone, today is a better day.

Sandy, call Blue Vista and tell him to get his butt back on the site, we all wounder where hes is. Miss him and redgoat's one liners.

Col, did you turn you wife over your knee and give he a birthday spanking? Isn't that what your supposed to do? Go on I dare you. I will come visit you as you recover at the Hospital.

Whats cooking Jamsbo, don't see any new recipes

Jamesbo

Well Pat,
I was reading a pack of Lipton Onion soup mix today and decided to try their roasted potatoes with the onion soup mix.

T'aint nutt'in but

EVOO, chunks of taters, onion soup mix. and Roast away.

2blu442

Pat, I'm glad your sister is doing OK. That does sound like some scary moments. But at least she now knows about the clogged artery and with what the doctors can do today the stint should help her a lot. I'll keep her in my prayers that the recovery will go well. Last summer my brother had a bad valve in his heart repaired. One of the unexpected benifits was that he now has more energy than he's felt in years. Having good blood flow can do that for a person

Col we're all glad your Oldsmobile didn't wash away... and your house too! Yes the hazard of taxes going up is that the government will always find a way to keep them up. Ken, I've heard a lot of good things about the flat tax. Is it just an across the board consumption tax? Can you share a little more about that? I got my first pay stub of this year and some level of government is keeping an additional $60 of what was my monthly take home. Then the state gas tax went up 6 cents per gallon. My home value has dropped but property taxes still bumped up a little. Oh and the state DMV raised registration fees per car something like 20-30% last year. If there were a way to have a simple flat tax on what I spend it seems like that would be a better way! John

cutlassgal

Afternoon All!

The SUN is finally out!!!! It's a miracle! There's even some BLUE sky out there...... thank ya Jesus! Been pretty cloudy most of the day. Guess we have another storm coming at us this week with more friggin "shovelable" snow. I don't think it's ever going to stop. Ever.

Went out and started Teepo earlier and let her run awhile! Boy she has a good heater! I love it!! It was 30 degrees in that garage when I went in, and when I shut her off, it was up to 34 in there. I had to lug some more stuff upstairs out there. I took all my knick knacks out of my cabinet in the living room and packed them up in bubble wrap and put them in a box, and put my trophies in the cabinet! They look beautiful in there! Packed in a little tight, but it will do until I can get a regular trophy cabinet. I looked at some on the internet - they are expensive! I will have to get one eventually, cause we're gonna be kickin butt again this year at the shows!

Haven't done much else today. Washed my hair, hung a couple pictures, and have just been puttering around. I like it!

Citcapp, hope your sister is doing better! Blue has been on once in awhile. I know, I miss him too when he's not on here.

Jamesbo.... I've made those taters before like that. Pretty good aren't they? I was going to make the baked tater soup today, but Larry has a roast in the oven. I had another bowl of the leftover vegie soup yesterday. I really liked it!!

Have a good evening all!!

Higgins

Pat, I too am very glad your sister is doing better.

Speaking of taxes, I think the worst taxes are property taxes. How did those ever come about? It means you can never really own any property, you are just renting it. Try not paying them & see how long you get to "own" it. I'm not against paying my share but it should be through a consumption tax, a sales tax, a flat tax, whatever you want to call it. The more you spend, the more tax you pay and everyone has to pay it at point of purchase. Earned money, illegal money, all would be taxed. It would mostly eliminate the IRS. The poorest could receive a rebate. I Don't think it will ever happen.

Col Wickham

Oh don't be too sure....that's what we said.
So now we have a Goods and Services or Consumption Tax of 10% on top of our normal income tax which has 5 different thresholds. 0% on the first $6,000, 15% from the next dollar up to $37,000, 30% from the next dollar up to $80,000, 38% from there up to $180,000 and 45% on every dollar over $180,000. Admittedly those thresholds have improved since the GST was introduced. On top of that we pay 1.5% for Medicare and now another 1% flood tax. Plus we've got land tax, but not usually for the place you reside in. If you have a holiday home or investment property with a land value of $500k the tax is $1908 pa.
In 2006 we were ranked #14 highest taxed nation Vs the U.S #41 & Canada #79. New Zealand was #34.
We just love a good tax here

Pat, I didn't put the elite athlete over my knee and give her a birthday spanking for two good reasons. My knees. I don't think they'd stand up to it. Plus she'd probably land a couple of hay-makers before I got the first spank in. She does boxing down at the gym and doesn't mind throwing them

Thanks for explaining "jumping the shark" Jamesbo. Never heard that before and I think I know the sig line you're referring to. If I'm right then it does seem a little out of place on C.O.

Another hot day down here on a back to work Monday.
Have a good one.

Ausraven

Morning all, having my last beer before bed, I say night shift allows me to have a beer or two "first thing" in the morning as I look at it as I worked all night so it is just gonna happen so live with it

You better get wearing those Olds shirts of yours Col, you have to show your pride It would be fun if you were able to "tag" along, but you would have to put up with my wife and 3 1/2 year old daughter

I am spending a couple of days in Atlanta so we might be able to catch up Jamesbo, if your not too busy

I am also driving from Niagara Falls to Lansing in a day so I might be able to have lunch with you Sandy, again if your not too busy

I just hate paying taxes period!!! The government blows all the taxes they get on crap and winge when something really important happens so they tax us again

Alot of the guys at work are just as excited as I am about my holiday You would think they are coming with me but that isn't gonna happen

Beer is finished now so I'm off to bed, take care all

Adrian

car_designer

That is surprising.

So Ken, does that mean we should quit complaining about taxes in Canada?

Col Wickham

Ok, I gotta ask. Just what type of work sees you heading off into the night then hitting the sauce in the morning Adrian.....and don't say shift work. That bit I've got covered

Gee it's hot down here today. Must be 100 outside.
(and only moments later) Just checked and it's 39.5c and rising. So I was close...just over 103 F .The "and rising" part I can live without.

Might take a 1/2 hour break and take the dogs down to the dam for a swim.

442much

No, it's in our nature. Complain about taxes, weather, (cold or hot) government and anything we can think of. That's the benefits of a free country. Speaking of which; I met some Iranians and asked what the difference was in their country between the Shah and the Ayatollah. One guy said "With the Shah we drank beer on our front lawns and prayed in the house, with the Ayatollah we pray on the front lawns and drink beer in the house." I didn't use my standing Iranian joke - "Aya tollah you once, Aya tollah you twice, Kho manei times must Aya tollah you, beer is the drink of Satan."

442much

The flat tax is on what you earn. If you make $50,000 you will pay 10% of provincial tax. If you make $1 million, you'll pay 10% provincial tax. I believe that if you make less than $25K you pay 0%. My 17 year old picked up a part time job (he graduates this year) and he doesn't pay tax...well he does, but he'll get it all back next year.

The GST (Goods and Services Tax) is what we pay (5%) on everything we buy with a few exceptions. If you buy milk, bread, kids cloths etc, there is no GST. If you buy Coke, chips, new suit you'll pay it. If I buy a car from the dealer or used car lot, I'll pay 5% more. If I buy from a private sale, I don't.

If I win $50 million in the lottery I don't pay tax on it. I get the full $50 million transfered to my bank account. Any interest that $50 million makes, well I'll pay taxes on that. I could put some of it in a Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA) but only $5k a year. In 10 years if I decide to take out the $50K (plus what ever interest it made), I don't pay any tax on any of the principal or interest.

We also have an RRSP (I think you guys call it a 401?). They take money off your paycheque and you are taxed on the remainder. The RRSP (Registered Retired Saving Plan) can be taken out anytime however you will be taxed on the amount taken. If you are retired, then you are in a lower tax bracket and don't pay as much in taxes. Plus if retired, you don't pay for prescriptions and health care is paid through taxes so you never get a medical bill. You also qualify for any procedure your doctor recommends.

After saying that, our health care does not pay for every medical procedure. If you want plastic surgery, breast implants, sex change, laser eye surgery, you pay for that yourself. If you need heart and lung transplants you're covered, even if they don't do the procedure here it's covered. I remember in 1981 they had just started kids heart transplants in Loma Linda, CA. and a kid here needed a heart. She and her parents were flown to California and had the procedure done and the gov't picked up the tab. That's when I found out that if someone needs a heart Canada and the US contact each other if they have a match. An American can get a Canadian heart and a Canadian can get American lungs or whatever they need. It's kind of like the National Hockey League, it say "National" but the teams are Canadian and American - so in reality it international.

cutlassgal

Morning All!

A crisp 9 degrees here. There was some sunshine earlier, but it's clouding up now. Storm watch goes in effect tomorrow - we're supposed to get 5 to 11 inches between tomorrow night and Thursday, with blowing and drifting on Wednesday. Is it ever gonna stop??? At least it's the last day of January. That's a good thing. One day closer to spring......

Not much going on around here today. Gonna be a long one.

Colonel..... send me some of that heat, will ya please?

Have a good day all!

442much

-30c here or -22F. At least it's warm in the office. They are calling for 0c (32F) on Wednesday and above 0c for the weekend. Crazy how it can vary so much. Uneventful weekend. Just stayed in and watched "Dog Whisperer" and "Known Universe" on Nat Geo Channel.

Alex went to the local sports complex with some friends. I gave him the Intrigue when he got his licence. He's working to pay the insurance. I went for the collision option. If he hits someone and it's his fault the insurance will cover the other guy. The Intrigue,will have to be repaired by us.

So his car is in the parking lot and his friend notices that his back bumper is cracked and that the passenger tail light has a small piece out of it (more of a chip). You can see scrapes about a foot forward of the taillight. So we are not covered for that. I'll the ins. co. as Alberta has something in place for hit and run or just let it go as it's only cosmetic. Maybe I'll go bumper hunting in the spring at the local "You Pick It" junkyard.

Col Wickham

Morning all. For some reason some of my posts aren't "sticking" .I did a boring discourse on Aussie tax rulings around retirement savings, medical insurance etc and its gone. Maybe a moderator sympathetic to the pain thresholds of the average reader removed it.
So I'll move on instead to the weather and be gone.
Today, in Sydney's outer west, we're forecast to hit 43C which means in certain places....like here....it'll go to 45C.
That's 113deg F.
Yesterday I leaned on the gate and burnt my arm.
Today I'll be working around Sydney's outer west and not enjoying it.
I hate sleeping with the air conditioner going because sucking up dried out air gives me a sore throat. This morning I have a sore throat.
You wanna swap Sandy... COME ON DOWN !!

Ausraven

I work at James Hardie running the machines and we have a couple of new guys on our crew so when the machines decide they doesn't want to play anymore I have to do alot more work as they don't know and don't really want to know how to fix it. As we shut the plant for 2 weeks we always have issues starting the machines up again, so very little rest and heaps of running around for 12 hours. Quite stressful when I think about it so when I get home I sometimes have a cold one before I haul my butt off to bed

Hopefully that answers your question Col

I saw on the news that the mid west is going to get the mother of all storms in the next few days so take it easy over there all CO people, lets hope the weather guy got it wrong, again

Adrian