Birthday!

Happy birthday, tonysalieri! And as we like to say in the Village, many happy returns.

Birthday!

Happy birthday, tonysalieri! And as we like to say in the Village, many happy returns.

Catching up

So much to do...I need to respond to three emails. I need to update a website for a friend of my father, although I probably can't do that until I get my new computer...which, by the way, has been ordered.

I also have several posts I'd like to make. They're about the house, the roof, the Muddy River, and a couple of ideas I've had recently. Oh, and the commuter rail.

But it's late, so I'll probably just do one or two more posts before going to bed.

Catching up

So much to do...I need to respond to three emails. I need to update a website for a friend of my father, although I probably can't do that until I get my new computer...which, by the way, has been ordered.

I also have several posts I'd like to make. They're about the house, the roof, the Muddy River, and a couple of ideas I've had recently. Oh, and the commuter rail.

But it's late, so I'll probably just do one or two more posts before going to bed.

House - no, not the series

We went to the bank and started the process of getting a home equity line of credit to have the roof done. It's going to be a bit pricey, but Teri thinks we can afford it; the monthly cost will be slightly less than our old car payment. We still need to get a fair amount of paperwork to see if we can actually get the loan, though.

But...

As I wrote recently, the realtor come over about a week ago. She thinks we can sell the house for around $155,000. The next step is to talk to a lender to find out how much we can afford to spend on a new house. But there are a number of points that are confusing me.

Well, the truth is that I think both of us are very nervous at the thought of selling the place! We don't know how it would work out. Would we be able to buy a new place right away? Would we have to put our stuff and storage and maybe rent for a while? It feels a little bit as if we're being rushed. But the truth is that if we sell and are in a new place (renting or owning) in a good school district before the school year starts, that would be good for Sebastian.

I gues we just weren't quite ready for the decision to come at us so fast. And now that we're actually facing the prospect of leaving, I have to say that I'm going to miss this house! It has been kind of fun living in such a unique place. And we've fixed or are fixing every major problem that could possible go wrong with the place: the main drain line. The electical system. The furnace. The roof. Whoever buys this place will be getting a considerably better house, infrastructure-wise, then it was when we bought it.

Here's what we'll be looking for in a new house, in approximate order of importance:

1. A good school district


2. A good neighborhood, with kids for Sebastian to play with


3. A decent commute for me - preferably within walking distance of the commuter rail


4. An energy-efficient heating (and possibly cooling) system


5. No major repairs needed - we really don't want to have to replace ANOTHER roof or main drain line!


6. More space - not a lot more, necessarily, but enough living room so that we can be comfortable


7. A decent-sized yard, at least large enough to barbecue in


8. I'd like to be closer to Boston, so I can see my family and friends more often. Teri doesn't agree with me on that one, and it may not be possible anyway; houses get a lot more expensive the closer they are to the city


9. A decent-sized kitchen


10. A fireplace


11. What else?

I need to figure things out.

House - no, not the series

We went to the bank and started the process of getting a home equity line of credit to have the roof done. It's going to be a bit pricey, but Teri thinks we can afford it; the monthly cost will be slightly less than our old car payment. We still need to get a fair amount of paperwork to see if we can actually get the loan, though.

But...

As I wrote recently, the realtor come over about a week ago. She thinks we can sell the house for around $155,000. The next step is to talk to a lender to find out how much we can afford to spend on a new house. But there are a number of points that are confusing me.

Well, the truth is that I think both of us are very nervous at the thought of selling the place! We don't know how it would work out. Would we be able to buy a new place right away? Would we have to put our stuff and storage and maybe rent for a while? It feels a little bit as if we're being rushed. But the truth is that if we sell and are in a new place (renting or owning) in a good school district before the school year starts, that would be good for Sebastian.

I gues we just weren't quite ready for the decision to come at us so fast. And now that we're actually facing the prospect of leaving, I have to say that I'm going to miss this house! It has been kind of fun living in such a unique place. And we've fixed or are fixing every major problem that could possible go wrong with the place: the main drain line. The electical system. The furnace. The roof. Whoever buys this place will be getting a considerably better house, infrastructure-wise, then it was when we bought it.

Here's what we'll be looking for in a new house, in approximate order of importance:

1. A good school district


2. A good neighborhood, with kids for Sebastian to play with


3. A decent commute for me - preferably within walking distance of the commuter rail


4. An energy-efficient heating (and possibly cooling) system


5. No major repairs needed - we really don't want to have to replace ANOTHER roof or main drain line!


6. More space - not a lot more, necessarily, but enough living room so that we can be comfortable


7. A decent-sized yard, at least large enough to barbecue in


8. I'd like to be closer to Boston, so I can see my family and friends more often. Teri doesn't agree with me on that one, and it may not be possible anyway; houses get a lot more expensive the closer they are to the city


9. A decent-sized kitchen


10. A fireplace


11. What else?

I need to figure things out.

Colbert vs. Stewart

My comment on an article over on the Washington Post about Colbert vs Stewart:

---

The Daily Show has funnier sketches and supporting players (not surprising, since Colbert's on-camera supporting team is much smaller). But Steven Colbert is a far more incisive and effective interviewer than Jon Stewart, who has a tendency to take it easy on his guests.

All in all, The Daily Show is marginally funnier, but Colbert is more biting and newsworthy. But both shows are funny and great.

If I had to vote for one of the two for President? Colbert. His in-your-face speech at the 2006 White House Correspondence Dinner was one of the most impressive acts of political courage that I've seen in the past twenty years.

Which is, I'll admit, a sad commentary on the state of American politics: that a truth-to-power speech by a comedian to a criminal President and criminally negligent Washington press corps ranks as a major act of courage. Nonetheless, it does.

Colbert vs. Stewart

My comment on an article over on the Washington Post about Colbert vs Stewart:

---

The Daily Show has funnier sketches and supporting players (not surprising, since Colbert's on-camera supporting team is much smaller). But Steven Colbert is a far more incisive and effective interviewer than Jon Stewart, who has a tendency to take it easy on his guests.

All in all, The Daily Show is marginally funnier, but Colbert is more biting and newsworthy. But both shows are funny and great.

If I had to vote for one of the two for President? Colbert. His in-your-face speech at the 2006 White House Correspondence Dinner was one of the most impressive acts of political courage that I've seen in the past twenty years.

Which is, I'll admit, a sad commentary on the state of American politics: that a truth-to-power speech by a comedian to a criminal President and criminally negligent Washington press corps ranks as a major act of courage. Nonetheless, it does.