Catpfish

The scattered showers bit is really getting old. Fox 7 showed the rainfall amounts for the month and year to date for Mabry and ABIA. 0.70" behind Mabry and 2.8" behind ABIA for this month and right at 5 inches for the year (making it 11" below normal) and I'm less than 20 miles from both. The cracks in the ground are just as bad now as they were in July.

I think they will fall a little near term (maybe 5%ish), but it'll be more of the seasonal variety slight decrease. I think the market has reset and this will be the new normal barring some type of black swan event that rocks the economy as a whole.

Purely anecdotal, but during the worst of times, the Pflugerville MLS would average between 10-20 active houses (although most weren't really active, just sorting through multiple offers). Compare that to now with over 480 homes listed. Additionally, you really didn't see many new/spec homes listed by builders because they had as much walk up business as they could handle. Now 100 of those 480 homes are spec/to be built. The froth is off the market and prices are starting to drop as sellers realize that they missed the school buying season/frenzy and there aren't multiple offers just waiting on the listing.

Quick update. Starlink responded pretty quickly. They said that they reviewed my performance data and are shipping two new modems (one satellite router and one mesh).

I kept getting a Cha-Ka vibe from the old school Land of the Lost

No overhead power lines within 200 yards of house, even then, they are not the high voltage tower type. I'm on top of a hill with mostly farmland/ranch land around me.

I'm right at 2 inches (TWSS) of rain in the month of August just east of Pflugerville. It has added zero to my tank, I think my fish are going to have to grow lungs or die. It's so frustrating because you watch the radar and it's like watching a rerun of 2008 Tech, you keep hoping the ball gets caught and, yet, are always disappointed

Not to keep beating a dead horse, but be careful if you move to starlink. My system is mounted at the top of my house, with no obstruction within a hundred yards, and loses connection in any type of rain. This is what my connection is doing right now and has been down all afternoon. They say they are aware of a degradation of service in my area (Pflugerville) and are working on it, but who knows what that means. That said when it works, which admittedly is most of the time, it's pretty good but my wife has had to work from a mobile hotspot at least twice in the last 2 weeks.

I learned starting on the third dot from the right and throwing over the second arrow. Doesn't require a big hook and keeps you away from the gutter A similar shot to what Norm Duke threw at the end

WuLaw, I think it was a couple of years or longer before I ever rolled a 600, but I have already discussed my lack of practice and good habits. You'll stagnate for a while and then something will click. Just keep at it. It looks easy until you start caring about what you are doing.

Best series is around a 760 and I have bowled a 300 although it was early in my "career." Did not even break 600 that night as I didn't really care what happened in the third game. Have made it to tenth about 5 other times but no luck. All that to say, that there are days I end up in without a decent look no matter what I try and I'm still fully capable of throwing a 470 series once I get pissed. The other thing that really gets me is when the lanes don't run the AC enough and there is no slide whatsoever on the approach. That will really throw your timing and balance off in a hurry. One of the guys on my team has a brother that was averaging about 235 in Dallas and got bored throwing right handed. Switched to left for a couple of season was averaging around 205 by the time he switched back to right. I'd be lucky to get a shot off without busting my ass.

How serious do you want to be? We have guys in our league show up with $1,000 in equipment every night, pretty much like a set of golf clubs. Different balls with different covers drilled differently for different reactions to match the lanes on any given night. I only use 2 balls...a hooking ball (I try and adjust my speed and line to match conditions and sometimes it actually works) and a plastic ball for spares on the right side (10 pin, etc). You can get as crazy with it as you want. I've bowled state and nationals, they are fun and you don't have to be very good to enjoy the time. They are all flighted just like golf club championships with fewer flights (usually only 2 or 3). We were missing a bowler so we had a professional bowler from the women's tour sign on to finish out our fivesome. Just about every ball was within a quarter of inch the whole way down the lane. It was something to see up close. I think she bowled around a 680 and was five months pregnant to boot.

Yeah, it just keeps getting worse. Haven't hit over 40 all weekend. Absolutely no way for there to be instruction. Can't even stream from Hulu right now

Wulaw, are you in Houston? For some reason that pops in my head. If in Austin, I would go to the pro shop at Highland Lanes for any advice. It's owned by Wes Malott but he has moved from Pflugerville to somewhere in the Midwest (maybe Indiana?). The guy that runs it now, Gary, is a great guy and very knowledgeable.

The easiest way to throw a hook is to release the ball like you are going to shake hands bringing your hand up the back side of the ball if that makes sense. It doesn't put a lot of stress on your wrist or elbow the way some crankers do. Have bowled leagues for about 10 years...could be pretty good if I worked at it, but we'd rather drink batmen at Pluckers and sober up to drive home while bowling. Haven't been to a bowling alley except on league night in several years. Highest league average was around 206 but usually around 198-200. Get a team of guys that you enjoy being around and don't give a shit about the rest makes for a fun evening away from the wife.

The law was changed in 1997 for federal taxes. You can get the exemption every 2 years as the trade-off for doing away with the trade-up clause. There might be something with California's state tax that still includes it though. I have no idea on that.

Just a note. It seems like you are including an old tax provision in that you can defer gains by rolling the proceeds into the purchase of "bigger" house, and that is no longer the case.

Just a quick note to those going for formal protest...remember to use median numbers as they seem to like that better than average. I don't think it matters as much right now, but it's a holdover from the times of many foreclosure sales.

I really tried to find a gif of Harrison Ford running through the dam in Force 10 from Navarone but quickly lost interest

What do you mean by open flame? The 640 has a "door" in the deflector plate that can be removed. The door is directly over the pellet burner. If you are wondering about searing, I'm sure you can get it over 700 pretty quickly and you can buy searing grates that should help with potential flare-ups.

Can't help on skulls, but...

Has anyone else's speed slowed? Mine measured at 30 down and 4 up this morning. The speed has really been pretty crappy since I had to power cycle the dish, dropping from the 110 down range to the current 30.

And it's back. Very simple procedure to power cycle and let it do its thing. Might have to wait a month or longer for the next rain to see if this was an aberration or if it is that sensitive or moving, etc.

Had a brief rain a little east of Pflugerville. Weather station says it's 94 right now.

It's bolted to the chimney frame and stucco on the starlink pole adapter, so I wouldn't think it would move. Of course, I have no real way of knowing. I'm about to plug the power back in to complete a power cycle to see if that brings it back up.