Bernard

I’m a big fan of deregulation, but something should be done about all the gimmicky plans out there specifically designed to mislead the consumer. Bernard

I agree that $110 extra cost for Energy Ogre may or may not be worth it depending on the individual. Also, I was just checking out the Rate Grinder site and noticed that, similar to Energy Ogre, they have a system to automatically alert you if rates drop over the term of your contract such that it’s worth your while to pay a termination fee and switch. Bernard

This is true. I just entered in my prior 12 months of usage, which averaged 2,905 kWh per month. Our Energy topped the list as the lowest price. Things I really liked about rate grinder: 1. I actually only had to enter one month of usage to hit on Our Energy. As soon as I entered one month, the tool estimated my usage for the remaining 11 months. I went ahead and entered my data for the other 11 months, just in case, but the result remained the same. 2. Rate Grinder showed me a whole list of providers sorted by price. The list shows the amount of renewables in each REP’s offering, which is nice. Breeze (100% renewable) was only a few notches down from Our Energy at price only $0.004 higher than Our Energy (14% renewable). If anyone had asked me I’d probably have agreed to the Breeze premium to stay 100% renewable. Ogre just switched me to the cheapest. In the end, I paid Energy Ogre $120 vs. $10 for Rate Grinder. For my extra $110, Energy Ogre monitored my prior usage and did the analysis automatically. I’m guessing I could have found that data on Breeze’s website, but I’d have to find it myself. Energy Ogre also tracked the expiration of my prior contract, although I received emails from Breeze saying my contract was expiring, so it wasn’t a surprise. Energy Ogre switched me automatically to Our Energy, including setting me up for auto pay. Of course, a 10-12 minute phone call from me could have done the same thing. Was the service worth the extra $110? For me? Yes. YMMV. I’m a fan of outsourcing. I’m lazy. I’m also a world champion procrastinator, so who knows if I would have actually done anything on my own. A final benefit for Energy Ogre is they claim to continually monitor my usage vs REP offerings over the next 12 months. They claim they will automatically switch me again if they find a plan cheap enough to warrant paying my $200 termination fee to Our Energy. They have never done that to me in the past, but it’s out there. One more thing, Power To Coose is worthless. Bernard

Picking up where the old thread left off... My 12-month contract with Breeze Energy is ending soon. Just got an email from Energy Ogre that they switched me to a new 12-month plan with OurEnergy. Plan name: Our Fixall Advantage Plus Plan. Plan Details: $5.99/month fee; $0.089/kWh energy charge which includes CenterPoint distribution charges. Bernard

I knew he has a small dick as soon as they said he was a cop. Bernard

Solar prices keep dropping, which seems like a great excuse to wait until some future time to install solar. Where are the highest electricity prices in the world? Seems like there should be an opportunity for someone in a low cost area to buy panels for someone’s roof in a high cost area then bill them for the power at some cost below their market rate. Bernard

Fasting until Saturday crashed and burned. GF grilled ribeyes tonight. Scarfed one down plus a big salad. New fast starts now. Scale said I was down 85 pounds as of this AM. Bernard

CPO is literally nothing more than an inspection plus a warranty included in the price. Not worth the premium price IMO. Almost any car you buy that’s still under factory warranty is eligible for an extended warranty if you want to pay for it. Also, you can drop by any dealer and pay a few bucks for an inspection. Last car I bought was a Lexus LX470 with 158,000 miles from random Dallas area used car dealer. Didn’t come with any records. I figured an oil change was in order before driving it back to Houston. Brought it to Dallas area Lexus dealer. Told them to change the oil an let me know if there’s anything else needed. Tech gave it a clean bill of health. Service writer pulled the entire service history (just the work done at Lexus dealers of course) and handed me a printout. Free inspection. Profit. I had already bought the car though. Get your inspected before buying. Bernard

City limits can be misleading. Miami MSA has 5.5 million population. Jacksonville MSA has 1.4 million population. Bernard

Impressive. You catching up to me and my two month head start. I'm down 84 as of this AM. Next meal is planned for Saturday. Bernard

I have a $175k HELOC from IBC Bank in Houston. 10 year term. 5% rate. Adjustable rate, so it could go higher if rates rise. Current balance is $0.00 so I don't pay too close attention to the rate. Payments are interest only. Word the Wise: get your HELOC set up before you actually need it. When (or if) you do actually need the money, you might find it's harder to get. I've used mine over the years for various situations where access to quick cash was very nice without having to dip into any other funds. Bernard

This is true, but you better be damn sure there's no one else in front of them lowing them down. I've had people hit up on to me. I hit their ball right back at them. Bernard

I was told during a voir dire that probation is an option for any sentence under 10 years. It doesn't have anything specifically to specifically do with intoxication manslaughter. Unless you want a minimum sentence of 10 years, probation will always be an option. I was in a sexual assault jury pool for the above case. When it was explained to the jury pool that probation was an option, a middle aged Jewish woman started freaking out. She said there's no way she would consider probation, which would knock her out of the pool automatically. After hearing her freak out, at least half of the female jurors in a 60 person pool raised their hands and they wouldn't consider probation either. We had to sit there for 30 minutes while the prosecutor talked most of them off the ledge. Bernard

Unused cap space can be carried over from one year to the next. I think that’s been in place since the last CBA. Texans carried over $10 million from 2017. Bernard

This year's Texans schedule is as friendly as it's ever been to Longhorn road trippers: 9/1 - @Maryland - no Texans game 9/29 - @K-State - Texans on the road 10/27 - @OK-State - Texans play home, but on Thursday night 11/10 - @TX-Teck - Texans bye week 11/23 - @Kansas - Texans play at home, but on Monday Night There's a Texans home game the day after Texas-OU (as seemingly always), but even that one is a prime time game so no need to wake up before dawn to get to NRG. Bernard

That was ski hill. They had a t-bar that would take you to the top. The hill was covered with some plastic type material with stiff bristles standing straight up to reduce friction. They sprayed it down with some wet, slick stuff too. My parents took my sister and me there once. It’s was cool mostly for the novelty. Expensive. Didn’t last. I cant recall a water slide specifically. Maybe they built one later. Bernard

Mostly covered above, but random thoughts: 1. Dude could be facing some legit jail time; 2. Every asset he owns can be confiscated to satisfy his tax debts, plus a shit ton of interest and penalties; he isn’t saving himself one thin dime; he’s only mortgaging his future; 3. I’m guessing those IRS refunds were obtained via fraud, not because of his secret loophole; 4. IF, and it’s a giant IF, such a legal loophole exists/existed, Uncle Sam could close it with the stroke of a pen; this would have happened a long time ago; 5. You may think your friend is “a smart guy”; he’s not; 6. You should call him out for being a bitch for not paying his fair share and mooching off tax payers who do. Bernard

https://imgur.com/a/5VlFRZ9 Before and During. Still in progress... Bernard Edit: why won’t this pic embed?

I had sleep apnea like like a mofo. Epic snoring. Never bothered me (only my bed mates) until the last few years. Then shit got real. I would wake up in a semi-panic, gasping for breath. I used to sleep on my back every night for 40+ years. That became impossible. The moment I would nod off on my back, I'd wake up gasping for breath. I was forced to sleep on my side. Then sometimes the gasping would occur even when on my side. Majorly fucked up. Ever time I'd wake up I'd get a little shot of adrenaline. After a few of those in a row, sleeping is not an option. Going one night without sleep is OK for me. When the gasping and adrenaline shots strike again on the second night in a row, I start wondering if death is around the corner. Easily one of my top two worst experiences of my life. Since then I've lost 80 pounds, and still losing. GF says snoring is WAY down. No more gasping episodes. Hope it stays that way. Bernard

Got on the scale this AM. Was a bit disappointed that it was up a pound from Saturday AM. Of course I did chow down on Saturday night. Bacon and pumpkin seeds for breakfast. Catered Pappasito’s at a party: beef and chicken fajitas (no tortilla); grilled shrimp; and guacamole. Fair amount of beer and wine too. Only food since Saturday has been a couple handfuls of pumkin seeds last night before bed. I’m guessing I’ve burned some fat since Saturday. Filled my digestive tract too though, which shows on the scale. Now 80 pounds lost. Started at 324. Now 244. I’m 6’5”. I’m committed to losing 100. I’d like to continue this current fast until I’m down 85. No important events looming on the calendar right now. I’ll be boozing again at a friend’s crawfish boil on Cinco de Mayo. When I walked on UT campus freshman year in 1987 I was 210 at my same height, so I know that’s possible. I don’t think I’ve been that weight since. That’s my ultimate goal, which will require 114 pounds lost. Bernard

Speak for yourself. Under four ounces is now not prosecuted by Harris County Sherriff’s Dept. and Houston Police Dept. Four freakin’ ounces. Of course some cops gotta cop. Some shit towns in Harris County like LaPort and Seabrook, who used to turn their weed cases over to Harris County courts are now charging stoners with possession of drug pariphinalia and sending them to municipal courts instead. Gotta make that cash. Bernard

Buddy of mine owns Elite Collision in Stanford. They’ve done work for me. Very satisfied. Avoid Allied at all costs. One of their tow trucks backed into the front bumper of my nearly new Lexus. They offered to fix it gratis since, you know, they own a body shop. Work was a total hack job. Bernard

GF and I did 7-8 days in Ireland in late April 2014. The only reservation we had was a rental car and a hotel in Dublin the first night. We drove around by day checking out various points of interest. When the sun go low, we popped into the next town and found a hotel. Then hit the pubs at night. There were always plenty within walking distance. Great fun. You don't need and AirBNB to live like a local in Ireland. Just go to the pub. It's like the neighborhood living room. Lots of them are kid friendly, especially in the smaller towns. YMMV in the summer travel season, but we got our first choice of lodging every single night except one. Our general route was straight west to the Cliffs, then a big loop around the south and back to Dublin for the final night out. All of a sudden I'm craving a pint of Guinness and some fish and chips. Bernard

Body ups your noradrenaline production (or maybe release?) when you fast. The energy boost is impressive. It’s like nature/evolution giving you exactly what you need to go out and slay a beast for dinner. The effects taper over time. Not sure if it’s because my hormones are fucked, or of my body is no longer in a food panic since my fat burning is fully ramped up and all energy needs are being met. Bernard

I don’t think anyone asked him if he was the fucking Messiah, but he sure ran around offering up that info on his own. Jesus contributed exactly zero to the knowledge base of mankind. Perhaps disproving the geocentric model of the solar system was a bit much for his illiterate, Bronze Age audience. Maybe he could have told them about the existence of North and South America. The existence of two continents with unimaginable natural resources only a boat ride away would have been incredible news to poor folks scratching out a living in Middle East desert. Nope. No time for that. Bernard