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Bernard

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Everything posted by Bernard

  1. Yep. That’s life in the big city. Mine are worse than that. Work just fine. 🙂 Bernard
  2. Helping a neighbor sell his townhouse. Figured it’s good to have the AC units serviced prior to inspection. Two systems. One 2005. Other 2009. Both R22. One full of refrigerant. Other needed to be topped off. Also blew out the drain lines with compressed air. One was blocked. Total cost $300. As we were settling the bill, AC Guy exclaims, “Prices for 410A have gone WAY up.” Tripled in the last month. AC Guy’s son says imports have been halted for unknown reasons. Bernard
  3. $1,200 just to add refrigerant? Am I missing something? This appears to be an 25 LB bottle of 410A refrigerant for $89: https://www.ebay.com/itm/164937430357 I have a full bottle just like it in my garage that cost me about the same. . I bought a similar bottle several years ago, and it was used to top off my own AC’s and several friends and acquaintances. My AC guy charges <$100 to show up and add it to an existing system. No complaints after several years. Bernard
  4. Yes and No. On a micro level, any individual can make their own food choices. On a macro level, Uncle Sam plays a very large role in determining the types of foods that are produced and consumed in this country via FDA approvals, subsidies paid to family farmers and Big Ag, determinations of what people can buy with food stamps, and even what foods are allowed to market to adults and children. The fact is that if all Americans decided to start eating healthy tomorrow, there's not enough good food to go around. Bernard
  5. Do churches carry fire insurance? If so, is that confirmation of a lack of actual faith? 🙂 Bernard
  6. The Catholic Church is the biggest organized crime syndicate / terrorist organization on the face of the Earth. Bernard (descended from a long line of Irish Catholics)
  7. Houston Police Dept. will accept honorable discharge from any branch of armed forces in lieu of college credits. No college? No problem. PTSD? No problem. Bernard
  8. Down another 10 pounds since the above post. Down 45 overall. Up another notch on my belt too. Took a break from my One-Meal-Every-Other-Day eating plan due to a Maine vacation filled with lobster feasts and cold beer. Now back on board. Currently 6’ 5” and 255 lbs. Not done yet. I’m pretty happy in the 230-240 range, although I weighed 210 the first day I walked on UT campus in 1987. How far can the yo-yo fall? Time will tell. Bernard
  9. View from the top of Cadillac Mountain in Acadia NP. Bernard
  10. A few pics from Baxter State Park (4x larger than Acadia NP). Home to Mt. Katahdin, the highest point in Maine and the north terminus of the Appalachian Trail. Drove 34 miles on a dirt road. Bernard
  11. I’m the guy taking the picture. Bernard
  12. For real. Thurston’s Lobster Pound in Bernard is legit. Bernard
  13. Lubec, Maine - Where USA ends and Canada begins. Also the place where the beer garden is literally a garden… Bernard
  14. Fuck Bar Harbor. I hiked all day in Acadia NP. Now I’m in Bernard, Maine eating lobsters right off the fucking boat. And it’s 65 degrees as the sun sets. Bernard
  15. Spirit out of IAH is great. For the same or less than a United flight, I can upgrade to the Big Front Seat and no worry about crushing my 6'5" into a regular sized seat. Also, there's almost never a security line in Terminal A and the Spirit gates are a short walk from the entry. From Uber drop off to the gate is usually like 10 minutes. Bernard
  16. Yes. That's a whole other problem. His house is probably worth $20 million, but it's on the tax rolls for $10 million. Poors like me have tax appraisals that are >90% of actual value. Bernard
  17. Yes, and it's not just sales tax. It's fuel taxes, motor vehicle taxes and fees, alcohol, cigarettes, etc. Poors spend a higher percentage of their income on taxable items than the rich. Bernard
  18. I've reviewed plenty of property tax bills in my time and I've never seen a line item for the State of Texas. Local schools take >50%; remainder to other local jurisdictions. Property taxes are also regressive. Poors pay a higher percentage than the rich. My property taxes are $10,000/year. Bob McNair's (RIP) River Oaks mansion has a $152,000/year tax bill. I guarantee you makes (made) more than 15x my earnings. Bernard
  19. Of course no discussion of regressive taxes is complete without looking at how the State of Texas funds itself... Spoiler Alert: The poors pay more...
  20. The 12.4% paid to Social Security drops to zero above that threshold. The 2.9% paid to Medicare does not ever drop, in fact it steps up to 3.8% over $200,000. It's not quite zero, but it's a huge tax break for high earners. Bernard
  21. FICA is an issue that needs about 1000x more discussion when it comes to federal taxes. The rich have done an amazing job keeping it out of the conversation when it comes to federal taxes. A self employed couple making $100,000/year pay 15.3% in FICA taxes. A couple of working stiffs pay the exact same amount, but they don't know it because half the outlay is paid by their employer directly to Uncle Sam so it's hidden from their view. Luckily for to top earners, the rate drops dramatically above $137,700 (2020 threshold), so the guys making $10 million a year end up paying about 4% per year in FICA. Social Security and Medicare are each doling out about $1 trillion per year in welfare to the olds. It's a HUGE percentage of Uncle Sam's annual budget, and most of it paid by people who are certainly NOT wealthy. Bernard
  22. No Hyperbole: Vehicular stops by police should be banned unless probable cause of a felony exists. Now. Bernard
  23. I can assure you, this one did. It caused quite a stir within the family. When the bull went down, my friend's dad when in the house and picked up a shotgun to put down the dog. One of two sons basically got the dog in a bear hug to save the dog's life. There was a tense confrontation with a lot of, "Step away from the dog, son!!!!" and "You're NOT killing Fred, dad!!!!" In the end, the dog survived, but his days in the country were over. And for anyone not familiar with cattle, a 500 lb bull in no where near full grown. A full grown bull can be more like 1,800 - 2,000 lbs. Bernard
  24. One of my best friends had a pit bull named Fred. Fred was super chill almost all the time. Other times he was a killer. Fred was raised in the county. Roamed free a lot. Near Schulenberg. One day he was messing around with a 500 lb bull. Bull got annoyed and kicked Fred in the head. A few moments later, the bull was dead. Later Fred moved to the City. He killed quite a few neighborhood cats that wandered through his backyard. One day my buddy was walking Fred in the neighborhood on a leash (required by law in Houston). Another dog owner and dog were walking the opposite direction on the same street. Other dog was not leashed. Other dog died on the spot. I don't think pit bulls are any more aggressive than other dogs. Any dog can get mad and attack. When most dogs decide they want to bite you, you can be treated with a band aid, or less. When a pit bull decides to bite you, you can easily be calling an ambulance, or worse. Bernard
  25. Headed to Maine with my 77 year old dad on June 15th. No plans other than to drive around looking at trees, and hills, and coastlines, and eating lobsters and drinking beer. Hard to go wrong up there it seems. Bernard
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