Merry New Year!

Ahhh . . . New Years Eve, my favorite. What other night of the year can you enjoy five hours of the Three Stooges?? Easily the best, most quotable tv show ever made (sorry Seinfeld, you are a close second).

The Stooges Marathon has been around since I was old enough to remember. It’s an institution, especially in my family. If you can’t recall and recite massive amounts of Stooges lines you are missing out on inside jokes and general camaraderie between the men folk of the family. I am getting away from the point; but I do have 2 beefs with the current implementation of the marathon.

1) The spacing of episodes

Back in the days they used to cram 2 episodes into a 30 minute show on Saturday mornings. The most recent marathons have been creeping to the 1 episode per 30 minute timespan. This isn’t for lack of material though. From 1934-1947 they made 97 episodes with the A-Team of Moe, Larry & Curly. After Shemp took over they cranked out another 77 episodes from 1947-1956. 174 episodes is more than enough to give me more than one every 30 minutes. I can live with the above. This leads me to the dreaded Number 2 . . .

2) The Andelmans



I am sure they are great guys and fun to be around yada yada yada but they are such hams on camera that it makes it brutal to enjoy my beloved Stooges. Their segments are waaaay too long and its all about them. Stop pushing all your Phantom Gourmet propaganda on me when I’m hammering Chinese food and mixed drinkees. I want my hosts/hostesses to keep the jibber jabber to a minimum; unless of course you are talking ABOUT the Stooges. Give me my man Dan Justin any day of the week. These guys have made my Tivo worth every penny.

But I do not have to worry about the hams this year! My new best friend AMC is rolling out a marathon of their own. 5 hours on Channel 38 or whatever you call yourselves these days? HA! AMC is cranking out 23 hours of Nyuks starting at 7am this morning. Only a knucklehead would watch the other guys. Enjoy and have a great New Year Year.



As a salute to AMC, here are some classic quotes:



Curly: “"Let's play post office."
Woman: "That's a kid's game."
Curly: "Not the way I play it."

- - -

General: "He's known as 'Bloodhound Filbert', and he can smell a spy a mile away."
Curly: "I'm glad he can't smell 'em any closer."

- - -

Dean: "Mildew has a lovely student body."
Moe: "Your's wouldn't be so bad either if you took off about 20 pounds."

- - -

Moe (to Larry): "You know Porcupine, for a guy without brains you're a genius."


---

Back by popular demand!

The public has spoken. They have demanded more blogs so I must oblige.

Lots of happenings since last update. I just list them out since writing about each would take too long:

-proposed to The RR (she said yes)
-tenents moved out
-got (second) job at real estate firm
-house was tested for mold (all good)
-dog tested positive for Lyme disease
-switched wireless providers (again)
-employer banned all blogging and social networking

Since most of my free time lately has been spent visiting wedding reception sites (no success yet), no updates to the house itself. And since work banned blogging, no updates to the blog.

But I will make time for all 3 of my faithful blog readers going forward.

The Poppy Dance

I have been meaning to post this because it is from one of the best movies of all time. Going Ape! was one of the growing up favorites that still is amazing. We all know my love for movies with apes acting. This has 3 APES! Add in Tony Danza, Danny Devito, Lt. Mauser, Frankie Carbone and you have probably the best ensemble cast ever created . . . ever. Enjoy!

The joys of owning a white dog. . .

This is for all the people that come up to us in the park and comment about how clean our dog looks. THIS is what we have to deal with. She loves low tide:

And after walking around for 10 minutes; She smells like low tide too!

Inspection Update

Well it seems the weather this morning was a bad omen. The inspector did his thing and ruled with an iron fist that this house is no two-family. Egresses missing, no separation between units and a whole mess of legal loopholes for the future.

This leaves us with two options; jump the hoops and follow the path to two family certification or open this baby up into the mammoth one family house of all houses. Which to choose??

Nerves are creeping in

Tomorrow the building inspector is coming to the house for a what else . . . inspection! Yes that is what they do, inspect things. The history of the visit is that upon my most recent attempts to refinance my mortgage, I was informed by the appraiser that the house is an illegal two-family and the bank would not offer a mortgage to me.

Now this comes as a shock to me since I was under the impression that it was always a two-family. Since illegal two-families are not the type of property I care to own; I set out to get this all straightened out. After multiple phone calls & visits to town hall

(actual town hall)

the issue has been brought to light. Tax and insurance wise, everything looks good and the way it is supposed to. A trip to the building permit office tells another story. Since there is no permits pulled for any work done on the other kitchen, they say one-family. And they mean it since there are permits on the house dating back to 1935!

After hearing my sob story of the mean bankers shutting me out; the inspector advised me to apply for a two family verification certificate of occupany. If the building meets the requirements, we are in the clear and free to refi! If not . . . who knows? Might be bad, might be a slap on the wrist. Details to come tomorrow.

There is a New King of Real Estate

Yup that is right folks; In the eyes of the Commonwealth I am certified. No swine flu or rain storm was stopping me from passing that bad boy. That testing facility was locked down like the pentagon. Nothing allowed in your pockets, NOTHING! The warden makes you pull up your sleeves and then you are off to your monitored cubicle for 4 hours of multiple choice fun.

But that is all behind me now. Time to decide where I would like to select as HQ for my empire of operation.

As Buddy Kane always says "In order to be successful, one must project an image of success at all times."

Of course he was strutting around in black on black suits:




And I am pretty sure his license picture didn't look like a screenshot from a documentary about lifers in prison:



Woof! Hopefully my credentials don't scare off any potential clients!

Fighting for the TV en la casa

The mustard engrossed in an episode of Breed All About It - for cats only. We had to stop watching bird shows because he would attack the screen.

The Good and the Bad

The Good:

So this past week was the bathroom faucet replacement. Fixed up the shelf back faucet from FW Webb and got some tips from the guy at the counter. First thing, take the sink off the wall or you'll kill yourself trying to operate in that tiny space. Best advice ever. I could barely fit two fingers in there to thread tape the new fitting. I could not imagine trying to do the rest of the work.

The install was a piece of cake. The removal of the old one . . . not so much. Removing the old drain flange (the circle that surrounds the pop up part) took hours of my energy and brain power. Nothing would get that thing to budge. Finally I resorted to sawing it into strips and chiseling it out in pieces. Crude but effective.

I was amazed by how easy the sink came off the wall. There is NOTHING holding that guy down. The pic below shows the metal strip that has a lip on it that the sink hangs on. That is it.



here is the pic of the nice and shiny finished product. Should have taken about 1-2 hours, ended up taking 6-8 hours (includes multiple hardware store runs). behold the good!





The Bad:

So back to the dining room. I thought I had a good diagnosis as to the section of plaster that was severely cracking. My original plan was to slap up strapping right over the plaster. I was sticking my head up in the hole in the ceiling and noticed a sizeable crack in the joist above. Pretty sure its the floor joist to the second floor but who knows. All I know is that is the reason the ceiling was F'd up. In reading how to repair the joist, it seems that I will have to tear out much more plaster than anticipated. Here is a pic of the joist where is meets the wall thingie (yeah that's right, I know my lingo)



Since the ceiling is already opened, might as well fix it now. The only thing that worries me is the living room as a very similar crack in the plaster. I have my fingers crossed.

Gotta love Weymouth!

Alert


Say what you want about Weymouth but they are always looking out for the cokeheads and crackheads. This link is right from the MAIN page on the town's web site. I am not sure who they are trying to target here but I hightly doubt the crackheads of Weymouth are scouring the web looking for info on whether or not the rock they just bought is bad. We know this cat certainly cannot use a computer.

Weekend Update

The sink did not get done as originally planned but the weekend was not totally unproductive. I spent the weekend taking an accelerated Real Estate License for my salespersons license. 24 class hours in 3 days and all I gotta do is take the test and I am certified!






I have decided to not rip out the sink and replace with the pedestal. I found a replacement for the oddly shaped faucet in the earlier post. For those interested it is called a "shelf back" faucet. It was a bit more than expected (about $108) but I decided on the easier job and to keep the uniqueness of the sink. So win win in my book.

Unfortunately the sink takes a back seat to TB and the boys tonight. Go Pats!

Calling Mr. Casey!

So due to yet another leaking sink in the upstairs bathroom, I am putting on my plumbers hat once again. Of course the sink up there oddly shaped with the faucets coming out of the front of it (note the water pouring out is AFTER the sink is "off").

So outside of spending hundreds of dollars for a special order job, a brand new sink is the answer. I pick up a brand new pedestal sink and faucet for less than $70. Only I have no clue how to put the sucker in. But I have faith my overuse of the internet will lend me the knowledge I need to finish the job.

One last thing, only four people voted on the last poll?? Wow I think a "pretty pathetic Ty" is in order for me. No more polls until further notice. The last thing I want to be reminded of is how few people actually read this weak attempt at a blog.

Friday Night Fight: Who is The Better Heel?

Important discussions come up all the time where sides are taken, and debates begin that always turn into shouting matches. Are we talking about health care? Not on this blog my friends. I like to tackle the tough issues that other people are afraid to discuss. My first order of business is who is the better heel (to steal a term from the rasslin' world) in the Police Academy movies, Captain Harris or Lieutenant Mauser??

Capt. Harris

-Appears in the original, #4 Citizens on Patrol, #5 Miami Beach and #6 City Under Seige

Lieutenant Mauser

-Appears in #2 First Assignment and #3 Back in Training



I could care less about 5 and 6 since that is when Steve Gutenberg left and Lloyd Braun took over. So they split the four major movies, they both got to work with Proctor. So even playing field right? Personally, I am fully in the Lt. Mauser camp. Don't get me wrong Harris is good but Mauser was born to torment Mahoney and the rest of the gang. And more importantly, Mauser did not fall prey to the old Blue Osyter Bar gag. Although that gag was gold. So new poll on the left for this all important prize fight. Hit the Music!!

Talk about a rough stretch in history . . .

I blame Dukakis. Put the smack down in '79 on wasted youth and finished the job in '85 by killing nickel beer nights.

But there is a light at the end of the tunnel my friends. The $1 drafts are back!! Two local spots are proudly serving the finest draft beers for a buck. The Jackson Square Tavern offers Bud Light and the Main Street Grill (linkee) is all about the Coors Lights. If only another Weymouth bar would step up and offer some $1 Boggs but alas . . . So thumb your nose at any beer snob who says life is too short to drink cheap beer and join me for a taste of life before 1985. First one is on me!*

Still here!

The house we had our eyes on is gone. 436 days on the market but an offer accepted 1 day after we see it? damn . . . sellers should just hire us to look at their places. We can be like the Good Luck Chuck for homeowners.

I really can't decide what is a worse movie, Good Luck Chuck or the other one with Kate Hudson; the one where he gets paid to be a wicked scumbag and gets the girls to run back to their exes. They almost blend into one largely terrible movie in my brain. Gotta be the latter though just for the Jessica Alba > Kate Hudson factor. Kate Hudson is the worst, all she does now is romantic comedies with her acting like a buffoon and at least one or more jokes about her huge ass. Every movie has to point out her butt like its her trademark. Please do yourself a favor and not watch any Kate Hudson movies . . . except for The Skeleton Key, I approve of that one.

Is it time to move??

I know it has only been 2+ years but this has long been the debate over the last few days/weeks around the household. Back and forths and lists abound have been created noting the pros and cons of both. The main reasons behind this are the 8K tax credit and the current state of the real estate market. Both work in favor of getting a place that would offer great value and almost sure to build equity.

Although downsizing doesn't seem to be smartest move, a mortage on a house listed around 200K very much is. Details will still need to be worked out but the thought of being walking distance to the ocean in a quiet community sounds very intriguing. So maybe the house will change but the blog will live on since there are always updates to make.

More news to follow . . .

Word of the Day: Alewife

so this sign had me wondering "what the F are alewives?" Nothing a quick trip to Wikipedia can't handle.

The alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) is a species of herring. There are anadromous and landlocked
forms. The landlocked form is also called a sawbelly or mooneye (although this
latter name is more commonly applied to Hiodon spp.). The front of the
body is deep and larger than other fish found in the same waters

I assume this is how Alewife station on the red line was named as well. I always thought it was a dumb name but now I kind of dig it. Although Sawbelly Station would be much cooler.

These are the times I kick myself for not buying an IROC

From Papa John's Facebook page:

I'm in the mood to celebrate so if you own a Camaro take note. Tomorrow, Wednesday, August 26, we will be giving away a FREE large, one-topping pizza to Camaro owners nationwide, carryout only. To redeem, Camaro owners must arrive at their near...by Papa John's to order and pick up their pizza in their Camaro. Limit one pizza and one visit per Camaro.

I always knew owning a camaro had its benefits; posing like Billy Madison while Billy Squire blasts, being able to seemlessly blend into Poison concerts and Revere Beach with the slightest of ease. Now free pizza too?? It is just not fair to the rest of us.

Sir, please open your purse . . .

So do males carry bags when attending football games? I found this sign amusing, that enough men lugging man purses prompted Gillette to actually create a line for it.

For the record I do own a "murse" but I wouldn't be caught dead toting it around at a Pats game. "It's not a purse, It's EUROPEAN!"

My new toy

I picked up one of those portable camcorders that are all the rage now. It is the Vado. Not the top of the line but I scored a deal on dell SB for only 39.99 so why not give it a go. Now I can give video updates as well. This thing is small, about the size of an ipod and very light. Here is the recent demo to the ceiling that I performed, along with the pup attempting to beat the heat. 94 today.

What happened to all the ape movies?

Who doesnt love apes that drink beer and whiskey? This was comic GOLD back in the 80's. Hollywood has been remaking every movie under the sun these days but I can't get a remake of "Any Which Way You Can"? There must be a shortage of good working apes.























As far as house updates go, I have shown my current sorry state of a dining room to Joe C; electrician, house expert and all around great guy. As much as I wanted to keep the plaster ceiling intact, progess must go on! New game plan is:


-level and strap ceiling and drywall over the old plaster.
-run wiring to new ceiling box
-nailplate wiring in exposed walls
-skim walls and put up wainscoting all around
-tear up carpet and enjoy what is hopefully hardwood floors underneath.


Sounds so easy when its laid out like that huh? It'll be a miracle if I'm done by Christmas!

My new vehicle??

"I HAVE A 1979 FORD E 150 FOR TRADE IT HAS A STRAIGHT SIX IN IT THAT RUNS MINT NO PROBLEMS AND TRANNY IS FINE ALSO I JUST DID ALL BODY WORK TO IT AND PAINTED IT IT IS A AUTOMATIC ALSO HAS NEW CARB IN IT AND IT HAS ALL SHAGG CARPET IN THE INSIDE CEILING WALLS AND FLOOR ALSO HAS BED AND RECLINER IN IT JUST WANNA SEE WHAT I CAN GET FOR TRADE LET ME KNOW WOULD LIKE TRUCK OR OLD SCHOOL MUSCLE CAR"

See everytime I think that living in Mass stinks and other states have it better, I come across something like this. Dudes down south are too busy replicating the General Lee. No way they are pimping out vans that would make Mr. T shed a tear of nostalgia. I know this strays from my affinity for Camaros and El Caminos but dam this van is sweet. I wonder if he wants the Burt Reynolds Altima as a swap? or my birthday is coming. Either way for $1300 its a steal even if it sits in my driveway on blocks. Please people, someone buy this before I do.

It should be a bumpy ride . . .

Say it ain't so!! Oh it be so. After spending years punishing my liver with no vacation for the little fella, I have decided to give him a break. 30 days of alcohol free living is on the horizon but it won't be easy. To make matters worse (or better) I am also quitting caffeine so bye bye Grande Iced Coffees and Diet Cokes.





Why now? It isn't the money, although my wallet will definitely be heavier. It isn't the weight, but it won't hurt to lose a few more lbs. Mostly because I am tired of waking up on a Sunday morning on the dining room floor looking like this:









I know moderation is the key but moderation and I do not seem to like each other very much.

Channeling my inner "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan

HOOOOOOOO!!!!!

-note the free wine rack in corner

Are you brainwashed by "The Network"??

If you are friends with me then I am going to say definitely. Verizon Wireless . . . everyone I know has them. They are also by far (along with AT&T) the MOST expensive wireless provider. So why do you use them? The answer I always get is "free calling/texting to other IN customers". Sounds great and all but how much to you really talk and text?

The cheapest "regular" plan for VZW is 39.99, add 10.00 and you have 450 anytime min 1000 texts to other carriers and unlimited talk and text to Verizon customers. With fees you are looking at $55/mo for 2 years. Woof!!

Just to show you there are cheaper options out there please think of no contract options, some even use the same super-amazing "network"!!

PagePlus (Talk n Text, but other options available)
Pros
-1500 min & 1500 texts (in and out) per month for 39.95 (no additional taxes/fees)
-Uses Verizon's "Network"
-You can use your Verizon phone! (no smartphones)
Cons
-extra for MMS (picture messages)


StraightTalk (from Tracfone)
Pros
-two choices: unlimited calls/text for $45/mo or 1000 min/1000 text for $30/mo
-uses Verizon's "Network"
Cons
-limited phone selection = 3 right now

Boost Mobile (Monthly Unlimited)
Pros
-unlimited talk, text, direct connect and internet for $50/month
-Can use any nextel phone in addition to Boost offerings
-Counts as unlimited mobile to mobile for any Sprint or Nextel customers calling you
Cons
-Nextel network (slow internet, sometimes slow texts)

These are just three of the main new prepaid options that are meant to compete with the old system of 2 year contracts. There are many more options. Heck, even Verizon's own prepaid offering INpulse is a good choice if you only speak to IN customers. As with all prepaid offerings, you must keep adding to your account every 60, 60 or 120 days (depending on provider) but these are great and cheaper alternatives if you do not care about having the newest and coolest phones.

If you have any other questions, my wealth of info on this topic is vast to say the least!

Where are the updates???

I know all of you . . . actually the only person I know checking this site is Mr. B, are wondering why I never update it. There is a simple reason, I am a procrastinator. I always was, I try not to be but i can never get anything done unless it is the last minute. I wrote my senior research paper the day before it was due and it was supposed to take all semester. Thus is my burden.

But to get to the point. Are you faithful readers reading this for the house updates or just to hear me yap? or both? I have a poll here for you to vote. If you would prefer updates no matter the topic (warning: lot of mobile phones, movies and cheapo shopping) and house stuff when i get around to it. Or just stick to the house updates (be prepared for long stretches of inactivity).

I would be shocked if I got more than one vote (that is you Mr. B! haha)

another non-update

So this past Saturday there were no plans for the first time in weeks. I had been all ready to crank out some serious work. Did any of this happen? Of course it didn't. It doesnt take much to distract me, especially when lured to a wine tasting down the street. After 2 trips to the tasting, some poor performances at Bags and assorted beers later the only thing productive to show for the day was a full wine rack and an empty wallet!

Miss bambi

Snapped this pic this morning on my way to work. Bambi was chilling in the neighbors yard like she lived there.

Nothing doing on the house yet but very soon since im sick of looking at unfinished work!

No more additional housemate??

Ok so apparently Mr. Raccoon's days were not numbered. After almost 2 weeks of no activity on the traps either he is too smart for the traps or he is off to find female companionship. The traps were baited with marshmallows which is supposed to be irresistible to them (probably akin to leaving a new blackberry in a trap for me!).

I stapled up some hardware cloth (i think that is what is was called) from the local blue hardware store (not the orange one). To put the pictures below in perspective, the hole is approximately 22 inches x 10 feet. I never realized how huge the hole was . . . no wonder the cat sits and stares at the basement door for hours!

Once this expertly attached screen proves to me the raccoon is gone I can proceed to rig up a more permanent solution.

I also found an old penthouse in this hole when clearing it out - sorry no picture supplied. I guess you do find the strangest things in the walls of old houses!

Mr. Raccoon's days are numbered

After two years of Mr. (or Mrs) Raccoon living in the garage and sporadic encounters; I finally broke down and called a professional pest removal company. After a walk through with Bill (the raccoon guy) we discovered that the furry fellow is definitely living in the basement. Lovely . . . as if that basement didn't creep me out enough!

So due to the great weather all weekend I did not have an itching desire to be stuck in the house all day. I decided that I would take on what I thought was an easy task: replacing a kitchen faucet.



Let's just say that it is completed but I lost most of the day. I learned a couple things that should help me in the future



1) Always take on projects during regular business hours of a hardware store because I always forget something or ruin something I have that needs a replacement.



2) Either I don't know what I'm doing (entirely possible) or compression fittings stink. They tell you not to tighten too much but I tighten the crap of them and nothing doing. I ripped one off the pipe and doused myself in tons of water. I felt like Curly from the Three Stooges when they pretend they are plumbers: "A simple job for simple people"!





Off topic but very important is dunkies now has free turbo shots of expresso for your iced coffees. Not sure how long it'll last but I'm all over it. Maybe it will make up for the proposed sales tax hike in Mass. Ugh . . .

For the phone geek in me I have this: if you want to get out of your Verizon Wireless contract Termination Fee free you have until 5/3. They are changing the way they bill their picture messages and you may be able to jump to that Iphone you have been eyeing up all this time . . . or is that just me?

The First Post

I was hesitant to start a blog but i felt it would be a good way to document our attempts to renovate my house. For the past two years my girlfriend and i have lived in an 1868 Colonial that needs updating. Up to now we have only done small tasks like stripping wallpaper and painting.
This past month we were feeling a challenge and decided to rip out the wood paneling and dropped ceiling in the dining room. Our initial plan was to patch the plaster and paint but the damage was more extensive (now i know why the paneling was up in the first place!). So now we are debating whether to repair the plaster or drywall over it. Here are some pics of the worst spots.



















You will notice the holes on the bottom of the left pic; this is where the updated electrical was run across the wall (over the lath!). The right pic is the wall covering the old fireplace that is now attached to the furnace. Since this can of worms has now opened up old knob & tube wiring in the ceiling we have to address that issue first. Hopefully it wont sit like this too long since all the dining room furniture is stacked up in a corner, not fun!

drywall or plaster that is the question. Any thoughts??