redkow97

The coil is bad, and he was quoting $80 for the part, plus the labor to diagnose and install it. I could handle the install myself, but I didn't want to bother picking it up. I cut my losses and sold him the mower (for parts) for the $40 in time he had into it. Meeting the guy w/ the Kawasaki/Craftsman professional mower tonight, I hope.

meeting the guy selling the Craftsman professional series with the Kawasaki engine. It's a $600 mower everywhere I'm finding it online, so for $150, i'm comfortable taking a gamble on a used one. Plus the fact that this model is still being sold means it's either not very old, or it's proven reliable enough to keep selling...

There's no need to rationalize carrying a firearm any more than you should need to rationalize wearing a seat-belt, or a helmet, or having life insurance. If you knew precisely why you were carrying a firearm, you would avoid that situation rather than put yourself in it... Otherwise, I completely agree with jvandivere above. Get permission. Ask that it be in writing - in fact, I would type up your own permission letter, and bring a notary to the pastor to have him sign it with a witness present, thus eliminating any potential for confusion.

Well, I took the mower to the repair shop. Not worth fixing. So now the hunt for a new mower is on. I had a good used Husqvarna lined up for $165, but it was sold before I could get out to see it Now I'm debating a couple of options: 1) buy the cheapest CL mower I can find ($50-$100) and just accept the fact that it's going to break in the next 1-2 years, and be happy if it lasts beyond that. I could accomplish the same by spending $150-$250 on a low-quality new mower, but $100 is $100... or 2) Sink some money into a nicer, larger, higher-quality USED mower. These are the ones I'm currently looking at. Input appreciated: Craftsman/Kawasaki 179cc push mower for $150. 21 or 22" cut http://cleveland.craigslist.org/grd/5573006504.html Craftsman 33" push mower for $250. Needs gearbox work, but I assume I could do that myself. http://cleveland.craigslist.org/grd/5576928402.html Typical Honda push mower $250 http://cleveland.craigslist.org/grd/5576652033.html Caster-wheel Honda push mower $125 http://cleveland.craigslist.org/grd/5556787476.html 48" Ferris Mower (no pics, but awesome price) $125 http://cleveland.craigslist.org/grd/5540931524.html

On the AFJ forum, when you type "slow" it inserts some kind of silly emoji. Is there any way the admins can make it so any time Brian quotes a post, no matter what he types, it just displays: "I DISAGREE WITH WHAT THAT GUY SAID."

Someone had the 2015 model of this bike at CRP last weekend. Honestly, this looks almost as nice for a hell of a lot less coin. The new models have a 8" LCD screen that you scroll through with a thumb-wheel on the left grip. It's also got remote locks for the hard bags! The power wind-screen may also be an update. I was surprised it didn't raise and lower automatically based on speed - you have to move it on your own with a powered switch on the left grip. at $3k, this would be a great way to see the USA. I need to make that happen when my kid is old enough to ride on the back for hours on end.

I 'refinanced' my student loans with FedLoan, but that was upon THEIR insistence, not mine. Because I am eligible to have my balance forgiven after 120 on-time payments, they want to pay themselves interest rather than pay someone else ...but they were fine with ME paying someone else the interest <eye roll> What's the rate on your wife's loan(s), and what kind of money are we talking here? I owe around $90k for school, but my mortgage is double that, so even with a 3.8% rate on the mortgage, 7.8% on half the balance is about the same as far as what I pay monthly - the compounding will get ya though.

Truth. I was a bit worried that we may have put ourselves into this position by tacking $80k onto our mortgage when we moved. We're fine for now, but things will be a little lean while my wife's on maternity leave, and if she doesn't go back to work full-time. The thing I never considered with home ownership was all the property taxes. As a single guy, I could rent a nice 2-bedroom place for $550-$650/month. Utilities for such a small place were a non-factor, and certainly less than either of the homes I've owned. Now I pay nearly as much in taxes as I used to pay in rent! For a family trying to rent a larger house, or for people who rent in more expensive neighborhoods, the math might not work out that way, but I think home ownership is a goal promoted more by banks than by the financially savvy. I took a hard look at retirement a couple of months ago. I have a pension plan at work, and that will pay me a decent amount if I stay where I'm at long enough - but I don't want to count on that or be chained to it. My wife has a traditional IRA that I forgot existed. She just puts 6% into it (plus 3% employer match) every paycheck. I recently started putting 10% of every check into my roth IRA as well. I don't think anyone has ever retired and said, "I wish I hadn't saved so much."

That's not an enviable position. As you noted, people's priorities vary - I think I'd put up relatives in my house before paying their mortgage(s). 0% interest on balance transfers is an interesting factor that I hadn't thought about. I've never had a balance to transfer, but in a bind, that's a good thought.

It's also possible that I'm just better off than I realized... I make pretty average money, but my wife does well, and our household income is respectable. I joke that I finally feel "middle class" since her most recent promotion/raise. I just find it odd that people spiral into (what i consider) crazy debt, rather than adjusting their lifestyle. And I'm not talking about drastic changes, I'm talking about simple things like buying a used $10,000 car instead of a new $40,000 car. That shouldn't be a hard thing to look at, and realize you can save a lot. On a smaller scale, I would reference said friend with $25k in debt. She had 100 shoes at work and was always the person suggesting we go out for lunch. I often declined and had a $2.50 can of soup instead...

Fair point. I am just finding it SHOCKING how much debt some people are carrying. I know there are horror stories out there, but I didn't expect those stories to be about people (okay, one person in particular that has sparked this thread) who I know and consider friends. I recently learned that a friend carries over $25,000 in credit debt. I'm trying to figure out how they were able to buy a house...

fair question. I don't know. We have 3 accounts at 2 banks... Checking & savings at one, and then another 'checking' account at another - but we don't actually have any checks for that account, and it's set up purely to pay our mortgage and a few other set expenses each month. The only time we withdraw from it is to transfer money into the savings account. Our primary checking account (the one we actually draw money from) would certainly pull down that $6,xxx average a lot.

Casper or other admins may be able to see who selects what answers. I'm not looking to dig for other people's info that they're not comfortable sharing, but I recently read that the average US bank balance is $6300 and change. I also found out that several coworkers I consider responsible individuals carry a TON of credit debt...

Every tire has a finite amount of traction. I would run Q3's until they're consistently sliding for you. Even a full-blown slick is going to do that at some point. May as well learn to deal with it at a lower price-point and at a slower pace.

It definitely is. It might be the best selling handgun in the world.

For me, the G19 will be my "standard" sized 9mm. I know it's not full-sized, but it's a lot bigger than my PF9, and it will only see carry duty when I have it OWB, not IWB. The G26 is fatter than I can comfortably fit IWB, and if I were to go that route, I would look at the G43. ...the other major factor is price. I PM'd you.

I will probably get a G19, but I really don't like the way the trigger guard is shaped. My right middle finger rubs in their little dip right before the trigger guard meets the grip. Otherwise I like everything about it.

I would tend to agree that a revenue stream is advisable, but it's also a huge hassle... Yeah, more people using the track means more revenue, but it also means more wear, greater insurance costs, more noise, (probably not an issue in Garrettsville), and so on and so forth. I guess what I'm getting at is that it adds a LOT of work for relatively minimal profit. I'd be seriously interested to see their business plan and expense ledger - even without the repave.

If the goal is to "open" at all. If I had the coin to buy a track, I guess I'd rent it out when I wasn't using it, but that wouldn't be my priority.

I make the drive every round. Let me know if you need a ride. Especially if you are renting a bike, an extra person would be very easy to fit. A person plus their bike plus their gear is still doable, but requires a bit more planning.

With the proper financial backing, i wonder if it would be economically viable to purchase large areas of land, develop it, AND hire on a private security company to keep it all from being destroyed. A gated community in the hood ...or something. Even better idea might be to buy the surrounding plots as well, then sell them off at an increased value after your 'stronghold' flourishes, or build a wall, and a few properties inside it, then sell off the other interior parcels at a profit. Shit, with Detroit as desperate as it is for money, part of me thinks they would entertain chartering new villages or townships and completely giving up all property rights to the land. You could be mayor of your own town!

Not yet. all i've really done is determine that it's NOT getting spark, and take it apart to expose the coil and the flywheel. prior to that, I replaced the gas and the spark plug. Wanted to try things in order of ease/cost before spending time diagnosing it further.

my deadman switch appears to stop the flywheel (thus stopping the blade) rather than simply cutting spark, but I will see if there's more to it.

why wouldn't the plug itself spark under the same conditions? it's a brand new plug.

it's a Weed Eater (that's the Kmart brand) 550 series, which (per the internet) uses a briggs and stratton engine. 550 series OHV 140cc. I don't have a volt meter to check the plug wire. Probably time to buy one...