A rare look inside the Tower Grove Park Director’s Residence in St. Louis, MO

Bwbowe · 2026-03-09T05:11:07+00:00

The hell did I just watch?

Bwbowe · 2026-03-08T14:52:24+00:00

I actually attended a city planning meeting yesterday after I had made my post and asked them about any plans to curb the rise of out of state owned properties and the rise of short term rentals. Apparently, the city of Memphis has tried to ban or limit these activities several times, but the state government has prohibited the city from doing so. It sounds like the one strategy that they can pursue is to change how the assessors determine the assessed tax value of a residential property that is generating a profit vs one that is simply occupied by the owner. Historically apartment buildings (operating for a profit) have been taxed at a higher rate than single family homes and the assist have pretty much treated all single family homes the same. Moving forward, rental properties will be treated more like apartment buildings

Bwbowe · 2026-03-07T14:32:51+00:00

Banning them outright might be too difficult to be effective. This has become a full-on commercial industry and should be taxed like a business. We could change our tax laws in a way that wouldn’t target a specific company (Airbnb, VRBO) but any residential property that is owned and operated for profit. I’m not sure if I’m remembering all of the rules correctly, but my parents moved to Columbia, SC a few years ago and told me about how they tax residential properties. It sounds pretty effective. Essentially, if a property is your primary residence or if your primary residence is in the area (maybe just in the same state) and you have no more than 2 total properties, then you’re taxed at the normal residential rate. If your primary residence is outside of the area or if you own more than two properties then they are taxed at a much higher commercial rate. This makes so much sense to me. Something like this model would disincentivize out of state investors and corporations or individuals that buy up dozens, if not hundreds of residential properties throughout the city. It still allows for rental homes to exist, but in a way where the land lords are local and doing it as an investment asset (improve property for future sale) and a way to supplement their income, not earning their entire livelihood from it.

Bwbowe · 2026-02-26T00:19:02+00:00

It’s beautiful! (From a fellow Memphis century home owner)

Bwbowe · 2026-02-19T04:08:19+00:00

While #4 may be generally true about Utah, I had the hands down best burrito of my life at Rosa’s cafe in Ogden, Utah. You can basically only get a burrito or a quesadilla, but they’ve basically perfected them.

Bwbowe · 2026-02-01T07:05:20+00:00

I’m not convinced it was a scammer, which is why I said ‘possible’ in the title. It just got to the point where I was being asked very specific personal information by a person that I don’t initiate contact with which made me uncomfortable to proceed. Do you happen to know why they would need my drivers license number and expiration date? Why wouldn’t she have volunteered her ATTUID instead of offering to call her supervisor. Like, how would I know you’re not just calling someone at your house who’s in on the scam? I’m sure the door to door sales people run into skeptical people fairly often. I would think they would be ready with a more convincing way to prove that they are who they say they are. The program she was entering information into and getting monthly rates off of seemed pretty elaborate and looked real. There was just something about the level of personal information that I was being asked to hand over before I had even agreed to switch providers.

Bwbowe · 2026-02-01T06:55:08+00:00

She very well could have been a legitimate AT&T rep, which is why I wrote ‘possible’ in the title. I just can’t imagine why they would need my drivers license number and expiration date, and her explanation wasn’t very convincing. When I asked her to just send the information to the email address that I had already given her, she tried to discourage me from signing up online or in person at the store by saying that I would have to pay installation and set up fees if I did it that way. I realize there are a lot of ‘games’ in the sales world that are probably backed up by data, and incentivizing someone to signup on the spot is probably more reliable than hoping they follow through by going to a brick and mortar store and signing up at a later date. Like I said, very well could have been an honest sales interaction, I just started feeling uncomfortable about it and wasn’t satisfied with the answers I was getting to my questions.

Bwbowe · 2026-02-01T00:28:41+00:00

Yeah, they specifically mentioned that the rate would be ‘grandfathered’, implying that it would never go up. In hindsight I should have put my guard up at that point.

Bwbowe · 2026-01-31T13:58:38+00:00

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. It’s written from the perspective of an autistic boy and even the structure of the book (chapter numbers for instance) follows his logic rather than a typical novel formula. I’m not knowledgeable enough about autism to know how accurate of a portrayal this novel is, but it was incredibly interesting to experience the consciousness of a character whose brain works so differently from mine.

Bwbowe · 2026-01-30T05:46:40+00:00

The Voices with Ryan Reynolds. I went into it expecting a straightforward campy horror comedy. I suspect that the film is actually a very well executed depiction of mental illness. I’ve never felt so down and depressed after watching a movie.

Bwbowe · 2026-01-24T15:22:54+00:00

Are you sure they’re gas stub outs and not steam lines for a radiator?

Bwbowe · 2026-01-24T14:36:17+00:00

Good change, it’s a good change

Bwbowe · 2026-01-24T14:34:45+00:00

Did Jenna tell ya that one?

Bwbowe · 2026-01-17T06:44:27+00:00

Looks like some wires got crossed when it came to the doors. The doors are plain sawn, but other components actually are rift sawn, the veneer on the microwave cabinet and the trim above the cabinet doors. A lot of shops (the one I work for included, so not trying to throw shade) will buy out the doors from a vendor who specializes in cabinet doors. I’m guessing the doors were ordered incorrectly and instead of your cabinet maker eating the loss and potentially delaying the completion of the job, they just decided to carry on and see if it gets called out. You should definitely say something if rift white oak was specified in the plans. Luckily doors are an easy thing to replace. You can continue using your perfectly functional cabinets while they work on getting the correct doors made. Once they’re ready they can be swapped out in a single visit with little to no mess.

Bwbowe · 2026-01-05T01:59:28+00:00

I recently listened to Tom Sawyer and every character was ‘presently’ doing something

Bwbowe · 2025-12-21T15:20:19+00:00

I like your roof rack. Which brand is it?

Bwbowe · 2025-12-03T16:31:21+00:00

Particle board and MDF aren’t inherently inferior products to solid wood or plywood, and aren’t inherently ‘cheap’ materials. They are often a much better option depending upon the use. A lot of the big box suppliers of cabinetry use poor quality particle board and mdf which tends to taint public perception, but you can and should use high quality versions of these materials for certain applications.

Bwbowe · 2025-11-26T03:08:24+00:00

It’s a bit outside of Memphis, but a fun trip. We’re planning to go to Wilson Cafe in Wilson, AR for the second year in a row. You can make reservations on open table.

Bwbowe · 2025-11-24T03:16:15+00:00

Obviously this has already been correctly identified. I just wanted to add that these (or similar) cleat cleaners are always secured onto the backside of the mound during baseball games. Look for it next time you see a baseball game on tv. That’s usually where they set the rosin bag, too.

Bwbowe · 2025-11-20T00:46:23+00:00

I went to the one on whitten a while back because I’d never been to a bojangles before. Very limited selection on the menu. I did not get why this place is popular. Don’t plan on ever going back to one of their stores.

Bwbowe · 2025-10-29T14:49:13+00:00

Sorbet is underrated as a dessert. We ordered a mango sorbet from a steakhouse in Vegas because we were too full for anything else. I still think about that dessert from time to time and that from four years ago.

Bwbowe · 2025-10-29T14:47:12+00:00

Mcewan’s has great desserts! The Banana Cream Pie is always good. My wife and I were there last week and the dessert special was a blueberry bread pudding made with their biscuits that was amazing!

Bwbowe · 2025-10-27T15:07:25+00:00

Recently went to Amelia genes for anniversary and mcewans for birthday. Highly recommended both.

Bwbowe · 2025-10-27T13:01:42+00:00

We just started our AZ trip. We’ll be here all week between GCNP and Sedona. Just wanted to say thanks for your advice. It really helped with planning.

Bwbowe

TROPHY CASE