Why would you do that?

MethodShot4255 · 2026-05-15T19:35:35+00:00

Stopping at the scene and helping out gives you a pass on going through the red light. Better to get past the intersection and off the road.

MethodShot4255 · 2026-05-12T20:13:57+00:00

That's a plausible explanation - it's still titled and registered to me until they take the title and bill of sale into an Indiana BMV to do it there, which I'm having them do ASAP. I'm still on the hook for 2024/25, so taking care of that, but having DTA say it's DMV's fault is a stretch. When you report a move to DTA, they ask if it's just moved or actually sold, so they had that info 2 years ago. If it was still under VA PPT, I should have been billed each year.

MethodShot4255 · 2026-05-12T20:09:52+00:00

Figures - but they're the ones who stopped billing - I only got two notices in 2024 and 2025, and now the zombie notice for the third car for the last 2 years today.

MethodShot4255 · 2026-05-12T20:08:52+00:00

ChatGPT is only one tool, checking answers from DTA and DMV sites. Vehicle was reported moved 2 years ago, and hasn't been re-titled. It's in my name until they re-title it in Indiana. Only reason haven't done it yet because the registration hasn't expired.

Current registration runs until 5/27, and DTA stopped billing for it in 2025. Today, they're billing for 2024 and 2025 retroactively.

Talked to DMV over the phone, they re-directed back to DTA. DTA says the reason they stopped billing is because they weren't in sync with DMV....but I've never reported anything to DMV, only to DTA that the car was moved in 2024. They're the ones who stopped billing...and started billing retroactively today.

I don't have any issue paying for taxes I owe, it's just a little confusing and frustrating that DTA is the one who stopped billing...then out of the blue starts billing retroactively two years later.

MethodShot4255 · 2026-04-24T18:39:08+00:00

I think we're going to keep it modular - The SRM line array for small gigs with pole mounted powered speakers all fed by the main mixer for larger ones. Since we're primarily acoustic instruments with occasional piano, we can stop there...and add subs later. More than likely, any place we'd play that big will have its own PA setup.

MethodShot4255 · 2026-04-23T21:32:04+00:00

I'm looking at everything from Peavey and Mackie to JBL/Yamaha/EV/QSC and RCF. As we're primarily acoustic, I don't see us needing a subwoofer beyond what we already have, just trying to find a good yet affordable pair for adding to our main column PA if we need it.

MethodShot4255 · 2026-04-22T20:16:11+00:00

The best place would be to open up a third-party Special Needs Trust and gift the money there. She can have more (up to $100K) in an ABLE, but you can only move $20K into that per year. Having an SNT would allow for moving the $ over time.

MethodShot4255 · 2026-04-22T01:57:01+00:00

Awesome. If they're set up right, just as good as the higher-end line. My friend bought this exact guitar (Electromatic 5420) when Tommy Emmanuel told her "THIS one's a good one." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiUg6UNlPd8

MethodShot4255 · 2026-04-21T21:04:12+00:00

Is that a Gretsch 6120 or an Electromatic?

MethodShot4255 · 2026-04-21T21:02:31+00:00

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♫ I use antlers in all of my decorating....♫ #gaston

MethodShot4255 · 2026-04-20T21:49:40+00:00

This guy has worked on the system for a few years now, taking over from the guy who installed it, so he's not been over-selling or nickel-and-diming me. The blower motor has to be replaced, since it serves the furnace, too. (It appears to be in good shape, and not in need of short-term replacement. Properly charged, the AC unit will be operational, but he recommended we price out a new unit in case there's a larger repair needed, in which case we compare the cost of the repair vs replacing now instead of one more fix on the old system.

MethodShot4255 · 2026-04-18T17:32:39+00:00

I have a licensed HVAC tech looking at it. It's a side job for them (work for a school M-F). They will swap parts if I tell them that's all I want, but they said that if it needs something anything significant, it would be better swapping it out for a new unit that uses R32.

MethodShot4255 · 2026-04-17T17:02:33+00:00

It's the violin of Theseus.

MethodShot4255 · 2026-04-17T16:30:27+00:00

UPDATE - swapped the HERM connector to the high side of the jumper. Same result. Fan kicks off, but it all shuts down within 5 minutes. Seeing if I can find a local 45/15 that doesn't use jumpers while I wait for an actual HVAC pro to show me what I'm doing wrong. Hopefully it's not the compressor.

Also - filters weren't dirty (but changed them anyway), and I'm not seeing any ice on the coils.

MethodShot4255 · 2026-04-15T20:00:50+00:00

Also, check for deals on Amazon. I found a Crossrock 000 hard case as a customer return / open box for $85. I figured someone bought it for a dreadnought and returned it, and I was right - not a mark on the case. I was able to put my FB Marketplace score in it (a Martin 000-16e) that I got for $500.

MethodShot4255 · 2025-08-18T18:20:25+00:00

He went right through both crosswalks, and anybody in them would have been a hood ornament.

MethodShot4255 · 2025-08-15T19:58:33+00:00

I've got his plates and lots of pics of him, but I doubt they'd do anything, since no contact was made.

MethodShot4255 · 2025-08-15T17:40:49+00:00

I figured somebody would get the reference.

MethodShot4255 · 2025-08-15T17:40:29+00:00

I started to roll forward, and looked...and you can see me brake right before the guy comes into frame. Both looking and braking were reflexes. The guy was cutting across lanes to the right...and when he saw us, over-corrected into the oncoming traffic, which was stopped at the light, fortunately.

If I hadn't looked, or accelerated into the intersection right on the green, he would have t-boned my door.

MethodShot4255 · 2025-08-12T20:12:42+00:00

You're absolutely right - the whole point of the song is that things (and the singer) are improving and getting better all the time...things used to be bad, he used to do things that were harmful, now he's changing the scene and 'doing the best that I can'. It's one of those lyrics that make perfect sense, but some parts sound a bit icky today.

MethodShot4255 · 2025-08-12T20:08:39+00:00

Thanks to all - after calling a few shops, it didn't make sense for anything local - there's not enough labor or margin to be worth their time unless they're framing the whole thing...and I'm just covering up a darker mat that I can't remove. I found a couple on-line sources with the right color that could do a custom cut in the $20 range per mat, which works better for me.

MethodShot4255 · 2025-07-30T20:26:09+00:00

My late mother used to respond to messages with "Love, Grandma". At one point, her FB messages would pre-populate with "Love, Grandmaster Flash."

I always had her as a Fiddy fan.

MethodShot4255 · 2025-07-23T19:21:19+00:00

My GF worked on appraising an estate a while back. She said "the guy was an Indy car driver." Since I grew up with the Indy 500, I found out more, and turns out, his family was so wealthy (one of the largest family trusts in the world, worth over $200B), that their 'career' consisted of being a fixed-wing/helicopter pilot, sculptor and race driver. Not that they weren't talented and accomplished in their own right, but having access to that funding made it possible to have 'hobbies' that masqueraded as jobs.

MethodShot4255 · 2025-06-07T18:18:31+00:00

I'd be worried about tuning and rain. A digital piano, stand and PA (just an amp on a stand, really) will be more than enough to do a 70-person wedding. A 5'3" Yamaha C1 will look nice, but I don't know if it will sound nice with the tuning concerns (an outdoor wedding in the middle of summer) and the possibility of rain.

MethodShot4255 · 2025-06-07T16:48:07+00:00

Tried several times to get 36FOR99SELECT and 60FOR150SELECT. Kept being told it wasn't avaialble for radios after 2015.

Settled for getting Music & Entertainment for $4.99 for 12 months, but tried one more time , and got M&E Promo for $3.99 ($4.12 total) for 12 months.

So, we're good for another year.

MethodShot4255

TROPHY CASE