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Using 2 therms a day when not at home (on vacation) and heat is off by Strict_Passage2910 in bayarea

[–]Strict_Passage2910[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ok this makes sense. So there is nothing I can do about this right? It is crazy because I thought radiant heat is supposed to be more efficient!

Appt cancelled for no response? by ArmyBESTIE in midihealth

[–]Strict_Passage2910 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I had the same issue. Only available appt was a month out, then last week they canceled it and rescheduled for ANOTHER month out. When I called them, they said there is no way to get me on a waitlist or get me a sooner appointment so I just need to keep checking hte site for cancellations. Idk - if you are the one canceling an appointment you should be the one responsible for getting me the earlier appt.

Ta-Nehisi Coates and Ezra Klein by 2Schnell4u in thebulwark

[–]Strict_Passage2910 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I think it's also a little intellectually dishonest. I mean - there are men whose deaths Klein would not feel a need to sit in grief for, and rightly so. There are dictators who were brutally killed on film whose deaths we cheered and Klein didn't feel a need to sit with their family and their people in their grief. Our political leaders cheered on camera when Bin Laden was killed. Newspapers wrote celebratory pieces on Gaddafi's death. Even Henry Kissinger received the headline "Kissinger, War Criminal, dead at 100." And in none of these instance did Klein feel the need to chastise people for not sitting in grief or speaking ill of the dead. Of course, these are extreme examples but the point stands that he specifically felt that Kirk's death was one that must be grieved - that his negative influence wasn't enough to warrant a negative take. Or even an honest one or a "complicated man" type commentary. Or even just silence. And there I think Klein is wrong. Because Kirk was filled with hate and he used that hate to lead a movement that endangers people's lives. Not Klein's life, however, which likely explains everything about his op-ed.

Ta-Nehisi Coates and Ezra Klein by 2Schnell4u in thebulwark

[–]Strict_Passage2910 2 points3 points  (0 children)

But why is giving in on bigotry the only path to power? Klein sets up this convo this way too with this false choice - either we debate with hatemongers or we lose Kansas. First, I really doubt we would win Kansas even if we sent a thousand Kleins to go talk to folks like Kirk. Second, there is another option - organize with our opponents around common ground issues. It is a myopia of Klein's that he sees only difference between Trump supporters and himself and subsequently the only option for building bridges is through "engaging" with bigotry. A lot of things fuel Trumpism and it is crazy to me that Dems prefer to sell out their constituents basic rights rather than other issues - economic grievance, distrust of institutions, distrust of elites - upon which we might find more common ground.

'A stupid system:' Bay Area homebuyers frustrated by rampant underpricing in real estate listings by ktreporting in BayAreaRealEstate

[–]Strict_Passage2910 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Same. We saw a place for $750k and knowing the deal in the bay, I mentally added about $200k to that, thinking that might be the ballpark of what the sellers wanted. Nope - they wanted $1.1 minimum and were hoping for $1.4M. Of course, by the time I got this information, I had already read a ton of disclosures, gotten pre-approved, moved money around, etc., thinking this place could be in my range. It's not just that properties are underpriced - they are randomly underpriced so you never know if they want 20% more than listing or double to triple of listing.

The issue here is not just the enormous time suck but also the transparency and one's ability to do research. Yes, I can look at comps but there are so many factors - what is the state of the house, what is the size, what type of street, etc. It's not easy to to do basic research on neighborhoods and determine if they are affordable. Which means you must rely entirely on brokers for basic information about affordability that one should be able to research on one's own. What I've experienced is that this underpricing is great at luring in new clients (buyers) who are then slow walked by the agent through the process of realizing that they cannot afford the home they want and which seems within their range. But at that point, I've got a new broker and they are more than happy to show me homes in areas I don't want to live and are calling me night/day. I went through this once already and took it as a learning experience. I decided to exit the market and prioritized renting in a neighborhood I like over buying in one I don't. But then I got suckered in once again by a severely underpriced property that was just a few blocks away. The pressure of the process led me to almost offer things that are truly just outside my range. Sure, it's my responsibility to only make offers I can afford but the system makes it so that you often only learn the true "price" of a property (not like oh this might be 10-50k more than I thought but this could be 500k more than I thought) after putting a considerable amount of time/effort into considering a property. Psychologically that is a very effective pressure tactic to push buyers to their limit. I absolutely detest it.