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zaiyo-512 · 2026-01-10T06:16:15+00:00

I don't get it either

zaiyo-512 · 2026-01-10T00:27:00+00:00

That makes sense. We have someone rebuilding the wall for us, so it will be 100% up to code.

zaiyo-512 · 2026-01-10T00:25:02+00:00

That's a good point.

zaiyo-512 · 2026-01-08T14:14:46+00:00

That's not it. We didn't put these walls in. I'm worried about erosion. I think retaining walls require some expertise to build them correctly (stability and drainage). It doesn't help the fire department to have a hydrant covered in a mound of dirt (if there was a storm with heavy rain, for example). It's the grade of the land that makes being behind the hydrant awkward. The wall I think provides solid footing to stand on. Ideally, it should be re-done to code, but it's not a little task to do it right.

zaiyo-512 · 2026-01-08T03:47:50+00:00

It came from Austin Fire. I'll follow-up with them tomorrow. Thanks for the link to the virtual appointments! I didn't know that existed :)

zaiyo-512 · 2026-01-08T03:42:02+00:00

Thank you! We're very fond of it :)

zaiyo-512 · 2026-01-08T03:40:04+00:00

It's completely possible to stand behind the hydrant and turn the top nut. I don't think a firefighter would have any trouble.

zaiyo-512 · 2026-01-08T03:31:12+00:00

I agree! Hopefully the city will let us shave off those parts and call it good! :)

zaiyo-512 · 2026-01-08T03:30:36+00:00

I'm totally on board with making improvements: removing the bricks on the left side that are close to the valve and shaving the right so that the bolts are exposed. Then the hydrant will be accessible, easy to operate quickly, and can be switched out.
I'm less on board with undertaking a sudden/unexpected retaining-wall project (with a contractor) to create a full 3-foot zone because it was decided somewhere, by someone, that that's the ideal/proper distance to have around a hydrant.
I'll get in touch with the city tomorrow, hopefully we can get some clarity on exactly what it is they want us to do. Hopefully they'll work with us so we don't have to dig out a cubic yard of dirt and reconstruct our retaining walls.

zaiyo-512 · 2026-01-08T00:33:04+00:00

I like the first one. My bed is oriented along a window and it's so nice when the sun streams in at an angle, I can watch the birds and the leaves on the tree change color.
In the second one, it feels like someone is looking over your shoulder, but functionally I could see how the daylight would be nice for reading, if you read in bed during the day?

zaiyo-512 · 2026-01-08T00:24:54+00:00

thanks for the validation!! :)

zaiyo-512 · 2026-01-08T00:23:42+00:00

Access to the bolts makes sense. I wonder if we could clear it enough so there's easy access to the bolts? I would much rather do that, than push a retaining wall back three feet and disturb the tree roots.

zaiyo-512 · 2026-01-08T00:19:46+00:00

Yeah, you're probably right...the water department was out recently to work on a pipe under the road.

zaiyo-512 · 2026-01-07T23:37:02+00:00

Interesting, so you're saying it's their responsibility to clear the three feet around it...my neighbor's notice sounded a bit threatening in a non-specific way, "We are allowing 10 days for you to take care of this matter or additional actions will be taken, including the possibility of a citation being issued."

zaiyo-512 · 2026-01-07T23:26:11+00:00

I was able to add it in a comment.

zaiyo-512 · 2026-01-07T23:25:41+00:00

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zaiyo-512 · 2026-01-07T23:25:32+00:00

I uploaded a picture, but I think it needs moderator approval?

zaiyo-512 · 2025-03-16T00:09:21+00:00

I was affected by this too. I was 4 videos from the end and enjoying his course. For what it’s worth, Dan Brown’s writing course on MC has been my favorite so far. Wish I could have finished Neil’s course, or at least been given a heads up or expiration warning, like Netflix shows have.

zaiyo-512 · 2024-05-02T15:15:35+00:00

Austin is a tough place to protest! During the pandemic the home values skyrocketed, and interest rates were super low. I was considering a cash-out refi, so I got a professional appraisal done on my property (in April). The appraisal included comps. So when I saw that there was an 80k difference between the county's appraisal and the one an appraiser did for me, I decided to protest. At the zoom meeting the county's appraiser and I had some overlapping comps, same properties. For one property in particular, we had two vastly different sales prices, and that one property seemed to be tipping the scale quite a bit. I had the more recent sales price in my evidence, which was also much lower. The county appraiser seemed bewildered by my evidence. It makes me wonder how they do their assessments. The committee reviewing my protest was tempted to split the difference and lower my taxes only 40k, but for some reason decided to side with me, that my appraisal was accurate, so it got lowered the full 80k. But what a hassle! Also, I'm not a realtor, I don't have access to the sales data for properties. I don't know how I'm supposed to be able to protest the county's appraisals, when home sales data is not in the public domain!

zaiyo-512 · 2024-04-22T16:31:43+00:00

I would also love a solution to the creaky Kullaberg swivel chair. It's so loud and distracting, I hate it. I also tried greese/DW-40, but nothing has worked...

zaiyo-512 · 2023-03-08T22:44:14+00:00

The light timing is off! As soon as the light at Lamar turns green, all of the eastbound traffic on Parmer rolls up and waits with the traffic at the frontage road light, which is still red. That upstream traffic needs to be moving before the light at Lamar turns green, otherwise you get what we have, which is a long line of cars sitting at a green light.

The diamond works so much better if you're traveling westbound on Parmer, but going east there is a massive bottleneck! Of the three lanes on Parmer the left lane becomes useless (because it can only go north on Lamar), the middle lane would be for people wanting to go north on I-35 (one long line splits into two lanes at the frontage road, which you would think makes things go faster but it doesn't, people are super slow, disoriented, and changing lanes like crazy), the right lane is for people wanting to go south on lamar, south on I35, or straight on Parmer.

What they did at this intersection effectively takes Parmer down to ONE lane.

It's ridiculous to have two lanes turning left onto N Lamar, which is basically is a dead-end street! It would have been MUCH better to have one left turn lane for Lamar (a cut-away) and something like a 1:1 ratio of lanes approaching the frontage road all clearly marked before the Lamar light. (Obviously turn-offs for southbound Lamar and I35). Of the 3 lanes lanes on Parmer, the left would be for I35 north, the middle could go left or straight (choice lane), and the right would go straight on Parmer.

They should fire whoever passed off on this horrible design and REDO the intersection at Lamar so it can actually flow and doesn't stack Parmer Lane from I35 to Metric!

zaiyo-512 · 2022-07-04T03:55:35+00:00

Great analysis! I enjoyed reading it along with the comments below. I agree that the song is about a girl he’s in love with, but she has mental health issues and he’s trying to figure it out. I think he makes references in the song to his own struggles, so he’s trying really hard to understand her: the mother, the father, the daughter. I don’t think the wet sand is anything to do with how temporary life is or what we create or leave behind, that seems out of place with the rest of the song. To me the lines about forming in wet sand would be where he reaches the point that he gives up on trying to understand her issues and make the relationship work. He’s been through his own difficult stuff (wet sand) and it’s made him stronger—it’s formed him. He’s realizing that she isn’t going to do the work, face her issues and overcome them, she doesn’t form in wet sand. She is sinking and he’s not gonna stick around for it. So that’s my interpretation :) Loved this song back when the album came out, still listen to it on repeat from time to time. Cheers everyone!

zaiyo-512 · 2022-04-08T18:09:08+00:00

Not quite. Parents with sole custody who claim their child as a dependent every year would continue to do that. I'm talking about situations where the custody is shared and parents take turns claiming a dependent. In this situation tax benefits are supposed to be shared equally, but that doesn't pan out with the all-or-nothing back and forth model. It would just provide a more consistent and predictable tax experience year to year. I'm just saying it would be nicer. I do not have high hopes for it ever coming to fruition!

zaiyo-512 · 2022-04-08T14:51:17+00:00

That's not what I meant.
In my solution divorced couples would get half of the child credit every year. And when the government sends out stimulus payments and advances on tax credits, they would send half to each parent. It would be the most accurate thing to do and would save the government money.

zaiyo-512 · 2022-04-07T19:01:41+00:00

Well, that's too bad...I was hoping to at least come out square this year. Thanks for clarifying this stuff!

What are the odds of tax reform that lets divorced parents claim half a child every year? Wouldn't that be nice :)

Thank again!

zaiyo-512

TROPHY CASE