We were without power for several hours today after a transformer blew. Was so loud that we knew it had happened very close by. We took a look at the pole nearest us bordering our property, and there was a dead animal hanging from a wire. We weren't sure what it was, but dang.
Re: Random randomness
Posted: Mon Feb 05, 2024 12:47 pm
by Daehawk
Small rant: Whats a person to do that needs to speak to someone in human services?? My local office has been closed since covid. The phone number is ALWAYS packed and lies about wait time. Its usually 200+ and 600+ minute wait times. I called right as they opened this morning and it said 18 minute wait. Ive been on hold waiting 3 hours now. I have to hang up or have no minutes on my damn phone.
I had SNAP benefits for years and because I missed a phone interview in Dec they cancelled on me so I got no food help Jan. I barely was able to get by the last week nibbling on junk and drinking water. But I cant spend much of my disability money this month getting food. My car is busted so I cant go to the food bank and get 1 bag of canned beans to do a full month.
I got an application in the mail to reapply and return in the provided self addressed envelope. Did they provide that envelope? Hell no. So I applied online a month ago. Ive heard nothing at all. Hence trying to call and find out or get the address so I can mail my paper one.
GOD its F'n stupid how hard it is to speak to a person you need to speak to these days. Its as if the government doesn't want to help at all..gee.
Re: Random randomness
Posted: Mon Feb 05, 2024 12:52 pm
by Smoove_B
I feel like I'm hearing from my dad. He's been trying to get some tax refund since *October* and he refuses to do anything electronically. So instead his only options are to spend a few days a week trying to call random government offices, hoping to get through to someone.
Spoiler: He's still waiting for a tax refund based on paperwork he sent back in September of 2023.
If you missed that phone interview, they probably immediately ejected you from the "streamlined" system and now you're at the mercy of the bureaucratic process. I can't even imagine trying to handle any of this by phone in real time - there's probably 3-5 workers handling hundreds of calls and cases a day. I'm not even sure going in person would be best either even if that were an option for you.
Ideally you'd have someone local - a county representative you could contact that might be able to move things along for you. But directly trying to call the state? I just can't even imagine.
Re: Random randomness
Posted: Mon Feb 05, 2024 12:59 pm
by LordMortis
Smoove_B wrote: Mon Feb 05, 2024 12:52 pm
Ideally you'd have someone local - a county representative you could contact that might be able to move things along for you. But directly trying to call the state? I just can't even imagine.
Back when unemployment was a huge part of COVID, calling (and emailing) the state was impossible. You just kept rolling the dice on doing things electronically, incorrectly because you were without choice. Since I've been tossed to medicaid, I'm surprised at how quickly I get someone pretty consistently.
WRT dads and taxes, I've been trying to get my dad to just have a tax specialist do the work every year and establish quarterly estimates for him. After a $30,000!!!! miscalculation with an 8% penalty on that in addition to late fines last year, he's finally acquiescing. I can only assume a tax specialist will also make the numbers work better for him.
Re: Random randomness
Posted: Mon Feb 05, 2024 1:30 pm
by Daehawk
I did just find out 2 pieces of good news.
1. My power bill went up to over $200 this month BUT my energy assistance voucher went in early ..just today .Yay me. So my power bill was paid.
2. I actually did get my internet bill down to $34.99 and get the better speed. I wasn't sure that worked but it did. Yay me again.
Now I can give all that money I just saved to the property tax place. Boo me.
Re: Random randomness
Posted: Mon Feb 05, 2024 1:52 pm
by Smoove_B
LordMortis wrote: Mon Feb 05, 2024 12:59 pm
WRT dads and taxes, I've been trying to get my dad to just have a tax specialist do the work every year and establish quarterly estimates for him. After a $30,000!!!! miscalculation with an 8% penalty on that in addition to late fines last year, he's finally acquiescing. I can only assume a tax specialist will also make the numbers work better for him.
My dad did finally need to relent and get an accountant after retiring - specifically for those quarterly estimates. He was fighting it for a year or so, but eventually he just gave in.
For this tax refund he refused to give them information for a direct deposit - he wanted them to mail a paper check. So my tax refund was posted at 12:01 am the day they went live in October; he's still waiting.
Re: Random randomness
Posted: Mon Feb 05, 2024 1:57 pm
by hepcat
Thankfully, my 88 year old father was best friends all his life with a guy who eventually started his own accounting firm back home. So he had him do his taxes every year. After he passed away, his son took over the business and continues to do it. They also do all his money management and he lives pretty comfortably because of that. Gotta love family connections.
LordMortis wrote: Mon Feb 05, 2024 12:59 pm
WRT dads and taxes, I've been trying to get my dad to just have a tax specialist do the work every year and establish quarterly estimates for him. After a $30,000!!!! miscalculation with an 8% penalty on that in addition to late fines last year, he's finally acquiescing. I can only assume a tax specialist will also make the numbers work better for him.
My dad did finally need to relent and get an accountant after retiring - specifically for those quarterly estimates. He was fighting it for a year or so, but eventually he just gave in.
For this tax refund he refused to give them information for a direct deposit - he wanted them to mail a paper check. So my tax refund was posted at 12:01 am the day they went live in October; he's still waiting.
I'd ask if we have the same dad but mine still hasn't commit to that specialist yet. Also, he's been retired for a long time and probably over paying taxes and screwing up all their complexities for many years but now he's really slipping.
I might want a paper check as a stop between me and a tax person as well. If only because we've had two family members taken their life savings at end of life (I hope dad remembers this), one of which was and grandparent's brother worth 10s of millions of 1990s money, liquidated the day after he died (including physical assets Dozens vintage autos disappeared). And what did my family get for grandpa not getting an inheritance? Years spent being interviewed by federal investigators.
Can someone explain the stigma about Ikea to me? People talk about it as if anyone older than 20 and shops at Ikea is somehow tacky. It's treated the same as "still living in your mother's basement." I've never been to an Ikea, and I've never owned their products (there's no store nearby, and their shipping is designed to discourage online shopping - $150 shipping for a $35, 5-pound item.) But from what I've heard, they're good quality, and from what I've seen on their site, they're not cheap.
What's the deal?
Re: Random randomness
Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2024 1:57 pm
by LordMortis
I have one a couple of miles from me and they aren't cheap. I don't think there is a stigma attached to them other than they are the generic low personality thing that people first get when striking out on their own and they need new stuff.
Re: Random randomness
Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2024 2:41 pm
by Rumpy
Blackhawk wrote: Wed Feb 07, 2024 1:50 pm
Can someone explain the stigma about Ikea to me? People talk about it as if anyone older than 20 and shops at Ikea is somehow tacky. It's treated the same as "still living in your mother's basement." I've never been to an Ikea, and I've never owned their products (there's no store nearby, and their shipping is designed to discourage online shopping - $150 shipping for a $35, 5-pound item.) But from what I've heard, they're good quality, and from what I've seen on their site, they're not cheap.
What's the deal?
Never heard of that one. I've always heard it be a popular and trendy place to find furnishings no matter the age group.
Re: Random randomness
Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2024 2:43 pm
by Blackhawk
LordMortis wrote: Wed Feb 07, 2024 1:57 pm
I have one a couple of miles from me and they aren't cheap. I don't think there is a stigma attached to them other than they are the generic low personality thing that people first get when striking out on their own and they need new stuff.
You're talking about a country where half of the population has to get by on Walmart furniture.
LordMortis wrote: Wed Feb 07, 2024 1:57 pm
I have one a couple of miles from me and they aren't cheap. I don't think there is a stigma attached to them other than they are the generic low personality thing that people first get when striking out on their own and they need new stuff.
You're talking about a country where half of the population has to get by on Walmart furniture.
I don't know about have to get by but my furniture is all used except for my bed, which sadly, is very low quality and needs and upgrade. When I need something I new, I seem to get it at Home Depot through their shipping, of all things, precisely because they seem to be the cheapest (less expensive that WalMart and way less expensive than Ikea, where I walk through and then wonder who pays the prices they charge for the things they sell)
Sometime in the next I don't know how many years, I will get a new better bed. Hopefully soon, as I can feel springs in my back on my 20+ year old mattress. I will also get a new nice recliner. Don't know how. Don't know when.
Re: Random randomness
Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2024 5:02 pm
by Daehawk
I dont have any IKEA stuff. Theres not one anywhere near me that I know of. And the only thing I think I know about them is what I get from online and thats the stereotype that their instructions sucks and are totally confusing.
Re: Random randomness
Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2024 5:48 pm
by Kraken
The only IKEA thing I ever bought is a wardrobe for Wife's clothes. Assembly was difficult but the quality is decent. All of the pieces were precisely machined to fit properly, and it's real wood, not fallaparticleboard. There were just a LOT of pieces and the instructions were sketchy enough that I had to backtrack and correct mistakes a couple of times.
If our offer is accepted we'll be furnishing a new house pretty soon. It's more than twice the size of our current house. I don't think there are any IKEAs anywhere near the Berkshires, though. In fact there aren't many big-box or chain stores of any kind. We'll have to pay the big bucks for grownup furniture.
Re: Random randomness
Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2024 7:53 pm
by ImLawBoy
IKEA's fine. It's kind of a pain to bring all the stuff home and have to build it, but it's cheaper than the more traditional furniture store. I have a few IKEA things around the house, and if anyone thinks less of me for it they've kept it to themselves.
Re: Random randomness
Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2024 8:02 pm
by Madmarcus
I feel like it has become more expensive. At one point it felt like it was a good deal for basic furniture that you had to put together. Now it feels pretty pricey outside of a few items. I suspect the cheap knock off no name flat pack stuff has just undercut them.
I never understood why people had trouble with the directions. I've always found them to be fairly easy to follow.
Re: Random randomness
Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2024 8:54 pm
by Holman
IKEA gets blasted as "disposable furniture," but it's really only disposable in the sense that it's never a classic hand-me-down that future generations will enjoy experiencing beyond their first cheap apartment.
All of our IKEA stuff (two bed frames, a couple of chairs, and a half-dozen bookshelves) has held up pretty solidly and survived multiple dis-assemblies and moves. It's not stylish, but the bare stylelessness is what makes it recede into the unobtrusive background.
Re: Random randomness
Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2024 9:02 pm
by em2nought
ImLawBoy wrote: Wed Feb 07, 2024 7:53 pm
IKEA's fine. It's kind of a pain to bring all the stuff home and have to build it, but it's cheaper than the more traditional furniture store. I have a few IKEA things around the house, and if anyone thinks less of me for it they've kept it to themselves.
My sister bought my mom a dresser. I had to drive two hours to pick it up, and then another two to bring it home. It's heavy, had to move it by myself. I had to assemble it, and then modify the base to have a solid base instead of four little legs to suit my mother. I'd say the quality is about two levels better than Walmart or Target. In other words I haven't had to install extra boards to keep anything from bowing or drooping. I've inherited the dresser now, I hope someone who wants to buy my condo wants it along everything else.
Re: Random randomness
Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2024 9:08 pm
by Pyperkub
ImLawBoy wrote: Wed Feb 07, 2024 7:53 pm
IKEA's fine. It's kind of a pain to bring all the stuff home and have to build it, but it's cheaper than the more traditional furniture store. I have a few IKEA things around the house, and if anyone thinks less of me for it they've kept it to themselves.
Yup, Assembly is the stigma.
Well, that, and their stores feel like a rat maze. Tho they do seem like they'd be great fun to have a paintball/lasertag fight in...
My kitchen shelves and my entertainment center are Ikea. They're working just fine at resisting the pull of gravity on the objects that have been placed on them.
Re: Random randomness
Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2024 11:13 pm
by Fardaza
My wife and I have an entertainment center and some closet inserts that we got from them. They work great!
And I can't believe that nobody on this forum has Kallax shelves for their board games. I have two! They are fantastic!
We got a curio cabinet at IKEA. We spent several months looking for one in every furniture store in the area, they were either tiny or ridiculously expensive everywhere (starting at around $400), and IKEA had them for $150.
They're really stretching for that C&D. Unfortunately, this will likely end up being less about who is right, and more about who has the money for high-priced attorneys.
Random randomness
Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2024 2:57 am
by Zarathud
My first floor is nice furniture. Custom bookshelves, antique dining room table (in need of refinishing), sofa sectional and loveseat, even a grandfather clock. We either inherited or custom ordered.
My basement is IKEA, my Allplay boardgame table and bar. 3 Kallax for books, 2 Kallax for games, IKEA cabinet, and guest sofa bed.
I use my basement, while my wife uses the fist floor. Different purposes.
Re: Random randomness
Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2024 3:04 am
by Kraken
I used to call my parents' living room The Museum of Nice Furniture. I'm glad your wife has carried that torch into the present.
Re: Random randomness
Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2024 6:58 am
by LordMortis
Is it just me or are they skipping Gen Z talk and going straight to Gen Alpha? And we thought X was forgotten. X was at least in the conversation when my portion of X was in our early 20s. Maybe Z remind us too much of COVID.
Re: Random randomness
Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2024 8:04 am
by Zarathud
In our house everything is used. If not by us, by the cats. It’s just presentable and lived in, not a museum by any means.
Re: Random randomness
Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2024 10:50 am
by ImLawBoy
LordMortis wrote: Thu Feb 08, 2024 6:58 am
Is it just me or are they skipping Gen Z talk and going straight to Gen Alpha? And we thought X was forgotten. X was at least in the conversation when my portion of X was in our early 20s. Maybe Z remind us too much of COVID.
This is the first I recall seeing the term "Gen Alpha" and I still see tons of Gen Z talk, so I'm not saying it's just you, but I'm not saying its not just you.
They're really stretching for that C&D. Unfortunately, this will likely end up being less about who is right, and more about who has the money for high-priced attorneys.
Given that his kickstarter hasn’t had an update since 2022, I’m pretty sure it’s a moot point.
LordMortis wrote: Thu Feb 08, 2024 6:58 am
Is it just me or are they skipping Gen Z talk and going straight to Gen Alpha? And we thought X was forgotten. X was at least in the conversation when my portion of X was in our early 20s. Maybe Z remind us too much of COVID.
This is the first I recall seeing the term "Gen Alpha" and I still see tons of Gen Z talk, so I'm not saying it's just you, but I'm not saying its not just you.
Generation Alpha (often shortened to Gen Alpha) is the demographic cohort succeeding Generation Z. Researchers and popular media use the early 2010s as starting birth years and the mid-to-late 2020s as ending birth years. (see § Date and age range definitions) Named after alpha, the first letter in the Greek alphabet, Generation Alpha is the first to be born entirely in the 21st century and the third millennium. Members of Generation Alpha are usually the children of millennials and some of older members of Generation Z.
Generation Alpha has been born at a time of falling fertility rates across much of the world, and experienced the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic as young children. For those with access, children's entertainment has been increasingly dominated by electronic technology, social networks, and streaming services, with interest in traditional television concurrently falling. Changes in the use of technology in classrooms and other aspects of life have had a significant effect on how this generation has experienced early learning compared to previous generations. Studies have suggested that health problems related to screen time, allergies, and obesity became increasingly prevalent in the late 2010s.
Daehawk wrote: Mon Feb 05, 2024 12:47 pm
I have to hang up or have no minutes on my damn phone.
get a Google Voice phone number, then you don't have to worry about minutes anymore
Re: Random randomness
Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2024 12:29 pm
by hitbyambulance
Holman wrote: Wed Feb 07, 2024 8:54 pm
IKEA gets blasted as "disposable furniture," but it's really only disposable in the sense that it's never a classic hand-me-down that future generations will enjoy experiencing beyond their first cheap apartment.
so we didn't have an IKEA here when i got my first place, but we did have Minnesota's official national retailer, Target...
every time i've been to the IKEA in Renton, WA it seems to be the place for "new-to-the-US-first-furniture" store. i have not ever purchased furniture from there, but i have gotten a number of houseplants (especially succulents, for some reason)
Re: Random randomness
Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2024 12:38 pm
by ImLawBoy
I bought a bookshelf from Target for my first "real" apartment (i.e., post-law school, had a real job). it's still around some 26 years later, although it does seem to be sagging a bit.
