Tivo deal

I’ve had Tivo for 4 or 5 years, it is a truly awesome device.  It really does change how you watch TV.  Back when I bought mine it cost around 300 bucks.  With the competition from cable company DVR’s Tivo has been steadily reducing their prices.  Right now they are running an awesome deal.  You can get a 40 hour refurb Tivo for nothing.  All you do is sign up for service which costs like 12 bucks a month.  Once you get Tivo you will wonder how you went without it.  TV shows literally take a third less time to watch as you can zip by commercials in seconds.  You are no longer obligated to stop what you are doing at 8pm to catch your favorite show.  If someone calls you while you are watching some thing you can simply pause it and begin again when you are ready. 

It is very intuitive to use, even a technotard can operate it.  After some time Tivo will get an idea of the sort of shows you like to watch and will look for similar shows to record for you when it has nothing else to do. See something on TV you want to see again? No problem, rewind it and play it again. If you have a home network, the Tivo can plug into it and allow you to do a huge list of things over the net.

It’s a great deal, jump in.  The only favor I ask is if you do snag one, mention my email address (duf@duf.net) during check out as I will get a spiff for the referral.  Tivo rocks, plain and simple.

Last night when I was taking Nicki out I was startled by a tiny snake that was on the lanai.  When the light came on it scrambled towards the screen.  I watched in amazement as it squeezed through a small gap in the framing.  I need to get out there with some silicone and seal the pool cage up.

My office at work is still not done.  Two + weeks of sitting in the middle of a mess.  It’s getting old.

We got our 2006 property tax notice.  Down here they reassess every single year which is absolute bullshit if you ask me.  Since we bought the house in 2001 the assessed vale on our house has gone up 300%!! Yea I guess if we were going to sell and move out of the area it would be nice but since we aren’t, the astronomical assessments basically traps you in your house.  If we would want to sell and move closer in we would lose the Save our Homes benefit which caps the amount of increase you actually pay each year at a smaller percentage.  If we sold our house and made a lateral move into something appraisied at a similar value our taxes would be more than 6k. The people that bought our neighbors house next door live out of state and are not eligible for the Save our Homes discount meaning they are paying the FULL rate so they just got a nice several thousand dollar surprise in the mail.

It is total bullshit.  There are articles weekly down here about the lack of affordable housing and how it is becoming more and more difficult to get employees to do everyday jobs because they can’t afford to live here.  Yet the county has no problem with ridiculous yearly assesments where they can raise a property value more than 50% in one year (happened to us each of last two years) which cripple the ability of homeowners to move.  Pile insane property taxes on top of home owner insurance rates that have doubled in one years time, auto insurance rates that increase drastically each year due to all the uninsured drivers in the state (mexicans) and sprinkle in 3+ dollar a gallon gas you have a situation where very few people can get by. Something has got to give.

  One of the big appeals of moving here was the lower cost of living.  That advantage has evaporated and now it is MUCH more expensive to live here than it was in PA.   Over and over again I hear stories of how people are cashing in their equity here and buying homes in Arkansas/Tennessee/Georgia/Carolinas cash and restart thier lives mortgage free.  If I didn’t appreciate my job as much as I do I would strongly consider it.

There was an article in the paper about the small child population in the county (under 5 years old) the other day.  It said out of the 19,200 children, 9,000 were hispanics, 7,600 were white with the rest being other.  It’s something that is a compass for the future, yep we will be the minority, soon. I’m no racist but I can’t help but be annoyed by our nation being flooded with people that are here illegally that are having unprotected sex and as a result are crushing a system that is already overwhelmed, resulting in the legitimate citizens having to pay for the load. Of course it all has tie ins to global warming, population increases racing out of control, yada, yada, yada… The idea that our top elected official is more interested in capitalizing on this epidemic to garner more votes instead of curbing it is just another one of the wheelbarrow full of reasons I can’t stand the man. Yep, more bullshit.